Jan
25
Just another open thread
ByUse it wisely.
171 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)
Eric Schultz (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
Follow @RiverAveBlues
Search RAB
Loading
Yankees News from YESNetwork.com
- Postgame notebook: Hiroki Kuroda delivers against former team in opener of doubleheader
- Ichiro powers Yankees to Game 1 win
- Jeter takes batting practice in Tampa
- Zoilo Almonte expected to make MLB debut Wednesday night
- Yankees sign draft picks Clarkin, Katoh
- Francisco agrees to terms with San Diego Padres
- Yankees acquire Fernando Martinez from Houston
- Dodgers-Yankees rained out, doubleheader set
- Yankees put 1B Mark Teixeira back on disabled list
- Two Charleston RiverDogs pitchers added to SAL All-Star Game
Banner Design By
The Tyler Austin Watch
Anyone know if 880 plans to make an iPhone App sometime in the future? It’d be nice to have one.
Wow.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/m.....the-rough/
Kei Igawa has value?
Wow 2.87 against lefties. Maybe the Mets need a lefty specialist. I’d love it.
Well, now that they have Gary Matthews Jr they can add Igawa to their “worst players is Baseball” cadre.
Steve, I’m disappointed.
http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....awa-22671/
Sorry buddy, missed that one.
Jane, you ignorant slut.
Just food for thought…What are Jason Giambi’s chances of making the hall of fame? and is Gary Sheffield a lock?
Sheff should get in on his merits, but the writers don’t like him as a person so he won’t get in easily.
Add steroids to the mix and he may not get in at all.
Which is especially unfair in his case, it’s not like steroids made him something he wasn’t (McGwire/Sosa). All the way back to his days in High School he was one of the most legendary baseball prospects Florida ever produced. Scouts DROOLED over him since he was a teenager. People always knew he was going to be great.
According to him, he used to recover from an injury. I have no idea if that’s true, but I do know his power numbers were pretty consistent throughout his career with the ebbs and flows of a normal player and he didn’t have some huge spike in production like McGwire or Sosa.
http://www.baseball-reference......html?redir
If Sheffield really juiced, he’d hit 70+ like Bonds did.
If Sheffield really juiced, he’d hit 70+ like Bonds did.
No, no he wouldn’t. The scrawny Barry Bonds in Pittsburgh was better than any version of Sheffield ever.
What’s not amazing is that Bonds has 7 MVP’s, it’s that he probably should have more.
As an overall player, sure. But strictly as a power hitter? Much more even.
Not even close. In 22 seasons, Sheff hit 30+ homers eight times, PEDs or not. Bonds had eight seasons of 30+ homers by his 13th season in the league, which was 1998.
Sheff has a .222 career IsoP. Bonds had an IsoP that low just four times in his career.
And they were all within the first six years of his career.
Yeah, there were likely thousands of MLB players who have juiced, and only 2 hit 70 HR’s. While Sheff has hit a ton of HR’s, he’s not really a home run hitter, as much as he’s just a great overall hitter. He only hit 40 twice, possibly while juicing. The leap from 43 to 70 takes more than a needle in the ass.
Gary should be a lock, but then again, Tim Raines should also be a lock.
Yup. If they can totally screw up an easy one like Raines, Sheff might be waiting a while.
+1
I think Raines will eventually get in, but it will take years of debate. Sheff should be a no-brainer on Baseball merits, but I could see waiting a year or two (like what will happen with Alomar) due to the character stuff. You and I may not let that stop us from voting for someone, but it is part of the guidelines set by the HOF.
More interesting news…the Tigers are going to use Austin Jackson as next year’s starting center fielder and he is going to lead off every day.
Trial by fire.
It worked for Lemon Porcello.
:’(
Yeah, I’ve read that. Very bad idea, I don’t think he’s ready. Hope I’m wrong, though.
I don’t hope you’re wrong. If you’re right, the competition’s worse.
All is fair in love and war. And baseball’s not far from war.
