Monday Quick Hits

by JD Arney on Oct 29, 2007 3:55 PM EDT in News Comment 64 comments

Minorleaguebaseball.com has a nice article up about the Reds system entitled "Help is on the way for the Reds". Always encouraging to read about the guys moving through the system.
Joe Girardi is apparently the new Yankees manager. Kind of an odd choice given the Don Mattingly situation. I am a little hopeful that Steinbrenner's offspring are about to run the Yankees into the ground, but we will see I guess. Having that much money certainly increases their margin of error.
Now that the Rockies have been swept we can expect tons of "OMG the AL roxxors" articles this offseason. Here's one, and here's another already.
The biggest story this offseason will almost certainly be A-Rod. I don't have much of an opinion of the guy, but I did find it pretty ballsy that he announced he was opting out during the World Series. I also don't blame him a bit for leaving New York the way he's been treated by fans. And I wouldn't want to play for an owner this stupid either:
In an interview before Boras's announcement, Steinbrenner said he would try to impress on Rodriguez the value of winning titles and making his legacy as a Yankee. He related a story of talking to Joe DiMaggio, who told him his championships would not have been half as meaningful if he had won them for any other team.
"Does he want to go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee," Steinbrenner said, "or a Toledo Mud Hen?"
Nice little story here on David Nied, the first player taken by the Rockies in the 1992 expansion draft. That was a pretty crazy time. I can remember getting baseball cards that year and thinking it was pretty cool whenever I pulled a Marlin or Rockie.
Ken Rosenthal thinks the Red Sox are the next dynasty. Professional sports are really a blast these days with the Red Sox and Patriots winning the World Series and Super Bowl just about every year.

0 recs | Comment 64 comments

Comments

A few other sites have mentioned it

but I think it's worth noting that A-Rod's decision really helps the Texas Rangers out. I'm willing to bet good money they are the ones that pay Kyle Lohse $12M a year. Unless they refuse to deal with Boras anymore...

I'm not superstitious...but I am a little stitious.

by Slyde on Oct 29, 2007 4:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Girardi

He's been the frontrunner for awhile now. Basically, since it became obvious Torre wasn't coming back. Which was pretty early in the season. Mattingly would have been the "stay the course" choice. The guy who was close to Torre. Too close to Torre.

I think the Yankees are going to be a mess for awhile. The politics have always been toxic, but now, with Steinbrenner suffering from dementia, Torre out, Cashman weakened, and Swindal ousted, the daggers will be drawn.

And I have serious doubts about Girardi's ability to handle it. He couldn't deal with the much milder politics in Florida. They're going to eat him alive in NY if he pulls the same crap he did with the Marlins.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Oct 29, 2007 5:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Mattingly didn't want to be

the man who followed the MAN. Probably a smart move on his part. Instead, he likely will be the man who follows Girardi, which will be an easier task.

As for the AL superiority, where were those guys in 2006?

The DH also gives the AL a decided advantage. An AL team essentially fields a team with nine starting hitters rather than eight. Even in NL parks, a starting DH-caliber player as your first guy off the bench trumps the first pinch-hitter virtually any NL team can throw out there. I detest the DH, but if it's not going away, then it needs to be mandatory for both leagues if fairness is to come into play.

We Are ... Marshall!

by Thundering Turtle on Oct 29, 2007 5:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

hear hear.

or is it here here?

hear here?

Everybody's a jerk. You. Me. This jerk.

by andromache on Oct 29, 2007 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

My wife and I have debated this

I think it's "here here" as in "this person here agrees with you." She thinks it's "hear hear" as in "I hear what you are saying." If we ever split, this could be line item one on the divorce justification. :)

I'm not superstitious...but I am a little stitious.

by Slyde on Oct 29, 2007 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I finally decided to look it up

and don't tell my wife, but I'm wrong. (So this is what it feels like.)

I'm not superstitious...but I am a little stitious.

by Slyde on Oct 29, 2007 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

no son no

never admit to that. Just go through your married life using my credo; "I'm not always right but I am never wrong."

Hope Springs Eternal! Go Reds

by Caleb on Oct 29, 2007 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yankees drive AL superiority

The AL is the better league, and will be until one of the big money NL clubs decides to start spending like the Yankees or Red Sox.

