Shaq traded to Phoenix pending physical!
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Cup of Coffee: February 6, 2008 This entry was posted by SBG
on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 at 5:54 am and is filed under Cup of Coffee categories and tags. It is one of 3284 entries by the author.
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73 LTEs in response to Cup of Coffee: February 6, 2008 |
Cup of CoffeeCitizens OnlineWGOM Sign InLog InRecent Letters to the EditorIn Response to Cup of Coffee: July 29, 2010, brianS wrote: I disagree. By all of the advanced stats, he's a marginal improvement at best over Rauch and Crain. The NL A-S slot is just BFD. brianS wrote: … from the Fangraphs … is a solid reliever and immediately becomes the best on the team. He’s not a great reliever, though He smells like a Twin, however. 37:9 K:BB in 45 innings this year;… davidwatts wrote: reading around the Twins blogsphere, some of the reaction is hilarious. WORST TRADE EVER has been chanted a few times. My reactions: it is what it is. We get a player, they get a player. life… vodkatang wrote: I think that's the key. Rauch and Guerrier likely won't be back. I'm think Capps as the presumptive closer next year. Who knows how Nathan progresses, he might be back, he might… Eric B. B. wrote: We're getting cash, also. Plus, I was wrong--he's got one last year of team control (arbitration) after this year. Zack wrote: We're throwing in more than Ramos? Holy god. sean wrote: Awful deal. Andrew wrote: That's crazy, seeing as how they had some stacked teams in the 90s, what with Manny, Thome, Belle among others. Eric B. B. wrote: Apparently we're throwing in LHP Joe Testa, too. This doesn't sound good. Andrew wrote: It looks like my rugby career may be over. The physio referred me to a specialist and told me "No rugby" until he says it's OK. Having had this injury before and knowing… In Response to 2010 Recaps Game 102: Twins 6, @ Royals 4, Rhubarb_Runner wrote: I'll second those comments. The fans & workers there were every bet as impressive as their scoreboard. meat wrote: Thanks for filling in for me, boss. I like the art this week. I had a few thoughts about the Royals on our long drive with nothing to think about, mostly I came to the… AMR wrote: Gordon has been up and down before. I'm thinking more in contrast to what has happening in 2004-2006 when there seemed to be a regular shuttle bus between Wichita (AA) and KC because no one on… bjhess wrote: That implies more caring then I see. Gordon sat in the minors half the year. His clock is definitely started! brianS wrote: Kids say the darndest things. AMR wrote: I don't even think the Royals fans and organization care about that team. Rany Jazayerli has been pushing the club's Minor-league talent all year. How else to explain the signings of Kendall, Ankiel,… Rhubarb_Runner wrote: Let's hear it for the art! In Response to Happy Birthday--July 29, AMR wrote: Greasy! I had forgotten about him. In Response to The Coasters- Along Came Jones, Rhubarb_Runner wrote: I've heard this one before (my dad had the 45?) but by a different group. I'll have to do some digging. FirstTimeLongTime wrote: As an artifact this is a perfect 10. In Response to Cup of Coffee: July 28, 2010, Dread Pirate Will Young wrote: Next time I'm in town. AMR wrote: Nobody believes he can walk. .012 patience! (Or whatever OBP minus AVG is). Maybe pitchers should try walking him. brianS wrote: Smoaked right by him. F-ing Mariners. brianS wrote: Jenks! You owe me a soda! In Response to Beck - Debra, Beau wrote: he also hated "Loser" if I recall |
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Okay, last week's MPR Republican poll must be the worst-ever in moden polling history:
Poll: McCain 41%, Huckabee 22%, Romney 17%, Giuliani 6%, Paul 5%
Vote: Romney 42%, McCain 22%, Huckabee 20%, Paul 16%
I know there was a caveat about not identifying likely Caucus-attendees, but holy crap!
I've seen more accurate online polls.
