Top 5 - Best Left Fielders in Baseball
1. Manny Ranirez Red Sox
2. Miguel Cabrera Marlins
3. Hideki Matsui Yankees
4. Adam Dunn Reds
5. Carlos Lee Brewers
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Red Sox / Yankees Opening Day Diary
I decided to keep a running diary for the first game of the year. Ya know - just for the heck of it.
Randy Johnson and David Wells both look pretty good in first but the second inning is a different story for both veteran pitchers. Two impressions about Johnson; it looks like the umpire is giving him a pretty big strike zone and I don't think his fastball is going to get by the Red Sox hitters. And just to throw a random thought out there - I think The Unibomber's Package would be a good name for a punk band.
ESPN is blacked out where I am and even if it wasn't - I'd still watch the NESN telecast. One reasons to like NESN better is that they have more content and less fluff (plus I feel blessed to avoid having the nonsense of Joe Morgan make my ears bleed). Before the bottom of the third they had a quick interview with Jason Varitek where he said that he doesn't sign any pictures of him fighting with A-Rod. That reminded me of Larry Bird who refuses to sign any pictures of him grabbing Dr. J by the neck. I was also highly amused when Varitek intimated that even though he's not proud of the moment it doesn't mean he wouldn't do it again.
I think the word I'm looking for to describe Wells' pitching in the third is "sloppy". His pitching also makes me curious what the over/under was on the game (it was 9). At the end of 3 its 4-1 Yankees.
As a pitcher you cannot be successful unless you get a lead strike on the batter most of the time and also unless you keep leadoff runners off base. I'm sure Wells is more frustrated than I am right now. At least he better be.
WTF? The commercial for Fever Pitch is touting it as the "hit comedy of the season". How can they say that when the movie hasn't even opened? What season are they talking about? Pre-season?
Randy Johnson pitched the home opener at Fenway back in '98 when he was still with Seattle. The Mariners were up by seven going into the seventh so me and my buddy Brian and I decided to leave for wetter pastures (they stop serving at Fenway after the seventh). I ended up seeing the Red Sox come back in dramatic fashion - capped off by a Mo Vaugh grand slam to win the game - from the friendly confines of Copperfields. That was a great day.
Tonight Johnson went six and struck out six while only yielding one run. Thing probably would have been much different if Matsui wasn't able to rob Kevin Millar of a home run. All-in-all, Yankee fans have to be pleased with the Big Unit's debut.
I wonder if Blaine Neal is this year's Bobby Jones? My guess is he has maybe two more outings to prove he's a major leaguer and if he can't make the most of those opportunities then he'll be living in a van down by the river.
The only thing keeping me interested in this game is the fact that if the Yankees blew a five run lead they would be hearing about it for a month.
OK its 9-1 and the red Sox may have been able to come back from three games down but they're not coming back from this deficit. Congrats to the folks who took the over.
I decided to keep a running diary for the first game of the year. Ya know - just for the heck of it.
Randy Johnson and David Wells both look pretty good in first but the second inning is a different story for both veteran pitchers. Two impressions about Johnson; it looks like the umpire is giving him a pretty big strike zone and I don't think his fastball is going to get by the Red Sox hitters. And just to throw a random thought out there - I think The Unibomber's Package would be a good name for a punk band.
ESPN is blacked out where I am and even if it wasn't - I'd still watch the NESN telecast. One reasons to like NESN better is that they have more content and less fluff (plus I feel blessed to avoid having the nonsense of Joe Morgan make my ears bleed). Before the bottom of the third they had a quick interview with Jason Varitek where he said that he doesn't sign any pictures of him fighting with A-Rod. That reminded me of Larry Bird who refuses to sign any pictures of him grabbing Dr. J by the neck. I was also highly amused when Varitek intimated that even though he's not proud of the moment it doesn't mean he wouldn't do it again.
I think the word I'm looking for to describe Wells' pitching in the third is "sloppy". His pitching also makes me curious what the over/under was on the game (it was 9). At the end of 3 its 4-1 Yankees.
As a pitcher you cannot be successful unless you get a lead strike on the batter most of the time and also unless you keep leadoff runners off base. I'm sure Wells is more frustrated than I am right now. At least he better be.
WTF? The commercial for Fever Pitch is touting it as the "hit comedy of the season". How can they say that when the movie hasn't even opened? What season are they talking about? Pre-season?
