For all the people deploring the blue ribbon committee’s inaction there was this over the weekend:
In particular, MLB states in the filing (available here) that Commissioner Bud Selig sent the Athletics a letter on June 17, 2013 (one day before San Jose filed its lawsuit), notifying the team “that he was not satisfied with the club’s relocation proposal.” Consequently, MLB contends in the filing that the city’s sole remaining claim for relief is rendered moot, because the league provided a decision within the two-year window allegedly anticipated by the city when it entered into the land option agreement with the Athletics, and thus did not wrongfully interfere with the agreement by unduly delaying its resolution of the matter.
Perhaps why Jemile never made a lasting impact
Asked why he hasn’t been able to duplicate his rookie success, Weeks replied, “There are a number of things that I could say – this didn’t go right or I tried to do this and tried to switch things up. But it all boils down to everything happens for a reason. I learned a lot from it and I think I’ll be much better for it going forward. I hope Baltimore enjoys it.”
AKA I have no fking idea why.
In play, run(s)! Talk dirty to me gamecast, talk dirty. - Nevermoor
2. perhaps it was because by the end of your 2011 campaign teams were playing little leage distance in the outfield and you never made them pay for that by hitting the ball over their heads? And then they did it again in 2012, and you never hit the ball over their heads again?
Remember your walkoff sac fly? the one where you jokingly pointed at your bicep? I get it, I would make the same joke about myself. It was a good show of understanding the problem.
4. Why would a law get me to “trust the internets?”
come ON, DFA! it’s right there…
…because he doesn’t understand the basic principles of cause and effect.
I wonder what he thinks the reason is though
A couple of gods on Mt. Olympus using his fate as a pawn in their scheming, most likely. Or Jesus.
it’s what things happen for!
Its gets better, for the A’s
the whole thing is bizzare
What a shitshow.
a delicious delicious shitshow
It felt so dirty sharing a record with Janikowski.
This caught my eye from that article:
Do football people really evaluate kickers based on this metric? That’s worse (by a lot) than looking at RBIs for hitters!
Leads the league in plate appearances
He’s a point producer, and points are how you win games, colin. I guess they don’t teach you that in nerd school.
So basically MLB got wind that SJ was about to sue and rushed off a letter sorta but not really totally denying the relocation in order to try to moot the lawsuit without actually making a final decision, and Wolff more or less shit-canned the letter and carried on? Do I have this right?
Sounds about right.
Everything but the last part. The letter was “confidential” and couldn’t be shared.
I think what is likely is that baseball said like FSU has “this San Jose plan sucks and isn’t going to work… come up with a better plan” and didn’t put any restrictions on where the next plan had to be.
MLB prefers a public financing plan over any private one…the whole process has taken so long because Bud probably believes that some dumb city will bite the same way Miami did. And he may not be wrong.
Between that and whatever compensation plan Wolff had for the Giants are likely the sticking points.
More or less, this.
I won’t get excited/disappointed unless one or more of the following actually happens, listed in no particular order:
1) MLB announces a move to SJ, result: A’s move to SJ
2) SJ (or their Pro Bono counsel) drops their suit, result: More limbo, but SJ likely off the table
3) Oakland ponies up $300+ million for a new stadium, result: A’s STAY.
4) The courts move forward on the lawsuit forcing Selig et al to testify, result: A’s move to SJ
5) SCOTUS makes any sort of decision, result: If SJ wins, A’s to SJ, If MLB wins, more limbo
6) Wolff sells the team, result: Likely move out of the bay area
7) MLB announces a move to elsewhere, result: A’s move elsewhere
8) MLB announces some sort of support of an Oakland plan, result: A’s STAY.
I wouldn’t bother handicapping any of that. As it stands in the information vacuum we all get to sit in, they’re all equally likely. The only real truth is anything beyond one of those things said by anyone is pure, unadulterated puffery.
#1, I find the whole thing amusing. All that was rejected was Wolff’s current proposal, not SJ. And one of the primary reasons was FSU’s belief that they didn’t like the financials of it. But then AFTER this letter was sent Selig has actually mentioned that they’re still working on it, so in essence, all that letter was for was to fight the lawsuit they knew was coming. The irony being that the shadowy nature of the letter may result in a higher likelihood of them being disposed. Slusser’s take in the chron involved a lot better investigative journalism than most of the other sites who simply read and reported the lawyer-speak and didn’t bother with any of the boring extra follow-up.
I’m confused. Did you mean to type “deposed,” or do you mean this makes the lawsuit easier to dispose of?
deposed. stupid legal stuff and their similarities of words and shit.
why isn’t legalese legaleasy??
Probably so that the pay is better. The whole thing is a racket. Tennis, I assume. Possibly bad mitten.
definitely squash.
I think bad mitten takes it.
Well, we don’t know whether just the current proposal or the whole idea of San Jose was rejected, because we haven’t seen the letter. Slusser has unnamed sources who have seen the letter and characterize it as just the current proposal, but those sources are more than likely Wolff and/or Crowley, and they would say that, wouldn’t they?
However, even if MLB did reject San Jose in the letter, they didn’t want to do it publicly, since they didn’t. So they want the stalemate to continue. The stalemate serves their current interests; both cities continue to develop plans, the Giants aren’t unhappy, the door is open to other markets down the road if neither Oakland nor San Jose comes up to snuff.
sounds like a CYA letter concocted by MLB lawyers as a trump card in this suit. (not that I think the suit has merit, but MLB being MLB has to be ham fisted about everything)
Well it’s calling the “just give us an answer either way” bluff. But (as everyone else has said) that doesn’t actually change anything.
Well, it becomes, okay, SHOW US THE LETTER.
Given that she’s the only one who’s followed up and actually asked people questions, I’d find her take more reliable. Everyone else is just riffing off of someone else reporting that the doc exists because MLB’s lawyer said so in a court filing. Add in Selig’s own words on the subject after that letter suggests even more so that she has it right.
Wendy Thurm’s also talked to Wolff….or rather, “a source familiar with the situation”/
She’s just riffing off of Slusser most likely. I haven’t seen anyone “with sources” suggest anything other than what Slusser’s source has said. If there was reason to think otherwise, an opposing “source” would have likely spoken up to someone. It’s the circular self-confirming cyclical (yes, I know) nature of the Interwebz news reporting. It’s not really a game changer anymore than whatshisface attorney piping up saying the A’s will be in SJ in two years. It’s all puffery. Like I said further above, there are only a handful of newsworthy/actiony things that can happen that would be something to get excited/disappointed about.
If there was a usable stadium already in San Jose could the A’s do what the Raiders and Colts did in the 80’s and just move without the consent of their league and tell the league they’ll meet them in court?
