Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

If the Democrats succeed in making Washington DC a State then that means the Democrats think elected officials should have the right to ban dancing in an entire State by proclamation (even at weddings). But they'd be doing it for your own good!... Heh Heh (Flaming Barbells would also be a good name for a band)... "If you disagree with me that means you want to kill grandma."- Governor Andrew Cuomo. See how that works?.... Still blows my mind that Wade Boggs has his number retired by the Red Sox while Nomar Garciaparra does not. I also think the Red Sox ownership thought they could trade Mookie Betts with little PR fallout because they were "successful" in trading Nomar... The story of Basecamp deciding on a no-politics at work policy continues to fascinate me. First it's a 57-person company (or at least it was until a third of the company took severance to leave).How many 57-person companies get this amount of press? Could it be they've touched a nerve? This "inside look" at the company's all-hands meeting is amusing. One of the "sources" complains that the owners didn't listen to them just as the story describes how one of the founders spent two and a half hours answering any and all questions. The lack of self-awareness is classic. My guess is the company is much better off today with those who think their world view is all that matters out the door...  

Player Comparison

I wanted to make this player comparison this week.

Player A - 1,391 hits / 225 HR / .290 BA / .856 OPS / 118 OPS+

Player B - 1,747 Hits / 229 HR / .313 BA / .882 OPS / 124 OPS+

Player A is Troy Tulowitzki who announced his retirement this week while Player B is Nomar Garciaparra. I make this comparison because of the talk (not a lot granted) of if Tulowitzki is a Hall of Fame Player. I would simply state that if Nomar isn't a Hall of Famer then neither is Tulo.

Interestingly enough both players finished their careers withe the exact same 44.2 career WAR. And that's not where the similarities end.

Tulo finished with 5 All-Star game appearances, 2 gold Gloves and 2 Silver Slugger awards. Nomar had 6 All-Star game appearances, won 2 AL Batting Titles and 1 Silver Slugger. While both players were greats for their time - I don't think you could make a real Hall of Fame argument for either player.

Nomar Garciaparra

Today is Normar Garciaparra's 45th birthday.

There was a stretch of 5-7 years, just before Tom Brady led the Patriots to his first Super Bowl, when Nomar was the biggest star in Boston.

It saddens me that his greatness has been largely forgotten.

Happy birthday Nomar!

Linky Links

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

- What female sports reporters have to go through on the road genuinely makes me angry

- Connor McGregor not running away from Saturday's loss

- Scary how unsecure your personal information really is

- Amazing that this was just 15-years ago. Nomar at that point was on a level with Larry Bird in Boston. Now he's mostly forgotten.

- Who knew? International cactus smuggling is actually a thing

- The story of ZIMA (delicious delicious ZIMA)

- This is too bad. Joseph Gordon-Levitt would have been perfect as the Sandman.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

If they made this Ryan Braun saga into a movie - would Harrison Ford be too old to play Bud Selig?... 25 Photos of Mitt Romney looking perfectly normal. Call me a sap but I think these are cool... Just saying but if I was to go to the trouble to tamper with Ryan Braun's urine sample - I probably would have leaked the positive test results to ESPN too. It would be amusing if someone went to a lot of trouble to frame Ryan Braun but some Mr. Bean courier and his son screwed things up by being incompetent... Walter Arlington Latham (the Freshest Man on Earth) - they really did have much better nicknames back in the old days... I still think that if a player in any sport fails a drug test - the team should lose that roster spot for the entire length of the suspension. For example - if Braun was suspended for 50 games then the Brewers would lose a spot on their 25-man roster until Braun came back. I think that would end much of the cheating if the team had to share in the punishment... No conspiracy - Ron Paul and his people just don't like Rick Santorum... Ryan Braun may have a suit against MLB under HIPAA Privacy laws. The leaking of personal health information and the resultant damage that caused I'm guessing is very actionable. I wouldn't doubt if that is the potential legal action Braun was referring to yesterday... Flying owl filmed at 1000 frames per second - very cool... Nick Punto is the second player to wear number 5 since Nomar Garciaparra left town and both players wore the number in homage to Nomar (who they first checked with to make sure it was OK). Since Wade Boggs left town - 11 players have worn number 26 and none of them were honoring Boggs. Think of that the next time some uninformed sportswriter writes about retiring Boggs' number. The Red Sox aren't interested and neither are the fans... Kenny Fucking Powers!...