The Yankees started it, but those two spend like there's no tomorrow, so to just try and compete, teams like the Angels and Blue Jays have to up their payroll and sign bigger name free agents. There aren't any teams like that in the NL, so payrolls don't have to be as high, and the teams can rely more on rookies and arbitration eligible players.

It's no fluke that the AL Wild Card team has been either the Yankees or the Red Sox four out of the last five years, and eight out of fourteen since they started the format in 1994. That's also the time since the AL started winning virtually every All-Star game. Right now, even the big money NL clubs are spending only enough to make the playoffs, not to compete directly with the Yankees or Red Sox. Until that changes, the AL will continue to dominate everything.

by Watubi on Oct 29, 2007 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Steinbrenner's quote is really annoying.

Is that a sly dig at the Detroit Tigers, who are clearly so bad that they may as well be their own triple-A team?

That whole quote really exemplifies the reason why I have started to not be able to stand the greater part of yankees and redsox fans. Even the ones I mostly like are always saying things like "Oh look how quirky this player/quote is! This is why I love the redsox!"

Because, obviously, no other team can compare in originality or quirkiness, or fun-loving. You may think I'm overreacting, but seriously, I've heard things like "But there's no way FreeAgentPlayerX would ever want to leave suchandsuch team, right? I mean, wouldn't playing anywhere else just suck now?"

FYI, yes, FreeAgentPlayerX is Mike Lowell...

Everybody's a jerk. You. Me. This jerk.

by andromache on Oct 29, 2007 5:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't think it's a sly dig

He's not playing with a full deck any more.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Oct 29, 2007 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

please expound

i have heard reporters vaguely mention his "alleged health issues." Does he have some sort of dementia that's progressing rapidly? And how does this relate to that story that came out in the new jersey record about george saying he didn't think the yankees would have joe back if they didnt win the series? That has struck me as an oddly worded statement; is it possible most reporters have stopped talking to george out of respect for his condition, and thus the unknowing and otherwise unimportant new jersey record got ahold of george and obtained an only partly intelligible quote?

thanks in advance,
boobs

Marty may have a shirt on, but Billy Beane just ripped his off and is squeezing his nipples. - Brendan's ukkah

by boobs on Oct 29, 2007 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

if I'm not mistaken

he's given the bergen record a lot of quotes over the years.

by bobestes on Oct 29, 2007 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Steinbrenner

There are conflicting rumors, but I think that yes, he is suffering dementia. It's not exactly progressing rapidly; rather, he has good days and bad days. (This is common with dementia.)

It's not that reporters have stopped talking to George. It's that Yankees usually protect him from the press these days. He doesn't even come to games very often, and when he does, he rarely talks to the press. (And when he does, it's often strange. Like when he called A-Rod "the third baseman." Some saw that as disrespect, but I think the truth is, he didn't remember A-Rod's name.)

That recent interview was a fluke. A reporter called the Yankees office, and George picked up the phone. I guess he was having a good day, and was in the office. But it was definitely a fluke. Like calling the White House and having the president answer the phone.

That said, the Bergen County Record actually has pretty good Yankees coverage. And I'm not just saying that because they were big Bubba Crosby fans. ;-)

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Oct 29, 2007 7:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

thank you madam

very helpful

Marty may have a shirt on, but Billy Beane just ripped his off and is squeezing his nipples. - Brendan's ukkah

by boobs on Oct 29, 2007 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

little Stein

That Mudhens quote was from Hank, not George. He also said:

"If you don't understand the magnitude of being a Yankee and understand what that means..."

"...we're going to give you the privilege of being a Yankee..."

Then the Mudhen line. This epitomizes the arrogance that comes with the Yankees. There are the Yankees and 29 AAA teams. Just when everyone starts equating the Sox with the Yanks and preparing to hate them just as much, the new head Steinbrenner reminds us all how bad the pinstripers really are.

Oh, and I'm definitely putting George on my Death Pool list next year.

by Red Menace on Oct 29, 2007 7:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Along with Robert Goulet

if you don't have him already.

I'm not superstitious...but I am a little stitious.

by Slyde on Oct 29, 2007 9:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

we always had a ramones death pool.

i think i've had dee dee for awhile now but nothin'!

Everybody's a jerk. You. Me. This jerk.

by andromache on Oct 29, 2007 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

done and done

just died tonight

by bobestes on Oct 30, 2007 11:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

damn

I hope Porter Wagoner can make it to next year.

by Red Menace on Oct 31, 2007 12:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

To continue on my own personal rant.

