Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

Ken...three reasons the Mets will prevail...no Glavine, no Wagner and most importantly the presence of Johann Santana.

I hate to be disgusting, but I have to strain the muscles in my arm and pat myself on the back when it comes to the Jurrjens, Bedard and Johan trades. I think they were all crazy. Bedard really only had one good year, and even in that year he still got hurt. Talented but injury-prone pitchers are so alluring to teams -- they all think they can keep them healthy -- but for the most part they do not. There's almost no reason anymore to go over the Santana deal -- it was lopsided; end of story.

I could not believe Dombrowski (who's treated like a God) didn't get blasted for the Jurrjens trade. With his rotation a big question mark anyway (Verlander coming off a huge increase in innings, Robertson and Bonderman coming off bad years, Willis a mess, Rogers old and coming off an injury) he traded away his best young pitcher. Jurrjens hadn't pitched much, and he did get hurt, but he was very impressive and it was obvious he had good stuff. And they traded him for a guy who seems incapable of playing in the AL and is getting old quick. It was dumb and short-sighted, but at least he was "GM of the off-season," with every writer saying his revamped offense (including his fatso third baseman who had to immediately switch to first, who was traded for his two best, high-ceiling prospects) was going to score 1000 runs.

The reason the Mets will win - they have superior talent (albeit dysfunctional at times) to the Phils.

Ken, during the Rays-Sox game, Peter Gammons also supported the idea that callups in September are wrong and affect the integrity of the game.

I will risk being called immoral by saying that is a ridiculous argument. Teams don't just flood the field with AAA players during games with contenders and tank games - this isn't the second coming of the Black Sox!

Unless you were already good enough or there are injuries, you don't play. I relieved 10 time in the last 20 days after a 1982 callup becuase Splittorff and Frost were injured. If it was the regular season, I would have been called up without the Gammon's badge of dissaproval. The other callups (Biancalana, Ryal, Bombo Rivera, Johnson, Botelho) played sparingly.

and my thoughts are with Neil Levin, Barbara Olsen and many good people from Cantor Fitzgerald....

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Is CC the second coming of Rick Sutcliffe per the following trade as listed in baseballreference.com?

June 13, 1984: Traded by the Cleveland Indians with George Frazier and Ron Hassey to the Chicago Cubs for Mel Hall, Joe Carter, Don Schulze, and Darryl Banks (minors).

Sutcliffe went 16-1 for the Cubs as they came up one game short of the World Series - and unanimously won the NL Cy Young award.

Joe Coppo

Never Forget

Not only did the D'Backs traded Valverde, they also traded Carlos Quentin to the White Sox for nothing. Quentin was having a MVP type of season until he hurt his wrist.
Just think if the Twins had kept Santana. They would be leading the AL Central and contending for the World Series.
After losing the first game of the series against the Red Sox on Monday, the Rays came back to win the last 2 games including last night in 14 innings 4-2. The thing I would worry about if I were Joe Maddon is closer Troy Percival. Percival is 39, fragile and has gotten hurt this year and make at least 3 trips to the DL.
Ken, when a player gets traded from one league to another, baseball doesn't combine the stats of the player. Sabathia gets traded from the American League to the National League, yet his stats with the Indians doesn't get combine with his stats with the Brewers. Its not that complicated to combined the stats. I don't know why baseball doesn't combined the stats. What do you think?

Judd Cavalier
Ray Downey, Sr.
Jake Jagoda
Dennis Edwards
Joe Anchundia
Michelle Titolo
Michael McCarthy
Susan Clyne-Dietrich
Chris Sullivan

Never Forget

Dennis is right about Percival, he has an injured knee and hasn't been doing the job lately as a closer.
The Quentin trade is something you have to live with, he wasn't doing well for Arizona, was hurt often, wasn't going to play this year and no one ever expected him to do what he did this season.
Let's all root, root root for the Rays to finish first so if the Red Sox don't do their annual choke job and make the playoffs it is them who plays the Angels and loses in the first round and Boston takes another punch in the gut, deserving fandom that they are.
I guess Ken has finally decided that the Santana trade was a bad one for the Twins instead of giving it time to see what they got. They didn't get much.

You missed one important part of the Valverde trade - money. The D-Backs operate on a pretty strict budget and they needed to clear some budget room to make the Haren trade. If they hadn't traded Valverde, I don't think they could have acquired Haren. Obviously, they are much better with Haren than they would have been with Valverde instead of Haren.