They could probably do the same without a stadium there. Whatever negative results would be the same. Wolff has no desire to rock that boat.
Seems from all indications that Anderson has iffy medicals and any trade involving him will be a salary dump.
im not sure why this is surprising
Id rather keep him than dump the salary.
Gray Anderson Kazmir Parker Strailey is a pretty good rotation if healthy.
Because we have to fit Jim Johnson’s salary into the budget.
I don’t think we need to worry about the budget. It’s likely a little over where they want, but it’s all short term and if they can’t get it done, it’s nothing to be too concerned about.
I guess we’ll see, depending on if they dump Anderson for nothing or not.
Recent free agent signings around the league (Cano and Beltran, in particular) have caused me to finally grok just how much additional money is floating around now. My guess is that the A’s are shopping Anderson because they have the pitching depth to do so, but that they would also be willing to go into 2014 with their current salary commitments. I agree with DFA that Anderson is a decent gamble at $8, so I would be sad if they dumped him.
I don’t think the A’s need to dump his salary, but I’d rather trade him (out of the division) to free up the cash and bring in someone(s) healthy in return.
Because I’ve yet to copy/paste an actual tweet…
At least Brett isn’t taking it too hard:
More like a human anti-aphrodiasiac:
According to:
pEnis
peniS
Penis
peNis
The Rockies have interest in Anderson.
Obviously, it totally depends on the financial situation, but I don’t really see anyone I’d rather spend the $8MM on than Brett himself.
LAAAAAA wants pitching and they’re moving Trumbo.
Thanks, and go As.
I, like Grant, will choose to believe this is true because it’s hilarious:
That would be awesome.
If this were a Mariners blog, I’d suggest that as a tagline.
This is simply incredible.
“I said no, it’s not a gun it’s a prop for my monkey.”
Can there be much of a market for LoMo? I mean, aside from an awesome twitter account, he kinda sucks at baseball.
Thanks, and go As.
But he has power in his swing.
So what if swing doesn’t make contact enough to do anything with said power???
In all seriousness, if the Marlins are shopping him on the cheap there should be a fair market for his services.
I wonder what Mrs. Morrison thinks of said awesome twitter account.
Huh. Don’t know where that disappeared to.
Now that’s good family planning, “trying” during spring training so the baby comes in December. It bugs me when somebody takes off for paternity leave in September…so cool it for the next few weeks, guys.
The Kaycee/Saydee thing, OTOH…
Let me be the first to make the following bad joke. Ahem,
“Dee.”
Quii?
Say Dee!
I just want someone to Photoshop glasses onto the baybee.
C’mon DFA, we know you want the tiara.
Im more of a very pregnant giraffe guy myself.
I haven’t seen the context, but that feels like a tagline.
Am I crazy to think Murphy wouldn’t be a terrible option at 2B?
Thanks, and go As.
no I think he would be a good option, but what are you going to do with sogard/punto/callaspo if you get him?
Trade Sogard for some middling minor league RP. Fire Callaspo. Punto stays a utility guy.
Yes, yes and yes.
Option Sogard, deal Callaspo for anything, Punto as primary utility guy
I’m pretty sure Sogard has option years left. His debut was in 2010 and he never played in the minors last year.
Thanks, and go As.
Would they take one of them back in trade to do with as they please?
I think I would just as soon stick with Sogard rather than give up anything decent for Murphy.
this
Steamer and Oliver both project him as a 2 WAR player with ~140 games
my only issue with sogard is he is taking lowies position.
SS OTOH
I doubt it would take anything decent if the Mets are trying to get rid of him, and Sogard is essentially replacement level. He had to completely fucking catch fire for like 6 weeks last year just to be 1 WAR
Thanks, and go As.
I don’t see why the Mets would be so eager to move Murphy unless they are getting pretty good prospects back. He’s pretty cheap and reasonably productive by their standards.
Sogard’s not a great player, but he’s a considerably better defensive second baseman (and shortstop) than Murphy is. I wouldn’t feel good about playing a lousy glove at second when we’re running Lowrie out there at short.
What’s Murphy’s FIP?
Whenever a batter puts a pitch into play, your defense will fail to convert it into an out.
I don’t know that sounds more like Murphy’s WHIP.
Who cares about ground balls.
hee
Water heater not producing hot water. No gas smell. electric starter, cannot see pilot.
Thoughts?
Buy a new house.
solid plan
Make sure I get a room!
I’ll do the cleaning amd laundry to help out, too!
topless
Thanks, and go As.
SLF and his kids would love that.
Then it’s settled!
You are not invited.
[Checks] Nope, no I was not.
You sound heartbroken.
Meh.
You hurt me.
You shot first.
Yours hurt more. And I was joking.
That happened to us a couple years ago. On new years day.
Heating element? How old is it? You’ll probably just want to get the whole thing replaced.
I think it is about 9 years old. is a heating element something that is replaced? I assume it would be cheaper than a new hot water heater.
I really don’t want to spend that much money right now.
Another (inexpensive) possibility is that the thermostat died.
9 years isn’t decrepit, but it’s getting up there.
Last time I was in Lowe’s I got the impression that tankless systems have gotten a TON cheaper (and, of course, cost much less to operate).
That’s literally all I have to go on though.
I have a logistical problem with that. my exhaust to the street would be about 6 feet above the street. which is super dangerous. I would have to get more permits than its worth right now
my folks have had one for probably 7 years or so works great
thermal something something. $85. Fixed. Assessment is 10 more years out of heater. Nice that I called at 715 and its done by 845.
thermocouple. piece of cake.
that’s it
yay
I love when that happens. We had ants in the new house about a month into our time, called a number at 8, and haven’t seen a single ant in the 4 months since 10 that same day.
Who did you call?
a guy named Eric Brand. had a rec from a friend. Yelp is nice to him (FWIW). I liked the idea that it was just a dude. seemed young. about 30. nice enough.
had a breif conversation on the phone, didn’t ask for money for a call. looked at it for a minute, said the problem, said $85. “do you have a few minutes? I can fix it in about 15 minutes.”
done. Now I need to write a motion to continue, run, then I can shower.
Filing this away. Thanks.
WTF, the work computer I lugged home for today doesn’t have word perfect?
Dammit. I don’t want to use mine
I thought you were joking when you mentioned WordPerfect, but wikipedia tells me that it is still commonly used in law.
other people don’t?
Nope.
huh. Well, since we do, you would think it would be on the laptop we have for travelling and such.
I know the federal courts do, but I thought that was it.
Industry is probably 90%+ MS Word. Google docs might be making a little headway.
Sciency academic types use LaTeX.
woo!
