Lookout Landing

Won't it help the Cubs save face, just a little?

If Silva ends up producing anything at all it’s a positive over just eating Bradley’s contract. That’s a pretty fat IF though.

nope...

it still makes the Cubs look incompetent, and cheap for not signing Mike Cameron whether or not they did this deal and just had to cut Bradley.

absolutely

especially when we don’t have a GM like Jack Zduriencik who can take advantage of saving $3mil per year.

This is us taking your talented asshole and sending you our near-useless asshole.

Have fun.

it's really...

Jack Zduriencik bending Jim Hendry over a barrel once again. I am begging the Cubs to never, ever get involved in a deal with the Mariners ever again.

Fortunately for the M's I think Hendry will probably see Jack in a better light

Thus making future deals more likely.

njd.aitken - December 18, 2009 reply

ummm...

who said I cared what Hendry thought about him? I’m hoping he’s not running the team much longer. Even if we get another GM… I still don’t want the Cubs making another deal with Zduriencik.

KGJ is looking forward to the challenge of turning Milton Bradley into a ticklish cuddly bear by season's end.

The ONLY rumor that was shot down by our FO this winter is their interest in Bradley

it struck me as odd then, and I’ve been biting my nails for something like this since. A switch hitting DH/OF who comes at minimal cost and no roster space? Holy shit yes.

Thank god the Rays had no need of Bradley.

They did, which is the weirdest thing

I'm still kind of reeling...

First he gets Lee for not much, then he turns shit into not shit.

Maybe I'm missing something...

But is Pat Burrell really all that terrible? Last year was definitely an outlier, besides the year after he got his big contract from the Phillies. Not to mention he was battling injuries. I still think I’d rather have Burrell than Bradley?

DKulich44 - December 18, 2009 reply

Bradley's a better bat and a better outfielder I think

Burrell get points for durability and not being a shithead. So, I dunno. Maybe they couldn’t take on the extra money.

They Rays could not afford to take on the extra salary for next year. They're already over budget for this year.

And as for Burrell not being a shithead, he’s not well liked by his teammates in Tampa.

Tyler - December 18, 2009 reply

I figured it was a budget thing

I'm all for Bradley in that scenario.

Burrell = power righty bat with no defensive value

Bradley = power switch-hitter with a modicum of defensive value

I don't know the Cubs bullpen situation, but I wouldn't be surprised if Silva's quietly cut at the end of spring training.

Unbelievable

Seriously. I don’t believe this will happen. It just can’t.

Can it? Please?

LOVE LOVE LOVE this deal

The character issues are real. No getting around it. But as Jeff said, we just paid ZERO for at least a couple of wins if everything works out.

Unbelievable.

tait644 - December 18, 2009 reply

Visting Giants fan here

I wish we had your GM :(

jponry - December 18, 2009 reply

"Visting Giants fan here"

I wish we had your GM :(

woomikee - December 18, 2009 reply

uh ok

Was echoing the sentiment

I’m glad I can see what a real GM does up close, while Brian Sabean kicks the tires on Scotty Pods.

woomikee - December 18, 2009 reply

Jack has only been GM for about a year

But, he has changed the the entire club already. He is so well prepared that he has several things going on at a time. If something doesn’t work out, he doesn’t panic. He just goes onto the next item. He is good.

Coug1990 - December 18, 2009 reply

Nice comment

What's the problem with it?

He’s just expressing his agreement.

I posted this before he explained. He just did in a really strange way and it confused me.

Fair enough.

I excel at confusion.

And the very real prospect of Sabean making a reactionary singing to this deal gives me heartburn.

That said, I’m very much looking forward to watching this M’s team.

woomikee - December 18, 2009 reply

Word

The way the Mariners now run things have made them my favorite team (outside of the Giants) to follow.

marcello - December 18, 2009 reply

Jack Z is so amazing

I bet he’ll sign his own extension for millions below his market value.

I bet you, if it meant this team getting that extra last win, I wouldn't put it past him.

WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT AHAHAHAHHAHHHHHHHHH

.Taylor - December 18, 2009 reply

Who did we sacrafice to the Baseball gods to make this happen?

I cannot fucking believe this!

OceanBird - December 18, 2009 reply

Maybe we finally sacrificed the memory of 1995.

Game 5 of the ALDS was on MLBN last Sunday

I watched it :(

bluemax - December 18, 2009 reply

Heh, I did too.

I was fucking pissed they couldn’t get Dave’s call in there for The Double.

Fuck the A's and their 20 game win streak

Against the worst teams in the league at that time, grrr.

OceanBird - December 18, 2009 reply

I remember that.

Couldn’t believe me eyes.

It was SUPER awesome for me

I was 14 years old and had just moved to the Bay Area. Oh was that ever fun.

OceanBird - December 18, 2009 reply

By the way, Jeff

regarding Bradley’s downside… I remember when he signed his contract everybody wanted him here, and while his deal isnt a bargain exactly we all (or most) thought it was reasonable, despite the injuries and bad attitude. Year one wasn’t great, but its why he’s being paid 21/2 nd not 65/4 right?

I thought he was a righty but he's a switch hitter!

Neat!

Dewey N - December 18, 2009 reply

Two switch hitters!

Finally!

He's not great from the left side.

.266/.365/.431 from the left.

I’ll take it.

Wrong

Correction: He's not as great from the left side.

In 2008 he had a 187 point OPS platoon split.

I may be giving Bradley more credit than he's worth.. But I would think

the temperament of our coaches, and our clubhouse would be a good thing for Bradley.

This guy owned the division two years ago.

Im thrilled about this. We just added a potentially stud bat without tapping into our remaining payroll flexibility

This is an elementary question, I know, but how much money do we still have in our payroll for the year?

More money than we did

If they swap straight up Bradley is owed 9 while Silva was owed 11.5

Somewhere around $15M

Wow. It's hard to believe that we still have resources to make more moves this offseason.

That cannot be true

This was before we knew we were giving up money

Still seems really high

It was somewhere between 10-15 million, so yes, I overstated it

But not by a whole lot

Wait, no.

I added the money saved from moving Silva in

I'm still confused.

Drayer:

According to Stark the Mariners will send 9 million dollars with Silva, 3 million in 2010 to cover the salaray difference then 6 million over the next 2 years in payroll relief to the Cubs…

So that means we pay the Cubs $3 million this year, $3 million in 2011, and $3 million in 2012?

Very well could be

Stark made it sound like it was $6M this year and $3M next

Maybe "the next two years" means 2010 and 2011, though.

I’m pretty sure that’s the case after re-reading it.

Wouldn't really make sense for us to pay in 2012 considering both contracts are off the books at that point

Well, it would benefit us because we get more budget room this year,

but it certainly makes zero sense on the Cubs part.

There's a $2m buyout for Silva in 2012

Only sort of

Silva is owed a 2m buyout in 2012.

Eh, true

I still think it’s a 6mil/3mil split over the next two years though, the Cubs don’t get any additional money this year if it’s 3mil per year over the next 3.

It’s $3 million in 2010 and $6 million in 2011

According to this...

drblacknwhite - December 18, 2009 reply

Right but the comment was posted was before we knew any of that

Yeah, I probably should've replied to a different subthread.

Yeah now it's like 7-12mil right?

Not that it's the same coaches or anything

But we did manage to have Crazy Carl Everett and Jose Guillen on the team (in different years) without much turmoil.

Nadingo - December 18, 2009 reply

MOAR POWA!

Sorry, had to say it.

