Because right now, there's not much else to do.
Let's pretend this is your day-in, day-out Orioles starting roster for 2010:
2B Roberts
CF Jones
RF Markakis
DH Scott
1B Reimold
3B Atkins
C Wieters
LF Pie
SS Izturis
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
From the Files of Why the Fuck Not: Give Aubrey a Shot
No, not Huff. My admiration and enjoyment of Aubrey Huff and the way he plays baseball is well-known, but no, I'm referring to the guy the Orioles brought up to replace him after they sent Huff to Detroit to earn the temporary disgust and ire of that franchise: Michael Aubrey.
If Jim Rice Scares You, John Olerud Should Make You Piss Yourself
A couple years back, Red Sox slugger Jim Rice got inducted into the Hall of Fame following a major press blitz by the Sox organization coming off the afterglow of their 2004 World Series Championship. There is something I need to admit up front: I have never seen Jim Rice play baseball. I have no idea what the man looks like. Furthermore, I have no interest in doing so. The man apparently got into the hall because someone working for Theo Epstein convinced the BBWAA that he was the Most Feared Hitter of His Generation, or Era, or something absolutely insane like that. As far as I can tell, Rice had a mediocre career in which he didn't do much of anything, really. That's not to say he was a bad player, mind you -- just that he was an .850 OPSing corner outfielder/designated hitter whose defensive measureables are woefully bad. You know, sort of like Luke Scott, just with fewer walks, a higher batting average, and a much longer career.
There's a statistic (actually, there's a bunch of statistics, but we'll only be using one) called WARP3 that Baseball Prospectus uses to give a concise overview of a player's cumulative career contributions to his team, as measured by advanced sabermetrics. The acronym -- yes, acronym, because you're supposed to say the stat like you're ordering the Starship Enterprise to gun it -- stand for Wins Above Replacement Player, level 3. You can find an explanation of how it returns the number it does here, but really all you need to know to understand this list is that the stat is cumulative across a player's entire career, takes both offense and defense into account, and the higher the number, the more you contributed during your time in Major League Baseball.
Without further ado, here is a list of selected players who have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame (or in the case of current or recently retired players, are currently not projected to make the Hall) that have higher career WARP3s than former Boston Red Stocking slugger Jim Rice.
There's a statistic (actually, there's a bunch of statistics, but we'll only be using one) called WARP3 that Baseball Prospectus uses to give a concise overview of a player's cumulative career contributions to his team, as measured by advanced sabermetrics. The acronym -- yes, acronym, because you're supposed to say the stat like you're ordering the Starship Enterprise to gun it -- stand for Wins Above Replacement Player, level 3. You can find an explanation of how it returns the number it does here, but really all you need to know to understand this list is that the stat is cumulative across a player's entire career, takes both offense and defense into account, and the higher the number, the more you contributed during your time in Major League Baseball.
Without further ado, here is a list of selected players who have not been inducted into the Hall of Fame (or in the case of current or recently retired players, are currently not projected to make the Hall) that have higher career WARP3s than former Boston Red Stocking slugger Jim Rice.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Birdwatch 12/23/09
Less with the jokes today, I think; the Javier Vazquez trade has soured my mood. You can mentally update the previous post about the Yankees as you see fit; the upshot is that instead of coming into the season with a rotation in the middle of the top ten in Major League Baseball, the Yankees are now top five. It is realistic to expect that they are not yet done, and will likely take fliers on undervalued guys with concerning contracts at positions of need, whether through trade or free agency. Wouldn't be surprised to see them pick up a guy like Kiko Calero. They were talking about trading for Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs, and one would think the Vazquez acqusition would put paid to that, but you never know. I wouldn't put it past them to contact Erik Bedard about coming to the team later in the season on an incentive-laden one-year make good contract that sees him coming out of the pen; in their new park the Yankees value strikeout specialists over all other kinds of pitchers, and Bedard fits the bill perfectly.
We could have a long discussion about payroll inequality in the sport, but it's been done before, and I'm tired of having it. It's not really something that's fucked the Orioles that badly, anyhow; the past twelve years are due more to institutional idiocy and hubris than anything else. J.P. Riccardi's Toronto Blue Jays from 2006 to 2008, however, are a bleaker story; their pythags over those years puts them around a 90 win team, but the division they played in combined with terrible luck (Dustin McGowan, Shawn Marcum) and one horrific contract (Vernon Wells) -- and the inability to pay that bad luck to go away like the Yankees and, to a much lesser extent, Boston Red Sox are able to -- have seen them fire Riccardi, trade the face of their franchise and one of the best pitchers of the last decade for prospects, and essentially enter rebuilding mode. They, like the Orioles, will continue fighting for the scraps of the AL East in 2010, while the Rays and Sox battle for second. And unless there's a major sea change in New York City soon, that's the way it's going to be for the next few years.