!
crap, it doesn’t know that command for some reasoncrap, I forget how to make it display right on FK[latex]e^{\i \pi} + 1 = 0 [/latex]Ghost Busters.
That was my answer. Out of my head!
Hot water pressure has dropped considerably for us. Regular water pressure is fine. We have flex cables for inlet and outlet, and the inlet is hard as a rock, but the hot outlet is clearly not flowing very fast. Any ideas?
sediment in the hot outlet? But its at the top of the tank, right?
I would take them off and run a brush through them
We had some flex hoses (individual ones going to bathroom sinks and showers, not the main one from the water heater) jam up with little bits of decaying washer. Might be worth checking.
So, we found out the problem: one of the filters in the tank. Replaced it, and now the pressure went from drip to firehose. Amazing!
woohoo
If this is true, Cruz is dumb, the mariners are dumb and another team is really dumb
Cruz turned down the M’s offer in the hopes they would bid against themselves again.
He heard there was a mystery team interested.
And the Mariners decided to bid on Noslen Zurc instead.
Who was caught taking DEPs instead.
Well yeah, but he hit .662.
Sometimes a stuffed animal from IKEA is just a stuffed animal from IKEA. Sometimes it’s a way of suggesting something obscene to your country’s chief executive.
wat
Thanks, and go As.
Fuck.
Thanks, and go As.
That can’t be all Arizona is getting. It just can’t.
Supposedly they get two good specs
Chicago has to be giving up something too.
So, is J.B. Shuck now the Angels full time left fielder? I hope so, because he kind of sucks.
$5.5 M is not the most money in the world, but thanks but not thanks next time
WillieEdwho you think you are, M.C. hammer? you can’t afford this louis vuitton!!
did I ever tell you about the time SLF played drums for Sir-Mix-Alot?
He is not a fan of spaying and neutering animals.
Speaking of spaying and neutering, Oakland Animal Services what.the.hell.??
what the hell?
what!? how fun.
when we were in Seattle, she worked for the stranger who sponsored a fundraiser for the spay/neuter clinic. it was a gameshow with regular people and celebrity contestants. (Celebs were Mix, Kim Warnick from the fastbacks and some dude from the presidents of teh united states of america and someone else)
the host had a band that SLF was in. the final contest was for the contestant to write a song about spaying and neutering and perform it with one of the celebrities and one person from the band. SLF was teamed up with Mix. when he found out what the song was supposed to be about he was disappointed because “that’s not natural!” He did it anyway and SLF and his contestant won.
Ed, I love you and your family.
Scott McCaughey from young fresh fellow and now the baseball project (maybe REM? is he in REM? Is REM a thing?)
I’m long and I’m strong and I’m down to get the snippin on!
I love this.
IF their numbers are accurate as far as the revenue generated as a result, that’s not a bad overall investment. One would suspect that the cost to host a second time would be less since the leg work associated with it should have been done this time. That being said, meh. Who cares about rich people sailing around?
I would be shocked if Ellison did it somewhere else next time. Given that, the city should have a bit more leverage.
Agreed that it’s a much better deal for a high profile event than, say, hosting the Olympics or building a stadium.
I’d favor the Olympics, costs and nightmare traffic notwithstanding. Who knows, maybe we’d be able to swing some major transit improvements along the way.
av-gm-ptbnl-mikevbait
Not bad! I have to think his model underrates Portugal though.
And Italy! Wow.
not very scientific though. as far as i can tell, not a single cephalopod was polled.
No way England have better odds of progressing than Italy.
Well this turned out to be accurate, but irrelevant, didn’t it.
true
Three way done.
Trumbo to AZ. Skaggs and Santiago to Anaheim. Eaton to White Sox.
+ 2 “good” prospects to AZ.
Still not sure I get that for AZ. They have Goldschmidt, so they’re committing to Trumbo as an OF? Seems like his value there is pretty meh.
Trumbo to LF for AZ.
And if your’e looking for “good” prospects you’re shopping in some desolate farm systems.
Good haren for Trumbo! (I know it doesn’t work like that)
PTBNL–you can tell Lily that Chico snagged a sweet ride to find a home in Boise.
We saw … there was much sadness.
Is there context I am missing?
Seems like the only context needed there is that Barton shouldn’t feel too comfortable.
When it comes to Barton I’m never comfortable.
Looks like I’ll be in Portland?Vancouver area at the end of January. Anyone seen PDX lately?
Wasn’t Skaggs supposed to be a front-line starting pitcher? Can we interest you in Brett Anderson?
Yeah I just don’t get that move for them. They are likely to not be able to find a better option than Skaggs on the market. Santiago is viable back end but I am worried about the Angels getting Skaggs back.
Saw a tweet that quoted an unnamed scout that set Skaggs’ ceiling as a #3 due to the velocity drop.
Then again… he’s still LH, breathing and under team control for the next 6 years.
Hey, Brett Anderson is two of those three things!
Have you checked Brett’s breathing lately?
I can see a velocity drop being an issue, but wasn’t he hurt?
I don’t recall.
Anderson a Rockie.
Dead link is dead.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/12/rockies-acquire-brett-anderson.html
Return seems pretty light to me.
Sorry.
Drew Pomeranz and Chris Jensen. Seems like mostly a salary dump.
Poor Brett.
Plenty of skanky white girls to hand with in Denver though.
No shortage anywhere AFAIK.
Jensen
Crap. Was hoping it was this guy.
IKR, me too….
And we are kicking in cash.
Well, it would have been nice if they asked us first.
Lots of meh there. Rather held on to him than get that.
I guess Pomeranz still has upside. If they had to cut ties with BA, he’s worth taking a flier on.
yeah a projected 4.20 FIP isn’t terrible
It’s pretty bad. In 2013 it would have been about a 110 FIP-. I’m guessing from Straily’s 4.05 for 105, and Milone’s 4.30 for 112.
so we are Parker, gray, kazmir, griffin, straily, milone?
And I guess Pomeranz is #7 and Humber is #8
I’m pretty sure that both Steamer and Oliver still have him as a Rockie, making his 4.08 and 4.22 FIP projections to be FIP- of 94 and 97 respectively. Anderson is projected to have FIP- of 94 by Steamer and 107 by Oliver.
So, if you trust those projection systems, Pomeranz is likely to be at least as good as Anderson next year.
That would be awesome, but I’m not sure about that. Steamer has Pomeranz at 0.9 HR/9. Is that really as a Rockie?
The thing is that Anderson has higher variability which is what the team needs. We have plenty of #4 starters. We need someone that will either catch fire or fall appart
That would have been my thinking as well. Johnson is more predictable than Anderson, but with very low upside. Pomeranz is unpredictable but without #2 upside that Anderson has — more like $3 upside if you squint. Kazmir, Anderson and Gray would have been a good Front 3 for a playoff series if all were healthy. Now you have Kazmir, Gray and Parker, which just isn’t very exciting.
