Jan
05
Open Thread: A busy day
ByBaseball execs returned from their holiday vacations today, and did so with a bang. There was a lot of news and we had quite a bit of content today, so let’s review:
- Mark Teixeira‘s press conference is tomorrow at 1pm, and will be held in the Old Stadium. Between YES, MLB Network and ESPN’s family of networks, I’m sure this one will be on TV. One of us will liveblog it.
- Ben tackled the issue of parity in baseball.
- Pat the Bat joined the Rays for the bargain price of $16M over 2 years, and Milton Bradley agreed to a 3yr, $30M deal with the Cubbies. The Burrell signing is an outstanding one for Tampa, Bradley … not so much. I just can’t see how you can expect him to play the field every day for the next three years and remain healthy.
- Jason Giambi appears to be heading back to Oaktown. Giambi hit .260-.404-.521 with 207 homers during his seven years in pinstripes, and I will stand and applaud him when he returns to the Bronx as a visitor.
- Twins’ owner Carl Pohlad passed away.
- One time great Yankee Nick Green signed with the Sox. I’m sure everyone remembers “The Nick Green Game.”
- Ex-Yank Luis Vizcaino is on the verge of joining his sixth team in six seasons.
- December was the greatest month in RAB history.
Busy day, so talk about all of it here. The Fiesta Bowl (Ohio St. vs Texas) is on FOX at 8pm, and the Rangers will be taking on Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the Penguins at home tonight. Dave’s back from his vacation, so check out what a real hockey blogger looks like at Blueseat Blogs. You know the drill, anything goes, just play nice.
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Hook ‘em Horns!
I hate Ohio State and Texas.
I agree with that statement.
I really don’t have a favorite team. My school is mediocre at best, I’ll root for USC and Penn State, and a good friend of mine goes to U-Wisc so I root for those three teams. I need to man up and pick a favorite.
I grew up in Nebraska. I hated Nebraska with a passion. Miami constantly pounded the snot out of Nebraska, and all Nebraska fans hated Miami with a passion.
So, I love the U.
That’s why I like the Bulls. All my friends were Knicks fans growing up so watching Jordan crush them was always fun.
And for me, vice versa.
I’m a Knicks fan for three reasons:
1) NYC
2) Patrick Ewing (my family is Jamaican)
3) growing up in the midwest, everybody was a Bulls fan
I respect Jordan’s gangsta, but I hate the Bulls vehemently. (although not as much as I hate Chad Pennington, Tom Brady, and the FishPats.)
I lived in Nebraska for about 10 years (off and on). Where did you live? I was around Omaha. The other years (when I wasn’t chasing the bad guys) in NY.
South Lincoln, went to Lincoln High. Went up to Omaha every now and then (mainly to chase skirts).
When were you in Omaha? Did you see that Ernie Chambers finally left the legislature? They passed a term-limits law (specifically with him in mind…)
Went to High School in Omaha, back in the mid ’50s, never been back.
Was in Lincoln to train some of the Air Force special unit squads, back in the ’70s…I think (I lose track of years). never been back.
NY is one of the few places I always come back to.
School I went to plays in Division II. They have gone to 4 straight national championship games and lost each of them.
D-II is like women’s basketball. I know I should care… but I don’t.
At least we have a playoff. It’s good football too. Our school has made a lot of money from being so successful. Last 4 years they have been on natoinal t.v. 11 times. They did win 2 national championships the two years before I got there.
I bet they win too more when you leave. You’re a jinx.
Then again, UConn hasn’t won a tourney game since I transferred there. Fuck.
They have won more regular season games since I left.
Ouch.
UConn is always fast out of the gate then gets fuckin’ taken to the woodshed by West Virginia and it’s all downhill from there.
They have broken my heart a bunch. One time they had a drive to win the game, QB throws a perfect ball. Hits the WR in the chest, in the endzone with 10 seconds left. He drops it.
Ouch. That’s too bad.
i know that i may be greedy or perhaps just getting bored since the yanks havent added anyone to the team in a while.
it may be a crazy idea, but why not look into john smoltz. as i understand it he may have to miss time early in the season, but if they were to geet him on the cheap – who better to come in in june to help give the rotation some rest and to be their as a dependable big game starter should they neeed to fill in for an injured player?
both joba and hughes will be on inning limits and will need some to have there starts skipped periodically throughout the season. this is where a guy like smoltz can come in and start in place of either one on a rotating basis similar to what the redsox have done when breaking in lester and bucholz and helping dice-k adjust to pitching in america on less rest.
should the best case scenario unfold and joba has the season we all hope for cementng himself into the playoff rotation with the healthy arms of burnett, CC, and wang – who better equipped to make the adjustment to pitching out of the pen in the playoffs perhaps giving them the 1-2 punch everyone of the “joba to the pen” freaks seek.
