Comments on: Report: Rangers and Yu Darvish agree to deal

By: calichowd

calichowd — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:16:10 +0000

So with the 51m fee to Japan that works to 18.5m per year for six years. He better have a better Gyro ball than DiceK.

By: rebeljpl

rebeljpl — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:08:21 +0000

Contract terms being reported in Dallas as 6 years 60 million.

By: phillieschamps2012

phillieschamps2012 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:03:07 +0000

“There is no upside with Papelbon. He is regressing, and therefore, past his peak.”

Yeah, a lifetime 2.33 ERA. That’s really regressing. He sucks. He’ll blow 15 saves next year, right? What a joke.

By: proudlycanadian

proudlycanadian — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:56:51 +0000

Bob Barker is also reporting that there is a deal.

By: marzalmighty

marzalmighty — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:55:21 +0000

Let’s say Yu gets 15 wins and has an ERA under 3. Is out a bad signing? No. Just as you can’t predict how well he will pitch due to lack of MLB experience, you can’t assume he won’t do well either. Its an unknown. The Rangers are paying for UPSIDE. There is no upside with Papelbon. He is regressing, and therefore, past his peak.

Lastly…
“…Valentine is a idiot.” Really? A idiot?

By: cur68

cur68 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:53:53 +0000

me too.

By: nategearhart

nategearhart — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:48:29 +0000

I know, cur. I was jokin’.

By: sknut

sknut — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:44:31 +0000

Ryan Howard’s $125,000,000 – Jan 18, 2012 at 4:39 PM
“Shhh! If you keep quiet, maybe they won’t notice me.”

I am not sure whats better the comment or that someone set up a word press account with that name. You sir get the internets for today and we will throw in tomorrow as well.

By: phillieschamps2012

phillieschamps2012 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:41:43 +0000

Ryan Howard’s 125 million dollar contract makes makes more sense than spending over 100 million (including posting fee) that the Rangers just spent on a pitcher that has never thrown a pitch in the majors.

By: vanmorrissey

vanmorrissey — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:41:29 +0000

…..and they’re not costing the team what, if Yu gets it, like $120 millon total. Awful lot for an unproven MLB level pitcher. Dice K II? Who pitched in Japan in front of MLB scouts and other or so smart. So don’t say there’s no precedent set here.

By: Ryan Howard's $125,000,000

Ryan Howard's $125,000,000 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:39:28 +0000

Shhh! If you keep quiet, maybe they won’t notice me.

By: phillieschamps2012

phillieschamps2012 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:39:24 +0000

Church, I stated it on (2) different comments:

“I guarantee you that the Rangers are giving Darvish big money over this 5-6 year deal.”

“giving a 6 year contract to an unknown for big time money is foolish.”

Next time open your eyes and read my comments fully before telling me what I did or did not state.

By: nategearhart

nategearhart — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:38:14 +0000

I’mma just call you Phil….
I don’t think the Darvish and Papelbon signings can be really compared. I personally don’t put a lot of stock in the whole “closer mentality” business and I don’t like saves, so I personally think that paying that much for just about ANY reliever is a bad idea.
Darvish is tricky…I concede that it is very, very risky, especially when you tack on the posting fee. But as I’ve said, what makes me more comfortable about it (btw I’m not a Rangers fan but I have deep ties to the area) is that so many expert scouts et al are quite confident that he’ll do very well.
As far as the money goes, maybe the boost in Asian fan base will help alleviate that a bit? Granted it’s not the same as with the Mariners, who play in a Pacific hub city and are (part?) owned by a Japanese business. But I bet it will help.
There is a chance that this deal could end up making the Rangers look really stupid (people STILL talk shit on the Sox-DiceK business). And I have this feeling that Nolan Ryan is NOT a fan of looking really stupid. So I’m willing to bet that he has covered a lot of bases in making sure this Yu dude will not be a complete bust. That, to me, holds a little water, too.

By: rebeljpl

rebeljpl — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:37:41 +0000

All I have to say at the end of the day is, if Darvish was to enter the draft today he would go first overall. Btw I don’t believe the gyro ball is in his repitoire, hes not a junk dealer like most Japanese pitchers. Power pitcher, with great command on a high 90′s fastball and a Chris Carpenter-like curveball for sure. Cannot say what all the other pitches are, just saying what’s been said before.

