Friday, February 27, 2009 |
Manny Wants $55M?
Apparently the Dodgers are Mickey Mousing the deal, offering to pay only $10M in 2009. Knock it the F off, Frank. "There is presently no offer on the table."
Labels: dodgers, funny, hot stove
Darren Oliver Among Those Ripped Off By Texas Financier
"There are a lot more guys that people don't even know about," Oliver said from the Angels' camp in Tempe. "A lot of them are retired. I feel bad for the people who are 70 years old and have to get money every month and can't even get any money out. What about them?"Oliver, like fellow major leaguers Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Carlos Pena, Mike Pelfrey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Adrian Beltre and Scott Eyre, did not invest money directly with the Stanford Financial Group, but rather through investment professionals who steered him toward Stanford products.
The situation is more serious for some than others. The Philadelphia Phillies recently gave Eyre an undisclosed advance on his $2 million salary because he was unable to gain access to the money in his bank accounts and pay his bills.
Thursday, February 26, 2009 |
Boras To Dodgers: Bite Me
Tracy Ringolsby Loses His Job As The Rocky Mountain News Folds Friday
The News had been in continuous publication since 1859, and is Colorado's oldest newspaper.
Labels: newspapers
Vlad May Not Play Spring Training Games Until Mid-March
Labels: angels, injuries, spring training
Who Needs Manny? Dodgers Sign Doug "Eyechart" Mientkiewicz To Minor League Deal
As for Dougie D, the thing I remember him most for is his sticky-fingered refusal to give up the game ball from Boston's historic 2004 World Series victory.
Labels: dodgers, ex-dodgers, hot stove, pirates, transactions
Dodgers Talks With Manny Continue; So Do Boras' Egregious Lies
Manny Ramirez's agent revealed early this morning that the All-Star outfielder hadn't accepted the offer made to him by the Dodgers on Wednesday, saying he remained "in the middle of negotiations" on behalf of the slugger.I refer you back to MSTI's excellent letter to Ned back in January:Scott Boras declined to discuss the Dodgers' latest proposal, which would pay Ramirez $25 million this season and $20 million in 2010 if his client picked up a player option, according to baseball sources familiar with the offer who weren't authorized to speak publicly on the matter. But while issuing a "no comment," Boras indicated that Ramirez hadn't reached an agreement with the Dodgers and that there was at least one other team in talks with him.
"But, the Giants!" you begin to say, before I cut you off. Come on. Stop with that. Just because Jon Heyman's either on your payroll or completely deluded doesn't make it true. (Seriously, what is with that guy? I can't even count the amount of sportswriters who are refuting his claims, yet he continues to crow about how he's "confirmed" the discussions. I can't wait for his new book, No Really: I've Confirmed WMD in Iraq!) The Giants are at their payroll limits, already have too many old and busted outfielders, and you'd think they've had their fill of controversal old left fielders, no? What does that leave? That's right. It leaves us.
Labels: dodgers, hot stove, rumors
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 |
Tony Jackson: Dodgers Make 2-Year/$45M Offer To Manny
Update: Also in the Times, which also mentions an ugly string of outings by potential fifth starter candidates today.
Labels: dodgers, hot stove, rumors
MLB To Replace Printed Media Guides With PDFs
Labels: media
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 |
BA Ranks Top 100 Prospects
Labels: angels, dodgers, minors
A's To Stay In Oakland
"After much consideration, today we informed Mayor Wasserman and City Council members that the Oakland Athletics will cease efforts to relocate our franchise to the City of Fremont.More years with Mt. Davis and the tarp ahead..."I expressed my regrets and gratitude, especially to those people who shared our vision and spent endless hours in support of our proposal. However, it became increasingly clear that our ballpark project faced significant delays ahead and I could not, in good conscience, continue to lead our team down this path.
Labels: athletics
Pickoff Moves
Los Angeles Angels Will Stay That Way, In Anaheim
A state appellate court said so.Hank Conger Looks To Stay Healthy
What a list of injuries, culminating with a torn shoulder labrum last year. Gah.In just three minor-league seasons, they have happened to his back, wrist, hamstrings, thumb and shoulder, limiting him to roughly half-seasons in Class-A each of the past two years.Good luck with that, kid....
All the injuries have "slowed" Conger's development, Angels GM Tony Reagins admits. But the team still regards him as a top prospect.
"The evaluation is still kind of waiting," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "The projection – with his tools – is still very, very high.
