Nov
29
Open Thread: The Big 4-0
By
Don’t sweat it Mo, they say 40 is the new 20. Happy Birthday.
Here’s your open thread for the night. The Steelers and Ravens are your late game, plus the Knicks are at home against the Magic while The Quest For 0-82 continues in LA against the Lakers. Talk about whatever you want, just be cool.
Photo Credit: Mario Tama, Getty Images
156 Comments»
RAB Info
The Founders
Mike Axisa, Ben Kabak, Joe Pawlikowski
Editor-In-Chief
Mike Axisa Archives | Email
Managing Editors
Ben Kabak Archives | E-mail
Joe Pawlikowski Archives | E-mail
Contributing Editors
Larry Koestler (Archives)
Moshe Mandel (Archives)
Stephen Rhoads (Archives)
Weekend Writers
Hannah Ehrlich (Archives)
Matthew Warden (Archives)
Special Contributor
J.R. O'Grady (Archives)
Technical Consultant
Jay Gordon
Subscribe to RAB by RSS and Twitter
Follow @RiverAveBlues Search RAB
Banner Design By
The Mason Williams Watch
So the knicks dont sign iverson in order to not hurt the development of the young guys, who are getting their development hurt by not seeing the court.
Makes perfect sense.
You gotta feel bad for Jay Cutler. He has gotten very unlucky this year while also playing poorly.
Happy Birthday to The Greatest.
When exactly do pitchers and catchers have to report?
Well Melmas is December 28. That is celebrated between 10-15 days, depending on the position of the moon, then there is a 40 day “lint” period, the pitchers and catchers report. It’s simple. Make sure you mark it down in your blackberry.
I had something to say earlier today that I was going to post in the open thread. But now I completely forgot it. I hate my memory.
don’t do drugs, kids!
“Don’t sweat it Mo, they say 40 is new 20.”
Don’t you mean “the new 20″?
No.
I was right! But good job, Mike. Keep keeping me on my toes. I’ll be watching.
Ok, I may sound dumb here but…What’s the point of Google Wave? I see what it does but I still don’t understand it well.
Never heard of it until now. Looks fancy. Not just if its an application meant for the masses.
Collaborations that require work with files. That’s about the best I can do.
Yea, I guess that’s good. I really needed that a week ago for finals and group research papers and wanted to use it(but didn’t have an invite yet). It’s pretty useful for college students.
Is that it?
Have you ever had a lengthy email thread that starts branching off into multiple conversations among different subgroups of people, so it gets hard to keep track of what’s going on? An IM conversation that kinda breaks into two threads, so you have to keep quoting stuff to provide context for the comment you’re making now? Been added to a thread halfway through and tried to figure out who said which things about what?
It’s for all kinds of collaborative communication, from docs to stuff like the above.
Disclaimer: am a Googler, and have drunk the koolaid.
No I dont think I’ve gotten an email like that yet but I’m already convinced on GW. I’ll use it if I need to do a group project or something.
It’s not a coincidence that Mo’s birthday is a day after that of teh Jesús, right?
There are no coincidences. It’s all mapped out.
3 WTF pics:
http://media.peopleofwalmart.c.....11/573.jpg
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/i.....est600.jpg
http://13.media.tumblr.com/tum.....o1_500.jpg
All three are great. I particularly like #2.
Pic #1 : My mother has that beat twofold, sadly.
nice picture of the elbow scar
Wow, yeah it is. Didn’t even notice it. Nice catch.
It’s a fake to make him appear human and not a living god.
IETC
Giving Favre pass protection should be illegal. I was really tired of on again off again but you have to admit the guy is still ridiculously good.
I finally got around to seeing Sugar this weekend. It was most definitely not what I expected and ended somewhat-strangely, but I still think it was a well made movie. Regardless of all that, though, it definitely helped me brush up on my Spanish.
What the hell is Sugar? Is it like a visual production of those riveting conversations between Carlos y Maria I read in Spanish class for a few years?
