More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Russell Brand on why Fox News had to part ways with Tucker Carlson. Couldn't agree more. 

- Median Household Income in the US by Ethnic Group. Explain to me white privilege again.

- Morgan Housel - Some Things I Think. Some great quotes and nuggets of wisdom.

- Your feel good baseball story of the day.

Linky Links

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

- Glad to see Stan Lee taking back control of his life. Elder abuse is very real.

- My feelings about Elon Musk and how he runs his companies is very conflicted.

- Sure he says its not "his thing" but I think he's protesting too much and was serious the first time.

- Excellent advice when it comes to motorcycles. And remember - May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.

- Heh Heh

- Brad Stevens on the key to unlocking potential. Good advice for coaches at any level.

- Michael Keaton is awesome!

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

There was a heavyweight title fight last night. Did anyone notice?... The fact that Mike Cameron has more career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) that Kirby Puckett shows how flawed any stat can be. How many people who saw both players in real life would have pegged Cameron as the better player? Zero maybe? Yet you can make that argument using WAR. Lies, damned lies and statistics... I wonder if Harvard is selling Jeremy Lin jerseys in their bookstore. I would think that would be a big seller...  As a Red Sox fan - I would laugh my ass off if AJ Burnett flunked the physical for the Pirates and had to return to the Yankees. Please God make it so... The highest unemployment rate under President George W. Bush was 7.7% and he was crucified for it. The unemployment rate under President Obama has been over 8% basically his whole time in office. When does President Obama get held responsible for that?... FWIW - Casey Blake has a career batting average of .311 and an OPS of .999 in 103 plate appearances at Coors Field. He could be a sleeper at 3rd base if you play fantasy baseball... On this day in 1980 - Bon Scott the lead singer for AC/DC passed away. He was 34. His death remains one of the great "what might have been" moments in rock history.

Morning Links

Some interesting links to go with your morning coffee break.

- Investing in Superstars - very interesting concept about investing in people and getting a return off their lifetime earnings. Personal Investment Contracts could be the new new thing.

- Sports betting destroys poker bankrolls. I've been guilty of this.

- Tampa Bay sends Iwamura to the Pirates for Chavez. Salary dump by the Rays but still a good pickup for Pittsburgh. No truth to the rumor that Iwamura means "Freddy Sanchez" in Japanese.

- Alan Sepinwall on 30 for 30's Without Bias.

The Pirates are Frauds

When you follow the money you find that the Pirates story of building for the future is all BS. They are all about cutting costs NOW. Let me explain and let me use former Pirate Adam LaRoche to illustrate the point.

First off keep in mind that Adam LaRoche is making $7.05 million this year and will be a free agent at the end of the season. Most likely he'll be a Type B free agent meaning the team that loses him (assuming they offer arbitration) will get a draft pick between the 1st and 2nd round. That's a pretty high draft pick and the player selected will net themselves a pretty good signing bonus.

The Pirates saved about $3 million right now by trading Adam LaRoche to the Red Sox. In return they got back two players - AA Argenis Diaz and Single A Hunter Strickland - who were not in the Red Sox long term plans and who most likely will not ever be big league regulars (even for the Pirates).

The Red Sox were then able to turn around and trade LaRoche to Atlanta for Casey Kotchman who is arbitration eligible in 2010 and 2011 before he can test the waters as a free agent. This year Kotchman is making $2,885,000 which means he'll probably be in the $4-5 million range in 2010 and probably the $6-7 million range in 2011. If the Pirates really are building for 2011 like they claim to be - then Kotchman would be a better fit than the two scrubs they got from the Red Sox. The problem is the Pirates don't want to pay players that sort of money (money which is pocket change for the Red Sox).

You hear people suggesting that the Pirates should go the Tampa Bay route to success. The problem is the Rays built their team mainly through the draft and the Pirates don't seem to want to pay high draft picks the signing bonuses.

Consider that the Pirates traded six players in July. Those players included John Grabow - a Type A free agent, Jack Wilson - a Type B, Freddie Sanchez - a Type B, and LaRoche another Type B (probably). That's five (5) potential high draft picks! Instead of holding on to the players and netting the draft picks the Pirates traded them for mostly prospects who have been deemed expendable to the teams trading them.