Red Sox Magic Number - 98

The Red Sox dismantled the Blue Jays 16-4 yesterday giving even John Lackey enough run support and reducing their Magic Number to 98. What do you think about when you hear the number 98? Windows 98? The average body temperature of a human (98 degrees)? When I hear 98 - I think of one of my favorite Red Sox teams - the 1998 team.

That 1998 team had a 1-2 offensive punch of a 24-year old Nomar Garciaparra and a 30-year old Mo Vaughn. That duo combined for a blistering 75 HR and 237 RBI. The pitching was anchored by Pedro Martinez who was in the middle of a period of dominance that baseball has not known before or since. Starters Pedro, Tim Wakefield and Brett Saberhagen combined to go a 51-23 with Tom Gordon having his masterpiece career year as closer leading the AL with 46 saves. This was a very likable team that included Dennis Eckersley in his lash hurrah coming "home" for one final season as a set-up man and newcomers Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek in town for their first full season after being traded to Boston from Seattle.

That 1998 team had two fatal flaws however. 1998 also happened to be the year the Yankees fielded perhaps their best team of my lifetime. They won 114 games and swept the Padres in the World Series. The second fatal flaw for that 98 Red Sox team was the fact they had Jimy Williams as manager.

Oh by the way - that picture above is of Dirk Nowitzki's 1998 rookie trading card. I hope that's an omen for a Mavericks win tonight. Like most of the country - I can't stand the Miami Heat. It is rumored that LeBron James has become so loathed that James Dolan is considering him for an executive position with the New York Knicks.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

In 1942 Joe Gordon of the Yankees led the AL in strikeouts w/ 95. These days 95 wouldn't even lead the AL at the All-Star break... I'm a big fan of this beer. Sam Adams Noble Pils - a brief history/review. And yes I do consider myself an average American Bud Light swiller... OK Nomar Garciaparra signed a one-day minor league contract with the Red Sox and then retired. The contract was supposedly for $30. That raises two questions in my mind - A: did Arn Tellum (Nomar's agent) get his $4.50 and B: did Nomar also get his per diem money?... I'll say it again - TiVo is the modern technology equivalent of the Pony Express. Famous but short-lived. Both ushered in better things... I was reading a document that was talking about "private equity" except I read it as "pirate equity". I would so invest in pirate equity. Maybe something like the Crimson Permanent Assurance...

Nomar

Nomar Garciaparra retired yesterday and he retired as a member of the Boston Red Sox. That's great - now he can go into the Hall of Fame wearing a Red Sox cap.What you don't think Nomar deserves induction? Well let me tell you - if they let in Joe Gordon then Normar is a sure thing!

I'm only half-joking about that Hall of Fame bit. People say that know a Hall of Famer when they see one. That's the main argument keeping Bert Blyleven out of the Hall. Conversely people who watched Nomar play in his first full six seasons will tell you they thought they were watching a surefire Hall of Famer. Nomar won the Rookie of the Year, two batting titles and was top 10 in MVP voting 4 times during those years. If at the end of 2000 you polled baseball fans which shortstop would end up in Cooperstown then Nomar would have topped the list over A-Rod and Jeter.

Nomar was unique. His batting style, his great big nose, his love of soccer and Mia Hamm. He was the anti-Jeter and anti-A-Rod. And we loved him for it!

Then came the wrist injury. Then came the trade out of town which was accompanied by the Red Sox front office knocking Nomar down in the media in order to build themselves up. Then came the five and a half years in the wilderness where Nomar was no longer Nomar. He was an oft-injured player whose prime was behind him. Then came yesterday's retirement announcement. The prodigal son had returned and he was welcomed with open arms.

