In recent weeks, we have begun to hear some rumblings that the NBA and its players union could have trouble reaching a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, in part because player agents want more opportunity to make a buck. You see, when the league negotiated its current CBA back in the last nineties, the agents were the ones who took the biggest hit. This is because that CBA established a salary regime for Rookies that is basically formulaic instead of negotiated. As a result, there is no reason for a player to pay out a big fee to an agent since there is little negotiating to be done. Moreover, many of the sport’s superstars now fall into a category where teams have to offer them “maximum” contracts and again, this allows for no negotiation. As a result, basketball agents have seen their windfalls dry up over the years as players no longer feel the need to pay up for their services. Word now has it that some of the sports big agents have had it with the current system and will advise their players to vote against the new CBA if it continues to be biased against negotiation. I find this to be incredibly bothersome. Why are the freaking agents involved in this matter at all? Who appointed them counsel to the union? And when did their endangered interests become a species deserving of protection? If I were union chief Billy Hunter, I would be incredibly offended by this power grab. After all, what the agents are implicitly telling their clients is Hunter is not looking out for their best interests. This is a self-serving lie and it is time for Hunter and the players to send a message to these vultures and cut them out of the game entirely. Rather then importing more negotiation into the system, I would suggest the league take steps to restrict it further. I have had it with agents controlling professional sports and Hunter and the league now have a chance to do something about it. Let’s hope they don’t squander this opportunity.
Define Irony – How about Kentucky school-boy legend Rex Chapman having consensual sex with a black women in a gym named after Adoph Rupp. The latest word from Chapman is that during his time at Kentucky in the late eighties, he was “discouraged” by athletic department officials and boosters from dating black women. Should this come as a surprise? After all, we are talking about Kentucky here and Lexington is not exactly a bastion of social liberalism, particularly when it comes to basketball. True, UK currently has a black coach in Tubby Smith, but this program was run for decades by one of the biggest racists in American sports history. Lest you forget, Rupp didn’t recruit black players and wasn’t exactly thrilled to have his team take the court in the 1966 NCAA final against an all-black team from El Paso. As such, I am a little curious why this story got so much attention. Is it really all that newsworthy that such practices occurred almost twenty years ago in a state that probably still longs for the good old days?
Notes from the NL: As the horses near the quarter mile pole, Brewer Brady Clark is leading the pack in the race for NL centerfielder of the year. Beltran and Edmonds are doing their thing, but Clark is hitting .350 after spitting out four knocks last night. By the way, he plays a great center field, is slugging .500 and has already scored 32 runs. The Brewers got a great outing last night from Wes Obermueller who has a no hitter going into the seventh and finished with an eight inning two hitter. Bobby Abreu remained white hot with another bomb for Philadelphia last night – that makes it eight dongs in nine games for the Philly right fielder. The Phillies, meanwhile, made five errors yet were still able to eek out a 7-5 win over Jeff Suppan and the Cards. Suppan has been very consistent for St. Louis this year but for some reason the Phillies have given him trouble, scoring thirteen runs in just seven innings this year. Derrick Lee catapulted back into the hunt for the NL Memorial Day MVP race by dropping a couple of bombs last night, including a ninth inning game winner off the usually dependable Jose Mesa. Cubs manager Dusty Baker finally shook up his lineup last night by dropping Corey Patterson to the six hole – a move that demonstrates Dusty does in fact have some grey matter remaining. The Pirates have a decent shot of getting to .500 this week, but things will get ugly next month as they play 16 of 19 against Florida, Atlanta, Baltimore, the Yanks and Boston. I think manager Lloyd McClendon would be happy to steal six of those games. The big debate in New York this morning is whether Kaz Ishii is Hispanic or Asian. Regardless of the answer, Ishii threw a great game for the Mets last night who suddenly find themselves with a staff of six. If Willie Randolph can’t decide who to keep, then perhaps he shouldn’t be managing. The Assholes won a pitching duel last night as Lee Harvey Oswalt out-pointed Javier Vasquez in a close fight. The “shooter” threw eight scoreless while the ex-yank gave up just a run over seven. Since April 20, Vasquez has been top-shelf and, in the process, has lowered his ERA from twelve to four. In Los Angeles, D-Train got smacked around early and was tagged with his first loss of the season. Has Dontrelle put in a top? Perhaps since history suggests he is a “star through May but fades away” kind of guy. Cesar Izturis had five hits for the Dodgers while Jeff Kent drove in four as Derrick Lowe picked up his third win. I realize the Braves lead their division, but this Danny Kolb experiment has to be a concern down in Buckhead. He blew another game for John Smoltz last night and at some point, Smoltzie is going to demand a new personal closer. With the gift from Kolb, Los Madres have now won six in a row and 13 of 15. They now hope to keep it going with Eaton and Peavy. The one thing you won’t hear on WFAN today is Chris Russo singing the praise of Giant pitcher Noah Lowry who got lit up again last night. Russo always trumps this guy, but after a 1-5 start and an ERA over six, its time for Noah to return to his shipbuilding roots. Is it just me or have the Rockies already played the Giants ten times this year?
