Winter Meetings Day 1 -- Rumor Mill In Full Swirl
by Nico on Dec 7, 2009 5:11 PM PST
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PrintHow much to believe each rumor you hear from the Winter Meetings? Probably about as much as you believe each rumor on every "baseball rumor" site around the web. In other words, 90% of all rumors are false, and the other 10% are simply ridiculous.
Nonetheless, some of the "news" coming out of the Winter Meetings so far is interesting -- and could potentially be interesting to the A's...
If any of this is to be trusted...
The Phillies might be looking to deal Joe Blanton, seeking a more affordable pitcher in return for the arbitration-eligible Cake of Cups. The A's, really in need of a veteran starter who fits in the rotation's upper-middle, could certainly use a guy like this Blanton character and if anyone has young, affordable major league ready pitchers in the mix, it's Oakland. Hmm... Reverse rebuild! Seriously, though, now that Blanton's trade value is lower than when the A's dealt him -- because he has fewer years left on his contract -- perhaps the A's could reacquire Blanton for less than they got for him and wind up with Cardenas and Blanton...
The Rays are making a play for Roy Halladay that could include sending BJ Upton to Toronto where he could be flipped to a third team. Drool. Yes he had a really rough season in 2009, but BJ Upton is a very talented player who is only 25. Buy low!
Dan Uggla's name has resurfaced as a "likely" trade target, with the Giants named as a possible front-runner (not sure why, since they have Freddy Sanchez at 2B and Pablo Sandoval at 3B -- are they thinking of putting Uggla at 1B?). The blurb with the rumor notes the Marlins seeking bullpen help this off-season. Get 'er done, Billy!
Oh, and Rotoworld suggests that the Pirates are "making a push for Bobby Crosby." On purpose??? I think I'm starting to comprehend how 81 wins have eluded them for the past 17 years. That's not "rebuilding" -- that's just flipping off your fans while saving a finger.
Finally, I just need to say it: Brandon Inge!!! No rumors, there. Just me saying "Brandon Inge!!!"
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Brandon Inge just signed a new Nike contract
Derr
Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Anyone seen Bo's ball?
Stewart: "What really needs to be clear is it wouldn't have mattered if there was an earthquake or not. We were going to beat the Giants.
Blanton and Harden
Remember not to long ago that fans here was complaining about the trades of thsoe 2. Now one is a free agent and the other is on the trading block cheap. I guess you could say Beane done good.
by Arcman on Dec 7, 2009 5:28 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Wow
Invasion of the spelling nerds. Some of you need to get a life or need the baseball season to get here ASAP.
I have to say
the Blanton trade was a real steal on our end. I was always fond with Blanton, especially the literary tribute he received in Moneyball. I thought we had traded away the leagues best inning eater: But in the end, Cardena’s and Outman were well worth the deal.
Don't forget "1/3 of Jake Fox"
Well, 1/3 of Jake Fox minus 1/3 of how much negative value Aaron Miles brings with him.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
You changed your sig!
I like it a lot, given that the misuse of “literally” is one of my top grammatical bete noires, right up there with the use of “I” as part of a compound object pronoun (“between you and I” – arghhh).
I will now patiently wait for iglew to chime in with lucid instructions (in which acronyms like HTML and ANSCII may well appear) that will tell me how to get the circumflex diacritic over “bete”, so that I don’t have to do such tedious research myself. I’m counting on you, iglew!
I'll bete he comes through
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
I can't tell you how to put the circumflex there
but I reckon the plural is betes noires.
Sorry, I just fucked up an interview and I’m quite grumpy now.
I suspect that you think tilting at windmills means something other than what it does
D'oh!
You’re absolutely right about the plural. No need to apologize to a grammar prude like me. And sorry about the interview.
ironically, one of the things that I was supposed to stress in the interview
was attention to detail. gah.
I suspect that you think tilting at windmills means something other than what it does
Can't you just paste it in from the character map?
Bête noire. Or type Alt+0234 (numpad numbers, not top row numbers).
Your day breaks, your mind aches.
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
when she no longer needs you.
Bob Nothing wins the prize.
He correctly guessed that I was more interested in the missing “s” than the missing circumflex.
Dan already explained how to make the circumflex in Windows. If you’re on Mac, type opt-i followed by e. Or just cut and paste from somewhere.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
ê
Cool, thanks (I am on a Mac).
I didn’t think you’d be bothered by the missing circumflex so much as I thought you’d know how to do it off the top of your head and would be willing to share. I was right about that.
As for the missing “s”, yes yes, sackcloth and ashes for me – I know the rules for French plurals.
Learn them all
opt-u followed by vowel for umlaut. opt-e followed by vowel for acute accent. opt-` followed by vowel for grave accent.
opt combined with various other letters or numbers for other nifty symbols. Try them out.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
TWSS
I didn’t think you’d be bothered by the missing circumflex so much as I thought you’d know how to do it off the top of your head and would be willing to share
A B -3X = Swedish girls like chocolate @('.')@
Also, it's ASCII
One of the early extensions of ASCII was the ANSI extension, so I guess you’re conflating the two.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
This is me disappointed
I was about to break out in song about how funny that was. Still, though, good reference.
The confusion between "I" and "me"
probably bugs me more than almost anything else in this world…
Stewart: "What really needs to be clear is it wouldn't have mattered if there was an earthquake or not. We were going to beat the Giants.
It bugs I too
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
"Who" and "whom" confusion is similar, isn't it?
I often feel insecure when I see the version I would not use in AN post or a comment, written by people who are a) native speakers and b) write really well.
“Me” and “whom” being the rare (only?) remnants of declension in English, one would think it is not too much to master. However, simplifying seems the natural flow for language “development”. Similar can be observed in modern German, with near extinction of dative. There is actually a saying:
- Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod
The dative is to genitive its death.
It ridicules the usage of dative (“dem”) where genitive should be used. Proper sentence, by the way, would be – Der Dativ ist der Tod des Genitivs. And the suffices s or es were also part of Old English genitive.
