One man’s Hall of Fame ballot

…if they gave anonymous, untalented hack bloggers a Hall vote.

The deadline for voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2007 class is Dec. 31. Some players eligible will be enshrined, others won’t. Here’s who I would vote for:

• Tony Gwynn: Like, duh. Gwynn, along with his American League counterpart Wade Boggs, are inextricably intertwined as the best pure hitters of their era. There’s no need to argue Gwynn’s case. His numbers do all the talking.
• Cal Ripken: Like, double duh. His 3,184 hits and 447 homers ensure his enshrinement. Oh, and that consecutive games played streak.

Other should-be enshrinees, in alphabetical order:

• Bert Blyleven: For the life of me, I can’t figure out why the Dutchman isn’t in the Hall. Why should voters love thee? Let me count the ways: 287 wins; career ERA+ of 118; top 10 in ERA 10 times; top 10 in WHIP 11 times; 13th all-time in innings pitched; 3,701 strikeouts, good for fifth (fifth!) all time; and a career K/BB ratio of 2.8. Naysayers may point to his 250 losses or his penchant for the long ball. But let’s take a look at the strikeouts. Of the four men ahead of him on the all-time list, two are in the Hall and two will be. Of the next 11 men after him, eight are in and one (Maddux) certainly will be; the others (Schilling, Martinez) merit consideration. Of course, the win is a highly imperfect measure, but you don’t pile up 287 by accident. And if you are a believer in Baseball-Reference’s comps, eight of Blyleven’s 10 most similar players are in the Hall. Come on, baseball writers… vote him in. Don’t fuck this fucking thing up.
• Andre Dawson: If players such as Billy Williams and Dave Winfield, both fine players, are in, there’s no reason that Hawk should be out. Plus, there’s that whole (undeserved) 1987 NL MVP award.
• Rich Gossage: When it was announced last year that old friend Bruce Sutter made the Hall, I tried to make a case for the Goose’s inclusion. My feelings haven’t changed. During nine seasons, Gossage played Harlem Globetrotters to the rest of the league’s Washington Generals. He straight-up housed opposing hitters. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, he was the most lethal reliever in the major leagues. Just check his ERA+ from those years, and you’ll see what I mean. Honestly, I think it’s kind of a shame that Sutter made the Hall before the Goose.
• Jim Rice: I’m not against enshrining Rice, but if it’ll get Dan Shaughnessy to shut up, then I’m all for it.

You might notice a certain well-muscled yet gutless slugger absent from this list. Since he’s not willing to talk about his past, I’m not either.

R.I.P. James Brown 1933-2006

Holy shit.

The holidays have been hectic around here (more on that later), so I’ve been off the grid the past couple of days.

I just found out from JP that James Brown has died.

The Godfather of Soul truly was a musical genius, and like all artistic geniuses, he also had his flaws. But that man could make music. If James Brown can’t make you get up and shake your ass on the dance floor, you must be dead.

Not only was he the Godfather of Soul, he also could be considered a Godfather of Hip-Hop. During hip-hop’s creative explosion in the mid- to late 1980s, he was one of the most-sampled artists, with the Clyde Stubblefield drum break from “Funky Drummer” probably being the most-sampled bit of music of all. Off the top of my head, I know that Public Enemy and Ultramagnetic MCs sampled “Funky Drummer” for “Fight the Power” and “Give the Drummer Some,” respectively.

The world of music has lost a true heavyweight.

Never mind

Via MLB Trade Rumors, the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Jayson Werth is headed to Liberty Town:

A baseball source said yesterday that the Phillies have come to an agreement with outfielder Jayson Werth, … (who) will have to pass a physical before he signs any contract, which could happen as early as (Tuesday). Contract terms were not available.

That’s too bad. It would have been intriguing to have him bat in the No. 2 hole ahead of Albert Pujols. At least there’s precedent for a guy from Springfield playing for the Phillies.

Werth the wait

Among the casualties of Tuesday’s non-tender deadline is erstwhile Dodgers outfielder Jayson Werth.

The Cardinals are said to be interested in him:

To add depth to the outfield, the Cardinals are checking into the health of Jayson Werth. The grandson of former Cardinal shortstop Dick “Ducky” Schofield missed 2006 with a wrist injury.

Werth would make a fine addition to the Cardinals corps of outfielders. Although he’s logged the most time in left field, he can play the other two spots, and he actually can catch a fly ball. *coughChrisDuncancough*

Because he’s battled some injuries during his career, Werth’s career line of .245/.333/.420 doesn’t look outwardly gaudy. But during his 2004 campaign with the Dodgers, he put together a .262/.338/.486 line in 89 games. And before injuries took their toll in 2005, he had shown a marked improvement in his walk rate. His minor-league numbers also bear out an ability to take walks.

So where might he play? Well, he’s got the potential to be a perfect platoon partner with Chris Duncan. In 2004, Werth torched lefthanded pitching to the tune of .290/.377/.624. If Tony La Russa wants to sit Jim Edmonds against lefties, Werth could supply more TLR-approved “damage” than So Taguchi.

