Open Thread: Snowpocalyse 2010 (cont’d)
By
Tourists. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
It’s still a snowy mess here in New York, but at least most of the streets are plowed to come degree. It’s amazing how bad weather can bring civilization to such a standstill; I couldn’t even get chinese food delivered last night, two days after the storm. What the hell? Anyway, here’s your open thread for the night. The Vikings are at the Eagles (NBC), and the Knicks are in Miami to get their asses whopped by the Heat again. You guys know what to do, so have at it.
Weekend Writer Update: You’ll be happy to know that we’ve finally gotten around to selecting five finalists for the two weekend writer positions, so with any luck we should have the search wrapped up by the end of the week. We’ll probably hold off on sending out emails letting everyone know the deal until Monday since I suspect quite a few of the applicants are away on vacation and what not.
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the Knicks are in Miami to get their asses whopped by the Heat again.
Not cool, Mike. Not. Cool.
The snowstorm causes me to lose cable service and I missed the Giants games from the second quarter on and that’s the best sport news I had all month.
Still in the 5th level of sport hell!
The cable came back in time for this “the Knicks are in Miami to get their asses whopped by the Heat again.”
It just doesn’t end.
In Alabama 2″ of snow shuts us down for three days–you guys are still ahead of us!
In Floribama we’d probably shut down if we had 3 snow flurries.
Yeah, I lived in the Redneck Rivera (Ft Walton, Navarre, Pensacola, FL) for a while and if they THINK it’s gonna get icy or flurry, they wave the white flag! I’m in Atlanta now and it’s pretty icy here, so bad the wife ran into the babysitters car while parked in our driveway, awful. I’m just glad not to be farther north, these pics from NY & PA look as awful as Vick tonight!
I am remember when I was three living in Montgomery and snowed half a foot. Ridiculous!
My sister just drove from eastern LI back to Jersey today. Normally takes her 2.5 hours, 3.5 if there’s traffic…She left here at 9 AM and got there around 5 PM. She had to park three blocks away from home, and her husband had to carry their 70lb dog to their house over his shoulders.
In New Hampshire a lot of things closed during the actual storm because it was a blizzard afterall. no sense in doing things when you can’t see or drive. But everything was back to normal by night time on Monday.
18 inches of snow? thats nothing
course…i have yet to attempt to survive an upstate NY winter in the Buffalo or Rochester/Syracuse area
With HOF season around the corner, I’d like to discuss a particular player and his Hall candidacy. Is Todd Helton a Hall of Famer? I think so. He’s never had an OBP less than .362 save for his rookie season. He has a triple slash crown under his belt.
I say yes, but if Walker gets too many demerits because of Coors, Helton will too. I think he’ll make it in eventually, but it’ll take a while.
I would say yes.
Helton was an excellent first basemen, but I thin his was peak was a little to short to warrant a HOF spot. In addition to his lack of counting stats will hurt his chances.
Too short? Helton went from 1998-2005 having an OPS of at least .911 every year. His OPS has been over .800 every full year except for two (’08 and ’10) but he still managed to keep high OBPs (.391, .127 IsoD; .362, .106 IsoD).
Absolutely. Look at his BA from 1998 to 2007. Hell of a hitter.
No. He’s in a pool of a million strong hitters at 1B from the past 15 years or so and was Coors aided, without any great compiling milestone.
Concur.
Seriously, what team had a 1B in the early 2000′s who didn’t OPS .850 or higher?
I hope I got in (never sent an email lmao)
MLBTR says ‘Soria Wouldn’t Block Trade to Yankees’ and talking about how the Yanks offered Montero for him last July.
Does anyone think the Yanks would make a trade like that today??
What? They offered Montero for middle reliever!??
No, they never did. The original report from the summer said they “dangled [Montero] in talks.” Dangled =/= offered.
I dangled Jesus at your mom.
/14′d
I wouldn’t. He’s just a reliever. A reliever with a history of shoulder injuries at that. I’d rather sign Soriano and give up the pick.
I forget where, but I saw someone bring up the idea of sign and trade scenario where the Yanks would be trading someone like Adam Warren to a small market team that has a late pick in the draft in order to preserve their own pick.
Are teams free to do sign and trades?
(to sign Soriano, if that wasn’t clear)
Yeah I forget where I read that too.
/sarcasm
Did we ever clear up if this can actually be done? I read and remember talking about this last year and that there was a June 15th deadline where you can’t trade a newly signed player.