On a 1-10 scale of transaction perfection where 10 is trading a PTBNL for Albert Pujols,

Jeff could have said “10 is trading Silva for anything”.

This is a 10. I can’t wait for the season to start.

How can we lose?

We weren’t gonna play Silva at all. If Bradley doesn’t work out, or is a cancer, cut his malcontent ass and we are in the same place as if we were still in Silvaville. I love me some Z!

blackvanilla - December 18, 2009 reply

More apparent confirmation, albeit via MLBTradeRumors:

Twitter

Sources confirm Milton Bradley headed to Mariners for Carlos Silva — merry christmas #cubs fans

I just re-newed my MLB.tv subscription

I just re-newed my love for Jack Z.

Yeah, I'm going to actually go to Opening Day for the first time in YEARS.

When do single-game tickets go on sale?

No idea, but if you're on the Mariners e-mail spam list you can typically get a code to purchase tickets ahead of the general public.

February-ish

Two Rs and Two Ls - December 18, 2009 reply

They usually start selling at FanFest

which is set for January 30th.

I thought it automatically renewed once the season started?

I called and cancelled my subscription for next year..

In case something terrible happened in the off-season (i.e. Felix leaving).

Oh Jack.. you sand baggin’ son of a bitch.

O ye of little faith...

I've never had one.

But now I think I’m going to get one.

JY - December 19, 2009 reply

WOW. Shit. I still can't believe this might happen.

For two years, “The Silva Deal” was a source of shame and angst.

Now ’The Silva Deal" can be a source of pride and childlike glee. This makes me want to hug people.

I like that Rotoworld blurb about Brandon Morrow.

If the last week is any indication, we’re trading Morrow for Albert Pujols, Colby Rasmus, and Adam Wainwright.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH???????????????

Incredible

My only fear is that we reach a point where GMs refuse to trade with Jack Z cause he’s so damn awesome

gilmeche55 - December 18, 2009 reply

People still trade with the Patriots

True, but they have their guard up.

When you get a reputation for “winning” every trade, people will work harder to make sure they aren’t labeled as “got screwed by Z”.

Still, it’s hard to balance a sure short term gain (winning a trade) with a harder to define long term benefit (keeping other GMs willing to trade with you).

Maybe but most people are saying that all the other GM's have a tremendous amount of respect for him and love doing business with him at this time

I don’t see it happening.

Kevin Pritchard, he GM of the Portland Trailblazers had a similar run.

One of the local media started labeling other GMs as being “Pritchslapped” after trading with Portland. It seems like that term really was the tipping point in making other GMs less willing to trade with KP. That and KP can be pretty abrasive.

yeah

my comment was mostly tongue-in-cheek, but if the Mariners win 90+ games next year and the internet baseball nerd community worships at the feet of GMZ, then I think he will have the attention of other GM’s.

gilmeche55 - December 18, 2009 reply

This is the same fallacy that believes GM's won't talk to Boras because he's a douche

I'm not too worried about this

GM’s have generally gotten what they wanted out of deals with GMZ. The Phillies have Halladay signed and are coming in on budget. The Mets got their (theoretical) 8th inning guy in Putz. The Cubs are dumping the guy they want to dump. People seem to, if anything, really like dealing with Jack.

spikefriedman - December 18, 2009 reply

There are still several incompetent gm's

You just have to pick and choose your spots to exploit teams.

Not sure this exists, because people tend to have high opinions of themselves

But there is a reverse. Chris Wallace lost the Pau Gasol trade so bad with the Lakers, that he basically is frightened to make any other trades. He only asks for unreasonable returns now.

Carlos Silva is a trending topic on twitter

High point of his career

I think the high point of his career may have been signing a 4-year/ 48million dollar contract..

God damnit Bavasi

Z WENT BACK IN TIME AND MADE IT OK

Right between Santa and Holiday

Drayer Says its official!!!!!!!!

http://twitter.com/shannondrayer

Link

YES!

HUZZAH!

Drayer via twitter:

“Just received confirmation, deal is official. Silva to the Cubs for Bradley.”

INSANITY

DOGS AND CATS MAKING SWEET SWEET LOVE

My flabber has never been this gasted.

My swaggle has never been so horny.

Wait, am I doing this right?

If that's not right, then nothing is.

Nadingo - December 18, 2009 reply

I want to make sex.

Me too!

Ballard Erik - December 18, 2009 reply

If that's wrong, then I don't wanna be right.

Kyle Rancourt - December 18, 2009 reply

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

So does this mean no money was exchanged?

No.

Heyman twitter:

SI_JonHeyman on si.com: bradley-silva deal has been agreed to. mariners will send $6 million over 2 years to chicago

Tube - December 18, 2009 reply

Feck.

Noooooo

Oh, fuck it, I don’t care.

Ouch.

It just didn't make sense to have no money involved.

That's a cost of 500K this year guys, think we're cool

Whatever

It’s still a really good deal, you get Milton Bradley for 1.5mil a year.

500K this year, 2.5M next

Ah even better

Presumably minus the $2m buyout?

Bradley doesn't have an option

We were on the hook for Silva's, weren't we?

Why would we be?

Either pay Bradley or Silva, take your choice

blackvanilla - December 18, 2009 reply

I've probably really misunderstood, somewhere

I thought after his 4yr contract the Mariners could opt to pay $2m to forfeit any further contract with Silva.

If that was the case then that obligation passes to Chicago.

Except that I’ve probably horribly misunderstood.

It's part of the $25M owed to Silva taken on by the Cubs, yes.

I don’t really get where the buyout affects this year though

It doesn't, and I misunderstood

I figured it was $25m + $2m.

Thanks.

Well, since this seems confusing

Bradley: $9M in 2010, $12M in 2011
Silva: $11.5M in 2010, $11.5M in 2011, $2M buyout

Oh god it's the end of the world.

Dewey N - December 18, 2009 reply

NEVER. QUESTION. JACK.

NEVER.

We didn't miss out on Nick Johnson

Jack Zduriencik is an alchemist.

I'm starting to think that if Jack doesn't acquire someone who makes complete sense for the team, it's because he's got something at least as good already cooking.

You're only

starting to think that?

wandergeist - December 18, 2009 reply

I have to say that if I were Nick Johnson

and had a chance to go to the new Yankee stadium or Safeco on a one year deal I’d choose the former. It’s really kind of hard for us to get a slugger to come here on a one year deal unless no one else wants him or unless we’re willing to offer him a lot more, like a 2nd year.

Expletive Nick Johnson

For LH pull sluggers

NYS is not that much better than Safeco. But the near certainty of getting into the postseason (or so the Yankees renewed mystique would have you believe) is a factor, especially for someone who has been stuck with the Nationals and Marlins and may be fearing the looming end to a star-crossed career.

wandergeist - December 18, 2009 reply

NEVA EVA.

Carlos_Silva_Fan - December 18, 2009 reply

NO

Stupid, stupid trade.

Aw shucks guess you're going to have to move over to Bleeding Cubbie Blue.

you're right

screw that Ichiro guy as well, hes no good.

Hancock.Brett - December 18, 2009 reply

HOLY SHUCKING FIT!!!!

What an incredible offseason already!

coolguyrob - December 18, 2009 reply

AND WE STILL NEED TO GET A FIRST BASEMAN

Dewey N - December 18, 2009 reply

AND BELTRE

This really does make it more likely we get Beltre I think.

We just filled one of the two positions we absolutely had to for no extra expenditure, so there should be plenty of money in the budget to add beltre and still pick up someone like luke scott.