"(Conger has) all the things that project into a terrific major-league catcher. The evaluation hasn't been able to move forward because we haven't seen him catch enough. That's kind of on hold right now until he gets healthy and gets out there and catches 100 games during the season."
Angels To Bring Back Former Greats As Spring Training Coaches
The list will include Tim Salmon, Jim Abbott, Mark Langston, Bobby Grich, and Chuck Finley.Preston Gomez' Last Gift: Jose Arredondo
Mike DiGiovanna of the Times:The Angels this season will wear black diamond-shaped patches, inscribed with the name "Preston," on the right sleeves of their jerseys in honor of Preston Gomez, the team's beloved advisor, scout and coach who died in January at 86.If it were up to Jose Arredondo, the hard-throwing 24-year-old reliever who had a breakthrough 2008 season for the Angels, the patch would be sewn over his heart.
"I love that guy," Arredondo said, his soft voice barely audible amid the bustle of the team's spring-training clubhouse. "He taught me everything."
...
Arredondo was a self-described "troublemaker" as he came up through the minor leagues, a prospect whose arm was clearly major league-caliber but whose temper threatened to derail him.
The Dodgers' Damage Duo Dares Destiny
... with talk similar to Hank Conger's. First, Jason Schmidt feels good after a throwing session:"It looked like he had an easy time throwing the ball," Manager Joe Torre said. "He's been in a great frame of mind. Even last year when he was going to rehab in places, in between there would always be that one day when he wasn't sure."Not. A. Measure. And then the O-Dog (Vinny's gonna love calling games this year):How was Schmidt's stuff?
"He got me out, so his stuff was real good," said Pierre, laughing.
And, he said pointing to the season-ending wrist injury he suffered in 2008, he wasn't surprised or upset that it took so long for him to find work.Funny, I keep thinking of Nomar when I think of wrist injuries."It's not something you see in baseball quite often," said Hudson, who spent the winter recovering from a dislocated bone and damaged tendons in his left wrist. "It's something you see in baseball. Why would you take a chance on somebody like that? If I was a GM, I would do the same thing."
Tech: Another Reason To Stay With Verizon
An AT&T customer who got shafted after using his data card to watch a Bears game while in the United States on a ship docked in port, with no indication of roaming.When Burdick received the bill he complained to AT&T, who eventually offered to reduce the bill down to $6,000 - hardly comparable to the $220 he reckons is average. Luckily the chaps over at the Sun-Times were able to argue his case, and AT&T has credited Wayne with $27,776.66, though really it shouldn't have taken media involvement to fix a case like this.We had a similar circumstance in which our contract expired and AT&T decided to triple our base rates without warning and slapped us with an obscene bill (from memory about $500-$600). Just awful, and a reminder of why, despite the temptations of the iPhone, I still haven't switched.
OT: Recovering From The Bad Dog
Facebook friends know why it's been quiet around 6-4-2 World Headquarters; our other dog, Hannah, the best bad dog in the world, finally and suddenly succumbed to the consequences of cancer a week ago Monday. Her tumors, originally in her vagina, had migrated into her lungs, where they were inoperable because of her age. Pieces of them started breaking loose early that morning, and she started having seizures, at which point it eventually became clear she wouldn't last much longer except in an ICU. That, sadly, prompted us to euthanize her, a painful decision as she clearly wasn't ready to go.We got her ashes back from the crematorium yesterday, and even in death she managed to be unruly: the container didn't quite seal properly, so I had to take it apart and fix it. Bad old dog, Hannah. We miss you, girl.
Labels: angels, dodgers, injuries, offtopic, tech
Monday, February 23, 2009 |
Braves Sign Garret Anderson
Labels: braves, ex-angels, hot stove, transactions
Sunday, February 22, 2009 |
Orlando Hudson Signs With Dodgers
Labels: dodgers, hot stove, transactions
Ervin Santana Used Banned Dominican Trainer
Angels pitcher Ervin Santana acknowledged that he worked with Angel Presinal, the controversial personal trainer from the Dominican Republic who has been linked to steroids and the Alex Rodriguez scandal, during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.But the Angels right-hander said he severed ties with Presinal after 2006, though not at the request of Major League Baseball, which banned the trainer from clubhouses in 2001.
Thursday, February 19, 2009 |
And, Oh Yeah, The Angels Might Want To Extend John Lackey
Though the Angels did not hold any substantive talks with Lackey this winter, a source familiar with the team's thinking but not authorized to speak about it publicly said that General Manager Tony Reagins plans to contact Lackey's agent, Steve Hilliard, to initiate negotiations soon."It's something I'd rather do before the season started," Lackey said. "I wouldn't want it to drag into the season. If they want to do something, I'd like to get it going quick, but it's not something I'm worried about. It's kind of on them."