You can trade the player if he agrees to it.
Mike, Any shot the Yanks can do a sign and trade with Tampa, where the Rays sign Soriano and trade him to the Yanks for say a million bucks? I read your article on the potential 11 picks Tampa has in this upcoming draft. There’s no way they can afford to pick and sign the best players available with all those picks. There’s a good chance they’d prefer the $$ to the pick.
11 in the first 60 or so picks that is.
I can’t imagine Tampa would be up for that, not a direct division competitor.
Wasnt the argument about a team like Washington or another team that had its first 3 picks protected. They would sign Soriano, and then we would trade a player for Soriano.
Someone else said something like the trade would be stopped by the MLB, can’t remember the reason.
Not for an 8th inning reliever, and not for a guy who both doesn’t want to start, or whom we have no idea how he’d do as a starter. I agree with Mike. If you want a name to pitch the 8th, just sign Soriano.
whoah Oney Guillen on Bobby Jenks.
hahah memo to bobby jenks get a clue u drink to much and u have had marital problems hugeee ones and the sox stood behind u
they did not air out ur dirty laundry, u came to srping not drinking and then u sucked and started srinking again be a man
u cried in the managers office bc u have problems now u go and talk bad about the sox after they protected u for 7 years ungrateful
if it wasnt for u and mainly u freddy garcia would have like 17 wins and the sox would have beat the twins
and u self diagnosed urself bc u didnt want to pitch un real i hope the sox let this guiy fucking have it
oh and yes i remember clearly u blowing a hugee game in 09 and u laughing ur bearded ass off while everyone busting there tail
dont make me air out more then i have 2 say ur sorry dont disrespect the White sox ever
i thought u were a man not some punk who runs away and talks bullshit. u coward. say it to there face when u were with them
although it wouldnt surprise me if the sox take the high road and be classy instead of destroying this yellow beard dipping idiot
and to think u were actually a cool guy and ur word meant something, to bad u dont hit in the AL so they can drill that ass
one little story remember when u couldnt handle ur drinking and u hit a poor arizona clubby in the face i do.
last tweet i hope sox fans boo his ass since he is no longer with ur team
http://twitter.com/#!/oneyguillen
POPCORN.GIF
That’s…not the real Ozzie.
It’s his son.
Wait, really?
Who used to work for the ChiSox before they fired him for a similar Twitter tirade.
Do you have something to back that up?
His son got in trouble for tweeting a while back but it was under a different twitter handle. I’m going to have to assume this is a joke until I see otherwise. Although I hope its real.
Holy wow.
Wow.
Glad to see someone else cracking on that hilarious beard.
True or false: Jesus Montero will be the first primary DH to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
False: Edgar Martinez will be
So many of the writers are irrationally against Edgar, though.
The question could be rephrased as: “Will Jesus Montero have a better career than Edgar Martinez?”
Anyone who says “yes” to this at this point is insane. That would be pretty freaking awesome though.
I do think Edgar will get in eventually. He won’t get in this year, but he has 14 more years on the ballot.
Agreed 100%. I hope enough of the writers see the light so that Edgar gets in eventually.
Is that a serious question?
/40 Year Old Virgin’d
Not really. My original question was more fun than anything else.
False. Big Papi bro!
Sarcasm or no?
I’d bet it’s sarcasm.
Edgar Martinez: The original Big Papi.
I really think the Yankees (or whatever team he’s traded to) will give him every chance to catch, and failing that, play 1B.
Attn: Mike:
I was being very sarcastic about Bruce Chen earlier.
Heh. I thought it was a typo.
I’ve seen this Hyundai “Jingle Bells” ad more in the last two days than I did the entire holiday season combined.
I hate that bitch
Let’s go TEAM USA!
Helton has a career .873 OPS on the road. As a 1B, that’s just not HOF material. I know that guys usually hit better at home, but that, along with a relatively short career, he’s not in for me. Helton to me falls in the Will Clark, Don Mattingly, John Olerud, Keith Hernandez field of “just not enough”.
Helton still has three years left on his deal, which, if healthy will push him to 17 seasons.
But the past 3 seasons have been very meh. He’ll compile a little more but lose ground on the rate stats. He’ll be extremely lucky to even get to 400 HR’s.
I dont give a rats ass about the Hall of Fame
/Clemens’d
Big East basketball tips off tonight!
/GoPCFriars’d
HOLLER!!!!! McDermott 4 life!!!!!
