| Al's Ramblings | |||
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Sunday, December 06, 2009 (12/06/2009 11:12:00 PM) - Al Tom H wonders about a possible Suppan for Juan Pierre swap. He's had worse ideas, but Juan is signed through 2011, and is owed more cash, so that would have to be bargained away. Pierre is also defensively challenged (he throws like my cocker spaniel...and if he weren't sleeping, my cocker spaniel would be offended by that), though he would be a decent OBP bat off the bench, and as Tom points out, to spell Gomez when a tough RHP takes the mound. 12/06/2009 11:12:00 PM (12/06/2009 11:05:00 PM) - Al I just started (and completed) the Rambling holiday letter tonight, and I have somehow skipped the early parts of a cold and have progressed right to the "when I cough, it feels like I'm being stabbed" stage. Wish me well. 12/06/2009 11:05:00 PM (12/06/2009 08:26:00 PM) - Al The New York Times attempts to argue why they are covering up Climategate. And, they suck at it. 12/06/2009 08:26:00 PM (12/06/2009 07:11:00 PM) - Al I thought this looked wonderful when they plugged it nonstop during the playoffs. I agree, it will be different for Ray, who basically has only played himself. 12/06/2009 07:11:00 PM (12/06/2009 07:00:00 PM) - Al The Palin book tour does remind you of a rock star. 12/06/2009 07:00:00 PM (12/06/2009 06:51:00 PM) - Al As I've said, either do what the general asks, or get a new general. 12/06/2009 06:51:00 PM (12/06/2009 04:46:00 PM) - Al Also from the Grand National Championships, they believe that re-signing Craig Counsell--who Doug Melvin has made an offer to--would be a bad idea and suggests signing someone like Esteban German instead. If we were to go with someone else, I think that going with someone in house (like Adam Heether)--BCB First of all, teams almost always carry a pair of utility infielders, so I'm not sure why they act like only one will make the 25 man. But, German has only played 8 career games at SS, and Don Money has said Heether is "not an option" to play SS, except as a stopgap or emergency. I'm not sure why you'd carry a pair of utility IF's and neither have the ability to play SS except to suck at it. I'm afraid that's what you call a lack of planning. 12/06/2009 04:46:00 PM (12/06/2009 03:45:00 PM) - Al SNL seems to be mocking pretty much everyone these days, which is as they should. Tiger, of course, did not help himself by lying and delaying the truth to the police. 12/06/2009 03:45:00 PM (12/06/2009 01:44:00 PM) - Al I've had my eye on Lindstrom for a while, as he fits the mold of the big RH (6-4, 210) fireballer that Doug covets. It's only his first year in arby, so he will likely end up making $1-2M. He was superb his first two years, and predictably struggled last year, as he was injured part of the campaign. I could easily see the Crew trading a prospect for Matt and then dealing Carlos V (also in year one of arby) to a team who may value him higher, especially if that club sees him as a SP. 12/06/2009 01:44:00 PM (12/06/2009 01:35:00 PM) - Al Nice to see Rob Wilson have a nice game versus Grambling yesterday, after not playing versus Duke the other night. Not only did he play 19 minutes, he played more than Jarmusz or Evans, who was stellar in the Blue Devils affair. 12/06/2009 01:35:00 PM (12/06/2009 01:07:00 PM) - Al Not only is there, ahem, 41 online tables of my desired level of fixed cash game full at the moment, there is just under 300K people on the site right now, hypothetically of course, which I think may be a new record. They'd probably have over 1M on right now had that act not gone through supposedly making it harder to fund an account. And sadly, almost every one of those 700K would not be as good as me...which I cannot say about the 300K currently on, as for the most part, only the strong remain. 12/06/2009 01:07:00 PM (12/06/2009 12:22:00 PM) - Al Add Jack Cust to the list of good OBP guys that includes Milton Bradley and Luis Castillo that may be very available this offseason. I understand these guys have warts, but they also all got on base at a well above average clip last year. The game seems to be going back to the days of valuing other aspects of the game rather than "not getting out". 12/06/2009 12:22:00 PM (12/06/2009 12:08:00 PM) - Al Going green...that's for the little people. The PETA folks may be stone cold nuts, but at least they don't have steak wrapped in bacon at their get togethers. 12/06/2009 12:08:00 PM (12/06/2009 01:07:00 AM) - Al Broncos, Eagles, Saints, Chargers, Vikings, Cowboys, Patriots, Ravens, and the other home teams. Saints and Colts to cover. 112-51 on picks, 11-11 versus the spread. 