Happy 30th to the Flyin' Hawaiian

Shane Victorino turns 30 years old today. This marks the day that the last of the starting 7 hit the Big Three-Oh (only starting 7 due to Werth's departure and no official RF).

Starting 7's Age:
Raul Ibanez/38 (June 2, 1972)
Placido Polanco/35 (October 10, 1975)
Jimmy Rollins/32 (November 2, 1978)
Chase Utley/31 (December 17, 1978)
Carlos Ruiz/31 (January 22, 1979)
Ryan Howard/31 (November 19, 1979)
Shane Victorino/30 (November 30, 1980)

I'm very pessimistic about next year's offense. I honestly believe everyone's prime years are behind them and the decline has already begun. Nobody is in the 27-29 year old range where players typically excel. Instead everyone is on the wrong side of 30 and that's a bad thing. Injuries are harder to bounce back from. Aches and pains are more achy and painful. This isn't to say Howard won't go dump 45 balls over the fence next season or Rollins won't score 100 runs, but baseball statistician/historian Bill James would point to the age of this lineup as a major concern. That is why Domonic Brown is needed for his youth and salary relief. The Phils desperately need him to hit next season because they can't really afford for him not to.

WSBGMs Album Covers - Vol. 3

Scariest Image Ever

This was sent to us on our Facebook page with this message-
"Hey Cashman,

We'll take Jeter to play 3b!!"

This GM says no!

Beef N' Beer for a Cause

One of WSBGM's own, furiousBall and his make-believe girlfriend are training for the Disney Marathon this January. Along with running around the woods in some way-too tight running pants and agonizing over which headband really will make his eyes sparkle, Van (his supposed real name) and his make-believe girlfriend are raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. furiousBall and the WSBGMs team would like to invite you to come help support a very worthwhile cause by joining them for a Beef N' Beer at the Marlton Tavern in Marlton, NJ on Sunday December 19th between 1-5pm. Tickets are $30 a piece ($15 for children) and includes a swanky buffet and one drink ticket.

Now for a couple of serious words from furiousBall...

"We are raising money together to run the Disney Marathon, I know everyone has a special story, but this one is honestly very near and dear to us. My girlfriend's 10 year old cousin Alayna, was diagnosed with Leukemia this past spring and is about to start what is hopefully her last super intense treatment."

There will be prizes raffled and furiousBall's head will be shaved on site (the ponytail will be donated to Locks Of Love and any remainder clippings will be sculpted into a profile of Steve Jeltz or Von Hayes - depending on the amount of hair left over). For the day of the marathon, Van is going to dye his hair purple in honor of Alayna's favorite color.

To purchase tickets, please email van@furiousball.com. If you are unable to attend, but would like to donate to Team All For Layna, please visit their team page.

Thanksgiving Turkey- Baseball Style

Love me some turkey, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to remove the laces before consuming.


Here's the Phillies' resident turkey, Joe Blanton, ready to gobble down some grub as per usual.


Speaking of turkey, here is Philly's ex-jive turkey, Allen Iverson, in Turkey where he now plays professional basketball.

Happy Thanksgiving. Now go enjoy the food, family, and fun of the holiday. And if you don't have any of that, there's always alcohol.

What is Derek Jeter worth?

I would like to begin this post by stating I am not a Derek Jeter fan, but I do respect him as a player. What he has done over the past decade and a half has truly been amazing. Not so long ago, he was one of baseball's best players, but now he is clearly in decline and with his 10 year $189M contract coming to an end it is time for a new deal to be struck. The Yankees have an astronomical payroll, but even they need to be mindful of how much money and for how long they invest it. It has been reported that Jeter wants 4 or more years and likely $20M per season...unreasonable. The Yankees have offered him a 3 year deal for $45M...a good faith extension to their longest tenured player who has only known the feel of Yankee pinstripes. Jeter's not having it, he wants more. Why?

Facts:
Jeter is 36 years old. In 16 seasons (15 full) he's racked up 1685 R, 2926 H, 468 2B, 61 3B, 234 HR, 1135 RBI, 323 SB, and a slash line of .314/.385/.452. He is an 11 time All-Star, 5 time Gold Glove winner (some undeserved), and been named the AL's Silver Slugger at shortstop 4 times. He is the Yankees' captain. He handles himself with grace in the media and is the face of the franchise. In 147 postseason games he has batted .305/.850 and has bee a member of 5 World Series champions. He's Cooperstown bound following retirement.

