December 2008
2008: Greatest Year In Sports?
There are several aspects of 2008 many of us would like to forget, but the year in sports was one to remember.
My Giants upsetting the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl? Classic.
The Celtics and Rays’ worst-to-first stories? Unprecedented.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s Wimbledon match? Epic.
Tiger Woods’ US Open win on one leg? Inspiring.
Josh Hamilton’s record-setting Home Run Derby (even if he didn’t win)? Amazing.
The aptly named Usain Bolt’s Olympic performance. Well, fast. Really really fast.
The Phillies delivering Philadelphia’s first major sports championship in 100 total years? Impressive.
Mario Chalmers’ shot? Heart stopping.
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Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Graham Harrell, and Tim Tebow’s race to the Heisman and Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech’s race to the national championship? Chaotic, and both ended badly.
Michael Phelps’ EIGHT gold medals? Amazing, stunning, awe-inspiring, etc., etc.
That certainly looks like the best year to me. What about you?
Randy Johnson to San Fran
Randy Johnson is the newest San Francisco Giant. This move doesn’t overly interest me, because he just needed a home to get his 300th win and retire (obvious, since it is a one-year contract). However, this makes the Giants more interesting. Their rotation is now this:
Tim Lincecum: Reigning Cy Young winner
Matt Cain: Great potential, age 24 and has 3 full seasons under his belt. Career 3.74 ERA.
Randy Johnson: We all know his credentials. Sometimes dominant, sometimes not so in ’08.
Barry Zito: Here’s a big if. I don’t even know what will happen with this dude.
Noah Lowry: Missed all of last year, but had a 14-8 ’07 and a 3.78 ERA in ’05. He’s still 28, though.
or
Jonathan Sanchez: 26-year old had his first year starting last year: He went 9-12 with a 5.01 ERA.
Here are your if’s: If Johnson has his good days more often than his bad, if Zito bounces back in any fashion, if Lowry recovers well, or if Sanchez actually does well, the Giants could actually have a good rotation for once. However, competing would rely on having a lineup that can produce anything. Honestly, I have no idea what the hell the Giants are trying to do. They could be trying to just sell tickets, but they could sell a lot more in the future if they build for it. If they decide to stick with this lineup this year, they best make some changes for ’10:
C Bengie Molina: 34 years old
1B Travis Ishikawa: 25 years old
2B Emmanuel Burriss: 23 years old
3B Pablo Sandoval: 22 years old
SS Edgar Renteria: 33 years old
RF Randy Winn: 34 years old
CF Aaron Rowand: 31 years old
LF Fred Lewis: 28 years old
This also includes backup outfielder Dave Roberts, 36, reliever Bob Howry, 35, reliever Jack Taschner, 30, and reliever Keiichi Yabu, 40. Oh yeah, and just so you know, Zito is 30 and Johnson is 45. That’s a pretty old team, with the necessary injection of young, totally untested rookies and journeymen. Honestly, with a team like this, I can’t help but be an armchair GM (I am with any team, but especially bad ones like this). Giants, this is what you need to do in the 2009 offseason if you can’t save yourselves now:
Trade Randy Winn to the Cubs for 1B Micah Hoffpauir and OF Joey Gathright
He would play center field: Reed Johnson is on the downside of his unremarkable career, and Felix Pie has had enough chances. Winn should be young enough for the Cubs to be happy to get him, and the Giants should get something in exchange for him before his contract expires. Hoffpauir is 28, but he is a better player than Ishikawa, and is young enough that he would ensure first base for several years. The Giants are also a very slow team, and Gathright, the man with one career home run, is 27 and will inject some youth and LOTS of speed into the lineup.
Trade Aaron Rowand, Merkin Valdez, and Noah Lowry to the Braves for CF Josh Anderson, RP Rafael Soriano, and RHP Tommy Hanson
The Braves seem to be in win-now mode (as displayed by the Javier Vazquez trade), so they need a more experienced centerfielder than Anderson. The hard-nosed Rowand, at 31, is young enough to give them some good years, enough to convince them. The one-dimensional Valdez, a fireballer, would be the clincher, someone who would help fill the gap left by two-pitch setup man Soriano, facing right-handed hitters. The young Hanson is one of the top prospects in the Braves system, and if this trade doesn’t cut it for Atlanta to give him up, I would throw in reliever Bob Howry or some other reliever. Lowry would help the Braves with their current mentality. This trade would help the Braves now and the Giants in the long-term.
Sign Matt Holliday.
They need a left fielder (Fred Lewis could compete with Nate Schierholtz for right field once Winn’s gone), and Holliday would give them a legit power threat in the lineup and several excellent, MVP-type years if he stays on pace.
