Glavine, ARod and Bonds: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

In inverted order:
I take no joy in Barry Bonds' indictment. I see no persecution in Barry Bonds' indictment. It was inevitable, not racist, and just sad. I have written before about my childhood experience of Barry's dad, Bobby Bonds. I won't rehash the whole episode here, but whatever problems arose later, Bobby Bonds was a good man, a great player, and good for baseball. His son could have been all of that and more, but has chosen to be sullen, difficult and needlessly hard-headed. He also appears to have lied to a federal grand jury. Jason Giambi bit the bullet and owned up to what he had done before the same grand jury, and he has never been charged with anything except being a dope. Barry is not under indictment because he's black. He's not under indictment because he's a jerk. He is facing jail time because he is arrogant enough to have believed that he was above the whole process. He will now learn in painful, expensive detail that he isn't. I am looking for a ton of lawyerly posturing, then a Vick-style plea. There won't be any 30 years' jail time, but he will serve a brief term that will be intended to teach other athletes that they better cooperate and tell the truth in doing so when the feds come calling.
I take a great deal of joy in seeing superagent Scott Boras slapped down so publicly. In case you've been out of the country, Mr. Boras informed Tweedle Dee Steinbrenner and Tweedle Dum Steinbrenner that they had to bring $350 million to the table to get to talk to his client. And that was after furthering the perception that ARod is a money grubbing jerk like no other, by announcing the opt-out during Game 4 of the World Series. In a rare moment of lucidity, the Sons of George invited Mr. Boras to go look for his vast fortune somewhere else. When said quest was undertaken, the bane of sports owners everywhere couldn't find a bidder. And why in the world would anyone else bid so stupidly when the Yankees had announced, "Not us, boys!" Boras has been a terrorist-like presence in Major League Baseball for a long time. He has gotten his way far, far too often. For crying out loud, he got $70 million for J.D. Drew! But this time he screwed up. Badly. So when Prince Hal Steinbrenner told the press that ARod could come home to the Yankees, but Boras couldn't be part of the process, Alex came running with his tail tucked between his legs. Or between his mistress' legs. Sorry, Mrs. ARod; please don't aim your vulgar tshirt at me. Alex will sign a 10 year, $275 million contract with the MFYs this week. That just doesn't sound like suffering or punishment to me. But kicking Boras out of the negotiations after he so publicly misread the market is totally wonderful. And then Kenny Rogers fired him. And hopefully other players and other owners will go and do likewise. The world becomes a better place.
Finally, it appears that Tom Glavine is going home. Not in the Southern Baptist, ultimate sense, but in baseball terms. This is extremely good news! The Atlanta Braves have an atrocious record of letting their legends leave. John Smoltz may retire after an entire career in the Braves uni, but Hank Aaron didn't, Dale Murphy didn't, Phil Niekro didn't, Andruw Jones won't, and, five years ago, they let Tom Glavine leave. I don't know if Glavine's work in the MLBPA had anything to do with it. John Schuerholz has a long and detailed memory, and Tom's role as the Players' Association's face during the '94 strike made a lot of management-types angry. And that's apart from their little dustup over the details of Tom's departure for the Mets. But Schuerholz moved up to club president, and Frank Wren took over as GM. And now, it appears that Glavine will go home to finish his Hall of Fame career. He won't be the pitcher he was before he left, but it appears that he will have to be no more than the #3 behind Smoltz and Hudson. If Mike Hampton's Fall League workouts turn into a productive year, Tom can be the 4, and even at 42 he will match up well with every other National League 4. He will post his last wins with the Braves. They should all have been for the Braves, but he will be a 300 game winner pitching for the team that he led for 15 years previously. That feels like good karma to me.

