Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Bob Ryan states the obvious for all Celtics fans:

I remember someone telling me near the end of the regular season it would be a good idea to bring Sam Cassell back next year. I'm sure that person has reconsidered.

I too hope Cassell gets a ring in Boston but that he's showing it off elsewhere next season... Todd Helton hit another home run today. That's 6 for the season and his 2nd in as many days. For his career he has 309 which is much more than Don Mattingly but still fewer than Mo Vaughn. Todd Helton will be an interesting case for the Hall of Fame (interesting in the sense that it should be interesting to see how the writers react)... Good for you Bob Dole! The former Senator from Kansas goes off on Scott McClellan:

"In my nearly 36 years of public service I've known of a few like you," Dole writes, recounting his years representing Kansas in the House and Senate. "No doubt you will 'clean up' as the liberal anti-Bush press will promote your belated concerns with wild enthusiasm. When the money starts rolling in you should donate it to a worthy cause, something like, 'Biting The Hand That Fed Me.' Another thought is to weasel your way back into the White House if a Democrat is elected. That would provide a good set up for a second book deal in a few years"

Dole is spot on. I am amazed though that Democrats are still focused on Bush and not the upcoming election. That's a sure path to defeat in November. Guys like McClellan don't hurt McCain or help Obama but they do energize the Republican base as exhibited by Bob Dole's need to speak out on the subject... The Reds Jay Bruce is giving off a Freddy Lynn as a rookie vibe to me.

Free Agent Signings

OK - its far enough into the baseball season to figure out in most cases whether money was well spent on a free agent player or whether the money would have been better spent on ivory back scratchers. I'm only looking at players who changed teams - so don't be looking for A-Rod on either list. Also don't look for every player or any middle-relievers for that matter.

Money Well Spent:
- Aaron Boone - $1 mil / 1 YR Washington (5 HR and .529 SLG% in limited role)
- Milton Bradley - $5 mil / 1 YR Texas (.327 BA / 8 HR / 31 RBI / 0 tantrums)
- Sean Casey - $800,000 / 1 YR Boston (the mayor has been a good fit)
- Bartolo Colon - Minor League Deal Boston (no matter what else happens - his performance in his first 2 starts makes his signing perhaps the biggest bargain of the offseason)
- Mark Hendrickson - $1.5 mil / 1 YR Florida (off to a 7-2 start)
- Livan Hernandez - $5 mil / 1 YR (off to 6-2 start)
- Eric Hinske - Minor League Deal Tampa Bay (10 HR already - another huge bargain)
- Troy Percival - $8 mil / 2 YR Tampa Bay (great story - I hope his recent injury isn't anything serious)
- Aaron Rowand - $60 mil / 5 YR San Francisco (he's been great so far)

Wasted Bucks:
- Eric Gagne - $10 mil / 1 YR (suckity, suck, sucks)
- Jose Guillen - $36 mil / 3 YR (way overpaid - bad move and clubhouse distraction)
- LaTroy Hawkins - $3.75 mil / 1 YR Yankees (as a Red Sox fan all I can say is Ha Ha)
- Jason Jennings - $5 mil / 1 YR Houston (I could go 0-5 with an ERA of 8.56)
- Andruw Jones - $36 mil / 2 YR Dodgers (completely fallen off a cliff)
- Carlos Silva - $48 mil / 4 YR Seattle (for $12 mil a year your ERA should be under 5.00)
- Brad Wilkerson - $3 mil / 1 YR Seattle (already been cut from the team)

Jury Still Out:
- Mike Cameron - $7 mil / 1 YR Milwaukee
- Luis Castillo - $25 mil / 4 YR Mets (I didn't like the signing at the time and I don't like it now but I'm willing to give it a benefit of a doubt)
- Francisco Cordero - $46 mil / 4 YR Cincinatti
- David Eckstein - $4.5 mil / 1 YR Toronto
- Keith Foulke - $7 mil / 1 YR Oakland
- Pedro Feliz - $8.5 mil / 2 YR Philadelphia
- Torii Hunter - $90 mil / 5 YR Angels
- Kaz Matsui - $16.5 mil / 3 YR Houston

Online Poker Cheating

If you player online poker at UltimateBet or Absolute Poker - I'd suggest you stop and cash out your account. Read this post and you'll understand why.

I believe that it is important for online poker players to know about the unethical business practices of UltimateBet and Absolute Poker. It is also imperative to understand that these unscrupulous activities are not an indictment on the entire online poker industry. As you read this thread please keep in mind that UltimateBet and Absolute Poker are owned by the same company. They are also regulated by the same puppet regulatory commission. Most poker sites are run with the utmost integrity and security. UltimateBet and Absolute Poker are the exception and not the rule.

I urge the concerned reader to pass word of this summary on to other interested parties. The spread of this information will ultimately protect poker players from unknowingly exposing themselves to the corruption detailed below.

I've stopped playing online (mostly because I don't have the time) and stuff like this make it less likely that I'll be going back for a while.