Last season he batted .270/.710, his worst season ever, by far. That's a red flag.

Then there's the argument of the intangibles. I am willing to concede that Jeter is a great man and has been everything the Yankees could have ever dreamed of and more. How much is that worth monetarily? The leading factor in determining a contraction is current and supposed future production. Jeter was fairly compensated during his career (Baseball-Reference lists his career earnings at $205,430,000) and 3 years/$45M is a far greater offer than he would receive on the open market. If he were truly to test free agency I would be surprised to see anyone go higher than 3 years/$30M, and that might be a stretch. Players on the downside of their careers that have seen a drastic drop in production in their contract year typically don't get big deals. Derek Jeter is not your typical baseball player though, he's a legend.

I've been listening to XM radio and Yankee fans are calling saying that the Yankees are low-balling Jeter and are disrespecting him. Tons of them have said, "Just give him the checkbook and have him decide his own contract." Really? I'm willing to bet these same Yankees fans are gonna be pissed when Derek Jeter is forced to DH duties and is barely batting .260/.700 and is a financial burden. Like I said above, Jeter is a legend. I'd love to see him stick around into his 40's and continue to rack up hits, but the bottom line is those hits are going to be coming fewer and farther between...just how long do the Yankees want to be paying for that?

Yankees offer to Jeter- 3 yr $45M
	Just Right
	Not Enough
	Too Much
pollcode.com free polls

*The Phillies will soon encounter the same situation with the face of their franchise and longest tenured member- Jimmy Rollins. J-Roll is not of the same caliber of Jeter, but he is the Phils version of Jeter. It'll be interesting to see how Amaro handles this delicate endeavor.

Name that Phillie: "Prospect" Edition

Hard to believe at one time this guy was a highly sought after commodity. Now...well, not so much. Go ahead, name that Phillie.

Funner

With Roy Halladay everything's funner.

Love Letter to Chase Utley

Always Sunny is always funny. All I can say is that I wish I'd have written that letter to Chase Utley.

*I know this is old, but it's the offseason, who cares.

Meet Your 2011 Ball Girl Hopefuls

Bios:
*Courtesy of Phillies.com

Elizabeth hails from Havertown, Pa., and is a student at the University of Maryland, where she serves as a resident assistant and works hard on community development. She's also served as the head of marketing and fundraising for her ice hockey team. "I really like getting out there, getting to know new people," Elizabeth says. "I love having a sense of accomplishment and helping people."

Genevieve, from Levittown, Pa., is employed as a coordinator for new media and marketing for all sports at Villanova University after a successful athletic career as a softball player at Hofstra University in New York. She says she would use the Phillies Ballgirl experience as a platform to get more young women interested in athletics and sports marketing. "You don't see a lot of females in the sports industry, especially in professional baseball," she says, "so it's something that I aspire to do." She's also an aspiring actress who will appear in an upcoming film about softball, "How Do You Know," starring Reese Witherspoon.

Jenna is a recent graduate of Rowan University in her home state of New Jersey, and she's a former college softball co-captain who has learned a lot from various charity events her team put on over the years. "Just being able to help someone who needs help," Jenna said when asked why she loves to give back to the community. "That's basically it. And if we're capable of helping someone else, then there's no reason why we shouldn't do it."

Julie, a Tabernacle, N.J., native, plays first base for the softball team at Burlington County College, where she uses her height (she's 5-foot-10) to stretch for tough outs. But this Culinary Arts major also makes big plays in the community, where she's been an active volunteer for various charitable causes through softball. "Helping animals or helping people makes me feel good about myself," Julie says. "I'm a really happy person, really outgoing, really active, and I love getting people involved with the things I do."

Mary Kate is a student at Gloucester County College who grew up in Pitman, N.J. She plays softball and helps out in the community. That's why she's excited at the possibility of combining both in this special role. "I've always put on my uniform and had pride doing that," she says. "So to put on a Phillies Ballgirl uniform would be unbelievable. ... An awesome experience."

To cast your fan vote, go to the online ballot here.

My vote? Jenna, she's a cutie.

