11/21/11

Baseball: - Dale Murphy, Jim Crane, Trading Mark Mulder, Umpire Deal, Ryan Doumit


Dale Murphy was one of the best baseball players of the 1980′s. He played in almost 1700 games, hit .270, with 332 home runs. Now, after twelve years of eligibility, Murphy still has not been voted into the Hall of Fame. Dale Murphy was not a dominant player during his era. He was a very good player, he won two MVP’s and five straight gold gloves. However, when you look back at his two “peak” years, he only posted a 6.1 WAR in those years combined. We can’t fully be sure of WAR’s (wins above replacement) ability to fully show the defensive prowess of players, but either way that is not impressive enough for a Cooperstown candidate http://mlbreports.com/2011/11/20/dalemurphyhof

Once Jim Crane became convinced the Astros would be moving to the American League no matter what in 2013, he set about cutting the best deal he could. Crane negotiated a $70 million reduction from the $680 million he had been willing to pay Drayton McLane, knowing full well that a move to the AL wouldn't sit well with a large chunk of the fan base. "It was made very, very clear to us," Crane said, "that anybody who owned the team would be moving to the American League. The transfer of the team will take place Tuesday, with Crane strongly hinting that one of his first moves will be a reduction in ticket prices for a team coming off a franchise-worst 56-106 season. Read more: http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/318430-new-astros-owner-hopes-to-appease-fans#ixzz1eGOiEas1

The final tally is this, had the A's not traded Mark Mulder on December 18th, 2004 today's A's would be without, Brett Anderson, Daric Barton, Chris Carter, Kila Ka'aihue, Shane Peterson, Eric Sogard and Michael Taylor. Now the snarky A's fan can be so what, surely the names that passed through some of these deals are far more significant, Carlos Gonzalez, Dan Haren, Matt Holliday, Mark Mulder and Huston Street are some pretty significant ballplayers. But that is how long trades can hold significant sway over how a team is constructed. A good portion of the 2012 A's will be determined in part by a deal made eight years earlier involving four players, two of whom have since left baseball even http://www.athleticsnation.com/2011/11/20/2575465/the-lasting-impact-of-trades

The Professional Baseball Umpires Corporation, the organization that manages umpires for MILB, and the Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU) agreed to a new working agreement before the contract expired on Nov. 30. The deal avoids a repeat of the labor strife that occurred when the umpires went on strike during the 2006 season after an agreement could not be reached the previous offseason. The agreement still needs to be ratified by the AMLU body, but union president Shaun Francis expects a deal to be done. Francis declined to go into specifics of the agreement since it had not been presented to the union body, but said “the entire contract got better.” http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/business/2011/11/minor-league-baseball-strikes-deal-with-umpires

Before we go overboard projecting greatness for Ryan Doumit, let’s acknowledge that he’s no Mike Napoli. Sure, their situations may be comparable, but Doumit has never shown the offensive ability of Napoli. When healthy, however, Doumit has proven to be a pretty valuable catcher. Viewed through that lens, Doumit might be an interesting sleeper next season. Over his career, Doumit’s slash line has been a solid .271/.334/.442. That’s not bad for a catcher — the position Doumit will qualify for in leagues next season. With the Twins, Doumit should see some time at DH and first base as well. The hope is that playing multiple positions will keep Doumit healthy for the first time in his career  http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/is-ryan-doumit-the-new-mike-napoli

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