Dropped Third Strike

Man-Ram Stays in L.A., Cuddyer Will Likely Invest in Parkas

Recently in MLB:

- Manny Ramirez will once again be wearing Dodger blue when the 2010 season starts. Ramirez is wise to exercise his $20 million option, as it's unlikely that many teams would be lining for his services this winter after what was a controversial season for the star left fielder off the field, and subpar one (at least by Manny's lofty standards) on it.

- Looking ahead, the Minnesota Twins have exercised their $10.5 million option on outfielder Michael Cuddyer for 2011, assuming their new outdoor stadium isn't buried under a snowbank by then, of course.

- Obviously hoping for a rule change in the offseason that will allow hitters to steal first, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired light-hitting outfielder Carlos Gomez from the Twins in exchange for shortstop J.J. Hardy. 

- Tim Lincecum has reached a deal with Washington state authorities that could settle his misdemeanor marijuana charge. Congratulations?

Cliff Lee Can Now Afford Many Geno's Cheesesteaks

In what can only be described as a victory for common sense, the Phillies picked up Cliff Lee's option for 2010. It's a win-win really: Lee makes $9 million, and Philadelphia's starting rotation might not be completely awful next season. Meanwhile, teammate Jamie Moyer lamented "the amount of money these kids are making today to play a game", and reminded anyone within an earshot about how "Hershey bars used to cost a nickel".

In other option-related news:

- The Arizona Diamondbacks picked up star pitcher Brandon Webb's 2010 option ($8.5 million), thus banking, literally and figuratively, on his surgically-repaired right shoulder being ready for opening day.

- Jermaine Dye (White Sox, $12 million) and J.J. Putz (Mets, $9.1 million) had their respective 2010 options declined by their clubs.

As if the Hair Didn't Give it Away...

Apparently former N.L. Cy Young award winner and future radical reconstructive arm surgery candidate Tim Lincecum is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges in his home state of Washington following a traffic stop.

I'm a big believer in the old saying, "never judge a book by its cover", but, come on now, let's not act surprised here.

The White Sox Get Teahen! Oh, and There Was That World Series Thing...

Over the past 24 hours in MLB:

- The White Sox traded infielders Chris Getz and Josh Fields to the "Royales With Cheese" for utiliyman Mark Teahen. Advantage: K.C.

- The Angels re-signed right fielder Bobby Abreu: Two years for a cool $19 million guaranteed, excluding incentives. Not exactly Kevin Brown scratch, but not too shabby either.

- The Red Sox acquired Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins for, you guessed it, prospects.

- No. 27 happened. 

Blue Jays Offer Phillies '09 World Series, Phillies Politely Say, "No Thank You"

In an obvious attempt to make up for arguably the most excrutiatingly painful moment in Philadelphia sports history (and there's been quite a few of them), the Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly offered former A.L. Cy Young award winner and well-known pitching behemoth Roy Halladay to the Phillies in exchange for three minor league prospects and the fourth pitcher in their big league rotation. Amazingly, Phillies G.M. Ruben Amaro, Jr. decided that giving up four largely unproven commoditites is too steep a price to pay to acquire the best pitcher in baseball for at least the next season and a half. The Phillies had their counter-offer, sans super-prospect Kyle Drabek, rightfully rejected by Toronto, and now talks are at an impasse - gasp!

Obviously, the Phillies should succumb to the Blue Jays' demands, and in fact, this should have been a done deal a week ago. They would be getting a complete game machine, a guy would step in immediately as that team's ace (yes, he would supplant '08 World Series MVP Cole Hamels in that role), for four guys who have proven absoultely nothing at the big league level. If you're the Phillies, aren't you just crossing your fingers and hoping that a guy like Drabek maybe, just maybe, becomes a fraction of what Roy Halladay already is, and will be for the next few years while he's still in his prime?

When exactly did J.A. Happ morph into the next coming anyway? Yes, he has a sub 3.00 ERA this season to this point, but of his twelve starts (yes, he has only twelve starts this season, bringing his M.L. total to seventeen), the former Northwestern Wildcat has yet to face the same team twice, and I have a sinking feeling that he just might get touched up a bit more his next time around the league. Don't forget that the organization thought so highly of him last year that he appeared in one, count 'em one, post-season game, and thought it would be better for Chan Ho Park (yes, that Chan Ho Park) to start this season in the rotation rather than Happ. I'm not saying he's worthless. On the contrary, I think he's actually a great fourth or fifth starter in a big league rotation, but untouchable under these circumstances? Hardly.

