The PI ran part 1 of their baseball preview this morning, leading with John Hickey's piece on the aging M's, concentrating on The Edgar, Dan Wilson, and John Olerud. It's mostly fluff, completetly pushing the Company Line. To wit:
The team has a "sense of urgency". Okay, if everyone is so urgent, then why did they downgrade three positions (SS, LF,CF) and fail to signifcantly improve anywhere other than the disaster that was Jeff Cirillo?
If Freddy Garcia has a big year (which I think he will) the team can't resign him because "a big year means a big contract, bigger than the $6.875 million he earns now." Excuse me, a team that willingly gives Raul Ibanez 13 million based on 2 mediocre years in a hitters ballpark can certainly afford Freddy.
This entire section makes me chuckle
The thing is, the Mariners have a flood of good young starting pitchers just ready to make a splash in Seattle. The main reason Garcia won't be back is the Mariners have to find room for pitchers like Clint Nageotte, Travis Blackley and Rett Johnson to move into the rotation. It's one thing to have great young talent at Tacoma this year; there's no way sensible management lets that talent stagnate there next year.
So, we don't want talent to stagnate. Jamal Strong couldn't possibly play as well as Quinton McCracken, he needs to spend more time in AAA. Neither Matt Thorton or Bobby Madritsch could handle the bullpen this year, so we need to resurrect Ron Villone, Mike Myers and Terry Mulholland.
But the absolute money qoute is this, from Chuck Armstrong "I think there may be an increased emphasis on getting to the playoffs," Armstrong said. "When you think you should get there and you don't two years in a row, it's tough on everybody in the organization." So does this mean they're admitting the team hasn't been all that committed the past couple years?
The more discussed article, at least here in the blogosphere is Dave Andriesen's piece on Bill Bavasi and the Internet. Art Theil takes much the same tack, and they both take great pains to mention that Bavasi is a good mixture of objective and subjective. Again, the Company Line. Both peices have been pretty well hacked elsewhere, but I'd like to mention to Dave that I personally would like Bavasi a lot more had he not ridiculously overpaid for Ibanez, and traded a pretty effective pinchhitter for Quention McCracken. Just a thought.
Oh, and Adriesen also lists a ridiculous Top Prospects piece, including AJ Zapp, since he is a "great fielder". Oh, and this :If he lives up to the promise the Mariners see in him, Lopez could one day be America's most famous J. Lo, is a horrific sentence, and by itself knocks the PI sports section down at least 2 pegs.
Dog B (Jeffrey) tonight decides to continue his ongoing destruction of our couch. Our couch was somewhat healthy when we bought it secondhand. This of course was Pre-Jeffrey. Over the last 2 years he has utterly destroyed it. First he dug a hole in it's side. That's hardly noticeable, did you know how much fun upholstery glue can be? Thwarted there, he moved on to cushions. Both the bottom cushions have large, nasty gashes in the fabric thanks to him. Both sides of course, we're well beyond "flip the cushion over, no one will notice." The dog seems to have developed quite the taste for the foam inside each cushion, so every once in awhile when he thinks the Frinklins aren't paying attention, Jeffrey will go right for his favorite snack, couch innards. Such as it was tonight, I was in the spare bedroom looking for cool stuff to add to my fledgling blog, Mrs. Frinklin in the bedroom watching The Cosby Show on Nick at Night (a recent obsession, I've no idea why). Anyway, we both hear the by now familiar sounds of ripping, tearing and the odd growl Jeffrey affects while doing things he knows specify him as a bad dog. He sees me coming down the hall, so he runs off into the master bedroom. There Mrs. Frinklin admonishes him with the classic dog training phrase, "Not Appropriate".
Not Appropriate. Not, "Jeffrey" or "Bad Dog" or "Stop". Not Appropriate.
The damned thing is, it worked. Jeffrey drops his hard earned couch stuffing, and lays down with his momma. This dog can be positively evil.
Just a couple quick sports bits, nothing too exciting.
Aaron Miles takes the first step towards that ROY.
Junior is hurt again, this time time not too terribly serious. Still, it's not a good sign.
Jayson Stark, still cleanshaven, still disconcerting to me, plays Meet the Candidates for the World Series. The Beloved M's place in the Richard Gephart (looks good on paper,anyway) division. It's hard to argue with this.
