MLB 2008

[GregK]

At least this will get that idiot off the daily national Red Sox broadcasts

[Chuck Nessa]

Amidst all the trade hoo ha, anyone notice the Cubs swept the Brewers?

[Big Al]

I did!

CUBS WIN!!! CUBS WIN!!! HOLY COW!!!!

[Dan Gould]

So did I!

Its Gonna Happen!

[Soulstation1]

The Dodgers should have traded Andruw Jones for MannRam straight up!

[J.A.W.]

Amidst all the trade hoo ha, anyone notice the Cubs swept the Brewers?

Obviously you didn't read my post #1232

[Chuck Nessa]

Amidst all the trade hoo ha, anyone notice the Cubs swept the Brewers?

Obviously you didn't read my post #1232

Sorry, that was a page back on my browser and I missed it. JAW is the MAN!

[papsrus]

So ... bin busy most of the day with a few pressing things, so I haven't had a chance to look through the thread. Were there any deadline trades? ... Did the Rays get Manny or Jason Bay? I sure hope so. That would be swell.

OK ... gotta run, but I'll check back later to read about all the deft and savvy moves that the Rays made for their first-ever, super-fantastic playoff push.

This is gonna be g-r-e-a-t !!!

[PHILLYQ]

No one seems to know if he's going to be part of a platoon or actually go back to CF. I'd agree its nice to see him potentially get a shot at the playoffs and maybe a ring, but after watching him in June, he's just a shell of his former self. You really have to groove one over the plate for him to catch up to it. I think you'll see a lot of opposing managers go ahead and challenge him by walking whoever is in front of him.

And if he is going to play CF, that will be a disaster.

This may sound odd, but I wonder if Junior can adjust to being on a winning team- he hasn't been on one in awhile.

[Soulstation1]

Your top 5 in person MLB automagraphs

George Brett

Ernie Banks

Yogi Berra

Rod Carew

Tony Gwynn

[papsrus]

Stat on Mike and Mike this morning surprised me (and I think I have this right): Over the last two years, Griffey has 5 more homers than Manny and just 10 fewer RBI.

(the RBI stat may have been for the past three years. Was a little groggy)

Edited August 1, 2008 by papsrus

[zen archer]

Stat on Mike and Mike this morning surprised me (and I think I have this right): Over the last two years, Griffey has 5 more homers than Manny and just 10 fewer RBI.

(the RBI state may have been for the past three years. Was a little groggy)

Manny is not the same player he was 3/4 years back. I'm telling ya this was the first season i have ever seen

Manny miss so many fastballs.

[zen archer]

A few things i was not aware of about Manny:

After the Angels series in Anaheim his team mates BEGGED him to get onto the plane for Seattle !...Manny told

them he was not going to Seattle.

Manny also told them he would not play again until the upcoming series against the Kansas City Royals...He was taking

off 11 days!!

[papsrus]

A few things i was not aware of about Manny:

After the Angels series in Anaheim his team mates BEGGED him to get onto the plane for Seattle !...Manny told

them he was not going to Seattle.

Manny also told them he would not play again until the upcoming series against the Kansas City Royals...He was taking

off 11 days!!

Without knowing anything further about the particulars, wouldn't something like this be cause for the team to claim breach of contract?

Edited August 1, 2008 by papsrus

[Dan Gould]

The Globe reported that the team held an informal poll of "veterans" and the message was that unless something is done, Francona would "lose the clubhouse" over all the things Manny had done/said and gotten away with. His planned 11 game vacation was just outrageous and shows such disrespect for his teammates.

I think it boils down to Manny believing that since the club picked up Pedro's option and did it well before the deadline, if he played well at the start, they'd do the same thing or even come to him and start talks for another contract. It didn't happen, Manny decided they wouldn't pick up the option regardless, and decided he had to force them to get rid of him.

Going forward, this team is going to concentrate on signing and keeping professionals. Guys who take their job seriously, who don't expect special treatment, respect the game and their teammates. No more prima donnas like Manny and Pedro (both of whom, you'll note, were inherited by Theo, not signed by him). And no more guys who take an extra couple of days at the break. No more of that crap, and that I believe will produce a more harmonious clubhouse without any excessive egos.

[Quincy]

No more of that crap, and that I believe will produce a more harmonious clubhouse without any excessive egos.

And it will be a lot less interesting. That may be what you want, but the '04 team (with Millar & Damon as well) sure was colorful.

[Dan Gould]

No more of that crap, and that I believe will produce a more harmonious clubhouse without any excessive egos.

And it will be a lot less interesting. That may be what you want, but the '04 team (with Millar & Damon as well) sure was colorful.

they were colorful and they were fun, and I don't think we're going to turn into the button-down, corporate clubhouse of the Yankees. Just no more guys who lack respect for the guys with them in the trenches and who won't command special privileges, or abuse people and situations because they can. And Millar and Damon and Trot and Papi were all guys who respected the game and their teammates. It was really Pedro and Manny who didn't and kept pushing and pushing and no one ever pushed back, until now.

for me though I am going to enjoy watching the Dodgers not reap unbelievable benefits from Manny. Yeah, Papi is without Manny now. And Manny doesn't have on-base machines batting in front of him, and he's got a geriatric second baseman protecting him. Manny won't have as many run-scoring opportunities, and he will be pitched around more often, and he'll play in bigger parks where he'll have to crush some balls to get them out, and where his defensive shortcomings will be on much greater display.

