Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
The Dodgers have offered salary arbitration to Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe and Casey Blake, says Josh Rawitch at Inside the Dodgers. and will receive draft pick compensation if those three players sign with other teams this offseason.
Bernie Williams went from $12,357,143 in 2005 to $1,500,000 in 2006.
That was a $10.8 million cut, which is not as big of a cut as Hampton's. But still pretty sizeable.
I bet Jason Giambi will take a bigger pay cut than Hampton. Giambi made over $23 million last year.
Man that is laughable for a DH. The union will cry when Stienbrenner leaves us.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/beimejo01.shtml
The Dodgers seem to really not want Beimel back, for whatever reason.
Think of the children...
I bet* you're right.
*FEP,O
Well said. Offering Beimel arbitration is such an easy and obvious decision. I'm likely to be way too angry about this for a few days.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20081124j1.html
Softbank has also agreed to a contract extension with right-hander D.J. Houlton, who went 4-7 with six saves and a 4.27 ERA in 28 games in his first season in Japan in 2008.
In the same article above. Can we call them the Softbank Hawks Dodgers now?
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1180977.html
One of the links included the mention of Houlton. I was writing about NEW people going over to Japan. Not players re-signing.
There was a theme. There was plot development. There was a denouement. There was a moral lesson.
Saturday will be horrific.
Houlton was a decent risk at the time. It's not like they picked him with the intention of eventually shipping him overseas. It just didn't work out for them, but the risk was minimal ($50,000 to the Astros, plus MLB minimum salaries for when he was on the big club).
UCLA should just wear white out of spite.
As if winning was not enough, now you have to be dressed up like a peacock. 1989 will not seem so long ago after the peacock turns out to be a girl.
I have morphed into fanerman this week, in that I'm horrified at all the articles mentioning a certain Bowl USC seems destined for. I'm too gun shy since 2006.
I'm looking forward to watching the game, perhaps even at a UCLA bar.
We took Pat Cowan for granted.
A peacock? I feel like Dan Fouts sitting next to Dennis Miller. It's very likely I'm missing something very obvious though.
There are cycles. It happens to every time in every sport. Enjoy it while you're on the high end of the boom.
According to the AP, the Angels offered arbitration to Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, Jon Garland, and Darren Oliver today. The last two were uncertain, but the decisions make sense. Oliver now seems less likely to sign elsewhere, as a new team would have to pay the draft pick tax.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
There are cycles. It happens to every time in every sport. Enjoy it while you're on the high end of the boom
Which is why I will never be disappointed by "only" a trip to the Rose Bowl.
In the words of Marshal Sam McCloud,
"There you go."
this weekend I realistically would be proud if we can avoid letting SUC cover the spread of 31.5 points
Beimel decision baffles me. Sigh.
In memory of coach Tollner - the seniors were booed at the end of their last game by the home crowd.
I am savoring every moment of the glory as long as it lasts!
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
That is what I thought but then someone posted here a list of relief pitchers who have signed that cost draft picks.
Especially given the situation that this team is jammed pack with relievers and Beimel was not especially a favorite of Torre's in the second half of the season.
I don't think you can believe an agent that says he has lots of offers.
49 I think that was a one time instance, otherwise you think the Padres would have handled the Hoffman situation better. Also, they did not offer Bradly arbitration last year either.
Zimmerman's expertise and wonderful writing style was apparent when he first worked for the L.A. Times sports section in the 1960s before SI hired him away.
Best wishes for his recovery.
Nice Peter King SI column on him at:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/11/30/week13/index.html
I'll wear it under my Brian Cushing (or John David Booty, you decide!) jersey. :)
Well, hrmph, this is a rather stinky Monday Night Football matchup. Guess I have no choice but to get some work done tonight.
Also, Broxton is due for a raise this year and Saito won't make less than he made last year. And even with that, Beimel would have been the highest paid reliever whose role what diminishing last year.
Put aside that his ground ball rate was going down, his hits per inning was going up, sure he could still get out lefties but I would rather have Elbert and Kuo blow guys down than hope Beimel could get a ground ball.
Now, would it have been the worst thing to do than to offer arbitration to him, no.
But again, I think people are too quick to criticize without looking at the whole picture.
I'm surprised, Veritek seems like a good chance to accept it, and even get a raise. Boras is going to have fun in the arbitration hearing. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
I was surprised the Cardinals didn't offer Looper arbitration, for one thing. Seemed pretty low risk and reasonably priced too in case he accepted.
Again, I'd offer arbitration to Beimel and maybe even Penny but I can understand why they didn't do it.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
The whole picture looks like the McCourts are flat broke.
