As of Thursday night, the deal in place for Rodriguez calls for a base of $275 million for 10 years. But the sides were still negotiating a way for him to share in the revenue created by his pursuit of Bonds' tainted record.
scuse me while I vomit.
are we gonna have to go through this stupid sh!t again?
what a pox on the game
I may be foirced to leave the country that year and take up ice fishing in the arctic, or join Bumpy in Borneo somewhere out of the constant onslaught of the horrid media blitz to come
Interestingly enough it doesnt say anything about bonuses for winning, or post season performances.
ehhh-- what does that mean anyway as long as you can break personal records........
Interestingly enough it doesnt say anything about bonuses for winning, or post season performances.
ehhh-- what does that mean anyway as long as you can break personal records........
I'm with you... but I'd rather have a selfish "rick with a P" have the record than a cheating "rick with a P"...
and just how are they going to measure "the revenue generated"??? They already sell out, they already get great TV ratings... what else are they going to measure?
I'm with you (I think), how about provisions that if he doesn't maintain his seasonal offensive production numbers in the post-season, he has to give back money?
I'm in agreement here. The only 'incentives' that made any kind of sense would have been for post season production.
Of course it's assuming alot that he's going to get near the record , and many years away anyhow.
If he's hitting 50 home runs every year and the Yankees still haven't won a Series, the NY fans aren't going to care.
Let's face it, the world and economics have changed dramatically. If Mickey Mantle were playing today, he'd be owning half of NY, and I think he topped at around 100 thousand. Chump change for today's stars. As recent as 1990, which seems like yesterday, Steinbrenner was challenging Don Mattingly on his asking for 2 million, wondering if he's worth that much money.
If we're lucky, someone else will pass him by, but I can't imagine who that would be.
I suppose that the good to come out of this, for me at least, that according to Peter Gammons the Yankees have withdrawn their offer to Mike Lowell to play first for 4 years
I certainly dont begrudge him, coming off a career year and a World Series MVP to make the most he can off of it, but it would certainly be good to keep him around. He is a good ballplayer, and a good guy who i enjoy watching everyday.
This from Curt Schilling:
If it's three years and $45 million here and three years and $49 million or $50 million somewhere ... he's staying here. I would bet my bottom dollar he's staying here, just in knowing the man. But if someone offers him four at $58, or four at $60 and he's at $40, do you blame him? No, you don't, and you can't.
I dont either.
............
Speaking of Peter Gammons, if you are feeling charitable today, you can buy his Rock and Roll CD "Never slow down, never grow old" HERE everything goes to charity.
If you cant get past the idea of listening to Gammons playing a stratocaster. Im partial to sending a chunk HERE every once in awhile.
They do a good job. They actually claim to be very close to eradicating some forms of childhood cancers.
Its a 'game' that is really really worth winning and 'rooting' for, eventually they will......
A worthwhile charity to be sure. I can hardly listen to Gammon's commentaries, let alone his music, though.
Gammon's can't disguise his Sox prejudices, any more than Bob Costas can his Yankee bias. I wish there were some national commentators that were Pirate, or Twins fans, or just not connected to any team.
Since when did the Jimmy Fund become Red Sox centric ?
Your probably right on Gammons, of course I dont notice it as much as you would because Im out specifically looking for Red Sox news, he is a pretty good analyst and he does amaze me at the number of obscure minor leaguers he knows that are waiting in A ball, or the last bench guy on every team...He can be interesting even though alot of his conjectures, like most guys, turns out to be wrong
I dont know what he is like as a rock and roller but they do raise a bunch of money every winter with the HotStove Cool Music fundraisers, which makes the probable mediocrity of it a whole lot more tolerable and fun...
Anyway-the Red Sox have been entwined with the Jimmy Fund since long before my time, I think it was the late 40's when Ted Williams first got really involved.
By the time I was young it was an institution that was part of going to the game, --drop your spare change or some money in the Jimmy Fund box.
The Jimmy Fund has always been a big part of Red Sox baseball..
Like everything else, They have turned it up a notch and gotten serious about it in the last several years and now have telethons, fantasy days, and allsorts of events all year long at Fenway.
