My Morning in Exile

Sorry for the late Exile post, but I had the great fortune of taking a cat to be euthanized! Second one this year! On the bright side: the lone remaining cat has been on his absolute best behavior for the past two hours. Anyway:

  • I like Whitey Herzog, Billy Martin and Marvin Miller for the Hall. Which means that none of them will make it.
  • There’s nothin’ else goin’ on, so why not argue over the DH? As soon as we get that sorted, we’ll move on to easier subjects like religion and politics and abortion and stuff.
  • Varitek and other Red Sox stuff.
  • I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Yes, sir. Are you listening? Yes, I am. Genetics. Just how do you mean that, sir?
  • The Law of Conservation of Molinas in action.
  • Can we still call Dave Dombrowski a solid GM given that he has has Dontrelle Willis on the hook for $12 million, Jeremy Bonderman on the hook for $12.5 million and Nate Robertson on the hook for $10 million, but has to trade Edwin Jackson because he might make, like, $6 million?
  • R.I.P., Ringo. Watch your ass George.


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    Beanster
    14 years ago

    Combined 2009 line for Willis/Bonderman/Robertson:

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

    Ouch.

    Bob Tufts
    14 years ago

    Craig – thanks for the blogs. I read them to keep my spirits up during my chemo and autologous stem cell transplant for myeloma over the past month. Now that I am home, I enjoy them even more.

    Aaron Moreno
    14 years ago

    What the hell happened to Ringo?

    Aaron Moreno
    14 years ago

    Oh wait, the cat. Don’t do that, Calcaterra. I can’t live in world with only Paul around.

    Mode
    14 years ago

    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.)

    YankeesfanLen
    14 years ago

    TigersfanRob was in distress the whole month of September wondering how they were going to tank and complaining about no offense and erratic pitching except for Verlander.  So I humored him thinking it was some kind of Joba-Hairston Jr. kind of annoyance, but I guess not. Well, maybe next year if Dombrowski isn’t too busy bailing people out of the Birmingham jail

    APBA Guy
    14 years ago

    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.

    Beanster
    14 years ago

    While all 3 contracts are awful, the Willis one really stands out – why did the Tigers feel a need to sign him to an extension before the season even started coming off a 5.17 ERA / 1.60 WHIP season with the Marlins?

    Mode
    14 years ago

    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.”

    Will
    14 years ago

    Condolences on the cat. Am I a horrible person for thinking of Mrs. Premise and her cat?

    Tony A
    14 years ago

    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…

    cts
    14 years ago

    Ringo must be the cat.  It gave me a start, too.

    Nyet Jones
    14 years ago

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

    Craig Calcaterra
    14 years ago

    Sorry about the Ringo confusion. Wasn’t intentional. Ringo (the cat) bit the dust today. Ringo (the drummer) is just fine. Though he may have blisters on his fingers.

    Kevin S.
    14 years ago

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

    Jason
    14 years ago

    It’s going to suck when you stop with these Exile posts.  I’m ashamed to say that I know several Fecteaus, none of whom (I hope) are that guy. Sawx friggin ruhl…

    The Rabbit
    14 years ago

    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.