Some quick notes, then you can get back to sleeping/eating/opening late-arriving presents:
- The Carlos Silva deal doesn’t pass most of our basic litmus tests. In fact, it may not pass any of them. This signing does not make the Mariners significantly better in 2008, and ties up significant amount of resources that could have been utilized better. To say that he can be a league average pitcher, and this is the going rate for league average pitchers, is uncreative at best, irresponsible at worst. You win in business by doing things differently, and better. This is neither.
- The Phillies apparently had offers out to Geoff Jenkins and Mike Cameron, and Jenkins accepted first. From the relevant media reports, it seemed as if the Phillies were content with either. As I’ve written before, Cameron may end up being one of the best value signings of this offseason, and is most certainly a better choice than Jenkins.
- The Rangers are bringing in all sorts of guys, essentially throwing them up against a wall and hoping some will stick. They’ve traded for Josh Hamilton, Chris Shelton, and Ben Broussard, signed Milton Bradley, Kazuo Fukumori, and… Edgardo Alfonzo? Hamilton is the only one in the group that has any long term value, and I really like that deal for Texas (I was never really enamored with any of the DVD trio).As for the rest, they’re all stopgaps (Alfonzo aside), and it’s interesting that the Rangers are taking this approach. I can’t imagine them contending in this American League climate, and yet they seem to be doing everything in their power to enter the no-fly zone of mediocrity. Perhaps they should read about how another team in their division is going about solving the same problem.
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