Nomar's body let him down but he never let Red Sox fans down. He gave it his all every time he took the field and just as important - he didn't disappear in the playoffs (*cough*Roger Clemens*cough*).

So welcome back Nomar. For some of us - you never really left the fold. Just do me a favor - stop with the "Red Sox Nation" crap. For real fans "Red Sox Nation" is just a made up marketing program.

Shortstop - Defense Against the Dark Arts Position?

In the Harry Potter series of books we learn that Lord Voldemorte cursed the teaching position of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts because if he can't have the position - then he didn't want anyone else to have to position either. After the curse - no teacher lasts longer than one year. Professor Quirrel, Professor Lockhart, Professor Lupin, Professor Moody, Professor Umbridge, Professor Snape.

Something similar seems to have happened with the Red Sox and the position of shortstop. Did Nomar curse the position on his way out the door? Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria, Alex Gonzalez, Julio Lugo, Jed Lowrie, Nick Green. Can anyone hold on to this roster spot for more than one Hogwarts' school year worth of time?

I'm hoping that Jed Lowrie can break the spell but I also would be surprised if the shortstop was wide open again next year.

A-Rod's Hip Boo Boo

So Alex Rodriguez needs surgery on his hip and could be out 10 weeks? Ha ha!

Timing is everything - how perfect a replacement for A-Rod would Nomar Garciaparra have been? Too bad Nomar signed with the A's just last week. Having Nomar and Jeter on the left side of the same infield would have also guaranteed the Yankees plenty of good press for once.

Do the Yankees go internal for A-Rod's replacement? Angel Berroa, Cody Ransom or Justin Leone? None of those names float the proverbial boat. Do they rush Bradley Suttle? That's not a good idea.

Bill Hall of the Brewers has been mentioned as a possible replacement but I'm guessing the asking price would be too high. Another name to consider is the A's Bobby Crosby. The 2004 Rookie of the Year really hasn't lived up to expectations and with Orlando Cabrerra being brought in - Crosby is destined to be a super sub for the A's this season. The A's would love to shed his $5.25 million contract for 2009 so I doubt if the Yankees would have to part with much in the terms of prospects.

In one regard it's too bad this happened now. I was looking forward to seeing how the steroid revelations impacted his overall fantasy baseball draft value.

One last thing - how ironic would it be if A-Rod is prescribed steroids as part of the normal course of rehab for his hip?

Lou Merloni - the Luckiest Man in Massachusetts

Many people remember Lou Gehrig's "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" speech that he gave on July 4th in 1939. Not as famous is the speech Lou Merloni gave Friday at Framingham's American Legion Post #74.

"Fans, since the beginning of spring training you have been reading about the bad break I got in not being picked up by a major or minor league team. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I have been in ballparks for fifteen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at the great players I got to watch. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Nomar Garciaparra when he was a god in Boston? Also, the builder of baseball's best strip club guide, Mo Vaughn? To have spent five years with that wonderful little fellow, Pedro Martinez? Then to have spent three of the next four years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Eric Wedge? Sure, I'm lucky.

"When the Syracuse SkyChiefs, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and peanut vendors remember you with requests for Nomar's autograph - that's something. When you have a wonderful friend like Mia Hamm who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own husband - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Call me an optimist because I really think JD Drew will have a good season this year for the Red Sox. I'm predicting he'll hit at least .300 with at least 20 HR and 140 games played. Like I said - call me an optimist... Scott Rolen will be probably be out for at least Opening Day with a torn fingernail and a broken bone in his finger. Many people will automatically think "oh here we go again" regarding the oft-injured Rolen but I think this may actually be a fluke and that Rolen may put together a decent season this year. Hey - I already said I'm an optimist... In 2001 due mostly to injuries to John Valentin and Nomar Garciaparra - a rookie basically came out of nowhere to be the Opening Day starting 3rd baseman for the Red Sox. That rookie was Shea Hillenbrand. It looks like history may be repating itself because due mostly to injuries to Andy LaRoche and Nomar Garciaparra another rookie may be a surprise Opening Day starter at 3rd base. This time though its the Dodgers and the surprise rookie starter may be Blake DeWitt... Speaking of Shea Hillenbrand - it looks like his career is over. Not even the injury depleted Dodgers are ringing him on the phone. I just hope Hillenbrand realizes how luck a guy with his limited talent was to make $20 million playing baseball not to mention somehow making it to not one but two All-Star games... Speaking of rookies getting to start on Opening Day - Rockies will be going with rookie Jason Nix to start at 2nd. I'm taking a flyer on Nix in one of my fantasy baseball teams. He's got some pop in his bat and Rockies rookie middle infielders have been pretty good bets for the past few seasons...

