Hinske probably had trouble putting the squeeze on the bat last year. It's sometimes hard for a player to rebound from a hand injury, even seasons later. It's not always cool like it was for the cat in 2002.

Mike, the link for item #2 is faulty. You coded it as "tp://" instead of "http://".

Hmmmmmmmmm , I wonder if could we see VITO in 2006. He is a professional hitter that is for sure.

Practice chant. VITO VITO VITO VITO VITO VITO

I don't usually post from work, but I had to this time, because I've discovered the Best Anagram Ever.

What is BATTER'S BOX but a place where people come to ABSORB TEXT?

http://www.topprospectalert.com/azfall/041017.html
COMN for the VITO link.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/Stats/stats_AFL_784.shtml
COMN for the AFL stats.

FWIW, Hill has played one game at 3b and one game at 2B so far (out of 8).

No matter who he loses in free agency or via trade, Ricciardi isn't going to morph into Whitey Herzog.

Maybe he should just try Whitey's haircut first and see how that goes.

Mike, the link for item #2 is faulty. You coded it as "tp://" instead of "http://".

Ooops. Thanks for the heads up. It's been fixed!

Hinske probably had trouble putting the squeeze on the bat last year. It's sometimes hard for a player to rebound from a hand injury, even seasons later. It's not always cool like it was for the cat in 2002.

Wow. Just wow. Nice job!

200 million points for identifying "Cool for Cats" by Squeeze. An absolutely terrific song!

You also win a picture of a cat:



and a picture of a sea creature of some sort. How about a dolphin?



w00t.

I don't often get them, but when I get them...BOOYAAAHH!!!.

I don't expect Hinske to ever become a good hitter again. If there is a team out there willing to take a chance on him, I would deal him, even if it meant getting nothing in return.

How much salary would you be willing to eat Jays1fan1?

I doubt any team would be willing to take on his full salary.

I would only deal him if a team was willing to take his entire salary. I doubt any team will either, but I would sure find out if there is.

If no one is willing to take him (for nothing), I would give him another year before eating any of his salary. Considering Hill is prabably a year away as it is.

Count me among the Hinske optimists. I dont know that he'll ever become the hitter we thought he might be after his rookie season, or if he'll play well enough to justify his contract, but I certainly believe that he'll rebound and have a "good" year next year.

Either way I agree with Spencer when he says "Toronto is probably best served by bringing him back and playing him every day, warts and all".

Instead of eating Hinske's salary, why not take someone else's disappointment in return (for equal contract) and hope they turn around? It's been done before, sometimes it works out for one of the teams, other times it doesn't. One example is when Milwaukee and LA traded bad contracts with Devon White and Marquis Grissom.

It would have to depend on the player and the size of the contract. My vote was to try to do a Mike Lowell deal involving the two, but that may not be realistic.

Holy cow, Moffatt, where did you get a picture of my cat? They could at least be siblings:

That's a picture of my little kitten Neko. I hope nobody understands Japanese because they'll make fun of the name. :)

Very cute cat. I'm a big fan of white domestic short-hair cats, which it appears yours is as well.

Nicely done with the cats, guys. If I had a picture of my white haired cat, I'd post it too. He's pretty shy though - doesn't care much for the paparazzi.

The closest comp I could find for Hinske in terms of position and career path was Pete Ward. Tom Tresh was not too far off, but did not fall as far after his ROY campaign; in fact Tresh's sophomore season was even better than his first.

It seems likely that one of Hill, Hinske, Adams and Hudson will not be with the team by the end of next season, but my best guess is that it will not be decided until June or July, and the performance of each of them during the intervening period will be important.

Our Own Craig "The Animal" Burley got a plug over at the Will Carroll Weblog. Check it out.

That's a picture of my little kitten Neko. I hope nobody understands Japanese because they'll make fun of the name. :)

Neko wa neko desu ne.

The closest comp I could find for Hinske in terms of position and career path was Pete Ward.

What about former Jay Ed Sprague? (one of my personal favourites). The only difference is that his big season was a couple years into his career, rather than at the beginning. I think they will likely end up with similar career numbers if Hinske doesn't wake up.

http://gordknowles.cjb.cc/images/Sebastian.jpg
Speaking of cats, I've trained mine to be a computer nerd as well:



I'm trying to get this to work; hopefully it shows up. If not, COMN.

