By now we all know the A's granted Watson his release to join the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan. On the surface this doesn't look like a big deal. A career minor leaguer gets released to extend his fading baseball career in the Land of Rising Sun. But I believe there are issues involved with this move that are troubling for the A's organization and need to be discussed.

Billy Taylor, Matt Stairs, Izzy, Mike Gallego, Rich Becker, John Jaha. There were others, but none of them were superstars. However Billy discovered a use for them. He outsmarted GM's and MLB in general with these misfits and outcasts. Beane and Co. assessed that some would be great closers and others awesome OBP machines. Plus, if sprinkled in some inexperienced hotshot youngsters like G and Eric and Ramon and Miggy along with some ass-kicking pitching like "The Big Three"....well now, playoffs here we come! All on a shoestring budget. It's what people write books about!

But 2001 happened. Our beloved A's were once again KO'd prematurely from the playoffs and Billy showed the first crack of discontentment with how he was winning and fooling MLB. This shift from "winning while fooling everyone on the cheap" is growing and its not making things better but worse. The A's are no longer winning like the late 90's and early 00's and they aren't fooling anyone. Are the A's spending like the Bosox and Yankees? Of course not. But I do believe Billy has become disinterested with building his teams. He is making too many mistakes. One could say, Beane is off his game.

No longer do we see Beane grabbing that "player-to-be-named-later". Holding out for the "...and cash considerations" for that pickup in August. And we don't see Beane giving guys like Matt Watson a chance. Sure Watson was given his "cup of coffee" last year. Sure he didn't have a great ST this year. But all Watson has done, year-in year-out was rake in the minors and play solid defense. In 1998, 1999, 2000 and maybe in 2001 Watson WOULD have been the starting LF in Oakland.

In 2006 we have Payton at 4 million who can't hit a breaking ball if his life depended on. We have Booby K who isn't near as funny without the hair at 1 million. And we have Perez who after 20 ABs final has a hit but plays defense like it's a disease. And finally, and this is where Billy truly lost his way, when the A's traded Lehr and Cruz for Ginter. Presently, Ginter continues to play and "offer veteran leadership" in The Sac at 3 Million dollars. Folks, that's 8 millions misspent by my account (that's not counting Perez's peanuts he "earns").

I say Watson's release is simply just not about giving a chance to a career minor leaguer but rather an opportunity lost to show MLB that the A's are a special organiztion that can see the gifts of a player, plug said player in a role where he'II succeed and as a TEAM win more ballgames than their highpriced competition. And, who knows, maybe win the WS.

In conclusion, I still believe. I still believe in Billy. I still believe Billy is God in a pair of khakis shorts purchased at The Gap for $29.99. I just think, with Watson anyway, he just blew a save.

 

I'm not sure if anyone on AN has yet to read John Schuerholz's new book-"Built to Win: Inside Stories and Leadership Strategies from Baseball's Winningest GM". Schuerholz wrote the book with Larry Guest. This fact alone makes this book different from the AN bible because, as WE all know, Billy DID NOT write "Moneyball". So one could probably say Moneyball was written with a more objective eye vs "Built to Win". However I've yet to read "Built to Win"-but I will be as soon as my order comes in.

Apparently, there are some good stories about how the Bravers almost traded for Bonds, how the Braves signed Maddox away from the Yankees etc, etc, etc. But what I'm really interested in is the contrast between the Braves' vs the A's philosophy of building teams.

The Braves have won 15 divisional titles, 1 W.S. title in 1995 and have arguably one of the best minor league systems, year-in/year-out. Last year the Braves started a 47 year old at 1st base who was playing in the Mexican League while having approx 15 rookies on the 25 man roster. They won their division-again.

I listened to a Schuerholz interview today and the dude is fascinating. In the interview he contributes a successful winning team to three things:

1. A successful minor league system.
2. A very stout scouting staff who beat the bushes with a very strong reliance on the scouting department for drafting for the minor league system.
3. A smart and successful Major League Manager who is a great teacher and a clever and gifted  in game tactician. Bobby Cox, without a doubt, is a first ballot H of F.

So, it's Schuerholz's contention that if a MLB team possesses these three elements in their organization they too should be successful.

Humph! Do the A's? Are the A's "built to win". Who would you want as the A's GM: Beane vs Schuerholz?      

Poll

Who do you prefer: Beane vs Schuerholz, or....