More Money than Sense

Foxsports.com is reporting that the MFYs have re-signed Jorge Posada for 4 years at $52 million. Jorge Posada is a good guy. He handles a pitching staff well. He is also 36 years old. When was the last time you saw a 40 year old catcher making $13 million? Me, either. He had a great year last year, no doubt about it. He hit almost 70 points higher than his pre-2007 lifetime average. That's called a career year. Except for the fact that his RBI total merely matched his average of the last 6 seasons, and his homer total was 3 below the average of his last 7 seasons. Career year? Hardly. Posada has never been the offensive player that Mike Piazza was, and Piazza was basically done as an everyday catcher at age 37.
While there will surely be changes, the MFYs are now looking at fielding this team:
Jorge Posada, catcher, 37
Jason Giambi, first base, 37
Robinson Cano, second base, 25
Derek Jeter, shortstop, 33
Wilson Betemit, third base, 26
Hideki Matsui, left field, 34
Melky Cabrera, center field, 24
Bobby Abreu, right field, 34
Johnny Damon, dh, 34
I make that two guys, Cabrera and Cano, whose best days are in front of them, and Cano is said to be the one piece that the Twins will require in a deal for Johann Santana with others to be negotiated. Betemit is a suspect. And the rest of them have played their most productive years already. 31.5 is a very old average age for a successful Major League Baseball team, one that is expected to win the World Series every year. They are believed to be offering a gold mine for three years to their 38 year old closer, the great Rivera, who already has his biggest problems with that rival to the north east. Clemens, 45, has begun his personal services contract with the Astros. Pettitte, 36, has turned down his '08 option. Mussina will be 39. Cashman is right: it's time for the generational change. But George's boys apparently didn't get the memo. Signing the old guys to long contracts for big money doesn't just delay the inevitable; it makes the downturn longer and uglier.
Enjoy!

This Great News Just In...

The Boston Herald is reporting that the Red Sox and Curt Schilling are nearing agreement on that one year deal that Schill said after the World Series he'd like to sign before walking away after next season. That is great news.
You can read elsewhere on this blog (two posts down) that I have come to believe in the Sox' business model, namely, no multi-year deals beyond 35th birthdays. That's why this will be a good move for the team. Curt doesn't want even the second year on this deal. He'll be 41 a week from Wednesday. He seems to have come to grips with the fact that he can't be the ace anymore. But he doesn't have to be; he and the Sox have Josh Beckett. Curt can't be the number 2 anymore. But he doesn't have to be; he and the Sox have Daisuke Matsuzaka. Can he be the number 3? Again, he doesn't have to be; he and the Sox watched Jon Lester light up the radar gun in the mid-90's in his World Series Game 4 start.
So Curt and Tim Wakefield can comfortably be the 4 and 5 guys. They can be the elder statesmen. They can advise and suggest. They can lead. Curt can deal with the press, and continue to provide some cover for the younger guys. And he loves to do that. Schill and Wake can glory in their roles of making the Red Sox winners again. And Curt should never again have to worry about matching up with C.C. Sabathia or Fausto Carmona. Hey, wouldn't you feel better about adding to your Hall of Fame argument if you're going against Jake Westbrook or Paul Byrd? Or missing Lackey and Santana for whoever's behind them in the Angels' rotation? Me, too.
For one more year, the risk of injury isn't that great. And the pitcher that emerged at the end of the year is fun to watch, much like Maddux or Glavine. He doesn't have to be Smoltz anymore. And, when he leaves the mound in his final start next fall, perhaps in the World Series, he will walk right into that place where Red Sox legends live forever in the hearts and minds of all New England, and all the far reaches of Red Sox Nation.
Curt is going to stay. And that's great news!