Labels: angels
The Angels' Lack Of Options At First
Labels: angels
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 |
Ken Griffey, Jr. Signs With Atlanta — Or Not
Update 2/18: Apparently Griffey has signed with Seattle.
Labels: braves, mariners, transactions
Dodgers, Ethier Reach Contract Agreement
Labels: dodgers, transactions
Sirius/XM Gets Big Infusion Of Cash
Under the first phase of the transaction, Liberty (LCAPA)(LMDIA) will loan Sirius XM $280 million -- $250 million of which will be funded on Tuesday. Sirius XM will use some of the proceeds of that loan to pay $171.6 million of the $175 million in 2 1/2% convertible notes that are due at the end of business Tuesday.Liberty's loan to Sirius XM will bear interest at a rate of 15%, and will be due in December 2012. It will be secured by the assets that secure Sirius XM's existing credit agreement.
In the second phase of the deal, Liberty will loan another $150 million to XM Satellite Radio, Sirius XM's wholly-owned subsidiary. Liberty has also agreed to offer to buy up to $100 million of the loans outstanding under XM's existing debt agreements.
Once both phases are completed, Sirius XM will issue Liberty 12.5 million shares of preferred stock, which Liberty can convert into 40% of the company's common stock. Liberty Chairman John Malone and Chief Executive John Maffei would then join Sirius XM's board of directors.
Labels: radio
Pickoff Moves
Howie Kendrick's A Dad
Howie Kendrick's son Owen Howard arrived on Christmas, so naturally we're hearing about it now ...“It was the craziest thing,” Kendrick said in a telephone interview from his home in Arizona, after working out to get ready for spring training. “It’s the one day you don’t want to have your birthday on, because you hear kids get cheated by having their birthday on Christmas.”
New Angels Fan Blogger At The Register
Ellen Bell introduces herself, and OMG grew up a Cubs fan? Amazing. Her blog is called The Afternoon Angel; sidebar links coming.The 4+1 Game Aired Sunday, And All I Got Was This Closed Caption
I saw the 4+1 game was being rerun on Sunday, and fortunately got in at just before the good part. What killed me was the captions -- I could not get them to go away. Surprisingly, this wasn't the cable company's fault, but (I suspect) Denon's, the maker of my AV amp (which I slagged for its awful remote). Magical things happen and there's not always a menu item where something can be fixed, so I watched the entire freaking sequence of four home runs with closed captioning over the players' faces.Roster Notes
- Hiroki Kuroda threw off a mound for the first time, and was pain-free. Shoulder tendinitis prevented him from doing so earlier.
- Chin-Lung Hu continues to complain of sporadic vision problems.
- Russell Martin will run for the first time today...
- Andre Ethier's arbitration case is scheduled for today.
- Gary Matthews, Jr. has a positive attitude, which is a good thing considering how little else he brings to the Angels, skill-wise.
- Dustin Moseley will sit out today with flu-like symptoms.
- Eddie McKiernan, last seen pitching at single-A Cedar Rapids, will join the Angels major league camp as an NRI.
- Kelvim Escobar is ahead of schedule.
Angels To Honor Preston Gomez With A Patch
The Angels will honor former coach Preston Gomez with a uniform patch, according to Michael Becker at the Press-Enterprise. (Also at MLB.com and the Times, but unfortunately, with no pictures.)Labels: angels, blogs, dodgers, injuries, spring training, tech, tv
Monday, February 16, 2009 |
Greg Maddux Comes Back To Padres As Spring Training Pitching Instructor
"Last year a lot of our conversations were about the future," Padres manager Bud Black said Monday. "I said, 'Greg, you have some freedom to explore. I'll tell you what I'm thinking about before, during and after the game."Black said he and Padres general manager Kevin Towers kept in contact with Maddux over the winter about the possibility of returning as a coach. Black said the Chicago Cubs also inquired about Maddux returning as a coach.
Labels: coaches, ex-dodgers, padres
Sunday, February 15, 2009 |
Pickoff Moves
Spring Training In Phoenix: The Times Travel Section Reports
An interesting if perhaps a bit tardy piece in the Times travel section by Sherry Stern and Christopher Smith about spring training, tardy because usually by this time of the year it's all but impossible to get tickets; your mileage may vary, of course, and in these economic times, it might be much easer. Vital information (emphasis mine)Four places you don't want to sitA very good read, and something you might miss if you take your paper exclusively online.