Its actually pretty cool--
One of THE best moments of this past RedSox season (one you will never see on ESPN) was this kid, who sang the national anthem in 06, nobody knew if he would live , never mind walk again
Then about half way through this year, they wheeled him out again to sing (polite applause)then after the song --he spontaneously took off around the bases...he had just learned to walk a very few steps a few weeks earlier it was the first time he had ever run
In a loud place like Fenway, As he made his way around the bases It was probably the loudest cheering I had ever heard anywhere.
Everyone on their feet-- players from bothe teams, coaches, umpires, vendors--every single person. It was incredibly moving..
He later threw out the first pitch for the playoffs.
It was agreat moment that made me proud to be a baseball fan.
I know all teams do wonderful things in their communities as well, As well they should, but I just have an especially soft spot for the Jimmy Fund since they have always been around and Ive watched them rise like the RedSox have and almost, almost, almost win a "world championship' as well. I hope they do one of these years, i hope they do. That'll be a special day.
I'll do the Papelbon jig myself on that day
:)
Anyway-enough of that--isnt there some bad trade or free agent signing we can talk about.
Free agent Kenny Rogers informed Major League teams on Friday afternoon that he has dismissed agent Scott Boras and is now representing himself in contract negotiations.
Rogers made it pretty clear before the end of the season that he wanted to stay in Detroit, while Boras was hoping to get other teams involved. That Rogers is taking this step now suggests that he still wants to be a Tiger and he doesn't think Boras will be worth his five percent commission when he agrees to terms. It's another blow to Boras' reputation after the A-Rod fiasco, though at last check, Boras could still afford to dry his eyes with $100 bills.
Good for Kenny, Be fair to himself, be fair to the Tigers, and not go through all the stupid shenanigans to get on the team you want to be with like thebesttplayerinbaseballTM
THIS ARTICLEfrom two weeks ago, by a professor of law at columbia has some interesting perspective on the ARod fiasco. He called it right on the money.
If standing up to Boras becomes a trend, then Arod really will have performed a service.
I think there are many players that would prefer to stay with the teams they're with , rather than jumping ship every time your agent says he can get you more money. Even in my measly job, I get comfortable with the system, the people I work with, and enjoy going to work. I only move to other studios when I'm forced to, which is more often than I like. I would think players get comfortable in Stadiums, cities , and teams, and cant imagine that starting over on a new team is all that simple. Kenny Rogers decision makes perfect sense to me, and I hope he wins 20 games for the Tigers next year.
Sorry to just 'cut and paste'... this article from Saturday's Newberg Report:
There's two fascinating situations occupying the baseball corner of my brain right now, and neither has anything to do with Barry Bonds or Alex Rodriguez. One involves a player who could become a Ranger for an unprecedented fourth time, and the other involves the possibility that Texas could acquire a third center fielder from Boston in less than four months.
When Kenny Rogers left Texas after the 1995 season, Scott Boras convinced him to go to New York, which seemed to be a potentially bad fit (and not for a meaningfully larger sum of money, given state income tax consequences) and proved to be an awful one.
When Rogers left Texas after the 2002 season, Boras had convinced him to decline a two-year, $10 million contract to remain a Ranger (Texas proposed a performance-based option for a third year, while Boras insisted that the third year be guaranteed). Rogers instead took the best deal he could get on the open market: a one-year, $2 million deal with Minnesota.
Boras, of course, had nothing to do with the circumstances surrounding Rogers's departure from Texas after the 2005 season.
Whether Boras factored into Rogers's inability to get a contract done with Detroit so far this off-season -- or, more importantly, whether Rogers perceives Boras to have been such a factor -- is unclear, but what's certain is that Boras isn't going to get a Rogers deal done with the Tigers now. Or with any other team. Rogers has dumped Boras, the man lovingly dubbed in a recent New Yorker article as "The Extortionist."
Rogers says that his first choice is still to reup with Detroit. He adds that he's confused by the Rangers' insistence that a 2008 reunion would require, at the outset, an apology from the pitcher to the organization for the events that ended his last tour here.
But Rogers and his wife Becky still live in Westlake in the off-season.
When the 2008 season begins, their daughter Jessica will be 14 and their son Trevor will be 11. You'd think Rogers has to be at least considering the thought of coming back to Texas.
Rogers reportedly declined a one-year, $8 million Tigers offer (and one other undisclosed Detroit proposal) before firing Boras. You can make the argument that his decision to go forward pro se could make a return to Detroit more likely or less. We'll see.
