1/24/2005 11:20:00 AM|W|P|Pip|W|P|
From Bob Broeg Chapter president Norm Richards:

WHAT: SABR ROUNDTABLE MEETINGS

WHERE: SYBERG'S....270 & DORSETT

WHEN : DINNER AT 6:00.....DISCUSSION AT 6:45

FEBRUARY  21
MARCH  21
APRIL  18
MAY  16
JUNE  20
JULY  25
AUGUST  22
|W|P|110658732313358295|W|P|Upcoming SABR (St. Louis) Meetings Announced|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/22/2005 01:36:00 AM|W|P|Pip|W|P|See you at SABR's annual Hot Stove Luncheon Saturday at Mike Shannon's. Nate and I plan to unveil the 2004 Postseason BBF stats, which will be available online at the BBF homepage soon. |W|P|110637950239998935|W|P|Hot Stove Luncheon|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/21/2005 12:11:00 PM|W|P|N|W|P|Aaron Gleeman posted a nice writeup on The Hardball Times about the freak of nature that is Albert Pujols. It's so much fun to be a Cardinals fan during The Pujols Era...if he can keep this up, there may a be an ugly statue of him outside Busch Stadium III someday! |W|P|110633162794801019|W|P|I'm so glad he's not a Yankee|W|P|nate.mckie@gmail.com1/21/2005 12:06:00 PM|W|P|N|W|P|So apparently a diehard BoSox fan missed the World Series due to being comatose. Well, at least he can take comfort in the fact that it wasn't a very good series... |W|P|110633099510864311|W|P|I only slightly feel sorry for this guy|W|P|nate.mckie@gmail.com1/14/2005 03:45:00 PM|W|P|Pip|W|P|
PO Player WSAA
- OF Juan Rivera 2
- P Chad Bentz -2
- OF Valentino Pascucci -2
- IF Maicer Izturis -2
- OF Ron Calloway -3
- 3B Tony Batista -4
- C Einar Diaz -4
- OF Antonio Sucre
- P Victor Prieto
Total Leaving -15
+ OF Jose Guillen 6
+ OF J.J. Davis -1
+ SS Christian Guzman -1
+ 3B Vinny Castilla -1
+ IF Wil Cordero -2
+ C Gary Bennett -6
Total Coming -5
= P Joey Eischen 0
Total Staying 0
What to say about the sad saga of the Washington SubNationals?Only a team this bad can shed itself of -15 WSAA AND gain -5 in incoming players. I guess that's what happens when nearly all your players are bad (only 10 had positive WSAA). The upside is that the team gains a couple of exciting -- or is it excitable? -- players in Guillen and Guzman. Throw in similarly ill-tempered Wil Cordero and perhaps the ne'Spos are trying to fill the bad-boy niche market in MLB. The Washingtons are a great example of how stats only tell part of the story: another "addition-by-subtraction" job, they actually end up with 10 WSAA to the good this offseason. Then again, WSAA assume replacements will be average -- something unlikely to happen at RFK this year. Net WSAA: 10 HSL Rating: 4 (oddly enough) |W|P|110573899436029781|W|P|Washington Nationals: Like an expansion team, only different!|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/14/2005 12:07:00 PM|W|P|Pip|W|P|
- P D. Weathers 0
- P C. Fox -1
- P J. Manzanillo -2
- 1B W. Cordero -2
- IF M. Mordecai -1
- P B. Koch -1
- C R. Castro -3
- C. M. Redmond -2
- P C. Pavano 9
- P T. Phelps -2
- P T. Borland -1
- P R. Seanez 1
- P A. Benitez 9
Total Leaving 4
+ P J. Riedling -3
+ P A. Alfonseca 4
+ P T. Jones 1
+ P A. Leiter 4
+ P F. Castillo 0
+ P L. Hagerty 0
Total Coming 6
= C P. LoDuca 6
= P M. Perisho 0
= P I. Valdez -4
= IF L. Harris -3
= IF D. Easley 2
Total Staying 1
