With this week's release of the astonishing Blu-ray package of the complete Twin Peaks, a few things came to mind. Here is one. Blue Dress is Depeche Mode's Twin Peaks song. No, Martin Gore did not write it for Twin Peaks, nor was it ever connected to the show. But it has that....sound that is not far off in synthpop terms, and coincidentally Violator was released one month before the show's debut episode. Blue Dress also has those "pervy" lyrics that seem to fit in perfectly with Lynch's Northwest Passage.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Friday, August 1, 2014
The Trading Post
I was convinced that little would happen on the trade deadline day, for the reason that nowadays very few teams are willing to give up quality prospects. I was wrong, partially.
What happened is that many major league players were traded, with not much to note on the minor league side of things. Sure, several minor league players changed hands. But the real value resided with the known players already playing in the majors. To understand what I mean, take a look at this ranking of the prospects traded by Baseball America. Billy McKinney flew under the radar in that big Cubs-Athletics July 4th trade, and yet he is ranked higher than any other minor leaguer traded yesterday. Bad news for Tampa, who reportedly could have had Addison Russell for David Price before the Cubs pulled the trigger. In fact, it is perplexing that Tampa made this deal considering how little they received in return. Maybe Tampa knows more than the so-called experts, and their trade history would indicate they know what they are doing, but on paper, this trade looks a lot better for Detroit than Tampa.
I am biased about this next team, but I doubt that I was the only person dumbfounded by the two Cardinal trades. First, the trade violated the "cardinal" rule, followed by Theo Epstein, that you trade away guys who are performing at their peak, and you trade for guys whose recent disappointing performance has diminished their value. Justin Masterson fits that last description, but he is also coming off an injury and a significant reduction in his velocity. He is also set to become a free agent after the season. A lot here not to like, especially for the cost of a decent prospect.
The other Cardinals trade is even worse. Lackey is in the middle of a good year and will pitch next year for a measly $500,000, but he is a pitcher with a significant injury history and at age 36 does not figure to survive another one. Worth a prospect? Yes. Worth two major league caliber players? Not so much. The only thing I can think of is that the Cardinals brass thinks that the league has figured out Allen Craig, with little chance of a return to the type of productivity he showed in previous years. Also, many people probably do not realize that Craig is 30-which helps to put into perspective all of those Cubs prospects on the verge of hitting the major league club at age 22, instead of their late 20s. The biggest mistake here? Not trading Allen Craig during the last off season, when he could have brought much more.
What happened is that many major league players were traded, with not much to note on the minor league side of things. Sure, several minor league players changed hands. But the real value resided with the known players already playing in the majors. To understand what I mean, take a look at this ranking of the prospects traded by Baseball America. Billy McKinney flew under the radar in that big Cubs-Athletics July 4th trade, and yet he is ranked higher than any other minor leaguer traded yesterday. Bad news for Tampa, who reportedly could have had Addison Russell for David Price before the Cubs pulled the trigger. In fact, it is perplexing that Tampa made this deal considering how little they received in return. Maybe Tampa knows more than the so-called experts, and their trade history would indicate they know what they are doing, but on paper, this trade looks a lot better for Detroit than Tampa.
I am biased about this next team, but I doubt that I was the only person dumbfounded by the two Cardinal trades. First, the trade violated the "cardinal" rule, followed by Theo Epstein, that you trade away guys who are performing at their peak, and you trade for guys whose recent disappointing performance has diminished their value. Justin Masterson fits that last description, but he is also coming off an injury and a significant reduction in his velocity. He is also set to become a free agent after the season. A lot here not to like, especially for the cost of a decent prospect.
The other Cardinals trade is even worse. Lackey is in the middle of a good year and will pitch next year for a measly $500,000, but he is a pitcher with a significant injury history and at age 36 does not figure to survive another one. Worth a prospect? Yes. Worth two major league caliber players? Not so much. The only thing I can think of is that the Cardinals brass thinks that the league has figured out Allen Craig, with little chance of a return to the type of productivity he showed in previous years. Also, many people probably do not realize that Craig is 30-which helps to put into perspective all of those Cubs prospects on the verge of hitting the major league club at age 22, instead of their late 20s. The biggest mistake here? Not trading Allen Craig during the last off season, when he could have brought much more.
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