Is there an argument that he'd owe Boras his commission if a deal gets done with the Tigers substantially similar to the one he's already turned down, but wouldn't owe him if he signs elsewhere, assuming it's with a team Boras never initiated negotiations with?
It doesn't matter from a Rangers standpoint whether Boras put one of those "can't offer arbitration" clauses in the Rogers deal that just expired with the Tigers. Rogers is a Type B, meaning a team other than Detroit that signs him wouldn't lose a pick; instead, Detroit would get a supplemental first-rounder if another team signs Rogers before the arbitration tender date or if the Tigers offer him arbitration (assuming they can do so contractually).
Of all the center fielders who began the 2007 season in the Boston system, the one who caused the most angst among Rangers fans was Jacoby Ellsbury, a pure leadoff-hitting center fielder whom Texas passed on in the 2005 draft.
As it turns out, Ellsbury's development this season made both David Murphy and Engel Beltre expendable and made them Rangers, and there is mounting speculation that it could do the same with regard to Coco Crisp.
Texas has a similar situation on its own hands, as Jarrod Saltalamacchia makes Gerald Laird a player who is likely more valuable to Texas as a trade chip than as a member of the club going forward. Like the 28-year-old Crisp (who is owed a guaranteed $11 million the next two years, or $18.5 million over three should his 2010 option be picked up), the 28-year-old Laird is affordable (he's under club control through arbitration for the next three
years) and in demand.
There are rumors gaining steam that Texas and Boston could engineer a one-for-one swap of Laird and Crisp, which would seem at first glance to benefit both teams. But there's more to this.
We talked four days ago about timing, and it comes into play here. With Jorge Posada and Yorvit Torrealba landing with the New York clubs this week, the market for Laird becomes more defined (the Mets were reportedly a strong suitor if they'd been shut out on both Posada and Torrealba), but Crisp's value is nowhere near at its height, from a timing standpoint. Center field is easily the strength of this winter's free agent class, and the Red Sox don't need to be in any rush to move Crisp until a few center fielders sign and teams are forced to turn to Plan B, which could include a phone call to Boston.
That is, unless the Red Sox have decided that Laird is their man to back Jason Varitek up and keep him fresh for October. Varitek will be a free agent after 2008 but it's hard to imagine Boston letting him leave. Still, the club's interest in Laird is less about finding Varitek's eventual successor than it is about extending Varitek's career by adding a capable sidekick who can give him 30 days off each year. As unlikely as it might sound, backup catcher is among Boston's primary needs this winter.
I'm skeptical that Boston would trade Crisp this early without getting more than just Laird, but if that deal is put on the table for Texas at some point, I'm interested.
And that doesn't necessarily mean I'd tell Torii Hunter or Aaron Rowand that I'm no longer interested.
Unless Hunter is going to stick to his demand for seven years.
For what it's worth, ESPN's Buster Olney reports that a baseball executive "with some knowledge of [Hunter's]discussions predicts he will sign with Texas for six years and $90 million."
Boras has always been about getting more money for his player (and himself) through Free Agency... it has never mattered to him whether or not the player was 'comfortable and happy' playing for the team he was on... maybe that will change a little now.
Well like that article I posted wrote, I have to wonder just what the overall strategy of Boras was, whether Arod went 'over Boras' head', or it was made to look that way so that Arod comes across as some sort of good guy (yeah right) trying to salvage his public image somewhat. I doubt he ever wanted to go anywhere.
I really dont know, I do know bottom line is that he got 275mil and Boras still gets his cut.
The thing that Bumpy posted on the last page about Goldman Sachs stepping in also got me thinking, GS are part owners of the YES network (The Yankee Station), the revenues generated by (gag) the HR record onslaught will probably most be felt by all the extra shows that are produced about it ( and advertisers) on the YES network, and additional casual baseball fans they can generate to have an interest in it . ( sidenote: beware this is gonna be awful..). Boras had to know that
Goldman Sachs being investors, smelling that potential loss may step in wanting to protect their investment and potential profits in YES. Which of course they did . Thats where the HR record clauses come in...
I doubt that he was ever going anywhere but think the whole thing was a bluff by Boras, using the opt-out clause as a way to leverage 7 more years, not from baseball people, but investors who couldnt stand the thought of their bottom line decreasing.
