Charlie Chats With Bob Smizik's Readers
by Charlie Wilmoth on Jul 31, 2010 11:48 PM EDT
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PrintYou know, at various points I've toyed with the idea of having live chats on this blog, but I've never done it, because I've never really thought of myself as an expert or anything, and I'm always worried I'll forget whether Major Leaguer X hurt his shoulder or his elbow, or whether Prospect Y is a lefty or a righty. Also, a lot of you all know as much or more about a lot of this stuff than I do.
Today, though, I was reading the comments at Bob Smizik's blog for some reason, and I thought it might be interesting to have a chat with some of his commenters. Just to get some practice. Not a chat they knew they were having, but they did ask a lot of questions. Wish me luck!
Q: How much did PED's play a part in Lambo's high ranking?
Charlie: None that we know of. Lambo was suspended for a "drug of abuse" (read: marijuana), not PEDs. Of course, it's possible that Bob Nutting himself took PEDs and then charged into the Baseball America offices to make its editors retroactively change their 2009 rankings just in time for the trade. I wouldn't put that past him.
Q: Who says marijuana isn't a performance enhancing drug?
Charlie: ....... ?
Q: There's always the suspicion that these guys - Nutting and his two managers - are dumping salary for cheaper though younger players?
Charlie: Yes, very suspicious! It would appear that the Pirates took on salary today with the addition of Chris Snyder's contract. What happened today has nothing to do with salary dumping, then, and nothing to do with Bob Nutting being cheap. UNLESS YOU CONSIDER THE RAMIFICATIONS! Having a real catcher behind the plate could cause the Pirates to win more games, which could cause more people to come to the ballpark, which could cause... MORE MONEY IN BOB NUTTING'S POCKET! Wouldn't it be awesome if Nutting's name had an "s" in it, so we could replace it with a dollar sign? Who here thinks we should start calling him "$nutting"?
Q: Then there's that line that the "Pirates received three million dollars" etc. etc. in cash from the Diamondbacks in their deal. Ok, Bob Nutting is going to do WHAT with that money?
Charlie: Pay Chris Snyder, who is owed about $8 million through 2011 - ALTHOUGH PERHAPS SNYDER IS INVOLVED IN A SECRET CONSPIRACY TO FUNNEL HIS MONEY BACK INTO THE NUTTING EMPIRE.
Q: How much more money did Nutting make here?
Charlie: He lost money. OR DID HE?!?!?!
Q: Getting John Bowker, 27 yrs old, 3 HRs, 8 RBI's, and 0.207 Ave---why didn't NH get at least two dozen Maple bats in this one? Was the deciding FACTOR in this "old Rookie" the fact that he was hitting seven points above the MENDOZA LINE?
Charlie: Yes, that was the deciding FACTOR! If Bowker had been hitting six points above the MENDOZA LINE, Trader Neal would not have been interested! He does have standards. Standards that have nothing to do with the fact that the Pirates traded only a generic bullpen lefty to get Bowker and Joe Martinez, or that Bowker has a long history of carving up minor league pitching. Besides, Nutting does not like maple bats. HE HAS A COLLECTION OF BATS MADE OF PURE GOLD, which he acquired by abducting Pittsburgh children from their beds and selling their skins to the Priory of Sion.
Q: The only question I got is - did they upgrade the major-league club? At first glance, it doesn't look like it.
Charlie: Last-place teams generally don't make immediate upgrades to the big-league club at the trading deadline. That's what contending teams try to do, and the reason last-place teams oblige them is so they can stock up with players who might help in the future. It all makes sense, doesn't it? Or is that just WHAT NUTTING WANTS YOU TO THINK?
Q: The most intriguing questions that remain are: 1. What to do with Aki?
Charlie: That's the most intriguing question? Have you been hanging out in Andrew Lambo's basement?
Q: No one is making a deal out of the Pirates dumping Donnelly because of incentives that were about to kick in. And now a trade for a middling catcher that makes little sense for either team where the Pirates get 3 million in cash. Is Nutting's little newspaper empire in trouble?
A: Of course, Donnelly was terrible and the Pirates took on salary when they traded for Snyder. And Nutting can keep his NEWSPAPER EMPIRE alive indefinitely by having his employees feast on the flesh of newborn babes. But still - IT IS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the managing editor (Charlie) or SB Nation. FanPosts are written by Bucs Dugout readers.
