Bill James has an article up on his website that tries to quantify MLB strength-of-schedule into runs.

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Say hello to your 2008 National League West Champion Baltimore Orioles - Orioles Hangout Community

The first link is directly to the article, which requires a subscription. The second is to the thread at OriolesHangout.com where it was posted, with a quote from the article directly relating to the Orioles, and where I found it.

Here's the quoted portion:

Think about that. The strongest team in the weakest division of the weaker league had a 156-run advantage over the weakest team in the strongest division of the stronger league.

The difference in runs scored between the overall highest- and lowest-scoring teams was 264, and the difference in runs allowed was 357.

That kind of advantage is HUGE.

Of course, helps if the team in question was BETTER...:lol:

I do think every team should play every other team X amount of times, but that is all I can think that you would do

after all, the talent in each division changes from year to year - last year was the Rays, next year could be another dark horse that makes their division tougher for the other teams

although it probably sucks having to play in the same division as both the red sox and the yankees every year...

Giambi goes to Oakland in a one year deal..

Baldelli is close to agreement with Red Sox.. hometown boy.. loads of potential.. could be interesting..

Smoltz is close to an agreement with the Red Sox.. not sure how I feel about that one yet.

Is smoltz going as a starter or is he coming out of the bullpen?

I don't think they've decided on where to fit him in yet. He could obviously be a spot starter, but he could make a killer setup guy or middle relief guy.

Someone even threw out that he could be a closer.. but.. umm.. I guess they haven't heard of this guy named Papelbon. ;)

I'm confident that the Dodgers are going the land Manny. Everyone else is too scared to touch him for the amount of money he wants.

it's not the money, it's the pain-in-the-ass-itude.

Don't count out the skanks.. if there's talk of him heading to the AL at all, they'll swoop in. Bet it.

I think we should close this one down and start up a fresh '09 thread.

Go right ahead :)

Technically, I'd consider this part of the 2008 season; I'd start a new thread closer to spring training.

I'd say when the Orioles find a permanent spring training site, but that could take another decade...

Really? I'd consider the last out of the World Series to be the end of the 2008 season. Bring on 2009!

Red Sox take Saito. Good luck with him. He's got a short shelf life.

I seen that Sox signing Saito. I don't understand why, though.

He is up there in age, Papelbon is the closer, Okajima isn't bad. Plus with them getting Smoltz I can only imagine he is going to be in the rotation and not coming out of the 'pen.

The Sox are busy in trying to make sure they have a bullpen they can depend on. While Saito is up in age, he has 88 career saves and a 1.95 ERA in 180 games. He also had a 2.49 ERA in 45 games last year. So basically he signed a one year deal for $1.5 mil (up to 7 mil in incentives) and the Sox get a reliever on the cheap that could help them out if he stays healthy.

They signed Penny on a one year deal, Baldelli on a one year deal, Kotsay to a one year deal and Smoltz on a one year deal.

DJ is very happy that Rickey Henderson made the Hall of Fame. However, DJ is upset that Jim Rice got in while Tim Raines and Bert Blylevan and Alan Trammell did not.

DJ finds that to be a traveshamockery.

And I shall leave you with the greatest thing I have ever read, courtesy of Deadspin...

Amen!

Lowe is going to Atlanta. Good move by Atlanta.. surprised the Dodgers didn't make a more concerted effort for him

Paul Byrd is sitting out the first part of the season to spend time with family .. I'm guessing he hopes that someone will get injured and thus his demand will increase.

the Dodgers didn't want to commit 4 years (at $15M per) to a 35 year old

I get it, but he's a horse. It's different than committing years to someone like Burnett who has health issues. Lowe has the ability to give 200+ innings of work.

For how long?

who knows.. but track records say quite a bit.


anyway, in more important news, Boston signed Youk to a 4 year deal worth around $40 million with an option for a 5th year. Boston is doing the right thing by this, and even though I wanted Tex, when you look at Tex's numbers next to Youk's, they are pretty much the same with Youk edging out Tex in everything except for a .10% in OBP.