Somehow though, the simplest forms survive. Spelling and grammar light , leading us towards the happy days of Idiocracy . To a certain point I can understand that. Try learning Croatian as a foreigner and you will be on a Verge of a Nervous Breakdown before finishing lesson one. Seven cases (changing the nouns, not articles), terminable and non-terminable version of every verb, each conveniently accompanied with four different past tenses, as well as plurals where each noun has a different form depending whether the number (amount) ends with 1, 2-4 or 5-0. Basque is even crazier, as each verb changes depending on whom you talk to even when the sentence has nothing to do with that person.
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
I'd say "who" and "whom" is similar formally, but not practically
The dropping of “whom” in favor of “who” is very well established – back in high school I remember coming across a book that had to have been written in the ‘40s or ’50s that already was arguing strongly that it was basically OK to drop whom altogether and go with “who.” Personally I don’t take it quite that far – I use “whom” when it directly follows a preposition (“For whom?”) but who in any other circumstance (“Who’s it for?”). Using “I” as an object pronoun is not nearly as well established, and I’d like to keep it that way. For one thing, the misuse of “I” is mostly restricted to compound objects – no one would say “for I,” but lots of people would say “for elcroata and I.”
On another note, is “Croatian” the Language Formerly Known as Serbo-Croatian? ;-) Perhaps I now understand where you derive at least the root of your screen name, if not the whole thing.
Good distinction
Yes, it is. There are minor differences between Serbian and Croatian, small enough for the two to be considered dialects of the same language. The biggest is the script, as Serbian is Cyrillic.
The screen name is what my Spanish wife and relatives call me :)
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
Ah, so you're a Croat who lives in Germany who has a Spanish user name who speaks in English.
That’s not confusing at all.
Your day breaks, your mind aches.
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
when she no longer needs you.
Makes sense to me.
One language from parents and family, one language from wife and in-law family, one language from co-workers and neighbors, and one language for AN and the rest of the world.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Sounds like Charles V
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
AN non urbs, sed orbis.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Use of "whom" is essentially dialectical.
For most American English speakers it’s not native at all. For those of us who do use it natively it is as natural as “him” or “them” and we don’t have to consciously think about it. (Dropping it in certain cases, like “who is it for?” is also natural.)
It never bothers me at all to see “who” used instead of “whom”, since that’s how most people speak. It does, however, stick out like a sore thumb every time someone uses “whom” where it does not belong; it’s like you’re trying to imitate and getting it wrong. This is why I always advise anyone for whom “whom” is not native to just simply use “who” all the time.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Yeah, but now you're mixing idioms.
If you ditch the whom, you also have to change word order:
Don’t ask who the bell tolls for.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Can we still say "Send not to know..."?
It sounds cooler than “don’t ask”.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
All the English pronouns are still declined
I/me/my, he/him/his, she/her/her, it/it/its, we/us/our, you/you/your, they/them/their. And, for the Quakers, thou/thee/thy.
I think it’s a good thing that we still do this, because it makes it much, much easier to understand the concept of grammatical case when you’re learning another language.
The biggest confusion with who/whom, I think, has to do with dependent or interrogative clauses, when the case of the pronoun is determined by its role in the clause, not by the clause’s role in the sentence. “I hope the A’s sign whoever the best 3rd baseman will be next year” — often people will write incorrectly, “whomever the best 3rd baseman will be next year” because that clause is the object of the verb “sign.”
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
My, your, his, her...
Aren’t these possessive adjectives rather than declinations? In other languages (at least the ones I know) , they are not considered as declinations of I, you, he, she.
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
That might depend on how they developed, I guess
I don’t know the etymology of those forms, but I’ve read that the ‘s form for English possessives is a contraction of “his”, so "elcroata’s" would have been “elcroata, his”. If that’s the case, then “his”, itself, needs to have some different origin. The irregularity of the other forms might support that conclusion: we don’t say “she’s” or “you’s” (well, outside of Philadelphia, you don’t!) or “we’s”. “We/our/us” looks to me like a noun being declined.
On the other hand, those forms obviously aren’t all-purpose genitives, because we don’t say “all my” we say “all of me.”
If we had grammatical genders in English we’d be able to tell, because “my” would have to agree with the gender of the noun it was modifying if it were, in fact, an adjective. Latin has both adjectival forms (meus, mea, meum) and a genitive of the first person pronoun (mei) because you need a form of the pronoun for non-possessive genitives, too.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
Interesting
I think, and I’m guessing here, that historically they were declinations. German would support that theory, as genitives of personal pronouns and possessive adjectives are sharing a root, at least.
Nominative / Genitive / Possessive adjective
ich / meiner / mein
du / deiner / dein
er / seiner / sein
et cetera.
So, I believe the same root applies for English words, as well. However, I do not see “my, your, his…” actually used as grammatical case of “I, you, he…”. Perhaps I am just missing something, but as far as I can think, only uses as possessive adjectives come to mind.
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
For what it's worth
wikipedia says that these forms are pronouns:
Unlike English nouns, which are undeclined for case except for possession (woman/woman’s), English pronouns have a number of forms or “cases” depending on their grammatical role in a sentence:
* a subjective case form (I/we/etc.), used as the subject of a finite verb
* an objective case form (me/us/etc.), used as the object of verb or of a preposition
* two possessive case forms (mine/ours/etc.), used to indicate the possessor of another noun. One form is used as a determiner, and the other is used as a pronoun or a predicate adjective
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
English possessives
I had never heard the bit where “-’s” is a contraction of “his”. Old English had noun declension, and the genitive parallels the German genitive. Surely the obvious explanation is that genitive persisted as possessive while the others fell out of use. Without knowing where you heard the “his” contraction explanation, I’m inclined to think it was erroneous.
As for whether my, your etc are declined nouns or possessive adjectives, I think this is merely a semantic debate. There is no disagreement about the grammatical function of the words, just the definition of “noun declension”. El Croata, being fluent in non-English languages, probably has a more strict sense of the term than how it is commonly used in English.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Looks like it's a folk etymology
According to wikipedia (again!), it’s based on the less common “‘his’ genitive” construction, which was used alongside the “Saxon genitive” (“es” ending) through the 17th century. People seem to have inferred that the apostrophe in the modern ‘s ending indicates a contraction of “his” when it doesn’t.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
Are terminable and non-terminable verbs
the same that are called “perfective” and “imperfective” in Russian?
