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13. I like it. That was the uni number I wore all the way through my 15-year old season, which was my last (blame girls).
Perhaps the most significant newsy bits of the day are the proposed extra-inning rules changes for exhibition games (the links are below). We are well past pitch clocks now, and the ownership reps out of the Front Office (most commonly known in the collective as “Rob Manfred”) have placed on the very large table of Baseball history one still-lit cigarette butt. It might not end up meaning much any time soon, but if totally neglected by all the other vested parties, that thing is going to burn down until it leaves a mark.
Have some Born-On-Second-Base-And-Act-Like-I-Hit-A-Double-Offseason-Links:
A Little Bit of Angels News
Go to 2:10 of this podcast and learn all about Mike Trout and the trampoline. Apparently something that his wife posted briefly, and I missed it..........
Live in the Salt Lake area? Love the Halos? Wanna goof with The Bees? (That’s a Harry Nilsson joke, folks.) Get thee to the job fair..........
Pujols lining up his charity drive golf event during ST in Scottsdale...........
Deep sigh. Danny Espinosa, officially, will not be returning to plague our offense..........And David Hernandez, a guy we traded to get Luis Madero (still down in the Pioneer League), has found a new home in Cincinnati..........
Chuck Finley AND Frank Tanana getting some serious career love..........
I dunno. Seems like a lot of work but a reddit user has created yet another projection system. Mike Trout shall hit 33 home runs in 2018..........
Everywhere In Baseball
Hmmm. The coming pitch clock is going to make it harder to fight off sign stealing? Really? We fans seem to be the only ones noting that Darren O’Day is complaining that he can’t do his job properly because MLB is creating new rules to force players to follow existing rules............That’s Ok, Darren, MLB is coming to your rescue!..........
Speaking of new rules, look for this on in Tempe: placing a runner on second base to start a team at-bat in extra innings. ST will be the pilot for the change coming to the All-Star Game. Once the new norm, it’s only a matter of time before the pressure starts building for regular season changes. Not that it would happen, but it sure would be something the owners can take to the CBA bargaining table as dangle as a chip to trade in exchange for giving the players something they actually want. (In other words, if the players drop demand “A”, the owners will drop starting runners at 2B in games that count.)..........
In case you missed it, a new MLB documentary on Tony Gwynn, Mr. Padre., played last night (8PM EDT on MLB Network). Check your listings for repeat showings.........
That rumor of the unsigned Free Agents creating their own Spring Training Camp? Camp Boras?? Not a new idea..........
Yes, as I noted yesterday (Del Taco vs. Naugles) MLB and Cleveland have to keep making something with the Wahoo logo on it to keep from losing it to some uncontrollable profiteer. Trademark law and all. But, as you can read here, all they really have to do is make a couple of keychain fobs in a glass display case in their merch shop and not put them up for sale and they retain trademark “use”..........
Baseball fields are shrinking. Mostly because you can’t make money selling seats with the space that the actual field for the actual event requires...........
Aw, crap. Make me feel bad again for not voting Scott Rolen into the HoF..........
R.I.P. Kevin Towers. Apparently, a great guy. It also freaks me out when an established person who was born AFTER me, dies BEFORE me. So even though I never even met Kevin Towers, this one stings.........
Hot Stove
The Diamondbacks have signed catcher Alex Avila, adding to the slow run of late hot stove activity. As of this moment, the terms have not been announced but MLBTR projected Avila for 2 years, $16MM as they ranked him #32 Free Agent this Winter...........
The Brewers are still chasing Yu Darvish, although the Cubs were rumored to be faves. But all this is now subject to the latest idea that the reason that Darvish is not signing is because he wants to stick with the Dodgers and is just waiting for the LADs to make a move to free up some money. That story is the one that makes the most sense to me. I have asked already how it is that the Dodgers could be in play for a Darvish when, at the same time, they are supposedly committed to going back under the lux tax threshold to reset their tax base in preparation for the next Winter’s Free Agent class. Why is it that a knucklehead like me can figure all this stuff out and the dolts who make this their only full-time career and have all the access cannot?...........And out of all that, Sam Miller with the burn of the day..........
You already my linking about Kenley Jansen threatening strike action to force corrective action with the Free Agent market...........Brandon Moss is jumping on that wagon, knowing that with future negotiations they need to NOT sit back and allow MLBPA chief Tony Clark to say everything is all chill while he gets steamrolled..........Speaking of which, Dayn Perry is trying to shame the owners with a running tally of moneys committed to players this offseason. I’d like to shame Perry for failing to do the obvious with his column and add the numbers all up for us so that we don’t have to do it ourselves. For the record, it’s $704,760,000 for what is, overall, a pretty shitty class (It’s actually higher, but the DBacks’ pickup of Alex Avila last night is not yet included). 3/4’s of a billion dollars for a group that includes the likes of Boone Logan and Colten Brewer. The players should ask the owners to collude more often...........
Mookie Betts and the Red Sox are the first arb debate of the year. This could be interesting. Betts made $950K last season and he wants $10.5MM this season. the Red Sox, cheapskates that they are, are only offering a raise of $6.55MM, roughly 700%.........UPDATE: Mookie won..........
The Duffle Bag
Spring Training gear, 2018, now available. Feel sorry for Tampa Bay fans. And Milwaukee. Notice the AZ word cloud stuff on the jersey backs. That’s kinda cool, but it would be cooler if the word cloud had more LAA-oriented text..........The Rays have bigger problems with which to contend than silly looking caps..........Oakland is taking their protective netting all the way to the far end of the dugouts. Suddenly, the tarp seating is the only unobstructed view...........Erp. Dave Dombrowski is on a rather forgettable career arc. (That’s kind of his rep, though. BoSux fans knew it was coming.).........