Mariners: Biggest assets -- pitching depth, great young arms (Rafael Soriano, Joel Pineiro, Gil Meche, Clint Nageotte, J.J. Putz), deeper lineup. Biggest questions -- age, downgraded defense, age, power shortage, age.
Rosenthal mentions that the Mariners and Dodgers are looking at the Ranger OF Kevin Mench and AAA 1B Adrian Gonzalez. The problem is, as usual, the Mariners are "reluctant" to move their young pitchers. Which is what Texas wants and needs. So why do they bother. Just for the record: I like Adrian Gonzalez, I think he would make a nice fit if Olerud retires.
This has to be a joke, right?
I was asked for fantasy stuff...ok.
I'm not an NL expert but I have a couple ideas.
1-My blog will continue to push for Rockies 2B Aaron Miles as ROY. First of all you can't go wrong with a Rox batter, unless it's Neifi Perez. Second: this kid (well, he's 27) can play. Miles spent most of last year with Charlotte, hitting .304/.351/.445. He reminds some people of David Eckstein, but with more power (11 HR in AAA). He should be cheap, and Colorado waived Damian Jackson to clear the 2B job for him.
2-Jake Peavy has had a terrific spring (14.2 IP, 15K 5W 3R), and the new Petco Park should favor pitchers, especially righhanders. He won't be terribly cheap, but I'll bet he gives you comparable W and WHIP to Josh Beckett, and Beckett will be one of the most overpriced guys in the draft this year. Don't get me wrong, I think Beckett is terrific, but he's never pitched a full seaon, and never won more than 9 games.
Okay, still no AL predictions today. Perhaps tomorrow. And no, I'm sane enough not to stay up and watch the Yankees-Devil Rays game this morning. I'm really conflicted about starting the year in Japan. Originally that was going to be "really ambivalent" but I doubt that's possible. I love the globalization of the game, and I think playing exhibitions in Japan are a wonderful idea, but forcing two teams to fly 14 hours for two games is rather ridiculous. It also takes away from Opening Day, which I fully support becoming a National Holiday. I'm unable to take the day off this year, as we have massive computer failures at work right now, and I'm the one how has to plan around them.
Mrs. Frinklin tells her side of the marriage story here, and tries to explain why she didn't wear her ring today. She also fixed her blog up good. Now, she didn't figure out HTML, but found a site where she can customize her own. It looks quite snazzy
Back from Jersey Girl. It's an okay film, far more sentimental than any other Kevin Smith. Almost sappy in places, but it works for the most part. Ben Affleck, looking buffed and shined to perfection, actually acts more than poses. Racquel Castro is very cute, and pretty effective as his daughter, the titular Jersey Girl. To me the dialogue didn't sound much like typical Smith, it lacked that crackle and real-people-can't-talk-like-this wit. It sounded much more real, which is good, but loses some distinctiveness. The movie is very much worth seeing however, if only for a 1st grader singing Sweeney Todd.
Ever seen a bunny possessed by the devil? Check this.
We're off to see Jersey Girl. We're geeky, comic-book readin' suburbanites, you think we miss any Kevin Smith movie? I'll post a review later. It's a Santa Ana day, so the theater will be crowded. For those who are not familiar with the Santa Ana, they are really nasty winds that come up off the California desert and turn where I live into a combination of windtunnel and EZ-Bake Oven. Both Mrs. and I get unnaturally cranky during Santa Ana winds, so wish me luck.
Well, Mrs. Frinklin spent much of tonight attempting to set up her own blog. She went with a different host, one she likes, but to me seems more complicated. Neither of us have any HTML experience whatsoever, but we're all set to learn. She even bought a book on the subject, but to me the damned book as well be written in Klingon. She's already thrown herself into it. Which is cool. Once she learns she can make mine all spiffy.
So I spent the evening watching the Padres and Cubs. We're near San Diego, so I've adopted the Pads. Nice late-Sprint Training game. Jake Peavy walked the leadoff man, then gave up a double to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. He pitched his way out of it beautifully, striking out Sammy, Alou, and Derrek Lee in succession. Giles lined one into the Padres bullpen, and the good guys won 7-1. A Padres ST record crowd of 12,694, about half of which was Chicago fans.
