100 thoughts on “November 22, 2011: That’ll Do, Pig”

        1. the important thing is knowing how to push all the right buttons to get production out of your lineup.

  2. At Bruggers' this morning, the muzak was "Omaha" by the Couting Crows. Sheenie and I are off to somewhere in the middle of America in approximately 7.5 hours.

  3. I said this yesterday night, but if they retain Capps, then I hope they sign Broxton and Coffey, too. I'd actually like to see those guys added anyway if the money's right.

    1. That would certainly give us one of the chubbiest bullpens in the big leagues.

  4. From Ken Rosenthal:

    The Twins’ two-year offer is a good sign for the Rangers, indicating that Minnesota — the team that knows Nathan best — is confident that he is fully recovered from the Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2010 season.

    The quips about relying on the knowledge of Twins' medical staff would just about write themselves.

    1. I'm ready to stop with the LeBron bashing. After all, he's never been accused of buggering 10 year old boys in a lockerroom or raping the help at a hotel. He just clumsily handled his decision to exercise his right to work in Miami -- and then was unable to get past that.

              1. The people of Cleveland. You mean those folks who have somehow collectively equated their sense of self with a basketball player? Yeah, I'm not feeling that.

                1. No, I mean those folks who had the best active player in the sport, who was homegrown, and then watched him sign with another team as part of a publicity stunt.

                  1. Oh that. Yeah. I recommend public execution.

                    LeBron James had no choice in the matter originally. He was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He then signed a free agent contract with the Cavaliers. He provided seven or eight years of entertainment for the fans of that team while being vastly underpaid (thanks, max contracts, thanks salary cap, things that wouldn't be possible unless there was a player's union -- because implementing those things without collective bargaining would most assuredly have resulted in a massive anti-trust judgment against the league) relative to his true value to the franchise.

                    Even after all that, the people of Cleveland believed that he BELONGED TO THEM. He was somehow obligated to stay with them forever. No. He wasn't. He had the right to leave, and he did. His exit was less than graceful, to be sure. But, if the "People of Cleveland" can't ever get over that, well, then, they are a sorry bunch of losers that need to get a life.

                    I happen to enjoy watching baseball. The Twins are my FAVORITE team. Note the use of the term favorite. They are not MY TEAM. If they are fun and entertaining, I watch. If they play like shit (like this last season), I quit watching. If Joe Mauer had gone to the Red Sox or Yankees, was I supposed to hate him forever? Hate him? I've never met him! I don't know him from Adam (although I could pick him our of a lineup).

                    LeBron James did not belong to Cleveland. The fans got their money's worth when he was there and then some. Would I have taken LBJ on the Wolves in the exact same situation over the flotsam and jetsam that we got over the last umpteen years and then have him leave? Damn right I would have! Instead, I had to watch the Troy Hudsons and Marko Jarics and Jonny Flynns of the world play "professional" basketball.

                    So, he did something stupid when he left. It's not like he did anything criminal or even morally wrong (he was a free agent after all). It was just stupid. Let's hold it against him forever. You first.

                    2. It was just stupid.

                      I don't think it was just stupid. I think it was one of the most monumentally stupid things a professional American sports star has ever done.

                      I've never claimed LeBron "belonged" to anyone. You're fighting a strawman. You seem to claim that I rag on him because I think Cleveland had a sacred right to him. I don't; I rag on him because he knew they loved him and he had to know what his little stunt would do to them. Still, he was egomaniacal enough to believe that this special was worth what he was doing to his existing fanbase.

                      You care about this more than I do by tenfold, at least. You're putting words in my mouth, and not only are they words I've never said, they're on a subject I don't feel passionately enough about to even get there.

                      LeBron's a tin-eared dumbfuck for what he did, and I don't think that can be argued against. If it's wrong to hate on someone for being monumentally stupid, then hey, we can talk about that - but I have always hated on monumentally stupid people. Does it make you feel better to know that I'd never place him among the ranks of serial killers, pedophiles or even Michael Vick? Because I don't. I'm not going to change my tune on him just because he isn't evil, though. Everyone looks fine if you compare them to Sandusky, but why would I even think to compare LeBron to Sandusky? That doesn't make any sense.

