Sep
28
I can’t take credit for this, because someone had it in the stands at a game, but its still funny:
International sign for choking:
I’m definitely being a bitter Nats fan, as there is some pleasure in watching our NL East foes once again spend October in the same place as the Nats. Its sadly even more fulfilling when it comes with another choke in the last game of the season, and in this case the last game at Shea stadium.
Angst aside, collapsing in September for two consecutive years has potential to turn into a real curse on an organization. There are much better excuses this year, particularly with Wagner injured and Nats castoff Ayala attempting to impersonate a closer. Coming into September in the lead, collapsing, and then dropping the last game at home to close the deal leaves a taste in the mouth that could be around for many many years to come.
Sep
28
Today’s New York Times post-mortem of the Yankees season and immediate future has a couple of good nuggets that explain where the organization finds itself. The keys here are health and youth.
Get the whole story »
Sep
28
Brian Cashman has reportedly told the Yankees that he wants to return (or not). They have affirmatively indicated an interest in having him return.
Cashman’s decision is likely to come down to this: With which face of his boss, Janus Steinbrenner, will he have to work? Happily for Yankees fans, there are growing indications that while Yammerin’ Hank has been the mouth of the organization, Prince Hal might be the brains.
Get the whole story »
Sep
28
Maybe someone can help me with this, because I’m apparently missing something. Articles on mlb.com keep stating that Willie Harris is eligible for arbitration after this season. By my understanding, he’d be at least a year into free agency.
This was Harris’ eighth season with playing time in the Majors, though 2001 was abbreviated and I believe does not toward Major league service because it was a post-June call up. He played 2001 with O’s; 2002-2005 with the White Sox; 2006 with Boston; 2007 with Atlanta; and 2008 in DC.
I’d be happy as a Nats fan to see Willie back with the team, and given the cheap owners of the Nats I’m guessing that will be much more likely if he is not a free agent.
From MLB’s rules: Get the whole story »
Sep
27
Pego, Christine and I sat in the rain until the Nats final home game was canceled because of rain. There will be no make up date for the game. This lead me to an interesting question - what happens if the Nats end up a half game out of last place in the majors? Would they end up picking second in the MLB draft, likely to Seattle, or would all of a sudden this game have potential impacta nd it have to be played?
It would seem very fitting for the Nats to be absolutely terrible this season, but have a rain out of a game they probably would have lost ruin getting the first round draft pick.
Sep
25
Go ahead and reserve the Duck Boats.
Reserve your special edition Globe.
Pre-order the Championship DVD from Sports Illustrated.
The Red Sox are going to win another World Series, their 3rd in 5 years. Get the whole story »
Sep
24
Buster Olney puts forth a very eye-opening piece on the lack of player development accomplished by the New York Yankees from 1997 - 2005. In it, he makes a strong case that that “the Yankees’ drafting and developing has been clearly the worst of any team in the major leagues” over that time period: Get the whole story »
Sep
22
I found a fascinating post by the ESPN Ombudsperson, Le Anne Schreiber, who was looking into the “East Coast bias” that ESPN is often blamed for. You can read the entire article if that topic intrigues you, as I just wanted to focus on one statistic from it regarding the Red Sox and Yankees games. Also, for the record, I am not a fan of either team.
In a discussion about how they choose what baseball games get Sunday night airtime, its fairly obvious that “top priority in selecting games for telecast would be ratings.” That isn’t what is fascinating or newsworthy, but what followed is (bold added by me for effect):
Get the whole story »
Sep
18
So, I’m confused. Today is supposed to be the day that Major league baseball teams can start negotiations with AAA affiliates for Player Development Contracts (PDCs).
From the Syracuse Chief’s web site:
Q: When can Major and Minor League clubs that are not currently affiliated begin talking to each other?
A: The Major and Minor League clubs that give notice that they intend to discuss a possible new affiliation may begin such discussions on September 16 (note: due to the Bricktown Showdown, this date is September 18 for triple-A clubs). Any discussion or comments before that date may constitute tampering that could subject the club to fines or other penalties. The time to give notice begins on the first day following the close of the regular season (this year September 2) and concludes on September 11.
So, then why is all of this in the news already:
Beginning tomorrow, the Nats will begin their mad scramble to find a new Class AAA affiliate for 2009. As we know, the Clippers, the Nats’ partner for the last two seasons, now has an all-but formal agreement with Cleveland — just part of a merry-go-round of affiliation changes. Syracuse seems to be an available landing spot for the Nats, and perhaps the best available opportunity.
“We’d like to stay in the International League,” one team source said today.
From a patchwork of various reports, it seems like the Marlins are moving from Albuquerque to New Orleans and the Dodgers are moving from Vegas to Albuquerque. The Indians have switched from Buffalo to Columbus, and the Mets seem bound for B’loSo, am I missing something, or does MLB just not enforce the “fines or other penalties” associated with this?