This is just cool. And I'm going to abstain from making any snide remarks about George Steinbrenner or Scott Boras.
Real quick, since the first game of the Elite Eight has already started. Your Final Four: UConn, Georgia Tech, Duke, and Oklahoma State.
A couple of great tests here. I ended up Wuthering Heights and Che Guevara. I'll be up tonight trying to understand that.
Mrs. Frink has to work today, so I have some time to do some serious blogging. The odds are good that I won't though. Days like this I have a tendency to plan out all the things I need accomplished, then get distracted and get very little actually done. Currently the distractions are 2 large barky dogs that happen to live with me. Oftentimes said dogs are very cute, playful and generally adorable. Unfortunately that’s only about 50% of the time. The other half they tend towards loud and destructive.
Dog A is Matchbox, a lab-husky mix, as least as we can figure. He was a rescue dog I adopted about 6 years ago when I first moved down to California. He was cute and perfect and healthy when I found him at pet store adoption center. That lasted about week. He then became deathly ill and I was certain he wouldn't make it. He did though, and I still owe my mother for his vet bills. He also picked up an odd habit. When he was really sick we were unable to crate him, and he slept on blankets in on the kitchen tile. When I went to work my mother would take whatever clothes I'd slept in the night before and place them in his bed with the blanket. My mother told me it was to keep my scent around him when I was at work. Well, it did something, because to this day he gets into the hamper, picks out socks or boxer shorts or undershirts, and carries them around the house with him. Matchbox is a very healthy dog now; in fact he hasn't been to the vet for anything beyond his shots since. He does still carry scars of his illness though. When he was sick his puppy teeth fell out, and other then his molars, his adult teeth never grew in. The effect is fairly comical, his lips always seem askew, and his tongue never does manage to stay in his mouth. There is some additional drooling involved too. He's a bit standoffish, a bit on the paranoid side. For some reason he's terrified by our television. He'll be perfectly content and then suddenly realize it's on. He then scurries to whoever is closest, and hides the best he can.
Dog B is Jeffery, and we have no idea whatsoever what he might be. We think he has some pit bull, and maybe some Shepard, but it's guesswork, nothing more. Jeffery was an adopted dog too. Mrs. Frinklin and I had been seeing each other for just under a year. We were driving home from my apartment and we stopped to buy some food for her two cats. There was yet another adoption day, this one run by Baja Animal Shelter. This group has decided to do the impossible: attempt to rescue and find homes for the thousands of neglected cats and dogs in Baja, Mexico. When we pulled up I mentioned we should go take a look. This is always dangerous for us, we both are big softies, especially for animals. This is true; currently we have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 birds and a 3-legged turtle.
When Mrs. Frink first saw Jeffery it was over. He was 6 months old, 12 pounds, about half of which was located in his giant batwing ears. He had been a Tijuana street dog, captured and brought to the TJ pound. They bring in about a thousand dogs each week, keep them for 48 hours and then put them down. They don't use drugs either. The dogs are kept in cages with wires attached underneath. When their time is up, a switch is flipped and the dogs are electrocuted. Baja is allowed to take 3-4 dogs from the TJ pound each week. One of them was our Jeffery. He was tiny and adorable, in that so ugly he's cute way. Mrs. Frink picked him up, held him close. He made a couple soft sighing noises, almost like a baby. We took him home, and you would have too. He was supposed to peak at about 30 pounds. He actually didn't stop until 75. He has run of the house, not only does he sleep on the bed with us; he does so under the covers. Jeffery is loud, often annoying, and he doesn't like strangers. He's also the cuddliest dog ever, when he gets tired he will fold himself into whatever space he can find on the couch between us and fall asleep within an instant.
Can you tell we love our dogs?
I had hoped to list at least some of my American League predictions today, but no luck. I thought I'd explain the name instead. No, Frinklin is not my name. When I first met the future Mrs. Frinklin she told me her name, a very pretty name that is frequently mispronounced. She was very adamant about me pronouncing it correctly. She told me both the correct and incorrect pronunciation, and made it very clear which she preferred. Me, attempting to be both cute and flippant told her I knew exactly what she was talking about, that my name was actually "Franklin" and yet people persisted in calling me "Frinklin".