Yup, the updated ones are 3.81 and 3.91, making him the third best projected starter on the A’s
agreed
Yeah, definitely salary dumpy. Pomeranz could perhaps benefit from a change of scenery though. Colorado -> Oakland is a pretty sweet bump for a pitcher, and he won’t be thrust into a high pressure role or anything right away.
I’ve never liked Pomeranz but they could’ve done a lot worse. They could’ve just avoided this nonsense by not getting Jim Johnson in the first place.
I guess they could use the 6 million dollars they saved towards another bat but there’s not much quality to be had for that.
The good thing about johnson is that they are likely to be able to give him a qualifying offer at the end of this year and net draft compensation.
Other than that I don’t see why you give away your potential best pitcher for 6m in salary relief and two meh+ prospects
And I was looking forward to never hearing that phrase again.
I get that. I just think that depending on him for 1.25 WAR isn’t that silly
OK, but he hasn’t done that for three years. And the A’s, given their budget, really need more than that out of their $6 million starting pitchers.
Really? Then what do they need from $10 million relief pitchers?
Outs in high leverage situations.
Then shouldn’t they have gotten Joe Nathan instead of Jim Johnson?
or wilson (sorry gm)
Maybe. One-year contract makes it less risky, though, and who’s to say Nathan would have signed here.
what is the value of johnson rejecting a qo next year? will he?
Can he negotiate a new contract for a lower price and a guarantee of not getting a qo?
If no one wanted him at 1/$10M, who’s gonna want him enough to give up a comp pick?
You don’t think he could get something like 3/24 on the market?
With draft pick compensation attached? Nathan got 2/$20 with no QO. None of Rodney, Balfour, Nathan, Mujica or Benoit got a QO. Johnson isn’t exceptional like Nathan, rather more like Balfour or Benoit. I doubt the A’s make a QO to him.
Draft pick?
nathan did not get a qo
More to the point, a 1.25 WAR reliever could be a guy who pitched effectively out of the pen for a whole season. A 1.25 WAR starter either pitched a lot of crappy innings for you, or was effective for a very brief time. Either way, you’re getting very little bang for your buck.
I am not sure. I am thinking out loud here.
there is an opportunity cost for seeing whether anderson is April 2013 or (when was he good? 2009? 2010?) good starting pitcher anderson. he is going to be taking staily’s spot. we know what straily and griffin can give in 2014. with anderson there is always a shifting of teh deck chairs waiting for his return. I think that is part of why he went to the bullpen at the end of the year.
Johnson is also a known quantity. he can likely get his 60 innings and we know when and where they come from.
Now that I am typing i don’t really believe any of it but i am posting anyway
#YOLO
Ya the A’s seem to have gone for known quantities in Johnson and Gentry and traded the upside guys in Anderson and Choice. I don’t like it since the known quantities are pretty ordinary.
You can now hear it about Scott Kazmir
From Slusser
At least Kazmir has actually pitched and well recently.
Try it this way…
Oakland wanted nothing to do with Anderson and they were on the hook for $1.5 million if they let him walk. This way, they’re out an extra $500 K but got two interesting arms in return.
that makes sense.
Yep, Jensen looks pretty interesting.
3.49 K/BB, 5.9 BB% in 152 IP, not bad.
Plus a #5 draft pick in 2011, could have been worse
Pomeranz was drafted 5th overall in 2010. Signed late and didn’t pitch in pro games until 2011.
Fucking day old bakery, FIRE BILLY!
Apparently Robothal is saying we got Drew Pomeranz and Chris Jensen.
I don’t like this at all. Pomeranz is a lottery ticket and Anderson was healthy at the end of the year. His injuries were not arm-related. His peripherals were pretty good. He could have been the A’s best pitcher in 2014. Instead they give $10M to Jim Johson, who is decent but unexceptional.
With the 5 moves, it looks like they have an excellent bench and deep bullpen, but the starting pitching is very shaky. They might need Pomeranz in the rotation by June, with Kazmir, Parker and Griffin all big injury risks and Straily and Milone not that great. I’d rather have Anderson in 2014 than Pomeranz and Johnson combined.
I agree more than I disagree, but I’m personally tired of Anderson’s fragility, I’m in the camp that feels health is a skill*.
Not a fan of Milone, but they are all 25 yrs old and have the ability to improve, if there is anything I trust in, it’s Curt Young and co.
Yes the one thing that gives me hope about Pomeranz is that the A’s are almost always right about pitchers…..except Dan Meyer and Sean Gallagher and Tyson Ross.
Tyson was good in San Diego this year, but yes, he was doo-doo in Oakland.
sounds like his fastball and curveball are his two pitches? Don’t the A’s have a pretty good track record of developing the change?
Serious question. I don’t know how to evaluate that. its something that gets quotes from the pitchers and pitching coaches.
Meyer and Gallagher had injury problems; Ross was out of options.
Ross had an option in 2013, and the Padres used it
I stand corrected.
I don’t know if I buy that he was healthy at the end of last year. He was healthy enough to take the mound, but not healthy enough to start games, and that’s not healthy enough.
If that was healthy Anderson, then good riddance.
It’s 2012 that made me feel that way, when he shit the bed in RP in 13′ just reinforced it.
He at least pitched effectively in 2012, and you could say OK, he picked up a freak oblique injury — at least it’s not his arm again. But now, with a foot injury picked up on a routine play that cost him another three months, he has basically lost three and a half seasons to injuries to three different parts of his body, all of them quite important to pitching, and has not yet shown that he can handle being a starting pitcher again. I’ve defended the guy as a risk worth taking, but I’m just fine taking a couple of healthy arms for him at this point.
He was great in 12′, no doubt about it, until he broke down in a playoff race…
That’s the other thing: he broke himself twice, in two different places, just trying to field a damn groundball. That part of his game is so completely terrible and dangerous to his health that he’s arguably useless unless he can radically change the way he finishes his pitches and moves around the field.
he shod hit the deck after every ptich
I’ll miss Bartolo’s finish, crouched (plopped?) in front of the mound, arms outstretched, ready to mob.
He hasn’t signed yet…
I’m all for it, unfortch, Rangers are now being linked to him…
The deck would win that fight.
We have over a decade of either Harden, Duchscherer or Anderson being in the prospective rotation in February. Often they’ve looked good in spring training and even into April. We start to count on them. Then, splat. Sure, we could miss and miss big this time, but the skepticism is unavoidable.
