Happy Festichristmahanukwanzaakus everyone! Or is it merry Festichristmahanukwanzaakus?
Anyway, it's that time of year for the fat man from the North Pole to decipher who's been naughty, and who has been nice in baseball this year.
The Nice List
Jon Lester
How was he not the comeback player of the year again? In 2007, Lester beat cancer, and he pitched 5 shutout innings of the clinching game of the World Series for the Red Sox. He worked hard all year, defying the odds of coming back to make any kind of meaningful impact on the baseball diamond, and was very patient while he worked in AAA waiting for a callup.
Present: A World Series ring coming in April.
George Mitchell
You had no subpoena power, anyone could decide not to talk to you, and yet your report thus far looks pretty good and accurate. Your suggestions seem reasonable and obvious, and even some of the more ridiculous sounding accusations (Brian Roberts), now seem pretty accurate. Best of all, you've seemingly nailed Roger Clemens, who for too long had escaped the public eye in terms of being a possible PED user. The report isn't perfect, but given the resources that you had, the effort I'd say paid dividends.
Present: Respect from the general public. People will remember who you were.
Barry Bonds
What? Really? Yes folks, the fact of the matter was that in 2007, Barry made his resurgence onto the nice list. I for one was extremely impressed by Bonds' attitude toward breaking the all-time home run record. He handled the moment with grace and reverence for the game, his father, and the fans who had supported him... all these things of which I didn't think Bonds capable of doing. But the fact of the matter is that he really handled breaking the record with a lot of class.
Present: Tips from Martha Stewart on how to liven up Federal prison life (2008 edition)
The Naughty List
Roger Clemens
It's been a tough year for the Rocket ("I wanna pitch!")... first he had a mediocre season on the diamond, then he became the focal point of the Mitchell Report, as his former personal trainer told investigators about numerous occassions where Roger took HGH and anabolic steroids. To make things worse, training buddy/best friend Andy Pettite corroborated McNamee's testimony, giving credibility to the embattled trainer.
Present: The infamy of now being known as "The greatest pitcher of his generation*"
Red Sox Nation
You've had an improbable run after those 86 years Red Sox nation. You were the darlings, the underdogs, a team in which nobody hated because of your tortured past. People respected the fans that stood by your team through it all... and it only took 4 years to turn all that goodwill into unbridaled hatred. Sox fans now tend to whine even when their team is winning, still have an unhealthy Yankee-phobia, and now outnumber and outobnoxious Yankee fans during most road games. The funny thing is, other than Curt Schilling, none of the Red Sox players are really that hateable, right?
Present: The archvillain status of the Yankees. You may win, but everyone hates you now.
Hank Steinbrenner
Wow, just when everyone felt a little sorry for old King George, his son comes along carrying the apparently dominant "asshole owner" gene. For most of 2007, no one knew you, but in two short months since the season ended, you've gained notoriety by making bold (and rather ridiculous) claims through the media. In two short months, you've already lost all credibility (we don't want A-Rod), and in all likelihood should be facing tampering charges (openly talking about Johan Santana).
Present: Making sure that everyone still hates the Yankees a lot. And in all likelihood another year or two of inferiority to the rival Red Sox.
Carl Pohlad:
This billionaire owner of the Twins refuses to pay up for any of his star players. Forcing the taxpayers to chip in for a new stadium, and then basically refusing to re-sign Torii Hunter and in all likelihood Johan Santana and Joe Nathan? Santa doesn't appreciate being cheap, especially by a billionaire.
Present: You lost one of the best GMs in baseball (granted he's still in your front office, but still). Now though, you've entered the coveted "owners hated by their own fans club" (Peter Angelos, acting president).
Miguel Tejada
I can't think of any player who went so quickly from being a guy that everyone would want on their team, to a guy who became a club distraction and overhyped diva. Tejada's consecutive games streak came to an end in 2007, after an embarrassing attempt by the Orioles to keep it going, and eventually Tejada got traded to the Astros for no more than 2 decent pitching prospects. Not to mention, you're actually a few years older than you claim to be (trust Santa on this), and you're also breaking down physically to the point where you just aren't that good. Oh yeah, there's also that Mitchell Report stuff?
Present: You get to show the fans in Houston just how far you've fallen, and then fade into Bolivian.
Carlos Delgado, Andruw Jones, Travis Hafner, Chris Capuano, and Julio Lugo
You guys brought down one of my fantasy teams in a league where I went from first to 8th. That's an unforgiveable sin.
Present: No one trusting you for fantasy baseball ever again.
Who should have been on this list that I missed? Who shouldn't have been? Discuss...
Happy/Merry Festichristmahanukwanzaakus everyone!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
Having Fun w/ the Mitchell Report
So the Mitchell Report came out, and guess what? The sky didn't fall...