Pinching pennies to save 1mil dollars is quite a difference from the days of giving Loaiza 7.5mils.
This tells me the Red Sox have loads of cash bc neither player is worth what they'll get in arbitration.
Seems like a no-brainer, because you either get him for one year (which is low risk) or you get prospects from the Giants.
If Casey Blake accepts, I suppose Dewitt will play 2nd.
77 I guess the Yankees have no cash either. And every other team that does not offer their free agents arbitration.
Either the Dodgers may get a few good one year contracts, or they will get a number of good draft picks. Unless they are very clumsy. Ned couldn't be ----could he.
I guess I'd take Adam Dunn over Pierre...
man - I sure wish we'd get an update on how A. Jones "looks" this off-season...
Even though another treasured memory of my youth turns out to be in error. ;)
I like the SI writer's articles very much.. I hope he makes a complete recovery.
Second baseman Orlando Hudson and relievers Juan Cruz and Brandon Lyon were offered arbitration, while outfielder Adam Dunn and left-hander Randy Johnson were not.
When they traded for Dunn in July, one of their rationales in giving up young talent for the free-agent-to-be was the Draft compensation they would receive should he depart. However, after assessing the market so far this offseason, the D-backs decided they could not take the risk that Dunn would accept arbitration and better his $13 million he made last year.
"That was a premise of the deal," Arizona GM Josh Byrnes said in regards to getting a pair of draft picks. "The chances at that time were very good, but quite a few things have changed. I think it's fair to say it's maybe a little different situation than we anticipated. The poor economy has affected some things."
http://tinyurl.com/6jt665
Thinking this way is really counter-productive, but what if Jones reverts to his 2007 form (no hope for the 2006 Jones) and Schmidt turns into a decent pitcher? Going on potential, wouldn't the Dodgers, with their young core, a free agent or two, and the most expensive bench on any team save for the New York Knicks, have a very high ceiling?
Completely stupid to think like this, but I'd like to think that Jones is wanting to reestablish his value more than just about any player in baseball. The last two years may have cost him $70 million or more, so getting back to becoming a decent player has to be in his offseason workout plans, right?
"I'm sorry your grade is so low this semester. When you enrolled in the class, you looked really good, but things have changed since then, and the poor economy has affected some things."
Now that we're in the off-season, my hope has renewed somewhat, especially because he's mashing for me on MLB2K8.
I'm going to be not bold at all and predict that Jones is out of the MLB when the Dodgers contract is finished. His career slash stats are a .259/.339/.489. Even if you're discounting his horrendous '08 year, he still had a pretty bad '07 year. I doubt Andruw Jones is ever a productive player again. A team has to be foolish to give him a chance from 2010 on.
This means he will sign with Giants.
But Jessica Alba and Snoop Dogg didn't sign with the Giants.
Do most teams offer incumbent players arbitration as they hit Free Agency? In other words, if they offer Manny arbitration, for instance, and he declines, does that usually mean the Dodgers won't sign him to a longer contract?
---
One of the perks of being an L.A. Kings fan is if they start playing well and make the playoffs, I can start explaining all the rules and describe the players to bandwagon fans who jump aboard in April. :) :) :)
A-Rod and Rivera declined arbitration last year and signed with the Yankees later.
Re-signing with the old team after declining arbitration is a relatively new phenomenon since in the past part of the arbitration offer consideration was if a player wasn't offered arb, he couldn't re-sign with the old club until May 1.
The key word was duo.
I was joking.
Because salaries can be cut by a maximum of only 20% in arbitration, Garland would assure himself of a $9.6-million salary if he accepted the offer.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-baseball2-2008dec02,0,4772780.story
Mike DiGiovanna needs to consult BTF once in a while. I know arbitration tend to raise to keep salary at the current level, but it can and should be used to decrease a players salary when his production has fallen.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
Sounds like someone spent their Thanksgiving weekend in Branson.
I don't think they're that bad. I think they'd be even better if they used the normal crown logo on the front.
Even so, I'm sure we are all hoping for a return to the ol' Forum Blue and Gold Jerseys from the 70's and 80's...
In between games, we had a chance to check out the Auto Show at the L.A. Convention center. That was shrewd scheduling by the Auto Show...
The only way the day could be topped is if the line wasn't so long at the Pantry!
Every once in a while, a good Yakov Smirnov reference cracks me up.
And by "every once in a while," I mean "every single time."
Btw, why the heck is The Pelican Brief on Turner Classic movies? I guess since they occasionally air non-classic old movies they should be allowed to air non-classic more recent movies but it seems jarring for some reason.
Reign of Fire was on AMC this past weekend.
