2007 MLB Trading Deadline
Holy crap - I might be the most incompetant sports blogger in the history of the whole InstaWebs. Seriously, we're in the middle of an historic run of sports stories, and I can only find the time to post here once?
Like I said last week, there's Mike Vick and his nomination for PETA President, Tim Donneghy and his 15 minute G
oodfellas cameo
, and Barry Bonds' chase at history (just as long as he can do it at home with no chance of being booed or scrutinized. Pretty please? He'll even "donate" stuff to the Hall of Fame...)
Now, add to that this week is the MLB Trading Deadline (I have
no idea how this snuck up on me) and the persistent rumor that the Boston Celtics may have just traded their way into the 2007/08 NBA Finals (with a legitimate shot to stop the Spurs/Suns).
I mean, where the hell have I been? (Besides Vegas and Atlantic City...)
I'm devoting the rest of this post to the MLB Trades and Rumors (including rumors that I'm starting...) Maybe I'll even come back tomorrow and discuss the Celtics, assuming anything happens.
So, tomorrow is "Trading day" in Major League Baseball (or it's today, if you're reading this post along with your morning coffee at your desk...) There have been a number of trades made in the past three weeks in MLB, and obviously the biggest name on the move appears to be Mark Teixeira going to Atlanta, pending physicals. To me, this move is good if, and only if, one of two things happens for the Braves - they win the World Series in '07 or '08 (or both), or Big Tex signs an extension before his deal expires next season.
The Braves are giving up a ton of talent in this trade, which is amazing considering the Rangers really
had to move Teixeira given all the publicity they've received this month. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the only current major leaguer on the move, but the other prospects Atlanta is giving up - SS Elvis Andrus and pitchers Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz - all rate at top prospects in their organization.
Now, far be it for me to question a man as brilliant about the game of baseball as John Scheurholtz. This is the same man who turned former "top prospect" Andy Marte into Edgar Renteria, and still managed to get the Red Sox to pay $3M yearly to offset Renteria's salary.
In fact, for the most part, I believe that unless you have an absolute can't miss young prospect (Cole Hamels, Jonathon Papelbon, Jose Reyes, etc.) you don't think twice about trading them when given the chance to get a top level, high quality,
proven player. However, you don't necessarily move prospects for guys that are having career seasons at the right time (Victor Zambrano to the Mets, Heathcliff Slocumb to the Mariners and Jeff Suppan to the Red Sox all come to mind).
But in a situation like this, where everybody with any understanding of baseball knew that Mark Teixeira would not be a Ranger by season's end, I think the Braves still overpaid. The Rangers were originally asking for a ridiculous amount of talent from other teams (case in point - Texas asked Boston for Jon Lester, Manny DelCarmen
and minor league prospect Jacoby Ellsbury). There's no way that any team would pay their top three prospects in exchange for a very good player having a down year with only one more year on his contract.
But that's exactly what the Braves did. We'll never know how much they would have had to give up if they'd waited another 18 hours or so. But if they win it all in '07 or '08, or Teixeira falls back in love with the Atlanta area after leaving Georgia Tech, then it will have been worth it.
Now, as for the other moves made and rumored...
To me, the most significant move made so far (aside from Big Tex) was the Phillies grabbing Tad Iguchi from the White Sox. When Chase Utley broke his hand last week, Philadelphia fans nation-wide (alright... state-wide) (alright... city-wide) gasped as they thought that any hope of catching the Mets or staying in the Wild Card race went right out the door. In stepped Kenny Williams and the Chicago White Sox, trading away Iguchi for a Low A-Ball prospect (?!?) and saving the Phillies' chances.
Iguchi might not duplicate Utley's numbers - let's be honest, Utley is a top-3 second baseman in the majors - but he will at least provide them the best possible option to replace what they lost in Utley. With him in the infield, the Phillies at least stand a chance.
Of course, as I write this, I'm watching the Phillies lose two right fielders to leg injuries - Shane Victorino and Michael Bourn - within two innings of each other. So who knows, maybe they'll have to go grab Jermaine Dye too if they want to stay competetive. Injuries are the best way to level a playing field - the Mets are reeling with players on the DL - the teams on top usually get there by not only playing the best, but staying the healthiest.
As for the other deals... well, two more moves have been made today since the Teixeira story broke. The Mets grabbed Luis Castillo (very, VERY good pickup) and the Phillies added Kyle Lohse (?!?) to their rotation. The Castillo trade makes a lot of sense - the Mets needed help their blackhole at second, and the Twins are always looking to add more young, cheap prospects - in this case, a catcher and an outfielder. But the Phillies picking up a pitcher with career numbers of 60-74, 4.83 ERA - including this year's stellar 6-12, 4.58
in the NL Central - is a deal that rivals the D-Rays/Astros Dan Wheeler for Ty Wigginton head-scratcher.
But again, what do I know - I'm just a fan and a writer. These guys get paid to make these kind of mistakes - I'm spending hours writing about it just for fun. Maybe they've got it all figured out.
