Sandoval’s Comments: Real or Distorted?
I’m continuing to research what it was that Pablo actually said to Jeff Passan. I read JDR’s blog and the reference made to this but that didn’t clear anything up for me. I read Chico’s comments here at the Flap from 11:28pm last night and that shed a little more light on this but again, it was two guys (Chico and someone named *Mimbres*) who were saying what they heard Passan say during a radio interview. As I understand it, Passan was paraphrasing what Sandoval said to him. And from what Chico and Mibres said, his paraphrase was totally different from the direct quote in the article he wrote at Yahoo.
I searched the internet this morning for the radio interview and struck out. I had to listen to a 16 minute interview that John Wetzel did with Passan that was utterly worthless. It was the only one I could find that might have been the interview referenced by Chico/Mimbres. Tip to readers: Do not spend a second listening to a Passan radio interview. He says nothing for most of it, cracking dumb jokes and talking about personal things and when he does talk about baseball he just blathers out the typical crap that any east coast fan would say at a bar.
More of my research…..
I am embarrassed to say that Passan is one of the guys I follow on twitter. Here were his 2 tweets referencing the Pablo article:
The top tweet is in direct contrast to the quote printed in his article. Again, what Passan SAID Pablo said was this:
“I’ve got this year and next year to change all the things. It’s going to take me a while but I can do it. I know I can do it.”
And yet as he sells his article via his tweet, he says with his own words that “he’ll lose the weight WITHIN the next 2 years…” The key word is *within* suggesting that Pablo said he will work on losing it from now until the 2014 season is completed. Pablo didn’t say *within*, Passan did.
I tried to read to Ostler article on this but it was at the Chron pay-site and I will never again pay a cent for a Chronicle article. Besides most of them not being worth more than *free*, I vowed back in 2008 when I canceled my subscription due to a hatchet job they did on Barry Bonds that I would never buy their publication again— and up till then I had been a subscriber for at least 20 years. And I’ve kept my promise.
If anyone doubt’s my feelings about Jeff Passan, here is a sample of the tweets I sent out about him last year:
There were other tweets, but these 2 give you a (big) flavor of my long standing feelings about Jeff Passan.
So I am done researching this until/if new information surfaces. Based on the recount by Chico and Mimbres of his radio interview and the two tweets that Passan himself sent out, I believe his Yahoo article to be, at best, a distortion of what Pablo said to him and at worst a flat out lie. It wouldn’t surprise me if Passan made the quotes up completely. And if that’s the case, he should be fired immediately. Ostler said Pablo rarely will talk about his weight and wondered why he decided to speak about it so openly with Passan—another sign that points to the article being misleading.
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
The Ostler piece that pissed me off was a blog entry on sfgate, which is still free. Chico posted a link to it on the last thread. (sfgate, btw, is horrible now. It’ll be gone within a year, I bet.)
I read the free blog post and it just looked like an advertisement for his Wed article at the pay site.
All of the blogs are free.A note about the Splash and VK, which I posted on JDR:
“Actually, I made a major bitch to VK today and he took care of what I asked. Once upon a time, he and I had a good relationship and he did administer the blog better than now. But he’s not happy to having to do the Splash again and he says the staff is not happy with the moderaters who are a third party firm under contract.
As to me posting there, I hadn’t posted much at all for quite awhile, but I’d posted there from Day 1 and just decided not to be driven away by trolls. Then some skank accuses ME of being a troll AND being of “Allie”. As of now, the skank is GONE..”
There’s nothing wrong with the Splash that woudn’t be be cured by Giants’ fans returning to post there, IMO.
Totally agree, it’s only 3 or 4 lames with multiple handles that clog up the blog. I find it funny that A’s and Dodger fans live with so much hate.
Chi, did you get a chance to download the video? Try to do it by tomorrow if you haven’t. There seems to be no interest in my sharing with Flappers so I’m not going to continue it . Or anyone is interested, they can Email me and I’ll do it password protected.
I have not Michael, but will definitely try tomorrow (been busy as hell and just keep forgetting). I set a reminder for myself (it sucks getting old) to do so tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder…I appreciate it.
I’ll wait to take it down until you let me know you have it.
