Some Memes You May Enjoy

Many a truth is said in jest.

- True!

- Probably also true!

- I'm an awful person for laughing at this.

- And this is why I don't read Bill Plaschke

Vin Scully

Broadcasting legend Vin Scully has passed away aged 94. 

In my opinion Scully was the GOAT when it came to sports broadcasting. Al Michaels is a close second but still second. John Madden was great but he was pro football only. Scully was the GOAT.

The above picture occurred in 2016 during David Ortiz's last trip to the Dodgers. 2016 was also Scully's last year as broadcaster for the Dodgers. Even at aged 88 you can see the obvious joy Scully had at being part of the game. A joy he shared with any and all who listened to him announce a game.

We've lost a legend.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I can see the trend for some companies trying to inject new life into old franchises by simply adding the word Plus or symbol + to the name. So look forward to the re-branding of a bunch of companies like Sears Plus or Barnes and Noble+ in the near future... This is true... A decade ago this month the Los Angeles Dodgers filed for bankruptcy. Now the Dodgers are worth an estimated $3.57 billion (back in 2011 they were worth "just" $800 million)... Cthulhu doesn't play dice with the universe (is that how the quote goes?)... Did a dingo eat your baby?... Journalists are so ego-centric that they called the White House Correspondents Dinner the "nerd prom" but Comic Con was the true nerd prom all along. And nerds will be happy to know that after a year away - the prom is back on this summer... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Congrats to the Buccaneers. Let the debate between Michael Jordan, Lebron, Gretzky and Tom Brady begin... With Trump out of office cable news ratings are cratering. This makes my idea of having Strong Bad read the news a viable ratings bonanza... The Dodgers have signed reigning NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer. This make the team very hard to beat and also very hard to root for (except for Mookie Betts)...  Have to think that every single offensive player prop for the Chiefs came in under last night. Wonder if you bet the under on all player props if you'd make money every year...  February 14th really could easily be renamed National Shave Your Legs and Pubes Day sponsored by Lady Gillette instead of Valentine's Day... In 1,000 years if archaeologists find Ted Williams severed head - will they think that's what we worshiped?...  

Mookie Betts

So Mookie Betts is signing a 12-year $365 million extension with the Dodgers. How did I react to the news? By placing a large bet on the Red Sox to finish under the season predicted win total of 30.5 wins (out of 60 games). 

Good for Mookie he deserved to get paid. He's one athlete that has earned a BIG contract. Shame on the Red Sox for not getting a deal done with Betts and for trading a fan favorite. 

The Red Sox are going to suck this year. The Yankees are loaded and will run away with the AL East and the Red Sox just don't have the pitching to complete. With Chris Sale out for the year - Boston doesn't have the pitching even to fight for a Wildcard spot. Most fans can't name the starting rotation (or closer for that matter). I can name two current starters and then in my mind it's all TBD.

Also would not be surprised if Jackie Bradley Jr. is traded before the August 31st trade deadline. He's a free agent at the end of the season and Scott Boras is his agent. 

Very little interest in this team this year (outside of them not winning 31 games).

Mookie Betts

The Boston Red Sox just traded away this generation's Fred Lynn. I was 9 when Freddy Lynn won the Rookie of the Year and the MVP for a team that came ever so close to beating Cincinnati's  Big Red Machine in the 1975 World Series. Lynn quickly became my favorite player something which was true for a generation of Sox fans. Then Boston traded him away in 1981 for no good reason. I still can't explain it to this day. The Red Sox got back a washed up Joe Rudi and one year of Frank Tananna who went 4-10 with a 4.01 ERA.

Now the Red Sox have traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers. The deal is Boston sends Betts and David Price (with the Red Sox paying half his remaining contract) to Los Angeles and in return they get outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Dodgers and pitcher Brusdar Graterol from Minnesota. Two top prospects both with significant injury history.

I'm happy to see David Price go in the trade. He was the poster child for entitled, pretentious athletes. And his huge contract was one of the reasons the Boston front office felt it wouldn't be possible to afford to sign Mookie once Betts got to free agency at the end of this upcoming season. To be fair to Price Boston probably doesn't win the World Series over the Dodgers without him. Still happy to see him go though.

