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slant.gif (102 bytes) From the Desk of the Commish

Commish

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September, 2007

Forum Flubs

It's that time of year again: time to look back at some of the comments written on the league forum over the past year and make fun of the people who wrote them.  Fortunately, I began putting this together before our web server crashed, and we lost eight months worth of posts!

Howie Kendrick's first 266 pa's:
257 ab, 72 hits, 21 doubles, 1 triple, 4 homers, 9 bb, 42 k's. .280/.305/.416

Ronny Cedeno's first 275 pa's:
263 ab, 77 hits, 10 doubles, 3 triples, 2 homers, 12 bb, 21 k's. .293/.324/.376

I'm still holding out hope!!!

-- Tom DiStefano, 9/28/06

Kendrick, 2007: 306 AB, .324/.346/.461
Sub-par Ronny, 2007: 60 AB, .154/.188/.283

Keep hope alive, Tom!  Keep hope alive!

Unless someone has quite a creative offer, we will most likely be holding onto Clemens, but are willing to trade him during the draft.

A trade like this will have to involve top young talent AND require drafting guys for us.

Looks like we are looking at a position player or pitcher in return (starting caliber, but not all star) stud prospect, and making a few picks for us in the later rounds.

-- Anthony Peburn, 10/30/06

Less than two months later, Peburn traded Clemens for...wait for it...DIONER NAVARRO!

I hated to trade Halladay, but I have no regrets with this trade since it accomplished what I needed it to, and since I got two young, good players in exchange.

-- John Duel, 11/30/06

Unfortunately for John, one of those "young, good players" missed this entire season after Tommy John surgery.  And while the other one, Brandon Phillips (.295/.339/.498) has enjoyed a decent season (while hitting in the best HR park in baseball) at $1.1 million, is there anyone who would trade him for a $7 million Roy Halladay (209+ IP, 3.82 ERA, 677/687 splits?)

Regarding Rolen, if he's healthy, he could be a bargain in 2008. But who knows if he's healthy? He battled a bad back injury down the stretch, hit just .227/.292/.398 in September, then was relegated to a bench role in the World Series. He may never hit 30 homers again. Or he may find some miracle cure this off-season and reclaim his power. I really don't know what to do with him on Cutdown Day. I'm leaning toward signing him to a three-year deal. But if he battles injuries again all next year, and has another year like he did in '05 (.235/.323/.383 in 196 AB's), I'll be screwed.

-- Me, 11/30/06

...Or, I could just trade him to Greg!

(Sorry, Greg.)

Marlboro trades RP Brian Fuentes, RP Justin Speier, INF Estaban German, RP Alan Embree, RP Brian Sweeney and 2B Adam Kennedy to Villanova for RP Mariano Rivera, OF Jonny Gomes, SP Franklin Morales (Farm), SP Troy Patton (Farm), OF Jeremy Reed and INF Jorge Piedra.

For me this whole deal comes down to Rivera and how valuable he will be after the auction is over and someone can get him for a full year and not worry about salary or contract.

-- Sharky, 12/1/06

Um, you expect Rivera to be as valuable to someone after the draft as the 4 very useful relievers and 2 capable infielders you dealt away?

Sorry, I don't get it.

-- Badger, 12/1/06

If a team already has a good pen but needs that closer, yes I do.

They were quality players but trading them individually, even packaging two of them is not going to get me the same value as what Rivera may get me by himself after the draft. Have to wait to see. Don't forget, also got Gomes (who I like) and a couple of good upside starters for my farm as well.

-- Sharky, 12/1/06

That team with an already good pen won't trade you that entire pen just for the closer. And throw in 2 useful infielders to boot!

...I think you are greatly overestimating the value of Rivera after the draft.

-- Badger, 12/1/06

I find this whole exchange absolutely fascinating, given that less than a month later, Badger traded for Rivera, and dumped Daniel Cabrera's horrendous contract on Sharky in the process.  Can you say: "GM of the Year?"

...Don't forget, also got Gomes (who I like) and a couple of good upside starters for my farm as well...

-- Sharky, 12/1/06

Marlboro acquires catching prospect Jeff Clement and one-time highly regarded Edwin Jackson from Los Altos for RF Jonny Gomes, outfield prospect Chris Marrero and pitching prospect Daniel Bard.

"Gomes has been on the market for a few weeks..."

-- Sharky, 12/19/06

Yep, 18 days after he claimed that Gomes was a guy he "liked," Sharky traded him away as a throw-in.  Man, what would this league do for entertainment if it weren't for Sharky? (And Doyle, of course.)