The Marlins, depite a lot of guys coming and going, really haven't done much to improve their look for 2005. Of course, that all could change with the simple signing of Carlos Delgado, but currently, their twin loss of Pavano and Benitez (who together accounted for 36 WS) hasn't been offset. Certainly not with the likes of Leiter and Alfonseca (though Guillermo Mota will be the closer). I'm a big fan of Big Al's, but I can't imagine that he's going to get any better at this stage in his career, though he may appreciate the Florida weather (then again, already a 6-inning pitcher, he may be wishing for some mild Shea evenings come July in steamy SoFla). Look for more moves to come to fill out 1B and the bench, whom they helpfully cleared this offseason. Net WSAA: 2 HSL Rating: 3 |W|P|110572709170234343|W|P|Florida Marlins: Lots of Moves, Little Improvement|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/12/2005 03:54:00 PM|W|P|Pip|W|P|
- OF Doug Glanville -3
- RP Felix Rodriguez 1
- RP Roberto Hernandez -2
- RP Todd Jones -1
- SP Eric Milton -1
- SP Kevin Millwood -2
Total leaving -8
= C Todd Pratt 0
= IF Placido Polanco 2
= RP Billy Wagner 4
= RP Rheal Cormier 1
= SP Cory Lidle 1
Total staying 8
+ OF Kenny Lofton 0
+ P Pedro Liriano 0
+ P Terry Adams 0
+ RP Aaron Fultz 0
+ SP Jon Lieber 2
Total new 2
At first glance, the Phillies seemed to have lost some key players: F-Rod, Millwood and Milton, et al. And fans probably felt like the guy who shows up to the black-tie dinner in a sky-blue frilly tux when the Mets and Yanks had their doubleheader press conferences (for Beltran and the Unit, respectively) while the Phils introduced their new coaching staff. However, this appears to be the classic case of addition by subtraction: that is, the improvement of the team's overall WSAA by letting leave several minuses (like Millwood and Milton). Still, they have done little to replace even the minuses; John Lieber is the lone exception, and that's not even saying much. Props for keeping some helpful guys, even if begrudgingly in the case of Polanco, who surprised them by accepting arbitration ("We could have had a draft pick if only you'd left!"). Net WSAA: 10 HSL Rating: 4 (begrudgingly) |W|P|110557134098567420|W|P|Phillies: Addition by Subtraction|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/13/2005 12:27:00 PM|W|P|Blogger dukeness|W|P|Good analysis, but I think a 3 rating is more appropriate. Lots of moves, little change.1/13/2005 12:32:00 PM|W|P|Blogger Pip|W|P|I know. I grudgingly gave them a 4, just because I couldn't go against my numbers. You're right -- no real positive additions, just removal of some negatives, which of course helps.

It's a "low 4," to be sure. ;)1/12/2005 11:23:00 AM|W|P|Pip|W|P|I don't know about anyone else, but it's always struck me as a bit strange that a handful of latin players have seemingly non-latin first names. It seemed to me that a preponderance of these players hailed from Venezuela (Roger Cedeno, Melvin Mora and 2004 AL Cy Young winner Johan Santana, to name a few). So, when I found out that a coworker was Venezuelan, I of course inquired as to whether I was onto something or just crazy (of course, I still may be crazy). His response:
Well the non-latin names is a running joke. Folks from the country side, particularly folks from the city of Maracaibo, love to give their kids names they can't even pronounce themselves! I went to school with a kid blessed with "Heathcliff" - I guess his folks liked the movie Gone with the Wind. Unfortunately, we all butchered his name to sound something like HER-CLEE. Go figure. My father's ancestors came from Germany (Alsace actually) and my grandmother named my dad Hugo in honor of Victor Hugo. In Venezuela, I've come across several Lincolns, many Jacqueline when Jackie Kennedy was around and countless Franklins. Not to mention countless misspelled foreign names.
