Simpson has failed to pay the $33.5 million judgment against him in the civil suit. His NFL pension and his Florida home cannot legally be seized

I wonder how long he can get away with not ponying up.

i'll start the bidding at twelve years, five months.

http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2006/11/pickoff-moves_15.html

I think there may be less here than meets the eye. There's too many teams wanting to move in, not enough dollars to go around (this year), and one of those teams will have to move to Tempe (the Indians have a deal with Goodyear, but it expires soon). I'll believe it when I see them break ground, not that I think that's impossible.

I find it unconscionable that the McCourts wouldn't even call Porter to tell him he was fired. I've had to let people go occasionally, and common courtesy dictated that I do it face to face with explanation.

I would be willing to make a long weekend trip to Arizona for Spring Training, which is what I think that the Dodgers management wants.

By the way, even though there was nobody else at Dodger town but me and some guy working on the sprinklers, it was totally awesome to spend a few hours just cruising around the grounds and think about the history of what had been there. But again, I could never afford to make that trip with my family. Glendale I could make it to.

If so, congrats, and if not, than fooey for a magazine that can't decide on whether to put a UCLA or USC song girl on the cover.

14 - Seriously, this market is making the ARod winter look sane, isn't it?

Now I might have to actually root for us signing Soriano so we do not trade any young pitching.

Frank Thomas looks to be going to the Blue Jays, so I guess our hated rival Barry Bonds could end up an Athletic.

cruz buyout of 300k
mueller salary of 4.5
odalis perez money sent to KC of 8mil
gagne buyout 1mil

BJ can be nontendered. i already included bombko in my burrell deal.

Are there that many zeros on a calculator?

Texas or Carolina? (Please be Texas...Please be Texas...)

Yes, I am.

i will release it in details soon.

It's in my Nate file.

you probably already knows what it says. alot of the ideas have already been floated on here.

They are going in.

While it's uncertain whether Thomas' deal is for three years or two with an option, a source said the total value could exceed $30 million.

big hurt to bluejays deal. 30mil is insane.

How much are you planning to give Fasano, Purcey...?

The Susan Powter School of baseball management I see.

fasanos property of the yanks. if they non tender him, then around .750k

But what's with all the points? What happened to the 20-17 halftime scores?

They turned out to be false.

I wish that extended to foo...awe, you know where I was going with that.

The Phills landing Soriano could be the best thing to happen to the Dodgers, not only keeping us away from Soriano but allowing us to trade for Burrell.......is there any way they would take Tomko and a B pitching prospect?

Bobby Abreu posted a -13 Plus / Minus rating in 2005, making him the twenty-eighth-best rightfielder in baseball, and he held .492 of advancing runners, good for eleventh in the MLB. Despite his mediocrity, Abreu won the 2005 Gold Glove for Right Field

16-kid households will do that

My offseason plan includes giving Zito a 6 year deal for $15-16 million a year, trading for Pat Burrell, and letting Nomar walk.

Don't tax yourselves guys. Save some for tournament play.

mine includes 2/3 of those proposals.

See Greg's file for details.

final line:

18.1 IP, 12 Hits, 4 ER, 8 BB, 21 K's

eh, decent.

except for Jordan Hill. Hes going to be a defensive beast.

I think we basically need to sign Zito but is anyone else scared that the Mets will either drive up the price so we really OVER pay? or likely outbid us

yes but more potential!

73- I don't really care, Zito needs to be the Dodgers number one target. I think I'd even go up to $17 million a year. It's crazy money, but Zito is extremely durable and goes deep into games. He's the type player and person (team chemistry booster!) that you want leading your young pitching staff. He's like Derek Lowe with a brain, minus the alcohol problems.

The last time I was in Sicily, the restaurant served little patties of Zappala brand butter. So yes, it is a household name.

Most of us agree here in tucson agree that is likely the case as well. Although it really isnt a big deal. We are getting Bayless and Jamelle horn next year, both are 5star recruits.

I just dont want to lose budinger or McCellan after this year.

I pretty much agree that the Dodgers need to concede and just agree to overpay, which I think Ned may do anyway. if we cant get Zito, Schmidt is a MUST..... I guess the bright side of this is the fact that we would then only be able to afford one starting pitcher thus, allowing Bills and Kuo to start

http://www.zappala.it/

A big play at the end of the game was a held ball. It was the first year that the NCAA got rid of jump balls for those and Walton was aghast at the new rule.

That UCLA team had its season book ended by the Beehive State. They lost the opener at home to BYU and lost in the NCAA tournament to Utah and the dreaded Pace Mannion.

http://www.timmermann.com/

I kid you not.