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All for fun, of course. I really should be above stuff like this.
by Charlie Wilmoth on Jul 31, 2010 11:49 PM EDT reply actions
Absolutely not, I was going to do that myself…sometimes it just can’t be helped.
http://bleedblackandgold.com/
by Say Hey Johnny Ray on Aug 1, 2010 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions
+3
But it would be a waste of your time. Besides comedic value, this isn’t close to as good as when you are writing seriously about the Pirates. Still very funny.
Ha ha
That comment thread was a gem, I feel about 20% dumber for having read through it. Pavlov’s dogs put more thought into their reaction to the bell than the average Smizik blog commenter does into his reaction to a Pirate trade.
Yeah that got me laughing.
I can’t believe someone actually thinks pot could be a performance-enhancing drug! Coming from a guy who spent his teenage years in a haze of marijuana smoke, let me tell all you kids out there- pot is NOT going to enhance anything except your desire to sit on the couch, listen to Emerson Lake & Palmer, and eat cookies.
Oh don't get me wrong,
my listening habits basically consist of Sodom, Venom, Onslaught, Hellhammer, Slayer, etc… but the weed makes me break out the prog rock. I don’t smoke it anymore though, too old/get too paranoid.
No Celtic Frost, come on
I rock some Cold Lake every now and again :D
by eyeofhorus777 on Aug 1, 2010 9:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Well of course if I listen to Hellhammer, I also listen to Celtic Frost,
but Cold Lake? That’d better be a terribly tasteless joke, sir!
I still have that shit on vinyl somewhere, I’m sure…
Yes a little metal inside joke
its like saying you like Helloween’s Pink Bubbles Go Ape album as well.
Tom G Warrior was on the Probot album with Dave Navarro along with my hero Scott Winrich.
by eyeofhorus777 on Aug 2, 2010 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Met Wino in April at a Shrinebuilder show. Was one of the highlights of my year.
I think you mean Dave Grohl, not Dave Navarro, though. :P
I had a similar experience on Facebook tonight. One dude commented on my page about how “stupid” the Pirates moves have been; another posted something about how those of us loyal fans were treating the Pirates far better than they deserved. I told the first dude that the coverage of the trades that I had seen were calling them anything but stupid, and pointed out that NBC Sport’s assessment of the trade deadline action had called the Pirates one of five “winners” (and the only winner who wasn’t a big-time buyer—the other four winners landed Lee, Haren, Oswalt and Berkman for their efforts). I told the second dude that his comments were so 2006-07. Grrr…
Facebook and the Pirates
Two forces that, when combined, challenge my urge to resist calling people imbeciles.
it was much worse on Twitter
The one dbag was pissed off that Dotel was traded and that we coulda got more in return had Capps stayed..
I told him the following:
- Capps had no zip on his fb and because no team wanted him the Pirates had no choice but to DFA him.
- that Dotel was throwin in the low 90s and that he signed to be a Pirates closer only because no other team would consider it.
- Meek and Hanrahan threw 98 and would be a closer on other teams
- the Dotel trade to get 2 quality prospects was a no-brainer..
His reply? “What are you talking about?” Capps was the closer and therefore should’ve remain a Pirate. Meek and Hanrahan are set-up (faling to realize they were closers in waiting). Then, he was offended by that no-brainer comment thinkin that I called him a no-brained yinzer (WTF?) Then calls my argument stupid about 5 times and says he’s done with me and blocks me. What a frickin loser he was.
It’s a fine example that the Pirates can do right in the narrow ignorant mind of a Yinzer drunk on Iron City.
by BadAndy on Aug 1, 2010 7:34 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I have thought all year...
That Dotel should have been moved to the 7th inning role, with Meek 8th, and Hanrahan 9th.
That would have hurt his value, and I’m glad that I’m not in charge.
smizik cracks me up.
when we signed dotel, he called him an old washed up , failed closer. Now he says he was a strength we should never have let walk.
fuzzy math
the pirates did not take on salary next year if you factor in picking up dotel 4.5 million dollar option for 2011. that make’s it +450 k this year and -1.0 million next year. When you look at all the trades ,there still some problems 9 million for our 2 catchers one that can’t catch and a .230 life time hitter does not seem your getting your bang for your buck. The other guys are the same old same old.