And what happens to the Phillies' clubhouse morale if this deal doesn't get done? If you're Hamels, Rollins, Utley, or any of the team's other stars, wouldn't you feel a bit betrayed by management that they didn't do everything in their power to win now? I think you would, and don't underestimate those feelings re-emerginging when contract negotiation time comes around. I understand the value of stashing prospects if you're the Royals or the Pirates, but if you're a big market club as close to being the first repeat World Series champ since the Yankees won three in a row from '98-2000, then you do this deal yesterday, you do not wait two or three years for Dominic Brown to possibly contribute at the big league level. If I were a betting man I would say that the Phillies management comes to their senses and makes this deal happen at some point this week, and for Amaro Jr.'s sake I hope it does, or else he may find out what Mike's favorite ESPN analyst Steve Phillips tends to say about these situations: "prospects get you fired".

Man-Ram Returns, Fertility Drug Sales in So Cal Plummet

In case you haven't already heard, Dodgers RBI machine Manny Ramirez returns from his 50 game maternity leave, errr, suspension for violating MLB's drug policy, tonight in San Diego against the Padres.

It should be interesting to watch tonight for two reasons, the first of which being how Manny will perform on the field, and how he in turn will affect the Dodger lineup, which, ohbytheway, played pretty darn well in his abscence. True, he's had a few Minor League at bats in recent days (which is ridiculous that he could be allowed to rehab before his suspension is up, but that's a whole other issue), but who knows how many Major League plate appearances, if any, he'll need before returning to form.

The real question though, of course, is more of the human interest variety. After all, Colleen Dominguez isn't hanging around PetCo today to report Manny's box score. But how will everyone around him, including teammates, react to his return? You would think that as much promise as L.A.'s young sluggers, such as Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, have shown without Manny in the lineup, they'd be thrilled to have his bat back protecting them, but who knows, all of the media attention could distract an impressionable young clubhouse from their ultimate goal, at least in the short term. And then of course, you have the fans. Remember, this group of angry San Diegans (San Diegoins? San Diegoites?), is the same fan base who trashed Barry Bonds every chance they could get, including throwing faux syringes on the field, so it could get rowdy this weekend.

So, will Manny be as much of a force in the Dodger lineup as he was after last year's trade deadline deal with Boston? Will San Diego residents take a break from surfing and fish tacos to give Manny the business? Will Bill Plaschke's head actually explode? Only time will tell, but if you ask me, the answers are yes, kind of, and maybe. Stay tuned...

10 things I hate about Oliver Perez...

Why did the Mets have to resign Oliver Perez?  Everytime he takes the mound, I get a horrible feeling, kind of like the feeling a get after going to a Chinese buffet, and then washing it down with a galloon of milk...  Here are ten things I hate about Oliver Perez.

1.  I hate the stupid sideburn/chops he was sporting last year - even though they are gone now, it still bothers me.  You are not Elvis.

2.  I hate the way he jumps over the base line on the way back to the dugout.  I understand the whole superstition thing, but it isn't working - you aren't pitching well.

3.  I hate the way you drop down to pitch from the side, even though it never works - really, it never works.  Listen to your pitching coach.

4.  I hate the way he can never toss an easy inning - it seems like he has thrown a token walk to keep things interesting.

5.  I hate the way he can walk half a dozen batters in a game - seriously, why is he kept in this long?

6.  I hate having to hear every analyst talk about his "wicked stuff."  Where is it?  You mean the stuff that is a couple of feet of the plate... Yeah, that's wicked.

7. I hate that he can never seem to bunt...

8.  I hate that the Mets gave up Xavier Nady to get him - I understand it was an emergency situation, but he was 2-10, with a 6+ ERA!!! 

9.  I hate that the Mets won't sign Pedro, because he is too risky, and might not be worth the money, but they signed Oliver Perez, who is risk every time he touches the ball, and they signed him for more money and more years...

10.   I hate the Yahoo fantasy league somehow drafted him for me because I couldn't be online during draft time.  What are the chances?  Why me?  Why now?

His outstanding performance tonight dropped his ERA from 7.84 to 7.80 - that's championship baseball...

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Oliver Perez, I am sure he is a nice guy.  That doesn't make him a good pitcher though.

What do you hate about Oliver Perez?  Please tell me in the comments.

So, This Pretty Much Sums It Up...