Counter-point:
Anderson was healthy at the end of 2012, as well.
august and september. and was great. then down three weeks
I’m not so sure Anderson really was healthy at the end of the season. And he pitched like shit. That might be why Toronto walked away.
All gone. (though Braden says he’s in great shape, so who knows?)
Gio :(
The Haren Six is all gone too.
Every player who was on the 2010 A’s roster at any point.
I count Blevins, Donaldson, Barton, Sogard and Coco as the only players still on the team today.
It’s amazing how you can forget people even existed three years later. Cedrick Bowers.
Justin James
So basically the buyout
Makes sense.
Oakland essentially spent $500K to acquire two young-ish minor league arms that throw 90+ and will start the 2014 season in the upper minors.
I am not hating the deal.
Anderson was causing my blood pressure to rise and now there is someone with a good pedigree that could be the 6/7th guy in the rotation. and a lotto ticket.
Anderson was a lotto ticket to begin with
Still better than what the Tigers got for Fister.
Is Pomeranz any better than Robbie Ray?
Anderson is a much better bet to pitch well than Pomeranz. Pomeranz is a better bet to pitch a whole season, but he’ll probably not be very good, and Anderson’s injury was not arm-related….this time.
Bone fracture that could not be entirely healed ( rumor btw.) is a big deal for a bulky pitcher.
You mean it’s not healed yet or it won’t heal?
There was a rumor that Colo initially shied away because his bone may require a permanent screw because the fracture was not completely healed. Apparently the Rockies are okay w/ whatever it is.
I bet Anderson was more broken than was ever let on.
Thanks, and go As.
The decision not to stretch him out to be a starter certainly suggested that.
that was weird wasn’t it. They had time to stretch him out.
Multiple reports of teams backing off from their initial pursuit after reading his medicals. Toronto walked away completely and they were supposed to be “infatuated” with Anderson. Rockies stepped back as well.
The most important thing is I can unfollow his dumb ass on twitter
Thanks, and go As.
Guess we all got our own priorities…
How you been doin btw? Shit goin OK?
Thanks, and go As.
Pooping well, thank you.
Things are solid. No worhtwhile complaints.
And you?
Same. Lot better than a year ago, for sure.
Thanks, and go As.
Good for you both. Yoy guys deserve some good shit.
This question came up while you weren’t around, and I’m particularly interested in your thoughts, so what’s your take on the inmate firefighters?
Inmate crews are like federal crews are like contract crews… there are good ones and bad ones. Almost always the difference between the good and bad crews comes down to the overhead running the crew. If they’ve got a good Captain, you’ve got a good crew.
They usually work hard but you can’t expect a lot of initiative from the crew members; they need to be told what to do and you have to go through their Captain to pass the orders. Part of this is due to the policy of one mistake can get them sent back to prison. Sounds harsh but it enforces the necessary discipline to control the crews. Never forget that they’re convicted criminals and while only non-violent offenders are allowed to work on the crews… keep in mind that there’s a difference between what they’ve done vs. what they were convicted of.
They’re cost effective and their kitchen crews are better than most of the caterers contracted to work on major fires.
Interesting – especially the kitchen part!
Are particular tasks reserved for these crews (or forbidden to them)?
Fire management tries to keep them away from residential areas for a couple reasons.
1) We train our folks in how they’re supposed to deal with inmate crews. You don’t chat with them. You don’t share tobacco or swap snacks from your lunch. You don’t let them borrow your cell phone or deliver letters for them or anything like that. You’ve got to keep your guard up around them. They can and have manipulated their guards and Captains into doing these things for them and it gets their minders in deep trouble.
So what’s Joe Citizen going to do when an inmate crew member just saves his home and is then asked a favor?
2) The guards worry about petty theft. B & E. Worse, when inmate crews do need to go near homes to save them from the fire they can and have been blamed for thefts and even arson by homeowners looking to file an insurance claim.
Most inmate crews don’t have the training/experience/equipment to cut heavy timber, so when we need to fall a lot of snags a federal hotshot crew will get the job.
The kitchen part doesn’t surprise me much. They have a lot of time on their hands to learn. And let’s face it, you’re cooking for prisoners who have good access to exact revenge for a bad meal. The rest is very interesting.
Dude is one swinging bunt from never pitching again, probably.
There was a rumor of potential screws in the ankle, fracture unhealed, I wouldn’t call him lithe or athletic.
Now that Bert’s in the mountains with his pal Peyton Manning, anyone think a minor league deal with Frenchy makes some sense? RF platoon with JR? I mean, he IS a fan favorite already and apparently had his eyes fixed, so maybe he would hit a little bit. GREAT defender, big fan of bacon or so they tell me.
The thing is he’s not actually a great, or even good defender. He has a very good arm, but he doesn’t get to many balls anymore.
Do not want.
I am fine with Reddick/Gentry/Crisp/Cespedes/Moss outfield.
I suppose Taylor and pederson are the back ups.
Sounds like a pitcher to me.
This I’m on board with. Maybe a buddy comedy with him and Barfield wild-pitching their way through the low minors.
We can call it “Makin’ the Bacon: The Story an Artery Clogger.”
NO
I think we should find out if he has any broadcaster potential.
Not a bad idea there. Have Francoeur, Michael Taylor and the other English major work about 50 games each on television, see which one works out best. Fosse can still do his How Great Is It? show on the radio pregame.
If they sign Failcour I will quit being an A’s fan
To a MiLB deal? You’re kidding, right?
Ack. There are, like, ten outfielders in the A’s system I’d rather start in RF than Francoeur.
How many outfielders are there in the A’s system? I’ll take all of them over Francoeur.
Can he dance? Sign him to play Stomper.
ANALYSIS
So we send Colorado a lottery ticket and get a couple of scratchers in return?
yup
Is “severely sprained ankle” a correct description of Anderson’s 2013 injury? I thought he had a broken foot. Not sure which is worse.
I think it was both.
Jeez, Grant is dumb. I knew whose kid Roger Angell was when I was in junior high school
Uh, I know we were joking about this when the Giants signed Huddy, but it was a JOKE, Mark, okay?
Is that what “back to work?” refers to?
I ought to follow somebody different at the golf tournament this year, though I suspect Mulder would be re-retired by then.
The annual ordeal of the office holiday party going on in the open atrium that our offices abut…so there’s no way to shut out the noise of all of our not-very-busy colleagues partying while we work. It’s worse this year because they have a live musician.
The Faces in Things feed might be my new favorite internet thing (after FK, of course).
I like this one.
BA just reviewed the A’s/Rockies trade. (Behind a paywall)
Pomeranz: His curveball is his best pitch, and he throws his four-seam fastball at 90-92 mph along with a sinker and a changeup. He as battled his delivery at times, which hampers his control and command. ~BA
He also has an option remaining and is expected to start next year in AAA.
