Red Sox Medical Care

Jon Heyman speculates that Carl Crawford's injury may have been mishandled by the Red Sox medical staff. Well duh!

Carl Crawford, Dustin Pedroia, Clay Buchholtz, Jacoby Ellsbury, etc., etc., etc. How many players have to join this list before people see there's an issue?

I've made this point before.

Ryan Zimmerman's New Contract

Ryan Zimmerman has signed a new extension with the Washington Nationals so he will be under contract for $126 million up to 2019 or with the option $150 million up to 2020. Jon Heyman thinks the Nationals paid too much for a 1-time All-Star. Tom Verducci recently compared Zimmerman to Chase Headley - a comparison that was not meant to be flattering.

I wonder why the Nationals had to do a contract now (Zimmerman was under contract till after the 2013 season) but I'm not so sure if they over paid. If they get the next Eric Chavez with an injury prone career then Verducci and Heyman get to crow. But what if Ryan Zimmerman plays like Scott Rolen in his age 26-35 seasons where Rolen averaged 126 games and 19 HR. Would that be acceptable for the "face" of the franchise who would be making an average of $16.7 million for those 9 seasons? For the last 6-seasons Zimmerman has averaged a 137.5 games and a little over 21 HR per season so it would seem a Rolen comparison would be reasonable. Did the Phillies make a mistake in not wrapping up Scott Rolen when he was the same age as Zimmerman? During that span Rolen made 6 All-Star games and won 5 Gold Gloves.

The thing I keep thinking of is the fact that Jacoby Ellsbury was taken in the same draft and same round as Ryan Zimmermanand is basically the same age (Ellsbury is slightly older). If the Red Sox were to wrap him up for the next 9 seasons at an average of $16.7 million then I would think the Red Sox made a good deal. I wonder if Jon Heyman would argue then that the Red Sox were over-paying for a 1-time All-Star?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Mitt Romney and the crowd handle some hecklers quite deftly... With Bill Polian now out with the Colts - will we finally learn the truth about him piping in crowd noise at the RCS Dome?... Who knew? There is a World Series of Beer Pong. It is being held this week (finals on Thursday) with the winner getting $50,000 first place cash. I would actually like to watch this on the Internet...  Jason Varitek is not coming back to the Red Sox no matter what Jon Heyman tries to throw up against the wall. Just like Coco Crisp is not signing with the Orioles (which was another Heyman bon mot)...  Interesting look at how St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke wants to rebuild his team in the Patriots mold. It is also interesting that he specifically mentions Michael Holley's War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team as his blueprint. Could there be a front office opening for Michael Holley? That would be a very interesting wrinkle... Just a reminder that in January 2007 when Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid took over Congress - the unemployment rate was 4.6% and the national debt was $8.6 trillion... According to Mental Floss "A 1913 New York Times article on portmanteaus includes the word 'alcoholiday' which describes leisure time spent drinking." With the NFL playoffs in the near future I may be taking a couple alcoholidays myself.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Jon Heyman is Leaving Sports Illustrated for CBS Sports. Don't always agree with his analysis but Heyman is a hard worker, good writer and excellent guy.

- Heh Heh

- Interesting George Will column on how Obamacare is harming small business

- 10 Ways Shakespeare Changed Everything

- Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger Perform 'Old Time Rock & Roll' in NYC. Not for nothing but Springsteen seems to age like Clint Eastwood while Seger seems to be going the Winfred Brimley route.

- Awesome - Ugly Renaissance Babies

Thanks for Nothing

I pick on SI's Jon Heyman because sometimes he deserves it. For what he wrote in today's Hot Stove New Tracker he deserves it. Let me address two specific quotes:

Things appear to be heating up in the Mark Teixeira talks, and baseball people believe now that Teixeira will have a new team before Christmas.

Two things - first anyone who follows baseball knows that most top free agents are signed before Christmas because both the player and the team signing them don't won't these things hanging over their heads during the holidays. That's common knowledge and common sense. Second - who are these "baseball people"? The hotdog vendors at Yankee Stadium? A couple of other sportswriters you spoke with over beers? Are these the same baseball people who told you that the Yankees would offer Bobby Abreu arbitration or the ones who told you A-Rod was close to signing with the Giants?

Second quote:

The Red Sox, disappointed when they failed to make a deal with Teixeira late last week, are still viewed as the favorite by most executives on other teams, though it's not known whether that's inside information or guesswork.