I never got far with either language, but in my initial survey I found Russian less confusing than German. Russian has several cases, but they are clear and consistent, like in Latin, whereas in German all the suffixes overlap and I can never tell what’s going on.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Seriously.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
DON'T CALL ME SHIRLEY
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
AN: It's a whole different kind of blog.
Altogether!
Your day breaks, your mind aches.
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
when she no longer needs you.
Don't put it past Beane to pull something like this off. though.
Perception is not always reality my good man.
You make an interesting point, though.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
OMG coincidence!
my wife gave me her first successful shirley this morning! “it IS cold enough to stay in bed till noon, and please stop calling me shirley…”
don't care if i ever get back.
by AV on Dec 8, 2009 12:28 PM PST up reply actions
Whenever I visit Urban Dictionary
I feel an urge to click thumbs-down on 95% of all the definition.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
For Iglew, every thread is a linguistics thread.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
You're a cunning one
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Yes they are
Most Slavic languages copied Latin cases more strictly than German did, with the price of having more of them.
The learning curve for German is much different than for, say, Spanish. I could flirt fluently in Spanish after a week, whereas I couldn’t even buy bread in German after living in Germany for a month.
However with an exorbitant number of rules German has, once the things start falling into their places – the rest is easy. Most difficult part (for me) is to guess the gender of the nouns, as unlike in Slavic and Romance languages it just doesn’t make any sense.
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
On the other hand, every German I've met has been very keen on talking to me in English
No matter how much I tried to speak to them in German, first.
The only time I’ve had trouble communicating in Germany was when I was in a bakery in Munich, and used the word ‘zwei’ instead of ‘zwo’. For some reason, the older lady who workked there took some sort of regional offence and glared at me like, instead of asking for two bread rolls, I’d requested her permission to sleep with both her daughters.
At the same time.
I suspect that you think tilting at windmills means something other than what it does
For the past 3 months I've been trying to come up with a way to retun to AN with a bang.
When PT returned, he did so with an excellent FanPost. I wanted to do a write-up on why the A’s shouldn’t non-tender Cust, or why Eric Patterson should not be on the 25-man roster, or why Aaron Miles might truly be the biggest pile of suck I’ve ever seen. I wanted to complain about Bob Geren being retained for another failed season. But nothing really, really made me want to post again.
Until now.
Thank you elcroata, iglew, Nick, and everybody else for the grammar/linguistics. I missed posting here (though I’ve been lurking and recommending the whole time).
Me and I confusion doesn’t bother me so much, and neither does who/whom unless, as iglew said, they say whom when who is correct. I have recently started work as a TA for a popular online university. I’m disturbed by how unprepared so many students (most of them in their 30s and 40s) are for college-level work. I WISH my only concern was correcting some I/Me errors.
by thejd44 on Dec 8, 2009 12:00 PM PST up reply actions
WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN??!?!?
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
I went into hiding to avoid you and your OOTP league demands
by thejd44 on Dec 8, 2009 12:11 PM PST up reply actions
sad panda :(
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Well, at least this thread isn't 100% "rich getting richer" trade comments...
Good to see you around. Have you at least been voting in the CPL polls?
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
I missed the first couple, voted in a couple, and then decided to sit back and watch more recently
I read them though, at least for the most part.
by thejd44 on Dec 8, 2009 12:18 PM PST up reply actions
It is great to have you back!
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
Are there jobs going there?
I need a job.
I suspect that you think tilting at windmills means something other than what it does
Miles .282 lifetime average
Miles sucked last year in under 200 ABs, but his career average suggests he’s not bad — a switch-hitter with .282 lifetime average. On top of that he’s an East Bay native. If he sucks again as utility player for A’s then maybe I’ll jump on the “bash wagon”.
I love the trend of getting Bay Area ball players.
Gives the team some charisma.
If he had any skills whatsoever other than the ability to hit for a .282 average, he might even be decent
Unfortunately, he doesn’t…
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
Well now you're just being unreasonable...
"We've come a long way, and I'm not talking about Virginia Slims, either." - Art Howe
I bet he can even walk and chew gum at the same time!
"Sniff some krazy glue, and start a religion!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Dec 8, 2009 6:31 PM PST up reply actions
Oh, and Rotoworld suggests that the Pirates are “making a push for Bobby Crosby.” On purpose???
The Cros’ agent has been busy rumour-mongering, I’ve seen him attached to the Pirates, Tigers, Rockies, Red Sox and Rangers.
I’m guessing none of them actually are interested.
Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Add the Bad News Bears to the Crosby sweepstakes.
Buttermaker needs a hitter off the bench in case Tanner can’t go.
JJ Martin
The best way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until the ball stops rolling and then pick it up. ~Bob Uecker
by JJ Martin on Dec 7, 2009 5:59 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Can you imagine Crosby in Boston?
That’d be hilarious.
Your day breaks, your mind aches.
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
when she no longer needs you.
Are they that desperate for people to work the scoreboard inside the Monster?
I’d think they’d have Sux fans lined up for that position.
CuttheMullet, from "The Thread":
"Whenever I’m about to do something, I think "would an idiot do that?" and if they would, I do not do that thing."
Bobby Crosby: Our Green Monster
That could be a book title.
Your day breaks, your mind aches.
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
when she no longer needs you.
If he did go to Boston...
…would he be the starting SS, or would he back-up Scutaro?
Every hitter likes fastballs, just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's what it feels like when Nolan Ryan's thrown balls by you. ~Reggie Jackson
Obviously he'd be backing up
In fact, given his inflated ego, I think it’s fairly safe to guess that Boston was ruled off his list as soon as Boston signed Scutaro.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
His ego is so inflated, he's even named it.
It’s called “Ed.”
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Bobby Crosby's three-pronged mind:
The ego, the super-ego, and the Ed.
Your day breaks, your mind aches.
