I, for one, am tired of seeing Teams USAs get their asses handed to them in International play. What an embarrassment! As I predicted, Puerto Rico won, but I didn't think they'd mercy rule us! Jake Peavy looked awful from the first pitch on. Why was he allowed to stay in and give up 6 runs in 2 innings??? Because Johnson/Larkin didn't want to overuse a delicate arm so early in the spring. So, it's really just practice. Take one for the team even it means elimination. Look, if you're not going to play your hardest or manage your hardest, then why play? And if you're not going to field the best possible team, then why go out there and make fools of yourselves? Obviously, the upcoming season and the teams that pay them are far important to the players than some silly exhibition, so the tournament is conducted - most apparently by the the US - in a cautions, half-assed manner. And the personnel? No Sabathia, no Cliff Lee, no Cole Hamels, no James Shields, no Tim Lincecum. No Mark Teixeira, Ryan Howard, Evan Longoria, Josh Hamilton, Nate McLouth, Matt Holiday, Grady Sizemore or Derek Lee. And that bullpen! Who the hell are Lindstrom, Grabow and Thornton?? Not to besmirch the fine names of Mark DeRosa, Shane Victorino and Adam Dunn, but they're not our best. Not by a long shot.
Either use the BEST guys, at a time whern they're ripe - during or immediately after the season, or can the damn thing!. It's embarrassing and humiliating to the nation that invented the game. 11-1. Jeez.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Should The Dodgers Go After Pedro? YES, GODDAMMIT!!!!
It's a no-brainer. The Dodgers - outside of the possibility of young James McDonald - have no 5th starter. (That's right. In case you were wondering, I'm pretty sure you can forget it. Jason Schmidt is done) So, if you have a chance to bring Pedro back - that's right, "back" but we won't go into the wacky antics of Fred Claire and Tommy Lasorda and other Dodger brass back in the year of our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Two - for a measly 5 mill, ya do it. If he stays healthy, and I think he will, Pedro would make an ideal 5th starter and could give the Dodgers as many as 12 - 14 wins. That's 8 more wins than they'll get from Schimdt/Estes/Vargas/Weaver/Milton. Plus, he's Manny's pal. Do it. Case closed.
Loving that WBC or hating it? I'm fairly mesmerized by it, I must admit. But it's sad that they have to play it before the season. Especially from Team USA's standpoint. (And, evidently, the Dominican Republic's) The guys just aren't anywhere near sharp yet. They're just starting Spring Training. They're not ready. David Wright isn't David Wright. Rollins isn't Rollins. Pedroia isn't Pedroia. Braun isn't Braun, Peavy isn't Peavy and Oswalt sure isn't Oswalt. It's a joke. As we begin Round 2, look for our boys to lose to Puerto Rico tonight. That Cuba team is tough. I don't seen anyone beating them, but defending champ Japan and Venzuela also look tougher than the US. Korea is also no slouch. I think they should play it every 4 years at the All-Star break - have MLB take 2 weeks off - or at the end of the season, immediately after the World Series.
Forget Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. I'm liking this Xavier Paul and Valentino Vaspucci!
Loving that WBC or hating it? I'm fairly mesmerized by it, I must admit. But it's sad that they have to play it before the season. Especially from Team USA's standpoint. (And, evidently, the Dominican Republic's) The guys just aren't anywhere near sharp yet. They're just starting Spring Training. They're not ready. David Wright isn't David Wright. Rollins isn't Rollins. Pedroia isn't Pedroia. Braun isn't Braun, Peavy isn't Peavy and Oswalt sure isn't Oswalt. It's a joke. As we begin Round 2, look for our boys to lose to Puerto Rico tonight. That Cuba team is tough. I don't seen anyone beating them, but defending champ Japan and Venzuela also look tougher than the US. Korea is also no slouch. I think they should play it every 4 years at the All-Star break - have MLB take 2 weeks off - or at the end of the season, immediately after the World Series.
Forget Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. I'm liking this Xavier Paul and Valentino Vaspucci!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Finally! But ...