For the DFL, it was:
Poll: Clinton 40%, Obama 33%, Edwards 12%
Vote: Obama 67%, Clinton 32%
I give them a little more credit on this one as the candidate who dropped out was greater than the margin of error, but this was still way off.
I think a lot of that is because independents decided McCain was a lock and turned out in full force for Obama.
It was a terrible, pointless poll. At least on the Dem side. It was pre-Edwards dropping out, pre-South Carolina, and only polled likely Dem voters, which is silly because, as mentioned previously, MN has an open caucus.
Iowa has closed caucuses, which require you to be a registered voter of the party with which you wish to participate. Of course, you can re-register with a different party at the door, but I feel the rule does alienate those participants who wish to remain unaffiliated, myself included.
Admittedly I haven't watched an NBA game in 3 seasons, but isn't Shaq a horrible fit on Phoenix? It would be hard to imagine a worse complementary player to Steve Nash than Shaq.
Not to mention Shawn Merion is an absolute freak of nature that any team would be worse off for losing. I would give Jermaine O'Neal and just about anything else Phoenix wanted for him.
Plus, he's old and hurt. Yeah, this is a stunner. The story was that Dallas wanted to trade for Shaq (where he'd fit in nicely), but Phoenix gave up Marion to block that deal and to rid themselves of Marion whose been a malcontent.
Plus, he's old and hurt.
That's more what I was thinking. My initial reaction was, "wait, hasn't Shaq been pretty mediocre this year?"
So Phoenix becomes a half-court team? This trade doesn't make sense.
There's nothing like an Shaq-sized anchor to weigh down Nash and Barbosa.
Like a monster truck at the Indy 500.
Did any one notice that former T-Wolve Marcus Banks is also thrown into the trade for Shaq. That means the Heat will have Banks, Ricky Davis, and Mark Blount all together again!
Let's see D-Wade win with that... hell, he's got Shawn Marion, too. If he's so goddamned good, he should be able to make the playoffs with that supporting cast, especially in the East, right?
Rick Anderson - "If it's a veteran just to get a veteran, I'd just as soon go with the kids," he said. "Sometimes bringing a veteran in just to say we've got a veteran can backfire."
I wonder if Rick had anyone in mind there... :)
Obviously Rick didn't have much personnel input when we went with Ponson
Perhaps Ponson is what solidified that opinion.
I'm just happy to see that someone within the Twins organization provides the voice of reason. Every once in awhile a quote provides some insight to what is really going on and who is responsible.
Even if a veteran starter added a couple wins over a youngster (no guarantee), what does that really do for the organization? Take you from 71 to 73 wins? If you want to peak in 2010, you have to take your lumps in 2008 and 2009. Once you trade the best pitcher in baseball for four minor leaguers, you are rebuilding. There is no reason to pretend you aren't.
Even if a veteran starter added a couple wins over a youngster (no guarantee), what does that really do for the organization?
It's not the wins -- it's the guaranteed innings. A guy like Josh Fogg is pretty much a lock for 170 IP, which is no small feat for a pitcher in the majors. When you're filling out your rotation with 2+ guys with virtually zero ML experience, there's no guarantee they're going to last. If you count on getting 170 IP from that spot, and the first young guy falters, you risk rushing another young guy into the spot before he's ready, or pushing a guy who's struggling to "eat innings" which I imagine could be dangerous for a young arm if they are high-stress innings. Do we want the Twins pushing recent injury cases like Liriano, Perkins, and Humber past reasonable IP expectations in 2008, just to save a couple million bucks?
Even a rebuilding team -- especially a rebuilding team -- should have a guy or two like Fogg around. Ortiz would have served a similar role in 2007 if Santana and Silva hadn't been around.
It's not the wins -- it's the guaranteed innings.
Fogg can get injured, too. In 2002, you would have said that Brad Radke was pretty much a lock for 170 IP, and then, well, he wasn't. No innings are guaranteed.
If you count on getting 170 IP from that spot, and the first young guy falters, you risk rushing another young guy into the spot before he's ready, or pushing a guy who's struggling to "eat innings" which I imagine could be dangerous for a young arm if they are high-stress innings.