Hugo added that the Venezuelans' approach to baseball has become highly sophisticated in recent years, to which the growing list of Venezuelan-born players attests. Which reminds, me: What kind of cruel joke did Darwin Cubillan's parents want to play on their son, anyway? |W|P|110555903238926961|W|P|Hola, Melvin and Roger!|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/11/2005 10:30:00 AM|W|P|Anonymous|W|P|Some thoughts about the Splendid Spitter since he may become a Cardinal this season: Anti-Alomar: Wake up! This guy is a bad seed! Roberto Alomar has eventually worn out his welcome every place he's played, and has been involved in several controversial episodes which have tarnished his image. With the O's on September 27, 1996, he was called out on strikes by home plate umpire John Hirschbeck. Alomar responded with a tirade, and spit in the arbiter's face, drawing an ejection, and later a fine and suspension by Major League Baseball. The spitting incident hung like a cloud over Alomar for the remainder of his time in Baltimore, as opposing fans booed him frequently. Later, Alomar complained that his teammates were not retaliating when he was thrown at by opposing teams, even though he acknowledged several of the pitches were unintentional. In 1999, when Indians' teammate Manny Ramirez was accused of using a corked bat, Alomar stirred controversy by suggesting other players, specifically Derek Jeter, may also be cheating. In Cleveland he blasted ex-teammates Kenny Lofton and Albert Belle after they left the team, and was vocal about John Rocker's arrival in 2001. His arrival in Arizona in 2004 marked his third team in four years. And how about the stalker in 1996? So is he HOF material(Pro Alomar)? Every player (with the exception of an odd tragedy or injury like Roberto Clemente or Sandy Koufax) has a significant down phase to his career. Alomar didn't slow down until he was in his mid-30's. He was a superstar as recently as 2001, when he hit .330 or something like that. He hit .300 or better every year but one during the period 1992-2001, and it wasn't an empty .300, but hitting .300 with walks, extra base power. But he wasn't just offense: he won 10 Gold Gloves at a key defensive position. He was selected 12 times for the All-Star team. He was more than a great player. The bottom line: Roberto Alomar was clearly the best second baseman in baseball for a significant period of time. He is overwhelming qualified for the Hall of Fame. He could be plausibly ranked as high as the 4th greatest second baseman of all time (Joe Morgan, Eddie Collins, Rogers Hornsby). It would be unprecedented to deny enshrinement to a player with his accomplishments, unless that player's name is Pete Rose. The spitting incident won't help his chances, but I don't see how you can deny a guy his otherwise rightful place in the Hall of Fame based on an isolated incident. Juan Marichal smacked a guy over the head with a bat in an isolated fit of anger one time, a transgression far more serious than spitting on an umpire. The Roseboro incident may have delayed Marichal's enshrinement for a year or two, but it ultimately didn't prevent him from entering the Hall. None of the other stuff "Pro-Alomar" mentioned amounts to anything more than a fart on an elevator. Ninety plus percent of that "cancer of the clubhouse" stuff is a load of crap, invented by management when they want to tarnish a player's reputation when they want to get rid of him for another reason. Look at Tino Martinez. When Jocketty signed him in the winter of 2001-02, it was acknowledged that his recent numbers were not exactly what you want in a high-salaried first baseman. Rather, we were paying him for his "clubhouse presence." He maintained that clubhouse presence for almost two seasons, or until the Cardinals management decided (because of his elbow situation) to move Albert Pujols to first base. Unfortunately, poor Tino was already on the team with another year to run on his contract, and could only play first base. In short, his presence on the team interfered with the grand plan. All of a sudden, management started dropping hints to the media that Tino was a negative presence in the clubhouse, and of course the lap dogs that constitute the St. Louis sports media picked up on it and started reporting it like it was Gospel. It ultimately was accepted as true by Cardinal Nation, and became the excuse to exile him to the Devil Rays for a bucket of warm spit, and to pay 90% of his salary as well. This kind of crap happens all the time. Other recent examples here in St. Louis - Brian Jordan, Ron Gant, Fernando Vina. If Renteria has a good year in Boston this year, we're probably start hearing it about him as well, especially if David Eckstein is struggling to keep his average above .240. Anti-Alomar: Alomar was OK but galaxies away from being the 4th best second baseman of all time. Here are the career win shares for top second basemen: WS E. Collins 