Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Jacoby Ellsbury was taken in the same draft and round as the Nationals Ryan Zimmerman but while Zimmerman will be the face of the Nationals for years to come - Ellsbury will most likely leave Boston after this season as a free agent... 10 secrets of flight attendants...  Not a fan of snuff films but I would pay money to see Giants coach Tom Coughlin beat the Geico caveman to death with a bat... Let us not forget that Saddam Hussein was a New York Yankees fan... Charles During really was something special... How come none of the Boston sportswriters can get me an update on the status of Tom Brady's playoff beard?... This is what I really wanted for Christmas but once again did not get... There is a fish that survives dangers by hiding in the anus of a sea cucumber. The fish is called the Pearl Fish but I like to think of it as the Jimmy Carter Fish...  This is pretty amusing... If I had a business - I'd add a small charge to each invoice for "opaque retraction". Who would complain? Those small charges would add up... Best pole dance move ever!... Ball peen hammer sounds like it should be some sort of sex act. Is the word "peen" ever used in any other context?... With this cast - how could this movie not be great?... Nice math trick - if you divide 1 by 998,001 you get all three digit numbers from 000 to 999 in order... Funny or creepy? I saw a lawn care company truck that had a bumper sticker that said "Time to Trim Your Bush"...

Ryan Zimmerman's New Contract

Ryan Zimmerman has signed a new extension with the Washington Nationals so he will be under contract for $126 million up to 2019 or with the option $150 million up to 2020. Jon Heyman thinks the Nationals paid too much for a 1-time All-Star. Tom Verducci recently compared Zimmerman to Chase Headley - a comparison that was not meant to be flattering.

I wonder why the Nationals had to do a contract now (Zimmerman was under contract till after the 2013 season) but I'm not so sure if they over paid. If they get the next Eric Chavez with an injury prone career then Verducci and Heyman get to crow. But what if Ryan Zimmerman plays like Scott Rolen in his age 26-35 seasons where Rolen averaged 126 games and 19 HR. Would that be acceptable for the "face" of the franchise who would be making an average of $16.7 million for those 9 seasons? For the last 6-seasons Zimmerman has averaged a 137.5 games and a little over 21 HR per season so it would seem a Rolen comparison would be reasonable. Did the Phillies make a mistake in not wrapping up Scott Rolen when he was the same age as Zimmerman? During that span Rolen made 6 All-Star games and won 5 Gold Gloves.

The thing I keep thinking of is the fact that Jacoby Ellsbury was taken in the same draft and same round as Ryan Zimmermanand is basically the same age (Ellsbury is slightly older). If the Red Sox were to wrap him up for the next 9 seasons at an average of $16.7 million then I would think the Red Sox made a good deal. I wonder if Jon Heyman would argue then that the Red Sox were over-paying for a 1-time All-Star?

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I'm so sick of Michael Vick. Enough already. The guy will never be a factor in the NFL ever again. Stop with the stories and updates. I don't think I'm alone in saying I just don't care anymore... On this day back in 1941 Ted Williams finished the season with a .406 batting average becoming perhaps the last major league batter to ever reach .400 for a season. Amazingly Williams did not win the MVP that season despite hitting with 37 HR, 120 RBI and 135 runs scored. The voters just like Joe DiMaggio and his 56-game hitting streak better.... Now we'll never have to hear about how Ben Roethlisberger has never lost a game in the state of Ohio ever again... Today is Ryan Zimmerman's 25th birthday. I like to think of Zimmerman as Kevin Youkilis if Youkilis was stuck on an awful team... There is a good chance that the Cleveland Browns could lose every game this year matching the Lions mark of futility from last season. Is it me or does Eric Mangini seem like Rick Kotite without the charisma?...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

