Potpourri
Three more small items of note:
1. Corey Brock’s piece in the TNT about Japanese players with the potential to come to the majors this season goes well with John Hickey’s P-I story about Kenji Jojima. To regular readers of this blog, there’s not much new information, but these are fair summaries of where the Mariners are at as regards Jojima et. al.
2. Larry Stone’s story in the Seattle Times about Eddie Guardado informs us that the pranktacular closer and his agent are seeking a two-year deal from the club. If also affords us the opportunity to engage in a little language pedantry. Scroll down to number three if you have no patience for this.
If Guardado declines his option, he then becomes a free agent. But Guardado’s camp is considering jump-starting the process by filing right away for free agency on a conditional basis. That tact has been taken in the past by other players who have options.
This is a common error. It’s not tact, but tack. As Johnny Depp might say: nautical term. Tact is the quality you use to convince the drunken navigator to steer away from the oncoming storm; a tack is the course he sets to avoid the deluge itself.
3. Also from Stone:
Announcer Dave Niehaus is again under consideration for the Ford C. Frick Award, the top honor in baseball broadcasting.
The first component of the award is fan balloting that begins today online at www.baseballhalloffame.org, and continues throughout November. The top three fan vote-getters will be on the final 10-person ballot that will go to the Frick electorate. The winner will be announced Dec. 5.
You know what to do.
Comments
68 Responses to “Potpourri”
I saw the “tact” thing this morning and was aghast that a major news outlet would allow such a heinous slip. Then again, they do publish Finnegan’s column…
As for the Niehaus thing, well, he’s one of millions to vote for at this stage. But didn’t he make the final ten last year? And if he did, was he one of the fan selections?
Maybe the misuse is leftover form the Britsih — oh how they have messed up our language! — just joking. Anyway, I hope the M’s really get Jojima. I’m really curious to see what he can do. I think if he puts up average to better than average offensive numbers, he is an isn’t upgrade in catcher because of his defense alone. I actually think he will do well offensively. And I really wouldn’t worry about the communication — fingers are universal. And how long will it take to learn “Throw your ______”, “Calm down”, “BP really stunk?”, etc. A few choice phrases in the beginning will go a long way, and being immersed in pitchers meetings, the locker room, etc. will help him a lot.
As for Eddie, if he is trying to save the club money (to use for starters) while staying on the team, then super kudos to him. That is a real team player. I’d keep him at 3 mil plus some incentives like extra money for not letting your arm fall off.
yup.
“Niehaus, one of three finalists selected by the fans through online voting in November, received 14,490 votes in the process. Tom Cheek of the Blue Jays (6,958) and Ron Santo of the Cubs (5,848) finished second and third, respectively. Other finalists are Jerry Coleman, Ken Coleman, Dizzy Dean, Gene Elston, Tony Kubek, France Laux and Graham McNamee.
This year’s [2004] balloting marked the second time that fans had the opportunity to be part of selecting the final candidates for the award, after changes to the voting process were implemented by the Hall of Fame’s board of directors in 2003. ”
Is that just a type-o which should read “tactic” not tact or tack? i.e. “That tactic has been taken in the past by other players who have options.”
It’s a common mistake, so it’s likely not a typo here. People confuse the words because they sound similar.
“Tactic” would also work there, true.
Although it’s worth noting that “tack” is usually combined with “take” as part of the verb phrase “to take the/that tack.” If “tactic” was intended, it’s likely he’d use another verb like “employ” later in the sentence.
In addition to tact, I believe that “strategery” can also be used in that sentence.
Shiggy and Pokey were officially declined, too, btw
Mod note: nope, that doesn’t get in, and you should understand why not. If you don’t, email us and I’ll explain it.
While we’re being word geeks, here’s a little list of Contronyms: http://www.rinkworks.com/words/contronyms.shtml
(that’s words that that serve as their own antonyms, or basically can mean the exact opposite of itself)
Are they seeking a 2-year deal in addition to the 2006 option year, or just a 2006-7 deal? The Stone article seemed a bit unclear. It seems funny that they would settle for a 2-year deal when they would probably push for a 3-year deal on the open market.
I wonder if the 2 year deal has something to do with the amount of time it should take for his rotocuff to naturally heal so he can get FMV when he’s a FA in 2 years?
