Posted 2:46 PM by bob
CRIKEY! You guys have hoovered up all my picture bandwidth! I never thought that would happen.

Posted 2:20 PM by bob
DAVID PINTO isn't real excited about Bud Selig's latest flash of genius.
Personally, I think that if they want to make the players care about winning the All-Star game, they should raise the monetary reward:
A 15% bonus to everybody on the winning team who gets in the game, and a 5% bonus to everybody on the winning team who doesn't get in the game.
In 2001, the AL won the game. Twenty-nine AL players got in the game. Here are their salaries (in 2001) with the amount of the bonus:

Name            2001Salary	Bonus       	GotIn

R.Alomar   	$7,750,000	$1,162,500	Y

B.Boone    	$3,250,000	$487,500	Y

M.Cameron	$3,416,667	$512,500	Y

T.Clark      	$4,462,500	$669,375	Y

R.Clemens	$10,300,000	$1,545,000	Y

F.Garcia	$425,000	$63,750     	Y

J.Giambi	$4,103,333	$615,500	Y

T.Glaus     	$1,250,000	$187,500	Y

J.Gonzalez	$10,000,000	$1,500,000	Y

C.Guzman	$325,000	$48,750     	Y

D.Jeter      	$12,600,000	$1,890,000	Y

E.Martinez	$5,500,000	$825,000	Y

J.Mays      	$260,000	$39,000     	Y

E.Milton	$2,150,000	$215,000	N

J.Nelson	$3,333,333	$500,000	Y

J.Olerud	$6,700,000	$1,005,000	Y

M.Ordonez	$3,750,000	$562,500	Y

T.Percivel	$3,400,000	$510,000	Y

A.Pettite	$7,000,000	$1,050,000	Y

J.Posada	$4,050,000	$607,500	Y

P.Quantrill	$1,800,000	$270,000	Y

M.Ramirez	$13,050,000	$1,957,500	Y

C.Ripken	$6,300,000	$945,000	Y

M.Rivera	$9,150,000	$915,000	N

A.Rodriguez	$22,000,000	$3,300,000	Y

I.Rodriguez	$8,200,000	$1,230,000	Y

K.Sasaki	$4,666,667	$700,000	Y

M.Stanton	$2,450,000	$367,500	Y

Ichiro!     	$5,666,667	$850,000	Y

M.Sweeney	$5,000,000	$750,000	Y

G.Vaughn	$8,250,000	$825,000	N

B.Williams	$12,357,143	$1,853,571	Y

**************************************************			

TOTAL	         TOTAL	        $27,959,946	

That would cost each team less than $1 million a year, which seems easily affordable. But would it motivate the players? Well...I think a 15% bonus would sure as heck motivate them. That's a lot of money for one day's hard work.
I've often wondered why the league hasn't implemented this; it seems the easiest way to motivate the players - and it doesn't mess with the playoffs (the idea of some All-Star from a 2nd-division team being the deciding factor in who has home-field advantage has never excited me). I suppose it is because the team owners are just too damn cheap.

Posted 3:11 PM by bob
SAY HELLO TO YOUR BIRTHDAY ALL-STARS!
Picking All-Star teams from players that share your birthday seems to have begun, on Christmas day, with Jay Jaffe. From there, it has snowballed to include Aaron Gleeman, John Perricone, and The Cub Reporter.
Well, never one to miss a bandwagon, I decided to get in on the act.
So here it is, my Birthday All-Star team (April 21):

All numbers shown are for the player's career:

Starting Lineup:
C Kevin Brown (94 OPS+ in 189 AB, 1996-2002)
1B Chris Donnells (83 OPS+ in 798 AB, 1991-2002)
2B Dick Green (87 OPS+ in 4007 AB, 1963-1974)
SS Germany Smith (74 OPS+ in 6552 AB, 1884-1898)
3B Ken Caminiti (116 OPS+ in 6288 AB, 1987-2001)
LF Hardy Richardson (130 OPS+ in 5642 AB, 1879-1892)
CF Al Bumbry (104 OPS+ in 5053 AB, 1972-1985)
RF Cliff Brumbaugh (43 OPS+ in 46 AB, 2001)

Bench:
Utility Infielder: Stan Rojek (74 OPS+ in 1764 AB, 1942-1952)