Randy Johnson pitched the home opener at Fenway back in '98 when he was still with Seattle. The Mariners were up by seven going into the seventh so me and my buddy Brian and I decided to leave for wetter pastures (they stop serving at Fenway after the seventh). I ended up seeing the Red Sox come back in dramatic fashion - capped off by a Mo Vaugh grand slam to win the game - from the friendly confines of Copperfields. That was a great day.
Tonight Johnson went six and struck out six while only yielding one run. Thing probably would have been much different if Matsui wasn't able to rob Kevin Millar of a home run. All-in-all, Yankee fans have to be pleased with the Big Unit's debut.
I wonder if Blaine Neal is this year's Bobby Jones? My guess is he has maybe two more outings to prove he's a major leaguer and if he can't make the most of those opportunities then he'll be living in a van down by the river.
The only thing keeping me interested in this game is the fact that if the Yankees blew a five run lead they would be hearing about it for a month.
OK its 9-1 and the red Sox may have been able to come back from three games down but they're not coming back from this deficit. Congrats to the folks who took the over.
Alex Sanchez Suspended for Steroids
Alex Sanchez becomes the first person suspended under the new steroids testing rules. Sanchez says he's innocent. Just a thought - but what if Sanchez is right?
Not to be a tinfoil hat guy but wouldn't the best way for Selig and Fehr to weasel out of testing for steroids and to defuse the ruckus over steroids be to have the first case out of the gate be a false positive?
Sanchez would be perfect for Selig. If the false positive isn't detected then no big whoop - its Alex Sanchex who got thrown under the bus.
If the false positive is detected then Sanchez and his newly arrived mom make a perfect human interest story. She left Cuba to get away from persecution and to see her son play baseball but she gets to the land of liberty to find that he son can't play baseball because he's being persecuted. This would shut Congress up in a heartbeat.
Just something to think about.
Alex Sanchez becomes the first person suspended under the new steroids testing rules. Sanchez says he's innocent. Just a thought - but what if Sanchez is right?
Not to be a tinfoil hat guy but wouldn't the best way for Selig and Fehr to weasel out of testing for steroids and to defuse the ruckus over steroids be to have the first case out of the gate be a false positive?
Sanchez would be perfect for Selig. If the false positive isn't detected then no big whoop - its Alex Sanchex who got thrown under the bus.
If the false positive is detected then Sanchez and his newly arrived mom make a perfect human interest story. She left Cuba to get away from persecution and to see her son play baseball but she gets to the land of liberty to find that he son can't play baseball because he's being persecuted. This would shut Congress up in a heartbeat.
Just something to think about.
Red Sox vs. Yankees - The Pitching Staffs
Yesterday we spoke about the Red Sox vs. Yankees in terms of starting line-ups. Today lets take a look at the starting pitching.
Lyford has already posted on the pitching staffs - so lets use his post as a jumping off point.
The Red Sox have not been able to replace Pedro Martinez but Lyford points out that the Sox have successfully replaced the Pedro / Derek Lowe combination. As much Derek Lowe benefited from high run support with the Sox, Matt Clement was punished by poor run support with the Cubs. If Clement gets the run support Lowe got last year - look for him to win 17-20 games.
The addition of Wade Miller also makes the Red Sox starting pitching much deeper than last year.
With the addition of Randy Johnson - the Yankees have greatly improved their starting pitching. However, while Red Sox fans have been cautiously optimistic - the Yankee fans and even most sportswriters seem to be wildly optimistic about Randy Johnson and the Yankee's pitching. I heard one Boston writer say that with the run support that the Big Unit can expect in the Bronx that Johnson could easily win 25 games. Talk about rosy outlooks (and yes I realize that I just got done suggesting 17-20 wins for Clement).
I for one think that Johnson won't have the huge year everyone seems to be predicting for him and I am also pessimistic on the Yankee pitching starters in general. Why? Well since Lyford used ERA+ as his measuring stick - let me also use ERA+ to illustrate my thinking.
Randy Johnson is the biggest name pitcher to come to pitch for the Yankees since Roger Clemens. In 1999 Roger Clemens came to New York after a Cy Young Award winning 20-3 season with a ERA+ of 128. Clemens ended up going 14-10 with an ERA+ of 97 in his first year in New York (which means he was below league average - the only time in his Hall of Fame career that his ERA was below league average). Johnson is coming off a season where he went 16-14 with an ERA+ of 171.