Bunch of Minor Stuff Makes for a Major Post

Dan Meyer, the 29 year old lefty reliever, was signed to a minor league deal this past week. He was very effective in 2009 with the Marlins (3.09 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over 58.1 IP in 71 appearances), but has been highly erratic otherwise. The former 1st round pick of the Braves comes in at little cost with possible upside, so the deal makes sense. Career: 3-9, 103 G, 113.2 IP, 92 K, 5.46 ERA, and 1.55 WHIP with Atlanta, Oakland, and Florida.



Jeff Larish, the former Tiger and A's 3B/1B/OF, was inked to a minor league deal as well. He's 28 years old and has spent part of the past 3 seasons in the majors racking up 245 at bats in 101 games while batting .224/.688. In the minors he's shown power- 99 homeruns over 6 seasons with an .865 OPS. He's unlikely to make the 25-man roster out of spring training, but wouldn't be surprised to see him during the season as a fill-in given his versatility.


Justin De Fratus was just added to 40-man roster. He took a major step forward this season posting a 1.94 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in Single and Double-A. The righthanded reliever has been impressive in the Arizona Fall League thus far, striking out 11 in 7 scoreless frames. His addition to the 40-man roster brings the Phillies total up to 36 players.

De Fratus had to be added or the Phils would have run the risk of him being selected in the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Other notable Phillies minor leaguers that are on the bubble include Matthew Rizzotti, D'Arby Myers, and Joe Savery. There's room for all 3 to be added to the 40-man roster. Also, Brian Bocock could easily be cut from the 40-man to make additional room if need be (he's worthless).

Rizzotti had a breakout season, climbing the whole way up to Triple-A. 2010: .343/.985 with 17 homeruns. Although he's blocked by Ryan Howard at his natural position of 1st base, and there's been rumblings about a possible transition to leftfield. He deserves to stick around for another year at least. Allowing players of his potential to slip away is foolish.

Myers has been a bust since being drafted in the 4th round of 2006. The outfielder has no power, on base skills, or any redeeming quality that warrants protection. My guess is the Phils could leave him unprotected and no team would even bother selecting him. He is just 21, but his upside seems limited, if there's any at all.

Savery is another disappointment. Philly's 1st round pick in 2007 has not performed well as a pitcher. He hasn't been horrible, nor has he been good. Numbers: 28-31, 90 G, 455.1 IP, 4.29 ERA, and 1.54 WHIP. What he does have going for him though is that he's a lefty and he can hit. He was given a chance to showcase his batting skills at the end of the 2010 season and posted a .348/.826 line in 46 at bats. Perhaps he could serve as long relief and a pinch hitter in the majors. Since there's room for him on the 40-man roster, protecting him seems prudent.

Mickey Morandini was chosen to manage the Single-A Williamsport Crosscutters. He's just another part of the reuniting theme the Phils have going on this offseason, as they've also added Ryne Sandberg and Juan Samuel to the fold.

Rumors:
Amaro is interested in left-handers like Hisanori Takahashi, Pedro Feliciano, Brian Fuentes and Arthur Rhodes. There's still the possibility that they could bring back Chad Durbin too. Some righthanded outfielders are connected to the Phils as well. Carlos Quentin, Jeff Francoeur, Magglio Ordonez, and Jermaine Dye are all rumored to be on Amaro's radar.

Of those names Feliciano and Fuentes excite me the most. The outfielders listed are all questionable and likely not any better than our in-house option of Ben Francisco.

WSBGMs Album Covers - Vol. 2

WSBGMs Album Covers - Vol 1

Roy Halladay- 2010 NL Cy Young

Congratulations to Roy Halladay who was just named the 2010 NL Cy Young. Doc becomes the 5th pitcher to win the award for best hurler in each league, joining Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Gaylord Perry.

Halladay's 2010: 21-10, 250.2 IP, 9 CG, 4 SHO, 30 BB, 219 K, 2.44 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 1 perfect game during the regular season and 1 no-hitter in the playoffs. Dominance!

*As seen above, Halladay will be gracing the cover of MLB 2K11.

Most Unnecessary Poll Ever

In case you missed it the Pittsburgh Pirates just tricked a new chump into managing their team- Clint Hurdle. ESPN.com took it upon themselves to run this thought provoking poll- Will the Pirates make the playoffs under Clint Hurdle? Really, was that necessary? Unless Hurdle sticks around for a couple decades it's doubtful the Buccos rise from the ashes like the phoenix and bring the franchise back to notoriety. That poll is like asking Will more explicit pictures of Paris Hilton surface? or Will McDonald's scrap their menu and become a vegan/health conscious fast food restaurant? The question is rhetorical.