Starting Pitchers:
Kip Wells (32-35, 103 ERA+ in 466 IP, 1999-2002)
Gary Peters (124-103, 106 ERA+ in 2081 IP, 1959-1972)
Lefty Weinert (18-33, 97 ERA+ in 437 IP, 1919-1931)
John Raleigh (1-10, 62 ERA+ in 85.7 IP, 1909-1910)

Relievers:
RH Long Reliever Bill Faul (79 ERA+ in 261.3 IP, 1962-1970)
LH Long Reliever Bill Chamberlain (95 ERA+ in 41.3 IP, 1932)
RH Reliever Carlos Castillo (90 ERA+ in 210.7 IP, 1997-2001)
RH Reliever Les Lancaster (41-28, 98 ERA+ in 703.7 IP, 1987-1993)
Closer Jesse Orosco (85-78, 130 ERA+ in 1261.3 IP, 1979-2002)

Manager:
Joe McCarthy (2125-1333, .615 winning percentage, 9 pennants, 7 world championships, 16 first- or second-place finishes and - perhaps most impressive - he has a winning record with every team he managed, and never had a losing campaign, in 24 seasons)

Some Notes:
Plenty of futility infielders but very little power - 1B and RF are black holes. Plus, a severe shortage of outfielders among those who were born on my birthday, and the only stars on the team would be the 3B, Ken Caminiti, the LF, Hardy Richardson (who spent equal time at 2B in his career), and the manager (my only HOF representative), Joe McCarthy - though it is still possible that Kip Wells, the only player who shares my exact birthday could become a lesser star as a starting pitcher (he is still young).
All in all, the whole team could possibly compete in a weak division, if everyone hit their peak at the same time (remember, the numbers above are career numbers). But all in all, it is a team I am proud of - and waiting in the wings are some pretty good baseball names: Bert Hogg, Bob Rinker, Joe Keener, Mack Burk, and Greg Legg.

Posted 1:06 PM by bob
THEO EPSTEIN: FULL OF NEW-FANGLED IDEAS, OR SIMPLY A RECYCLER OF OLD ONES?

It's a bullpen led by committee rather than achored by a single closer, and the Boston Red Sox are going to give it a try.

Posted 1:00 PM by bob
IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE GIANTS-NINERS game, this little tid-bit has emerged:

Meanwhile, New Jersey Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto wants the league to allow the state to host a Super Bowl by 2006 and called on the head of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which runs Giants Stadium, to begin legal action against the NFL.

"New Jersey taxpayers may have been cheated of tax revenue the state would have earned from players' income and other Giants-related enterprises had the team advanced in the playoffs," Impreveduto said in his letter to George Zoffinger, the sports authority president.

Just the thought of suing because the team didn't advance boggles my mind - if this is reasonable, why not sue the losing team for mental and physical errors that cheated taxpayers of tax revenue?

Posted 9:47 AM by bob
MIKE, OF MIKE'S BASEBALL RANTS, EXPLORES THE HISTORY OF THE RELIEVER:
Part I
Part II
Part III

Well worth the reading.

Update:
Part IV

Posted 8:30 AM by bob
AL WEST PREVIEW.

Despite what happened in the post-season, Oakland is still clearly the class of this division. Anaheim played over their heads last season and is due for a fall, particularly on offense where they just aren't that good. Meanwhile, Seattle will decline slightly but remain competitive; enough to fend off the Angels for a distant second behind Oakland, at least. Texas, while they're probably improved, still doesn't have the pitching to hang with the other three.

Posted 8:20 AM by bob
ONE MORE COMEBACK? Norm Charlton is trying to prove, along with Jesse Orosco, that lefties never die.

Posted 8:18 AM by bob
MURRAY AND CARTER are going to Cooperstown!

Posted 8:16 AM by bob
LARRY STONE'S HALL OF FAME BALLOT:
Eddie Murray
Gary Carter
Ryne Sandberg
Andre Dawson
Jim Rice
Bert Blyleven
Jack Morris
Lee Smith
Goose Gossage
Bruce Sutter

In the print version of this article there is a pretty neat picture of his actual ballot, filled out and signed.

Posted 12:11 PM by bob
THE 2002 STATLG-L Internet Hall of Fame has closed its polls, and the results are in.
My ballot:
Bert Blyleven
Brett Butler
Gary Carter
Rich Gossage
Ryne Sandberg
Lee Smith
Bruce Sutter
Alan Trammell

This generated a bit of controversy and an interesting discussion.