Airmail from the AL: This Yankee run is starting to get a little worrisome. Last night, even Giambolic and Pavano got into the act as roid-dog drove in three and Pavs threw a complete game shutout. That gives the Yanks ten straight and 21 at the quarter mile. That equates to just under $2.5 million per win. The White Sox are paying about a quarter of that at this juncture. Richie Sexson atoned for his game-losing gaffe on Monday night with a couple of meaningless hits last night for the Ms. Oakland absolutely handed The Red Sox a gift last night as the Sox were able to chalk up seven runs on just four hits. Matt Clement was scary ugly last night, but the Sox were able to coerce 11 walks and four unearned runs out of Oakland’s finest. Manny Ramirez looked absolutely lost on a couple of swings last night but I guess it’s hard to concentrate when your mom is suffering from such a terrible disease like arthritis. I know he is crap, but I want Eric Byrnes on my team. Did you see him tackle that fan the other night? I love that guy and that has nothing to do with the fact that he is a Bruin. Mark Kotsay’s wife is featured in the current edition of ESPN Magazine and let me tell you, she is an 8.8 with some upside. I have no trouble putting her in with Mrs. Joe Montana as the best looking wife of a Bay Area athlete. Has the Johan Santana train been derailed? Last night, everyone’s pick as the top lefty in baseball got smacked around like a Venezuelan piñata and if you take away a couple of wins over KC and Tampa, Johan has had a pretty ordinary season. Former Twin Corey Koskie got a standing ovation last night at the Metrodome which proves that people in Minnesota will applaud anything with a pulse so long as its name isn’t Brett or Spree. Who would have thought the Jays would be 21-18 at this point with nothing from either Vernon Wells or Ted Lilly? Wells is beginning to show some sings of life but Lilly remains stuck in reverse. Baltimore overpowered KC last night but the Birds can’t be happy that Sid Ponson gave up eight runs and had to be lifted after only one and a third. Things are so ridiculous in Kansas City right now that Matt Stairs actually hit cleanup last night. That bears repeating – MATT STAIRS HIT CLEANUP. Johnny Garland notched his eighth win last night as the Sox rampage through the Midwest continued. All Garland does is throw strikes and guess what – it works. There has been a lot of venom aimed at Manny Ramirez in recent days, but strangely, I haven’t heard much criticism aimed at Paul Konerko. If Manny is stuck in a slump, Konerko is mired in a damn depression. The Angles better hope Kelvim Escobar isn’t out too long since the emaciated Ervin Santana doesn’t appear ready to be a capable replacement. On the bright side for the Halos, Steve Finley has been hot of late and now has his average planted firmly on the Mendoza line.
