To Tim or Not to Tim?

Maybe that isn't exactly the right question, but the point is that it is time to talk about our favorite local Freak. Face it, this is a juicy topic. It covers everything from hero worship, economic inequality, and our own mortality.  But mostly it gives us another good chance to crunch numbers!

With that in mind, let's start with an excellent Beyond the Box Score article that states a very clear opinion. What do you guys think?

Merry Christmas!

Here's a stocking stuffer guaranteed to please:

 

We'll be watching the games over the next several days. Should be fun. Comcast is showing The Parade this morning at ten o'clock. Sounds like a great way to spend Christmas.

Have a wonderful holiday!

--M.C.

 

A Sign of Life - Romo Returns!

Apparently, acquiring Justin Maxwell & re-signing Travis Ishikawa weren't the only moves that the Giants had up their sleeves this off-season.  Sergio Romo is coming back, & I am:

- Mighty happy about the concept.

- Mighty amazed about how much money they are paying him, although, given how much various other non-Closers are getting this year, I suppose that I shouldn't be.

I think that Romo has a lot left to offer & will continue to adapt his pitching style to his shifting physical skills ... for example, what would be more goofy than the goofiest guy on the Team starting to throw a knuckle-curve?

I was worried, when LA cut The Beard loose & were supposedly shopping Brandon League, that that dreaded Romo to LA signing was imminent, but no.  Now, we need to decide whether having Wilson pitch for us, while getting overpaid by LA is something that we should interested in.  Sounds worth a shot, doesn't it?  He's another guy who is young enough to learn a new pitch & become awesome again.

I welcome the return of Romo & look forward to some more wheeling & dealing (within reason) to fill in our other needs.

Sergio is back ... more ice cream endorsements ahoy!

Money, Money, Money

In case you were wondering about how baseball teams can spend $150-200M on one player, here's a graph:

Source: Forbes

Baseball teams are loaded with money. This article by Maury Brown at Forbes gives a breakdown of the details (h/t Baseball Musings). Even poor teams are rich. Mr. Brown points out that revenues have grown over 300% since 1995. Screw blue chips, I want a piece of that pie in my mutual funds.

The moral of the story, for me, is to stop giving a shit how much players cost. They cost what they cost and the money is there and the owners could spend a lot more and still be richer than God.

--M.C.