Ok, so Mariano Rivera makes $14.9million a year, and he's the only closer in the game since the days of Sutter, McGraw, Fingers, and Gossage who is worth giving a contract that lasts past the first few years of being determined to be that great.
That said, who the hell determined that adventure waiting to happen that is K-Rod (whether it's with his father in law or on the diamond) is worth a $17.5million option that could AUTOMATICALLY kick in for 2012? Oh, that's right... the Mets former management that isn't calling the shots anymore.
Perhaps that's why K-Rod's sorry self was shipped to the land of Laverne and Shirley. Milwaukee needs a closer that isn't named John Axford (and a first baseman that isn't so chubby that he can't run quickly enough to catch a pop fly behind the bag in the shallow outfield - though 3-run home runs do make up for creating situations that almost let more runs in).
The idea that having a closer that can be bought from outside - instead of developed locally and shipped off to free-spending teams in the offseason - is truly ridiculous. For instance, Atlanta's Craig Kimbrel is number one in saves right now (28). However, he's 1 blown save off of tieing 5 pitchers for the lead (6). Does this make him elite? There was discussion at the All Star Game last night that he was striking out 15+ batters per 9 innings (adjusted to his minimal 1 inning stint at the end of a game). However, his WHIP is over 1 and his ERA is over 2.00. I know that players can't be perfect all of the time, but when a man comes in throwing flames and breaking pitches with gusto, the game should be 3 up, 3 down... at least every other time (and even then, 1 batter on is more than enough). And sure, he's getting bottom of the barrel salary to be good, but really? When will his reward come? When will he sign for big bucks in Georgia because Atlanta never really had a great reliever during their run (save when they converted Smoltz to the bullpen and gave him up in their rotation).
And that really is the issue here... free spending and make believe combing to make people think that their team's closer is a worthy part of a long stretch run (ok, in the case of Mariano Rivera, it is, but what other teams? Boston gave up Keith Foulke soon after 2004. The Yankees gave up John Wettland after 1996 added Rich Gossage after Sparky Lyle won the Cy Young Award (now that says something).
Is Craig Kimbrel going to be worth millions in free agency?
Is K-Rod really the pitcher that a team wants to pay mega millions to when they're not competing with the division leaders (and let's be honest, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes are flashes in the pan looking for a ticket out of the Big Apple)?
So welcome to Milwaukee, Francisco. Hopefully, you can convince Prince Fielder to stick around for mega millions of his own.
Showing posts with label Francisco Rodriguez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Francisco Rodriguez. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Jose Reyes
We talk a lot about rivalries here, and while I'm no Phillies fan spewing venom for the Mets, I really don't like any of the Mets. I don't know if I can say I really ever liked any of the Mets. No, it's not payback for Buckner's misplay in 1986, but I just can't say that anyone on the Mets is that great.
And while I'm not church religious (though I do point my finger to Heaven in thanks for the good things that I have been given and try to live my life in a way that would be what He wants), I know not to covet my neighbor's wife or my opponent's short stop.
And with that, I like Jose Reyes as much as I like a post-father in law fighting K-Rod, a slumping Carlos Beltran, an over-hyped David Wright, and a post Red Sox Jason Bay. That's to say that while I don't wish them will will, I'm just not moved by any of their stats or upsides to think that they represent anything worthwhile to the game of baseball - especially the game of baseball in Boston, which would mean mortgaging the future and paying big dollars to get them signed for a long time (and while we know Boston is more than willing to pay lots of little, they need to be more frugal and tighten their purse strings - especially those that would reach out to a shortstop like Reyes). And while it's not even real reaching out, the good folks at Bleacher Report have once again put smoke where there is no fire by saying that the Red Sox would give up on Jed Lowrie who has a .310 average with 3 home runs since replacing idiot move Marco Scutaro.
And if Boston is finally getting it together without Wacky Lackey and his DL stint (or time off to get his marriage together - whatever you want to call it) and with Carl Crawford finally getting out of the sub Mendoza basement from Hell as Adrian Gonzalez goes on a sick RBI tear, do we really need a Met with Attitude at short stop for a shot at post season glory?
