Heh Heh



A photo too good not to share.

HT Sports Frog

Offer to Manny

Scott Boras does have at least 2 offers on the table for the services of Manny Ramirez. The Dodgers have offered a 2-year $45 million contract and now Boras has a second offer.

The problem with the second offer is that the GM should have made it a 3-year deal so that Boras could honestly say that he has a 3-year deal on the table instead of making up fictitious offers from non-existent teams.

Super Bowl Bets

OK - here's my plan for the Super Bowl. Let me know what you think. I appreciate the input.

I plan to make the following bets:

Tease Steelers plus over (Steelers -1 and 40.5 over)
Tease Steelers plus under (Steelers -1 and 52.5 under)
Tease Cards plus over (Cards +13 and 40.5 over)
Tease Cards plus under (Cards +13 and 52.5 under)

Cards moneyline +$210

I think it will be a close game and by doing those teases it creates a 12 point window where the Steelers can win by 2 to 12 points and the total score can fall between 41 and 52 points. If the final score falls within those windows - then I win all four teaser bets. I want to point out that this strategy worked two years ago when the Colts played the Bears.

You are guaranteed to win at least one of the four bets and half the time you win two (making it basically a no bet - just juice). Taking the Cardinals and the moneyline is insurance to basically eliminate the risk involved with an Arizona victory.

I also plan to take heads in the coin toss and take Kurt Warner (-24 yards) to have more passing yards than Big Ben.

Einstein in High School

I'm reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Albert Einstein - Einstein: His Life and Universe. One fact popped out at me and made me laugh.

When Einstein graduated from our equivalent of high school - he finished second in his class. The name of the person who was valedictorian is lost to history but I couldn't help but think of someone back then saying something like, "Yeah Einstein was pretty smart in high school but you should have seen this other guy!"

Joe Stummer: The Future is Unwritten

I was blown away by the Joe Strummer documentary on The Sundance Channel. Blown away.

Here's a review I found on the documentary:

But that's not what Temple ends up with. The Future Is Unwritten is less a eulogy than a wake, and one in which the subject is startlingly present. Strummer started revising his epitaph in the mid-'80s, after his success began to feel like a cosmic joke: He wanted no part of singing "Career Opportunities" to a sold-out stadium, or watching as U.S. bombs labeled "Rock the Casbah" rained on the Middle East. He's shown here in later years, mellow and heavier, presiding over a different kind of tribal bonding: a campfire ritual at the Glastonbury fest that served as a meeting ground for kindred spirits, much as punk first mustered its ragtag army of squatters and misfits.

Now I'll have this song stuck in my head all day (if I'm lucky).

Warren Zevon

Warren Zevon would have been 62 years old today. In his honor - here's The Wallflowers and Zevon's son Jordan doing a tribute version of Lawyers, Guns and Money

Team Snapshot - Los Angeles Dodgers

When the Dodgers eventually sign Manny Ramirez - they still won't be a team built to win the NL West. The pitching is too thin and too inexperienced. Ned Colleti is a bad GM and under him the farm system has become depleted.

C - Russell Martin is one of the top offensive catchers in baseball and is backed up by one of the worst offensive catchers in baseball - Brad Ausmus.

1st - James Loney is a 30 HR guy. Too bad that's a career mark (32 career HR) - not a potential for him to hit for a season. Loney for all the hype is a just a young Sean Casey.

2nd - Blake DeWitt is the starter but I'd almost prefer his back-up - Mark Loretta.

SS - I like Rafael Furcal but if we are honest with ourselves then you have to admit that he parlayed a small sample size 36 games of hitting .357 into a 3-year $30 million contract. Furcal has been in the bigs since 2000 and has never had a full season batting over .300. I think you are looking at a .285 season out of Furcal - that is if he can stay healthy.

3rd - If the Dodgers don't sign Manny Ramirez - then Casey Blake is probably the likely leader in HR for this team. Let that sink in and then think about the chances of the Dodgers offense leading the team to the NL West title. This fact alone is why I'm sure Manny will eventually sign with the Dodgers.

LF - OK - here's how I see this playing out. The Dodgers sign Manny to a 3-year $75 million contract and then they trade Juan Pierre to the Yankees for flotsam and jetsam to save on Pierre's $8 million contract.

CF - Matt Kemp budding star.

RF - Andre Ethier is my favorite Dodger because I play poker with his second cousin. Ethier could be a real sleeper in many fantasy baseball leagues.