22%

Schuerholz

17 votes

29%

Oaktoon

23 votes

48%

Beane

37 votes

77 votes | Poll has closed

First of all, i'd like to thank the A's and AN for a great season of baseball. In April I predicted a 84-86 win season for the boys in green/gold but they far exceeded my expectations with their general level of play and courage. I believe this ball club is VERY close to getting back into the playoffs....and then, well, everything is a crap shoot.

Anyway, the reason for this diary is simple. Many on AN will know a certain lovable loudmouth who had (has) a strong manlove for a certain player currently sitting on the bench in Baltimore. We here on AN, have had to endure countless comments from foolshgame22 re: byrnes and his "greatness". Reading through some previous exchanges between foolsh and some AN memebers is truly entertaining (one such encouter between foolsh and grover was hysterical). Yes my friends, foolshgame22 was pure hyperbole when it came to that jackass byrnes. BUT, dammit, one day foolsh went too far. Too far I say!

It started with a challenge. Now, I'II admit, I fancy myself as a betting man. I can also assess odds and such and see when I'm getting suckered. But when foolsh dropped this one down, against some strong odds, i bit. (i.e. total ABs for players for an ex). To refresh your memories:

http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2005/6/24/75025/3841

Now, as you read through the diary you'II notice FIVE of us took up foolshgame22's challenge. We were commonly called (mainly by foolsh) "The Foolsh Five";

"bigelephant", "novaoakland", "JSCHWAN",
"capper3" and "nickolai".

The Foolsh Five tolerated many barbs from foolsh regarding this bet but we stuck to it. Some examples:

http://www.athleticsnation.com/comments/2005/8/3/33920/63395/2#2

http://www.athleticsnation.com/comments/2005/7/24/23570/3577/14#14

http://www.athleticsnation.com/comments/2005/7/13/23179/7290/9#9

http://www.athleticsnation.com/comments/2005/7/9/25516/89355/4#4

So, just like the season is almost over for our beloved A's, so is this bet. I believe, without a shadow of doubt, foolshgame22 should soon be paying "The Foolsh Five" $500-$100 per. Read the numbers:
                AB      AVG    OBP      SLG

Byrnes vs RH:   254    .205   .270     .327
Kotsay vs RH:   395    .261   .310     .403

People, the numbers are in and they don't lie- Foolshgame22 needs to pay up....and fast! Now, I don't know how the others in The Foolsh Five gang feel, but I'm willing to let AN ultimately  decide if foolsh actually honors his bets. You've read the challenge, you've read the remarks, you know the depth of foolsh's manlove for Byrnes and you've seen the numbers. So, I ask you, what do we do...............?

EDITORS NOTE: Eventhough foolsh can be a royal pain in the ass I'm hesitating on holding his feet to close to fire on this. Foolsh does have "a little foolshgame22" on the way and I'd hate see little foolsh go without. I just wish daddy foolsh would grab some friggin' brains and stop being so, well, foolsh. If Foolshgame22 promises to take his wife out for dinner and buy little foolsh some new Nike sneakers...well, I'm willing to let it slide...THIS GD TIME ONLY!

 

Poll

Should Foolshgame22 pay on his bet:

6%

Yes, in fact, Foolsh should send Cohibas and scotch to all on AN

12 votes

17%

No, Foolsh was blinded by his manlove for Byrnes and can't be held responsible for his actions

32 votes

4%

Yes, let's shut up Foolshgame22 once and for all- he should pay AND be banned by Nico!

9 votes

54%

Yes, Foolsh shot his mouth off and lost- Pay up sucker!

99 votes

15%

No, let Foolshgame spend his money on his family

28 votes

0%

No, but Foolsh should be banned from AN for 1 month

1 votes

181 votes | Poll has closed

In this morning in sfgate.com Susan Slusser reports on the pending Payton/Bradford trade. I happen to like Payton's game, so giving up Bradford isn't so bad in my opinion. What I found interesting though was Slusser's take on the contract talks between the A's and Kotsay. She seems to suggest that the talks are "going well" and its likely Kotsay will soon sign for around 7 mil with a 2 year extension. This produces an interesting question-someone will need to be traded, who?

The usual suspects:

1. Byrnes
   
2. Rincon
   
3. Cruz
   
4. Hatteberg
   
5. Ginter
   
6. Zito
   
7. Saarloos
   
8. Ellis
   
9. Scoot

Any thoughts as to who and where?
   