12/06/2009 01:07:00 AM Saturday, December 05, 2009 (12/05/2009 11:22:00 PM) - Al Tom H previews the winter meetings. Doug's mention of relievers is curious. I bet he has a specific bullpen guy in mind, because I doubt he'll sign a bullpen arm until the leftover guys are signing for $1M or thereabouts...unless that guy he wants is available for a fair price. 12/05/2009 11:22:00 PM (12/05/2009 11:06:00 PM) - Al Watching the Badgers play Hawaii, was wondering what the temps are like in Honolulu...take a look at the chart here. Apparently, it's been between 53 and 95 all but forever on the big island. If I moved there, I think I'd throw out all my pants. 12/05/2009 11:06:00 PM (12/05/2009 01:06:00 PM) - Al I feel much of the "support for torture" is because many regular folks, like myself, do not see the various interrogation methods as torture. Making guys sleep in cold cells and stay in solitary and such...that's uncomfortable, not torture. At the end of the day, if you could have prevented 9/11 by such methods, most all of us would do it in a second. We're not talking Rambo getting beaten or the Jewish concentration camps. 12/05/2009 01:06:00 PM (12/05/2009 12:51:00 PM) - Al I don't think it's an idea that will work long-term either...but it is the best I've heard. In order to stimulate spending, you need to let the public keep more of their own money. That and, you know, cutting spending. 12/05/2009 12:51:00 PM (12/05/2009 10:18:00 AM) - Al Mike Cameron is the Cubs' top option to play center field, reports Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. The only thing standing between the Cubs and Cameron is Milton Bradley, argues Wittenmeyer. If and when Bradley is moved, it sounds as if Cameron will immediately be inked, who has manager Lou Pinella's approval. The 37-year old remains an excellent fielder and is also remarkably consistent with the bat, having averaged 22 home runs and 75 RBI over the past 11 seasons with little fluctuation. The right-hander would be a great complementary player on the South Side and would come without a long-term contract attached. Things can always change, but this is one rumor that makes all the sense in the world.--Rotoworld What makes even more sense to me is the Cubs leaving Fukudome in CF, finding a cheap platoon partner (or, just keeping Reed Johnson), and signing a decent RF, as Fukudome's production in very pedestrian for RF, but good for CF. 12/05/2009 10:18:00 AM (12/05/2009 10:13:00 AM) - Al A source told Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse that free agent catcher Jason Kendall wanted $5 million to stay with the Brewers. Which makes Gregg Zaun's one-year, $1.9 million contract look like an absolute steal. Kendall, 35, batted .241/.331/.305 in 452 at-bats with the Brewers in 2009. Simply put, he didn't merit earning $5 million again.--Rotoworld Doug has said on many occasions that players rarely take a pay cut without kicking and screaming. Jason has some skills, but he's not going to get $5M from anyone. To a team with an unsure situation at catcher, he's a great option to bring in for $1.5-2M. 12/05/2009 10:13:00 AM (12/05/2009 12:26:00 AM) - Al Can they really say they report the news when they only report half of it? Personally, I think faking data and results is quite worthy of coverage. Oh, and by the way...it's getting cooler. 12/05/2009 12:26:00 AM Friday, December 04, 2009 (12/04/2009 11:07:00 PM) - Al The JS mentions Doug drafted Zaun when he was with the O's, and also knew him in TEX as GM. 12/04/2009 11:07:00 PM (12/04/2009 09:34:00 PM) - Al Zaun, out of 29 catchers with as many PA's or more than him: OBP--11th OPS--10th BB/PA-9th p/PA--7th .320/.396, 716 OPS was the average production for C's in '09 (if you take out Joe Mauer, a 700 OPS is a nice round number to keep in your mind) .345/.416, 761 OPS in 2009 .342/.397, 739 OPS from '07-'09 .341/.422, 763 OPS from '07-'09 hitting LH First of all, many casuals have been thinking they will split the catching duties based on "personal catchers", while it seems a near certainty there will be a platoon, probably a "soft" platoon...I would guess Lucroy will more than likely catch one game per three game series, unless more than one LH SP goes. I'm sure they won't want Lucroy not facing many RHP either, as he is considered part of the future. At the end of the day, Zaun's an above average offensive catcher. Doug had nice things to say about his game calling and defense today. I would assume he is not as athletic and cat-like as Kendall, but very few are. His CS% has been about league average, 22% for his career. I'm pleased they only went a single year, as a 2+ year commitment to a 39 year-old catcher would have been a shame, especially with a pair of young catchers in the system that have had success at AA/AAA. For about $2M, in today's market, I think it was a steal. Zaun has been undervalued for ages, even after the A's made OBP a focus for many teams, it is still possible to find guys available, especially if they have average or below BA's to go with a solid OBP. 12/04/2009 09:34:00 PM (12/04/2009 09:16:00 PM) - Al Notre Dame proves they do not care about their fans or their players. Even for a stuck-up private school, they are an incredible embarrassment. 