Last weekend, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays squared off against the Kansas City Royals in a series that probably matched the AL’s two most hopeless teams and the two teams that are most often thought of as contraction candidates. Well, rather then contract both teams, I have the following suggestion: Combine the two teams and move them to a city equidistant from Tampa and Kansas City – someplace like Memphis. If this marriage came to pass, I predict the couple would be pretty competitive even though the Royals don’t bring a whole lot to the alter. I say this because the addition of just Mike Sweeney to Tampa’s lineup would be huge. Lou Pinella has been seeking a big bat for a couple years and Sweeney would satisfy his thirst. Look, if you had Carl Crawford lead off, Rocco Baldelli follow in the second slot, Aubrey Huff hit third and Sweeney bat cleanup, you would have some ability to score runs. I am not saying this would become another incarnation of the Big Red Machine, but they wouldn’t exactly be weapon-less either. As far as pitching goes, Zach Greinke would be a huge addition to Tampa’s staff, and Andy Sisco and Jeremy Affeldt would be nice additions to the pen. In sum, Memphis would still have some questions in its thin rotation, but its pen would be deep and its lineup would score some runs. That isn’t such a bad recipe. In fact, it is kind of a slimmed own version of Baltimore. Check that – it is an emaciated version of the Birds. I don’t think this would be a playoff team, but it would probably be a winning team which is a lot more then either franchise can claim right now. Bud, make this happen and while you are at it, its time to merge Colorado with either Milwaukee or Pittsburgh.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Monday, May 16, 2005
May 16 - Tom Ouwits, Outplays, and Outlasts
Kudos go out today to Tom Westman, the Brooklyn fireman who simply overwhelmed the competition and was crowned Sole Survivor last night. How’s this for domination. Westman’s team never lost an immunity challenge (1st time in competition history) and he was five for seven in individual immunity challenges. That puts him up there with athletes like Michael Phelps and Annika Sorenstam. In the final challenge, Westman stood atop a navigational buoy for almost twelve hours before his big challenger – Ian – called it quits and bowed out of the game. Ian probably could have held out longer, but there was no way he was going to outlast Tom on that buoy. It simply wasn’t going to happen and after half a day, Ian finally got the message and decided there was no stopping Tom from claiming his million bucks. Tom absolutely dominated this competition from start to finish and in retrospect, his competitors made a huge mistake by not knocking him off when they had a chance. Both Gregg and Stephanie saw this coming, but Gregg acted too late and Stephanie was unable to attack in strength. As such, Tom was able to clear an important hurdle when the game was down to six and from there on out, he was simply too powerful to stop. So now there is a bunch of chatter that Tom is perhaps the top player in show history, I can’t really comment on that since I missed five of the ten seasons, but I have to agree that Tom has rightfully secured a place in the Survivor Hall of Fame. He wasn’t a terrific schemer, but he built a strong alliance and not many in show history can match Tom’s toughness. He will certainly have a bullseye on his back a couple years from now if he decides to compete on Survivor All-Stars II. Now one person from this season who I am sure will take up that invite is Stephanie who also deserves some Hall consideration. She didn’t win, or even make the final four for that matter, but she was a real tough chick who probably could have won if a couple of breaks had gone her way.
Notes from the NL: We’ll start in New York, where the Cards took two of three off a Mets team that got some good news and some bad news. Starting with the good – Tom Glavine emerged from witness protection to throw a great game on Friday, but Pedro, pitching with extra rest, got cracked for the second straight time. The latter could be a real problem since Pedro is almost always money in the bank throwing on five days rest and it is real problematic to see him lit up like that. After making a brief appearance last week, Mike Piazza was put right back into the refrigerator. St. Louis did get some bad news this weekend as Scott Rolen will be out at least a month, but they should be able to easily whether the storm in that very weak division. Plus, their schedule through early June is far from daunting as they have series lined up with Philadelphia, Kansas City, Pittsburg, Colorado and Houston. The Cubs got some more terrible news this weekend when Carlos Zambrano came down with some “tennis” elbow in a start at Washington. He could be shelved and that would be terrible blow for a team whose infirmary is already too crowded. It is hard to imagine, but 37 games in to the season and Washington is tied with Florida, which was swept this weekend at the big Pet Store. Beckett and Letier lost tough games on Friday and Saturday, while A.J Burnett got smacked around in the seventh yesterday. Florida was supposed to have a bigtime offense this year, but they are currently 14th in the NL is runs scored, even though they are sixth in slugging. It seems like they are having trouble coming up with some clutch hits and that begs the question of whether they used them all up on the way to the 2003 title. The Padres, meanwhile, are on a tear, having won 11 of their past 13. Brian Giles has played a big part in the surge as he has slugged .667 since May 1 with 10 RBI, 11 walks and only one whiff. Another team streaking right now is Pittsburgh, which has won nine of its last twelve. The Pirates continue to throw the ball well and are now finally scoring a handful of runs. It may be too much to ask, but the Bucs need Jack Wilson to start generating some offense and Daryl Ward to keep smacking long balls.