Let Randy Johnson and Dave Roberts go for draft picks–if they don’t retire.
Pretty much self-explanatory. Probably draft a pitcher and a third baseman.
Re-sign Bengie Molina for two years–as long as you acquire a young catcher prospect to go along with it.
The Giants pitchers are comfortable with Molina, and he’s still got some left in the tank, as shown by his .292-16-95 season. However, a young prospect backup catcher is necessary for a two-year deal to have some insurance.
Trade Nate Schierholtz or Fred Lewis–whoever doesn’t win the right-field job to the Yankees for C Francisco Cervelli.
All of the Yankees’ outfielders are either aging or underperforming, and they would probably prefer Lewis for his speed and good average. The Giants, as I said above, need a young backup catcher who Molina can mentor.
KEEP MADISON BUMGARNER.
He is an excellent young player, and is vital to the Giants’ future.He could also give them a great rotation in Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, Hanson, and Barry Zito as a weak spot.
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Trade Brian Wilson and Kevin Frandsen to the White Sox for RP Bobby Jenks.
Jenks is on the trading block constantly. Wilson had a fluky 41-save season with a 4.62 ERA. Frandsen, author of a promising 2007 before missing all of ’08, may be hard to part with, but it will be worth it in the end. Jenks had a 30 save season with a 2.63 ERA, and he’s still 27.
Let Edgar Renteria go for draft picks when his contract expires.
His contract will expire in ’10, and that would be a good chance to have a higher draft pick for your biggest need: a third baseman.
Sign Chone Figgins to fill the third base void until you develop a better option.
Figgins gives you an excellent leadoff option, unbeatable versatility, and good fielding.
Sign one or two of these guys (Fernando Rodney, Salomon Torres, Billy Wagner, Kevin Gregg) for bullpen help.
Only sign Wagner or Torres if you begin competing earlier than expected, as they are aged to the point they don’t have several good years, like Rodney and Gregg, ahead of them. While these guys are not hugely talented, they could be valuble setup men to Jenks and help take steps toward a credible bullpen.
Hire or bribe the greatest pitching trainers and physicists in all the land to find out what the hell is wrong with Barry Zito.
The guy was a great pitcher. He never put up huge win totals (except in ’01 and ’02), but he was almost always reliable for a quality start. He had an amazing curveball. Then–what happened? His velocity was never high, but it dropped to 82-83 on the fastball, and the effectiveness on his curveball dropped precipitously. There must be something he’s doing wrong that can be fixed.
This is a massive overhaul, but I am almost sure it will catapult you guys into contention by 2011. Here’s what the new roster would look like going into 2010.
STARTING POSITION PLAYERS
C Bengie Molina (36 years old)
1B Micah Hoffpauir 
(30 years old)
2B Emmanuel Burriss (25 years old)
3B Chone Figgins 
(32 years old)
SS Edgar Renteria (35 years old)
RF Nate Schierholtz 
(26 years old)
CF Josh Anderson 
(28 years old)
LF Matt Holliday 
(30 years old)
BENCH
C Francisco Cervelli 
(24 years old)
1B Travis Ishikawa (27 years old)
2B Eugenio Velez 
(28 years old)
CF Joey Gathright 
(29 years old)
ROTATION
#1 Starter
Tim Lincecum (26 years old)
#2 Starter
Matt Cain (26 years old)
#3 Starter
Barry Zito (32 years old)
#4 Starter
Tommy Hanson 
(24 years old)
#5 Starter
Madison Bumgarner 
(21 years old)
BULLPEN
Closer
Bobby Jenks 
(29 years old)
Setup Corps
Rafael Soriano 
(31 years old)
Fernando Rodney 
(33 years old)
Salamon Torres 
(38 years old)
That’s actually a pretty good team. I know you guys won’t be doing all of these, but do consider them and try to pull off some, if not most, of them.
The reason I haven’t posted a lot lately is because I’ve only had brief periods of time to be on my computer, so this post took me four days. I think I’ll be back to a regular schedule now, though.
Thank you (William H. Neukom, Brian Sabean, scouts, Bruce Bochy, the rest of the Giants organization, and readers) and goodnight.
MERRY TEX-MAS!!
Oh my god, what an offseason. I mean, wow. We’ve got Mark Teixeira!