We could have a long discussion about payroll inequality in the sport, but it's been done before, and I'm tired of having it. It's not really something that's fucked the Orioles that badly, anyhow; the past twelve years are due more to institutional idiocy and hubris than anything else. J.P. Riccardi's Toronto Blue Jays from 2006 to 2008, however, are a bleaker story; their pythags over those years puts them around a 90 win team, but the division they played in combined with terrible luck (Dustin McGowan, Shawn Marcum) and one horrific contract (Vernon Wells) -- and the inability to pay that bad luck to go away like the Yankees and, to a much lesser extent, Boston Red Sox are able to -- have seen them fire Riccardi, trade the face of their franchise and one of the best pitchers of the last decade for prospects, and essentially enter rebuilding mode. They, like the Orioles, will continue fighting for the scraps of the AL East in 2010, while the Rays and Sox battle for second. And unless there's a major sea change in New York City soon, that's the way it's going to be for the next few years.
Friday, December 18, 2009
And Now, a Quick Word on the Monsters in the Attic
There is one hard, inescapable truth the Baltimore Orioles will face in 2010:
The New York Yankees will be the best team in baseball.
And barring a catastrophic mixture of regressions, fall-offs, injuries, and outright derelictions of duty in the Bronx, it won't even be close.
The New York Yankees will be the best team in baseball.
And barring a catastrophic mixture of regressions, fall-offs, injuries, and outright derelictions of duty in the Bronx, it won't even be close.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Baltimore Orioles Acquire A Gonzalez
But unfortunately, he is not A. Gonzalez.
He is Mike Gonzalez, lefty reliever out of Atlanta, recent recipient of Tommy John surgery and now a 2 year, $12 million deal from the Orioles. The contract has incentives in it that could bring his total paycheck for the deal up to $16 million.
The first thought I had regarding this was, "That's not how you spell Kiko Calero." And I'm right, because "Mike Gonzalez" is spelled with two Z's and a second round pick. He's a Type A free agent -- deservedly so, for once -- and that means that the Atlanta Braves are now the proud owner of the third pick of the second round in next June's amateur draft. That's concerning.
He is Mike Gonzalez, lefty reliever out of Atlanta, recent recipient of Tommy John surgery and now a 2 year, $12 million deal from the Orioles. The contract has incentives in it that could bring his total paycheck for the deal up to $16 million.
The first thought I had regarding this was, "That's not how you spell Kiko Calero." And I'm right, because "Mike Gonzalez" is spelled with two Z's and a second round pick. He's a Type A free agent -- deservedly so, for once -- and that means that the Atlanta Braves are now the proud owner of the third pick of the second round in next June's amateur draft. That's concerning.
Out of Left Field
Yes, "Out of Left Field." En garde, Kubatko.
The topic of what exactly to do with the Orioles outfield, particularly Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie, in 2010 is something that Baltimore's fans and front office have been debating since last September. My proposal is not unique -- I mean there's only five or six things they could do total, and that includes bringing back Brady Anderson to play left -- but I think it's easily the best of the choices available and I want to work through the thought process behind it before we do something stupid like trade Pie for a soft-hitting, mediocre third baseman.
The topic of what exactly to do with the Orioles outfield, particularly Nolan Reimold and Felix Pie, in 2010 is something that Baltimore's fans and front office have been debating since last September. My proposal is not unique -- I mean there's only five or six things they could do total, and that includes bringing back Brady Anderson to play left -- but I think it's easily the best of the choices available and I want to work through the thought process behind it before we do something stupid like trade Pie for a soft-hitting, mediocre third baseman.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
You Know What Fucking Ruled About Freddie Bynum, Jr.?
"I can do anything and everything you want to do on a baseball field. If you want me to run the catcher over I can run him over. If you want me to drop kick somebody I'll drop kick them. I am ready. I am ready to play ball."
-- Freddie Bynum, Jr.
-- Freddie Bynum, Jr.
Cliff Lee's a Pretty Cool Dude at a Pretty Good Price
Don't really have time for a mega-post tonight, but really, just a thought: If you're Andy MacPhail and you hear the Seattle Mariners are about to turn an injury-prone reliever and a light-hitting middle infielder who was only mediocre in A Ball into a Cy Young award winner and consensus Top 10 pitcher, why the hell are you not already on the phone with Rube Amaro trying to steal the man's pants off his ass?
I don't mean that the Orioles should acquire Lee. He fits them absolutely not at all. But this is about the principle of the matter. At least drive the price up.
And now, gin.
I don't mean that the Orioles should acquire Lee. He fits them absolutely not at all. But this is about the principle of the matter. At least drive the price up.
And now, gin.
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