The only guy hotter in MLB right now then Bobby Abreu is Tino Martinez. Abreu dropped another bomb yesterday and that gives him home runs in seven of his last eight games. He has a huge contract and is the cornerstone of the Philly franchise, but that probably won’t stop a couple of AL teams from kicking the tires and getting a price. Ken Griffey has quietly resuscitated his year but it won’t matter for a Reds team that would need a miracle to win 70. A team has huge problems when its big three are Eric Milton, Paul Wilson and Russ Ortiz. Those three have given up 26 bombs in just over 100 innings and collectively sport an ERA above seven. It is a good thing Aaron Harang is around to pitch a good game every once in a while or Cincy would have to carry 14 pitchers. Arizona took three of four in Denver this weekend, as Brandon Webb moved to 5-0 with a win on Saturday night. The Dbacks are now about a month ahead of where they were last season. Atlanta keeps chugging along as they took two of three in LA this weekend over a Dodger team that is beginning to struggle. The Dodgers better get some off Brian Moehler tonight because they have D-Train and Beckett ahead on Tuesday and Wednesday. When is Bobby Cox going to call it quits on Rafael Furcal leading off? Imagine how tough Atlanta would be if they had a place setter who could actually get in place. San Francisco fans better hope things bottomed out last night because anything worse is a federal crime. It’s bad enough that they had to send 63 year old Jeff Fassero out there to start, but to only get four hits of Brendon Backe is too much for any fan to take.
Airmail from the AL: It is safe to say that Tino Martinez is absolutely blistering right now. With 12 home runs and 29 RBI in just 105 at bats, he has made Jason Giambi’s problems into a nuisance rather then a critical situation. However, it should be noted that in order for Martinez to revert back to the mean, he will hit about six more home runs over the final three quarters of the season. In Oakland this weekend, the Yanks absolutely manhandled the As, although Randy Johnson was far from impressive on Sunday against a lineup that was about as bad as I have ever seen in MLB. Anything less then a three hit shutout against that A’s team would have been a disappointment. If you don’t believe me – check it for yourself. Bobby Kielty was hitting cleanup and Keith Ginter was hitting fifth. That is simply not a major league lineup. As each day goes by, it looks more and more like A’s GM Billy Beane got crushed on the Jason Kendall swap. In the big series of the weekend, Baltimore won the final two games of its four game set against the White Sox after losing the first two to Garland and Buerhle. Eric Beddard was rock solid for the Birds yesterday and it now looks like this big lefty is for real. As I have been saying all along, the Baltimore staff is not that bad and is unlikely to completely implode as some have suggested. On the flip side, the O’s have lost Luis Matos in center for a while and with Sosa ailing, that outfield will probably need an import. One suggestion - Mike Cameron for Jorge Julio and Larry Bigbie?
The Red Sox inexplicably lost a series in Seattle this weekend as fill-in Jeremi Gonzalez got crushed Friday night and Tim Wakefield gave up a huge inning yesterday. On the positive side, Wade Miler looks very solid right now, Dave Wells should be back on Wednesday and the Manny-Papi lineup flip seems to be working out. In case you missed it, Manny nailed his 400th yesterday and there are now only five guys in history with four hundred bombs and a higher lifetime average then ManRam. Those guys have names like Williams, Ruth, Musial and Foxx. It took a strong outing from Roy Halladay, but the Jays were finally able to beat the Tribe. Speaking of the Jays – what the hell is wrong with Ted Lilly? Toronto’s lefty was an all-star last year, but this season, he is 1-4 with an ERA over ten. This guy didn’t fall from grace – he was shot out of a cannon. Texas lost yesterday, but how about the complete game shutout they got from the Gambler on Saturday night. If Kenny throws another one of those, his pitching coach is going to get a little concerned that his 59 inning scoreless streak is in some jeopardy. Brad Radke gave the Twins a nice start yesterday even though he did walk a batter. That is only the second free pass Radke has allowed this year. Rads got off to a real slow start, but he has now won four of his last five decisions, Guess what – the Angels actually scored some runs yesterday as Juan Rivera blasted a three run slam. Edgar Renteria has been a C minus for the Sox but OC has been no better for the Angels. Perhaps, the Sox, Angels and Cardinals should have just kept their shortstops this off-season.