Just amazing. The Yankees of old are back and wiser. Sure, we thought we were all set with Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright, but this is CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira (and almost surely another pitcher) we’re talking about! They have real track records. Well, Burnett not so much, but we seem to be convinced he’s healthy. Back to Teixeira. It’s an 8 year contract worth up to $180 million with a no-trade clause (something that he surely required after being traded out of both Texas and Atlanta). What a strange offseason it was for Teixeira. He started out asking for 10 years and a destination by Christmas. 10 years was not going to happen, and it started out with the Nationals, Orioles, and Angels in the running for him. Then the Red Sox jumped in, and were very close to a deal, then suddenly “not a factor”. Then the Angels drew out. Just yesterday, the Nationals seemed to be the frontrunners. Then the Yanks swooped in and grabbed him, culminating his offseason, and he got his wish, same as many many Yankee fans.
I’m now looking forward to a roster that looks something like this:
ROTATION
or 
or 
or 
in the 4-5 spots.
BULLPEN
LINEUP
LF 
SS 
1B 
3B 
RF 
C 
DH 
2B 
CF 
or 
or someone better…
BENCH
Something like that… Of course, A-Rod could hit third and Tex cleanup, but yeah. You get my point. One move has made our roster MUCH MUCH deeper. If we don’t make the playoffs now, I’m gonna be pissed…. But we shouldn’t have to worry about that, I think. It would seem that we’re going all out for Number 27 in ’09. We have now signed 2 of the 4 super free agents (Sabathia, K-Rod, Tex, Manny). We could still make it 3, even though now I don’t think it’s a requirement to sign Manny. It’d be a nice bonus, but it’s not vital. We do have another pitcher coming, though.
The Angels are reportedly out of the Manny race, leaving the Dodgers and Yankees as his only serious pursuers at this point. Without much competition, if the Yankees sign Manny and another pitcher, it could go down as the best offseason in history and give us a Murderer’s Row and, in the words of Vanessa, a Murderer’s Row-tation.
In the first two games in Yankee Stadium, exhibition contests versus the Cubs, bleacher seats will be sold at 25 cents, same as Opening Day 1923. Sadly, I will not be able to join in these festivities, but I would snatch up a couple of those tickets if I were you.
Thank you and goodnight.
The Truth — Revealed!
I have two shocking truths to reveal to MLBlog nation this afternoon. I’ll just launch right into the first one, one that involves a key free agent of this offseason — Mr. Manny Ramirez.
Here is my theory as to why he will not become the selfish man-child of old should he sign with the Yankees — except when we’re in Boston.
You remember the mystery of Manny’s secret room in the Green Monster? Some may say it’s just a normal room, they’ve seen the inside of it, but my theory is this: It is secretly his portal to Narnia, and he’s the only one who knows how to get there.
No, little English children do not, in fact, rule Narnia. It is Manny Ramirez who goes into his secret room and rules for many thousands of years. When he comes out, mere minutes have passed on this earth. However, he has forgotten how to play baseball in his thousands of years in Narnia. This explains his crazy behavior. Someone knows about this other than him, and they remind him how to play baseball. He realizes he has mad skills, and he is happy making millions of dollars doing something that comes naturally to him.
Happy Manny is Good Manny.
However, he is drawn back to Narnia. He wants to rule again. So he does. It’s usually after games, but a few times he can’t stand it and goes back to it in the middle of the game. Once, he had to rush back out, and there was only time to tell him to catch the ball. Manny obeyed, and I’ve just explained the formerly inexplicable: His diving cutoff of Johnny Damon’s throw. You remember that, correct?
Anyway, about a quarter of the way through this season, Narnia was taken over by the White Witch (the evil one, you remember?).
This, naturally, didn’t sit well with Mr. Manny.
He was so unhappy he couldn’t cheer himself up with baseball anymore. He was tired of it, and everyone in Boston got angry about it. He requested a trade so that he wouldn’t be drawn back to Narnia. So he went to the Dodgers.
Finally happy, he led the Dodgers to the playoffs. So now, as long as we’re not in Boston, Manny will be a good leftfielder. Thank you for listening.
I have one more shocking truth. I present: What REALLY happened to Plaxico Burress.
Thank you and good night.
Much Happened Since I Last Posted
I don’t need to report that the Yankees signed AJ Burnett to go along with their new ace, Carsten something or other. However, they did introduce these new aces to the New York media Thursday.
First they had a press conference. The boys look good in pinstripes.
Then they got a tour of their new stomping grounds.
On the other side of town, lost among all this hoopla, the Mets introduced their new setup man, making it so CC, AJ, and JJ were all introduced in New York on the same day.
Also (I’m not sure if it was the same day), Cleveland introduced their newest closer, Kerry Wood, who had one good season closing and 9 injury wracked ones with the Cubs.
So it was a huge day for pitching help, and the focus shifted over to sluggers, namely Manny and Tex.