Methinks not, but alas, when the Mets owner is trashing his team, we have to believe that there is something right in New York (not named Ike Davis). With that, we give you his classic one liners:
(on REYES)): He thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money. He's had everything wrong with him. He won't get it.
(on BELTRAN): We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series. He's 65 to 70 percent of what he was. (didn't I call this the other day? I'm a genius, and I should be writing for ESPN).
(on WRIGHT): Really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.
So yeah... there is no love in New York... for the players or for Bernie Madoff who is even trying to play the ethical card by saying the Mets didn't know how they were screwed over by him. Yep... we believe, but that's not saying good things when the Mets (like the Dodgers) are looking to financially implode this year.
And while the fans in Philadelphia probably wouldn't care, let's just say that a part of baseball will die with this team sucking as bad as they are (just like in L.A.). And in a year of parity, that's saying something.
And while I'm not church religious (though I do point my finger to Heaven in thanks for the good things that I have been given and try to live my life in a way that would be what He wants), I know not to covet my neighbor's wife or my opponent's short stop.
And with that, I like Jose Reyes as much as I like a post-father in law fighting K-Rod, a slumping Carlos Beltran, an over-hyped David Wright, and a post Red Sox Jason Bay. That's to say that while I don't wish them will will, I'm just not moved by any of their stats or upsides to think that they represent anything worthwhile to the game of baseball - especially the game of baseball in Boston, which would mean mortgaging the future and paying big dollars to get them signed for a long time (and while we know Boston is more than willing to pay lots of little, they need to be more frugal and tighten their purse strings - especially those that would reach out to a shortstop like Reyes). And while it's not even real reaching out, the good folks at Bleacher Report have once again put smoke where there is no fire by saying that the Red Sox would give up on Jed Lowrie who has a .310 average with 3 home runs since replacing idiot move Marco Scutaro.
And if Boston is finally getting it together without Wacky Lackey and his DL stint (or time off to get his marriage together - whatever you want to call it) and with Carl Crawford finally getting out of the sub Mendoza basement from Hell as Adrian Gonzalez goes on a sick RBI tear, do we really need a Met with Attitude at short stop for a shot at post season glory?
Methinks not, but alas, when the Mets owner is trashing his team, we have to believe that there is something right in New York (not named Ike Davis). With that, we give you his classic one liners:
(on REYES)): He thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money. He's had everything wrong with him. He won't get it.
(on BELTRAN): We had some schmuck in New York who paid him based on that one series. He's 65 to 70 percent of what he was. (didn't I call this the other day? I'm a genius, and I should be writing for ESPN).
(on WRIGHT): Really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.
So yeah... there is no love in New York... for the players or for Bernie Madoff who is even trying to play the ethical card by saying the Mets didn't know how they were screwed over by him. Yep... we believe, but that's not saying good things when the Mets (like the Dodgers) are looking to financially implode this year.
And while the fans in Philadelphia probably wouldn't care, let's just say that a part of baseball will die with this team sucking as bad as they are (just like in L.A.). And in a year of parity, that's saying something.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Matt Kemp
Since meeting my wife, I listen to a lot more radio pop, R+B, and rap. Out of all hip hop, I would have to say that pretty much everything that JayZ does is pretty good. Sure, he has some pretty bad stuff out there, but the Black Album and the original Blueprint are great. I really like "Empire State of Mind" as well, but as a whole, the CD is not very good. Nowhere is this more true than in the chorus of "Run This Town," which features Rihanna totally decimating an otherwise good song.
Not to justify Chris Brown hitting her, but I've always felt that a career that had exactly one good song ("Umbrella") has been drug out to infinity as the music world feels that it has to feature her everywhere that it possibly can because abusive relationships are big business in music and the world of reality TV. But like "Umbrella," which was good for the first 200 or so times, it got old. The same can be said for her duet with Eminem ("Love the Way You Lie"). If the radio stations play it enough (once every hour or two), it becomes infectious, and when it hits that level, it works, but to hear her and Drake singing... it's like listening to some idiotic eighth grader going off with asinine sexual innuendo and jokes. Completely unendurable.
One wonders if Rihanna would be anywhere without Jay Z. Seeing images of her alongside Taylor Swift on TRL back in the day, they were both overly made up and "sexified" in their younger days in the hopes that videos could propel them to stardom, and they truly did.
