So a reader named Frank Pugh wrote a month ago, pestered me about when the next edition of Love Letters would be published, finally asking "where in the name of Jack Brohammer has Love Letters been?" That quickly got my attention, because if there's anything I love more than getting harassed from sharpshooting readers, it's being reminded of a long-forgotten infielder with a lifetime batting average of .245 who spent the majority of his career in Cleveland.
Now that will wake a guy up and jar him back into action....
From: Rich Rocco
How did you out-scoop ESPN.com re. Mike Cameron (at the winter meetings in New Orleans)? As of minutes ago, they still had not reported his signing! Any other Mets trade scoops? Thanks, Rich.
Believe it or not, despite the volume of highly skilled and talented people employed by ESPN, they don't always corner the market on information.
From: James Thiele
You wrote (regarding whom Arizona would be getting from Boston in the Curt Schilling trade): "... and some other prospects whose names nobody can remember."
Their mothers remember their names. :-)
OK, James, I'll give you that. And perhaps one or two of their old girlfriends remember, too. But few, few others.
From: Max Humbert
As a Yankee fan I am really pulling for the Sox to take A-Rod. It has strangled Texas and will do the same for the Sox. Maybe not the first couple of years, but certainly by the third year. In Nomar (Garciaparra) and Manny (Ramirez), they are trading away 65 HR and 209 RBI for 47 HR and 118 RBI. Of course they will get someone in trade for Nomar. The big threat is that they will downgrade other positions for years. Thank goodness George didn't get sucked in.
Your pal George is doing just fine by acquiring Javier Vazquez, but Kenny Lofton in center field? The beginning of the end.
From: Terry Ziegler
Seattle, here we go again. The player who would have solidified the middle of the lineup (Miguel Tejada), is gone! It looks like Levis for 2004 -- look great in the beginning, but just fade away. No clutch to shift into the next gear.
Aw, Levis are great. They just don't look so good on the Mariners.
From: Eric Stewart
Scott: With Hall of Fame nominations coming up fairly soon, I'd love to know your take on Jim Rice. The only reason he's not in Cooperstown is because he wasn't "accessible" to the sportswriters of his time: He was too busy spending time with his family. I've crunched the numbers and they are overwhelming ... he should be in. Thoughts?
I check the box next to Jim Rice's name each December on my Hall of Fame ballot, Eric. I agree, I think he should be in. And by the way, I'm going to write about this year's ballot by the end of December, so if you are interested in knowing which players I voted for -- in addition to Rice -- keep watching the SportsLine.com baseball pages.
From: Jay Abrenica
Minor note re: the Sheffield article. The Yankee platoon was not Karim Garcia/David Dellucci heading into and during the World Series, it was actually Juan Rivera vs. lefties (and some righties) and Dellucci vs. righties until he got hurt and Garcia took over vs. righties with Dellucci used primarily as a pinch-runner/late-inning defensive replacement. Hopefully Dellucci surrenders his #11 to Sheff now.
Big fan of your write-ups and SportsLine.com in general, which is a welcome respite from the never-ending Yankee-hating on ESPN.com (see anything written by Jim Caple or Bill Simmons -- ugh!). I especially agreed with your thoughts on why Hideki Matsui should have been named AL Rookie of the Year. Of course it came down to "writers" from the Yankees two AL playoff opponents (Minnesota and Worcester, MA) who left him off the ballot for completely inane reasons.
I don't know much about Bill Simmons, but you've gotta watch that Jim Caple guy closely!
From: Manuel Horton
Mr. Miller,
How can you say (the Atlanta-St. Louis trade involving J.D. Drew, Eli Marrero and Jason Marquis) is an "old-fashioned baseball trade" and not a move to clear up salary? On the Braves' end, sure. However, that is exactly what it looks like from the Cardinals' side of the deal. They picked up two worthless pitchers in Ray King and Jason Marquis. Neither of these newly acquired Cardinals will aide their already faltering pitching staff. I admit, I know little about the prospect they gained, but being a Cubs fan, I will certainly do the research very shortly. If you look at the money standards, Marrero makes more than both of the experienced players the Braves sent combined. Drew makes well over twice Marrero's salary.
Don't get me wrong, I like this deal, a lot. This weakens the only thing that made the Cardinals even a reasonably strong force in the NL Central, their offense. This is why I do not fear the Cardinals in any manner right now.