Meh, 6 games a year? We’ll live.
Heh.
Would make the Tigers worse as a whole, though.
Found this interesting ranking system for soccer (real football).
http://www.castrolfootball.com/rankings/rankings/
It assigns points for individual plays, zone, and quality of competition. Would be great to see a ranking system like this for baseball that combines fielding/hitting/baserunning/etc/etc that results in a single number to rank players. (this video describes how they analyze each player: http://www.castrolfootball.com/rankings/about/)
Unless something exists that I am naive about.
WAR?
random,
Just got recruited to close for my High School team (i’m a senior and haven’t played since freshman year)
Anyone have any suggestions on batting gloves? (i’m going to try to play 2nd base as well)
Screw the batting gloves, you need to learn Mo’s cutter first.
Screw the batting gloves,
you need to learn Mo’s cutter first, just piss on your hands, Posada style.Piss.
/Jorge’d
Mizuno’s are my favorites. Nike’s are nice as well, but a bit more expensive. Stay away from Under Armour, they rip within a few weeks.
Batting gloves are for chicks. Get the high socks and just look good out there.
(Former HS bench player.)
Nah, I’m not a fan of the high socks (though it does look sick with someone that can pull it off; I can’t). Gotta go with the long baggy pants.
Anyone else see the rumors that LeBron will sign an extension if Danny Ferry lands one of Amare, David West, or Antawn Jamison before the deadline? I don’t see how LeBron doesn’t, at the very least, test the free agent waters at this point. He’s come this far and has preached time and time again how he wants to keep his options open.
Agreed. Funny thing is they’ve spent the last few years in “win now screw the future” mode trying to put a winning team around him, but certainly have sacrificed a little of the future with their somewhat panic moves.
Absolutely. The multi year deals they handed out to Moon, Parker, and Varejao (hideous contract) this past offseason very well could screw them come July in their attempt to retain LeBron.
What are your thoughts on the rumored Monta Ellis-Ray Allen swap for your C’s?
Wow. Hadn’t heard that. I’m ok with trading Allen this year to take advantage of his expiring contract, but not for Monta Ellis. Just don’t think he’s the right fight for the C’s as far as defense and playing without the ball. Though getting him out of Golden State and Nellieball might make a difference, I’m not sure I’d take that risk.
Link:
http://www.csnne.com/pages/lan.....38;qv=1#bp
Thanks.
Varejao got 40m, seriously 40m for Anderson Varejao? Without even talking about the moves Isiah made for the Knicks, the NBA have some horrible contracts for mediocre/roll-playing guys.
Role-playing, but yeah.
But if they didnt sacrafice the future they wouldnt have Lebron stay anyways. So your choices are, be mediocre now with Lebron and then defiantely lose Lebron, or be championship-caliber now and maybe keep Lebron, and if he leaves atleast the team can say they tried everything they could.
He wants to keep his options open yes; but is the Knicks roster more attractive than playing with 1 of those 3, plus the other guys they have on the roster? They’re a championship quality team now, add one of those 3 and they’re only better, going to the Knicks, even if he went with Wade or Bosh, wouldnt be a better situation to win. Plus the Cavs can also offer the most money.
(Amare’ can also opt-out, so they’d need to give him an extension as well)
They’re ONLY a championship caliber team now because of LeBron though. That roster is gross without him. LeBron, Gallinari, Chandler, Hill, and some other pieces is not a worse situation at all, in terms of being able to win. Also, the Cavs already have 33 mil on the books for next year. If they resign LeBron to a max deal, they have maybe 4 mil more to work with. How would they offer Amare an extension?
Cant you go over the salary cap if you resign your own guys? Just got to pay the luxury tax
That would require them to obviously trade for Amare.
That is true. However, can they offer Amare a max deal in an extension, and then give LeBron his max deal? Honestly asking – NBA cap rules confuse the shit out of me.