The URL for your picture doesn't seem to work. :(

So Dr. Prison Fence tells me I got called out yesterday. I have to say, that listing of my pre-season picks wasn't entirely accurate, though I was a pretty poor prognosticator.

For the record, I did pick the Red Sox, Yankees and Astros to make the playoffs, and I think I picked Anaheim to win the west (I know I didn't pick Seattle). I will take the (rather large) hit on Kansas City, though.

Just remember, though my picks to make the World Series at the beginning of the playoffs both started out 0-2 in their respective LCS's, neither is looking nearly as bad right now.

As well, let us not forget that I did predict before the season that Roy Oswalt would be the only National Leaguer to win 20 games, Barry Bonds would win a batting title, Ichiro Suzuki would break the all-time hits record, Nomar Garciaparra would get traded to the Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks would finish with the worst record in the majors.

OK, none of that last stuff is true.

Dammit, it did, for a brief and shining second. Maybe I'll just send it to you to upload, if that's possible.

Sure. Mail it to economics.guide@about.com

And no, for some reason, it does work. Alrighty then....

I'll send it to ya anyways, Mr. Moffatt, just in case this server decides to crap out again.

Mike, I was just giving you a hard time, and figured I didn't get all of your pre-season picks accurately since I was going from memory.

Still, my main objective was to get your predictions tor the offseason free agent movement contest. Which obviously failed.

Don't worry, MW, you were not alone. Far from it.

Ed Sprague is not much of a comp for Hinske. In his age 25 (rookie season), Sprague hit .260/.310/.380 and he improved from there, although only once did he have an acceptable offensive season. I was looking for third basemen (ideally, but other positions would do) who had fine rookie campaigns (at age 23-25) and then two straight poorer seasons.

I would have liked to have gotten into that contest, but I couldn't get the picks in by midnight.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/content/sports/epaper/2004/10/19/a6c_marlins_1019.html
The Marlins have released Billy Koch outright (COMN). It's uncertain, to me at least, that he'll get a major-league contract offer this winter.

The article also includes this indication of troubles: He missed almost the final two months of the season because of personal reasons related to his family. Unfortunate, and hopefully not serious.

Mike Green, Todd Hollandsworth might be a decent comp for Hinske (if you're not worried about position) ?

I don't even enter these contests. The problem with predictions is that if you're right, no one remembers, and if you're wrong, no one forgets. And I'm invariably wrong.

So, what does everyone think of Boston and St. Louis' chances of coming back and taking their respective series?

I'm torn on Boston; part of me wants them to win, just to see the look on Jeter's face, but part of me wants New York to win just so I don't have to hear about that damned curse (that, and I like to watch people suffer) :) The largest part of me just wants to see Tim McCarver gone off my TV for a while, especially with the length of these games lately!

I'd really love to see the Cards beat the snot out of New York's ragtag pitching, but at the rate it's going it may just be a moot point. I can't wait for the millions of montages Fox shows if Clemens gets to the World Series, as they are interleaves with dreamy pictures of Mr. Clutch (/sarcasm off).

I still predict the winner will come from the NL though, whomever it may be. Whoever wins the AL is going to be one sore and tired team coming into this thing. Is there a game tonight?

Hey, is there a reason why I'm being pinged by 'DoD Network Information Centre Vienna US AP2P, Dep (128.49.4.38)' when I load this page? My Protowall is not pleased :(

I'm pulling for the BoSox 100%. I dunno if they can do it. But if Schilliing can put up one of his classic play-off starts, I'm optimistic for their chances. guess it all depends on how he's feeling.

Also, did anyone read the column in the Globe today about the playoff games being too long? I'll admitt, they are quite lengthy, but frigg. This is some of the more exciting baseball I've seen in my life. This apart from 92/93, though I was only 10. And taking into consideration I forgot baseball existed for the next decade after the strike. But all the same, goos ball being played.

On an unrelated note, if anyone on here plays poker, and is in the Waterloo area there is a tourny this Friday I just found out about. Starts at 8 pm, $10 dollar with re-buys for first hour. Drop me a line if your interested.