Unless you lived in the Northeast, or are Roger Clemens.
Personally, I really don't think any of this is a big deal, and that this is such a random sampling of players and instances that it's almost unfair that only a few players were named. But while all of the rest of the world will debate the Hall of Fame implications of Clemens, whether or not baseball is really cleaner now, and God knows what else Skip Bayless will drone on about, here are some lesser debated things that struck me with regards to the Mitchell report:
1. So David Justice’s name appeared on the list. Haven’t done the years to check on it (though who knows how accurate any of that is anyway), but perhaps ‘Roid Rage’ could possibly explain the alleged domestic abuse on Halle Berry. I mean seriously, what other explanation could there be?
2. While Barry Bonds may be the more obvious winner in all of this now that he has a buddy scapegoat in Roger Clemens, a less obvious winner in all of this is the notorious former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette. Duquette, as you recall, cited as reason for not re-signing Clemens that Clemens was in the "twilight of his career." If Clemens really started using when he went to Toronto, suddenly Duquette doesn't look so wrong after all. And, well... at least there was one GM who might've been ignorant about steroids. Then again Duquette was ignorant about a lot of things, wasn't he?
3. You know what else we learned? That Barry Bonds ought to be extremely happy that Greg Anderson was his personal trainer. While Brian McNamee and Kirk Radomski apparently had no loyalties whatsoever to their former clients, Anderson maintained his silence in regards to Bonds even through jail time.
4. Yup, it's juvenile, but according to the Mitchell report, the most popular part of the body to be injected with steroids is the buttocks, (also referred to in the report at "the rear end" (thanks Jason Giambi!)). Apparently the ass (mentioned 7 times) is the popular players choice to inject yourself with either Deca-Durabolin, Winstrol, or Testosterone, beating out the less popular abdomen (twice) and thigh (twice). The king of being injected in the buttocks, according to the report, was Roger Clemens, who was allegedly injected in the buttocks 8-10 times with Winstrol and Deca Durabolin. Congrats Rocket, that's another record for your illustrious career. Yup, it's juvenile alright...
So, now that less than 24 hours have passed, and I'm already sick of this, what are your favorite aspects about the Mitchell Report, the coverage, etc?
Unless you lived in the Northeast, or are Roger Clemens.
Personally, I really don't think any of this is a big deal, and that this is such a random sampling of players and instances that it's almost unfair that only a few players were named. But while all of the rest of the world will debate the Hall of Fame implications of Clemens, whether or not baseball is really cleaner now, and God knows what else Skip Bayless will drone on about, here are some lesser debated things that struck me with regards to the Mitchell report:
1. So David Justice’s name appeared on the list. Haven’t done the years to check on it (though who knows how accurate any of that is anyway), but perhaps ‘Roid Rage’ could possibly explain the alleged domestic abuse on Halle Berry. I mean seriously, what other explanation could there be?
2. While Barry Bonds may be the more obvious winner in all of this now that he has a buddy scapegoat in Roger Clemens, a less obvious winner in all of this is the notorious former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette. Duquette, as you recall, cited as reason for not re-signing Clemens that Clemens was in the "twilight of his career." If Clemens really started using when he went to Toronto, suddenly Duquette doesn't look so wrong after all. And, well... at least there was one GM who might've been ignorant about steroids. Then again Duquette was ignorant about a lot of things, wasn't he?
3. You know what else we learned? That Barry Bonds ought to be extremely happy that Greg Anderson was his personal trainer. While Brian McNamee and Kirk Radomski apparently had no loyalties whatsoever to their former clients, Anderson maintained his silence in regards to Bonds even through jail time.
4. Yup, it's juvenile, but according to the Mitchell report, the most popular part of the body to be injected with steroids is the buttocks, (also referred to in the report at "the rear end" (thanks Jason Giambi!)). Apparently the ass (mentioned 7 times) is the popular players choice to inject yourself with either Deca-Durabolin, Winstrol, or Testosterone, beating out the less popular abdomen (twice) and thigh (twice). The king of being injected in the buttocks, according to the report, was Roger Clemens, who was allegedly injected in the buttocks 8-10 times with Winstrol and Deca Durabolin. Congrats Rocket, that's another record for your illustrious career. Yup, it's juvenile alright...
So, now that less than 24 hours have passed, and I'm already sick of this, what are your favorite aspects about the Mitchell Report, the coverage, etc?
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Hot Stove Report: Early Winners and Losers
12/06/2007
As the Winter Meetings in Nashville come to a close, the early winners and losers of this baseball offseason are beginning to emerge. Obviously, there could still be a ton of action left this offseason, but as of now there seem to be some clear winners and losers already.
