DLD 7-11-07: It's my birthday and I'll Dump if I want to
by Englishmajor on Jul 11, 2007 8:33 AM PDT
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PrintYes, a larger than average number of ANers seem to be Cancerians. My birthday is nearly always during the All-Star Break, I don't think I've ever been to a game on this day.
According to one horoscope site,
July 11th people are aware of all of their surroundings, information sponges if you will. They usually love more than any thing to share their vast knowledge. Unfortunately the listeners are left to sort out what is the real information and what has been embellished, only for the sake of a more interesting story.
Well, that's actually true. Or maybe I made it up. You'll just have to sort it out. Anyhow here's what I've squeezed out of the sponge today:
There are plenty of stories out there about what a wonderful night it was for Barry Bonds, although by the tenth graf the writers do have to throw in bits of truth such as
Bonds finished 0 for 2, flying out to right and left field.
Anyhow, you don't need to read that, you know that. Some hopelessly deluded Gnats fan commenting at El Lefty Malo thought that....this is really a knee-slapper, be sure you put your coffee down....thought that...God, I can barely type it...thought that SF would have been likely to sign Ichiro if the Mariners hadn't re-upped. Yeah, right. Maybe in eleven years when he's 45, he'd fit right in then.
Oh wait, apparently it isn't just this fan's crazy idea -- The Chronicle thought so too.
This brief report on Ichiro's winning the MVP is more notable for the interesting choice of Google ads that shows up. Is it a sign that we DO need beer in the clubhouse again? I'm still trying to figure out how he got changed so fast. And it took even less time to start churning out the tacky products . I love Ichiro but I wouldn't buy any of this crap...much better shell out for some authentic Japanese baseball gear,
If your fantasy baseball team is striking out, why not try Fantasy Congress? Or you could attend the symposium on sabermetric sporkism which someone previewed last week -- it's today, in Hayward.
Some creep developer bought Berkeley Iceland and plans to tear it down to build housing.
The winner of the California State Fair wine competition is Two-Buck Chuck's Chardonnay. Apparently it pairs well with funnel cakes.
How about some video? If you missed The Fight here it is. I prefer one of the other things that show up when you search" Oakland fight" on YouTube. I'm also starting my birthday with happy pop-punk songs and u-u-ultra-eccentric super-cult punk-pop bands and, of course the obligatory video. I wonder how Ben and Nate feel about Iceland?
Hey, my garbage just got picked up -- apparently the replacement workers know it's my birthday! Whoopee!
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :)
DJ on the trading block?
Insiders say the A's are intent on trading Johnson to make room for top first-base prospect Daric Barton, hitting .321 with six home runs at Class AAA Sacramento.
Johnson acknowledged he has heard trade talk involving him but said to his knowledge, it's all speculation and linked to Barton.
"It's one of those things where, if you bring him up, you don't want to ruin the kid's career," he said. "I'm guessing they (A's front office) are going to see which way the season goes, and if we fall off, I expect they'll try to make a move to build for next year.
"My job is with Oakland. If something were to happen, and it's completely speculation, both teams want to get better. If our team feels they can get a piece of the puzzle they need to help win games, that's the way it goes. You never know in this game.
"But I'm happy playing for Oakland. It's a great team to be on."
If the Twins want him...
how about a DJ/Harden/Kotsay trade for Hunter and a pick?
by IHeartDwayneMurphy on Jul 11, 2007 1:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Sign Hunter?
If we traded for Hunter, who to say we can't sign him to an extension? Kendall and Piazza will be off the books after this year that's like $12+ million and if we unloaded Kotsay's salary than resigning Hunter could definately be a possibility.
But yeah, you can't trade picks.
by methodrampage on Jul 11, 2007 3:05 PM PDT up reply actions
We could sign him to an extension...
If you like signing 32 year olds to long term, big money deals, that is.
I don't have a problem with that
for a power hitting, gold glove CF. Even, at 32 he'd be our best all around position player. The money will be there to spend and I'd no reservations giving him a 5 yr. deal.
CF is our biggest position of need in the near future and it has to be addressed some time.
Your '08 lineup could look something like:
Buck LF
Ellis 2B
Swisher RF
Hunter CF
Cust DH
Chavez 3B
Barton 1B
Crosby SS
Suzuki C
by methodrampage on Jul 11, 2007 4:15 PM PDT up reply actions
He's having far and away ...
the best season of his career.
He's going to get at least five years as a free agent and he probably won't be Spiderman for more than two of them. When he returns to his normal levels after his career year and starts to regress as he ages, do you know what you're left with?
That's right, Mark Kotsay.
We gave him a contract extension after the best year of his career and boy have we enjoyed the results.
