2019 Hall of Fame Ballot

Picking 10 names from that list is difficult. I'd break my choices into two categories; "No Doubt" and "Had to Think About It but Yes."

Here's my picks:

No Doubts:

Mariano Rivera, Fred McGriff (long been a supporter of the Crime Dog), Curt Schilling, and Larry Walker (people forget how crazy good he was)

Had to Think About It But Yes:

Roy Halladay (sentiment will make his selection easier but is his case actually better than Curt Schilling's?), Mike Mussina (but only after Schilling gets in - Schilling was the better pitcher who is now being punished for being a crazy uncle), Omar Vizquel (guy had 11 Gold Gloves and was every bit the fielder as Ozzie Smith).

That's only 7 choices but that's all I'd feel comfortable with.

As far as steroids guys like Bonds and Clemens - my view is these guys did steroids to get paid which they did handsomely. They knowingly sacrificed their chances to make the Hall for the opportunity to make millions with big contracts. That's the choice they made and they got paid. And now that's all they should get.

Doc Halladay 1977-2017 RIP

Harry Leroy "Doc" Halladay gone way too early - Rest in Peace.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Gordon Edes pointed out in a Tweet that Tim Wakefield did not mention either Theo Epstein or Terry Francona in his retirement speech. Supposedly Wakefield was not a real big fan of Francona because Tito pulled Wakefield from the rotation. I wouldn't be surprised if Wakefield doesn't blame Francona for not breaking the Red Sox record for wins... Watched Cedar Rapids last night. I thought it was a great movie. Then again - after watching Crocodile Dundee for the first time I was convinced it was the best movie ever made... 11 Brilliant Lifehacks. Some very cool ideas here... I knew that Shaefer is the one beer to have when you are having more than one but who knew that Shaefer was the top selling beer in Puerto Rico during the 70's and 80's?... For some perspective on Curt Schilling's overall career consider that Roy Halladay would have to have about 200 strikeouts a year for the next 6 seasons to match Schilling career strikeout mark... Keith Olbermann seems to be like one of those old world gods who ceased to exist if you stopped worshiping them... Meet a black guy in Aspen. Improv Everywhere's latest prank. I thought it was pretty funny.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Very funny - Perfectly Timed Photos... The Republican National Committee should try to label President Obama as "the Onceler." The Dr Seuss estate may have a problem with that but the name does fit... I think a one-man stage show of Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea starring Erik Estrada would be so bad it's good in a Springtime for Hitler type way... This site looks very intriguing - Byliner.com. I could spend a day just reading the content that is posted on the front page... Trivia Question: Who held the home run record before Babe Ruth came along? Answer- Roger Connor and his old record for home runs was just 138... Next season on Game of Thrones a great wizard and conjurer is introduced. Some call him Tim... 25 Unintentionally Inappropriate Statues... The phrase "Under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance because Communists couldn't obey both State and God at the same time whereas US citizens could (at least we used to be able to). The phrase was added to emphasize the difference. I may be over-reacting but the people who seem to get the most worked up about "Under God" are the same people who want a powerful central government running all aspects of a person's life... Very cool archaeology. Giant Roman palace unearthed in Upper Egypt... Did you know that Great Britain was once the world champion at ice hockey? They actually won the Gold Medal at the 1936 Winter Olympics. I bet there's a story there... How people view me... Roy Halladay's real name is Harry Leroy Halladay. Harry Halladay? Surprised that fans don't chant that like they chant "Larry" at Chipper Jones.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Roy Halladay's scouting report as a 21-year-old prospect

- With John Henry poised to buy Liverpool - here's a nice story on how the team got it's signature song. Now the trick is how to explain Dirty Water to the people in England.

- Awesome - the scale of the universe

- Charlie Crist's Comically Bad First Pitch

- Bus driver of WKU volleyball bus dies of heart attack while driving. Coach seizes wheel, stops bus safely

- Tim Lincecum is great and all but this has to be hyperbole

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Given how dominating Roy Halladay was last night - I have to wonder if people really should be talking about Johnny Vander Meer and back-to-back no-hitters instead of Don Larsen's World Series perfect game... Report: Moss dissed Belichick on plane back from Miami... I'm not even a Donovan McNabb fan but I wonder what will go down as the bigger NFL mistake - the Eagles picking Kevin Kolb over Donovan McNabb or the Browns drafting Tim Couch over Donovan McNabb?... The movie St Elmo's Fire was based on Tip O'Neil's autobiography - they just changed congressmen into Georgetown college students... Tiger Would Beer, the beer for philanderers... Happy 25th birthday to Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria... Did you know that Dick Vermeil was the first ever Special Teams Coach in NFL history? He became that in 1969 for the Los Angeles Rams. Vermeil has been retired for 5 years now - I hope he makes the Football Hall of Fame. I think it is an honor he deserves... I loved Speed Racer as a kid - I'd really like to own one of these... In the first 10 minutes of the Burn Notice pilot Michael Westen kills 2 guys off-screen. I don't think he killed 2 more people in the next 2 seasons... The Red Sox match up with all of the teams in playoffs really well. Of all the words of tongue and pen - the saddest are it could have been...

The Worcester - Philadelphia Perfect Game Connection

Philadephia Phillie Roy Halladay pitched a perfect game last night. It was the 20th perfect game in major league baseball history. The first was pitched in June of 1880 by John Lee Richmond of the Worcester (MA) Ruby Legs. This isn't where the connection to last night's gem ends though. The National League dropped the Worcester team in 1882 and added the Philadephia Quakers in 1883 to take their place. The Quakers were later renamed the Phillies.

The circle is complete.