I gotta ask you nonpartisan (Bahahahahahaha)baseball fans about the Yankees ... do you see this as a "must-win" game for them?

Barring rainouts, the pitching is still set up better NYY than BOS -- WAY better -- but if Papi's Boyz come all the way back to 3-3, you have to think there's some sort of karma involved.

I'd "Rather" have a healthy Lieber than a questionable Schilling.(That's a major German-English pun there, for those of you linguistically challenged.)

Odd how so many Bauxites own the same cat. May I present:

New batter's box slogan:

BB: We're cat people. Seriously. Stop laughing at us.

As the son of a Boston Red Sox fan I know the team and its history intemately. I was confused when the Yankee's won the first three games of the series because I thought to myself, 'this isn't how the Red Sox lose, there is no pain in a sweep and the Red Sox always find the most painful way to lose'.

Now it is starting to make sense, the Red Sox are going to win tonight, only to lose game seven. What could possibly be more painful than this scenario.

http://me.woot.net
I've wanted a dog for a while now, never having owned one, but my first love has been cats for some time. Very little brings as much joy to my heart as watching a cat—or especially a kitten—explore.

The biggest problem is that I'm very, very allergic to cats. I thought this was a death sentence for my love until I miraculously stopped being allergic to my family's cat a few years after we got her. It still takes me a few days to re-acclimate myself to her when I've been gone from home for a while. My plan for any future cats is to get allergen injections so I am in allergy hell for less time.

http://me.woot.net
Fozzy,

The Dolphin picture is hosted on a .mil site, so it's probably an automated security process.

Mick, I don't know about must-win...but certainly important. The Yankees had their boot to the Sox' neck and didn't finish 'em.

You have to wonder if that 19-8 game woke up some slumbering dignity in the Red Sox or something.

After the first two games of both series I thought we had seen the way things were going to go, but now the Astros are up 3-2 and the Red Sox are still alive. And this is what I love about baseball.

I gotta ask you nonpartisan (Bahahahahahaha)baseball fans about the Yankees ... do you see this as a "must-win" game for them?

No, but I don't really believe in 'must win' games unless it's truly a must win game (that is, if you lose you are eliminated).

Answering the question in how it was intended, I don't think a Yankee loss in game 6 would have any negative impact on game 7, so still no.

I don't think this is a must-win for the Yankees, and I'd advise them not to think of it that way either. I've always thought that a team that feels like it needs to win thereby gives away a big psychological advantage to the other guys. The Yankees have been so successful at least in part because they expect to win -- and the other guys know it. That goes double against the Red Sox, a team that always finds a way to lose, and triple after two close extra-inning losses that could easily have gone New York's way. If I was the Yanks, I'd have the champagne chilled before the first pitch, and I'd take the field with the presumption that it ends here. That should radiate clear across the diamond into the Boston dugout.

Also, I'm not sure why Red Sox fans think that an injured Curt Schilling start in Game 6 is going to go any better than an injured Curt Schilling start did in Game 1.

I agree with the 'Game 7 is the must win' people. Who will Boston have left by the time a game 7 occurs (baring rainout tonight)? I gotta figure their entire bullpen is drained. Schilling might do well, but I'd be surprised if he could go anywhere near 9 innings (he'll want to, but 5-6 is all the Sox should hope for). In a potential game 7 you'll see Wakefield come in at some point and be left in until his arm falls off I suspect. However, if I was betting I'd bet on the Yankees in game 6 and not even remotely close. I still hope the Red Sox prove me wrong and get to the series just to lose in 7 games by a Clemens shutout 8)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/041019
COMN for a good Sports Guy article on the past couple AL games.

Hey, my kitten's name is Neko too! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of him so I can't join the parade.

After last night, I think the Sox odds of signing Mirabelli back have increased to about 100%; Wakefield's knuckleball was dancin' last night, and the only one who looked more lost than the hitters was Varitek. The fans were almost ready to rip out their hair that inning. Ouch.

Mike Green, Todd Hollandsworth might be a decent comp for Hinske (if you're not worried about position) ?

Thanks, Gwyn. Here is Hollandsworth's career record. As you can see, he did not look like a very good hitter in the minors (.285 in Alberquerque is about equivalent to .250 anywhere else), and then had the fine rookie campaign. Hinske's minor league career was somewhat better than Hollandsworth's. Hollandsworth did not get anywhere near the chance to succeed that Hinske is getting.

