Put Some Meat on the Bones

Bill:
You know this whole celebrity anorexia has fashion statement trend has just gone too friggin fah.

 

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Bill:
I mean when an errant nipple slip goes from an occasion of titillated merriment to one of sheah revulsion you know something's terribly amiss.

 

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Doug:
Same goes for the damn Red Sox. This lets be skinny by avoiding the luxury tax and filling out the rostah with a bunch of cheap castoffs is no longah whetting my appetite.

 

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Bill:
Yeah, while Cashman is out shopping at Dean and Deluca with daddy's credit cahd, Theo's trolling the aisles of Stah Mahket looking for the orange "Manager's Special" stickahs.

 

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Doug:
At least Schilling says he thinks "there will be less attention paid to the payroll number this winter than there has been in the past."

 

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Bill:
Well, if Schilling says it, then it must be true, being the man of few words and all that he is.

 

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Doug:
All I know is if they don't open up the bank in the offseason, then somebody in the front offices got some serious splainin' to do.

 

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Bill:
Yeah, getting Fenway Park on the revised Monopoly is cool and all, but we want some more World Series bling for our Community Chest.

 

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Comments

[Isaac]

Wait, y'all didn't notice they cut payroll last year!? Even after all the extra ducks coming their way following 2004?

Then when they added more seats, and increased ticket prices, what was that paying for exactly? Or all the merch sold stamp with World Champion stuff on it - like plus-sized thongs for the Southie girls and the bibs for Papi?

[Isaac]

Oh yeah, they increased advertising rates on NESN each of the last two years. Of course they did.

[mikeya]

oh my god its starting all over again!!!

[mikeya]

oh my god its starting all over again!!!

[mikeya]

didnt mean to repeat myself

[Billy Mahty]

Hahaha, I loved the Dean & Deluca/Stah Mahket comparison. Brilliant.

I'm looking forward to the games this weekend. Boston has to come in playing to win, even with their decimated lineup. It should be fun.

[Rob in CT]

Here's to swimmin'
With small-breasted women...

[Bob]

When I was in college, my roommates and I used to buy this rot-gut store-brand crap at Von's Supermarket. If I'm not mistaken, it actually said "Von's Vodka-style Alcholic Beverage" on the label. Came in gallon jugs.

It's starting in right over the weekend.

[h.b.]

So the equivalent is:

"Rudy Saenz: A Theo reliever-style pitcher"

[yazbread]

A big weekend in NY - Pats and Jets. I can't remember the last time I had no interest in a Sox-Yankees series in September. With the Liriano injury, Tigers fading, Matsui returning, and Sheffield due back (?), the stars might be in alignment for the MFYs. Ugh.

[Dave S.]

I know that this is like pouring Von's Majick-Drano Elixir over a paper cut, but I'm being serious here: I am dumbfounded at how bad the pre-season (I'll include the "let's get Mirabelli back" in this mix) trades Theo made. It's like he hand-picked the youth and ability that would be most helpful and got rid of them for bags of beans. I'm thinking in particular of Sanchez, Ramirez, Arroyo, Meredith, and Bard. I think I have everyone covered here that they got for these guys...let me know if I'm wrong. Here's BP's VORP (basically runs added above replacement player) for all the guys involved in the trades:

VORP
H Ramirez 45.7
J Bard 21.7
Arroyo 58.8
Sanchez 28.9
Cla Meredith 24.2
Totals 179.3

VORP
M Lowell 19.3
D Mirabelli -1.2
Wily Mo 15.8
Beckett 16.3
Totals 50.2

That's just a disaster. It's generally accepted that roughly 10 runs equals a win...the difference between these groups alone counts for 13 wins. 13 wins!

I've defended Theo overall, but these particular trades are really quite shocking. Even more ridiculously so when you consider the age and cost differentials between the two groups as well.

[Jason O.]

Schilling's comments are absurd. Of course I admire his loyalty by trying to cover the front office.

As Billy Beane said: The GM can control 162, and the rest is based on other factors, what they call in the financial world "undiversifiable market risk."

World Series '86
World Series '01
ALCS '03
ALCS '04
Bobby Thompson/Ralph Branca
Bucky Dent
There are countless other examples.

You can talk about payroll all you want, but payroll doesn't play the game, i.e., Sheffield and Matsui successfully replaced by Crosby, Guiel and an elderly Williams.

[Kaz]

Funny you should mention anorexic fashion models, h.b.

Just 2 days ago this story hit the wire:

Skinny models banned from catwalk - Madrid officials (who pay for a regional top-level fashion show) have banned models who don't give a healthy appearance because they are too thin. Officials in Milan have said they're going to seek the same ban for their fashion show(s) as well. We could see the return of healthy women as a trend and less heroin-chic anorexic skeletons prancing about as the model woman.

[Rob in CT]

Jason - Speaking of Thompson/Branca, did you see the book excerpt in yesterday's ESPN.com about "The Shot Heard 'Round the World"? Was pretty good. I'll probably look for it in the library a ocuple months from now. (Goodness knows I'm too cheap to buy it.)

[Bob]

I was at the old Runyon's in New York a few years back, when Thompson and Branca came in and had beers after a speaking engagement or book signing. They looked like the best of buddies. Truly; you can tell when people have a very close friendship.

[Rob in CT]

Bob - Very cool. Take a look at the book excerpt. I think you might like it.