I just think we will still have a ton of flexability over the next few years with young and inexpensive Kuo, Billingsley, Elbert and then Zito long term

I knew it!

I'm sure the World Series met with his approval. Despite what other people on Baseball Toaster thought.

Why don't the White Sox just stay where they are then and let the Dodgers do the joint thing in Goodyear with Cleveland?

aka the Frumpy Timmermanns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duqvXu3Wu0Q

Well, let's just say it wasn't very probable.

and, its not done yet, im still trying to figure stuff out.

Well thats true, but if ZIPs is somewhat correct, we should still have an awesome season watching our young players progress and produce at high levels.

UNC was 11-19 from the line. Winthrop was 0-1.

The only other team on UCLA's schedule this year that they have a losing record against alltime is West Virginia (1-2).

Utah Valley is also called Happy Valley, but we're not too happy tonight.

Just all around awesome. If you can't sleep and there's a replay on, you'll thank me later.

TONIGHT! FOR THE HOUR...ANDY GRIFFITH TAKES YOUR CALLS!

I really didn't want Nomar back, but if it's for only two years then it's not as bad as I thought. I expect Nomar to get $11-12 million a year.

Best case scenario if Nomar re-signs: Jeff Kent is traded for anything, Nomar moves to 2B, Loney starts at 1B, and Betemit and LaRoche battle it out for the 3B job.

Sources:

http://tinyurl.com/yecruk

http://tinyurl.com/ybdc6t

I call Uncle.

Somebody's got to go.

Couldn't Elbert replace Billingsley soon? That would be hard to pass up...

The preschool director even used the word "chemistry" several times.

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."

--From Julius Caesar (I, ii, 140-141)

The Matadors won 159-97.

http://tinyurl.com/uma82 (there's a picture; fair warning)

The trick, I think, is to put them in there when they're just little babies, and let them grow.

With the dearth of free agents available, I'd say Nomar is a good signing that gives the Dodgers a lot of flexibility.

So, Depo took a lot of flack for signing "injury-prone" DJ Drew. Will Ned take the same flack if he signs Nomar?

Average games/year 1999-2006

Nomar: 109
DJ: 118

DJ's ABs in the cleanup spot:

2002: 8
2003: 30
2004: 61
2005: 0
2006: 302

2002: 1.9%
2003: 10.5%
2004: 11.8%
2005: 0.0%
2006: 61.1%

Well, in this case, my point was really about RBIs and their dependence upon position in the lineup. It just so happened that Boras was relevant to the discussion as well...But I'm trying to stop the Boras rant...And I'm trying to stop the Ned vs. Depo stuff as well...But it's just so darn tempting...

He's got some flashy skills, and he could be one of these guys whose talent overcomes his discouraging peripherals.

It's not out of line to expect a .300 average, 60 extra base hits, and 60 steals to go with an .800+ OPS. If only he played a better outfield.

In general, my point was that some will say Drew's 2006 season was more impressive than his previous seasons because of his 100-RBI total. But, as I pointed out, 2006 was also the year where he had by far the most ABs in the #4 spot. It would be interesting to look at the % of ABs with runners on/in scoring position for different spots in the lineup, as a partial indicator of RBI chances. But I'm not sure if that info is available.

2002: 42.7%
2003: 44.6%
2004: 47.5%
2005: 40.1%
2006: 51.2%

So, not only did he get by far his most ABs in the cleanup spot, but he also had his highest % of ABs with runners on base (over half of his ABs came with at least one runner on).

If we'd signed Hochevar we'd been in position to trade pitching for him but with our current pitching staff I can't see us making the deal unless Zito or Schmidt end up in our rotation. The current salary blowup for pitchers is going to backfire on baseball general managers when in two years they look back and see a mess of these pitchers looking very much like Pavano.

Can't say that I would mind seeing Peavy leave the NL West.

Why are the Padres so eager to move Peavy? Wonder if it's his shoulder?

I'll tip my cap to Towers on this one...not seeing Peavy as much would put a hop in my step.

Any rumors involving Flanders floating around today?

I feel better about their catching situation than LA's, which is woefully thin should anything happen to Russell.

Kent for Peavy!

162
Meche and Padilla are fine as back of the rotation starters go but I'd hate to see us fork out the money for them. On the other hand I really think Lilly can be a front line starter who would thrive in Dodger stadium and the NL in general.

(ducks)

We've got tons of 1B options already, does Choi bring anything to the table that gives him a viable chance at becoming our 1B?

We don't much about Choi around here...Was he that other guy we got in the Bill Murphy trade...?

http://tinyurl.com/yhw895

Good luck with him, as Uncle Miltie said, I'd rather take a chance on him then have Travis Lee back.