To me its just another form of gambling that has entered the game, but this time instead of some gangster named Rothstein betting on, and fixing The World Series, its investment bankers on Wall Street betting on and setting up the circumstances for a new homerun record to the detriment of the actual game....
Where the hell is Judge Landis when you need him?
I hope that eventually there are more people like Kenny Rogers that come to the front and understand, that believe it or not, there are other things to baseball than dollars and cents.
With all the stories about manipulating the market and making investment bankers rich, steroids and running after records
Im glad that in at least in my neck of the woods i still get to see baseball stories that look like THIS
Give me one of these baseball stories over twenty ARod stories any day of the week.
Jacoby Ellsbury is incredibly exciting to watch on the field.
He is Navaho Indian and been dubbed "Runs Like A Deer".
Tom might remember his first game after getting called up, which was against the Rangers, when he scored from second on a wild pitch.. That was my introduction to him.
He is the type of player that makes things happen, he hit .438 in the World Series and was the first rookie since 1946 to get 4 hits in a WS game... and aside from that, by all appearances he is just a really really good and down to earth kid that you cant help but like.
There is much joy in Madras
MADRAS -- Jacoby Ellsbury nearly lost his cool Saturday morning.
There he was, on an elevated platform in the Madras High School gymnasium, microphone in his hand and mayhem all around him.
Drummers from Warm Springs to his right had just celebrated him with a song. His mother, Margie, and father Jim sat with brothers Matt, Tyler and Spencer just to his left. A long red banner proclaiming the Boston Red Sox 2007 World Series championship hung behind him from one of the baskets he used to fill when he was running and gunning for the White Buffaloes just five years ago.
And everywhere the Boston outfielder looked, there was an ocean of red shirts, Red Sox gear and the friendly faces of people who have known him for years -- people who love him not just for being a Madras kid who did something good, but also a good Madras kid who came home.
One of them....
"When I look back," he continued, "on living in Madras, going to elementary school, middle school, high school and when I think of the people who helped me along the way, and see all the people on the floor and in the crowd, I feel like I want to tear up."
He didn't, but his hometown gave him every reason to Saturday morning. It was Jacoby Ellsbury Day, and they did it up the Madras way.
The city organized a 15-element parade that took all of eight blocks to complete. Ellsbury sat in a 2003 Corvette and waved to a crowd of people who didn't so much line the streets as they just walked alongside him. Kind of a hometown honor guard.
There were signs everywhere: "Jacoby for President," "Our White Buffalo in Red Sox," "Jacoby, You Knock Our Sox Off!" "Jacoby -- MVP of Indian Country." There were T-shirts of all kinds, including the "Go Jacoby Go" shirts the Elks Lodge No. 2017 made up and wore when they all gathered at the lodge to watch him in the World Series on the big screen.
The 1,100 seats of the gymnasium was filled to the last square -- one by Elizabeth Nelson, a Madras teacher who taught Ellsbury in the first grade in 1990-91. She wore a pink sweatshirt with little handprints from all of her students in that class; the left hand of a 7-year-old Jacoby Ellsbury was right in front.
The floor was full of perhaps 600 people (nobody has ever had to estimate a crowd this size in Madras before). A handful of kids was selected to ask him questions.
Ellsbury took it all the way he takes everything else -- with the same ease with which he has run down fly balls all over Jefferson County.
The best way," he said, "is to have fun with it. It can overwhelm you, so you make the best of it while you can."
He also remembered that Madras was good to him when he was 18 and nowhere near his college baseball experiences at Oregon State and his professional carpet ride with the Red Sox.
"When I was in college," he said, "I got a lot of letters and e-mail of support from here. It was a big deal when I got that scholarship.
"I know they're not just on the bandwagon, because they've always been here to support me."
if you have a chance watch him-he is a lot of fun and unlike certain other higher profile players hasnt forgotten what the game is about-hopefully he never will
It was one of those moments from the year, that whether rightly or wronglly i am looking back on now and remembering, The Sox had been in the .500 doldrums for about 2 months. and a simple play like that on a passed ball woke everyone up. I dont ever recall seeing anyone else score from second on that play..In a seaon of cool things that one could, but shouldnt get lost
I'll try to be less of homer in the future but good news just came in (for me at least):
Free-agent third baseman Mike Lowell has agreed in principle to the framework of a three-year deal to return to the Red Sox, major league baseball sources close to the negotiations have confirmed.