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
when she no longer needs you.
by danmerqury on Dec 7, 2009 9:43 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Regardless, that one was truely inspired.
That’s a QOTM nomination during the regular season…
Stewart: "What really needs to be clear is it wouldn't have mattered if there was an earthquake or not. We were going to beat the Giants.
I smell a sigline!
"Sniff some krazy glue, and start a religion!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Dec 8, 2009 6:34 PM PST up reply actions
No doubt.
Keep in mind I was being facetious.
Every hitter likes fastballs, just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's what it feels like when Nolan Ryan's thrown balls by you. ~Reggie Jackson
I did see a little bit of sad A's rumors today
Per Jorge Arangure, the A’s interest in Chapman was (and is) not serious.
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
So rumor has it we're getting Brandon Inge, eh?
I’ll tell all my friends.
Everybody's got a little light under the sun.
I got a case of Inge once...
It took forever to go away, and the scabs were horrendous…
…come to think of it, maybe that was scabies…
"Sniff some krazy glue, and start a religion!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Dec 8, 2009 6:35 PM PST up reply actions
Blanton Deal
In reality, one of the best of Beane’s career if Outman can come back from TJ surgery. Throw in some of pletera of relievers (Weurtz?) And we get Blanton back, even better.
Bobby Crosby going to Pittsburgh?
If it was that other “Crosby” who plays hockey, it’d be news.
Otherwise, it’s nothing more than “fitting”.
"The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled."-Plutarch
by One won lost won on Dec 7, 2009 6:40 PM PST reply actions
Flyers fan?
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
by PaulThomas on Dec 7, 2009 11:26 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Well the first of the plausible "injury-riddled good pitchers" is off the market
in the form of Brad Penny. Not a ridiculously great contract, though— he got $7.5M with more in incentives.
Still interested in Bedard though.
BTW, I think an Uggla acquisition would see him at third, Sandoval at first, and the Giants still losing 80-plus games next season. Except they’d also be out a bunch of money and prospects. You heard it here first.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
I think that Giants' alignment would make sense
They just emphasized (Chronicle, a couple days ago, I think) that Sandoval is staying at 3B, but maybe that’s just what they’re saying while they don’t have an alternative.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Opined at a Shea Nico?
Honestly I don’t remember. It was early morning, so I was likely drunk and distracted by looking for my pants.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Oh wow
so that was you? I didn’t know. Sorry. I’ll remember you next time
Ooo! Piece of candy!
by ChickenStanley on Dec 8, 2009 1:00 AM PST up reply actions
7.5MM with incentives for Penny?
That does not look smart at all..;..
Wonder how this affects the Cards’ likelihood of outbidding the AL East for Matt Holliday.
"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it" ~ Mae West
More Crosby spin:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/12/pirates-intensify-pursuit-of-bobby-crosby.html
INTENSIFY PURSUIT???? (Yes I know I’m shouting)
Move over Holliday and Bay, there’s a new free agent sheriff in town!
Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
Exactly.
I could understand intensifying the pursuit of a hit man or a psychiatrist, but I can’t find either of those associated with the writeup and so it just doesn’t compute.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
it turns out that Crosby is the captain of a small vessel off the coast of Somalia
This makes total sense now.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 7, 2009 11:06 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
EN joins the chorus
Yes, I’d love some Cupcakes, frosted these last two Octobers in the heat of the prime time postseason lights. Might come in handy in 2011 when we quit taking it so easy on the Sleggies and maybe make the playoffs. Best innings (and postgame spread) eater in MLB, yes Say It’s Alright, Joe.
The Pirates, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. The comments in that thread linked above are hi-larious. Example:
“Crosby is the worst. Funniest part is that he thinks he’s awesome… can’t figure out why the Yankees aren’t trading Jeter to get him in the line-up.”
Just the idea that we’ll never have to see that fool come up with the bases loaded again and strike out on a pitch 15 feet away gives me pause to reflect on the Total Awesomeness of Crosbylessness, coming in 2010.
Hey, I just bought the team from Lew Wolff... who wants to play third?
If you're interested in Blanton in 2011, trading for him right now would not assist you in that pursuit...
on account of he’s a free agent after this next season.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
It should be relatively easy to get Blanton to sign an extension, though.
You just tie a contract and a donut to a string and keep pulling them just out of his reach until he agrees to sign the thing.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Have you SEEN Scott Boras's waiting room?
Your day breaks, your mind aches.
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
when she no longer needs you.
I lived there for a couple of weeks
when I was in between apartments.
It’s so big, I don’t think anybody even noticed…
"Sniff some krazy glue, and start a religion!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Dec 8, 2009 6:39 PM PST up reply actions
Just the idea that we’ll never have to see that fool come up with the bases loaded again and strike out on a pitch 15 feet away gives me pause to reflect on the Total Awesomeness of Crosbylessness, coming in 2010.
Don’t speak too soon, he’s still a free agent and we could do with another IF/warm body.
Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
I hear ya
but if I visualize Crosby still on our team too much, this glass of anti-freeze in front of me becomes more appetizing, I’m afraid.
Hey, I just bought the team from Lew Wolff... who wants to play third?
by emperor nobody on Dec 7, 2009 8:34 PM PST up reply actions
funniest comment from the thread about the Pirates and Crosby
was someone wondering if Bobby comes to Pittsburgh, if he will wear #87 LOL
Hey, I just bought the team from Lew Wolff... who wants to play third?
by emperor nobody on Dec 7, 2009 8:38 PM PST up reply actions
Why would he want to put his OBP on the back of his jersey?
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
indeed
Maybe they should just sign his dad, or just say WTF and put Sid the Kid at SS.
Hey, I just bought the team from Lew Wolff... who wants to play third?
by emperor nobody on Dec 7, 2009 8:47 PM PST up reply actions
What am I missing?
I totally don’t get this joke.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Nontender deadline
I would expect a few players of interest such as atkins, garko, correia.
Atkins is signed to a contract
They won’t be putting their roster on a diet quite so easily.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
Nontender deadline
I would expect a few players of interest such as atkins, garko, correia.