                    3. "One of the most monumentally stupid things a professional American sports star has ever done"? That kind of hyperbole really doesn't help your case. It was dumb, it was a mistake, but I am also pretty sure that this whole thing has been overblown since the second it happened.

                    4. I'm not being hyperbolic. Excepting the criminals (which I was doing, although I guess I didn't say as much), nothing jumps to mind as being a stupider PR move than this.

                      I don't even care about this enough to consider what I'm making to be a "case." I made what I thought was a throwaway comment and was dragged into a conversation I probably should have shrugged at.

                    6. Hey, I love these guys! I've just been feeling a little punchy for the last - I don't know, 34 years, I guess? Overreaction is one of my hallmarks.

                    8. I'll get excited when the reports about those two throwing the "ever-living fire out of the ball" start showing up.

  7. I had a 22-ouncer of this last night after a very late close at work. It was delicious - maybe the best of its kind that I've ever tasted - but at 8.2% taken on a mostly empty stomach, I'm feeling it now. I can't remember the last time a single beer beat up on me like this, but this thing...wow.

    I recommend the bajeepers out of this one, but the dude at Total Wine suggested that this was a special brew that, in America, can only be found in their stores. The reviews at BA seem to corroborate this story.

    1. i had a couple of these on tap last night. i never tasted what it was brewed in place of, so i can't say if it's a worthy substitute or not, but it was indeed quite tasty.

      1. Thanks for the heads up. Lagunitas always makes me happy, so I'll be looking out for that. It wasn't at Total Wine last night, but maybe it was just sold out.

        While I was in LA, I found myself at a bar where I was getting annoyed by the clientele's obsession with image. I ordered a Lagunitas IPA, and the bartender was thrilled. "Oh my God, a real beer guy. You're the only one here." I took a closer look at the drinks in the hands of the customers - nothing but PBR tallboys as far as the eye could see. I looked back to the bartender, who nodded knowingly and said "Yeah, this ain't my scene either."

      2. Lagunitas' regular IPA has one of the more floral noses out there. Sounds like this one has a very citrusy character. Verry different from the Brown Shugga.

        I had a nice dinner with my buddy the Music Man on friday. We had this and this and something else that is escaping me at the moment. The Stone was ... not as hoppy as anticipated, but still with plenty bite. The Deschutes was excellent.

            1. New Glarus this, New Glarus that.
              I think New Glarus just exists to keep MN from being too smug over Surly.
              Do any liquor stores in Hudson carry more than Spotted Cow?

      1. I knew last night that I was about to drink a Russian-style Stout made by hard-drinking Scots on a mostly empty stomach, but I forged ahead regardless. It was a mistake, but I'm guessing it's a mistake I'll reproduce the next time I have a long, frustrating night.

  8. Nathan to the Rangers seems like classic TR: always willing to walk away from the table if the numbers get too big. My general thoughts on spending $7M/year on a reliever is that you should at least be getting a guy with a clean bill of health, which definitely isn't Nathan. With their recent success and big TV deal, I think the Rangers are going to keep throwing their money around this winter.

      1. I think the Twins signed a new deal last year, because this was the first time when Sunday games were not on network tv

        1. Made it a lot easier for me to not care about the sucking, I tell you what.
          Twins will pay in the long run when my kids don't give a lick about any sport outside of Football.

    1. Seems to be inferring causation rather than correlation. Perhaps those who regularly watch certain channels because they are generally ignorant or uninformed and need this information. Or maybe the "right" answers are wrong, but that's what the people in the black helicopters pushing one-world government want you to think are the "right" answers.

        1. oh, yea, there is a big gap between the way the headline is written and what the body of the press release actually says about the polling results.

    2. It's pretty hilarious.

      I don't think it's particularly political, since no opinions are being offered, though it probably doesn't sidestep political by much.

      1. Fer cryin' out loud: that's their headline when a guy who hit .332 with 33 HR and 111 RBI wins the MVP award? Yeah, sure, it really takes a lot of advanced statistical bravery to see any good in a guy like that.