Well, not exactly nothing

$3 MM, apparently

Beltre is probably less likely than Holliday

They'd have to punt Lopez

I'll have a post about this later

Rad

BASEBALL IS SO FAR AWAY

THE LINE TO FELLATE Z STARTS BEHIND ME

He still hasn't got through the line from the Lee trade

I'd say fat guys don't have any problem panning out in Chicago.

I mean, Weis was being rumored as the Bears next OC, why else but for the Pizza?

kericr - December 18, 2009 reply

I can't get over how dramatically different this team is than it was a year or so ago.

Felix, Ichiro, Lopez, relievers

Am I missing anyone?

Or you mean good?

Yeah that.

So, we're division favorites now, right?

Not until we trade a couple of bags of stadium trash for Justin Upton

Jack is on with Brock and Salk in 10 minutes

PREPARE THE OFFERINGS

Hate to burst everyone's bubble

But I’m pretty sure Silva still has to pass a physical.

I'm confident.

Silva is quite the physical specimen.

Remember he does yoga.

I'm pretty sure he means Yogurt

Frozen. With sprinkles and chocolate sauce.

In the way that 1000-pound dude from Mexico is, maybe

Is this the time and place for one last hurrah of Silva fat jokes?

FlaskInSafeco - December 18, 2009 reply

It's always the time and place for Silva fat jokes.

No it isn't

If by "always" you mean "never" then you're exactly right

No sir

Awww nuts it looks like you missed on this one.

Like the Cubs care.

Its official

they’ve announced the deal

Cash headed to the Cubs in the deal

Twitter

Cubs just announced they acquired RHP Carlos Silva and cash from the Seattle Mariners for outfielder Milton Bradley.

I'll add some via Western Union if it helps!

kentroyals5 - December 18, 2009 reply

6 Mil

Not that much when you consider the difference in their contracts

MLBTradeRumors

In a press release of their own, the Cubs say they’re getting cash from the Mariners as part of the deal. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune says the M’s are sending $9MM to Chicago, which would save the Cubs $6MM. Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Cubs get $6MM in the deal.

The $6M seems more plausible but we'll see

$6M would cover the salary difference plus the $2M buyout the Ms had for Silva’s option that Stone reported, right?

The salary difference included the buyout

I see

Stone reported originally that there was a $4M difference, now he’s saying that it’s only a $3M difference.

So I guess either at $6M or $9M the M’s are paying some to the Cubs for the talent diffrerential.

Cheap deal

I mean we’re talking about a pitcher with a career opponent batting average ABOVE .300, not a lot of talent there.

Makes it better for the Cubs

It’s still not a great deal but they can look at it as a reclamation project + $$. If they’d already decided they were going to release him, then this is a better deal for them. I’m guessing that’s what separated the Ms from TB.

There's a $4M difference

Stone said:

“The money remaining on both contracts is similar. Bradley has $22 million left on his contract (not $21 million as earlier reported) — $9 million in 2010, $13 million in 2011. Silva has $25 million remaining”

That’s where I’m getting the $3M

Bradley is owed $12M in 2011 per Cots

BCB thinks they can flip Silva for something useful

What an optimistic bunch

A bag of turds is more useful than Silva.

At least you can fertilize your crops with the bag of turds. Silva would just eat the dirt.

13194013 - December 18, 2009 reply

Whom is stupid enough to take him?

The Mets?

I think you mean pants on head retarded

wait what

pants on head = retarded?

/gotta run to the restroom and change

Yahtzee!

PissedMick - December 18, 2009 reply

No Salk today.

Damn.

Z on 710 right now.

A quick summary afterwards would be excellent and much appreciated for those of us w/o access to a radio.

http://www.mynorthwest.com/streams/streampop_espn.php

Streaming?

At school. Can't install silverlight.

Click on the Windows Media Player icon

below the silverlight- it opens a separate player.

sigalert - December 18, 2009 reply

These computers don't have WMP, either.

It’s like prison.

It runs inside Firefox for me, as long as I use the IE Tab.

your computer rapes you in the shower and stabs you with a stolen cafeteria fork?

The computer doesn't, no.

Since he's at school I imagine installations are admin locked.

Essentially said that Bradley is very excited to be in Seattle.

People were emailing/texting the radio station expressing their love for Jack, and he of course was very humble about the praise.

Mentioned that Griffey was likely to make Bradley the butt of many of his jokes/pranks to try to make him feel more at home.

Praised the ownership for being receptive to his ideas.

Makes me wonder had KGJ not been re-signed

If we would have pulled the trigger on this deal

Cool. Thanks.

Always best to prank a human time bomb

What could go wrong!

He could explode

First tickle-related injury ever?

Our bullpen was full of them last year.

We’ll survive.

ThundaPC - December 18, 2009 reply

Ruh rohs

Additionally, he said that Bradley would be playing "some DH and some LF."

Filling in for Calabro at 3 I believe!

Zack - December 18, 2009 reply

Or maybe just getting interviewed. i dunno

Zack - December 18, 2009 reply

Correct.

I'm starting to think that Saunders is going to get traded.

With Langerhans back

And now this.

along with Morrow for Adrian Gonzalez

Sorry for the rosterbating

This team is going to get on base so much it's not even going to be funny

You mean there might actually be people on base

when Branyan goes yard?

We still have Johnson, Wilson, Lopez, and no 1B yet

Lopez could post a league average OBP if his BABIP returns to 2008 levels

He was above .330 for most of that season, and projected to like .325 with the extra hits he lost this year

Be a lot easier if he just took a goddamn walk every once in a while

Where's the fun in that?

That's true but I'd guess whoever our 1B is he's going to be an OBP guy

And Dave Cameron said on Fangraphs today that the market for Branyan is collapsing, so maybe he'll do a one-year.

Post coming later!

Yay!

The best thing Silva did for this team last year

Get hurt.

Even better is that he’s leaving.

You know I hope Felix isn't too bummed about this.

If he is let's give him a lot of money over the span of six years to make up for it.

Good idea

Let’s start a PayPal account for him

coolguyrob - December 18, 2009 reply

Going to the playoffs will make everything better

Felix likes winning ballgames

God I hope Piniella screws Silva right into the ground

Silva's a pitcher, Piniella wil grind him to dust in two months

The extra mass will push that to three months.

He'd really be earning the nickname "Sweet Lou" if he did that.

chezbergrur - December 18, 2009 reply

I continue to be astounded at being on the right side of these deals.

It still feels weird, but so good!

Big Jared - December 18, 2009 reply

Yeah I mean, not even Gillick

Could put together trades this good, as much as he did a lot of other things right.

I think Griffey is going to have a long talk with Bradley

About being a good teammate. And I think it will work out well once he does.

Griffey is going to tickle the rage out of Bradley.

w00tah - December 18, 2009 reply

from the Piniella/Bradley contretemps last year.

According to sources, Piniella then shouted at Bradley, "You’re not a player! You’re a piece of sh–!"

Bradley then said, "I have too much respect for you to respond to that," a source said.

Piniella and Bradley was a marriage made in hell

If that's all he said

That’s pretty weak for Pinella, he should have at least chucked a base at his head.

"Griffey tickling" is on life support as far as memes go methinks

I thought it was 3 feet under

Maybe more.

Winning games does remarkable things for clubhouses.

HE'S THE PERFECT FIT FOR OUR LINEUP OH MY GOD

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! WE'RE COMPLETELY FREE OF THE BAVASI ERA!

We're getting another pitcher

What?