I was sitting 16 rows up and just to the right of the 1st base bag. I had mucho A's fans around me and one row down from me a dude had an awesome Kotsay road uni on and we were doing our best to piss off the home crowd.

thoughts:

1. Haren's control was off but he battled all night. I liked how he kept coming after hitters. He's a warrior.
2. Macha's use of the bullpen is puzzling. Rincon's homer to Hudson was inexcusable. Hudson is weak batting from the right side and Rincon just groved one high and down the middle. This not only rattled Rincon but it seemed to rattle Macha. Kenny immediately goes to Calero too soon which caused him to bring out Street for 5 outs. Why not use Duke in the the 7th, Calero in the 8th and Street for the 9th?
3. Street is VERY impressive. They had him on the big screen coming out of the BP and it looked like he was hyperventilating...but when he got on the rubber he was dynamite! Oh, to be 21 again!
4. Crosby's in-side-the-parker was awesome. When Wash was wavin' him around all the A's fans around me were goin' nuts. Crosby had a big game, hitting the ball with authority and using the whole field.
5. Why, why, why, why didn't Scoot eat that ball in the 9th? He had NO chance of making that DP, NONE. I was able to see the play develop and started screaming "eat it, eat it, eat it" and then Scoot almost threw the ball to me in the 16th row. Scoot had a tough game at the plate and in the field.

I'm tired this morning....but went to bed with a grin on my face.

Go A's!  

We all can go down the list of superstars who have left the A's for more money and a better winning situation....the list is depressing and long. It's what a true A's Fan lives with-and often wears as a badge of honor-this constant turnover of our beloved A's. It also produces countless hours and numerous AN threads of debates-and sometimes arguements-regarding past player and management decisions.

But, have you ever wondered what it would be like to sit in Beane's chair and pull the trigger on a "F'in A trade"- BUT STILL BE WORRIED ABOUT THE "BOTTOMLINE"? Well, here's your chance to put all that "knownledge"...and maybe your MBA...to good use. It's called "The Oakland Baseball Simworld".

The Oakland Baseball Simworld is a business simulator that offers the following objectives:

-the simulation has over 90 decisions that impact the baseball organization

-you must "grow" the business of baseball in oakland over a 15 year period

-achieve constant increases in franchise value, maintain a competitive team, and win in the play-offs and WS

-this is all done using the current CBA, or you may choose a new CBA

There is a FREE trial, or the cost is $12.50 (pretty cheap!) to really get into it. When I have some free time I think I'm going to give it a try....and maybe see what Beane needs to do to keep Kotsay for the next 3-4 years all the while looking for a cheap clean-up hitter! If you are interested (let us know how you do!!! DON'T BANKRUPT THE TEAM!!!) here's the link: http://www.sportsbusinessims.com/home.html Cheers, and go A's!
 

On this slow off day for the boys, i was cruising the various saber sites looking for some interesting articles when i came across an interview by jc bradbury over on "sabernomics".

"bigelephant note": if you're a big saber fan and can  forget for a moment that jc is a huge braves fan, you'ii discover he operates a kick-ass blog over there.

anyway, the interview that caught my eye was  posted on may 28th by jc with a's front office #3 guy Farhan Zaidi. when zaidi was hired by the a's back in feb "oaktowntribesman" posted the announcement- and received 2 response....so i'm not sure how interested some of you with this. but i think if you take the time to go over to jc's site you'ii be facinated, and possibly envious, of the work farhan does with
the a's. it's a remarkable snapshot of how the a's (beane/forst) use statistical analysis for some of their decision making.  

quick query: is there a next "farhan" posting on AN????

if you're interested:

http://bradbury.sewanee.edu/wordpress/index.php/2005/05/an-interview-with-farhan-zaidi/  

cheers  

Might Jeremy Brown have a future in Oakland? Old Brownie might never sell 501's but he could very well hit his backside into a pair of "easy fit" khakis and eventually the Green and Gold.

Typically, I like following draft picks of baseball teams....especially the A's. I suppose that's why I found Moneyball so intriguing. It was fascinating to get the sense of being in the draft room and be given the opportunity to see the draft process at work.

Jeremy Brown has been one guy I've followed closely. Brownie is in Midland and is currently having somewhat of a renaissance to his baseball career. Last night he hit the game winning homerun in the 10th-he's 4th homer of the year. So far in '05:

gm ab hit 2b 3b hr rbi tb bb so  obp  slg  avg
32 102 27  6  1  4  18 47 17 22 .397 .491 .265  

I encourage you to watch for Jeremy's progress and cheer that he makes it to "The Show". Some reports have his defense as being weak, so he may be moved to DH/1st. Time will tell if he makes it.