Their big mistake was extending Eric Byrnes. If the avoided that mistake, then they would have had the money to acquire Haren AND keep Valverde! Plus they would have had Quentin in LF instead of Byrnes (plus whomever his replacements ended up being). Now that would have been an upgrade!

Good morning from LA, everyone. Thank heavens for jetBlue! I got to watch the Rays-Sox game from start until, well, the bottom of the 12th inning, except for the sixth and seventh frames, when I was snoozing (and, undoubtedly snoring).

Dennis, don't forget that the players Arizona received from the White Sox trade for Quentin helped net Dan Haren from Oakland.

Also, can we now please put to bed the notion that a young team like the Rays were going to crack under the late-season "pressure"?

By the way, did anyone catch yesterday's 6pm SportsCenter? Brian Kenny was leading a conversation on the NL Cy Young with Kruk and Phillips and I could swear that Krukkie was getting seriously pissed at Kenny for insisting that a pitcher's wins are really a team stat and not a mark of "individual achievement." (Yes, he was quoting from "The Untouchables.") Just wondering if anyone felt the same way?

Bob, would you be able to explain this Murray Chass lede from his most recent post, dated today: "By now, you should realize that the Red Sox are going to win the American League East title and finish in first place for a second successive season for the first time since 1916...." A bit odd, no?

(http://www.murraychass.com/?p=162)

JE - you actually listen to John Kruk for something other than comic effect? It's like "you're watching Fox, shame on you!"

--------------

I would assume Chass means that the schedule favors Boston...and that the Red Sox are playing .600 ball or better in the past 3 months without Manny and others...the veteran team will get it done and the newcomer won't...

Tampa 3 @ NY, 3 BOS, 4 MIN, 4 @ BAL (1 DH), 3 @ DET
Boston 3 TOR, 3 @ TB, 3 @ TOR, 4 CLE, 3 NY

I'm guilty of thinking the Rays would fold. I really did. Foolish of me. I didn't do enough reading/homework on them.

Speaking of folding, the Phillies are the ones folding this year and the basis for folding is the same reason why they fail every, single year. The Phillies play in a large-market city, in a brand-new stadium and draw approximately 3,000,000 fans a season (when they are successful). They have a team payroll of approximately 95 million dollars. They are a cheap organization, refuse to spend money on quality and don't pull triggers on trades that can help the team (see someone like an Adam Dunn or CC) because they dont want to spend the money.
You look at the Red Sox who play in a dump and a smaller city and see they spend $135 million per year on the team (although the fans up there are foolish enough to pay the highest prices for tickets in baseball), and you know they want to compete because the area demands it. The area of Philadelphia also wants to compete and win, but the ownership doesn't care and what they put out on the field on a yearly basis reflects that. Also, the Eagles run their operation the exact, same way the Phillies do, although they are different ownership groups.

Bob, cut me as much slack as you give Murray! ;-) I was on board the flight and was flipping back and forth between SC and Brit Hume. At least that's the line I'm sticking to....

Honestly, I don't know what convinces Chass to take that position when the "newcomer" just won a 14-inning game on the road against the defending champions and came back in the ninth inning of the previous affair against one of the premier closers. They didn't prove their manhood in that series? And when comparing the schedules, note that it no longer heavily favors Boston.

Jim, I became a believer of the Rays a week or two before the ASG. You may recall, though, that I was convinced that they needed to sign Bonds to help out the offense; otherwise, they would probably end up with 90 games but wouldn't be able to keep the Sox at bay. (No pun intended.)

Are you channeling Jessica Simpson, Sandy? ;-)

Worst trades - Horace Clarke was sold by the Yankees to the SD Padres for $25,000 on May 31, 1974. In 42 games he had one double, four RBIs, 17 hits and batted .189. Will George give SD their money back? George was a financial genuis.

Regarding Sandy's description of Boston, I remember the line from The Sopranos' second season's premiere:

"How was Boston?"

"Ehhh! It's Scranton -- with clams!"

Sandy, Fenway's a dump???!?!? Its the 2nd best stadium in baseball, and the best one's Ken's been to. (Since for some un Godly reason he hasn't been to Wrigley).

Ken, what was your college weight and what is your weight when you wrote that, and now? I started a life changing mission on June 6...I weighed a rotund 222. I'm at around 181 now. Lots of grilled chicken and peas, along with two-three miles of running 5-6 days a week.

Your job is a little tougher for that kinda regimine than mine though.

Oh, and I cant believe I actually commented on the donut bet, and didn't take you up on the offer!! I even said you're going to be out of money.