The Pirates aren't building for 2011. They are just feeding into a cycle of suck.

Adam LaRoche II

Another thought on the Adam LaRoche trade in effect the Pirates traded closer Mike Gonzalez to Atlanta for 37 home runs and three prospects that will never make the big team.

Adam LaRoche

The Adam LaRoche trade when looked from the Red Sox point of view was the opportunity to pick up a player who can A: help the Red Sox against right-handed pitching and B: give them additional depth to rest Mike Lowell. The cost was basically nothing from the Red Sox point of view. They gave up two prospects who never were going to sniff the grass at Fenway as players and the $3 million remaining on LaRoche's 2009 contract is pocket change to Boston. In fact - with LaRoche a free agent at the end of the year - the draft pick they get if he signs elsewhere may yield a much better prospect than either the Red Sox gave up (combined).

From the Pirates point of view - this was a salary dump. That $3 million to them is a very big number.

Stats - Stat of the Day

From the excellent Stats Twitter feed:

This season, #Houston's Mike Hampton is 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA vs. the #Pirates and 1-4 with a 6.43 ERA vs. the rest of the majors.

The Joe Kerrigan Effect

As of this morning the Pittsburgh Pirates and their impressive 2.90 have the lowest team ERA in all of baseball. Just by purely looking at the stats - you have to assume that Joe Kerrigan is doing a heck of a job as pitching coach for the Pirates.

Pat Maholm has emerged as a legitimate Ace - going 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA in three starts so far. Zach Duke is back to his 2005 form - the form that allowed him to go 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA as a rookie, Duke is 2-0 with a minuscule 0.59 ERA. Maybe most impressive is the fact that the enigma that is Craig Hansen has yet to give up a run in five innings of relief work this season (though with just 4 K's to 3 BB - Hansen probably isn't out of the woods).

The Pirates were dead last in the NL last year in team ERA. Who could have guessed that the Pirates pitching staff would be one of the more interesting stories of the young season?

Jonah Ramirez

In the bible Jonah is called by God to prophesize in the city of Nineveh. Jonah instead tries to sail to Tarshish. God sends a great storm and Jonah realizes that the storm is his fault. The sailors throw Jonah overboard and the seas calm and Jonah is swallowed by a great fish.

Manny Ramirez was called to be a great baseball player but instead this season he was the middle of a great storm of his own making. Today the Red Sox front office has traded him away - thrown him overboard if you will - with the hopes that the seas will be calmed and a tranquility will descend upon the Red Sox clubhouse.

That was the analogy that struck me with the trading of Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers with the Red Sox getting Jason Bay on their end.

Taking a closer look at the trade - here are my thoughts.

Red Sox - this is more than just addition by subtraction. Yes - Manny Ramirez had become more than mere distraction and shipping him out of town automatically improves the atmosphere in Fenway Park. Jason Bay is not chopped liver though. Manny will probably feast on NL pitching but he will be hitting primarily in pitcher's ballparks. It should also be noted that this is the 2008 Manny - not the 2004 Manny that many people seem to be describing. His skills at the plate are in decline. He put up an OPS+ of 140 to this point for the Red Sox. I can easily see Jason Bay matching that production both for the rest of this season and also for 2009.

The Red Sox also gave up Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen in the deal. I'm happy for Moss because he'll get to play full time in Pittsburgh. Hansen is a Scott Boras client and I have to wonder if that played into the decision to include him in the deal. Now the only Boras clients on the team are Jason Varitek, Jacoby Ellsbury and JD Drew. It will be interesting to see how the team handles the Varitek negotiations with Boras. I almost expect them to make a take it or leave it one-year offer (with Varitek taking it).

It should also be pointed out that with Manny gone and Curt Schilling probably retiring - the Red Sox will have $21 million freed up for next season's salary budget. That is no small item and why they did not hesitate to pick up the rest of Manny's 2008 salary.

Dodgers - they get Manny and his bat but they also get Manny and his creaky legs and his leaky defense. They lose Andy LaRoche who has not lived up to his hype yet (but he's still only 24). They also lose AA pitcher Bryan Morris who may be a diamond in the rough. I think if Ned Colletti organized a picnic - he'd have seven deserts, no sandwiches and potato salad past its expiration date. He's not a very good GM.

