Free-agent outfielder emotivism

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Ted Berg

Tim Dierkes at MLBTradeRumors.com published his annual list of baseball’s top 50 free agents with predictions for where they’ll all land. It’s more or less required offseason reading, assuming you like to stay up on this stuff.

The Mets, we’ve discussed, need outfielders, and several of the players on the list are just that. So since there’s not much else doing in baseball today, I’ll take a cue from our man A.J. Ayer and try to employ the ol’ boo-hurrah theory on the listed outfielders. Obviously every case depends on the deal — Melky Cabrera at six years and $80 million is a very decided “boo.” But I’ll take cues from Dierkes on what these guys are expected to get. And I’ll start at the top:

Josh Hamilton: I’ve seen Mets fans express concern over Hamilton’s history of drug problems and how he’d respond to the big city, but it’s not like the Dallas area (the fourth largest metropolitan area in the country) is without its temptations. Far more concerning about Hamilton, to me, are his age and his expected salary. Hamilton’s an awesome player, no doubt, but he’s obviously not coming to the Mets, so this one’s a non-starter. Boo.

Michael Bourn: As a slick-fielding center fielder who gets on base a bit with great speed, Bourn would fill a bunch of needs for the Mets. But he hits left-handed like almost all their in-house outfielders do, plus he’s a Scott Boras client reportedly seeking a massive payday. Another one that’s just not happening regardless. If they have the money for Bourn, it should be going to David Wright. Boo.

B.J. Upton: I’ve been singing Upton’s praises on the podcast for a while. He’s only 28 so he should have a few good years in front of him, he hits right-handed with power and speed, and he plays a solid center field. Upton’s on-base percentage slipped under .300 for the first time in his career in 2012 and he’s never matched the high standards he set for himself with a breakout season in 2007. But he’s a very good player regardless. It sure doesn’t sound like the Mets have the type of money Upton will require — even if it’s the five years and $75-80 million Jack Moore predicted — and it wouldn’t be my money to spend if they did. But if they did, and if it was, I’d scoop him up at that rate. Hurrah.

Nick Swisher: The upside to Swisher is he’s a good switch-hitter and a capable fielder in an outfield corner who can fill in at first base in a pinch. The downside is that he absolutely always — 100 percent of the time — wants to bro it down. The latter could easily be tolerated if he were available for something way less than the $100 million he’s supposedly seeking. Qualified hurrah.

Angel Pagan: Ahh… have you seen Ang el Pagan? It’s almost certainly not happening, but hurrah.

Shane Victorino: Here’s the messed-up thing: If Victorino’s price drops, as Dierkes suggests, basically everything about him makes sense for the Mets except for the fact that he’s chronically, ferociously, and irreparably Shane Victorino. Boo.

Melky Cabrera: Boo on most things about Melky Cabrera. Hurrah on signing him to a massively discounted deal because no one else wants him after his PED supension.

Torii Hunter: I would not have guessed that the five-year, $90-million deal Hunter signed with the Angels before the 2008 season would work out as well as it did. But he doesn’t really make any sense for the Mets now. He’s too old. Boo.

Cody Ross: Cody Ross is the Scott Hairston of guys who are allowed slightly more playing time than Scott Hairston. He gets on base a touch more than Hairston, but probably not enough to make up for the likely difference in their salaries. Hairston’s not on the list, so I’ll give a mild hurrah to Ross for his Hairstonian qualities.

Ryan Ludwick: Ludwick had a really nice year in Cincinnati and hits right-handed with power, but he’s 34 and reportedly looking for a multi-year deal. Boo, with the reminder that Ludwick, who has now been a Major League regular for six seasons, was once the type of player fans frequently dismiss as a Quad-A masher.

Ichiro Suzuki: Ichiro’s sweet, but this doesn’t seem to make sense for him or the Mets. Boo.

Pascual Perez

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Ted Berg

Pascual prowls the mound like a restless hyena. Every pitch is accompanied by a flurry of gestures, grimaces and moans. “He looks like he’s pitching at the end of a rubber band,” says Joe Torre, who managed Pascual from 1982 to ’84 with the Atlanta Braves.

