Fairly related to our earlier post on 2008 Major League Baseball payrolls, SI.com’s Jon Heyman has posted an article on history’s worst 13 free agent deals. No real surprise, but pitcher Mike Hamption (#1), pitcher Carl Pavano (#2), first baseman Jason Giambi (#5) and pitcher Barry Zito (#9) made this infamous list. I’m sure you all have […]
Filed under: _A Look Back | 8 Comments »
On Wednesday, we brought you the story of how Blue Jays GM J.P. Riccardi once tried to fleece the Reds for Johnny Cueto in 2006, courtesy of Tom Verducci of SI.com. That story led one Fleece Factor reader to remind us of another J.P. Riccardi move from the past. But this move is one that the […]
Filed under: New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, _A Look Back | 9 Comments »
With news of Doug Mirabelli’s recent release by the Red Sox, let’s take “a look back” at what happened the last time the Red Sox thought they could move on without the knuckleball catching specialist.
The Red Sox began the 2006 season with 28-year-old Josh Bard as Jason Varitek’s backup catcher. Mirabelli had recently been dealt […]
Filed under: Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, _A Look Back | 3 Comments »
It’s time for another installment of our “A Look Back” series here at MLB Fleece Factor. Today we can officially look back at the Horacio Ramirez/Rafael Soriano trade from last year and call the Braves the winner (or “fleecer,” if you will). This call comes because Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times is confirming that the Mariners have […]
Filed under: Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, _A Look Back | 21 Comments »
On December 29th, 2006 the Milwaukee Brewers signed free agent pitcher Jeff Suppan to a 4-year, $42 million deal in an effort to bolster their rotation. The deal came on the heals of Suppan’s magical run to the World Series title with the Cardinals that year. How did the first year of this pact hold up for the […]
Filed under: Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, _A Look Back, _Polls | 2 Comments »
In the winter of 2007, Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti handed out $116.85 million to these four players: Jason Schmidt, Juan Pierre, Nomar Garciaparra and Luis Gonzalez.
After one year and nearly $40 million in sunk costs, I think it’s safe to say the fleece factor is pointing at Colletti for all 4 transactions. Let’s take […]
Filed under: Los Angeles Dodgers, _A Look Back | 7 Comments »
After the 2003 season, Vladimir Guerrero was hitting the free agent market with some injury questions. He only had 394 at-bats for the Expos in 2003 due to back problems, but he was courted heavily by the owner of the Angels, Arte Moreno that off-season. The result? A 5-year, $70 million contract. This contract turned out to […]
Filed under: Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals, _A Look Back | 1 Comment »
Baltimore Orioles slugger Aubrey Huff is in the news these days. Unfortunately for Baltimore, it’s because of a sports hernia that will put the 1B/OF/DH on the shelf for at least six weeks. (By the way, what other kind of hernia is there besides a ’sports’ hernia? Can someone please tell me?) Anyway, Huff’s injury got me thinking. Why […]
Filed under: Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, _A Look Back, _Polls | 2 Comments »
Prior to 2007, the Kansas City Royals dished out the largest contract in club history (actually, tied for a previous contract given to 1B Mike Sweeny) to starting pitcher Gil Meche. The deal was for 5 years, worth $55 million. At the time of the deal, this was seen as another club giving a mediocre […]
Filed under: Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, _A Look Back | 8 Comments »
It’s time to take “a look back” at the first year of the JD Drew era in Boston.
Following the 2006 season, Drew opted out of his contract with the LA Dodgers and agreed to a five year contract worth $70M with the Boston Red Sox. Due to worries about the outfielder’s shoulder, the deal includes clauses which […]
Filed under: Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, _A Look Back, _Polls | 7 Comments »
We often catch some slack over here at The Fleece Factor for picking on Omar Minaya and the Mets. So, in our “A Look Back” series, let’s take a moment and review one of his fine moments in recent history: signing Moises Alou last winter to a one year deal for $7.5M (with a club […]
Filed under: New York Mets, _A Look Back, _Polls | 10 Comments »
On November 8th, 2006 the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians swapped Josh Barfield and Kevin Kouzmanoff. (The Padres also received reliever Andrew Brown.) At the time, the trade was a case of one team needing a major league 2nd baseman (Cleveland) and the other needing a major league 3rd baseman (San Diego), and seemed like […]
Filed under: Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, _A Look Back | 4 Comments »
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what you are thankful for. Perhaps Curt Schilling and Theo Epstein are thinking of their Thanksgiving day fleece 4 years ago that got Curt Schilling in red socks.
It was Thanksgiving day 2003, and Theo Epstein, among other Red Sox brass, had traveled to Arizona to feast with the […]
Filed under: Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, _A Look Back | No Comments »
Two Words: FRIGGIN FLEECE!
Last winter, Barry Zito signed a 7 year contract with the San Francisco Giants worth $126 million, with an 8th year option worth $16 million. In his first year with the Giants, he went 11-13 while posting a 4.53 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. And yes, this was in the National League. He […]
Filed under: San Francisco Giants, _A Look Back | 5 Comments »
We are going to start a new feature here at MLBFleeceFactor.com called “A Look Back.” Every now and then we’ll reflect on MLB transactions of the past and see who was actually fleeced.
First up, Daisuke Matsuzaka. As we all know, the Boston Red Sox paid $51.1M just to talk to the Japanese phenom, and then inked […]
Filed under: Boston Red Sox, _A Look Back | 4 Comments »
