Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

As people are arguing over what the Red Sox should do with Mike Napoli and 1st base - it should be remembered that the Red Sox gave up All-Star Anthony Rizzo for 282 games of Adrian Gonzalez... Cool history lesson - the last battle of the Revolutionary War actually happened in India... Thinking of writing a series of books called The Adventures of Olive Picasso. It would be about an anorexic world famous artist and her yacht enthusiast boyfriend... Who knew? 666 may be the mark of the beast but 01360 is the Zip Code for Satan's Kingdom... Now that we've taken care of the Confederate flag - can we finally address how racist Nabisco Cheese Nips are?... Well played Ted Cruz. Well played... Booze tip - hard apple cider with a shot of cranberry vodka over ice makes for a delicious summertime drink... It's funny because it's (painfully) true...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The following sentence does a good job summarizing the Boston Red Sox' 2012 season: In the first week of September the Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals have almost the exact same record... Heh heh - this took me a minute... Josh Beckett has been decent for the Dodgers since the big trade from Boston. He's averaged better than 6 inning per start with a 3.86 ERA in his first 3 games for LA... Is High Fructose Tampons a good name for fantasy football team?... Winston Churchill once said, "To do justice to a great man, discriminating criticism is always necessary." If he was alive today and he criticized Barack Obama - he'd just be called discriminating... Adrian Gonzalez hit a HR for the Dodgers in his first game but none in the 12 games since. His OPS in LA is a miserable .663... This picture always makes my day... "Kevin Youkilis THE MUSICAL" would make a great off-Broadway show. Tell me you wouldn't buy a ticket to that!

Red Sox / Dodgers Trade

Two thoughts about the Red Sox / Dodgers mega trade keep bugging me so I thought I'd write them out for all to see so that I can move on to other things. First off - was this really the huge financial investment that everyone says it was for the Dodgers?

Everyone knows that the Dodgers had to make a big splash this off-season and also that 1st base was their biggest need. Adrian Gonzalez clearly is better than any free agent available this off-season not named Josh Hamilton. And it should be noted that Adrian Gonzalez is much more of a sure thing health-wise than Hamilton. If Gonzalez was a free agent then he'd easily get 6-years at $25 million per year. If you look at it that way - Gonzalez's remaining 6-year $127 million contract actually could be considered a savings of $23 million over the minimum Gonzalez would have cost them on the open market (just look at Prince Fielder's contract to see that I'm actually be pretty conservative).

The Dodgers would have also needed to tap into free agency for a starter. Who could they have signed? Ryan Dempster who is 35-years old and who last year had a 4.80 ERA in the NL? The same Ryan Dempster who didn't want to come to Los Angeles at the trade deadline? If the Dodgers signed Josh Becket as a free agent he would have cost at least 2-years at $8 million per year (at the very least). So looking at it this way - Beckett's real cost to the Dodgers would be $15.5 million over 2-years. But don't forget - the Red Sox also sent $12 million in the deal. Let's apply that to Beckett and say that his real cost to the Dodgers then comes down to just $3.5 million.

That just leaves Carl Crawford and his remaining 5-year $108.5 million contract. Just to net everything out - lets subtract the $23 million they are "saving" on Gonzalez and add the $3.5 million Beckett is costing them. That puts Crawford's overall cost to the Dodgers at $89 million over 5-years. A contract size which should sound fairly familiar to Dodger fans.

Let's now make a player comparison:

Player A - .291 BA/ .363 OBP/ .477 SLG/ 19 HR/ 271 TB
Player B - .292 BA/ . 332 OBP/ .441 SLG/ 14 HR/ 288 TB

Those are the 162 game averages according to Baseball-Reference.com for Andre Ethier (Player A) and Carl Crawford (Player B). Ethier is the same player the Dodgers just gave an extension to. That contract was for $85 million over 5-years. Almost the exact same amount that we arrived at above.

What do I make of all this? Well if I was the Dodgers I could have crunched the numbers and justified adding Carl Crawford to the deal by saying they were getting a player who was basically the equal to Andre Ethier but who hits fewer HR but who steals a lot of bases (something the team could really use).