Facts:
*The Pirates have suffered through 18 straight losing seasons (most in MLB history).

*Their offense is as about as bad as it gets- 587 runs (NL worst), .242 average (NL worst), and .678 OPS (2nd to last in NL).

*Their pitching is also about as bad as it gets- 5.00 ERA (MLB worst), 71 quality starts (2nd to last in NL).

*And for the trifecta, their defense is as bad as it gets- 127 errors.

*Clint Hurdle has the 2nd worst winning percentage (.461) out of active managers with at least 1000 decisions. He's only experienced one winning season out of the 8 he had with the Rockies.

The Pirates aren't going to the playoffs under Clint Hurdle!

McCann- Brian or Bryan?

One is an perennial all-star (5 straight seasons) catcher for the Atlanta Braves and the other is a rookie cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys.

While watching the lowly Cowgirls throttle the New Jersey Giants on Sunday I heard a name familiar to me- Bryan McCann. This McCann was black and fast, much unlike the sloth-toed whiteboy catcher that blasts bombs against the Phightins. Bryan of the NFL had his first career interception yesterday and returned it 101 yards for a touchdown. Meanwhile, Brian earned himself another Silver Slugger award.

Other Same Name Syndromes:
*The Ryan Braun's
*The Carpenter's (Not the band)
__________________________________________________


2 Years 4 Contreras:
Reports have Jose Contreras nearing a 2 year deal for $5M, which includes an option for a 3rd year plus incentives. The Cuban will be turning 39 soon, but in his first season of relief did a good job striking out over a batter per inning and posting a 3.34 ERA in 56.2 innings worked. My take- 2 years is risky for an elder reliever that's only been pitching out of the bullpen for 1 season, but it's a risk that's probably worth taking.

Omar Vizquel- Last 80's Relic

Debuting in the 1980's means that a player is now well into his 40's and has been in the Majors for over 2 decades/20 years. With the recent career threatening injury to Jamie Moyer that leaves one lone gray-haired brittle-boned solider propped up on the battlefield of the baseball diamond...Omar Vizquel.

Vizquel remains a defensive whiz and has handled the bat well enough to warrant a utility role. In fact, the ChiSox made it their first offseason move to re-sign him for that same gig next year. This past season Omar reached career milestones of 1000 walks and 400 stolen bases. He's 201 hits shy of 3000 and 64 RBI short of 1000. At age 43 (will be 44 in April), he'll have to remain in excellent shape to continue to earn playing time and the opportunity to accomplish those goals. Even without the magical 3000 hit distinction he's a likely Hall-of-Famer, much in the mold of the defensive geniuses of years past like Ozzie Smith and Luis Aparicio.

Career #'s: .273/.338/.379, 2799 H, 1414 R, 444 2B, 75 3B, 80 HR, 936 RBI, 400 SB, 11 Gold Gloves (and actually deserved them), and a 3 time All-Star in 2850 G over 22 seasons with the Mariners, Indians, Giants, Rangers, and White Sox.

*Last offseason Vizquel was being floated as a possible replacement for Eric Bruntlett for the Phils as utility infielder. Instead we got Juan Castro and Wilson Valdez.

Phillies Pop Art

News from Week Past:
*Shane Victorino won his 3rd consecutive Gold Glove.

*Juan Samuel was hired to be the new 3rd base coach and handle outfield defense.

*Pete Orr was signed to a minor league deal. Versatile veteran that can play nearly every position on the field and hit better than Juan Castro or Eric Bruntlett (although that's like saying Sly Stalone is taller than Tom Cruise, they're both still midgets...whoops, I meant little people, sorry).

*Eddie Bonine, a 29 years old, who has been in Detroit the past 3 seasons was signed on Friday. He pitches to contact and doesn't have very good numbers- 4.74 ERA/1.54 WHIP and only 54 K's in 129 IP. This is only a minor league deal, so he's Triple-A filler.

*Catcher Erik Kraft, 30 years old and formerly of the Pirates was also inked to a minor league deal. He hit .118 in 34 at bats for Pittsburgh this season, but has been decent in the minors the past few seasons with the bat and behind the plate. Added bonus- he's made 5 relief appearances over his 9 minor league seasons.