Quickly, before I end this, I had a nice day and a half in Atlantic City this weekend, playing cards and drinking beers with some friends that I hadn't seen in awhile. Perhaps more than anything else, the beers led to a fantastic
Quote of the Week from my buddy Knob while we ate dinner in the Hooter's restaurant in the Tropicana casino:
"
It's like I'm on the world's greatest safari - I just can't stop looking around..."Lata.
Labels: 2007, MLB, Trade Rumors, Where the hell have I been?
Thoughts on copyright infringement
Is it technically plagiarism if you're copying yourself? I don't know. That's one of those philosophical questions that can never be answered like "If a tree falls in the woods and squashes a squirrel, but no one is around to hear the thing get splattered, does it make a sound", or "If a pitcher stands on the mound but refuses to throw the ball, how does the game progress?" (Thanks for that one Matt)...
Anyway, this is a direct copy from my "
Personal Blog" a couple days ago. Thought it was relevant here too:
/begin personal plagiarism
June 25th, 2007: "...For those of you that know me fairly well, you know that back in the Summer of 2005 I created a "World Series Tribute Video" for the '04 Red Sox. I made a DVD out of it, posted it on my personal website, and also put it up on YouTube. As of this past weekend, it had gotten over 50,000 page views, was listed as a favorite video by over 500 users, and had been linked to in over 150 other websites (mostly MySpace, but not all).
I'd post a YouTube link to it for everyone to enjoy (for the first time, or all over again), but there's a slight problem. This morning, I opened
my Gmail account, and found the following e-mail from the good people at YouTube:
Subject - Video Removed: Copyright InfringementDear Member:This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by MLB Advanced Media claiming that this material is infringing:2004 World Series Champions Tribute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDc_AZ7WCPU (That link obviously no longer works)Please Note: Repeat incidents of copyright infringement will result in the deletion of your account and all videos uploaded to that account. In order to avoid future strikes against your account, please delete any videos to which you do not own the rights, and refrain from uploading additional videos that infringe on the copyrights of others. For more information about YouTube's copyright policy, please read the Copyright Tips guide.If you elect to send us a counter notice, please go to our Help Center to access the instructions.Be aware that there may be adverse legal consequences in your country if you make a false or bad faith allegation of copyright infringement by using this process.Sincerely,YouTube, Inc.Now, when I made the video, I made very certain to list all of the sources from which I culled still photos, audio & video clips, and listed all of the information in the video itself at the end - you know, where the credits for most videos are found. I thought this would be sufficient to make sure that everyone knew that I had taken none of the photos, filmed none of the video, and recorded none of the audio myself, but had instead compiled other people's work into my own video. The key is, I made very sure to give credit to the original owners - I even put "Credit Where Credit Is Due" as the title of my end credits. Not to mention I wasn't selling the video for any type of monetary gain - it was posted freely for anyone to watch and enjoy without cost.
I'm no copyright lawyer, but I truly thought I was covered. Guess not. Meh. If you want to see the video (it's about thirteen-and-a-half minutes long), leave a comment or
send an e-mail and I'll direct you to where you can find it. All I ask is that you save it to your computer and don't stream it from my webserver - it will kill the bandwidth and make my web host extremely unhappy. Oh, and that if you repost it or show other people, you tell them where it came from. Who knows - maybe I'll get an offer from Hollywood!..."
/end personal plagiarism
As for sports updates, I think I'll try to get on here tomorrow with some thoughts about the NBA Draft (!?!?) and all the trade rumors heading up to it. Looks like my "
Random Trade Rumor" might actually happen now, or something close to it...
Lata.
Labels: copyright infringement, NBA Draft, plagiarism, Trade Rumors, Youtube
2007 MLB Mid-Season Analysis
With most of the teams in Major League Baseball having played about 70 games of their seasons, it seems like a good time to look back at the pre-season predictions of many an analyst and laugh, heartily, at their mistakes. Yes,
myself included.
Best team in the AL: Proud to say that, right now, it's The Red Sox. The rotation has been outstanding, the offense has been good if not record-setting, and they have handled most opponents pretty easily. The 45-25 (.643) record has them atop the Majors, though only two ahead of the Angels in the loss column. And Curt Schilling's sudden trip to the MRI Machine notwithstanding, they still have the best team to stay atop the league through October. As long as the injury bug that demolished them next year stays away, they should be fine. Look for a Repeat of 1986 (in more ways than one...) with a Red Sox / Angels ALCS matchup.
Best team in the NL: The numbers say it's San Diego, followed closely by Milwaukee (once again,
Damn you Vinny...) and then the Dodgers, D-Backs and Mets. How about the NL West actually turning competetive this season? Remember a couple years ago when we were legitimately stunned at the prospects of a team making the playoffs with a sub-.500 record? Now, the division has four teams above the break-even line, with only the free-spending Giants in bad shape (Maybe Barry's head is weighing them down...). But of those five teams, I still feel most confident about the Mets being the last one standing in October. The Padres/Mets NLCS should be outstanding - Peavy & Young against (presumably) Pedro & Glavine - but I cannot shake this feeling that the Mets need to add one more arm to push them over the top. Mark Buerhle, anyone?