throughout the season, there will be injuries and its best for post-season success to rest your pitchers when you can even burnett cc and wang. smoltz can give them a big time boost in that department and really help not only to get to the post-season, but win once there. while i still think highly of hughes and want him to be given the chance to pitch – having an insurance policy in what is a somewhat fragile staff – burnett injury history, wang missing a large part of last year and joba and phil not being physically able to make 35 starts next year
i really want that insurance policywho can pick up the slack and gve the yanks 20 quality starts. while i havent seen him pitch this offseason and have no inside information – from watching him early last season it looks as though he still has good stuff and we know he has great mental make-up and could come at a very affordable 1 year deal
I don’t think John Smoltz is a great option because of a) missing time and b) he’ll cost more than Andy Pettitte would, I’d imagine. It’s much more likely that Pettitte gets signed than the Yankees going out and getting some other pitcher on the market.
do you really think he would cost more than pettite? I was thinking that because of his missing time, coming off an injury and the seemingly lack of interest from other teams (even the braves told him to sign if he got an offer elsewhere) that he would come relatively cheap.
i would think that he is at least behind lowe, oliver perez, petitte, and even randy wolf on team’s wishlists.
Couldn’t agree more about Smoltz. It’d be a low-risk signing and the guy is an absolute bulldog.
i am a huge Smoltz fan, but he won’t even pitch until May.
it’s fairly likely that he doesn’t contribute much at all this year.
i don’t know if signing a huge question mark accomplishes what they need their 5th starter to.
but i’d probably love it if they did get him, even thought it’s just not that practical.
Also, I don’t see Smoltz pitching anywhere other than Atlanta or Detroit.
My Lord is Dmitri Kalinin terrible.
Can I declare war on Dmitri Kalinin?
Heh, I remember “the Nick Green game”. I remember my father and I having a little back-and-forth about ARod’s lack of clutch hitting as a Yankee during the time he was coming to the plate to hit that grand slam.
From earlier today
“Two weeks ago I noted that a lineup with Melky as the starting centerfielder would score about 5.774 runs per game, and with Gardner that would jump to 5.808 runs per game. If we assume Swisher plays center Tex takes Melky’s/Gardner’s spot in the lineup – giving you the best possible offensive lineup – the Yanks would average 6.072 runs per game, or ~984 runs over the course of a 162 game season. Wowza.”
OK, that’s the plus side. But is their some way of calculating how many extra runs we give give up with the sub-par Swisher in CF as opposed to the +defender Melky or the ++Gardner?
I would think the spread between the two would be at least 15-20 plays annually, giving Swisher a -10 and Gardner +6 for example. I would also think many of those plays would be doubles or triples, given the position he plays.
If 16 plays translates into 8 runs per year then that would be .2 runs per game right there. Which would make Gardner/Swisher a wash when you look at both sides of the game.
BTW-I’m just throwing out #s. If anyone knows a more precise way of doing this, I’d love to see it.
For what it’s worth, CHONE has Swisher at only -3 in center, Gardner at +5. Putting Swisher (or Damon, -2 projection in CF) in center wouldn’t be awful. Having Damon, Swisher, and Nady in some combo gets the Yankees the most runs for sure.
If 16 plays translates into 8 runs per year then that would be .2 runs per game right there.
8/162 = .049
what am i missing?
Mike, I think you forgot something in your list of the busy things going on today:
• tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside won the Inaugural RAB Fantasy Football League Championship, crushing numerous whiny little she-girls like SAMIAMSPORTS, Rafi, jsbrendog, Mike, and Joe in the process, and, today, he’s quite proud of it.
[ Fantasy Football Championship Bragging Rights Name Drop #15 of 1000 ]
(h/t to TSJC, who, by the way, won the Inaugural RAB Fantasy Football League Championship, in case you didn’t know, absolutely destroying Mike in the playoffs.)
[ Fantasy Football Championship Bragging Rights Name Drop #16 of 1000 ]
Yeah, that’s right. I just did a self-hat-tip name drop.
I’m committed. Like that pig.
Yeah, that’s right. I just did a self-hat-tip name drop.
Just when I thought you couldn’t get any dumber, you go and do something like this … AND TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!!!
Does anyone have a straw? TSJC really seems to be grasping for one here.
Oh suh-nap.
Does anyone have a straw? TSJC really seems to be grasping for one here.
Like how you and Mike were grasping for your broken pride and shattered manhoods after I destroyed you in the playoffs without even trying, just two more puny bugs on my winshield on the way to the Championship of the RAB Fantasy Football League that you knew was going to belong to me back in August?
Yeah, like that. You little effeminate scrubs. Bow before me.
[ Fantasy Football Championship Bragging Rights Name Drop #17 of 1000 ]
Well played sir, well played.
I give because I love.
Another big bowl game for Ohio State. Hopefully, they actually make the game competitive.