I happen to believe that Johnson is actually a better pitcher than Clemens but I don't think he will be immune to the unique pressures of pitching in New York. Clemens did not have to switch leagues and he was a veteran of the Yankee / Red Sox pressure cooker. Johnson by most accounts is rather thin skinned and has never played under the kind of scrutiny and pressure that he'll experience in New York.
Isn't it naive to believe that this won't have a negative effect on him?
Same is true of the other new pitchers. Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano have never faced this kind of scrutiny or pressure either. Consider that last year it was Javy Vazquez and Kevin Brown who were the big name imports. Vazquez was being compared to a young Pedro Martinez and Brown was the big fireballing veteran. Take a look at what the pressure of New York did to them.
Kevin Brown (who may have a similar temperament to Johnson) had an ERA+ of 169 for the Dodgers in 2003. In 2004, in his first year in New York, his ERA+ dropped down to 110. Vazquez went from an ERA+ of 154 in Montreal to a below league average ERA+ of 94 in his first year in New York.
Last year Wright had an ERA+ of 131 and Pavano had an ERA+ of 137. If history holds true - one of these guys (and maybe both) will finish the year below the league average.
I should note that it is not just the pressure of the fans and the press in New York that wears on the Yankees. It is also the history and the and the aura. Every team gets up for the Yankees when they come to town and the home fans expect best efforts against the Yankees from their home town nine. It must be tough to go through that for a pitcher for the first time.
I think that on paper the Yankees' starters look better but I think reality will be something different altogether.
Later I'll do a run down on the bullpens.
Yesterday we spoke about the Red Sox vs. Yankees in terms of starting line-ups. Today lets take a look at the starting pitching.
Lyford has already posted on the pitching staffs - so lets use his post as a jumping off point.
The Red Sox have not been able to replace Pedro Martinez but Lyford points out that the Sox have successfully replaced the Pedro / Derek Lowe combination. As much Derek Lowe benefited from high run support with the Sox, Matt Clement was punished by poor run support with the Cubs. If Clement gets the run support Lowe got last year - look for him to win 17-20 games.
The addition of Wade Miller also makes the Red Sox starting pitching much deeper than last year.
With the addition of Randy Johnson - the Yankees have greatly improved their starting pitching. However, while Red Sox fans have been cautiously optimistic - the Yankee fans and even most sportswriters seem to be wildly optimistic about Randy Johnson and the Yankee's pitching. I heard one Boston writer say that with the run support that the Big Unit can expect in the Bronx that Johnson could easily win 25 games. Talk about rosy outlooks (and yes I realize that I just got done suggesting 17-20 wins for Clement).
I for one think that Johnson won't have the huge year everyone seems to be predicting for him and I am also pessimistic on the Yankee pitching starters in general. Why? Well since Lyford used ERA+ as his measuring stick - let me also use ERA+ to illustrate my thinking.
Randy Johnson is the biggest name pitcher to come to pitch for the Yankees since Roger Clemens. In 1999 Roger Clemens came to New York after a Cy Young Award winning 20-3 season with a ERA+ of 128. Clemens ended up going 14-10 with an ERA+ of 97 in his first year in New York (which means he was below league average - the only time in his Hall of Fame career that his ERA was below league average). Johnson is coming off a season where he went 16-14 with an ERA+ of 171.
I happen to believe that Johnson is actually a better pitcher than Clemens but I don't think he will be immune to the unique pressures of pitching in New York. Clemens did not have to switch leagues and he was a veteran of the Yankee / Red Sox pressure cooker. Johnson by most accounts is rather thin skinned and has never played under the kind of scrutiny and pressure that he'll experience in New York.
Isn't it naive to believe that this won't have a negative effect on him?
Same is true of the other new pitchers. Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano have never faced this kind of scrutiny or pressure either. Consider that last year it was Javy Vazquez and Kevin Brown who were the big name imports. Vazquez was being compared to a young Pedro Martinez and Brown was the big fireballing veteran. Take a look at what the pressure of New York did to them.
Kevin Brown (who may have a similar temperament to Johnson) had an ERA+ of 169 for the Dodgers in 2003. In 2004, in his first year in New York, his ERA+ dropped down to 110. Vazquez went from an ERA+ of 154 in Montreal to a below league average ERA+ of 94 in his first year in New York.