Pirates - normally I'm against trading a quarter for 5 nickels but this may work out for Pittsburgh. They get an outfielder to replace Bay in Moss (who could be better than David Murphy who has prospered in Texas since getting to play full time). They get a LaRoche brother on both hot corners (think of the marketing potential). They get a player who could turn into a legit MLB closer in Hansen (who could then be traded for even more prospects). And they get a top pitching prospect in Morris. Most importantly they get players who are all cheap and under team control for a few years to come. In addition - they don't have to pay signing bonuses to any of these guys. If they took the 2 first round picks when Bay walked after 2009 - the combined 2009 salary for Bay and the signing bonuses for those 2 picks would be much more that what they will pay LaRoche, Moss, Hansen and Bryan Morris probably for the next 2 seasons.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

If you added the salaries of all of the projected starting pitchers for the Pirates with the exception of Matt Morris and multiplied that number by 6 - you still would not have what the Pirates are paying Matt Morris all by himself. In fact you'd still have over $1 million left over. How sick is that?... I'm not sure if there is any truth to the rumor that Thoracic Outlet Syndrome will be renamed Ranger's Disease. Pitcher John Rheinecker has been diagnosed with the ailment which also sidelined Hank Blalock last season. That's just strange... The most interesting thing about the Pirates is the debate over who will be traded first - Jason Bay or Jack Wilson.... Many people are saying that this is the year that Tampa Bay doesn't finish last in the AL East and I agree with that. In fact I think the talent level on the team is such that if they were in the NL Central that they just could be the favorites for that division... Just saying but I think Ryan Church will put up better numbers this year for the Mets than Jason Bay will post for the Pirates. Just a gut feel... Tampa Bay may have changed their name officially from the Devil Rays to just the Rays but their Single A minor league team still retains the old name - the Vero Beach Devil Rays. Strange...

Freddy Sanchez

Fan favorite Freddy Sanchez has agreed to a multi-year contract with the Pirates. The deal is supposedly 2 guaranteed years and one option year with a total 3-year worth of about $19 million.

Sanchez was originally property of the Red Sox and was a favorite at both triple A Pawtucket and in Boston because of his hard work, hustle and general good guy demeanor. Trading Sanchez ranks up there as perhaps Theo Epstein's greatest mistake (trading for Eric Gagne being another). He traded Sanchez and Mike Gonzalez (career 2.29 ERA and 30 saves) for Jeff Suppan plus Brandon Lyon (flotsam) and Anastacio Martinez (jetsam). Suppan went 3-4 with a 5.57 ERA in 10 starts for the Red Sox before he skedaddled out of town.

Signing Sanchez allows the Pirates to avoid arbitration with any players this year. The Red Sox have just Kevin Youkilis still in the arbitration process and I'd be surprised if Youkilis didn't end up with a deal very similar to the one Sanchez just signed.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I've been trying to give the TBS announcers the benefit of the doubt but when the announcers can't tell David Ortiz from Manny Ramirez and vice versa - well then let's just go ahead and join the crowd who have been watching the game with the sound off... The Pirates fired Jim Tracy. That's a step in the right direction. Jim Tracy is an awful manager. Good move by new Pirates GM Neal Huntington... Speaking of TBS's coverage sucking - I need some sort of Jose Mota decoder ring. WTF is he trying to say?... If I was Pirates GM Neal Huntington - the two off-season moves that I'd make would be to try and sign free agents Kris Benson and Darin Erstad. Benson used to play for the Pirates, he'd probably be happy with an incentive laden contract and his wife would keep the sportswriters busy. The Pirates need a centerfielder and Erstad can still cover some ground plus he can be a steadying veteran presence. The top prospect for the Pirates Andrew McCutchen is a centerfielder but he's injury prone. It would be great if he was healthy and able to contribute to the big league team but having Erstad would allow the Pirates not to rush McCutchen...

Dave Littlefield

The Pirates finally fired Dave Littlefield. Finally! Inept - thy name is Littlefield.

