Santana To Mets...Almost

As of yesterday, the New York Mets have 48 to 72 hours to negotiate a long term deal with soon- to- be- maybe- former Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana. Word is that Santana and his agent are looking for a deal for five years in the neighborhood of $155 to $160 million. Obviously, this would be the largest contract for a starting pitcher in major league history.

Personally, I’m happy that he is 1) going to the National League and not the American League East and 2) the Sox don’t have to shell out a truckload of cash for a starter they really don’t need.

The Twins effectively took the third best deal on the table for all those serious in the talks for Santana. I’m sure most fans in Minnesota and the surrounding area would have been pleased with players that are either proven (Sox) and those that are on the cusp of superstardom (Yankees) rather than a crop of somewhat unproven commodities. That’s not to say that the Mets’ offering is weak, it’s just not potentially as sure of a thing they could have received with either the Sox or Yankees.

There are some pros and cons to not getting Santana in a Red Sox uniform. The obvious pros have been mentioned above. The money and the players stand out initially to me. The other, just in my opinion, is overloading the starting rotation. You want as few holes in your starting rotation as possible obviously, but you don't want an All-Star team, do you? Beckett, Lester and Dice-K are all young and have bright futures in Boston. Of course Schilling and Wakefield aren’t getting any younger, but they aren’t glaring problems in the current rotation. Adding Santana could have potentially thrown the entire flow of the staff of kilter. I may be alone here, but what would have bringing in Santana done to affect Beckett’s psyche? Or Schilling’s? Word was that Beckett enjoys his role as the "number one" on the mound. Plus, all that damn money. I know if there is another team that can afford it besides the Yanks are the Sox, but still, it’s a ton of fucking money we don’t need to spend.

What about the cons? Well, you’re missing out on probably the best pitcher in baseball. Duh. The Sox are coming off a World Series win, which means every time you play the Royals, Rays or Rangers they’re going to be coming after you like it’s the playoffs. I’m not going to say the Sox flew under the radar in ’07, mostly because of their meteoric April and May, but during spring training there weren’t too many people expecting a whole lot. At least not up until Papelbon’s 8^th inning save down in Arlington that I feel was the emotional catalyst the Sox needed in response to stumbling out of the gate. Anyway, the point I was attempting to make was that if you want to repeat sometimes you need to add a new wrinkle to your team to throw everyone off to give yourself another shot at a ring. What better curveball to throw at the rest of the AL and entire league than having Santana and then Beckett as your 1-2 punch?

Of course, at this point it’s probably a moot point. Santana appears to be headed to Queens or back to Minnesota if a deal doesn’t go through. Then he’d be a free agent and likely headed to Yankee pinstripes for the 2009 season and beyond. I’m hoping the Mets deal goes through and Santana enjoys a fruitful second half to his career in the National League. I’m happy we get to keep Ellsbury and Lester. Even Jed Lowrie, who could develop into an infield counterpart to Dustin Pedroia.

The Twins faithful should keep one thing in mind, and it may help them sleep better at night after losing probably the most dominate pitcher of this era. At least he didn’t go to Boston where he would no doubt have helped the city to yet another championship or superstar filled team. Sleep tight, Minnesota.

What's Happening!!

Good God, this part of the year drags for me. I know the playoffs are in full swing for the NFL, but when your team isn't playing it's hard to get into it. The college football season was hard to get excited for with the absence of the Huskers. So, basically football has sucked this year.

Obviously baseball was another story. It was fun this past year to kick this blog off during a season in which the team I was following won the World Series. But since the championship, the resigning of Lowell and the on again off again trade talks with Minnesota for Johan Santana there isn't much to really talk about. The stove is not hot for the Sox at this point.

CF Coco Crisp in still in Boston, more or less. I'd be surprised if he's in Spring Training wearing a Boston uniform. It's hard to gauge what the Sox can get for him and the market hasn't been responding to the prospect of Crisp. I hope Theo isn't hanging on in hopes the Twins actually bite on him for a trade because that ain't gonna happen.