Baseball Prospectus has their picks up:
They have the Bums as slight favorites to take the West, a totally reasonable choice (if wrong). They pick Cain 3rd in the CY race, behind Strasburg and Kershaw (Timmy is 12th.) Buster comes in 6th for MVP, Votto is the overwhelming choice. Nats are the pick to win the WS, they got 16 of 40 votes, we got 1.
BP full article:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19873
think Wash v Detro or Angels or Devil Rays
I dnld the mays video, it is 1000 times more than I had before. Love it, thanks
Thanks for the BP link, Ed. I’ll get off my ass and download the Mays video tomorrow (going to the Giants-A’s game tonight…so won’t get home until O-dark-thirty. Looking forward to seeing it.
Seeing as Humm Baby is referenced in the referenced in the POTD it made me wonder. Does Lincecum throw a splitter? I have never noticed that he does. I have seen that he holds the changeup like a splitter but what about an actual splitter with the bottom dropping out? Watching his FB dwindle has made me think he needs another go to pitch as the change up isn’t as effective.
I do not think he throws a true split. There was talk this morning about him moving to the pen, and there was mention of Dennis Eckersley. Eck was a starter for twelve years, and then closed for 10-plus. If Timmy doesn’t find his mojo starting…WTF…based on his “ninja-esque” appearances in the post-season last year, I would roll the dice on that shit.
Yesterday, here in Albuquerque in between more red and green chile (I’m going to rival Panda in rotundity if I keep eating like this) the Mrs. and I visited the “nuclear museum”, with exhibits of all things nuclear including energy, tech, and nuclear bombs from WWII to present. Interesting. Seriously, no wonder the defense budget is off the charts — each branch of the military since WWII has gone nuts building nuclear bombs of all shapes and sizes — as small as an artillery shell to monsters that look like a 20 foot long propane tank. They had knockoffs of the two bombs dropped in Japan — sobering stuff. I had no idea the US had so many damn types of nukes — I saw one modern bomb that was about as big as a large pony keg of beer. Seriously, some scary shit if some nut group can get a hold of one of these things that’s small, but big enough to blow up an area about 2 miles square. Anyway, they also had some rocket delivery vehicles in the back lot — more DOD spending nonsense since WWII including everything from a Titan missile to a mothballed B52 and all sorts of rocket gizmos that were classified until they weren’t anymore. Get this — one rocket type thing out of the late 50s was “the Snark”. If I can, I’ll get a pic on the Photo Bucket at some point. Our blues band turned out not to work last night — their gig was actually way out of town, so we consoled ourselves with margaritas and some great tacos at a place called Zacateca in the area near the University; followed by a “salsa” dancing Thurs night special at our hotel bar, complete with dance instructor and a salsa DJ. That was a hoot. During the day, I got a haircut at a cool barbershop near the Uni that turned out to have been ranked by Men’s Health Mag in the top 20 “Manliest” barbershops in the US. Why? Not sure, might have something to do with the female cutters. http://tinyurl.com/d9fmmas (scroll to photo 14). Good cut, not sure if I feel more “manly”. The chick in the photo and another one there definitely could be BBOTDs, though…
Whoa, travel blogs from Steve AND Snarkk… the Flap is blessed…
My thoughts exactly, Paul. Good stuff, snarkk. I have friends and family in Albuquerque and have thought about a trip to New Mexico for Gail and me (I have always wanted to check out Santa Fe, too).
That’s funny, the nuke museum was part of Travel Channel’s Mysteries at the Museum that I watched late last night. The feature was on a vial of “Radithor” that contained radium and was touted as a miracle drug (“Certified Radioactive Water”) in the early part of the 20th century. That is, until people who were ingesting it began dying after developing horrific symptoms, and the FDA finally put a stop to its production.
I also said in last night’s thread with Chico that I didn’t think Pablo was misquoted at all, I just think people didn’t seem to understand it. He said he has this year and next to make changes. As I said last night, I took that to mean he will be working over the next couple of years to get his weight down and maintain it, or at least stay in some semblance of good shape for his size, which is fine with me. So, Passan’s translation as “within” the next two years is actually what I also thought Pablo said. Not, waiting two years to begin doing anything about it. That was fucking Ostler, who’s a fucking idiot as a “sports writer”.