Carlos: I like the library.
Maria: Yes, there are many books in the library.
Carlos: What kind of books are there?
Maria: Books about everything! Sports, romance, mystery!
Carlos: Dios mios!
Me:: head meets desk.
http://tinyurl.com/czqpyr
Pumping the breaks and making a left turn, but has anyone seen “Hot Rod”? I love that movie.
Two things
1) How the hell are the Jets still alive for the WC?
2) Who the hell is coaching the Nets tonight?
1) By the grace of Mo Himself.
2) Mo.
Mo is a Nets fan? o_O;;
Ain’t that like saying Jesus likes the Raiders?
He’s doing it just to prove He can do it.
Fair enough
They need a promotion. Buy season tix and you get to coach the Nets for one night. They can probably fill in about 50-60 spots like that. For the other nights, I dont know.
/Eddie’d
Can I try it?
Sure, anyone who wants to can.
I got this bad boy at Modell’s today:
http://tinyurl.com/yh2655o
I’m usually not one for much championship merchandise–especially one like that that could be outdated with another WS win–but this year meant a whole fuck of a lot to me as a Yankee fan, so I had to indulge.
Nice. Yea, that’s why I’m gonna buy me a hoodie. I was going to buy this:
http://shop.mlb.com/product/in.....39.3891463
But now I’m having second thoughts. It seems like they didn’t do it right. Should I get it.
I’d go with this:
http://shop.mlb.com/product/in.....39.3891463
Yea, that’s my choice #2. I wanted a blue hoodie but I want a championship hoodie more so I’m probably gonna get that one.
I went with the blue Parade hoodie and the grey Clubhouse t-shirt.
Hmmm, that could work. Do you like that hoodie? I want it but like I said above, it seems kinda messed and I dont like the logo being covered a bit.
I would have preferred the NY logo be unobstructed, but I can live with it. I love the overall design. I also prefer the blue for a hoodie over the light gray.
That’s why I want it too (overall design and I also prefer blue). Now I’m undecided again between the gray and blue ones. Damn.
I just got a giant ass WS Champions flag from the person I took to game 2 of the ALDS.
Pity I’m gtyna move, I’d love to hang it up.
Do you guys think it’s the media being idiots or do the Jays really think they’re going to get someone to give up 2 elite prospects for the right to pay Roy Halladay $17 M this season?
Teams could sign Mike Cameron and Erik Bedard for 1 year deals with that type of money and keep thr prospects under cheap control for 3-6 years. Ridiculous.
It is ridiculous. I’m starting to realize a year of Doc isn’t even worth 1 elite prospect, let alone 2.
!
We’re on the same side now, EE!
Now if I could just sway you on the Holliday thing.
The Holliday thing is tough to envision based on the $200M payroll threshold. If the ginormous success of the team combined with the raise of the luxury tax threshold would permit Cashman to spend another $10M-ish annually, then you’d have to like the thought of Holliday. If, in the likelier situation that payroll stays at $200M then I did the math and its tough to flanagle.
If all the young assets take marked steps forward, and most of them should, then they can compensate for an age-related decline of other players. I am starting to see the light.
Added with his contract. He’s absolutely worth the money. But that added with him for a year while giving up elite prospects?
And we all know the Yankees have their rules about extensions, if Jeter ain’t getting one no way Halladay will. And he’ll go into free agency where he could be bought to a different team and we just gave up Jesus Montero and Joba Chamberlain.
That situation sucks.
i don’t think the same rules would apply in this situation. they would most definitely extend Halladay.
they did this with HR Javy in 2004. and then again with the big ugly in 2005. trade and extend.
A team signing Erik Bedard is most likely either far away from competition, taking a huge risk, or adding him simply as depth.
Agreed.
Maybe a better example is Sheets?
Eh. Even then it’s a big risk since he didn’t pitch all of ’09. Though I think Sheets is less of a risk than Bedard.
Harden is definitely my #1 pick for a high upside/ medium risk acquisition. 171/67 K:BB in 141 IP in 2009 and he turns 28 tomorrow.