Seriously?

Hunch? Or you hear something?

No no I'm just thinking out loud

We filled the DH spot for nothing, frees up some money

I just think this increases the chances of us grabbing another starter when all is said and done

Randy Randy Randy Randy

Tears

I second this

If he decides to keep playing it could totally happen.

That would be pretty much the raddest thing ever

Nevermind if he and Griffey end up with rings

That would most certainly kill Dave Niehaus

Randy already has a ring.

ToddK - December 18, 2009 reply

That Langerhans contract perked me right up, I was expecting a minor league deal

Griffey truly is a pinch hitter at this point.

Barring Holliday

Branyan, Doumit, and call it an off season

Yup.

FREEDOM!

So, Langerhans + Bradley on the team.

I wonder if Saunders + Morrow is a package deal for something…

Seems likely

they seem set for a Bradley/Hall/Langerhans three headed monster at DH/LF

Whoever is on the Salk show isn't aware Milton Bradley can DH

I noticed that as well.

Who is it, anyway?

That would be Mike Salk, who is filling in for Kevin Calabro later today.

I turned it on looking for Z

and am not familiar with Seattle sports radio

Griffey, Figgins, Hall, Snell and now Bradley

Presenting GM Jay-Z

h/t: Robert for the reference

This should go on our banner.

Bout time someone showed some love for the brothers

Why are his hands black?

He's secretly a border collie

Oh

And gigantic?

tootthekazoo - December 18, 2009 reply

Don't forget Ichiro.

Snell and Griffey are black?

Now that I got the credit, I realize that all I really care about is the recs.

OH MY FUCKING GOD.

JACK Z – THE ALCHEMIST!

CARLOS SILVA. FOR MILTON BRADLEY?!?!?!? ARE YOU FUCKING SHITTING ME?!?!?

WHY DO PEOPLE EVEN TRADE WITH JACK Z ANY MORE???

Because they dressed like they wanted it?

A Steamy Day in Cleveland - December 18, 2009 reply

Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Aaron Campeau - December 18, 2009 via mobile reply

Goobye Carlos

It was a great run. All the trips to the DL, the bleacher shots given to the opponents, the missing food… I wish you the best in ChiTown. The pizza joints have been notified.

So yeah this week really happened.

Jack Z is The Wolf from Pulp Fiction

There is no problem he can’t solve, no mess he can’t clean up. Woo hoo!

njpozner - December 18, 2009 reply

And now, all of a sudden, the Griffey signing makes total sense.

I'm so proud to be a fan of this team.

Finally

The future looks bright, and I thought it looked bright at the end of last year.

And for the final time:

HAHAHAHAHAHA SEE YEAH SILVA YOU FAT MISERABLE FUCK!

And welcome Milton you crazy son of a bitch!

Can I pile on this Goosey?

FUCK YOU, CARLOS SILVA, FOR ALL THE NIGHTS I WATCHED YOU PITCH AWFULLY AT 3AM IN THE MORNING, YOU PIECE OF SHIT.

Not that it means anything

but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Silva do well in the NL Central

How much of a downgrade is Silva looking at park effect and defense wise?

Enough to offset the lesser talent in the NL?

It's the NL. That's an automatic boost in your stats...

I would also not be surprised if he gave up 6 runs a game

Wrigley seems like it would be death for him though

Pray for wind blowing in

That’s what I’d do if I were him. That place is a launching pad at all other times but when the wind is coming there is no carry, even less than in most parks in similar situations.

How right handed are those lineups?

We finally salted the snail.

With the snail being Carlos Silva.

Jim Hendry: officially more retarded than Out of the Park Baseball

9M being sent, not 6

Even worse.

We don't really have confirmation of that

Jayson Stark

6M this year, 3M next it appears

Where would that leave us payroll-wise for this season?

Bradley is earning 3mil less than Silva this year

So it cuts 3mil out of the remaining 10-15mil (whatever it is) we have remaining. So between 7-12 mil left with a hole at 1B, and still most of our best trade chips intact.

Holliday's out unless we expand payroll though

I could see them making an exception for a great player and the right price, no?

Not going to speculate on that sort of thing

That's not a no!

Possibly, but there's still other holes to fill.

I doubt they want to lock all that payroll space up on Holliday.

Well I would like to see LaRoache/Branyan and Doumit brought in

Were he brought in I would imagine Saunders would be traded to plug a hole in the lineup

Yeah pretty much

Not 100% sure, but it's about a 3M hit on our payroll for 2010

so should leave us about 10M left

And it's a pretty big hit on next season's, too.

It's still not bad

It’s just not an outright theft

2.5M on next year's.

Milton makes 12, Silva 12.5

Silva's at 11.5 next year with a 2M buyout per Cot's

Signing bonus

Is that weirdly deferred or something?

No, amortized

But I also forgot about the buyout

So Silva in 2011 represents almost 14M

The buyout affects the 2012 payroll, surely?

Surely you aren't trying to make sense of creative accounting are you?

I took a lot of higher math, and now write accounting software; but the tricks they do leave me utterly confused.

Who knows. It's not surely anything.

But regardless of what year, it’s money that has to be spent.

$3M is big?

Thanks

Dang, we are sending them $6 Million!?

Makes the deal less good. Now we have to get something from Milton Bradley to make it worth it. We cant just cut him if he acts up.

$9MM

Or $6M

$9M total

$3M to make up the difference in the contracts, and an extra $6M split over two years.

Or just $6M

Sure you can.

We have what 2 years on his current deal?

Not bad at all.

Easy tiger, it's happy times man. Don't forget to look up

Think of it this way

Silva is a sunk cost. We just cut him, and then signed MB to a 2yr/$6mil contract. You wouldn’t make that move?

You're forgetting the comedy value of watching Silva pitch for the cubs.

That’s got to be worth a couple of $Mil, right?

Until he three-hits the Cardinals

because the Cardinals are comically bad against slopball pitchers.

*Righthanded slop ball pitchers

It’s what happens when your lineup is 80% right handed

Maybe it's my warped sense of humor but,

I would get as big a kick out of Silva 3-hitting the Cardinals (giving up 3 Pujols HRs) as I would him giving up 7ER in 2.0IP

We can still cut him

The additional money over the difference in their contracts isn’t that absurd

True. We just cant cut him for no cost at all.

I don't think it's so much that cutting him is going to cripple the team if he's bad

We will be paying approx. $1 million per win over the course of the contract.

You should be building a shrine to Jack instead of feeling bad, because he has pulled off a masterstroke, again.

IF he works out.

Which is a big IF. But the upside potential is good.

No.

It’s already worked out.

Literally, there’s no downside here. None.

Yeah I'm pretty sure the only people who see a downside are the chemistry lovers.

oh noes Bill Nye hates the M's!

HEY :(

That's why Griffey is here!

If he screws up badly such that they have to cut him or not play him, there is downside.

But I do not expect this.

Yeah, but then what you have lost if that happens?

Carlos Silva was not an asset.

With Silva, you get nothing

With Bradley, you might get nothing, you might get something, and it might even be good. Where’s the downside? Worst case you were getting nothing either way.

Worst case also means an extra $9 MM thrown away

Or maybe 6, I don’t know whther either figure has been confirmed yet. This is not a slam dunk by any means. Bradley’s got both an injury history and a behavioral history. This is still a gamble on the M’s part.

$6M lost, since the first $3M covers the salary difference

I think I’m OK with this gamble. This is like placing a $5 bet to win $50 and you have an 85% chance of winning

Actually,

unless Cot’s is wrong or the report is wrong, it looks like we’re paying an extra $5 MM.