Another possibility? Maybe Ethier will be one of the PTBNL. I know - I know. It sounds crazy but like I said - I couldn't get the possibility out of my head and I felt I had to get it in writing. If you think of it - if Ethier was sent to Boston then all the comments of how can the Dodgers swallow these contracts would pretty much be negated. Also - Ethier would be a very welcome addition to the Red Sox (Dustin Pedroia is one of his best friends). Ethier couldn't be traded now because A) he'd never make it through waivers and B: the Dodgers need him for the stretch run.

Maybe its a crazy thought but I just can't shake it.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Just a reminder but when Carl Crawford first came off the injury list this season for Boston - there were many who wanted him to sit on the bench while Daniel Nava took his spot on left field. The Crawford era in Boston was hardly a success... Rob Riggle is replacing Frank Caliedo on Fox's NFL pregame show. Caliendo had run his course. I'm interested to see how Riggle does. I like Rob Riggle... The trade people should be comparing this Gonzalez / Beckett / Crawford trade to is when the Bruins traded Joe Thornton to San Jose. Thornton didn't win a Stanley Cup in his new Southern Cal location but he did win a MVP. In both cases I think the real problem was in management. Mike O'Connell with the Bruins and Larry Lucchino for the Red Sox... Interesting profile of Penn State coach Bill O'Brien. I wasn't aware of the adversity he and his family face every day... My biggest fear regarding the Red Sox right now is that they somehow go on a 10 game winning streak and decide to give Bobby Valentine another chance next year... Interesting perspective on Lance Armstrong... OK here's the scenario - Todd Akin drops out of the Missouri Senate race the morning Barack Obama is due to speak at the DNC and a woman is named as his replacement. That would certainly take a lot of air out of a lot balloons... 10 things that were created in bars over drinks... I always laugh when I see the Drudge Report on Twitter report something about Obama surrogate Stephanie Cutter. I laugh because Drudge shortens her name to SCUTTER and which has a rather wicked meaning according to the Urban Dictionary. I'd guess that definition 4 is what Drudge had in mind...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Nobody nailed the story of Why Ray Allen left the Celtics for the Miami Heat like Adrian Wojnarowski who is by far the best NBA writer going... Just saying but Adrian Gonzalez has an OPS of .747 while Anthony Rizzo (one of the guys the Red Sox traded to get Gonzo) has an OPS of 1.150 with the Cubs. I know it is a small sample size for Rizzo and that Gonzo is bound to post better numbers but people are starting to wonder if the trade was worth it... Not the first person to make this observation but the Celtics going out and signing Jason Terry before making deal with Ray Allen feels like something the Patriots would do. In the end the Celtics got younger and saved salary for other things. Just like something the Patriots would do... If you like the movie Slap Shot - do yourself a favor and rent Goon. I give it two big thumbs up. Very fun movie for any hockey fan... Will Ray Allen be one of those rare Hall of Fame players whose number does not get retired by any teams? The Celtics are not going to do it now. The Sonics don't even exist any more and Ray has no history with OKC. Milwaukee may be his best shot... These are wicked awesome!

