Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The Biltmore Orioles suspending Kevin Brown is nothing less than censorship. It's a slippery slope.

- The definition of heavy handed regulation. Not a fan as many incandescent lightbulbs are made in Mass.

- The Daily Coach interviews NBA Hall of Famer Pau Gasol. Interesting.

- Speaking of interesting - the PGA/LIV deal may not get done.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Was surprised by Rob Gronkowski deciding to come back to play football. Thought he was enjoying retirement. Was not surprised that he'd only come back to play with Tom Brady. The TV ratings for Tampa Bay games in New England this season will be phenomenal... Why Oil Prices Went Negative - a good explainer article on why and how oil prices went negative. Something I was very nervous about.. Are we all in agreement that NYC has the worst mayor in the country and Michigan has the worst governor?... I was not aware that Al Bumbry served 11 months in Vietnam before becoming a star for the Baltimore Orioles. He even earned a Bronze Star for bravery...  "The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge."- Daniel Boorstin... Missouri files suit against China over damages from Wuhan Virus. I expect many other States to follow suit [pun intended]. It will also be interesting to see which major law firms sign on to defend the Chinese government... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The Revolutionary War officially ended on this day in 1783 with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay signing of the Treaty of Paris. How many high school seniors could tell you what the Treaty of Paris is these days? Not many...  The 1971 Baltimore Orioles had four 20-game winners (Cueller, Dobson, Palmer, and McNally). There may not be a single 20-game winner this season in all of MLB as just three pitchers in all of baseball have 17 wins with not many starts left in the regular season. Times have changed... An X-Files marathon is coming to BBC America. Was the X-Files secretly produced in England by the BBC? To me this is like Showtime running a Sopranos marathon. Or is it strange like The History Channel no longer showing history documentaries... This is awful. Terrible news so sad. If I were President I would scour our National Archives and museums for any Brazilian artifacts or documents to and donate them back to help ease the pain of this loss...  Buzz Aldrin makes his feelings about planting the American flag on the moon quite known.. The Red Sox magic number is now just 18... Am I a bad person for laughing at this?...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Tough to pick a team to root for between the four remaining MLB teams but kind of leaning towards the Orioles just because of the great job Dan Duquette has done. It should be remembered that he only got the job because other candidates deemed it too radioactive... Pool and beer help you live longer! Later today I'm going to work on extending my life expectancy!...  Would love to see an episode of Louie where Louis CK goes for a picnic in the park with his kids and runs into the missing Russian from The Sopranos...  39-years ago tonight SNL first took to the air. The original thought was to have Albert Brooks as the permanent host... For proper elocution a person must have consistent vowel movements... This website is awesome! I will buy all my Christmas gifts there!... Block Me Amedaeus would be a great name for a fantasy football team...  Fantastic article on the one of a kind Bob Ryan... Always remember that the word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent". To truly listen you should be silent... Big as a hat! Great joke from Big Stupid Tommy... The Obama Drone artist seems like a great guy...

Trade Proposal

There's a trade proposal that's been bouncing around my head for quite some time now. The Baltimore Orioles have said they want to shed payroll and are open to trading both closer Jim Johnson and catcher Matt Wieters. The Red Sox don't need a closer but a catcher like Matt Wieters would certainly be worth exploring.

I know the odds are slim that the Orioles would make a trade to improve a division rival but there has been precedent. Most notably in my mind was the Mike Boddicker trade that sent Curt Schilling and Brady Anderson to the Orioles. It could happen again and I keep thinking this could be a trade could make sense for both teams.

Matt Wieters would be a great fit for the Red Sox. He has two years left before free agency which would be the perfect amount of time for Boston before one of its two stud catching prospects (Blake Swihart and Christian Vazquez) are ready to take the reins. David Ross is only really good for 60 games per year and he's only signed for one more year. Wieters could come in and have a relaxing year for him (he led the AL in games caught last year) and the next year he could mentor Swihart or Vazquez as one of them back him up in his year heading into free agency.