Time will tell if Pablo does that. I hope he does. He’s a potential fucking monster hitter for years to come. That’s why people are making a big fuss of this (or, trying to tear him down, as I also believe Passan has intended). This is a big year for Pablo. To think that Posey could be the 2nd best hitter overall on the team, not the best, would be a great thing. That’s Pablo’s crown to grab this year. Or, he has a downward year and then these discussions become more real. For now…leave him alone and let the dude play. I believe he knows what he has to do.
One thing to note: even if you believe his comment was distorted (by Passan or those who read it), Pablo is bigger this year than last year. Whether he’s working hard or not, the conditioning results of that hard work are not showing up yet.
Like I said last night…I don’t question Pablo’s committment to working hard at his trade (coming in early for extra BP, etc.), but IMHO if he put half that work into eating healthy and some aerobic conditioning, it would go a long way towards making him a better 3rd baseman (lighter, more range and mobility), and would alleviate a lot of stress off his joints (which will catch up with him, eventually).
I actually don’t believe Passan distorted Pablo’s words, I think he translated Pablo’s mention of needing to make some changes this year and next year into “within” two years. That, as I read it, is probably a fairly accurate translation. I think Passan is trolling in the rest of the article, but I think he got that one right. So, ok, Pablo is bigger this year than last. That’s happened before, and it could happen again down the road, but according to what Pablo knows he must do, it won’t happen again. We’ll see. I think he’ll do it and be one of MLB’s great hitters for years to come. The Giants would be smart to help that along, not get bitchy about his weight like a nagging girlfriend.
There’s nothing to indicate his *performance* results have been affected. He’s been All-Earth MVP since October.
There’s probably differing views on this, but I don’t believe he can sustain productivity if he stays this big. He seems to understand the need for improved conditioning and weight management (that came through clearly in the article). And everyone says he’s such a hard worker (though I recall reports last Spring that he was loafing it on a stairs workout and the fact that before his 2011 body re-vamp it was reported that he could field only half a dozen balls before panting hard with hands on his knees).
My point is, if he’s working so hard and he understands the importance of losing weight and getting in shape, why is he bigger than he’s ever been right now?
Panda is an enigma. Why can’t our great fielding, stellar hitting sports stars be less . . err, . . human?
Has he resisted continuing the chaperoned conditioning experience?
Is food his only escape?
1.) Wrap those knees and get running
2.) Get with Hunter and go Paleo
3.) Get with Torres and do the 1000 daily at bats
I mentioned his need to get with Pence last night, Ed. I agree…get on that fucking Paleo plan. Maybe have him hook-up with Jerry Rice in the off-season and run that hill that Rice used to run in the off-season.
I have no argument about his performance (as pointed out by Michael), but I do feel that if he dropped some weight, it would translate into more mobility around 3rd base, and also into less likelihood of him having issues with his joints (knees, etc.) down the road.
I think part of the argument is what kind of *shape* should Pablo be in. To me, baseball shape is quite different from most everything. I’m sure publicly Bochy takes the hardline, but I don’t feel he brings the heat to Pablo privately unless he sees something on the field he didn’t like. I am also sure he gets regular reports from training staff that monitors Pablo’s workouts, and these reports do go up the line to the FO.
Bottom line for me is Bochy—if he has Pablo in the LU (unlike late 2010), then he feels he is at least in baseball shape, and is mentally and physically prepared to play well enough to help the team win. And if he isn’t then I’m sure bochy would let him know about it.
There’s a diff between actually distorting his words and cherry picking them. Based on what Passan has subsequently said, I think it’s obvious that Pablo said more than what was quoted in the article.Xoot did a very good job in the last thread of discussing Panda’s communication skills in his second language. Worse than mispresenting what Pablo was trying to say, was taking advantage of his still poor English. And again, as Xoot pointed out, it’s not uncommon. I’ll add that it’s racist.
One of the main ideas from the Passan article is that Passan is doubtful that Sandoval will lose the extra weight, because it doesn’t seem to be affecting Pablo’s hitting. The weight’s not a big deal if Pablo can hit well, and avoids injury. It does make it harder for him to play thirdbase. Firstbase isn’t really a possibility unless Belt totally flops, and Belt looks like he’s starting to make the next step forward.