*Amaro admitted to focusing on bullpen help especially a lefty reliever.

Chase Utley For GloveLock

We received this in our inbox today. At least Chase got something out of getting hosed* out of another GG...

"GloveLock is proud to announce an advertising partnership with Philadelphia Phillie Chase Utley.

GloveLock Inc. was formed in 2000 after many frustrating years of watching great defensive players get their rightful award stolen by Silver Sluggers or fan favorites. We specialize in assisting those players that excel in the areas of fielding statistics (UZR, Defensive Win Shares, etc.) in overcoming typical obstacles that hinder Gold Glove accumulation.

Our record for getting our deserving clients Gold Gloves is unmatched. Take our first client, helmeted glove-man John Olerud, who was flat robbed in 1999 when the Gold Glove went to Rafael Palmeiro. With the help of GloveLock, Olerud secured his award in three of the next four years. Also, consider that we did not represent a single American League shortstop this season. If Cliff Pennington or Alexei Ramirez had hired us, Derek Jeter would not have pilfered that award.

So here is to Chase Utley, winner of the 2011 Second Base Gold Glove..."

The MLB Veterans

WSBGMs would like to thank all the men and women of this country that have or currently are serving in our armed forces. Happy Veterans Day.

The following is a list of every teams' "veteran" by service time.

AL East:
Baltimore Orioles- Brian Roberts/2001. When healthy is a top notch secondbaseman. When injured is merely a financial burden on a losing team.

Boston Red Sox- Tim Wakefield/1995. The knuckleballer has announced 2011 will be his last. Guess we gotta hope RA Dickey stays around for a couple of decades now to keep the pitch alive.

New York Yankees- Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera/1995. The Holy Trinity are winding down their careers, but are still driving forces of the Evil Empire. Jeter and Mo are free agents, but it's hard to imagine them in any other uniform. Just picture Jeter in a Royals jersey...hahahaha.

Tampa Bay Rays- Carl Crawford/2002. The Devil Rays organization's best player of all-time, although all-time only started in the 90's. Whatever, this man is a straight up playa, but he is all but gone, as he's a free agent and he'll command more than Tampa is will to shell out.

Toronto Blue Jays- Vernon Wells/1999. Signed a humongous contract (7 years/$126M) and got humongous in the process (230 pounds), which hampered his centerfield defense and base stealing abilities. He'll be a Jay for the foreseeable future with that chunk of change coming his way.

AL Central:
Chicago White Sox- Paul Konerko/1999. The converted catcher has been a Windy City mainstay for over a decade now, but those days may be numbered as he too is a free agent and will only sign for what he views as fair. C'mon Kenny Williams and Ozzie Guillen, make it happen.

Cleveland Indians- Travis Hafner/2003. Pronk is a dud. Nothing but a DH that can't really hit all that well.

Detroit Tigers- Brandon Inge/2001. Just re-upped with Motor City for 2 more years. Never hits for a high average, but he is consistent...consistently average.

Kansas City Royals- David DeJesus/2003. KC picked up his option for 2011, but speculation has him being shopped around. He's a good player that gets over looked because America forgets the Royals are a MLB team.

Minnesota Twins- Michael Cuddyer/2001. This guy plays all over the place (OF, 2B, 3B, 1B) and has a solid bat (although most bats are solid, hollow wouldn't do much good now would it?).

AL West:
Los Angeles Angels- Scot Shields/2001. Shields at one time was possibly the best set-up in the business. Now he's nothing but an afterthought.

Oakland Athletics- Mark Ellis/2002. Relatively unnoticed due to bay venue, but he is a good secondbaseman and continues to be a good value to the A's.

Seattle Mariners- Ichiro Suzuki/2001. At first I resented him. I was ignorant. He's become one of my favorite players to follow. I would love for him to play CF for the Phils and bat leadoff.

Texas Rangers- Michael Young/2000. This man is a hitting machine- 1848 hits in 9 full seasons and 2 partial ones. A player that certainly deserved to finally reach the postseason.

NL East:
Atlanta Braves- Chipper Jones/1993. Larry! Larry! Larry! Hate him. Future Hall-of-Famer.

Florida Marlins- Josh Johnson/2005. Great pitcher that just can't stay healthy enough to fully get the respect and accolades he's due. Signed an extension with the Fish, but they'll likely trade him away soon because he's making more than league minimum.