Hey Ken.

Speaking of Milledge, looks like he was playing centerfield in the new Citifield. How could Acta allow such poor defensive alignment after getting burned earlier in the inning?
~H

"Jim, I became a believer of the Rays a week or two before the ASG."

I became a believer when they beat the Angels at home the same night they returned from a successful 10 game west coast road trip despite losing Longoria, Cameron and Percival to injuries.

Remember JE?
We kinda had a gentlemen's bet about that road trip.
I owe ya.

Uh, RG, I am sentimental as the next guy, but points must be deducted from a ballpark where it takes you two FULL innings just to take a piss. Of course, I am deathly afraid of stepping anywhere near Wrigley's troth, and would just as soon use a catheter....

No worries, I-505. Are you an "Entourage" fan, by the way? (The show has already jumped the shark, IMHO; nonetheless, it remains mildly entertaining.) In the premiere, "E" was donning an Islander-logo T-shirt....

JE!! Our first two fights in one comment section!!
OK, I agree with you about the taking a leak. I was only 17 when I was at Wrigley 8/9/88 (first official night game) but those urinals were weird. And forget about Yankee Stadium. Luckilly I was able to use my press pass because I wasn't waiting on those lines during the glory years. I've never been to Fenway but I'm dying to go.

But Entourage jumping the shark?!?!? Why??? You guys are too quick with that. Its still a GREAT show and last week was a solid 7. I think the problem is their doing it Sopranos style and making you wait a year and a half which is so dumb.

BTW, Eric had on an Islanders hat the first episode last season too.

Worst trade ever - Bob Tufts for Charlie Leibrandt.

After 2 years I had 30 credits at business school and Chaz had 30 wins and a World Series ring with the Royals... ouch!

Kevin Connolly makes a point of shamelessly promoting the Isles on the show every chance he gets.
He is an unabashed hockey fan and especially an Islander fan.

Love it.

I hope the Rays win the division because that will make the Red Sox be the Wild Card and they have to play the Angels in the Division Series. The Red Sox have own the Angels in the past. But this year the Angels are 9-1 against the Red Sox, including winning the last 8 games they have play each other. Everytime we doubt the Rays, the Rays seem to rise up to the challenge. I do worry about Percival holding up the rest of the way and into the playoffs.
I never been to Fenway Park or Wrigley Field. But Fenway and Wrigley are not going anywhere for a while. The only way both those ballparks are replace is if both ballparks start to fall apart or the Red Sox and/or Cubs want to make more money in new ballparks.

"Worst trade ever - Bob Tufts for Charlie Leibrandt."

Eh, I don't know about that.
How many major league pitchers can claim an undefeated record in the show? Certainly not Leibrandt.

Here are some beefs with Entourage, RG. The writers attempt to do too much in 30 minutes; Ari's wife was a better character when she was only an occasional presence and much more passive-aggressive; Drama's weekly drama reminds me of Frank Burns after MASH's fifth season (so tired); and, yes, who pays only $79 per night to hang out with 20 hot girls on primo beach territory on the Pacific?

And, speaking of "E", why is it so taboo to be a Mets-Giants fan (hello, Polo Grounds?) but no one says boo when it's Yankees-Isles? As Kasey Kasem might say, "Ponderous, man. Ponderous."

505--what makes you think Bob Tufts thinks the Royals got the better of that trade?
Yes any stadium that has rats bigger than cats is a dump--even Boston people call it a dump because you can't sit in the seats they dont face the field it's 90-100 years old has obstructed views etc. etc.

Sandy - I grew up in Boston and went to 10 to 20 games per year. The horse through urinals, the seats that point in the wrong direction, the ever present girders, leg room for a unchkin....they haunt my senses and induce neck and back spasms just thinking about it.

The Red Sox management gave up on fan comfort a long time ago, threw a carnival in the streets and said that it's not a game, but a Disney like experience. if the team is winningm that idea sells....

I love the idea of Fenway and all that history, etc. BUT, I hate watching a game there whenever I go. I have had seats facing the "wrong" directions, had to sit in between two huge people and almost suffocate from lack of space in those tight seats and felt I was in a root cellar a couple of times while going to the bathroom or even the concession stand (in the outfield area.) Fenway is not fan-friendly. (Parking is also almost non-existent and is very expensive.)

Don't you think it's a little bit unfair to judge the Twins' trade right now? The Renteria and Bedard trades, we can see those were absolute steals. The teams that got the veteran players have come out far behind and depleted their farm systems.