574 J. Morgan 512 R. Hornsby 502 N. Lajoie 496 R. Carew 384 C. Gehringer 383 C. Biggio 377 R. Alomar 373 F. Frisch 366 L. Whitaker 351 R. Sandberg 346 B. Grich 329 Pro-Alomar: Win Shares is only one method of evaluating a player. It is essentially a compilation of all of a player's positive accomplishments expressed as a single integer. It is an interesting number but obviously not the sole measure of a player's rank among his peers. Moreover, it must be evaluated in the context of opportunity. A player who accumulated 400 win shares in a career spanning 15 seasons and 8000 at bats was obviously a greater player than one who needed 19 seasons and 10,000 at bats to accumulate 400 win shares. So I amend my statement. Alomar has a legitimate claim to being as high as the 5th greatest second baseman of all time. I do note that everything I am reading on the Internet today indicates that the election of Sandberg this year bodes well for the candidacies of both Alomar and Biggio. Anti-Alomar: Win Shares is not just a compliation of a player's positive accomplishments. It also takes into account his negative accomplishments, caught stealing, runs allowed, etc. and wraps both negative and positive accomplishments into a single measure that determines the ultimate value of a player, his contribution to winning a ball game. Here is more: http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/neyer_rob/42798.html WinShares is becoming the standard measure of player value to the extent that it is being used by others as the starting point for further analysis. See for example how it is used to evaluate free agent signings. http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/net-win-shares-value/ Pro-Alomar: Not to put down Win Shares, but your statement "WinShares is becoming the standard measure of player value to the extent that it is being used by others as the starting point for further analysis" is deceptive. Win Shares have won some acceptance in the sabremetric community (although some criticism there as well) but virtually no acceptance at all in the mainstream baseball community. (For example, there is a definite school of thought that too many win shares are credited to position players and too few to pitchers.) If by "others" you mean pointy headed stats geeks like you and me, then your statement is true, but I doubt that a single member of the BBWAA utilizes Win Shares as a starting point to decide whether or not he or she should vote for Player X for the HOF or looks at the single season totals for each of the top players in the league before filling out his MVP ballot. I just read a column in USA Today where the columnist opined that Ryne Sandberg was a greater player than Joe Morgan, and that the only reason Joe Morgan "beat him there" (i.e., Morgan made it on the 1st ballot, Sandberg has to wait until his 3rd ballot) was that Morgan was surrounded by better players, the Bid Red Machine. Frankly, I think that conclusion is simply nuts, and that Joe Morgan was the *best* player on the Bid Red Machine. But I'm sure there are a lot of BBWAA members outside the City of Chicago who believe that Sandberg was a better player than Morgan. While we numbers-oriented folks are making inroads, we still have a long way to go. We're still the outsiders. Look at BaseballReference.com. They have a lot of stats for players, both traditional and sabremetric. There is no mention of Win Shares anywhere. With regard to your statement calling me to task for trying to explain Win Shares as the sum of a player's positive accomplishments, you are right of course, but I was thinking specifically about Alomar when I chose my language, and there really aren't negatives to consider. It's not like you can pick out one aspect of his game and say that he was poor at that, and that detracted from his overall value as a player. He hit for average, he hit for power, he drew walks, he stole bases, he didn't ground into double plays, he had great range, he made fewer errors than the average second baseman. He truly was a Seven Skills player. As for the well being dry, don't be too sure. Ozzie Smith looked like he was through at the end of the 1995 season (a far worse season than Alomar's 2004), but came back strong in 2006. Great players often have surprise or two left in their careers. I think Win Shares are fun. There are useful for evaluating trades after the fact; single season totals are useful as a check to ascertain whether the BBWAA is truly picking the Most Valuable Player, the best player for the Cy Young, the best rookie, etc. I don't think they are very useful for comparing the careers of two or more players at the same position to determine how to rank them. If the players are close, the difference will fall within the margin for error; if the players aren't close, the superiority of one can be readily ascertained without resorting to Win Shares. I also note that Bill James, the creator of Win Shares, does