The Sunday Ramble
Rambling on about the non-tender deadline, new uniforms for an AL Central rival, the Contemporary Era Hall of Fame ballot and the start of the World Cup.
Look at that…another edition of the Sunday Ramble!
As I noted in this space a couple of weeks ago, I’ll send a Sunday edition from time to time with some thoughts collected throughout the week. Mostly baseball, but from time to time I’ll veer into something else of interest. It will take some discipline on my part to do this and like most writers, that’s something I lack. I’m thrilled this edition is coming out two weeks after the first one.
Before we get to the fun, the obligatory subscription button is below.
You get a contract and you get a contract and you get a contract…
I don’t intend to use the Sunday space to talk too much about the Royals (that’s for the weekdays), but late on Friday, they announced they non-tendered Jake Brentz and Brandon Webb—two players they had previously designated for assignment. So…ok?
In listing just those two, it meant that all the remaining players on the roster unsigned for 2023 had been tendered contracts. So the borderline guys (at least in my mind) like Brad Keller and Adalberto Mondesi and the relievers Amir Garrett and Taylor Clarke will all, barring a trade or some other transaction, be back with the club in 2023.
If you want to geek on the payroll; folding in the contract estimates from Major League Trade Rumors, the projected amount the Royals will spend in salaries in 2023 has dropped since the first of the month. They waived Luke Weaver who was projected to earn around $3 million in 2023 (and was subsequently claimed and then non-tendered by the Seattle Mariners) and agreed to a contract with Ryan O’Hearn for $1.4 million, $100,000 less than the MLB Trade Rumors projection. They’re on track to spend around $71.7 million with their current roster.
I would expect that number to increase over the next month.
No contract for you!
The biggest name among those who wasn’t tendered a contract would have to be Cody Bellinger. I mean, this is just a stunning fall. The guy won the MVP award in 2019 (and Rookie of the Year in 2017) and is now on the free agent market because the Dodgers thought he wasn’t going to be worth the money they would have to pay for his services.
And his services have taken quite the tumble. His walk rate has plummeted. His strikeout rate has climbed. His Statcast metrics are just downright depressing.
Bellinger is a guy who’s shifted a ton. When he started out, defenses shifted him a little over half the time. The last couple of years, it’s rocketed up to above 90 percent of the time. Of course, that doesn’t explain the decline in his metrics like HardHit% and average exit velocity. Not to mention the decline in walk rate and increase in strikeout rate.
Someone will grab him on a one-year deal meant to be mutually beneficial. If Bellinger gets right, he can propel a fringe team to the postseason and use that as a springboard for a decent payday in free agency.
MLB.com has the full list of non-tenders.
A new look up north
After years of insisting I wasn’t a uniform guy, I’ve decided to give up the charade and admit that yes, I care about the threads worn on the ballfield. Blame the Royals’ City Connect unis…which are still awesome.
After the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers successfully redesigned their uniforms a couple of years ago, the Minnesota Twins are following suit for the 2023 season. Except their new look is…underwhelming.
Blah. The font used for the numbers is just ugly. Same for the “Minnesota” spelled out on the front of two of the looks. Also, I’ve always thought red was kind of a secondary color for the Twins. Using that color on the main home white jersey is just sort of backward.
They also redesigned the logo on the main cap.
I know you’re probably asking, “They did?” Yeah, they did make some very minor tweaks. They lost the glyphs on the “T” and the letter overall increased in weight. The “C” is placed just a little bit lower. Such small changes, but to me, they really strengthened the logo. So that’s a positive.
Now for the other logo, the “M” with the star…My god. It’s just a poor look that feels like someone had a last-minute panic thinking that they needed an alternate cap to go with the four new jerseys. And then decided to rip off the Miami Marlins.
Last thought…I dig the Twin Cities uniform. It’s simple and I believe it’s a cream color. The flags on the shoulder are a nice touch. I’ve always liked the old-school Twins logo and this is a nice extension of that. Plus, the entire uniform just gives off a Negro Leagues vibe. Very nice.
Another shot at the Hall of Fame
The Hall of Fame ballot for the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee was announced a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been wanting to mention it. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, Fred McGriff, Rafael Palmeiro, Albert Belle, Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy are the nominees. It’s a ballot as notable for the names on it as the names omitted. The so-called Contemporary Era is from 1980 to the present. Sabermetric favorites Kenny Loftin, Lou Whitaker and Dwight Evans are three players not on the ballot who have a strong case for enshrinement. Personal favorite Will Clark is another.
As Tom Tango pointed out on Twitter, you don’t necessarily want the strongest ballot for these committee votes. Those casting the votes are allowed only three votes and a strong ballot increases the likelihood of a split vote and nobody getting enshrined. So it’s a little strategic to put Bonds and Clemens and Palmiero up for election. We don’t know who’s on the panel yet, but just thinking in general terms about how Hall of Famers look at the so-called Steroid Guys, there’s no chance in hell any of them getting in via a committee where there are players on the panel.
Schilling, on the other hand, is just a distasteful human. Recall that he was so pissed when he missed election on his ninth try, he insisted he should be removed from the ballot altogether. That wasn’t going to happen, but his support among the BBWAA dropped in his final year of eligibility. Again, we don’t know who’s on the panel who will be making this vote, but it’s not difficult to see Schilling’s post-retirement activities having a limited impact there.
If I had to bet, Schilling gets in with McGriff coming up a vote or two short. The vote will be on December 4, at the Winter Meetings, with the announcement of the results at 7 PM that night.
World Corrupt
If you follow me on the dying app of Twitter, you know I’m a huge soccer fan. Usually, I look forward to the World Cup. This time? Not so much and that makes me a little bit sad and a lot angry.
FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, is rotten to the core. Even if you have tangential interest (or even no interest at all), I highly recommend the Netflix documentary “FIFA Uncovered” which traces the roots of the greed and corruption that have infected the organization from almost the beginning. No one involved is clean.
I could be totally wrong, but I’m thinking this World Cup will be a disaster for FIFA and Qatar. The human rights abuses in Qatar are well documented, as is their shameful treatment of migrant workers and hostility to the LGBTQ community. A regime as authoritarian as this one is simply ill-equipped to properly welcome so many outsiders at once. The tension is only going to grow during this tournament…Something is going to pop. Already we are seeing decisions like this…
And scenes like this…
That’s before a ball has been kicked. Then there was this absolutely batshit insane press conference on the eve of the tournament with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The entire thread on the press conference is a tour de force of stupidity and rank tone-deafness. Honestly, the only thing missing was someone handing him a paper bag full of cash.
Qatar plays Ecuador in the first game of the tournament on Sunday. A Qatar victory by a 1-0 scoreline means the ghost of Arnold Rothstein has relocated to the Mideast.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy your Sunday. See you in your inbox next week.
Agreement: Lou Whitaker belongs in the HOF. No doubt in my mind.
Respectful disagreement: the city connect uniforms are downright blasphemy.
*yawn* Soccer? Really?
- signed,
Curmudgeonly fairly old dude.