HT Tao of Pauly

Obama vs. McCain and Santos vs. Vinick

Interesting post comparing the potential McCain vs. Obama match-up to the fictional election in the last season of The West Wing.

How’s this for a political plot: Good-looking congressman in his mid-40s, married with two young children, known for his inspirational speeches, comes from far behind to clinch the Democratic nomination and face an older, more experienced centrist Republican. If he wins, he’s America’s first non-Caucasian president.

That's the basic plotline that had Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) as the fictional Republican nominee and Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits) as the fictional Democratic nominee. It's also a pretty spot on description of the current state of affairs (except Obama is a Senator not a Congressman). The juxtaposition is very interesting to consider and I love anything that involves The West Wing but I see two problems with the comparison.

1. On the show it is Santos who is the fighter pilot with the military background. It was as if they wanted to model him as a young John McCain.

2. It literally took a nuclear meltdown for Vinick to lose on the show. I took issue with this at the time and I'm guessing that given Obama's propensity for verbal missteps - it will be the Democrat who has a figurative meltdown in real life.

I could see myself voting for Matthew Santos.

Barack Obama? Not so much.

New York Mets

Recently I took a look at what contracts will be coming off the books and what the needs will be for the 2009 New York Yankees. It is interesting to note that the New York Mets will also have a lot of money coming off the books and even more interesting - their needs for the 2009 season will be almost exactly the same as the Yankees.

Here's the contracts coming off the books after this season for the Mets:

- Carlos Delgado has a $16 million option or a $4 million buy-out. Hmmm - I wonder which they will choose? Because the Marlins are paying $4 million of Delgado's contract this year - the Mets will only be saving $8 million toward the 2009 payroll.
- Pedro Martinez is in the last year of his contract which will pay him $11 million this year. The Mets may get a deal done to bring him back but I'd guess that's 50/50 so I'm counting this money.
- Moises Alou his $8.5 million will be coming off the books.
- Orlando Hernandez his $6 million will be coming off the books.

That's $33.5 million trimmed off the payroll. That also leaves the Mets with a big hole at 1st base and a need for another top starter.

To fill their 1st base need - look for the Mets to make a major push for Mark Teixeira. I'm guessing that Teixeira will ignite a bidding war between the Yankees and Mets with the Braves acting as the hometown discount darkhorse.

The Mets will also probably make a play for CC Sabathia but unlike the Yankees the Mets already have an Ace in Johan Santana. So I don't expect CC Sabathia to be the top priority for the Mets. Especially since they could bring back Pedro Martinez and still have a rotation of Santana, Oliver Perez, John Maine, and Pedro plus a couple of youngsters.

The need for a starter is secondary. This emphasizes the need at 1st and points to the Mets getting involved in the bidding for Mark Teixeira in a big way. It should be interesting to see what New York team will over pay for Teixeira because overpay they will.

Heh Heh

In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University . On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Mbembe approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Mbembe worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.

The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Mbembe stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away. Mbembe never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Mbembe was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Mbembe and his son Tapu were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Mbembe, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Mbembe couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Mbembe summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Mbembe's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

HT Sports Frog

Mariners All-timers vs. Red Sox All-timers

I get a kick out of comparing the all-time list of different franchises. Here's a quick look at how the Seattle Mariners compare to the Boston Red Sox.

In terms of hitting - Edgar Martinez is the all-time leader for the Mariners in AB, R, H, 2B, RBI, TB, and BB.

If Martinez played for the Sox instead - he'd be 5th in AB, 5th in R, 5th in H, 3rd in 2B, 5th in RBI, 5th in TB and 4th in BB.

Junior Griffey is the all-time leader in HR with 398. That would be good for 3rd on the Red Sox all-time list behind Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski.

In terms of pitching - Jamie Moyer is the all-time leader for Seattle in wins with 145. That would be good for fourth for the Red Sox behind Cy Young (192), Roger Clemens (192) and Tim Wakefield (157 and counting). Randy Johnson has the club record for K's for the M's with 2162 - that would be behind only Roger Clemens' 2590 for Boston. Surprisingly - Mike Moore is the all-time leader for the Mariners in complete games with 56. That would be good for only a tie for 32nd place with the Red Sox. Cy Young had 275 complete games for the Red Sox.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull



I won't ruin it but I will say that this movie will go down as having one of the all-time worst endings of any major film in history. At least the endings of Blazing Saddles and Monty Python and the Holy Grail were trying to be funny.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

Brad Wilkerson had me fooled. I thought he'd be productive this year. Now he's hitting just .185 in 15 games for Toronto and now I'm thinking that there is probably at least one pitcher on the Blue Jays who could do better than that... There are 15 1st basemen in baseball who had a better OPS than Mark Teixeira going into the night's action, 18 who had more HR, and 8 who had more RBI but it will still be Teixeira who will cash in big at the end of the season... Ex-Red Sox outfielder David Murphy leads the AL in doubles with 19. Thanks Eric Gagne! (Then again - Murphy probably wouldn't have gotten a chance in Boston.)... Dan Uggla may be the most under-rated player in baseball... Only 3 of the top 21 HR hitters in baseball are from the American League so far this season. I wonder why that is?... Johan Santana had only 7 wild pitches all of last season. This year with the Mets he's already matched that number. I'm guessing that's just part of the problem he's running into in New York...