However, the Twins received four minor league talents and haven't had much of a chance to see them develop. Carlos Gomez is only 22 years old, and despite being incredibly raw, is a definite five-tool talent. He's the fastest guy in the AL, and has the best ZR of any center fielder in all of Major League Baseball. He can hit the ball a mile, though he tries to do that far too much and Ks wildly as a result more often than not, but remember, he's 22.

Phil Humber was very good over the last two months and could see time as a reliever for the Twins in the future, and Kevin Mulvey had a pretty decent year for them as well and could turn into a piece in a trade.

Deolis Guerra is 19 years old and throws 97mph. His stats this year aren't particularly good, but just having that kind of talent is fantastic - think about what he could develop into in 3-4 years.

I'm not saying I'm glad Santana's gone, and Gomez has been frustrating at times to watch this year (though very entertaining and exciting as well), but I think this one's far too early to tell. Would we be leading the AL Central with Santana? Most likely, and that's depressing, but the Twins still have a shot to make the postseason. If they make the postseason and Carlos Gomez turns into a Curtis Granderson-type player over the next 2-3 years, and if Guerra can become even a #3 starter, I think the Twins won this trade handily.

It could just as easily bust, but I don't think it's fair to judge a trade with four minor-leaguers as a centerpiece 9 months after it happened, and say the team who received the youngsters lost.

Ken, let's play a game. I recall doing this once before. Let's assume that Bud finally packed it in after being given a $200 million retirement package. He went back home and opened his own custard stand and founded the Allan Huber "Bud" Selig, Jr. Institute for Sports Innovation at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

You, Ken have been elected by the owners in a 29-1 vote with only Reinsdorf voting No. (He wanted Jon Heyman.). It's your first day in power and you can do anything you want. What are the 3-5 most pressing changes you would enact if you could do it "in the best interests of baseball?" Pardon Pete Rose? Eliminate the DH? Take Joe Jackson off the permanently ineligible list? Add more playoff teams? Eliminate the three divisions? Require better ballpark food? Forbid Jon Sterling from going near any pastry tables or ice cream containers?

I am anxious to hear what changes you would implement.

Ken,

I just read Ben Shpigel's article in the Times today that Wagner's $10.5 million for next season is not insured, so the Mets are going to have to cover all of that. According to Shpigel, that means that the Mets are extremely unlikely to try and sign Francisco Rodríguez. What's your take on this?

I find that hard to believe (no insurance on Wagner) but also find it difficult to believe that he would write it without nailing it down. Is this another case of the Wilpons being CHEAP and trying to avoid paying a big premium? Ken, shed light on this.

The Mets are a rich franchise. They can afford F-Rod and whatever is owed Wagner. To suggest otherwise defies my logic.

Dennis, I guess they could combine the league stats. Not sure whose lives it impacts, one way or the other.

SBTF, true, there's still time for the trade to work out for the Twins. But so far, it sure doesn't look very good. I think they're disappointed, too.

Richie, good job on the weight! You are doing much better than I am. I am 5-9 and pretty average weight - just hoping to shed a few lbs. Did well in January, then fell behind when spring training started.

And I thought Entourage was so weak on Sunday. Sooo boring. It took Vince one lame pep talk from E to get his career back on track? And what happened to Maury Chaykin's character purchasing Medallin and re-working it? I thought that was going to be a lot of the plot this year. I guess not.

Jim, we played that game a few months ago:

http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/baseball/blog/2008/06/commissioner_for_a_day.html

Doug, I read Ben's item, and I'm going to look into that and probably feature it prominently in my Sunday Insider.

I know we did Ken. Just was wondering if you changed your mind on anything or added anything. OK. Thanks. Oh, and on Rose, I don't think we can trust the writers or the former players or anyone else. Look who they voted in recently.

I don't think clubs can get insurance that's worth a damn anymore. After the Albert Belle case in Baltimore and Mo Vaughn, most compnaies became very leery, hiked premiums and deductibles to incredible levels or got out of the busniess entirely.

Bob, I thought all the clubs had insurance on this big contracts? Didn't some club fairly recently collect when the guy had to pack it in? I just can't remember who right now. There is always a company that will insure anything for a particular price and we know the Mets can be cheap. This might be one of those cases. They should be relieved it will cost them a relatively small amount of money. If they don't have insurance on Santana's deal, it would be incredible.

Bob, did Paul Splittorff really own Reggie or was Billy's benching of him just a way to show-up Jackson?