The asinine line of the week goes to John Kruk who, I am told, opined on Baseball Tonight that Many Ramirez should be dealt before he becomes a 10-5 guy and can then veto any trade he wants. This is simply a moronic comment. Does John really think Manny cares where he plays and is willing to use a no-trade clause to keep himself in Boston? That doesn’t seem far-fetched. It sounds downright ludicrous. Granted, there are probably some markets Manny would veto, but teams in those markets couldn’t’ afford Ramirez in the first place so it is a mute point. After all, Minnesota and Milwaukee are not likely to be calling anytime soon and you are crazy if you think Manny would turn down a trade to New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. Further, Kruk’s statement wrongly implies that Manny is tradable at all. Let me ask you this – what team is going to pick up the four years and 78M that Manny is owed? In order to get rid of Ramirez, the Sox would have to eat a big portion of that contract and there is no way that is going to happen. As much as it annoys the Sox front office, Manny is stuck in Boston through 2008. That was a fact the day John Henry bought the team and it remains a fact today. They tried giving him away and there were no takers so why would anyone trade for him at this point? Now the rumor on the street and in Boston is that ManRam is shot, but judging from his bomb yesterday, I think those rumors are a bit premature. Sure, Manny is hitting below .250 and I think it is fair to assume he isn’t working his ass off this year, but let’s not go crazy. Manny will get his numbers this year and if he hits .270, so what? The guy is still slugging .560 and has driven in 34. That RBI total translates into something well north of 120 so I think it would be wise for the Manny bashers to take a breather until real problems pop up. That could happen in the future, but for the time being, Kruk should zip it before he pokes his own eye out. I would like to add, however, that in 2008, the Sox are going to have three contracts on their hands that may not be too pretty. That will be the final year of Manny’s deal, as well as that of Jason Varitek and Edgar Renteria. That could be real ugly for the Sox.
Notes from the NL: We’ll start in New York, where the Cards took two of three off a Mets team that got some good news and some bad news. Starting with the good – Tom Glavine emerged from witness protection to throw a great game on Friday, but Pedro, pitching with extra rest, got cracked for the second straight time. The latter could be a real problem since Pedro is almost always money in the bank throwing on five days rest and it is real problematic to see him lit up like that. After making a brief appearance last week, Mike Piazza was put right back into the refrigerator. St. Louis did get some bad news this weekend as Scott Rolen will be out at least a month, but they should be able to easily whether the storm in that very weak division. Plus, their schedule through early June is far from daunting as they have series lined up with Philadelphia, Kansas City, Pittsburg, Colorado and Houston. The Cubs got some more terrible news this weekend when Carlos Zambrano came down with some “tennis” elbow in a start at Washington. He could be shelved and that would be terrible blow for a team whose infirmary is already too crowded. It is hard to imagine, but 37 games in to the season and Washington is tied with Florida, which was swept this weekend at the big Pet Store. Beckett and Letier lost tough games on Friday and Saturday, while A.J Burnett got smacked around in the seventh yesterday. Florida was supposed to have a bigtime offense this year, but they are currently 14th in the NL is runs scored, even though they are sixth in slugging. It seems like they are having trouble coming up with some clutch hits and that begs the question of whether they used them all up on the way to the 2003 title. The Padres, meanwhile, are on a tear, having won 11 of their past 13. Brian Giles has played a big part in the surge as he has slugged .667 since May 1 with 10 RBI, 11 walks and only one whiff. Another team streaking right now is Pittsburgh, which has won nine of its last twelve. The Pirates continue to throw the ball well and are now finally scoring a handful of runs. It may be too much to ask, but the Bucs need Jack Wilson to start generating some offense and Daryl Ward to keep smacking long balls.
The only guy hotter in MLB right now then Bobby Abreu is Tino Martinez. Abreu dropped another bomb yesterday and that gives him home runs in seven of his last eight games. He has a huge contract and is the cornerstone of the Philly franchise, but that probably won’t stop a couple of AL teams from kicking the tires and getting a price. Ken Griffey has quietly resuscitated his year but it won’t matter for a Reds team that would need a miracle to win 70. A team has huge problems when its big three are Eric Milton, Paul Wilson and Russ Ortiz. Those three have given up 26 bombs in just over 100 innings and collectively sport an ERA above seven. It is a good thing Aaron Harang is around to pitch a good game every once in a while or Cincy would have to carry 14 pitchers. Arizona took three of four in Denver this weekend, as Brandon Webb moved to 5-0 with a win on Saturday night. The Dbacks are now about a month ahead of where they were last season. Atlanta keeps chugging along as they took two of three in LA this weekend over a Dodger team that is beginning to struggle. The Dodgers better get some off Brian Moehler tonight because they have D-Train and Beckett ahead on Tuesday and Wednesday. When is Bobby Cox going to call it quits on Rafael Furcal leading off? Imagine how tough Atlanta would be if they had a place setter who could actually get in place. San Francisco fans better hope things bottomed out last night because anything worse is a federal crime. It’s bad enough that they had to send 63 year old Jeff Fassero out there to start, but to only get four hits of Brendon Backe is too much for any fan to take.