Don’t hold your breath.
winning big bowl games isn’t what the big 10 does
“winning big
bowlgames isn’t what the Big 10 does”Fixed.
“Twins’ owner Carl Pohlad passed away.” – I was skimming down and thought it said Carl Pavano passed away… whew… ridiculous.
Interesting that Bat is going to the Rays. Really difficult to look for a clear cut favorite in the AL East. I don’t even think it is bias to believe the three best teams in baseball are in the same division.
The post I wanted to write though was about the new MLB Network – I’m loving the Hotstove. I think I’m pretty much done with Gammons, ESPN and the BS crew. Perhaps I’ll tune in for March Madness but screw them for baseball which is petty much the main sport I follow.
I can’t watch espn any longer concerning any sport. They are so biased.
Dodgeball’s pretty good on The Ocho. Cotton and Pepper have a good vibe with each other.
The top of the Rays lineup is going to be sick.
Crawford
Upton
Pena
Burrell
Longoria
Goddamn.
The again:
Damon
Jeter
Tex
Rodriguez
ain’t too shabby either. =)
Yeah I know. It was a great move for them. Watching the playoffs last year, their lineup was pretty punchless after Pena-Longoria. Now with Burrell and Joyce, it adds that much length.
Upton
Crawford
Longoria
Pena
Burrell
Joyce
Navarro
Iwamura
Bartlett
Joyce was a great pick up; they totally fleeced Detroit on that deal.
Detroit has completely given up the farm for their players on their MLB roster.
Yeah, I wondered about Burrell away from that bandbox in Philly, but his career home/Away splits are remarkably consistent.
http://www.baseball-reference......038;year=c
He was actually a MUCH BETTER hitter away from CBP last year than at home. He should do well for them.
Isn’t Iwamura going to bat 1st? That’s usually where he was in their lineup if I remember it correctly.
Iwamura
Upton
Crawford
Longoria
Pena
Burrell
Joyce
Navarro
Bartlett
Is my guess of how it’ll be on opening day.
same happened here im like wtf, he didnt even sign yet
You know I usually enjoy watching/reading Buster Olney. Liked him when he covered the Yankees for the NY Times and really enjoyed his book about the Yankees (“The Last Night of the Yankees Dynasty”). But today he lost me. Apparently the signing of Pat Burrell gives the Rays the best offense in the AL East and makes them the favorite to win the AL East.
I mean it is a nice signing, but please. This is why my fave writer right now is Rob Neyer (from ESPN.com 2009 predictions):
THE EARLY FAVORITE IS …
New York Yankees
What if I told you that a team with unlimited financial resources won 89 games, and then acquired the world’s greatest pitcher and the American League’s greatest first baseman? Is that something you’d be interested in? I’m fairly sure it’s going to interest the oddsmakers. It has been so long since the Yankees have won a World Series that it’s now fashionable to look for reasons why they’ll continue not winning. It’s really not that complicated, though: The World Series favorite should be the best team in the American League, and right now that perfectly describes the New York Yankees.
– Rob Neyer
Lets break it down.
1. Damon vs Iwamura
2.Jeter vs Upton
3. Tex vs Pena
4.Arod vs Burrell
5.Matsui vs Longoria
6.Posada vs Crawford
7.Nady vs (Probably Griffey), TBD
8.Cano vs Navarro
9.Gardner vs Bartlett
-Damon has the clear edge over Iwamura
-I’ll take Upton over Jeter, the whole age thing is a huge factor and Upton has superior speed.
-VERY close comparrison, great defensive 1st basemen that can rake. Tie.
-Arod. nuff’ said.
Longoria, kid is amazing. Matsui is old and you don’t know what your getting out of him.
-Crawford, Posada probably wont replicate 2006, his best year.207 was a flop year with that shoulder.
-TBD.
-Cano over Navarro, close one as well but I like Cano’s bat(potentially)
-ehh Gardner is more talented but Bartlett had the results. Bartlett.
3 Yanks, 3 Rays, 2 tied. Could go either way. Rotation is another story. A healthy AJ and I think we are better.
shit forgot Joyce. Ill take Nady over Joyce but still too close to call.
not to be too confident but i think tex is better then pena
I agree. Pena’s a great player, but Tex is younger, hits for a higher avg and doesn’t have a platoon split.
pena’s not going to make one tenth of Tex’s salary, that means something too, but yes Tex is A LOT better
Here’s the thing though: in slots 2, 5, 6, 7, and arguably 1, the Rays player has his best years ahead of him.
Here’s thing #2: The Rays were incredibly lucky pitching-wise last year. That’s not likely to continue.
I wouldn’t say lucky, it’s more like they were healthy. I guess that qualifies as luck.
I don’t think they’ll win 97 games again, but they’re not going to revert back to the old D-rays.
I’m not saying they’ll drop back to the cellar. I am saying, I can’t in good conscience pick them in front of the Yankees.