- Avoid what appear to be premium seats in the first two rows of sections 106 to 124. A walkway looping the field in front of these seats is only about 3 feet below you, so unless ushers police the access, a distracting tide of humanity will cut off your view of the field. Rows C and above in these sections don't have this problem.
- If you have even a trace of claustrophobia, steer clear of seats in the middle of any of the rows in sections 103 on the first-base side and 127 on the third-base side. These are the largest sections in the park, with as many as 24 seats per row; there's minimal legroom, and getting in and out of the aisles will be a pain. [I note in passing that this is fairly typical for spring training complexes. -- RLM]
- The sections farthest down the lines from the plate -- 29 on the third-base side, 1 on the first-base side -- are deceptively enticing because they bump into fair territory. But the trade-off, especially in the front rows of these sections, is a bad angle on home plate.
- Unless you are related to or hoping to date one of the relief pitchers, the bullpen patio areas in distant right and left fields don't feel worth $30 to $36 to be that far from the action.
Related: the Dodgers spring training 2009 season ticket sales are not materializing, as are sales of large corporate banners in the park. (Most spring training complexes sell ads for local businesses rather than national ad space.)
Russell Martin's Whisper Numbers
And they're not good:The dropoff in Martin's numbers from 2007 wasn't exactly a freefall. His on-base percentage actually increased from .374 to .385 because he drew more walks, but his batting average, doubles, home runs and RBI totals all were somewhat reduced. Perhaps more alarmingly, his percentage of throwing out would-be basestealers fell from 30 percent in 2007 to 19.5 percent in 2008, and there were whispers inside the organization that his game-calling skills suffered because he was so focused on improving his hitting.Hence, the conversations with Torre.
"I don't know if (the talks) got into anything really specific," Martin said. "I think it was just time for me to do my part as far as all the responsibilities with being a catcher. One part of that is learning as much as I can. (Torre) has so much knowledge and so much experience, and it was kind of ridiculous for me not to pick his brain."
Q: Where's Manny?
A: Who cares? Honestly, isn't it about time the Dodgers faced up to the fact that they won't have Ramirez in their starting lineup? And that this is the most boring hard-to-get, bad-date-from-Hell story ever?Kendry Morales, Starter?
Like it or not, he is. I'm mildly optimistic, but I don't expect a lot of OBP. That could be worrisome, but Bobby Abreu will help out in that department.Get Ready For A Sirius(/XM) Disappointment, Baseball Fans
Farhad Manjoo at Slate sees the satellite broadcaster as doomed, and, well, that's just too bad:None of this is surprising. Though many of Sirius XM's problems have been exacerbated by the economy—the company loaded up more than $3 billion in debt with the expectation that cheap credit would remain plentiful—satellite radio has always been an idea out of step with the times. Like print newspapers, travel agencies, and record shops, Sirius XM offers what seems like a pretty great service—the world's best radio programming for just a small monthly fee—that has, in practice, been eclipsed by something far cheaper and more convenient: the Internet.Despite his comments, it's still not as easy as all that to listen in your car, of course (I'm not giving up Verizon without a fight), and that's a big problem for me. The infrastructure needed to listen to stations on the Internet portably remains woefully behind.Go online and you can find just about any music or talk show that you want. It's pretty much all free, and it's computationally personalized to suit your tastes. You can get these services on the go, too. Apple's iPhone, Google's Android platform, and other smartphones can stream a huge lineup of radio content through cellular networks. There are still many hiccups—3G wireless networks don't yet blanket the nation nearly as well as Sirius XM's seven geosynchronous satellites—but Internet radio's reach is sure to expand. Indeed, it's already mesmerizing: Load up a program like Pandora or the Public Radio Tuner on your iPhone, plug it into your car's audio-in jack, and you've got access to a wider stream of music than you'll ever get through satellite.
Labels: angels, dodgers, radio, spring training
Saturday, February 14, 2009 |
Angels Ink Ervin Santana To 4-Year/$30M Deal
Labels: angels, hot stove, transactions
Friday, February 13, 2009 |
I Have About Five Minutes To Say Happy Birthday...
In Space, No One Can Hear You Suck Up
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 |
Turning The Other (Butt?) Cheek: The Angels, Jose Canseco, And The Hunting Of Witches
Labels: angels, history, white sox
Report: Mariners Pursuing Garret Anderson, Griffey Jr.