Not exactly
by methodrampage on Jul 13, 2007 2:36 PM PDT up reply actions
Poll request
Is scruff hot?
Depends on the scruff...
how much of it there is and how scroungy it is. Some guys look scroungy & gross with even a little bit of scruff (I'm looking at you, Danny Haren) -- so they look really gross when they just let the scruff take over (I'M REALLY, REALLY POINTEDLY LOOKING AT YOU NOW, DANNY HAREN).
If he's not hot...
Scruff is NOT hot...
...on women.
But seeing as how I can't be bothered to shave, it must by definition be hot as the concept applies to men.
I shaved this morning.
I'm not entirely sure how to measure the effect though.
On certain people, sure
But, as my sister tells me every 5 minutes, it makes Haren look like a hick. Which is anti-hot.
by CTAsGirl on Jul 11, 2007 9:46 AM PDT up reply actions
Scruff is not hot
Unless it's on Dan Haren.
i don't like scruff on guys
but some guys DO look better with it in my opinion (i.e. jason kendall).
That's not scruff on Kendall...
that's grit.
It's shoe polish.
He's going to sing "Mammy" during the 7th inning stretch.
Happy Birthday:
by saint @ Athletics Nation on Jul 11, 2007 8:52 AM PDT reply actions
Happy Birthday Temple of Gus!!!
by saint @ Athletics Nation on Jul 12, 2007 2:09 PM PDT up reply actions
I pointed that out earlier today
And everyone in the vicinity just stared at me like I was crazy.
by CTAsGirl on Jul 11, 2007 9:48 AM PDT up reply actions
A's possibly playing games in japan in '08??
Baseball officials are moving ahead with plans to play regular-season games in Tokyo in 2008.
The Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Seattle Mariners are American League teams interested in playing in Japan next year, several officials have said in recent weeks. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres have expressed interest among National League teams.
"I expect that we will have games in Tokyo next spring," Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said Tuesday before the All-Star game. "We're looking at the schedule, looking at what's available, looking at permutations, looking at teams training in Arizona vs. teams training in Florida."
If they want to play in a foreign country
why don't they just play more games in Missouri?
by kaweahkaweah on Jul 11, 2007 9:31 AM PDT up reply actions
Sigh...
I just can't get into that...the season starting on a Wednesday at 5 a.m. ET...
by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Jul 11, 2007 5:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Happy DLDBD, EM!
Happy BDay !
I'm a cancerian too.. June 27th.
Thanks Poppy
I don't post much, but I do read what all of you fellow AN'ers post.
by oaklandbbfan on Jul 11, 2007 9:26 AM PDT up reply actions
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
I have some leftover cake if you want some!
Thanks Jennifer
I enjoyed your diary on your trip to Oakland.
by oaklandbbfan on Jul 11, 2007 9:31 AM PDT up reply actions
I thought it sucked. Just being honest.
It might have been the Worst. Thing. Ever. especially when you try and jump the gun over the MW AN'ers coming down the pike.
by ohtobe21likehuston on Jul 11, 2007 2:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Thank you!
by ohtobe21likehuston on Jul 11, 2007 2:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Thanks for the YouTube link
of the brawl. I watched it at the time, but didn't have it on tape so I could go back and look again. It was interesting to see what was like I remembered and what wasn't.
By the way, the guy who sounds like Tom Tolbert is Mike Blowers. Blow is cool. Definitely my favorite M's announcer, especially now that Hendu is gone.
good grief
did you see the comments?
you are absolutely right this is a racial issue blanton is a red neck racist look at his face
Yikes!
No, I didn't read the comments.
There are exceptions, of course, but my overwhelming experience with links to stories anywhere on the Web is that the story itself might or might not be good, but the comments are sure to be full of idiocy.
Every time I watch a replay,
I focus on a different player. Haren was much closer to the middle of that circle than I would have liked. I'd prefer my ace to stand on the outskirts and just do lots of yelling.
Giants to extend Sabean?
Contrary to rumors that the Giants are preparing to fire Brian Sabean, ownership has decided it wants Sabean back next year for a 12th season as general manager, and the two sides have begun discussions about a contract extension, The Chronicle has learned.
yeah, that Bay Area GM sucks
Lousy offense, multiple bad FA/extension contracts, lots of chronically injured players, no real impact positional players in the pipeline, temp closer at the end of a mediocre bullpen, bad FA signing impacting the rotation ...
Yeah...snark aside Mssr Monkeyball
I'd like to see you make a case that Sabean is even in Beane's zip code as a major league GM.
well, he's certainly not as handsome
Snark aside, no, I don't think he's nearly as good as Beane. But I also think he's not nearly as bad as his loudest detractors claim, and that he's been handcuffed by Baer and Magowan's interference far more than Beane has been under A's ownership.
