Edward Cossette is enjoying the arguments between the Red Sox and the Yankees, and I must admit, I am too.
Posted by David Pinto at 1:58 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 30, 2002
Steinbrenner Fires Back:
In yesterday’s NY Daily News, The Boss takes Lucchino to task over these comments:
DN: John Henry, your former partner and owner of the Red Sox, was quoted as saying after you signed Contreras that he “was and is a big risk.” What’s your response?
GS: That’s just ridiculous. It makes him look stupid because they did [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:21 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 30, 2002
Mendoza to the Red Sox:
The Red Sox have signed the former Yankee reliever to a two year contract:
As for Mendoza, the Sox envision using him much like the Yankees did, mostly in a setup role, though he also could close and spot start.
”I wouldn’t be surprised if he pitches some of the most critical innings of the year for [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:59 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 30, 2002
Red Sox and Racisim:
Dr. Manhattan has an interesting post at Blissful Knowledge:
Similarly, while the integration of major league baseball was most importantly a cessation of an immense moral wrong, it also expanded the talent pool from which baseball teams drew. As such, it introduced a competitive pressure upon teams. Those that adapted to the post-Jackie Robinson era succeeded [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:40 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 29, 2002
Mariners Future:
The Everett, Washington Herald has a look ahead at the 2003 Mariners.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:49 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 29, 2002
All Quiet on the Western Front:
David Levens at Elephats in Oakland thinks the AL West has been too quiet this off-season. I agree with him on Anaheim. Disney has increased payroll. They should use that to address weaknesses on the team. Winners that stand pat usually fall off the next year.
In a related story, there’s this [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:54 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 29, 2002
World Expansion:
Baseball seems to be catching on in Malaysia.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:42 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 29, 2002
Ripken’s Retirement:
The NY Times has an interesting article on what Cal Ripken has been up to. The gist of the story is that Cal has created a corporation to increase the popularity of baseball through minor league ownership and youth baseball programs. What’s very interesting is that the Ripkens seem to be giving Little [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:38 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 28, 2002
Stadium Income Taxes:
This is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone claim that the income tax from visiting ballplayers will pay for a stadium. I went to a AAA game in Portland this year on a Monday night. They have a nice stadium. It was easy to get to, via light rail, and the [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 10:04 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 28, 2002
Bear Market:
ESPN.com has an AP article indicating that free agents aren’t signing for as much this year:
Why the drop-off?
Except for the 32-year-old Thome, all the big-name free agents were either over 35 or coming off injuries. Teams are putting more players on the market, refusing to give contracts to 46 players by the Dec. 20 tender [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:01 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 28, 2002
Who Started the Fight:
Eric McErlain writes:
Let me preface, I’m a lifelong Mets fan, and no fan of Pete Rose. As far as I’m concerned, he has no place in the game of baseball.
But when it comes to the Harrelson incident, I clearly recall reading in the 1974 Mets yearbook that Harrelson conceded that he actually caused the [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:54 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 28, 2002
Still More on Yankees Payroll
This topic is generating some thoughtful responses:
David,
First off, Im a long time reader and admirer of your blog. Just so you know, I am an avid Atlanta Braves fan. My roommate, lives and dies for Boston Red Sox baseball. All year I hear Jaron lament about how the Yankees, “are buying another [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:33 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 27, 2002
More on Yankees Payroll:
Reader Daniel Shamah responds to this response:
I think Weddell misses the point of Lucchino’s complaint. He was more upset that any time the Red Sox target a free agent, the Yankees can just step in and outbid them. I don’t believe he was really concerned with the possible impact on arbitration.
And that arbitration argument [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 2:45 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 27, 2002
Paypal:
I read that Paypal has the highest money market returns in the nation. So I opened an account, and since it’s there, I put up a button for a tip jar. This site is free, and I don’t expect anything, especially if you are a fellow blogger. But the button is there [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 12:40 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 27, 2002
Rose Poll:
In case you missed them, the results are here.