Lowell, 33, tested the free-agent waters, and may have received at least one four-year offer from another undisclosed team, but in the end the Sox third baseman elected to stay where he was most comfortable. Sources indicate that the three year deal is worth in the $36-$38 million range.
The Red Sox had placed a deadline of today for Lowell to make up his mind. If Lowell had passed on the Sox offer, which remained pretty close to the original offer they made the World Series MVP, they were ready to begin implmenting their Plan B.
The Sox have now re-signed both of their major free-agents - Curt Schilling, who agreed to a one-year deal for $8 million and $5 million in incentives. The Sox could now entertain a deal for outfielder Coco Crisp sometimes between now and the winter meetings in December.
I'll be in Connecticut for the next week, so I won't be able to keep up with the Red Sox news.
funny hiway... funny!
A three year deal sounds reasonable given his age... now, if all of the pitchers (and one certain center fielder) will please book their tickets to DFW I'll be happy...
Have a good Thanksgiving Hiway--Im pretty sure that there will be all the Red Sox news that you could ever (never?)want while you are in Connecticut....
Happy Thanksgiving to you and the family
(and one certain center fielder)
Im suspecting that you are talking about Torii Hunter, but Ive heard speculation from both sides of Coco for Laird, of course talk is cheap especially this time of year but it might be a good fit for both of them....from what Ive read Id rather it be Teagarden, he sounds like he will be the real deal, but unfortunately they dont consult me in these matters.....(well yet anyway...Im here if the phone rings)
I know Laird is good to go which would be OK, Teagarden to me looks like a guy who might be THE guy for the future, there is no one really in the hole right now for the Red Sox to eventually replace Varitek who is the key cog. Thats my concern
Coco is a good chip, a potential gold glover who has hit well from time to time, Laird seems good defensively calls a good game but is he THE guy, or a backup for a few years then an adequate but not great replacement? i dont know! But I would hope that the Sox in any trade are thinking long range
The stRanger do seem to be overloaded with good catching right now, somehow i think they could use that to their advantage. I dont see the Red Sox making a play for a Saltlamacchia or a Martin but someone like Teagarden I'd be happy about, then they could find a stop gap backup for 08, while he is developing which would be fine at least in my little booklet to take that gamble on someone who looks like they could develop into a real stud but hasnt quite got the credentials just yet
Im also wondering whats up with Johann Santana---where the heck will he land and who will give up a ton to have him on his walk year?
I know Laird is good to go which would be OK, Teagarden to me looks like a guy who might be THE guy for the future, there is no one really in the hole right now for the Red Sox to eventually replace Varitek who is the key cog. Thats my concern
Coco is a good chip, a potential gold glover who has hit well from time to time, Laird seems good defensively calls a good game but is he THE guy, or a backup for a few years then an adequate but not great replacement? i dont know! But I would hope that the Sox in any trade are thinking long range
The stRangers do seem to be overloaded with good catching right now, somehow i think they could use that to their advantage. I dont see the Red Sox making a play for a Saltlamacchia or a Martin but someone like Teagarden I'd be happy about, then they could find a stop gap backup for 08, while he is developing which would be fine at least in my little booklet to take that gamble on someone who looks like they could develop into a real stud but hasnt quite got the credentials just yet
Im also wondering whats up with Johann Santana---where the heck will he land and who will give up a ton to have him on his walk year?
yeah... that's why we're willing to deal others... and we'll have another for you in a couple of years when you need him!
yeah... that's what we're all hoping as well!
yeah... I'm sure Santana will do just fine though... I'm willing to take 1/10th of whatever he gets right now!
(oh, and thanks for putting that little bug on your sig... got me on that one!)
Happy travelling to you hiway, safe journey and tons o' tryptophan...