New York Mets- Pedro Feliciano/2002. The lefty is a free agent and it's doubtful he's back in New York unless it's with the Yankees. This is a guy I could see Ruben Amaro Jr. signing for the Phils bullpen.

Philadelphia Phillies- Jimmy Rollins/2000. With 2011 being his last year on the contract, he soon main gain Jeter status in Philly where as the organization knows his skills are diminished but are nearly forced to re-sign him due to public demand/image.

Washington Nationals- Ryan Zimmerman/2005. If the Nationals continue to progress, expect Zimmerman to be a Gnat for a very long time.

NL Central:
Chicago Cubs- Carlos Zambrano/2001. Nearly released this summer due mental instability, but the Cubbies are probably glad they held onto him because of his huge contract and the fact that he remains a damn good pitcher.

Cincinnati Reds- Aaron Harang/2003. Has either been injured or a big time loser over the past few seasons. His days with the Reds are probably done.

Houston Astros- Wandy Rodriguez/2005. Old Nut Sack Face Ed Wade traded away the team's two stalwarts in Oswalt and Berkman and Wandy is what they're left with.

Milwaukee Brewers- Corey Hart and Chris Capuano/2004. One wears his sunglasses at night while the other sounds like something you'd order at Starbucks.

Pittsburgh Pirates- Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit/2005. Duke sucks, Maholm has flatlined, and No-Mitt Doumit is overrated. And we wonder why the Buccos have had losing seasons for nearly a quarter of a century (slight exaggeration...only slight).

St. Louis Cardinals- Albert Pujols/2001. Should remain a Cardinal for life. Should. One of the best hitters baseball has ever witnessed.

NL West:
Arizona Diamondbacks- Stephen Drew and Chris Young/2006. One is JD's brother so Phillies fans have a natural aversion to him and the other has a forgettable name (seeing as there's another Chris Young in the majors).

Colorado Rockies- Todd Helton/1997. Future Hall-of-Famer. Go ahead, debate me on it.


Los Angeles Dodgers- Jonathan Broxton/2005. Moonshot '08. Dramatic comeback in 9th in '09. Knocked out of the closer's role in '10. Philly owned!

San Diego Padres- Tim Stauffer/2005. Who?

San Francisco Giants- Matt Cain/2005. Sweet like Sugarcain. The man has a 3.45 career ERA yet a 67-62 record. He's like the Cole Hamels of the West Coast.

Off Season, Off Topic - Jeter's Gold Glove

Derek Jeter won the Gold Glove yesterday. Here's what him winning means to me:

1) I don't hate Derek Jeter, the person. I don't know him. I'm sure he's a fine human. Who am I to know or to judge? But I do hate the Yankees and I hate perception of Derek Jeter. This Gold Glove win validates my feelings.

How do you win a Gold Glove in the same week that people are writing articles about whether it's time for you to find a new position? There's only one way: your name is Derek Jeter and people's opinions of you are so super-inflated that you are immune to the abundant negative facts about your play. Like...

Derek Jeter is clutch, even though he has never been amongst the leaders for RBIs after the 7th inning that tie or take the lead.

Derek Jeter is clutch in the playoffs, even though is overall playoff numbers are relatively the same or in some categories worse than his regular season numbers.

Derek Jeter is the ideal leader and winner in baseball, even though he is the only team captain to have his team lose a 3-0 lead in the playoffs.

Derek Jeter is a Gold Glove winner even though his range is subjectively (everyone knows he's as slow as shit) and objectively (UZR) one of the league's worst.

And despite hitting .270/.340/.370 with rapidly deteriorating defensive skills, he'll get $15-20 million per year for 3-4 years.

Of course, who needs stats and facts. Certainly not Jeter himself, who once told Sports Illustrated, "You can take those stat guys and throw them out the window."

That's right, nothing to see here. Keep moving people...

I hate "Derek Jeter."

2) The Gold Glove is a joke. We all already knew this. Ever since Bobby Abreu won one and Rafael Palmeiro won one after only playing 28 games of defense. We really can't be upset now that Jeter won his 5th. It's a farce and should be treated as so.

However, it's still wrong and it is a legitimate organization pretending to give out a legitimate award. Giving Jeter this award is like the Academy giving a "Best Picture" Oscar to "Howard The Duck." Or the Insane Clown Posse winning a Grammy.

