Protecting the Shields -- The Nick Cafardo Thread
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Complete with a mention of retiring Tony C's number. Again.
Happy New Year, Nick. You still suck.
Happy New Year, Nick. You still suck.
My favorites from today:
"5. Another prediction: Jason Bay gets it back."
Nick and Jason Bay, an unrequited love that will never die.
"19. Wonder if Brandon Webb, Ben Sheets, or Scott Kazmir will make it back to the big leagues."
Let me get back to you Nick, I need to call some sources.
"5. Another prediction: Jason Bay gets it back."
Nick and Jason Bay, an unrequited love that will never die.
"19. Wonder if Brandon Webb, Ben Sheets, or Scott Kazmir will make it back to the big leagues."
Let me get back to you Nick, I need to call some sources.
I'm not sure I get this. Did Santos get hurt or something?
I was shocked by this sentence. Obviously, I don't know Canseco personally, but from everything I've read or heard Jose Canseco is widely considered to be one of the biggest assholes to wear a uniform. An anecdote, on the director's commentary from the softball episode of "The Simpsons" the producers and writers were talking about how all of the players were really nice, accommodating (this includes Clemens and Daryl Strawberry) except for "a person whose name rhymes with Blose Banseco." Now, obviously one day doesn't mean he's the Hitler of baseball, but it's pretty telling.
Why? He hasn't managed in 16 years.
This week's column was more bullshit than most weeks. What a fucking load Cafardo is.
Also, what does that even mean? Their careers largely overlapped, and they played the same position, so if Trammell was the best all-around SS of his time, he was better than Ripken. So if we accept his (demonstrably false) claim, in what way was he not Ripken? The games played streak? The success of his team? Fan worship? Last name? I have literally no idea what he thinks he's saying there. I seriously have to wonder if the guy even reads through what he's written.
Alan Trammell - played 1977-1996
Ozzie Smith - played 1978-1996
Cal Ripken - played 1981-2001
Trammell: "he was the best all-around shortstop of his time."
So "his time" must have been 1977, I guess.
Heck, Robin Yount was a shortstop from 1974-1984. Barry Larkin played 1986-2004. I'd take him over Trammell, too.
Ozzie Smith - played 1978-1996
Cal Ripken - played 1981-2001
Trammell: "he was the best all-around shortstop of his time."
So "his time" must have been 1977, I guess.
Heck, Robin Yount was a shortstop from 1974-1984. Barry Larkin played 1986-2004. I'd take him over Trammell, too.
I read that about Trammell yesterday and thought that he wasn't even the best shortstop in his division.
And I actually like Alan Trammell.
And I actually like Alan Trammell.
Tinfoil hat time.
Here's the final question in the latest Cafardo mailbag:
[
Or, have I just been drinking too much eggnog?
Here's the final question in the latest Cafardo mailbag:
[
Edes used to work at the Sun-Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale, about 15 miles or so from Margate. There's no way Edes submitted this question himself; so was it someone trying to see if Nick would bite, or someone at the Globe sending a little jab toward Edes?
Or, have I just been drinking too much eggnog?
Cafardo loved Mike Lowell, who never once ran out a ground ball in his entire Boston tenure.
He's a hypocrite and a fraud.
He's a hypocrite and a fraud.
I find it ironic that Cafardo worships baseball players who give 110% effort, yet he doesn't seem to mind sportswriters who don't.
He loves to dump on Lowrie, but at the same time in Sunday's article he is pimping Drew as being a valuable pickup for someone.
And what's the difference between tough guy Youkilis being unable to play in September and some not-so-tough guy being unable to play in September?
And then someone blows a hammie running down the line and Cafardo will pen a piece about how you have to be smart and know your limits - just like Mike Lowell! Or Pedey will slide headfirst into first base and be lauded as a hustler who'll do what it takes and Manny is an idiot for sliding headfirst into home and breaking a finger.
Lots of yummy stuff in today's column by Nickie the C. Take this:
This was good, too;
On a final note, this is pretty awesome news;
Finally someone at the Globe comes up with a rational explanation of 2011 that doesn't include chicken, beer, or prescription pain killers. And it's been a long-standing trope among the statistic-arazzi that quality starter innings are more valuable than reliever innings. And it's good to see Cafardo question the Sox' plan for 2012. That is, we're not likely to see much of an improvement in starter IP. (Though it is laughable to see Carlos Silva's name mentioned in the same breath as "quality innings.")
This was good, too;
Crawford and Posey I can see. But as for the rest... What do you think the over/under on how many of these guys come back to put up career average years? I say 2.5 of seven.
On a final note, this is pretty awesome news;
Sounds like he's made a pretty damn good recovery. Any success at baseball is just icing on the cake.
Wilson Betemit doesn't fill up Nick's Baseball Notebook when he needs seven inches of copy. Therefore Johnny Damon is wayyyyyyy better than Wilson Betemit.
Yep, and if absolutely everything goes right, the Mets will be competitive... while the Sox are sinking in the AL... he's a savant.
Carfado poses this question and then spends the next page and a half listing the salaries that came off the books followed by the money added in raises and new players.
Cafardo's conclusion:
Which is a pretty odd conclusion, actually...
For although Cafardo doesn't add up all the numbers he posts, anyone who bothers to will find out that the Sox shed 12 million in salary this offseason - despite all the raises that Carfardo implies prevented them from "adding much payroll this offseason".