Here's his OPS numbers by year, with his 2002 numbers removed because they were accumulated in 250 ABS.

03- .671
04- .781
05- .800
06- .830

I'm still not all that enthused by him. His walk rate is not likely to ever be that great, and his OPS numbers are almost entirely dependent on his slugging percentage. He's also primarily a ground ball hitter, so unless he starts getting the ball in the air more often, I don't expect his power numbers to rise THAT dramatically.

Next thing you know, it'll be Jason Phillips Memorial Friday and Bob will be tearing up a little as he recalls that gamer Jason playing first base with a catcher's mitt just to save the team a few pennies on the extra glove.

Which in turn seems to depend heavily upon his batting average (a la Andre Ethier)

Right. I'm also a little skeptical of Ethier's ability to replicate last season's success.

Pre-All Star: .352/.403/.545/.948
Post-All Star: .277/.337/.429/.766

His .842 OPS ranked 9th out of 12 NL LFers.
His 162-game projection would give him 25 doubles, 15 HR's and 70 RBI's.

If he doesn't improve on (or at least replicate) last year's numbers, LA is in trouble.

his second half numbers are skewed by his horrible september. he basically hit the rookie wall then since before this season, he has never endured or played in that many games before.

july: .362/.407/.617

august: .316/.339/.465

september: .143/.311/.163

ZIPS believes in ethier for next year. why cant you!

.296/.366/.463/.829, with 16 HRs and 72 RBI. Not horrible, but not really any better than his 2006 season, and probably not so great compared to other leftfielders.

As I see it, those kind of numbers are kind of in between what I would expect from a #3 and a #4 outfielder...

How do you figure that he's getting more loft in his swings? He actually hit more ground balls last year (06), then he did in either (04) or (05).

He's clearly better than KLoft, but I would not trade very much for him, or at least not what TB is likely asking for.

and what is wrong with his current level of production compared to his salary? Nothing at all. all im saying is, some of you guys dont trust ethier to replicate last years numbers, ZIPS thinks he can using its historical data.

Now you complain, "oh, but...his original numbers arent even that good."

way to change the argument. Either way, the production combined with the 400k salary is worth it.

His BABIP, even after his huge end-season slump, was still abnormally high though, wasn't it?

How is ZIPS calculating its predictions?

minor league record, historical comps, future performance indicators such as walk rate, k rate, etc.

its like BP's Pecota but just created by someone different.

it was .348. which is still on the high side but not totally absurd.

Even if his final numbers last year were lucky BABIPwise, he's still young enough that he could reasonably be expected to improve luck-neutral. Ethier isn't a problem. If he gets flipped for something better, or if he doesn't, the kid's alright.

I saw about 30 Devil Rays games last year. Early in the season, Crawford was driving the ball. Instead the balls going into the gaps, they were going over the wall. Crawford seemed to realize that he had some untapped power and made minor adjustments to his swing. The results were great. This was despite that fact that Crawford was dealing with a pretty severe wrist injury. Later in the season, he seemed to tire down. He had more of a slashing-like swing. His power deteriorated. Instead of driving the ball, Crawford was slapping into the gaps. He was still able to accumulate a number of extra base hits, but the early season power wasn't there. I believe that Crawford has a lot of untapped potential. You really have to see him play to realize what a special talent he is.

Fascizzle, my nizzle

This is exactly why I don't gamble. Losing the kind of bet you must have, would be intolerable, to me.

Don't believe everything you're told, Andrew. The extra time is probably comprised solely of commercials...Those sneaky fatherless-sons...

8:00 My Name Is Earl
8:36 The Office
9:20 30 Rock
10:01 ER

Round those times off at your own peril.

I'm starting a new chat thread at Screen Jam soon.

Sigh, looks like I'll be by myself again tonight...

On a daily basis here at OSU I run into jerks wearing Dodger hats, but who tell me they aren't Dodger fans. Today I ran into a very nice young man who, wearing a Dodger hat, is a real Dodger fan. We talked for some time, lamenting the Piazza trade. He didn't think Colletti should re-sign Nomar.

2007 mlb draft

20. Boston Red Sox (drew)
21. Toronto Blue Jays (lugo)
22. Los Angeles Dodgers
23. San Diego Padres (maddux)

4 straight first round picks. rad!

we get their first round pick for drew and their second round pick for lugo to go along with 2 1st round compensation picks i think.

that non person is going to get us 2 draft picks.