JIm - Reggie vs. Paul was an OK matchup...it wasn't a disaster for Reggie. Billy was playing mind games per usual.

Paul Splittorff 3 HR 16RBI .274 .310 .432 in 95 AB's

but, vs.
Bob Tufts 0HR 0RBI .000 .000 .000

I don't think anyone should ever underestimate the pure hatred that Billy Martin had for Reggie Jackson. Martin wasn't the only one, either. Reggie always had a way of getting under the skin of people.

Ken,

Carried over from Rieber's blog....my response to your comment to AR.

I would love to see some type of substantiated, irrefutable proof that "pitch counts" and ONLY "pitch counts" were the sole cause of ANYONE'S arm problems.

Urban legend sir.

"but, vs.
Bob Tufts 0HR 0RBI .000 .000 .000"

Hmmm..
Impressive numbers versus Reggie sir.
I am beginning to rethink my Sojo for HOF campaign.
Or at least second guess Reggie's nomination.

I think Lloyd's of London stopped insuring these types of things because they were losing money big-time.
I thought Entourage stunk except for the cute, naked girls. Everyone was raving about the vampire show that was on before it, with Anna Paquin, but I thought it was horrid. Maybe it will pick up starting with the 2nd episode, but if it doesn't I'll be back to Al and Fats. Or Morgan and Miller, depending on which game looks more entertaining.

Jim agreed that Billy hated Reggie's guts, but guaranteed that everything he did to Reggie was approved by George. For those not around or too young to remember, although a tremendous manager, Billy Martin was a vile, vindictive drunk. He was truly a miserable human being. Reggie was an arrogant, intelligent, well-spoken black man, and even today that gets under the skin of certain types of people...back then even moreso. They also hated that Reggie could back himself up.

Ken, do you know if your ESPNews appearance will be on YouTube or somewhere else? I was nowhere near a TV at the time of your appearance.

Also, I hadn't noticed the 9/11 remembrance notation until just now: that was very honorable of you to recall those you knew who perished in the terror attacks.

Oh, no, Sandy. George liked Reggie and was at war with Billy over Reggie. It is what really led to Billy cracking up, uttering the famous line and getting canned. I generally agree with your description of both Billy and Reggie but don't think Reggie being black necessarily had anything to do with it. If he was white and acted the way he did it also would have produced plenty of enemies. Yes, some people might have disliked him because of his race, but I don't think that was the real motivating factor.

I cant believe everyone is so anti-Entourage!! That's why they got rid of Seinfeld.

I thought overall it was a solid 7, though I totally see Ken's two points.

JE, I also agree with you. I thought it should have been an hour (though I always think Entourage should be an hour). But especially the first show. As for Frank Burns...great reference. I liked Winchester myself. But I think Frank was one of the most selfish characters in TV history. As is Drama. So it was nice to see him stick up for his baby bro.

Ken, I agree with you 100000000% on the cheesy pep talk from E though. I wrote that on LaMonica's blog. I would have liked to see Vince's pain for once. I dont know if you watch 24, but they twice gave Jack a beard to show his pain.

I also thought Harvey was going to save it, but I'm glad he didn't. I'd like to see Vince deal with a flop.

I guess what I liked about it was
A) I missed it
B) I think they set the season up really well. We'll have the awesome fun episodes and great Ari moments, but they need an episode or two of work stuff.

And Ken, I write a monthly column on 516ads.com. I will send you the links about my weight loss journey. There are three articles. Since I always read you, you are ordered to read these!

As for 9/11, I luckilly only knew of one person. He was actually featured in Newsday today. He was a cameraman. I had just seen him in some stories.

The terrorists ruined my favorite view of all time. I use to love right before you hit the Mid-Town Tunnel, you go up a little hill and all of a sudden you have an amazing view of the best skyline of all time. Its just not the same anymore.

When it happened me and my friend Howie had a discussion with his wife. It was so dumb but so simple and true. She asked what was more New York the Towers or the Empire State Building. And Howie said the Towers...because there were two.

Sorry for all of you guys who lost someone today...and Bob...sorry for the insensitive comment awhile back. I never meant anything by it, but shouldn't have even tried to make a point. It was dumb and insensitive.

Bob, Neil Levin was an incredible person and his murder was a real loss for all the people of New York and New Jersey.