Early Offseason Winners:
1. Detroit Tigers – Getting Miguel Cabrera didn’t come cheap, but the Tigers now have one of the 5 best hitters in baseball in the middle of their order, making their lineup arguably the best in all of baseball. Even if Dontrelle Willis might not be the same pitcher he was from 2003-2005, he should still easily be one of the better #4 starters in baseball. And don’t forget the Tigers also picked up Edgar Renteria, who should have a better go around in his second stint in the American League now that he won’t have the pressure of playing in Boston or batting at the top of the order. Now, the next issue for the Tigers is when to start negotiating that $200m+ contract extension with Miguel Cabrera.
2. Washington Nationals - The Nationals were the beneficiaries of yet another seemingly disastrous Mets trade. While not nearly as bad as the Scott Kazmir/Victor Zambrano trade, I really don’t think it will be long before the Mets come to regret giving up on Lastings Milledge too early. He’s a 25/25 type athlete with a ferocious swing that reminds most scouts of an early, pre-PED Gary Sheffield. The Nationals also got another high-ceiling talent (with real off-the-field-issues) in Elijah Dukes. Obviously there’s a lot of risk there, but the cost of Dukes was low, and for a talent of Dukes caliber, taking the risk seems like a great idea for a team as short on talent as the Nationals are.
3. Florida Marlins - Now it seems strange to say the Tigers are the biggest winners, and then list the Marlins here at #3. The reason for this is that the Marlins hauled in an two very high ceiling talents in Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller. For 2008, I’d rather have Andrew Miller than Dontrelle Willis, and the Marlins will now have Miller cost controlled for the next 5 years (or less if they win another World Series and sell him off). Maybin is an amazing talent, an easy A+, top 5 prospect, and more importantly fits a need for the Marlins in CF. While losing Miguel Cabrera will leave a gaping hole in the middle of the lineup, the Marlins were not going to win in 2008 or 2009 before his contract was up, so trading him for impact players who they will have through 2012 and 2013 was a great move.
Early Offseason Losers:
1. New York Mets - So when we last checked in with the Mets, they essentially had one solid starting pitcher (John Maine), and a lot of question marks (Pedro, Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfrey, El Duque). Now they lost an over-the-hill Tom Glavine, and replaced him with… well… NOTHING. They traded away their 2nd best prospect for a RF who will likely need a platoon, and a catcher who hasn’t had an OPS over .750 since he was a member of the Expos. This leaves the Mets in a precarious situation, where they would need to basically gut their farm system in order to get even Dan Haren or Erik Bedard.
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, etc. - Much like the Mets, the Angels haven’t done anything to fill their biggest need. In fact, they pretty much did the opposite. They committed long years to another CF who is best known for robbing HRs, and thereby essentially killing any hope for playing time for Reggie Willits (the spark for the Angels last year). They also traded away Orlando Cabrera, the heart and soul of the team, for a stable innings eater, 4th starter type. They still don’t have a bat that can protect an aging Vlad, and once again they overpayed for a CF who is coming off a career year.
Undecideds:
Boston Red Sox - The Red Sox did some great things in getting Curt Schilling at below market value, and re-signing Mike Lowell without having to include a 4th year. But their offseason is unfinished, and they are in the very luxurious position of having pieces to deal, but not feeling forced to make a trade they might regret in the near future.
New York Yankees - The Yankees do what they do best, overpay for veterans for too many years. Signing Mariano at above market value into his forties doesn’t seem to be a great idea, nor does committing a lot of money to a catcher entering his late 30s, but the Andy Pettite re-sign was a great deal for the Yankees. And of course there’s A-Rod, who I can guarantee won’t be worth $30+ million when he’s in his forties, but anytime you can re-sign the best player in baseball, it’s never a bad offseason, right?
Tampa Bay Rays- The good news for Rays fan(s), is that the organization seems to finally not be overvaluing their prospects, and finally traded away one of their surplus outfielders for pitching. The problem was they probably should’ve gotten more for Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes. Still, a step in the right direction for the organization.
Minnesota Twins - Regardless of what they decide with Johan, the Twins get arguably the best offseason acquisition, in a healthy Francisco Liriano. I also liked getting Delmon Young, though he’s not likely to help the OBP woes of the Twins.
Cleveland Indians - They’ve stood pat for the most part, but I did love the deal for Masahide Kobayashi.
Don’t see your favorite team on this list? Think I got one wrong? Feel free to comment on it.
The Voice of Todd is a weekly baseball column on a wide variety of baseball topics. If you have any comments or suggestions for the column, please send an email to: toddching-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.
-TC
As the Winter Meetings in Nashville come to a close, the early winners and losers of this baseball offseason are beginning to emerge. Obviously, there could still be a ton of action left this offseason, but as of now there seem to be some clear winners and losers already.