Starters - The Dodgers season in large part rests on the shoulders of 25-year old Chad Billingsley and 21-year old Clayton Kershaw. If one or both of these guys don't have stellar seasons - then the Dodgers could be sunk. Can you imagine how intimidating the Dodgers young rotation could have been if they managed to sign David Price out of high school when they drafted him in 2004? The Dodgers still haven't answer the major question of how they will replace Derek Lowe's 200 plus innings. Are they counting on Jason Schmidt to bounce back from his shoulder problems? Ned Colleti is a lousy GM.

Bullpen - Does closer Jonathan Broxton really weigh over 300 pounds?

Billy Jack Redux?

This is ironic. The Kennedy's have tried to stop a wind farm on Nantucket but Joe Kennedy II is trying to seize control of a wind farm project in Arizona headed by a group of Navajo Indians.

I have to disagree with Moe Lane that the situation seems like a plot out of Magnum PI or the A-Team. This is clearly a great set-up for a 2009 version of Billy Jack.

Instead of a freedom school for runaways - you have today's social cause du jure - wind farms. The main antagonist in the original movie is the rich son of the local political patriarch - not much needs to be changed there. The original Billy Jack also took place in Arizona. This is perfect! The thing I would suggest though is not to play it as a drama - play it up as a comedy. The real life situation is farce enough but the satire could be pure gold. The big questions would be which actors would you get to play Billy Jack and who would play Joe Kennedy II?

HT Instapundit

Top 5 - Songs with the Word Run or Running in the Title

1. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen

2. Running Down a Dream - Tom Petty

3. Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd

4. Running on Empty - Jackson Browne

5. Running to Stand Still - U2

Honorable mention:

Running with the Devil - Van Halen
Run Through the Jungle - Credence Clearwater
Running Up that Hill - Kate Bush
Run with the Pack - Bad Company

And a blast from the past:

Keep on Running - Spencer Davis Group

Sad But True



Victor Davis Hanson hits the nail on the head.

The point? I distilled from the press coverage and the crowds and the punditry yesterday that for all too many suddenly a vote for Obama redeems America. Now, to paraphrase Michelle Obama, for the first time in their lives they are apparently proud of the United States. (Had we not had the financial meltdown in mid-September, and had Obama stayed three points back in the polls, would millions have stayed soured on America and now in sullen silence licked their wounds?).

The Inaugural

I'll admit that I did not watch President Obama's speech. I wasn't caught up in the moment. My wife went over a friends house and a bunch of ladies watched the speech together. My kids got to watch the speech at school. Me? I saw that Bravo had a West Wing marathon on all day and I watched that.

Yup - I watched a fake President instead of watching history unfold. I was fine with that.

I do have two observations though.

1. Every time I went out and turned on the radio in the car it seemed like I heard U2's Beautiful Day. The DJ's seemed to be making a political statement.

2. I had a Bible quote stuck in my head all day. It was 1 Samuel 8:18:

"Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day."

Don't get me wrong. I wasn't thinking that God is going to punish America because we chose Obama as President. I was applying the quote to the Left Wing Netroots people who I think will be sorely disappointed at Obama who is already moving squarely to the center. There will be gnashing of teeth on the far left during the Obama Presidency.

Harry Potter's Recipe for Courage and Success

I like to take away wisdom or at least a better understanding of history from the books I read. That doesn't mean that I only read philosophy or history books. Take the Harry Potter series of books. Here's just something I took away from the books - Harry Potter's recipe for courage and success - you can apply it to business or your personal life:

1. Prepare for the challenge
2. Surround yourself with support
3. Engage in positive self-talk
4. Focus on what is at stake
5. Take appropriate action

Team Snapshot - Oakland A's

I think it's going to be a tough year to be an A's fan this year. This could be the first year since 1998 that the A's finish in the cellar of the NL West. The bloom seems to be off the rose for Billy Beane and I wonder if others are getting tired of the smug Beane. Maybe he should write another book?

C - Kurt Suzuki hits for average with little power (just 7 HR last season). That seems to be the modus operendi of Oakland catchers but the 7 HR actually represents a huge power upgrade over former Oakland backstop Jason Kendall who hit just 3 HR during the 373 games he played for the A's.

1st - Daric Barton is listed as the starter but if Barton's bat goes quiet the first few months of the season he could easily be replaced on the field by Jason Giambi or another option. Seeing how Baseball-reference.com lists the most similar batter through age 22 as Wally Pipp - the A's may want to take a gamble on his replacement.

2nd - Mark Ellis is the starter at 2nd for the A's - that is until he gets hurt again.

SS - The curious case of Bobby Crosby. He was placed on waivers by the A's back in December but nobody claimed him because of his $5 million plus salary. The A's tried signing Rafael Furcal but that fell through. Now they are rumored to be interested in Orlando Cabrera. My guess is that Crosby starts the season as the shortstop and I wouldn't be surprised for him to have a career season (he's a free agent at the end of the year).