No clue. The only thing i know is that they have a soft cap and they can go over if they sign their own guys. When you start talking about ‘max’ contracts and mid-level exceptions and everything else i get lost.
but is the Knicks roster more attractive than playing with 1 of those 3, plus the other guys they have on the roster?
Yes.
They’re a championship quality team now,
Are you talking about the Cavs? The Cavs roster, sans LeBron, is nondescript and shitty. There’s nothing there that’s enticing. He IS that team. He SINGLEHANDEDLY makes them goos.
add one of those 3 and they’re only better,
Add LeBron to the Gallinari-Chandler-Douglas-Hill core and it’s just as good as the Mo Williams-Varejao-Delonte-Boobie Gibson-whatever other dreck Cleveland uses core. Probably better.
And the Knicks have the expiring contracts of Jeffries and Curry to bundle with the sign-and-trade D.Lee and Nate Robinson deals (plus all the expiring money) to add Bosh/Wade/Joe Johnson to that core, instead of the Cavs adding Amare/Jamison/West. Knicks situation is better.
going to the Knicks, even if he went with Wade or Bosh, wouldnt be a better situation to win.
Yeah… no.
The Knicks not only have the clear and massive market advantage, but the improved play of our 6 young guns (Gallo/Chandler/Hill/Douglas/Lee/Nate) makes us now the better on-court situation as well.
Thank Mo for your unbridled optimism, TSJC. Some of the Knick boards and their negativity regarding the direction of the team have been driving me crazy lately.
If the knicks get Lebron, I may actually start watching basketball and become a Knicks fan.
Right now due to family ties if you put a gun to my head I’d say I was a Nets fan, but I only watch basketball when Lebron’s playing-since I don’t get the Cavs, pretty much never. He’s like Tiger Woods, he makes a sport that would otherwise bore me interesting.
“The Knicks not only have the clear and massive market advantage, but the improved play of our 6 young guns (Gallo/Chandler/Hill/Douglas/Lee/Nate) makes us now the better on-court situation as well.”
Will Lee and Nate return next year? And is it fair to really count Hill and Douglas?
You made some good points, really dont think there is a clear right answer. Cavs are a championship team because they Lebron AND because they play defense, Knicks do not play defense. Is adding Lebron suddenly going to change the coach’s mindset and the other players too?
Anyone else see the rumors that LeBron will sign an extension if Danny Ferry lands one of Amare, David West, or Antawn Jamison before the deadline?
No, I haven’t. Now that you’ve brought them to my attention, here’s my response:
That’s some hot bullshit right there. LeBron ain’t signing jack squat, other than a fat free agent contract with the New York Knickerbockers come July 1, 2010.
Keep dreaming.
I can’t wait until the Rangers unload/get rid of some of those stupid contracts during the offseason… they’re horrible right now…
Heh. Steroid era MVP voting is great. 2000 NL MVP ballot
19. Brian Giles .315/.432/.594 35 HR/123 RBI
t20. Moises Alou .355/.416/.623 30 HR/114 RBI
t20. Richard Hidalgo .314/.391/.636 44 HR/122 RBI
12 different men on that ballot had an OPS above 1000.
TWELVE.
And that was just the NL.
:: head explodes ::
http://www.baseball-reference......html#NLmvp
19 players total
and 30 OPSed over .950
http://bases.nbcsports.com/201.....l.html.php
The comments are what makes the post…
Jason led off with a good one
Jason @ IIATMS
That’s the thing about Jeter; he’s not afraid to stay single to keep banging as many models as he can without getting hit with a golf club by his model wife. Gotta respect that.
Ah, didn’t realize that one was Jason’s too.
I resent the Jeter jokes.
However, I do enjoy Jason from “It’s About the Money Stupid”‘s quote (great blog, BTW):
That’s the thing about the Mets’ medical staff; they’re not afraid to admit they have no idea what they’re doing and have other doctors do the work. Gotta respect that.
I resent the Jeter jokes.
Why?