not blindly follow them in ranking players. He ranked the Top 100 players at each position in his most recent version of the historical abstract, which came out at about the same time as his Win Shares book. He references Win Shares in the historical book, but is not a slave to the totals. For what it's worth, among second basemen, he has the same Top 3 as do I, but then he has Jackie Robinson 4th and Biggio 5th all time among second basemen, before getting to Lajoie at #6. If one wishes to evaluate the MVP award last season by Win Shares, here are the NL totals: Bonds 53, Pujols 40, Rolen 38, Beltre and Abreu 37, Edmonds 36. Looks like the BBWAA got this one right. The Cy Young is a different story: R. Johnson 25, Sheets 21, Clemens & Pavano 20, Zambrano, Schmidt, L. Hernanadez and Oswalt 19 each. AL MVP: Sheffield 31, A. Rodriguez, H. Matsui & Tejada 30, Guerrero 29, M. Ramirez, Damon, J. Santana & Suzuki 27. I'd say this one falls within the margin for error. Anti-Alomar: Here is another look at Alomar's chances for the hall: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/roberto-alomar-a-forgotten-legend/ One of the problems he has is that he has stunk up the place, by HOF measures, the last three years and could tack on 2 more bad years to threaten his career .300 average. Ozzie hit his career average in '94 (BA.262 in 95 games) before his '95 season; 63 points below his career BA while playing only 44 games. He then bounced back hitting above his career average in '96. Roberto, on the other hand, had a great season in '01 but then was 34 points under his career average in '02 (149 games), 42 points under in '03 (140 games), and 37 points under in '04 (56 games). In other words unlike Ozzie with one very down part time playing year, Roberto has put in two full time seasons and one part time that has been far below his career standards. The trend is hard to ignore although at 37 next season his relatively young age gives him hope of a comeback. Ozzie came back at 41 after all. But being only 37 also gives him a chance to put in 2 more poor years so that once he retires and goes through his manatory waiting period for the hall his '01 season may be a dim memory in voter's minds. I think he betters his chances with the HOF if some stat geeks get into the BBWAA. Another thing that is admittedly a very subjective issue is how a HOF level player reacts to his declining skills. For Ozzie, Brock, and Musial very late in their long careers they had a tough season in which they performed well below their previous levels. Although they could have retired after that season each of them were determined not to go out with a bad season and played better than ever in their final season. Their pride seemed to will them to finish their careers memorably. To me, if being in the HOF has any thing to do with non stat issues, that has got to be taken into account. |W|P|110546242276091908|W|P|Robbie Alomar - HOF or HOShame|W|P|1/10/2005 09:47:00 AM|W|P|Pip|W|P| Carlos Betran signed with the Mets Sunday. I just wanted to write it down, since I never thought I would be able to (and it actually be true).|W|P|110537246919137947|W|P|Let's Go Mets!|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/11/2005 10:04:00 PM|W|P|Blogger N|W|P|Mixed emotions for me here...on one hand, as a Cardinal fan, I'm glad he's not an Astro. On the other hand, this probably further cements your Met fanhood, since you've loved this Beltran guy for years.

I gotta hand it to Minaya...that was quite a coup.1/13/2005 11:55:00 AM|W|P|Blogger Pip|W|P|Thanks, Nate. It's part of what seems to be an attitude makeover with the team, too, which is really the source of my excitement. This
photo warmed my heart. :)1/10/2005 09:46:00 AM|W|P|Pip|W|P|Let's assess the Hot Stove League moves to date by team. I'll start with the Braves (+ is added, - is lost, = is kept, parentheses=win shares above average):
  • + RP Gabe White (-2)
  • + SP Tim Hudson (6)
  • + RP Danny Kolb (3)
  • = SP John Smoltz (moved to SP from RP) (4)
  • = 1B Julio Franco (3)
  • - OF Charles Thomas (2)
  • - SP Paul Byrd (2)
  • - SP Jaret Wright (4)
  • - SP Russ Ortiz (1)
  • - RP Antonio Alfonseca (4)
  • - OF JD Drew (17)
  • - Util Eli Marrero (5)