Does this mean
That you would rather have 1 year of 37 year old Dotel at $4.5 million than 5 years of McDonald from his 26 through 30 years at $400k? Because thats a pretty lousy position to take.
Its not a salary dump if you get a better pitcher who just also happens to be cheaper.
http://bleedblackandgold.com/
by Say Hey Johnny Ray on Aug 1, 2010 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions
huh
All I ’M saying is one forth of the 36 million for next year payroll is wrap up at the catcher position. Now that could change. Also this have control of a player is way over blown, If said players suck and you still lose 100 games year after year does it really matter.
Not really
They’ll still have to look for relievers in the off-season. The money they won’t be using on Dotel’s option will go toward somebody else.
Same with the catchers. If they free up money by trading Doumit (which I doubt they can do without picking up some of his salary), it’s money they’ll spend elsewhere, probably the rotation.
This is why a deal like this has to be analyzed in terms of commitments. You’re just speculating otherwise. These deals increased their salary commitments. We’ll see how the rest plays out. Obviously, the roster they have now isn’t the one they’ll have next April.
You DO realize, Wilbur,
to whom you are replying?
Just checkin’.
Free your ass and your mind will follow.
by cocktailsfor2 on Aug 1, 2010 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions
So what you’re saying is that they dumped payroll but also spent more money. Fuzzy math, indeed.
by WTM on Aug 1, 2010 7:42 PM EDT up reply actions
I know this kind of math
It worked REALLY well for the guys from Enron. And Bernie Madoff…
The glare of the spotlight is harsh, and the pressure that success breeds immense. We revere our heroes, but expect much. And criticism can come as easily as praise.
no
no including dotel option they are at 550k saved. I’m not buying they increase the payroll for next year.
Q: I heard Bob Nutting is using the $3 Mil he stole in the Chris Snyder trade to....
have his junk surgically enhanced. Is that true?
Retards
the Post Gazette and Pirates.com are filled with the incompetent retarded haters that just run there mouths…i used to think there comments were funny but now they just piss me off and i had to say stuff to them lol cant get anything through there heads…there all seriously so dumb…there all pissed off over trading Dotel lol like just because you dont know the name of the players we got back doesnt mean there not good lol SMizik is the king of being the flip flop incompetent moron
I wouldn't say that they are dumb,
but they’re just stubborn. They won’t admit that anything looks good, because they have a better time complaining about Nutting stealing money, and how poorly the MLB team has performed. However, when the team is good, they will be the first to tell you that they supported the team since they were born.
My momma always said: people who stubbornly cling to one ideal are the dumbest of them all, since their mind cannot process any other scenario.
Yo' mama
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.was a smart lady.
…I also wanted to put “yo’ mama” in there.
Free your ass and your mind will follow.
by cocktailsfor2 on Aug 1, 2010 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Facebook comments
One of the facebook posts suggested the Pirates’ only hope was to “dig up” Clemente and let him hit. It was so wrong on so many levels I didn’t know what to do. (cries)
I'm sure Vera would be happy to know that someone knows where Roberto's body is...
www.stealingfirstbase.com
Re karreem's idea above
I’d like to see a regular feature after major transactions called “Smizik Then, Smizik Now,” in which someone paraphrases his comments when a player arrives and compares them side by side to what he writes when the player leaves. I don’t think I can do this myself because it would involve an investment in the P-G, wouldn’t it?
Priory of Sion
Are they recruiting?
Da'Sean Butler - A Mountaineer Legend
by McCutchenIsTheTruth on Aug 1, 2010 9:41 PM EDT reply actions
"Who says marijuana isn't a performance enhancing drug?"
This just in: Footage of Andrew Lambo, hard at work training to be the best he can be.
Speaking of Smizik's Readers
I posted a few short questions about the Dotel, which perhaps Bob will get to at some point. 1. Would you regard the trade positively if you deemed the assets they received to be of greater value (I assume you would, and that your complaint is not simply that they trade Dotel but what they traded him for), or would you be opposed to dealing Dotel for prospects under any circumstance?