3) The American League managers and coaches who voted for Derek Jeter should be ashamed. I don't necessarily expect guys like Ron Washington or Joe Maddon to be checking the UZR leaderboard before voting but they should have enough common baseball knowledge and perceptive abilities to see that Jeter roamed short like a constipated old lady.

I would suggest the voting should go to somebody else but who? The fans vote everything on popularity. And so do the baseball writers, for that matter. I'm starting to think they should just come up with some sort of Sabermetric formula and skip voting all together.

Family Guy Speaks Truth

Hahahahahahaha, yet more Mets misery. Enjoy rebuilding you jackholes!

Moyer Injured In Winter League

Jamie Moyer pitched his first professional game for the Geneva Cubs of the NY-Penn League in 1984. Twenty six years later, it looks like Moyer has pitched his last professional game after leaving a start for the Escogido Lions of the Dominican Winter League with an elbow injury.

The exact injury is unknown but Escogido's manager, former hand-urinater Moises Alou, told reporters that the injury was "career threatening."

This story saddens me a little because I like seeing players leave the game on their own terms, not because of injury.

If Jamie Moyer would have successfully completed his rehab this winter, there would have been scores of articles written about why he should retire. I'm sure if I searched hard enough, I'd find an article or blog post about why he shouldn't have been in the Dominican Winter League. Their reasons? He doesn't need the money. He can't perform like he did in his prime. Why spend time in minors/the Dominican/the minors/etc. after being in the majors so long? The media did the same thing with Rickey Henderson when he continued his playing career in the independent league a few years ago. Apparently, once a great player reaches a certain age, the media feel it is their right to decide when he should stop playing and their duty to protect that player from "ruining their legacy" or whatever rubbish they print as an excuse to be pompous decision makers for a player's career.

I applaud Jamie Moyer for attempting to continue his career at age 47. Something tells me that if he wouldn't have made a big league roster this spring he would have gone to AAA or for Camden or York, hoping to earn a return to the majors. The love and dedication to baseball that Jamie Moyer still shows, even after 26 professional years, is refreshing especially when the majority of baseball players seem to emphasize money and ego instead.

With this injury, it seems Moyer will avoid the critiquing, the second-guessing and the intrusion of the media into his decision of when to retire. However, unfortunately he may have lost something that I'm sure he valued, the ability to leave the game of baseball when he was ready.

More Mets Misery

Here at WSBGMs we find joy in the Mets misery. Whether that be an epic collapse late in September, owner's investment scandal, having Andy Martino as a beat writer, a closer that is psycho, or the latest...a clubhouse manager that bets on baseball.

New York Mets clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels has been with the team since 1976 and is in the middle of a gambling investigation by the NYPD. Samuels has admitted to betting on baseball on at least one occasion and has also bet on NFL games. It's believed that he even "borrowed" money from the organization without their knowledge to payoff debts from failed bets. On Thursday the Mets suspended him. Guess he can kiss his Hall of Fame plaque goodbye.

The World According to Scott Boras

Not Dominic, not Domonic, but Dominique. WTF?!
I'm sure you remember Domonic Brown had his name spelled "Dominic" for a couple years before finally correcting everybody. He might need to correct people on the pronunciation, too. His first name is pronounced Dominique, like former NBA slam dunking superstar Dominique Wilkins. At least that's what Scott Boras told Todd Zolecki. He said he got the correct pronunciation from Brown's father.

Hamels Gets His Respect

I profusely apologize to Ol' Girl Parts Cole Hamels.
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Remembering Sparky Anderson:
(From WSBGMs Phillies Phlashback Phriday: The Sparkys)
The legendary Sparky Anderson passed away yesterday. He was 76 years old. George "Sparky" Anderson never really amounted to much as a player. In fact, his lone season in the majors was with the Phillies in 1959 batting a lowly .218 in 152 games at secondbase. What Sparky lacked in talent on the playing field he more than made up for in the dugout, where he gained fame. Anderson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2000 as a manager for steering the Big Red Machine to back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976 and then the Tigers in 1984. In 26 years of managing he racked up a 2194-1834 record with 5 pennants and 3 championships for Cincinnati and Detroit. Holds the distinction as the only MLB player to be born in South Dakota and be a Hall of Famer. Also had his #10 jersey retired by the Reds.