Pablo’s weight is frustrating to Bochy/Sabean regarding playing thirdbase, but obviously Pablo has basically all the leverage: the Giants need his bat in the middle of the batting order. He has the most power of any Giants hitter, and he’s their most dangerous hitter.
If the Giants were an AL team, it wouldn’t be any concern; he would just DH a lot.
Okay bitches…I got my Flapalooza Orange Sombrero Night tix this morning. What a score…$42 each, and I had a reward from Stubhub for $30…total for four tix came to $140.
I’ll be in Club Section 232, Row A. I’m ready…is it September, yet?!
I am so ready for some baseball games that count, but looking forward to tonight’s Bay Bridge game…daughter and I are going down to meet-up with a bunch of family and friends. Should be fun…win or lose.
Oh, and LOVED me some MudBug last night. That fricking play in the field was spectacular, and his stick is really starting to come around. I am predicting a good year for Crawdad…
The drive into triples alley last night was a thing of beauty.
A Eugenio Velez sighting! He’s trying to make the Toronto team. I saw an at-bat. He struck out.
I saw Manny Burriss walking to the team bus (Reds) while in Scottsdale. He did not make it into the game. Not sure how much playing time he has received this spring.
A lot. He’s had 50+ AB and is hitting .214. He’s 6 for 8 in stolen bases, but ‘d have to say the Reds are hurting big time on *their* bench if he makes the squad.
Just from Giants pre-season games I’ve seen, as a fan I’m less comfortable about leftfield, and I gotta believe that Bochy/Sabean aren’t totally comfortable with it. They’ll start the season with the Blanco/Torres rotation, but that could be the spot that becomes the focus point of a transaction. Or something out of the blue happens, like Peguero seizing the moment.
A big if, but if Blanco/Torres perform in the regular season as they did in AZ, Bochy and the brsss would be delighted.Neither hit for much BA but both were mid-300’s in OBP, high 700’s in OPS, played great defense,and in Vungo’s case appeared to have his legs back. It’s still a question mark and I agree that Peguero or even Brown could be out there before the year is out, but I think ST was actually encouragiing. IMO.
Hey, speaking of Pablo: Tigers have extended Verlander’s contract to 7Y/$180M, with a vesting option for an 8th year that could hit $202M (from Buster Olney). Now Verlander has to hope Pablo stays in the National League.
Assuming Pablo puts up an OPS in the mid-800s or better, I’d be more worried about the pitching than anything else. The staff was really closer to the middle of the pack in 2012 than it was to the top tier. The plain fact is the Dodgers had better pitching than the Giants last year. A big season from MadBum could be key to another division title.
The concern isn’t about whether Pablo will hit; the concern is him staying on the field. The Giants are nervous that the extra weight will lead to issues playing thirdbase, injury-wise, or pulling something running the bases. I’m guessing they’re not as worried about range at thirdbase as they might sometimes say. If he’s raking at the plate, his range at thirdbase isn’t that big a deal. It could be a lot of handwringing for nothing. Pablo could go out and have a terrific full season this year, as he did in ’09. And then once the Giants get into the playoffs, the Giants are in position to make another run deep into the playoffs, with Pablo being a key part of that.
Posey and Giants agree to 9 year deal that includes an option for 2022 and is worth $167 million, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney.
I just saw this and was going to comment on it. Wow! I sure like the way they are building this franchise for the long-haul. It is a good time to be a San Francisco Giant fan (never a bad time…but it is especially sweet right now)!
Excellent news. With Cain and Posey as team leaders on into the future, the team looks set to be a playoff contender for many years to come.
It includes a $22 million option for 2022, raising the total potential value of his current deal to $189 million.
I think he can forget about that, dirt. Physically he’ll be about 90.
Loo, True but maybe the NL has DH by then. I hope not.
I think 10 @ $200M was your estimate a couple weeks back. You were pretty close.
Here’s a dumb question- did Peguero officially get that final outfield spot or is that going right down to the wire still?
Have seen no “definitive” decision on him/Gillespie or on Noonan. But I think Noonan has the IF position. I think Gillespie will end up getting the final OF spot.