2. How did you reach your assessment of McDonald and Lambo?
3. I ask because a number of national writers, such as Keith Law (who’s focus among other things is evaluating minor league players) have deemed the trade a steal for the Pirates, based upon their own assessment of Lambo and McDonald. How do you respond to this evaluation and the explain the difference in opinion?
Here’s the gem of a response I received from someone named Pirates Fan Since 1960:
RJREYNOLDS,
Allow me to respond for many many on the board..
1) Rook, welcome to the blog. Usually you just state your opinion and move on…
2) Which department of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization do you work for? Or which Nutting Cool Aid drinker were you before this new avatar?
3) Dotel was our best, and as usual we traded our best. Maybe hanrahan and meeks can be all they can be. I am suspect, and not sure who we got will be major league assistance to us in any playoff run. Someone like Dotel who can shut the door, that to me is the kinda player for a playoff run. Proven as Dodgers got him I also liked our combo of Meek, Hanranan and Dotel. Without them we might have 100 losses now.
4) With my apple computer, I placed several types of software into my baseball analysis program. Went into the bathroom and presto, there was the answer. WTF knows, you or anyone else been sitting and watching em the past year. Only the future will tell. Curren front office thought em worth the trade. Several writers think we got a good deal. How did I do the analysis. Are you mucked up. Where is your brain. How did you do your analysis.
5) I personally respond, WTF cares? Its been 18 years of this. If you think for one minute we just changed our playoff hopes with these trades, you are part of current managment. Good luck you Pirates Management Poser.
Welcome to the blog, hope the above analysis and insight tells you what you need to know about the trades. JUST MOVEMENT and a fart in the air of the baseball industry. WE ARE NOTHING. Nobody cares, knows or has us on their radar. WHY, because of these trades, they accomplished nothing. EVEN IF these players start to perform, begin to earn raises, begin to be winners. THE CURRENT FRONT OFFICE WILL TRADE THEM. That my friend is your analysis, and computer cord driven answer.
Dotel’s our best? Really?
Pirates, Vikings, Hokies. I'm used to heartbreak. At least I have the Penguins....
"When I put on my uniform, I feel I am the proudest man on earth."
-The Great One
by blackjackfishtaco on Aug 2, 2010 12:03 AM EDT up reply actions
How do deals like this work?
The Pirates received cash, right? I mean, they got $3 million in cash now, rather than a promise from Arizona to pay a $3 million pro-rated portion of Snyder’s remaining contract, right?
If that’s the case, then the conspiracy/cheapness argument should run like this:
(1) The Pirates know that they will have to increase payroll next season to some definite amount (i.e., an amount that they know but we don’t know) to appease the player’s union. (This sounds about right to me.) Let’s call this number the ownership’s payroll target for appeasement.
(2) The player’s union only cares about the actual MLB payroll, not quirky financing maneuvers or supplemental sources of income, like cash that changes hands in connection with player trades. (I have no idea whether this is correct or not, but it’s plausible.)
(3) All of Chris Snyder’s roughly $5 million and change salary next season will count towards the Pirates MLB payroll per the union’s accounting/caring policies, rather than only a pro-rated portion that takes into account the $3 million cash payment (assuming this is how it’s done) that accompanied the acquisition of Snyder.
(4) All of Chris Snyder’s salary will be counted by ownership towards the ownership’s payroll target for appeasement.
(5) The Pirates plan to hit the ownership’s payroll target for appeasement and not exceed it appreciably.
Under these circumstances outlined above, all of which are speculative but plausible (although a shrewd reporter could easily find out whether any of them are wrong), the Pirates figured out a way to get themselves an extra $3 million in cash. The salary of Snyder does not offset the payment, since all of the salary is counted towards the ownership’s payroll target for appeasement — a number that ownership figures it has to hit somehow, regardless of whether it creates a better on-field product in the process, and regardless of whether they did this trade or not. In other words, if they didn’t have Snyder’s $5 million to count towards the ownership’s payroll target for appeasement, they’d have to go spend $5 million more somehow, some way on some player, whether or not it helped the team.
Voila! Conspiracy theorists see Nutting’s profiteering genius at work.
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