Recommended Posts
Top Posters In This Topic
858
673
1658
1014
Popular Days
Oct 24
38
Aug 12
34
Aug 18
31
Oct 22
29
Top Posters In This Topic
hiway29 858 posts
Rocky 673 posts
mstar1 1,658 posts
Tom Strange 1,014 posts
Popular Days
Oct 24 2007
38 posts
Aug 12 2008
34 posts
Aug 18 2008
31 posts
Oct 22 2006
29 posts
Popular Posts
kimberly
I missed the LLWS. The boy had baseball practice 4-7. Playing in a USSSA tournament this coming weekend. The new season has just started. Can ya'll believe we are in September of the ML baseball s
mstar1
Dont scare me like that Bolsh--the way you posted I wasnt sure if it was a done deal--I had to go check....Im on the fence whether to go for Halliday or not---I'd love to have him but I'd hate to give
hiway29
I love those fan trades where players you don't care about, plus a 'prospect', are offered up for a major player. Yeah, the Jays will jump at that deal.
Posted Images
mstar1
scuse me while I vomit.
are we gonna have to go through this stupid sh!t again?
what a pox on the game
I may be foirced to leave the country that year and take up ice fishing in the arctic, or join Bumpy in Borneo somewhere out of the constant onslaught of the horrid media blitz to come
Interestingly enough it doesnt say anything about bonuses for winning, or post season performances.
ehhh-- what does that mean anyway as long as you can break personal records........
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tom Strange
I'm with you... but I'd rather have a selfish "rick with a P" have the record than a cheating "rick with a P"...
and just how are they going to measure "the revenue generated"??? They already sell out, they already get great TV ratings... what else are they going to measure?
I'm with you (I think), how about provisions that if he doesn't maintain his seasonal offensive production numbers in the post-season, he has to give back money?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
hiway29
I'm in agreement here. The only 'incentives' that made any kind of sense would have been for post season production.
Of course it's assuming alot that he's going to get near the record , and many years away anyhow.
If he's hitting 50 home runs every year and the Yankees still haven't won a Series, the NY fans aren't going to care.
Let's face it, the world and economics have changed dramatically. If Mickey Mantle were playing today, he'd be owning half of NY, and I think he topped at around 100 thousand. Chump change for today's stars. As recent as 1990, which seems like yesterday, Steinbrenner was challenging Don Mattingly on his asking for 2 million, wondering if he's worth that much money.
If we're lucky, someone else will pass him by, but I can't imagine who that would be.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mstar1
I suppose that the good to come out of this, for me at least, that according to Peter Gammons the Yankees have withdrawn their offer to Mike Lowell to play first for 4 years
I certainly dont begrudge him, coming off a career year and a World Series MVP to make the most he can off of it, but it would certainly be good to keep him around. He is a good ballplayer, and a good guy who i enjoy watching everyday.
This from Curt Schilling:
I dont either.
............
Speaking of Peter Gammons, if you are feeling charitable today, you can buy his Rock and Roll CD "Never slow down, never grow old" HERE everything goes to charity.
If you cant get past the idea of listening to Gammons playing a stratocaster. Im partial to sending a chunk HERE every once in awhile.
They do a good job. They actually claim to be very close to eradicating some forms of childhood cancers.
Its a 'game' that is really really worth winning and 'rooting' for, eventually they will......
Edited by mstar1Link to comment
Share on other sites
hiway29
A worthwhile charity to be sure. I can hardly listen to Gammon's commentaries, let alone his music, though.
Gammon's can't disguise his Sox prejudices, any more than Bob Costas can his Yankee bias. I wish there were some national commentators that were Pirate, or Twins fans, or just not connected to any team.
Since when did the Jimmy Fund become Red Sox centric ?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mstar1
Your probably right on Gammons, of course I dont notice it as much as you would because Im out specifically looking for Red Sox news, he is a pretty good analyst and he does amaze me at the number of obscure minor leaguers he knows that are waiting in A ball, or the last bench guy on every team...He can be interesting even though alot of his conjectures, like most guys, turns out to be wrong
I dont know what he is like as a rock and roller but they do raise a bunch of money every winter with the HotStove Cool Music fundraisers, which makes the probable mediocrity of it a whole lot more tolerable and fun...
Anyway-the Red Sox have been entwined with the Jimmy Fund since long before my time, I think it was the late 40's when Ted Williams first got really involved.
By the time I was young it was an institution that was part of going to the game, --drop your spare change or some money in the Jimmy Fund box.
The Jimmy Fund has always been a big part of Red Sox baseball..
Like everything else, They have turned it up a notch and gotten serious about it in the last several years and now have telethons, fantasy days, and allsorts of events all year long at Fenway.