    • I'd say the exchange of Hudson and Smoltz (as SP) is at best a wash for losing 3/5 of their 2004 rotation. They still have Hampton, remember ... Losing Drew cannot be underestimated, especially since Thomas is no longer around as a replacement ... The Kolb acqusition allows Smoltz to go to the front of the rotation, where he'll be an asset, though Kolb won't be the closer Smoltz was. BravesBeat seems to think that the team will be plugging holes with some highly touted prospects (Davies, Francouer, Marte), but they likely won't be impact players in 2005. ... Middle relief questionable, esp. with the explosive (and not in a good way) White. Net WSAA: -28 HSL Rating: 2 Rating key: 1 - just about every move has had negative effect 2 - net negative effect 3 - no change to team's 2005 outlook from 2004 4 - modest improvement 5 - best possible offseason moves |W|P|110537204544920737|W|P|Breaking down the NL East (so far): Braves|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/07/2005 03:08:00 PM|W|P|Pip|W|P|This has got to be the most unique way to ensure that you won't be back with your previous team next season: Refuse to turn over the ball from the last out of the World Series your team just won after an 86-year wait. Surely, the Mets can now get Minky for a song, can't they? Maybe they can offer the ball from the last out of the '86 series... |W|P|110512869827066450|W|P|File under: Ways to ensure you get traded in the offseason|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/07/2005 03:28:00 PM|W|P|Blogger Pip|W|P|We vintage players have a simple solution for this: The tradition is that the winning club receivse the game ball after the game.1/06/2005 04:03:00 PM|W|P|Pip|W|P|This just in: Cardinals sign former Cubs second-baseman Mark Grudzielanek to a one-year, $1 million contract. Sounds like a good combo with the X-factor. I guess this means no Alomar for the Birds -- Maybe I can cheer for them, after all! 2005 lineup shaping up like:
    1. Eckstein
    2. Walker
    3. Pujols
    4. Edmonds
    5. Rolen
    6. Sanders
    7. Grudzielanek
    8. Molina
    |W|P|110504916117209443|W|P|Cards Sign Grudzie|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/04/2005 12:36:00 PM|W|P|N|W|P|I don't know what to think of Will Carroll (contributor to Baseball Prospectus). I keep hearing about his great insight, but then almost equally as often I hear about his bias and bad logic. Baseball Crank has a great post on steroids today that really tears apart Carroll's arguments in an editorial recently published in the New York Times on the topic. I'm just not in a big hurry to get on Mr. Carroll's bandwagon (let alone pay him a subscription fee). |W|P|110486496849396192|W|P|Carroll off on steroids|W|P|nate.mckie@gmail.com1/04/2005 11:23:00 AM|W|P|Pip|W|P|All right, today the baseball writers announce their newest class of Hall of Famers. My personal picks (if I had a vote), along with my predictions for what the writers chose:
    • Wade Boggs: The best hitter in his league of his era.
    • Ryne Sandberg: The best second-basemen of his era.
    • Andre Dawson: The best rightfielder of his era.
    • Bruce Sutter: A classic case in which the stats don't tell the whole story (otherwise, we'd have to let in Doug Jones, Jeff Montgomery and John Wetteland, all with similar stats). For Sutter, I use the peer/era relativity, best at position and innovation arguments. Won the Cy Young in 1979, was Rolaids Relief man four times (79, 81,82, 84) and an All-Star six times in a 12-year career with only nine worthwhile seasons if you remove his horrible Atlanta years at the end. He ushered in the modern era of the closer.
    • Jim Rice: His stats, similar to HOFers Orlando Cepeda, Duke Snider, Billy Williams and Willie Stargell, do merit his induction, as well as his era marks: 8-time All-Star, 1979 MVP (as well as five other top-five MVP finishes). Aren't the writers the same ones who vote for MVP?
    • Goose Gossage: Same case as Sutter, except more AS appearances (9) but fewer Rolaids awards (1).
    Predictions:
    • Boggs
    • Sandberg
    • Dawson
    • Sutter
    |W|P|110486075140119113|W|P|HOF Picks|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/04/2005 12:19:00 PM|W|P|Blogger N|W|P|The HOF voters have been so stingy lately, I'll bet that there won't be that many who make it.

    My personal predictions:

    Boggs
    Sandberg
    Dawson (if they're feeling more generous)1/04/2005 12:51:00 PM|W|P|Blogger dukeness|W|P|Boggs and Sandberg definitely.

    The Sutter case is compelling in the fact that these players critical to the modern era are being overlooked in HOF consideration. Where are their teams without them? Hell, Whitey knew the importance!1/04/2005 01:16:00 PM|W|P|Blogger Pip|W|P|And remember, the following closers are already in the Hall:

    - Rollie Fingers
    - Hoyt Wilhelm
    - Dennis Eckersley1/03/2005 03:31:00 PM|W|P|Pip|W|P|Now that the shortstop merry-go-round has stopped, it's time to assess the teams and their new players. My breakdown is primarily based on value, which includes contract status (years and money). Listed are Team, Player, contract years, total salary in millions, average per year:
    1. Cardinals/Eckstein (3/$10.25/$3.4)
    2. Cubs/Nomar (1/$8-11/$8-11)
    3. Bosox/Edgah (4/$40/$10)
    4. Angels/Cabrera:(4/$32/$8)
