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
I'm not saying his situation is the same as J.D. Drew's okay? I'm not. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not.
But when the Dodgers signed Larry Bigbie this offseason, they gave him an opt-out clause. That's right. Cue devilish music: an opt-out clause. At the end of this month, Bigbie can choose to stay in the organization, or if he thinks he can find a better situation elsewhere, he can tell the Dodgers to let him go.
It was not in the Dodgers' best interests to offer Bigbie the opt-out in and of itself. They had nothing to gain from offering it except … Larry Bigbie. It was part of the overall negotiation, not a sign of weakness. A dispassionate part of do-ing business.
As Spring Training enters its final dozen days, no one expects Bigbie to do anything except what's best for himself. No one will mind if Bigbie does what's best for himself. Bigbie is an underdog, fighting to keep his career alive. He has earned somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million in salary before his 30th birthday - $900,000 as recently as last season with St. Louis - but that's a pittance in major-league baseball. If he decides to leave the Dodgers, like everyone else, I would wish him nothing but the best as he pursues a dream that can be snatched away at any moment.
Now, Bigbie could decide not to use the opt-out. One doesn't have to look hard at the health-challenged Dodgers to know that the last man cut from Spring Training, whether it's Bigbie or James Loney, still stands to see plenty of action at the major-league level. The end of the month could come, and Bigbie could decide to stick it out.
But certainly, no one expects him to. No one will hold a grudge if Bigbie, a man who is poor only by the standards of professional big-sport athletes, CEOs and Hollywood stars, leaves to try to grab a better job. Even if Bigbie stays with the Dodgers, one assumes that it will be because he believes he will ultimately have a good situation for himself personally. He is not going to sacrifice his livelihood on behalf of a team he has spent only a fraction of his career with, a team that would cut him if his performance weren't up to snuff.
Baseball players act out of self-interest. When Randy Wolf took less money to sign with the Dodgers, he did it out of the self-interest of wanting to be in the city he grew up in, close to his family. In the process, he turned his back on the Philadelphia Phillies team that took care of him while he underwent and recovered from Tommy John surgery. And that's fine. It's nice to be able to write about someone valuing something besides money, but the alternatives are all different shades of self-interest.
If you multiplied Bigbie's 2007 salary by 10, either with the Dodgers or some other team, if you emphatically gave him all the money he would ever need for the rest of his life, he would still probably make the same decision at the end of this month if the Dodgers tried to send him to the minor leagues that he stands to make in this reality.
The conventional wisdom, the one that had Dodger manager Grady Little hinting to the team's beat writers Monday that Loney might start the season with the team after all, is that no one can expect Bigbie to accept a minor-league assignment. The fact is, Bigbie could look at Loney, who has seniority on him with the team and whom many believe would deserve a spot on the roster if Bigbie didn't have the opt-out, and agree that Loney should have dibs. Or Bigbie could believe that even if he (Bigbie) goes to Las Vegas, he won't be there very long. As a Dodger fan, that's exactly what I'd like to see happen. I'd like the player who deserves the job to get the job, without consequences.
But whatever Bigbie decides, it doesn't change the fact baseball players look out for themselves. They have to, because no one else will. And I don't believe they should be taken to the woodshed for doing so.
Update: Tom Verducci of SI.com has predicted, somewhat cautiously, a Freeway World Series in 2007:
The Angels are loaded with everyday talent in the sweet spot of their careers, from ages 23 through 32. Once Juan Rivera recovers from his broken leg to return Garret Anderson to DH duty, the Angels will not put a player on the field older than shortstop Orlando Cabrera and center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., both of whom are 32. Howie Kendrick, 23, is a multiple-time batting champion ready to break loose. Vladimir Guerrero, 31, is an MVP player in his prime. And Los Angeles is loaded with young players in reserve to plug any holes, including Erik Aybar, 23, and Brandon Wood, 21.
The Angels are fortified with a large enough inventory of pitching to allow starters Bartolo Colon and Jered Weaver to slowly work themselves back into shape. The bullpen, led by the nearly unhittable Rodriguez, is among the game's most reliable.
The Dodgers may be pushing their luck with Nomar Garciaparra, 33, Jeff Kent, 39, and Luis Gonzalez, 39, in the same lineup, but I'm betting those players will need to be replaced for health reasons at various times during the season and Los Angeles will be the better for it. It won't be a bad situation to get more at-bats for Matt Kemp, 22, James Loney, 22, and Andy LaRoche, 23. The Dodgers, too, have pitching depth to withstand the usual attrition that forces every team to fill about 25-30 starts beyond their original starting five.