You finish your research and get back to me. And while you're doing it, make sure to extend it to everybody in the trade, and notice that King worked in a whopping 80 games last year. Worthless? I think not.
From: Charles Whitworth
Hi Scott, this is France again. Thanks for your perceptive article on the Braves following the Drew trade. We hate to see young (Adam) Wainwright go (my nephew played high school ball with him in St. Simons, Ga.) What really does hurt, though, is (Greg) Maddux's departure. He should reach his 300 wins with the Braves; he may well be the last pitcher ever to reach that milestone. Apparently (Scott) Boras is asking $22 million over two years: at $11 million a year, that's much less than Maddux got in 2003, if I'm not mistaken. But the faceless, soulless "owners" of the Braves only look at ledgers and not at baseball, its myths, mysteries and magic. Bring back Ted Turner.
Oh my, not Captain Outrageous!
From: Jeff Werner
Clearly you are very informed, so please enlighten me as to why the Royals are not 'contenders' for the AL Central? They've very obviously upgraded a team that led the division for nearly the entire season, while your two 'contenders' have done nothing to improve themselves.
Stick with me, Jeff. If Minnesota keeps losing players with the speed of a six-year-old unwrapping Christmas gifts, I may yet list your Royals as THE team to beat in the AL Central in '04.
From: Snoopdogg
Hey there, just wanted to say that you should check out the message board attached to your main article on today's site. Earlier in the night I posted a message just naming a scenario of something that would be nice if it happened. At least in my eyes. Check out the response to my post. I got double the views of anyone else. This is keeping people on your website, hitting up pages like crazy, hence bringing in more money. Sure, not all the people agreed with what I said but, hey, they don't have to do they? So how about SportsLine hiring me as kind of an "outside consultant" of some sort and I will continue to post messages which will keep people on your websites for longer periods of time. Just give it a consideration. Maybe you could just hire me yourself to do it on articles you write, which will give your pages more hits and get you in good with your boss. C'mon, whattya say? Haha. I know, I sound crazy.
Go sell crazy somewhere else. I'm all stocked up here.
From: Chris in Boston
Does cbs.sportsline.com employ any copy editors?
Obviously not, Chris, being that your note and the one from Snoopdogg are being printed.
From: Chad Bernie
What do the Giants need to compete for the World Series? What player out there might the Giants pick up?
They've shrunk their payroll to the point where they won't pick up anybody more exciting than somebody like Shane Reynolds. So don't get too excited.
From: Timothy B. Stevens
Scott, help me out, I really don't get it. If Boston signs Alex Rodriguez and then trades Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra, to me, this appears to be downgrading their team. If you ask anyone, 'Would you rather have Alex Rodriquez OR Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra?' I think, hands down, the two player vs. the one is a no brainer!
Whoa, settle down, Timothy. If the Sox trade Manny, they're going to have to go get another outfielder, most likely Magglio Ordonez from the Chicago White Sox. Makes more sense now, doesn't it?
From: Merlyn Hepperly
The Tejada signing only signifies that the Orioles are going in the same direction that Texas did when the Rangers signed Alex Rodriguez. Texas also had Pudge, didn't they, and what did that do for them? Don't these teams have a clue that you need pitching to win?
The Orioles intend to make a run at Sidney Ponson, then work on acquiring more pitching this summer and next winter. But you're right, this could be the next Texas situation.
From: Brett Littman
Guillermo Mota of the Dodgers is a right-hander, not a lefty as stated in your article. The Dodgers will not part with him even if the Nomar deal does not happen. The White Sox will have to settle on Paul Shuey and left-handed starter Odalis Perez if the Nomar deal with the Red Sox falls through.
Whoops. Are you sure Mota wasn't a lefty, perhaps in another life?
From: Steve Turner
How in the world can you report that Guillermo Mota is a left-handed setup man?
Do you even watch baseball?
Not when the Dodgers are playing. With that offense, it's more interesting counting the granules of sand down at the beach.
From: P. McMahon
Why are you still writing about baseball if the sport was ruined with the advent of the winning league of the All-Star Game determining home-field advantage for the upcoming World Series. The sport was "ruined" -- so why are you still following it?
Note to readers: Mr. McMahon obviously is a very, very sick man. He writes several notes a week, many of them obscene, and he's called me so many dirty names I've lost count. I supported the idea of the All-Star Game determining home-field advantage in the World Series, so he doesn't even get his facts right. So please, if any of you come across this man, be gentle, offer him a bowl of soup and tell him where he might be able to pick up a pillow and a blanket.