Clearly he was implying that people should make “Jeter is overrated” jokes. Which I resent.
I’m a little late to the twitter party.. would anyone mind suggesting some sports writers to follow?
ben, mike, and joe. rob neyer, keith law, craig calcaterra, jonah keri, ken tremendous, jason iiatms
yankeeu too
If you go to my page (@mikeaxisa), you can see which ones I’m following. That’s as good a place to start as any.
Since Matt brought up the Favre pass, it was so dumb on so many levels that it’s amazing he doesn’t get destroyed for it.
-There were 12 seconds left when the play started.
-He threw across his body on the move, which college QBs know not to do.
-He threw to a receiver who was surrounded by 3-4 defenders
-The receiver was in the middle of the field, so even if he caught the pass there was little chance he would get out of bounds.
-They had no timeouts, so you couldn’t stop the clock to attempt a field goal.
It was so stupid on so many levels, Favre should have been destroyed for that pass. But as Craig Calcaterra said that’s par for the course with Brett and the media.
I know not to throw across my body. I’ve never played bfootball in my entire life.
They did actually have one timeout.
Are you sureThey used a timeout just as the refs threw the penalty flag, which
Ugh, try again
Are you sure? They used a timeout just as the refs threw the penalty flag, when they realized they had an extra man on the field. They had just used one a few minutes before, and IIRC they used one earlier in the 4th quarter.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/p.....0100124018
I only see 2 MIN TO called in the 2nd half, both were on that final drive
Yeah. That’s what I originally thought the flag was for- calling back to back timeouts. They wouldn’t call the flag for 12 men AND penalize them a timeout.
Still really stupid.
Oh, of course. He should’ve just run 5-7 yards and slid.
Or ate it and let the kicker try a 50+ yarder.
It was already a 56 yarder. Let’s also ignore the two great throws he made to even give them that chance.
The Favre Hate is OoC™
I LIKE Favre. That play was ridiculous. 56 yarder is extremely difficult but possible. nterception-not possible.
You can throw across your body if you’re not afraid to get picked!
/Tom Jackson’d
All those points.
And I love how people continue to make excuses for him. “Well he had a great season” , “He was great up to that play” , “If it wasnt fot 12 men on the field he wouldnt have needed to do that”.
Everyone knew he was going to throw an INT in a big spot, that’s him.
Totally agree. Not to mention he could’ve ran for at least 5 yards and scrambled out of bounds if he needed to. The entire right side of the field was open.
He had a bum ankle.
Ooh, good point.
Still should’ve tried for a guy on the sideline. Or just thrown it out of bounds and see if your kicker can handle a last ditch fifty-six yarder when you’re in a dome.
I’m shocked they didn’t roast him, really. That play was ridiculously, mind numbingly stupid. He probably could’ve run for five yards and at least given the kicker a shot.
But the Saints were majorly helped by that ridiculous pass interference call.
Either way, I thought that the ending tothat game was very sad. A sad way for Fsvre to go out (if he does), and sad how a bad penalty call pretty much decided the game.
Hoorah!
A little something concerning Piliere’s top 100 (from Chad Jennings at LoHud):
That’s definitely encouraging. I happen to a big Bleich fan and I’m excited to follow him this year.
Speaking of which..how exactly do you say Bleich? Blike, Bleech, something else?
I’ve always heard it pronounced as “Blike”
Yankee VP Mark Newman on Bleich:
http://yankees.lhblogs.com/200.....rk-newman/
And Moshe’s piece:
http://www.theyankeeu.com/2009.....pman-13632
The buzz on draft day was that Bleich was like a lefty Ian Kennedy – fast-riser through the system, knew how to pitch, etc. If a change in training and/or mechanics generated a bump in velocity, it could be interesting to watch him this year.
Some other buzz was that he was a ‘reach’ by the Yanks, but the Yanks said they really liked his workouts.
Bly-sh.
It’s pronounced “Jones”. The “Bleich” is silent.
He was the 101st prospect too.