I think that baseball should be very careful in measuring Rose’s popularity. The one case of a bad survey that I keep in my mind is the one that resulted in the New Coke fiasco. Pepsi kept doing taste tests that showed that Pepsi tasted [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 12:35 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 27, 2002
Yankees Payroll:
Michael Weddell makes a good point about the effect of the Yankees foreign signings:
Regarding the Yankees’ payroll, compared to the possible alternatives, Lucchino should be fairly happy. If one accepts it as a given that the Yankees will spend whatever it takes to have the best team on paper entering the season, then the [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 11:41 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 26, 2002
Contreras:
Larry Lucchino seems really upset at George Steinbrenner:
After the agreement had been reached, Lucchino initially offered a brusque “no comment” when reached by The New York Times. Then he pulled a 180 with his position.
“No, I’ll make a comment. The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America,” Lucchino told The Times.
How do you [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 5:32 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 25, 2002
Merry Christmas to All!
Posted by David Pinto at 12:39 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 24, 2002
Rose Poll:
The results are in. Players were ranked 1 to 10, with 1 being the most admired, 10 the least admired. Scoring was using a Borda count (similar to MVP voting); players ranked 1 get 10 points, players ranked 10 get 1 point. If more than one player is ranked the same, the [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 6:29 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 24, 2002
Re-Rebuttal:
Charles Donefer responds to my response.
Posted by David Pinto at 8:50 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 23, 2002
Remaining Free Agents:
Aaron Gleeman has an excellent rundown of the top remaining free agents on his blog. His comments on Travis Lee are right on.
Posted by David Pinto at 2:24 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 23, 2002
I hadn’t seen this cartoon
I hadn’t seen this cartoon before.
Posted by David Pinto at 2:09 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 23, 2002
Voting Continues:
I’m going to leave the most admired poll open until Tuesday morning. I’ll have time tomorrow to work on compiling the results and commenting about them. You can find a link to the voting here. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far.
Posted by David Pinto at 11:05 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 23, 2002
Stadium Rebuttal:
Charles Donefer has offered this rebuttal to Instapundit’s idea for a baseball stadium at ground zero. (See previous post). It’s titled “A Silly Idea for Ground Zero,” in case the link doesn’t take you right to it. There is at least one thesis in the rebuttal that I disagree with.
Putting up a baseball [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:24 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 22, 2002
World Trade Stadium?
Instapundit has an idea for ground zero. Build a baseball stadium! He says it’s a dumb idea, but I think it’s great. Both the Yankees and Mets can use a new park. And baseball was part of the initial healing process. It’s right at the hub of a transportation center. [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 7:33 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 21, 2002
Vote:
If you haven’t voted, please do.
Posted by David Pinto at 10:50 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 21, 2002
More On Floyd:
I had two posts on Floyd yesterday. One was about Floyd going to the Orioles. As the previous post points out, Floyd actually went to the Mets (scroll down). Interestingly, the Sun took down the article that I originally linked to claiming that Floyd was for the Birds.
When it seemed that Floyd [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 8:30 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 20, 2002
Count Floyd:
As a Met. This helps fill the void left by the departure of Alfonzo, and gives the Mets a good outfielder for the first time in a few years. And it looks like the Mets will look East for a new third baseman.
Posted by David Pinto at 6:09 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 20, 2002
Phillies Trade for Millwood:
A number of years ago I subscribed to the Phillies electronic news letter. Most of the time, they just send me promotional junk, but a few minutes ago, I got this in the mail:
PHILLIES BREAKING NEWS
December 20, 2002
PHILS ACQUIRE KEVIN MILLWOOD FROM ATLANTA
The Phillies traded catcher Johnny Estrada to the Atlanta Braves for right-handed [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 1:09 pm | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
December 20, 2002
Floyd to the Birds?
The Baltimore Orioles are close to signing Cliff Floyd, according to this story by Joe Christensen in the Baltimore Sun. It seems the Dodgers don’t want to pay the luxury tax, and signing Floyd would push them over the limit. The Mets also are having a hard time finding the money. The [...]
Posted by David Pinto at 9:27 am | Baseball | Permalink | Comments Off
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