The point is you could easily add a Harden/Sheets/Bedard type along with another meaningful free agent like Cameron and keep your prospects. I also don’t understand how a window to negotiate is a boon. Presumably he’ll demand $ like he’s a free agent. Why would the Yanks stray from their policy to let guys get to the end of their deals to evaluate? Halladay had a fantastic ’09 and will likely be good again in ’10, but no way he’s worth 6 years of controlling an elite prospect. The trade is bascically Elite prospect(s) + $17 M for one year of Halladay. No thanks. This ain’t the 90′s anymore where fans/management didn’t understand the value of prospects (‘cept for the Mariners management before the current one). This is the age of fangraphs,
again, their policy is for their own free agents.
if Cashman is trading prospects, he’s getting an extension done. that’s a given.
Indeed. Trading + extending a player is a completely different thing from extending a player already on your roster, and, more to the point, no player would view this as organizational hypocrisy.
Nick Swisher is a genius. He was on ESPN College Gameday yesterday and got 9 out of 10 picks right. That put him on top of the celebrity picks leaderboard (Lance Armstrong was #1 before with 8 out of 10 picks correct). The hosts of the show went like 6-4 or 5-5.
Yankees are always #1 everywhere.
Nick Swisher shall smite the team that ruined his perfect week.
With Mo’s blessing.
That team is Georgia. He picked Georgia Tech in honor of Tex but Georgia beat them.
So really that was Teixeira’s fault. He steals 1B from Swisher and then he steals his frawress victory predictions.
Mark does not like texeira 1B (bad pun)
How about-Cashman never takes a Holiday???
You’re right on the Mark. He needs to send a Tex message to apologize.
You know, life’s gotta be good for Swish. He was unhappy and struggled in 2008. Then he gets traded to the Yanks, gets the starting job due to injury, has a good bounceback season, gets a celebrity girlfriend, wins a World Series for the 1st time, and now is just chillin happily. I hope it stays that way, which would mean the Yanks are also doing well.
Think he’s sendiding Ozzie a Christmas card?
Think he’s sendiding Ozzie a Christmas card?
UGh the Cleveland show is TERRIBLE, good decision to put it between Simpsons and Family guy or nobody would ever watch it.
Yea, I tried to watch one episode but didn’t get hooked. I havent gotten a chance to watch any other episode and wont as Im still catching up to other shows.
Well, there goes the Josh Johnson pipe dream.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/.....eason.html
Since when do you believe anything that a GM says?
Just sayin….
His comments seem more firm or definitive than the usual comments made by GMs. He sounds more convincing than most. Or maybe it’s just me.
The dream is dead until around June. JJ will still likely be dealt within a year or so.
Banuelos vs. Casey Kelly, this guys says Kelly is better.
http://www.scoutingthesally.co.....os-vs.html
I think Kelly is better than ManBan too. Mike, who do you think is better?
Kelly really needs to stop thinking he can play shortstop, and just pitch a full season already.
.219/.282/.336/.617 as a hitter
2.08 ERA, 0.853 WHIP, 4.63 K/BB
yea, pitching is the way to go
When two guys are pretty equal, I’ll always take the Lefty.
That pat guy sounds awfully familiar (what’s up, dude?). Anyway, the writer seems totally on point. We may be overrating Banuelos, which is not to say he’s a flop by any means. A lefty that young with great composure, a good fastball and curve is a rarity. This doesn’t mean he’s a lock to succeed.
Kelly has a better ceiling (largely due to athleticism and his good frame) and seemingly better secondary pitches. But he’s not without his flaws either.
I don’t see why any of this is a big deal. It’s still way too early to determine anything beyond potential. We should be happy we have a guy with so much of it, not doing dick-measuring contests with the Sox prospects.