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:34:53 +0000

Except that’s not what you sad. Make yourself more clear next time.

By: phillieschamps2012

phillieschamps2012 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:31:54 +0000

Fastball, curveball, slider, changeup, knuckleball. They are the only pitches that really exist. All the other made up names are variations of the 5 I just mentioned or just plain BS.

By: cur68

cur68 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:30:11 +0000

Those aren’t pitches: they’re locations. Except the beanball. That’s a crime…unless you’re the Durham Bull: then its comedy gold.

By: antlerclaws

antlerclaws — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:29:26 +0000

Dang it! Curse Yu! (That will never get old.)

By: phillieschamps2012

phillieschamps2012 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:29:03 +0000

Ruben Amaro never makes mistakes. Never. Best GM in baseball.

By: baseballisboring

baseballisboring — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:26:55 +0000

Yeah? Which front office do you work for? Couldn’t be the Phillies, cause you’d just sit at RAJ’s lap and praise every move he makes, there’d never be any dialogue or constructive criticism.

By: cur68

cur68 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:24:15 +0000

Shouldn’t you guys define what you mean by a “pitch”? A fastball has 4 different permutations (cutter, 4 seam, 2 seam & splitter but its still a fastball) (as is a slider though it goes by a different name). If you define each of those as a “pitch” Darvish could easily have 7 pitches (gyro makes 8!). However if we go by discrete pitches then…FB, slider (still a FB: do you count it?), change, curve, knuckle…gyro ? What’d I miss?

By: phillieschamps2012

phillieschamps2012 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:21:50 +0000

nategearhart,

Let’s take this from another angle. According to most of the pundits, the worse signing last year was the contract the Nats gave to Jayson Werth, 7 years/126 million. Obviously, we know that the Nationals had to overpay for him to lure him to a team that is rebuilding. But, Werth was given that contract because he was very successful against MLB pitching. Pretty good hitter. And he will bounce back this year, I guarantee you. The pundits this year say the worse signing was Papelbon, even though the guy was the best closer on the FA market. At least Werth and Papelbon have excelled at the MLB level. Darvish has not thrown a single pitch in the majors, the Rangers pay over 50 million for a posting fee and now sign Darvish to a 6 year contract worth god only knows million of dollars. How can this be viewed as a smart signing?

By: nategearhart

nategearhart — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:13:58 +0000

I laughed at that too….I’m guessing:
1 – high and outside
2 – high and inside
3 – low and away
4 – low and inside
5 – high and center
6 – low and center
7 – right down the middle
8 – in the dirt
9 – beanball

By: knicks4life

knicks4life — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:13:20 +0000

Don’t sign him he’s garbage

By: phillieschamps2012

phillieschamps2012 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:10:39 +0000

Bobby Valentine is a idiot. He couldn’t tell the difference between a changeup and a curveball during many telecasts I saw him analyze.

By: nategearhart

nategearhart — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:09:15 +0000

The analogy was mostly a joke to highlight the fact that no one ever really KNOWS what’s going to happen. But these baseball people can make a way more educated guess than you or I can.

Speaking of false analogies though, I don’t understand your Papelbon one. Again, who knows what will happen, but I can demonstrate that before last season his HR, walk and hit rates increased every season. Maybe he turned it around. But I can’t think of a deal anywhere near that 4 years-$50 mil for a not-Rivera reliever that worked out well for the team. That’s the knock: based on his role and the history, the odds of him being worth that much are very slim.

By: phillieschamps2012

phillieschamps2012 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:07:56 +0000

5-6 years for millions of dollars….not the same comparison. Bad analogy.

By: churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged

churchoftheperpetuallyoutraged — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:06:22 +0000

A 5-6 year contract for a guy that has never thrown a pitch in the majors…

Every single player selected in the MLB draft, and signs a contract, is under team control for six years. They also haven’t thrown a pitch/hit a ball in MLB. So….

By: rebeljpl

rebeljpl — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:05:02 +0000

Bobby Valentine has stated he has 7-9 different pitches AND he’s managed against him so there!

By: phillieschamps2012

phillieschamps2012 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:04:37 +0000

I’d rather pay 50 million to a proven closer than pay 50 million for a pitcher that has never thrown a pitch in the Majors.