It would be SWEET for the Giants to go down to L.A. and take at least 2 out of those 3 games. But opening on the road, in L.A., just seems like it never bodes well, historically. Just get a win and get out of there is probably satisfactory. In fact, given the opponents, a 3-3 start is not a bad start to the season.
This contract almost makes me hope the NL has the DH in 2020.
This sudden endorsement of long term contracts and the faith that the players will perform well enough to justify the money throughout the contract is truly awe inspiring…
I suspect it’s because the money is going to the guys who helped win the 2 titles. Maybe sub-consciously it’s being looked at as a reward for what they’ve already done. Plus it’s just the going rate…
“I suspect it’s because the money is going to the guys who helped win the 2 titles.”
Yeah it was dem two..
So what’s your point? You can’t give 25 guys $ 180 milion apiece.
And why don’t you consider the post as a whole before isolating one line to suit your usual condescending idiotic remark?
enough, Loo.
The point, pal, is that long term contracts are not viewed by many as favorably as they are by you. And there’s no “going rate” for 8 year extensions. Go rob some more parking meters..
The truth about Buster is he’s a tough negotiator. Look at his $6 mill signing bonus. The first 4 teams balked at drafting him in 2008 because of his guaranteed salary demands from the get-go. And he took them down to the the proverbial wire. thank God we didn’t have a fax fuck up like the Denver Broncos just did.
9 years is an awfully long time. But in his first 3 years, 2 rings, ROY, MVP, comeback player of the year. I get why, mainly because it was likely the only way to keep him.
If nothing. Buster plays hard-ball in his contract negotiations.
2 for 2 World Series with Buster in their full time.0-53 without him.Yeah he makes them team much better. Like Chi mentioned, Great to be a Giant fan especially today.
I had the contract at 8/185 close but I’m a happy camper for him.Buster is the Franchise and the “BEST” catcher in baseball if not the best player as well in the game especially for the position he plays!!
“2 for 2 World Series with Buster in their full time.0-53 without him”… repeating a ridiculous comment doesn’t make it better…
I’m happy for Buster, I never begrudge these guys every penny they can wring out of owners who are raking in record profits. But management did it for the wrong reason-to appease the fans, not because it’s wise. But the naive belief that because he’s great now he’ll be worth the bucks in a few years when his knees are shot warms the cockles of my heart.
you have no idea why management did it. You’ve just tailored a theory to fit your opinion.
Well, I think I do. And fine, Kat’s makes no sense.Better?
Buster was maybe the 4 or 5th MVP on the 2010 team.
I hope Buster is as productive at his next position as he is at catcher…..
well, i may be drinking too much again, but here’s my knucklehead take anyway…
Trend today is toward locking up your great young players. Result is a FA pool lacking much depth, so, you pay a fortune anyway for the few difference makers available. To find another player as rare as Posey through the draft is very difficult, especially when you’re winning.
Plus, the G’s desire “continuity” as we heard yesterday with Bochy/Sabean extended. They value and I think yearn for the days when a core group of players remained with the same club for most of their career. This is illustrated in their relationships with former players like Mays McCovey, Clark and others. I think that’s what the fans want as well. Considering everything this guy brings to the table, this was a no-brainer. He could exceed Joe in terms of iconic status.
I know why they did it but it was a no brainer only in the sense that they felt the fan base demanded it. The same fans who will all claim they were against from the beginning when his knees are shot if he remains a catcher or he’s worth half the money as a two tool OFer or corner infielder…
The deal is, if the Giants don’t sign him to a big deal, he goes to NYY in 4 years. Whether that’s a good call or not is now moot. Or mute. 26 isn’t too old, but there you go. Plus, I don’t think he starts playing 1st base for another 5 years.
bARRING INJURIES . . .
So let him go to NY in 4 years. We get him for his prime years, they get him as a slow footed DH.
When it comes to contracts, how much team’s are worth, television deals, etc., fuck the numbers.
According to today’s SF Chronicle, Blackley gets a World Series ring, too. He pitched 5 innings for the Giants last season. That doesn’t seem possible that he’d get a ring, but he says they asked him for his ring size. And why not? I doubt that all the September call-ups get rings, though. Or maybe they do.
