Perhaps the Dodgers can use this constructively by creating a new litmus test for injured players. If you're not going to win the US Open, you sit.

Brazoban
Miller
LaRoche

I'm pretty sure that's it.

Didn't know Bavasi had a saber-guy on staff. I get the impression they'll go the Josh Byrnes route. The winter meetings are going to start looking like a 15 year HS reunion. Ned and Gillick are the chaperones.

--

I realized what last night's Lakers debacle reminded me of. It gave me flashbacks, as a Broncos fan, to their super bowl blowout losses, utter embarrassment on a huge national stage, especially the lopsided loss to the Niners. Living here in San Francisco when that happened was great fun, let me tell ya. So that was clearly worse, but it was still the same kind of sick feeling of both disappointment (if not hugely so, given expectations) and crushing embarrassment. I will probably never experience anything worse than that super bowl (and having them win a couple some years after that sure made up for it all a bit), but this one won't go down easy, either.

I grew up in Los Angeles and used to make fun of the Fresno St. "Red Wave" that descended on Westwood acting like yahoos.

I now live in the Central Valley and still make fun of Fresno St. athletics.

Currently, I am rooting hard for this team in the CWS. It's already a [locally] legendary story, but if they can somehow pull it off . . . it might be one of the most unlikely feats in college baseball history.

it's true... Drew stays = no pierre = no jones = more money to sign santana and/or arod

aw, Ned :(

*405. fanerman
404 Uh-oh. Sounds like we have one of those ultra-competitive parents who tries to live through their kids by making them play mucho sports...

j/k*

The good news is that my dad coached me all the way to high school, and he was the most patient and understanding coach ever. I never saw him yell at a player, and he always had time to play catch or practice pitching with me. That is what I am aiming for in the future.

This was covered a couple days ago in a thread. No need to rehash.

But... even after an opt out, doesn't the incumbent team have a chance to resign or extend his contract? Boston paid 70 / 5... hmm wait a minute... 70/5? Thats more than JP gets per year. Would it have been worth it?

.263/.369/.541 39 HR age 30
.264/.338/.504 34 HR age 31
.205/.295/.399 21 HR age 32
.219/.295/.383   9 HR age 33

>>Yep - I witnessed the entire UGLY incident first hand. Seems Troy got there right about the same time as I did and had his first beer in hand at around 5:15 p.m. Who knows how many he had between then and the seventh inning when this all went down. He had on his full "Beimel" gear and the same crazy Elvis sideburns as his YouTube video.

Shortly after Joey B. came in and slammed the door on the local Redlegs, Troy took off his jersey and began holding it up above his head to antagonize the local fans. That was slightly amusing, but then he did a GREAT dishonour to those of us Blue fans who were there ONLY to cheer on the boys from L.A. by proceeding to double-barrel (both hands raised) flip off his entire section.

This was greeted with substantial boos, including my entire row, which was all L.A. fans. A Reds fan in his section attempted to get him to stop (after all, there were a lot of kids there at the game and in that section for Ken Griffey, Jr. night) by trying to hold his arms down, but Troy wasn't having any of that and proceeded to push this guy, who was substantially older and probably 100 pounds lighter down the steps of the aisle.

At this point, Cincinnati's finest got involved and Troy did not go quietly, fighting three or four of them all the way up the stairs. The fans were chanting, "TAZE HIM, TAZE HIM" and he's pretty lucky the cops didn't.

I have to agree with dw - this guy is a REAL TOOL. I certainly hope his admittance tomorrow is denied and they put him on the first chicken bus back to West Virginia. <<

Sounds like he needs to sober up, and maybe a night in a horrible local correctional facility will do the trick.

Me too, however JD Drew getting 70/5 is still overpaid. Hanley Ramirez is one of the top 5 players in all of MLB, and the Marlins extended him for 70 mil over 6 years, pre-arb.

So if JD Drew gets more than Hanley, thats a little out of whack.

By the way, Yahoo Sports has selected an all overpaid, all underpaid team, and four Dodgers made it to the overpaid team.

I went back to the USS Mariner posts when Sexson was signed. They were mostly disgusted by the $$ & length of the deal. I forgot he only had 90 ab in 2004 after his shoulder injury. Consensus was his power would fade. So those people were wrong in year 1 and 2 and right in year 3 and 4.

So given a do-over, the optimal move would have been to sign this 30 year old power hitting FA coming off a down year to a 2-year contract. If only Ned could have thought of this on Jones.

pretty disturbing if thats real, which is certainly appears to be http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3450245

and Ethan's brother cody was on the mound, red flag?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3450455

"This is how important leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal is to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Furcal is tied for the team lead in runs scored -- even though he has not played since May 5 because of a bulging disk in his back."

Payroll of Dodgers: $118.6 million
Payroll of healthy Dodgers: $34.2 million
Payroll of injured/departed Dodgers: $84.4 million

http://tinyurl.com/3hhh2k

I thought Troy had passed from cute story to possible stalker when he sent the photo to Ethier.

I imagine an apology video will be posted soon.

35

Red flag? I did a lot of stupid things in high school, and now I am a very different person behavior wise. Plus, the Ump got hit with the slowest curve I have ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P02ZjM1fw0&feature=related

I think 3 inches is significant.

And Thomas is a hall of famer.
Thome may not be, but both are much better than Richie Sexson.

I dont think its an apples to apples comparison.

but, even though he didn't throw the pitch, his own flesh and blood did, thats why I was asking if it raised any eye brows..

All I can say is: Hmmm, interesting. It's a world about which I know nothing, so I found it interesting. I recently finished Theroux's book "Blinding Light" which has some similar themes as the article. Maybe SFW (content-wise), depending on where you work!

By the way, shouldn't Pedro Martinez's five-inning perfect game in the playoffs be one of the Top 10 Playing With Pain moments?

You live you learn...

Winfield is 6'6" and OPS+ed 137 at the age of 40.

? Isn't that exactly what Ned did? Or are you arguing for only one-year for 31-year old Jones?

25-57 9 HR, 7 2b, 2 3b, 14bb

Berkman's May line of .471/.553/.856 is in jeopardy.

Good work Mike, but the game was played in Cleveland.

"Where'd everybody go?"

Sexson's age 31 comps on Baseball-Reference include only one really tall player, Mark McGwire. I seem to remember McGwire setting a significant record of some sort in his mid-thirties.

These examples don't prove anything in and of themselves, of course.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS199910160.shtml

I stupidly thought we were making a Matt Cain ineffectiveness joke.

The ALCS game you're talking about, though -- I was there for that one. The famous "Where is Roger" game. I've never seen a stadium as loud as Fenway was that day.

76 Guess they wanted to ease him back in slowly before making him go a full 9?

Really ties in everything we've talked about this morning.