If the Mets can't K-Rod, a guy I would think the Mets might consider signing, Rockies reliever Brain Fuentes, is also a free agent. Fuentes is not K-Rod, but he has been a closer in the past.
He is a lefty and would come much cheaper to pay compare to what K-Rod is going to want.
My heart goes out to everyone who lost a love ones on 9/11. It was the darkest moment in the history of the United States of America.

Jim maybe you're right about George and Reggie. The line "one's a born liar the other is a convicted one" is historic. Maybe by the end, it was different.
One thing I know is, although I really hated Reggie for most of the years he was with the A's and Yankees, the night he came back to the stadium I was there and sat in the rain with my friends in the upper deck hoping he would humiliate George. And, with the help of Ron Guidry grooving him a pitch, he smashed that HR which got us all started on chanting "Steinbrenner Bleeps". A few moments later, the game was delayed by the rain we sat through all night and that was that. I never really disliked Reggie after that. One of my more memorable in person Yankee experiences.

RG - consider it long ago, far away and forgotten.

As for Billy Martin and African-American players, check out Billy Sample and Elliott Maddox also. Billy couldn't stand intelligent A/A players like Billy, Elliott and Reggie.

505 - it was only 2AB's - a groundout to short and to second

Jim, re: insurance, I'm pretty sure that you can't insure more than the first 3 years of a player's contract. And next year will be Year 4 for Wagner. I agree with you, though - that's no excuse to not go after K-Rod. It's a sunk cost. I hope to have more in Sunday's Insider.

Richie, I will absolutely read your columns. You're right, it's the least I could do.

I-505: Urban legend? This pitch-count and innings-count hating really bothers me. Analysts and executives conduct extensive research on this, and people wave it away because Tom Seaver threw 300 innings and it never bothered him. Of course you can't provide "irrefutable" proof on this. But you can certainly provide common-sense proof - proof to which many of the game's best officials adhere.

Howard: You're right, terrible job by Acta, not re-positioning Milledge.

JE, I doubt you can see the appearance on YouTube. I thought the appearance went all right, although I was thirsty and stumbled a couple of times.

Thanks Ken. I'll put it up tomorrow in case my other friends here wants to see. Hopefully it can inspire anyone that wants to lose weight!

And thanks Bob.

I really find the new website very annoying to move around in. The post went back to their old format. I wish Newsday would.

Ken, thanks for the information on insuring players. It's good information to know. If only the first three years can be insured, that's another reason to avoid long (5, 6 and 7 year) contracts. I do find it hard to believe that the Yankees are hanging out there with A-Rod's deal.

The Mets absolutely should go after K-Rod. The new stadium will produce new revenues and the franchise should at least try to obtain a top notch closer, even if they don't ultimately sign him.

Billy Martin was an equal opportunity hater: Ed Whitson, Goose Gossage, etc. I meant that the team didn't hate Reggie because of his race.

But Billy did.....and Ed Whitson had his best year playing in SD with a team that included a buncg of John Birch members..

The worst trade of 2008 was not even listed: Atlanta's ill-advised dumping of Mark Teixeira for Casey Kotchman and a minor-league pitcher. Teixeira immediately picked up where he left off when he departed the American League in midseason 2007, while Kotchman was completely baffled in his first look at National League pitching. Had they kept Teixeira, the Braves could have stayed in playoff contention, as the collapse of their offense was even more devastating than the plague of season-ending injuries to their pitching staff (Smoltz, Hudson, Glavine, Soriano, Moylan, etc.). Francoeur's season-long slump, coupled with the lack of a No. 4 hitter after the Teixeira trade, killed the Braves' chances. Even Chipper lost his power, not to mention 40 points on his batting average. The Braves need speed (Josh Anderson is already there) and reliable pitching (no more Blaine Boyer or Jeff Bennett to give games away). Giving low-dollar, incentive-laden deals to Glavine, Smoltz, and Hampton could help, especially if Smoltz returns to a relief role.

Bob, let's be clear on this: Everything is the same - everything - except Reggie is white; Billy Martin likes Reggie? That is really incredible, if true. I thought Billy was a great on-field manager, but if that is really true (Billy hating Reggie because of his race) then he was really an all-time sicko. That would make it even more ridiculous that George hired him 5 times.

No - the same situation. Billy loved a guy like Mickey Rivers more than players like Sample, Maddox - and Reggie.

Thanks for clearing that up Bob. Billy was a complicated man, made even more so by booze. Too bad. He could have been one of the best. I have read everything available about him from books to articles and listened to plenty of interviews, the most recent being Gossage on Center Stage. Billy and George was the worst pairing of personalities possible. They both had serious problems, to say the least.