Amen brother!
Started last night. We wont’ talk about the result, though.
GO ORANGE!!!
/wanking motion
My hopes as a die hard PC fan is that the Friars make it a close game but with Syracuse’s depth, I find it highly unlikely.
Couldn’t get Chinese delivered? I got Motorino to deliver the night of the storm no questions asked and they were pretty quick about it, too.
They peed on your brussel sprout pizza, though.
Three more points from Vick and I win my work league. About 150 more from Vick, McCoy and Maclin and I win my big money league. Belated Christmas miracle plz. I even helped a lady carry her stroller across River Ave today.
And yes, I know nobody cares.
I care, pat. I care. <3
You always do, buddy.
I even helped a lady carry her stroller across River Ave today.
Sorry, I’m not picking up on the euphemism, but I know it’s there.
Is there a mystery team for the weekend writer?
I swear if the Phillies get the f#$%ing weekend writer job I am done with baseball.
I think we should hand the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation to Nova and Phelps! Nothing you find out there now will be as good, plus both are better the Javy Vas!
The NY Knicks showing signs of life!
Back to reality!
3 point game
From the commenting guidelines:
personal attacks and insults will not be tolerated. Any comments that we deem libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing or threatening will not be tolerated, and we may ban repeat offenders from contributing to the site.
From an article yesterday:
http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....nt-1463455
This isn’t the first time this kind of vitriol comes out. Every time someone posts something against the commonly held beliefs of some readers, they get attacked and called names.
Granted being called dense isn’t the worst name in the book, but it’s certainly a personal attack and an insult.
What you said above doesn’t involve me, but I’ll address something else you said:
because he doesn’t play great defense. I don’t understand the reason for the exception in this case.
The exception is because there aren’t enough PAs to go around for Manny to make up for his awful defense by hitting his way out of it. Granted, he would be playing the field less and that would diminish some of his negative impact.
As for Steve saying Hairston and Jones are better players, no one’s doing that. They’re saying (as am I) that Hairston and Jones are better suited for a 4th OF position than Ramirez is.
I presume the 5th OF will be someone like Golson who has good D. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a defensive replacement and a big bopper on the bench? The Yankees did exactly this last year (or tried to) with Thames and Winn. Why would they have all their bench guys be defensive replacements. What if they are down by one in the 9th with Pena up at bat?
As for Steve saying Hairston and Jones are better players, no one’s doing that.
Steve H referring to Manny:
I wouldn’t consider him the most skilled player
and this:
http://riveraveblues.com/2010/.....nt-1462828
I presume the 5th OF will be someone like Golson who has good D. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a defensive replacement and a big bopper on the bench? The Yankees did exactly this last year (or tried to) with Thames and Winn. Why would they have all their bench guys be defensive replacements. What if they are down by one in the 9th with Pena up at bat?
There’s a big difference between Thames and Ramirez: Thames was an ST invite who made the team over a Rule V pick. Manny Ramirez is going to be MUCH more expensive than Marcus Thames and would like get the same amount of playing time. Even if Manny hit well in 200something PAs, I don’t think he’d be worth the cost. Thames was also able to be more effective later in the season because he was strictly a DH; that’s something that isn’t likely to happen with Ramirez because of Posada being the full time DH. Yes, Posada could always get hurt but there will be cheaper options to replace him than Ramirez.
As for the linked comment, I think Steve was referring to the latter part of your statement. Playing off the bench, Manny probably wouldn’t have that much more of an impact than either guy; he’d only be doing it for a lot more money.
That’s fair if you think Manny will cost too much or he won’t agree to a bench job, but the idea that a defensive guy is what the Yankees need instead of getting an obviously better player whose defense is not the strongest makes no sense to me. Especially when the other backup OF (Golson or someone similar) is already a defensive guy and the Yankees have a truckload of money to spend.
but the idea that a defensive guy is what the Yankees need instead of getting an obviously better player whose defense is not the strongest makes no sense to me.
This is where I think you’re missing the point. Manny is, no doubt, the best free agent hitter out there right now. Hell, as a hitter only, he’s better than Carl Crawford. But the best overall player for the job doesn’t always represent the right player for the job.
As for the other parts: I highly doubt Manny would a) be cost efficient for the Yankees or b) take a reduced role. Someone out there will definitely give him a full time job, even if it’s just as a DH.
I thought Boras and Manny want a DH only role? Could be wrong, but I thought that was the case.
