Weekend links with Jon Marthaler
Posted on June 14th, 2008 – 8:25 AMBy Michael Rand
I suppose the important question to lead off is this: who wants to be the one to tell Mike Lamb that Kevin Slowey has more hits than he does in June? It’s too bad, because Lamb became my new favorite player this spring because of his ultra-sarcastic sense of humor
Anyway, on with the links:
*After reading this story from the Sporting News, in which Vikings DE Jared Allen hunts a bear, I think I speak for all of us when I say: I can’t wait until this guy shows up on “Kent Hrbek Outdoors.” My prediction: a wild-eyed Allen seems barely able to contain himself on the typical Hrbek leisurely fishing trip, until the newest Viking finally snaps, jumps out of the boat, and attempts to bite a walleye to death, while Hrbek looks on aghast. It’s going to be must-see TV.
*From Busted Coverage (via With Leather): The Twins’ 32nd-round draft pick, lefthander Adam Conley of Olympia HS in Washington state, has already proved his usefulness at one critical facet of pitching in the majors: tackling a baserunner after a close play at the plate.
*Two stories from Euro 2008: If you watched the Austria-Poland tilt on Thursday (and judging by the ratings, well, you actually might have), you’ll have remembered that commentators Adrian Healey and Robbie Mustoe spent virtually the entire match joking about an offer from Austrian brewer Ottakringer, promising free beer for life to the first Austrian goalscorer of the tournament. Well, Ivica Vastic got ol’ Osterreich on the board that day — and now, the Austrian FA is refusing to let Vastic collect his prize. Worst news ever?
The second story, via Awful Announcing: there are certain cooking utensils that perhaps you should not refer to on television. Clearly, Adrian Healey does not know this. [Note: rest of joke pre-empted, on grounds of not getting 3-5 people fired.]
*MDS at the FanHouse has the horrifying news: as expected, the broadcast coverage of the Vikings’ opening-week game will not actually require the Purple to show up. Mute your televisions now, folks.
*Dave Barry writes from the august Miami Herald: things don’t seem to be going too well in the newsroom.
That’s it for me; I guess the only question remaining is this: what are YOU doing for BI-2008? (The outcome has already been predicted, scientifically.) [Watch the language in either case, folks].
9 Responses to "Weekend links with Jon Marthaler"
RE: FavreFest 2008. Good golly, is that going to suck a lot.
I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. Ooops, nope, that was more than a little.
“Favre’s wife, Deanna, was described by ESPN’s ombudsman as the first Monday Night Football booth guest whom the viewers approved of.”
ESPN’s ombudsman needs to get their head out of their ***. Deanna Favre was horrible. It was at that point that I realized just how bad the MNF crew’s booth guests were. I don’t think I watched another game with the sound on all year.
I hope Mike Lamb does good enough to have some value for some other teams. I like to see him gone along with Boof, Nick Punto, Adam Everett, Livan, and etc.
We’re all waiting for the final BI results…
Tuckin’ it in the waistband with the ratings of Euro 2008!
“I hope Mike Lamb does good enough to have some value for some other teams. I like to see him gone along with Boof, Nick Punto, Adam Everett, Livan, and etc.”
If it were only that simple. The Rincon situation brings the whole confusion about waivers, trades and contracts to light.
Since I’m not getting paid (or, at least, a COW - and Dave, I’m still rooting for you - to explain in greater academic detail (and the Proprietor should just a post on it) let’s just say we didn’t sign Lamb, Everett, Livan for their talent. We signed them because they came cheap. Just in case we they didn’t play well enough for trade value and we needed to designate them for reassignment.
Livan may be an exception. Although I don’t know why. No one is going to trade for Lamb or Everett unless they really need them and they’re too far down the waiver-wire pecking order.
A very partial illustration is the Wild trading a draft choice for a marginal player who was sure to go through waivers rather than hope they could’ve got him through waivers. And now, may I present my resume for future GM of the Wolves…
ramon - Lamb is signed for both of the next two years, at a total of $6.6 million (assuming, and I think I’m right, that the Twins don’t exercise his option for 2010.)
That’s not exactly cheap - if they DFA him, they’re on the hook for the whole thing, if I’m not mistaken. (Everett is $2.8mm, Livan is $5mm - again, not cheap, especially after we just ate $2.475mm for Rincon.)
Jon, I shouldn’t say cheap - more like relatively inexpensive. And the perspective is all how Smith puts it. He’s claiming he’s putting a contender on the field. Is 3 mil a year for what you assume will be your everyday player at a key position too much for a team claiming to be a contender? Is 5 mil for your one veteran starting pitcher too much for a contender?
The problem is we know the contender thing is a crock. These ex-Astros are stopgaps until we “develop” our version of ‘91 for 2010. If the Twins were committed to winning now, and Pohlad was less rigid on the payroll structure (payroll can’t exceed 50% of total operating costs or something)- or, like Wilf, put a few more bucks of his own money into operating costs - the infielders we’d have to sign to really contend would have bigger price tags.
They could have come clean and admitted they’re rebuilding and went with Casilla, Buscher, Tolbert et al. from the start. But losing Silva and Castillo for nothing and Santana for prospects didn’t look good in light of the stadium fight. Smith had to do more than lock up a few young guys and get Young and Gomez. He had to give the impression he was putting a contender on the field. To do that he had to find veteran free agents.
That’s why, to me, the ex-Astros pickups were a bargain. Cheap enough to fit in the budget and veteran enough to keep the contending facade up. And from hearing TK’s comments, it sounds like he was the only one in the organization who wasn’t who wasn’t buying the hype.
ramon - Well stated.