Interesting looking at Johnny Bench’s career. He was mainly a catcher for about 13 seasons or so, but would get occasional starts at 1b, 3b, or even outfield, before he was eventually switched to 3b as his main position. Buster may want to be mainly a catcher for a long time. He knows that his ticket to the Hall of Fame is as a catcher.
Who was backing Timmy getting a multiyear? I know some were. Any mind changes?
I backed and called for what he got. I think I was 500K off…..
You mean Timmy? I don’t consider 2 years a long term deal. I know there was sentiment for the 8 years he was said to have wanted.
I know 2 years isn’t long. I’m saying that’s the contract I called for. I was against a long term deal.
I was asking who backed a long term. Probably no one will admit it now.
Interesting video on MLB network comparing Posey’s swing to Jeter’s. I’d heard the comparison before, but I hadn’t actually seen it analyzed on video like that. Just a real solid all-fields approach to hitting .300.
There’s always the risk of injury. Teams in every pro sport assum huge financial commitments to try and remain competitive. Might say it’s economically unsound, but that’s the way it is. With the huge sums of cable money, the cost is just going to go up. One alternative is the Beane method of trading em away for prospects as they approach FA.
Is that what we’d prefer?
It ‘s not the way it is- most star players do not sign long term contracts and forego free agency.And Beane’s way is not the only alternative. A perfectly sound approach is to continue improving the farm, get those best 6 years out of the guys and let somebody else overpay them..
That’s banking that you have fresh recruits ready to go. Hard to do, as we’ve seen. Had to sign Pagan Scutaro when if would have been preferable to go Brown Noonan.
Teams that are successful year after year do it with all avenues open.. the farm, trade, free agents, deadline acquisitions…of course they can’t count on a replacement who is as good as Busters is now,that doesn’t mean that they can’t lose him and still improve the team overall No player is indispensible.
Yogi played 81 games in LF at age 36! 🙂
Schulman shows some chutzpah for picking the Dodgers to win the NL West in the Chronicle today, being a beat reporter covering the Giants, and having to be with them everyday. (grin) He does say it’s IF the Dodgers can stay healthy, and the Dodgers already kinda AREN’T staying healthy.
In the USA Today weekend edition, Nightengale picks the Giants to finish first in the NL West.
WordPress hasn’t been completely loading up for me today. Sometimes I can’t get in and when I have been able, trying to post locks the whole thing up (my post does seem to take when I x out). Not sure if it is WordPress itself or upgrades that I’ve recently done. Whatever the reason, I now think I’m grateful for the hangups. Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day.
Well, I’ll look in on you all in 8 years and you can tell me how it went with Buster.With the “big plans in mind from the Budster, Buster might be DH for the Netherlands Dyke Pluggers…
Well I guess Panda will be running his Fat Farm in less then 8 years Twin.
Would you rather the Giants gave Pablo 8/185 and watch him turn into “Haystack Calhoun”?
Atleast Buster stays in great shape and the organization realizes it and rewards him for it.
Plus he will have a great chance,IMO to reach the HOF (barring injury ) as a catcher or 1B later on.
He is also a marketable athlete , more so then any other Giant including Timmy,Matt Cain or Pablo.
Yeah I will give Panda his cute kids Panda ears or whatever, but unless the Giants want him to run the “Food Network Show” which isn’t baseball related his marketing value will not come close to Buster.
Never suggested that Panda get 8 years, can it, pal. And can the fat farm shit, as well.
Apparently there is a no-trade clause written into the contract. And he has to give $50K to charity each year. that is equivalent to a gal making $40K/yr giving $95
I don’t know how much charitable contributions you claim each April, but mine was always more than $95
I’ve got another draft tonight from 7-10pm and I would appreciate it if I didn’t have to moderate this place tonight. Thanks in advance.
F-G had a column months ago about long term contracts. Their contention was that the early years are the important ones, not the last few. High WAR players are going to be worth a lot of money If the team is involved in post season play, then they reap quite a large benefit in terms of revenue for years to come, according to B-P.
The Giants have signaled they are full into returning the team that won it all and keeping it together (Pence being the biggest ? mark), and Posey as MVP is undoubtedly face of the franchise alongside Cain. SF obviously feels they can win it all again, and if that happens the gear and all the other stuff like the nightly sellouts will ensure the $$$$ keep rolling in.