I'm awfully surprised TCM is pulling an AMC. What's next? MTV converting to a reality TV channel?
mlbtraderumors has the full list of players who were offered arbitration.
vr, Xei
I've done the Clipper afternoon, Laker 06:00 game on a Sunday before and used the subway to bounce around town in between games.
Amazing the Diamondbacks didn't offer Dunn arbitration. Now that trade really hurts. Sounds like they could not only not afford Dunn but the draft picks they would have gotten if he had said no to arbitration.
Type A (4 players)
Juan Cruz
Darren Oliver
Ben Sheets
Jason Varitek (very small)
Type B (6 players)
Paul Byrd
Jon Garland
Brandon Lyon
Dennys Reyes
Brian Shouse
David Weathers
No real reason just a guess and of those I picked, you should take Sheets and Varitek off the list.
Some of the other players like Cabrera, Hudson, Fuentes, Ibanez, Sheets and Varitek will probably have a decision to make when Sunday rolls around to see if they should take the guaranteed money and wait one more year to hit the market.
HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) – The Houston Comets, four-time winners of the Women's National Basketball Association crown, will suspend operations after the league was unable find a buyer for the team.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081202/ts_alt_afp/basketusawomencomets
That is sad. The WNBA has been putting out a better product the last couple of years and I hope they survive the down time.
Of the four, "Pelican Brief" might actually be the most watchable. But the others have artsier reputations.
Or even just a sandwich.
he's going to want something to wash it down, so...
he'll ask for a glass of whiskey, and then...
(Sorry. Too many kids books in my library.)
Anyone interested in Burrell? He's no Manny Ramirez (even defensively!) but I sure like his bat. Kemp and Ethier could reprise their CF-RF alignment. With Ramirez gone, it's clear that the #1 priority should be a big bat, although Burrell's wouldn't be as bit in DS as in the Philly bandbox, I imagine. Burrell or Dunn.
Colletti would never go for it. But I would.
Next priority for me would be Orlando Hudson.
Burrell's 2008 splits:
Home: .230/.348/.439/.787, 12 HRs
Away: .270/.387/.577/.964, 21 HRs
How great would Burrel look in LF? Then go for a slightly deal that would allow us to go after Hudson, Sheets/Burnett, and a tier 2 pitcher. I like the idea of getting some quantity and depth rather than going after Manny/CC and then having Colletti go after Mark Loretta for our SS/2B problem.
There's a difference between not offering arbitration to a player that might otherwise get 13-15 mils, as opposed to 3mils. Its understandable that the Yankees wouldnt want to pay Abreu 18 mils. Its not understandable that the Dodgers wouldnt want to pay Beimel 3 mils.
Adam Dunn turned down a two-year contract offer from the Diamondbacks shortly before the team declined to offer him arbitration Monday.
Why would you not offer Dunn arbitration? At worst, you get him on a 1yr deal. Maybe the Dbax have financial problems too. This is a worse decision than the Beimel move I think.
It is no secret that the Diamondbacks are having financial issues. After the big free agents this could be a very shocking time for the rest of the group.
They're gonna struggle just to feed their families.
I think you will see at least a $105-$110 million payroll. Those numbers allow them to say that they spent money while not maxing themselves out so that they can acquire pieces at the deadline in July.
They get to cut payroll by $10 million or so and save face in the wake of Jamie's ridiculous rant about charity vs. payroll.
The superstars deserve their money IMO. Hopefully the days of the average PVL making 8-10 mils a year (think Garland, Silva, Pierre, etc..) are over.
If Casey Blake accepts arbitration, he likely makes 10 mils? The Dodgers are really rolling the dice at offering him, but maybe they wouldnt mind him back for 1yr no matter the cost.
I cant see any club offering Blake more per year than what he'd make through arbitration in 2009.
146 Ahhh, now that makes sense. There's a bit of a gap between Parallax and Pelican in quality but on the other hand they have his stamp on both.
--
And I'm liking the idea of Burrell if they don't re-sign Manny, now that he wasn't offered arbitration. In fact, sign Burrell, lose Manny and get two draft picks isn't the worst of all worlds.
Carroll said on Monday that the Trojans would wear their cardinal red home jerseys on Saturday at the Rose Bowl. That violates an NCAA rule that requires visiting teams to wear white, and the infraction will cost him two timeouts, one per half.
I guess the D-bax were thinking he'd be a tough case to win in arbitration.
If he asks for 20 mils a year & the Dbax offer 12 mils, Dunn might win. The Dbax budget must be really small this off-season.
That's the first "Psych" reference I have ever seen on this site...
It's not like they even need timeouts... It's UCLA!