You know what to do.
Vote for Joe Morgan?
“As for Eddie, if he is trying to save the club money (to use for starters) while staying on the team, then super kudos to him. That is a real team player. I’d keep him at 3 mil plus some incentives like extra money for not letting your arm fall off.”
Hahahahaha. Good one. A major league player taking less money than he thinks he’d get on the open market…
If anything, this signifies that Eddie’s arm is about to fall off and his agent is simply trying to maximize the cash extraction. I’m now officially as optimistic about Eddie’s health as I was about Pokey ever taking the field – i.e. about minus 100%.
You forgot to mention Amaury Pi-Gonzalez, who announces the M’s and the Giants games en espanol. He’s a lot of fun to listen to. I’m in San Francisco, so I also voted for Bill King who’s voice soothed many a weekend hangover.
More potpourri: apparently Gerald Perry is the new hitting coach in Oakland.
#2, 14– where exactly does it say in the article that Guardado would take less money? I was also interested to see that now he might be interested in Boston…
#16– well, to quote from Gerald’s Pirates bio “Perry spent three seasons (2000-02) as the Hitting Coach for the Seattle Mariners. In his first year as the hitting instructor with Seattle, the team set a club record in walks. In 2001, the Mariners led the Major Leagues in on-base percentage and runs scored, while pacing the American League with a .288 batting average. In his final season, Seattle ranked fourth among A.L. teams with a .275 batting average.” Bet Kendall is happy.
#13 I hate Morgan as an announcer. I can’t stand the morons on Fox, but during the Series I decided that bland and banal beat Morgan’s idiocy every time. Ugh.
More pedantry: If you’re gonna use the nautical definition of tack, that doesn’t specify a direction or course specifically. The drunken captain may very well have to jibe to get away from the storm: tacking is done upwind, whilst jibing is done downwind. Tacking and jibing have to do with the position of a vessel relative to the trim of it’s sails.
I’ll go away now.
Jimmie
I, too, find myself wondering about Eddie’s *tack*. I have to admit my first thought was that he must not be healthy, and thought no one on the open market would risk giving him a 2-year deal. Therefore, he’s trying to use his negotiating leverage with the M’s to get a deal worth maybe less than his current option annually but more in total, and if he doesn’t then he’ll exercise the sure $4.25M and hope for additional incentive money as well in 2006. On the other hand, maybe he just wants to stay in Seattle and a multi-year deal is always better in a player’s view than a single-year deal. Interesting dynamics here.
Also, I for one appreciate the attention to proper English on this site, and for the *tact* the moderators use in addressing this. Bravo!
Jeff,
I must say that “nautical term” is the single greatest line of that movie. Timing and delivery, superb. Hilarious, and an all-time classic quote, in my opinion. I use it with regularity.
BTW, I noticed while voting for Niehaus that you are free to vote for your other favorite voices of the Mariners if you so choose — both “Rico” and “Red” are listed.
Ron Fairly, Ken Harrelson, Rick Rizzs.
I’d love to see Bill King honored this year, even if he can’t be there for the ceremony. And I have a soft spot for Phil Rizzuto. The guy was just fun to listen to.
By the way, for long-time M’s fans, both Gentleman Joe Simpson and Kenny Wilson are on the hall of fame ballot.
It would appear that the standards for getting on the Frick ballot are pretty fricking loose.
Re: tact/tack
My pet peeves are “gave him free reign” and “his command began to waiver.” Not only are those phrases sportswriting cliches, I swear I see the wrong form more often than the correct one.
#17 – msb, I was expressing my derision that there is any ghost of a chance that Eddie would settle for less money (“saving the club money”, indeed) in order to allow the club to obtain better starters.
Even if Eddie was personally willing to do that (and the chances of that are zero) his agent would tie him up and keep him in the hall closet until he got as good a deal signed as he could get.
If anything, this signifies that Eddie’s arm is about to fall off and his agent is simply trying to maximize the cash extraction.
Yeah, because the only time anyone ever tries to get more money as a baseball player, it’s because they know they aren’t worth it, or they are letting their agent cynically manipulate them. I’m sure the last time you asked your boss for a raise, you had some nefarious motive as well.