Jensen: Jensen has above-average command of a fastball that consistently ranges from 92-95 mph and sits at 93 mph. Because he is still learning to use his secondary stuff, he regularly throws at least 70 percent fastballs. His slider is his most promising breaking pitch. ~BA
Jensen should start next year in AA.
Ha. When you said “BA” I think it was Bret Anderson’s review of the trade.
I’d take that bet.
That’s more like it. But what does he think about the trade?
What, huh? Wasn’t he released? What year is this???
Okajima (RP) was released and went back to Japan.
Nakajima (IF) is off the 40-man roster but still under contract for another year.
Ahhh. I had mentally disappeared both of them.
(Insert Bed doesn’t know who either of them are comment here.)
Won’t he have to bat no matter where he plays in the field?
If you keep moving him around maybe opposing managers won’t notice him never batting. Classic sleight of hand.
That Beane is a tricky one
Not on the mound.
Is there ANY possibility somebody would take him in the Rule 5 draft?
The A’s DFA’d him last summer, to get him off the 40-man. No teams had any interest at that point. If any team is that desperate for a SS, they should probably just call Orlando Cabrera or someone like that and see if they would come out of retirement.
For the Danny Espinosa fan contingent on FK:
It would be surprising to me if they moved Doolittle.
I would be a little upset.
I don’t think you give up a power lefty like that unless you really get something special in return.
Like Gio.
harper
I’d be livid.
Doolittle for Espinosa doesn’t sound like a very good deal, but it might be
Danny was abysmal last year, but he’s still only 26.
Definitely do Blevins for him though. I think Espinosa could come back and surprise people. Dude had 25 HR power before the injury.
Blevins, the guy who was all of a sudden so unreliable that Melvin never used him in the ALDS, instead going with Brett Anderson in Game 4? Yes. I would trade him for Espinosa.
Yeah, that was odd, I wonder if his arm was dead.
Even further, 2B > RP.
K% is kinda scary though, Carter-ish almost, does not walk.
meta in 5-4-3-2-1
Seriously though Espinosa is a non starter. His dad is an angels season ticket holder
Big deal, my brother is a Yankee season ticket holder and I’ve not been banned yet
You can’t be banned on FK…we’ve tried but Ed is still here.
BaNnEd
Sorry, I only do meta when it involves waffles.
heh
I like Espinosa, but I don’t get what you do with him if you have Sogard Punto and Callaspo
I’d only trade Blevins for Espinosa because it’s too good of a deal to pass up. I think Sogard has an option left, and so does Espinosa probably. Callaspo replaces Freiman. You can always trade somebody to the Yankees when they get tired of Eduardo Nunez and Kelly Johnson.
Does Sogard have an option left?
I think he does.
Sept callup in 2010.
Optioned to minors in 2011
Optioned to minors in 2012
Played full season in Oakland in 2013
Thanks, and go As.
It would create a further logjam that would need to be addressed. And a logjam of meh rather than one of lottery tickets.
I would say that espinosa is a lottery ticket
Sogard and Callaspo and Punto aren’t though. Considering the rather full 40 man roster, that’s a lot of middling 2B type options taking up spots. That would need to be addressed. If Beane believes Espinosa can return to form, it certainly could be worth the shot, but there’s a lot of not so exciting guys vying for playing time.
The deal is done so it isn’t likely going to be Espinosa, but you really only have 1 second baseman there in Callspo. The rest really are back up SSs and Espinosa and Sogard have options
Only if Espinosa is actually healthy now. If he isn’t you shut him down for as long as it takes.
I would hope an offseason would be enough to heal up from a broken wrist. Things can linger though I guess.
So, slegnA is even worse now in 14′ until they make more moves, meet Grant Green, DH.
Trumbo was a big power source for them, lots of K’s and no average, but 30/30 goes poof.
their pitching os better and so is their defense
SP is pretty scurry if one of their starters gets injured.
Curious if Pujols can rekindle the fire after the PF surgery, that could be pretty bad for us.
Crazy talk. Trumbo hits big dingers, but that’s about it. His bat really isn’t much to talk about. In return, they got two usable arms, one with (flickering, but still present) huge upside. They got very much better today.
The D’Backs on the other hand…oh boy.
Big dingers and doubles, mentioned terri-bad K rate, was talking to 2014 for Angels.
Do you think Skaggs will be worth much this year? I do like his future.
Wow, terrible picture of J-Sick.
The Oakland City Council approved the A’s and Raiders lease extensions tonight. Larry Reid says for the first time in a long time he’s optimistic about the A’s, based on “the new way Mr. Wolff is thinking as it relates to his ballclub staying in Oakland”.
I am pretty confident the A’s are not leaving for the foreseeable future. it that is what he means. I don’t think it has anything to do with Mr. Wolff
Let’s say the A’s build a new stadium somewhere in Oakland. Would they suddenly become that much bigger of a draw? Would they get enough corporate suite money in Oakland to generate the kind of revenue that would allow them to actually keep some of their players? I know the Coliseum is a dump but I’m having trouble wrapping my mind around this idea that a new ballpark will turn the A’s into the most popular ticket in town.
if the A’s pay for a stadium and if oakland then becomes the destination for successful tech companies then yeah, the A’s can sell out the stadium like the giants did during the .com bubble.
But the A’s won’t have more revenue than they do now unless someone else pays for the stadium
I did wonder about the cost of building the stadium as well. I won’t pretend to know if Oakland can become a successful destination for tech companies, but that doesn’t seem like something you’d want to rely on for your teams bottom line.
I don’t have a dog in the fight since I don’t live in Oakland or San Jose. All I want is for the A’s to be in a place where they can be competitive financially. It seems to me to do this the A’s need a new stadium and a stable fan base.
I hear you, but what happened to a ballpark just being a fucking ballpark, it’s not as if the A’s are losing money.
In the end so much of this is just hype and simple corporate avarice.
I grew up loving the ballpark sitting on splintery bleachers, melting in the sun, whilst drunken middle aged men spilled beer on me.
If you would have asked me what a luxury box was I would thought it was a jewelry case.
Sorry, I will now remove the goggles of nostalgic idealism and naiveté.
I’ve had fun every time I’ve been to the Coliseum…well, except for some awful Raiders loses. I’m very sentimental and nostalgic about that old place too.
they should stay
I don’t think that’s going to happen over the long term unless they remodel the stadium like they did in Anaheim.
When I see highlights from a Carolina Panthers home game, I can’t help wondering if that stadium could be modified to be a temporary home for an MLB franchise while the permanent ballpark is being built, similar to what the Marlins played in for all those years. It wouldn’t surprise me if that were Mr. Wolff’s “new way of thinking as it relates to Oakland”.
that would be pretty easy.