So now that Pedroia and Youk are signed on the cheap, Boston just needs to Secure a great catcher and a ShortStop (if Lowrie fall's on his face that is).. who knows what will happen to Lowell..

Also heard that Boston is trying to secure Bay for a few years as well..

A prediction for the 2009 season:

At least 3 teams realizing they can no longer compete nor make money, will declare bankruptcy, forcing baseball to shut down for at least 2 weeks while those owners refuse to sell or field a team and MLB tries to take over the teams forcing court action.

The end result will be major restructuring of the collective bargaining agreement that includes cal caps and true revenue sharing. The Yanks of course will protest and Steinbrenner will threaten to close down the Yankees.

Just a prediction.

Some possible teams: Toronto, Pittsburgh, Florida, Cincy, Milwaukee, Oakland, San Diego, Minnesota, Texas, Houston, Colorado, Seattle, Philly, Chisox, Washington and Kansas City. Baltimore, The Angels and Cleveland maybe in there also.

There are a few of those owners that are losing their asses in this economy and cannot afford to have a team that doesn't make money and the market to buy is extremely low (can you say less than what the owner paid for the team) unless you are the Cubs, Dodgers, Yanks, Bosox.

My top 3 guesses at going the bankruptcy route: Pitt, Toronto and Oakland, with most of the others not far behind.

If anyone declares bankruptcy without trying to sell, Congress will be all over the sport.

No way Selig allows it; we'll see Mark Cuban owning the Pirates first :p

The Cubs just sold for $900 million.

And what can Congress do? Take away the anti-trust exemption? Congress can't keep a company from going bankrupt and baseball doesn't want the teams to be equal shareholders and distribute the wealth evenly throughout the teams. I think there will be some owners that don't care about whether baseball loses it's anti-trust, when all they see are losses.

Selig won't have much choice, if the team can't make payroll, it can't make payroll.

If you remember during the last CBA Selig himself said there were teams that had tapped MLB of all the possible loans they could and may not make payroll. The economy is now worse, sponsorship for the smaller clubs is down, ticket sales are way down and there are some owners that can no longer afford having the money pit.

Again, if a team can't make payroll, if the owner decides to file bankruptcy and not field a team, all Selig can do is sue, that would take months, he may get a court injunction but he can't force an owner that shows the team has no money to pay the salaries and the players aren't going to play for free. MLB can't afford to pay 3-4 team salaries in cities that are bleeding money.

Ok, Cuban buys the Pirates, who buys the Reds, the Blue Jays, the Royals? Who is willing enough in this economy to spend hundreds of millions on something that does nothing but loses money?

That's also the Cubs. They sellout every game, have a tremendous national following and probably rank 3rd in worth behind the Yanks and Bosox. Try selling KC, Houston, Cincy, Pitts, Detroit, Cleveland, Oakland, Arizona and so on and tell me then what they are worth.

In KC's case you probably won't find anyone willing to spend over $150 Million and that is pushing it.

I think to make a point, we'll see owners declaring bankruptcy and shutting down.

They can use it as an opportunity to take away the exemption.

Selig would have to find a way. A team hasn't simply FAILED since the 1890s, and that happening on his watch would destroy any legacy he is trying to acheive.

Oh please. Someone will always be there willing to buy, whether it is for investment purposes (buying low) or pure ego ("saving" the team).

That has never been a problem.

You are WAY overthinking this issue.

well Andy Petite must have read your post Pan.. he signed for $5.5 mil with the skanks today :p

wanted 16 but took 5.. (shh.. we won't include the incentive package) hehe

That must sting for him considering he was initially offered 10.

In other news, Oliver Perez, the human enigma has signed a 3 year deal with the Mets. Maybe now they can focus their efforts on acquiring Orlando Hudson.

Dodgers offered Manny 1 year@25mil and he turned it down!!??!!