Wieters is perhaps the best defensive catcher in the AL (Gold Gloves in 2011 and 2012). He's hit more than 20 HR in three straight years. He'd be an upgrade over Jarrod Saltalamcchia and salary wise - he would be cheaper with arbitration probably getting Wieters $8.5 million next year and maybe $10.5 in 2015. Salty's probably going to get a 3-year $30 million deal at the least in free agency.

What would be in it for Baltimore? I'd suggest trading catcher Ryan Lavarnway who right now is probably going to catch the majority of the games next year but who would be extraneous with the arrival of Wieters and starter Felix Dubront. Both players are just 26 and both under team control for at least another 4 years. Dubront could be the 3rd starter right away for the Orioles and Lavarnway could be their starting backstop. Both are also very cheap and the two in exchange for Wieters would save Baltimore more than $10 million in 2014 alone when you factor in what a starting pitcher is going for in the free agency market.

It should also be noted that Wieters agent is Scott Boras - so Baltimore knows they are probably going to lose him to free agency anyway. Why not trade him now and get more than just a draft pick for him (especially now when they could use salary relief)?

A deal worth thinking about.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

CC Sabathia's real name is Carsten Charles Sabathia... Who said it - Joe Biden or Michael Scott?... Have to wonder if the Nobel committee chose to give the Nobel Prize to the EU in an effort not to pay the prize money (who would collect?)... Very cool betting story. The moral as always - be sure to quit when you are ahead!... Talk about making chicken salad out of you know what. It should be remembered that Dan Duquette only got the Orioles GM job because other candidates thought the position was too radioactive. Now Duquette has re-established himself as a top GM in the game. Good for him!... Cool - a diamond bigger than the Earth?... Hate to think that this may be it for Scott Rolen. Sad to see him go out on such a sour note... SNL should do skit about ESPN peon that is sent to tell Bobby Knight that the network no longer wants to use him on TV... For proper elocution a person must have consistent vowel movements... I'm a Red Sox fan but part of me wants to see the Yankees win this series just so I can hear all the people arguing that Alex Rodriguez should be left off the 25-man roster against the Tigers. That would be delicious...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Gary Sinise - An American Hero. If you support one of his charities great. If not you can indirectly support him by watching CSI New York or writing an email to CBS telling them how much you like Gary Sinise and his show CSI New York

Buck Showalter Signing Autographs For Three Amish Guys

Now that Tony La Russa is gone from Cardinals' camp, Ozzie Smith is back

"My Faith: What I learned from my 46-day beer-only fast" Many guys will read this and seriously think about a beer-only fast. But keep in mind that he was drinking just 5 beers max a day. Now if those 5 beers were 40 ounce then maybe we could talk

Cool - how a fly mimics a spider

WTF? The Badgermin

Jimmy Fallon sings Pearl Jams "Jeremy' (Lin)

Images of literary characters made from police sketch software

The penthouse where NASCAR was founded in 1947 is now a gay bar 

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.

- A reminder of the greatness that was Earl Weaver (NSFW language)

- A curmudgeon of another sort - James Randi's fiery takedown of psychic fraud

- Spectacular photo of volcanic explosion by an Icelandic farmer

- The saying goes that 50% of marriages end in divorce has the corollary that the other 50% end in death. This seems to be a third path - you are more likely to die from a heart attack when having sex while having an affair, than during sex with your regular partner, although this seems largely to apply to men.

- Speaking of cheating husbands - the great show Mad Men will only go 6 seasons

- The saying goes - you can tune a piano but you cannot tuna fish. Well - it turns out that mathematically you cannot even tune a piano.

Mike Boddicker

Today is Mike Boddicker's 52nd birthday making today as good a time as any to ask whether the trade that sent Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling to the Orioles in exchange for Boddicker in July of 1988 was worth it.

Boddicker spent 2.5 seasons with Boston. He helped the Red Sox win the AL East in 1988 by going 7-3 down the stretch. In 1989 went 15-11 and was a solid number 2 behind Roger Clemens. In 1990 he again helped the Red Sox win the AL East by going 17-8 with a 3.36 ERA while also winning a Gold Glove. Unfortunately the Red Sox were knocked out of the playoffs in both 1988 and 1990 by the A's with Boddicker going a combined 0-2 in those series.