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Nice analysis of some of Red Sox potential trade chips. Really surprised that Lars Anderson wasn't mentioned. He's completely blocked by Adrian Gonzalez... If I was in the US Senate I would attach approval for the Keystone oil pipeline to every since piece of legislation daring President Obama to veto everything. The country would win either way... Lindsey Vonn takes 1st place at the Alpine World Cup, then Tebows on medal stand... USA Networks has announced a new TV show. In the pilot an aging TV star is kicked off a flight in Miami and has to do good deeds to get his reputation back. Burn Notice II with Alec Baldwin... The Soviet Union Was Dissolved 20 Years Ago Today. Some very interesting facts in the link. The one that stood out for me was male life expectancy in 1980 USSR was 62 but today male life expectancy in Russian Federation is just 59. What's up with that?... Very sad day here in Worcester as another Worcester Fireman has given the last full measure of devotion a little over 12 years since the City lost 6 heroes.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Happy 60th birthday to Dwight Evans. The 8-time Gold Glove winning Dewey should have gotten much more Hall of Fame consideration then he got... Promising Assistant GM's want nothing to do with the Orioles - that's why it could be opportunity for someone like Dan Duquette who once was a big deal but now has trouble even getting interviews... Best part about the Baseball-reference.com front page update is the disclaimer... So was real reason Herman Cain chief of staff Mark Block was smoking that cigarette in that commercial post coital related?... Today would have been Charles Bronson's 90th birthday. In his dreams Chuck Norris wishes he'd be as badass as Charles Bronson... Big Adrian Gonzalez fan and big Red Sox fan but Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers should have won Silver Slugger for 1st base... Awesome beer map... On this day in 1913 the US introduced the income tax. A day that will live in infamy... Yesterday was Palindrome Day (11/02/2011) and I just wanted to note that best palindrome ever is "Lisa Bonet ate no basil"... 10 Retro Illustrations of Pop Culture Icons... Today is Michael Dukakis' 78th birthday. Funny how you never hear anyone wistfully thinking of how great a Dukakis Presidency would have been.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Robert Kraft's heartfelt statement on the passing of football legend Al Davis.

- The 25 smartest things that Steve Jobs ever said. This one seems especially apt:

25. "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed saying we've done something wonderful ... that matters to me."

- Pretty amusing Carlsberg beer commercial

- Just a reminder that new White Sox manager Robin Ventura wasn't just a good player - he was also a medical marvel. Ventura was a recipient of an ankle transplant.

- Gordon Edes with a nice article on Adrian Gonzalez and his faith.

- Sinatra Has a Cold - Gay Talese's legendary profile of Frank Sinatra.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

OK I'll say it! President Obama reaches out to Palin supporters... John Lackey has a 6.11 ERA. That's hard to fathom. Andrew Miller has a 5.27 ERA. Well that's understandable since he was considered a reclamation project (can we say a failed reclamation project at this point?). Tim Wakefield has 4.95 ERA. I wonder what he must think when he gets skipped in the rotation and has to watch Lackey and Miller make starts... For Wire fans - wonderful interview of McNulty and Freamon... The trade for Adrian Gonzalez may work out to be a better value for the Red Sox than even the one-sided trade that netted them Pedro Martinez. The main reasons I say this is because Gonzalez seems made for Fenway Park and because the team has him under contract for 8-years while Pedro only played 7-seasons in Boston. It should be noted that Pedro averaged 6.8 WAR per year in his Red Sox career (that's why he's a Hall of Famer). If Gonzalez can average 6.8 WAR he'll have won multiple MVP awards... 10 people who switched careers after age 50 with great success... For no reason whatsoever I am going to try and replace the word "hello" with "ahoy" in my everyday vocabulary... I find it interesting that Baseball-reference.com lists Curt Schilling as the most similar pitcher to Pedro Martinez... I'm a complete sucker for any videos of people wearing those flying squirrel wingsuits.

Justin Verlander

Let me say off the top that I'm not a supporter of Justin Verlander for AL MVP. I think Adrian Gonzalez is the best choice right now (though there's still a lot of games to play). I did want to comment on the idea that Verlander shouldn't get support because he's not a "everyday player". I think that argument is nonsense. And here's why.

The so called "everyday player" can play offense and can play defense. That's it. In regards to defense - there's a stat called put-outs (PO) to measure how many "outs" the player is "responsible" for (sorry for all the "scare" quotes - I can't help myself). Jacoby Ellsbury has 315 PO, Curtis Granderson has 287 PO and Dustin Pedroia has 231 PO. Of course Adrian Gonzalez has as of this morning exactly 1,000 PO on the season. His PO total is more than Ellsbury, Granderson and Pedroia combined but that's because Gonzo plays 1st base. It would be silly to say that even the worst fielding 1st baseman is more valuable than a Gold Glove caliber outfielder like Ellsbury or a Gold Glove winning 2nd baseman like Pedroia simply because the stone hands 1st baseman has more PO and is thus more involved with the defense. That would be like arguing that a pitcher shouldn't be an MVP because he's not as involved as an "everyday player".