How the Terrorists Really Win

The nominee for Attorney General of the United States of America has declined to repudiate torture in any shape, form, or fashion. And there is a discussion about how many senators will support his nomination?
We have heard over the last six years many formulations that conclude with "then the terrorists win." The first was by the Moron-In-Chief who bravely declared that if we didn't go on with our lives, going to the mall and shopping, then the terrorists win. It has become a refrain for supporting whatever cockamamie pet hobby/observance/practice any given speaker enjoys, believes in or wants to advocate for. Like, if you don't attend the Memphis in May Barbeque contest, then the terrorists win. Or, if you don't mark Clergy Appreciation Month (all month in October), then the terrorists win. (Ok, the last one really matters. If you're an insecure goof. Imagine the Hallmark section on Clergy Appreciation Month: Dear Preacher, Thanks for being there when Aunt Matilda died, and having the good taste to stay as far away from us the rest of the year as possible; or, Dear Clergy Member, I guess we're grateful for your work at our church, but it means so little to us that we haven't been there since Labor Day; or, Dear What's Your Name, thanks for not making us feel bad about your salary, as I needed to make the boat payments this year. But I digress.)
Here's how the terrorists really win: we behave as badly as they do. That's what this is all about. If they can entice us into forfeiting our character and our freedoms in the name of a little neurotic grab at security, they they have what they really want in the first place. We've now joined the list of the hideous who have instigated unprovoked wars. Now, we're up in the air about whether or not it's alright for our chief law enforcement officer to be ok with torturing prisoners. The problems are obvious, almost too much so to name: 1) if we torture, we have no right to tell others they better not torture our soldiers or citizens when they become prisoners, and 2) when you torture people, they will tell you anything you want to hear just to make you stop. Remember that little problem with faulty intelligence before the Iraq War? No, not the President's faulty intelligence; that that was provided by the CIA's wonderfully named "inside man", Curveball. It was all a load of crap. And we never laid a hand on him, or him on a water board.
We don't get to run around the world advocating for our superior way of life if we make human life as cheap as they do. We have no moral upper hand when we make people believe that we are about to do the equivalent to them of what was done to Daniel Pearl and other poor unfortunates captured by the wretched people who believe that beheading one's opponents is a good way to go about your day.
The moral corruption of the Bush administration knows no bounds. And this one isn't about no bids handed out to Halliburton and Blackwater so that they could misplace our billions of tax dollars in the "rebuilding" of Iraq. Where they still have no reliable electricity or water. Nice job. It's no longer about Cheney accusing people who question the war strategy of being agents of Al Qaeda. No, this is about rejecting two hundred and thirty years of striving to live up to the principles on which our nation was founded, and acting no better than the Hitlers, Stalins, Pol Pots, bin Ladens and Husseins of the world.
We were supposed to be better than that.
Ben Franklin's still right: Those who would sacrifice liberty to have security deserve neither.
And the terrorists win. Again.