Now it is starting to make sense, the Red Sox are going to win tonight, only to lose game seven. What could possibly be more painful than this scenario.

When I read this question, two names popped into my head: Clemens and Bagwell. A Sox-Astros WS which comes down to Game 7, a pitcher's duel between Pedro and Clemens, with Bagwell winning it with a homer would do the trick. I have no idea if that matchup is in-line right now, but you have to admit that would be pretty cruel.

That Simmons article was great...thanks Mr. Pistol

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=3571
The Curse of the Bambino becomes the Curse of Larry Andersen. As if the good burghers of Boston didn't have enough on their psychic plate.

Speaking of the Boston-NY series, COMN for an insightful and funny look from Joe Sheehan.

I'd "Rather" have a healthy Lieber than a questionable Schilling.

Liked your pun but liver in German is Leber w/out the I. Lieber means nicer though.

Note to Mr Hattig: "Don't let that Young gun steal your man strenght again" :-)

Roman Castro is a Free Agent, if the Jays sign, let him start a lot and keep Kevin on the bench an American paper could write the following headline:
Canadians love Castro, neglect Cash!

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Toronto/2004/10/19/676410.html
As set out in attachment, (COMN) apparently the Argo's will be out of Skydome in two years. As I don't live in TO I don't know how realistic this is.

It seems it may have an impact on the sale of the Skydome and therefore the Jays. If Skydome loses 8-10 football games a year and the associated rent revenue this may reduce the price for Rogers? It may also impact negatively on the desire to get some new turf as Skydome may have to rely more on truck shows etc.

Just desperately trying to come up with some new Jays chatter.

If you want to induce Jays chatter, then just throw out random trade rumours...I sometimes vist a different Jays discussion site and recently all they have is millions of "Wells trade rumours" or "Wells to CIN for Kearns," ad nauseam.

I heard we're trading Dave Berg for Randy Johnson. Oh, and that Arizona is picking up Johnson's salary.

Really? And see, I heard that ARI was gonna trade for Dunn and include him in the package if we included Cash...boy, just goes to show how unreliable some rumours are. Sheesh

Nice article by Sheehan, particularly the point about Torre not using Lofton. Just as McCarver goes "out of his way" to praise Jeter, though, the column also contains another example of someone going out of his way to criticize him.

Sheehan spends six paragraphs talking about Jeter's game, supposedly because Jeter most exemplifies the Yankees "poor performance". Ironically, with Sheehan using the "naked this", it appears that he's trying to say that the Yankees leaving 18 runners on base was
"manifested most clearly" in... the guy who actually drove in three.

Why talk about Jeter so much, and not Matsui, who went 1-for-7, stranding 7 while driving in none? The guy who ended both the sixth, against the tiring Pedro, and the eighth, with men on first and third. To me, Matsui's struggles would be the story of the night, especially the way he'd carried the team to this point.

Or how about Tony Clark's 1-for-7, and 6 LOBs? Buck et. al. spent so much time Sunday talking about how it was so Yankee-like that the guy who wasn't even supposed to be in the lineup, only playing because two guys are hurt, got what could've been the series-winning hit. Well, maybe if Olerud's in the game, instead of the guy hitting .188/.188/.250 in the playoffs, the game doesn't go 14?

I'm not sure which I find more tiresome, the endless fawning over Jeter from the McCarver types, or the endless criticism from people who do appear to be "jealous". To me Jeter's like Garrett Anderson or Rocco Baldelli... guys who are so "overrated" they're actually underrated.

I think that the way to react to a guy getting "too much attention" is to talk about somebody else who's missing out. Why does everything always have to be about Jeter?

(Irony intentional. Maybe)

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2004-10-18-cecil-fielder-troubles_x.htm
COMN for a story on Cecil Fielder, and his gambling problem. I hadn't heard about this. He seemed quite jovial in Alumni Weekend interviews this year, too.

"Fielder is in hiding, with process servers stalking him. He is not in contact with his family, and many attempts by The Detroit News to reach him failed."