Should be another fun year, watching [the Boston Red Sox] bolt out of the gate, then fade down the stretch.

-- Me, 12/5/07

Yeah, I called it.  But no, it wasn't all that difficult to foresee.

I am anxiously waiting to see what the Hammerheads do in the auction and draft. When you have a hole at every position, I can't imagine the auction being your friend. You are going to pay top dollar for players and I don't see how Shark can do that. I guess there are a few bargains in the auction and Ken will have to hunt for them. He could spend lots of dollars to acquire some of the top talent in the auction, and try to trade them...but I don't think there are enough atbats/innings in 500k and 100k rounds to fill out a team. The Hammerheads might end up being the worst team in BDBL history. I'm looking foward to seeing how Ken works his magic this January.

-- Jeff Paulson, 12/7/06

As of this writing, the Hammerheads own a record of 47-85.  Their winning percentage of .356 is second-worst only to New Milford (.311.)  They're on pace to go 57-103 this season, which would be far from the worst record in BDBL history.  In fact, the Blazers themselves have won fewer than 55 games in a season THREE TIMES!

Clemens and his $20MM salary is untradeable after the draft with all of the rules we have in place.

-- John Gill, 12/22/06

How many times have we seen this before?  A player deemed to be "untradeable" is traded less than three months later.  Mike Hampton, Ken Griffey, Jr., Johan Santana, Bartolo Colon, Austin Kearns, Roger Clemens, Danny Cabrera, Austin Kearns again...

Bonds signed for only one year. That's an overly-safe contract, IMHO. You have to figure that Bonds will have some good market value in 2008. Even if he's not worth $10m, he still has value. You could take $2-$3m in cuts and get a good player in return for him. And I think it's probably 50/50 that he'll be go for $10m in the '08 auction.

-- Me, 12/26/06

Bonds is hitting .279/.483/.570, with 28 homers in 337 ABs.  He may not fetch $10 million in the '08 auction due to his age and injury history, but he'd certainly be worth $10 million for one year.

I'm that high on [Jose Lopez, signed to a six-year contract.] That's why I reject all offers that would have had him in it.

At 23, the power and plate discipline will improve, and if it doesn't, he'll be out of a job soon enough that I can get out the contract. At four years, I'd lose him at 27, so I went the extra two years to get him through his prime years.

-- Greg Newgard, 12/28/06

In 480 MLB at-bats, Lopez is hitting .256/.287/.356.  Unfortunately for Greg, his job appears safe.

With our dominant #1 in place, the Corona Confederates now have their entire pitching staff in place. With Shawn Green anchoring RF, I have flexibility in getting either a SS or 2B and an outfielder in the 2-3mil draft range then flush out the roster with a bunch of other guys.

Now that I have landed the guy I really wanted. I feel confident that I will make the playoffs this year. And no one will convince me otherwise until we are mighty near the trade deadline.

-- Ed McGowan, 1/4/07

Ed must have meant the Chapter Two deadline...

I would be extremely pissed [if Josh Hamilton pans out] because I held onto him for so long. I cut him though because I don't think he will do much. He hasn't played professional ball for FOUR years. He got hurt when he came back. And I am not sold that he will remain clean. Plus he is 26 years old. If he were a couple years younger and did not miss four years, it would be different. I view this pick as choosing Rick Ankiel now.

-- John Gill, 1/7/07

Not only is Hamilton having a productive year in the big leagues (.292/.368/.554 w/ 19 HR in 298 AB), but so is Ankiel!

Sheets, Carpenter, Schmidt and Weaver...I'm sorry, but no one is beating that rotation in a short series. NO ONE. I don't care what kind of offense you have. I'm calling this one. Jeff just won this thing, hands-down. You heard it here first. I may have been wrong about a lot of things throughout the history of this league, but I've always been good at calling the BDBL champions, and I'm calling the Undertakers the champions in 2007. And 2008. And 2009. And maybe even 2010.

-- Me, 1/9/07

I'm sticking with this prediction.  Jeff is winning the trophy this year, next year, and for the next three years.  It's a Jeff Paulson world.  We're all just living in it.

Old man Schilling is going to get his lunch handed to him next year. The way I see it I just saved myself a $3M penalty.

-- Scott Romonosky, 1/10/07

Schilling owns a 3.97 ERA, with 753/744 splits, but has thrown only 145 innings due to his old body breaking down.  I'm sure most people would be willing to pay $6 million for a pitcher like this.