I saw that column too. Pujols may be the exception with his latest contract in LA. If I remember right they talked about him too. Any ways, I thought it was interesting and agree with the points on post season returns.
Actually, there is study that “confirms the earlier finding that player performance is systematically higher during contract years than during the early portion of a long-term contract. We also find that inclusion of contract length information significantly reduces the unexplained variation in player salaries.”
The authors assembled the most complete dataset of MLB player contracts to date, so it’s an extensive study.
Here’s a link to the abstract, there one can download the paper.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1309944
minor bit of good news: Bip Roberts will be a commentator for the A’s on comcast this year. Rich Aurilia will step up to comment on the Giants. Hope that works out.
Has JT Snow given up broadcasting? He was not good at it. I’d like to see them scale back on Amy a bit this year.
In the USA Today sports weekly supplement, somebody named Paul White picked the Giants to win the Series. Also, two writers picked Matt Cain to win the Cy Young. In other news, the formerly underwhelming Miquel “Don’t Call Me Reuben” Tejada has made the Royals. By my reckoning, he has not played a Major League game since the Giants released him in 2011. Boy, was he terrible for us.
Wow. Like a gentle, warm breeze: watching me some free Gigantes on MLB.com. So soothing to hear Jon Miller and Mike Krukow. Suh-weet.
pluck yew, pawlie, I just spent an hour with mlb tv support trying to watch this game at 4am GMT
fixed now and game is over
computers – they make our lives easier
Any concern about Pagan looking like last April’s version. Think he’s about .230 obp this spring.
Nope. He’ll bat third here and there and Bochy will see to it that he’s an NL All Star…
Man this kid AJGriffin really knows how to pitch.A’s staff is really gonna be good, their young and their already winning,as last year proved.
Pagan is on the cusp of being All-Star worthy. If he performs as he did last year, it would be iffy even with Bochy picking…but he’d have a shot.
A’s? Third place 80-82.
You opinion of the A’s is now a little trollish. You said they’d fade last year and they were a fantastic story (I know, I know, all of it was in spite of Beane).
You’re picking against them this year, nothing new with this….
Don’t ever infer I’m a troll, pal.Many pick the A’s third.
I don’t remember a single Flapper calling for a long-term contract for Timmy. I think the vast majority thought that Timmy had gotten a really cool deal with the 2 years/40 million or whatever it was.
https://oneflapdown77.com/2012/01/25/tim-lincecum-let-someone-else-pay-for-the-back-of-his-baseball-card/
I know I said I was too busy
I know I said I wasn’t getting up at 3am to watch games like last season
but when MLB TV put tonight’s game on for free that all went out the window
Love conquers all and I love me some San Francisco baseball.
And it looks like I will love this team every game of the 2013 season.
Count me in and colour me hooked.
Go Buster Posey (and the other guys, too.
I just went through this entire thread (wonderful opening Flav) . . . Love Paulinasia’s comments about Pablo and weight (I agree); counterpoint by Flav was good as well; Loo’s take on Buster’s gazillion dollar contract; Mike’s question about Timmy’s “here today, pfffft tomorrow” 8 year contract dreams (I was definitely in the camp which said, NO MORE THAN 2 YEAR, MAXIMUM 3 YEAR CONTRACT OFFER for Timmy); Chuck’s pertinent remarks about Buster being a tough negotiatior; and all the other intelligent comments from Zumie, Xoot, Kat, Ed, Brian, Clown (I hope you get your wordpress connection fixed), Salty, Paul, James, Dirt and snarkk (loved the update from New Mexico).
I have little time for reading unintelligent Giant news from Bleacher Report, SF Gate, SJ Mercury, Comcast (ok, I exaggerate a bit) – so I come here to get my Giants fix. You guys knock it out of the park daily! 🙂
Hey, Blade! Good to see you checking in. I was reading your blog tonight, and catching up on what you’re up to. Very cool stuff.
The Giants looked real good tonight, and absolutely primed to get the season started.
Hi Zumiee – Likewise, thanks for reading my blog and commenting. I am getting a bit antsy as of late and more than occasionally, I wish I was back in the greatest country in the world, watching my Giants on a consistent WIFI or FCC television station. LOL.