Archive for December, 2005
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
Wow, the Rangers are signing Kevin Millwood. A lot of people didn’t think this would happen for the Rangers, because they have had a bumpy relationship with Scott Boras every since they gave two of his clients, Alex Rodriguez and Chan Ho Park, about a billion dollars each, then finished in last place for the next several years. The Rodriguez deal was flat-out stupid, but the Park deal is the one that really broke them, because he, unlike A-Rod, completely failed to produce.
So now the Rangers have given Millwood, another Boras client, an almost identical contract: five years, $60 million (just $5 million less than Park’s five-year contract). So what are the Rangers seeing that makes them confident that Millwood will produce better than Park did? Well, let’s look at the differences:
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December 26th, 2005 at 07:15pm
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
Bill Simmons (aka “The Sports Guy”) finally weighed in on the Johnny Damon deal. I have been expecting Simmons, an unabashed Red Sox fan, to write something, and I am glad he finally did. (I have said “finally” twice now, but it has been less than two days since the signing. I guess time just moves more slowly when I am on Christmas vacation.)
I agree with most of what Simmons said, and I think it is a pretty rational approach he takes. But while he says it’s no big deal and that Red Sox fans should be glad Boston didn’t overpay for Damon and the Yankees did, I still sense a deep — perhaps subconscious — resentment. That sense comes from Simmons’ repeated insistence that it is “always about money.” I have no doubt that money was an issue here, but like I said the other day, I don’t believe that the Red Sox wouldn’t have given Johnny about the same amount of money as the Yankees if he had given them the chance. I think hearing a Red Sox fan insist that this was all about the money is a clever form of denial over the simple fact that Damon apparently believed he would have a better chace of winning it all in New York. No Sox fan will want to admit it, but there it is.
December 23rd, 2005 at 05:27pm
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
So Johnny Damon is signing with the Yankees. This is a shock, really. As recently as this morning, people like Buster Olney and other respected baseball experts were convinced that the only reason Scott Boras was talking to the Yanks about Damon was to drive up the price that the Red Sox would eventually, inevitably, pay to bring Damon back to Boston. So what happened?
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December 21st, 2005 at 01:02am
Jeff J. Snider
Politics, Religion
Following up on what I wrote last week about President Bush’s Christmas/Holiday cards, here is something I picked up on from the Daily Show a day or two ago. Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly, of the O’Reilly Factor, had as a guest on his show a man named Philip Nulman, author of a book called “Just Say Yes! Extreme Customer Service – How to Give it! How to Get It!” They had the following exchange (I have taken bits out, but I have not affected the context at all — here is a link to where I got the complete transcript from):
- O’REILLY:
- I don’t believe most people who aren’t Christian are offended by the words “Merry Christmas.” I think those people are nuts. I think you’re crazy if you’re offended by the words “Merry Christmas.”
- NULMAN:
- “Seasons Greetings” and “Happy Holidays,” Bill, does not offend Christians.
- O’REILLY:
- Yes it does! Absolutely does. … Let’s do a FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll question up there. Now, I’m givin’ the signal to my guys about if you’re – “Are you offended if they don’t use the words ‘Merry Christmas’ in a – in a store that you go to shop” and we will – and I guarantee you that I’m right. I’m guaranteeing that the Christian majority in this country is fed up, fed up to here with the ACLU and all of this business – this anti-Christian business.
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December 14th, 2005 at 03:40pm
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
The Dodgers traded Milton Bradley to the A’s, and the Diamondbacks traded Javier Vazquez to the White Sox. A couple thoughts on each trade…
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December 14th, 2005 at 10:19am
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
I am not a football expert, so maybe someone else can elighten me. I was just writing about Manny Ramirez and Miguel Tejada, and I naturally got to thinking about Terrell Owens. Here’s my question (eventually):
Football contracts are unguaranteed, right? So if a player in the third year of a seven-year contract stops being productive, his team can release him, and he gets no more money. Is that right? And if so, here is the big question: why would any football player sign a long-term contract?
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December 9th, 2005 at 12:21pm
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
In the ESPN.com chat with Jerry Crasnick today, there were a couple questions about a possible Manny Ramirez for Miguel Tejada trade. (For those of you who haven’t heard, Tejada recently announced that he is unhappy in Baltimore and wants to be traded.) With the Red Sox having just traded away Edgar Renteria, they definitely are in need of a new shortstop. But still, this deal doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, for a few reasons.
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December 9th, 2005 at 12:17pm
Jeff J. Snider
Politics, Religion
I just read this article about the Christmas cards President Bush sent out to 1.4 million supporters. Let me share a quote with you, from William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights:
This clearly demonstrates that the Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and that they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture.
Mr. Donohue, I have never met you, but I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you aren’t nearly as stupid as you seem.
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December 7th, 2005 at 03:25pm
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
I posted a couple days ago about how the Dodgers were negotiating a Milton Bradley for Barry Zito trade, and I expressed a bit of concern that the Dodgers might throw in some valuable minor leaguers to make it happen. Rumor today has it that the Bradley/Zito talks have died, and I am a little bit relieved.
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December 7th, 2005 at 02:54pm
Jeff J. Snider
Sports
So the Dodgers hired Grady Little as their manager. Hmmmmmm. On one hand, there is the natural tendency to think that this is an absolutely ridiculous hire, what with his incompetence and all. On the other hand, if he can manage to cost the Dodgers the NLCS the way he cost the Red Sox the ALCS three seasons ago, at least it will mean that the Dodgers managed to win a playoff series for the first time in eighteen years to get to that position.
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December 6th, 2005 at 11:19pm
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