Maddux stays with the Braves

[nyy26wc]

1) Greg Maddux accepted the Braves offer for salary arbitration.

After 3.00 ERA/46 RSAA and 3.05 ERA/35 RSAA seasons, Maddux had a 2.62 ERA/33 RSAA in 34 starts. He has a 2.83 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.04, and 535 RSAA in 539 games.

During the 2002 season, Maddux set the modern day NL record for career RSAA--

1    Greg Maddux                 535   
2    Grover C Alexander          523   
3    Christy Mathewson           409   
4    Tom Seaver                  362   
5    Carl Hubbell                355   
6    Bob Gibson                  350   
7    Phil Niekro                 337   
8    Warren Spahn                319   
9    Steve Carlton               311   
10   Tom Glavine                 282   

Including the 19th century, Kid Nichols holds the record, with 679.

2) The Orioles, Dodgers, Braves and Mets are considered candidates to sign Cliff Floyd, with their being rumors that he could sign as early as today.

The Orioles reportedly made a 3 year, $19=-21 million offer, while the Dodgers offer is 3 years, about $15 million.

3) Terry Adams accepted the Phillies offer for salary arbitration.

After 3.52 ERA/7 RSAA and 4.33 ERA/-7 RSAA seasons, Adams had a 4.35 ERA/-9 RSAA in 46 games (19 starts). He's had the 2 worst RSAA of his career in the past couple of years and has a 4.10 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.31, and 5 RSAA in 431 games.

4) Today is the deadline for teams to offer 2003 contracts to their unsigned players. Among the players rumored to be candidates to be nontendered are Esteban Yan, Paul Wilson, Tanyon Sturtze, Robert Fick, Frank Catalanotto, Eric Owens, Shane Spencer, John Thomson, Jose Cruz Jr., Brian Daubach, Jeff Suppan, Carlos Febles, Mark Quinn, Travis Lee, Marlon Anderson, Scott Elarton, Brad Fullmer, Al Levine, Chris Singleton

5) The following free agents refused their team's offer of salary arbitration. The deadline for their 2002 teams to sign them is January 8, or the team will lose the right to sign them until May 1--

Redsox--OF Cliff Floyd
Indians--Ps Dave Burba, Terry Mulholland
Yankees--P Roger Clemens, 3B Ron Coomer
Diamondbacks--P Brian Anderson, 1B Greg Colbrunn, Mark Grace
Braves--OF Darren Bragg, 1B Julio Franco, INF Keith Lockhart
Reds--Ps Joey Hamilton, Jose Rijo
Phillies--P Ricky Bottalico
Cardinals--P Chuck Finley

6) The Phillies re-signed OF Ricky Ledee (1 year, $850,000) and free agent C Todd Pratt (minor league contract, with an invitation to spring training) and signed C Jesse Levis (minor league contract, invited to spring training).

After -25 RCAA/.703 OPS and -11 RCAA/.654 OPS seasons, Ledee hit .419 SLG, .342 OBA, .760 OPS, 2 RCAA in 96 games. He has a .726 career OPS, compared to his league average of .780, and -30 RCAA in 441 games.

After 4 RCAA/.840 OPS and -11 RCAA/.628 OPS seasons, Pratt hit .500 SLG, .449 OBA, .949 OPS, 12 RCAA in 39 games. He has a .748 career OPS, compared to his league average of .773, and -2 RCAA in 452 games. While he shouldn't be expected to repeat his career year of 2002, Pratt's had a positive RCAA in 5 of the past 6 years.

Levis has a .643 career OPS, compared to his league average of .774, and -30 RCAA in 319 games, with the Indians and Brewers, from 1992-2001 (except 2000).

7) The Pirates re-signed P Brian Meadows to 1 year, $600,000 contract.

After -13 RCAA/5.13 ERA and 6.97 ERA/-11 RSAA seasons, Meadows had a 3.88 ERA/3 RSAA in 11 starts. He has a 5.30 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.49, and -69 RSAA in 111 games and had a double digit negative RSAA in each of his first 4 major league seasons, prior to 2002.

8) The Tigers signed OF Ernie Young, Cs Robinson Cancel and Luis Taveras and Ps Carlo Alvarado, Fernando De La Cruz, Seth Greisinger, Tim McClaskey, Chris Mears, Brian Schmack and Mike Spiegel to minor league contracts.

Young has a .687 career OPS, compared to his league average of .786, and -41 RCAA in 280 games, with the A's, Royals and Diamondbacks, from 1994-99.

Cancel had a .461 OPS/-6 RCAA in 15 games with the 1999 Brewers.

Greisinger was once a prospect, but injury problems have ruined his career. He had a 6.21 ERA/-9 RSAA in 8 starts in 2002, with his other time in the majors being a 5.12 ERA/-7 RSAA in 21 starts in 1998.

9) The Indians signed free agent P Jason Bere to a 1 year, $1 million contract.