Of the three teams involved in the deal - the Red Sox, Dodgers and Twins - would it be a surprise to anyone if Boston now finishes with the worst record in 2020? Depressing.

I've said it before but John Henry has quickly become the most unlikable Boston pro sports team owner in my lifetime. Billionaire Henry could have easily let Betts play out this season then did his best to sign him. That would have earned the gratitude of so many fans like me. But no - Boston needed to get under the luxury tax this season instead. I understand the reasons for this but damn! Fuck John Henry!

Flotsam and Jetsam - World Series Edition

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations from last night's epic 18-inning World Series game.

I admit that I only watched last night's marathon World Series game up to the 14th inning. The reason I quit then is because I cut the cord with cable 6-years ago and the bar I was watching the game had to close at 2:00 am... If you want a reason to root against the Dodgers - here's how much they gouge you for beer... Random thought - neither Frank Sinatra nor Humphrey Bogart (both big baseball fans) would ever, ever wear a fucking rally cap... Random observation - there seemed to be a lot more hair product in the Dodgers dugout last night than in the Red Sox dugout (not that there's anything wrong with that)... If you want a reason to root for the Red Sox - here's the type of players they have on that team... If I were Governor Baker of Massachusetts I would have sent out an emergency alert last night about 1:00 am saying the law requiring bars close at 2:00 am in Mass has been lifted and that there is no last call as long as the game was still going. That would have guaranteed re-election (he's getting re-elected anyway).... I enjoy baseball but I still laughed at this...

Linky Links

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

- How to keep marketers and others from tracking you via your smart phone. Basic stuff but it doesn't hurt to check every once and a while.

- Heh heh - he did warn them

- My bucket list of places to go keeps getting longer and longer

- Interesting - Amazon picks up rights to UFC PPV events via Amazon Prime Video

- So very sad

- My guess is that Obama didn't want his speech recorded for the same reason comedians don't want people filming their act - he planned on giving the same speech over and over raking in the speaking fees. Now that it's been leaked he has to come up with new "bits"

A-Rod vs Big Papi

On Sunday David Ortiz went to the Dodgers' broadcast  booth to visit legend Vin Scully. The result was the above picture. With the news of Alex Rodriguez's "retirement" - I couldn't help but wonder if A-Rod had likewise visited Scully - would Vin have had the same look of joy on his face?

The Dodgers honored Ortiz with an on-the-field pre-game ceremony Friday. The Red Sox plan no similar sendoff for A-Rod in his last visit to Fenway starting tonight.

A-Rod and Big Papi are both first-ballot Hall of Fame players. It just struck me the difference of how the two are regarded personally around baseball.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Red Sox fans love the fact that the Dodgers are on the hook for $15.75 million for Josh Beckett next season... If you want to understand how the Red Sox were built for success this season - you should read this piece by Peter Gammons... Men should not own either a fanny pack or Capri pants. This is non-negotiable... Rex Ryan needs to win 5 more games this season to beat the 5-year coaching record of Herm Edwards who went 39-41 in his time with the Jets... Because kids don't understand history - they probably think "the erection of the Berlin Wall" is something dirty... I still don't understand the logic of college athletics being tax exempt. I think if you removed the tax exempt status then the NCAA would crumble... A friend had a kale smoothie the other day. When he told me I thought he was making a euphemism for a green crap as in "I took a kale smoothie this morning"...

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.