Actually the point I was trying to make was the fact that Justin Verlander has 212 strikeouts plus 10 PO. That means he has been directly "responsible" for 222 outs this season on defense which would be fairly close to Pedroia's number of PO. So it can be argued that a dominating strikeout pitcher is almost as involved overall as any "everyday" player. So what about offense?

Well the argument against a pitcher for the MVP is usually that the pitcher is not as involved in a team's success as an everyday player. That he's only a factor every fifth game (which would be 20% of the time in a 5-man rotation). But if you think about it - on offense no matter who the player is they only get to be a factor once every nine at-bats (or about 11% of the time). The rest of the time the player is just watching from the bench or from the on-deck circle having just as much impact as the pitcher who started the game before and is hanging out on the bench. A player at the top of the order will naturally get more plate appearances than a guy batting ninth but even if he accounts for 15% of the team's plate appearances - how is that more important than a starting pitcher who is starting 20% of the games?

OK - you may argue that a starting pitcher may start a game but that doesn't mean he finishes a game and that point is fair enough. However, consider that the Tigers have played 131 games with a total of 1161 innings. Justin Verlander has accounted for 209.67 of those 1161 innings -which equates to 18% of all the team's innings pitched. Not even the best leadoff man is going to equate to 18% of the team's plate appearances.

So tell me again - why is a guy like Verlander less valuable to his team than a "everyday" player?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Erik Bedard went 19-21 in his time with Seattle but his real legacy for the Mariners will be determined by whether Trayvon Robinson (the main player they got for trading him away) ends up better than Adam Jones (the main player they traded away to get him)... The History of English in Ten Minutes. An amusing yet educational way to spend ten minutes on a Sunday morning... When Albert Einstein first visited the US in 1921 - the US Senate saw fit to debate the validity of the Theory of Relativity - seriously.... I think I would try Butterfinger Blast ice cream but this flavor? Not so much... The Red Sox have Kevin Youkilis under contract for 2012 and hold an option for the 2013 season. Assuming they pick up the option what I'm trying to figure out is whether during the 2013 season Kevin Youkilis becomes a 10/5 guy with the no-trade protection that comes with that designation. I'd love for Youk to finish his career with Boston but I have a gut feeling that he may be on the trading block at the 2013 trade deadline... Sprint wants me to give a crap about the Phillies... Jacoby Ellsbury now leads Adrian Gonzalez in home runs - 19-18. If before the season I said that in early August Ellsbury would have more HR than Gonzalez you would probably have thought that was because Gonzalez missed most of the year with injury... Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the World Wide Web becoming available to the public. Thank you Tim Berners-Lee!... Why is the Drinking Age 21?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The Humanitarian Bowl has become "The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl." It saddens me that I'll no longer be amused by thoughts of the Human Fund sponsoring the Humanitarian Bowl but that is more than made up for by the hope that someday I'll get to hear Brent Musberger say, "This is for all the Potatoes!"... What were the biggest tactical mistakes that Stringer Bell made in Seasons 2 and 3 of The Wire? Why did he make these mistakes?... How is it possible that Adrian Gonzalez has a stolen base? I hope the catcher who gave that up never lives it down... Very interesting. You really can't argue with their logic. Why Van Halen had brown M&Ms contractually removed... Just occurred to me - if Every Flavor Beans include things like earwax, do you think they have a vagina flavored one?... 11 Bizarre or Shocking TV Deaths... I'm still ticked that Derek Jeter skipped All-Star Game. He could have gone and just tipped his cap (sarcasm)... Barack Obama is turning out to be as badly cast in the role as President as Robert DeNiro was in his role as Fearless Leader in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Would be great to have had those two flip flopped just so I can hear Obama say "Squirrel and moose!"