If they want, the M’s can call both sets of agents, say “We have one contract here for $2m base and $1m at 400 PA and another $1m at 500 PA. The first person to say yes gets it. Second prize is you retire.”
Labels: hot stove, mariners, rumors
Giants Sign Ramon Ortiz To Minor League Deal
Labels: ex-angels, giants, hot stove, transactions
Adam Dunn Inks 2-Year/$20M Deal With Nats
Labels: dodgers, hot stove, nationals, rumors, transactions
Robothal: Dodgers, Beimel Mulling Reunion
... as Ken Rosenthal says the Dodgers might bring back Joe Beimel:
Joe Beimel again is drawing interest from the Dodgers, for whom he pitched the last three seasons, sources say.Dennys Reyes, another target of the Dodgers, also is on the A's radar. But the A's intend to preserve their remaining dollars for a run at free-agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera.
Labels: dodgers, hot stove, rumors
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 |
Dodgers Sign Eric Milton To Minor League Deal
Milton, a 10-year veteran, will receive $650,000 if he makes the club with another $1.05 million in starter incentives or $150,000 in relief incentives.
Labels: dodgers, hot stove, transactions
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over? Angels Outright Nick Green To Add Mystery Player, Possibly Bobby Abreu
ESPN reports the deal as for one year, possibly $8M.
Update: Jonah Keri says the deal is done, no terms yet.
Labels: angels, hot stove, rumors, transactions
Sirius/XM Readies For Bankruptcy
Labels: radio
Monday, February 09, 2009 |
Dodgers To Get Up To Half Andruw Jones' Salary
So, if he maxes out on his incentives and receive a total salary of $1.5 million from Texas in 2009, the Dodgers will get $750,000 of that, meaning they would owe him about $2.76 million instead of the $3.5 million they owe him now.(Hat tip: MSTI.)
Labels: dodgers, transactions
Dodgers Sign Jeff Weaver To Minor-League Deal
Labels: dodgers, hot stove, transactions
Rangers Sign Brendan Donnelly To Minor League Deal
Via Halos Heaven.
Labels: ex-angels, hot stove, rangers, transactions
Cardinals Waive Adam Kennedy
Update: The AP story has been updated and mentions that former Dodger prospect Joe Thurston is among those likely to win the starting job at second base, although it's more likely that Felipe Lopez, who got playing time ahead of Kennedy last year, is most probable. (Update 2: Lopez is apparently no longer with the Cards, and in fact signed with Arizona this offseason.)
Labels: cardinals, ex-angels, ex-dodgers, hot stove, transactions
KFWB/KLAA To Simulcast Angels Games?
Edgardo Alfonzo To Play In Japan
Sirius/XM May Drop MLB (And NFL)
Facing a $925 million debt repayment schedule this year, the satellite radio operator is assessing just how valuable big-ticket sports contracts are to the company. A $43 million payment to the NFL comes due in ten days, while Major League Baseball is set to get a $60 million payment next month. The Wall Street Journal says the MLB funds are in an escrow account, but Sirius XM has been pushing the league to allow it to use the money for other uses — such as the looming $175 million debt payment due February 17. Sirius XM Radio has two years left on its seven-year, $220 million deal NFL contract. MLB has six years left on its 11-year $650 million deal. Meanwhile, the Journal reports EchoStar CEO Charles Ergen has been quietly buying up Sirius XM debt in a move that could be a precursor to a hostile takeover rolling the satellite radio company into his Dish Network satellite TV service.
Sunday, February 08, 2009 |
Steroids Destroy Brain Cells
What compares to [Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa presumptively failing to make the Hall of Fame because of steroids taint, as well as Pete Rose for gambling] ? The Black Sox? This is worse. Game-fixing in college basketball? This is worse. Nominate any scandal in the history of sports. My vote is that this is worse.