Seeing what is still out there for starting pitchers, I'd rather take my chances [on Mark Buehrle] than spend three million for another sucky pitcher who only has 70 IP...Without the additions of Buehrle and Hendrickson today, my team would have been absolutely hopeless...as for now, they are just hopeless.

-- Bobby Sylvester, 1/16/07

Update: Through 10/3, Buehrle is 3-5 for the Hippos, with a 5.86 ERA in 86 innings.  Hendrickson is 5-3 with a 5.62 ERA in 107+ innings.  Bobby may have been better off flushing that $3 million down the toilet!

Losing Braun has the potential to come back and bite me, but I am not going to sit back and not pull the trigger on any deal I feel points us to the championship each and every year...If I thought that I was not going to win the Butler Division, I would just quit now. I played that way once when I started and I am never going back there again.

...the rub of course is giving up a potential future power bat to [fill the holes on my team] - even one that is years away from possibly being productive for your BDBL squad. I guess I could have gotten into the season and seen how it goes, but I don't want to get into the season feeling short-handed, get in a hole and then find myself wondering how long it will be before I have to torpedo the season and push on for next year. I refuse to go into a season like that, even when I have to make the hard and unpopular decision.

-- Ed McGowan, 1/16/07

Ryan Braun for David Eckstein?? Unbelievable. I have no doubt it was a "quick deal!" The Emperor's Jedi mind trick powers are more powerful than ever.

-- Me, 1/16/07

I'm also getting Ed's last draft pick so I'm going to wait before confirming.

-- Tom DiStefano, 1/16/07

Can you imagine what this negotiation must have been like?

Ed: "Hey, Tom, my team is right on the verge of contention.  All I need is one more player.  One scrappy, diminutive, elfin-like player with gobs of intangibles, clutchiness, grit and clubhouse presence...do you have anyone like that?"

Tom: "Does Ronny Cedeno fit the bill?"

Ed: "Well...I was thinking a little bit grittier..."

Tom: "Hmm...well, my next draft pick is coming up real soon, and I see that David Eckstein is still on the board..."

Ed: "DAVID ECKSTEIN??  He's still available??  I just assumed he went in Round One!  What do you want for that pick?  I'll give you anything!  ANYTHING!"

Tom: "Anything, eh?  Um...jeez...uh, well, I did have my heart set on drafting Eckstein myself...but if you were to give me a farm guy for him, maybe I'd reconsider."

Ed: "Which farm guy?  Name your price!"

Tom: "Well, okay...um..." (Chuckling as he types.)  "How 'bout Ryan Braun?"  (Adds a little winky-smiley to the end of the sentence, then deletes it.)

Ed: "Done!"

Tom: "Really?  Er, I mean...I don't know if that's enough...I may need you to throw in a draft pick or something, too."

Ed: "Done!  Anything!  Please!  My entire 2007 season rides on this!!"

I wonder if Tom has any trouble sleeping at night.

I THINK THE COMMISH IS JUST COMPLAINING THAT I DID NOT OBTAIN A CATCHER FROM HIM....

JOHN GILL IS RIGHT.... SALTY HAD A BAD WRIST .... LOEWEN HAS CONTROL ISSUES.  GALLARDO WILL BE VERY GOOD....

THE BOTTOM LINE IS IROD IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLAYERS OF ALL TIME AND NOT ONLY IS HE AN EXCELLENT CATCHER BUT ALSO A GOOD HITTER ....

I THINK IROD CAN PUT ME IN THE PLAYOFFS......

-- Jim Doyle, 1/17/07

The Irish Rebels are 57-75 on the season, and destined to finish with a losing record for the eighth season in a row.  Gallardo is now one of the brightest young pitchers in the game.  And Saltalamacchia is one of the game's brightest young hitters.  I wonder, did anyone -- besides Jim -- not see this coming?

I didn't say I was going to the World series next year. I said I was going to be competitive. I think .500 is realistic now.

For next year, we have:

Pitchers Herrera, Kuo, Wilson, Sharpess, Okijima, Baek, and Campillo, and maybe Owings at 100K and Eaton at 2 million.

Infielders we have Iwamura, Kouz, navarro, and maybe Patterson at 100K, Casilla, who I have seen play personally, at 500K and Mienty at 1.1.