Pascual wears enough gold to buy Trinidad and Tobago and flashes the sly half smile of a kid in a pet store who has just set all the puppies free. But he can also be mercurial—bored one moment, expansive the next. “Anybody know nothing about Pascual,” says his old friend Felix Becena. “He’s inpredictable.”

After nearly being decapitated by a line drive last August at Wrigley Field, Mr. Inpredictability threw a pitch into the Cubs dugout. “I don’t do nothing in particular on purpose,” he said afterward. Yet two weeks later, while batting against the Dodgers, he purposely ignored three straight bunt signs and struck out swinging. “I was rockin’ and rollin’,” he explained.

– Franz Lidz, Sports Illustrated, Jan. 8, 1990.

Awful news this morning about former Brave, Expo and Yankee jheri-curl hero Pascual Perez, one of the most entertaining baseball players I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch. With a flamboyant windup and demeanor, and a propensity for throwing eephus pitches and attempting pickoffs between his legs, Perez was easily among the non-Mets most frequently imitated in Wiffleball games among my friends when we were kids.

Cow photobombs horse

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Ted Berg

Via Rob V, via the internet, via an Australian newspaper:

History of replacement level

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Ted Berg

At Baseball Prospectus, Brandon Heipp dives into his library to trace the development and popularity of comparisons to the replacement-level player in baseball. It’s worth a read.

I know the concept is frequently cited as one of the more difficult to grasp, but I find it one of the most useful SABRy ideas to incorporate into everyday life. For food, say, I generally consider the replacement level to be what’s available at Burger King.

Poll!

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Ted Berg

I saw a couple of Twitter responses to the Dickey post that got me wondering. This assumes you’re a Mets fan now:

Other fits for Dickey?

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Ted Berg

The Royals, Twins, Blue Jays, Padres, Red Sox and Brewers are among the clubs seeking help for their rotations. Such teams might prefer to trade for a Haren or Santana, even on an inflated one-year deal, rather than sign a free agent. The scarcity of quality starters on the open market likely will lead to inflated free-agent prices, particularly with more money in the game due to baseball’s new national television contracts.

– Ken Rosenthal, FoxSports.com.

I’m still looking for possible partners in speculative R.A. Dickey trades besides the Angels, but I had been focusing on teams with outfielders to deal that appeared a starting pitcher away from contention, figuring that rebuilding clubs wouldn’t be too interested in dealing young, cost-controlled players for 38-year-olds (however awesome) signed to one-year deals (however inexpensive). But if Rosenthal’s above suggestion is correct, maybe some hopeful team starved for starters will open its prospect coffers for Dickey.

Of the teams listed there, the Red Sox and Padres seem the most logical fit. The Sox have some outfielders who have performed in the high Minors and, presumably, the payroll flexibility with which to sign Dickey to an extension. San Diego has a few impressive prospects blocked at their positions by young players already producing in the Majors. But of course, the Red Sox could use some help in the Major League outfield, and few of the Padres’ guys appear to be the near-ready regulars the Mets would purportedly be looking for.

Before you say it: I’d love to be proven wrong, but I don’t think the Blue Jays are going to trade Travis d’Arnaud in a deal for one year’s worth of R.A. Dickey.

Oh, right: Happy Halloween!

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Ted Berg

I actually didn’t realize it was Halloween until about 10 minutes ago. I celebrated at a party on Friday and continued my longstanding tradition of dressing up as notable mustache men. I have been Burt Reynolds, Magnum P.I., Colonel Sanders and Wilford Brimley in the past.

This year, without having done much to prepare as of Thursday, I took Adam Rotter’s suggestion and went as Ned Flanders. I had a green sweater, pink collared shirt, glasses and fake mustache already, so the whole costume cost me $2.50 for the yellow makeup.

