Dropped Third Strike

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?

Johnson Likely Leaving Arizona......

According to this link, Randy Johnson will likely not be pitching for Arizona next year.

Johnson made $10 million last year to put up an impressive 11-10 record with an ERA that actually was impressive at 3.91. While that was a pretty good year for a 44 year old pitcher, the Diamondbacks only valued him at a few million dollars and Johnson would have pitched for a discounted $8 million.

Now there are a few things to consider here. While Johnson did have a relatively solid year, he does have a pretty solid injury history - mostly with his back. Guys with back issues don't really seem like a good idea when they are getting into their mid 40's (Johnson will be 45 next year.) Let's also not forget that he did hit that bird that one time....

Now let's look at the positives. A pitcher with his stats (disregarding his age) would normally get the $8 million he was looking for. He is pretty much the definition of a veteran clubhouse presence having pitched 21 seasons and won 5 Cy Young Awards (including 4 consecutive for the those crazy Diamondbacks.) Let's also not forget he's got a career ERA in the very low 3's and is only 5 wins shy of 300. Watching chase win #300 will bring in a lot of media attention and fans to their games.

Bottom line, Johnson is likely done in Arizona but will end up pitching somewhere to get win #300 - let's just hope it isn't in New York.

Arizona down - 28 teams to go.

City of Brotherly Love?

Check this out: Philly Fix My Car.

I am not sure what to make of this... So, we just won the World Series, now what? Why don't we vandalize our city and destroy other people's property? 

After winning the World Series, Philadelphia fans celebrated in a fashion normally reserved for riots and coups in Eastern European countries.  This is not surprising, given the history of Philadelphia fans - I will still never forget when Philly fans cheered as Jose Reyes lied face down at second base earlier this season.  The Tampa Bay Rays had a downtown rally/party for finishing second - what a lame way to celebrate.  Maybe they should have flipped a few cars...

Mets + Delgado & Tatis - Good Move

Now that I'm finally over the loss of the Rays in the Fall Classic, I figure it's time to start on my promise to blog about each and every team before the start of Spring Training (and trust me, I'll hit several more than once.) I figure there is no better place to start than with the Metropolitans of New York. Let's take a look at two of their recent moves:

According to this article from the AP via ESPN, the Mets have signed Fernando Tatis to a one year deal worth 1.7 million bucks. Tatis, who seemed to recapture some of the form from earlier in his career, was a solid fill in for the Mets this year when both Alou and Church went down with inuries. Tatis had a somewhat solid start to his carrer with St Louis and Texas, but when the century turned he took a spill downhill and missed the majors completely in 2004, 2005, and 2007. This year, he hit .297 with 11 homers and 47 RBI in just 92 games - now thats a pretty good year. He played fine defensively at 4 different positions (although mostly in the outfield) and had some pretty clutch hits. To me - this a great signing by Minaya.

Now if you head over to this guys post, you'll read that the Mets picked up Carlos Delgado's $12 million option. It was entirely reasonable to think it possible for Delgado to have been released earlier this year, but he had one of the biggest turn arounds you'll ever see. He finished with what I consider to be an MVP caliber season during which he for a .271 average with 38 homers and 115 RBI. With the buyout on his option being $4 million, they essentially got him for $8 millon. Really - this was a no brainer.

Who knows - maybe Minaya isn't as bad as I thought.

Now I've got the Mets done - 29 more teams to go.

Varitek Should Get 5 years/$100 million

Ok - so maybe not that much, but he's probably going to get paid.

So 36 year old, Scott Boras client, former Lake Brantley Patriot (that's where he went to high school), and all star-catcher Jason Varitek is up for free agency at the conclusion of this season. Usually at the end of a contract, players will put up career numbers in order to get paid in their next (and in his case, final) contract; see the 2007 Jorge Posada for a good example of this. Jason Varitek didn't disappoint in his contract year, putting up an impressive .220 batting average while driving in a cool 43 runs. Oh, he also attempted to steal one base, but didn't quite make it. Usually subpar offense is okay for a catcher (although subpar doesn't begin to describe this) as long as they have great defense, but he wasn't anything impressive behind the dish this year either.

Here's the big question - if it was anyone but the Red Sox captain - would you think about offering him a multi-year deal for big money? Of course you wouldn't. There are far better options out there if you are looking for an over-the-hill catcher (see Ivan Rodriguez) and they would probably come a shade cheaper than Varitek.

The front office of the Pink Hat Red Sox nation has a history of handling contract issues with no regard for emotional attachment (see Nomar for example) and I really hope that is what happens here. Realistically, this guy deserves a 1 or 2 year deal without big money becuase he will probably end up backing up whoever else you have. With Boras as his agent, he'll probably end up being over-valued and demanding 3-4 years with larger cash and a garunteed Metamucil endorsement.

Bottom line, the guys numbers have been down the past 3 years so it isn't just a fluke that he sucked this year. If you're going to sign him - it should most likely be for a situation where he won't be catching every day.

Also - Jason, please stop wearing the C on your jersey. I know you're the captain, but I find it annoying.

Mark Prior Still Pitches?

According to ESPN's Buster Olney (Go Vandy) here, Mark Prior is getting ready to start pitching again in 2009. Three questions come to mind.......
1. Who is Mark Prior Again?
2. Will he be any good after the surgeries and all the time away?
3. Who will want him?

So Mark Prior, the 2nd overall pick in the 2001 draft, hasn't pitched in a major league game since the 2006 season when he put up an impressive 7.21 ERA in 43.7 innings. Wow - that's pretty not good. I'm pretty sure the problems started for Prior in 2003 when his innings total nearly doubled to 211.3 IP from the previous year (116.7.) That crazy Dusty Baker and has great abuse management of those young arms. In that 2003 season, Prior tossed up a mid-2's ERA and put up a very impressive 245 strikeouts. Since then - Prior has been plagued by injuries (some caused by bad luck.) In 2005, he was on his way back to his old form but couldn't stay healthy and after 2006, yeah - well we just havent' seen him.

I think someone will take a small risk on Prior as the Padres did this year (although their risk didn't turn out so well.) I'm sure a lot of teams will be interested in something similar to this year, about a million garunteed with a whole bunch of performance incentives. I'd love to see a team like the Rays grab him as they have taken chances on a lot of players over the past couple of years.

My best guess is that Prior ends up with an NL team as he's been pitched in that league his entire career. I think, in the right circumstances and with managed work load, we may see the Mark Prior that was so impressive 5 years ago.