May 19, 2011

Rainouts Aren’t Always Bad

By chappy81

There’s been a ton of rain outs in the MLB this year. Too bad the pros aren’t allowed to have fun like these college kids during rain outs. They can’t afford to get injured. I think I posted a video like the one below last year with two teams having a talent show trying to one up the other team. This one was a lot more friendly. A few of the skits were a little lame, but all in all it looks like a good way to spend a rainy day…

About chappy81

I'm a dude that just hit 30 years old. Pretty much like everything that is funny, insightful, and has to do with the Warriors, A's, and Raiders. View all posts by chappy81
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 19th, 2011 at 12:32 pm and tagged with , , and posted in Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

18 responses to “Rainouts Aren’t Always Bad”

  • tophatal
    May 19th, 2011 at 10:17 am

    Here’s hoping that the Royals have a rain-out for the rest of their schedule for the months of May , June and July . Especially in light of that 19-1 shellacking they took at the hands of the Indians ! Their reliever Vin Mazzaro was exceptional in giving up 14 runs , 11 hits in 2 1/3 innings . But then again these are the Royals that we’re talking about .

    How’d you see things going when the All Star Game takes place at Chase Field in Arizona this June ? Bear in mind that the immigration bill signed into law (SB1070) there even with tenets of it struck down is still causing a great deal of consternation amongst Hispanic players and the Latino community as a whole ?

    tophatal …………….

    Reply
    • classic17
      May 19th, 2011 at 3:59 pm

      This is like the 3rd comment you’ve left about one game. In August 2004 the Yankees lost to the Indians 22-0 and went on to the ALCS. Chill out. Are the Royals going to the playoffs this year? No. Will they go to the playoffs in the next 3-4? Yes. I know you have trouble with quotes, but you can use this one against me in the future. The Royals have the #1 farm system and they’re already seeing some of those players impact the big league team. I don’t expect you to notice that sort of thing because you’d actually have to pay attention.

      Eric Hosmer has been up for 11 games. He’s got three doubles, three doubles and seven RBIs. 2009 First Round pick Aaron Crow has a 0.84 ERA in 17 appearances. 21-year-old Tim Collins has a sub 3.00 ERA in 24 games. Top prospect Danny Duffy made his ML debut last night. They have 5 of the top 19 prospects and 9 of the top 100.

      I’m not going to argue that they haven’t been a laughingstock for the last 15 years, but to continue to call them out when they are clearly headed in the right direction is lazy and stupid.

      Reply
      • mceezy
        May 19th, 2011 at 5:25 pm

        Do you think they’ll actually keep these guys? Just when I thought they were going to start hanging on to guys, they dealt Zack Greinke to Milwaukee. (and remember, I say this as an A’s fan)

        Reply
        • classic17
          May 19th, 2011 at 6:37 pm

          I don’t know, but I can say that they’ve shown a willingness to spend money lately. They’ve been spending more and more in the draft (catcher Wil Myers is a perfect example), they signed Gil Meche and Jose Guillen and while they didn’t work out, they gave it a a shot, and they’ve apparently made an attempt at signing Hosmer already a la Evan Longoria and the Rays so it appears like they’re making an effort.

          Trading Zack Greinke actually made sense given his contract. I think they could’ve gotten more for him, but I’m not the one making the deals. He signed a deal for 4/39 before the 2009 season. The Royals know they’re not going to contend before the 2012 and by that time Greinke will be getting a 100 million dollar deal somewhere. This way they got something for him/ It’s also worth noting that Greinke has posted an ERA below 3.50 just twice. Last year he was completely average. Joakim Soria might be the better metric for what the Royals are doing with their top notch players.

          Without inside knowledge it seems like they’re making some shrewd moves (Jeff Francouer, Melky Cabrera) in order to save some money so they can sign some of these guys down the road. But you’re right, if they can’t sign these guys they will be for naught . It’s a step in the right direction, thought.

        • chappy81
          May 20th, 2011 at 9:41 am

          I’d agree that the Royals are spending a little more than years past. They’ve also gotten some solid prospects back, but I have a feeling they will blow it somehow. Doubt they make the playoffs this year, but like you said they are on the right track to do it one day in the near future. Hosmer looks like a man out there. I think he’s already hitting third after two weeks in the big leagues. Not sure if that says how bad their offense is struggling or how good Hosmer is…

      • tophatal
        May 20th, 2011 at 9:50 am

        So what happens four months from now when they swoon ? It’s simply a fact that this team has literally been in the tank for years and not much has changed . Just because a team has a farm system that looks impressive doesn’t mean it will come to fruition at the next level . They’ve taken their knocks but repeatedly what we’ve seen is abject failure . If the Royals were stock on the NYSE they’d have been dumped long ago .