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Much is being made about Manny Ramirez switching agents to Scott Boras. I don't think it's a big deal. First off the Red Sox hold the options for the next two year so there's leverage for Boras to work with. Secondly Boras has been taking hits - from the botched A-Rod re-signing with the Yankees to the Gary Sheffield legal battles. Boras does not want to alienate the Red Sox since they are home to many of his clients and a big money bidder on any future free agents. I see this move as Manny simply wanting to maximize his endorsement potential. Nothing more. With Manny most things get read too far into and that's the case here... Nomar as Alex Cora? If Nomar does take a utility role this season - I'm guessing he doesn't come back for 2009... Here's a question - is Todd Helton a Hall of Fame player? I'm assuming that you have to think about that for a minute. Consider this though - Helton's career batting average is 4 points higher than Wade Boggs and he will finish probably with 3 times the number of home runs than Wade Boggs. Yet Boggs was considered an automatic and but you have to stop and think about Helton? Oh and Helton has 3 Gold Gloves while the one Boggs won was a joke... Reggie Sanders hasn't hooked on with a club and will probably be all done for his career. Sanders is part of one of my favorite baseball trivia questions, "Name the six players who have both 300 HR and 300 SB?" Obviously Sanders is one with Barry Bonds and his dad being two others. Willie Mays is the fourth. Can you name the other two? Harder than it sounds...

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

If Jason Schmidt is healthy enough to retake his position in the starting rotation then the Dodgers will actually have one starter too many. I would assume that Esteban Loaiza would be the odd man out and I wouldn't be surprised if he was trade bait. More likely the Dodgers will keep Loaiza as insurance against injury (which would be the prudent move)... Omar Vizquel is going on 41-years old and his contract with the Giants runs through this year and next. I'll be interested to see what happens after 2009 and I wouldn't be surprised if Vizquel was brought back for one more season in 2010. Vizquel is just 402 hits away from 3,000 for his career which means he'll probably be about 100 away going into the 2010 season. You would think that with 11 Gold Gloves (and counting) that also having 3,000 hits should get Vizquel a first ballot entrance into the Hall of Fame... It will be interesting to see what happens with Andy Marte with the Indians. He was supposed to be the starting 3rd baseman by now but the Indians went out and signed Casey Blake to be the 2008 starter. The Indians also used their top draft pick this year on a 3rd baseman - Beau Mills. I'd guess that at this point in time that Coco Crisp would bring a bigger return in a trade than Andy Marte... The real logjam for the Dodgers is in the outfield. Andruw Jones will definitely start in center and Matt Kemp has to play. The third slot should place Juan Pierre in left. That leaves Andre Ethier out in the cold. Let me just say that I'm not a big fan of Juan Pierre and if I were a Dodger fan I'd rather see Ethier get the playing time. Of course for many Dodger fans the veteran player they would like see traded is Nomar Garciappara whose power numbers fell off a cliff last season (just 7 HR and a measly .371 slugging percentage). Dodger fans feel that Nomar is blocking the path for Andy LaRoche. Although with Joe Torre as manager I'd look for him to stick with Nomar and I'd also expect a little uptick in Nomar's numbers this season - say maybe 15 HR... If I were an Indians fan I would be concerned about the starting rotation. On paper they look fine but both CC Sabathia and Paul Byrd will be pitching for new contracts this year and sometimes that pressure gets to a pitcher (see Derek Lowe in 2004). Also Fausto Carmona may have been overused last season and often young players have a difficult time the year after they have been overused. Not saying there will be a problem with any of these three starters but I am saying there are reasons for concern... If I were to predict anything about the 2008 Indians it would be that I would not be surprised if the Indians made a trade deadline deal for a corner outfielder this year.