12/04/2009 09:16:00 PM (12/04/2009 08:48:00 PM) - Al Tiger supposedly redid his prenup of late. 12/04/2009 08:48:00 PM (12/04/2009 06:04:00 PM) - Al A tour of Target Field. Some obstructed views from the cheap seats, but the seating bowl along the infield and outfield look gorgeous. 12/04/2009 06:04:00 PM (12/04/2009 05:29:00 PM) - Al 12/04/2009 05:29:00 PM (12/04/2009 05:21:00 PM) - Al A West Point cadet responds to being called "the enemy camp", and miraculously does it without calling Chris Matthews an unAmerican, no talent embarrassment to the species. 12/04/2009 05:21:00 PM (12/04/2009 03:56:00 PM) - Al I'm shocked Chone Figgins is going to et 4y/$35M in SEA. I thought he'd get about 3y/$21M. I think he's being paid for '09 rather than his career and projected numbers. I see him as a 750 OPS guy for the most part, though I guess he is very solid in the field. He's also 31, and it seems likely he'll fade toward the end of his 3rd and 4th years. 12/04/2009 03:56:00 PM (12/04/2009 03:24:00 PM) - Al Interesting stat: Through 3 years, Walter Payton had 938 touches, 30 fumbles. Adrian Peterson has 935 touches, 19 fumbles.--Gleeman on Twitter Those darn facts sure get in the way of the story some try to sell. 12/04/2009 03:24:00 PM (12/04/2009 02:54:00 PM) - Al I can't seem to find where I wrote it, but one reason I expected Doug to find a catcher that could hit a bit (and hopefully from the left side) was the fact the bottom third of the lineup will probably be Escobar, Gomez, and the SP, in some order or another. While I feel Alcides and Carlos are good bets to improve, it is likely they will both lack extra-base power and have average or below OBP's. Hence, you can't really can't have a weak spot in the top six. I said a few days ago I like Zaun as a possible #2 hitter, as his lack of speed makes little difference in front of Braun and Fielder. Meanwhile, the fast guys, for the most part, will be at the bottom...it could be Hart 6th, Gomez and Escobar at the bottom, and Weeks leading off...that's quite a lot of speed in a row. I'm the first to admit batting order is all but meaningless, but it's something to discuss. 12/04/2009 02:54:00 PM (12/04/2009 02:50:00 PM) - Al Oeltjen smacks RHP in AAA. 2009--.372/.511, though that it is playing his games in the hitting paradise of the PCL. His ceiling may not be very high, but he's likely one of the better players available as a minor league free agent. 12/04/2009 02:50:00 PM (12/04/2009 02:45:00 PM) - Al Tony W says Oeltjen is a switch-hitter, but he's listed as a LH hitter on BR.com, so needless to say, I assume Tony W is sloppy and unfactual until proven otherwise. 12/04/2009 02:45:00 PM (12/04/2009 02:41:00 PM) - Al One e-mail gave me credit for picking Zaun to come to MIL...sadly, I did not, though I was hoping. When I made the list, I had assumed Zaun would return to TB. 12/04/2009 02:41:00 PM (12/04/2009 02:28:00 PM) - Al Crew also inks Trent Oeltjen to a minor league deal with the prerequisite invite to big league camp. He's not real young and he's Australian, but he hits lefty and has has produced decently at AAA. Could well be in the running for a reserve OF spot, and since he can play CF, might make Gerut more likely to be non-tendered. 12/04/2009 02:28:00 PM (12/04/2009 02:24:00 PM) - Al NBC recaps the signing. 12/04/2009 02:24:00 PM (12/04/2009 02:22:00 PM) - Al Doug compares Zaun to Kendall, except with the lefty bat the team needs in the lineup. 12/04/2009 02:22:00 PM (12/04/2009 02:20:00 PM) - Al Zaun says the Crew put in an offer for him right away, and he's the starter. 12/04/2009 02:20:00 PM (12/04/2009 02:17:00 PM) - Al The official team write up. Zaun said the Brewers were the most aggressive and made him feel wanted. 12/04/2009 02:17:00 PM (12/04/2009 02:14:00 PM) - Al Word on the street was wrong. Zaun joins the Crew, one year with an option. Analysis to follow, but I love OBP, especially when it's cheap. 12/04/2009 02:14:00 PM (12/04/2009 01:01:00 PM) - Al Luis Castillo and Milton Bradley are unwanted by their current teams, yet both had excellent OBP's last year. I think a team could do well by adding both of them, especially if some of their salaries are picked up. Not getting out is the key to scoring more runs than average. 