1) NYY
2) TB
3) BOS
4) BAL
5) TOR
If that’s how it stacks up, there’s gonna be like…3-5 games separating first to third place.
bahston will finsih like 8 back, tb 4
Boston is my #2 candidate for “Biggest Disappointment of 2009″ behind the Angels.
They need big bouncebacks from Ellsbury and Buccholz way more than we need bouncebacks from Hughes and Kennedy.
And Ortiz/Lowell/Wakefield are the anti-Benjamin Buttons; Dice-K and Okajima will continue the standard slow downward slide of Japanese import pitchers; and Jason Bay will continue to not be Manny Ramirez for the forseeable future.
The story of the 2008 Yankees could look like a prequel to the story of the 2009 Red Sox.
I think Dice-K is following the same pattern that happened to Hideo Nomo. Getting bat shy, walking WAY too many guys. You can’t get away with that long term and be successful in the bigs. He was DAMN lucky to wiggle out of as many jams as he did last year, I don’t think he can keep that up.
Bobby Valentine said when he was signed that one of the biggest adjustments he would have is learning to deal with “the crack of the bat” in the US. Meaning that hitters are so much bigger and stronger that your mistakes will go a long way, and you just have to accept that. If you don’t accept it and get bat shy, you’ll be in worse trouble.
I think they were lucky, Mike. NOBODY could have predicted the years they would get out of Balfour and Howell. Throw in the phoenix that they had closing for them and the whole bullpen is pretty remarkable.
They did also enjoy good health throughout their roster last year, and that’s unlikely to happen again.
When you go to the World Series and the only two guys on the team to have career years were middle relievers, that’s a good thing.
there rotation will probably NOT stay healthy all year again.
how often does that happen 2 years in a row? that you get almost 155 starts from the same 5 starters?
i’d guess “never”.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they aren’t talented. But the long standing Achilles heel for the Rays was always their pen, and they had a remarkable turnaround last year. They didn’t score many runs last year, so any steps back in the pitching dept could be devastating.
Also, like most small market teams they lack the depth to withstand any major injuries. So I’m in the 1 year wonder camp on the Rays, and pick them for 3rd place this year.
But the long standing Achilles heel for the Rays was always their pen, and they had a remarkable turnaround last year. They didn’t score many runs last year, so any steps back in the pitching dept could be devastating.
Huh, maybe they should put David Price in the pen. Nah, forget I said that, that’s crazy.
Sincerely,
Two-Faced, Biased MSM
Tex>>>>Pena. Pena doesn’t have the track record of Tex yet is 2 years older. Pena was a monster in 2007 and fell back in 2008, more along the lines of his career norms.
Yeah, I mean please. Tex’s career OPS is .919 while Pena’s is .851.
The Rays were 9th in the AL in Runs Scored last year.
Someone’s going to have to explain to me why adding Pat Burrell will make them a top 5 team, as a healthy Yankee team will be.
I agree the Yanks are the team to beat, but disagree with Neyer’s reasoning.
-The difference between Tex and Giambi’s bat isn’t huge, certainly not worth the 6-8 wins you would have needed to make the playoffs last year.
-CC and Tex should approximate the 34 wins we got from Moose and Pettitte last year. That’s a wash.
I think there are 2 reasons why this team will be a big upgrade over last years edition.
1-Having a healthy Wang, Posada, Bruney and Matsui. Hopefully Hughes stays on the field as well.
2-Huge upgrades in fielding at 1B, RF, CF and hopefully 2B with a return to the 2007 Cano. Using their +/- numbers from last year, there is over 100 plays difference between the 2007 and 2008 Yankees at these 4 positions, plus Swisher replacing Betemit. Plus, we have a far better bench with Swisher>Betemit and a healthy Matsui to DH and PH.
and hopefully another 50 innings from Joba.
the Yankees should score more runs, given up fewer runs, and have improved (though no one is going to confuse them for the Rays) defense.
seems like a winning recipe for a team that won 89 games.
My Vs feed just crapped out. My TV is frozen with Whitney carrying the puck at the blue line with 19:04 left in the second.
I’m following the announcers though.
Huh, mine’s working fine. Regular and HD. Versus is terrible though.
What the hell. My image is stuck. This is really annoying.
And it’s back, 10 minutes without a video feed for hte game.
You didn’t miss much. Malkin & Sykora had a 2-on-0, but Malkin didn’t even look at Sykora and rushed a shot.
Prucha laid a nice hit on Crosby, but it wasn’t as great as the announcer made it sound.
Yea, this game is really slow today. I expected a little more offense.
Another PPG! What a shot by Mara, wow.
It’s not a coincidence. I write about how bad their PP is, and the next game they score 2 PPGs. I’m just that good.