I know a couple of years ago the North Carolina economy was doing worse than the national average but I’m not sure if that’s still the case.
If the A’s did move to North Carolina they need to know they’d be sixth in popularity to Duke, NC, NC State, the Panthers, and the Bobcats.
Add in the fact that North Carolina has little to no baseball tradition and that doesn’t seem like a great move to me.
Nah, San Antonio and Montreal would be more likely destinations outside the bay area. The Rangers have played ST games in SA and they’re doing it Montreal this year.
I think it’s silly to put a team back in Montreal. If they put one in San Antonio they better have a dome.
I’m looking at candidates by television market DMA size. There’s not much left in the U.S. and MLB isn’t going back to Montreal. San Antonio (#36 in the country) would edge out #35 Cincinnati to become MLB’s smallest market. Austin (#40) is 80 miles away (would be some theft from the Rangers there).
Either Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville (#24) or Charlotte (#25) would have five existing MLB markets below them, and in either case Greensboro-Winston Salem (#46) is about the same distance as Austin to San Antonio.
The three larger markets than the Carolina markets that don’t have MLB are:
#18 Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne: A possible lateral move for the Rays, though I think the City of Tampa would be better.
#20 Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto: I’ve always thought the Kings’ departure would make this viable for the A’s; how do the prospects for that downtown arena look this week?
#22 Portland: They kicked out their PCL team in favor of MLS. There’s no political will there to do the required retractable-roof stadium.
I think there equation is bigger than simply the TV market size. It’s important, but not necessarily *the* primary factor. Montreal is getting a couple of ST games this season and has MLB’s ear and rumblings of a willingness to come back to the table as far as a new stadium is concerned. Nowhere NEAR happening right now. But give them another 5 – 10 years. SA had games played there last year and more this year in ST. Granted the facility sucks, but the games were sold out and they have political will to talk to the talk. Again, give them another 5 – 10 years. The biggest factor is a willingness to throw money at MLB.
They’d be in front of the Bobcats. Nobody gives a shit about them.
My brother’s lived in Charlotte for about 20 years, and he thinks nobody there gives a shit about baseball except him.
OK, but this was true of the National Hockey League and the Bay Area 25 years ago. A lot of people scoffed at the Sharks’ arrival, and even Sharks management admitted they weren’t sure they could fill 17,000 seats in downtown San Jose with any regularity.
I’d advise to sit back and “just enjoy the show” that’s about to start. Everyone just try to suspend their disbelief. That’s all I’ll say.
As The Wolff Turns…
First rule of great cinema: save the unlikely plot twists for the final reel.
I’ve heard that story before and it ends with a yawn.
Good. Carry on then. Nothing for you to see here that contradicts what you already think you know.
See my comment way above. There’s only a handful of actions that could be taken that should receive any level of excitement/disappointment. None of which are on the horizon. And that goes for any of those possibilities. Whatever you think you know, it’s likely just more puffery.
Right.
Blevins for Espinosa would be fine. YOU CAN’T HAVE DOOLITTLE.
Thanks, and go As.
They’d really trade Espinosa for Blevins? That seems too good to be true.
I don’t want espinosa (angel season ticket holding dad) but I would do that trade
I do enjoy listening to Eric Nadel; he and Korach are the two best in the AL West and probably the whole AL. Bill not winning again, as somebody said that’s gotten to be so much water under the bridge by now.
At this point it seems like Korach might win before Bill does.
If anyone has a line on Rose Bowl tix let me know. Everyone I know got shut out.
Burns had a 134 WRC+ in A+/AA last year.
Thanks, and go As.
Yay Doolittle!
ik, r?
Fer reals!
roster spot?
He was a 2011 draftee so I doubt he’s Rule 5 eligible.
holy shit.
Thanks, and go As.
This seems like a pretty good deal actually
The complete lack of power is concerning but it seems like a good get for your second bullpen lefty
I wonder what this means
Rich Man’s Rajai?
Looks like he has solid plate discipline and great speed. Could be useful if his defense is good.
esp when you have a shiny new abad toy
I forgot about abad
Not a super hot prospect (for example, didn’t make Sickels’ top 75 or honorable mention) but I still prefer him to Blevins.
He was one of the first names listed as the “also considered” in the Nats Top 20 list.
Thanks, and go As.
Aren’t those sections alphabetical? Also, that’s even lower than I would have suspected coming off a really strong performance.
Which is the only reason Aaron Aardvark was listed ahead of him
Supposedly good at defense (CF) and switch hits. Probably won’t be anything more than a bench piece but I’m fine with this. Frees up another 2 million or so.
Cross another name off the A’s roster from 2010. Down to four now!
now is coco the longest tenured A?
Barton
Barton?
does barton have more ML servce time than coco has time on the A’s?
How are we counting this?
Wide lead by debut date with A’s (2007 vs. 2010), narrow lead by service time with A’s (4 years 30 days vs. 4 years).
had reddick not gotten hurt last year…
Blevins debuted 6 days after Barton, but had a couple months more service time.
Which has been in the system the longest?
well, i had no idea. barton went to my high school. then he transferred to my sister’s
We need a new union rep.
ill do it
we wouldn’t have to get the suits taken in
Fker bait: $12 buys you a $25 groupon at Souley Vegan.
Isn’t that one of the places you Oakland folks are always on about?
its inconsistent
But as take out at Beer Revolution next door its always good.
Man, I can’t wait for it to warm up again…
this
Corey Hart -> Mariners
Christ. West Coast Marlins.
Does that mean they won’t be throwing a bazillion dollars at Nelson Cruz? Darn.
I like Hart. This could be a great deal for Seattle, and their OF is horrendous….as is their 1B and DH.
It could be, or it could be a Ben Sheets type of thing. I’ll believe that Hart is playable after two surgeries when I see it.
yuck. I wish we had gotten him to platoon with moss
Well, as his fantasy BB owner I can’t endorse that. But I think he’s got a live/useful bat.
um…
Thanks, and go As.
whut?
da fuq?
So Cameron wouldn’t have given up Billy Burns for a LOOGY and Beane traded Brett Anderson for one, enabling them to afford the cromulent but unexceptional Jim Johnson.
Meh, only if Abad and Figueroa get injured or are absolutely terrible in spring training. Both are out of options, I think, unlike Pomeranz.
But they also kinda suck, no? Pomeranz has to be better than those guys
Seriously? That looks like a waste.
I always forget, is rosenthal an idiot? or is he tuned in.