Early Offseason Winners:
1. Detroit Tigers – Getting Miguel Cabrera didn’t come cheap, but the Tigers now have one of the 5 best hitters in baseball in the middle of their order, making their lineup arguably the best in all of baseball. Even if Dontrelle Willis might not be the same pitcher he was from 2003-2005, he should still easily be one of the better #4 starters in baseball. And don’t forget the Tigers also picked up Edgar Renteria, who should have a better go around in his second stint in the American League now that he won’t have the pressure of playing in Boston or batting at the top of the order. Now, the next issue for the Tigers is when to start negotiating that $200m+ contract extension with Miguel Cabrera.
2. Washington Nationals - The Nationals were the beneficiaries of yet another seemingly disastrous Mets trade. While not nearly as bad as the Scott Kazmir/Victor Zambrano trade, I really don’t think it will be long before the Mets come to regret giving up on Lastings Milledge too early. He’s a 25/25 type athlete with a ferocious swing that reminds most scouts of an early, pre-PED Gary Sheffield. The Nationals also got another high-ceiling talent (with real off-the-field-issues) in Elijah Dukes. Obviously there’s a lot of risk there, but the cost of Dukes was low, and for a talent of Dukes caliber, taking the risk seems like a great idea for a team as short on talent as the Nationals are.
3. Florida Marlins - Now it seems strange to say the Tigers are the biggest winners, and then list the Marlins here at #3. The reason for this is that the Marlins hauled in an two very high ceiling talents in Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller. For 2008, I’d rather have Andrew Miller than Dontrelle Willis, and the Marlins will now have Miller cost controlled for the next 5 years (or less if they win another World Series and sell him off). Maybin is an amazing talent, an easy A+, top 5 prospect, and more importantly fits a need for the Marlins in CF. While losing Miguel Cabrera will leave a gaping hole in the middle of the lineup, the Marlins were not going to win in 2008 or 2009 before his contract was up, so trading him for impact players who they will have through 2012 and 2013 was a great move.
Early Offseason Losers:
1. New York Mets - So when we last checked in with the Mets, they essentially had one solid starting pitcher (John Maine), and a lot of question marks (Pedro, Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfrey, El Duque). Now they lost an over-the-hill Tom Glavine, and replaced him with… well… NOTHING. They traded away their 2nd best prospect for a RF who will likely need a platoon, and a catcher who hasn’t had an OPS over .750 since he was a member of the Expos. This leaves the Mets in a precarious situation, where they would need to basically gut their farm system in order to get even Dan Haren or Erik Bedard.
2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, etc. - Much like the Mets, the Angels haven’t done anything to fill their biggest need. In fact, they pretty much did the opposite. They committed long years to another CF who is best known for robbing HRs, and thereby essentially killing any hope for playing time for Reggie Willits (the spark for the Angels last year). They also traded away Orlando Cabrera, the heart and soul of the team, for a stable innings eater, 4th starter type. They still don’t have a bat that can protect an aging Vlad, and once again they overpayed for a CF who is coming off a career year.
Undecideds:
Boston Red Sox - The Red Sox did some great things in getting Curt Schilling at below market value, and re-signing Mike Lowell without having to include a 4th year. But their offseason is unfinished, and they are in the very luxurious position of having pieces to deal, but not feeling forced to make a trade they might regret in the near future.
New York Yankees - The Yankees do what they do best, overpay for veterans for too many years. Signing Mariano at above market value into his forties doesn’t seem to be a great idea, nor does committing a lot of money to a catcher entering his late 30s, but the Andy Pettite re-sign was a great deal for the Yankees. And of course there’s A-Rod, who I can guarantee won’t be worth $30+ million when he’s in his forties, but anytime you can re-sign the best player in baseball, it’s never a bad offseason, right?
Tampa Bay Rays- The good news for Rays fan(s), is that the organization seems to finally not be overvaluing their prospects, and finally traded away one of their surplus outfielders for pitching. The problem was they probably should’ve gotten more for Delmon Young and Elijah Dukes. Still, a step in the right direction for the organization.
Minnesota Twins - Regardless of what they decide with Johan, the Twins get arguably the best offseason acquisition, in a healthy Francisco Liriano. I also liked getting Delmon Young, though he’s not likely to help the OBP woes of the Twins.
Cleveland Indians - They’ve stood pat for the most part, but I did love the deal for Masahide Kobayashi.
Don’t see your favorite team on this list? Think I got one wrong? Feel free to comment on it.
The Voice of Todd is a weekly baseball column on a wide variety of baseball topics. If you have any comments or suggestions for the column, please send an email to: toddching-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.
-TC
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