        What thoughts do you have on the potential fallout from the All Star Game in July considering the unrest there in Ariziona with regard to SB 1070 ? Bear in mind several prominent Latin players have stated that they won’t participate in the event if it’s still staged in within the state.

        tophatal ……………

        Reply
        • classic17
          May 20th, 2011 at 4:13 pm

          So Mceezy wonders if their players will be signed. A very valid point; they may not be. Chappy figures they’ll blow it, and they might. Maybe they brought Hosmer up too soon. Maybe they’ll being up Mike Moustakas, Wil Myers, and Mike Montgomery all too soon and they’ll tank. You say:

          “It’s simply a fact that this team has literally been in the tank for years and not much has changed ”

          So spending money on prospects, not wasting it at the big league level and building the best farm system in baseball by such a wide margin that no can even kind of compare is “not much has changed”?

          My question for you then, is this…How would you build yourself a mid market that hasn’t seen success in 15 years? Apparently not through building from within. It clearly didn’t work for the 2008 Rays when they went worst two first with the best farm system. Didn’t work for the Braves in 1991 either. How about the 2002 Angels? Awful lot of homegrown players on that team.

          So instead of “they’ll be bad because they were always bad,” maybe let us know why you “nothing has changed” with them and how you’d fix it.

          As far as the All-Star Game, I think there might be 20 people on a street corner with some poorly drawn signs trying to make a statement. That will be about it.

  • tophatal
    May 19th, 2011 at 10:26 am

    http://theoraclesays.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/its-our-ball-and-if-you-want-to-play-then-you-have-to-pay/

    http://theoraclesays.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/futility-is-simply-another-word-for-failure-so-what/

    tophatal …….

    Reply
  • Chris Humpherys
    May 19th, 2011 at 11:44 am

    My favorite old-school rainy day player was always Rick Dempsey.

    Reply
  • tophatal
    May 20th, 2011 at 5:25 pm

    classic

    Don’t be too surprised if the idiocy of Arizona escalates as it’s become a real sensitive issue in and outside of the state. Much of this mess there actually comes from too little common sense being shown by successive Presidential administration down the years.

    As for success wouldn’t you agree it starts from the top in having the right ownership as well as a general manager and and a manager that knows what the hell they’re doing ? David Glass was once the CFO of Walmart …… who’d have guessed it seeing how he and the executives have handled the Royals ?

    tophatal ………….

    Reply
    • classic17
      May 21st, 2011 at 9:52 am

      You didn’t exactly answer the question here, but I’ll work with it. Yes, success starts with the top. Let’s start from the beginning of Dayton Moore’s tenure as GM (mid-2006) because that’s about the time the Royals started spending money to develop their team from within. In 2006 the team payroll was 47 million, up 10 million from the previous year. in 07, it rose to 67 million and got all the way up to 74 million last year. Now with the retirement of Gil Meche, the departure of Jose Guillen and the trades of Mark Teahen, Zack Greinke, and David DeJesus, it’s back down to 38 million. But the team is still .500 because of all those top prospects that you have been dismissing.

      So when Glass took over control, he slashed payroll. No questioning that. But since 2006, they’ve put more money back into the team with a greater focus on the draft. Moore has done a fine job aside from the aforementioned signings or Meche and Guillen. No GM is perfect.

      Now, you still need to explain your ““It’s simply a fact that this team has literally been in the tank for years and not much has changed ” comment. I have done nothing but show how the Royals culture is changing and how it will continue to change as we see more and more of these young players. What would you do differently if you’re the Royals? If you’re going to continue to call them out, you’ve got to back it up.

      Reply
  • tophatal
    May 22nd, 2011 at 8:49 am

    classic

    The constant upheaval and turnover of playing personnel over the years has simply shown that this organization is either bereft of common sense or the fact that they’re simply not that ambitious . Farm system as good some might perceive it to be what happens once those players’ arbitration periods are up ? It’s not as if the Royals have shown their indication in retaining their talented players to begin with now is it ?

