Protecting the Shields -- The Nick Cafardo Thread

[Humphrey]

 
This is great.  And as each "contact" puts him on ignore, he reaches deeper and deeper into his rolodex.
"One former office assistant for a franchise no longer in existence said that Marrero should be playing 'right now.'"

Didn't Nick and people of his ilk say for years that the Expos should move?  (shit, Gammons was saying it in the early 80s, IIRC).   Now that they're gone, he's leading the charge to get a team back?
 
No complaints from me on this one if it happened, but I still think it's a longshot.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Didn't Nick and people of his ilk say for years that the Expos should move?  (shit, Gammons was saying it in the early 80s, IIRC).   Now that they're gone, he's leading the charge to get a team back?
 
No complaints from me on this one if it happened, but I still think it's a longshot.

 
Nick has had a hard-on for some team to move to Montreal for awhile now. Probably the day after the Expos moved to Washington.

 

[Curll]

 
Nick has had a hard-on for some team to move to Montreal for awhile now. Probably the day after the Expos moved to Washington.

PR, then DC.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

PR, then DC.

 
They only played about two dozen games in PR. At least according to Wikipedia.

 

[nattysez]

"Hey Scott ... yeah, it's Nick ... Cafardo. You know, from the Globe ... Right, Nick. Yeah, anyway, what do you want me to say about Drew this week? ... Okay, so just that he's an awesome defender and way better than Xander and that Xander will probably need a replacement halfway through the year to make the pitchers feel better about themselves? ... Ok. Yeah, got it.
 
"Talk to you next week, Scott!"

 

 
 
Guys, you'll never guess who got a chance to interview Stephen Drew about the ongoing injustice he's suffering.  And you'll be shocked to learn that Nick got Drew to talk extensively about what a defensive asset he is.  I wonder if Boras paid Nick in cash for this.
 
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/03/13/stephen-drew-would-love-back-with-red-sox-but/dIu0ywjBIIkRZJJcZsJMJL/story.html

 

[pedro1918]

The Expos did not "move" to PR.  They played 22 "home" games there over the course of two years. They were still the Montreal Expos.

 

[joe dokes]

 
 
Guys, you'll never guess who got a chance to interview Stephen Drew about the ongoing injustice he's suffering.  And you'll be shocked to learn that Nick got Drew to talk extensively about what a defensive asset he is.  I wonder if Boras paid Nick in cash for this.
 
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/03/13/stephen-drew-would-love-back-with-red-sox-but/dIu0ywjBIIkRZJJcZsJMJL/story.html

 
 

Drew, who made $9.5 million with the Red Sox last season, played great defense and helped his team win a World Series championship.
 

 
Despite the incessant drumbeat from one-note Nick that if Iglesias was playing SS, the team would never give up a run, and the regular reminder of which balls eluded Drew that "Iglesias would have had."
 
Oh yeah, he also among the 5 best offensive SS in MLB last year.

 

[Granite Sox]

 
 
4. There are scouts and front office people who feel the best fit for Stephen Drew is the Yankees. With the short porch for a lefthanded pull hitter “he could hit 20 home runs there,” said one American League East adviser. 

 
Hilarious.  He doesn't even try to create the mirage of objectivity any more...

 

[joe dokes]

Today, Nick reminds us that Drew's prison roommate, Kendrys Morales, has an .813  career on base percentage (at least in the print edition).

 

[JGray38]

The first third of the column is about Drew and fellow Boras client Kendrys Morales working out in exile together, like prisoners waiting for a work furlough. (Which includes a great gem about Morales' lifetime .813 on base percentage). Then you get to the tidbit above (about Drew and the Yankees) about 2/3 of the way through. And here's how he closes this week:

 
Happy Birthday Stephen Drew (31).

 
Can we rename this the Stephen Drew (and some baseball) column and be done with it?
 
Edit- clarifying as Dokes jumped in.

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

The only explanation at this point is that the sports editor, joe sullivan, is pretending nick doesn't exist.

How could you allow the Sunday column to just rehash an article you've already published just days before? How could you allow so much attention to be paid to a player that will certainly not play for the Sox and will certainly not be more than a role player in the bigs?

