Rotoman

How to Write a Book – Writing Course

I could insert a code in the above link and earn 35 percent of anything some sucker might pay to learn how to write her or his memoirs in a month. But I’m more seriously reminded of the Mary Tyler Moore Show episode when Ted Baxter, nincompoop anchorman, is writing his memoirs.

There is the usual hilarity, jokes about how you should have read a bood before you write one (Murray), and some sad empathic work by the lovely comic genius Georgette. But then we see Ted at work at a typewriter in the office as everyone is getting ready to go home, because he’s up to date in his autobiograpy. And when Murray or Lou turns off the light and says, Goodnight Ted, the room goes dark and we hear him typing that up to date work, “Goodnight Ted, they said.” He writes.

Somehow, Jose Canseco’s appearance in Congress had a little of that same feel.

Ps. If you want to sign up for Nick Davis let me know and I’ll sign up as an affiliate. Then I’ll refund one third of the money you waste. Now isn’t that a deal?

How to Write a Book – Writing Course

I could insert a code in the above link and earn 35 percent of anything some sucker might pay to learn how to write her or his memoirs in a month. But I’m more seriously reminded of the Mary Tyler Moore Show episode when Ted Baxter, nincompoop anchorman, is writing his memoirs.

There is the usual hilarity, jokes about how you should have read a bood before you write one (Murray), and some sad empathic work by the lovely comic genius Georgette. But then we see Ted at work at a typewriter in the office as everyone is getting ready to go home, because he’s up to date in his autobiograpy. And when Murray or Lou turns off the light and says, Goodnight Ted, the room goes dark and we hear him typing that up to date work, “Goodnight Ted, they said.” He writes.

Somehow, Jose Canseco’s appearance in Congress had a little of that same feel.

Ps. If you want to sign up for Nick Davis let me know and I’ll sign up as an affiliate. Then I’ll refund one third of the money you waste. Now isn’t that a deal?

TOUT WARS: Battle of the Experts

You can check on the progress of the Tout Wars AL auction here. Note that Johan Santana went first and cheap, setting the bar for Randy Johnson even lower.

Total Quality Stats: LABR-AL

The link takes you to the rosters at TQ Stats for the Baseball Weekly LABR AL draft. The next link takes you to the NL rosters.

Total Quality Stats: LABR-NL

Victor Martinez went for $22, Ivan Rodriguez for $20, Javy Lopez for $19, Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek for $15, and Jason Kendall for $13. I won’t argue about the prices of those other than Kendall–they seem quite fair–but Baseball Prospectus’s Nate Ravitz got a steal in Kendall. Mark my words.

The thorn in every manager’s side, AJ Pierzynski, also went for $13. Somebody screwed up here, don’t you think?

Which reminds me: There are no good catchers in the National League. Paul Lo Duca, Johnny Estrada and Mike Piazza each went for $14. Mike Lieberthal and Ramon Hernandez went for $13. I think you could argue that all stretch expectations.

TOUT WARS: Battle of the Experts

I’m drafting an NL team this coming Sunday morning. The drafts are open to the public, if you are in NY and not involved in any egg hunts. It sounds like there will be a live online stream of comment, too.

I’m planning to buck the Stars and Scrubs trend and buy the most average team possible. No $20+ players. Though I reserve the right to change horses if the situation warrants.

[The rationale for totally spreading the risk is that there are few sure pitchers this year, so there are reasons to avoid the expensive guys–too much risk. And focusing on $15 players only (along with a few $1 pickups) imposes a certain discipline on separating guys who are cheap because they haven’t actually proven their upside yet, as opposed to guys who just aren’t all that good. I’ll be looking for the former.]

In Defense of Barry Bonds

As we wonder whether he’ll catch the Babe and the Hammer, someone in the discussion group posted this link. Funny stuff, and old. I’m surprised I haven’t seen it before.

Howstuffworks “How Performance-Enhancing Drugs Work”

I found this link on Yahoo. How steroids work is rather important to understanding why athletes might take them. Even if Jose Canseco isn’t around.

It also makes it easier to see why this isn’t a new problem or one that has changed the face of sport. Well, it has changed the face of sport, but that isn’t much different than all the other changes to the face of sport. At least that’s what I see.

Major League Baseball : Ask Rotoman

Brett Myers, Adrian Beltre vs. Derek Jeter, Tossing bad players out early, and surprising hitters are the topics. The new Ask Rotoman column at mlb.com is the place.

Ask Rotoman: USATODAY.com – Consider San Juan effect with Expos

I was doing some writing about park effects and just noticed that Hiram Bithorn Stadium, the ballpark in San Juan the Expos played in part time the last two years, was the worst ballpark for hitters in the National League for both of them.

This is absolutely worthless info, since no major leaguers will be playing there this year. But I was reminded that a lot of prognosticators thought the Expos would hit like crazy in this “bandbox.” Well, it turns out they were wrong, and I was a little bit right (I certainly didn’t predict it would so favor pitchers), and we should all be careful about our assumptions.

BTW, I don’t think the Expos played enough games there either year to skew the stats of individual players too much, but if you’re thinking of loading up on Expos starters it wouldn’t hurt to see how they did at Olympic Stadium alone. It has been playing as a middle of the pack park, which is what is expected of RFK Stadium in Washington.

Yahoo! Sports – MLB – Report: Jeremy Giambi admits he used steroids

Why did Billy Beane trade Jeremy Giambi for a bucket of bones? Why did he let Jason Giambi walk? How many times was Jose Canseco traded? There are very often reasons for a lot of the inexplicable things that happen, reasons we aren’t always privy to. As we grind through what is almost certain to be the year of the steroid revelation, we should remember that all these issues have been in play for quite some time.

Did I mention that I worked (cowrote/codirected) on a TV show for SportsChannel in NY in 1984 about steroid use? We were against it.

There is also a story out today about an FBI probe from back in the 90s in which some skeev says he supplied Canseco and McGwire with steroids. The McGwire camp is tight-lipped, though they suggest one consider the source.
Canseco happily says he knew the guy, and denies every getting steroids from him. There may be a reason for him to lie about this at this point, but it’s really hard to imagine.

I’ve said what I have to say about this whole situation enough that it doesn’t bear repeating here. My advice, even though you didn’t ask, is to pay attention to who is saying what, and consider why they might be saying it. And try not to get inflamed by media coverage designed to incite.

We all deserve better.