When the Giants Come to Town, It's Bye-Bye Baby

11.25.2008
Didja Hear the One About...

I went home last night, mixed a Malo-tini, threw together a homemade pizza (zucchini, onion, sausage) for my ladies, and soaked for an hour in the tub after the night’s conversations were done. But I still felt slightly dirty; I couldn’t wash off the stink of bad rumor that we all rolled around in yesterday.

The Renteria and Furcal rumors weren’t the only spurious 411 coursing ‘round the Googlewebs. Scroll through the items on MLB Trade Rumors — yesterday was chock-a-block with backpedaling and refutation, from Peter Gammons on down.

¿Y qué? So what? It’s tempting to be highminded and say tsk tsk to the reporters and the bloggers who egg them on. But let’s get some perspective. These aren’t rumors spread by short-sellers of, oh, a major bank failing that could spur economic disaster. These are baseball machinations, man-child millionaires and their blustery, bullying agents, matching wits or lack thereof with scheming GMs. And everyone’s trying to play the desperate, scoop-starved press like cheap violins. They figure if they can convince a reporter or two to scratch out their tunes (hello, Sweeny Murti of WFAN!), who cares if the music’s off-key? 

It’s not nice to fool Mother Fourth Estate, but I won’t get huffy about it. In fact, it introduces a fascinating meta-conversation for the long dark Hot Stove days. Assuming Sweeny and the other reporters are passing bad info, not making it up — and that’s a dangerous assumption —– what’s the source’s motivation? Whose caused was helped yesterday when Murti reported the Giants had inked Renteria? Certainly not the Giants. If they wanted to pressure Furcal and his agent with leaked info, they would leak a report of hot ‘n’ heavy talk, but not a done deal. Et cetera, et cetera. I could drive myself crazy parsing the game theory. I was never any good at chess or computer programming, anyway, so I’m not going to start now.

If you’ve got conspiracy theories or convoluted If-Then decision trees, now’s the time to float them. We promise to take them with a huge grain of salty goodness.



Also on the Network:



5 Comments

| Leave a comment
50andstillfly | November 25, 2008 3:57 PM | Reply

My theory is that the rest of the news sucks so bad that MLB reporters are taking any rumor they hear and running with it. After reading this morning that the Citigroup bailout is a crappy deal for the U.S. taxpayer, and that California is no closer to a budget even though the legislators are still getting paid, I am much happier discussing the pros and cons of Renteria v. Furcal. Although I still say Prince Fielder or bust.

obsessivegiantscompulsive | November 25, 2008 7:20 PM | Reply

I wrote on this on another site, but basically I think Renteria's agent did it.

If it works and the Tigers actually offer arbitration, they accept it in a heartbeat because he's going to get at least the $10M he got last year (while he might have had a down year, he was still an above average SS in the AL offensively, so he won't get a pay cut) plus the $3M he already pocketed from the Tigers for a total of $13M, and while on the Tigers's dime, he gets to try to have a good season as a free agent again next off-season, particularly since 2008 appears to be a bad luck, flukey season.

If it backfires and the Giants back off, assuming the rumor was near-truth, at $9M per season, he probably has at least another suitor willing to pay him $8M for one season, which he takes, giving him $11M for the season, short the $1M from the Giants, but if he can hit like he did in 2007 and not like 2008, he's going to get that $1M and more back with his free agent contract next off-season.

Pretty much win-win all around for the Renteria camp.

Zo | November 26, 2008 4:18 PM | Reply

As usual, Mr. Malo, your philosophical musings are as thoughtful and lucid as your baseball analysis. As for me, I hardly could begin to understand the workings of deviant psychologies like owners, GMs and agents. What do you put in those malo-tinis?

ELM replied to comment from Zo | November 26, 2008 9:40 PM | Reply

I never thought you'd ask.

* Splash vermouth over cubed ice, not crushed, in a metal shaker.

* Shake and pour out some or most of the vermouth, depending on your wetness preference.

* Add the thinnest wedge of lemon to the shaker.

* Fill your martini glass with gin. Gin, I say. Not vodka. Pour it into the shaker.

* While you are shaking vigorously, ask your kitchen slave to fetch the olives and a toothpick. If no kitchen slave is present, a wife or child will do.

* Command him or her t spear three olives, minimum, and ready them in your glass. Pour in a splash of olive juice, no matter how long the jar has been in your fridge.

* Pour half the shaker into your glass. Save the other half by placing the shaker safely upright in your freezer.

Zo | December 1, 2008 8:42 PM | Reply

Clearly a man with compatible interests. Not identical, but compatible. Here is how I make 'em:
* Whilst chilling glasses in freezer, put gin (my current favorite is Plymouth) over ice in a metal cocktail shaker.
* Prepare garnish on appropriate skewer - olives, or a twist if you prefer. I have even been known to make Gibsons.
* Remove glass from freezer, pour a little vermouth (Noilly Prat) into the bottle, swirl and dump out. Water for steaming vegetables makes a convenient receptacle.
* Shake vigorously until hands cannot take it anymore.
* Put garnish in glass, pour gin into glass, top off with two drops of Peychaud's bitters.
* Ahhh!
Allow me to make you one some day. Alas, my wife would never allow me to "save half in the freezer." I am eternally forced to make a second round.

Leave a comment