Well, the deal, such as it is, is done and the Dodgers can concentrate on pissing off Juan Pierre from now, at least, until the trade deadline. Manny is a Dodger for 2009, and, as far as this blogger is concerned, it'll probably be his first and last full season as a Dodger. I still believe, and will always believe that Manny's amazing play in the final 2 and a half months of last season earned him a guaranteed 3 year deal worth $70 million. I still think McCourt is a cheapskate who cares more about his own image than the Dodgers winning anything. As the deal goes, Manny has a "2 year" $45 million dollar deal (not really) with an opt out clause at the end of the season. He'll be paid $10 million this year, and if he chooses to stay in LA for the 2nd season, the Dodgers will pay him $10 million next year and $8.33 million over the next 3 years. If he chooses to leave (which I think he will) the Dodgers will pay him $5 million over the next 3 seasons. (So, they'll be giving a guy who doesn't play for them five million bucks for 3 seasons)
So, McCourt comes out looking like the conquering hero who slayed the fire breathing Scott Boras. ... Not so much. By not signing him to a guaranteed 3 year deal, McCourt has let the evil Scott Boras win again. Hey, I realize the economy is tanking, but look at the deals Teixeira and Sabathia got from the Yankees. Teams are still doing business. I know Manny'll be 37 this year, but he hits like he's 27 and the Dodgers will need him beyond this year. He'll have another stellar season and, at year's end, the Yankees or some other opportunistic AL club, (maybe even an NL club) will finally take notice and offer him a more lucrative, longer term deal than the Dodgers have offered him. Like JD Drew, he and Boras will exercise his opt out clause and it's good bye, Manny. The vindictive, revenge-minded Boras will take him out of LA and the fans will be sad, yet again. (Not that I was particularly sad to see Drew go, but I was surprised at how well he did in Boston) Of course, there's always the chance that Manny will become so enamored of LA, that he'll decide to stick around and perhaps a new deal can be worked out. But I doubt it. Why? Well, reason number one: No championship possibilities.
Because even with Manny, the Dodgers stand no chance of getting to the World Series with the pitching they currently have. It would take a miracle for them to be a championship caliber club with young Chad Billingsley anchoring a rotation that includes Hiroki Kuroda, Randy Wolf, the child Clayton Kershaw and who knows? Unless, right now, Billingsley becomes the outright ace they hoped he would become and James McDonald emerges along with Kershaw, or Jason Schmidt comes back from the deadarmed dead, they're going to need to score tons of runs. That means 40 plus homers from Ramirez and 30 plus homers from Kemp and Ethier. Not gonna happen. They're going to need to package Pierre and some of their promising youth (maybe Blake DeWitt, but I hope not) for a frontline starter from a team that has no chance, like a Jake Peavy.
If the Dodgers had failed to sign Manny, I'd be furious. (Still furious about having to go through this again at the end of the season) But if I were a Giants fan, I'd be even more furious. With the pitching staff the Giants have amassed, Manny would have guranteed them the Western Division title and, probably a trip to the NLCS and WS. They wouldn't even have had to play the games. They could've written it in. Why would the Giants not have tried harder to make a deal for him?? Especially since they could have deferred payments like the Dodgers did. Manny for $10 mil and a guranteed trip to the Playoffs? Why the hell not? If I'm a Giants fan today, I'm not at all pleased with my ownership. But, let's not count out the Snakes. The Arizona Diamondbacks are a very solid team. With a rotation led by the great Brandon Webb, a healthy Eric Byrnes and Upton, Young, Jackson, Reynolds and Drew another year older and wiser, this team can be good. It's gonna be a three team race. Manny gives the Dodgers a very slight edge, but only if amazing things happen with their pitching.
Japan beats China in the first game of the World Baseball Classic. The Dominican loses ARod to hip surgery (as may the Yankees) I haven't gotten into it yet, what with all the Manny shenanigans, but I'm starting to get excited.
So, McCourt comes out looking like the conquering hero who slayed the fire breathing Scott Boras. ... Not so much. By not signing him to a guaranteed 3 year deal, McCourt has let the evil Scott Boras win again. Hey, I realize the economy is tanking, but look at the deals Teixeira and Sabathia got from the Yankees. Teams are still doing business. I know Manny'll be 37 this year, but he hits like he's 27 and the Dodgers will need him beyond this year. He'll have another stellar season and, at year's end, the Yankees or some other opportunistic AL club, (maybe even an NL club) will finally take notice and offer him a more lucrative, longer term deal than the Dodgers have offered him. Like JD Drew, he and Boras will exercise his opt out clause and it's good bye, Manny. The vindictive, revenge-minded Boras will take him out of LA and the fans will be sad, yet again. (Not that I was particularly sad to see Drew go, but I was surprised at how well he did in Boston) Of course, there's always the chance that Manny will become so enamored of LA, that he'll decide to stick around and perhaps a new deal can be worked out. But I doubt it. Why? Well, reason number one: No championship possibilities.
