How “Manny” More Days?
If there was one thing I wish I never had to read or hear about again, it would have to be the contract negotiations between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Scott Bor”***”, I mean Manny Ramirez. The latest report is that both sides are about $1.5 Million dollars apart along with deferred payments on the contract. Oh yeah there is an opt-out clause after this season as well.
$1.5 Million. Wouldn’t that be a nice problem to have? You are negotiating a contract in the $25 Million dollar range and the hold up is $1.5 Million.
The best case scenerio is that the Dodgers get fed up enough to the point that they don’t want to negotiate a contract with them any longer which would be such a great thing for the game.
The worst case scenerio is that the Dodgers cave, sign Manny to this deal that we have been reading about, and then Manny deciding to opt-out after this season, which would lead to us having to listen and read about this crap another year.
Dodger fans at this point have to be getting annoyed. I understand completely how adding a bat like Manny’s would completely change the complexion of your team. Is it really worth the hassle? Are the rest of the Dodger players going to be alright with having Manny on their team even though he is going to miss most of spring training? This isn’t an original thought, but is there a chance that Manny and Bor”***” are stalling in the negotiations just so Manny doesn’t have to participate in Spring Training? He was never one to show up on time so the thought should cross everyones mind.
You have to get a kick out of an agent making the decisions for the player. The last thing you want as a professional athlete is to decide where you are going to spend the next several years. Agents determine a players monetary value and are now determining where they are going to end up.
The same thing is happening in the NFL right now. Wide receiver T.J. Housh-a-mah-whatsthat was on the phone moments after the Free Agency period started for the NFL the other night and he said his agent was going to let him know where he was going to be playing next year. His agent.
You can’t tell me that those people (agents) arent’ the worst thing to ever happen to sports. Forget about PED’s and HGH and The Clear and The Cream. Let’s turn our focus to ridding sports from these jerks. I really couldn’t come up with a better name for them that was suitable for all audiences.
I guess I will end this now because it probably doesn’t make alot of sense. I just hope that when I get up in the next couple of hours I can read that the deal has been finalized and all of the Manny contract rumors will finally be over.
I will be keeping my fingers crossed while sleeping. Later!!
Chris Johnson Shines, Astros Lose
Chris Johnson Fouling Off A Pitch in 2006 NYPL Game
Former Tri-City ValleyCat Chris Johnson, who I had the honor of covering a few seasons ago, went 2-2 with two RBI’s in a losing effort today against the Atlanta Braves in Grapefruit League action.
Johnson continues to impress in his first spring training with the big club. In his first two spring training games, Johnson is batting .750 with three hits including a monster homerun yesterday. He has three RBI’s and has also scored a run.
I started covering the Tri-City ValleyCats in 2006, and Chris Johnson has progressed quicker than anyone else from the ’06 team. Johnson spent part of last season with Houston’s AAA squad (Round Rock Express) after tearing it up in AA. It will be interesting to see just how long it will take Johnson to crack the Astros lineup.
Roy Oswalt looked in midseason form in the early going of this one, going three innings and striking out four. The only mistake he made was hanging a pitch to David Ross who made him pay by knocking the ball out of the park. Other than that, Oswalt was lights out. Astros fans should be very excited about his performance.
Both teams were hitting the ball fairly well and capitalizing on each others mistakes. I know, I know it is early and it is only spring training, but you can really tell alot from these games. You get to see top prospects not only for your favorite team but in all of baseball. The future sure is bright and the best is yet to come.
As promised below will be a list of all of the organizations top prospects and what they did at the plate or on the mound.
Houston:
#4 Brian Bogusevic (CF) went 0-1. Bog’s was drafted as a pitcher but has made the transition to the outfield.
#5 Chris Johnson (3B) went 2-2 with 2 RBI’s
#8 Drew Sutton (3B) went 0-1
#13 Sergio Perez (RP) didn’t record an out and gave up four runs (two earned) on four hits
#21 Gilbert De La Vera (RP) gets the lose and a blown save
Atlanta:
#1 Tommy Hanson (RP) 2 innings pitched giving up two hits, two runs, while striking out two
#2 Jason Heyward (RF) went 0-1
#3 Jordan Schafer (CF) went 0-3
#5 Freddie Freeman (1B) went 1-2 with a homerun and a RBI
#28 James Parr (RP) collected the win for the Braves while going two innings
The Houston Astros pitching prospects did not do well today and were responsible for the late inning collapse.
