[lex24]

Wins above rep.. horseshit.

WAR is walking point in the jungle, scared out of your wits.

I didn’t post this for a discussion of the pros and cons of Wins Above Replacement.  Just as a (hopefully) fun exercise.

Strictly a guess since I don’t follow WAR as a stat.

Turner 
Swanson 
Correa
Bogaerts

By the way, forget about Turner as a possible SF signee.  Andrew Baggerly (The Athletic) said there is a near zero chance of signing him.  The Giants are focused on the other three SS’s.

1. Bogaerts -5.7
2. Swanson - 5.5
3. Correa - 5.4
4. Turner - 4.9

Not a big difference.  Turner is, I believe the worst defensively of the. 4.

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Andrew Baggerly (The Athletic) said there is a near zero chance of signing him.  The Giants are focused on the other three SS’s.

Where did Baggarly say this? I just read his article today reporting on Giants Free Agent talk from Las Vegas and saw no such language.

He did say in this article that Trea Turner has reportedly said he wants to be close to home on the East Coast, but nothing definitive as "there is a near zero chance of signing him." 

Baggarly also mentions "CA taxes" and "weird San Francisco politics" in his article, as reasons that might dissuade some Free Agents from wanting to sign with the Giants. Playing close to home is a believable desire, but the other stuff seems like straw men to me, because players don't usually make their homes in the cities they play. Aubrey Huff never would have signed with the Giants if he was really concerned about the S.F political culture. He signed with Giants because they paid him the most money, which is the reason most Free Agents sign where they do.

On a related note, the only way the Giants sign Judge is if he takes less money to play for the Giants because he wants to be closer to home. There is no way the Yankees will be outbid.  They have to be able to say "we offered more, but he wanted to be closer to home." That's the only way NY will not KILL the Yankees if Judge leaves. If the Giants offer more than the Yankees, the Yankees will never hear the end of it, so the Giants kind of have a built in home town discount of sorts with Judge. That discount won't be much, Judge will make obscene money no matter what, but the biggest contract offered will be from the Yankees.

He responded to a question in the comments section.  Here is the exact quote, “Privately, I hear that there  is zero reason for them to believe Turner would sign with them.”  Take a look.

CA taxes are definitely an issue.  I have read numerous articles addressing that issue as it relates to highly paid athletes.  Having said that, most California-based teams offer additional monies to players to cover that concern.

Also, I think the political climate in the Bay Area may be an issue for some players.  In this era of “if you disagree with me, you must be a horrible person”, who knows what drives players to make their decisions.

Money is still the clear number #1 but don’t discount other factors as being weighty.

“CA taxes are definitely an issue.  I have read numerous articles addressing that issue as it relates to highly paid athletes.  Having said that, most California-based teams offer additional monies to players to cover that concern.”

Yep.  Dodgers and Pads don’t seem to have an issue signing who they want.  Neither do Warriors, Lakers, 49ers and Rams.  They get past the tax and/or politics.  

I’m tired of excuses.  Giants have needed a closer for years. And I’m not talking about a guy to pitch the 9th.  

If they strike out this year it’s a massive organizational failure.

---

I

I expected both of those moves. Longo was too expensive to bring back. No one wants him. He's good for a one year contract as a backup against lefties.

Longo still has value.  Just not $13 million worth. $19.5 for a slow, platoon DH seems high. But as long as it doesn’t make it more difficult to sign a whale or two, it ain’t my money…..

[lex24]

Wins above rep.. horseshit.

WAR is walking point in the jungle, scared out of your wits.

I didn’t post this for a discussion of the pros and cons of Wins Above Replacement.  Just as a (hopefully) fun exercise.

Strictly a guess since I don’t follow WAR as a stat.

Turner 
Swanson 
Correa
Bogaerts

By the way, forget about Turner as a possible SF signee.  Andrew Baggerly (The Athletic) said there is a near zero chance of signing him.  The Giants are focused on the other three SS’s.

1. Bogaerts -5.7
2. Swanson - 5.5
3. Correa - 5.4
4. Turner - 4.9

Not a big difference.  Turner is, I believe the worst defensively of the. 4.

---

Andrew Baggerly (The Athletic) said there is a near zero chance of signing him.  The Giants are focused on the other three SS’s.

Where did Baggarly say this? I just read his article today reporting on Giants Free Agent talk from Las Vegas and saw no such language.

He did say in this article that Trea Turner has reportedly said he wants to be close to home on the East Coast, but nothing definitive as "there is a near zero chance of signing him." 

Baggarly also mentions "CA taxes" and "weird San Francisco politics" in his article, as reasons that might dissuade some Free Agents from wanting to sign with the Giants. Playing close to home is a believable desire, but the other stuff seems like straw men to me, because players don't usually make their homes in the cities they play. Aubrey Huff never would have signed with the Giants if he was really concerned about the S.F political culture. He signed with Giants because they paid him the most money, which is the reason most Free Agents sign where they do.

On a related note, the only way the Giants sign Judge is if he takes less money to play for the Giants because he wants to be closer to home. There is no way the Yankees will be outbid.  They have to be able to say "we offered more, but he wanted to be closer to home." That's the only way NY will not KILL the Yankees if Judge leaves. If the Giants offer more than the Yankees, the Yankees will never hear the end of it, so the Giants kind of have a built in home town discount of sorts with Judge. That discount won't be much, Judge will make obscene money no matter what, but the biggest contract offered will be from the Yankees.

He responded to a question in the comments section.  Here is the exact quote, “Privately, I hear that there  is zero reason for them to believe Turner would sign with them.”  Take a look.

CA taxes are definitely an issue.  I have read numerous articles addressing that issue as it relates to highly paid athletes.  Having said that, most California-based teams offer additional monies to players to cover that concern.

Also, I think the political climate in the Bay Area may be an issue for some players.  In this era of “if you disagree with me, you must be a horrible person”, who knows what drives players to make their decisions.

Money is still the clear number #1 but don’t discount other factors as being weighty.

“CA taxes are definitely an issue.  I have read numerous articles addressing that issue as it relates to highly paid athletes.  Having said that, most California-based teams offer additional monies to players to cover that concern.”

Yep.  Dodgers and Pads don’t seem to have an issue signing who they want.  Neither do Warriors, Lakers, 49ers and Rams.  They get past the tax and/or politics.  

I’m tired of excuses.  Giants have needed a closer for years. And I’m not talking about a guy to pitch the 9th.  

If they strike out this year it’s a massive organizational failure.

---

I

I expected both of those moves. Longo was too expensive to bring back. No one wants him. He's good for a one year contract as a backup against lefties.

Longo still has value.  Just not $13 million worth. $19.5 for a slow, platoon DH seems high. But as long as it doesn’t make it more difficult to sign a whale or two, it ain’t my money…..