The Greatest Blue Jay Pitcher

Tim Marchman has an analysis in SI regarding the three team megatrade. In his analysis he says that Toronto was the loser in the deal. That's fine but what got my attention was Marchman calling Halladay "the second-best pitcher in team history". What?

He doesn't expound on that throwaway line but one has to guess that he thinks Dave Steib was the best pitcher in Toronto history. That's just crazy.

Linky Links

Some stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- I'm not sure I buy this 100%. There are at least 2 sides to every story and I just find it too convenient that all of a sudden it's all JR Ricchardi's fault and that Roy Halladay is just an innocent bystander.

- Awesome cubicle pranks. The Chia-keyboard was my favorite.

- Another voice in the chorus that the true cost of Roy Halladay may be too high for the Red Sox.

- How to fix the economy. Yeah but those 48 and 49-years old will be pissed.

Halladay Not Such a Good Value?

Very interesting look at the history of similar pitchers to Roy Halladay.

The upshot is that Halladay probably won't be worth the king's ransom in prospects that Toronto will be demanding. This isn't trading for Pedro Martinez at age 26. This is a pitcher with a lot of innings pitched in his career at age 32. Since there are published reports that the Red Sox are making a big play for Halladay - I'm guessing that the opposite is true. The Red Sox never make their intentions known to the press.

JP Riccardi

I'm starting to feel like the last guy on the JP Riccardi bandwagon. Reports are starting to more than trickle out that his job is in jeopardy. I don't think that's fair.

Riccardi was put in a damned if you do - damned if you don't situation. When he took the job in Toronto the Canadian dollar was strong and he was expected to spend some money by the fans of the team. Specifically he was expected to spend that money on fan favorite Vernon Wells. Now it is that contract, along with the deals given to Alex Rios and BJ Ryan that are coming back to haunt him. It was these three deals and how he handled the potential trade of Roy Halladay that have put him in this situation.

As I said - he HAD to sign Vernon Wells. Letting fan favorite Wells walk would have cost Riccardi his job. He gave the fans what they wanted and now the fans are mad at him for it. That's not fair.

At the time of the BJ Ryan signing - Riccardi was pretty much hailed for making a very savvy signing. Because of the strength of the Canadian dollar at the time - the money spent on Ryan wasn't as much as it seemed. Ryan was a guy who was used to the AL East and not just unafraid of the Yankees and Red Sox but successful pitching against them. The Yankees had Mo Rivera and the Red Sox had Jonathan Papelbon. BJ Ryan was supposed to be the Blue Jays answer to the other teams' closers. Remember - it was a very popular move at the time that propelled many people to make the Blue Jays the trendy pick to win the AL East that year.

Alex Rios? That was a bad signing plain and simple. However, like Vernon Wells - Alex Rios was a fan favorite. Riccardi signed him but I think it is only fair to give him credit for dumping him before the big money kicked in.

Riccardi doesn't get the credit he deserves for building a foundation that can be built upon and which can bring success in the near term. Aaron Hill and Adam Lind give the Blue Jays a 3-4 punch as good as any in baseball. The pitching when healthy is also among the best and deepest in baseball. JP Riccardi is under contract for 2010 and I think he deserves to come back.

I know that this isn't a popular opinion but I think I'm right about this.

Crazy Roy Halladay Trade Proposal

Just tossing this out there but if I were the Red Sox GM for today - this is a package I'd offer to Toronto for Roy Halladay. I would offer Clay Buchholtz (everyone has him in a package), Manny Delcarmen or Justin Masterson (JP Riccardi gets to pick one), a lower level prospect and Jonathan Papelbon.

Yup - Jonathan Papelbon.

That would be the package. Four quality players for Halladay with one being a big name who is a current All-Star and one of the premier closers in the game. And if JP Riccardi wasn't interested in Papelbon (who is under team control for another two years) - then hey flip him to another team for a top prospect or two. The Blue Jays could get as many as five or six top prospects in this deal.

From the Red Sox perspective - they would be getting one of the top starters in the game. Replacing Buchholz in the rotation with Halladay would be awesome. Boston can afford to lose Papelbon because they have Josh Bard ready to step in with his overpowering fastball to become the new Papelbon. What many outside of Boston don't realize is that Papelbon is setting himself up to leave as a free agent after two years and that talk along with his inconsistent performance have soured many Boston fans on the closer.

So let it be written. So let it be done.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Really? Roy Halladay's real name is Harry Leroy Halladay. Harry Halladay? Yeah really... How funny is it that PhilliesNation.com sponsors the Johan Santana page on baseball-reference.com? I find it very funny!... With his loss today - John Smoltz of the Red Sox tied George Bradley for 154th place on the all-time list with 151 losses. George Bradley once lost 40 games in 1879 playing for the Troy Trojans. Wow - 40 games! Times sure have changed.... If John Smoltz happens to ever win another game for the Red Sox - he'll tie Chief Bender for 88th place on the all-time wins list with 212 wins. Though John Smoltz is widely acknowledged as playoff tough - Chief Bender pitched 3 complete games in the 1911 World series. That's playoff impressive... I don' understand that KGB service. Is it for people too stupid or lazy to use Google or Bing?... The Tigers Edwin Jackson needs just 4 more to match his total from last season. Truly a tale of two seasons...

Jake Peavy

Don't be surprised if the team who doesn't get Roy Halladay suddenly gets interested in trading for the injured Jake Peavy. Peavy would be under control for more years than Halladay and maybe ready for a September playoff push. Peavy could still be in a position to put a playoff contender over the top and with 3 more years on the contract - the prospects a team would give up could be more than justified.

Padres would love to dump his salary. Peavy makes $11 million this year and $15 mil in 2010, $16 mil in 2011 and $17 mil in 2012. That $5 million or so that the Padres would save this season would be huge for San Diego.