One other note of interest from Midland. Andre Ethier looks like a stud. Either caught my eye during ST. He might surpass Swisher as the best OF prospect coming out of Oakland's minor league system since probably Canseco.

Do you have a specific minor league player you follow?

Well, with the sudden rash of injuries the A's have experienced of late, should it be any surprise that Dotel's elbow is now barking'?

I think we could count on one hand how many sliders Dotel has thrown since ST. Lefthanded batters are tuning Dotel at .991 OPS. and he's fastball has lost 2-3 mph.

Now we receive word that Tuesday Dotel walked in and reported elbow discomfort and is scheduled to see and Ortho-Doc. This is reported in:

http:/www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?=/chronicle/archive/2005/05/18/SPG2ACQSHD1.DTL

So, who is the closer. I know some on this site don't think labeling one guy in the pen as "the closer" is a big deal-but I respectfully disagree. One guy needs to be "the bull" in the pen.

I suggest Street is probably ready. Give the kid the ball and see what happens. In the long run, this might be beneficial for both Street and the A's.      

The A's are about to commence a brand new baseball season and I'm extremely pumped! I like the look of the 2005 Athletics and hope the many "predictions" I've read (and laughed at) come true of a 90 win season.

There is one troubling item that continues to nag at me-Macha going into 2005 as a "lame duck" manager. I can't recall too many managers going into their final year of a contract and winning. Can anyone offer an example?

I happen to believe Macha has many strengths:

1. He seems to have a good relationship with most of his players. He might not communicate well but has a open door policy.
2. He is "Old School"...speaks the truth, doesn't use the media to bash players and respects the traditions of "The Game".
3. He is a good "planner". Very organized and  likes structure to the ball club.  

I noticed today that Beaton on USAToday rates Macha very highly. Beaton sees Macha in the same class as Gardenhire, La Russa, McKeon and Showalter-not too shabby! Here's the link:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-04-04-bonus-manager-ratings_x.htm

So, what does AN think? Is this a big issue? Do you care? Do you think Macha will last the season? I thought I'd try a survey...my first try at this, so bare with me.

Poll

What Is Macha's Future?

52%

This Is Macha's Last Year, No Matter What

27 votes

7%

I Don't Like Macha, He Is A Nimrod

4 votes

1%

Macha Doesn't Finish 2005- Gets Fired

1 votes

25%

The A's Win the AL West and Macha Gets An Extension

13 votes

11%

The A's Play .500, Lose and Macha Gets An Extension

6 votes

51 votes | Poll has closed

Forgive me if you find this diary off base but I'm a big music lover and...yes, i might be a tad "off", but I enjoy listening to the anthems prior to  baseball games. In Toronto they play both US and CAN anthems.

Anyway, the "guest" for this years Toronto BJ opener is the motive for this diary. Somehow,
the BJ's got Slash(http://www.velvetrevolver.com/) to wail out both anthems. Now, IF Slash is hammered it'll be awesome! But if he's sober...weeell, maybe not so good.

I recall Marvin Gaye "grovin'" the anthem prior to a Laker's game on a Sunday afternoon...friggin' unreal!

So, if this topic bores the hell out of you- apologies in advance. But I'm wondering if others on AN recall the good, the bad and the ugly of anthems prior to A's games at the Coliseum (McAfee)? Who'll be singing for the opener this year? Or, any other antidotal tidbits for that matter?

Go A's!  

i'ii admit i enjoy surfing various baseball and political blogs to read the debates, comments, opinions and arguements. except for AN (i just can't help myself) i quietly read and move on. i've increasingly stopped paying much attention to main stream media types who are quick to offer 90 second opinions on TV (see "HR is a..." thread) or newsprint writers who tend to be ill informed and plain lazy.

so, to my surprise i hit on an excellent analysis by a guy at battersbox.ca who states he has watched 80% of the a's games over the past 20 years. he offers a very thorough prospective on the 2005 a's. what i like the most is he doesn't give a prediction of placement..i hate that crap. i always enjoy reading other bloggers thoughts on my beloved a's....they tend to be  more objective for some reason!

if you care to read it, here it is:

http://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050328014902268

enjoy and go a's!

Forgive me if I'm taking up some of your time with this little item...but I feel it needs to be said.

As most of you know the Vet's Committee just completed their voting process for HOF candidates. Once again...they voted NO ONE in. NO ONE!!

First, some history. The Vet Committee HOF voting procedures were modified in 2003 to include the following:

-60 Hall of Famers
-8 HOF writers
-14 HOF broadcasting members
-1 member from the old Vet Committee

This change took place primarily due to the questionable acceptance of Billy Maz-a career .260 hitter but great gloveman-in 2001. Since the change, the Vets Committee has failed to vote in any new members.

Now, why is this important to me? Because I think the great Roger Maris is getting royally screwed!!! I'II grant you that Maris' career might not have been lengthy, but come on, 61 in 1961!!! Plus, in '60 he hit 39 hr,112 rbi with a 70/65 bb/so ratio!!! Factor in the crap he had to endure from the media and the NY fans and what he achieved in '61 was nothing short of spectacular!!! During his career he was a wonderful player.

So, now I'm off my Roger Maris soapbox. I appreciate the HOF is rife with cronyism and subjectively but this still pisses me off. Does  other AN members have strong feelings about past favorites not in the HOF?

 

I've been saying the pirates really have nothing that would make BB pull the trigger and move byrnes to pittsburg...or maybe the pirates haven't offered the right player.

Now from Rosenthal I read a possible three-way (something else i've been barking about):

Byrnes to Mets
Cameron to Astros
Chris Burke (another friggin' 2nd baseman!!!)
to the A's.

I don't understand this one????

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3407744

 

I discovered an interesting article done by Jacob Luft re: sloting the various starting pitching staffs of the AL.

While Luft admits to this form of assessment being somewhat subjective, he at least attempts to use some objective analysis. Stats used are innings pitched, era, walks/strikes. Tools utilized were DIPS/Park Indexes. I found it a pretty fair assessment. His results show the A's 7th in the AL- behind toronto (6th) and head of chicago (8th)

care to read? here ya go:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/jacob_luft/02/10/al.rotationsii/index.html  

Hakes/Sauer at Clemson, Dept. of Economics in Nov '04 offered a very interesting analysis of Lewis's Moneyball hypothesis. Here's a sample of the abstract:

"Michael Lewis's book,Moneyball,is the story of an innovative manager who exploits an inefficiency in baseball's labour market over a prolonged period of time. We elvauate this claim by applying standard econometric procedures to data on player productivity and compensation from 1999 to 2004. These methods support Lewis's arguement that the valuation of different skills was inefficient in the early part of this period, and that this was profitably exploited by managers with the ability to generate and interpret statistical knowledge."

Now, my field is psychology-not business-but i found the paper fascinating.

Interested? Here you go:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=618401

in the blez/beane interview posted today there was special mention made to the importance of the a's bullpen in '05. it sounded like beane will attempt to manage games from the 9th inning BACK to the 1st inning. if true, the a's bullpen in '05 had better be stout. but is it?

hardballtimes posted an interesting article looking at '04 relievers and their effectiveness using Win Probability Added (WPA). simply put, WPA is a way to evaluate relievers by measuring their impact on games by looking at how well they pitched and how CRITICAL their appearances were during '04 games. the results may surprise you.

the top '04 relievers-who posted a 1 WPA or better- were posted. there are i think 48. the top reliever in the a's bullpen in '04 was...the duke with a 1.29 WPA. dotel made the list with a 1.08 WPA-but just barely.

WPA may have played a role in BB acquiring calero from st.louis because he was mid-pack with a 1.38 WPA. plus, WPA may also explain why there have been rumours about the a's attempting to acquire otsuka (3.88) and ryan (3.76).

this may or may not interest some. here's the link if you are bored with some of the trade talk:

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/ranking-the-relievers/    
 

the NY post is heating up the hot stove with some apparent "insider" info:

1. byrnes to arizona- "less than 50/50 chance" of happening.
2. cameron's contract particlars 12.5 mil- 6 mil in '05, 6 mil in '06 and a 500 thou buyout.
3.  other players involved? maybe...mention of hatteberg and bradford to free up dough for '05.

like to read it?

http://www.nypost.com/sports/mets/38552.htm

fire at will:

my apologies if i offend some on AN by posting a "non-related" a's topic but i thought this was too funny and a sign of things to come:

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3311388

since mr. beane stated the a's might be looking for a veteran starter to compliment their  youngish starting staff,  i thought i'd take it apon myself to find one for him.

i think i've found the man....darren oliver.

i submit mr. oliver's stats:

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/profiles/OL/tbc640.asp  

now, after linking to mr. oliver's stats, you might ask "what the fuck are you smokin' bigelephant"?

well, here was the criteria i used to pluck
mr. oliver from FA purgatory:

1. needs to be cheap. mr. oliver's salary was 750 K last year. doubtful he'll command more because....
2. ....mr. oliver was hurt last year. not seriously. i believe it was shoulder fatigue or something like that. this makes him available to a team like the a's. but he has a good history of being injury-free.
3. a "veteran" starter. i believe mr. oliver is in his early 30's and came up with the rangers. while mr. oliver may start in the a's starting rotation, it's doubtful he'ii finish there. i think we would all agree its unlikely both meyer and blanton will start the season in the rotation. but mr. oliver can keep it warm until mid-season and he'ii end up in....

4.... the a's bullpen. this is where mr. oliver might show his highest value. the bullpen lacks a lefthanded situational pitcher. mr. oliver has a good fastball with a nasty curveball. the bullpen might be his niche. i'm not a big believer of t.johnson and chances are he'ii go back to AA ...with the cardinals.

so, there you have it. fire at will.

   

throughout the day, reports have surfaced that a forth team might be added to the ny/la/d-back trade. recent reports further state vazquez would possibly go to the currently unnamed forth team.

questions: would the a's want to get involved if it meant getting vazquez? and what would the value of the chips be to get involved in this high priced poker game?  

 a possible trade between SD and oakland is being reported by cbs sportsline:

payton and linebrink OR otsuka FOR byrnes and bradford.

i'd do this trade especially if otsuka was included.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/MLB_SC-RUMOR

yankees..r. johnson

d- backs...green AND b. penny

DODGERS.....vazquez

just heard it is official

i typically don't throw out a trade proposal because 95% don't make any sense....so here is my turn to have you all tell me how crazy, insanity and nuts i am.

san diego COULD be a real sleeper with this hudson situation. they just lost wells, they just moved into a new stadium and their window for winning might be closing.

so, here it goes:

hudson and byrnes for x. nady and j. peavy

fire at will.....

according to rosenthal that is:

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3237282

27 mil over 3 yrs. i thought these guys were bankrupt!!! if this is bankrup...what are the a's?

4 yrs. at 45 mil...how can these guys afford that???

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?=/chronicle/archive/2004/12/07SPGMOA7HLS1.DTL

first i receive word that giambi, sheffield and bonds lied about taking steriods. not in a court of law mind you (ALTHOUGH BONDS CAME PRETTY FUCKIN' CLOSE)- but to the very public who pay the tickets, shirts, posters, etc.

i do find interesting the vile backlash in the media- particularly towards giambi. the very writers who painstakingly built these characters up as superheros are now dismantling and literally character assassinating them. i find some of the newspaper articles on giambi-especially in NY- particularly repulsive.

but wait, there is more. now i discover that the col. rockies have termiated neagle's contract because he was charged over the week-end for asking a prostitute for a $40 blowjob. sure, they say that this most recent episode, plus last oct. dui charge, was the final straw.

now, excuse me if i'm being a little skeptical here but when the fuck did the media or mlb owners reach the high moral authority?

do we enjoy building people up into superheros in the media just to tear them down? your damn right we do. in fact some take great pleasure- see: NY media,cbs/sports and other examples.

are we in the midst of a moral witch in mlb. i think so. but don't be fooled. this is still about greed, lying, and backstabbing. i don't believe for a second that the rockies give a good goddamn if neagle is cruzin' downtown denver looking for some cheap action. it's simply an easy way to get out paying the 50 mil remaining on his contract. who is being dishonest now?

question is....who's next to fall?      

most of you know i've been taking up the "polanco for 2nd base" song and dance in past threads/diarys. now i read slusser reporting that billy has "had discussions with polanco and his agent".

i believe polanco is plan B if billy can't wrestle giles out of atlanta. i know i'd be extremely pleased if plan A fails.

polanco has everything we seem to be looking for in a player: around .350 obp, with good hr. numbers- i believe he hit around 16-17, and very good defensively (and this "hard-nose" attitude everyone seems to be talking about).

deciding factor will be money and who else  discovers this little gem.

furthermore, if we can get polanco it means we don't trade a pitcher for giles and it ultimately strengthens other areas on the team (i.e. bench).

top 5 batting order:

kendall
polanco
kotsay
chevy
ruby  

NICE!!!!!