    They may well be playing .500 ball within the AL Central but they’ve done nothing yet to indicate that they’re actually back on track other than fans thinking that they’ve turned the corner .

    tophatal ………………

    Reply
    • classic17
      May 22nd, 2011 at 10:38 pm

      Those players will hit free agency after 2017 at the earliest. If they don’t sign them they’ll be in the same situation as the Brewers and Prince Fielder. Even if the Brewers don’t sign Fielder, I’d say they have gotten some good value out of him. I’ve also indicated that the Royals have made an attempt to sign Hosmer already. They’ve also shown a willingness to spend money by signing Gil Meche and Mike Sweeney to contracts around 55 million. Now that they have no long term commitments, that money will go toward signing their young players.

      Also, I’ve said all along that they’re not going to the playoffs this year, nor have they “turned the corner” but they’re beginning to and they’re a lot farther along than they used to be.

      So now, for the third time and in caps now: WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY IF YOU WERE THE ROYALS RIGHT NOW? WHAT HAVE THEY DONE WRONG SINCE 2007? PLEASE USE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES AND DO NOT SAY ZACK GREINKE. I EXPLAINED THAT SITUATION ABOVE.

      My main point here is not my love of the Royals but mainly that you have left an odd number of comments about them recently when they really don’t deserve your venom. They formed a plan in 2007 and they’re sticking to it. For someone who tries awfully hard to talk about the business and finance of sports, you pick some weird stuff to write about.

      Reply
  • tophatal
    May 23rd, 2011 at 5:24 am

    classic

    It has been the same contingency plan repeatedly that has been in place that will in the end show them simply bailing because of their financial position. Is that difficult to understand ? Until the league hierarchy , team owners and MLBPA are on the same page as to its overall finances this game will be about the haves and have nots ! The league hierarchy is bereft of common sense ever since Selig became the commissioner .

    As a bye note I’m so glad that they caught one of the alleged suspects responsible for the attack on Giants’ fan Brian Stow ! Hopefully his ass along with the other culprits behind the attack are caught and the law itself does what’s right in order that the victim’s family has closure . Unfortunately Stow still lays in hospital in a medically induced coma because of the abnormal swelling of his brain. Sad that there are moronic fans within the game that simply have no respect for others !

    What’s weird to write about the financial side of sports it’s what drives it don’t you think ? Without the money to drive professional sports do you actually believe that the athletes would be playing the game for nothing ? Or I’d ask would you do your job merely for free ?

    Sports first and foremost is a business and that’s one of the primary reasons the owners are in it ……… to make money and the glory is simply a bye product of it all.

    tophatal …………….

    Reply
    • classic17
      May 23rd, 2011 at 12:16 pm

      Since I guess you don’t read what I say I’ll move on. The Royals have changed their philosophy even if you don’t realize it or refuse to acknowledge it. By the way, your “haves and have nots” comment doesn’t make sense. 21 of 30 Major League baseball teams have made the playoffs in the last five years with five different champions.

      And I didn’t say there was anything wrong with writing about sports business. I just think it’s weird to do it so incorrectly. Why not pick a team with no present or future like Houston, who are paying a 35 year old Carlos Lee 18.5 million dollars and have the worst minor league system in baseball? Or the Mariners who will pay 37 year old Ichiro about 35 million dollars for the next two years when they have no chance to compete? You were lazy, tried to pick an easy target and got called out. You don’t need to respond to this comment. I know you don’t read or understand any of what I said here anyway. Maybe I’ll start charging for these lessons next time.

      Reply
  • Sports around the web and the week ahead
    May 23rd, 2011 at 8:28 am

    […] Video: Baseball rainy-day antics. […]

    Reply
  • tophatal
    May 23rd, 2011 at 12:27 pm

    And how many of those teams actually turn a profit without the aid of the league hierarchy’s asinine tax sharing revenue scheme ? That’s what I mean about the haves and have nots within the game of baseball .

    tophatal ……………

    Reply
  • tophatal
    May 23rd, 2011 at 12:34 pm

    The Astros much like the Pirates have been a joke . As to were the Rangers under Hicks ownership . How many teams within baseball have been placed with bankruptcy protection over the last eighteen months ? You’ve a group of team owners who’ve about as much business acumen as the executives who ran Enron .

    And then you have the idiocy of what has been going on within the Dodgers and the Mets ? You tell me how that makes the game look from a financial standpoint ? Katz and Wilpon have brought to the Mets to the brink of financial ruin and as for the McCourts when you have them using company cash for their own lavish personal spending explain to me what image that creates ?

    tophatal

    Reply

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