The Yankees could reportedly “go hard” after Manny if they can’t get Teixeira. Good that he’s a fallback option.
It looked like he would be our slugging option, the only one left, at one point.
Teixeira was “pounding out the last details” of a deal with the Red Sox one day, the next, it was dead, and the Red Sox were “no longer a factor”. Hooray for that.
Also, we’re reportedly keeping the Melkmam for now. The Mike Cameron trade is dead. I am pretty neutral toward this, but by Jane Heller’s recent post, and the comments on it, I have realized that some–many–Yankee fans have developed a fondness for Melky that I never had. I mean, I like the guy, he has a cool name, and he’s best friends with my favorite player, he just never really enchanted me. Oh well.
The biggest middle infield prize still on the market re-signed with the Dodgers, after making a verbal agreement with his former team, the Braves. His agents had their actions called “despicable” by the Braves’ John Schuerholz (I probably spelled that wrong). I really don’t care about this, so I don’t bother to write more.
Sorry about my spotty posting lately, but finals week is TOUGH. Anyway, it’s winter break, and I’ll be back to my regular posting now.
We musn’t forget about one man still waiting in the wings for an offer, a man who is an excellent baseball player with an injury history. There doesn’t seem to be much competition, so I say snatch him up. He would look excellent in Yankee stripes…
Yesssssssssssss… Stuff’s Actually Happening!
The big man has decided, and Brian Cashman and Derek Jeter have convinced him. Carsten Charles Sabathia is a New York Yankee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is an outstanding move, and while it took an extra year on the contract, he’s a good enough pitcher it should all be worth it, wouldn’t you say?
Next, the Yankees are on the verge of pulling off a trade that would put Gold Glover Mike Cameron in center field. They would send Melky Cabrera to the Brewers (yes, I know the picture of him is with the Padres). Last year Cameron had an average Mike Cameron year, just with lower totals of everything. He hit .243, a low average for even him, but he hit 25 homers, drove in 70, and stole 17 bases. And, of course, played great defense. What do you think this trade would do for the Yankees? Personally, I like it.
Next, the Yankees have extended their offer to 5 years to accomodate AJ Burnett, who has two other options that are really pursuing him, the Braves and Red Sox. He could well make a decision before the week is done. Imagine Burnett and CC in the Yanks’ rotation, along with Wang and the two men I will be mentioning next.
Manager Joe Girardi met with Ben Sheets Tuesday. He said he’s liking the idea of Sheets in pinstripes. He said that he believes Sheets is healthy, and our offer to him is near. Now imagine that.
We are apparently the only team besides the Phillies seriously pursuing Derek Lowe. His price probably went up with Carsten’s contract, but we are the New York Yankees, and we can pay!
Stuff besides Yankees news did happen, though.
The Mets went out and got a big fish themselves, Francisco Rodriguez. This gives them an absolutely excellent closer. The record setting fireballer closes one of the Mets’ few holes, part of their attempts to no longer be known, in the recent words of Cole Hamels, as “choke artists”.
The Mets also went out and traded for JJ Putz, the Mariners’ former closer, in a three-team, 12-player deal that also gave the Mets Jeremy Reed and Sean Green, sent Franklin Gutierrez to the Mariners, who also got Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, and four minor leaguers–Mike Carp, Maikel Cleto, Jason Vargas, and Ezekiel Carrera. The Indians got the short end of the deal in my opinion, receiving Joe Smith and Luis Valbuena. I’m not sure how Putz will react to being moved to setup man by the trade, but at least he’ll be on a contender.
Mark Teixeira is still generating a buzz, none of which includes the Yankees. However, he did get an offer from the Washington Nationals, who I believe will continue to be awful with or without him. Either way, he got an 8 year $160 million offer to consider with his reported 7 year $150 million offer from the Orioles. I still don’t get why the Yankees are not pursuing him at least a little bit. Also in the running for Tex’s services are the Angels and Red Sox.
Here’s a shocker. Jake Peavy may remain a Padre after all. The Cubs have reportedly drawn out of the running for him, leaving only the Angels, who may not even propose a package. I think he’ll be put back on the market at midseason ’09, but I personally think his talks are done for the offseason.
Brian Cashman has flown down to Texas (he’s a very busy man!) to meet with Andy Pettitte to talk about his future with the Yanks. I have no prediction as to how this will go, but I certainly hope Andy decides to come back to the Yanks before our rotation is full.
You all know what happened here, so I close with a quote from Jim Thome on Greg Maddux:
“He doesn’t seem dominating, then you look up at the scoreboard and you’ve got one hit and it’s the eighth inning.”
Thanks for an entertaining and illustrious 23 years, Greg!
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