Yeah the Wells trade for Kearns makes sense since the Reds are going to try Kearns at 3B next spring to help solve their glut of outfielders. Oooh, maybe they'll trade Kearns for Hinske (dripping with sarcasm).

What's wrong with a cat named cat?

Why talk about Jeter so much, and not Matsui, who went 1-for-7, stranding 7 while driving in none? The guy who ended both the sixth, against the tiring Pedro, and the eighth, with men on first and third. To me, Matsui's struggles would be the story of the night, especially the way he'd carried the team to this point.

The ball that Matsui hit to end the 6th was well hit and very luckily for Boston was hit right in front of Trot Nixon, and even then Nixon had to make a nice sliding catch on it. A little bit shorter or to either side, and it would have fallen in. In my mind this really was a huge lucky break for Boston. If that ball had fallen in, it could easily have changed the outcome of the game.

What's wrong with a cat named cat?

The only funny Garfield cartoon I ever saw came way back in its first year, and defended owners who named their cat "Cat." Thus spake Lyman: "What's the point of naming an animal that won't come when you call it?"

I don't usually post from work, but I had to this time, because I've discovered the Best Anagram Ever.

What is BATTER'S BOX but a place where people come to ABSORB TEXT?

Awesome, just awesome. And MATTHEW ELMSLIE anagrams to

WHITE MALE SMELT

ME, I'M LETHAL STEW

WILLAMETTE MESH

A SLIM, WET HELMET

TEEM WITH A SMELL

ATHEISM, WELL MET!

WET HAMLET SLIME

I MET WHALE SMELT

ELM EMITS WEALTH

I'M ELLE MATTHEWS

I'M WET HATE SMELL

WE, THE SMALLTIME

WE, I, THEM, MALLETS

TIM SLEW THE MALE

MEL MEATWHISTLE

HELL, I'M STEW MEAT

Garfield was brilliant and laugh-out-loud funny for its first five or six years of existence and went steadily downhill from there to the point now, where the original creator doesn't even draw it anymore. It's done by a team of artists who also work on all the merchandise created for Garfield. They have to attend a garfield drawing school before they get hired. Seriously. But the original creator still writes it, which is why it is so lame now.

Unless Matthew wants to use it, I'm going to change my moniker to Mel Meatwhistle.

That's a dreadful story about Cecil Fielder. I sure hope he gets things straightened out.

Craig: Yes, I've been through all the combinations. The one that haunts me the most is I AM THE WET SMELL, although as a math guy I'm somewhat partial to LEMMA WITH STEEL.

NamedForHank: You can use it all you like as long as you don't tell anyone where you got it.

I wanted to use the monicker 'Turd Ferguson' as a handle, from Saturday Night Live's 'Celebrity Jeopardy' skit, but I have enough trouble with people taking me seriously as it is :)

Will Ferrell, as Alex Trebek looking at the name plates: "Apparently Mr. [Burt] Renolyds has changed his name to Turd Ferguson."

Norm MacDonald, as Burt Renolyds: "Yeah, it's a funny name. Ha ha!"

I don't know what this says about the O-Drum, but

NAMED FOR HANK = DAMN FAKE HORN

One I particularly liked was one I found at the end of the 2003 season after PHIL CUZZI ejected Halladay for no particular reason. It's somewhat Prince-ian but you get the idea:

U: ZIP, ZILCH

Heh, I bet JKCL would agree with them sentiments, Mick. ;)

Foz, I liked the one where Connery kept choosing the category "swords".

Mel Meatwhistle is my new fake name for registering, replacing John Robert Goatse. I can't wait to sign up for free baby stuff and then get that avalanche of "targeted" junk mail addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Meatwhistle.

Quick, what's Mel's wife's name?

Quick, what's Mel's wife's name?

Mya Meatwhistle?
Mandy Meatwhistle?
Mildred Meatwhistle?

Mr. Mel Meatwhistle, and his wife, Dr. Mandy Meatwhistle.

Excellent. Thanks, DG.

Mandy or Sandy?

Sandy Meatwhistle?

The biggest problem is that I'm very, very allergic to cats. I thought this was a death sentence for my love until I miraculously stopped being allergic to my family's cat a few years after we got her. It still takes me a few days to re-acclimate myself to her when I've been gone from home for a while. My plan for any future cats is to get allergen injections so I am in allergy hell for less time.

