MFS62

He said that he didn't start to use PED until he had been in the majors for a while. I'm not sure how much of what he says that we can believe. But if that is true, he got off to a start that IMO would have put him on track for a career similar to HOF-er Harmon Killebrew. Too bad, he may have shot himself in the foot, as well as other places. Later

From the NY Post. Derek Jeter, Minka Kelly set to become Mr. and Mrs. 'November' By TAYLOR K. VECSEY and BRAD HAMILTON Last Updated: 6:18 PM, January 10, 2010 Women of New York, start weeping. After months of speculation that the Yankees' hunk and his sexy steady Minka Kelly are headed to the altar, The Post has learned that the super couple may have settled on a wedding date -- Nov. 5. And while it may bring little solace to Jeter's legion of female admirers, fretful Yankees fans will be glad to note the date is at least two days after the World Series ends. After getting a tip about the upcoming nuptials, The Post confirmed the date by spotting a curious entry in the official calendar at the ritzy reception palace Oheka Castle in Huntington, LI, for the first Friday in November that read simply "JETER wedding." Page Six broke the story of their secret engagement in August. And in November, The Post also ran photos of Jeter and Kelly frolicking in the water off St. Barts -- and looking very much in love. The sumptuous Long Island site is certainly suitable for the superstar shortstop. The opulent Oheka features a French-style chateau hotel and spa, with an exquisite main ballroom and formal gardens with eight reflecting pools and three fountains. The castle -- the second-largest private residence in the United States -- has hosted lavish parties for royalty, Hollywood stars and heads of state for nearly a century. Teen idol Kevin Jonas was married there last month. Oheka, known for fiercely protecting the privacy of its guests, would not comment. But a Post reporter, posing as a bride-to-be seeking to book a wedding that weekend, was shown a scheduling calendar printout as sales manager Rick Bellando explained that the castle hosts just one wedding per day -- and the entire weekend in question was already booked. A quick peek at the calendar revealed Jeter's name in big bold letters. When our spy asked if couples were ever open to switching dates for money, Bellando said most were so wealthy, money was not an issue. "I guess if it were Derek Jeter getting married, he really wouldn't care about my money," our reporter suggested, pointing to the entry. Bellando chuckled, but quickly tried to dismiss speculation. "Oh, that's not Derek Jeter. We wouldn't use his real name if it were. When the Jonas brother got married here last month, we used a different name." This will be fun to follow. Later

Ewell "The Whip" Blackwell was a pure sidearmer. BTW- Edgy, I had never heard that Walter Johnson had anything but a more typical (over the top or three-quarter) delivery. Was he a side-armer consistently? Later

Edgy, there was another one - Marty Kutyna. I tried to copy his delivery for a while, then gave up. It was not only side/ sub but "herky jerky" too. Later

Great idea. They would have to play it at a neutral site, one not involved in the regular World Series. I nominate Wrigley Field. Later

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: A brilliant breakdown of defensive stats-- and their collection-- in regards to the disconnect over Kirk's defensive skills between different metrics/observers, by Amazin' Avenue's Mark Himmelstein. Engrossing. That should be kept as a permanent link. I have a feeling it can be re-used in every future discussion of scouts' observations VS stats. Good find. Later

Baseball Prospectus' take on the HOF voting: At the end of my final Hall of Fame ballot breakdown of the season, published mere hours before the voting results were announced, I noted that I wouldn't be at all surprised if the JAWS-approved slate of seven candidates�Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Mark McGwire, Tim Raines, and Alan Trammell�were shut out, while Andre Dawson gained election. Well, that's exactly what happened. Dawson had received more than 65 percent of the vote on each of the previous two ballots, and surged to the forefront with 77.9 percent of the vote, enough to gain admission. Though Dawson falls fairly short on the JAWS scale, his election is not a travesty, or at least not a garment-rending travesty on the order of Jim Rice's election last year. He was far from a one-dimensional player in his prime, he piled up hardware and other honors, and despite his injuries, he played into his early forties. Still, his hackstastic ways�camouflaged a bit by a higher intentional walk total than I gave him credit for in my writeup�leave him with the lowest career OBP (.323) of any enshrined outfielder, 20 points lower than the previous low man, Lou Brock. He is not, as I incorrectly claimed on a pair of radio hits yesterday, the owner of the lowest OBP of any Hall of Famer: Player OBP Bill Mazeroski .299 Joe Tinker .308 Luis Aparicio .311 Monte Ward .314 Rabbit Maranville .318 Brooks Robinson .322 Andre Dawson .323 On the other hand, Dawson now holds the distinction of owning the worst strikeout-to-unintentional-walk ratio of any Hall hitter: Player PA OBP BB IBB K K/UBB Andre Dawson 10769 .323 589 143 1509 3.38 Willie Stargell 9026 .360 937 227 1936 2.73 Lou Brock 11235 .343 761 124 1730 2.72 Roberto Clemente 10212 .359 621 167 1230 2.71 Orlando Cepeda 8695 .350 588 154 1169 2.69 Kirby Puckett 7831 .360 450 85 965 2.64 Tony Perez 10861 .341 925 150 1867 2.41 Jim Rice 9058 .352 670 77 1423 2.40 Ernie Banks 10395 .330 763 198 1236 2.19 Reggie Jackson 11416 .356 1375 164 2597 2.14 Bill Mazeroski 8379 .299 447 110 706 2.09 Carlton Fisk 9853 .341 849 105 1386 1.86 So there's that. But my point really isn't to knock the Hawk, a player whose career I enjoyed to a great degree during its day ,and one whose candidacy wasn't surrounded by the type of intellectual dishonesty that poisoned the latter-day Rice debate. I'm sure the next time I visit Cooperstown, I'll stop and give his plaque a nod. Later

Ashie62 wrote: Alomar was a nasty prick and that translated into less votes That must mean that Bonds will come up with a negative tally, even discounting the steroids. I hope so. Later

Well, I guess if you're going to vote for a guy nicknamed "Hawk", Dawson is a better ballplayer than Hawk (not to be confused with ex-Mets catcher Sammy)Taylor and Hawk Harrelson. But none of them should be in the Hall, especially over some of the other candidates on this year's ballot. Later

What I'm wondering is when the HOF-- a beautifully-designed little museum, with pretty terribly run entry protocols-- becomes the Academy Awards of baseball: something that's fun to look at, but not something any SERIOUS baseball scholar ever looks at as anything but an entertaining trifle? Sort of like what the Sporting News has become in recent years. Uh, let me change that. Not even fun to look at any more. Later

No. Anything Klapisch is for, I'm automatically against. Later

Sheets. The upside is enormous - he's a half run per game in ERA better than the other free agents. But there would have to be extensive medical tests before he would be signed. Later

I heard Mike interview Bay yesterday. He came across as a good guy. BUT - he may have broken basketball player Adrian (Odie) Smith's* world record for the most "You know" -s in a twenty minute period. Later *= I heard the Smith interview and I got a tic from the repetition of "you know". I made up the part about the world's record, in case anyone would ask me for a link.

TransMonk wrote: Minaya comes out of this looking good. Well , in case nobody noticed (and I can guess why), Baywatch was about rescues. Maybe Omar feels this one deal has rescued his arse. Later

Edgy DC wrote: I doubt first is generally harder on hip injuries than other baseball positions --- or hitting and runnng. Possibly. But is it worth a $12 million (net $6 million) gamble? I guess the question is valid for Delgado, too. Later

The last time Lowell played first base was for four, whole, entire, games in AAA about 13 years ago. Plus, how well would his injured hip stand up under the stretching required to play first. I'd pass on him. Later