I agree with this. And its not just the writer of that article who rates Casey Kelly so highly, while ManBan is still more of an emerging commodity
Holler yea it was me, everybody is on Kelly’s junk. I definitely think he’s a good prospect but not worth jizzing your pants over. Gammons is in print saying he’s a candidate for a roster spot in Boston in the 2nd half of next season, come on. Sorry, but two small samples in A ball from a 20 year old rocking a ridiculously low babip, an 88 mph fastball and a k/9 < 8 are not enough for me to call him a major piece in a trade for Halladay or a Top 50 prospect. Yeah he's got a good frame and split time between SS and pitching but if he was a Yankee people would be shitting on us about how much we're overrating him.
Nets fired coach Lawrence Frank. Shocking!
Well then. Tonight, boys. The Nets tie this 0 – 17 record and tomorrow will be a record breaker. Let’s remember this so that we can someday tell our grandchildren about this. We might never experience something like this again.
Hey, who knows, maybe they beat the Lakers…Nah, I can’t even type that with a straight face.
IT WILL HAPPEN.
Just in another universe.
This is not a joke. In another universe, the Nets are undefeated.
I know! I’m so excited! I can’t wait!
(I actually remember going to a postseason game in 2001)
How much money is Vladi gonna get? I hope we just retain Matsui
Yeah I have no interest in Vlad whatsoever. He’s a DH for a non-contender or a NL PH in my book.
I could see him getting Abreu’s deal … from LAST year, 1/$5M
What’s your DH Wishlist? In order, mine would be:
1. Matsui
2. Damon
3. Johnson
4. Thome
5. Everyone else?
Everything exactly the same from 1-4 and then…GIAMBINO!!!
I think he could mash in YSIII. He’s still patient and his SLG will be better in the Stadium.
A Jason Giambi cameo would be all sorts of awesome.
Pass. I’d rather have Vlad than Giambi, and I’d probably rather have Juan Miranda than Vlad, so …
yeah.
It won’t happen, and it wouldn’t be a good thing if it did, but it would be cool.
Well, I was mostly joking but Id rather have Giambi than Vlad
That sounds about right. Delgado might be a better option than Thome depending on what his winter scouting report is.
I think Mike Cameron is the key, preferably with Damon as the other guy signed. He can rotate between CF and LF and he makes it easy to have only one of Melky/Cervelli/Pena ever play in a single game while the DH rotates, mainly between Posada/Damon/Rodriguez.
I’d really like to bring back Damon and Matsui as well as bring Cameron in.
That would be optimal. Send Gritner down to the minors or whatever and make sure Melky gets enough playing time to continue to develop. The offense would maintain flexibility without losing much firepower (only less would be from players on the decline), and the defense would be improved overall.
That’s the plan!
Full year from A-Rod will help compensate for a likely non-MVP caliber year from Jeter and Posada’s 38-year-oldness.
It’d be nice to see Cano take one more step towards greatness. He’s got it in him and he could be the difference maker if he emerges. I’d definitely give him another chance to bat in the 5 hole, or at least move up to 6th if Po maintains.
I’d want Johnson above Damon, as long as Mike Cameron was signed.
Really? You’d take NJ over JD? Not me. Nick Johnson has only played more than 140 games once in his career, a stark contrast to Damon’s elite record.
Damon out OPS’d Johnson in 2009 and played more games. Plus Johnson is only good defensively at 1B, so he provides almost 0 defensive flexibility. You can stick Damon in LF for about 130 games a year if you want to.
How bout bringing back Damon, bringing in Cameron and NJ?
I mean, yeah sure that would be fine, but why not just go for Matsui instead of Nick Johnson? NJ wants a 2 year deal and can actually play 1B pretty well, plus he’s a few years younger, so I would think if you can afford NJ on a 1 year deal than you can afford Matsui.
I wouldn’t put too much weight on just 2009. Since 2005 Damon’s OPS+ is 113 and Johnson’s is 136.
As for the durability issue, my guess is that Johnson would hold up much better as a full time (or nearly full time) DH. Just look at Matsui this year.
Bottom line is if the contracts are equal, I’d take Johnson as the DH over Damon. Of course, I would also take both of them to fill LF and DH.