How about assigning a motive like “Like most people, Guardado wants to be paid more money when he does what he perceives to be a good job”?
Now, I might not agree with the idea of handing out a 2 year contract (I’m OK with letting him walk, to be blunt), but it’s not like the team is likely a better guardian for Eddie’s interests than his agent is. So why is a desire to be paid more and have an improved contract something we have to make into A Sinister Plot To Screw The Team?
Hahahahaha. Good one. A major league player taking less money than he thinks he’d get on the open market…
Counterexample: Ken Griffey, Jr. Not that his situation has anything to do with Eddie’s.
This thread doesn’t look like it can really be derailed, and I didn’t see this posted anywhere, so:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/246769_mari02.html
The Mariners are supposedly pursuing Trever Hoffman.
Thoughts?
Trever Hoffman… because with Edgar and Dan gone, there’s nobody to sit on the porch in rocking chairs with Moyer, yelling at the kids to turn down their infernal music and get out of the Jello Tree? Because they’ve got all this leftover Ben Gay and Geritol and prunes with nobody to feed it to (again, except for Jamie?)
Sounds like posturing to me. They won’t spend 2/$10-12M on Eddie but they’ll do 2/$18 on Hoffman?
Less than 24 hours for the M’s to decide whether to pick up Guardardo’s option. I suspect the sticking point is the M’s don’t want to guarantee 2007 money to a guy with a torn rotator cuff. I hope the M’s decline and Guardado walks because the injury risk is way too high for the kind of money he wants. And I hope Eddie goes somewhere else for 2/$10 and has a couple of good seasons because he’s a nice guy and we should wish him the best.
“Tack.” Reminds me of Rick Honeycutt.
Besides the dollars saved from letting Eddie go would Mariners receive a high draft choice when another team signs him?
That maybe a better move (tactic) by Front Office than sign and hope to trade for quality prospects.
I am going to find a way to use those contranyms for both meanings in single sentences starting today.
Besides the dollars saved from letting Eddie go would Mariners receive a high draft choice when another team signs him?
No. By declining their option, the M’s lose the rights to Eddie G.
#26– I know, Dave, I was just trying to figure out where the idea that Eddie would take less came from in that article…. today, Larry Stone quotes the agent as saying the Guardado camp counter-offer was “lower than what we would accept on the market”, which doesn’t mean necessarily that it is lower than he’d make by picking up the option.
OT, Stone also mentions that Pelekoudas is bumped up to VP, associate general manager and Jim Na was promoted to director, baseball administration.
A better question is if we don’t keep Guaradado on he books where will we spend the money? There’s not much out there and we all know that management won’t put the money into an account for next year. Let Guardado pitch and maybe this time we can unload him for a prospect at the deadline.
Unless there is a special contractual provision (such as Aaron Sele’s original contract with the M’s), declining Guardado’s option should not affect the M’s ability to offer him arbitration (and to receive draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere).
If the M’s don’t want to pay Guardado a minimum salary of $6.5 million, they probably do not want to risk offering arbitration. But if the M’s are willing to risk paying Guardado that amount, offering arbitration might be a smart move. If Guardado accepts and the case goes to a hearing, Guardado would lose his incentives and no-trade rights from his existing contract.
The tack-tact mistake is likely made more common by the existence of the word tactic.
There are many other examples is similar words with disparate meanings being used in place of one another.
I’d vote for Dave too, but given the recent passings, I wonder if King and/or Cheek will end up winning the Frick Award for sentimental reasons. They’re certainly worthy of the award anyway, but I think A”s and Jays fans will flood the ballots in a wave of poignancy.
Lo and behold, for I found an example in that list of contronyms.
Garnish.
Garnish does not mean withholding one’s wages. To do that is to garnishee wages.
Thanks, but I’ll vote for Cheek. He deserves the award for non-sentimental reasons, too.
I don’t understand persuing Hoffman – didn’t San Diego already offer him 3 @ $9M per? Let me get this straight: $6.5M is too much and two years is too long for a decent closer with (minor, but valid) injury concerns, yet 3 yrs at $10M per is okay for a marginally better player who’s healthy now, but not significantly younger?
*sigh.* It’s going to be a loooong winter, I fear.
