5.30.2007

In case you missed it ...

... Kobe Bryant asked to be traded from the LA Lakers. Yes, the salaries work out to trade Ray Allen for Kobe straight up. No, it's never going to happen, because Kobe has a full no-trade clause, and if he is unhappy in LA, no way does he want to come here. Plus, he has a $13 million escalator clause in his contract, to be paid by the team that acquires him. Think Clay Bennett wants to pony up that kind of money?

... Jeff Weaver is returning to the M's rotation next week. I am not making this up. (You'll have to scroll down a little to find it. You'll also find a nice little shout out by Baker for HWTN -- pretty cool!)

... The NCAA actually did something right, granting the Duke lacrosse players an extra year of eligibility. I'll have more thoughts on that in the morning.

Until then, get your rally caps on -- M's trail by two in the top of the eighth. UPDATE: M's lose, 8-6. Disappointing end to the ninth -- really, is it that tough to lay off a breaking ball that bounces 12 inches in front of the plate? -- but I actually feel pretty good about the M's right now. I'll explain why in a full post in the morning.

7 comments:

Jim Anderson said...

Amazing: K-Rod strikes out Ibanez and Guillen and Broussard almost without throwing a single strike.

And right after Vidro shows 'em how to work K-Rod for a walk.

What the #$?!.

Nuss said...

I was thinking the same thing. It's one thing to bite on a tough breaking ball -- Broussard's strike three was one -- but it's a whole 'nother thing to swing at a pitch that never makes it to the plate, a la Guillen and Ibanez. That's inexcusable.

That said, once I come down from my disappointment over the way that ninth inning ended, I'm going to feel pretty good about what happened in Anaheim. I'll explain why in the morning once I actually cool down.

Anna said...

I followed Baker's link over here. Great blog.

Weaver and Ramirez were just awful signings. I know that 5.5 games are a lot to make up in the AL West, but I still think that the Wild Card is within reach. So at the All Star Break, I really hope that someone other than Bavasi is calling the shots when it comes to signing players.

I'm looking forward to reading about why you feel pretty good about what happened in Anaheim. I'm definitely disappointed.

Nuss said...

The problem with chasing the Wild Card is that there are more teams to jump over, and the teams you're trying to jump over are very good.

If you look at the coolstandings graph on the previous post, you'll see the M's actually have a lower chance of winning the Wild Card -- now just 4.5 percent after tonight's loss.

Always easier to catch one team than it is to pass multiple teams.

Jim Anderson said...

I'll take Morrow's strikeout of Vladimir Guerrero in the 8th as a moral victory. That was just awesome.

Nuss said...

The most awesome thing was that it was on a slider. I kept thinking that if he throws another fastball in that sequence, it's going to get killed. He threw a so-so splitter that Vlad fouled off, then threw that great slider.

Gives me hope he might become a starter yet.

Anonymous said...

You'll also find a nice little shout out by Baker for HWTN -- pretty cool!

Atta kid.