Labels: drugs, stupid ideas
Jay Jaffe Bids Ken's Hub Adieu
Reading that piece and watching the Toaster go toast leads me to voice the inevitable questions regarding my own blogging. For a few years now, this site has become something of a personal back burner as my Baseball Prospectus work occupies more of my time and carries me into new frontiers (see here, here, here, and here as well if you've got a subscription, and know that there's more of this to come). My audience continues to grow via those venues, but it contracts here as my posts grow more scarce and pieces of the site fall into disrepair. On some occasions I vow to begin posting shorter and more frequent entries, reaping the dividend of my occasionally short attention span and my expansive voyages across the Internet in the service of rebuilding this site's traffic. On others, I'll wonder if the blog is a burden to be shed, a childish thing to be put away as my work grows more professional.In the end, as this site approaches its eighth birthday, I find that I'm still willing to soldier on with Futility Infielder, keeping the pilot light lit if only to illuminate my progress and the occasional bursts of inspiration which wouldn't otherwise find a home. Maybe I will get that shorter-post thing down at some point. Maybe I'll move this thing to a self-contained platform where I don't have to worry about third-party add-ons going kaput. Maybe I'll let this blog evolve into something that's less strictly baseball-oriented. One way or another, you ain't getting rid of me that easily.
Labels: blogs
Saturday, February 07, 2009 |
Report: Andruw Jones, Jason Jennings Close To Minor League Deals With Texas
In related news, Jason Jennings is also said to be near a minor league deal with Texas.
Labels: ex-dodgers, hot stove, rangers, rumors, transactions
Garret Anderson, The Ex-Angel, Ex-Ill Will
After 14 full seasons in Anaheim, Garret Anderson will be wearing somebody else's uniform. No matter what the color scheme, no matter what the logo on the cap, it won't be quite right. The Big A won't be at the Big A. The player known to his teammates as "G.A." will go from Gentleman Angel to just a guy named Garret, on a team named something else.Except that, not. Regardless, sayonara, GA.Unless, just maybe, perhaps, in a late development . . .
Labels: angels, ex-angels, hot stove
Friday, February 06, 2009 |
Padres Designate Matt Bush For Assignment
"The Matt Bush era is probably over," San Diego general manager Kevin Towers said on Thursday.Bush never got past single-A. Yow, that's sad. Jered Weaver, at least, has been of some use.
Update 2/10: Now that I'm looking into this, the San Diego Union-Tribune has a piece on this relevant to the episode listed in the comments below:
Matt Bush's days as a Padre are over.Huh. Hope you like working at Sears, Matt.And they ended in much the same way they began – with a controversial incident that involves the police.
The Padres designated Bush for assignment Thursday, just as El Cajon police were looking into allegations he took part in a drunken assault Wednesday involving boys lacrosse players on the Granite Hills High campus.
It marks the third time since the Padres selected him No. 1 overall in the 2004 amateur draft that the former Mission Bay High standout has faced accusations stemming from an altercation.
El Cajon police Lt. Steve Shakowski on Thursday confirmed an investigation involving Bush and allegations of assaultive behavior and public intoxication.
A witness, who requested his name not be used because of the ongoing police investigation, said Bush was drunk, threw a golf club into the dirt, picked up and threw a freshman lacrosse player and hit another one. Bush also yelled "I'm Matt (expletive) Bush," and "(expletive) East County," before driving over a curb in his Mercedes when leaving the campus, according to the witness.
Labels: draft, hot stove, ouch, padres, transactions
Rosenthal: Dodgers Near Randy Wolf Deal
Update: Wolf has passed a physical and will be a Dodger, according to Dodger Thoughts. The deal is for $5M with up to $3M in incentives. More on whether Wolf should be lachrymose.
Just for the future: I find myself nonplussed with this deal; as with Jon, I could easily live with Eric Stults and James McDonald at the back end of the rotation, but as I say that, I realize that only Stults is really capable of filling out that role, considering that he has a track record as a starter that McDonald does not at this point in his career. Nevertheless, it's altogether possible that McDonald, at least, will get a shot at the rotation.
Labels: dodgers, hot stove, rumors, transactions
Howie Kendrick, Mike Butcher On 830 AM Tonight
Thursday, February 05, 2009 |
Rockies Get Matt Murton From A's
Labels: athletics, hot stove, rockies, trades, transactions
Will MLB's Stupid Blackout Rules Ever Get Fixed?
Word is that MLB hopes to have a proposal to address the arcane blackout policy formulated by opening day. With owners grasping onto every thin dime, odds seem exceptionally long that restructuring the television territories will take place by the time the first pitch arrives on the 2009 season. MLB president and COO Bob DuPuy has said that the proposal being presented would have a club lose a portion of their television territory, if they have not broadcast within it for over a year.Seriously? Seriously? Advertisers are really dumb enough to pay for eyeballs they aren't reaching? Maybe we should say that broadcasters are dumb enough to pay for carry provisions to eyeballs they aren't reaching, because this mainly affects regional sports networks like Fox Sports West and its brethren (NESN, YES, Comcast Sports, etc.). Such a move would probably entail reworking existing contracts, and in this environment, nobody wants to go there.The potential problem with this model deals with what are called “haircut provisions” – advertising agreements that are tied to audience size. So, in principle, even though a club may not be broadcasting in an area of their granted television territory, the total audience size is still considered within it. Removing the areas not being broadcasted to would, ostensibly, make the audience size smaller, thus impacting ad deals.