See - right there is the problem. Heyman can't tell the difference between inside information and guesswork. His readers don't have that problem though. It's clear that just about everything Heyman tosses out there is guesswork and not inside information.

Jon Heyman - Flipflopper

Back on November 18th Jon Heyman reported that the Yankees had decided to offer Bobby Abreu arbitration.

The Yankees have decided to offer star outfielder Bobby Abreu arbitration, people familiar with their thinking tell SI.com. However, it remains more likely that he will sign elsewhere as a free agent.

Here's what he wrote today:

The Yankees will not offer arbitration to free agents Andy Pettitte and Bobby Abreu, SI.com has learned. The Yankees did not want to chance taking either player to arbitration since both players made $16 million in 2008 and stood to make even more than that in arbitration. Both players can still re-sign with the Yankees though only Pettitte appears to have a good chance to do so.

Was Jon Heyman just throwing stuff against the wall back in mid-November? Is he doing so now? If I had a dollar for every time Heyman was wrong about something in print - then I'd be able to buy that ivory backscratcher I've been longing for.

Am I Asking Too Much?

When I read sports articles - I like to read about sports. It bugs me to no end when sportswriters insert their political views into articles that have absolutely nothing to do with politics. Take the recent offering from Jon Heyman - emphasis added:

The idea he [Bobby Valentine] can't get along with bosses, though, is debunked by the reality that his GM in Texas, Tom Grieve, loves Valentine. And apparently so do the ownership groups from Texas (Valentine was still friendly with George W. Bush even after Bush fired him) and obviously Chiba Lotte. It's less clear how the Mets' bosses feel, though at least one member of the Wilpon family that owns the team regularly attends Bobby Valentine's Sports Academy in Stamford, Conn. Valentine even supported his old boss Bush for president, which only goes to show that nobody's perfect.

OK - we get it. Heyman's not a fan of the President but who cares what his politics are? Is it ego that makes writers slide these things into their pieces? And speaking of nobody being perfect - Heyman was the guy who wrote that A-Rod was going to sign with the Giants.Only goes to show that nobody's perfect.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Jim Edmonds will probably miss Opening Day with a calf strain. I wish there was some casino offering a prop bet about who will miss more games in 2008 - Jim Edmonds or Mike Cameron. I'd say Edmonds misses more games even with Cameron's 25 game suspension... My reaction after reading this was to wonder if the Rays will change the name of their stadium to the Vomitorium. An all-you-can-eat menu including hot dogs, Italian sausage, popcorn, peanuts, nachos and Pepsi products? Where do I sign up?... Dusty Baker wants his players to swing at bad pitches:

"A lot of this on-base percentage is taking away the aggressiveness of some young kids," he said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Most of the time you've got to put handcuffs on a young guy to keep him from swinging. [The young players are] playing good, real good. I'd like to see them more aggressive."

Am I wrong or is that exactly what he's saying? Dusty Baker - I'm sorry Reds fans... Is it wrong that I found it humorous that ESPN has one article titled "Hampton hoping to make triumphant return to mound" and a news bit titled "Hampton leaves game; injury isn't considered serious". According to Baseball-Reference.com - Mike Hampton has already made over $106 million in his career. I know this is a contract year for Hampton but I'm doubting he's really money motivated and I won't fall into the trap of thinking this will be a big year for Hampton's comeback... I also found it interesting that Jon Heyman had an article about even the best teams having holes to fill where he rattles off a bunch of the top teams and their needs. Heyman doesn't mention the Red Sox - so either he doesn't consider the reigning World Champs a top team or the Red Sox disprove his contention...

A-Rod

Two wrong thinking articles on where Alex Rodriguez will end up and what I think is a very understated slam at A-Rod.

First Rich Lederer (who I greatly respect) suggests that Boston may be in the hunt for A-Rod. That ship sailed long ago. The Boston owners are very savvy marketing wise and they know that the distaste for A-Rod among "Red Sox Nation" can only harm their brand. They've won 2 World Series without A-Rod - why would they want to take on such a potential albatross of a contract? My guess is that either they sign Mike Lowell or they move Kevin Youkilis to 3rd and have a lefty/righty platoon or someone lower cost like Brad Wilkerson at 1st. Rich Lederer is wrong in thinking Boston will be in on the bidding for A-Rod.