Jimmy Key vs Grerg Maddux? Pfffft. NO WAY the Yanks win this game.
I mean, Key’s a nice pitcher and all, but please.
What’s he, like 45?
Any time I bring up Key, someone uses that line. Nice.
I can’t see/hear his name without thinking of it immediately.
That’s a great ‘TIS’ commercial but one of the best was when Rich Eisen gets sent to the ‘minors’.
Hahah.
I like this one too:
This is the Eisen clip, at 3:13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related\
YAHTZEE!
I am the most popular player in all the land!
This one is easily my favorite:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....38;index=4
Mark McGwire in this one – holy fuck.
Game 7 in the Bronx…should be fun.
Who will it be, Glavine and Cone? Won’t be easy, but hey, you never know.
Graeme Lloyd?!?!!? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS, TORRE?!!?
We’re dead. DEAD!!
THIS IS WHY THEY CALL YOU “CLUELESS JOE” YOU DUMB SHIT!!!!
If he wins this WS against the defending WS champions he’s just lucky. A series of lucky breaks for the Yanks and bad timing for the other team. Even if we win I highly doubt we ever win another WS with this dumbfuck.
Oh wait, we’re not talking about Girardi?
This Mariano kid has potential, though, doesn’t he? Too bad he’s just a relievr. They’re so volatile, they never last long.
I like that theme song too. “Enter Sandman”. I could get used to that after a few years.
I can’t believe Mariano and Greg Maddux both walked guys within the course of an inning in this game. That’s just crazy talk.
Yeah well Mariano is young. Give him time to get a little better control. It’s a big situation, he needs to learn to handle the pressure.
I dunno, he’s almost 27. That’s not that young. What is he gonna do, pitch til he’s 40?
True. Can’t expect that with relievers.
We get two or three more good years out of him I’ll be satisfied. Of course, can’t expect them to be THIS good. I’d be happy with a 3.5 ERA.
Sigh, I’m a pessimist, but I’ll be really really happy if he’s even passable next year. He pitched over 100 innings this year, and he never had a full year in the majors before! That just screams of burning out his arm, just to get this one World Series. Ugh. We’re doomed.
http://blog.al.com/press-regis.....igger.html
370, damn.
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb.....%3d4848879
Run are like, more gooder.
why do people not realize that thre is a difference between team stats and individual stats. team runs and wins are pretty darn important. player runs and wins much less so
If I could bring back an old, underused stat, it would be “Total Bases”. It’s an aggregate stat, not rate-based, but its amazing how many sophisticated new stats are, when you boil it down, just a reworking of TB.
Exactly. Context based statistics are severely flawed when it comes to evaluating individual talents. Cause they, y’know, rely on stuff said talent cannot control.
From Caple’s pro-run article:
“I can hear you now. Ichiro’s season is the perfect example of why the RBI is more important than the run. Getting on base is only important if someone drives you in later”
Way to completely miss the point of why you’re wrong, Jim!
Good piece by Neyer. Throw in the fact that it’s the Yanks were talking about, who try to win it all every year. So it’s even harder to keep running him out there if he’s hurting the team in any way.
Whoops!
http://espn.go.com/blog/sweets.....lie-hustle
Hey I was just about to post this for RAB myself, good times.
I agree with Neyer, 3692 seems about right, though I’ll round up and say Jeter gets a solid 3,700. For a second when I first pondered that, I said “Man, *just* three thousand and seven hundred hits!?” Then I laughed to myself thinking of how big that number truly is. Its absolutely ridiculous.
How many other current players have even a slight chance at getting 3,700 hits, if they play well into their early 40s? Ichiro. A-Rod. Pujols. I can’t think of anybody else.
Active career hit leaders:
http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/UkAkw
Yeah, I really can’t think of anyone else. Miguel Cabrera?
Nifty.
Zombie Jason Kendall has a chance. Because he’s a zombie.
Under 35:
http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/RFYmw
Edgar Renteria, bitches.