Last year Wright had an ERA+ of 131 and Pavano had an ERA+ of 137. If history holds true - one of these guys (and maybe both) will finish the year below the league average.
I should note that it is not just the pressure of the fans and the press in New York that wears on the Yankees. It is also the history and the and the aura. Every team gets up for the Yankees when they come to town and the home fans expect best efforts against the Yankees from their home town nine. It must be tough to go through that for a pitcher for the first time.
I think that on paper the Yankees' starters look better but I think reality will be something different altogether.
Later I'll do a run down on the bullpens.
Flotsam and Jetsam
Right now the creepiest thing on TV is the new Burger King mascot. You have a giant paper mache headed guy wearing tights and a crown who shows up in peoples bedrooms or at their front door in the morning. Just creepy. I mean if I were to remake The Texas Chaninsaw Massacre or Stephen King's It - I would cast the Burger King mascot in the place of Leather Face ot the killer clown. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the king who chopped off a persons finger and put it in the Wendy's chili... I haven't said or posted anything on the death of Pope John Paul II because I figure that people aren't coming here for news they can better get from other places... Ever since I posted that link to the nude pictures of Sharon Stone on the beach, I've gotten about 10 hits per day from people who Google "Sharon Stone naked". I wonder how many hits I'll get for typing Jessica Alba nude?
Right now the creepiest thing on TV is the new Burger King mascot. You have a giant paper mache headed guy wearing tights and a crown who shows up in peoples bedrooms or at their front door in the morning. Just creepy. I mean if I were to remake The Texas Chaninsaw Massacre or Stephen King's It - I would cast the Burger King mascot in the place of Leather Face ot the killer clown. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the king who chopped off a persons finger and put it in the Wendy's chili... I haven't said or posted anything on the death of Pope John Paul II because I figure that people aren't coming here for news they can better get from other places... Ever since I posted that link to the nude pictures of Sharon Stone on the beach, I've gotten about 10 hits per day from people who Google "Sharon Stone naked". I wonder how many hits I'll get for typing Jessica Alba nude?
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Top 5 - Catchers in Baseball
1. Victor Martinez Indians
2. Ivan Rodriguez Tigers
3. Jason Varitek Red Sox
4. Jorge Posada Yankees
5. Javy Lopez Orioles
Couple of things - I think Martinez has made the jump to the best catcher in baseball because he has progressed and I-Rod has lost just a step. Also I know all my picks were AL catchers but Piazza doesn't have the defense and Hernandez doesn't have the offense needed to crack the list.
1. Victor Martinez Indians
2. Ivan Rodriguez Tigers
3. Jason Varitek Red Sox
4. Jorge Posada Yankees
5. Javy Lopez Orioles
Couple of things - I think Martinez has made the jump to the best catcher in baseball because he has progressed and I-Rod has lost just a step. Also I know all my picks were AL catchers but Piazza doesn't have the defense and Hernandez doesn't have the offense needed to crack the list.
Top 5 - Best Shortstops in Baseball
1. Miguel Tejada Orioles
2. Nomar Garciaparra Cubs
3. Edgar Rentaria Red Sox
4. Derek Jeter Yankees
5. Michael Young Rangers
Watch out for Angel Berroa for the Royals this year. I think Berroa will overcome the obstacles that led to a sophmore jinx and return to his 2003 ROY level (or better).
1. Miguel Tejada Orioles
2. Nomar Garciaparra Cubs
3. Edgar Rentaria Red Sox
4. Derek Jeter Yankees
5. Michael Young Rangers
Watch out for Angel Berroa for the Royals this year. I think Berroa will overcome the obstacles that led to a sophmore jinx and return to his 2003 ROY level (or better).
Red Sox vs. Yankees
I've been meaning to do a Yankees vs. Red Sox comparison but Lyford beat me to it. He relies mostly on OPS+ which I don't think tells the whole story but Lyford makes up for it with some excellent observations.
When I compare line-ups in my head I give the Red Sox the edge at the following positions:
1st Base - Millar's edge in hitting just barely gives him the nod over Tino who is a much better glove. This one's so close that if you wanted to call it a tie - I wouldn't argue (much).
2nd Base - Tony Womack just ain't that great
Left Field - Matsui is very good but Manny will go down as one of the best right handed hitters in history
Centerfield - everyone is puzzled why the Yankees did not upgrade here. Bernie Williams is atrophying in front of our very eyes.