Its actually pretty cool--
One of THE best moments of this past RedSox season (one you will never see on ESPN) was this kid, who sang the national anthem in 06, nobody knew if he would live , never mind walk again
Then about half way through this year, they wheeled him out again to sing (polite applause)then after the song --he spontaneously took off around the bases...he had just learned to walk a very few steps a few weeks earlier it was the first time he had ever run
In a loud place like Fenway, As he made his way around the bases It was probably the loudest cheering I had ever heard anywhere.
Everyone on their feet-- players from bothe teams, coaches, umpires, vendors--every single person. It was incredibly moving..
He later threw out the first pitch for the playoffs.
It was agreat moment that made me proud to be a baseball fan.
I know all teams do wonderful things in their communities as well, As well they should, but I just have an especially soft spot for the Jimmy Fund since they have always been around and Ive watched them rise like the RedSox have and almost, almost, almost win a "world championship' as well. I hope they do one of these years, i hope they do. That'll be a special day.
I'll do the Papelbon jig myself on that day
:)
Anyway-enough of that--isnt there some bad trade or free agent signing we can talk about.
Edited by mstar1Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tom Strange
...well, have you heard that K Rogers has fired Boras? (did you care?) Boras really cost him a big chunk of money a few years ago...
Link to comment
Share on other sites
hiway29
I grew up around the Jimmy Fund and never heard of any Red Sox connection until yesterday. Guess they didn't promote that in Southern Connecticut.
Fine charity. Glad to see them still doing good work.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mstar1
I did hear that Kenny fired Boras
Good for Kenny, Be fair to himself, be fair to the Tigers, and not go through all the stupid shenanigans to get on the team you want to be with like thebesttplayerinbaseballTM
THIS ARTICLEfrom two weeks ago, by a professor of law at columbia has some interesting perspective on the ARod fiasco. He called it right on the money.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
hiway29
If standing up to Boras becomes a trend, then Arod really will have performed a service.
I think there are many players that would prefer to stay with the teams they're with , rather than jumping ship every time your agent says he can get you more money. Even in my measly job, I get comfortable with the system, the people I work with, and enjoy going to work. I only move to other studios when I'm forced to, which is more often than I like. I would think players get comfortable in Stadiums, cities , and teams, and cant imagine that starting over on a new team is all that simple. Kenny Rogers decision makes perfect sense to me, and I hope he wins 20 games for the Tigers next year.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tom Strange
Sorry to just 'cut and paste'... this article from Saturday's Newberg Report:
Boras has always been about getting more money for his player (and himself) through Free Agency... it has never mattered to him whether or not the player was 'comfortable and happy' playing for the team he was on... maybe that will change a little now.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mstar1
Well like that article I posted wrote, I have to wonder just what the overall strategy of Boras was, whether Arod went 'over Boras' head', or it was made to look that way so that Arod comes across as some sort of good guy (yeah right) trying to salvage his public image somewhat. I doubt he ever wanted to go anywhere.
I really dont know, I do know bottom line is that he got 275mil and Boras still gets his cut.
The thing that Bumpy posted on the last page about Goldman Sachs stepping in also got me thinking, GS are part owners of the YES network (The Yankee Station), the revenues generated by (gag) the HR record onslaught will probably most be felt by all the extra shows that are produced about it ( and advertisers) on the YES network, and additional casual baseball fans they can generate to have an interest in it . ( sidenote: beware this is gonna be awful..). Boras had to know that
Goldman Sachs being investors, smelling that potential loss may step in wanting to protect their investment and potential profits in YES. Which of course they did . Thats where the HR record clauses come in...
I doubt that he was ever going anywhere but think the whole thing was a bluff by Boras, using the opt-out clause as a way to leverage 7 more years, not from baseball people, but investors who couldnt stand the thought of their bottom line decreasing.
To me its just another form of gambling that has entered the game, but this time instead of some gangster named Rothstein betting on, and fixing The World Series, its investment bankers on Wall Street betting on and setting up the circumstances for a new homerun record to the detriment of the actual game....
Where the hell is Judge Landis when you need him?
I hope that eventually there are more people like Kenny Rogers that come to the front and understand, that believe it or not, there are other things to baseball than dollars and cents.