Nothing says "legitimate Major League franchise" quite like misspelled jerseys, does it? This from Yahoo! Sports:

"Apr 18 -  OF Adam Dunn and 3B Ryan Zimmerman played the first 3 1/2 innings of Friday night's game with incorrect jerseys, with the word "Nationals" on the front missing the letter "O". According to Washington clubhouse manager Mike Wallace, three jerseys were sent to Major League Baseball following Monday's home opener: those worn by Dunn, Zimmerman and OF Elijah Dukes. A new shipment was received for all three, and though Dukes' new jersey was fine, the ones for Dunn and Zimmerman incorrectly read "Natinals" on the front."

 Go Nats...or should I say "Natinals"?

Jonathan Papelbon Would Also Like to Remind You About That Time Your Dog Ran Away When You Were Six

So I've been waiting for a story to come along all off-season for a story to come along that would get me motivated to write again, and here it is. No, I'm not talking about the A-Roid controversy, the World Baseball Classic and all of its mind-numbing glory, or even the impact of Boof Bonser's injury on the Twins' rotation (No!! Not the Boof!!). No, I'm referring to the story that crossed the wire in the past 24 hours that Jonathan Papelbon went all backstabber to Esquire magazine, saying, among other things, in reference to former teammate Manny Ramirez, "It’s like cancer. That’s what he was. Cancer".  

Full disclosure: I can't stand the Red Sox. It bothers me everytime Kevin Youkilis throws his helmet or otherwise throws a hissy fit like an overgrown eight year old. Before his departure from the team, it used to bother me when "Mr. Ketchup Sock" would spew bile packaged as fact, and throw, well, a verbal hissy fit when someone so much as disagreed with him. It bothers me that their fan base, known affectionately to some as "The Pink Hat Nation", actually believes that "Big Syringe" err, "Big Papi" David Ortiz, came to Boston from Minnesota as a glorified role player and became a superstar overnight the all-natural way. It bothers me everytime I see a guy with an all-too-fresh looking Boston hat that might as well have "Fan since 2003" stiched on the side, just as much as it bothers me when I see his girlfriend in a pink Ellsbury t-shirt, most likely wondering something to the effect of, "How come that one guy ran back to the square when the other guy caught the ball?". In fact, the only everyday player on that team that I do respect is Dustin Pedroia, mostly because he won an MVP award while sleeping nightly in a matchbox.

But I digress. Is there any reason that this class act had to bash a guy who hadn't been on his team's roster in over six months? A guy who, as I've said before and will surely say again, is the greatest right-handed RBI machine of our generation? A guy who has one more World Series ring than you do, and ohbytheway, one more World Series MVP than you do? Was he so bad back then? I'm also guessing that Captain Courage here probably didn't discuss any of this beef with Man Ram at length at any point face to face last season. Look, I'm not going to defend how Man Ram obviously tanked it last year to get out of Boston, and I too was among the many who thought that his contract negotiations, or lack thereof, this off-season were slightly humorous. But come on now, it was over six months ago. Nobody forced you to answer that question. Get. Over. It.

 And really, it's not even so much the cowardice of the delayed reaction that bothers me as much as it is the wording that he used. There's a high-profile case of a cancer survivor who rose from dire circumstances to regain levels of great athletic success not just somewhere in MLB, but two on his own team, including one on the same pitching staff! Is a little sensitivity too much to ask? Use the word distraction, but not the word cancer. Maybe it's my fault for expecting more from a Red Sox player, but do try, try, to stay classy Mr. Papelbon.

Mike Mussina - Hall of Famer??

FOX Sports on MSN - MLB - Yanks' Mussina to retire after first 20-win season.

After a great deal of speculation, Mike Mussina is retiring.  There has been a great deal of discussion during the past year about whether or not he should be in the Hall of Fame.  He doesn't have the numbers that make him a lock (300 wins, 3000 K's), although he is close.  

These standards, however, are long outdated.  Why should he be compared statistically to pitchers who pitched in four-man rotations and during times when a 40 home run-season was considered huge.  How many times was the home-run record broken during Mussina's career.  Here are some reasons why he should be a lock for the Hall of Fame:

- He 11 or more wins in 17 consecutive seasons, every year except his first. 

- 11 of those seasons he won 15 or more.

- He finished his career with 270 wins, 2813 K's, and a 3.68 ERA, all while pitching in the American League East, half of which as a member of the Orioles where he faced the Yankees and Red Sox many times.

- .638 winning percentage - not bad at all.  

- 15 seasons in the top 10 for strikeout to walk ratio.

- 5-time All-Star, 7 gold gloves.

- He pitched against players who were on steroids.  If Roger Clemens didn't juice, would his stats be any better?  

I kept hearing all year that not having a 20-win season would hurt his chances, now what's going to stop him?