Right now the starting rotation has as many as six options for the 2008 season. Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are all starters. With backup catcher and full time Wakefield man-servant Doug Mirabelli back in the fold for '08 it is a clear indicator that the Sox are committed to Wake as a starter. Lester will have the edge for the fifth spot and Buchholz could find himself back in Pawtucket or in the pen for long relief duty.

Other than this, and Jim Rice narrowly missing the Hall, not much is going on in Boston. Of course, league commissioner Bud Selig and players union tzar Donald Fehr talked in front of Congress today.

Every time they show baseball players or brass in a subcommittee room on Capital Hill it reminds me of my favorite line from Mars Attacks! when the aliens take over and torch the Capital Building. The old grandma (Sylvia Sydney) of the main character laughs uncontrollably and blurts out "they blew up Congress!!" Cinematic gold.

Are tickets for the Royals on sale for opening day yet? This sucks.

StFU - Race Relation Style (With Guest Appearance!)

It’s the New Year and I already have a recipient for the year’s first “Shut the Fuck Up” Award. It never ceases to amaze me the level of stupid people will plunge to, but this one has to take the cake. Or the grits. Let me explain.

Last Friday (keep this in mind that it was nearly a week ago) on the Golf Channel an anchor, Kelly Tilghman, reporting from the Mercedes-Benz Championship said while discussing the dominance of Tiger Woods that young up and coming golfers best solution to stop his winning ways was to “lynch him in a back alley.” If this were a scene in a movie you could hear the needle scratch off the record sound effect .2 seconds after the words came out of her mouth. Unfortunately this was for real, as real as the Golf Channel gets anyway.

Initially the Golf Channel was going to take no actions for Tilghman’s comments. Tiger’s agent even brushed it off because the two are friends (which makes everything okay, I guess) and she had personally apologized to Tiger. This all happened before this was news. So once again, please, keep this in mind. Tiger's agent said it was “a complete non-issue.”

Tilghman’s comments were bone-headed and crass. Some (like me) would even call them racially insensitive. What did she think was going to happen? Did she assume that black people don’t watch the Golf Channel? Which of course would be even more racist and prejudgemental. Or did she just think that people would laugh off her off color joke/idiotic comment. Couldn't she just have said "beat him with a nine iron?" Or kidnap him? Or cut off one of his arms? Any of these would have been better. But "lynch him in a back alley?" Yikes, she might as well have said "lynch him like it's 1899."

To me, this is worse for her than it was for Fuzzy Zoeller when he commented at the 1997 Masters Tournament that they should start serving collared greens and fried chicken in the clubhouse now that Tiger was on tour. I’m sure it was in good humor and Tiger may have taken it well, but the American public is too sensitive to realize this, so it was a big no-no for Fuzzy.

So, now Tilghman is suspended for two weeks from her duties on the Golf Channel. How did we get from this being a non-issue from her being suspended to possibly being fired? You have to ask? Why, the Reverend Al Sharpton of course!

I’d also like to make a special announcement, this is huge for us here at KC Bean Boy because we’ve never interviewed anyone. I believe this is going to put us on the blogosphere map, to be quite honest. So, without further ado I’d like to introduce the one, the only, Reverend Al Sharpton.

KCBB: Thank you for speaking with us and answering some of our questions today in light of this horrible tragedy and being on hand to pass out our Shut the Fuck Up Award to Kelly Tilghman.

You’re welcome whitey, there is nothing I love more than going on national television or speaking with a honky blogger to air my grievances and giving awards to white degradatin’ fools.

KCBB: No problem Al, on behalf of the all the staff here at KC Bean Boy, you have an open invitation to come back anytime, even before you answer any questions.

Thanks again cracker, it is my right to say what I want when I want. Let me set the record straight, that white bread woman on the Golf Network is no better than Don Imus, she is no better than the Ku Klux Klan and no better than even Jefferson Davis himself! Furthermore, firing her is not enough. This morning my legal team lead by Johnny Cochran has filed a civil suit on behalf of black people everywhere.

KCBB: Wow that is going to be quite the undertaking sir. I’m just curious, you really think she is no better than the President of the Confederate States of America? Isn’t that going a little overboard? And isn’t Johnny Cochran dead?