159
I hope you are right that the days of below average veterans pulling in plus 10 Million is over. Blake for one year would be fine. He isn't as bad as he hit for us and being on the hook for only one year makes it palatable. It will be curious if he goes for the multi year offer of the Twins at less money or accepts arbitration. Assuming of course that the Twins will even offer a multi-year deal. They are quite spendthrift themselves and the Lamb deal is still quite fresh in their minds.
According to MLB rules and such, what options do the Dodgers have, apart from keeping him on the big league squad and releasing him?
Are they allowed to send Jones to the minors? If so, can they only send him down for injury rehab, or could they send him down just for fun?
So it looks like Renteria is now free of draft picks but Caberera is not. So the GM who doesn't want to pay for a draft pick should be able to sign Orlando and save money in both draft picks and yearly salary compared to Renteria. Looks like Ned's guy to me.
135
103 Million
Either Loretta or Aurelia seems like a virtual lock.
Clay Calfee 6'6 8 home runs
Steven Caseres 6'4 7 home runs
Kyle Orr 6'5 5 home runs
All from Odgen
Kyle Russel 6'5 11 home runs in 219 ab's. Okay but hardly Billy Ashley ish.
Didn't seem sane at the time. Every serious roto player I knew, felt Byrnes had been reamed by Kenny Williams. Counting on Justin Upton to be your starting RF at age 20 is no reason to trade someone with the minor league credentials of Quentin.
http://www.mlb4u.com/wiki/index.php/Minor_League_Assignments
The contract of a Player with five or more years of Major League service, not including service while on the Military List (or seven or more years of Major League service, including service while on the Military List), can not be assigned to a minor league or foreign team without the Player's written consent.
If they sign him to be a full time player that would be a disaster but as the right hand side of a platoon he has a career .393 OBP. I've said before if you mix and match Loretta with any number of left handed free agent 2nd baseman like Vazquez or Lopez you could have a productive tandem.
Woah. How the heck did that happen? Did the mean Philly fans make him sad?
http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117996677.html
Dunn's hit 40HRs for 3yrs in a row
It's actually 5 years in a row. At exactly 40 HR each year. He's the only player in MLB history to hit the same number of HR (I believe greater than zero) five years in a row.
Vitamin B shots wear off?
I agree with you that Aurilia is a healthier version of Nomar - bad defense at any position you choose, and occasional pop at the plate.
I stand corrected. At the lower spectrum (1 & 2 HR), there are a few players with 5 years in a row of the same total:
6 in a row
Al Evans - 2 HR (1945-1950)
5 in a row
Dave Hansen - 2 HR (2001-2005)
Nellie Fox - 2 HR (1959-1963)
Ed Romero - 1 HR (1980-1984)
Leo Durocher - 1 HR (1936-1940)
Bid McPhee - 1 HR (1895-1899)
Those are the only players besides Adam Dunn with 5 consecutive seasons of the same number of nonzero HR.
188 - Dunn appears to have only 4 at exactly 40 HR's, with the first of 5 consecutive years at 40+ starting with 46 homers in '04.
Hey, somebody has to keep you guys honest :)
Now I feel stupid. Good catch. :)
I disagree. He may BE 18 days younger. But he APPEARS to be several years older.
I do specifically remember (because I looked it up in September) that for seasons I believe 3 HR or greater, the only players with 4 or more years of the same total are:
Dunn, 40 (2005-2008)
Ken Boyer, 24 (1961-1964)
Fredd Lynn, 23 (1984-1987)
He could be an ideal platoon partner for DeWitt, Loney, and whatever other lefty we might get for the IF.
vr, Xei
LF Rice - age 22, .309/.350/.491, 127 OPS+ (128 OPS+ career)
CF Lynn - age 23, .331/.401/.566, 161 OPS+, MVP (129 OPS+ career)
RF Evans - age 23, .274/.353/.456, 119 OPS+ (127 OPS+ career)
If we can get Loretta, I would prefer him to Nomar and there are a host of players I would prefer over Kent who would be cheaper.
I like the idea of signing Hudson and another bat and allowing DeWitt and Hu every opportunity to win the SS and 3B job outright.
http://tinyurl.com/62vezx
Kazmir upside if starting, Wagner if in relief.
Why would Kent be a cheap alternative?
And Dewey ended up being the best of the three not that anyone noticed.
vr, Xei
There are a scant few teams with 3 young OF. Here are the teams in MLB history with 3 OF age 23 or younger with at least a 100 OPS+ (in 400+ PA):
1910 & 1911 Red Sox (Tris Speaker, Duffy Lewis, Harry Hooper)
1975 Red Sox (Lynn, Dewey, Rice)
1986 Rangers (Ruben Sierra, Pete Incaviglia, Oddibe McDowell)
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/mMru
I use to love to watch him set up for throws, and what an arm!