Silva: 11.5, 11.5, +2 = 25
Bradley: 9, 12, +9 = 30

Yup, you're right

forgot about Silva’s buyout.

Which of course makes this even better, since the buyout was a sunk cost as well

No no let's stop our joyous celebration and look for the pitfalls.

The extra money doesn't really matter since it would've still gone to Silva either way

Mejeh - December 18, 2009 reply

At least we are rid of Silva.

This deal is a risk but at least there is upside potential.

Whoa

Days before the start of the 2004 season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for prospects Franklin Gutierrez and Andrew Brown, following an altercation with Indians manager Eric Wedge

Crazy connection.

MT Olson - December 18, 2009 reply

I hope they have Bradley batting third.

1) Ichiro
2) Figgins
3) Bradley
4) Branyan?

That’s quite a nice top of the line up.

I would swap him and Branyan especially since the 5 hitter could very well be left handed

And puts Griffey as a spot pinch-hitter

Rather than making him play every day. That’s the best use for Griffey at this point.

Yes.

I expect Griffey to pretty much pinch-hit for the catcher or Jack Wilson every night.

Not a bad deal for Junior at this point in his career.

Holliday would also be a good 4 hitter

USSM Down.

What do we figure Bradley is fielding wise? -5? 0?

Yeah, but he's fragile plus we have Sauders

So he’s probably only playing the field in NL games, or when Ichiro gets half a day off

So we lose out on Harden, and instead trade not a whole lot for Cliff Lee.

Then we lose out on Johnson and trade our worst contract, and the last remaining stain of Bill Bavasi, for Milton Bradley.

Quick! Somebody sign Branyan from out under our noses!

Depending on how you feel

Lopez could be a stain too. I’m not making that argument, but it could be made.

Lopez is a league average player still under team control for less than he is worth.

Thats an asset.

Yes

I actually agree 100%

But I can think of non crazy arguments that could be made that he isn’t good.

It's not out of the realm of possibility that Lopez could take a step forward offensively.

He is entering into his prime years now.

He really can't go any further forward until he learns to take a walk

which has nothing to do with his physical prime. I wouldn’t be expecting anything.

Agreed.

I was thinking maybe a higher batting average with the same amount of power might be a possibility.

Thank you

Lopez is a perfect fit because his contract

Plus I think Bradley is a better fit than Nick Johnson

The main reason I hated that contract for the Cubs was that Bradley really shouldn't be playing outfield

Not only that but they had to move DeRosa to do it

I'd rather not see him in the field, ever.

Hope he is the primary DH. No need to risk his healthy putting him in the outfield.

Let the man DH and do what he does best (baseball wise).

It seems there are a lot of people assuming he's going to be our starting left fielder

And I’m not sure why.

Who's gonna be playing LF then? Do we continue with Michael Saunders? We are assuming Griffey is gonna DH

Mejeh - December 18, 2009 reply

None of us were assuming that

I assume Saunders is the usual LF

Bradley plays Left against Lefties.

What about Langerhans?

4th OF

If you pinch hit for Saunders, he comes in. He plays center when Gutti needs a day, right when Ichiro needs a day.

Bill Hall

I'd just like to take a moment to reflect

We are currently arguing that we have too many flexible useful players.

I like Saunders and would have no issue with him being our primary LF.

You could use Bradley or Hall in LF on the days there is a real tough lefty out there.

Why when there was a tough lefty out there?

If you wanted to put a right-handed hitter in to get a platoon advantage, why wouldn’t you do it against all left-handers?

I don't think Saunders is hopeless vs lefties, and I still think developing him as a player

is important. I don’t want to platoon a 22 year old kid like Saunders all year.

I agree. I want to see as much Saunders as possible.

Reminds me of the Reed/WFB un-platoon in CF in '06

Fuck you Mike Hargrove!

Those people still think Griffey is going to get a lot of AB.

Scruffy Lefty - December 18, 2009 reply

Looks like Bradley is a -5 Left Fielder, based on 2009.

But some of his previous years are better than that, showing positive UZR.

He looks non-terrible, might even be about a league average corner outfielder?

Maybe, but the less OF he plays the better

We probably don't want to play him much there just because of injury risk though

Back to back knee surgeries...

I would not be surprised to see him at -5 or worse.

Best offseason ever!

Heck yeah!!

No question

Given Bradley and Langerhans, do we keep Saunders in AAA?

Let him develop more and save his service years? Seems like the way to go. I dont really want to see him traded, I think he will be great in a couple years.

probably only if he bombs early

Langerhans is a fourth outfielder, and Bradley shouldn't be in the field

So unless Saunders can’t hit, no.

I just realized this still need a 1B!

Scruffy Lefty - December 18, 2009 reply

Yes, still have a position to make an awesome deal for.

I don't think it's a problem

THE FUCKING MOON!

ALL THE WAY!

Scruffy Lefty - December 18, 2009 reply

M O O N SPELLS MOON

M O O N SPELLS HAPPY FAN

tootthekazoo - December 18, 2009 reply

I just woke up to find this and yeaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Considering we heard the front office claim they didn’t want Bradley, this makes me think of Z as Danny Ocean: He’s both a liar and a thief.

This guy replacing Salk reminds me of a drunk Jerry Seinfeld

Chris Egan

another local dude.

WHAT WHAT WHAT

I Zjackulated here at my office desk.

Fin - December 18, 2009 reply

I would Zjackulate here at school but I'd probably get suspended if I got caught

eponymous_coward - December 18, 2009 reply

So, what this means is..

Instead of paying Carlos Silva and Beluga Tits $20+ million like we did in 2008 and 2009, we’re giving that money to Cliff Lee and Milton Bradley.

I think this means GMZ is just a little better at his job than Bill Bavasi.

eponymous_coward - December 18, 2009 reply

"A little"

eponymous_coward - December 18, 2009 reply

It is possible I may be using understatement for comic effect.

Nice work, Derek

http://ussmariner.com/2009/11/02/on-bradley-for-silva/

I see certaindoom was just as unhappy with the idea last month.

http://ussmariner.com/2009/10/20/daves-2010-off-season-plan/

I think that Jack Z saw Dave's 2010 offseason plan that he called "within the realm of possibilities"

and said “fuck it, I can two-up that, not just one-up”

But... but... I don't even know how to be a happy Mariners fan. Nevermind an over the moon happy Mariners fan.

I am … I just… I don’t know what to do.

Jack really needs to space these things out because my system cannot handled so much concentrated awesome so quickly.

Just... incomprehensible.

Lou Piniella called this guy at piece of shit, and Derek Lee couldn't get this guy

fit into a great clubhouse that won 98 games in 2008. And the guy called the Cubs fans racists, when all they endured is 101 years of futility. So what makes you think Wak can handle Bradley, Ken Griffey Jr. can get him fit into the clubhouse, and him not calling everyone in Seattle racist?

What does the fact that the Cubs "endured 101 years of futility" have to do with Bradley calling fans racist?

Or what Cubs fans called Bradley?

Because the Cubs fans are NOT racists.

I live 1/2 miles from Wrigley, and I haven’t met one racist cubs fan in my life.

That's really interesting

This is a really weird statement

Like really, really, reallllllly weird

SebastianPruiti - December 18, 2009 reply

Not one?

Harry started out as a White Sox announcer.

He’s a white sox fan deep down.

Watching someone twist themselves into a pretzel rather than admit they're wrong is fun.