Next I’ll write about how A-Rod can fix his clutch, how Joba can throw 220 innings, and how Mo can pitch forever.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2009 First Round Draft Pick of the Cincinnati Bengals… BEANIE WELLS!!!
I haven’t followed college football at all this year… who’s projected to go #1? (I know the bengals don’t have the pick, but I’m still asking)
Well, Detroit is a trainwreck. They could go anywhere, as they need everything except a WR (Calvin Johnson) or RB (Kevin Smith). I wouldn’t call any of the other 20 spots on their starting units as “not-upgrade-worthy”.
If they go QB (which makes sense), it’s either Sam Bradford (who I’d think is a mistake) or Matt Stafford (which makes sense). If they go OT, Andre Smith from Alabama would be the pick, he’s mammoth and good.
It’s probably one of those three, or trade down and stockpile picks.
What happened to Ernie Sims and Gosder Cherilus? Toast already?
Meh, okay, Sims is good. Cherilus looks thoroughly average, but I suppose there’s time…
They did get a ton of picks for Roy Williams, so that helps. Do they have any extra picks from the Shaun Rogers trade, or was that an ’08 pick(s)?
Two 1st rounders for the lions this year, they get a 3rd rounder for Rodgers
Yeah, that Williams trade was a steal. At least they did one thing right.
I love that trade for my boys. Roy is only 28, he is better than any 1st rounder we would have gotten.
Roy is only 28, he is better than any 1st rounder we would have gotten.
A) Roy Williams is mad overrated. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jeremy Maclin, Darrius Heyward-Bey, or some other low first round WR outperforming him in 2-3 years.
B) You didn’t give up a first for him, you have up a first, a third, and a sixth for him. By comparison, the Jets gave up a third and a 5th for Kris Jenkins. Kris Jenkins is an impact player in his prime. Roy Williams is merely an above average player in his prime. You overpaid dramatically.
Donald Brown. RB, UConn.
/dream
Keep dreaming.
Yeah, I’ll dream of how shitty our offense is gonna be when he leaves. Good thing I’m graduating in the spring so I don’t have to deal w/their shit.
In the spirit of name-dropping (which I’ve been doing a little of), Deon Anderson is my cousin-in-law…
My cousin played against Rocco Baldelli in American Legion ball in Rhode Island.
That’s my name drop for the night.
John Franco’s in-laws lived on the block I grew up on in Brooklyn.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos are my two fathers.
(I may have made that one up.)
I dunno, they do have the Cedric Benson renaissance in Cinci
Call me when he starts averaging over 4 yards a carry.
don’t wait by the phone
That Bronx Insider entry up in Lohud is a pretty decent read, especially when you read the blogger is 17. Check it out.
The pinch hit series makes the river av boys look better and better. They are as unreadable as the lohud comments section.
I’m doing one later in the month. Hopefully it doesn’t suck. I’ve gotta parse it down to 500 words, though. I’ve got it down to 522, I think.
Hopefully, half of them are insane gibberish and racist profanities.
Truth.
It’s one I’ve already written and posted but I need to cut it a bit. It has actual statistical analysis, though, so they may not like it over there.
tsjc, you should make a blog that is filled with exactly that.
That would be the 2nd best blog ever. We all know which one is first, the one with the best comments.
tsjc, you should make a blog that is filled with exactly that.
I did. It’s called “michellemalkin.com”…
http://www.instantrimshot.com
i would read it.
can’t do much worse than Sam I Am
His goal was to drive traffic to his site and make money.
It worked handsomely. It’s the paper-which-must-not-be-named approach to “journalism,” a term I use in its loosest sense.
unless he goes up there ranting and raving about how the yankee suck because they didnt sign jason giambi, and roger clemens, instead of tex and cc
Just delete every 24th word. That should get you down to about where you need to be.
See if you can mix in some secret code using the first letter of every other word designed to trigger any underground assassins left over from clandestine CIA brainwashing programs of the 60′s/70′s.
For fun.
Here’s my candidate for “Biggest Disappointment of 2009″
The LA Angels.
Look at their run differential from last year (+68). Barely above the Yankees, they appear to be a middle of the pack team but won a ton of 1 run games last year. That’s the definition of being lucky. Plus they lost their closer, lost Tex, and Vlad isn’t getting any younger.
88 wins next year.
… along with the A’s hanging around all summer long, eventually winning 85 games and just barely losing out on the west, and thousands of trees killed extolling the virtue of the awesome Billy Beane…
Agreed! Angels are in trouble after losing Teixeira and, don’t forget, Garret Anderson.
I think they’ll do just fine without K-Rod … they should still have excellent pitching overall, but their hitting took a big step back losing out on the Tex race – they needed him more than anyone else.
I love Vlad as a hitter, which is why I’m a bit nervous for him this year…he’s starting to decline.
Unless one of their young guys steps up BIG TIME, I think the AL West is a free for all.