Nontender deadline
I would expect a few players of interest such as atkins, garko, correia.
"She's kinda got cankles, our kids are gonna have to play soccer." ~ Mrs. "Disco" Hayes
by CaliforniaJag on Dec 8, 2009 9:06 AM PST up reply actions
Bring back Smokin Joe
Great guy. Sat and drank beer with me after signing autographs at a bar one night. Workhorse and a nice guy. Get it done Billy.
I met Tiger Woods at an airport in Houston in '95 when he was still a Stanford student.
Awesome guy. Autographed my plane ticket. Didn’t hit on my girlfriend or anything.
The artist formerly known as HigherPie.
by vegAN ryAN on Dec 8, 2009 1:03 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Billy pwns reporter:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/12/beane-on-free-agents.html
New information: 0
Politician-like answers: (4563457467674)
Interesting names: 2 (Juan Uribe, Troy Glaus)
Is this the real life-
Is this just fantasy-
Caught in a landslide-
No escape from reality-
3b scrap pile
Just write down all the 3b out there and see if one sticks.
Fernando Tatis? Ramon Martinez?
Gee, can Matt Williams still play too? Charlie Hayes maybe?
Maybe we should just stick with the injured and crappy guys…
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 8:38 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I think he's just smokescreening by throwing out every single vaguely plausible name
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
I love the comment the guy made about Billy Beane
“There are only two rules every GM follows regardless of payroll, job security, market, or past performance.”
Rule #1: If your phone rings and it’s Billy Beane on the other end, hang up immediately.
Rule #2: Never forget Rule #1.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
The joke was far better than the end line from the original mlb.com article
“We aren’t looking for that one final piece to put us over the top, but want to develop new pieces internally to put us within that one player. And, certainly, there are guys who short-term could help in our development.” Randy Newman sang about “Short People.” Beane strolls the hotel lobbies here humming about “short-term people.”
Bad joke, though it insightfully pokes fun at Beane’s Achilles heel: aging veterans.
"No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball." - Connie Mack
Kevin Correia anyone?
Would be a good cheap #5 starter that has been a swing man before. SD may trade him or non-tender. Maybe Billy can offer Eveland for him.
I wouldn't mind it personally
But he’s a lot better than Eveland:
WHIP 1.30 .298 BABIP on a .258 avg and FIP 3.81
So I don’t think it’ll happen
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 8:43 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Tiger Woods? :-)
Sorry for the late reply, but I’ve been busy paying off all my mistresses
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 9:20 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I'll PayPal you
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 9:26 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I would have delivered your check in person.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Hi.
I would have brought cash, too.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
me too
(punches fist into palm repeatedly)
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 9:48 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
only my Grandma writes checks
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 9:33 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I'll write you a check with lots of 0's
They’ll be on the left side of the number. Is that OK?
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
So that's who knocked this morning
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 9:35 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
So you're noisy going both directions then?
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
noisy is good.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Indeed, but only if it's genuine.
Fake noise is no good for anyone.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
I have low standards.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
3.81 is probably below average in Petco
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
He's still better than Eveland
and Tomko is too. I really hope we keep Tomko.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 9:32 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
To me Tomko = John Mabry...
…did great for us in half a season, will regress back to his usual next season.
Every hitter likes fastballs, just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's what it feels like when Nolan Ryan's thrown balls by you. ~Reggie Jackson
I'm not in love with the guy
But he’s cheap and useful in some way. That should merit some consideration.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 11:32 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Now, where did monkeyball go...?
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
I'll make a promise
If Kevin Correiarrrrrrrgh signs for the A’s, I’m going to write his name like that, every time he pitches
I suspect that you think tilting at windmills means something other than what it does
Why not
CoRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRReia
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
That's just how it is
I suspect that you think tilting at windmills means something other than what it does
Or his other nickname
Kevin “can’t fool the batter’s” Cornea
"No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball." - Connie Mack
My first thought when I read the Pirtaes are actively interested in BroCro...
…“So, the Pirates plan is to continue sucking.”.
Every hitter likes fastballs, just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's what it feels like when Nolan Ryan's thrown balls by you. ~Reggie Jackson
The Pirates are going for the #1 pic of 2011
They are trying to do the rebuild right this time. Sign the worst players for a few years and then make out like a bandit at draft time.
Every day is just a little worse than the previous, that means every day is the worst day of my life.
by shooting4life on Dec 8, 2009 11:37 AM PST up reply actions
Possible 3 team deal done?
Yanks get: Granderson,
Dbacks get: Ian Kennedy, Edwin Jackson
Tigers get: Scherzer, Schlereth, Austin Jackson, Coke (I assume this means blow)
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Absolutely horrid, appalling deal for the Diamondbacks
Give away an awesome pitcher, get back two really shitty pitchers. One of whom costs a lot more.
What the &$& gives?
Actually if Schlereth is involved it’s somehow even worse for them. Are they TRYING to give away every talented player on their roster? I feel sorry for Dan Haren.
Also, this deal should be vetoed by MLB on grounds that it’s just ridiculously pro-Yankees. Granderson for that pile of crap? You’ve got to be kidding me. Can’t the A’s beat that offer?
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
That's exactly what I thought.
The Yanks give up Kennedy, Jackson, and a shitty reliever for Granderson.
We couldn’t have offered Simmons, Buck, and a reliever from Sacramento?
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
C'mon
That proposed A’s package is even more lousy than the group the Yankees are giving up.
The monster at the end of this blog.
True
So, I guess that one would have to be a 4 team trade, including the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
Am I the only one high on Scherzer?
this move is nearly as bad as the Haren trade for Arizona! is there another quality player going to Arizona that hasn’t been reported!?!?!?
Was the motivation to save money, because they surely didn’t go younger…….
Sure wasn't to save money
Scherzer and Schlereth make the league minimum next year. Jackson most assuredly does not.
It doesn’t even move resources from pitching to hitting or something. All they did was make their team more expensive and worse. Immediately worse, not even some short-term/long-term tradeoff thing.