Questions:
How much value does an average MLB shortstop provide on offense plus defense? How much value does Hu provide on defense? What does that mean he'd have to hit in order to be pulling his weight if he starts at SS for the Dodgers in 2009?
I have no idea how to answer any of these questions.
I think Raines is a slam dunk HOF, but I doubt he'll ever get in.
Rickey Henderson was better than Dawson. He was also better than Raines (though it's closer). Henderson SHOULD be a shoo-in.
The thing is, that's not the cutoff for the HOF. You don't have to be as good as Henderson to deserve to get in.
Raines, obviously, deserves to get in. I wouldn't vote for Dawson, but I think he WILL get in soon (next year or the year after). I think that will help Raines's case and that after a significant wait, he will be elected.
In the case of Henderson, it was because Dwayne Murphy was outstanding in CF. Henderson did play CF when he was traded to the Yankees.
I'm disgusted by Sherman. He can't make any more silly rumors, so he has to make this idiotic attack piece.
I definitely loved Brett Butler. His bunting prowess was amazing to me.
I didn't pay much attention to all the caught stealings back then.
I even appreciated Butler as a Giant! He was the Giant who slid into 2B and was called for interference to preserve Hershiser's scoreless streak in 1988 (Juan Uribe scored but the run was nullified after Butler was called for sliding out of the baseline; Ernest Riles was thus charged with a GIDP).
http://tinyurl.com/6pdx8j
Wade Boggs, Max "Camera Eye" Bishop, and Eddie Collins all had 8 such seasons:
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/7xbY
However, he's voting for the US Soccer Hall of Fame.
Ha! Juan Uribe may be older than you think, but of course I meant Jose Uribe.
Maybe I'm reading it wrong.
Umm.....? Do you have some kind of crystal ball that reads the minds of GM's around the league? You're reply might as well of just said "I hate Milton Bradley".
Do we really need an entire hall...?
Paraphrasing from memory, this is what Bill James wrote about Brett Butler:
If you use his caught-stealings to cancel an equal number of walks, he still had an OBP close to 400. And if you evaluate him that way, now you got a leadoff hitter who's 30 for 30 as a base stealer. He didn't score 100 runs per year on blind luck.
Prototype-A form or species that serves as an original type or example.
So, yeah he is the perfect example of what a leadoff hitter should be. Therefore he is prototypical, right? The number of leadoff hitters with his power is irrelevant.
They said it: "He'd started for us his entire career, then switched to the bullpen. The thing that stood out for me was the four more feet of fastball. He was up to 96 mph. It provides some versatility for us. We can leave him in the bullpen or we can give him a chance for a rotation spot." -- Dodgers Farm Director De Jon Watson
A bullpen of McDonald, Elbert, Wade, Kuo and Broxton would be pretty dominant.
Hang down your head, Thomas Dooley.
There were 16 players signed that resulted in 21 picks for their former teams. This includes a few players like Torji Hunter, who was signed by the Angels prior the arbitration deadline and that automatically awarded two picks to the Twins.
Richie Ashburn and Max Carey, to name a few, didn't get to 3000.
Imagine if the Colts' backup QB named his son Torji!
There are things called backups, too, so when one of your players gets injured you have a guy ready to go! What a concept!
Doesn't that work against your argument? He was a DH and still only managed to play 126 games. The Free Agent pool is full of great hitting DH only types with Milton, Giambi, Dunn, Burrel, and of course Manny. Some you can plug into LF and live the with defense but you can't plug Milton into LF because then he'd been even more likely to get hurt. Of them all, sadly he is the most likely to be only a DH because of his propensity for injury.
At the next DT outing, should you guys get in line behind JoeyP & CanuckDodger at the dunking booth, or should we have American Gladiator-esque giant q-tips to use for the duel?
If he ever does that again then you have a point but it was far and away a peak season for Milton.
If Milton played defense the way Manny "plays defense", maybe he wouldn't get hurt so much.
Genius ideas all.
There's a live chat on MLBTR if anyone cares. They're often entertaining, if pointless. Much like the movie "Wanted."
Angelina Jolie: "Kill one, save a thousand."
Frank McCourt: "Trade one (prospect), save a million (dollars)."
There are too many guys winking at each other for my comfort
"Those aren't pillows."
"So, how about those Bears, huh?"
Hilarious. I'm re-listening right now.
vr, Xei
One of the frequent problems with free agents is that by the time you get them, they've already given their best years to the game
Funny how few GMs seem to comprehend this simple concept.