Why the Angels won’t do 2/50 for Manny Ramirez is beyond me.
There’s no good reason not to.
You could say that about
-The Angels
-The Blue Jays
-The Giants
-The Dodgers
-The Marlins
For all of whom Manny could be the difference between making the playoffs or not.
Don’t forget The Mets.
After reading that more closely, Mets don’t apply I guess. They don’t need Manny to make the playoffs … but they’d still be a great fit and that team would fucking kick ass if he was on it. They’d be legit WS contenders.
Except for the fact that they suck, of course.
All true. But if I’m Manny, I don’t want to play in Toronto or Frisco or for the Mets (until they prove they’re not mental midgets), the Dodgers are playing hardball (rightly so) and won’t budge, and the Marlins are a pipedream.
The Angels are a perfect match: They already have great pitching and they have the playoff tickets pre-printed. Manny makes them a title contender again.
I know, they’re retarded. “But we signed Juan Rivera!!!!!” is just not a good enough reason. Manny would turn that lineup into something much more respectable… but then again, that applies to any team that has Ramirez in the lineup.
Holy mother of God, the (usually) fine folks over at nyyfans.com are wondering which middle of the rotation pitcher the Yanks can trade Juan Miranda for now that Tex has rendered him obsolete.
This does raise an interesting question though, what does become of Miranda now? Bench spot? I’m assuming unless he recently switched names and teams with Colby Rasmus he won’t be fetching much in the way of trade.
If you could trade draft picks in MLB, you could get a 10th rounder for Miranda.
just hold onto him, people get hurt, he’ll get a shot
What a pass by Prucha, 3-0 Rangers.
It’s amazing that a team with Crosby and Malkin can’t score.
Funny that Pryor went to OSU instead of Michigan, because he didn’t want to be labeled as a “system” QB, and then OSU is just going to play a version of the spread with him back there
If he didn’t want to be labeled as a “system” QB, he should have gone to Georgia, Cal, Iowa, etc… somewhere with a head coach with NFL experience that is married to a pro-style set.
But, no matter where he went, they were going to turn him into Vince Young 2.0.
It’s his skillset.
Sleeper team of 2009
The Toronto Blue Jays
I really should know better, because I think this every year and they never fail to disappoint me. But their pitching was SOOOO good last year, 1st in all of baseball in ERA by almost half a run. So even with the loss of AJ Burnett they should still be terrific. It appears they’re not going to spend any $$ this off season (what else is new) but I’m looking for bounce back years from Wells and a healthy return of Scott Rolen. Their 2008 run differential was that of a top team (#4 in baseball) yet they managed just 86 wins. If that’s not bad luck, I don’t know what is.
If they pick up Adam Dunn on the cheap, watch out.
Something tells me JP Ricciardi will not be adding Adam Dunn to his roster. MY sleeper team: Texas Rangers.
Ohhhh that’s right. Forgot that lil’ exchange they had. Good.
Texas can pitch?
No, but neither could Tampa before last year.
Can they trade Hamilton back to the Reds for Volquez?
Would the Reds make that trade? I think not.
No, they wouldn’t.
I like how Peter Gammons said Josh Hamilton was “The Story of 2009″…
… I guess he stopped reading halfway through the novel.
Mines is the Cle Indians.
Hottest 2nd half team in 08 that NOBODY knew about.
are we going AL only, if so I say A’s, NL: Giants, I still think they will get Manny, McCourt is cheap
Go wherever you want. I don’t run this place.
I’m with you on the Giants. If they sign Manny, they win that division. And if the A’s sign Giambi, they win that division, too.
Lost their #2 starter, and I believe a few of their younger pitchers will miss a least the beginning of the season if not all with surgery
McGowan and . . . . ? Someone I’m missing?
Marcum
Which means Halladay, Litsch, Purcey… then
Ricky Romero and they sign some veteran floating around to be their #5. I also expect good things out of Travis Snider.
well we could do them a favor and trade igawa for vernon wells, and alex rios
Blue Jays, meet the cellar. Cellar, Blue Jays.
You kids play nice.
I know, their lineup sucks. I get burned with picking them about every other year.
But that pitching staff is so good, plus BJ Ryan should be 100% next year. They don’t need to score many runs with that staff.
That pitching staff lost McGowan and Marcum for part of 2009, and Burnett for all of 2009.
The window is closing. And Baltimore will be better. That equals last place.
I think McGowan and Marcum might comeback in the middle or near the end of the season but still sucks for them.
I forgot about Marcum. They lost McGowan around mid-July last year, so they played half the season last year without him.
Err….no. This is the year everyone starts to realize that Vernon Wells is an albatross, and he’ll probably take away from the team whatever a peaking Alex Rios will add. They have almost no financial flexibility to make up for any weaknesses in their team. They also play 3rd of their season against 3 of the best teams in baseball – ouch. That part really sucks for them. In any other division, they’d be a major contender. In this one, they’re the 4th best team and on their way down.