Via BTF.
Update 2/9: Thanks for the link, Al.
Labels: stupid ideas, tv
Ben Sheets' Deal With Rangers Called Off
Labels: brewers, hot stove, injuries, rangers, transactions
Sandy Koufax Possibly Among Madoff's Victims
In case you missed it, the Wall Street Journal published Harry Markopolos' testimony before Congress (PDF), and fascinating reading it is, too, with a full accounting for his suspicions, how he validated them as far back as 2000, and how the SEC and the Journal refused to lift a finger to expose Madoff's fraud.
Labels: evil, ex-dodgers, scams
Katie Couric Interviews Joe Torre
Labels: dodgers, managers, yankees
Tuesday, February 03, 2009 |
Jeff Moorad Purchases Padres
Moores will become CEO of the Padres, replacing Sandy Alderson in that role. Gaslamp Ball thinks Paul DePodesta may also be a victim of this move.
Earlier: ESPN: Jeff Moorad Reaches Agreement In Principle For Padres Sale
John Moores To Sell 49% Of Padres
Manny Laughs At The Inferior Intellect, Er, Offer
Update: MSTI riffs on this:
Remember, the problem isn't waiting for Manny. The problem is having your backup plans melt away as the spring approaches, and it looks like that's starting to happen. Adam Dunn has a standing offer from Washington; Bobby Abreu was just offered a one year, $8 million deal from the White Sox. What happens if they tire of waiting for Manny and each take the money they can right now? Then this team is stuck in one of two equally dreadful situations: having to pay Manny whatever he demands, or having to forgo Manny entirely and start Juan Pierre in left field.Exactly.
Labels: dodgers, hot stove, rumors
The Actual Origins Of Matt Kemp's "Bison" Nickname
108. natepurcell 2006-05-29 11:18:23So the actual originator was commenter D4P, who was riffing on the suggestion by one of the Braves' broadcasters. For full credit, perhaps we can get natepurcell (who infrequently reads me) to answer whether he was watching the TV broadcast that day, or listening to the radio. The former seems more likely than the latter, because if you had Gameday Audio, why would you listen to the game (unless Nate lives in the Atlanta area). According to the List of Atlanta Braves broadcasters Wikipedia page, that means the possible utterer might have been
Kemp has looked a lot better at the plate today. he isnt swinging at balls, looks composed and looks nothing like his adrian beltre impersonation from yesterday.lol, the braves announcer just call him a big stomping buffalo.
109. autumnlanding 2006-05-29 11:18:45
"like a big buffalo running around the bases"111. natepurcell 2006-05-29 11:19:53
we now need a nickname for Kemp that has the word buffalo in it.
112. autumnlanding 2006-05-29 11:20:48
i agree buffalo is a HARD nickname
113. mikethinksblue 2006-05-29 11:20:51
buffy comes to mind116. D4P 2006-05-29 11:22:14
I'm guessing Bob would prefer "bison" over "buffalo."
- TV (assuming a nationally-broadcast TBS game): the late Skip Cary, Chip Caray, Ron Gant, or Don Sutton
- Radio: Pete Van Wieren, Chip Caray, Don Sutton
Update: Why, of course: Wikipedia:
Kemp's nickname is "The Bison."[5] During the second major league game of Kemp's career, on May 29, 2006, he stole second base in the fourth inning, after which Atlanta Braves television announcer Don Sutton said he looked "like a big buffalo running around the bases." The observation was appropriate due to Kemp's imposing size and surprisingly fast footspeed. The nickname was modified to "The Bison," the more proper term for the North American mammal to which the moniker refers.Thanks to JJ24 and CanuckDodger in today's DT thread for pointing this out.
Labels: braves, dodgers, history, radio, tv
Monday, February 02, 2009 |
The Bison Grazes At eBay
Hat tip to JJ24 in today's DT thread.
LAT Reviews Torre's Alleged Yankees "Tell-All" Book
... it's fitting that Torre left the Yankees after the 2007 season; it was time to make a change. He himself admits this, noting that once the decision had been made, he was struck by a profound "feeling of relief."And yet, "The Yankee Years" is not a bitter book, despite what early media reports have claimed.