He never met him though!

Eyebrows - December 18, 2009 via mobile reply

I have relatives who are racist Cubs fans.

insidetheparker - December 18, 2009 reply

So?

He’s never MET them. So in his world they don’t exist. Hence no racist cubs fans.

How in the world would you know what he's heard?

Cool story

so who’s playing you in ESPN’s remake of this

I have met racist Cubs fans and I don't live anywhere near Chicago

Not that it matters, but my Grampa was a racists Cubs fan.

I'm a Cubs fan, and I'm racist.

Chris Hafner - December 18, 2009 reply

Ka-chow.

chezbergrur - December 18, 2009 reply

The best thing I saw on the BCB board

Was someone saying they were going to come to Seattle for the interleague game to heckle MB. Maybe him calling the fands negative wasn’t too far out of line?

Well lucky for us that we don't have ONE HUNDRED AND ONE years of failure!

Who the fuck cares?

if he does all that, you can always cut him. There’s no downside here.

Why would Milton Bradley give a damn about the Cubs' poor history?

I wish more players would rip on fans.

Who cares?

We’re not into him for a huge amount of money and it’s clear that pretty much every other club in baseball is fed up with him.

We have a small media market here compared to most teams, it’s his chance to get out of the spotlight.

That is the biggest worry I have about this deal

Bradley is either going to be a slam dunk home run or the angry injured asshole that makes everyone hate coming to the ballpark.

Yeah, but if he's an injured asshole bringing everyone else down

you just cut him! You have nothing to lose.

Exactly

I know it’s been said already but there really is no downside to this move. Or to any move that’s happened this week.

Well, the Cliff Lee trade has downside

but in relation to the awesome upside, who gives a shit?

People say that, but if that mentality was true

Silva would have been cut…

As much as people say it is a sunk cost, it is very hard to stop with the whole escalation of commitment idea.

If Bradley becomes the injured asshole that everyone hates, IF he gets cut it is next offseason and not before.

Silva wasn't being an asshole last year, and if you're gonna pay the guy that much, you might as well try to get some value of him as a long reliever or such

with Bradley, yeah, you’re totally right that he might actually hurt the clubhouse and be a little bitch, unlike 2009 Silva, but in that case, there’s a full year less left on the contract than cutting Silva last year, and I can’t imagine Jack Z putting up with something that’s actively hurting the club rather than simply being an expensive, shitty annoyance.

No no no, I think it's reasonable to assume that Zduriencik and Wakamatsu are going to completely lose control of the club.

Just a fucking madhouse on the field and in the locker room.

Maybe he'll call the press down and have a very forced, awkward, expletive filled tirade!

Eyebrows - December 18, 2009 via mobile reply

Can't win unless your manager loses his shit

How ironic would that be?

chezbergrur - December 19, 2009 reply

Or he'll be somewhere in between.

Well yeah but when you're rational it takes the fun out of everything

Ask anyone and they will tell you I am nothing but pure, unfiltered fun.

So I deny your premise.

Hey man you're preachin to the choir

If he plays well he can be as much of a cunt as he likes

I don’t see the other players being too bothered if they’re winning most nights.

Well to be fair, people in North Chicago do tend to be rather racist.

Mariners fans are much less annoying than Cubs fans

Half of them, I’m sure, will have no idea who Milton Bradley is or where he came from, but will be sure to make extremely clever ‘Monopoly’ jokes to each other in the stands.

You do realize that your team just got even worse today don't you?

Isn't his team the Mariners?

I think we got better

I'm assuming he is also a Cubs fan.

Yes, I am a Cubs fan as well.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the upside of this move for the Mariners. But I don’t think the Cubs got worse. Bradley was a very bad clubhouse influence that most of his teammates don’t want him back. See Aramis Ramirez comment regarding whether Bradley would be welcome back to the clubhouse after the Cubs supsended him for the season with pay in late September. None of his teammate supported him, and no one thinks Bradley could come back in 2010. It’s a case where if no one takes Bradley, the Cubs will simply cut him. He’s that bad of a club house influence in 2009. But if he plays like he did in Texas in 2008, where he led the AL in OPS, then it’s a steal for the M’s. On the other hand, Silva will probably get the 5th starter job vacant by Harden’s departure. On the field, the Cubs got worse, but in the club house, the Cubs just got a whole lot better.

Yeah, Carlos Silva is nothing but sunshine in the clubhouse

seattlesundevil - December 18, 2009 reply

Silva... good in the clubhouse?

Wow. Ok!

Better than Bradley, but that's not saying much

though, if I remember correctly, outside of 2008, Silva’s had a pretty good clubhouse reputation.

There's the falling out with Johan as well

Didn't that happen in 2008?

(I’m just trying to save face now)

No, 2007

The Cubs are saddled with so many fucking awful contracts for players in decline it wouldn't surprise me if they sucked next year

And then you’ll see what a great clubhouse guy Silva is, if he is even on the team at that point.

Silva can be a giant ass in the clubhouse, so good luck for that.

He threatened bodily harm to our biggest star.

Really?

When was that?

I'll have to find the exact quote, but he said this about Ichiro in 2008.

Why does all locker room drama always involve Ichiro?

Sexson had some beef with him too.

Ichiro was good and his teammates weren't.

I'm sure jealousy of Ichiro's work ethic and

resentment at his introvertness had a lot to do with it.

Buhner said as much the other night.

"was"

Feels so good to see that….

That wasn't him

Wasn't that JJ?

Hasn't been released who it was

I just got confirmation that it wasn’t Silva, even though that’s who I thought.

He did say something about throwing someone up against a wall

Though he never specifically called out Ichiro

And didn't he say that in an interview with Baker?

Two Rs and Two Ls - December 18, 2009 reply

Something about Chief throwing some guys up against a wall?

I always thought it was Yuni that Silva wanted to throw up against the wall

He did make comments about throwing someone up against the wall, but he never specified who it was. A lot of people thought it was Ichiro, but it could have been Lopez or Yuni. I don’t remember the exact circumstances, but I think Yuni let some balls get past him during one of Silva’s starts, and Chef was frustrated with the defense behind him.

njpozner - December 18, 2009 reply

That's great, but who are the Chefs?

[/obligatory]

Two Rs and Two Ls - December 18, 2009 reply

Thanks for the clarification.

Ryan Dempster, before the trade

Dempster said Milton Bradley is a “really, really good guy” despite what the public perception is. Dempster said there were certain things he handled poorly and pointed out the fact Bradley is a better person and teammate than that.

It's simple logic, really.

You are the fan of a team that has not won a World Series in 101 years, ergo, you are not a racist.

Is up down? Is backwards forwards? Is black white?

I need medication

If I told you that it was possible that anyone would give up something for

Yuniesky Betancourt and Carlos Silva, everyone would be sending me to the funny farm.

Jack is amazing. We need to erect a statue of Jack in front of Safeco Field.

Coug1990 - December 18, 2009 reply

I already erected a statue.

in my pants.

Kyle Rancourt - December 18, 2009 reply

There is a hole in my heart where the pain used to be

WHERE IS THE PAIN

Chicago!

Fill it with dance!

James F'n X - December 18, 2009 reply

For some delicious schadenfreude check out Halos Heaven

Actually, don't ever go there. That site causes brain cancer.

A few thoughts on the Piniella/Bradley era

here and here and here and here

Jack Zduriencik Corcoran

My firstborn son finally has a name

Gotta get laid to have a son!

No Corcobaiting

That's your job

ZING

"I feeling very good about calling them 'my Mariners' again"

pathetic Cowherd radio promo.

