I’m sure Jason will agree with me when I sing
Bow Down to Washington,
Bow Down to Washington,
Mighty Are The Men
Who Wear the Purple and the Gold,
Joyfully We Welcome Them
Within the Victors Fold.
and so on and so forth.
I know it doesn’t have a chance in the world of happening, and the Mariners are almost certain to pass when the Rule 5 draft comes along, but I’m going to campaign for the selection of Chris Shelton anyways. The Pirates decided that the 2003 Carolina League MVP was not worth protecting, mainly because he lacks the athletic ability of, well, normal human beings. He’s a classic Oakland ballplayer; he’s not in very good shape, doesn’t have a natural position, is historically slow, and can hit the snot out of the baseball.
He split time between catcher and first base, though few teams would be willing to carry him as an everyday catcher thanks to below average catch-and-throw skills. Most teams view him as a DH and question whether he has that kind of power. I don’t think Shelton is an all-star, but he’s got a shot to be an interesting backup catcher/lefty mashing pinch-hitter for the league minimum.
I did a more thorough analysis on Shelton over at Baseball Prospectus, though its for Premium Subscribers only. If you haven’t subscribed to get more of Derek yet, well, what on earth are you waiting for?
So, there you go. My new endorsed Rule 5 Selection that has no chance on earth of happening. Its a sure bet that Shelton breaks camp with one of Oakland/Toronto/San Diego/Boston/Colorado though.
Some people had suggested “Lurch” and I dismissed them until some anonymous soul suggested that I look up Carel Struycken… and lo, I believe we have a new leading Bavasi look-alike
or
By the way, today is the deadline to set the 40 man roster to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. The Mariners have added Greg Dobbs, Clint Nageotte, Cha Baek, and (hooray!) Justin Leone to the 40 man, which brings the total to 37 after the Ibanez signing. However, since they seem intent on signing several more free agents, there is a strong possibility that not all of these players will stick on the 40 man through the entire offseason.
The most likely players who would be outrighted back to the minors are Dobbs, Ryan Anderson, Ryan Christensen, and Aaron Looper.
Correction from original post: Allan Simpson was indeed added to the 40 man roster on October 13th, which I even reported on at the time. He is not listed on the team’s 40 man roster on their website, but he is not eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft. More good news.
Two new Bavasi look-alike contestants suggested by email: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) director Marcus Nispel:
and former outfield mainstay turned enthusiastic Mariner fan/announcer Jay Buhner:
In case you haven’t noticed yet, Baseball Reference has 2003 stats up now. Woo!
I don’t know about you, but I’m really bummed about this Ibanez signing. Not so much because I think it’s going to cripple the team — it’s not that much money — but rather because it points to a general lack of smarts on Bavasi’s part. Let’s see: They gave a three-year contract for a guy who’s going to turn 32 in June. They’re giving up a first-round compensatory draft choice by signing him so early and/or passing on guys who wouldn’t have cost compensation. They added a “bat” who posted a sub-.800 OPS last season despite playing half his games in a good offensive park. At his best, Ibanez is a solid platoon player. And yet, he’s being paid starter-type money. Have I mentioned his marginal walk rate?
This isn’t the player the M’s needed; it’s Dan Wilson all over again.
We’ve gotten a lot of email on this, so —
Bill Bavasi
or
Peter Garrett, lead singer of Midnight Oil. I don’t see this, personally. For one, Bavasi’s head is much longer, more of an oval, while Peter Garrett’s head is round. Also, Peter Garrett is talented.
or what about
Mr. Clean? Same problem with head shape. Bavasi’s head, for comparison purposes, is sort of lozenge-shaped. It’s tough to find comperable heads. Closest I’ve gotten so far is
Goldberg, except Goldberg’s got better facial hair going.
Left field and Raul Ibanez: A review of peers
—
Many have said to us “Guys, it’s not that much money to pay a LFer.” And yet, it is. Let’s look at the various LFers (200+ PAs as LFs) who signed (didn’t go to arb, weren’t under team control) in 2003 and their relative-to-Ibanez performance, ordered by their 2003 value:
Who, Offensive value over average, $, contract length
Mora, Melvin, 23.5, $1,725,000, 1 year
Floyd, Cliff, 13.7, $6,500,000, 4 years
McMillon, Billy, -0.2, $300,000, 1 year
Catalanotto, Frank -1.9, $2,200,000, 1 year
Payton, Jay, -3.5, $1,850,000, 1 year
Hollandsworth, Todd, -8, $1,500,000, 1 year
Spencer, Shane, -13.9, $600,000, 1 year
And Raul’s 2003 stats with 2004 contract?
Ibanez, Raul, -11.5, $4,300,000, 3 years
Eeeeeeeeeyup. By far, the worst contract of any left-fielder in baseball. Any of those other guys FAs again and lefties? Yup. McMillon, Hollandsworth, right off that list, plus (not to put too fine a point on it) any of dozens of other random guys floating around in minor league free agency who would sign for the minimum.
This contract has me totally depressed.
On a more light-hearted note, I was inspired by an ESPN.com article on taunting today:
Besides, a master taunter can make his or her point without running afoul of the authorities. In 1984, the Cameron Crazies welcomed Maryland’s Herman Veal — who allegedly had sexually assaulted another student — with a shower of more than 1,000 panties and a sign that read, “Hey Herm, Did You Send Her Flowers Afterward?”
Not surprisingly, university officials demanded that the students tone down their act. So in response, the Crazies turned Duke’s next home game, against rival North Carolina, into a taunting master class. Some held signs that read “A Warm and Hearty Welcome to Dean Smith” and “Welcome Fellow Scholars.” Others wore homemade halos. After questionable calls, fans chanted “We beg to differ” instead of “[expletive].” And during Carolina free-throw attempts, students under the basket didn’t go nuts — they just held up small signs reading, “Please Miss.”
Excessive politeness as taunting — that’s just brilliant. I’m going to think about other applications about this neglected area of heckling.
Awful, just awful.