Casey Kelly.
Cobb’s AL record of 4157 is pretty tough to see as well. He could wind up #2 with around 3600+ ahead of Trish Speaker and call it a career.
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/histo.....SubFrame=0
Speaking of hit totals. You know who, while a long ways away, actually has a chance at 3000 hits? Adrian Beltre. If his defense holds up, and he played 10 more seasons he’d only need 130 a season. That’s the benefit of being in the bigs at 20 I guess.
Andruw Jones has 1776 and is only 32. Imagine if he hadn’t shit the bed these last 3 years.
Jimmy Rollins: 30 yrs old, 1629 hits.
Assuming last year was a fluke, he might have a shot.
I think two years ago was the more likely fluke.
OPS+, 2004-2009: 102, 97, 101, 119, 103, 86.
They both seem pretty flukey.
True.
At a glance, J-Roll DID have a .250 BABIP last year and he’s been mostly in the .290 – .310 range for his career, so some of that has got to be shitty luck. I doubt he makes it to 3,000 but he could possibly reach 2,500.
He had 3000 hits and 500 HR’s written all over him.
I’m rooting for Damon and Abreu to make it to 3000. Both have an outside shot. I think both will end up being worthy of the HOF by the time they end their careers. They’ve both put up interesting numbers where not one thing really stands out, but they do everything above average (even defensively when they were young).
I don’t think that either Rollins or Beltre have much of a shot at 3000 hits. For one, neither are particularly high average players. For two, they’re both not superstar-level hitters — they likely won’t be above average hitters as they age. One advantage that they do have is that they both have excellent defensive reputations, so they may be able to hang on even if they’re no longer an offensive asset.
I agree. I think Beltre would have to continue to be a great defensive 3B until he’s 40 to have a chance. His bat won’t play elsewhere, and he’s bound to slip defensively as he ages.
What are you talking about, Beltre is the best 3B in baseball. He’s in the conversation with Mike Schmidt as the best 3B of all time.
/ESPN now that Beltre signed with the Sox’d
Great ending to 24. But it was sad to see the French Film director from the VISA commercials die. Just didn’t see that one coming.
Hah! That’s who that guy was.
Why squirrel hate me?
And Vladimir is Lew Ashby from Californication season 2.
Ruben Sierra had 1160 hits thru age 26 and barely cracked 2000 for his career. He’s a great anti-steroid case, he just got too jacked and lost a lot of his athleticism.
It wasn’t the juice. He lost interest in Baseball and pursued Salsa career.
http://www.amazon.com/Imagen-V.....B000001239
Nice. Your justification for him not being on the juice just happens to be an album cover, which naturally features him shirtless (and jacked). And spraying himself with a hose?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
Ruben Sierra > Barry Zito
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.....ger/040728
In reality his problem was with the nose candy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PR_rzF8ofw SFW
Anyone preorder BA’s prospect Hanbook? I always wait until I can get it for 30% off at Amazon.
I always preorder it. Should arrive this week.
Anyone think Rajai Davis could be a nice platoon partner with Brett Gardner?
I don’t see them giving up a lot of talent for him…
No thanks. He’s not worth giving up anything for with Tatis/Johnson/Baldelli/etc. still on the market.
So glad this isn’t Jerod Mayo.
http://tinyurl.com/maualuga (kinda NSFW)
He should have just made a music video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA2B47_l9kg (SFW) (gloveslap TSJC)
I’m guessing immediately after making that is when he started rushing for 3 ypc?
My favorite part:
http://i435.photobucket.com/al.....atHole.jpg
Want to know something humorous? Kelvin de Leon and Hector Noesi both play Farmville on Facebook.
As long as they help BMTA.
They’re proud members.
Si se puede!
Fun fact: In Barry Sanders’ worst full season, he led the league in rushing.
wanna see a video of burboun street after the Saints glorius victory?
http://blog.nola.com/twobitbea.....ll_th.html