My best friend just posted this on her livejournal.

"Was there ever a team in baseball that loved each other as much as these 2007 Red Sox do? "

This is a girl who blinks in confusion when I make sly jabs about the 1975 world series. And she's so ready to proclaim these Redsox the most lovingest team ever.

......

I hate the Red Sox for making me hate people I ordinarily like.

Everybody's a jerk. You. Me. This jerk.

by andromache on Oct 29, 2007 11:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Toledo Mud Hens

have offered A-Rod a contract!

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Nov 2, 2007 12:26 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

BubbaFan... help!

I have rather detested the NYYankees for quite some time now, but find myself in a quandry with the new manager of the Yankees being Northwestern great Joe Girardi. I can't possibly root against Girardi, but at the same time, can't imagine rooting for the Yankees. Any advice on how to learn to love New York? Maybe the Yankees will fire Joe after two years because he only reached the ALCS instead of the World Series in those years. Then I can go back to hating the Yankees with the passion they deserve.

Quick! Somebody make a Cincinnati loves Ken Griffey Jr. too! video

by TheC on Oct 29, 2007 5:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

LOL

Maybe you can find it in your heart to at least feel sorry for the once-mighty Yankees.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Oct 29, 2007 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I used to date a Northwestern girl.

I might pull for the Yankees if she was managing them. Nah. They're still the Yankees.

On another Yankees-related note, 1976 was a wonderful year, wasn't it?

We Are ... Marshall!

by Thundering Turtle on Oct 29, 2007 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Now that it's offical, it's official.

Dear Bob:

Sign ARod.

Love,
sidnancy.

just....wow.

by sidnancy on Oct 29, 2007 6:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I second the motion

all in favor say aye

Hope Springs Eternal! Go Reds

by Caleb on Oct 29, 2007 6:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Eye?

Hear here?

I hope the Rockies win it all, and I don't even like God.

by jch24 on Oct 29, 2007 7:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ARod

If ARod ever wins a world championship, I'll be totally blown away.

And he'd certainly never do so in Cincinnati, where the team would never be able to assemble the complementary parts to do so. We've been down this road before, but with the Texas Rangers.

by bobestes on Oct 29, 2007 6:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

really?

I really don't think ARod is the reason the Yanks haven't won but I really haven't looked at the situation. Most of the teams he has played on just have not been that good. Sort of like Ted Williams and Barry Bonds.

Hope Springs Eternal! Go Reds

by Caleb on Oct 29, 2007 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Amen

The Yankees haven't won (mostly) because their pitching has sucked eggs.

by cggarb on Oct 29, 2007 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well...

I'm not a statsmatician, but my assumption is that buying two good starters at $15mil each will get you farther in October than the $30mil spent on ARod.

Or you could probably spread the money across the team in a way that would get you more production over the course of a season than from one player. Think of an index fund compared to stock in one company.

Shoot, you'd probably win more championships in the long run pouring that $30mil into scouting/latin america than you would ARod.

by bobestes on Oct 29, 2007 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ARod's worth

This is Rob Neyer on his blog, quoting Nate Silver...

And if you run an objective analysis of Rodriguez's tangible worth, it's incredibly difficult to justify paying him $30 million per season. In Baseball Between the Numbers (Basic Books, 2006), Nate Silver looked at the first five seasons of Rodriguez's contract, 2001-2005. His salary for those seasons was roughly $122 million. Using a generous model, A-Rod was worth $92 million. That is, if the Rangers and Yankees had spent that $122 million elsewhere and gotten just an average return on their money, they'd have won more games than they actually did.

The one thing Neyer leaves out is that the Yankees weren't actually paying all of ARod's contract, so they were probably getting close to proper value for him, using Silver's model.

Would ARod add a bunch of wins to this team? Absolutely. Would the Reds be a better team over the long-term? I don't know. It really depends on how successful the young players are because there isn't going to be a lot of money available to spend on the free agent market to fill any holes that pop up.

I agree that they are likely to be better off spending the same money on more players as it adds both flexibility in the payroll (especially if the money isn't guaranteed for 6 or 7 years) and gives the Reds the opportunity to fill more holes. Even if ARod were to come here and give the Reds 7 more wins over EdE or the shortstops, they'd still be 5 games below .500 and they wouldn't have any money left to play with (I'd assume). So is that $30M worth the difference between ARod and EdE?