Dan Shaughnessy Can Stick It

Dan Shaughnessy had a maddening column yesterday that I am compelled to comment on. The column lamented that today's basketball stars are not as accessible as the players of days gone by.

Shaughnessy specifically was speaking about the Celtics teams of the 80's and how he and Bob Ryan were so close with the team. Shaughnessy then tells lots of interesting tales including one about Cedric Maxwell:

We knew that Cedric Maxwell would always have Dolph Schayes paged over the terminal intercom when the Celtics were waiting for baggage. Anywhere in America. Every trip. For years.

"Would Mr. Dolph Schayes please meet his party at carousel seven?"

One day in Salt Lake City, Dolph Schayes just happened to be at the airport and appeared at the carousel asking who was looking for him. Max loved that one.

That's a great story but here's the problem - I read the Boston Globe sports section religiously in the 1980's and I never saw Shaughnessy (or Ryan for that matter) bring up the Maxwell story or any of the other stories Chinless mentions. It would be one thing if the writers used to fill the readers in on anecdotes like the one above but if they were keeping them to themselves - for the reader what's the difference? Boo hoo - Shaughnessy and the other writers don't get access and don't get to be chummy with the players. My heart bleeds for him. But what is the difference to the readers if those stories never made the paper anyway?

World War I - the Forgotten War?

Betsy has an interesting post on World War I.

I was not aware that there is no World War I memorial in Washington, DC.

Mommy from Family Circus - RIP

The inspiration for the Mommy character in the Family Circus comic strip has passed away.

I would never have guessed that she was Australian.

HT Sports Frog

Memorial Day Reading

Here's an article from last year that's worth another read on this Memorial Day 2008.

Memorial Day Tribute - Wish You Were Here

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change? And did you exchange
a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl,
year after year,
running over the same old ground. What have we found?
The same old fears,
wish you were here.

Bush's Second Term Diplomacy

Very interesting article by Stephen Hayes at the Weekly Standard. The focus of the article is Condoleeza Rice and backroom diplomacy with the North Koreans but to me this was the crux of the story:

But that speech [Bush's second inaugural] is better understood in retrospect as a coda to his first term than a bridge to the current one. In the second term, those who have chosen to test America's resolve--the Iranians, the Syrians, the North Koreans--have often found it less than firm.

I understand that until Iraq is sorted out that the military's hands are basically tied but that doesn't mean I'm not uncomfortable with the kid gloves we are treating the Syrians, Iranians and North Koreans. Read the whole piece.

Golf Joke for a Sunday

The young man says, "An 8-iron, father. How about you?"

The priest says, "I'm going to hit a soft seven and pray."

The young man hits his 8-iron and puts the ball on the green.

The priest tops his 7-iron and dribbles the ball out a few yards.

The young man says, "I don't know about you father, but in my church when we pray, we keep our head down."

Athletes Who Served

Very interesting post by Josh Q. Public on athletes who served our country in the military. Of course Ted Williams is the centerpiece.

I was aware of most of the names on the list but I had no idea that Al Bumbry was a platoon leader in Vietnam.

HT The Big Lead

Golden Richards

Joel Reese's tale of his meeting with Golden Richards - a childhood idol of Reese's - is a very moving bit of writing. Well worth the time.

Presidential Geekiness

I was somewhat bothered by this post over at Good Morning Silicon Valley.

It seems like some people seek out reasons to take swipes at George Bush. Were people writing about Bill Clinton alienating the geek community? I mean the guy sent only 2 emails out the whole time he was President.

By the same token - will the folks over at the New York Times be praising Karl Rove as some sort of closet master geek?

Sheffield: Last time I saw you, you'd just gotten an iPhone. How's that working out for you?
Rove: I love it. My life has changed. I have a shred of coolness. I've got my 3,500 people in my addressbook on the phone, I can sync my calendar. I keep track of my modest little stock investments. I can check the weather of my house in Washington, my house in Florida, my boy at school, my hunt-lease in south Texas. I can surf the web, I'm just--I get part of my email there. I mean it is just shocking how much better, how much more productive I am. I no longer carry around a giant address book, if I don't have my calendar close at hand, I can quickly check it out of my-- I don't have to carry, I used to carry several notecards, now it's just as easy to scribble on my little notepad, I can take photographs and forward them on immediately, it's just remarkable.

Sheffield: All right. Well it sounds like Steve Jobs should call you up as a spokesman.
Rove: There we go, there we go. And not only that, I also have the Mac Book Air which is really cool. Even my wife is jealous of my MacBook Air.

Bill Simmons Podcast

Very engrossing conversation - it's too much a dialog to call it an interview - between Bill Simmons and Chuck Klosterman.

Good stuff.