The only thing I failed to consider is that Ned Flanders in real life would look absolutely terrifying. Okely-dokely AHHH!:

I got two votes for “scariest costume” at the party from people who didn’t know I was supposed to be Ned Flanders. They just wrote “yellow mustache pervert” or whatever.

Twitterer Tomm Bauer passed along another costume in a similar vein this morning.

Taco hero Angel Pagan eats tacos

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Ted Berg

Due to the whole hurricane thing, I did not get to enjoy a free Doritos Locos Taco courtesy of Angel Pagan yesterday. I thought about making the trek to my nearest Taco Bell in the wind and rain, but I realized it was on account of like $1.39 or something and that if I injured myself in pursuit of a free Doritos Locos Taco in a hurricane, I’d never live down the LOLs.

Anyway, a Redwood City, Calif. Taco Bell invited Pagan himself to the restaurant for the occasion, and Pagan showed up. Here’s what he had to say:

“I grew up in the projects. If you believe, you can accomplish anything. Look at me.”

And indeed, look at him:

All you have to do is believe in yourself and someday you too can be signing autographs in a Taco Bell while wearing a Doritos Locos Taco shirt.

Also, it’s hard to imagine any athlete in the world pulling off that look better than Pagan does right there. Dude has verve. That might be history’s greatest instagram.

Furthermore, additional photos show Pagan wearing the very same style of Taco Bell hat favored by Mark Sanchez.

The aftermath

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Ted Berg

I’m lucky to say my area of Manhattan mostly escaped the wrath of Hurricane Sandy. Our Internet connection was spotty on Monday, so my wife and I watched movies and ate leftovers mostly unaware of the devastation a few miles away in practically every direction until I finally checked the news late in the evening.

On the south shore of Long Island, my parents lost some trees and are still without power. My uncle’s house, once on the water, is now more or less in the water. But everyone I’ve heard from is OK (knocking wood). I haven’t seen any of the worst damage first-hand and I have no real sad stories or hardships to share from the disaster, so I am not particularly fit to address or advise anyone in its wake. But since I’m back in the office today and would very much like to get back to writing about the Mets and Taco Bell and everything, and since it would feel weird to entirely ignore the storm on a blog so fueled by New York City, here’s this:

A few months after Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest and most destructive natural disasters in the history of the United States, I toured the wreckage in New Orleans with a group from my grad school. Our guide, a 70-something lifelong Louisianan named Dottie, told us she had never uttered a single swear word in her life before the storm. After the storm, she locked herself in a room and yelled every one she could think of, and a few new ones she made up on the spot.

Dottie took us to her house, in what used to be a pretty little suburban neighborhood, emptied by the effects of the storm. She took us inside the gutted frame and showed us where her family photos had been, and her favorite plants, and where she used to sit and read after work. Then she showed us the spot in her backyard where the levee broke, and the last remaining life in her community: The handful of fish swimming in what had been her pool. Later, she took us to the Ninth Ward.

S!@# F!@#!@ C)(!&!@&@#&!!@#!!!!

This storm is not like that storm for a variety of reasons, from the preparation to the impact to the response. But I suspect the common thread among all disasters beyond our control, of every scale, is the way they can make us want to shut ourselves away and curse whoever or whatever we feel is responsible for bringing such reckless awfulness upon us, or upon the people we love.

I trust no one going through that now is reading this blog today. That’s for the best, I think, because in the immediate aftermath of such things, wild profanity is probably more productive than perspective.

But I know also — and I hope I’m not the first to deliver this news — that practically everyone will at some point suffer some terrible misfortune at the hands of some unforeseen force. And as a veteran of my fair share of that, at least by the relaxed standards for well-educated 31-year-old American dudes from the suburbs, I can say that only healthy takeaway I know of from any of it is this: Try to be thankful for what you have today, and understand always that there are no guarantees.

That’s about all I’ve got.

Yikes

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Ted Berg

Hope you’re doing OK. Things actually seemed reasonably quiet in this neck of Manhattan, but I’m about to walk my wife to work to see for myself. If you’re still without power, good luck, and definitely don’t waste juice reading TedQuarters on your phone.