3rd - Eric Chavez is the starter until he gets hurt again. This guy makes Mark Ellis look like Cal Ripken.

LF - The A's acquired Matt Holiday this offseason and I truly think Holiday will be a bust. I expect him to struggle. His HR numbers will be down and then Holiday will start to press to try and hit HR. This will harm him and make it necessary for the A's to trade him back to the NL. Avoid Matt Holiday in any fantasy baseball drafts. So let it be written - so let it be done.

CF - This is a big question mark. Ryan Sweeney will probably be the starter but he could be just a replacement level player. If I were the A's GM I'd try to make one of two moves - I'd first try to pry Cody Ross from the Marlins or if that didn't work - I'd sign Jim Edmonds to a one year deal. Edmonds would be short money and maybe he could coach some of the younger guys.

RF - Jack Cust - he of the three outcomes - is slated as the starter. My guess is that at some point Jason Giambi is moved to 1st from DH and Cust becomes the DH. That will create an opening for someone like Matt Murton or Travis Buck or someone else.

DH - Jason Giambi

Starters - Justin Duchscherer has a career 3.14 ERA but has never pitched more than 141 innings (and at 31-years old - he's not exactly a prospect). The rest of the rotation is made up of guys who have never been in my kitchen.

Bullpen - The big drama with the A's is who between Brad Ziegler and Joey Devine will win the closer's role? Or will they share it? Joey Devine could be a good sleeper in the late rounds for you fantasy baseball players.

Top 5 - Popular TV Shows that I Have Never Watched

Some shows are unbelievably popular and many people rush home to watch them. I've never been able to get into those shows. Here are 5 popular TV shows which I've never watched even a single episode of.

1. 24 (Nope not a single episode)
2. American Idol (I don't watch ice skating either)
3. Lost (and now they are going back to the island? I don't get it - they should change the name of the show to Reverse Gilligan)
4. Prison Break (shouldn't this show have ended once - you know - they broke out of prison?)
5. Boston Legal (with the word Boston in the title you'd think I'd watch at least once but no)

Origin of the Poolroom

Back in the day before state run lotteries - local bookies would run numbers games and these tickets for the "pool" were often sold in a "poolroom". The numbers would be drawn once or twice a day and in order to fill the time between drawings - the operators at many locations put in billiards tables. Billiards was changed or Americanized by adding pockets and creating the game pocket billiards which we now know simply as pool.

Thought for the Day

An economist is a fellow who knows 101 ways to make love but doesn't have a girl. - Dr. William C. Freund

Gruden Fired

Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden and GM Bruce Allen have been fired. This leads to three immediate questions.

1. Why was Gruden fired? I think it was a combination of things. Gruden was supposed to be an offensive genius but the offense in Tampa Bay has not really done anything under his leadership. The argument can be made that Gruden did what he could with the players he was given which is why Bruce Allen also got the axe. I can't help but think that Brian Billick was also supposed to be an offensive genius when he took the Baltimore job after leading Minnesota to huge points totals as offensive coordinator. Like Billick - Gruden's success was due more to a suffocating defense than anything the "genius" did with the offense. Like Billick - Gruden won a Super Bowl but then his act grew tiresome. Both were fired 7 seasons after winning the ultimate prize. Billick was 60-52 after winning the Super Bowl for the Ravens while Gruden was 45-51 after beating Oakland in the Super Bowl. With Monte Kiffin the leader of the Bucs defense moving on to coach with his son at Tennessee - it was time for a change.

2. Where will Gruden coach next? Brian Billick still hasn't gotten a job since being let go by Baltimore. I wonder if the same fate is in store for Gruden? Gruden has a couple more years on his contract so it would make sense for him to hang loose for a while and maybe sit out a year as a TV analyst (his Chucky shtick should be amusing for 15 minutes or so). Gruden's name will be attached to any current opening and also to many major college openings starting next season. Personally - I'm not sold on Gruden as a coach. He seem to generate more light than heat.

3. Who will replace Gruden? My guess is Bill Cowher. It is said that Cowher's big issue with the Jets job was not being able to name his own GM / personnel director to work with. With Bruce Allen out of the way - the GM job is open.

Team Snapshot - San Francisco Giants

Last season the Giants were 72-90 and this offseason the Giants have been quietly busy trying to improve on that. They added Randy Johnson to bolster the starting rotation, Jeremy Affeldt and Bobby Howry to bolster the bullpen and Edgar Renteria to bolster their standing among Colombian fans I guess.