Nick cannot be fired. Apparently he cannot even be edited at this point.

 

[Harry Hooper]

The only explanation at this point is that the sports editor, joe sullivan, is pretending nick doesn't exist.

How could you allow the Sunday column to just rehash an article you've already published just days before? How could you allow so much attention to be paid to a player that will certainly not play for the Sox and will certainly not be more than a role player in the bigs?

Nick cannot be fired. Apparently he cannot even be edited at this point.

 
 
Lifetime contract, baby!

 

[E5 Yaz]

2. Francisco Cervelli, C, Yankees — There appears to be a market for Cervelli on the trade front as the Yankees try to whittle their catching options and add a reliever. Austin Romine could serve as Brian McCann’s backup. But the Yankees are a little cautious on dealing Cervelli since they believe he’s the best option to start if something should happen to McCann.

 
This was my favorite today.
 
The Yankees need to move a catcher
There'd be a market for Cervelli
Romine could back up McCann
The Yankee don't want to trade Cervelli
 
So why are we writing this again?

 

[Corsi]

Why should Nick think when we do the thinking for him?

 

Is Sizemore an every-day player, or is he an extra outfielder?
 
If he can play regularly, who would replace him in center field if he needs a few days off now and then? Would Bradley be kept on the roster as an extra? Or is Bradley better off playing every day in Pawtucket?
 
If Bradley returned to Pawtucket would Victorino, a four-time Gold Glove winner (three of them in center), have to be the center field fill-in?
 

 

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/03/15/red-sox-have-depth-outfield-which-could-lead-deal/vn94lP9O4kTzjYLXF3fR1I/story.html?s_campaign=sm_tw

 

[joe dokes]

Nick cannot be fired. Apparently he cannot even be edited at this point.

Nick is the fire burning beneath Centralia, PA.

 

[JGray38]

Pitching injuries today. 

 
"Bodies of young men before 25 are not full strength, " Boras said. "We're doing more studies. But the adjustment to major league demands is creating stress for multiple reasons. We need 27-man rosters to reduce innings for young starters."

No, it's not because this will give 60 more players major league salaries, from which Boras would profit immensely. It's for young pitchers! Think of the kids and their sore arms! It's just so fucking transparent what Boras' agenda is here, to link it to a story about injuries is such bullshit. But Nick plays along anyway, letting that comment pass without comment.

 

[Granite Sox]

I thought the Boras troll job was funny, as in everyone understood the self-serving nature of the premise except Cafardo. All that was missing was the royal "We" agree affirmation...

Cafardo also completely botched the '84 Tigers item. It's the 30th anniversary of a remarkable baseball achievement for that franchise, with lots of intriguing back stories and potentially interesting angles, and he just completely left it there, incomplete. Almost as if he began writing the item early in the week and forgot about it, but he and the editor left it in anyway. Just ridiculous.

 

[terrisus]

 
"Bodies of young men before 25 are not full strength, " Boras said. "We're doing more studies. But the adjustment to major league demands is creating stress for multiple reasons.

 
So what you're saying is we should give less money to pitching prospects, and keep them in the minors longer?

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Clemens missed most of 1985 after he got his shoulder scoped, right?

WTF is Cafardo talking about he never had surgery?

 

[E5 Yaz]

WTF is Cafardo talking about ...

 
It's way above his intellectual capacity

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Clemens missed most of 1985 after he got his shoulder scoped, right?

WTF is Cafardo talking about he never had surgery?

 
His surgery was in late August, his last start was on August 11 after missing parts of June and most of July.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

 
His surgery was in late August, his last start was on August 11 after missing parts of June and most of July.

 
Right. He had 15 starts and the next year had 31 starts. 

 

[Yelling At Clouds]

It might have said something different earlier, but now it says that Clemens never had surgery on his elbow, which I think is technically accurate.

 

[Corsi]

"Bodies of young men before 25 are not full strength, " Boras said.
 

 
God forbid Cafardo cross-checks this with an actual medical professional.  How he takes this shit as gospel is beyond me.