State of the Red Sox

If we assume that the mega-deal with the Dodgers goes through - where does that leave the Red Sox? Here's how I see them and some thoughts on what else should be done.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

So it seems that Nancy Pelosi's idea of making laws equates to you have to pass it to find out what's in it and you have to send it to the Supreme Court to see if what's in it is Constitutional... Interesting look at life as a pro poker player. I agree 100% with the sentiments. Impossible to completely eliminate your "life leaks" but the best idea is to minimize them... For Game of Thrones fans - in the book Eddard Stark was 35 but Sean Bean is less than a month from being 53... I can't stand either person but I admit that I might watch a reality show where Jose Canseco and Rosie O'Donnell were forced to live together... Irish drinking toast - It is better to spend money like there is no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there's no money!... Did I laugh at this because I'm disturbed or because I'm not a good person?... I hope the Dodgers put a big statue of Magic Johnson outside of Dodger Stadium just to further piss off Kareem Abdul Jabbar...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, who won the NL Cy Young today, was the 7th pick of the 2006 MLB draft. The Tigers took Andrew Miller who had 5.54 ERA for Red Sox this year with the 6th pick... I still say that NCAA should give a blanket waiver exemption to any Penn State athlete who wants to transfer. Players should not have to sit out a year in order to get out of that situation... I had one of these mats once but if it was like this one I'd still be playing with it (probably NSFW)... Interesting point by Doyle Brunson - 100 years ago the population of Las Vegas was just 30 people. Amazing what can happen in a century... If the Tigers took Kershaw with that 6th pick instead of Andrew Miller in the 2006 draft would they be World Series champs today? Justin Verlander and Kershaw would be very tough to beat... John Amaechi on Joe Paterno: “You can’t be a part-time man of principle”. Amaechi perhaps the most eloquent athlete I can recall... I'm going to invent a version of Spanish Fly but for women. I'm going to call it Spanish Spider... I think the Red Sox should make a trade offer of 1st baseman Lars Anderson and outfielder Josh Reddick to the Dodgers for Andre Ethier who is free agent after 2012 season. I think that would be a win-win for both teams... Awesome photography... I'm still ticked that Andre the Giant wasn't even nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work in The Princess Bride... Next time I'm in Las Vegas I'm going to put some coin on a prop bet that Jonathan Papelbon will lead the NL in saves for 2012. That seems like a lock to me.

Mets Won't Be Selling to David Einhorn Afterall

When I saw the news that the Mets will not be selling a minority share to David Einhorn I got that something stinks in Denmark feeling.

Einhorn thought he had a $200 million deal with Fred Wilpon and the Mets. He had entered into a agreement that had an exclusivity period but was non-binding. The Mets need cash because they were victimized by (though some say complicit with) Bernie Madoff. It should be noted that the Mets have a pretty cozy relationship with baseball commissioner Bud Selig. At around the same time the Mets were having financial difficulties - the Los Angeles Dodgers were also having a financial meltdown. Frank McCourt, the owner of the Dodgers, doesn't have the sort of cozy relationship with Bud Selig that Fred Wilpon enjoys.

The $200 million infusion from David Einhorn would have stabilized the Mets franchise. One wonders if the existence of this non-consummated deal allowed the Mets to borrow cash to get them over the rough spots (and one wonders if that cash could have come from MLB). The story I linked to say that Mets ownership has "provided additional capital to cover all 2011 losses." Really? Where did this cash magically come from? The Mets ownership clearly did not have the money back when they first entered into the deal with Einhorn.

With Einhorn's cash giving the Mets cover - the commissioner was free to force the hand of the Dodgers by basically having MLB take over the team. Now an offer for the Dodgers for $1.2 billion is leaked. And at the same time the Mets get money from nowhere and decide to unilaterally change the terms of the deal with Einhorn to a point where they know they won't be acceptable. The whole thing reeks.

I could be wrong about this but I still think the situation stinks of tangled webs being weaved out of the commissioners office.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- The majestic beauty of thousands of paper lanterns. Very beautiful but I had to wonder if this was somewhat of a fire hazard.

- Carl Yastrzemski holds up Thurman Munson so Carlton Fisk can pummel him during a 1973 Red Sox-Yankees melee. I'd love to have a framed copy of this photo.

- Dodgers are 11th franchise of the 4 North American sports leagues to file for bankruptcy, 4th in the past 3 years

- Absolutely loved this short video - Last Words

- Awesome - The hilarious Improv Everywhere turns NYC carousel into real-live horse race

- What Determines the Price of Gas: A Visual Guide

- The Killer Elite trailer. Hollywood is re-making all of the decent movies from my childhood. What's next - remakes of Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name classics?