In a lifetime of bad jokes, this one stood out. I had that horrid moment where you think, "God, did I just say that?" For a split-second I convinced myself that this was such a stupid joke that I had no choice but to bail. I was certain that I would regret this one for a long time, cuz in the short time we'd been talking I'd already become a bit smitten.
And then she started to laugh. I've been Frinklin ever since, and we're working on living happily ever after
And No, my name isn't Franklin either.
I'm really rather stunned at how popular the Mariners have become, both in and out of Seattle. It's different from what I grew up with. I started going to games in the early eighties with my grandparents. I can remember in 1985 (I would have been 11), going to game really early and watching batting practice. Stormin' Gorman Thomas was a Mariner then, having what I remember as a monster year (in reality: .215-32-87). Anyway he would always put on a show in batting practice, and afterwards all the kids would try to get him to come over and give an autograph. Well, on this occasion he came over to the stands and started asking every kid what their birthday was. Mine is in December. He said, "Me too." and tossed me a bat he'd cracked in BP. From then on, I became a fan of the Mariners and of Gorman Thomas. I still am.
I thought I'd try my hand at previewing MLB this year. Let's start with the National League
EAST
1-Philadelphia Phillies
The opening of Citizen's Bank Park (doesn't that roll off the tongue?) and a couple of key pickups should send Philly to at least the division title. Anything further than that will depend on Pat Burrell remembering how to hit, Chase Utley sending David Bell to the bench, and someone making sure Larry Bowa's head doesn't explode. It's worth remembering that the Phils are the only club in history to fire a manager while in 1st.
2-Florida Marlins
History will be made this year: The Marlins should finish with a winning record and NOT win the World Series. If I were a Red Sox or Cubs fan, the fact that this Team That Shouldn't Exist has won 2 titles would make me seriously doubt the existence of God. On the field they will miss I-Rod and Derrek Lee a lot, but it will be fun to see a full season of Miguel Cabrera.
3-Atlanta Braves
The Brave dynasty appears to be crumbling at this point. What was for a decade the most recognizable pitching staff in baseball now consists of Russ Ortiz, Mike Hampton, Horacio Ramirez, John Thomson, and Jaret Wright (Jaret Wright??). Unlike last year,Gary Sheffield won't be around to help bail them out, though any team with Chipper and Andruw Jones won't be totally helpless. A year free from Vinny Castilla will help too. New 1B Adam LaRoche reminds some of John Olerud. Then again, Lyle Overbay did too.
4-New York Mets
Hey look, the Mets might actually play some defense this year! The team that gave us Howard Johnson at short and Roger Cedeno in center looks pretty sweet up the middle. Mike Cameron will threaten Andruw Jones as the best defensive CF in the NL, and the Reyes-Matsui DP combination should do fine. Vance Wilson and Jason Phillips aren't great at catcher, but anything up to and including the remains of Bill Dickey would be better than Piazza behind the plate. This improved defense will be busy, since the Amazin's pitching consists of 2 39-year old lefties coming off crummy years, Steve Trachsel and... uhhh.. Yeah that's about it.
5-Montreal/San Juan/Washington/Portland/Las Vegas/ Expos
This, not Pete Rose or steroids or the labor agreement, this will be what Bud Selig will be remembered and reviled for. The idea that this mess could drag on for so long is all you need to know about the state of baseball. Who knows what will happen to this team in the long run? I still think that the DC/Northern Virginia area makes the most sense. Knowing baseball that will be opposite of what they choose. As for the team, the same thing that happened last year will happen again. The Expos will respond to Frank Robinson's old school ways, surprise some people early in the season, and then collapse. The question is now what will happen to Orlando Cabrera and Jose Vidro. Will MLB allow them to be traded? Will Omar Minaya be forced to trade them?
CENTRAL
1-Chicago Cubs
The Cubs are favorites? Is that even allowed? Enough has been said about their pitching. The staff has the potential to be brilliant, and whatever stamina shortcomings Maddux has, its more than made up by his influence on the rest of the staff. The bullpen might be a bit short though, Joe Borowski certainly isn't your classic closer. Offensively, no one is quite sure what they'll get from Corey Patterson or Michael Barrett, and it's doubtful Moises Alou will stay healthy. Better news is that Derrek Lee could be a force in Wrigley, and should save Aramis Ramirez a few errors. The best news for Cubs fans is that GM Jim Hendry has plenty of prospects to deal at the deadline.
