Frayed Knot

Since his hiring last week, Alderson has been back on the west coast (teaches a class at Berkley among other things) so today is sort of his first gettin' down to business day w/los Mets.

TransMonk wrote: You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. When did Aerosmith cover that one?

TEAMMgr - Sept �10STATUS / UpdatedMgr (NEW) 2011A�sB. GerenOption Picked up for 2011B. GerenANGELSM. ScosciaUnder Contract thru 2018M. ScosciaASTROSB. MillsUnder Contract thru 2012B. MillsBLUE JAYSC. GastonRetiredJ. FarrellBRAVESB. CoxRetiredF. GonzalezBREWERSK. MachaFiredR. Roenicke CARDINALST. LaRussaUnsigned - Re-upped for 1 yr + optionT. LaRussaCUBSM. QuadeInterim - Signed 2 yr deal 10/19M. QuadeD�BACKSK. GibsonInterim - Signed 2/yr deal on 10/4K. Gibson DODGERSJ. TorreRetiredD. MattinglyGIANTSB. BochyUnder Contract thru 2011B. BochyINDIANSM. ActaUnder Contract thru 2012M. ActaMARINERSD. BrownInterimE. WedgeMARLINSE. RodriguezInterim---METSJ. ManuelFired--- NATIONALSJ. RigglemanRenewed w/contract thru 2011J. RigglemanORIOLESB. ShowalterUnder contract thru 2013B. ShowalterPADRESB. BlackUnder Contract thru 2013B. BlackPHILLIESC. ManuelUnder Contract thru 2011C. ManuelPIRATESJ. RussellFired---RANGERSR. WashingtonUnsigned---RAYSJ. MaddonUnder Contract thru 2012J. MaddonRED SOXT. FranconaUnder Contract thru 2011T. FranconaREDSD. BakerSigned 2/yr extension on 10/4D. BakerROCKIESJ. TracyUnder Contract thru 2012J. TracyROYALSN YostUnder Contract thru 2012N. YostTIGERSJ. LeylandUnder Contract thru 2011J. LeylandTWINSR. GardenhireUnder Contract thru 2011R. GardenhireWHITE SOXO. GuillenUnder Contract thru 2011O. Guillen YANKEESJ. GirardiUnsigned - Resigned for 3 yrsJ. Girardi

Several previous reports had Bobby Valentine as the front-runner for the Milwaukee job, but apparently much like with the Marlins during the season his Brewers courtship broke down somewhere along the line. Almost certainly over money is my guess.

MFS62 wrote: Probably one of the worst teams of this generation to win a world championship. And one of the best pitching ones. Renteria, Burrell, Sanchez, Huff all had and OPS under .700 last year. Fortunately for the Giants last year's stats don't determine this year's outcome. As ESPN radio guy Colin Cowherd exaggerated, you probably couldn't find most of them in Wikepedia. Cowherd's an ass. Go back to discussing college football 24/7. Maybe I'd take your baseball "insights" more seriously if you didn't use up the little time you're not discussing football to tell us how little you think of baseball. What is the impact of them winning? Not much, except to reinforce the already pretty entrenched idea that getting really good, young, home-grown pitching is a really good idea. They might have set back the cause of advanced baseball metrics by about 50 years. Not at all in my mind. Sometimes, you have to look outside the numbers, eh? Like Sabean et al did have - or that other GMs should have had - some kind of advance knowledge that the likes Ross, Renteria were going to have an October above and beyond their usual production? That Aubrey Huff out-played Josh Hamilton in the WS is a fact but hardly establishes a pattern that can be counted on in the future to the point where I'd take him first.

Hell, I'll take Lopes as a base-running coach and whatever else he wants to do (odd that he was the OF coach after being an IF all his career). Except for probably Hale, I could see the entire 2010 NYM coaching staff looking for work this winter so it's not like there won't be holes to fill.