After -16 RCAA/5.47 ERA and 4.31 ERA/-3 RSAA seasons, Bere had a 5.67 ERA/-16 RSAA in 16 starts with the Cubs. He has a 5.15 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.54, and -90 RSAA in 209 games. Bere has had a negative RSAA in each of the past 8 years, with 6 of them being double digit negative figures.

10) The Cubs re-signed P Antonio Alfonseca to a 1 year, $4 million contract.

After 4.24 ERA/2 RSAA and 3.06 ERA/8 RSAA seasons, Alfonseca had a 4.00 ERA/0 RSAA in 66 games. He has a 3.82 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.37, and 17 RSAA in 340 games.

11) Whitey Herzog had quadruple bypass surgery and is listed in stable condition.

12) The Angels re-signed INF Benji Gil to a 1 year contract.

After -18 RCAA/.669 OPS and -1 RCAA/.807 OPS seasons, Gil hit .431 SLG, .307 OBA, .737 OPS, 1 RCAA in 61 games. It was the first time in his career that Gil had a positive RCAA. He has a .653 career OPS, compared to his league average of .772, and -83 RCAA in 542 games.

13) The Devil Rays signed SS Gabby Martinez, OF Brian Lesher, C Hector Ortiz and Ps Mel Rojas, John Frascatore, Blake Stein, Brian Fitzgerald and Eric Sabel to minor league contracts and invited them to spring training.

Lesher has a .655 OPS/-12 RCAA in 108 games (288 PA) since 1996, including a .367 OPS/-6 RCAA in 24 games (43 PA) with the BlueJays in 2002.

Ortiz has a .697 career OPS, compared to his league average of .772, and -9 RCAA in 93 games, including a .767 OPS/-1 RCAA in 7 games with the 2002 Rangers.

Rojas has a 3.82 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.03, and 18 RSAA in 525 games, with the Expos and 4 other teams, from 1990-99.

Frascatore has a 4.00 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.47, and 21 RSAA in 274 games with the Cardinals, Diamondbacks and BlueJays, from 1994-2001 (except 1996).

After 4.68 ERA/5 RSAA and 4.74 ERA/3 RSAA seasons, Stein had a 7.91 ERA/-14 RSAA in 27 games (2 starts) with the Royals. He has a 5.41 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.68, and -32 RSAA in 117 games.

Fitzgerald had a 8.53 ERA/-3 RSAA in his first 6 major league games with the Mariners.

Sabel has a 5.02 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.40, and -3 RSAA in 50 games and pitched 1 game for the 2002 Tigers.

14) The Whitesox outrighted SS-P Jason Dellaero to the minors, which removed him from the 40 man roster.

15) The Tigers signed free agent C Bill Haselman to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

After -1 RCAA/.790 OPS and -4 RCAA/.731 OPS seasons, Haselman dropped to .335 SLG, .297 OBA, .632 OPS, -12 RCAA in 69 games. While this was his 4th consecutive negative RCAA, and his 11th time in 12 years (but 2 of them were under 10 games), it was the first time he was below -4 since 1997. Haselman has a .721 career OPS, compared to his league average of .773, and -61 RCAA in 585 games.

16) According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Rangers will make Doug Glanville the starting CF and leadoff hitter.

17) According to ESPN radio, the Cubs have signed free agent P Shawn Estes to a 1 year, $3 million contract, pending him passing his physical today.

18) The Cardinals re-signed OF-1B Eduardo Perez to a 1 year, $500,000 contract.

After a .790 OPS/0 RCAA in 2000, Perez went to Japan in 2001 and hit .455 SLG, .290 OBA, .744 OPS, -4 RCAA in 96 games in 2002. He has a .724 career OPS, compared to his league average of .767, and -32 RCAA in 479 games.

19) The Indians signed C Dusty Wathan to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

Wathan was 3 for 5 in his first 3 major league games with the Royals.

20) The Braves signed P Chris Haney to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

After pitching just 1 game in 2000, Haney was out of professional baseball in 2001 and had a 4.20 ERA/1 RSAA in 24 games for the Redsox. He has a 5.08 career ERA, compared to his league average of 4.53, and -44 RSAA in 196 games.

21) Barry Larkin says he's willing to try to move to 2B next year, to make room for newly acquired SS Felipe Lopez. Among the other possibilities are Lopez moves to 2B for a year, then replaces Larkin at SS after 2003, or Aaron Boone or Brandon Larson wins the 2B job.

22) The Yankees signed Japanese OF Hideki Matsui to a 3 year, $21 million contract.

Correction from yesterday--Cal Eldred's comment should have said he hasn't pitched in more than 20 games in a season since 1998.

[gyb13]

Originally posted by nyy26wc
16) According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Rangers will make Doug Glanville the starting CF and leadoff hitter.

in a related story, the rangers will still stink in 2003.

[KCBOOMER]

Originally posted by nyy26wc
1) Greg Maddux accepted the Braves offer for salary arbitration.

This could set an all-time insanity arbitration case record. Scott Boras is on record saying he is going to ask for $20M for a single season. One hell of a chunk of change for a 5-6 inning pitcher.

[satchel]

How many Boras clients will counter sensible offers with insensible demands and go unsigned before Boras starts losing clients?