You don't have to promote prospects just because someone in the majors gets injured or faltered. That's why you sign guys like Zach Day to minor league contracts. Or you could even try to "pull a Durbin" and claim someone off waivers with the sole intention of passing him to AAA hoping he finally clears. Not everyone in AAA is a prospect.
No innings are guaranteed.
You know what I mean, ubes. Fogg is a better bet to respectably survive 170 ML innings in 2008 than most of our AAA pitchers, and more importantly, running him out there for those innings shouldn't have much if any long-term ramifications for the franchise.
That's why you sign guys like Zach Day to minor league contracts. Or you could even try to "pull a Durbin" and claim someone off waivers with the sole intention of passing him to AAA hoping he finally clears.
You like Zach Day's chances of surviving a large number of ML innings in 2008? I'm not sure J.D. Durbin could have survived any more innings than he did last year. I'm sure we could get into a whole "replacement level" discussion here, but suffice to say, "replacement level" starting pitchers are a bit different breed than position players.
I'm not advocating stocking the rotation with mediocre vets and blocking deserving prospects. But the greater certainty and protection offered by a cheap pick-up like Fogg is probably worth it to a team with A) a very inexperienced staff, and B) some money to burn, both of which apply to the 2008 Twins. If everything goes as planned, you can always dump him mid-season. (Heck, we even found a taker for Ramon Ortiz.) But such a pitcher is good to have around if everything doesn't go as planned.
You like Zach Day's chances of surviving a large number of ML innings in 2008?
Day, specifically, doesn't have to. Maybe he gets hurt. Then you go to plan B, maybe Dave Gassner. Then you go to plan C. Then maybe you pick someone up off the waiver wire, or you find someone who opted out of his minor league contract because he was blocked, or you pick up a free agent.
I'm sure we could get into a whole "replacement level" discussion here, but suffice to say, "replacement level" starting pitchers are a bit different breed than position players.
Yeah, they play a different position.
You're just unwilling to be creative about finding innings, Spycake. For every problem you can find with Zach Day or J.D. Durbin, I can find a problem with Josh Fogg or John Thompson or whatever supposed "innings eaters" are out there. A one-year deal for one of those guys obviously isn't going to wreck the organization, but Rick Anderson is absolutely right--you don't need to put a veteran in the rotation just because he's a veteran.
In brief: your plan saves a couple million, but potentially leaves a lot up to an unknown and unpredictable market. Maybe I'm not being too creative, but your plan is more likely to get dangerous or ugly if things beyond your control don't break your way mid-season.
(And for the record, I'm not advocating "John Thompson or whatever veteran" for this spot -- I think Fogg's track record of durability specifically makes him a good fit, if he came at a cheap price.)
Yeah, they play a different position.
I think there's a bit more of a difference -- a pitcher's effectiveness determines his playing time. A "replacement level" starting pitcher still needs to be able to pitch 5 innings most every start, labor through 40+ pitch innings when needed, and repeat this on a rigid 5-day schedule. A less effective starting pitcher, unlike a less effective position player, may not even be able to achieve these required playing time minimums.
but your plan is more likely to get dangerous or ugly if things beyond your control don't break your way mid-season.
You drastically overestimate this possibility.
I didn't think I was estimating its degree, other than recommending a couple million dollar investment for a team that's presently ~$20 million below last year's payroll.
The curious case of Kevin Hart, a high school football player who committed to Cal, despite the school's insistence that they never recruited him.
That reminds me of an episode of the Critic:
Jay: And coming up next, we'll be joined by Lorne Green.
Producer: [Off Camera]: Lorne Green is dead.
Jay: I wish I had his agent...
That reminds me, this afternoon I'm calling a press conference to announce my engagement to either Kiera Knightley, Elisha Cuthbert, Scarlett Johansson, or Adriana Lima. It figures to be a great day for the WGOM.
That indeed would be a great day. I'm sure you aren't the least bit suspicious that none of them have invited you to their place for a visit...