In the OF we have Denorfia and Brian anderson at 100K and G Anderson at 500K

-- Anthony Peburn, 1/22/07

Update time:

Herrera: Never made it to the show.  Cut by Peburn.
Kuo: 30.1 IP, 7.42 ERA
Wilson: 66 IP, 3.14 ERA
Sharpless: 4.1 IP, 12.46 ERA
Okajima: 67 IP, 2.28 ERA
Baek: 64.1 IP, 5.74 ERA
Campillo: Never made it to the big leagues.
Owings: 146.1 IP, 4.49 ERA
Eaton: 154.1 IP, 6.36 ERA
Iwamura: 449 AB, .285/.357/.408
Kouzmanoff: 431 AB, .269/.321/.455
Navarro: 360 AB, .231/.291/.356
Patterson: 8 AB in MLB
Casilla: 156 AB, .244/.279/.288
Mientkiewicz: 137 AB, .248/.316/.409
Denorfia: 0 AB in MLB
B.Anderson: 17 AB in MLB
G.Anderson: 389 AB, .308/.347/.514

This, my friends, is what you would call a "slight miscalculation."  It's quite possible -- likely, even -- that the 2008 New Milford Blazers will lose more games than the '07 Blazers.  The Blazers have redefined the word "awful."

[Daniel] Cabrera, the 6'7 flamethrower signed thru 2009, has always been a player we have had an eye on and though he was on the wild side this past season, we feel that he will turn the corner this year and put up front of the rotation type numbers over the next few years based on his second half (4.26 ERA, .238 BAA).

...I like Cabrera a lot, see if he develops and gets his control. Even if he can get his walk rate down to 4.0 per 9 innings he is basically Carlos Zambrano.

...Cabrera could be in line for a breakout year, read in many places, but time will tell.

...Cabrera 26/7 K/BB ratio after four starts, two bad ones, still love the upside over the next 3 years.

...First bet of the season, Daniel Cabrera will have a higher VORP than Eric Retard.

-- Sharky, 1/25/07

Easiest bet in the history of betting.  What on earth were you thinking, Sharky?

WHY THE F IS CHAMRA TAKING ON $20 MILLION IN COMPLETELY USELESS SALARY?? Just to be one of, what, 11 teams in the EL wild card race?

-- Me, 4/27/07

Wildcard race? I'm gonna win the division!

You know, you yell at people for tanking and giving up, then you yell at people for trying to win. Make up your mind!

I had tons of cap room available next year. Even in keeping these two at $20M, I still have about $11M to spend as of right now.

...Don't make me ask how many trophies you have... we don't want to go there.

-- Chamra, 4/27/07

How's the pursuit of that second trophy going, Tony?  <insert evil smiley face here>

We were thinking about holding onto [Jarrod Washburn], however, Lind is a nice bat for real cheap.

Either way, we will take the 5 million savings in 08 and 3 million cut penalty in 09 for dumping Washburn plus Lind at 100K both years.

-- Anthony Peburn, 4/28/07

I like Lind, too, but the way Washrag's been pitching in MLB this year, I think I'd hold out a while to see if he's for real.

-- Me, 4/28/07

Washburn: 180.2 IP, 194 H, 21 HR, 64 BB, 105 K, 4.53 ERA
Lind: 247 AB, .227/.272/.385

I can't tell.  Did the Blazers come out ahead or behind in this trade?

I suppose [Casey Janssssen] could finish the year with something like this:

68 IP, 72 H, 6 HR, 20 BB, 27 K, 3.90 ERC

That's pretty good, but is it really the going rate for J.J. Putz?

-- Me, 5/20/07

Casey Janssssen update: 69.1 IP, 65 H, 4 HR, 19 BB, 38 K, 3.21 ERC.  Okay, so I was only off by a little.

I'm not sure why the Infidels are torching their 2008 season [by trading for an overpriced/underperforming Bobby Abreu], given that a spot in the playoffs is a virtual certainty at this point. I guess the "superteam" strategy lives on.

-- Me, 5/31/07

Since this trade was made, Abreu has hit .287/.405/.465 in June, .353/.384/.588 in July and .324/.410/.559 in August.  He's now at .287/.367/.456 overall on the season.  Oh -- and he's at 8.2 RC/27 for the Infidels since his acquisition.

Honestly, [John] Lackey isn't all that. He's been lousy all year.... Lousy since he joined the Jamboree. I see no reason for outrage over this deal. I don't think he is that much better than [Jake] Westbrook.

...I don't understand the outrage over a guy with a career 5.15 BDBL ERA and a 5.27 CERA...I refuse to believe a 5.86 ERA pitcher who has given up 179 baserunners in 109 innings is an ACE. No way, no how.