    |W|P|110479042118849174|W|P|SS Sweepstakes|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/04/2005 12:54:00 PM|W|P|Blogger dukeness|W|P|Cards got the value pick here! No problem with this!1/03/2005 01:04:00 PM|W|P|Pip|W|P|They sound like a vintage base ball team The Angels have added "Los Angeles" to their name. No, they haven't changed names. Added the name: The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. First it was Disney ownership, then the theme-park outfield, now this. Must be a California thing. Maybe MLB's wild card isn't so bad after all Though much of my 2004 baseball ranting was devoted to how I can't stand the current MLB wild card structure, I must admit that the NFL's playoff-bound Rams (record: 8-8) make the system look pretty good. Maybe it should be the Nominal Football League? Good riddance ... welcome back! Tino has returned to the Bronx. Only a team with a $200-million-plus payroll could consider Tino Martinez at $3 million a year a "low-cost" backup to Jason Giambi. At least he's now off the Cardinals' books. Chicken-man Hall-Bound? The most famous chicken-eater since Col. Sanders, Wade Boggs, is likely going to be announced tomorrow as the first Tampa Bay Devil Ray to enter the Hall of Fame. Here's hoping the underrated Ryne Sandberg makes it, too. |W|P|110477927251697903|W|P|Mid-day report|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/03/2005 11:53:00 AM|W|P|Pip|W|P|Just as baseball often "breaks your heart," it also administers justice on occasion (you just have to be patient sometimes). To wit: The Cardinals' reported signing of Roberto Alomar to a one-year, $500,000 contract. I could list here the numerous catcalls, jokes, heckles and assorted -- and may I say, often unimaginative -- insults I received at the hands of Cards' fans during "The Spitter"'s 1 1/2-year tenure with the Mets (2002-3). Nevertheless, some observations:
    • So word is that the deal isn't certain yet. However, Cardinals spokesman Brian Bartow's confession that “certainly there are talks between the two sides” obviously isn't the kind of denial that Cards' fans wanted to hear.
    • I say "obviously." That is, unless St. Louisans are excited about the prospect of cheering for a ne'er-do-well in the clubhouse with an OBP of .331, .333 and .321 the last three seasons (and that's a favorable stat for him).
    • TLR apparently (and not surprisingly) personally called to recruit Alomar.
    • Just when I was on-board as a provisional Cardinal fan with the signing of Eckstein, they do this. What happened to the rumor that 2004 was TLR's last year in Louie?
    |W|P|110477480795120261|W|P|Spitter to St. Louie?|W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com1/03/2005 10:28:00 AM|W|P|Pip|W|P|I received this email yesterday from Joanne Hulbert, a self-described Citizen of Red Sox Nation, of the SABR music and poetry group:
    Subject: Red Sox Poetry Transition Happy New Year to all, and surely, Yankees fans would rather look forward as George continues his spending spree but keep in mind the Marlins could rise again...... Anyway, under the radar screen in 2004 there was a major transition in baseball poetry. That is, the change from songs of lamentations to those of victory in regard to the Boston Red sox. some of the best poetic works about baseball came from Red Sox loss. the best example is Bart Giamattis "The Green Fields of the Mind" . . . . It breaks your heart, it is designed to break your heart....." read on, it's about a Sox loss. For those of you who receive Elysian Fields, the edition that arrived just after the World Series, contained two poems about Red sox defeats. Now times have changed, and a contributor to the Boston Globe just days after the Series lamented: These are the saddest of possible words The Red Sox are World Series champs. We’re like the Yankees, the Mets, and the Birds, The Red Sox are World Series champs. Ruthlessly pricking our schadenfreude bubble, Turning our Puritan angst into rubble Putting our psyches in ever more trouble The Red Sox are World Series champs. Now, it's going to take some time before Boston-based poets transition over to victory verses. Nothing so eloquent as Giammati's masterpiece has appeared so far. I have passed on "Ode to a Bloody Sock" and hope for better. Local writers are trying wicked hahd.
    She goes on to reference a piece by Craig A. Lambert in the Boston Globe (Cards fans may want to skip this part):
    The Comeback Song (Sung to the melody of "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire") A-Rod slapping at Arroyo's glove Jeter whiffing, two feet late Georgie Porgie having fits - don't you love The Yankees dropping four games straight? Everybody knows the Stadium's a psycho ward Fly-ball grabbing fans from hell. Yet silence fell hard when Damon went yard And Bellhorn's homer rang the bell! You know how Schilling shot those "Bombers" down And that Big Papi showed who's "daddy" in their town The most amazing comeback of all time And, hey, Babe, call us, will ya, when you've got a dime? So let's rejoice and toast the Olde Towne Team The greatest win since Doubleday. Sweeping St. Lou wrapped the possible dream: Merry Christmas, Fenway.
    |W|P|110477142937152479|W|P|Trends in Baseball Poetry |W|P|matthew_r_philip@yahoo.com -->