And not only that, but players lose a not-insignificant portion of their motivation for performing after signing a big free agent contract.
I'm sure you have an empirical study to prove this effect other than something like "the player got older."
Colin Jose has been inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.
This is no drill.
Are you talking about the Lakers? I'm pretty sure they'll lose at least one more game.
No study, just reason. Before signing a big contract, a player's various motivating factors include "desire for big contract, and wealth and security that accompany it".
After signing a big contract (especially in the years prior to the next "contract year"), that particular motivating factor is almost inevitably weaker, if not absent.
Whether and how that affects performance is a separate question.
I noticed today that the Lakers have played twice as many home games as road games thus far, by far the largest ratio of home to road games in the league.
That's an interesting question. The Dodgers will be above average at catcher, left field, center field (if that's Kemp). They will have questions or be below average at the other outfield position (Jones/Pierre), first base (Loney may improve or may not -- we've had that conversation), third base (DeWitt).
And that doesn't even include 2B or SS. Which is why I asked my question. If Hu could make that slot average, it would take care of a problem quite neatly. Xei is convincing that Hu won't be average next year, which means the Dodgers have to decide if they want to pursue an alternative or have SS be one of the coupla positions that a contending team can carry a below-average guy.
That will change soon enough, as 4 of the next 5 are on the road.
I will abstain from commenting on how the Lakers will do in this stretch, as the last time I did so led to loss #1.
While that statement maybe true for some free agents, there are many who are productive: Manny, Barry Bonds, Derrick Lowe, Frank Thomas in his first stint with the A's, to just name a few. The key is when you are getting them, and how many are on your team.
Ironically if the Dodgers can't get the top free agents they need, this year they may do far better not signing any long term contracts. Perhaps this is the Ned plan this year.
vr, Xei
http://www.philbirnbaum.com/freeagent.ppt
You've posted that before, and it addresses a different issue (to wit, whether players perform better in their contract years).
I'm talking about how they perform after signing the big contract. Actually, I'm not talking about how they perform, but rather what motivates them to perform.
So essentially, this is all just your own supposition? You don't have the evidence to prove it unless you're going to undertake some massive psychological testing of major league players.
I think it's quite easy to be skeptical of your idea. Especially when many of your ideas seem to built out of personal animus toward certain players or a dislike of society as a whole.
I just want in on the Eliminator.
Unfamiliar.
Neko Case is Ukranian for "Biz Markee wannabee"
http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2008/12/back-in-the-sad.html
what is Tripp Cromer up to these days.
I've only seen him play a few times but he seems like a legit great player, he's not eye catching great but he is a very good ball player.
Bingo
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/9Hw5
OPS+ you are correct, I expect Neyer is deducting his defensive value but even with Win Shares which takes that into account Neyer seems to be off base. Maybe he wanted some Yankee hate mail.
It'll be hilarious if Bartlett was traded for Young... again. It'll be the ultimate sell high, and buy low move.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
Its arguable that in the last 35 years, Morgan, Schmidt and Barry Bonds would be candidates to move onto that list as the greatest of all-time.
All time catcher has always been a hard one for me to pin down, Cochrane, Berra, Campanella and Bench are names that you think about first. Mike Piazza is probably a greater hitter than all of them and his game-calling skill was generally acknowledged of being pretty good. But those other 4 catchers would rate above him defensively and they also each won MVPs and World Series titles.
First base and SS have been etched in stone since the HOF opened, Gehring and Wagner. As far as the two other OFs, one would be Ruth and we could have a long debate on the other one. But Barry certainly had argument to be included on this list.
If you are going to use his contract to make that point what does that make the 2008 version of Giambi? No one is claiming that Jeter is one of the best 20 players in baseball anymore just because the Yankee's opened the vault for him. I think he's been lousy at SS for so long that people forget how good he was at one time. It would be as if Nomar had been playing SS for the last 5 years. Everyone would only remember how terrible he has been in that time and not remember how athletic he played the position when he first came up.
When Arod can field SS with a glove the size of his hand then maybe we could get some perspective.
I have to think Neyer still gets too many emails from people who think Jeter is a top 5 player right now, and thus his comment. It may not be a fair sampling of the general baseball watching base, but it sounds like what he's reacting too.
I'd defer to Reg about Jeter's prime years at defense, but I seem to remember reading he's always been pretty bad.
On behalf of the LA Times, I feel duty bound to tell you that "Staples Center" does not have a definite article in front of it.
http://wezen-ball.blogspot.com/2008/12/baseball-in-year-2000-predictions-from.html
Well, of course. He'll be 41, won't he?