The adjusted OPS difference is duly noted.
However, since 2005, Damon has played in 724 games. Nick Johnson has played in 449.
And Nick Johnson has never had a record of durability, whereas at least Matsui was an ironman once upon a time.
Still, its kind of a moot point. JD won’t be signed as a DH, he’ll be signed as a left fielder. You can technically sign both without much conflict.
Nonetheless, I’d take Damon + Matsui/Cameron, or Cameron + Matsui, before picking any combination which included Nick Johnson. Not that I don’t like the guy, and it would be fun to have him back on the team, but he’s not in my top 3 or 4 preferred personnel sets.
Mo is indescribable. Only this song can do him justice:
Having 5th grade flashbacks here.
I miss recess.
They should have put Mo in this song instead of LeBron
Chad Jennings is the best of the LoHud guys and it’s not particularly close.
Oh totally agreed. I like ChadJenn more than PeteAbe. I’ve been following PeteAbe on his Boston blog and he’s just lost his appeal and there’s a lot less of his personality in his writing.
I read ChadJenn a decent amount when he reported on the SWB team and he’s transitioned really well.
Sam Borden needs to change his god damn picture.
Chad Jennings is great. I love how he blends major league coverage with minor league analysis.
However, I’m kind of disappointed that the post frequency has decreased noticeably since PeteAbe left. I’m hoping that changes come Spring Training and beyond.
Actually, given what PeteAbe did in the offseason, they’re updating fairly frequently.
I seem to remember PeteAbe updating fairly frequently, even in the offseason. Maybe I’m wrong. I only started reading LoHud after the 2007 winter meetings.
Sam’s a decent writer, but Jennings will be getting awards for his work some day. And I mean big ones.
You mean . . . . .HE’LL HAVE A BOOTH NAMED AFTER HIM AT THE BROOKLYN DINER? NO! GET OUT!!
I like the PeteAbe-less LoHud better.
Eh, he was a really good beat writer and he helped establish blogs as a reliable sports news medium. He deserves a lot of credit. Its interesting, but not surprising, that he’s not having much success cultivating the same community at Boston.com.
I think I like ChadJenn more though, he comes off as a bit more shy and humble. He’s got a good ole boy vibe and I like that. Pete was always snarky and held unto pretend grudges that no one else cared about.
He deserves credit for being a very good reporter. He was a terrible analyst and a jerk to the bloggers.
Is it just me or does Josh Thompson (http://bit.ly/5mCutY) look like a combination of Joba Chamberlain (http://bit.ly/4K1ewv) and Ronald Reagan (http://bit.ly/7jbHix)?
He does. That’s interesting you were able to come up with that comparison.
Yes. I suggest he change his name to Josher Reaganlain.
From MLBTR
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports (via Twitter) that the Marlins are not talking about trading Hanley Ramirez. No surprise here, but it’s nice to have it confirmed.
From yesterday’s Daily News
Now it also looks as if Hanley Ramirez won’t ever see that new stadium in a Marlins uniform as the Red Sox, who let incumbent Alex Gonzalez go, are reportedly engaged in talks with Florida about reacquiring the All-Star shortstop.
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....z0YDC6wXN7
One of these people is lying to you. Take a wild guess which one.
I’ll give you a hint. His first name is Bill.
and his last name rhymes with “Spladden”
Are you… implying anybody?
Brain..still..hurts…
I’d love to never look at quantum physics again, but sooner or later I’m going to have to. And like this time, I’m going to regret it.
For a fun short story that kind of parallels the infinite-worlds concept we were talking about earlier, you should read The Library of Babel by Jorge Luis Borges.
Its really short, less than 20 pages long if I recall. Has nothing to do with quantum physics per se but that story did help my mind grasp some of its theories nonetheless.
Flatland – a book made in the late 1800s – helped me conceptualize demonsions beyond the 3rd. That novel is about 150 pages I think.
So thought I’d share.
