Law: Top 50 free agents

Links (12)

Today would be a good day to be CC Sabathia
Published 11/14/2008 by D&A at NJ.com: Pride of the Yankees
Wouldn't it be fun to step into CC Sabathia's shoes today, just to know what it feels like to have multiple people offer you over $100 million to come work for them for a few years? That's ultimately what baseball's richest teams are going to do today, with free agency bidding now permitted . But ...

Keith Law's Top 50 Free Agents
Published 11/14/2008 by Tim Dierkes at MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
ESPN's Keith Law has his top 50 free agents ranked.  As always, it's a must-read.  Law has never been afraid to go against the grain.  For example, when he wrote his 2006 list he called Barry Zito, "a third or fourth starter with the reputation of a one or two."  Anyway a few highlights from this year's list: ...

Friday Applesauce
Published 11/14/2008 by Eric Simon at Amazin' Avenue
... content is somewhat geared towards fantasy league play, most of what I've read so far could very easily double as non-fantasy content. At Beyond the Boxscore, Peter Bendix breaks down the Nick Swisher-to-the-Yankees deal, and concludes -- as everyone else has -- that the Yankees bought low and likely made out like bandits on this one. Further reaction on the trade can be found at South Side Sox and Pinstripe Alley. Keith Law has posted his free agent rankings over at ESPN.com. Baseball Digest Daily has posted their rankings, ...

This Week's Links (11/10-11/14)
Published 11/14/2008 by Vegas Watch (VegasWatch@gmail.com) at Vegas Watch
RIP, FJM. I recently discovered this site, which breaks down various college sports polls. Dave Jones' ballot is pretty amusing. Free agent rankings: Law, Passan, MLBTR. Dave Cameron is up for a $10,000 scholarship. Go vote for him. Scott Boras: still awesome. KLaw gives us the names of the guys who voted for Volquez for RoY. And Shysterball brings us an "explanation" from the guy who left Lincecum off his Cy ballot.

Dandy Randy ?
Published 11/14/2008 by ToyCannon at True Blue LA
... stealth mode or it is not going to happen. For fun sake the Dodgers could sign Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Greg Maddux giving us 3 HOF in our geriatric rotation for probably less then 20 Million. The bullpen would be shot by June but think of the legacy. Anyway real Free Agency is here and Keith Law did his top 50 breakdown. Dodger fans will be pleased to note that 3 of the top 6 free agents rated by Law are now ex Dodgers (Manny (3), Lowe (5), Furcal (6)) Keith Law top 50 Free Agents The plus is that he does think we can end up ...

Tigers, Wood Make for Bad Headline Puns
Published 11/15/2008 by Ian Casselberry at Bless You Boys
With so many teams having needs at the same positions - closer, shortstop, catcher, starting pitcher, etc. - any move by a team can end up causing ripple effects throughout baseball.  The Chicago Cubs tossed a rock into the pond earlier this week when they acquired Kevin Gregg from the Florida Marlins, thus setting their closer from last year, Kerry Wood, free into the open market.  In his ranking of the top 100 free agents, ESPN.com's Keith Law considers Wood the best reliever available.  He works ...

Sunday notes: Yankees flexing their muscles
Published 11/16/2008 by Ed Valentine at Bugs & Cranks
Let’s just supposed the New York Yankees sign CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, then pull off a trade for San Diego ace Jake Peavy. It’s not completely insane to think all three of those guys could be pitching for the Yankees next season. Yankee management is obviously not messing around this off-season. The Yankees have already made CC Sabathia a huge offer, and are ready to make offers to Burnett and Derek Lowe. With the Padres having trouble finding a trade partner for Peavy, the Yankees appear willing to step in there as well. On top of all of that, I ...

Read: Keith Law’s Top 50 Free Agents
Published 11/17/2008 by Matthew Cerrone at MetsBlog.com
In what is a must-read article, at ESPN.com, Keith Law ranks the Top 50 Free Agents for this off-season. Keep in mind, as Tim Dierkes pointed out at MLB Trade Rumors, Law has proven to be very astute in his predictions, noting in 2006 that Barry Zito should be regarded as only a third starter. Interestingly, this time around, Law ranks A.J. Burnett ahead of Derek Lowe, who is ranked ahead of Ryan Dempster, who is ranked ahead of Oliver Perez. In terms of closers, Law’s top free-agent closer is Kerry Wood, of whom he writes, “However, for a one-inning, shutdown closer, you’re not going to do much ...

Kerry Wood? The Quest For Relief Seeks a Pun
Published 12/6/2008 by Ian Casselberry at Bless You Boys
... Could this be true?  The Tigers chasing the reliever that ESPN.com's Keith Law says is the best on the free agent market?  After Dave Dombrowski said that he ...

Red Sox Winter Meetings Preview
Published 12/7/2008 by bottomlinesox@gmail.com (The Bottomline) at The Bottom Line
With some help from MLBTradeRumors.com, The Bottom Line complied the latest pre-Winter Meeting rumors... enjoy. [image] ESPN's Buster Onley says CC Sabathia, who will be sitting down with the Red Sox and Yankees today or tomorrow, may want to wait for Mark Teixeira to sign first. If the Angels don't land Sabathia, they could be expected to compete with the Yankees $140MM offer. Olney adds that the Sox hope to sign Kevin Youkilis and Jon Lester long-term, in the wake of the Dustin Pedroia deal. Peter Gammons suggested a deal for Youkilis could get done quickly. * * * * Ken Rosenthal explains why the idea of Sabathia signing with the Red Sox is not ...

The Waiting Game
Published 11 days ago by ManuelTortolero at Planeta Béisbol
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The Cold Stove: MLB Winners and Losers In a Winter of Inactivity
Published 2 days ago by tyduffy at The Big Lead
It is hard to assess winners and losers in this season’s free agent market.  Nearly every team not opening a new stadium in the Bronx is battening down for more favorable economic winds.  With spending down $250 million from 2007, the Halcyon days of $60 million for Aaron Rowand seem remotely extravagant. Yankees (Winners): The Yankees signed three of Keith Law’s top four free agents.  If Manny Ramirez keeps lingering without a contract, Boras could grant them all four.  There likely will be more hype for Sabathia, Burnett, and Teixeira than benefit from them, as those players still must replace ...