Chicago White Sox Trade Possibilities

With the trade deadline looming on the horizon - I will try to take a look at what chips some of the teams who are out of playoff contention may put in play. Earlier I looked at the Baltimore Orioles, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Kansas City Royals. Today I will take a look what players from the White Sox may hit the market.

- Javier Vazquez - with Mark Buerhle newly signed to an extension, it makes sense for the White Sox to dangle a couple of starters on the trade market. It would make sense for the White Sox to keep Vazquez because he is under contract until 2010 at a reasonable amount ($11.5 million per year) but that won't keep them from finding what the interest level is. If Vazquez is traded it is almost guaranteed to be to an East Coast team. That pretty much makes the Red Sox, Mets, Braves and Phillies the only real possible trading partner possibilities. My guess is that he stays put.

- Jon Garland - he's another starter who will be dangled. Garland has one more year on his contract ($12 million for 2008). Garland is a guy you can almost pencil in for 200 innings and 15 wins each year. Unless the White Sox get a great offer - I'd expect Garland to stay put too.

- Jose Contreras - now here's a contract the White Sox will definitely be trying to offload. Contreras makes $10 million in both 2008 and 2009. Maybe the Mets or Phillies are desperate enough to take a chance and probably the White Sox will have to pick up some of the remaining contract for Contreras to get a deal done.

- Jermaine Dye - he's been dangled for some time now and the Mets seem to be the team everyone is linking to Dye. However, the Cubs also need a power-outfielder but I'm guessing the last thing Kenny Williams needs is for Dye to lead the Cubbies to a playoff spot.

- Juan Uribe - the White Sox are dead last in the AL as far as offense is concerned and carrying a player like Juan Uribe n the line-up is a big reason. Here's a trade hypothetical to toss out there - how about Jermaine Dye and Juan Uribe to the Dodgers for Nomar Garciaparra and either Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier. I would then slot Nomar in as the shortstop. The Dodgers need another power bat in the lineup and may be just as well off with Wilson Betemit at 3rd. I know Nomar has lost a step but he still has a good glove and and a strong arm.

The White Sox will also probably dangle players like Tadahito Iguchi, Scott Podsednik and Darrin Erstad but I just wanted to concentrate on players with names that began with "J".

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Miguel Tejada may be out with his broken wrist until August. That's bad news for the Orioles in more than one way. It will be very difficult to deal Tejeda while he's on the DL and his return date will be past the end of the trade deadline. Looks like Baltimore will be stuck with Tejada for the rest of the season. I'd look for him to be dealt after the World Series... Manny Ramirez (1,386,522) has dropped to 4th in the AL All-Star voting behind Vlade Guerrero (2,043,824), Magglio Ordonez (1,445,899) and Ichiro (1,409,762). All three are very deserving of the honor but I'd still like to see Manny get the votes... I love Baseball-reference.com for many reasons and one of them is the sponsors they get for many of their pages. Here's what it says on Mark Buerhle's page: "Goliak sponsor(s) this page. We could've kept our season tickets, gone to the world series and seen Buehrle's no hitter. I hate you, joe." I'm guessing Joe decided not to renew some tickets or something and Goliak is no longer a fan of Joe the cheapskate... Nomar Garciaparra will be moving to third base for the Dodgers to make room for hard hitting James Loney at first base. David Pinto doesn't like the move. He thinks the Dodgers should just sit Nomar. I like the move and would have 3 responses to David Pinto (who I greatly respect): 1 - yes Nomar is having a down year but he has been hitting in the "clutch" - witness his .423 BA with RISP this year which is best in the NL; 2 - Nomar has a track record that says he'll break out of his power slump whereas Betemit has no such track record and is more of a risk; finally 3 - for better or worse Nomar is currently the face of the franchise and you just don't bench the one player the fans recognize for a marginal statistical upgrade...