This exemplifies one of the more interesting - and frustrating - aspects of this strange offseason: the media's reluctance to address the financial implications of the Sox sudden eagerness to shed payroll. When it has come up - as with this article - the city's journalists have appeared remarkably comfortable constructing specious arguments that support management's attempts to sidestep the issue...
Um, then why did they trade their starting SS, arguably one of the 3 best SS's in the AL in 2011 who only had one year left on a very reasonable contract, for a bag of used baseballs. And when did "newfangled statistical analysis" de-emphasize the position? I must have missed that. And who are the Sox planning to play there save utility players? Iglesias?
I have no fucking idea what his point is here.
I must admit, I did like his piece on Papelbon today, although that was more due to Papelbon than anythiing remarkable Nick did. But it was a good piece.
The baseball notes column remains a travashamockery, however.
The baseball notes column remains a travashamockery, however.
Maybe my math is off, but just for the players he lists, I count about $17M added to the overall payroll, not shed. Every returning player with the exception of Miller will have their salary stay the same or increase. The only apparent savings is going from Scutaro to Aviles/Punto, from Drew to Sweeney/Ross, and from Papelbon to Bailey. Those amount to about a $20M savings, which is wiped out by the raises to Gonzalez and Ellsbury alone.
Of course, these are the raw salary numbers and not the AAV on which the luxury tax would be based. Using AAV, there might be a cut in payroll, but not a ton. Just off the cuff, the Drew savings is countered by the Gonzalez extension, the Scutaro savings is pretty much canceled by Ellsbury's bump, and the Papelbon savings is wiped by adding Sweeney, Punto, Ross, and Bailey as well as the bumps to arb guys and free agents like Aceves, Bard, Aviles, Saltalamacchia and Ortiz.
The Red Sox have not added significant salary, but they also have not desperately shed salary either. If anything, they're maintaining rough the same spending level as the previous season. The big problem is that they've got about $25M of payroll tied up on the DL and have had to be creative (and thrifty) in how they fill those holes, which affects what they do elsewhere on the roster.
They were lower in real salary but higher in tax last year than this year looks so far, probably ending up with very close to the same total budget if there are no major changes. The Pedroia, Lester, Youkilis contracts had been more in AAV than real money, now they're less, while Buchholz is the only similar deal where the AAV is more. Their real payroll is closer to their AAV payroll than it had been.
I didn't understand this part either. While I don't read all of the SABRE analysts, I do read some and I've never seen anything suggesting that the shortstop position should be de-emphasized. I know this is going to garner nothing, but I would love to see Cafardo show his work on this blurb. Most new-fangled stat guys have been crowing about an underrated offensive shortstop like Arky Vaughn for years.
My impression is that Cafardo writes whatever idea pops into his head at the time and treats his column like etchings on a beach. He doesn't have the cognitive capacity to realize that he can go back and edit his stuff.
Nick's article today begins: "We're not here to rate the mea culpas of Red Sox pitchers Jon Lester and Josh Beckett yesterday at JetBlue Park."
Then he spends almost all of his time rating the mea culpas of Red Sox pitchers Jon Lester and Josh Beckett yesterday at JetBlue Park.
Then he spends almost all of his time rating the mea culpas of Red Sox pitchers Jon Lester and Josh Beckett yesterday at JetBlue Park.
He really, really, REALLY hates Manny Ramirez, doesn't he? This is a Borges/Belichick level of hatred, isn't it?
My favorite was when he just summarized what Baseball Prospectus had for 2012 Sox player projections, without offering any commentary on whether he thought they were accurate or likely to occur or not. That's some great reporting there. A-Gon's going to lose 50 points in batting average? Why not? Pedroia losing all of his power? Sure. Any explanation of how these projections were arrived at? The formula used? Nah. Just filling up six or seven inches over here.
I thought the same thing. If I was interested in what BP had to say about the upcoming season, I'd read it my self not some asshole's water-down version of it.
Of course this is the same guy who pimps Koby Clemens relentlessly, and carried his dad's water for many years. Roger Clemens is at least as awful as a human being as Manny Ramirez is, and unlike Roger I haven't heard about Manny cheating on his wife with jailbait-aged country singers.
Nick's disgust at Manny while constantly acting as the Clemens family mouthpiece tells us more about Nick than I care to know. What a fucking blatant hypocrite.
Nick has the "Extra Bases" blog today w/ Pete Abe off for the weekend. Here is his up to date, inning by inning synopsis...
Bottom 7th: Red Sox 7, Twins 2
The Sox scrubs score five times including a Lars Anderson grand slam to pull away. Anderson has really hit the ball well in camp.
Who knew the Globe employs talk radio callers...nice professionalism Nick.
Bottom 7th: Red Sox 7, Twins 2
The Sox scrubs score five times including a Lars Anderson grand slam to pull away. Anderson has really hit the ball well in camp.
Who knew the Globe employs talk radio callers...nice professionalism Nick.
First off its lazy. Five runs score but we only know of one hit. But my bigger point is calling a group of minor leaguers like Lars Anderson a bunch of "scrubs". Yeah it isnt the worst thing in the the world but to me it's still derogatory and insulting. Something I wouldn't expect from a guy who covers baseball for a living.
You're right, Clemens is a knight in shining armor. The way he protected his wife at his steroid trial was inspiring. Truly a prince among men.
Scrub - noun - A player not on the varsity or first team.
I don't have the same reaction to the term. It's hard to descriand bench players and not have any negative connotations.
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