2-Houston Astros
Speaking of pitching, the Astros have some too. How much fun are series between these too going to be? Oswalt-Pettite-Clemens-Miller versus Prior-Wood-Maddux-Clement? Goodness.. The Astros bullpen seems a bit stronger than Chicago's, even with the trade of Billy Wagner. The Astros season will depend a lot on how well Octavio Dotel adapts to being the Man.
The Astros won't have any problems hitting, even with the black hole of Brad Ausmus behind the plate. The difference between Chicago and Houston might be at the trade deadline, where Houston has a lot less to work with, both in money and prospects.
3-St.Louis Cardinals
This team probably isn't as close to the previous two as they think. The Cardinals have huge holes in left, at second and all the starters not named Morris or Williams. The bullpen was dreadful last year, and hasn't improved much beyond Isringhausing supposedly being healthier. There is a lot to like though, especially Edmunds, Pujols and Renteria. Albert Pujols is quite simply the best righthanded hitter in the NL, and Edmonds is a hitter perfectly capable of taking a team on his back for month long stretches. Still, it won't be enough.
4-Cincinnati Reds
One place in the standing, a chasm in reality. The bottom half of this division is terrible, but the Reds are the least terrible. They will score runs, with or without Junior in the lineup, and the bullpen could be good. If he gets the opportunity, Ryan Wagner should contend for Rookie of the Year. The starters though, are awful. Cory Lidle would be adequate 4th starter on a good team, here he's the "ace".
5-Milwaukee Brewers
Despite what most people think, the Brewers have some very fine players. The problem is they play in Indianapolis and Hunstville. The future
is very bright in Milwaukee, GM Doug Melvin has rebuilt what was a moribund farm system. Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, JJ Hardy and several others are amongst the best prospects in baseball. All of which means nothing for the 2004 season. It was a rough offseason, with the club president resigning in a huff, the Selig family announcing the team was for sale, and the Wisconsin legislature threatening to audit the teams books. Again, the future looks good here, they just have to get there.
6-Pittsburgh Pirates
It must truly suck to be a Pirate fan. I'm sure they exist. This is one of the leagues oldest franchises, heck the Pirates played in the first
World Series. The current team plays in the beautiful PNC Park, they just don't play particularly well. Last year the Pirates traded Brian Giles, Kenny Lofton, Aramis Ramirez, Mike Williams, basically anybody any other team asked for. That will continue this year. Kris Benson is practically screaming to get out, Jason Kendall has been offered to both San Diego and Seattle, and the newly-signed Raul Mondesi should plan on renting month to month. There are glimmers of good news: Jason Bay looks like a player, there are some nice pitching prospects in the minors, and the horrific Kevin Young contract is finally done. The hole is deep though.
West
1-San Fransisco Giants
This team has come back to the division a bit. The loss of Rich Aurillia means even more at-bats for Neifi Perez, Michael Tucker and Jeffery Hammonds are platooning in right, and Marquis Grissom isn't getting any younger. We haven't even mentioned JT Snow yet. They still have Barry though. That makes up for a lot. AJ Pierzynski was a very nice pickup, a definite upgrade from Benito Santiago. The keys to this team are Robb Nenn and Jason Schmidt. Both need to stay healthy. Oh yeah, if that Bonds guy gets hurt the Giants are cheese on a stick.
2-San Diego Padres
For awhile I contemplated putting the Pads first. I think they are the most talented team in the division, but they need to win 17 more games to finish at .500. That is a far enough leap, though it wouldn't surprise me if they did more. The move to Petco Park will help, but more important is having Brian Giles for a full season, and a healthy Trevor Hoffman.
3-Arizona Diamondbacks
This team is in serious transition. The contract sins of the past are coming due. Arizona already lost Curt Schilling, and you wonder if other oldies will be next on the block if the team stumbles. Randy Johson should come back fine to lead what looks to be a mediocre rotation. Even if Brandon Webb can duplicate his 2003, that still leaves Elmer Dessens, Steve Sparks and Shane Reynolds at the back of the rotation. You also have to wonder what Roberto Alomar has left. A team on the decline.