Of course I'm not suspicious, I have it on good authority through a friend of a friend of a guy who I paid $5 that they're all really interested in marrying me.
As a newly single Citizen, may I request that those lasses you don't wed be bridesmaids and I be your best man.
Done and done.
I get the heebie jeebies when high schoolers get talked about in the big time media. They are 16-17-18 year old kids for pete's sake.
I agree.
It really bothers me that SI now has a section on high school athletes every week. The Faces in the Crowd is fine but I don't like the articles about high schoolers.
Hey Stick, I saw you heading into Foshay an hour ago and then returning with a bag (looked like lunch). Sorry I didn't stop you to say hello, but I was eating a quick lunch with Sheenie before heading into work myself and was pinned behind several tables.
Yep, that was me.
Wow. The relationship between Marion and the Suns really must have been deteriorating for them to make this trade. I saw the rumor online last night and assumed it must just be wild speculation, but apparently not! I can't see this working out well for Phoenix at all.
The Boys at FJM reveal their identities.
A Google search reveals Ken Tremendous has written 10 episodes of The Office. Nice. Junior and dak write for Carson Daly. Hmmm. Perhaps those two should've kept their anonymity.
Ken Tremendous (Michael Shur) plays Dwight's weird, bearded cousin in The Office too
Ken Tremendous is Mose? Baseball and The Office come together. That's awesome.
Well, that's the last premium payment Fremulon Insurance gets from me!
Topps is getting too cute with its cards
You can say that again. Obviously, it's a desperate attempt to drum up interest in their flagging business.
Upper Deck ruined the baseball card industry. For me, anyway. You used to be able to pick up packs pretty cheaply and then it was fun to sort through and see what was in there. Now it's all about premium cards, flashy this or that, and paying a lot more money for a lot fewer cards.
I totally agree with you
When I was a kid we used to scrounge soda bottles from anywhere we could find them (the alleys behind bars and restaurants were good, so were parks and ballfields). Then we'd load up the red wagon, wheel them down to the grocery store, cash them in (2 cents each), and blow all the money on baseball cards (back then Topps was the only game in town). At home the dealing would begin, and could go on for hours at a time. It was always fun to look for the oddities (Billy Martin giving the finger, etc.) We found that Velveeta cheese boxes were ideal for storing our cards. And we were devastated to learn after the family moved to Minnesota that our mother had thrown them all out rather than transport them across the country again. But we got over it, even though we still like to needle mom about it from time to time. I liked baseball cards as a kid, they were my primary source of player stats and info, but I don't really understand the fascination so many adults have with them these days. I've never really been into memorabilia or autographs, either. About the only exception is the Homer Hanky. I have about 7 or 8 of them from different years now. And I do have the only ball I ever caught at a MLB game (August 2006, Radke pitching, Polanco foul ball into the upper deck on the first base side. It was a great catch, tipped by about 3 people in the row behind me and fell right into my outstretched hand. They even put me on the Jumbotron).
My mom will get me a pack of Topps every now and then for my birthday or Christmas (she brings them right down to me in the basement and everything), but I haven't purchased baseball cards in over 10 years. I do have a certain nostalgia for them, having opened so many packs as a kid, and spent so much time sorting them in order to see what I would need to get a full set. I've been thinking that it might be nice to buy some cards of current players, since I've spent so much time watching them play. I'm still young enough that I can foresee a day where 2008 is a distant memory and I might want something to jog my otherwise failing memory. :)
Seriously, there must be 50,000 mothers across the country that have thrown away baseball cards. Do mothers throw away other things or is it just baseball cards? My uncle had 5 rookie Warren Spahn cards that got tossed when he went into the Navy. He got over it I think before his mom died.
My brother and I took our baseball cards when we moved out of the house. Of course, we didn't have anything too valuable, having only begun collecting around 1990.
Yeah, Upper Deck and Topps "Stadium Club" ruined the game for me. I don't care if my cards aren't valuable, as long as they're cheap. And throwing in a stick of gum didn't hurt either!