And what happens when he discovers that everyone leaves in the seventh inning to avoid the traffic? What if he decides he should be able to leave too?

I joke, but that's the way Manny's mind works.

[Quincy]

And what happens when he discovers that everyone leaves in the seventh inning to avoid the traffic? What if he decides he should be able to leave too?

I joke, but that's the way Manny's mind works.

Heh. I'm wondering who would win a bizarro contest between Manny & Rube Waddell.

I was also wondering how many teams still have hair length guidelines. I would have thought the Dodgers would have been one but probably not. I can't wait to see a picture of him in that classic uniform, it'll be a sight!

[BERIGAN]

Stat on Mike and Mike this morning surprised me (and I think I have this right): Over the last two years, Griffey has 5 more homers than Manny and just 10 fewer RBI.

(the RBI stat may have been for the past three years. Was a little groggy)

Very interesting! EPSN shows stats from 2005-2007 under "splits" and Juniors numbers are 92 257, Manny 100 334.

But, going from 2006, til this year, junior has 72 Hr's and 224 RBI's

Manny,75 HR's 258 RBI's!

Meanwhile, Griffey probably gave away his 16 mil for next year, and Manny thinks he's worth 100mil for 4 years????

[Noj]

for me though I am going to enjoy watching the Dodgers not reap unbelievable benefits from Manny. Yeah, Papi is without Manny now. And Manny doesn't have on-base machines batting in front of him, and he's got a geriatric second baseman protecting him. Manny won't have as many run-scoring opportunities, and he will be pitched around more often, and he'll play in bigger parks where he'll have to crush some balls to get them out, and where his defensive shortcomings will be on much greater display.

Well, I'm hoping that Manny and Casey Blake bring enough firepower to the lineup to help the Dodgers score runs. He's the first real home run threat on the team since Sheffield, I'm praying Manny's still got something in the tank. The Dodgers have been so offensively impotent for so long that I'm excited just to see a big bat on board. Hopefully the Dodger pitching can help Manny avoid being a circus in the outfield...

[Dan Gould]

This report by Sean McAdam of the Providence paper really puts in stark relief how sick and tired Manny's teammates had grown, and why Theo felt obligated to make this move:

General manager Theo Epstein was working with a mandate from within his own clubhouse. After his team’s dispiriting loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Wednesday night, Epstein met with a handful of Red Sox veterans, all of whom delivered the same message: Manny had to go.

If his antics weren’t directly responsible for the team’s slide — the Sox have lost five of six on the current homestand, their worst stretch of play at Fenway all season — they were certainly serving as a distraction.

Worse, the players feared that if Ramirez remained with the Sox for the rest of the season, he couldn’t be counted upon in the middle of a pennant race. In their minds, there were no guarantees that Ramirez wouldn’t engage in further petulant displays that could sidetrack the team’s playoff push.

In the past, teammates had advised against just such a deal, reminding management that, whatever his faults, Ramirez’s skills as a run producer were too valuable.

But in the last week or so, Ramirez lost the clubhouse and the equation was turned on its head: No matter how good he was as a hitter, it wasn’t enough to outweigh the negatives.

Teammates were tired of answering questions about him, tired of rationalizing his selfish behavior, and frankly, tired of him.

Armed with that knowledge, Epstein set out to make a trade — any trade.

Now, did those veterans include Papi, and did he feel that Manny was hurting the team, too? I don't know, but if by "veterans" he meant the greybeards, I'd bet that Lowell, Varitek and Wakefield had all exhausted their patience with Manny and let Theo know. You can throw in Drew, too, which is kind of ironic since he's seen as such a passive player, but whether he shows it or not, he does have pride in what he does, and I don't think he respects Manny either.

And this is a telling statement from Theo in today's presser:

We "feel like a team for the first time in a while ... There was an environment that was not conducive to winning surrounding this club. We wanted to change that if we could. We also wanted to make a good baseball trade."

[J.A.W.]

Jason Bay

[PHILLYQ]

More Manny thoughts: he was traded on the condition that his option NOT be picked up by the acquiring team

Manny recently hired Scott Boras as his agent

If his option got picked up Boras would get nothing as far as a commission

If Manny goes free agent(with Boras whispering in his ear that he can get , say, 4 years/$100 mil), Boras gets a healthy commission

Did Boras advise Manny to up his dirtbag act?

[zen archer]

Jason Bay

Big night for Jason Bay hit a triple and scored both runs in a 2-1 victory !

[Quincy]

Your top 5 in person MLB automagraphs

George Brett

Ernie Banks

Yogi Berra

Rod Carew

Tony Gwynn

Nice list! I got nuthin'. However I can make a list of sons of MLB players who I saw play in the minors:

Ben Grieve

Bobby Bonds Jr.

Craig Griffey

Malcolm Cepeda

Omar Moreno Jr.

Eduardo Perez (Tony's kid)

Mendoza Line's kid, perhaps a Jr.

Fernando Valenzuela Jr. (played 1st)

There are probably a few I'm forgetting. Grieve & Perez are the only ones who hung around the bigs for at least a few years. Tom Grieve & Fernando Sr. both visited the local park but I didn't see either.

Edited August 2, 2008 by Quincy