This is the dumbest trade I’ve seen in literally years. You have to go back to the Bavasi era to find people making deals this idiotic.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
So, essentially:
1. They didn’t upgrade to better players or address organizational weaknesses
2. They didn’t save money, they increased it by a lot
3. And for a position like pitching, they opted to not go younger, but swap for older guys.
Can we trade Anderson for the gems of the D-Back farm system a second time?
Wouldn't be a proper analogy to this trade if the A's were actually giving something awesome (like Anderson) in return
It’s like them accepting Braden and Eveland for those two guys.
Inexplicable. If that trade was offered to me the phone wouldn’t have hit the receiver before the paperwork was in Bud Selig’s grubby little fists.
Is Arizona’s GM taking a kickback under the table for this or something? It’s so breathtakingly idiotic that it’s actually making me suspicious of some kind of conspiracy. And that’s not easy to do.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
This.
Or Josh Byrnes is just beyond stupid.
Ridiculous. Unacceptable. Should be removed of his job immediately.
"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it" ~ Mae West
Or...
Maybe there’s something about Scherzer that makes AZ think the bottom is going to drop out soon.
I don’t know why Arizona has positioned itself as the bitch of this deal but I’ve got to think they see some kind of advantage here.
The monster at the end of this blog.
Maybe Scherzer is injured?
He did have a big increase in innings.
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
The D'backs would be obliged to inform the Tigers of an injury
Maybe they think his motion is too jerky and he’ll get injured relatively soon.
I think jumping to the conclusion that Byrnes is stupid is a bit premature. I haven’t heard (or looked) for AZ’s take on the deal.
The monster at the end of this blog.
The Haren trade wasn't bad for Zona IMO.
That trade is one of the few true franchise altering, win-win trades.
Considering that they were able to sign Haren to an extension, that trade is pure win-win for both sides.
"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it" ~ Mae West
The Diamondbacks ended up with the best player in the deal and managed to extend him
They paid a high price for Haren, but it was a fair price and certainly not even in the same stratosphere as this deal.
League average = really shitty?
It’s a bad deal for the D-Backs, but holy hyperbole.
A lot hinges on the short term and long term health of Scherzer’s shoulder, something the D-Backs obviously weren’t too confident about.
I don't think Edwin Jackson is very likely to be league-average next season...
Guy’s had one decent season in his entire career. Even within that season, he was awful for half of it.
He’s the starting pitcher version of Santiago Casilla.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
Says the guy who hates it when people use half season stats against him
The monster at the end of this blog.
Well, in general, I favor the use of career stats...
and Jackson’s career stats are mediocre at best.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
Jackson and Kennedy are both league averagish
Check CHONE or ZIPS. ZIPS actually likes Jackson even more than that.
Kennedy’s minor league numbers are pretty great, and Jackson seems to have drastically improved his control over the past few years.
And as for Kennedy, I don't like either his health or his stuff
He’s the righthanded Greg Smith.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
Exactly -- overrated prospect who will never be good
The Yankees got a steal on this trade.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
If this goes down
it is a horrible, horrible deal for the Diamondbacks. I really like Scherzer.
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
Have you just been victimized by a GM?
Then call the firm of Scherzer, Schlereth, Austin, Jackson, and Coke.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
From MLB Daily Dish
Eli Greenspan says:
“Possible trade announcement in the next hour. Stay tuned”
Is the above trade the one he was talking about?
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
isn't that a type of pepper?
I suspect that you think tilting at windmills means something other than what it does
Supposedly the deal is off the table for now
per Buster Olney on ESPN….
and this as well…
GordonEdes: Sox and Scott Boras talking on “numerous” subjects, according to a baseball source. Matt Holliday is presumably at the top that list.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
seems like the DBacks-Tigers-Yanks deal is on
according to this
at least pending physicals.. Kennedy was injured in 2009, so I imagine he’ll have to check out as healthy or the deal might fall through.
I remember that the A’s wanted Scherzer in the Haren deal, but the DBacks wouldn’t agree. I saw him pitch last year. Very storng arm. Threw too many pitches (walked a lot of players) and didn’t go deep into the game. But hell, he’s young. You’d think with some competent coaching he can’t help but improve.
As I recall
Scherzer signed too late for him to be part of the Haren deal. But that memory was made several beers ago.
The monster at the end of this blog.
that may also be true
but reports from the time also indicated that the DBacks were not willing to part with him
I think he would have needed to be a PTBNL.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
What a train-wreck
Sherzer forJackson and Kennedy……What was the motivation for the move?
Talk about horrible replacement value to shore up their rotation, I bet Haren is despondent he got locked in for a long term contract.
Maybe we could re-trade for Haren and bring him back home....
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
that's a good pint
But I wouldn’t be surprised if Billy tried to pull it off somehow.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
Good pint
Smithwick’s comes to mind
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
Can't argue with that one, either
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
Although my current favorite is Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Truly delicious…..yum!
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
I'm drinking it... (gulp)
…right now.
"Sniff some krazy glue, and start a religion!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Dec 8, 2009 6:47 PM PST up reply actions
Nice....
I’m rather ill at the moment so you’ll have to enjoy one for the both of us.
On second thought………{Reaches for cold one…}
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
starve a fever,
drink the shit out of a cold!
as for the flu, you’re gonna be puking anyway, so why not?
"Sniff some krazy glue, and start a religion!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Dec 10, 2009 1:56 PM PST up reply actions
You know what I have found to help with the flu/fever?
Making a nice, hot whiskey toddy. Settles the aches and pains, and calms the coughing….and then lots of sleep. Thank god I didn’t have the vomiting, too. Yikes!!!!
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
After looking at what players were/are involved in said trade
I’m really surprised Billy did not try to get in on this action. Just from an organizational standpoint, the A’s have a lot more to offer in this type of deal, in my opinion. WTF!????
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
Anyone seen this bit on Matsui?
Maybe I missed it in this or an earlier thread, but there’s a rumor that Matsui is considering the A’s as a possible destination.
‘Cause of his knee he’s destined to DH. Is Matsui better than Cust, and if so how much more would you spend on him over Cust? My thinking is you have one or the other but not both on the Oakland roster.