Will I be right? Who knows any more? Last year I had the White Sox and the Cardinals in the World Series. If you're looking for sleeper teams, the Indians and Diamondbacks could get there if their young players pop at the same time. The Tigers might be even better than they were last year, though I worry about fatigue hitting their pitchers, coming off a seven-month season, just as it seemed to hit the 2006 White Sox. The Mets, like St. Louis in recent years, are dangerous because they put three or four MVP-quality players in the lineup every day, mitigating the shortcomings on the rest of the roster.
Fact is, it's never been harder to pick the teams to beat and, as the Yankees should understand by now, never harder for the best team to win.
(Reverse psychology)
During flight, I joked a bit with a flight attendant, then asked who the VIP was. She pondered for a long time if she could tell, than told.
At home, I googled the news to see who the PM of Canada was and if she was really in DC, as she is.
With Danica McKellar playing Dulcinea.
From my limited experience with baseball players, the vast majority of them like to go someplace where they can play as much as they do the money.
Obviously there are tradeoffs in each category.
If Larry Bigbie thinks he has a better shot at MLB roster time elsewhere, of course he should take it. QED. (Or is that Q.E.D.?)
So you've got that to root for.
You switched countries on us here Sam. The PM of Canada is Steven Harper.
Canada is the big country north of Vermont.
New Zealand is the island country down south.
I'm not letting you navigate.
There is the alternative of driving south down the Pan-American highway and then take a left in Peru and head out toward Easter Island before continuing on.
Reporting or exaggeration? The rock might be worth that, not a quarry (which doesn't exist at all yet?). Wasn't it reported that because of the excavation costs, he could probably sell the land for many millions (single-digit or tens of)?
White did agree to the minor-league assignment to work more on his delivery, perhaps more sidearm to be tougher on lefthand batters, so I guess he's not just pitching for schist and grins.
http://www.frappr.com/dodgerthoughts
Yep, sounds like me!
"He has earned somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million in salary before his 30th birthday"
Oops, here's where the similarities end.
On second thought, avoid the South America route. The traffic between Lima and Hanga Roa is a bear during the rush hour. There's lots of construction and you keep running into Norwegian archeologists on rafts.
all dodger article.
Jerry Crasnick, espn.com on the Dodger's prospects.
"[Los Angeles] is a tough place to play because the expectations are very high," Colletti said, "and this isn't an easy game to play. If you find out on Mother's Day that a kid is struggling to keep his head above water every day, you're done.
"I don't think it's a bad thing to let the young players compete inside the team for at-bats and innings. And then, when they're ready, you let them compete against the rest of the league."
So Loney needs to "compete inside the team" in Los Angeles, right? RIGHT? He obviously has nothing left to prove in Las Vegas, and probably not in Spring Training either, other than if he can play out of position - blecch!
A knight without armor in a savage land.
His fast gun for hire head's the calling wind.
A soldier of fotune is the man called SamDC.
SamDC, SamDC
Where do you roam?
SamDC, SamDC,
Far, far from home.
Would really be a whole lot cooler.
http://tinyurl.com/yulyfw
Btw, I like how Verducci slips in that "I picked the White Sox and Cardinals in the World Series last year" comment, meaning, "I was really damned close, which is very impressive!"
if he can do that off the top of his head, i might hate him less.
When you have an overabundance of young kids, in my opinion, their concern isn't about winning. They want to put up good numbers so they can be around for a long time. That's human nature. The veterans are more concerned with winning, so you hope they can feed off each other.
Wish I could have a sandwich.
Edit Function, trainwreck.
I got wisdom teeth taken out as a kid. I would have gotten one more removed, but I was born without it. I also still have two baby teeth because there was nothing underneath to push them out.
Never heard of that before. Are they in the back?
My wife has one of those. It's on the bottom, toward the front.
philosopher king: baby teeth
Todays chips are edamame, sliced mango from Trader Joe's that my wife bought but I stole, and carrots. Wait a minute - these aren't chips!
paging Gary Sheffield .... Mr. Sheffield pick up line 1
2006 - St. Louis Cardinals
Chris Duncan OF
Adam Wainwright, Al Reyes, pitchers
2005 - Chicago White Sox
Tad Iguchi 2B (Japanese League player)
Bobby Jenks RP
2004 - Boston Red Sox
Not really any young players of note.
2003 - Florida Marlins
Miguel Cabera 3B-OF, mid-season call up
Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis, SP
Now that is small sample to be sure and the game could be changing but generally, it is pretty difficult to incorporate more than a few young players in your lineup/rotation and have post-season success. Sure, 1-2 guys can work if your players with more experience can also do their jobs.
Florida had big contributions from two young players plus Beckett who had pitched a parts of the prior two years.
My read on what Gonzalez is saying is that rookies have a lot of things going on when they first reach the big leagues and primarily, the first is to stick with the club. That is a normal reaction to the situation.