I'm not superstitious...but I am a little stitious.

by Slyde on Oct 29, 2007 10:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

BUT

You're not considering ARod's ability to launch your regional cable network, the ancillary income he'll generate as he drives toward 900 home runs and the substantial boost he'll give to your franchise equity.

/Boras

by Red Menace on Oct 29, 2007 10:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

heh

I remember someone once saying that ARod would make North Texans care about baseball...

by bobestes on Oct 29, 2007 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And then

kids as far south as Nashville and as far east as Hunnington will hang posters of George Grande and Chris Welsh on their walls, just like we do in Cincinnati.

I'm not superstitious...but I am a little stitious.

by Slyde on Oct 29, 2007 11:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here's the problem

It's tough to run a "what else can you do with the money" in this situation, for two reasons:

There is only 1 ARod;
There is a very finite supply of $10-12M players.

So first, if you think you need him, there is no other alternative - no one in the game right now can do all of the things he does. That truely makes him worth whatever the market can bear.

Second, if you say "OK, I'll just buy 2 $15M FAs instead", who is there? The rotting husk of Andruw Jones? The decline years of Torii Hunter? As good as they were last year, 36 year old catcher (which is 105 to you or me) Jorge Posada or 38 year old Mariano Rivera? And remember, 30 other teams are looking at that same, limited supply of players.

In my mind, there is only one team who shouldn't at least look at him - the Mets, and then only if he refuses to move from the left side of the infield. His offense transforms your team, it's that good.

Now there are some reality checks here. If you have to give him more than 5 years, I think you're taking a big chance. Unless Castellini treats him as a "special purchase", outside of the planned payroll, that contract would be pretty limiting. EdE will never be ARod, but is still young and can be solid for years to come (and lots cheaper).

Previous pronouncements aside, I think it would make more sense for the Reds to try to get Rivera and Posada. They fill specific holes on the team, being big names they show the team is actually trying, and as long as you can get them for 3 or fewer years are likely to be worth the money (or at least most of it).

But if he can still play SS, imagine how many runs the Reds would score with Hamilton/Jr (or Bruce)/ARod/Dunn/EdE/Votto in the meat of the lineup!

just....wow.

by sidnancy on Oct 30, 2007 8:52 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with what you are spoutin

But after reading this. I'm beginning to think the Mets will land ARod for three reasons,

ARod likes NY
The Mets were his fav team as a kid
David Wright says he will move positions

so throw DW into your outfield and sign ARod to man the hot corner

by jacob brumfield on Oct 30, 2007 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Heer, heer!

"You don't invent winning" Sparky Anderson

by Madville on Oct 30, 2007 8:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

beer here

by jacob brumfield on Oct 30, 2007 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Really?

If ARod ever wins a world championship, I'll be totally blown away.

In his 4 years in NY, the Yankees were 2nd, 2nd, 1st and 1st in runs scored; they were 6th, 9th, 6th, and 7th in runs allowed. In his 3 years in Texas, they were 3rd, 5th and 5th in RS and 14th, 12th, and 14th in RA. This will be his second league MVP while in NY, to go with the one he won in Texas; in 5 of these 7 seasons, he was in the top 5 in OPS+ in the AL, and won 2 Gold Gloves in Texas.

Unless you think he needs work on his forkball, ARod wasn't the reason for the failure of either of these teams.

And he'd certainly never do so in Cincinnati, where the team would never be able to assemble the complementary parts to do so. We've been down this road before, but with the Texas Rangers.

In '01, the Rangers paid Andreas Galarraga $6M for 240 ABs at .734 OPS, Kenny Rogers $7.5M for 120 IP at 6.19 ERA, and Darrin Oliver $7M for 6 AB. In '02 they paid $6.8M for 200 league-average ABs from Rusty Greer, $8.7M for 375 league-average ABs from Carl Everett, $11M for 275 league-average ABs from Juan Gonzalez, and almost $7M for 140 IP and 5.75 ERA from Chan-Ho Park. In '03, it was mostly Park - $13M, <30 IP, 7.58 ERA. The money they paid ARod was not the problem with this team.

just....wow.

by sidnancy on Oct 29, 2007 8:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe so

but I highly doubt the Reds could field much of a team besides ARod at $30mil per. I'm sure he and Boras know this too, which is what makes this conversation somewhat moot.

by bobestes on Oct 29, 2007 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

in other news it is strange the reds have pitching

prospects. Not just a few, but that pitching is the strength of the minor leagues. What the fuck is up with that. That just doesn't compute in my mind. I am used to years of Seth Etherton, Scott Winchester, Jose Accevado, and Brian Reith coming from AAA, with guys like Chris Grueller, and Ty Howington falling to injureies.

