Friday, February 27, 2009

...ON AND ON AND ON...

***MANNY & THE DODGERS***
Picasner would like to believe that these guys could be a little more inventive. It seems like they're all really struggling just to keep Manny in the news. The Dodgers offer hasn't changed significantly since their original offer. It seems pretty obvious that LA isn't going to up the ante any, just reshuffle the same the numbers. On the other hand, Scott Boras is adamant that Manny won't sign until he gets paid what Boras (and Manny) think he's worth.

In spite of the Boras Mystery Team gambit, the Dodgers refuse to bid against themselves. As Jayson Stark says, "This is the last day of February. Do you think there is a team out there who suddenly discovered they need a left fielder and came across an extra $50 million in an unopened drawer?" Picasner predicted a month ago that Manny wouldn't sign until the end of spring training. Looks good so far.

***I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS***
It seems the family of Mickey Mantle purchased an Mantle-autographed baseball before it went up for auction. It seems the ball was signed F**K YOGI. I'm sure it was some kind of sick joke, but nowadays, you can't explain this by saying, "Oh, he was just kidding Yogi." Then the lawyers get involved and ...well, we've seen it before.

***THE WBC***
Has anyone else noticed that there seems to be a lot of players dropping out of the tourney for one reason or another: Injuries, contract issues, endorsement issues, and insurance issues. The only ones left seem to be unsigned players trying to audition for new jobs. Well, at least the tournament has some value. Someone please let Picasner know who wins it, please.

***THE DUMBING-DOWN OF A GENIUS***
I wonder if Tampa Bay manager, Joe Maddon, is worried? When the White Sox won the World Series in 2005, Ozzie Guillen was hailed as a great motivator, a genius at handling his team. Since then, Guillen has failed to produce a winner and the genius label has fallen off completely. Ozzie still keeps his name in the limelight with some pretty wild antics. Jim Leyland, another one-year wonder, has seen his genius label knocked from it's perch. A few temper tantrums might be in order, Jim. Now we have Joe Maddon, described as that sage, bespeckled genius with a knack for handling young players. Okay, it's your turn , Joe. See you in October (maybe).

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