Your Fraley fix

by Adam J. Morris on Sep 17, 2008 1:24 PM CDT

I know you folks miss former DMN columnist Gerry Fraley.

The good news is, he's got a new column up at the Sporting News website, saying that Manny Ramirez should win the NL MVP Award because Juan Pierre hit a home run in front of him, and while Albert Pujols might be the player of the year, he's not the most valuable, because his team isn't going to make the playoffs.

He also says the Rangers will likely part way with Milton Bradley, among other things...

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The rangers

parting ways with MB wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. IF they can get him relatively short term, on an affordable contract, fine. But if he wants a 3+ year deal, see ya down the road, Milton.

"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky

by DJCahill on Sep 17, 2008 1:33 PM CDT 0 recs

Um

Juan Pierre hit a home run.

For that reason alone, Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez merits strong consideration in the National League MVP race.

Pierre was hitting in the happy spot — ahead of Ramirez — when he homered on Monday at Pittsburgh. Pierre had gone 1,070 at-bats without a homer.

Ramirez makes everyone in the Dodgers’ lineup better, even the lighter-than-light-hitting, toothpick-swinging Pierre.

Is this a bit?

Baseball Time in Arlington

by Joey Matschulat on Sep 17, 2008 1:56 PM CDT 0 recs

Nope...

…I think he’s just that stupid.

Physician: Primum non nocere

Batter: First, make no out

by Chad Crudup on Sep 17, 2008 3:28 PM CDT up 0 recs

OT: Fukudome

I remember much debate last winter about how hard the Rangers should go after Fukudome. I hadn’t realized just how badly he’s played since a hot April start. Since May he’s hitting .237/.337/.339. Just another 3 years and $36 million on that contract.

Don't you know it's gonna be alright?

by t ball on Sep 17, 2008 2:02 PM CDT 0 recs

the dirkatron's wishlist in the OF

Fukudome and Corey Patterson would have been a real treat to watch this season.

"So he tore it up in AA. Yippee. ...Max Ramirez be damned." - bigsteve

by tricer on Sep 17, 2008 3:43 PM CDT up 0 recs

I never, ever, ever

understood the wierd CoPa fascination. A fast kid that can’t play a lick of baseball.

"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky

by DJCahill on Sep 17, 2008 4:00 PM CDT up 0 recs

Your boy Adam Dunn

is trying to get paid.

He is a tough out right now in AZ.

Did Ben survive the hurricane?

by Chase Irwin on Sep 17, 2008 4:03 PM CDT up 0 recs

God bless

whoever locks him up longterm. That’ll choke a franchise for awhile. He strikes me as the type of guy who would get real comfortable on a longterm contract.

"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky

by DJCahill on Sep 17, 2008 4:36 PM CDT up 0 recs

Are there any FA's you'd like to see us go after this off season, DJC?

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Sep 17, 2008 4:45 PM CDT up 0 recs

I think we know the answer to that.

Did Ben survive the hurricane?

by Chase Irwin on Sep 17, 2008 4:56 PM CDT up 0 recs

Wouldnt mind

Perez, Sabathia or Sheets. I’d probably get outbid, but chasing DHs is not where this team needs to go with guys like Ramirez, Davis, Smoak and Young. I can’t see many bats worth chasing, because unless the bat comes with an OF, 3B, or SS glove, there isnt much point.

"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky

by DJCahill on Sep 17, 2008 8:23 PM CDT up 0 recs

Perez isn't good so I don't want him

But I’m with you on Sheets and Sabathia. Lowe is good, but his age scares me. Wouldn’t mind him, though. Burnett is a chronic underachiever and I don’t know why anyone would expect that to change here. Garland sucks. Brad Penny might intrigue me if LA cuts him lose, but they won’t.

All the good bats this off season are COF/1b/DH types, so I don’t want any of that.

Personally I’d work the trade market and go really hard after Benjamin Sheets right off the bat with a 5/90 deal and see if you can get him to bite. I doubt that’ll be enough, but maybe if you go right after him with a big offer like that you could him to sign fast while most of the bigger dogs are still after Charles Clifford Sabathia. The money thrown around this off season is going to be absolutely bonkers, I’m telling you. The system is flush with cash, all the big clubs have significant money coming free, and a lot of the mid-majors are looking to expand payroll a bit.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Sep 17, 2008 8:58 PM CDT up 0 recs

I think

Perez is a lot better than what we have, and will be the “affordable” pitching option that might be left after folks go batshit on CC and Sheets.

I just don’t see any bats I really want, because I don’t think this team can absorb another glorified DH. If I could get Adam Everett, Cezar Izturis or other good glove/no bat SS on a cheap, one year contract, I might put him at SS and move FoTF to 3B, because I do think our Defense costs our team 6-10 games a year, and the easiest way to patch Defense is SS and CF. That’d give us more time for ~~Arias~~ Andrus to develop, and push FOTF off SS to a place he is probably going to be better defensively.