C - Ken Huckaby, 35
RHP - Travis Smith, 34

Huckaby can throw people out at least:
Career CS-att: 34-99 (.343 CS rate)
2004-2006: 13-33 (.393 CS rate)

He was originally a 22nd round draft pick in 1991 for LA and left after 1997 as a minor league free agent

with the way guzman has been regressing, i might rather have the two logan white picked top draftees.

http://tinyurl.com/yc46ls

C Ken Huckaby and RHP Travis Smith

I {{heart}} Huckaby!

No, but seriously, wasn't he halfway decent at one point? All field, no hit maybe...

Think they'd be interested in a veteran left-handed starter who had one of the best ERAs of a lefty in the American League last year?

http://tinyurl.com/yj4run

The Dodgers held Meloan back in extended spring training due to a minor ulnar nerve problem, and he didn't make his debut until May at low Class A Columbus. But considering the missed time, Meloan didn't skip a beat, finishing the season in Double-A with 3-1, 1.90 numbers with a remarkable 91-16 strikeout-walk ratio in just 52 innings across three levels. Meloan sits in the 92-93 mph range with his fastball, topping out at 95. But the 22-year-old has an impressive repertoire overall--with a hard, late-biting 88-90 mph slider, a power 80-82 mph curveball and an above-average changeup. A 2005 fifth-rounder out of Arizona, Meloan can sometimes recoil backward too much in his delivery, which throws off his command. The Dodgers tried throwing him on consecutive days in the AFL--once getting him in three games in a row--to see how he responded in hopes he can battle for a bullpen job in 2007.

Meloan and his Scouting report from the AFL.

Joel the Destroyer. it was our nickname for him when he was, you know, part of our future plans.

his power was severely lacking last year as well. Hes an enigma. I just saw his dominican stats since he is on the same team as kemp and i was checking up on him. It seems like Guzman still doesnt wanna work on his plate discipline with a .22 ISOd and a 3:17 bb/k ratio in 94ABs. At the Ks are reasonable.

I don't either.

The deal would be for two or three years and would call for a significantly higher base salary than he received last year, when he played for a guaranteed $6 million and earned another $2.5 million in incentives based on plate appearances

Colletti has high regard for players who want to wear the Dodgers uniform rather than simply seek the biggest contract on the market.

Whereas all other GMs like to pay a lot more for players who really want to be elsewhere.

I'd rather see Nomar at third and Loney at first.

Anybody know how good an outfielder Loney is?

http://tinyurl.com/yzrun5

Because Nomar "wants to wear the Dodger uniform," the Dodgers are giving him a multiyear deal they otherwise wouldn't do, they are limiting the incentives because they think he'll try to play hurt but could in fact send him to the DL more frequently, they are giving him first base to minimize his injury risk, and they are essentially blocking a very promising and apparently ready first base prospect.

Good thing this is all just a hypothetical.

That said, this really isn't all bad. Nomar is useful, but unless he's headed to the outfield (or another infield move is made), he is not what this team needs to spend its money on right now.

Is that really a "fact"? He wasn't very good at 1B, and the outfield would probably be too rough on his body (not to mention that he has never played there before).

We should keep Loney however. Can use him in the outfield even if that isn't ideal and he would still get 30 games at 1st base when Nomar needs time off and when Nomar DH's. Also, that "assumes" Nomar stays healthy all year, which is all but impossible. We need the insurance, and I don't really like Kent at 1st as it blows a hole in the lineup. Still need 2 outfielders. I'd like Alou and Wells personally. If Alou breaks down, we go with Kemp

Loney should be able to handle RF okay since he's got average speed and a pitchers arm but if we were to enter the year with Nomar at 1st and Loney in RF our power would start to rival the pop gun Jerry Remy Angels of yesteryear unless Ned reels in a slugger for LF or CF.

Yeah, but Ned did the math, and found that

Nomar's offense + Desire to wear Dodger uniform >= Nomar's salary - Loney's salary

As for Drew, I won't miss him much even though we now need someone just like him now. I just hated him having to sit down every fifth game. His power was a little disappointing this year as well. We'll see how we replace him though. I am going to hate even more giving up solid young guys like Broxton to replace him.

Will you hate having Nomar sit down every fifth game?

Not really. Nomar is a gamer and will play hurt. With Drew, it was sometimes a wonder. I have to question his passion. With Nomar, he is willing to take a discount to come back. Drew opted out his contract to go after a little bit more money. At least with Nomar sitting down, we should have Loney to sub in. Also, I am under the assumption that we are getting Nomar for less than the $11M we were paying Drew.

BTW, that contract was the worst thing Depo ever did. Either way, the Dodgers were going to lose - If Drew was terrible we were stuck with a huge contract. If he did great, he opted out, and now that he did about as expected (maybe even a little worse) he still opted out. If it was to see how he would like Pasadena and LA, that is why players can demand trades. Boras really pulled one on an inexperienced Depo.