Cochran is alive! Let me tell you and all your cracker, white-America reading followers something else. When someone insults a black person with such racially insensitive remarks as these I come with the wrath of my God down upon thee. What would happen if I said they should take Sandy Koufax into a gas chamber so the San Francisco Giants could have gotten some more hits and wins in the 60’s?

KCBB: Well, you make a very valid point there Rev. Sharpton.

That’s right I do son, and you should be taking notes, because if I catch you making even the slightest of disparaging remarks about the black community as I interpret it, I will have you fired as well.

KCBB: Now Reverend, there is no need to threaten me. The integrity of this blog is of the utmost and highest regard among it’s readers for its racial sensitivity. Let’s get back to the interview. Don’t you think you might be taking this a little too far considering that Woods has said through his agent that this is a “complete non-issue” and that Tilghman has apologized to Woods himself?

There is no way that I am taking this too far honky. It’s like when Don Imus called the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team ‘nappy headed hoes.’ He wasn’t just insulting the team, he was insulting black people all over America. He just wanted to apologize to the team, I wanted him to be fired and spend his time going from door to door in Harlem, in Watts, in Philadelphia, in Newark, in Compton and in Jena personally apologizing to every black person that lives in the United States of America. I believe she should be fired and should have to personally apologize to black people everywhere. You know she went to Duke University, right? Don’t you know that I represent black people everywhere? I am the emperor of black people!

KCBB: I’m apologize, Reverend, I was unaware of your patriarchal status among the black community. While I agree that her comments were out of line and that she should be punished, don’t you believe she should be absolved through her apology to Woods, the man she referenced in the first place?

Absolutely not! This matter is bigger than Tiger Woods! He’s not black enough anyway. Don’t you remember I said that? The punishment should fit the crime here cracker.

KCBB: One final question, doesn’t the Bible in which you preach from talk of forgiveness and learning from one’s mistakes?

You realize I’m not a real minister, right?

KCBB: I was not aware of that either. Thank you again for your time Mr. Sharpton.

Reverend!

KCBB: Oh Al! Thanks for coming on to speak with us.

Bye, honky!

There you have it, our first interview and I’m sure it will go down in history as one of the finest. Reverend Al was on hand to pass out a StFU, how awesome was that? So there you have it Kelly Tilghman, on behalf of KC Bean Boy, Reverend Sharpton and black people everywhere, Shut the Fuck Up!

Added Golf Related Bonus Picture!!

Deservedly So?

Today I'm taking a queue from a fellow blogger, and since there is not much to talk about other than former Boston outfielder Jim Rice in his 14th attempt to gain enshrinement into the Hall of Fame, we'll focus on that. In my tenure as a Red Sox fan I've asked myself this question around this time every year there aren't slam dunk candidates on the ballot. Does Jim Rice deserve to be in Cooperstown?

Of course every pro-Boston writer probably believes that he should have been voted in over a decade ago, I on the other hand, am not so sure. Of course, in the arena of me vs. the Baseball Writers Association of America, I don't carry any weight. But screw them, this is my Thunderdome and I'll write about and write off whoever I like. Bias because of fandom is something I try to steer clear of.

Jim Rice had a long and fruitful career with the Boston Red Sox. It was solid, you can't take that away from him. Rice was drafted by the Sox in the 1971 amateur draft as the 15th pick overall and played every game of his major league career in a Sox uniform until 1989. In his first full season he batted .309 with 102 RBI's and an OPS of .841. He ended up finishing third in the AL MVP voting behind Fred Lynn (who played for Boston) and John Mayberry of the Kansas City Royals. He finished behind Lynn as well for AL Rookie of the Year honors.

I've read a lot lately from the Herald or on the Globe that Rice was one of the "most feared" hitters in his era. He reached base on balls 670 times in his career, a good portion (but not a majority) of which were intentional. However during his most prosperous years he didn't even rank in the top 10 or even top 25 of players who were intentionally walked. Not very feared if you ask me.

He hit above 40 home runs one time in 1978, the year he won his only AL MVP award. He came close to 40 again in '77, '79 and '83 with 39, but never cracked more than 30 the rest of his career. For a player who is described as a 'feared power hitter' these are hardly impressive numbers. I don't think relying on subjective statements is a great case for any player when considering induction into any hall of fame either.