He's a pompous douche

He always talks shit about all of ‘his teams’ here in Seattle… Colin Cowherd is the Tom Leykis of sports radio

Cougriculture - December 18, 2009 reply

Cowherd is an asswipe

The Typical Idiot Fan - December 18, 2009 reply

And an SC fan

Same difference…

tait644 - December 18, 2009 reply

Most SC Fans hate him too FWIW

bluemax - December 18, 2009 reply

His rant about fat people in particular pissed me off.

He’s an elitist fuckface.

Most of his rants don't even make sense.

They are just bizarre

Fearless Frog - December 19, 2009 reply

Watching GMZ play the rest of MLB is like watching Phil Ivey at his best.

James F'n X - December 18, 2009 reply

I wonder what Pedro thinks of this

msb?

So, find a good 1B, sign Felix and we have the perfect offseason.

Apparently, they're making progress on signing Gutierrez long term as well

There is no ceiling!

The sky is the limit.

THE FUCKING MOON!

Scruffy Lefty - December 19, 2009 reply

I love this team.

Of course they are.

YES

Fearless Frog - December 19, 2009 reply

How about a trade for James Lonely? Maybe Morrow for Lonely?

We already have a problem in our clubhouse with Bradley

we certainly don’t need any lonely hitters.

Loney.

James Loney.

And judging by some of the signs Dodgers fans bring to games, James is definitely not lonely

;-)

bluemax - December 18, 2009 reply

I thought you were making a James Bond reference, then I noticed his typo, and now I'm not sure whether or not you were

I know it was in Texas, but Milton Bradley is one year removed from having the highest OPS and OBP in the AL.

MFAN - December 18, 2009 reply

And the highest OBP/OPS in the AL from Texas is still really damn good anywhere else

this trade is made of awesome

Yeah, that's probably not going to happen here

But if we just picked up a 2 win DH/LF for the equivalent of $3m then I’m pretty happy.

And he's got a good chance to be better than 2 WAR, too.

.

nickmo - December 18, 2009 reply

Needs more "C" on the cap

Ok, I'm confused.

Are we sending them $6 million total along with Silva or $9 million total?

$9M

covering salary differences plus $6M on top

Thanks.

That makes sense.

$3m this year, then $6m over the next two years

Not sure how those two years are split up.

Stark reported it was $3M per year

My favorite part is that we've acquired a talented player despite his chemistry issues.

Which was my only concern that was left about this FO.

Fantastic.

Yes.

I was a little disappointed when I heard that they wanted no part of Bradly because of character issues. That was rumor and appears to have been unfounded, but at the time it made me oh-so-barely question Z.

Maybe Jack put some false information out on the rumor in hopes of preventing a bidding war (not a huge one, obviously, but still)

That does leave a lot of room to fill in the Rally Cuddle.

It is the challenge of a life time for Ken Griffey Jr.

Griffey thought he was playing to be a Hall of Famer, but really it was all practice leading to this moment to change a young man’s life forever. Starring Eddie Murphy as Ken Griffey Jr. and Dennis Quaid as Milton Bradley in “The Milton Bradley Story: ‘FUCK Eric Wedge!’”

I Lick Squirrels - December 18, 2009 reply

Rec'd for Dennis Quaid as a black man.

MB

Is Lithium a drug banned by MLB?

cwithboat - December 18, 2009 reply

No. But it might not be the best thing for someone like Bradley.

Maybe horse traquilzers would work better.

good question

And could he still hit on qualudes or vallumn?

Xanax and Zoloft

And maybe some Propecia, just to see what happens

So I didn't see this mentioned, sorry if it was, but...

The Cubs come to Seattle this year. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see Bradley take Silva deep a time or two?

I've been reading a lot of post about this at various sites, and the concensus seems to be that Silva would be a .5-1 WAR playing in 2010.

Does anyone else feel that this is a little high? The guys stuff is some of the worst I have ever seen. He doesn’t even have a sinker anymore, just a crappy 90 mph fastball, and his CH is below average. He cannot get LH out to save his life. I would project him to be below replacement level.

Sorry Brett meant for this to be a new comment

It's all good man. Everything today is good. It's Silva Departure Day!

There is a chance of this.

Probably more cahnce of him being replacement level or worse though.

I could reasonably see him being 1 WAR or so in the NL Central provided he gets back to inducing groundballs and not walking anyone

I just can't see him getting GB with his stuff, his straight FB are line drive fodder.

Even just not walking anyone might be enough for .5 WAR or 1 WAR in the NL

Yes, it seems very high to me.

He was tremendously unlucky in 2008, and many expected a rebound in 2009. But in 2009, he was really, actually awful. He deserved every awful result he got. Forget the NL/AL difference, he was not a AAA pitcher last year, and now, coming off of injuries and continued terrible play, he’s supposed to be a .5-1.0 WAR player? Jason Vargas was at 0.4, and I see Vargas’ 09 as the peak, the absolute maximum, that Silva could get in ‘10. Not sure he’d pitch enough to even get to 0.4 WAR….

Now that the excitement has worn off

I don’t love this deal as much as I thought I did.

It feels great to be rid of Silva but he could have been cut. Essentially, the M’s are signing Bradley for 2 years, 6 million dollars. He’s going to have to stay healthy and do a lot with the bat to be worth a couple wins a year at DH. Bradley is cheap but not without his issues.

Not saying this isn’t good, just that it doesn’t make me cream myself like Cliff Lee does.

jose luis - December 18, 2009 reply

But Bradley is good and who knows if he'll have any issues over here?

Bradley only has to be worth 1.5 wins over two years to be worth 2 years and 6M

it adds a potential impact bat, and gives us the hope for some return on the Silva sunk cost. If anything, this trade is even better than the Silva trade.

I love this typo.

If anything, this trade is even better than the Silva trade.

Oh wait, I was thinking free agent signing.

God dammit

you know what I meant

*If anything, this trade is even better than the Lee trade

seattlesundevil - December 18, 2009 reply

I really want to turn this green...

Unintentional comedy cracks me up to no end.

Yes, but we're paying him like he's a one win player

We just got him for the market value of Willie Bloomquist

Exactly.

That says more

about the insanity of the market for Willie Bloomquist

Two years for $6mil is nothing.

It’s a bargain.

Eyebrows - December 18, 2009 via mobile reply

Also we never have to see Silva again, which has an intangible value that won't show up in the financial reports

You forget, the Cubs come to Seattle this year

Hopefully they will have realized their mistake and DFA'd him

Well, Rev isn't happy

“I cannot put a smiley face on this. Even if they get three moths out of Milton Bradley before he goes bananas, that will be a great three months of production. They were going to eat the cost of stupid Silva anyway so the sunk cost on this is not affected.

Chemistry is overstated, especially when it is a masher supposedly doing the damage in the clubhouse when you don’t want to face that he is doing the damage against US at the plate."

I think the Angels hear footsteps….

They're hearing footsteps like Wile E. Coyote hears footsteps when Roadrunner zooms past him

Nick S - December 18, 2009 reply

Meep, Meep motherfucker

If only...

their IF is cost controlled and amazing. Its still tight.

Are you sure the Rev said that?

It seems to make sense.

I had to check the username twice, too

I think he’s given in to the power of GMZ

This does not compute.

It was surprisingly coherent

I think the best thing about this trade...

…is that the Cubs and their fans are sitting around acting like this is a great trade for THEM. If you don’t know you’re being bamboozled, you’ll get bamboozled again. I just hope the rest of the league feels the way Chicago feels about this move.

