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I think Byrd will bite, less pressure in Boston for him as #5 or #6 starter and the money for one year would be good enough. Risky move unless you want to have him as insurance...

Hijack alert (sorry), did you see the posting of who is on the ballot for the HOF?

The 23 players on this year's Hall of Fame ballot, some of these guys have no business being on a ballot (NB=no business IMO):
• Harold Baines -
• Jay Bell - NB, hof? kidding me, right?
• Bert Blyleven
• David Cone
• Andre Dawson
• Ron Gant - NB, wow, give me a break
• Mark Grace
• Rickey Henderson
• Tommy John - Dr. Andrews has a better shot and deserves a chance in the hall
• Don Mattingly
• Mark McGwire
• Jack Morris
• Dale Murphy
• Jesse Orosco - NB
• Dave Parker
• Dan Plesac - NB, who makes this list?
• Tim Raines
• Jim Rice
• Lee Smith
• Alan Trammell
• Greg Vaughn - seriously/ NB
• Mo Vaughn - again, NB
• Matt Williams

I guess it is time for someone to wake up the guys who make this list. Many of these "sluggers" benefitted from the juiced (players and balls) era and the smaller stadiums and the watered down pitching eras.

Wish I had the energy to revive my blog, this started to get my blood boiling some...thoughts?

Posted by: blmeanie | December 2, 2008 07:53 AM |
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BL,

I mostly agree with your assessment. I thought your take on Tommy John was a bit harsh, though. The man had 3 20-win seasons, won 288 games, had a career ERA of 3.34, was a 3-time All Star and finished second in the Cy Young voting twice. That's not too shabby (thank you, Baseball-Reference.com!) Oh well, at least you didn't tag him with the dreaded "NB".

Posted by: Greg | December 2, 2008 10:06 PM |
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BL

Personally I am sick of the BBWAA and all of their BS. From the awards they give out to the HOF process, they do a miserable job and put their personalities ahead of their job.

Now, other than Rickey Henderson, who gets in this year?

Posted by: Peter | December 2, 2008 10:40 PM |
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I believe anyone with 10 years service time is put on the list. Brosius(sp?) was last year, I believe. As for Tek, it might be wise for him to accept arby. Play for one year at roughly 10 million and try to have a better year than a 73 OPS+. Hit the market next year looking for a two year deal to close out his career.

Posted by: Tom | December 2, 2008 11:39 PM |
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I think Andre Dawson, Jim Rice and Lee Smith besides Ricky.

perhaps cut and paste the HOF comments into its own post so others see it, sorry about the hijack

Posted by: blmeanie | December 3, 2008 08:13 AM |
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fair enough on my Tommy John comment, I was commenting without looking up the facts.

I thought he had lesser stats, thanks for slapping me around, I agree he is close if not deserving.

Dr. Andrews I contest does deserve to get in, in some capacity

I agree, Dr. James Andrews has really changed how athletes deal with injury, at least that injury.

I think baseball or at least the players association owes him some acknowledgement.

Here are my votes for the Hall in order of preference:

1. Blyleven: Best curveball this side of Koufax. Huge strikeout numbers. Just shy of 300 wins. 2 rings.

2. Rice & Mattingly: The best all around hitters of their respective eras. Should benefit from reactions against players from the steroid era.

4. Henderson: He's a sure lock given his SB, but not as deserving as the 3 above given that he was a head case.