It is, instead, the consummate insider's view of what may be the last great dynasty in baseball history, a team whose nine-year run from 1996 to 2004 was so unbelievable -- seven League Championship Series appearances, six American League pennants and four World Series titles, including three in a row -- that it now feels, to the true believers anyway, like something of a fairy tale.
Labels: books, dodgers, reviews, yankees
Dodgers Make 1-Year/$25M Offer To Manny
"We're still focused on trying to sign Manny," Colletti said.One of Jon's first posts at his new digs is about the real meaning of Manny-mas:Colletti declined to talk about the specifics of the deal, other than to say that Boras agreed he would respond to it in "a couple of days." The Dodgers made a two-year, $45-million offer to Ramirez in November that expired without eliciting a response from Ramirez's camp.
Ramirez declined the Dodgers' offer for arbitration in December. By accepting that offer, Ramirez would've likely received a one-year deal similar to the one being offered to him by the Dodgers right now.
In any case, the point is not to get caught up right now in which alternative the Dodgers ultimately choose, but simply to remember that there are alternatives - plural. Ramirez is a special player, but the Dodgers won’t inevitably lose the pennant if he leaves Los Angeles, any more than the team will inevitably win if he plants himself in left field anew.Though this Dodger offseason appears to be all about Ramirez, it really remains centrally about the organization's leadership. And despite fans’ impatience to know the outcome, it’s not about the McCourts and Colletti getting a deal done quickly. It’s about getting the right deal done. A big score in the ninth inning counts; tardiness won’t cost fans anything but a few palpitations.
Labels: dodgers, hot stove, rumors
Movings And Exits: Dodger Thoughts To The Times, The Griddle — And Most Of The Rest — To Close
- First, Dodger Thoughts is moving to the Times' aegis.
Good news: Jon's made the big-time (though he's keeping his day job at Variety).
We shall see how this works out. It's the fourth move for Jon since I started following him from Blogspot to all-baseball.com (don't bother) to the Baseball Toaster. I may very well end up following Dodger games live at SoSG.
Bad news: preemptive comment moderation, meaning, gameday comment threads will be all but impossible.
Worse news: the idiots who show up at the LAT website often are as bad as those at the MLB.com Dodgers forum, i.e. preemptive comment moderation is necessary.Finally, according to Jon in the comments of his final post, the Kamenetzkys will be posting in The Fabulous Forum, with occasional Dodgers pieces, but Jon will take over the bulk of the Dodgers blogging.
Update: Interestingly, the Dodgers story page at the Times doesn't have Jon's blog linked yet.
- Secondly: Bob Timmermann's delightful The Griddle is another ex-blog.
- This was, in fact part of a broader shutdown which will have all of the Toaster's blogs close down for business, though some will move. Both Ken Arneson's blogs, The Score Bard, and Catfish Stew, will be among the deceased. Cardboard Gods will continue at cardboardgods.net. For the state of the others, follow the first link in this graf.
Labels: blogs
A's Trade Two Minor Leaguers To Cubs For Michael Wuertz
The A's get a solid reliever for two prospects they're not likely to miss. Wuertz, 30, will remind A's fans of Kiko Calero with the way he constantly uses his slider. He's managed to stay healthy so far, and he should prove to be pretty useful in the sixth and seventh innings as part of a bullpen also set to include Joey Devine, Brad Ziegler, Russ Springer, Jerry Blevins and Santiago Casilla.
Labels: athletics, cubs, hot stove, trades, transactions
Sunday, February 01, 2009 |
Terry Colon On Baseball Stadia Of The 90's
Labels: funny
Tardy: Baseball America's Top 10 Dodgers Prospects
Stuff from the chat:
1. Andrew Lambo, of 2. James McDonald, rhp 3. Ethan Martin, rhp 4. Josh Lindblom, rhp 5. Scott Elbert, lhp 6. Ivan DeJesus Jr., ss 7. Devaris Gordon, ss 8. Josh Bell, 3b 9. Chris Withrow, rhp 10. Nathan Eovaldi, rhp
Q: Ben from Leland Grove asks:
Was it close between Lambo and McDonald for the top spot?A: Moderator: It was an interesting call — a guy who is close to the majors, expected to contribute this year, or someone with a higher ceiling further away. In the end, we went with the higher ceiling — Lambo — because he may not be that far off either.
 |