All he is saying is that it helps to have experienced players around to help them adjust to the situation like he had when he came up with Houston.
The Dodgers should have just signed a guy named Goldstein and then we could have limited our hate to two minutes a day.
I think it all depends on the individual. Does not make a difference at all how old they are.
http://tinyurl.com/254agv
I'm guessing he'll probably hit better than he did last year, too.
It seems that the migration from Blogger to Podcaster is pretty common these days. That coupled with the fact that there aren't any Dodger related podcasts out there make me think there could be demand, and you are most suited to start one.
Is this blasphemy to your journalistic ears?
And I have a new favorite website.
I dunno. It's gonna be tough to root for that guy, considering how much I hated him as a Dback. (Plus--dear Lord--we're going to have to hear Vinny rhapsodize about his triplets every game. It's going to hurt.) But I'll try.
Uhhhh what?
I'm very excited to let you all know that we will be shortly announcing that Grady Little's option was picked up for 2008 and we added another option for 2009.
Not huge news since they needed to exercise '08 so he isn't a potential lame duck, and '09 is an "option", but still something to be noted.
I was back in Houston this weekend to hold the 4th Annual Rice MBA Fantasy Baseball draft, which is always a highlight of my year.
A friend of mine in the league brought me a gift for my newborn son, but wouldn't tell me what it was until after the draft.
Turns out he is an avid sports memorabilia collector, and knowing I'm a Dodger fan, gave my son Jake a Duke Snider autographed ball in the clear display cube.
Talk about good friends!
A couple of notes from our draft (head-to-head pts league). Schmidt was the 1st dodger taken, followed by pierre, kent, lowe, penny, nomar, saito, and martin.
I'm in the car commuting quite a bit and listen to podcasts while on the treadmill as well, so in that case, it isn't easier to read.
I'd love to hear you interview people in and around the organization. Given the one man broadcast both with very few in-game interviews inserted into the broadcast, and the LA Times boring 30,000 ft view of covering the dodgers which caters to the masses, I know you would ask good question and would get us exposure to parts of the team we don't currently get to visit.
And for you on a personal side, I think the opportunity to pick up additional sponsorship deals increases substantially with a podcast.
It seems that a podcast could compliment the blog.
I think Schmidt was taken too early (5th rd) and Furcal was taken too late (9th rd). I ended up with Michael Young, so I wasn't in the market, but Furcal would have been a steal. But I did get Kent in the 9th, and Penny in the 10th. I always reach a bit to make sure I get some of our guys!
CBSSportsline says Luis Gonzalez is the best player offensively who wasn't drafted.
Kendrick is not a prospect. He played way to much last year and is now a bona fide major leaguer. You also don't see Matt Kemp/Loney on any Dodger prospect reports for the same reason.
That was not the issue though. They were talking about the prospects in the system and they said that he was not one of their elite ones or top players.
>>> Relief pitchers are the game's most volatile commodity — hot one season, cold the next, often for no apparent reason.
Padres general manager Kevin Towers, however, is adept at finding quality relievers on the cheap.
His secret, he says, is to acquire strike throwers.
"If one or two guys lack consistent command, it can burn your whole bullpen up," Towers says.
Sounds simple, until you watch the various throwers and nibblers disguised as major-league relievers that populate virtually every roster.
Such pitchers trigger a downward spiral, Towers says. Unable to throw strikes, they exit games prematurely, requiring managers to summon other relievers.
Over time, the pitchers wear down, forcing general managers to dip into their minor-league systems for lesser reinforcements.
Eventually, the bullpen crumbles. <<<
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6589398
http://tinyurl.com/2tmj7l
I just got back from the NFBC draft and of those 25 teams I'd say that the majority of them had Kendrick as a top 10 2nd baseman in mixed leagues. The smart guys had him as a top 5. Baseball HQ has him as the 2nd best. Way behind Utely but just a head of Cano and Kinsler.
The ESPN analyst is just uninformed which is good when he's giving advice to competitors.
I know that noone cares about my draft(s) either, but our order went Furcal, Pierre, Schmidt, Lowe, Garciaparra, Martin, and Penny went with the last pick in the last round (230 overall).
I promise no more fantasy talk...
Furcal (keeper), Martin (keeper), Broxton (keeper), Pierre, Schmidt, Kent, Saito, Penny, Lowe, Nomar, Ethier, Kuo, Betemit
I'm like you: Podcasts strike me as a slow way to get information compared to reading. But nowadays, I don't commute to work. The blog world is about reaching people through multiple media. The other area like this is PDA-compatible content. There are lots of people who can't get away with reading a paper or listening to a podcast but could read a PDA. Lawyers waiting in court, for example.
But Colletti didn't like him, so he found another boss."
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