Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Just saying but here's what I wrote back on December 18th, "I could see the Yankees spending for Rafael Soriano to be set up guy and as insurance for Mo Rivera especially given weakness of their rotation." Just saying... Is anyone else curious what Nick Fairley scores on his Wonderlic test?... It has to be even money that Rafael Soriano goes on the DL at least once during his 3-year deal with the Yankees... The Mass Keno game is a ripoff but it is a bargain compared to the NY lottery QuickDraw game. But even still I ended up playing QuickDraw anyway... There is a deli in my town named Sam & Ella's - my wife the microbiologist laughs at it every time... From now on when anyone asks me a question I don't know the answer to - I'm going to say "I have to consult Edwardo on that." I think that will be cool and cryptic at the same time...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Father uses robocall to get revenge on school officials

- Boston Metro reinforces that Rex Ryan has become a punchline

- With the Yankees signing Rafael Soriano, the Red Sox are guaranteed to get the Rangers' first-round pick

- Every NFL Playoffs Quarterback Except Matt Hasselbeck Is Gay, Suggests Google

- What would Theodore Roosevelt do in the wake of Tucson

- This is so true

- This is also true

Excellent Point

David Pinto makes an excellent point:

Something I've talked about before is the more often a manager changes pitchers, the more likely he's going to find one having a bad day. If a reliever is brought in and pitches well, and hasn't reached a credible pitch limit, why not let him continue?

Sadly - I can see two reasons why the status quo is not broached. First - the manager would be accused of messing with the confidence of the closer in the media and on talk radio. Second - the manager would be accused of attempting a "closer by committee" set-up which has become three most misunderstood dirty words in baseball today.

It will take a manager secure enough in his position with a closer secure enough in his confidence and who puts team wins above personal numbers to make this happen.

The current situation in Atlanta may prove to be the perfect setting to break the now traditional role of a 3-out closer. When John Smoltz and Rafael Soriano are both healthy - the younger Soriano will defer to the Hall of Famer Smoltz who is not a fragile ego guy in the least. Smoltz for his part will not mind if Soriano is cruising along and stays in for the 9th inning for the save. Smoltz wants to "conserve the bullets left in the gun" and he and Bobby Cox have seen too many blown saves in Atlanta to care about orthodoxy.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

At one time Edwin Jackson was THE untouchable pitching prospect in baseball. The Dodgers wouldn't dare trade him for anyone (including Nomar Garciaparra when Nomar was in his prime). Now it seems Jackson isn't well thought of enough to start for Tampa Bay. A cautionary tale about counting on "can't miss" pitching prospects if ever there was one. Note: I should mention that I made pretty good money betting the over in any game Jackson started last year.... Interesting look at Troy Percival's comeback by Jason Stark. Percival could be a decent sleeper pick in fantasy baseball for those so inclined... Congratulations to Daisuke Matsuzaka and his wife Tomoyo on the birth of their second child - a boy. It now looks like Dice-K will pitch the Red Sox's Opening Day game in Japan. I imagine the ovation Dice-K will receive will be tremendous. Once again congratulations (as it Dice-K or his wife will read this)... Do you think the Mariners wish they had a do-over? Seattle released Horacio Ramirez who they traded Rafael Soriano for in December of 2006. Soriano will be the closer for the Braves this season. Hard to imagine but Ramirez's high water mark as a professional will probably be his rookie year when he went 12-4 with a 4.00 ERA.