From: Steve Radovich
Scott, thank you for the wonderful article about the situation here in Milwaukee. I have been a Brewers fan since the inception of the team in 1970. Your keen insights regarding their plight is right on the "money", or, lack of.
Yes, there was outcry from some fans and the media once the (Richie) Sexson trade was announced, but now that the dust has settled, fans now realize Doug Melvin had no other choice. Why wait until the season starts and then look to the trade deadline and risk getting very little in return with teams knowing they can sign Sexson as a free agent, or, worse, lose him to injury. Doug Melvin has done a fantastic job with this trade. The players he signed give flexibility and immediate impact to the major league club while we wait for the youngsters that might not pan out at the major league level. It also gives some options regarding additional trades.
The general consensus among scouts was that Melvin did a wonderful job in acquiring a large group of players for Sexson.
From: Bill Hansen
Scott, as often as the Brewers and Bud Selig receive cheap shots from the press, I was ready for an uninformed hack job on the evaluation of the Brewers trade with the D-Backs. Points to you for giving a reasonable evaluation of what promises to be a good trade for both teams and seeing the possibilities. I'm a big Sexson fan, but it's a trade the Brewers needed to make and Doug Melvin did a nice job of getting value in return.
I doubt Junior Spivey will ever see an at-bat in a Brewers uniform. The Crew has plenty of middle infield talent just reaching the majors or within a year or so. I suspect he will be dealt for a No. 3-level starting pitcher (at least I hope so!). The economic status of baseball polarizing the haves from the have-nots is in danger of further damaging the game, but at least in this instance I think the Brewers come away with a good deal.
As long as they don't find a way to screw it up.
From: Steve Wold
I am and always will be a huge Twins fan, but why in world do the Twins never, ever have a legitimate power hitter? A 35-plus home run power hitter would be nice for once. How about a power pitcher who can blow it by someone? I realize the Curt Schillings, Randy Johnsons, etc., are hard to find, but for once it would be nice to see the Twins with one. The Cubs have two, the Diamondbacks have two! Please give the Twins one or the other for Christmas! That's all I want!
See, here's the problem with wishing for that for Christmas: The elves make the stuff Santa delivers. And the elves are far too short and puny to construct a monstrous power-hitter, or a monstrous power-pitcher. They simply can't do it. So your best bet might be to forget all of this and resume leafing through the Victoria's Secret catalog.
From: Rob Bonter
Really appreciated, Scott, your reference to "Comiskey Park" rather than the corporate name. Now if you or someone with guts in the media would refer to regional/state names as cities. I can't stand all the Arizonas, Floridas, Colorados, New Englands, Minnesotas and Tennessees. UGH! How about calling them Phoenix, Miami, Denver, Boston, etc. just for dramatic effect? Recently there were two Tennessee-Miami games on the same weekend, one NCAA, and one NFL. It's a joke, professional teams confusing themselves with college teams. Best thing the Angels ever did was taking on the Anaheim identity. What say you?
I think the best thing the Angels ever did was get themselves sold by the evil Walt Disney Co.
From: Frank Pugh
Where is Joe Charboneau when you need him? Scott, you are a former board member of the BBWAA, so you better weigh in on the American League rookie of the year controversy. As much as I hate to admit it, I have to agree with George Steinbrenner this one time. Three reasons why the writers who excluded Matsui from consideration are wrong: (1) They, and they alone, add criteria for rookie eligibility; (2) Precedent had been set years ago -- three other Japanese rookies of the year in the past ten years, not to mention Jackie Robinson, have all won it; (3) Poor Angel Berroa -- he has to live with an asterisk beside his award forever.
In my opinion, if these writers can't use the same criteria that all the other voters use, then let someone else from their city vote who does use it. In other words, they should be sanctioned by the BBWAA.
Frank Pugh, Leesburg, Va.
I did weigh in on the AL Rookie of the Year award a few weeks ago, but I'm glad you brought it up because it was such a fiasco that I'll repeat: Hideki Matsui should have won it. Two knuckleheads who should have recused themselves from the voting if they didn't agree with the rules made up their own rules. Not only did three other players from Japan win the award in previous years, but there were also several Negro League players who won the award in the late 1940s and early 1950s -- not just Jackie Robinson.