If that is true, then he obviously isn’t a fit for the Yankees. He has never been a DH though (except for 21 games with the CWS after he was traded.)
Where did he say that?
Thought it was linked on MLBTR weeks ago. Not positive, but pretty sure.
the Yankees have a truckload of money to spend.
Just because they can spend doesn’t mean they should spend, especially on a fourth OF.
If the player is worth it, then it wouldn’t be wasting the money. Paying a few million for a generic player like Scott Hairston instead of spending a few million more for a player that can impact your team positively is a waste.
I’ve always said Manny agreeing to be 4th OF is a big if. So is Andruw Jones (the focus of the previous column.) He has signed every contract with the expectation that he would be a starter. Why would he be different from Manny?
Plank: Answers to your questions from this afternoon.
Koufax’s elbow issues would have been resolved by Tommy John Surgery, this information came from Jane Levy’s book Lefty (highly recommended).
Al Spalding did not start a sporting good store he was a manufacturer.
He started by selling baseball gloves. His baseballs were the official ones of MLB through 1976 and his basketballs are still used by the NBA.
His company made the rubber balls we played with as kids and he also wrote the rule book for MLB. I would imagine he did quite better financially with this company than he would have on a ballplayers salary in the 1870′s.
I wonder if Koufax would have been seen in a lesser light if he had a normal aging curve at the end of his career. He went out on top so his rate stats are insane. If they had fallen down like most players, would he be seen as a less dominant pitcher?
His 5 great years were so dominant, I think he would have maintained his status. He also had a legendary persona that transcended baseball. His great seasons came after 5 seasons of relative failure. He is remembered in many quarters for not starting the first or second game of the 1965 World Series due to a Jewish Holiday though he was not thought of as a very religious individual. He was a very private and thoughtful
figure who resided in a major market and was the subject of some very intense rumor mongering. Lefty is a great book and I would imagine there is lots of good info on him on the internet. If you have the time, read and decide for yourself.
We don’t tell a lot of people, but RAB is actually a Mo-worshipping cult that sacrifices dissenters.
Plank I completely agree. From time to time I like to act as devil’s advocate or incite some sort of debate. Theres a lot of people on here that will call you dense or crazy. I’ve seen regulars do this from time to time too, but its really no different than when you debate with people face to face. As soon as you bring up a point that opposes what they think, instead of taking the time to analyze it, they will just say, “You’re just dense if you don’t see things my way.”
I’d like to do a little experiment and see if Mike, Joe, or Ben were to say the stuff that gets written off as “insane” and see what the reaction would be. They do a great job of analysis, but RAB readers are much more polite to them than themselves.
The only instance when I saw the readers disagree and basically call a writer insane, was when Mike posted about Yankee fans after the violent and apathetic remarks. I happened to agree with him and saw many posters disagree just for the sake of disagreeing. For instance, I said the majority of people in the lower levels get tickets from their companies (something I think we can all accept), but people started arguing that they sat there, thus you can’t assume regular people don’t sit there.
Theres a hive mind here, yet I find it more interesting to read the writer’s analysis than join in on bandwagons. So I say, Plank, don’t let the bullies get a hold of you. If anything, they’re the dense ones for not attempting to think outside-the-box.
Thanks for that.
I think some of the posters here have an idea in their head, then any new information they get they either use to bolster their argument or disregard it. I love when I get swayed. I feel like I get smarter if I learn something new and change my opinion of something because of it.
Also, to run with your experiment, I’d love to see the reaction to the writer’s comments if they posted under a pseudonym.
To no fault of the writers, some posters take their opinions as gospel truth. I think even the writers would clarify and say that isn’t so. People come here to read their opinion, and their opinion matters, but it’s not fact just because one of the writers thinks something.
If Mike Axisa writes a column about why the Yankees should sign player A and you write a response saying you think player B is better for them and show why, that should be a welcome comment. I feel like it really isn’t here.
I just want to clarify before I get slammed, I’m not talking about all posters, but there can definitely be an unhealthy culture of groupthink here.
Dave Gershman would ask for Montero, Sanchez, Joba, and Adams for Soria. Via twitter
I guess I missed an update, but wheres my RAB radio show! I’m guessing the weather has something to do with it.
Maybe they are home for the holidays?
Living around Buffalo, I can’t even take these pictures seriously. All kidding aside though, I’m sure it’s a major issue there due to the inability to deal with it.