Combined 2009 line for Willis/Bonderman/Robertson:

92.5 IP, 57K’s, 3 Wins, 6.62 ERA, 1.90 WHIP

Ouch.

What the hell happened to Ringo?

I would like to start the DH war o words (stats) with this:

Old school (BA) and new school (OPS+) career stats for some pitchers. 

These were not cherry picked, but were guys I thought of with long careers in the NL since the inception of the DH (or overlap) so no SSS.

Maddux BA .171 OPS+ 5
Glavine BA .186 OPS+ 22
Carleton BA .201 OPS+ 33
Seaver BA .154 OPS+ 22

“Good hitting pitcher”
Old school edition
Walter Johnson BA .235 OPS+ 76

New school edition
Zambrano BA .236 OPS+ 60

Cherry picked for laughs
Pedro Martinez BA .099 OPS+ -32 (yes negative 32.)

Even pizza empire money isn’t enough to support the trifecta of Bonderman/Willis/Robertson on the hook for one third of the Detroit payroll.

Though Dombrowski gets the blame, you always have to ask, how much of that was ownership? To get that kind of non-performance at that price you have to suspect ownership saying “we have to have X or else” in at least one of those contracts.

For contrast, Oakland started Anderson, Cahill, Outman, and Mazzaro for a combined $1.6M yielding
512 IP and an ERA of 4.41.

Of course, Oakland then squandered those savings on Giambi, Holliday, and Garciaparra, but that’s another story.

Everybody wants to get younger and less expensive. Call it collusion, but look at the results. League average or worse doesn’t have to cost more than the league minimum.

Maybe I took the wrong direction on this DH thingy.

You concede that pitchers “can’t bat” and it’s more of a familiarity thing.

Here’s what I think.  Once the NL adopts the DH there will be yelling and hand wringing for a while.  But given a couple years, I can almost guarantee you will not be lamenting the fact that the number 8 hitter is not being intentionally walked , that the pitcher isn’t flailing away at the plate, nor that Tommy Hanson is not being pulled in the top of the 7th of a 1-1 game for a pinch hitter.

As for sticking with familiarity over progress I leave you with this passage*:

’ “They do say,” Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, “that over in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery.”

Old Man Warner snorted. “Pack of crazy fools,” he said. ‘

*If you have not read “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, you really should.  Awesome take on tradition and “familiarity.”

To answer in order:

So do I…

AL should ditch or NL adopt, but, either way, let’s get both leagues on the same page…

Don’t care, Don’t care, Don’t care…

Maybe Dom should just trade him ‘cause he’s, like, crappy…

Long time reader, first time poster ... and I’m gonna have to call foul on the Ringo comment. Definitely caused a Google news search.

I’ll second Mode’s recommendation of “The Lottery.”  Read that in either freshman or sophomore Lit back in high school.  Fantastic and chilling.

Dave Dombrowski: IMHO, From May 9 through August, Edwin Jackson was one of the best pitchers in the majors.  If the Tigers are using Jackson as bait to fill some of the gaps in its lineup, you’d think it would still cost the team as much, if not more than they’d be paying Jackson who made $2.2M last year.  Even after arbitration, he should still be a bargain in the current pitcher market.  If I buy the Pirates, I’d be happy to add him to the staff.

My sincere condolences on the recently departed Ringo.  I have been avoiding the same decision regarding one of my cats, Desmond Tutu. Desi’s vet bills are the reason I need a layaway plan to purchase the Pirates.