Over his career he hit 382 homers in his 16 years in the Major Leagues. If you compare that to Mike Schmidt's (who no one will argue was a dominate power hitter of the same era) 548 home runs in 18 seasons you'll see some disparity between the two. Of course you can't compare everyone to Schmidt because his numbers were astounding while he was in his prime, but it does make for some interesting food for thought when he is the measuring stick for power hitters from the mid 70's through the next 10 years or so.

One thing pro-Rice writers will tell you is that he was one of the best players from 1975-1986. The problem is, is that Rice played from 1974-1989. You can cherry pick most people and make a strong case for all the above average players in their respective generations. Sure it's the bulk of his career as a big leaguer, but it certainly doesn't tell the entire story. You shouldn't pick and choose good seasons and separate them from the bad because this isn't the "Hall of Very Good," right? A term I absolutely hate, by the way.

The way I sometimes like to look at it is the "how many times do I have to be on the ballot to get in factor," or the "HMTDIHTBOTBTGIF" as I like to call it. I should really find a shorter way to describe this so I can have an easier to understand acronym. Simply put, Rice has been on the ballot since 1994 and is yet to enter into the Hall. If he doesn't make it in this year against the likes of Rich Gossage, Bert Blyleven or Andre Dawson, he'll be competing with likely first-time-in Rickey Henderson in '09. Having players like Mark McGwire and Brady Anderson on the ballot may help Rice's chances as well.

The players whom I mentioned in the previous paragraph that Rice is competing against he'll likely either pass up or get voted in with. I'm thinking most likely Goose Gossage? But who knows, baseball writers are notoriously caught in public and in print with their heads firmly planted in their asses, noses pointed toward the clouds. If Rice gets in it will be a great victory for the Boston faithful and most will be pleased without any cause other than the fact that he played for the beloved Sox.

It's easy to be blinded by fandamonium, it's harder to reach back to compare and contrast objectively. Your guy isn't always going to get in, but then again sometimes the right guys don't get in either. That's my problem with the Hall. It's great to have on your all-time resume, but sometimes "member of the Baseball Hall of Fame" isn't the true measure of the man. Rice had a great career, but is it HOF worthy? When you go back and look, even as a faithful fan, I'm going to say no. Does that diminish his impact on baseball or his status on the Sox? I'm going to say no to that too.

Offseason Slowdown

You know it's a slow postseason when the two biggest stories to come out of the Sox camp is Jonathan Papelbon's bulldog eating the final out baseball of the Series and the organization getting slapped with paying a luxury tax.

I wish I had more to write about but there just isn't that much there. General manager Theo Epstein promptly resigned free agents and let go who they didn't want or need back in 2008. The Santana trade talks are going virtually nowhere, making me think the Sox were just in it to inflate his price so the Yankees would sacrifice way too much which is shrewd and genius at the same time.

Curt Schilling said a few weeks ago after the Mitchell Report came out that if in fact Roger Clemens did take 'roids that he should give back his Cy Young awards from when he was with the Blue Jays and Yankees. Some days I'd like to give Schil' one of my patented "Shut the Fuck Up" Awards, but if I did it would start a slippery slope of passing one out to him every other month.

It's fine to have an opinion, but most of the world probably doesn't care. And with Congress sniffing Schilling's ass just as much as they were Clemens', he should count his blessings no one tattled on him too. No sense in being holier than thou, which is also a crappy Metallica song. Nevermind.

Kevin Youkilis is now giving a ringing endorsement to an energy drink called "SlumpBuster," or "SlumpBustah" as I heard it pronounced.

It's less than two months until most players start reporting to spring training. The Sox first game is against Boston College in a split squad matchup on February 28th. The exodus to City of Palms Park cannot get here soon enough as far as I'm concerned.

I was thinking about doing a series of posts about former Sox with kick ass names, like this guy...

One can only hope to have a name as phenomenal as this dudes. Dick Pole totally ruled. Greg Maddux idolized him too, it's true.