With Loney, who knows? I seem to remember a lot of people being pretty high on Hollandsworth at one point as well...

Hate it.
Hate it.
Hate it.

First of all, all contracts are risky. If the player sucks or gets hurt, you're stuck with a bad contract. Just two years after the contract was signed, $11 million/year for JD Drew looks like a huge bargain.

Second, Drew and his agent wanted a no-trade clause. Depo didn't give it. As a result, had Drew not opted out, Depo (or Ned) could have traded Drew if they weren't happy with him. They weren't totally stuck.

It is true you are stuck with someone if they go bad, but at least on a normal contract you get to keep them if they do well and you are getting a bargain. With this opt out, we were going to lose in any scenario. If he was a complete bust, we might not have been able to trade a big contract like that and even if we could we would have got little back (in other words, we would lose under this scenario as well).

On the schedule, Southern California hosts Loyola Marymount on December 2, the same day as the UCLA football game. USC seems to host a basketball game on that day quite frequently. Which leads me to this question: who goes to that basketkball game?

No one goes. I never thought the Sports Arena was the reason USC drew so poorly. The Sports Arena was essentially on campus and the sight lines were much better than Pauley Pavilion even if it was a bit musty. Hopefully, they can get a good student section and a strong fan base going at the Galen Center, although I have my doubts.

Loney's going to play, someplace. The idea that we're giving up a lot by giving up Loney's first base defense is of a piece with the complaints when we signed Kent that we were giving up "the best double play combination in history."

If Loney plays the outfield and Nomar plays first, and assuming Loney doesn't translate his excellent first base defense into horrible outfield defense (and why would he?), then the team will benefit. With Drew's departure, signing Nomar became a must. The pool of FA hitters is so shallow this season, and in the end I think the chances we get Soriano are small -- the bidding is going to be outrageous.

The more holes Colletti has to fill thru trades, the more prospects are at risk. Nomar's presence protects these guys.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/746/746290p1.html

I'm just not sure I buy this claim, which is made quite often. Just because people suggest he should be put in a particular position (e.g. the outfield) doesn't mean he can "play" it.

His career numbers:

1 game at 2B (Rate2=101)
34 games at 3B (Rate2=83)
118 games at 1B (Rate2=93)
1024 games at SS (Rate2=99)

With the exception of 2B where he has only played 1 game in his career, he is below average at every other position (according to Rate2). At what point does one conclude that a player "can't" play a position? I don't know the answer to that, but being "well below average" would seem to be a pretty good indicator...

Now, I do assume his defense has declined with age - I don't expect him to be a defensive whiz. But he's not going to embarrass you out there.

Spoken like a true "Numbers guy." You're forgetting the positive externalities that Nomar will emit from his desire to wear a Dodgers uniform, as well as how great it will be for the youngsters just to have him on the bench to talk shop with during the games. If he's out at 1B all the time, that shop-talking doesn't happen, and there's no telling how much worse off those youngsters would be as a result.

Signing Nomar, to him, is a safe move. That's why he's making it. Of course, it's just my opinion, but I have the good fortune of being right.

If Loney gets hurt and we dont have a reasonable back up that hurts us too. If Loney bats .198 that hurts us.

Might as well give ourselves some insurance, and not be so preoccupied with if's.

Since if's are popular, here's another one. If we dont spend the JD money on Nomar it might end up in Franks pocket.

This leaves the Dodgers with needing another outfielder, and the possibility of Andre Ethier in center field. Call me crazy, but I'd shop Beimel for Marcus Thames (the Tigers need to fill the void of Jamie Walker), and then put the big money into a deal for Zito, a bit more to entice Saito, and improve Grady and Ned's ability to recognize talent in Spring Training (see: entire bullpen).

How long did it take you to look up Hollandsworth's stats from 1995 anyway? Please dont tell me you have it memorized.

From whence it will magically "trickle down" to the rest of us...

I understand he has been potty trained for some time now.

Now I would guess they will do better next year with O.J. (Really, of all the names) playing there but I can't imagine more than 3000 there on December 2nd.

Broxton for Giles? That's not a safe move; if Saito says no and Gagne leaves, we have Brett Tomko as our closer.

Besides, If I'm trading Broxton, I'd throw in Kemp for Andruw Jones (then extend Jones). You can do better than Giles for Broxton.

7,512 is a respectable number if they can keep up that all season, but I imagine some of it is for the first game only. Looks like a nice arena, especially for the fans. Like a mini-Staples, but better sight lines and much closer to the court from the upper levels.