12/04/2009 01:01:00 PM (12/04/2009 12:55:00 PM) - Al Tina Brown with one of the most scathing pieces on Obama yet. Disagree with W all you want, we always knew where he stood and for what. Obama is straddling the fence so much that the chafing might require medical attention. This phrase: Clinton and Gates assured nervous senators on the Hill Thursday that the August 2011 deadline was both firm and flexible, and that this position was, in Gates’ words, "not contradictory" in the least. is one of the funniest I've read about politics in many years. 12/04/2009 12:55:00 PM (12/04/2009 12:13:00 PM) - Al The US soccer fellas get a near perfect draw, ending up in England's group. The top teams (and host South Africa) head the eight groups, so in theory, they should be teams 1-7...but England is ranked 9th. No idea how that works, but more power to the USA. The other two teams (Algeria and Slovenia) in the group are ranked 28th and 33rd in the world, so for the US, this is as good as could have been scripted. 12/04/2009 12:13:00 PM (12/04/2009 11:39:00 AM) - Al "You need only do three things in this country to avoid poverty: finish high school, marry before having a child, and marry after the age of 20. Only 8 percent of the families who do this are poor; 79 percent of those who fail to do this are poor." - William Galston I would add to that avoid bad luck, such as health issues that make it difficult to work, but the point is well taken. 12/04/2009 11:39:00 AM (12/04/2009 11:31:00 AM) - Al Apparently, huge GM profit, homelessness, and the fact no one says the word "Christmas" is not newsy enough for the old media. I just read the other day that things such as soup kitchens and homelessness disappear when a Democrat is in office, then are reintroduced...facetiously, of course, as they always exist, but went unmentioned under Clinton. If it wasn't true, it'd be hilarious. 12/04/2009 11:31:00 AM (12/04/2009 10:40:00 AM) - Al Word on the street seems to be Zaun will sign with Seattle...they need a catcher, he is from CA and has professed his love of the Northwest many times. 12/04/2009 10:40:00 AM (12/04/2009 10:33:00 AM) - Al John Stossel repeats much of what he said when I heard him speak a few months ago. The government sucks at creating jobs, because they have no incentive to create wealth, just save their own paycheck. 12/04/2009 10:33:00 AM (12/04/2009 10:02:00 AM) - Al Gregg Zaun told a Toronto-based radio station Friday morning that he will sign with an undisclosed team by the end of the day. FOXSports.com linked him to the Brewers, Mariners, Rockies and Rays on Thursday, and all make sense as possible landing spots. Zaun, who turns 39 in April, hit .260/.345/.416 in 262 at-bats this season.--Rotoworld As stealthy as Doug is, this would not surprise me at all, but Zaun would be a nice addition to almost any team, as a reserve or starter. With Zaun being a better hitter from the left side, it would seemingly be a good match with Jon Lucroy, who bats RH, who the organization seems to like, even if he does nothing extremely well, he doers not have many weaknesses either. The Rockies are out, according to a Denver paper, by the way. What's ironic is, a month or so ago, I commented that Jason Kendall had the highest OBP of any C that would probably be available this offseason except for a single guy. Zaun was that fella. 12/04/2009 10:02:00 AM (12/04/2009 09:59:00 AM) - Al The Brewers plan on sitting down with Counsell soon. Considering the next best available utility infielder is a fraction as good as Craig, let's hope he wants to remain with the Crew. 12/04/2009 09:59:00 AM Thursday, December 03, 2009 (12/03/2009 09:42:00 PM) - Al Scooter to sign with the Red Sox. Always good to see members of the original RUTT team (sorry, my link feature does not seem to go back that far...scroll down to the middle of the month to see me predict Jack Cust, Bobby Kielty, Ortiz, Scooter, Mike Lamb, and others would have nice careers) do well...he and Ortiz have done pretty good for themselves for nobody wanting them.:) 12/03/2009 09:42:00 PM (12/03/2009 09:28:00 PM) - Al The Rockies are looking for catching depth, but are not pursuing Gregg Zaun. The Rockies still hope to get Yorvit Torrealba back.--Denver Post Does that leave the Rays and Brewers? We can hope. 12/03/2009 09:28:00 PM (12/03/2009 08:52:00 PM) - Al The bloom seems to be off the rose for Jon Stewart. 12/03/2009 08:52:00 PM (12/03/2009 07:47:00 AM) - Al First official link between Zaun and the Crew, other than my constant wishes he'd come to MIL. 12/03/2009 07:47:00 AM |
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