The Red Sox had the superior Ellis Burks playing center - so Brady Anderson was expendable. But what about Curt Schilling the prospect for the veteran Boddicker part of the deal? During the time Boddicker was in Boston - Schilling went an undistinguished 1-6 for the Orioles. It seems Baltimore saw little in Schilling and they traded him away in 1991 to Houston who also didn't see him as a future ace as they traded him in 1992. Who is to say that without this being tossed about that Schilling never would have developed into the player he became?

All-in-all I say that the Boddicker trade was a good one for the Red Sox and it worked for the Orioles too as Brady Anderson became a fan favorite for 13 seasons. Only in hindsight does the aspect of Curt Schilling being involved in the deal become the focus. A focus which is incorrect even knowing what we know today.

Pick of the Day

Tonight's pick of the day (POTD) is the Blue Jays (-$120) with hot rookie Ricky Romero facing off against the Orioles and Rich Hill who has not lasted longer than 4 innings in any of his last 4 home starts.

POTD record 11-4 and plus a mythical $633

Pick of the Day

Today's pick of the day is the Mariners (-$120) vs Baltimore. The Orioles are 7-17 against the AL West, 6-16 in day games and just 1-11 in series finales on the road.

Last night the White Sox beat Cleveland to raise the POTD record to 10-3 and plus a mythical $653

Pick of the Day

Tonight I'm going with the Angels as my pick of the day (POTD). Jeremy Guthrie is starting for the Orioles and he's been solid as of late but the Orioles are generally not a good road team and after the excitement from the past 2 games and cross country travel - I'm guessing the team as a whole will be emotionally and physically just a step behind. The Angels are a -$157 favorite.

POTD record - 6-2 and plus a mythical $365.

It was the Best of Games - It was the Worst of Games

It really was the story of two games last night. In the first game John Smoltz was extremely effective and the Red Sox bats owned Orioles pitching. After exactly half a game (4.5 innings) the Red Sox were up 9-1.

In the second game Mark Hendricks of the Orioles tames the Red Sox bats and the Red Sox bullpen fell apart. In the second (half) game the Orioles beat the Red Sox 10-1.

If this was poker - this game would be known as a "bad beat". Thing is about bad beats - nobody wants to hear you complain about them. You just say "that's poker" and move on.

Red Sox Magic Number - 84

With the 4-0 win over the Orioles last night - the Red Sox magic number is now 84.

I wanted to comment that 84 was the year U2 released the CD The Unforgettable Fire which featured the song Bad. I am reminded of this because earlier today I bought the CD at CVS for $9.99. I was at CVS so that my daughter could buy a musical birthday card and I happened to see the CD for sale. Impulse sale.

In 1983 the Orioles won the World Series and it seems like to me that they have been "Bad" ever since. The decline of "the Oriole Way" in my mind started in 84 and by 86 they were in last place - just like today.

I haven't mentioned the death of Michael Jackson mostly because I wasn't a fan. I was New Wave - what's now called First Wave - not Pop. More Joe Strummer than Michael Moonwalker. I do want to say that for my money U2's Bad kicked Michale Jackson's Bad's ass.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Under the radar - Baltimore's first three in the batting order are all in the top 11 in batting average in the AL - Brian Roberts (.356 11th), Adam Jones (.359 10th) and Nick Markakis (.381 3rd). That's quietly impressive... I get confused - is I Want Revenge the name of the Kentucky Derby favorite or the name of the Selena Roberts book on A-Rod?... I feel bad for Pittsburgh's Ian Snell. In his last three losses he gave up a total of just 6 earned runs. Why is it that some pitchers always seem to have bad luck when it comes to their team's offense always taking a day off when they start?... There are still 4 players who have as many or more home runs as individuals than the Oakland A's have as a team total... People in Boston are very worried about David Ortiz. I imagine that people in Chicago may be similarly concerned about Derrek Lee and his single HR and .200 BA... Not for nothing but if A-Rod had 3 HR but was hitting just .197 - he'd be booed both at home and on the road. Those are Mark Teixeira's numbers so far... Is Julian Tavarez really the Nationals new closer? Wow - things are worse in Washington than I thought.

What Mussina Hath Wrought

It’s taken 8 years but Mike Mussina has finally done it.