Because even with Manny, the Dodgers stand no chance of getting to the World Series with the pitching they currently have. It would take a miracle for them to be a championship caliber club with young Chad Billingsley anchoring a rotation that includes Hiroki Kuroda, Randy Wolf, the child Clayton Kershaw and who knows? Unless, right now, Billingsley becomes the outright ace they hoped he would become and James McDonald emerges along with Kershaw, or Jason Schmidt comes back from the deadarmed dead, they're going to need to score tons of runs. That means 40 plus homers from Ramirez and 30 plus homers from Kemp and Ethier. Not gonna happen. They're going to need to package Pierre and some of their promising youth (maybe Blake DeWitt, but I hope not) for a frontline starter from a team that has no chance, like a Jake Peavy.
If the Dodgers had failed to sign Manny, I'd be furious. (Still furious about having to go through this again at the end of the season) But if I were a Giants fan, I'd be even more furious. With the pitching staff the Giants have amassed, Manny would have guranteed them the Western Division title and, probably a trip to the NLCS and WS. They wouldn't even have had to play the games. They could've written it in. Why would the Giants not have tried harder to make a deal for him?? Especially since they could have deferred payments like the Dodgers did. Manny for $10 mil and a guranteed trip to the Playoffs? Why the hell not? If I'm a Giants fan today, I'm not at all pleased with my ownership. But, let's not count out the Snakes. The Arizona Diamondbacks are a very solid team. With a rotation led by the great Brandon Webb, a healthy Eric Byrnes and Upton, Young, Jackson, Reynolds and Drew another year older and wiser, this team can be good. It's gonna be a three team race. Manny gives the Dodgers a very slight edge, but only if amazing things happen with their pitching.
Japan beats China in the first game of the World Baseball Classic. The Dominican loses ARod to hip surgery (as may the Yankees) I haven't gotten into it yet, what with all the Manny shenanigans, but I'm starting to get excited.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
As Ricky Ricardo Would Say, "This Is So Ridiculous!"
Not taking sides or nothin', but Frank McCourt is a liar. He lied to the media and he lied to the fans. This latest 2 year $45 million dollar offer that Manny recently rejected was in fact a 5 year $45 million dollar offer. Because of the deferred payments the Cheapskate put in, it would mean that Manny wouldn't receive his 45 mil in whole for 4 or 5 years. So, in essence, the Dodgers woud be paying millions of dollars for 3 or 4 years to a dude who will no doubt be playing for another club. What is this BS about only wanting Manny for one year? I'm sick and tired of it. Bad economy or not, if McCourt can't afford to sign impact players to long term deals, then he can't afford to own a competitive Major League team. He should sell to someone who can. I hate to admit it, but I actually agree with the Manny/Boras camp, here. If you're only going to offer a one or two year deal, then at least pay him all the money. Still, I think Manny deserves a solid 3 year deal worth $70 million.
Look, readers. It's true. I can't stand Frank McCourt. I think he's a money grubbing poser who doesn't truly care about the fans. But I also hate Scott Boras. He's evil and greedy and arrogant. And, as far as greed and arrogance are concerned, I'm not a Manny fan either. But as far as his talents and abilities on the field and the effect he can have on that franchise, I love the guy. It's been like this since last August and it will continue to be like this: If we have Manny we may win, if we don't, we'll surely lose. Frank McCourt has abused his power. He's made this thing about him and Boras and their feud and the fans can go to Hell. And to make it worse, he's using the recession/depression as a tool to manipulate public sentiment.
Here's a simple, frank message to Frank: We don't care about your finances. We don't care about your dislike for Scott Boras. We care about the Dodgers winning a championship, which they haven't done in over 20 freakin' years. Stop lying to us. Stop trying to manipulate everyone. Get this deal done or sell the Dodgers to someone who can manage them properly. So far, all we see is a cheap, lousy owner who cares more about his own image than about fielding a winning team.
Look, readers. It's true. I can't stand Frank McCourt. I think he's a money grubbing poser who doesn't truly care about the fans. But I also hate Scott Boras. He's evil and greedy and arrogant. And, as far as greed and arrogance are concerned, I'm not a Manny fan either. But as far as his talents and abilities on the field and the effect he can have on that franchise, I love the guy. It's been like this since last August and it will continue to be like this: If we have Manny we may win, if we don't, we'll surely lose. Frank McCourt has abused his power. He's made this thing about him and Boras and their feud and the fans can go to Hell. And to make it worse, he's using the recession/depression as a tool to manipulate public sentiment.
Here's a simple, frank message to Frank: We don't care about your finances. We don't care about your dislike for Scott Boras. We care about the Dodgers winning a championship, which they haven't done in over 20 freakin' years. Stop lying to us. Stop trying to manipulate everyone. Get this deal done or sell the Dodgers to someone who can manage them properly. So far, all we see is a cheap, lousy owner who cares more about his own image than about fielding a winning team.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)