Johnny Slick - December 18, 2009 reply

That's the brilliant thing

Jack Z’s trades have actually made sense for the team on the other end. The Cubs desperately wanted to be rid of Bradley, and the Phillies got to restock their farm system. Likewise, last year, the Mets needed bullpen help and GMZ gave it to them.

The man just has a gift for giving people things that they really shouldn’t want in the first place

I would be terrified to play serious poker with this guy. You could have a full boat, and he's just sitting there looking at you.

And at the exact moment you push all in, you’d realize he had 4 of a kind.

I think he's a real life Keyser Soze

Little quiet bald guy in the corner nobody notices, but in reality he owns every mutherfucker in the room.

The man just has a gift for giving people things that they really shouldn’t want in the first place

This… if LL ever wants to change its slogan….

They've already 'shopped Bradley into an M's hat if anyone is interested. I always enjoy that first shot of the guy in my team's gear.

I like how even the photoshops have the hats not fitting them very well

Graham MacAree - December 20, 2009 reply

Thats exactly how I wear my M's hat ya'all

Seattle is a white town though!

blackvanilla - December 18, 2009 reply

I see more grey and green.

waldo rojas - December 18, 2009 reply

Man that's a pretty poor job

Fearless Frog - December 19, 2009 reply

What a useful comment!

So, ballparking from Matthew's "Attempt to Quantify the Division" post

here it looks like we’re improving by 1.5-2 wins with this trade, if no other moves are made?

(I’d edge towards the higher end of that because it’s more likely that he’ll take at-bats from Carp at DH who was projected as a 1-win player than Saunders at LF who was projected at 1.5, but who knows.)

JUNE 22, 23, 24

Cubs coming to Seattle. Silva’s Return to Seattle!

If he hasn't been DFA!

Still waiting for BCB to show up

I don't get it.

We blew that shit up

I Lick Squirrels - December 18, 2009 reply

That thread is insufferable.

Interesting to see the perspectives, but wow.

CapSea - December 18, 2009 reply

Which thread was this?

appleshampoo - December 19, 2009 reply

BCB thread about the trade.

They have a community where almost literally a third of them are traditionalists, a third of them recognize advanced stats but only give them mild weight, and a third of them are really into advanced stats. So they are essentially at war with each other in that thread.

CapSea - December 19, 2009 reply

So do the Mariners have the most black people of any MLB team now?

Griffey, Hall, Snell, and now Bradley. I can’t think of any other teams with more than three.

Snell isn't black

Half.

I Lick Squirrels - December 18, 2009 reply

Figgins too

drblacknwhite - December 18, 2009 reply

How did I forget him?

I honestly was thinking the same thing.

A caller on the post game show asked about that a few years ago. I really didn’t think about it again until the Figgins signing and thought “Wow, our team has had so much turn over.” Then I wondered if this will change the marketing at all. Like if two or three of the black players are in one of the Mariner commercials together talking about the up coming season.

Larry Stone linked to a list

the Globe put together last season

That's pretty damn awesome

This is all a ploy to have Griffey's son tryout for the mariners.

Since according to Griffey the lack of black players is one of the things that turned his apparently uber-talented son off of baseball.

CapSea - December 18, 2009 reply

You forgot Jack Z (see above)

Wait a second.

Black guy. DH. Switch hitter. Chemistry problems.
There was once another.

This is profile profiling.

Quick, ask Bradley what his thoughts are on dinosaurs.

Trick question!

no such thing!

Seattle like many a team before it has fallen for the Bradley trap. Bradley isn’t your run of the mill malcontent he’s a team killer malcontent.

Sordid - December 18, 2009 reply

Subject Line

And this has been covered over and over and over. No risk

Subject line please.

And yeah we get it

But he's a malcontent that can hit the snot out of the ball so there's that

We didn’t trade for an orphan-adopting kitten-sitter, we traded for a baseball player. And we got a pretty damn good one.

This is a tough one for the the results based analysis crowd

One the one hand “MOAR POWA!”
On the other “OH NOES Clubhouse Chemistry!”

Which will prevail? This is like Celebrity Deathmatch.
My money is on
MOAR POWA! > Clubhouse Chemistry

Remember, you can’t hit dingers with clubhouse chemistry

Silva isn't your run of the mill pitcher.

Texas was fine with Bradley

They just didn’t want to give him a big contract to bring him back

no no no he's a team killer malcontent!

Don’t let the facts get in the way of a half-assed narrative!

Maybe it will work out for Seattle or more likely he becomes disgruntled and accuse everyone in Seattle of being racists

Sordid - December 18, 2009 reply

And then we cut him

What’s your point?

Yeah Cubs fans are awesome

but 101 years of suffering!

I am sure they are all nothing but polite and courteous

Especially the ones in the bleachers

And good sports when things go badly, as well!

They're a blast to be around no matter where you sit.

Gosh

Who to believe…

Drunk bleacher fans would never do such a thing

I can imagine why nothing's been reported

Hate it when they accidently drop beers

They're the reason I root against the Cubs.

Like the Red Sox before them.

Wouldn't break my heart to see them never win anything

They're doing a pretty good job of ensuring that themselves

Sometimes you just need to call a spade a spade.

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD

Via Baker on twitter

Milton Bradley says getting to play with Griffey is ’’surreal’’. One of two players, along with Barry Bonds, he wanted autograph from.

So that should at least jump-start Junior’s good influence on him.

Sounds like an invitation to tickle

On my pre-season spreadsheet I am bumping Bradley up to a 2.5 from a 2 on that comment alone.

Repeatable analysis!

I actually agree with you, but I love adjustments like this.

On my sheet the team is at 88 wins and with a 0 at 1B still.

The reports I have been reading is that Bradley does fine when the media stays away from him and when the team doesn’t expect him to be part of the clubhouse leadership. If Bradley respects Griffey that is huge to take away Bradley’s biggest fault.

That's a beautiful number.

I’d sure like to see that sheet. But isn’t Carp a 1.0 WAR player?

I don't think the team will go with Carp on Opening Day.

So I have: 1B -- 0 WAR 0$

You can put in a 0 or you could put in a minor league player. It really is just your best guess.

88 seems a tad optimistic to me. Going off what Matthew posted the other day, I came up with ~85.25.

xero3k - December 18, 2009 reply

Although I'd certainly rather you be right.

xero3k - December 18, 2009 reply

Call it a 2 win upgrade at DH

We’re at 86.5 if you do that

Pointless to try to narrow this down to something specific

Implying vagueness takes more keystrokes

Yes, but it is something to do while we stare out the window and wait for spring to come again.

I was at 86 when Matthew did his post the other day. I added 2 WAR at DH with Bradley.

Quick question on Bradley:

Not having not really paid much attention to Bradley the baseball player, is he a better power hitter from either side?

Zwakamatsu - December 18, 2009 reply

Better from the right side for his career.

Better question:

Where can I look this up myself?

Zwakamatsu - December 18, 2009 reply

Baseball-Reference

Further:

Find the player’s page, then look for “splits” under “standard batting.”

baseball-reference or fangraphs

err not fangraphs

Specifically

Here

Everyone seems to be overlooking the biggest dollar factor in this deal

With Silva gone, the Buffet Budget goes back to normal.

Granted, the M’s are sending millions to Chicago to help them cope, but it’s still a net win.

Plus from what I’ve seen of the midwest, Silva-sized meals must be factored into everything from daycare on up.