The Two Steinbrenners with the Same Name will surely give Jeter a contract extension next year. By the end of that, Jeter will be a very highly paid bench player. It won't be a good stiutation, but the Yankees can afford it. And then, in 2018 or whatever, he'll go to the Hall of Fame as a Yankee.
Not sure what's so controversial here.
In over 495 post season ab's Jeter does what he does during the season.
Postseason 309/377/469
Regular 316/387/458
Arod
Postseason 279/361/483
Regular 306/389/578
Arod has only had 147 at bats in the postseason so maybe he'd normalize with more at bats. Then again maybe if he'd done more in the post season he'd have gotten his opportunity to get more at bats. It would not be shocking to find that the baseball community would expect the "best" player in baseball to hit like it when October comes. He hits like Derek Jeter but the expectations are that he should hit like Reggie.
In the 1976 Topps baseball card set, there were cards for The Sporting News all-time greats:
C - Cochrane
1B - Gehrig
2B - Hornsby
3B - Traynor
SS - Wagner
OF - Williams
OF - Cobb
OF - Ruth
RHP - Johnson
LHP - Grove
I didn't think any undergrad programs gave out bonus points like they do in high school.
And he's going to Arizona State anyway.
Pie Traynor really had good PR for a long time. He was a good player, but an OPS+ of 107 means that he better have been able to pick it really well.
I assume either Mike Schmidt or Alex Rodriguez would get the title of greatest third baseman ever.
I wonder what Tony Abreu, on the DL the entire year, got (I'm guessing a full share).
http://tinyurl.com/598dqa
I had one undergrad semester in which I received 3 As and 1 A+, which yielded a GPA of 4.25.
That sentence reads like a combination of mock Japanese and mock Irish.
I haven't read the blog entry with Neyer's justification for that statement. But I don't think it's inconsistent say that Jeter is a HOFer (or top 5 or whatever) AND hugely overrated. Same could be said for Brett Favre, or Joe Montana in his day, or even Michael Jordan (Best ever? Yes. Overrated? Also yes.).
The main point must be about Jeter's gawdawful defense, which some people insist is terrific. But anyone who has been anointed a god by ESPN is likely overrated, no matter how good he might actually be.
The curious one for me was Tony Gwynn, who somehow seemed to go from under-appreciated to overrated in the blink of any eye.
Basically, I'm interpreting Neyer's statement as a comment not on Jeter, but on the "raters," whoever they may be.
Andy LaRoche probably got a partial share, Maddux, Stults, Elbert, McDonald, Repko would be others. I'll assume Jones and Penny got full shares.
Usually cash awards are given to the bat boys, clubhouse attendants, traveling secretary, front office staff (not Ned, but other office personnel).
I feel good.
But I bet those stupid UCLA grads would feel snobby toward an ASU grad.
4+1 was the greatest 45 minutes or so I have ever spent at a sporting event.
The rice gelato I had in Florence was the best dessert I have ever eaten.
All of these statements are correct in my mind. Am I overrating all three of them, I don't think so.
That is why I didn't capitalize it.
At third it would probably be Schmidt, but where is Chipper in comparison? He has to be up there.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122808016191367339.html#printMode
>>OK, so Arizona doesn't want to get stuck with Adam Dunn next season at the $15 million or so he'd get through arbitration. Fine. It's a short-sighted maneuver not to offer arbitration – he's bound to get a multi-year deal somewhere – but with the Diamondbacks offering arbitration to Orlando Hudson, Juan Cruz and Brandon Lyon, one scouting director wondered whether it was to avoid a glut of draft choices and the signing bonuses that accompany them.
While two sources dismissed the idea, one pointed out that with Dunn, Hudson and Cruz all Type A players likely to sign elsewhere, it would have left the Diamondbacks with seven high picks, including their own first-rounder, and eight if Lyon doesn't accept arbitration. According to Baseball America, Arizona spent only $4.49 million on its draft choices last season, the seventh-lowest number in the game.
Still, the specter of high draft picks, which most teams consider extremely valuable, did not scare off the Brewers or Dodgers. Each is in position to have six top picks if they cannot re-sign their eligible free agents, all of whom are unlikely to accept arbitration.<<
I saw that yesterday but neglected to post it here. You're welcome.
I also think the Reds might not have wanted to risk Dunn accepting arbitration.
I am inconsistent about it:
I read the New York Times, but I am currently reading "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" and watching "The Godfather." On the other hand, I listen to the Beatles while I attend basketball games at the Forum.
Help me out here.
...and now it's on.
I guess you could argue that he was an empty singles hitter: Few walks, few HRs, few RBIS, & few runs scored.