The Dusty path to the World Series!

by justin0070000 on Oct 29, 2007 6:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks JD!

For choosing a photo of ARod where he looks like an arogant douche bag.

I had a brief thought that it might be cool to have ARod on the Reds, but your image choice corrected my silly thoughts.

by jacob brumfield on Oct 30, 2007 4:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

other possibilities

A Google image search for Arod and douchebag returned the following.

by Red Menace on Oct 30, 2007 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Goodbye

...and good riddance, Slappy McBlueLips.

I don't blame him for leaving. Or for symbolically giving the Yankees and their fans the finger on the way out.

But making the announcement in the middle of the last game of the World Series - that was classless. There probably aren't two teams in existence I like less than the Rockies and the Red Sox, but I would never do something like that to them.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Oct 30, 2007 6:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You might have answered this already

but why the Rocky hate? The whole Lord's Team thing?

by Brendanukkah on Oct 30, 2007 8:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rocky V was unforgivable.

by ken on Oct 30, 2007 8:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ummmm....

....yeah.

It's not that I hate religion or anything like that. Heck, Bubba's a very religious guy, at least as such things are judged here in the northeast.

But it's that whole "we're more moral than everyone else" thing, and the implication that god's on their side because of it. The implication being that teams that didn't do as well (such as the Reds) are bad people.

It's...sports Calvinism, that's what it is!

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Oct 30, 2007 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

To be fair

That was BorASS at his finest. A-Rod, like so many other athletes, seems to let the most annoying type of person on planet Earth (lawyer/agent) decide what statements to make and when, invariably making the athlete look like an asshole.

I hope the Rockies win it all, and I don't even like God.

by jch24 on Oct 30, 2007 9:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I know

But A-Rod had to have approved it, or it wouldn't have happened. Boras works for A-Rod, not the other way around. Alex is a very smart guy, and he's been around long enough to know better. He knew exactly what he was doing.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Oct 30, 2007 9:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

In fairness

that announcement was more exciting than the game.

And when I'm ever in a foul mood, I've gotta see you in your towel mood...

by Man Mountain on Oct 30, 2007 9:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Damned good point

I don't remember the last time I watched the WS with such disinterest and absolute certainty of what would end up happening.

I hope the Rockies win it all, and I don't even like God.

by jch24 on Oct 30, 2007 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't really know what to think

We're pretty much in the dark here. Arod and Boras didn't hold a press conference. The news that he had opted out was leaked. During the broadcast Rosenthal said something like, "I've just heard that..." I've also heard it said that the story came from Jon Heyman, who's been working many Yankees sources over this.

So you could be justified in being angry at the reporters who chose to break the story as soon as they got it (In my day...). There's a possibility the Yankees leaked the news to spite Arod and the Sox. As it happened Arod ended up looking really bad to a lot of people, which is not surprising at all.

And after all that Taco Bell crap MLB has no high horse to ride on matters like this.

by Red Menace on Oct 31, 2007 12:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No press conference

He just called AP during the game. True, rumors were swirling earlier. But he could have let them swirl for a few more hours.

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Oct 31, 2007 12:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not so sure

At the end of the day, we all know A-Rod is one thing above all else - a robotic baseball player, and not much else. He has demonstrated time and again that he has absolutely NO social skills; he was born and raised to play baseball, and while he's damned good at it, he's also stunted in other aspects of his life because of the all-out focus on being the best ballplayer of all time. I find it very easy to believe that Boras could talk him into releasing the news when they did on the premise that there's no such thing as bad press.

I hope the Rockies win it all, and I don't even like God.

by jch24 on Oct 30, 2007 9:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't

After four years in NY, A-Rod knows very well that there is such a thing as bad publicity. (His wife packing her suitcase and moving out after reading about his stripper girlfriend in the tabloids was one clue. ;-)

All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?

by BubbaFan on Oct 30, 2007 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs