EVIL~! alkeiper

The Florida Marlins traded Brad Penny, Hee Seop Choi, and minor league pitcher Bill Murphy to the LA Dodgers for Paul LoDuca, Juan Encarnacion, and Guillermo Mota. I've got to reserve comment on the Dodgers until the Charles Johnson deal or Randy Johnson goes through. On the surface, I like the trade for the Dodgers. On the Marlins side, I'm not sure giving up Choi is a good move (especially considering the insane Choi fans I saw during the Phils/Marlins series). Paul LoDuca is a much needed improvement however, as their catching situation was an absolute mess. Add Penny to the deal however, and I think its a slight loss for the Marlins. Juan Encarnacion has a gaudy .289 OBP. I doubt he helps the Marlins.

According to the 2004 edition of Baseball Prospectus, the Oakland Athletics had the HIGHEST payroll in baseball in 1991. That was under old ownership, who didn't mind losing money. Any salary plan such as performanced based salary or a salary cap has to be collectively bargained with the Union, and there is no chance they are going for that. Nor should they. In baseball, there's two mechanisms which encourage competitive balance. The amateur draft, and the six year wait for free agency. The amateur draft was the true end of the Yankee dynasty in the 1960s. Until then, the Yankees and other large market teams simply bought the best amateur players in the country. After the amateur draft, all teams had a fair shot at incoming players. The six year regulations keep them with their teams for the first 6-7 years of their contract, when their value is at their highest. As long as those mechanisms are in place, baseball will have competitive balance, regardless of any financial disparities. Competitive balance on the whole has INCREASED dramamically since the 1950s, when New York ruled the sports world, and baseball had the benefit of the reserve clause and thus artifical salary restrictions. Salary caps do not encourage competitive balance.

In a way, but he was by no means the first. That honor belongs to Earl Weaver. The thing about Davey Johnson that I like is that his teams almost always became winners, and he was extremely creative with his roster. One game he was forced to put a pitcher on the field, and he platooned Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco, bringing one to the mound and the other to left/right field depending on whether a lefty or righty was at bat.

Alderson wouldn't have threatened LaRussa's job, but he certainly did have his own ideas about running a ballclub, and specifically, an organizational philosophy. Moreover, I think the book extended a feeling that went beyond LaRussa, that managers in general were more responsible for a player's approach than the organization as a whole.

Trade Deadline Report My take on all the deadline trades over the weekend. Check it out.

1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in baseball? No. He played during the '50s and early '60s, when Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays dominated the game. 2. Was he the best player on his team? Yes. Minoso was the best player on the Chicago White Sox from 1951-56. 3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position? No, because he shared an era with Ted Williams. Outside of Williams, he was the best LF in the American League. Keep in mind Stan Musial played 1B for much of the 1950s. 4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races? None apparent. Not many teams made the World Series unless they came from New York. 5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime? Yes. He starter for the Washington Senators at the age of 40. He actually played games at 53 and 57 as part of Bill Veeck's promotional stunts. 6. Is he the very best baseball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame? I've advocated for Ron Santo, so not really. 7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame? None of Minoso's ten most similar players are in the Hall. 8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? They are very close. Minoso scores 15 on the Black Ink test, and 189 on the Gray Ink test. Minos actually ranks within the top 50 on the Gray Ink test. He meets 35% of HOF Standards. 9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics? Yes. Minoso did not play regularly in the Majors until he was 28, due to the last remains of the color line. Minoso played well for the NY Cubans of the negro leagues by the age of 23. Had Minoso played in the majors for six more seasons, he would have undoubtably reached several career milestones. To give you an idea of Minoso's potential value, Bill James in his Historical Abstract lists the top 20 players based on Win Shares earned between the ages of 30 and 39. Minoso is the only player of the top 20 not currently enshrined in the Hall. 10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame? Yes. The next best candidate is Charlie Keller. 11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? Minoso finished in the top 10 of MVP voting five times, including four fourth place finishes. 12. How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many All-Star games go into the Hall of Fame? Minoso played in seven All-Star games. 13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant? Yes, assuming Minoso had a career year. 14. What impact did the player have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way? The ancient comebacks were referenced above. 15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider? Yes. Conclusion: Minoso is an intruiging candidate. He led the league in steals frequently in an era where players rarely stole bases. It all boils down to what you think of his late start. Since he WAS a great player who was excluded beyond his control, I think he deserves enshrinement.

The book never says Tony LaRussa is a bad manager. It just says that Sandy Alderson didn't implement his organizational strategy because Tony had his own ideas, and they worked.

Link Benign is medical speak for not currently dangerous. In any case, I remember Dave Dravecky's bout with cancer, which was a scary situation itself. Hopefully Giambi can recover.

The Braves having a .558 winning percentage doesn't surprise me one bit. That the Phillies are barely above .500 is the problem. The Braves are on the verge of running away with this division.

I doubt Valentine would jump countries mid-season. My dream choices (in no particular order) would be Earl Weaver, Larry Dierker, Davey Johnson, Willie Randolph, and Marc Bombard.

Not really. Tim Worrell has four blown saves, and a few of those were as a middle reliever. So the loss of Wagner hasn't hurt. The real problem from a performance standpoint is subpar pitching (especially from Myers and Abbott), and the uselessness of Roberto Hernandez, among others.

But why tank the season during a contract year? Sure you need some good defense, but you can't carry a .363 slugging percentage at a hitters' position just to get some defense on the field.

What is it about the Expos that makes his hitting poor? And if Montreal affects his performance, then why isn't he the kind of moody player the Sox try and avoid? And if everyone hits better at Fenway, why not pick up someone who hit better outside of Fenway? If the problem is lineup protection, why didn't he hit in 2002, with Wilkerson, Vidro, and Vlad Guerrero hitting behind him? Look, outside of last year, Cabrera has never done anything to indicate he's better than a replacement level ballplayer. The best defensive first basemen are usually worth about a half-game in the standings. Its simply not an important defensive position.

Some of these wrestlers turned both ways at various points in their careers, so years would be useful.

From my memory, we've got the McEnroe/Born Wimbledon Final, and the Monica Seles stabbing incident.

Cabrera's career numbers coming into this season were 268/318/415. He's 29 years old, so that's pretty much his established level of play. That doesn't exactly indicate a shortstop a World Series hopeful would like to have. Cabrera has never had an above-average OPS in his career, and that includes his career year last season. How much defense do you need at first base? And Mientkiewicz is much worse at the bat. Millar has a 76 point edge in OPS over their careers, and a 118 point edge this season. They likely could have gotten better players through compensation draft picks. I actually think Little should've stayed, but the media crush made that a near-impossibility. Its not that they traded Nomar. Its that they traded him WITH a prospect for two players I wouldn't have taken off the waiver wire.

Douglas' weight ballooned, and he slipped into a diabetic coma in the years following the Holyfield fight. He recovered, and made a brief comeback into boxing. His most notable fight was against Louis Monaco on Tuesday Night Fights, when Monaco knocked him the fuck out, only to be DQ'ed for hitting after the bell. Lou Savarese KO'd Douglas in the first round, and he fought twice more before retiring.

Or need production from Juan Encarnacion.

Kevin Modesti in the Daily News.....

Off-hand, I'd say it was a moderate success last time.

From Williams standpoint, this fight would have the best potential payday, and thus is more valuable to him. No one really buys him as a heavyweight title contender yet, but Tyson still has drawing power, fans now believe he can beat Tyson, and there's natural interest towards a re-match.

From Jayson Stark..... Jesus Christ, are these writers on crack? No choice? Teams are BUILT with future stars. These guys are BETTER.

He's currently feuding with the Phillies best players to the point where the fans turn on them, and they get traded to St. Louis despite the protestations of at least one Phillies fan who knows better.

A couple of deals here. The Mets have picked up Kris Benson from the Pirates, giving up Ty Wigginton, minor league pitcher Matt Peterson, and minor league catcher Justin Huber in return. Wigginton and Peterson go to the Pirates, and Huber goes to the Kansas City Royals. The Royals send pitching prospect Jose Bautista to the Pirates for Huber. The Mets also picked up Victor Zambrano and minor leaguer Batolome Fortunado from the Devil Rays in return for Scott Kazmir and Jose Diaz. What the hell are the Mets thinking? They traded away their best catching prospect AND their best pitching prospect for an above-average pitcher and a very average pitcher. The Benson deal isn't bad, but giving up Kazmir for Zambrano is unbelievably stupid.

That's the arm abuse in effect. They were overworked before they even reached the majors. Pulsipher pitched 201 innings at the age of 20, in AA.