Rihanna became a darling of the rap and rock world crossing barriers because of ultra wise promotion and Taylor Swift simultaneously became a country and pop darling. Neither could do any wrong for the longest time - Kanye West be damned. However, Rihanna got smacked up before the MTV awards and Taylor Swift dated Bubble Boy, and yeah... it's a brave new world for each of them.
Hopefully, the future holds good men for each of them. Just because Rihanna sings terrible songs like "Rude Boy" (actually tolerable when mixed with Fugazi's "Waiting Room" on Girl Talk's All Day) and "Take a Bow" while resurrecting the self-promoted King of Pop for "Don't Stop the Music" to cash in on the nostalgia trip that was Michael Jackson, a move that paid off as he got relevant in overdosing to those of us not smart enough to know better.
For a while, Rihanna was the "Only Girl in the World" for Matt Kemp, and that was nice because baseball players in 2011 have a reputation to live up to and we all know that none of them are ever wife beaters - maybe father in law beaters like Francisco Rodriguez, but yeah...
However, his career suffered as hers sky rocketed. Sure, he got 28 home runs last year, but he had his lowest batting average and his whiffs increased to 170. From a guy that was supposed to be first round fantasy, he was now average. Fortunately, even if he didn't get the rihannas (a severe gastro-intestinal disorder, or so it sounds), she got tired of him and pushed forward to her extended 15 minutes of fame and went to her schedule instead of her ballplayer.
And both will romantically do better than each other. That's just the nature of their business. The question is whether Matt Kemp can rebound in 2011. Perhaps, he'll need some antibiotics to get rid of the rihannas. Hopefully, we can just push fluids. Either way, he'll need to show some reliability before anyone touts him that highly again.
Not to justify Chris Brown hitting her, but I've always felt that a career that had exactly one good song ("Umbrella") has been drug out to infinity as the music world feels that it has to feature her everywhere that it possibly can because abusive relationships are big business in music and the world of reality TV. But like "Umbrella," which was good for the first 200 or so times, it got old. The same can be said for her duet with Eminem ("Love the Way You Lie"). If the radio stations play it enough (once every hour or two), it becomes infectious, and when it hits that level, it works, but to hear her and Drake singing... it's like listening to some idiotic eighth grader going off with asinine sexual innuendo and jokes. Completely unendurable.
One wonders if Rihanna would be anywhere without Jay Z. Seeing images of her alongside Taylor Swift on TRL back in the day, they were both overly made up and "sexified" in their younger days in the hopes that videos could propel them to stardom, and they truly did.
Rihanna became a darling of the rap and rock world crossing barriers because of ultra wise promotion and Taylor Swift simultaneously became a country and pop darling. Neither could do any wrong for the longest time - Kanye West be damned. However, Rihanna got smacked up before the MTV awards and Taylor Swift dated Bubble Boy, and yeah... it's a brave new world for each of them.
Hopefully, the future holds good men for each of them. Just because Rihanna sings terrible songs like "Rude Boy" (actually tolerable when mixed with Fugazi's "Waiting Room" on Girl Talk's All Day) and "Take a Bow" while resurrecting the self-promoted King of Pop for "Don't Stop the Music" to cash in on the nostalgia trip that was Michael Jackson, a move that paid off as he got relevant in overdosing to those of us not smart enough to know better.
For a while, Rihanna was the "Only Girl in the World" for Matt Kemp, and that was nice because baseball players in 2011 have a reputation to live up to and we all know that none of them are ever wife beaters - maybe father in law beaters like Francisco Rodriguez, but yeah...
However, his career suffered as hers sky rocketed. Sure, he got 28 home runs last year, but he had his lowest batting average and his whiffs increased to 170. From a guy that was supposed to be first round fantasy, he was now average. Fortunately, even if he didn't get the rihannas (a severe gastro-intestinal disorder, or so it sounds), she got tired of him and pushed forward to her extended 15 minutes of fame and went to her schedule instead of her ballplayer.
And both will romantically do better than each other. That's just the nature of their business. The question is whether Matt Kemp can rebound in 2011. Perhaps, he'll need some antibiotics to get rid of the rihannas. Hopefully, we can just push fluids. Either way, he'll need to show some reliability before anyone touts him that highly again.
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