Not alot of options tomorrow, but I am leaning towards the Cardinals and the Mets. Time will tell.
Minnesota Twins 5, Boston Red Sox 2
My first game as a new Minnesota Twins fan ended the way I had hoped. The Twins defeated the Boston Red Sox 5-2 in Grapefruit League action last night. It was the first game of the spring for the Twins.
Glen Perkins got the start for the Twins and pitched two decent innings collecting the win. The Red Sox had some solid contact against Perkins in the first inning, including a double by 2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia. Perkins was able to settle in surrendering two hits while striking out one.
Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was on the hill for the Red Sox, but didn’t fair as well. Wakefields knuckleball was not knuckling enough and he was tagged for three of the five Twins runs and was on the hook for the loss.
Three straight singles by the Twins Delmon Young, Brian Busher, and Mike Redmon started the scoring in the second inning. Delmon young was trying to score on Redmond’s single and was almost thrown out at the plate, but a bad throw by new Red Sox player Brad Wilkerson, allowed a diving Young to score. A sac fly by Jason Pridie and a bloop single by Alexei Casilla accounted for the other two runs in the inning.
The Red Sox would chip away scoring one run in the fourth inning off of Twins closer Joe Nathan, and they would add their second and final run in the sixth against reliever Jason Jones.
The Twins would cap off their scoring in the eighth inning on a two-run single by catching prospect Jeff Christy who made Red Sox pitcher Billy Traber pay for getting himself in a bases loaded jam.
As the case in most spring training games, the lineup card was filled to the max with all of the substitutions for both sides. Trying to score this game at home (if that is something you like to do) would have made for a messy sheet.
One thing that I plan on doing with the games I watch and write up is documenting the top prospects for each team that made an appearance. The rankings are according to Baseball America’s Top 30 Prospects for each organization.
Last night in the first spring training game allowed fans listening or watching to see multiple prospects for each side. Listed below are each players ranking within their organization and what they did at the plate.
Boston:
#1 – Lars Anderson (DH) went 0-1
#5 – Josh Reddick (CF) went 0-2 leaving two runners on base.
#17 – Argenis Diaz (SS) went 0-1
#24 – Zach Daeges (LF) went 0-1 leaving two runners on base
Minnesota:
#5 – Danny Valencia (3B) went 2-2
#13 – Trevor Plouffe (SS) went 0-1 leaving two runners on base
#21 – Diebinson Romero (PR-DH) scored a run with no official at bat
#22 – Matt Tolbert (PR-SS) went 0-2 leaving two runners on base
#28 – David Winfree (RF) went 0-1
Looks like the Twins top prospects were just a little more effective than the Red Sox prospects but not by much. It will be interesting to see how much they all play during the spring. The one thing that all of the prospects this spring training will be psyched about is the World Baseball Classic. With that on tap this spring, they will all get a good chance to showcase their talents in front of their respective coaching staffs.
I will be watching the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves today. I have covered the Tri-City ValleyCats (Single-A Affiliate of the Houston Astros) of the New York-Penn League for the last three seasons. A few of the players I have been able to interview and meet during that span of time have been invited to camp, so I will be checking in to see their progress.
It’s Go Time!!!
Finally. The first bout of spring training games are either just coming to an end or just about to start.
The offseason didn’t seem as long as it usually does. I am not exactly sure why that is, but nonetheless here we are.
The one thing you won’t read here is all of the negative press that our sport has gotten over the past several years. It is time we put all of that behind us and focus on the future of the greatest game in the world.
I haven’t had much of an opportunity to check the box scores from todays games, but I was able to catch a little of the Giants/Indians Cactus League game on MLB.tv. The Indians new park looks very nice from what I was able to see of it.
Tonights game on MLB.tv is the Boston Red Sox and my new favorite team the Minnesota Twins from Hammond Stadium. I was able to visit that stadium last week on my vacation and coulnd’t get over how beautiful it was.
I know the games in the spring don’t mean anything but it is great to know that baseball is back.
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