Back in 2000 Mussina was the staff ace and upcoming free agent to be on a team of overpaid players, most of whom were on the down-slopes of their careers. You had the image conscious superstar 3rd baseman who was really a natural shortstop. Heck you even have Sidney Ponson starting for both teams. The names may have changed from Cal Ripken to Alex Rodriguez or from Albert Belle, Will Clark and Brady Anderson to Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu and Johnny Damon. It may be me but both teams seem eerily reflective of Mike Mussina’s personality. The results may also end up pretty much the same. That 2000 team of Mussina’s ended up in 4th place in the AL East. And 4th place is where the Yankees are currently heading.

Ladies and gentlemen – I give you the New York Orioles. Courtesy of Mike Mussina.

Of course I'm just kidding but the similarity between the 2000 Orioles and the 2008 New York Yankees has to give Yankee fans reason to pause and think.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

You want to know why the Orioles are in first place in the AL East with a 6-1 record? Going into today's games the Baltimore Orioles have used 8 pitchers in relief and only Greg Aquino among those 8 has allowed an earned run (he has allowed 2 in 1 and a third innings). That's 7 relievers with 0.00 ERA's. They have only allowed just 3 runs all season from the 7th to 9th innings. That's why they have been winning... Jason Kendall is leading the NL in batting with a .522 average. Is it too early to ask if he'll be able to hit .400 in a season? No? Well is it too early to speculate if he'll break Hugh Duffy's single season mark for batting average? Duffy hit .440 in 1894. Kendall's got that topped by over 80 points at the moment... I'm frankly surprised that the Giants have managed to win 3 games already with that line-up...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Jay Gibbons was released by the Orioles even though he was still owed $11.9 million. My initial though was "I guess the Orioles thought he was worth the money when he was on the juice but now that he's off it - not so much." Most times you should go with your first gut feeling. I would have to do the math but I think that the Orioles may actually end up paying as much to players who won't suit up for Baltimore this season than Tampa Bay will pay in total payroll... Remember yesterday how I said John Edwards may be angling for the VP slot with his 26 committed delegates as bait? Well read this article and tell me you don't come away thinking the same thing... Michael Gee has an excellent look at Bill Belichick's relationship to the Boston media. Well worth the read.... I haven't seen the History Channel's new show Ax Men but every time I see a commercial for the show I think of John Steinbeck's quote about lumberjacks: "Years ago when I used to work in the woods it was said of lumber men that they did their logging in the whore house and their sex in the woods." That quote has always just stuck with me.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

I'd expect that the Orioles are not done dealing. I'd guess that the front office has feelers already out on Brian Roberts (is that Cubs deal ever going to happen?), catcher Ramon Hernandez, outfielder Jay Payton and DH Aubrey Huff. Giving Melvin Mora a no-trade clause is perhaps the worst front office move I can remember. Say hello to the 100-loss season this year Oriole fans... Khalil Greene could be the clean-up hitter for the Padres this season. I'm wondering if there are any other teams in baseball with their shortstop hitting in the four hole. Troy Tulowitzki, Hanley Ramirez and Jimmy Rollins are all better hitters than Greene so I'm guessing that Greene hitting clean-up for the Padres is more of a reflection of how weak the Padres line-up is. However, Greene getting all those RBI opportunities could make Greene more valuable for fantasy baseball players.... The Padres are basically banking on old guys (Jim Edmonds and Brian Giles) and guys coming off injuries (Randy Wolf and Mark Prior) to be able to compete in the NL West this season. Now I'm no highly paid GM but that doesn't seem like the recipe to success to me... Strange as it may seem but 45-year old Jamie Moyer could be the key to who wins the NL East this year. If Moyer can give the Phillies 200 IP and an ERA of about 4.50 then he can help keep the Phillies in enough games and keep the bullpen fresh enough to compete with the better starting rotations of the Braves and Mets. If Moyer is able to manage a 15 win season - then he can move into the top 50 in wins on the all-time list. Moyer also needs just 120 strikeouts to tie Tommy John for 47th place on the all-time list. I'd be willing to bet that if Moyer is able to manage those two accomplishments (making the top 50 in wins and tying Tommy John in K's) then the Phillies will have won the NL East...