My God, this stuff is SOOO complicated…I get the concepts but my question is…where is the proof of this?
And I’ve seen opposing theories that also look really smart. Who the fuck is right?
I DON’T KNOW.
FUCK THIS.
Something complex I DO understand:
I love looking at different philosophies. I admire Occam’s Razor, and I admire the philosophy of Zen Buddhism.
Zen Buddhism is the shit. Read up on it.
Occam’s Razor I’m sure you know, they mention it a lot in Quantum Physics.
We’ll never know the real truth. We’ll never even know if there is a real truth.
I personally think our brains are limited by being only 3 dimensional, and thus it is physically impossible to ever comprehend what truth is when it comes to stuff like this.
I think K-Rob will do a good job in the 8th inning role next year. Marte should be a big key to the bullpen too.
In the spirit of trying desperately to forgot what I’ve learned…
I agree. I think the bullpen is set up quite nicely.
1 more thing, about Occam’s Rzor:
While I respect Occam’s Razor as a tool and understand it, I don’t think it’s always right. I believe in the Holmesian method of logic, meaning:
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
The two are not mutually exclusive, I think.
Different methods of thought are needed for different things.
I know something I value is burden of proof. Because you cannot prove a negative, the burden of proof is always on a positive statement. For example, in a court of law, the burden of proof rests with the prosecutor. The concept is valuable for many other settings besides law, however.
They’re not mutually exclusive, but the Homesian method is the opposite of Occam’s Razor in that the simplicity of something is overlooked; it is irrelevant. What matters is only if every fact fits the theory.
Years later the one memory I will still have of RAB will be discussing quantum physics and various forms of logical analysis.
What a great site!
Well what about for situations where every fact (that is known to you) fits multiple theories?
Then you could rely on Occam’s Razor to deduce that the simplest theory is the likeliest.
These are strange theoretical things we’re talking about though. I tend to just go off of common sense and the knowledge I am to collect, rather than subscribe to some arbitrary method of deductive reasoning.
Heh yes, RAB does seem to attract a larger than usual amount of intellectuals.
Its the Gentleman’s Yankee Blog Website. Fuckin’ A!
According to the Holmesian method, if you don’t have all the facts then there are simply several theories. No one is to be favored. That is the main diffrence with Occam’s Razor. I personally like the Holmesian method.
You’ll be happy to know I wrote this:
http://riveraveblues.com/2009/.....ent-699435
Haha yes, I did chuckle at that earlier.
talk to me about Hanley in a couple of years. Until then, it will require a GM’s firstborn son to pry him away from Florida
eeeehhhh ,,, that can be arranged.
I wonder if the lying party is the same person whose career is to sensationalize news in a desperate measure to keep alive a dying industry.
Hmmm…
What about using Posada as the backup catcher and primary DH? Posada’s defense was pretty horrible last year and won’t be getting better. Yes he can still throw out baserunners, but he isnt a good receiver and allow too many passed balls. Why not use him as the main DH and either trade for a catcher or let Cervelli be the starting catcher? Using Posada as the DH and backup catcher will save us the 10 mil we’ll have to spend to resign Matsui or Damon. We can use that money to sign Mike Cameron? Ben Sheets/Rich Harden?
I’m too tired to explain why this is wrong.
Posada as a hitter + Posada as a defender >>>>>>>> Cervelli as a hitter + Cervelli as a defender
fair enough…thanks
Someday, I’ll top this. I just need a little time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mME2J1E_P20
When is Mariano going to be done? When he has a normal platoon split?
Mo said he’s good for 5 more years, so I say the speculation starts there.
I always thought it would be funny if he develops a changeup and turns in a 4-seamer / changeup guy if his cutter ever starts to lose efficacy.
Mo with a changeup would be devastating. I’d settle for Joba or Phil with a changeup they could throw with confidence!
That’ll be the day – when he “loses” his cutter.
What do people on here mean exactly by “IETC-(forgot the rest)”?
I Enjoyed This Comment