 

[Van Everyman]

Let's also not forget his weekly solid for a source: in this case, Rick Peterson and his "successful" program. I'm guessing Nick is defining success as pitching prospects not needing TJ surgery...in which case, his follow up note about Dylan Bundy going under the knife seems somewhat...inconsistent.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

It might have said something different earlier, but now it says that Clemens never had surgery on his elbow, which I think is technically accurate.

 
That may have been written in the on-line version, but it didn't say that in the print version.

 

[joe dokes]

 Only in the land where the writer is Scott Boras's stenographer are deals that aim to be fair to both sides "in the team's favor" as a result of the player "obliging."
 

Negotiations with the lefthander are ongoing, but the Red Sox won’t sign any player to a deal that won’t be in their favor. We’ll soon find out if Lester obliges the way Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia did.

 
Translated:  Only where players are represented by so-called "agents" who do not have the players' interests foremost in their minds do players agree to sign with the RedSox before they reach free agency and without acrimonious contract negotiations filled with threats and posturing.

 

[FelixMantilla]

Scary that NESN considers Nick their baseball expert.

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

Wait. So, the Red Sox only sign deals that are in their favor? So they win EVERY negotiation? 
 
And that's supposed to be a BAD thing? 
 
This is a team with three titles in 10 years and, apparently, an unblemished record of winning contract negotiations, and they deserve, what, criticism for that? They're, like, screwing the players or something?

 

[SydneySox]

Yeah, look at Ryan Dempster. The Sox KNEW he'd let them off the hook for his terrible contract. They just KNEW.

 

[joe dokes]

Yeah, look at Ryan Dempster. The Sox KNEW he'd let them off the hook for his terrible contract. They just KNEW.

 
Such "obliging" behavior never would have happened if Scott Boras was his agent.

 

[timlinin8th]

Wait. So, the Red Sox only sign deals that are in their favor? So they win EVERY negotiation? 
 
And that's supposed to be a BAD thing? 
 
This is a team with three titles in 10 years and, apparently, an unblemished record of winning contract negotiations, and they deserve, what, criticism for that? They're, like, screwing the players or something?

Teams sign contracts that they agree to the conditions of and not ones they don't! ZOMGS!!!

Every team in the league is 100% in negotiations then!

 

[Youkilis vs Wild]

Nick's predictions are the middle column. He seems to have little sense of the 2010-2012 World Series given his "every so often" and "finally put it together" in his Giants and Cardinals predictions.

 

[joyofsox]

Who wrote re Billy Hamilton: "He stole nine games in 15 games last year"?
 
And assuming they mean stolen bases, Hamilton stole 13 in 13 games last year.
 
He did, however, steal nine bases this spring -- but that was in 18 games.
 
Fail all the way around!!!!
 
 
 
EDIT: It was Pete Abe - and they have fixed it to 13 in 13 online.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/03/29/mlb-picks-who-will-win-world-series/SK625UF3nhgehCWjo8jNsK/story.html

 

[Youkilis vs Wild]

Thanks for finding the link -- I struggled to do so. I also have no idea what Nick is saying in his NL Wild Card predictions.
 
Edit: Ah, he put Angels where he meant Dodgers. OK, I suppose. Surprised nobody caught that during edits.

 

[terrisus]

Thanks for finding the link -- I struggled to do so. I also have no idea what Nick is saying in his NL Wild Card predictions.
 
Edit: Ah, he put Angels where he meant Dodgers. OK, I suppose. Surprised nobody caught that during edits.

 
Well, hey, it's easy to confuse those two Los Angeles teams
 
:c070:

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

What's "interesting" about Cafardo is he spent all winter pimping the Yankees and spilled a lot of ink this Spring Training about the same thing, yet he has then fourth.

Who gives a shit about a fourth-place team?

 

[Granite Sox]

Who gives a shit about a fourth-place team?

Scott Boras

 

[Humphrey]

Another Nick tradition is coming up:    What's the over/under on which date he'll write his first of many "Team X is out of it and soon will be looking to make deals" columns?     I'm going with April 15.     Someone will be 3-7 by then and he'll declare them toast.