Next, Johan Keri (who I've never heard of) of ESPN.com's Page 2 suggests that just maybe Atlanta might be in on the bidding. Here's Keri's smoking gun logic:

Come to think of it, Renteria made $10 million in 2007. Andruw Jones, who's becoming a free agent, made $14 million. Bob Wickman won't be back, shaving another $6.5 million. The Braves would be on the hook for a chunk of Mike Hampton's $14.5 million salary in '08, then he'd be gone too. Hey, wait a minute ... (the light clicks on) ... they could make a run at A-Rod!

See - that's why I don't bother with ESPN's Page 2 anymore. The Braves need to lock up Mark Teixeira and the words "biggest contract in baseball" and "Atlanta Braves" just don't mix.

Finally, SI's Jon Heyman takes a look at possible landing spots for A-Rod and he manages to toss in this gem (emphasis added):

[San Francisco] Ownership is sick of losing, well-heeled and willing to go for the gusto, as they proved last winter when they spent $126 million for Barry Zito, a No. 2 pitcher who pitched like a No. 4. They also seem to love the idea of employing a megastar to market around and might want the chance to celebrate an all-time home-run record without any taint. The lovely city would also allow A-Rod to pursue his cultural interests.

I may be wrong but I think Heyman just took a jab at A-Rod's sexual proclivities and maybe even his sexual orientation. Heh heh - nicely done.

Jon Heyman - Clueless Baseball Writer

It's official - Jon Heyman really doesn't have a clue about baseball. In his latest SI column, Heyman talks about seven trades that need to happen before the trade deadline. Let's take a look at them jut to prove the point that Heyman doesn't have a clue.

1. Scott Rolen to the Dodgers. Heyman seems to be suggesting a Andy LaRoche for Rolen deal. If that deal was done - Ned Colleti would be fired on the spot. Consider this:

- Rolen has 3-years and $36 million left on his contract and has an injury history. Colleti is still paying Bill Mueller's contract. Mueller is the last "name" 3rd baseman Colleti signed with an injury history.

- Heyman says that Rolen would be acquired for his power but as bad as Wilson Betemit has been for the Dodgers he has double the number of HR (4 to 2) in almost half the AB (78 to 129). Since hitting 34 HR in 500 AB in 2004 - a HR every 14.7 AB - Rolen has hit just 29 HR at an average of 1 HR every 29 AB.

- Andy LaRoche is the top rated prospect in the Dodger farm system according to Baseball America. LaRoche has been the starting 3rd baseman for the past couple of weeks and so far this season his OPS has been 204 points higher than what Rolen has posted this year. Rolen would be a down-grade at this point at the plate.

An Andy LaRoche trade for Scott Rolen would manage to make the Victor Zambrano for Scott Kazmir trade from a couple of years ago look good in comparison.

2. Garrett Atkins and Todd Helton to the Angels. Helton has a no-trade contract and has said he will not waive it during the season. Atkins has been struggling this season and is not a clear upgrade over either Shea Hillenbrand or Chone Figgens. As Daniel Kaffee would say, "Thank you for playing, 'Should we or should we not follow the advice of the galactically stupid.'"

3. Chad Cordero to the Indians. Sure this trade makes sense but even Heyman points out that, "Nationals GM Jim Bowden likely will ask for the moon, anyway, so Cleveland may have to look elsewhere." That elsewhere may turn out to be Atlanta where Rafael Soriano has made Bob Wickman expendable.

4. Ken Griffey Jr. to the White Sox. Why would Griffey approve this trade? The White Sox aren't winning anything this year. Why would Griffey want to leave the comfort of his home town to play for Ozzie Guillen? Makes no sense.

5. Troy Glaus to the Tigers. Why would the Tigers take on Glaus' contract (he gets $12.5 million next year)? Offense is not a problem for the Tigers and why would the Tigers mess with the team chemistry by sitting either the popular Inge or Casey at the corners or the combustible Gary Sheffield at DH? Again - it makes no sense.

6. Al Reyes to the Brewers. So a 36-year old guy with 6 career saves going into this season is among the seven trades Jon Heyman thinks should be made? Jon - maybe you should have made this a list of six trades that need to happen.

7. Jon Rauch to the Red Sox. Maybe Heyman has never heard of the Larry Andersen for Jeff Bagwell trade. The Red Sox have a bad history about dealing prospects for middle relievers.

None of these trades make any sense. I get the feeling that if Jon Heyman was a zoologist that he's recommend the elephant trading his trunk for a duck-bill. Hey that trade makes as much sense as Scott Rolen for Andy LaRoche.