Well, he's better than
Bavasi, although unlike Beane with Kendall, Bavasi/McClaren can admit mistakes.
Happy Birthday!
My trip to SF with the family yesterday resulted in us getting a great spot for the pre game parade. I'll be posting pics later when my brother in law uploads the pics from his camera. I didn't go to the game, but I still had a lot of fun.
Happy Birthday!
Some Haren love that may have been posted yesterday but I'm too lazy to look.
And Happy Birthday
to saint, Temple and oaklandbbfan as well :-)
The power of sports blogging
I can't keep up with every DLD, so I don't know if this got linked earlier this week, but I loved this story about a post on U.S.S. Mariner that actually made a difference and helped the team (but at our expense -- boo!!!).
Somebody wrote an open letter to the Mariners pitching coach, Rafael Chaves, eloquently laying out what Felix Hernandez was doing wrong. It was well argued and backed up with data. Chaves later said that he'd been trying to tell that to Felix for a long time, but being able to show him the same advice from "the Internet" helped get it through Felix's thick head.
Can we try something like that for Bobby Crosby?
maybe Davis will read AN
and learn that he sucks, which can't be fixed.
That was an impressive letter
Props to the guy for his extensive research and to Felix for listening. Ya know ... if we somehow pawned off Kendall on the Mariners, that fastball trend would never happen. I pin Felix's early inning pitch selection on Johjima for not being more assertive in his calls.
On a whim, if we could/would trade Kendall and Blanton (because he's JK's #1 cheerleader) to the Mariners ... what would be a fair/realistic return?
Trading Blanton to Mariners
would be worth it just to watch them go apoplectic on Lookout Landing.
There's only one A that Mariners fans really hate there, and it's Blanton. It would be so funny if they got him.
Sort of like if we suddenly got John Lackey (which would not be funny!).
So this is really a BLD, then
Birthdaily Link Dump
ah, Berkeley ...
... where the discharge of caustic gas merits landmark status.
I'm 4 days older ...
(give or take how every many years might separate us in age) ... so Happy Birthday!
I might be the oldest member of AN
Hope not. But it's possible....
by Englishmajor on Jul 11, 2007 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions
I'm less than 385
but older than Blez or Nico. But at least I'm younger than Blez and Nico.
by Englishmajor on Jul 11, 2007 11:25 AM PDT up reply actions
I feel like I'm pretty close to the median ...
If so
You should stop posting and pay closer attention to the road.
by kaweahkaweah on Jul 11, 2007 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Happy Birthday!!! :-)
I do not concur.
If you want to criticize La Russa for not using Pujols before the ninth inning, that’s fine. It is a little silly that a player of his stature wouldn’t play at all in the All-Star Game. Derrek Lee is a fine player, but you could have switched the roles he and Pujols played in this game without getting any argument. Having made Pujols his last hitter, though, La Russa couldn’t use him to hit for another position player. He had to save him to hit for a pitcher in the tenth.
Isn't this the same argument - the one properly blasted by analytical types everywhere - as to why your closer should never be used in a tie game on the road? La Russa saved Pujols for a tenth inning that never happened. Bravo.
Not the same argument
In this case it was electing to decrease the odds in the 9th by a smallish (Pujols vs. Rowand or whoever) amount with an eye towards a much larger improvement in the 10th (Pujols vs. some pitcher).
In the road closer case, the same pitchers will be in regardless, and you're just shuffling the order incorrectly if you refuse to use the closer, so that even if extra innings are reached, you haven't really gained anything. In this case, you are changing who will get the ABs. There's nothing inherently wrong with saving players for extra innings, especially in the NL.
I'm much more partial to the "why wasn't pujols in the damn all star game?" argument.
But the concept is the same.
"I'm saving XYZ for a contingency which probably will not happen" is bad strategy in most games, and certainly in a winner-take-all game. Particularly so if said contingency is less likely to happen by saving XYZ.
But in the closer situation
there's no reason whatsoever (in a winner-take-all game; a conceivable but dumb reason that I imagine managers use is "I don't want to use my closer if the other guy is going to blow it anyway), whereas in this situation it's context dependent because you're weighing "relatively slight advantage in high leverage situation" vs. "big advantage in low leverage situation" (low leverage because it probably won't happen), which can come out either way.
I just wanted to let everybody
know that I struck out the other team's number three hitter yesterday in softball. Slo-pitch softball. Backwards K.
Dude, I do that on a regular basis.
Nobody hits my screwslider.
Kids In The Hole, represent!
It had never happened to me before.
Lots of hootin' and hollerin' after that pitch. Who strikes out looking in slo-pitch softball?