Airmail from the AL: It is safe to say that Tino Martinez is absolutely blistering right now. With 12 home runs and 29 RBI in just 105 at bats, he has made Jason Giambi’s problems into a nuisance rather then a critical situation. However, it should be noted that in order for Martinez to revert back to the mean, he will hit about six more home runs over the final three quarters of the season. In Oakland this weekend, the Yanks absolutely manhandled the As, although Randy Johnson was far from impressive on Sunday against a lineup that was about as bad as I have ever seen in MLB. Anything less then a three hit shutout against that A’s team would have been a disappointment. If you don’t believe me – check it for yourself. Bobby Kielty was hitting cleanup and Keith Ginter was hitting fifth. That is simply not a major league lineup. As each day goes by, it looks more and more like A’s GM Billy Beane got crushed on the Jason Kendall swap. In the big series of the weekend, Baltimore won the final two games of its four game set against the White Sox after losing the first two to Garland and Buerhle. Eric Beddard was rock solid for the Birds yesterday and it now looks like this big lefty is for real. As I have been saying all along, the Baltimore staff is not that bad and is unlikely to completely implode as some have suggested. On the flip side, the O’s have lost Luis Matos in center for a while and with Sosa ailing, that outfield will probably need an import. One suggestion - Mike Cameron for Jorge Julio and Larry Bigbie?
The Red Sox inexplicably lost a series in Seattle this weekend as fill-in Jeremi Gonzalez got crushed Friday night and Tim Wakefield gave up a huge inning yesterday. On the positive side, Wade Miler looks very solid right now, Dave Wells should be back on Wednesday and the Manny-Papi lineup flip seems to be working out. In case you missed it, Manny nailed his 400th yesterday and there are now only five guys in history with four hundred bombs and a higher lifetime average then ManRam. Those guys have names like Williams, Ruth, Musial and Foxx. It took a strong outing from Roy Halladay, but the Jays were finally able to beat the Tribe. Speaking of the Jays – what the hell is wrong with Ted Lilly? Toronto’s lefty was an all-star last year, but this season, he is 1-4 with an ERA over ten. This guy didn’t fall from grace – he was shot out of a cannon. Texas lost yesterday, but how about the complete game shutout they got from the Gambler on Saturday night. If Kenny throws another one of those, his pitching coach is going to get a little concerned that his 59 inning scoreless streak is in some jeopardy. Brad Radke gave the Twins a nice start yesterday even though he did walk a batter. That is only the second free pass Radke has allowed this year. Rads got off to a real slow start, but he has now won four of his last five decisions, Guess what – the Angels actually scored some runs yesterday as Juan Rivera blasted a three run slam. Edgar Renteria has been a C minus for the Sox but OC has been no better for the Angels. Perhaps, the Sox, Angels and Cardinals should have just kept their shortstops this off-season.
The asinine line of the week goes to John Kruk who, I am told, opined on Baseball Tonight that Many Ramirez should be dealt before he becomes a 10-5 guy and can then veto any trade he wants. This is simply a moronic comment. Does John really think Manny cares where he plays and is willing to use a no-trade clause to keep himself in Boston? That doesn’t seem far-fetched. It sounds downright ludicrous. Granted, there are probably some markets Manny would veto, but teams in those markets couldn’t’ afford Ramirez in the first place so it is a mute point. After all, Minnesota and Milwaukee are not likely to be calling anytime soon and you are crazy if you think Manny would turn down a trade to New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. Further, Kruk’s statement wrongly implies that Manny is tradable at all. Let me ask you this – what team is going to pick up the four years and 78M that Manny is owed? In order to get rid of Ramirez, the Sox would have to eat a big portion of that contract and there is no way that is going to happen. As much as it annoys the Sox front office, Manny is stuck in Boston through 2008. That was a fact the day John Henry bought the team and it remains a fact today. They tried giving him away and there were no takers so why would anyone trade for him at this point? Now the rumor on the street and in Boston is that ManRam is shot, but judging from his bomb yesterday, I think those rumors are a bit premature. Sure, Manny is hitting below .250 and I think it is fair to assume he isn’t working his ass off this year, but let’s not go crazy. Manny will get his numbers this year and if he hits .270, so what? The guy is still slugging .560 and has driven in 34. That RBI total translates into something well north of 120 so I think it would be wise for the Manny bashers to take a breather until real problems pop up. That could happen in the future, but for the time being, Kruk should zip it before he pokes his own eye out. I would like to add, however, that in 2008, the Sox are going to have three contracts on their hands that may not be too pretty. That will be the final year of Manny’s deal, as well as that of Jason Varitek and Edgar Renteria. That could be real ugly for the Sox.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)