I may have mentioned this in a post long ago, but it bears repeating. My mom threw out roughly 400 45-singles (stuff from '64-'67: Beatles, Beach Boys, Stones, Motown, Byrds, The Left Banke, etc, etc.) that my older brothers had collected during those years. While nothing was rare or "mint" condition (we played them, after all), it was still a huge loss. My mother, God bless her, innocently responded, "Those were worth something?"
oh man, bummer!
Oh, the humanity.
Around 1968, my older brothers started buying LPs, and all those 45's eventually moved into a box which got put into the attic and forgotten. Forgotten until my college roommate got an old jukebox at a garage sale. That's when the bitter truth was discovered.
I've chased down a lot of those songs in one form or another over the the years. Obviously, the ones listed, but relative obscurities and one-hit wonders like The Turtles, Keith, Norman Greenbaum, Arthur Brown, too. It was all Top-40 stuff, back when top-40 wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
When my dad retired and they moved from Spamtown USA, my mother's treasure trove of 40-years worth of utility bills went with them. AND my baseball cards, which I then was able to retrieve. :-)
Okay, here's a question: do I frame the '88 hankie? It's the only non-playoff one that I have (or know of, for that matter).
I would just like to remind everyone of the USA-Mexico "friendly" tonight at 8 PM Central on ESPN2. It is your patriotic duty to go to your local watering hole in red, white, or blue and down a pint whilst cheering on your countrymen. NB: No Corona, Dos Equis, Negro Modelo, et. al. is acceptable for your pint.
USA! USA! USA!
I would watch but I have a basketball game at 9pm. I still love watching Feilhaber rip the volley last year.
Thanks for the reminder. Looks like I'll probably miss the end due to a conflict with my own soccer game.
I think the US finishing was superior in the first half, but it still seems like they were pretty fortunate to leave the first half with a lead.
Also, Dempsey needs to shave. Or to get some sun. Or something. He looks more like a patient at the Betty Ford Center than a world-class athlete. (Though there is admittedly some overlap between those two groups.)
You broke the blog, maaaaaaaaaaaan!
I'm trying to add functionality with only minimal instruction... and I'm unsuccessful and it's bedtime, so revert back.
from the Carleton alumni listserv today (or, umm, I checked the digest today anyway):
What he said. Weren't no Scarlett Johansson's campaigning on campus while I was there. Although The Suburbs were kind of like the house band for a while. Not that that is in anyway equivalent to either Johansson OR Wilco.
Scarlett Johansson was also at St. Thomas. Meanwhile at Mac, we had Kumar in the building I work (yet no one bothered to tell me). I love randomly meeting oddball celebrities like that. In the spirit of Moss, I definitely would have told him I loved his work in 24.
I would have told him he owes me $4 and 1.5 hours of my life for Van Wilder 2!
Don't forget Kumar is now a doctor on House. And yes, I refer to him as such.
I'm pretty excited for Harold & Kumar 2. It comes out sometime this year.
I'm guessing Harold & Kumar don't meet the high standards of the SBG Nation movie reviews.
Who is this Kumar character? And House? I don't watch TV series.
I'll just put it this way - Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle wouldn't make many Academy Award lists. In fact, it wouldn't fit the SBG Nation recommendations based on what I've seen from people's tastes.
It fits in the American Pie/Judd Apatow/Todd Phillips class of movies.
I remember you were lukewarm on Super Bad so I'm guessing you'd be ice cold on Kumar.
Yes, but in House he actually seems good (he saved that woman on the South Pole's life the other day!). On 24 he was just pointless.
I remember that. When he starts yelling "IT'S NOT AH-MED! MY NAME IS ACH-MED!" I was thinking in that situation my responsed would have been "Dude, if you woulda just said something, I woulda said it differently. No need to get all pissy about it."
I don't like him. He hasn't given me a Secret Santa gift yet.
oooh, neither have I. this is awkward....