DH - Ortizzle
I give the Yankees the edge at the following positions:
3rd base - Mueller is good and an excellent value but A-Rod is the best 3rd baseman in baseball
Right field - I keep waiting for Sheffield to fall apart but until he does he has a big edge offensively over Trot Nixon
The following positions would be toss-ups:
Short - I know Yankee fans want to give this to Jeter hands-down but it is a tie (and if Renteria returns to 2003 form offensively - then it becomes another one in the Red Sox column)
Catcher - Jorge may hit a few more HR but Varitek makes up for that the way he handles the pitching staff
That gives the Red Sox a 5 to 2 edge (with 2 ties). This is why I don't understand the ESPN guys always going on about how great the Yankee line-up is.
Lyford makes some points which I would like to highlight:
More Lyford:
Lyford also compares the pitching for the two teams and that is also a subject I'll take a swing at later.
I've been meaning to do a Yankees vs. Red Sox comparison but Lyford beat me to it. He relies mostly on OPS+ which I don't think tells the whole story but Lyford makes up for it with some excellent observations.
When I compare line-ups in my head I give the Red Sox the edge at the following positions:
1st Base - Millar's edge in hitting just barely gives him the nod over Tino who is a much better glove. This one's so close that if you wanted to call it a tie - I wouldn't argue (much).
2nd Base - Tony Womack just ain't that great
Left Field - Matsui is very good but Manny will go down as one of the best right handed hitters in history
Centerfield - everyone is puzzled why the Yankees did not upgrade here. Bernie Williams is atrophying in front of our very eyes.
DH - Ortizzle
I give the Yankees the edge at the following positions:
3rd base - Mueller is good and an excellent value but A-Rod is the best 3rd baseman in baseball
Right field - I keep waiting for Sheffield to fall apart but until he does he has a big edge offensively over Trot Nixon
The following positions would be toss-ups:
Short - I know Yankee fans want to give this to Jeter hands-down but it is a tie (and if Renteria returns to 2003 form offensively - then it becomes another one in the Red Sox column)
Catcher - Jorge may hit a few more HR but Varitek makes up for that the way he handles the pitching staff
That gives the Red Sox a 5 to 2 edge (with 2 ties). This is why I don't understand the ESPN guys always going on about how great the Yankee line-up is.
Lyford makes some points which I would like to highlight:
Another thing is that the Yankee bench is really, really...uh, how to put it...well, it's not good. As I was looking at it, I was trying to figure out who was missing, but that appears to be it, according to all of the rosters that I was able to find. There's absolutely no offense on the bench, not much speed or defense or anything else. Ugh.Excellent point on the bench. Mirabelli and Youkillis are the best back-ups at their positions in baseball. Jay Payton could start for 75% of the teams in baseball and Vazquez looks so good that he might replace Bellhorn at 2nd. The Red Sox have a better bench hands down (advantage Epstein). The Yankees do have some old guys. What's their plan B if Bernie, Sheffield or Tino go down wth injuries? If I was a Yankee fan - I'd be concerned with this (I'd also be about 40 IQ points dumber but that's another story).
And neither of these teams is young. But the Yankees have got four starters that are 35+ to the Red Sox 0. When looking for potential reasons for problems, that jumps out at you.
More Lyford:
First base - Both of these teams are iffy at first base. Millar had an excellent second-half of the 2004 season, when it looked like he was done as a Major League hitter. Tino Martinez was never great, and still isn't.Yankee fans will definitely take issue with the Tino comment.
Bernie Williams used to be a great player. He isn't any more. One of the shocks of the off-season is that the Yankees, with their payroll, are going into 2005 with a 36-year old center fielder who can't throw, has no range, has been in a significant offensive decline, and has no plausible back-up. How much better would the Yankee bench look if Jay Payton were sitting in their dugout instead of Boston's?Like I said - advantage Epstein. Cashman may have megabucks to spend on the starters but one of the true tests of a GM is how they fill out the rest of the roster. Color me unimpressed with both the Yankee bench and their GM.
Both Varitek and Posada are reaching a stage when decline has got to be expected. With Doug Mirabelli, the Red Sox are certainly better poised to rest their catcher. Whether they will or not is, of course, another story.This is one of the reasons I would like to see Wakefield as the fifth starter instead of Arroyo. Every fifth day Mirabelli could rest Varitek and the team would not miss a beat and Varitek would be kept fresh.