What to watch for in the second half: Aside from the standard pennant races and record chases, I always look for the "Second Half Explosion" - some team that comes from relative obscurity to push for a wild card spot. A team that, if nothing else, inspires their fan base for next year and helps to sell a couple hundred more season ticket packages in '08. There are two teams I can see legitmately pulling this off in the second-half of 2007: Florida & Seattle. They come from completely opposite ends of the spectrum - Seattle overspent on mediocre bats and overvalued pitching for the past two offseasons and is just now seeing any type of return on their investments, while Florida has dedicated themselves to proving that a team can spend less than A-Rod & Manny make combined in a season and still compete for the playoffs. Seattle is currently 3 games over .500, but 7.5 back in the division and 4.5 in the Wild Card. Florida is 4-games under .500, but only 5.5 back in the division and 7 in the Wild Card (I know, none of this makes any sense). Both of these teams could make serious pushes to get into the playoffs, even if neither is a legitmate threat to the top teams in their league.
Awards Predictions:AL MVP: A-Rod if the Yankees win the Wild Card, otherwise it's a three man race between Magglio Ordonez, Travis Hafner and Kevin Youkilis. And you have no idea how big the smile on my face is that Youk even gets mentioned in that conversation.
NL MVP: Prince Fielder has done nothing to make me think that he shouldn't have this award all but sewn up by about Mid-August, but then again, he's got a couple teammates that have helped him out along the way. Albert Pujols can never be counted out, and if the Phillies come on strong as the season progresses, Ryan Howard will most likely have put up good enough numbers to be considered for a repeat win.
AL Cy Young: Before the season started, I was convinced that Roy Halladay, Johan Santana & Curt Schilling would be the top three names on this ballot, hands down. Well, Santana is still up there, but it's Josh Beckett representing the Red Sox, along with John Lackey and Dan Haren.
NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy. End of discussion.
I'd love to comment on possible rookies of the year in both leagues, but the ROY rules about games played are fairly confusing. I will say this - Boston has three names that could qualify for this award (Dice-K, Okajima and Pedroia), meaning that there's a chance none of them gets it as they split the New England writers' votes. In the NL, Hunter Pence & JJ Hardy (if they qualify) have to bear at or near the top of the list. I'm sure there's more I'm missing, but I'll stick with them for now.
And, since this is still technically a blog, I'm going to pass along a few links for you to enjoy. Most of them have already been published either at Deadspin or Danshanoff.com, but since not all of you read those sites, allow me to direct you their way:
- A FANTASTIC interview with Harold Reynolds, formerly of ESPN.
- Hmmm... maybe I won't become a full-blown Pirates fan just yet...
- Your professional wrestling update for 2007... with business-side coverage.
- This made me laugh for a solid 10 minutes - The 2007 Lead Glove Awards.
- Maybe Manny should use this more often - might get him off the previous list.
- Some talk about this video spoof on local Pittsburgh Radio - apparantely, it was pretty funny. (NOTE: If you haven't seen the final Soprano's yet, you may want to skip this. Not because it will spoil anything for you, but it just won't make any sort of sense)
- Speaking of Kevin Youkilis... (As always, the comments make this 30x funnier)
A new section of this blog that I'll be running when and if I remember it... it's Today's Trade Rumor that I'm starting just to see how far it gets!
There's a lot of talk in both the NBA & MLB, as both leagues approach their most intenst trading season. So here's the deal I'm proposing, just to see how far along it gets before someone shoots it down:
Boston Celtics get Shawn Marion from Phoenix
Phoenix Suns get Gerald Green, the #5 overall pick, and Theo Ratliff's contract.
Celtics end up with a stellar defensive player, 3/4 type who can play alongside Al Jefferson giving them one of the best foward tandems in the league, and they have another legitimate scoring threat. Phoenix gets much needed cap relief, bench depth in Green while he develops into what veryone thinks he can be (i.e. the next T-Mac) and with the #5 pick, someone along the lines of an Al Horford / Joakim Noah type to make into the #6 or 7 man on the depth charts. Both teams are competetive in '07-'08, with the Suns still having a great shot to win the West and the C's suddenly becoming a Top-5 team in the putrid East.
Since I don't have access to player salary information, and the firewall where I'm posting from blocks out ESPN's NBA Trade Machine, I can't be sure the numbers work here. But I am certain that something along these lines could get done, and maybe soon.
And before I go, one parting thought to ponder as you're wasting your Wednesday in a cubicle/office, reading random meaningless blogs instead of attending to actual "work" (much like I do)...
Has anyone ever seen Elijah Dukes and Pac-Man Jones in the same place at the same time?
Lata.
Labels: Blogs, Links, Mid-Season, MLB, Predictions, Trade Rumors
