Adam Jones signs 2-year deal with Orix Buffaloes

[Moose Milligan]

On an unrelated note, Mr. Baseball with Tom Selleck is one of my favorite baseball movies.  

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

3 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

On an unrelated note, Mr. Baseball with Tom Selleck is one of my favorite baseball movies.  

MLB Network seems to show it every week if you want to watch it again. I recorded it on my DVR last month. After going to Japan a few times, Mr. Baseball intrigues me now and I want to watch it at least once.

[Aristotelian]

On 12/11/2019 at 7:53 PM, drjohnnyfeva said:

I'll admit, I'm shocked that AJ would go this route.  I said as much when he wasn't getting any nibbles in FA last year.  CoC unequivocally stated he would play in Korea if not given a contract in MLB, I disagreed.  I don't agree with CoC often, but when I do... I don't still... hahahhaa.

I guess AJ likes both playing and a paycheck.  And why not, I guess.  Shocked that he would leave the family, but maybe he takes them with him for the season.  That was the wrinkle I couldn't fathom. 

I don't recall the exact ages of his kids but little ones could travel with him without missing a school. School aged kids could travel during the summer months and it could be an incredible experience. They could probably pick up quite a bit of the language. My wife spent time in Japan as a Navy brat and has fond memories.

[Frobby]

17 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

I don't recall the exact ages of his kids but little ones could travel with him without missing a school. School aged kids could travel during the summer months and it could be an incredible experience. They could probably pick up quite a bit of the language. My wife spent time in Japan as a Navy brat and has fond memories.

I got the clear impression from his tweets that his entire family will go to Japan.   

[Moose Milligan]

9 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I got the clear impression from his tweets that his entire family will go to Japan.   

Way better than Philadelphia.

[wildbillhiccup]

20 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I got the clear impression from his tweets that his entire family will go to Japan.   

Yeah me too. Is it really that shocking? I think it will be a great experience for his whole family. I have a friend who works for the gov't who's willingly taken post in England and Belgium just for the experience. I think the Buffaloes play their home games in Kobe right? That's a pretty big city and close to Osaka. A man could do much worse than everyday meals of kobe steak and sushi

[Aristotelian]

23 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

Yeah me too. Is it really that shocking? I think it will be a great experience for his whole family. I have a friend who works for the gov't who's willingly taken post in England and Belgium just for the experience. I think the Buffaloes play their home games in Kobe right? That's a pretty big city and close to Osaka. A man could do much worse than everyday meals of kobe steak and sushi

AJ will eat very well over there!

[Frobby]

42 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

Yeah me too. Is it really that shocking? I think it will be a great experience for his whole family. I have a friend who works for the gov't who's willingly taken post in England and Belgium just for the experience. I think the Buffaloes play their home games in Kobe right? That's a pretty big city and close to Osaka. A man could do much worse than everyday meals of kobe steak and sushi

I am not shocked.     I recall Adam played in an exhibition series in Japan several years ago and seemed to have a blast doing it.    It wouldn’t be for everyone, but I can definitely see Adam enjoying it, and hopefully his family will as well.   

[DrungoHazewood]

2 hours ago, wildbillhiccup said:

Yeah me too. Is it really that shocking? I think it will be a great experience for his whole family. I have a friend who works for the gov't who's willingly taken post in England and Belgium just for the experience. I think the Buffaloes play their home games in Kobe right? That's a pretty big city and close to Osaka. A man could do much worse than everyday meals of kobe steak and sushi

I'm a gov't worker and I really have no plans to move anywhere, but my USAjobs profile lists pretty much all of Europe as potential destinations just in case an engineering billet ever pops up there.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

On 12/13/2019 at 6:00 PM, weams said:

When he took the time on MLB Network to address his situation during the Winter Meetings he indicated that the new CBA negotiation was coming up, and he wished his fellow members of the MLBPA the best of luck. 

I thought that part of his instagram post stuck out a little, too.  Play nice, there's enough to go around.

I wonder what he thinks might be happening.

[SteveA]

1 minute ago, Smilin' Joe Fission said:

I thought that part of his instagram post stuck out a little, too.  Play nice, there's enough to go around.

I wonder what he thinks might be happening.