Hannah is the same way. She finds it takes a few days to get adjusted if she's been away from cats for awhile. We've got two in our house and she's had no problems since we got them.

Despite having owned several cats, I'm not really a cat person per se. The only reason we got cats recently is because we couldn't afford the dog I wanted - an Australian Shepherd:



Absolutely terrific dogs. One of my favourite mammals.

I've only known one Aussie Shepherd in my time. Dog could run for hours without stopping, and lacked any kind of discipline or self-control whatsoever. The worst-behaved dog I can remember, and completely nuts. Kinda funny, though.

Aussies do have problems if they're not well-trained. Obedience school is a must, which is why we didn't buy one (can't afford it right now).

The female of the breed is usually quite a bit easier to deal with, so that's what we were planning on getting.

They are very energetic dogs, so you need to walk/run with them a lot. Well trained ones can turn their hyperactivity on and off at the drop of a hat.

The nice thing about the Aussie relative to other herding dogs is that it herds by very gently nudging you in the right direction, rather than nipping at your heels like some dogs.

Is this an example that I post at Da Box to much, or that I haven't been getting enough sleep lately (aka Hillbilly Zombie).

Today I signed my midterm "Jobu" and didn't realize until I handed it in. Which led to this exchange with the prof

Hillbilly Zombie: Uhhh... I need my exam back for a second
Prof: Why?
Hillbilly Zombie: I wrote...my....name.........wrong.

Today I signed my midterm "Jobu" and didn't realize until I handed it in.

No Internet abbrevation can express my laughter at this story. Or any little smiling face. So I'll just keep laughing. I can't imagine what the prof must think of a student who spelled his name wrong...

Today I signed my midterm "Jobu" and didn't realize until I handed it in.

That reminds me of a guy I once knew in law school. We had to hand our assignments in under pseudonyms, so that they would be marked blindly by our professors. On the day a particular assignment was due, he showed up part way through the class, and handed his paper to the professor, who was busy leading a discussion. The professor looked at the paper and said "You're not supposed to use your real name".

My classmate looked him in the eye, took back the paper, scratched out his name, wrote in his pseudonym instead, and handed it back to him. The futility of this gesture took about a second to kick in, but we had a good laugh over that one.

also of note was that I had the "welcome to the limit" song from Scarface in my head the entire time despite the fact I haven't seen the movie in months.

Damn I'm tired.

Must stay up for baseball.....

Ken Griffey Jr. would be an interesting replacement for Edgar Martinez in Seattle, certainly if Griffey wants to continue his career he should consider the shift to the DH position.

In five minor league seasons, Hinske hit .285/.377 (roughly)/.511. In his MLB rookie season, he hit .279/.365/.481--strikingly similar numbers. Which suggests that Hinske may be able to rebound.

(I wonder if Hinske slammed his bat down and cursed all the time in the minors too.)

Do you think Dr. Prison Fence edits his mailbox questions? The punctuation for all those questions is and has a consistent style which points to a single editor.

SORRY: that should read

Do you think Dr. Prison Fence edits his mailbox questions? The punctuation for all those questions is EXQUISITE and has a consistent style which points to a single editor.

I'm sure he does. I edit about 95% of the questions I get that I end up using.

Better late than never, here's another Bauxite cat, courtesy of a lurker friend.



This is my dog, somewhat feline for a canine. (That's how Schnauzers look after too long between groomings.)



I mentioned Ketzel about this time last year. Last week our "baby" became ill so suddenly, we feared we might lose her.

After several scary days, in and out of the vet clinic, she’s improving at home, though we still don’t know what happened. She may have been poisoned or stung by something. The oddest symptom was in the "be careful what you wish for" realm. Ketzel didn’t utter a sound for the first few days, then only a few weak noises. On the weekend, still lethargic, she was sporadically chatty, yet her voice had changed; something was affecting her throat. It’s been a relief to hear that familiar barking frenzy the last couple of days.

Blogging's been on the back burner, but you guys are obviously having fun around here without me. The baseball has been unbelievably dramatic and exciting. Though I'm still rooting for the Red Sox and Cardinals to prevail, the results don't really matter -- at least the K-Dog is OK.