At least they’ve got Travis Snider.
The River Avenue Blues Open Thread Topic: Sleeper Team of 2009 AL Central Division Edition.
I’m not gonna lie, I kinda like the Tribe. They had a great 2nd half except nobody gave a shit because they buried themselves so deep in the beginning and basically gave up on their season when they traded away CC. With V-Mart healthy, Hafner hopefully done with his steroid withdrawal (c’mon, you know its true), and Kerry Wood to anchor the bullpen, I like their chances. AL Central is wide open so why not?
That’s a damn good idea. We can run one for each division.
And I thought I was just being silly. I’d be really interested to hear what RAB’s take on each division is though. At the AL East won’t be a sleeper pick though, I would hope.
TSJC – How was growing up in Nebraska? When did you move to NY? You mentioned you got your Knicks fandom from hating the Bulls due to living in the midwest, what about Jets/Yanks? Have I asked enough questions? I’m Ron Burgundy?
Growing up in Nebraska, a liberal, Democratic black kid in one of the most conservative, Republican, whitest states in the country, was… interesting.
My parents are from the Bronx, moved to Lincoln to go to college at NU, and stayed. I grew my GARGANTUAN contrarian streak, love of debating, and abhorrence of small-mindedness butting heads with kids in the heartland who listen first, repeat second, and question never.
We visited the city constantly (as my extended family all still lives here). I moved here after high school (’95), moved back in ’98, and came back to the city fulltime in ’03.
Due to my dislike of Nebraska, I claimed NYC more and rooted for NYC teams due to that (and family ties). Always loved the Yanks, as the family as lived in the Stadium neighborhood since the 50′s; loved the Jets because I didn’t want to leap on the mid-80′s Giants bandwagon (and rooting for a doormat builds more character), and the Knicks are the Knicks… the Nets were never even on the radar.
You? What’s your story and fandom tale?
You were born in Neb? And your Blk? I thought you were hispanic.
Yes, yes, and who told you that lie?
Well maybe it’s gonna sound sterotypeing here but I saw the name Carlos and think well his spanish. My bad.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.....man_Rights
Just an homage, my friend, just an homage.
Interesting.
That’s cool.
besides, he calls yourself “tommiesmithjohncarlos” for a reason, you know
he calls himself*
Did you ever go to the College World Series? It’s the motherfreakin’ bomb.
I did. Numerous times. One of my favorite CWS stories: There’s a scout I’ve seen there, year after year, radar gun and all. Walked up to him one year and asked him who he worked for. He said, “The Yankees”.
He was the only scout there.
Did you eva watch Joba more closely than most fans.
Yeah. Met him once, cool dude. His father knows my parents, they sit next to each other at Nebraska baseball games.
That somehow makes you a cooler person than me in the Yankee Universe.
Admit it, the only thing you miss about Nebraska is Zesto’s.
Spaghetti Factory is the shiznit.
Good stuff. I’m always interested in hearing how people became fans of their teams. My story is much less interesting. Born in Queens, moved to LI when I was 3, so no real geographical ties there. My dad was a Yankee fan, so that was easy, and though he followed other sports, baseball was his number 1, so my other teams I just picked up on my own. I started watching (or listening) to the Knicks in ’92 when I was 7. I say listening b/c I didn’t have cable in my home until I was 13. That is no joke. So I listened to every single one of the 82 regular season games on the FAN, and unless the playoff games were on NBC, I had to listen to those too. As for football, I loved LT and Rodney Hampton, and just sort of became a Giant fan for no good reason other than that. I really have no animosity towards the Jets at all though, completely unlike the Mets. My uncle is a die-hard Jet fan, season-ticket holder, so most of the football games I went to growing up were Jet games. He tried long and hard to convert me to Gang Green, and I always rooted for them, but I really just didn’t care about them as much as the G-Men, so I stopped pretending.
I went to a December game during the 1-15 Kotite debacle. Glenn Foley and Neil O’Donnel like a muhfucka. Cold, too, so no redeeming qualities in that trip to the Jersey Swamp…
I was at the finale of that 1-15 season vs. the Dolphins. Probably the most miserable sports experience of my life.
Yeah, 1996 was pretty bleak (aside from the Yanks, of course)…
Don’t mean to barge in but, I went to school in the Omaha area as a teenager. Other then that (unless out of the country) I lived in NY. Oh yes, went to college in the big 10 (in the 50′s) conference.
TSJC, tell us more.
What schools did you go to, Ranger?
It’s nice that you found your way back to NY, I love everything about this state, except the damn TAXES!
I remember the Roller skating rink in Lincoln the most. I had some TDY duty at the AFB in Lincoln.