From WFAN's website -- WFAN�s Jon Heyman reports that Major League Baseball told Greenberg to apologize to the Yankees. Greenberg's comments -- �Earlier today, in the course of praising the extraordinary support and enthusiasm of Texas Rangers fans, I unfairly and inaccurately disparaged fans of the New York Yankees. Those remarks were inappropriate. Yankees fans are among the most passionate and supportive in all of baseball.� FAN -- According to Heyman, the Yankees� top brass are angry about Greenberg�s comments. The Yankees did not respond Monday out of respect to Bud Selig and the World Series. My comments -- What Greenberg SHOULD have said in his apology is that he didn't mean to insult the fans, that his remarks were intended towards only those political hacks turned team presidents who are were the worst in the league and an embarrassment to baseball ... and then add; 'Suck me Randy Levine" for good measure.

metirish wrote: Gotta love Willie..... "because you never know, this might be the last time something like this happens to some of these kids And Willie oughta know, seeing as how he won a title in 1954 as a 23 y/o in his first full* ML season but then never again. So enjoy things while they last Madison Bumgarner -- yaneverknow. * He was technically a rookie in 1951 but didn't get the call up until late May - three weeks after turning 20. He then missed most of '52 and all of '53 in military service so 1954 was the first season where he went April thru October in baseball. In '51 his team lost the WS in 6 games. After 1954, he got back there in '62 but lost in 7 (after his 9th inning double nearly tied the game). Then lost an NLCS to Pittsburgh in '71, before, finally, at age 42, winning an LCS but ... alas ... falling one game short in his final WS in his final season.

Ashie62 wrote: 5. Dickey 4. Santana 3. Niese 4. Pelfrey 5. Takahashi Interesting numbering system.

Santana vs Dickey -- Very close seasons. One wasn�t there at the beginning, the other not there at the end. But in between had identical records (11-9) and both deserved better support. Similar ERAs (Dickey better by 0.14), and essentially identical WHiPs. Dickey actually walked fewer but didn�t K nearly as many. I'm putting Johan up top on the basis of 3 extra starts and 25 more IP. Pelfrey -- Led staff in wins, IPs, and starts. Was lights out for a while but also had more bad games than the above two which led to significantly higher ERA & WHiP numbers. Niese -- 2nd on the team in games started and might have been up there fighting it out with the leaders if not for his late season fade. Takahashi had a better season overall than Gee but not just as a starter so Gee gets the nod despite only 5 starts for the year. 1st - Santana 2nd - Dickey 3rd - Pelfrey 4th - Niese 5th - Gee

Geez, Bochy is a big bastard - and not just his head. I expected him to dwarf Lincecum but there was a brief shot of him next to Nolan too.

Even before tonight I was going to say that, during this post-season, Edgar Renteria has alternately looked like his once near-great younger self and the oldest 34 year old since Roberto Alomar -- sometimes in the same game.

How weird has this got to be for Barry Zito? You sign a huge contract with a mid-level team - mostly because they offered the most money but maybe partly also because it's in your area. Then, after struggling with some good and bad over the years you essentially get cut from the roster on the eve of winning it all. I never saw him anywhere and assume he has not been traveling with the club.

The WS champs just won it all with a starting outfield of Cody Freakin' Ross, Pat Freakin' Burrell, and Aaron Freakin' Rowland !!!!

You gotta figure when Buck was reciting that list of former SF Giants who never won a championship he was reading something that was prepared for him.

If you're Bochy how can you NOT start Lincecum in the 9th? With the lefty Hamilton leading off he may use that as an excuse to go to his LOOGY even though there's no way Hamilton can even tie the game, or he may just go to Wilson to start off the inning because ... well, just because it's the 9th. But geez I'd want 'The Freak' out there if I'm a SFG fan.

I was reading an article today about players who were in positions to retire on a high note during a World Series ... most of them didn't. But with all the talk about Renteria possibly retiring after this year he might be picking a great series to go out on.