How's the defense? Certainly, Martinez can still play first while Millar's probably below average. Bellhorn/Womack is probably a wash. Renteria's better than Jeter, his Gold Glove last year notwithstanding. Mueller and Rodriguez appear to be pretty close. Matsui's better than Ramirez, and Sheffield's probably a little better than Nixon. But the advantage for the Yankees at the two corner positions is dwarfed by the Sox advantage in CF. On the whole, neither of these is a great defensive team, with probably a slight advantage to Boston, with the Red Sox stronger up the middle.I wouldn't say that Mueller is close to A-Rod defensively. Mueller has more heart than anyone in baseball but he's no Gold Glover. I also would have reversed Sheffied and Nixon. I think Nixon's a much better defender than Sheffied and that defensive advantage for the Red Sox is even greater when Payton plays against lefties.
Lyford also compares the pitching for the two teams and that is also a subject I'll take a swing at later.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Top 5 - Best 1st Basemen in Baseball
1. Albert Pujols Cardinals
2. Todd Helton Rockies
3. Jim Thome Phillies
4. Mark Teixeira Rangers
5. Justin Morneau Twins
Note - David Ortiz and Travis Hafner are more DH's in my mind otherwise the list looks different. Richie Sexson was almost number 5 but he has to prove he's back from injury and even then he may not be better than the younger Morneau.
1. Albert Pujols Cardinals
2. Todd Helton Rockies
3. Jim Thome Phillies
4. Mark Teixeira Rangers
5. Justin Morneau Twins
Note - David Ortiz and Travis Hafner are more DH's in my mind otherwise the list looks different. Richie Sexson was almost number 5 but he has to prove he's back from injury and even then he may not be better than the younger Morneau.
Kim Traded to Colorado
Yesterday the Red Sox traded Byung Hyun Kim to the Rockies for catcher Charles Johnson and prospect Charles Narveson. This was a trade that was good for both sides.
The Red Sox were able to move Kim off their roster prior to opening day and thus allow the team to go into the season with the best possible 25-man roster possible (excluding injuries) and they also got a top prospect in return (rated by some as the #8 prospect in the Rockies' system).
The Rockies were going to have to eat the $9 million last year of Johnson's contract. Now for that money they get a pitcher who can start, relieve or close when healthy. The Rockies will now pay Kim's salary plus a reported $2.6 million of Johnson's contract (the Red Sox are responsible for the balance). They get more production for their money.
This is also a good trade for all the players involved.
Kim gets a fresh start in Colorado with much less pressure than what he faced in Boston. Johnson gets his freedom (he was immediately released by the Sox) and can now sign with whatever team he thinks gives him his best chance of playing. Narveson gets out of the Rockies system and no longer faces the pitcher's nightmare of playing home games at Coors Field.
Good trade all the way around but most likely a trade that will have little impact on the success or failure of either team.
Yesterday the Red Sox traded Byung Hyun Kim to the Rockies for catcher Charles Johnson and prospect Charles Narveson. This was a trade that was good for both sides.
The Red Sox were able to move Kim off their roster prior to opening day and thus allow the team to go into the season with the best possible 25-man roster possible (excluding injuries) and they also got a top prospect in return (rated by some as the #8 prospect in the Rockies' system).
The Rockies were going to have to eat the $9 million last year of Johnson's contract. Now for that money they get a pitcher who can start, relieve or close when healthy. The Rockies will now pay Kim's salary plus a reported $2.6 million of Johnson's contract (the Red Sox are responsible for the balance). They get more production for their money.
This is also a good trade for all the players involved.
Kim gets a fresh start in Colorado with much less pressure than what he faced in Boston. Johnson gets his freedom (he was immediately released by the Sox) and can now sign with whatever team he thinks gives him his best chance of playing. Narveson gets out of the Rockies system and no longer faces the pitcher's nightmare of playing home games at Coors Field.
Good trade all the way around but most likely a trade that will have little impact on the success or failure of either team.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
The Importance of a Single Vote
On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Sewards Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote.
Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.
On this date in 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia for the price of $7 million which worked out to about $.02 per acre. This purchase was known at the time as Sewards Folly after Secretary of State William Seward who arranged the purchase. Seward was also in charge of trying to get the Senate to ratify the treaty authorizing the purchase. The treaty was ratified on April 9th but it passed by a single vote.
Think of that. If one person changed their vote from yes to no - Alaska might not be part of the US today.
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