#43 Actually, the Padres offered 2 years at $5 million a year and Hoffman was insulted and cleaned out his locker. The M’s should not give Guardado, a ticking time bomb with a torn rotator cuff, a mult-year deal and probably shouldn’t exercise their option for a one-year deal. I’d much rather they pay Hoffman $7 mil a year on a two-year deal. Sure he could get injured, but he’s not already injuured.
If he goes on the market, I think Eddie will soon find out that there aren’t a ton of teams willing to gamble on a closer with a tear in his rotator cuff. Any team that signs him risks having their season blow up in their face when/if he goes on the DL — and they’ll have known about the risk ahead of time!
I like it when we go all word geek. To really do the job correctly, however, to highlight every sportswriter and broadcaster malapropism, you would probably need a separate blog with a dedicated staff of 37 working around the clock. That’s a big commitment, I know, but if you’re willing to accept the challenge, I’m offering up (for free) the perfect name for said blog – Ravished By Injuries.
Im not sure how ANYONE could suggest Niehaus as a serious candiddate for any award after the daily butt-kissing commentary he delivered last season… Clearly his commentary had more to do with branding and selling seats than reality or substance. He should be ashamed.
#41. “Garnish” does in fact mean to withhold wages or payment to satisfy a creditor. The “garnishee” is the person whose wages are withheld. I think gar nichts of your example.
That’s kinda funny, another blog I read regularly just posted an article with the word “tack” in the title. (warning, it’s political, not baseball). Just a funny coincidence, thought I’d share.
The Mariners regard their broadcasts as a pure marketing exercise for the team. It’s not intended to be fair commentary, or even particularly insightful. Slamming Niehaus for being a homer is more a complaint about the nature of his job than a complaint about him.
The posts that turn into “we (autors, commenters, etc.) would like to point out that we are smarter than a sportswriter with one misused word in his story” are my least favorite ussmariner.com treat. The nature of publishing (a newspaper, blog, etc.) is conducive to error, and a hasty knocking on wood is a good idea when critiquing the miscues of others.
Lets face it, the M’s probably dont have a chance to be competitive until at least 2008. Why not throw a little money at a cast off like Branden Looper while grooming Soriano in leiu of wasting serious money on a guy like Hoffman? Closers are wasted resources on last place teams.
I say we break the long standing tradition of only playing catchers who can’t hit, which was instituted after Scott Bradley tapered off about 15 years ago and sign this Pacific Rim import!!
For about 95 mill, lets try to put out a team that DOESN’T suck for a change, k?
DMZ….that being said, why would he be worthy of an award? Any monkey can pump sunshine ……
#44 – I must’ve misread the article. I stand corrected, sir.
And while I’d probably lean towards Hoffman for two years at $6M per over Eddie, I’m still not particularly thrilled with either idea. But at least I can understand the thought process now.
Um, no, they can’t. But forget monkeys for a second.
My point is not that he does or doesn’t deserve an award. It’s that if someone’s complaint with Niehaus is that he’s too positive, that’s a complaint about the broadcast and the philosophy of the team. It’s not a reflection on his talent.
And if you want to argue that you can’t make a fair judgement of his talent because of that restraint, I’d understand.
JoJo – I completely disagree. Any election to any HOF should be based on an entire body of work, not just a single year.
I heard most of the broadcasts this year and I am not sure what you mean by: Clearly his commentary had more to do with branding and selling seats than reality or substance.
I clearly sensed frustration in the broadcast over the last half of the season. I am pretty sure that publicly undermining the organization and berating the front office is not the proper way to keep this city (region) interested in mediocre baseball. Nor is it a good way to keep your job.
I suspect you haven’t been in Seattle listening to Dave since 1977. I suspect that many of the visitors to this site, like me, joyfully suffered though unimpressive seasons by listening to Dave N. He was a big part in my connection with this team. I bet others will say the same thing.
#53, If a monkey can pump sunshine, why is it that any other Ms broadcaster not named Niehaus is damn near intolerable to listen to?
Yes, Niehaus is a bit of a homer, as are all home broadcasters. It’s a given. However some can do the job in a fashion that is fun to listen to and informative at times. I’ve heard plenty of praise from Niehaus about our competition. He has many a time, in each game, given credit for good play when it’s due, regardless of the name on the jersey. He has also blasted bad play regardless of the color of uniform.