That's ok, because I have to do my labor econ homework.

Better?

Although, it originally wasnt meant literally, I was just emphasizing the fact that we really dont know what we have with Loney...yet.

/shudders

Thinking about it somemore, nomar for 2yrs isnt the end of the world only if Loney still gets his major league ABs. like steve said, if signing nomar stops ned from giving out 5-6yr deals to soriano/carlos/gary matthews/juan pierre, then godspeed nomar.

obviously nomar can still hit. if hes healthy, he plays well. if hes hurt, his numbers suffer.

http://tinyurl.com/u284s

Office Space, the thriller...

Finally the market is going to be so inflated for all players, that 8-10 million per year for Nomar will seem like a bargin. Especially when JD Drew signs for 14 million for 4 years.

did you ever post your offseason plan? I wanted to check that out....

Only person to pick up that slack is Soriano...

unless we get a Pat Burrell type.

Finally, Brian Cashman is looking for a backup catcher after failing to sign Henry Blanco

LA Native, meet Odalis Perez. Odalis, LA Native.

287 - The more holes Colletti has to fill thru trades, the more prospects are at risk. Nomar's presence protects these guys.

The counter to that point is that the presence of "savvy veterans" like Nomar may give Colletti the comfort level he needs in order to trade a talented youngster for, well, Julio Lugo. Or Mark Hendrickson.

I submit that every vet signed to a multiyear contract removes another layer of protection for our prospects-in-waiting.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz reports Luis Gonzalez is "leaning toward LA."

Maddeningly, he does not indicate the LA team toward which the former D'back allegedly leans.

http://tinyurl.com/y5yzzt

That would pain me deeply.

I'm OK with the Nomar re-signing, but I've got to admit I would prefer to see him split time at 1st and 3rd. Something tells me that's not very likely, but I would really like to see Loney get at least half of the starts at 1st this season. Can any of you more historical minded guys than me give me a successful example of guy platooning at both 1st and 3rd in the same season? Or even between RF and 1st base which is a possibility in Loney's case?

344
Oops, forgot about ol' rule #7. My apologies, but that's about as gentle as my sarcasm gets and I can't really write a sentence, much less a paragraph, without sarcasm. How about we consider that mildly annoying instead of negatively sarcastic just this once?

What's a little mild annoyance among friends?

Step 1: Trade Kent to the Yankees for a prospect or two.
Step 2: Trade the Blue Jays for Vernon Wells, possibly using said prospect with Matt Kemp in lieu of Penny or Kuo
Step 3: Nomar plays 2nd.

Lineup
Furcal - ss
Loney - 1b
Nomar - 2b
Wells - cf
Thames - rf
Ethier - lf
Betemit - 3b
Martin - c

{Channeling Moe}...Whaaaaaa??!!

http://tinyurl.com/tjb76

LA needs a CFer badly. Can Brad Wilkerson still play center? Texas seems to be moving on without him.

Also in there:

San Francisco is believed to have made three-year, $30 million offers to center fielders Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr. with the idea that whoever says yes first gets the deal.

Oh please, oh please, oh please, oh please. Dear god, please say yes!

God I love Brian Sabean.

This raises an agent-related question in my mind. Do agents get paid based on a percentage of the contract? For example, when Drew signed the deal with Depo, did his agent get a percentage of the 2-year deal (scheduled to get a percentage of the remaining 3 years if Drew stayed with the Dodgers), or did Drew's agent get a percentage of the entire 5-year deal, whether Drew stayed with the Dodgers after 2 years or not?

I ask because I'm trying to figure out which is the better deal for Drew's agent (i.e. staying with the Dodgers for 3 years, 33 million, or going to the Red Sox for 2 years, 30 million). If Drew's agent got paid for the 5-year deal, then clearly it's in his best interest for Drew to opt out and go somewhere else, so Drew's agent could get paid twice. But if Drew's agent got paid based on the first 2-years in LA, it seems like the agent would be better off getting paid based on $33 million instead of $30 million, unless the agent's pay is based on the annual salary, not the total value of the contract.

Any insights...?

Classy (really): http://deadschembechlers.com/

I agree. The market seems heavy on guys with power, not much patience, and not much defense. Fortunately, Ned doesn't seem particularly interested in that kind of player, though you never know.

where do you go to school?

There's got to be a breaking point though, as I doubt he would encourage Drew to do a 1yr/$16M deal over a 4yr/$60M deal.