But it's still tough to ignore a player that put up a career .388 OBP over 2,440 ABs.
I kid, certainly those two will always be linked in basketball history.
Watching Oregon slice and dice Oregon State just had to be painful despite it getting USC in position to win another Rose Bowl trip. (See no jinx)
Andy Van Slyke.
Now I wish I had kept quiet.
Has anyone else read the Wetzel column at Yahoo Sports?
It's the reverse of the Gold Glove awards.
Or back in the day when college basketball All-America teams had four centers and one guard.
I can't go back there...too many fines
Jerry never could have racked up all that yardage with a QB who couldn't throw the ball 5 yards in the air.
Joe Montana did win two Super Bowls without Jerry Rice.
You're the Plaxico Burress of the LAPL.
All of Joe Montana's TD passes:
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/score.cgi?type=pass&id=MontJo01
It's not like we run a credit check on you when you walk in the door.
There are not too many postions in team sports where a player can succeed without the help of his teammates. Maybe a perimeter player in basketball can achieve a lot since they have the ball but Gretzky, Magic, Bird, Montana, etc., all needed great teammates to achieve their stardom.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
Otto Graham is the leader at 9.0 yards.
In second place, Tony Romo!
Could Bird been the great Celtic without McHale, Parish, Johnson, and Archibald. Magic never won without Kareem, Wilkes, Worthy, Nixon, Cooper and Scott. Montana had Dwight Clark, Jerry Rice, John Taylor and Roger Craig.
That is why you often see great teams represented in the various Halls of Fame. It is those rare combinations of talent that makes players and teams great and remembered for a long time.
vr, Xei
I can skate, but I'm not good at stopping. I'm guessing I would be offsides a lot.
I'm sure Pete Carroll is happy.
http://www.collegefootballtalk.com/category/rumor-mill/
Which reminds me, great players usually do not make great coaches. Larry Bird is a possible exception.
You doubt the greatness of the Fillmore High Flashes?
Nothing is more fun than driving all the way from South Pasadena to Fillmore to watch a team of Division I college players go up against a team of guys who are all about 5'9", 190 lbs on a good day.
When I covered that game, Clausen and Marc Tyler left at halftime to fly out to Notre Dame on a recruiting trip.
I will say that all the times I covered Oaks Christian, the staff from the school were always very polite and helpful.
Unlike the people who worked for Campbell Hall. They're on the obelisk.
So is Arcadia High.
And Notre Dame High would never give me a free program.
That's how I stop!
The alternative method is falling over.
He is not good enough to play at USC.
All I remember were his sharp elbows and awkward shots. He was lucky enough to play on the great Knick teams.
I believe John Wooden and Lenny Wilkens are the only two men who have been inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
vr, Xei
vr, Xei
I bet they bow, that one team of Frazier, Barnett, Bradley, DeBusschere, and Willis Reed was as good as it gets. It beat one of the greatest Laker teams ever.
And yet I can't really say if I was "watching basketball" much.
Eric - Hazelton is leaving SC
I think it would have been announced sooner, but when the NCAA tossed the transfer paperwork to Hazelton, he dropped it.
You can also watch the games for free on the website I've posted before.
Tim Brown has a column up, said no talks between LA and CC.
Garret Green was on second team with 3.43 GPA in Business Administration.
I guess how well you can play football comes into account for All-Academic team.
421 That team had Earl the Pearl and Jerry Lucas also, didn't it?
I wonder if the Dodgers will end up with Blake after all. 1 year of him would not be so bad as a stopgap, that would keep them from signing someone worse, at least.
I was talking about the 1970 team. Jackson was hurt that year. The 73 team had Monroe.
Looks like baseball is scaling back. Poor Casey he's back to being year to year. I didn't think the Twins would be the team to meet his demands, is anyone cheaper then they are?
McDowell expects Blake to receive a three-year deal. We expect the team that signs him will regret it after a few months.
Means I have a horrible NBA team for a few years, but he's seemingly done a good job of making it look like 3-4 years instead of 5-8. Granger doesn't hurt.
They blurred for me also, I had to look it up and was surprised to see Monroe was not part of the 69/70 team. I can't even remember Dick Barnett but I remember the rest of the team like it was yesterday.
At the time of The Malice At The Palace©, I thought the Pacers were the best team in the East (at least) and poised for a nice run as a 55-60 win team.
I think it worked. Dude was pretty tall.
Me too, especially when TNT had sponsorship ties with Dutch Boy. It was always awesome to see Smits dominating the "Dutch Boy In The Paint" stats.
I liked Detlef Schrempf as well, at least pre-Portland.
Dick Barnett - fall back, baby. We used to try to imitate his shot too.
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