- Katey Sagal's first job in 1985 working with Mary Tyler Moore

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Not a big fan of Lebron James but it should be pointed out he's "only" 26-years old. A very immature 26-years old. Maybe the fact is that he just can't handle the pressure... Tim Wakefield vs. Derek Jeter: A matchup for the ages... Someone should come up with a "Frank McCourt has made payroll" site similar to the "Abe Vigoda is still alive" site... A pet peeve if you'll allow me. People today associating LBJ with LeBron James and not Lyndon Johnson has to be part of the dumbing down of America... Another Deadwood actor is cast on Sons of Anarchy, continuing the "Deadwood"/ "Sons"/ "Justified" competition... I have to wonder if what Mark Jackson will make with Golden State is actually less money than what Steve Lavin makes at St John's? I think St. John's missed the boat on alumni Jackson... By letting Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre walk away, the Red Sox set themselves up to diversify their portfolio in the draft... Speaking of the MLB Draft - whatever happened with Red Sox prospect Mike Rozier? I think he left baseball after being hit in the head twice. Why did he also quit Tennessee football? Was that related to him getting hit in the head? What's the story?... Very funny old Conan O'Brian clip with Dave Chappelle.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Things would have been much better for baseball if it was the author Frank McCourt of Angela's Ashes fame who bought the Los Angeles Dodgers instead of the Frank McCourt who actually did. I know that the author has now passed away but admit it many people still think it's that Frank McCourt anyway... Did you know that the first pro baseball player was Lipman Pike and that he was also first pro Jewish player? You can look it up... Robert Redford was in a movie called Havana and it wasn't half bad - Sean Connery was in a movie called Cuba that wasn't half good... Deposition suggests Cubs threw 1918 Series. For anyone with half a brain this really isn't news. It is silly to think that the 1919 Black Sox came out of nowhere and that baseball fixing didn't exist prior to that... Speaking of forgotten history - the Hitler Cup... Did you know that Gene Hackman was the original choice of show's producers to play Mr. Brady on The Brady Bunch but the studio insisted on Robert Reed?... Very cool indeed. San Francisco now features the world's coolest garage door... On this date in 1864 the U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act which mandated that the inscription "In God We Trust" be placed on all coins minted as US currency. Part of the reasoning behind this was because the US Constitution does not talk about God while the Confederate constitution did. This was a measure in part to show that the Union wanted God on their side... This is SPARTA!... Happy 52nd birthday to Red Sox manager Terry Francona. I hope the team gets you a win for your birthday... I find Brian Wilson and his bread shtick tedious. I also don't think he's that great a closer but I admit that this was pretty cool... Hard to imagine but it's been seven years since Pat Tillman was killed in action.

Dodgers Tap into "V" Energy

I got a real kick out of the story of the McCourt's using a Russian physicist to channel his energy towards the Dodgers in an effort to increase the performance of the team.

Frank and Jamie McCourt paid him [Vladimir Shpunt] to help the team win by sending positive energy over great distances.

Why can't I get a job like that? A job where your performance cannot be measured in any way and where you can take credit for any success the team has. I mean I think I can claim partial credit for the Red Sox titles in 2004 and 2007.

Shpunt began to use touch therapy with clients whom modern medicine could not help. He would place his hands on various places on the body, believing his healing energy would be transmitted to the source of the illness... she [Jamie McCourt] urged Frank to consult Shpunt regarding an undisclosed health issue...

OK am I the only one picturing Frank McCourt's undisclosed health issue as erectile dysfunction? Can you picture the guy with his hands on Frank's junk saying "Heal!" Or "Feel the power!"

Shpunt most often dispatched the energy from his home office, in a room that included a television, chair, bed and computer, watching the Dodgers late into the evening. If the Dodgers played on the West Coast, the game usually started at 10 p.m. in Boston... He would concentrate, sometimes with his eyes closed, as if meditating, Cohen said.

Well its not unusual for me to fall asleep during a West Coast game. Also not unusual for me to tell my wife I was just resting my eyes and meditating on sending positive energy to the team. Dear every team in MLB - I am available to do this sort of work!!