All in all, I’ll take Niehaus over anything else we got, any day of the week. He has a silky voice and a mannerism that takes one right into the game. He knows when to shut up, how to use a pause to build effect and delivers the outcome in a way that let’s one see the game in way that few can match.
He’s already got my vote.
“Mercifully, the season is over” didn’t sound like ‘pumping sunshine’ to me…
*heads over to vote for Dave*
Dave in PA:
garnish, v. to serve notice to attach money belonging to a debtor
garnishee, v. to attach or arrest a debtor’s money
The misuse has become so common that Webster accepts it. Since I continue to assert that Webster is a crappy dictionary (I’m an OED fanboi), I’m going with garnishee.
FWIW, what team’s home broadcasters aren’t there to ‘pump sunshine’?? The broadcasters are *paid* by the team. Think of what happened to Steve Stone when he ventured a contrary opinion or two….
I’ve heard a fair number of local broadcasters and Dave Niehaus, by far, is less of a homer than anyone else, and that’s why I like him so much. He shows a bit of disgust in the tone of his voice when warranted, and does not broadcast as though the other team does not exist. I’ve heard broadcasters actively downplay anything the other team does, as though it does not count. Dave deserves whatever kudos he gets.
For the 10 years before the arrival of Edgar, Junior, the Big Unit and Bone, the only reason to listen to an M’s game at all was Dave Niehaus. He basically kept this franchise afloat during those dark years (with tv/radio ratings that were per capita higher than other markets, especially markets with bad teams.)
The M’s ownership recognizes how important Dave is too. There’s a reason he threw out the very first pitch at Safeco. (Can you imagine anybody else.) And there’s a reason he makes up half of the current M’s Hall of Fame.
Maybe I’m the one who’s being a homer now, but I don’t think there’s anybody more deserving in all of baseball for the Frick honor, and I’d even argue that this citation is overdue.
Jojo, before bashing Dave for being too much of a home-town guy, you need to listen to Rex Hudler announce. That’ll help put things in perspective.
Evan,
Strolling over to dictionary.com (a good bookmark to have, BTW), “garnishee” and “garnish” are listed as synonym verbs in a few sources, “garnishee” is listed as a noun by most.
It’s clear that the linguistic community is in utter disarray over the terms. Someone needs to restore order.
As I said, I’m an OED fanboi.
http://www.oed.com/
The use of garnish in this sense is clearly an historical error. That it is now common enough to get displayed in lesser dictionaries makes it no less imprecise.
Black’s Law Dictionary:
garnish, vb. [Old French garnir "to warn"; "to prepare"] 1. Hist. To serve an heir with notice (i.e., to warn) of certain debts that must be paid before the person is entitled to receive property as an heir. 2. To subject (property) to garnishment; to attach (property held by a third party) in order to satisfy a debt. 3. To notify (a person, bank, etc.) that a garnishment proceeding has been undertaken and that the one receiving notice may be liable as stakeholder or custodian of the defendant’s property. — Also termed garnishee; (in senses 2 & 3)
garnishee (gahr-ni-shee), n. A person or institution (such as a bank) that is indebted to or is bailee for another whose property has been subjected to garnishment. — Also termed garnishee-defendant (as opposed to the “principal defendant,” i.e., the primary debtor
garnishee (gahr-ni-shee), vb. See GARNISH.
I have looked at a few cases and the vast majority of courts use “garnish” as a verb meaning to attach the property of another, and use “garnishee” as a noun meaning the person whose property is garnished.
NIEHAUS FOR HOF HONOREE – About twenty posts on the subject, and none of them mention the two Dave Niehauses–maybe you haven’t noticed– one before the heart attack, and one after the heart attack.
I had a brain injury some twenty years ago, and I realize that I’m not the same person now that I was before the injury. Neither is Dave the same person now that he was before his injury. He doesn’t seem to realize this. That’s O.K. But it does seem that you people should realize it.
He doesn’t deserve my vote for his total output, but he deserves my vote for the outstanding work he used to do.
Right, because Harry Caray was sharp as a tack by the time he was pushing 80.
Look, Niehaus isn’t great on flyballs any more and he nixes up a name now and then- but he still has a tone poem voice on play-by-play like very few people do.