C - Begie Molina is pretty solid behind the plate. Not the most flashy of players but solid.

1st - Travis Ishikawa is the starter as of now and he could be good, very good or simply replacement level. The Giants will roll the dice on a couple of young players and 1st base seems like one of the spots they will gamble on.

2nd - The Giants will be looking at a youngster at 2nd as well. It could be 26-year old Kevin Frandsen, 26-year old Eugenio Velez or 23-year old Emmanuel Burriss. None of these guys excite me. It wouldn't surprise me if all three are out of baseball in 5 years.

SS - The Giants added Edgar Renteria as a free agent. I'm not a fan of this move. Will anyone be surprised if Renteria's skills completely fall off a cliff this season? If it happens in San Francisco will anyone actually notice? Another reason to dislike the move is because it unceremoniously shunts Omar Vizquel into retirement and Vizquel deserved better than that.

3rd - Going with another prospect it looks like 22-year old Pablo Sandoval will open the season as the starting 3rd baseman.

LF - Fred Lewis looks like he'll be the starter and at 28-years old he's one of the older players we've discussed so far.

CF - The over-paid but always hustling Aaron Rowand is the starter. The never-have-to-ever-pay-for-a-beer-in-Boston Dave Roberts is the back-up.

RF - Randy Winn lead the Giants last year among positional players in Win Shares. He had 22. For the Giants to be successful in 2009 - Winn will need to duplicate that number (very possible since this is Winn's free agency year) but be 3rd or 4th on the team with that same number.

Starting Pitching - This is the key to the teams success. Tim Lincecum has to be Tim Lincecum and produce another Cy Young worthy season. He's followed in the rotation by youngster Matt Cain, oldster Randy Johnson and hipster Barry Zito. That's 6 Cy Young Awards total among those 4 starters. Add in a healthy Noah Lowry and you potentially have a pretty imposing starting rotation.

Bullpen - Brian Wilson had 41 saves last year but he also had a 4.62 ERA. The Giants will probably be involved in a lot of low scoring, close games (because their starting pitching is good but the offense is weak) and the bullpen is an obvious key to their success. To bolster the pullpen the Giants have added Jeremy Affeldt and Bobby Howry.

The NL West could be wide open this season. The three keys for the Giants (in order of importance) are:

1. Starting pitching. They need to get strong seasons from their starters and they need for the starters to remain healthy. If healthy then the starting pitching alone gives them hope.

2. They need for some of the "kids" to be successful. Whether it be 1st, 2nd, 3rd or LF - they need at least two players to emerge as well above average for them to contend for the NL West.

3. They need the bullpen to keep them in games and they need Brian Wilson to emerge as a true closer.

I really can't see any free agent that could substantially alter the team but having said that the team may need to sign just one more free agent to give them flexibility because the Giants really don't have the farm team depth to make a good trade mid-season. Then again - chances are much higher that they will be sellers and not buyers come the All-Star game so maybe they should just save the money and see how the kids perform.

The Yankees and Public Funds

There is a hub-bub about the Yankees using public funds to fund the new Yankee Stadium. This recap shows that the Yankees aren't really taking anything away from the city and that it is the city that is really benefiting from the new stadium. That doesn't stop certain elected officials from trying to make this into an issue.

When I read things like this about the new Yankee Stadium and about "public" servants like NYC Comptroller William Thompson Jr. - I can't help but remember that Frank Farrell and William Devery were the first owners of the New York Highlanders which is now the New York Yankees. Farrell and Devery were at one point "public servants" who got rich in part off the graft they made from those duties (Tammany Hall and the NYPD).

Sometimes I wonder if in the past 100-years if we haven't gone from public servants who were much more corrupt but capable to public servants who are less openly corrupt but much more incompetent.

Jim Rice and Andre Dawson - Poster Children for the Clean Player

Nick Cafardo opens today's column with the following:

NEW YORK - Poster child for the clean player?

That's precisely what Jim Rice's legacy might be.

While I agree with the sentiment - I think Jim Rice will be the just the first poster child. The next will be Andre Dawson of whom Ryne Sandberg went out of his way to say the following during Sandberg's own induction speech:

Andre Dawson, the Hawk. No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson. He's the best I've ever seen. Stand up Hawk. The Hawk. I watched him win MVP for a last place team in 1987 and it was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen in baseball. He did it the right way, the natural way and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here someday.

Emphasis mine. Jim Rice and Andre Dawson the poster children for "the natural way."

Mark McGwire got the numbers and he also got paid over $74 million during his career. Steroids helped McGwire get his numbers but being clean helped Jim Rice earn the Hall of Fame. Same will be true for Andre Dawson.