This is why I love Dustin Pedroia. He's like a cross between Ryne Sandberg and Begbie from Trainspotting... I had Godfather II on the TV last night while doing some emails. It came to the part where Fredo gets a call from Johnny Ola in the middle of the night and all of a sudden I started asking, "Why is Junior Soprano calling Fredo Corleone?" I had never picked up on the fact that Dominic Chianese (Uncle Junior) was in the movie... Speaking of Godfather II - Abe Vigoda is still alive!... Excellent point about Ryan Zimmerman and the Nationals. While the Red Sox locked up Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis this offseason - the Nationals took another step toward forcing the face of their franchise towards free agency. The timing with Zimmerman may work out well for the Red Sox depending on whether Mike Lowell can stay healthy and productive long enough for them to wait for Zimmerman. Why does Jim Bowden still have a job?... Last night Charles Barkley did a mea culpa about his drinking and driving arrest and today he celebrates his 46th birthday. I'm betting that if he goes out tonight that he has a limo. Happy birthday Sir Charles...

The All-Disappointment Team

Going into the season many fans and fantasy baseball players had high hopes for certain players but not all the big names have pulled their weight. Here's my All-Disappointment team up to this point of the season.

C - Victor Martinez Indians - 0 HR before going on the DL
1st - Richie Sexson Mariners - .675 OPS
2nd - Freddie Sanchez Pirates - .236 BA - where's the guy who won a batting title?
SS - Troy Tulowitzki Rockies - .152 BA before going on DL
3rd - Ryan Zimmerman - just a .718 OPS before going on DL (yet still leads the Nationals in HR and RBI - that's how bad the Nationals are)
OF - Curtis Granderson Tigers - just 3 SB and a .246 BA
OF - Delmon Young Twins - Just 1 HR - the Twins would have been better off trading for the power hitting of Coco Crisp
OF - Gary Sheffield Tigers - .213 BA before going on DL - may be the end of the line
DH - Travis Hafner Indians - 4 HR before going on the DL
EDIT: As Donald pointed out - Andruw Jones should have been listed. He's the worst free agent signing this year.

SRHP - Roy Oswalt Astros - 5.06 ERA - really?
SLHP - CC Sabathia Indians - starting to turn things around but still no back-to-back Cy Young Awards
Closer - JJ Putz Mariners - 7 saves and a 5.21 ERA before going on DL
EDIT: As groug (what kind of name is groug?) points out - Barry Zito should be the SLHP. Mea culpa.

Ryan Zimmerman vs. Bob Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan)

Yesterday was Washington Nationals 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman's 23rd birthday. Zimmerman was last year's NL Rookie of the Year runner up. Combine those two facts and I started to wonder how Zimmerman did in the supposed sophomore slump second year. Give me another second to think about it and I start to wonder how Ryan Zimmerman's second season compared against Bob Zimmerman's (aka Bob Dylan) second season.

This year Ryan Zimmerman's numbers are pretty much down across the board with the exceptions of scoring more runs and hitting 4 more home runs than last year. If Ryan Zimmerman was a recording star - the name of his second album (season) probably would be Down Twenty as he has 20 fewer RBI and his batting average and OBP are also down 20 points.

Even with being slightly down this year vs last - Ryan Zimmerman is still the biggest star on the Nationals and is easily one of the top 10 3rd basemen in all of baseball.

Bob Zimmerman's (aka Bob Dylan) first album Bob Dylan was not memorable at all. If there was new folk singer of the year voting - then Dylan would have been lucky to fall into the "also receiving votes" category. The album only sold 5,000 copies. Bob Dylan's breakthrough came with his second album (season) The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. This album included all-time classics such as Blowing in the Wind, A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall and Masters of War.

Ryan Zimmerman may have had the advantage with his rookie season but Bob Dylan clearly took the lead with his sophomore effort.

If a Ryan Zimmerman / Bob Zimmerman parallel career comes to fruition then that's great news for Nationals fans. It means that Ryan Zimmerman will have a long career with at least his three best seasons yet to come (I'd rank Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde and Blood on the Tracks as superior to The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan).

It's not all rosy though. If the comparison holds up then that means that Ryan Zimmerman may do something to infuriate his early fans the way Bob Dylan did by going to electric guitars. Maybe leaving Washington as a free agent would do it. Late in his career Ryan Zimmerman may also convert to Judaism.