We’re going to start nailing down the details of the U.S.S. Mariner Feed, so if you would like to attend and haven’t emailed us yet, you should do so. The date is tentatively scheduled for December 20th, and we’ve got a good amount of Mariner fans getting together to talk baseball. Follow the link above for more information.
Speaking of which, a reader emailed me about this, so in the spirit of the “Free Durazo” (et al) campaigns: “Don’t free Al Martin!”
ESPN’s running a nice free agent tracker. Al Martin has already filed.
Mea culpa. Minaya obviously has not accepted a position with the Mets, and confirmed today that he would not. My information was inaccurate. Sorry about that.
Folks, I’m happy to announce that Jason was so impressed with the short I wrote (“The Analysts” available now for your free viewing pleasure in the sub-500k versions) that he has given it his full endorsement. I don’t know what more encouragement you need.
The New York Times is reporting that Minaya’s staying put, so I’m not sure what’s happening for sure. I mean jeez, it’s not like the Paper of Record is ever wrong, or anything.
Seriously though, I don’t know what’s up.
Here’s something to think about though: one of the points currently raised by almost all of Minaya’s proponents is that you can’t evaluate him fairly because of the constraints placed on him in Montreal. Let’s take that as true for a second, and further, pretend we can’t say anything about his previous record with the Mets, which was undistinguished.
Say Jason and I went to an electronics store. I’m looking to buy a new DVD player.
“Hey, Jason,” I say, “I have found five DVD players that look like they’re good candidates, and are all priced within my budget.”
“Great,” Jason says, “let us discuss which of these five DVD players, which I agree are all good, would be an ideal DVD player for your needs.”
“No, no,” I reply. “I have decided to buy this sixth DVD player, which is over here.”
“It’s not hooked up,” Jason protests. “There’s no feature list. We don’t know anything about this one.”
“You can’t hold that against it. It’s clearly the best DVD player available to us.”
“You can’t play any DVDs on it, because it’s not hooked up.”
“Again, it’s unfair to this player to penalize it for the situation it’s in. I’m going to buy it.”
“You have excellent information on the five good players — you’re sure they’re all going to be great choices, it’s just a matter of figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of each one. This unknown one could be terrible.”
“Could be excellent, too, full of strengths, and no weaknesses. I imagine it transforms into a robot when not in use and guards your house.”
“Why would you believe that? That’s entirely unreasonable.”
“How do you know that?”
If you believe that it’s unfair to evaluate Minaya on the basis of his time with the Expos, and you’re wrong to think so, you should still recognize that not knowing enough about Minaya does not make him a better candidate than the others.
It’s like drafting players, to start another analogy: should you spend your first round draft pick on someone you’ve spent time scouting and discussing, or should you use it on someone you weren’t able to get any scouts out to, you can’t get stats on, or even see video of, because there’s some moderate buzz around them? Of course not.
This Minaya cheerleading demonstrates the natural human desire to look at the unknown and use imagination, and has no relation to Minaya’s actual demonstrated abilities.
Yay Marlins.
Also, don’t forget to set your clocks back tonight. Let’s hear it for an extra hour of sleep!
Start dancing in the streets; Omar Minaya is no longer a candidate for the M’s job. He has accepted a position with the NY Mets, where he will likely share duties with Jim Duquette.
DePodesta possibly getting interviewed, Minaya being hired, and both the Reds (Dan O’Brien got hired) and Mets filling their open spots. Talk about a good day.
The Seattle Times (“Paper of Quality”) reports the A’s said the M’s couldn’t interview Beane, and the team’s thinking about looking at DePodesta. In other news, it looks like Athletics pitching coach Rick Peterson may move to the Mets, and I can’t stress enough how huge this could be. Peterson is as responsible for the A’s run as anyone, by keeping their big arms healthy and effective through an injury prevention that almost no one else in the majors is close to. While the A’s claim that theirs is an organizational approach, that any of the big minds could leave and the org could keep on chugging. With DePodesta acting like he’s already gone, Beane looking for an out, and Peterson on his way, this is a claim that will be tested soon.
Jim Bouton did an interesting chat session at ESPN. It’s really hard to do these and be insightful or funny, and he’s both. And it’s nice to see the man agreeing with me:
Matt (NYC): Jim, you have always been very honest about your views and opinions, even when they, at times, went against the grain of baseball. With this in mind, I ask you, what is your opinion of singing “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch. Aside from the mixing of religion into baseball, I find the routine too nationalistic and unnecessary. What is your opinion?
Jim Bouton: I don’t think it’s a good idea. I think it’s trying to capitalize and sentimentalize the tragedy of 9/11. It’s out of place. And there are baseball fans who don’t believe in God, and they shouldn’t be preached to in song at a baseball game.
Jim Bouton: I’ve never liked the way that sports tries to tie itself to patriotic gestures.
I haven’t done much that got more hate mail than my rant on Prospectus about that, and it’s nice to see I’m not the only one out there that feels this way. Of course, then Jim wants Rose re-instated, and I think maybe he didn’t really think this one through:
Wayne, Washington, DC: Jim – no one has asked, so I will. Should Pete Rose be allowed to be considered for entry into the Hall of Fame?
Jim Bouton: Yes. He had a gambling addiction. He wasn’t fixing ballgames. There’s a big difference.
And then there’s this:
Wayne (Burlington VT): Hi, Jim. I loved Foul Ball, though it did anger me (and not send any money to WAMC.) What is the current status of the Berkshire Black Bears? If they bail, are you still interested in keeping baseball in Wauconah Park? If you want a case study in how to run a ballclub in an old park in a small town, you need only visit Burlington. Over 100,000 fans 10 years running in 37 dates per year.
Jim Bouton: Pittsfield, like almost every other community in the country, faces the threat of losing its ball team if they don’t build a new stadium. I call it “America’s most costly hostage crisis.” Billions are spent on tax-payer financed stadiums at the expense of schools, hospitals, and fire departments. It’s corporate welfare on a massive scale, and people who aren’t even baseball fans are indirectly subsidizing the high salaries in baseball today, because owners don’t have to build their own buildings, as they would have to in any other business.
Here’s the thing: Yes, yes, yes, no! Does anyone hold a bundle of resentment about the salaries Boeing engineers make in this town because Boeing gets tax breaks? Of course not, they’re people making a living. But somehow, the cost of stadiums becomes the responsibility of players? I’ve never understood this. The cost of stadiums goes to many people, and by increasing the revenue of the team, makes it more likely they’ll spend more on players to field a competitive team that draws people to spend money there. It’s not a simple stadium = subsidizing greedy players thing at all.
Anyway, check it out.