        1. I can embrace the stats of any of the top vote getters, fwiw. Not sure that embracing them really means anything in the long run, though. I guess their headline could have just as easily said "Voters Like Braun's Smile". When it comes to the awards, ESPN should just post the vote totals and move on.

  11. couple of interesting nuggets about the new MLB CBA from JoeC (twitter)

    JoeCStrib
    One impact of new CBA for #Twins is drafted players can only sign minor-league deals now. Should help Twins sign 2012 #2 pick.

    Yes, true high school players have less incentive to sign, but #Twins were among teams strongly opposed to signing draftees to MLB deals.

    Point is: Draftee X, who was determined to sign MLB deal, now cannot strong-arm teams into passing on him in the draft.

    1. More details, per Craig:

      If teams exceed the bonus limit set by Major League Baseball by more than 5%, they get hit with a 75% tax. If they exceed it by between 5 and 10%, they get a 75% tax and they lose a first round pick the next year. If you’re 10-15% over, it’s a 100% tax and the loss of a first and second round pick. Fifteen percent or higher a is 100% tax and the loss of two first-round picks.

      Why couldn't they do this for the luxury tax? Sure, it increased for the Yankees repeat offenders from 40% to 50%, but it pales in comparison to the "hard" cap on draft bonuses.

      1. Why couldn't they do this for the luxury tax?

        I assume because it would hurt the Yankees. The draft stuff is going to mostly hurt small revenue teams, which is unfortunate.

      2. Let’s be really clear about something here: these changes are going to make baseball way less attractive to amateur players. If you’re an elite two-sport athlete you’d be frankly crazy to try baseball first before giving the NBA or NFL a shot.

        I think he's not quite thought this out yet. Limitations on bonuses will deter high school kids from signing, because the value of a contract will shrink relative to the value of a college scholarship. Maybe some 2-sport kids will go football in college rather than baseball (pro or college) out of high school. But the relative attractiveness of college baseball players should go up in the draft as the odds of signing a high school kid go down. And drafting college players should be much less risky than drafting high school kids.

        1. That line of reasoning always seems to get overblown. For instance, Joe Mauer was a three-sport athlete. I have no doubts that under the new CBA, he would still have elected to play baseball. Why? Because he is just that good at baseball and at the end of the day, the players have to consider which sport they are actually best at when they are trying to maximize their payout.

    2. The comments are unexpectedly good, too. Here's my favorite:

      drmonkeyarmy - Nov 22, 2011 at 11:11 AM
      Yeah, real lack of foresight on that guys part. He should have taken the lobster out immediately giving it time to thaw. Dumb ass.

  13. For all you history/engineering/SF&Oakland/OSHA buffs out there...a really nifty promotional video about the construction of the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge produced by U.S. Steel. I don't know why, but I just can't get enough of videos like this.

  14. It's official. Carleton is a jock school. First, national championships in frisbee, now, wimmin's rugby.

    Women’s rugby is the fourth different Carleton club sport to claim a national title. The other three clubs with national titles to its credit all are Ultimate teams: CUT captured three national titles in Division I (2001, 2009, 2011), Syzygy won the Division I crown in 2000, GOP took home national crowns in 2009 and 2010 in Division III, as did Eclipse in 2011.

    apparently, math is not a very strong suit, however. That would be five clubs, by my count.

  16. Nothing personal to anyone, but I'd just like to respectfully suggest that we be extremely careful with political humor. I run across all kinds of things that I think are quite funny, but which I know would bother people if I linked to them here. It can be a really slippery slope.

    2. thanks for the feedback, Jeff A. I know I tend to push the envelope, so I appreciate the reminders to watch how far I take things.

  17. Apparently Cuddyer qualifies for the relief pitcher draft pick exemption?

    @Ken_Rosenthal

    Type A FAs that for this off-season will effectively be Type Bs under terms of new CBA - Capps, Cordero, Dotel, R. Hernandez, Oliver. #MLB

    Teams that sign those players will not lose a pick. Teams that lose them will gain a supplemental choice. #mlb

    These players will be modified Type As: Bell, Cuddyer, K. Johnson, Madson, Willingham, K-Rod. MORE #mlb

    For those players, signing club will not lose pick. Team that loses player will gain first rounder in slot right before signing team. #MLB.