It isn't like teams have been beating down his door to pick him up.

manny is after years, he wants a minimum of 3 years.

Dodgers had already offered 3@45 if I remember and he wanted 25 per year. Now with Tex out of the way, the demand for Manny has gone downhill really, but don't count him out yet, Boras is great at creating a market, although at this point, if the yankees aren't lying.. there are only a handful of teams that can afford him.

There has only been a handful of teams from the get go that could afford him.

I know that Boras is a master of spin, but if teams were really interested I think they would have signed him by now. Boras and Manny are just holding out hope that someone is going to blow them away with an offer, when imo, the teams are waiting to see how lowball they can go on a deal because no one else is biting.

He needs to be careful. REALLY careful.

PCR is in eleven days, and Dunn and Abreu, to name two, are still on the market and apparently lowering their demands at least to a point.

I'd give him three years, though. I think most of that "Manny being Manny" crap was a Boston media creation without much substance, and even if he is eccentric (which we know) he'll be a hell of a hitter for three years.

Just remember that during July, when he was "tanking" in order to be traded, he had his best month of the season (before going crazy in LA).

Being a Boston fan.. I'd take him back.. but there's really no place for him now..

The yankees would have been the dope if they signed him.. he could just sit on the bench, have fun and hit in the DH spot.

He'll end up in SF or LA probably.

I, as an A's fan wouldn't have minded seeing him in Oakland before they got Holliday.

Y'all might want to sit down for this (especially if you're a Yankees fan).

According to Sports Illustrated, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003, his final year with the Texas Rangers when won both the AL Home Run title and AL MVP award.

*shock* who would've ever guessed Alex doped!?!?!!!

I couldn't believe this when it happened. That would make him the 2nd highest player in the entire league behind A-Rod for the year. Why wouldn't you take that? Nobody is going to pay for him except LA, and it's not going to get them that deep into the postseason, if at all, when they do pay for him.

Ramirez signed an 8 year, 160 million dollar deal with the red sox, and by baseball contracts, he outperformed that deal. The Sox held two option years of 20 Million each year, and he did not want them to up those years, which was the source of his friction with the team. He was traded to L.A. and put up amazing numbers. Signing a one year deal is a risk . Generally, a player would balk at a one year deal at a higher per/year rate and take more guaranteed money in a longer deal if the per/year rate is not significantly different.

Manny Ramirez will go down as on of the greatest hitters of all time. Look at his career statistics, they are unreal. Yes, his fielding is below average, but he does have a strong arm.

I would put good money on him signing no less than a three year deal for $60 million.

You have to look at the enormous amount of money in terms of baseball contracts solely.

Trust me, I'm a Manny fan.. would love to have him in Boston again, (provided that he actually hustled and played) but while I know where you're coming from he could easily sign a one year deal for $25 million with options tacked on the end of it. When the market has run out it's run out. Manny at this point is just hoping that the Nationals or the Yankees come after him. I don't see him going to NY, so that leaves the Dodgers and Washington.

So, we know the Dodgers aren't going to take more than a guaranteed 2 year deal and I doubt the Natl's would go more than two.. why not just take the one year deal, keep the 25 million and wait for the market to free up next year? He's a top 5 right handed hitter of all time.. he doesn't have a bad image as say.. Bonds or McGuire so.. he would have no problems finding another job in a better market, especially if an AL team needed a DH for an aging but awesome bat.

Well, he admitted to it. Not longer alleged, but confirmed by him.

Alex Rodriguez admits taking PEDs during 3-year period - ESPN

Excuses. This is a sad day. I never liked Rodriguez, even if I didn't bleed Red Sox red, I think he's a terrible sportsman and isn't a team player at all. This just goes to show the kind of person he is, no ethics and no integrity.

you know what's funny to me, is how sportswriters are always "saying the 'steroid era'" when it comes to baseball..

get with it people we are still in the steroid era..

At least Afraud admitted it. That's more than we can say about a few other people.