BO SCHEMBECHLER: OSU'S MOST VALIANT FOE: The band is crushed to learn of the death of Bo Schembechler. We named this band after Coach Schembechler to honor him as the face of Wolverine football. We have never wished ill will upon him in any way and have always wished him the best. When we learned that Bo had seen our web site and was amused by it we were delighted. We were simply delighted. He said to those with him as he read it, "See, I still matter in Columbus!" That may have been the greatest understatement in football history. We believe that he took the band's name as the compliment that it was meant as and that he was flattered by it. We wish to extend our deepest and most heartfelt sympathies to his family. We are truly sorry for their loss.

If those reports are true, the very worst case is he makes $3 million less for working one year less. But that's not really the most likely outcome.

The Red Sox won't have to worry about replacing dependable and versatile infield reserve Alex Cora. Instead, the club has re-signed the left-handed hitting veteran to a two-year contract.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/y95o2v

A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.

I retain my healthy skepticism, though much of it is based on Ringolsby's hat. (When I become a nationally recognized sports columnist, my column photo will depict me with an eye patch and a parrot perched on my shoulder.)

1. Rising ticket prices
2. Rising revenues from sources other than ticket prices
3. Lower team profits
4. Higher team profits

Vernon
Redding
St. Louis
Lansing
Fontana

Less money spent foolishly is better than a lot of money spent foolishly.

BTW, I look on with glee and merriment at the impending disaster that is the San Francisco Giants. Their farm system is bare, They don't have any real good player minus Bonds, and their General Manager is Brian Sabean. They'll be perennial losers as long as he's with SF.

He likes the "Beat LA" chants.

Q: Bill, what's the sports equivalent for your girlfriend wanting to "see what else is out there because it's college?" (Which sucks for me.)
--Justin, Boston

SG: I'd say J.D. Drew stabbing the Dodgers in the back and opting out of his contract -- maybe it hurts when it happens, and maybe you didn't see it coming, but you'll be better off in the long run.

Q: I keep hearing that the Sox are drooling over Julio Lugo. This is like when a buddy goes after an ugly chick.
--Brian, Cambridge, Mass.

SG: Agreed. I went to a Dodgers game in mid-September when (A) Lugo couldn't crack the starting lineup, and (B) J.D. Drew struck out in a big spot and halfheartedly strolled back to the dugout, followed by all the Dodgers fans booing and hissing and my friend Tony explaining to me, "That guy has all the talent in the world, he just doesn't give a crap. He has the exact same demeanor in every situation." Now the Red Sox are ready to pay them $20-25 million combined? The Red Sox have hooked up with more ugly chicks than Ron Jeremy.

(Note to the Red Sox: Before we sign free agents, can you check with the fans of their previous teams before making an offer? If the prevailing line of thought is somewhere between, "I can't say I was upset to see him go" and "Instead of signing him, you guys should just set it on fire to see how $50 million smells when it's burning," that's probably not someone you want to be signing. Call me crazy.)

Er, oh wait . . .

As for JD Drew: I can't see how he's going to be happier in Red Sox nation than he was in LA. Fans there may like having him for awhile but as soon as he struggles even a little or gets injured, they'll turn on him in not a nice way. I was sure he wanted to go play some place closer to home, like Atlanta. But go figure. I wish him luck but we're moving on without him.

RE: Centerfield. I hope the Giants overpay for Juan Pierre, too. I honestly wouldn't mind having Gary Matthews on the Dodgers, but, yeah, the astronomical amount he'll command this off season will be so out of touch with what he's really worth it doesn't make sense. But if he was cheaper I wouldn't mind having him vs, say, Lofton.

The Giants are believed to have made three-year, $30 million offers to free agents Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr.

They only want one of the two, so if either takes the proposal, the other offer will be withdrawn. It's hard to imagine Pierre doing any better than this elsewhere. However, Matthews is likely to get some four-year offers. Nov. 17 - 11:28 am et

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Overpay, underpay, justrightpay: I don't care, just get it done.

If Nomar is the new CFer till Kemp proves his mettle, then spectacular. We can worry, next year, about what he'll do in 2008.

The Tigers listened to offers for outfielder Marcus Thames this week.
Thames didn't look like a regular entering 2006, and after a great first half, he hit just .199 after the All-Star break. No team should be viewing him as a long-term option in left field, though as a part-time player, he could remain valuable. The Tigers would have more luck getting a quality left-handed reliever if they made Mike Maroth or Wilfredo Ledezma available.
As expected, DT favorite Marcus Thames is on the trading block. He'd be an excellent pickup.

Ok, now I'm going back to bed.

3yrs/30 mils of Nomar at 1st is something I dont believe anyone would want.