4-Los Angeles Dodgers
For all the moaning from Dodger fans about the need for a bat, the pitching doesn't look that hot either. Nomo will be Nomo, 15 wins, 200 innings, but beyond that are question marks. Ishii is still very wild, Odalis Perez is up and down, and Jeff Weaver looks lost. The bullpen is fine, assuming Mota can move up into Paul Quantrill's old spot. The aforementioned moaning fans are correct though, the Dodger offense is putrid. They get zero production out of the middle infield, no one knows which Adrian Beltre will show up, and Juan Encarnacion is the biggest off season pickup. Paul DePodesta will right the ship, but it might take some time. Best move: Not trading Edwin Jackson or Greg Miller.
5-Colorado Rockies
Hey Vinny Castilla's back! That's about the best news for Rox fans, well other than the continued excellence of Todd Helton and the Coors-aided emergence of Preston Wilson. Larry Walker is a lock to miss anywhere from 40 to 70 games, and Charles Johnson's bat has slowed to near glacial levels. The pitching staff will be beaten down by the park, like always, but there is some talent there. Jason Jennings has had just about the same season the last 2 years, and Shawn Chacon seems to be taking to the closer spot. A sleeper is 27-year old rookie 2B Aaron Miles, a darkhorse for Rookie of the Year.
Playoffs
Division Series
Phillies over Astros
Cubs over Giants
NLCS
Phillies over Cubs
Sometime later I'll hit the AL. Mrs Frinklin thinks I have way to much time on my hands. She's probably right.
Well, I did manage to get off my ass and start this thing. A few words about me: I recently turned 30, live in southern California, was raised in Seattle. Politically I seem to have become a self-hating Republican. I have too much of a libertarian streak to ever think of myself as a Democrat, but GWB and his gang piss me off a little more every day. My job is unimportant and quite frankly beneath me, in fact it should be heading to India in the next few years. I obsess over baseball in general and the Mariners in particular. I watch entirely too much ESPN and drive my girlfriend a little crazy by needing to spend $50.00 on different versions of various sports games. I've had an XBOX for 2 years, and own 4 different baseball titles. The most recent is MVP 2004, and anyone who likes baseball or videogames or both should buy several copies. It's good work and they deserve your support.
Wait, I meant to say "wife" not "girlfriend". We got married last weekend, and I'm still adapting to it. We didn't have any big ceremony, in fact we did it at City Hall. We weren't even engaged, so you might say it came as a shock to some people. It really shouldn't, we've lived together for over two years and have been dating for three. We both knew early on that the odds were good that we would spend our lives together, but it wasn't something we talked about much. She has a fear of giant stressfully events, and really, does it get much larger and more stressful than a wedding? We picked out nice simple wedding rings a few months ago, put them in a safe place and waited till the time was right. Two weeks ago she asked if we should get married on the 20th. I said yes we should, and so we did.
It was really an experience, getting married at City Hall. We went early, because well, it's best to be early to such things. We weren't expecting it to be crowded, but it was. Who knew so many people got married at 11:00 AM on a Saturday? We ended up waiting for about 90 minutes. The waiting room for weddings at City Hall is a very interesting place. There were several couples in full wedding regalia, which stunned us both. The most ornate was a young couple, both in their mid-twenties I'd suppose. I don't know how successful their wedding was, because the last we saw of them she was storming out of the wedding room (Just so you know, that's what it's called. It's not a chapel, it's the Wedding Room. It even has a sign on the door, with a sliding bar to indicate that its OCCUPIED, kind of like a Porta-Potty). One of her bridesmaids was close behind, mentioning that "You might want to wait for him." She didn't, and I don't know if he ever caught up with her. Another fun couple was the moderately attractive Eurotrash boy with an unpronounceable first name, and his bride, who was at least in her late fifties.
We live near several military bases, and it seemed that a lot of the marriages were involving military type guys, either shipping out or coming home. My personal favorite was the girl who looked suspiciously like she just came off the main stage at Cheetahs, and her groom who paid no attention whatsoever to her. The wife and I had a marvelous time during all this, making slightly malicious fun of some of the odder couples. It made me realize how perfect we were for each other. We could both take the time to laugh at people on our special day, and theirs as well. It also made me realize there is a good chance we'll end up in hell together.