It looks like Littlefield may have had the last laugh on the Pirates though. Not only is he under contract for 2008 (good thing because who in their right mind would ever hire him after what he did in Pittsburgh the past 7 years) but he has also basically screwed the pooch for whoever replaces him for 2008.

The Pirates had a payroll of about $38.5 million this year and next year that number should not go up very much. However, next year they will have 4 players under contract who will take up $25.5 million (which would be 64% of a $40 million budget). The players are:

Matt Morris $9.5 million
Jack Wilson $6.5 million
Jason Bay $5.75 million
Salomon Torres $3.75 million

Only Jason Bay is a player who you'd really want on your roster - never mind taking up most of the available salary space. The screw job on next year's budget is so bad you have to wonder if Littlefield did it on purpose as some sort of twisted revenge.

Even with being off the hook on any more payments on the Jason Kendall contract - the next GM may have to put together a Jason Bay and Matt Morris trade package (with teams having to take Morris to get Bay) to get any sort of workable budget room. If the next GM is good - then Bay may net them a Hanley Ramirez type player in exchange.

NL Central Preview

Here’s my take on the teams of the National League Central.

Chicago - The Cubs finished 17.5 games behind the Cardinals last year and this year they hope having a healthy Derrek Lee, a newly acquired Alphonso Soriano and 3rd base slugger Arimis Ramirez will allow them to power to a better finish. If healthy - that trio could top well over 100 HR between them. However, the real key to the Cubs season is how they fare outside the NL Central. Last year the Cubs were .500 within their division (42-42) whereas they were a miserable 20-43 against the NL East and NL West. The sluggers will make this a more entertaining team but if Chicago is to improve against the East and West then pitching holds the key. Carlos Zambrano was the only starter to start 30 games last season (Sean Marshall was second on the team with 24 starts and this year he's not even in the rotation). If a team is holding up its hopes to the success of newly acquired Ted Lilly and a return to health of Mark Prior and maybe Wade Miller - then those hopes may be in vain. Like many - I'm curious if Felix Pie is the real deal or the next Lastings Milledge. I think this season we'll find out the answer to that question.

Cincinnati - The Reds play in a launching pad of a park (Great American Ball Park) but they are trying to make pitching the keystone of their success. The Reds recently wrapped up starters Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo to long term deals and they traded for Kirk Saarloos formerly of the A's plus they have prospect Homer Bailey waiting in the wings. The addition of Alex Gonzalez at short will help the pitchers but his bat is just another uneven hitter in the batting order. Their 1st baseman can't hit for power, while their left fielder has never hit above his weight and the centerfielder is the subject of injury pools across the country. Just making things interesting will be a win for the Reds this season.

Houston - The Astros hope that the 3-4 combination of Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee will add some pop to the offense and I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that if Carlos Lee can stay healthy this year then Lance Berkman will win the NL MVP. The two big questions for the Astros are obviously whether Roger Clemens will re-sign with the club but also how Phil Garner will find 500 AB for both Mark Loretta and Craig Biggio - two players that are too good to be on the bench for any stretch of time. Even without Roger Clemens - the Astros will be very competitive team this year. It is very possible that both the NL MVP (Berkman) and NL Cy Young (Roy Oswalt) will come from the Astros this season.

Milwaukee - The Brewers .258 team batting average was the 4th worst in MLB last year. The upgrade at catcher to Johnny Estrada should help greatly with that. Someone will have to explain to me what the Brewers were thinking in regards to their infield. Their budding star they move from short, to 3rd and now to the outfield. They have a young second baseman Rickie Weeks but they offer Tony Graffanino arbitration and sign Craig Counsell. What were they thinking?

Pittsburgh - The Pirates had a winning record in the second half of the season last year and they have added power at 1st base in Adam LaRoche. Jason Bay and Freddy Sanchez make this an interesting team but the Pirates aren't winning anything.

St. Louis - I think it will take a mid-season trade for a top starter to allow St. Louis to make the playoffs this year. The Cardinals have Chris Carpenter and then a huge drop off. They lost Jeff Suppan and Jeff Weaver who was very strong for them down the stretch. They added Kip Wells. Do I have to say more? I predict that St. Louis does not make the playoffs this season.