 

[joe dokes]

Another Nick tradition is coming up:    What's the over/under on which date he'll write his first of many "Team X is out of it and soon will be looking to make deals" columns?     I'm going with April 15.     Someone will be 3-7 by then and he'll declare them toast.

 
And the Cafardo Veteran Presence Corollary: "Team Z -- in a pennant race for the first time in 10 years (this being April, of course) -- could use a veteran presence on the mound. A couple of former American Association scouts say Ryan Dempster or Joe Blanton would be perfect for a half-season rental.  And they are surprised that Jason Bay's phone is not ringing.  With the uncertain health of Shane Victorino and Grady Sizemore, you have to wonder if the Red Sox regret letting him go."

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Another Nick tradition is coming up:    What's the over/under on which date he'll write his first of many "Team X is out of it and soon will be looking to make deals" columns?     I'm going with April 15.     Someone will be 3-7 by then and he'll declare them toast.

 
 

 
And the Cafardo Veteran Presence Corollary: "Team Z -- in a pennant race for the first time in 10 years (this being April, of course) -- could use a veteran presence on the mound. A couple of former American Association scouts say Ryan Dempster or Joe Blanton would be perfect for a half-season rental.  And they are surprised that Jason Bay's phone is not ringing.  With the uncertain health of Shane Victorino and Grady Sizemore, you have to wonder if the Red Sox regret letting him go."

 
Does his twitter count?  Because if it does, April 1 is the winner.
 
https://twitter.com/nickcafardo/status/451145561279070208
 
 
 
P.S. I'm pretty sure Nick is actually being tongue in cheek with that one.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Cafardo knows about us. He wrote, "For those of you obsessed with my Scott Boras references" and proceeded to say that the agent reps a bunch of young Sox.

I'm not sure why this is a huge deal and why he should be quoted every week.

 

[terrisus]

Clearly since, due to the fact that he represents a couple of young Red Sox players, he's an excellent source for anything at all Baseball-related. He's just happy to share his vast wisdom with Nick, and it's good that he can be relied upon to be a solid, reliable, and unbiased source for all this information (which he must be, since Nick doesn't address any of those issues with regards to Boras' information).

 

[Harry Hooper]

It's funny how all the Boras stuff Nick re-transmits is never about those "young Red Sox players."

 

[ifmanis5]

Cafardo knows about us. He wrote, "For those of you obsessed with my Scott Boras references" and proceeded to say that the agent reps a bunch of young Sox.

I'm not sure why this is a huge deal and why he should be quoted every week.

:lol: at "obsessed." He should have written, "for those of you who are aware that I'm a fat and lazy hack, please suck my union-protected saggy balls."

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

And there are a bunch of other agents who rep Sox players - do we ever hear from them? about their other clients? Not so much. Once in a blue moon when it's contract time for the player, maybe.

 

[joe dokes]

Shorter Nick: "I *have* to regurgitate Scott Boras's daily methane emissions because some day, when one of these Red Sox prospects reaches the majors, it will be important."
 
Those players might be 1-3 years away from the majors.  Add 3-6 years of team control, and you have Boras being really relevant as to those players in about 5 years.
 
Farmer Nick. Planting the seeds . . . .

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

What a disingenuous dolt.  I couldn't care less if he's using Boras as a source in an overt way.  It's the incessant, opaque pimping of the same guys week after week that's really bothersome.

 

[JGray38]

Last I heard, Stephen Drew was not young, nor a member of the Red Sox, so I'm not sure how that's a relevant defense. Johnny Damon was old an unemployed last year, and he wrote incessantly about him, too.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Is anyone going to write anything about how Boras is essentially screwing two of his clients (Drew and Morales) by holding them out until after the draft, so that he can prove a point? Cafardo is his best buddy, I don't expect him to do so, but is Gammons or Stark or Onley or Rosenthal or any other writer going to write about how Scott Boras is literally wasting a half year (or more) of his clients' relatively short earning window so that the agent can make money later?
 
Or is this going to be another steroid story where everyone knows about it, no one writes anything and when someone does write something about it, the baseball writing universe circles the wagons and claims ignorance and chides the story writer as an "enemy".
 
This seems like sort of a big story, right?