Hot Stove: Red Sox

Red Sox Nation is clamoring for the return of Mike Lowell. I wrote in my previous post that Mikey's return should be the first item on Theo's To Do List. That said, the brain trust should keep faith with their principle: you don't give multi-year contracts that extend beyond the 35th birthday.
There was anger, heartbreak and gnashing of teeth when Pedro Martinez was allowed to walk after the 2004 victory, Johnny Damon, Bill Mueller and Kevin Millar after the 2005 season, and Trot Nixon after 2006. They were integral parts of the 2004 Championship, and many of us wanted them to stay forever. The truth is that while Pedro went 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA for the 2005 Mets, he made only 23 starts for 132.2 IP, a 9-8 record, and a 4.48 ERA at age 34 in 2006, and barely pitched in 2007, posting 5 starts and 28 IP coming off of surgery at age 35. Bill Mueller was in the Dodgers' front office until pressed into service as their hitting coach last year. Damon can hardly play the outfield any more, spending significant time at DH, and dropping off precipitously in his offensive production:
2004: 20 HR, 94 RBI, .304 AVG, .857 OPS
2005: 10 HR, 75 RBI, .316 AVG, .805 OPS
2006: 24 HR, 80 RBI, .285 AVG, .841 OPS
2007: 12 HR, 63 RBI, .270 AVG, .747 OPS
That is, obviously, a dramatic fall. Johnny will turn 34 tomorrow.
Millar is a great guy, but he's hardly a full time player anymore. Trot is a wonderful human being, still a major part of the Jimmy Fund's efforts, but he only started two games in the ALCS for the Indians. At age 33 this year, he only had a half season's at bats, 3 HR and 31 RBI.
This is all to say that whatever the emotion has made the loss of these guys feel like, in business terms letting them go has been the right decision in every instance.
There are two Boston-caliber 3rd basemen available this off-season. Even for the Red Sox, shelling out for Alex Rodriguez would so limit the team in other areas, it just isn't worth it. Combine that with the ample evidence that the man just can't deal with postseason pressure, and he's nowhere near what we want or need at the hot corner.
That leaves the incumbent and World Series MVP, Mike Lowell. The Yankees will certainly bid big and long for their former farm hand. Mike had his career year at age 33 in 2007. He should be very good next year. But do we want the office to abandon a proven approach because we all love Mikey? If it takes a 4, or certainly a 5, year contract to keep him, I just can't see it (and by the way, ARod is only two years younger than Lowell). At that many years, the reasonable and wise approach becomes a shifting of Youkilis back to third and addition of another first baseman. No disrespect intended, but firstsackers are much easier to come by than third basemen.
So, to recap, just as we are better off with Jacoby Ellsbury in center rather than Johnny Damon, with Josh Beckett leading the staff instead of Pedro Martinez, Youk at first instead of Kevin Millar, Mikey Lowell at third instead of Bill Mueller, and even with the predictably disappointing JD Drew in right instead of Trot Nixon, so would we be better off over the next 4 to 5 years with Kevin Youkilis at third instead of a 37 and 38 year old Mike Lowell by the end of such a contract.
I'd hate to see Lowell walk, especially if he's walking into pinstripes. But truth be told, Johnny Damon helped the Red Sox much more this year by wearing a Yankees uniform than he ever could have in a Sox uni. The clock and the calendar march on, and neither of them care a whit about our emotional attachment to these guys who have done so much for Red Sox Nation. The business model can feel harsh, but it has delivered two World Series victories in four seasons after the celebrated 86 years with none to be found. Work the plan! It will keep us in contention.

Hot Stove Beginnings

Joe Torre made the only move that made sense for him. Pinella and Guillen are, at least for the moment, entrenched with the two Chicago teams. Mike Scioscia isn't going anywhere. Tony LaRussa reupped with the Cardinals. And the Giants are going to be horrific next year. The Dodgers have more than enough talent to win the NL West next year, and, sadly, it just isn't that hard to get to represent the National League in the World Series these days. And as the Cards proved in 2006, once you get to the Series, anything can happen. Although as the 2004 Red Sox, 2005 White Sox, the 2006 Tigers and 2007 Red Sox all proved, your pitching staff will have to channel the Keystone Kops in the field to allow a National League team to win. The Rockies might not have been swept by all of them, but I don't see Colorado having beaten the Indians, Angels, Yankees or Tigers if any of them had found their way to the Fall Classic. Anyway, Joe made the right move, as at 67 he probably didn't need to sit out a year. If he still wanted to manage, no need to raise questions about distance from the game as he approaches 70.
Newsflash time: Scott Boras is bottom-feeding scum, and loves it. And Alex Rodriguez is worse for allowing his agent to behave in such a manner. First, it's the middle of Game 4 announcement of the opt-out. The subsequent apology said, in essence, "Gee, was the World Series going on? I didn't realize that. So, so sorry!" Right. Then, the story gets out that the Yankees actually wanted to give this loser a five year extension at $30 million per. That $150 million, combined with the $81 still owed him totals in excess of $230 million. And Boras, carrying pure brass in his jockeys, told them that they were $120 million short of even having the conversation. I didn't think it was possible to make Mr. May-through-September any more despicable, but I was wrong! Oh, so wrong! How great would it be if the Yankees kept their word and refused to talk further with Team ARod, and every other MLB owner rented the integrity to avoid him at those prices. Yeah, I know some knucklehead like Artie Moreno will ask how high when Boras says jump, but the fantasy is nice. I do believe that the Red Sox have wised up since the attempt to send Manny to the Rangers for Rodriguez a few years ago.
The Sox need to resign Mikey Lowell, although the Yankees will make that harder if they really are done with Alex.