The only time I ever struck out in Slow-Pitch was
a one pitch tournament. It was supposed to be a 6-12 ft arch, and this thing brought down rain. Must have been Angel Hernandez behind the plate.
by theblackpearl on Jul 11, 2007 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Happy Birthday!!!
to both englishmajor and saint! Ugh, it almost makes me vomit in my mouth to be so nice to a Raider fan ;)
uniform notes
I was pleased to see Haren sport the "Oakland" road greys last night. That led me to notice that every NL team featured jerseys that give the team name, whereas the Orioles and the Angels were the only AL teams that did not have the city or state name featured. I don't watch the NL teams much--do any have alternate jerseys with the city instead? I guess I haven't spent much time wondering about all the Oakland variations. Is there a grey "Athletics" in use or a home white "Oakland?"
Also, everyone is always making snarky comments about the A's white shoes, but ever notice how the minute the All Star game pops up a bunch of players wear white shoes?
Home whites & greens say "Athletics"
and road greys say "Oakland".
do the Angels have
"Los Angeles" or "of Anaheim"?
The exceptions:
Teams with nicknames on their road grays:
Angels (they used to have "Anaheim" up until the latest name change)
Orioles
Phillies
Cardinals
All others have the city name.
All the NL player wore their home unis, all of which have their nicknames.
Some teams have alternate home white unis...I know Texas sometimes has just the "T" and Cleveland sometimes has just the ridiculous Chief Wahoo logo. I think Colorado has the interlocking "CR" version of their home uniforms. The only regular home uni that doesn't have the team nickname is the Yankees.
by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Jul 11, 2007 5:52 PM PDT up reply actions
first time
I payed attention to the names on the jerseys and noticed that NY and the Gnats stayed with tradition, remaining nameless.
by sf drift king on Jul 11, 2007 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions
DJ to the Twins or Yankees?
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/0...
It's going to be Barton time, sooner than later.
Pardon my Barton.
Ron Washington
was hanging out with Larry Davis in the lobby bar of the Westin St. Francis after the game last night. Watch the wire for a managerial injury coming from Texas soon.
... and the Westin St Francis to be
closed until further notice.
by green star oakland on Jul 11, 2007 1:05 PM PDT up reply actions
I want Texas to hire him.
Wow,
Wal*Mart LOVE you!
They're slashing prices, just for you! Prices, employee wages and benefits, just for you!
Hating Wal*Mart is un-American, move the h-e-double hockey sticks to Canada if you don't like it!
Oh...
The fact that Vancouver banned Wal*Mart
Fine. You go ahead and furnish a 3 bdrm house
for under $10!
Happy Birthday.
Here's some footage of Babe Ruth hitting against a black pitcher .
I hope that it posts...I have never posted a link before.
I get it.
By not posting a link at all, you're saying he never hit against a black pitcher, right?
Clever.
It's easier not to use the link feature
Just paste the address, say, of a great post by LL veteran Vidro4MVP, and it will turn into a link.
http://www.lookoutlanding.com/commen...
LOL
I love this response.
So you're into "stealing" are you?
Figures.Unlike some people, Jose plays the game the right way and earns his bases.
Also, Vidro uses less pitches per at-bat. Time is money, at least for mature people who WORK. Ichiro used to be one of the best, but he hasn't been down at Vidro's 3.5/PA since 2004. I think he's slipping a bit, actually.
Vidro is steady. He was 3.5 last year and 3.5 this year. Consistency matters!
CoachOwens
Every time I see this:
I wince. Fortunately it looks to be an unlikely future.
by green star oakland on Jul 11, 2007 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Meh, they're lucky
There are hundreds of dumbasses here, and they're not comic foils as the Coach is.
Yeah, he's unintentionally hilarious
It's the juxtaposition with "parent" that makes me wince.
by green star oakland on Jul 11, 2007 10:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Just an FYI to AN
Baseball Prospectus is having a free preview until July 15. Definitely worth a look. I am a subscriber and really enjoy the site.
EI is also having a free preview until
sometime. DirecTV is also giving a preview of the StrikeZone Channel and the MLB Game Mix channel... I think they said until the 15th.
Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh
You say it's your birthday!
Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh
It's my birthday too, yeah!
Seriously, I'm 7/11 as well. You, me, Robert the Bruce and Leon Spinks.
Happy birthday, Englishmajor!
Happy birthday, Nick!
Don't forget E. B. White, Henry Thoreau, and John Quincy Adams!
by Englishmajor on Jul 11, 2007 10:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Henry is a Thoreauly tired act.
Walden Pwned
by Englishmajor on Jul 12, 2007 1:09 PM PDT up reply actions
rickey henderson has a new job!
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-sprickey0712,0,266978.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines
Just what Rickey needs
working for a team where Julio Franco is a constant reminder that Rickey isn't actually on a roster.
The first move of the Rickey era:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...
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