"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky

by DJCahill on Sep 18, 2008 4:41 AM CDT up 0 recs

He has superstar raw talent

I always wanted to see if we could buy super low on him and get results out of him here. I certainly liked that idea better than spending big on Rowand or Hunter last off season. (Obviously I didn’t see the Hambone trade coming so I couldn’t really campaign for that.)

But, yah, you were right and I was wrong. He sucks so bad. I thought he might finally do something this year in Cincy, but he sucks.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Sep 17, 2008 4:09 PM CDT up 0 recs

I was right there with you dirk

I don’t think I had found this blog yet but over at the DMN blog I was all for going after CoPa. Just like you I couldn’t see the hammy trade coming but I would have rather had CoPa than spend big on Hunter or Rowand. Im glad it didn’t happen and I have no problem admitting I was wrong.

Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

by bigsteve on Sep 17, 2008 4:15 PM CDT up 0 recs

He really doesn't have superstar raw talent.

He’s fast. That’s about it. He has crummy reads on defense, he can’t hit, and his arm is OK.

Just another overrated fast guy. There are no players I hate more than the glorified track star who can’t play a lick of baseball in their mid 20s.

"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky

by DJCahill on Sep 17, 2008 4:33 PM CDT up 0 recs

Fair enough

He was trumpeted as a five tool guy by the BA folks coming up, and did slug over .500 once and then hit 20+ hr the next season in the bigs.

A guy who hits .261/.338/.491/.829 with 22 hr and 27 sb as a 20 year old in AA gets the label of superstar raw talent in my book. He fell apart after that at the big league level and really only had one good season, but I always thought back to that kid with limitless potential and thought that maybe free of Dusty and all those Chicago era #1 overall prospect expectations that he might find the key to unlocking all that talent and then we’d have a superstar for cheap.

So while I disagree that he’s only fast and has no other tools, I do agree that you were right in saying that his skills don’t translate to the baseball field. He’s just not a good baseball player.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Sep 17, 2008 4:43 PM CDT up 0 recs

I saw him quit on a lot of plays defensively

in the Cubs OF, when I lived in Chicago. I’d call him a Dog, but like Tommy Lasorda said about Daryl Strawberry, Dogs are loyal, and run hard after balls.

"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky

by DJCahill on Sep 17, 2008 8:26 PM CDT up 0 recs

kind of like joey gathright

except without the car jumping skills

In reference to how good the Steelers have been in their history: "No one is even close to them."- Steal Home

by hinduplaya on Sep 17, 2008 6:07 PM CDT up 0 recs

Joey Gathright never hit 24 hrs at the major league level

And he certainly never slugged .500.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Sep 17, 2008 8:48 PM CDT up 0 recs

heh

Yah, I was wrong on Fuku though I was never but-ass crazy about him or anything. Patterson is officially done. I also wanted Andruw here on a one year deal. That didn’t work out. But I was also the biggest proponent of bringing in Milton O. Bradley, so I hit about .250 this off season in terms of the FA OF’ers I was interested in.

Who did you want?

Hunter? Rowand?

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Sep 17, 2008 4:06 PM CDT up 0 recs

I was advocating Brandon Boggs as a starting CF

Also expressed some interest in Andruw, never wanted to touch Rowand, Hunter, or Fuku.

"So he tore it up in AA. Yippee. ...Max Ramirez be damned." - bigsteve

by tricer on Sep 17, 2008 4:12 PM CDT up 0 recs

really?

The guy hadn’t played above AA yet but you wanted him starting in Arlington?

Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

by bigsteve on Sep 17, 2008 4:16 PM CDT up 0 recs

rebuilding teams

need to play young players.

"So he tore it up in AA. Yippee. ...Max Ramirez be damned." - bigsteve

by tricer on Sep 17, 2008 4:16 PM CDT up 0 recs

if they are ready

I fully agree. But fringe prospects who figure to be no better than 4th OFs anyway and who have had 1 good year in the minors don’t need to be jumped from AA to the bigs.

Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

by bigsteve on Sep 17, 2008 4:26 PM CDT up 0 recs

Having seen Boggs for a full season now

Do you still think he can handle CF? I don’t think he has the raw wheels it takes to be a plus defender out there. He’s plus in RF or LF cause of his instincts and that uber-precise cannon of his, but I just don’t see him as a CF’er long term. I also think we screwed the pooch by leaving him up here all year and giving him sporadic (at best) playing time rather than letting him play everyday in AAA and actually working on his game.

What are your thoughts?

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Sep 17, 2008 4:29 PM CDT up 0 recs

+1

We screwed up Boggs and Duran this year by rushing them to the majors. And not giving them consistent playing time when they were here didn’t help.

Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

by bigsteve on Sep 17, 2008 4:30 PM CDT up 0 recs

Salty is the worst offender in this regard

The fact that he essentially lost a year of dev time this season really pisses in my cereal.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Sep 17, 2008 4:35 PM CDT up 0 recs

yes and no

He played enough in the bigs last year and he tore up AAA in his short time there this year that I don’t think he needed more time in the minors. I do think he needed to play more frequently when he was up here but early on you couldn’t justify sitting laird with the way he was playing.

Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

by bigsteve on Sep 17, 2008 4:39 PM CDT up 0 recs

salty

but in wash logic he’s learning how to be a major league’r and play the game the right way

"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it." - Mitch Hedberg

by rentz on Sep 18, 2008 6:45 AM CDT up 0 recs

Boggs in CF

Hard to say since he hasn’t gotten any time in CF, but I think he’d be at least average there. He seems to have as much speed as Byrd, and Boggs really seems to have a gift for getting a quick read and taking good routes.

And yeah, I agree that he would have been better served in AAA than on the ML bench.

"So he tore it up in AA. Yippee. ...Max Ramirez be damned." - bigsteve

by tricer on Sep 17, 2008 4:49 PM CDT up 0 recs

you certainly weren't the only one wanting Fukudome

Seems like just about everyone here was in love with that guy.

"So he tore it up in AA. Yippee. ...Max Ramirez be damned." - bigsteve

by tricer on Sep 17, 2008 4:15 PM CDT up 0 recs

I love OF defense

the idea of getting a good hitting/great fielding RF in here really intrigued me. I believed the scouting reports and figured he’d be good for a .290/.370/.450 with a whole mess of doubles. I was wrong. I hadn’t realized what an abject failure his post-May season has been. .237/.337/.339 from a COF? That’s awful. It’ll be interesting to see if he rebounds a bit next season as he adjusts to life in US and to big league pitching, or if the downard trend continues and this second half suckage proves to be the real thing.

Oh, and I was ridiculously against the whole Murton for Byrd thing!

If I’m gonna get ripped for thousands upon thousands of very dumb things I say, shouldn’t the one or two smart things I manage say get equal play? ;)

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Sep 17, 2008 4:26 PM CDT up 0 recs

Do I hafta answer that?

;)

"...my balls are really like a veiny flesh color" blueballlefty on Jun 4, 2008 7:44 PM EDT
"you gonna lose your horse. seriously." FX2
"If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey," Bo Diddley

by Rodney on Sep 17, 2008 4:34 PM CDT up 0 recs

We all say

tens of thousands of things here, so thousands of them are bound to be dumb. I was all for getting Fuku if the contract was reasonable, wow. But I never imagined getting Hamilton. Way better acquisition.

Don't you know it's gonna be alright?

by t ball on Sep 17, 2008 7:04 PM CDT up 0 recs

FJM'd

Sorta.

Pujols was unable to keep the bullpen-poor Cardinals from sinking in the N.L. Central.

Good point. Cardinals have a poor bullpen. What the fuck is their firstbaseman doing to help that? Nothin. Selfish ass.

On Aug. 28, Torre moved Ramirez up one spot to third in the order. That changed outfielder Andre Ethier’s season. Going into tonight’s game, Ethier is batting .467 with three homers, 15 RBIs and a .817 slugging percentage in 15 games batting in front of Ramirez.

Ethier is slugging .929 in Sept with Manny behind him. You know what that means? Papi was worthless piece of crap for not slugging at least .900 during his entire career in Boston.

Nothing pithy here. Please move long.

by WyoRanger on Sep 17, 2008 2:08 PM CDT 0 recs

Ethier

I’d sooner vote for him if you’re picking a Dodger. He’s been outstanding since the ASB, better than Manny.

Don't you know it's gonna be alright?

by t ball on Sep 17, 2008 2:18 PM CDT up 0 recs

Sure

But what is the guy hitting in front of Ethier doing?

"Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states" - Barack Obama

by DaheelzCM on Sep 17, 2008 2:19 PM CDT up 0 recs

Zing

Nothing pithy here. Please move long.

by WyoRanger on Sep 17, 2008 2:36 PM CDT up 0 recs

Pierre hit a HR

give him the MVP. Forget about Manny, its all about Juan Pierre

By 2028, Mark Teixeira will be in the HOF.
-The Outlaw

by Gdawg1 on Sep 17, 2008 3:15 PM CDT 0 recs

So Bedard is gonna have

Shoulder surgery and rumors are that there is an outside shot he’ll be cut. How much would you be willing to give him? Would you go to 13 mil? Or would you stay away?

"Mr. Hicks, you watch, I'm going to be a leader on this team." Kinsler

by sprite on Sep 17, 2008 5:02 PM CDT 0 recs

Bedard?

Did Ben survive the hurricane?

by Chase Irwin on Sep 17, 2008 5:02 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yep.

"Mr. Hicks, you watch, I'm going to be a leader on this team." Kinsler

by sprite on Sep 17, 2008 5:04 PM CDT up 0 recs

Bleah.

Did Ben survive the hurricane?

by Chase Irwin on Sep 17, 2008 6:25 PM CDT up 0 recs

For one year?

No. If he wanted to do a two year deal, then we could talk. But there’s no way I’m paying for a guy who may or may not even pitch next season, though obviously I’d need to know more about exactly what sort of shoulder problems he’s having and what procedure he’s having to fix the problem.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

by thedirkatron on Sep 17, 2008 8:50 PM CDT up 0 recs