-- Matt Clemm, 6/12/07

Since the trade:

Lackey: 7-3, 3.11 ERA, 92.2 IP, 90 H, 10 HR, 18 BB, 88 K
Westbrook: 1-2, 6.00 ERA, 39 IP, 53 H, 9 HR, 12 BB, 19 K (for BCJ)

I know I've posted this comparison already in a past FTDOTC article, but I just can't seem to get enough of it!

The main reason I made the deal [for Curt Schilling] was [Josh] Fields...Aybar was just a throw-in. Fields has only 26 ABs this year, so let's see how he does the rest of the way now that he's the starting third baseman after Crede's injury. Put your torches and pitchforks away until October!

-- Scott Romonosky, 6/14/07

Through 340 at-bats, Fields is hitting an unsurprising .238, with an on-base percentage of .292.  Granted, it's still early.  Maybe Scott was referring to October of 2012.

Given our recent track records, I'd be willing to bet that Tom cuts his players before I cut mine.

-- Me, 6/15/07

Ha, ha, ha, I'd like to see THAT supported with some facts!!!

-- Tom, 6/15/07

Ah...my favorite forum thread of the year.  Luckily for me, I saved it all before the server crashed.

[Joe Smith] reminds me of ol' Dan Quisenberry......

-- Jim Doyle, 6/21/07

Let's compare:

Joe Smith: No longer pitching in the major leagues.
Dan Quisenberry: No longer among the living.

Hmm...now I see the comparison!

[Hong-Chi] Kuo you still give no credit to. He will be good at the end of the year, and again 100K.

-- Anthony Peburn, 6/25/07

What the hell.  Let's do another Hong-Kong Kuo update.  Just because it's so much fun!

Kuo: 30.1 IP, 35 H, 3 HR, 14 BB, 27 K, 7.42 ERA.

I never get tired of that.

I don't regret trading for Kenny Rogers. He's 10-7 with five complete games and three shutouts and averaging 7.1 innings per game. I'm locked into that $10 mil next year, but he's back pitching and could end up around 110 IP. If he's decent, he could be worth $5 mil.

-- Mike Stein, 6/25/07

Update: Rogers now has 51 innings in MLB '07.  Which means the Rocks are on the hook for $10 million in 2008.  Of course, Stein will say that when he wins the 2007 BDBL championship, it will all have been worth it.  But we'll see what he has to say about this trade next year.

When [James Loney] reaches at least 250 ABs, then maybe -- maybe -- you can start sending me the finger guy. Until then, [talk to the hand.]

-- Me, 6/27/07

Red alert!  James Loney has officially crossed the 250-AB threshold!  (298, to be exact.)  Although he's not batting .471 anymore, he is hitting a respectable .326/.377/.527.  So, I guess you can give me the finger-guy now, Sharky.  (But he's STILL not worth Mariano Rivera.)

[Trading Aaron Cook] was all about [Shawn] Hill for me. He is on the DL right now, so we will see what happens the rest of the way. But he is looking very good so far.

-- Ed McGowan, 6/30/07

Shawn Hill update: 92.2 IP, 78 H, 6 HR, 24 BB, 63 K, 3.01 ERA.  Of course, once he leaves the comfy confines of Washington National Park, all bets are off.

I'm not really sure why anyone is classifying Cook as an "ace pitcher". Guy's got an .871 OPS vs lefties!

-- Tony Chamra, 6/30/07

In six starts as a Hippo, Cook has allowed 58 hits and 28 runs (25 earned) in 38+ innings (a 5.82 ERA.)  I guess nobody is an "ace" on the Hippos!

We entered Chapter 4 in the position of a seller, but after an inspiring 9-3 start to the chapter including a sweep of the heralded Cowtippers, we now find ourselves as a .500 club, and now in a buyer’s role. With Ravenswood (thankfully) only 5 games ahead in the division (8 games remaining vs. Las Vegas), we feel that this gap can be overcome with a few additions. We needed to address our lack of hitting against LHP and to upgrade the back end of the rotation. This deal with New Milford fits our needs enough that we were willing to part with one of newest team members, slugger Jack Cust. Cust will provide a substantial boost to the Blazer offense next season. Although he'll be missed, we felt he was at his peak in trade value.

-- Johnny Bo, 7/10/07

Jack Cust update: 365 AB, .260/.409/.504, with 23 homers.  Meanwhile, the Flamingos have fallen six games behind in the Benes Division race.

Unfortunately, gentlemen (and Peburn), that's where I left off when the server crashed on us, so I have no more gems to comment upon from the 2007 forum.  But I'm sure we'll have plenty of material for next year's blooper reel.