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Here's a political prediction. President Obama's speech won't be about Afghanistan so much as it will be about the number of wars "saved" or "created"... A joke that never gets old: JaMarcus Russell was number 2 for the Oakland Raiders... Quote of the Day: "Sir, there is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern" - Samuel Johnson... Do you remember when stories of suicide bombers in Israel used to be an every day thing? It would be very interesting to see if the decline in this specific sort of terrorism was directly related to US taking out Saddam and the ending of his program of paying bounties to the families of the bombers... Adrian Gonzalez leads all of baseball in hits, doubles, RBI and total bases. He is starting to give off a Ted Williams sort feel (not that I was old enough to have experienced Teddy Ballgame)... Not looking at them! Not looking at them!... I think if Mike Shanahan was given a do-over he'd pick the University of Colorado job over the Redskins job... Derek Jeter may be the Yankees all-time hit leader and just 6 hits away from 3,000 but he's still 425 behind Carl Yastrzemski... I've said it before - I like Mike Torrez more than I like John Lackey (and I hate Mike Torrez).

Red Sox Magic Number - 95

With the Josh Beckett gem of a start last night - the Red Sox Magic Number is now 95.

Nick Carfardo has an excellent article today on Adrian Gonzalez. The tie in with the magic number? Gonzalez easily could become the first Red Sox first bagger to win the AL MVP since Mo Vaughn won the award back in - you guessed it - 1995.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

June has been very good to the Red Sox. Jacoby Ellsbury has a hit in every game in June so far. He is 19 for 44 (.432) in that span raising season average to .317 from .292... Interesting phone call between President John Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis and potential nuclear war... It still blows my mind that Ronald Reagan was the original choice to play Rick Blaine in the classic Casablanca... June has been very good to the Red Sox. Adrian Gonzalez has at least 1 RBI in 8 straight games (12 RBI total in those 8 games)... Cool - TNT acquires rights to Castle for syndication. I'm a fan of the show and Nathan Fillion and I'm glad I'll have a chance to see re-runs on a regular basis... June has been very good to the Red Sox. David Ortiz is hitting .412 with 4 HR and 12 RBI so far in June... Pretty sure that in that after he strips down to his underwear and does that fancy dive off the plank that Captain Morgan gets raped by the guys in orange coats on other ship just after the commercial cuts away. He was asking for it... The Red Sox are paying Mike Cameron over $7 million this year. At what point do they realize that Cameron is a shell of the player he once was and cut him loose? They should give one of their young OF from Pawtucket a chance. Either Ryan Kalish or Josh Reddick would be better for the team. Give one of the younger players a chance. It will help to season them to take over for JD Drew next year or at least give them a chance to showcase their talent in case of a trade. Maybe the Red Sox are waiting for Kalish to recover from his injury to make a move?... The Red Sox are in Toronto to play the Blue Jays one more game. Here's a picture of the famous CN Tower in Toronto.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- The NCAA and Championship Ring Repossession.

- WSOP side action

- Adrian Gonzalez is a class guy and a fan of Anthony Rizzo

- I seriously want to own one of these!!!! (The exclamation points are so you know how excited I'd be to have one of these awesome machines!!!!)

- "Blister in the Sun" from Google's Les Paul doodle.

- The Arctic Light - awe inspiring beauty

- Depth of the Mariana Trench to scale

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- I agree with Old Hoss Radbourn - This should be Jorge Posada's at-bat music for the rest of the season.

- In case you missed it - Adrian Gonzalez mimicked Ichiro's batting stance against CC Sabathia the other night and hit a HR. Here's a GIF of them side by side - incredible!! The A-Gon legend grows and grows.

- Heh heh: Thor finishes on top of Bridesmaids

- This is a photograph, not a painting - unbelievable! National Geographic's photo of the day

- Very nice tribute on Harmon Killebrew

- Schwarzenegger proves he's no Kennedy - Kennedy's don't publicly take responsibility for their love children