They’re not mutually exclusive
I wouldn’t trust him, itchy trigger finger, makes shit up…
general manager Billy Beane described Pomeranz as a potential “Jeremy Affeldt-type lefty.â€
ew
Follow
clarkspencer
â€@clarkspencer
Source: #Marlins trading Logan Morrison to Seattle for RHP Carter Capps
Reply Retweet Favorite More
Crap. I didn’t paste it beautifully
I think you have to use the embed codes now?
Thanks, and go As.
Oh. Thanks.
Nope. Just paste the URL to the actual tweet on its own line in the comment box (i.e. twitter.com/[userid]/status/[long number])
Testing:
or
Oliver projects Burns for 2.3 WAR in 2014. Excellent *tents fingers*
Is Oliver Smithers’s alter ego?
-If I came into your house and started sniffing at your crotch and slobbering all over your face, what would you say?
-If you did it sir?
looks like someone’s got a rocket in their pocket.
Burns/Gentry CF platoon when Coco is gone after this year?
Thanks, and go As.
Not necessarily a platoon guy, since he switch hits. He sounds like the ultimate 4th outfielder/pinch running specialist/pinch hitter when you need a baserunner late.
His BB/K is out of control:
2013
A+ 402 PA/ 52 BB/ 37 K/ .422 OBP
AA 138 PA/ 20 BB/ 17 K/ .434 OBP
It might be worth a trip to Sac next year just to watch him work.
high socks
Going to be fun watching Russell next year, now we have Mr Burns too.
Might have to wait for late summer though, unless we want to make the significantly longer trip to Midland.
That’s what I was thinking, June- July, really liked what Billy had to say though, roughly:
Once you get to AA who knows what can happen, we’ll see how he looks in Spring Training…
Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!
2014?
I mean a 400 OBP is nice but A/AA and now a mlb 2 war?
Shhhh…just go with it.
Oliver assumes a full time role for everyone, which leads to some wonky projections for prospects. I remember Jai Miller was projected for 3 WAR and nearly 30 something home runs one year.
That’s not very useful in his beer league though.
“Billy Beane is the master of goulash. You never know what’s in it. You just know it’s going to be good.” –Scott Boras
You never know what’s going to be in it, but you do know what’s not going to be in it: my clients.
Nice one.
Damn right.
I can just imagine the conversation:
They could totally have Doolittle but we get Gio back, and Harper.
Thanks, and go As.
Seems light on the return on our end.
Colon->Mets
good fit
Roomy bathroom stalls?
2/20
Interesing.
Thanks, and go As.
I wish we’d kept him but I’m glad he’s going to the NL.
because watching him hit will be fun?
I wonder if he’ll ever let go of the bat??
Thanks, and go As.
Because he won’t play against us as much, but that too.
The Mets continue to buy our free agent A’s. Is Balfour next?
I’d rather have Colon at 10 mil next year than Johnson.
Me too, but the market is smaller now than it was a week ago, so…
MLB rules committee decides to eliminate collisions at home plate
Boo.
Colisions are fun, but obviously this is better for player health.
I agree. I’ve also never really understood the why catchers should be allowed to block the plate, when no one else is allowed to block a base.
It is already disallowed under the current rules. They just aren’t enforced.
So what will they change the rule to?
“Now you really really can’t block the plate. Ever. Not even a little bit.”
Anyone can block a base as long as they have the ball or the ball is coming to them.
They can be in the basepath, but they can’t intentionally close off access to the base such that the runner has to go through them, right?
Imagine Colon heading towards home plate…
Yikes, I do seem to remember he did take some ‘to the fences’ cuts at an inter-league game last season, didn’t look silly and seemed really stoked to be batting, big silly smile. Fuck, I’m going to miss him.
I like it, but it does feel a little smug
I have never gotten this guys appeal.
Bed, I get you.
…and that’s all I need.
I don’t see it as smug, except to the extent that all twitter sarcasm is a little smug.
This is getting out of hand.
That’s a lotta Choo years. I mean he’s good and all but he’s no Mike Hampton.
The seven-year offer is from the Rangers.
HAHAHAAH
Thanks, and go As.
They got a #3 and #4 starter for a 2WAR player and some garbage specs, does it really matter if they sign Ibanez?
8/175, I’m assuming.
The Angels got a little better yesterday, but not so much better as to keep us from laughing at them for signing lawndart.
They fixed their biggest glaring problem and now have 5 credible starters.
My point stands.
I like to play lawn darts…not sure if that helps?
Glad to see that not much interesting happened while I was away.
I’m just happy my trade streak continues…I haven’t heard of any of these guys Beane traded for.
Nooooooooooooo…(Who?)
Wait…those are real names?
I mean, if you haven’t heard of them…
Heh…exactly.
I remember that Urlaub was a geeky character on an ABC sitcom. Frankoff might have been a one-term Senator from Wisconsin.
Urlab is a AA reliever who had his K/9 fall but still maintianed a 3 K/BB rate last year
Frankoff is an A ball reliever that saw a huge spike in K/9 to 11 last year.
Don’t see either as big potential losses.
Urlaub was pretty sweet in the AFL this year, scoreless until the last few games, 16 K/ 3BB in 13 IP, SSS of course, but his regular season stats weren’t too far off.
yeah he did have a really good afl season.
Guys like that usually wouldn’t last in the majors. Either you get the player back at the end of spring training, or if the drafting team is particularly enamored, you make a trade and grab a decent prospect from them.
Isn’t Urlaub the guy who writes that cute column for the Chronicle?
Not sure, but I like that his last name translates into ‘vacation’ in german.
National Lampoon’s German Vacation
I miss Brad.
Don’t hold it against me… I really have way better taste in music than this. This concert is, however, notable for a cameo from Steve Khan and also for its electric hometown energy, due in no small part to the high probability that the snow flurries in the parking lot 36 years ago weren’t the only ones going on that day. That is to say, I suspect there were some in the dressing room as well
Finally, a piece of technology I can get behind.
Or in front of.
i noticed your other post began with “don’t hold it against me.”
Giants sign Mike Morse. Last year Morse hit 5 HR against the A’s, and 8 against everyone else.
Man. I guess there’s a chance that his bat might rebound to respectability, but there’s no chance his glove will, and they play in the NL last time I checked.
Belt in the OF Morse at 1b to minimize the damage?
BELT DOESN’T GET RIBBIES, SEND HIM TO FRESNO!!! WORHTLESS!!!!
I’d trade Callaspo for him. STRAIGHT UP.
My god: He put up -1.6 fWAR in only 337 plate appearances last season. That’s amazing.
Pretty sure I witness at least half of those homers.
Yup, He destroyed us that first series, I was at the game he hit 2, and then one the next day maybe, I remember stomping on my peanut shells in anger.
Aristocrats are screwing up everything!
well, it is an incredibly dirty joke.