I think Drew will fit in better not being "the guy", as he was in LA. I thought his best place was in NY or Boston. It'll be interesting to see if he walks as much in Boston hitting in front of Manny and Ortiz. Wouldnt surprise me to see him hit 30-35Hrs since I think he'll get much better pitches to swing at batting in that lineup.

Signing Nomar to a deal like this is not a way of avoiding the FA market. It's only this crazy market that would make this sort of deal for Nomar even conceivable.

I can't imagine Nomar at 2nd base. Not any more. 1st or 3rd, and I would guess he's the regular 1st baseman, subject to occasional days off.

Stopgaps are fine, but with 3-yr stopgaps (plus last year), those prospects are going to get a little ripe. I too would shy away from trading prospects for veterans, but if Colletti is afraid to let the prospects play (Nomar blocks either Loney or Either or LaRoche or Betemit or some pair of those) then he might as well trade them.

"Is expected to sign" = code for one person being willing to say it on the QT with fear of repercussion if his name was used. Yeah, it could come true, but no one will remember if it doesn't, so let's print it!

Bad day for rumor skepticism at DT.

More: http://www.laokay.com/FarmerJohn.htm

Well, no one has jumped on Colletti for a Nomar deal that is merely a rumor. I've just seen a bunch of people opining as to whether or not that would be a smart deal if true.

I think we've learned our lesson about not overreacting to rumors. Even if we sometimes fail to phrase our answers in the form of a subjunctive.

Luis Gonzalez will make us miss Kenny Lofton's arm in the outfield.

I am pessimistic about the off-season, but I'm not ready to condemn the GM for crimes that are only imagined.

That said, if Juan Pierre ends up in LA....

I think he saw her in one of the episodes where someone has a moral dilemma about having sex before marriage or perhaps an episode about underage drinking.

If by "super-utility guy," people are envisioning that Nomar will be used the way the Angels use Figgins or used Spiezio - in the lineup nearly every day, just as different positions - then I think we're back to the worry that he'll break down, and maybe sooner rather than later, given the greater stress on his body at all positions other than 1b.

In the end, I agree with D4P. If Nomar is a Dodger next year, I completely expect him to be the regular first baseman, no matter was promised about "flexibility."

Personally I thought she was spectacular in the under-appreciated classic Summer Catch. And what to say about Stealth, save for: outstanding!

It always comes back to that...

So the answer is no.

Seriously, has there been an discussion among toaster brass about deleting D4P's account? At least write a script so his screenname is displayed in red print. That way even casual comment readers will understand the place of shame he occupies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_in_The_Simpsons

My wife started watching it 4-5 years ago, so I watched it with her. But we stopped watching 3 years or so ago. We went through a major "design TV" phase. We now watch only Divine Design and House Hunters.

has there been an discussion among toaster brass about deleting D4P's account?

Probably...

Sonora red is all the rage among today's chic toaster clique.

PS: Jesus talked in red print...

Oh, I thought you were talking about that guy who wrote that book about that woman who had to wear that red "A" on her clothing because of that adultery she committed.

I think I'd have an easier time watching "The Office" if it weren't on NBC. NBC is the network of all those popular sitcoms like "Friends" and "Will and Grace" that I can't stand. As much as I don't like Fox, at least they have good comedies...

As for the other shows I did not really watch them. I was too young to like a semi serious comedy like Roc, but Charles S. Dutton is a good actor. Drexell's Class had Dabney Coleman who is a funny guy and is good at playing a jerk. Titus had Stacy Keach and Stacy Keach is awesome, plus Christopher Titus goes to Baja Fresh in Santa Barbara.

Yeah okay so those shows mostly sucked, but what's your point?

I am sufficiently chastened to allow people to speculate on what it might mean whether it's two years or three ... but there is no point in actually verifying what is by definition speculation :)

https://westernhomes.baseballtoaster.com/archives/555023.html

This is egregious!

This is egregious!

I missed you guys!!!

Does anyone here know if there is a similar site for fans of the purple and gold "Lakers" to get together and banter.
I bleed Dodger blue in the summer and bleed purple and gold in the winter, go back to the West, Baylor, Goodrich & Chamberlain days. Dodger and Laker fan since 1969 when I was eight going on nine years old. "Old habits die hard.":)

Write about Nomar!
Save the world!

I'm not so much "anti-Office" as "a-Office". I've never actually watched the show.

http://tinyurl.com/yhzrkl

I guess I'm officially to old for current pop culture. Just came back from seeing Borat and I don't understand the frenzy. I'm probably the least patriotic person I know but anyone can make fun of any culture, what was so special about what he did? I laughed more in the 1st 5 minutes of any Scrubs episode then I did for the 90 minutes of Borat.