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Lost in all the drama of last night's game - the Jorge Posada saga, the resurgence of Josh Beckett, the Sarah Silverman fiasco - was something truly amazing. Adrian Gonzalez did an impromptu Ichiro impersonation at the plate and hit a home run. Freaking incredible... So thanks to Sarah Silverman I guess one thing we learned last night is that you can't say the word "Mass-hole" live on Fox... Some things you learn are amusing some are not. Last night I had never heard of Derek Boogaard but Big Stupid Tommy recommended this profile of Boogaard in Men's Journal. I read the profile and came away thinking Boogaard was a pretty cool dude. Only later did I realize that people were posting things about Boogaard because he had died Friday. That put the whole Posada drama into another perspective... On a happier note - you should keep track of Teddy Bruschi's climb of Mount Kilimanjaro with some inspiring wounded warriors. Here's the first installment... With the news of Osama bin Laden's porn stash - how soon before someone asks President Obama if he has a porn stash? First off - how funny is it that the phrase "porn stash" is now appearing is so many "legitimate" news outlets? Secondly - Bill Clinton was the first President to be asked "Boxers or briefs" but will Barack Obama be the first President to be asked if he masturbates?... The Posada being asked to bat 9th made me think of this story of Kurt Vonnegut being asked to write a frivolous horse racing story... You know that the first Two and a Half Men show with Ashton Kutcher is going to have monster ratings. The ratings for the next couple will probably be strong as well but that's it. The producers are really squeezing the last drop out of that franchise... The one for The 6th Sense was my favorite - He's a Ghost. The 50 Funniest Movie Title Translations... What will be harder to explain to our grandkids - corduroy bell-bottom pants or why people did the Tomahawk Chop? Any time someone mentions the Tomahawk Chop - I always remember Norman Chad writing about it and asking people to do the Chop in front of a mirror without coming away feeling stupid. You would have a better chance wearing corduroy bellbottoms in front of a mirror and thinking you look cool than doing the Chop and thinking the same... How Australia does memes: The Plank.

Adrian Gonzalez

I for one am pumped for the Adrian Gonzalez era to begin in Boston. A few quick thoughts while waiting for this deal to be consummated:

1. I am a big fan of a strong farm system but any time you have a chance to trade for a proven superstar (given the right circumstances) you have to do it. This isn't a Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen situation but there is no guaranty that this isn't a Jon Lester package for a Johan Santana either. I trust Theo that the deal will be fair to San Diego but also not harm the future of the Red Sox.

2. I wonder if Billy Beane has already pulled his offer for Adrian Beltre (if that offer ever existed). Gonzalez to the Red Sox eliminates much or all of the leverage Scott Boras had in negotiations. Don't be surprised if a third team magically appears in the negotiations. The Orioles often excel in this patsy role.

3. When / if this deal gets done - I hope a long-term deal for Clay Buchholz is the next priority for the Red Sox front office.

Quad 1st Basemen

I've been thinking of 1st basemen recently. This off-season all the talk in Boston was about the Red Sox making a play for the Padres' Adrian Gonzalez. Alex Speier points out why a deal for Gonzo is unlikely. I think Alex misses a very big point - Adrian Gonzalez isn't even the big trophy among young 1st basemen anymore. The new BMOF (Big Man on First) is Joey Votto. Compare the two:

Gonzalez 2010 - 10 HR / 33 RBI / .275 BA / .855 OPS
Votto 2010 - 11 HR / 35 RBI / .321 BA / .986 OPS

Adrian Gonzalez is 28-years old with 86 HR the past three years and has a $5.5 million club option for 2011. Joey Votto is 26-years old with 60 HR the past three years and who will be eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season. Votto will probably cost the Reds more in 2011 than Gonzo will cost the Padres. If the Red Sox are to deal top prospects for a 1st basemen - it will more likely be for Votto who would be under team control longer than the 1-year Gonzo would have.

Both players fall short in comparison to current Red Sox 1st basemen Kevin Youkilis who has 12 HR, 38 RBI, a .320 BA and an OPS of 1.064. Exactly why would a 1st baseman be a priority for Boston again?

More interesting to me is this player comparison:

Player A - 8 HR / 34 RBI / .215 BA / .698 OPS
Player B - 6 HR / 17 RBI / .211 BA / .716 OPS

Player A is the Yankees Mark Teixeira while Player B is the Rangers uber prospect Justin Smoak. It should be noted that Teixeira has had double the plate appearances that Smoak has had this season. Smoak was drafted the year after the Rangers traded away Teixeira. I just find the juxtaposition interesting.