The monster at the end of this blog.
the story was that Matsui prefers large metropolitan areas
if he’s only being considered for the AL, the Bay Area is certainly not out of the question. But I don’t know that there is interest from the A’s.
why not?
If anything, he would help draw some fans from the bay area.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
a contending club would improve attendance more than any one player
that’s been pretty much the case in Oakland for years
this much is true
but that doesn’t mean Beane can’t start the process by acquiring another good bat that happens to also be Japanese etc…I don’t think it is out of the realm of possibility, basically.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
Neither one will help draw fans... nothing will help draw fans
Put the blame wherever you like, but the Oakland Athletics and their namesake city are clearly mutually uninterested in doing business with each other.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
this is not about the A's playing in Oakland
this is about drawing fans. Contending teams have consistently drawn well, so there’s no reason to think it wouldn’t do so again. Oakland, by the way, is pretty easily accessible from the entire Bay Area. When the team draws fans it does so from throughout the Bay Area. I speak from experience as someone who has attended games in the coliseum since 1980.
of course, crappy teams, teams with players that few fans recognize, lousy and inconsistent media coverage, etc., all those things do depress attendance.
Then again
It’s not like the A’s blew the tops off the place when they did draw “well”
Last 10 seasons (1999-2008)
AL Average Season Attendance:
2,286,874
2,262,557
2,346,071
2,207,891
2,191,745
2,340,422
2,360,452
2,458,741
2,527,968
2,464,986
A’s:
1,434,632
1,728,885
2,133,477
2,169,811
2,216,596
2,201,516
2,109,298
1,976,625
1,921,844
1,578,922
In only one season (2003) did we outdraw AL average.
I don’t want to get into to it too much because it’s OT, but we have to get better than average attendance at least a few times for us to viably contend.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 1:06 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
It may not help local attendence figures, but Matsui is a superstar in Japan
That means hordes of overseas media descending upon the stadium and a bump in international following. Maybe that helps draw local fans, but the local angle is only part of the equation.
According to Sanspo, a Japanese news outlet, the Yankees stand to lose up to $15 million worth of business if Godzilla walks (tramples?) away. That figure was pulled from a nytimes article found here. That number may be inflated and of course the A’s aren’t a worldwide megabrand like the Yankees, but one can still expect a bump in revenue from a Matsui signing.
"No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball." - Connie Mack
Not sure about a bump in attendance but
You could see a bump in merchandise sold thanks to Matsui being in Green and Gold.
The monster at the end of this blog.
2010 slogan would be:
“Total destruction of Tokyo….a different style of baseball!”
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
And once we maybe finally head to SJ:
A new style of baseball …
It’s Ichiro 2.0 Here comes Godzilla!
"No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball." - Connie Mack
Ichiro will lay till he's 50! You heard it here first!
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
Whoops, I meant to say "play"
Good lord, where is my mind today…?
Wait, don’t answer that!
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
I don't know about the A's interest either
But Cust is looking at (round number) a $4.5 million price tag in 2010. Matsui would most certainly cost more but he might be counted on to produce more as well.
The monster at the end of this blog.
So how much to sign Godzilla, then?
Probably does not make sense to have both on the team, but it could happen if Beane decides to flip Cust later on…
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
Exactly!
So if Beane signs Matsui, and retains Cust, then he could always turn around and trade Cust before the 2010 season starts. Unless that is not allowed for some reason.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
That's allowed
I just thought you meant both would be playing games for the A’s in 2010 before Cust moved on.
The monster at the end of this blog.
Oh no, no...
It wouldn’t make any sense unless Matsui was still able to play the field without looking like a new born pony.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
The problem with this is that if the A's are perceived to be FORCED to move Cust,
his value drops. And as a league-average DH (thus appealing to only 2/3 of the league to begin with, i.e. AL teams and the dumb NL teams who don’t understand what defense means), it wasn’t that high to begin with.
They’d be better off nontendering Cust in that scenario, methinks (otherwise they might be stuck eating most of his salary). Which in turn means that I roundly oppose any notion of signing Matsui (unless the contract is just ridiculously cheap). Anything that makes nontendering Jack Cust look like a good idea must itself be a remarkably poor one.
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
Ridiculously cheap doesn't fit in my Excel sheet
Gto a corresponding dollar figure?
The monster at the end of this blog.
$6M/1 or $10M/2?
Something like that. Basically “little if at all more than Cust himself would have made.”
O'Hara: Detective Lassiter is literally on fire.
Spencer: What kind of fire are we talking about-- "Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial" fire, or "misusing the word literally" fire?
Twss, also!
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
wouldn't wanna spill
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
I would not put it past Billy to pull this sort of thing off, however.
Perception is not always reality my good man.
You make an interesting point, though.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
The problem with the perception argument in this case is...
Cust already has a limited market given his 1 WAR 2009 and obvious defensive limitations. His going rate wouldn’t drop much lower with Matsui in the fold. Maybe you go from a C+ prospect to a C (as an example). In either case you’ve probably got as much variance in the perceived ability of our phantom prospect between the two orgs as you have in the value of a no-Matsui Cust vs. a yes-Matsui Cust.
The monster at the end of this blog.
Maybe the Giants would be desperate enough
to trade for him as their next RF…..for a year.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
How about the Nationals?
They just overpaid for Pudge, so there’s some stupid around the front office, and don’t believe in outfield defense. Okay, I admit I just want to see what happens when you plug Cust and Dunn into the same lineup.
"No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball." - Connie Mack
In other news
Tom Emanski just had a heart attack upon reading this
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 1:19 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
That's a shame
He’ll miss out on Fred McGriff thanking him during his Hall of Fame acceptance speech (no, I don’t think Crime Dog is actually headed to Cooperstown)
"No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball." - Connie Mack
He's close
If we were voting on all-time baseball nicknames, however, he would be second-to-none
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 1:35 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
too natural-sounding
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 1:57 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Yeah, Crime Dog has some tough competition
Here’s some of my favorites, not sure how I’d rank among them:
Bob Ferguson “Death to Flying Things”
Oil Can Boyd
Boom Boom Beck
Shoeless Joe Jackson
Dizzy Dean (and brother Daffy)
Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown
From the current era, there’s another strong contender in Randy Johnson, The Big Unit.