Does anyone know what network Teixeira’s press conference will be on (YES, ESPN, MLB Network)? I won’t be home and I want to record it. What network was the Sabathia-Burnett one on, because it will probably be the same one.
CC & AJ’s was on YES, I’m guess Tex’s will be as well.
thank you
I believe it was simulcast on YES and ESPN. If nothing else, it will be on YES.
Applewhite looks like a freshman
terrible throw, piss poor colt
Reading Moneyball has increased my already-respectable interest in statistics application. As a Halo player, I’ve been reading through a lot of stats from matches I played (i.e. lost) and been trying to find out what exactly indicates, for instance, a “good” player.
Any other Halo fans out there? Send me a friend request to ‘LordZymurgy’ (no apostrophes) and please check out my Halo blog, just click Yip-Yip.
Gears.
1 or 2?
Both. But the first one is better in my opinion. I haven’t really had the chance to play the second on-line as much as I would like.
Yeah, I was a big fan of #1 and #2 just seems like a rehashed, v1.5 cashcow to me. No real substantial changes at all, and just like Halo 1 – 2, a definite loss in quality for the sake of scale.
What I don’t like about the second one is the new weapons and such. I like the meat shield but not the actual shield. And the maps aren’t that great. But, I do like the addition of the new game modes though.
Sleeper Team in the NL?
Mines………..fuck it, the Florida Marlins.
Not a bad team, they can pitch. Good young rotation that’s finally healthy.
If they play every team in baseball the way they play the Mets in Sept, they can be pretty dangerous.
they can mash but its just too tought of a division for them to win
I could totally see that.
If Maybin can make the leap.
Sleepers:
AL West: A’s
AL Central: Indians
AL East: i don’t think Yanks, Sox, or Tb can qualify, Balt no, so Toronto by default
NL West: Colorado
NL Central: Reds
NL East: Marlins
I will defend & explain in what hopefully will be a RAB blog series coming up
AL West: A’s
AL Central: Indians
AL East: N/A
NL West: Giants
NL Central: Cardinals
NL East: Marlins
I agree with this.
This is one ugly game. Despise both teams, but I would like to see some GD offense.
Thankfully I am leaving in twenty minutes to get my ultimate frisbee on.
At least is is far better than the Sugar or Rose bowl at this point… and i pretty much found the Orange bowl uninspiring from when the match-up was announced.
I’m an USC fan, so I actually enjoyed the Rose Bowl.
I like USC, and more importantly very much dislike Penn State, so yes watch Penn State get killed in the 1st half was enjoyable, but it didn’t make it a good football game.
I also enjoyed the Sugar since I was in NO leading up to that game, and ‘Bama fans were being incredible dicks on the street, since they figured the game was a no brainer. It was nice seeing them get theirs.
Otherwise funny story in all the t-shirt shops in NO they printed that Utah was in the WAC, so Utes fans weren’t too happy.
Uh…Did you say yutes?
Yeah, two yutes.
What is a yute?
Oh, excuse me your honor, two YOUTHS.
Now Mrs. Riley….AND ONLY MRS. RILEY…
Are you mocking me with that attire?
GRITS!!!!!!!!!!!!
I still don’t like you Colt.
Neyer’s new blod post is funny check it out if you have he chance, but if you click the link they changed it already
Hah, JC Romero busted for steroids.
tisk tisk
Wait a minute, he’s never played in NY, and he uses steroids? Alert George Mitchell at once!! Let the record show JC Romero pitched for the Sox in 2007, forever tainting their title.
Per Gammons, “As he neared signing with the Yankees, Sabathia got a message from Red Sox GM Theo Epstein telling him how much Epstein respected him for putting aside free agency to try to bring Milwaukee a championship. Some look at what Sabathia has done the past two seasons — from Opening Day to the playoffs: 36 wins, 513 innings pitched, 69 starts — and worry about what that means to his long-term career. The Yankees look at him and see what they most need: the model of reliability.”
Why does this geriatric fool need to bring up the Red Sox in every freakin discussion!
this is the best:
6. CC Sabathia. Faced with the prospect of a $161 million contract, to go out and make one start after another on three days’ rest was an extreme outward sign of Pedroia’s motto: “It’s all about championships.”
Completely unnecessary
yeah i saw that too, was that an accident??
Speaking of geriatric fools bringing up the Red Sox in every discussion, did you know that I won the Inaugural RAB Fantasy Football League Championship?
I stood head and shoulders in greatness over the intellectually miniscule (and less physically attractive) Mike, Joe, Rafi, jsbrendog, and SAMIAMSPORTS, in much the same way that Robinson “Boobie” Cano stands heads and shoulders over Dustin “Faustino” Pedroia.
It was a laughingstock. There was no Average Joes capable of defeating the GloboGym Purple Cobras this time, I won handily.
[ Fantasy Football Championship Bragging Rights Name Drop #18 of 1000 ]
NO WAY
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01.....ref=sports