He’s a natural athlete, as well. As Derrick Goold mentioned above, Werth is the grandson of Ducky Schofield as well the nephew of former Angels shortstop Dick Schofield. His mother, Kim Schofield Werth, was a multiple-time state-champion sprinter and long-jumper in high school in the 1970s, and his stepdad is former major-leaguer Dennis Werth.

It also would be extra cool to root for a guy from your hometown. Werth hails from Springfield and graduated from nearby Chatham Glenwood High School.

My dad, a longtime baseball and football official in central Illinois, raves about Werth. He umpired many of Werth’s high school games and says Werth is one of the nicest, most with-it kids he’d ever met in his 30-plus years of umpiring.

Sounds just like a Cardinals kind of player.

Cardinals rumored to be going after Alyssa Milano’s former boyfriend

No, not that former boyfriend of Alyssa Milano.

It’s this former boyfriend of Alyssa Milano.

Yup, according to a Bernie Miklasz post in his STLToday forum, the Cardinals are said to be reviewing Carl Pavano’s medical records, perhaps in prelude to a trade. You might remember Pavano from such home runs as Mark McGwire’s 70th in 1998.

Any deal would come down to which team would eat the most of Pavano’s remaining $22.95 million over the next two years, which is quite a sum of money for a guy who hasn’t pitched in 18 months.

When he has been on the mound, he’s been extremely decent, owning a career ERA+ of 100 and a K/BB rate of 2.33. His lifetime 1.42 G/F ratio would certainly pique Dave Duncan’s interest. Keeping him on the mound, though, has proved a challenge for any team but the Marlins, who have benefited from Pavano’s only 200+-inning seasons.

Having not pitched since June 2005, it would seem that Pavano’s value is about as low as the president’s approval rating. It wouldn’t make any sense for the Yankees to trade him now. To do so would mean they would have to pay most of what’s left on his deal and accept little more than a large order of toasted ravioli in return.

But that doesn’t stop Fat Strat at Gateway Redbirds, who went buckwild with the Fangraphs in trying to find a parallel between Pavano and our man Chris Carpenter.

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You may have noticed that posting here at The 26th Man has been sporadic as of late. That likely will continue until the warm light of Spring Training melts away the cold, dark, terrible winter.

In the meantime, I invite you to check out my other blog, which is in the same vein as this one except not about baseball.

All’s quiet on the winter front

The Winter Meetings so far have been slow-going. Here’s the best of what’s Cardinals-related:

**According to Matthew Leach, the Cardinals and Walt Jocketty are telling themselves they are in the running for erstwhile Giant Jason Schmidt.

Schmidt’s agents, the Hendricks brothers, say Schmidt wouldn’t necessarily not go to the Midwest and that a three-year deal is not a hindrance.

We’ll see. One could speculate that Chris Carpenter’s extension may have laid the groundwork for a run at Schmidt, i.e., the team can offer Schmidt some big bucks now that Carp is getting his. That sort of thing.

**Ken Rosenthal says the Cardinals offered Vicente Padilla four years before he took three years from the Rangers.

Arbitrary moves

(UPDATE 10:49 pm: The broken links are now fixed. I am a dumbass.)

Friday was the deadline for teams to offer their free agents arbitration, and of the several Cardinals eligible, only Jeff Suppan and Mark Mulder had the offer extended.

That Suppan and Mulder were offered arbitration is not surprising, nor that Jeff Weaver wasn’t isn’t either.

Weaver made $8.325M base in 2006 and had he been offered arbitration, he likely would have accepted. He certainly would have been awarded more than his 2006 base. Because both sides have expressed interest in Weaver’s return, an offer not substantially higher than last year’s likely would have negated any goodwill as far as re-signing him goes.

Getting back to Suppan and Mulder, I think that the arbitration offers mean both are as good as gone. Despite his career league-averageness, Suppan’s postseason heroics will mean that someone will throw mad dollars in his direction. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said last week that the Pirates are gunning for Suppan, although the figures quoted there ($8M-$9M) may be on the low side. Other teams with reported interest include the Giants and the Blue Jays.

Suppan’s status as a Type A free agent means that if/when another team signs him, the Cardinals would/will receive the team’s first-round draft pick and and a supplemental pick.

Mulder is receiving attention from all over the league as well: Arizona is totally hot for him, as is Tampa Bay. Other teams rumored to be interested include San Diego and Baltimore.

While Mulder is coming off of surgery and won’t be ready to pitch until later in the season, some team is likely to offer him multiple, guaranteed years to separate themselves from teams offering a one-year, incentived deal, which the Cardinals are likely to do.

Lest you think a multiple-year deal for a pitcher coming off of serious shoulder surgery amounts to lunacy, a somewhat similar deal was struck back in 2003. After he shredded his elbow the previous season, the Yankees gave Jon Lieber two years guaranteed, the first of which was for $300K while he rehabbed his elbow. The second year paid him $2.45M, although the Yankees declined their $8M option for 2005, when he eventually signed with the Phillies.

While Mulder will probably get a similarly structured deal (two years guaranteed, club option for a third) he’ll certainly will get much, much more than Lieber’s $2.75M guarantee. He’s a Type B free agent, meaning the Cardinals would get just the supplemental pick if another team resigns him.