The A’s have two good candidates:
Catfish Hunter and Jimmie “Double X” Foxx.
I also have to throw in an honorable mention for the Superjew, Mike Epstein
"No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball." - Connie Mack
Mike "The Human Rain Delay" Hargrove
Every hitter likes fastballs, just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's what it feels like when Nolan Ryan's thrown balls by you. ~Reggie Jackson
Hugh "Losing Pitcher" Mulcahy
"Sniff some krazy glue, and start a religion!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Dec 8, 2009 6:57 PM PST up reply actions
LOL! Never heard that one, but I like it.
Every hitter likes fastballs, just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's what it feels like when Nolan Ryan's thrown balls by you. ~Reggie Jackson
Shouldn't that be
Mike “losing pitcher” Maroth of the infamously bad 2003 Tigers?
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 9, 2009 12:27 AM PST up reply actions
Those are good
But Randy Johnson could also take “death to flying things”, and who would want to give a nickname to a guy named Mordecai?
I think I am partial to the “Crime Dog” because I grew up seeing those little cartoon vignettes on Saturday mornings interspersed between the real cartoons.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 2:14 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Best current nickname belongs to Joakim Soria:
The Mexicutioner.
"She's kinda got cankles, our kids are gonna have to play soccer." ~ Mrs. "Disco" Hayes
by CaliforniaJag on Dec 8, 2009 2:37 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Not baseball, but soccer, my favorite two are
Kiki ‘Chris’ Musampa.
Also, Justin Edinburgh’s nickname is ‘Musselburgh’, because, uh, it’s just in Edinburgh.
So there you are.
I suspect that you think tilting at windmills means something other than what it does
I'm still partial to
Jim “F**k You!” Rice
"Sniff some krazy glue, and start a religion!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Dec 8, 2009 6:58 PM PST up reply actions
Matsui made $13 million last year
WS MVP trophy and the “boost” from Japanese media attention minus his knee restricting him to DH?
$10 million.
???
The monster at the end of this blog.
I think it might be a bit high for him, all things considered
But, the A’s could always sign him to a contract that includes lots of incentives to take him over that figure.
Perhaps, 8 million guaranteed with another 3-4 million in incentives? 2 years?
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
Projections indicate that Cust will be better than Matsui with the bat in 2010.
Plus, Matsui is a far bigger injury/decline risk than Cust. There’s a far greater chance that replacing Matsui with Cust is just going to be a waste of money than a marginal improvement.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
I'd do it in a heartbeat grover!
I actually brought the same idea up in a thread several weeks ago. Why the hell not? The A’s have the payroll to do it!
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
It is hard to follow all of this winter meeting stuff when we are continually a basement dweller
Thank you Al Davis for Michael Crabtree!!!!!
2006 is so long ago
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
It seems like it was
I just get so pumped up for every season, and then I hear the A’s aren’t going to get the things they need to become a good team
Thank you Al Davis for Michael Crabtree!!!!!
I honestly don't know what to say
This trade is so bad for Arizona that MLB should ask them to reconsider it for a day. Tigers got a crazy return for an innings-eater and a should-be a platoon player. Yankees did well – Granderson will look better than he really is in that lineup and that ballpark and except Austin Jackson every player they gave up is completely expandable from their standpoint. But for Arizona this is worse than Beane taking every good prospect two years ago, since they at least got #1 starter in return.
Eh, should be a platoon or not
Granderson is a 3.5 WAR centerfielder who is at minimum a solid defender, at best a GG caliber guy.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Indeed.
And here’s a summary of the forthcoming AN discussion about the matter:
Red Sux, east coast bias, Steve Phillips joke, Joe Morgan joke, Red Sux.
The artist formerly known as HigherPie.
Lenny Dykstra joke?
"Sniff some krazy glue, and start a religion!"- The Reverend Billy Lard
by Gaijin_Suketto on Dec 8, 2009 6:59 PM PST up reply actions
"Boy, was that guy a nut!"
Oh wait, that was Kruk….doh!
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
But in all honesty, Gammons is the only ESPN reporter/host/dude
That I can stand.
If you think Billy Beane is a bad GM, I hate you and find you stupid.
Makes sense considering how he stole our hearts and hopes for years
The monster at the end of this blog.
How deflating is that?
I dedicate a FanPost tittle to a guy and then he turns out Yankee? I’ll never dare to write about any players I like again…
Have a glove you could spare for a good cause? If so please let me know
Please start liking Yunieski Betancourt, then write a FP about him
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
Write one about Slingblade and Torii Hunter
That is all.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Dec 8, 2009 1:12 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Write one about Aaron Miles
Like, now
"She's kinda got cankles, our kids are gonna have to play soccer." ~ Mrs. "Disco" Hayes
by CaliforniaJag on Dec 8, 2009 2:39 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Dear AN,
Aaron Miles can fill a dumptruck full of suck.
Your day breaks, your mind aches.
You find that all her words of kindness linger on
when she no longer needs you.
Hey everybody!
Billy Beane is going to be on MLB Network right now doing an interview!
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
Can you give a recap?
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
Sure:
Not too much that we didn’t already know.
Basically, he said the A’s are rebuilding and he wants to keep the young nucleus intact, with the emphasis on getting some offense together. If he does pursue FA’s, it will be mid level type guys to “bridge the gap”. Someone asked him if he picked Brad Pitt to play him in “Moneyball”. Of course the lame question was answered in typical Beane fashion…“Actually, I didn’t cast Brad Pitt to play me and if anything my wife is disappointed that I don’t look like/am Brad Pitt!”
Bailey got mad props and so did Zooks. It wasn’t a very lengthy interview….
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
On another note...
Ryan Church was DFA’d…any interest? Anyone? Bueller?
"She's kinda got cankles, our kids are gonna have to play soccer." ~ Mrs. "Disco" Hayes
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