We're headed for a showdown.   Owners have figured out how to avoid giving average players huge money when they reach free agency, so the bulk of the players' union membership no longer can expect that if they can just be a decent major leaguers they can get 8 digit salaries when they hit free agency.   We have a system where the elite get contracts from $100-$400 million, but the rest of the players are grossly underpaid before arbitration, paid OK during arbitration, and by the time they hit free agency they no longer have elite earning power.   And owners are even more and more non-tendering guys to save a little on the last year or two of arbitration.

In almost all the previous labor showdowns, the environment has been good for the players.   Free agency had allowed for a steady increase of overall payroll from year to year, and lots of union members profited.   Just about every previous labor showdown was about owners trying to take something back, and they were rarely successful in getting much.

This time the union is going to be the ones wanting more, or some sort of fairer distribution of the money.   I'm not sure what tack they will take -- earlier free agency?   Salary floor?   Significant pay raise for pre-arb players?

I'm starting to think it could get ugly.   Then you have the potential of a cable bubble bursting, declining attendance in baseball as well as other sports.   It's a volatile mix and I don't think we can get through it without a labor stoppage.

[scOtt]

15 hours ago, wildbillhiccup said:

Yeah me too. Is it really that shocking? I think it will be a great experience for his whole family. I have a friend who works for the gov't who's willingly taken post in England and Belgium just for the experience. I think the Buffaloes play their home games in Kobe right? That's a pretty big city and close to Osaka. A man could do much worse than everyday meals of kobe steak and sushi

Adam will be a STAR in Japan! Even if he only plays mediocre. Those people will LOVE Adam! You know how he is.

[sportsfan8703]

SP Josh Lindbolm just signed a 3/9-18 contract with Mil out of the KBO. I think after another strong season in the KBO, which would be his 3rd, that Tyler Wilson will be back in the MLB next year. 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wilson005phi

[DrungoHazewood]

15 hours ago, SteveA said:

We're headed for a showdown.   Owners have figured out how to avoid giving average players huge money when they reach free agency, so the bulk of the players' union membership no longer can expect that if they can just be a decent major leaguers they can get 8 digit salaries when they hit free agency.   We have a system where the elite get contracts from $100-$400 million, but the rest of the players are grossly underpaid before arbitration, paid OK during arbitration, and by the time they hit free agency they no longer have elite earning power.   And owners are even more and more non-tendering guys to save a little on the last year or two of arbitration.

In almost all the previous labor showdowns, the environment has been good for the players.   Free agency had allowed for a steady increase of overall payroll from year to year, and lots of union members profited.   Just about every previous labor showdown was about owners trying to take something back, and they were rarely successful in getting much.

This time the union is going to be the ones wanting more, or some sort of fairer distribution of the money.   I'm not sure what tack they will take -- earlier free agency?   Salary floor?   Significant pay raise for pre-arb players?

I'm starting to think it could get ugly.   Then you have the potential of a cable bubble bursting, declining attendance in baseball as well as other sports.   It's a volatile mix and I don't think we can get through it without a labor stoppage.

It'll be interesting to see how aggressive the MLBPA gets in pursuit of their goals.  They want to stop the continual decline in percentage of revenues going their way, but they have to see the dicey situation with regards to cable cutting and declining attendance.  How many people will cut their RSN subscription if there's a strike/lockout?  How much bigger will the attendance hit be than in '94, and will it ever come back with all the fracturing of the entertainment market?  The players could win the battle and lose the war.  Nobody ever seems to blame the $billionaire owners, they take it out on the players, the majority of whom have to play multiple years after long periods in the minors to get to $1M in career earnings.

[Mr. Chewbacca Jr.]

On 12/16/2019 at 8:56 AM, wildbillhiccup said:

Yeah me too. Is it really that shocking? I think it will be a great experience for his whole family. I have a friend who works for the gov't who's willingly taken post in England and Belgium just for the experience. I think the Buffaloes play their home games in Kobe right? That's a pretty big city and close to Osaka. A man could do much worse than everyday meals of kobe steak and sushi

Osaka is a world-class city. Japan is a wonderful country. I wouldn't be surprised to see more veterans ending their careers there, like European soccer players ending their careers in MLS.