    With modified Type As, team must offer arb to qualify for 1st rounder and supp pick. Thus, #Padres no worse off for not trading Bell. #mlb

    More details from MLB Trade Rumors:

    Matt Capps, Francisco Cordero, Octavio Dotel, Ramon Hernandez and Darren Oliver were all Type A free agents under the Elias Rankings system, but they will now be treated as Type B free agents, the MLBPA announced. Teams won't have to surrender draft picks to sign them, but the players' former teams obtain a supplementary first round pick whether or not they offer arbitration tomorrow.

    Meanwhile, clubs won't have to surrender a draft pick to sign one of the following six players: Heath Bell, Michael Cuddyer, Kelly Johnson, Ryan Madson, Josh Willingham and Francisco Rodriguez. Teams that lose these players after offering arbitration will obtain first round picks in the slot before the signing team plus a supplementary draft pick for a total of two selections.

    Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, C.J. Wilson, David Ortiz, Jonathan Papelbon, Roy Oswalt, Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins were also Type A free agents this offseason. They will cost one draft pick to sign. Their teams will obtain two total picks if they decline offers of arbitration to sign elsewhere, as expected. Takashi Saito and Carlos Beltran, two other Type As, cannot be offered arbitration. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the changes.

    1. but the players' former teams obtain a supplementary first round pick whether or not they offer arbitration tomorrow.
      Woohoo! Near guaranteed pick from Capps.

      Interesting about Cuddyer, but it makes sense. He was a middling Type A free agent, so losing a pick by signing him could significantly depress his value if the signing team didn't have a protected pick or hadn't signed Papelbon a higher rated player.

    2. Teams that lose these players after offering arbitration will obtain first round picks in the slot before the signing team plus a supplementary draft pick for a total of two selections.

      The bottom 15 clubs must still have preferred status to the top 15 clubs in this scheme, right? That is, if the Twins were to sign, say, Heath Bell, I can't imagine that the Padres would then get the #2 pick in the draft, right?

      Supposing that is true, though, if those six players sign with the top 15 clubs, it could be a long first round next year.

      2. If the first fifteen picks are not protected, the Twins should sign Willingham and Oakland should sign Cuddy. Then the Pads should trade the Twins a minor prospect for cash considerations, to make up for the Twins dropping from second pick to third pick.

        Step 4: lose all first-round draft picks for seven of eight years, draft Ndubi Edi with the one other pick.

  18. Broncos release Kyle Orton, who could end up back in Chicago with their QB injured. Also, it could mean ex-Gopher Adam Weber gets a promotion from the practice squad if the Broncos want to go with three QBs. Weber's favorite target at the U, Eric Decker, is already Tim Tebow's favorite target.

    1. Didn't see that coming, and I don't understand it. Was there some bonus in Orton's contract that was going to kick in if they kept him on the roster? I get that he's not playing now, but surely he'd be worth something in a trade. Were the just trying to be nice to Orton? The Broncos are in the hunt for a playoff spot. What happens if Tebow gets hurt or simply turns into a pumpkin, as many have said he will? Doesn't make sense to me.

      1. I read (though it may have been speculation) that Orton requested his release, with the desire to go back to Chicago.
        Denver would benefit by Chicago assuming a pro-rated part of his contract. Apparently, there's a waiver-claim priority like in Baseball, and where most teams will have to pass on him.

      2. the trade deadline is long past. Today is the waiver deadline. Denver saves nothing unless he is claimed off of waivers.

        Orton, 29, is subject to the waiver rules because he was released after the trade deadline.

        The team that claims him will be responsible for about $3 million in salary, which is what remains of his roughly $9 million contract for 2011. If nobody claims him, he’ll be free to sign with anybody.

        1. I know the trade deadline is past. I was thinking they could keep him and trade him for next year. Maybe he becomes a free agent after the season, I don't know. If they're not saving any money, though, I don't know why they don't keep him for insurance for this year. Again, they have a decent chance to make the playoffs.

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