Or, as the guy who wrote the piece on winter leagues that inspired this thread put it: when Moyer (playing in the Dom Winter Lg) was the same age as Washington's Bryce Harper (currently playing in the Az Fall Lg) Jimmy Carter was still President.

5 innings gone in 78 minutes -- In a Yanqui game that's known as the top of the 3rd. This game might just come down to not which pitcher blinks first but which manager. At some point one of them is going to decide to pull his starter for a "fresher" guy from the pen - and were this in a NL park he'd have to factor the lineup into that decision.

His recent release by the Phils probably got lost to most due to the playoff & WS hubbub. Actually his contract was up but they told him that they're not interested in renewal. So you figure - at age 48 - it's probably the end of his career, one which is most remarkable not just for his 267 wins despite throwing barely over the speed limit, but for the fact that that just 34 of those wins came in his 20's, 130 more in his 30's, and a stunning 103 after turning 40. Moyer, who has a ton of outside interests and charities not to mention like 6 or 7 kids (one of which was just drafted this past year) would have no problem going home (Seattle I think) and relaxing. Except that he's not. He's currently in the Dominican Republic of all places pitching in winter ball to keep his game up in hopes of attracting interest and a contract prior to next Spring. Not that I'm suggesting Sandy look into him or anything, but I think it would be kind of cool if he hooked on with someone.

Violent or apathetic Makes sense to me. Violent when the team is winning (especially towards fans of the opposition) since you know stadium security will do nothing to deter you; or apathetic when the team is losing because if the Yanx aren't winning baseball isn't the slightest bit interesting. Yankees president Randy Levine declined to comment in a statement issued through a spokesperson: "At this time, we are honoring the commissioner's policy regarding respecting and not distracting from the World Series." A rule which exists, you might remember*, because the former owner you recently honored with a 8,945 sq ft monument made a practice of distracting from any WS he wasn't a part of. * Oh wait, you probably don't remember since your tenure with the Yanx goes back only a few years despite your arrogance which implies you not only were there for all 27 wins but were the person most responsible for of them.

G-Fafif wrote: Run-of-the mill football beat championship baseball in last night's ratings. Sigh. I was initially surprised when I heard this - not that football won but that this was only the first time Except that they rarely ever went head-to-head in prime time. Baseball, under it's old schedule (Game 1 on Sat thru Game 7 the following Sunday) always took Monday off and the NFL, under it's old TV deal, usually either skipped their Sunday game or stuck their 'throw-away' game there. Now MLB went to a Wednesday start/Thursday finale and, since the Sunday Night game was given to NBC (at huge dollars) it's been rigged to showcase their best teams the way MNF used to back in the day. Couple that with the nationally popular Steelers vs the defending champ Saints and it's not surprising at all. I also think the media drives this to an extent. The four-letter network so dominates the sports conversation in this country now that I think what they talk about and what they show doesn't just reflect what the public wants to see but alters it to some degree. Catching bits and pieces of a few sports tidbits today not only showed things to be football dominated (expected) but also showed a trend among host/geeks where they mockingly seemed barely aware that a WS was going on over the past few days or which teams were involved - the implication, of course, is that those listening/watching were of the same mindset. After all, if THEY aren't paying attention it only stands to reason that the rest of the country isn't either.

Not that it matters much but, after hearing from some Met fans on Nieuwenhuis, Sickels makes a small alteration: After due consideration, I made a ranking change on the Mets prospect list. I jumped Kirk Nieuwenhuis from 14 to 10. I did not change his grade; it is still a C+, and I still think he could end up as a fourth outfielder. But he is younger and more athletic than Zach Lutz and needs to rank ahead of him. That said, I'm worried that Nieuwenhuis' strikeout issue could prevent him from living up to his full potential, so I'm not changing his grade.

Story of Frenchy's career - making outs and looking good while doing it.

Oberk fell over the hurdle.