Edited by mstar1Link to comment
Share on other sites
mstar1
With all the stories about manipulating the market and making investment bankers rich, steroids and running after records
Im glad that in at least in my neck of the woods i still get to see baseball stories that look like THIS
Give me one of these baseball stories over twenty ARod stories any day of the week.
Jacoby Ellsbury is incredibly exciting to watch on the field.
He is Navaho Indian and been dubbed "Runs Like A Deer".
Tom might remember his first game after getting called up, which was against the Rangers, when he scored from second on a wild pitch.. That was my introduction to him.
He is the type of player that makes things happen, he hit .438 in the World Series and was the first rookie since 1946 to get 4 hits in a WS game... and aside from that, by all appearances he is just a really really good and down to earth kid that you cant help but like.
if you have a chance watch him-he is a lot of fun and unlike certain other higher profile players hasnt forgotten what the game is about-hopefully he never will
Edited by mstar1Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tom Strange
Nice. Very nice.
(...and I think I remember that score as well, but I'm old)
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mstar1
It was one of those moments from the year, that whether rightly or wronglly i am looking back on now and remembering, The Sox had been in the .500 doldrums for about 2 months. and a simple play like that on a passed ball woke everyone up. I dont ever recall seeing anyone else score from second on that play..In a seaon of cool things that one could, but shouldnt get lost
I'll try to be less of homer in the future but good news just came in (for me at least):
Lowell Stays
Edited by mstar1Link to comment
Share on other sites
hiway29
I'll be in Connecticut for the next week, so I won't be able to keep up with the Red Sox news.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tom Strange
funny hiway... funny!
A three year deal sounds reasonable given his age... now, if all of the pitchers (and one certain center fielder) will please book their tickets to DFW I'll be happy...
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mstar1
Have a good Thanksgiving Hiway--Im pretty sure that there will be all the Red Sox news that you could ever (never?)want while you are in Connecticut....
Happy Thanksgiving to you and the family
Im suspecting that you are talking about Torii Hunter, but Ive heard speculation from both sides of Coco for Laird, of course talk is cheap especially this time of year but it might be a good fit for both of them....from what Ive read Id rather it be Teagarden, he sounds like he will be the real deal, but unfortunately they dont consult me in these matters.....(well yet anyway...Im here if the phone rings)
Edited by mstar1Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tom Strange
Teagarden is the future and probably needs another season... Laird is 'good to go' and has an exceptional arm...
And even if we can get Coco... we'll be happy with Torii as well! ...after all, we've got an extra $7-$8 million for the next three years...
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mstar1
I know Laird is good to go which would be OK, Teagarden to me looks like a guy who might be THE guy for the future, there is no one really in the hole right now for the Red Sox to eventually replace Varitek who is the key cog. Thats my concern
Coco is a good chip, a potential gold glover who has hit well from time to time, Laird seems good defensively calls a good game but is he THE guy, or a backup for a few years then an adequate but not great replacement? i dont know! But I would hope that the Sox in any trade are thinking long range
The stRanger do seem to be overloaded with good catching right now, somehow i think they could use that to their advantage. I dont see the Red Sox making a play for a Saltlamacchia or a Martin but someone like Teagarden I'd be happy about, then they could find a stop gap backup for 08, while he is developing which would be fine at least in my little booklet to take that gamble on someone who looks like they could develop into a real stud but hasnt quite got the credentials just yet
Im also wondering whats up with Johann Santana---where the heck will he land and who will give up a ton to have him on his walk year?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
hiway29
I'm sure I'll be getting Sox news back east, but will probably be more interested in the non-arod Yankee news.
Happy Thanksgiving to all the hot-stovers !
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mstar1
Thanks--there should be plenty of that in those parts as well..
Dont forget to wave goodbye to the Stadium if you have a chance while you are back east if you have a chance-
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tom Strange
yeah... that's why we're willing to deal others... and we'll have another for you in a couple of years when you need him!
yeah... that's what we're all hoping as well!
yeah... I'm sure Santana will do just fine though... I'm willing to take 1/10th of whatever he gets right now!
(oh, and thanks for putting that little bug on your sig... got me on that one!)
Happy travelling to you hiway, safe journey and tons o' tryptophan...
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mstar1
I know I bug Hiway from time to time (maybe all the rest of you too..)I had to put that up--
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone, Im off to Papas house in a few hours for about a week.
Keep the log on the hot stove , I'll check in when I can
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.