Today we get this from ESPN Insider:

Remember the frenzy surrounding proposed deals that would send Edwin Jackson and/or outfielder Curtis Granderson from Detroit to Seattle? The momentum appears to have slowed significantly. One person familiar with the talks told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that it's "pretty doubtful" the teams have enough common ground to make a trade.

Seattle has legitimate interest in Jackson, but isn't willing to part with the haul of young talent that Detroit GM David Dombrowski wants in return. The consensus is that Dombrowski is trying to "sell high" on Jackson after his 2009 All-Star season.

Surprise! Detroit thinks Edwin Jackson is really good. Seattle knows he isn't. A wonder the two sides can't agree on a package.

So I was handed a copy of the New York Times today (yes I hate trees), and flipping to the sports section the top article on its front page was entitled "A New Generation of Statistics Redefines Baseball". It's basically all about WAR and how its gaining an increasingly large following in both the media and fanbase. It's also got a Dave Cameron quote and basically is one of the better or at least most heartening articles you'll read in a (very) mainstream newspaper al year. I found the article under a different name online and I suggest you take a look. Some notable awesomeness:

A WAR of 10 does not have resonance as a hallowed number in a sport with so many others. But it will be a goal for Greinke next season, whether or not the Royals contend.

“I think, whether the traditional baseball community wants to acknowledge it or not, the fan base and the media have finally embraced and immersed themselves in advanced statistics,” Bannister said. “I think you’re going to see more and more people brought up with that influence. I really just think that the future of the game is in the numbers.”

I have no idea if anyone else is even watching but here's a thread nonetheless.

Anthony Varvaro starting, Ackley in left.

Varvaro gave up a lead-off triple but I thought he looked pretty good after that, nice curve to strike out the final hitter. Ackley flew out on the second pitch he saw.

So... yeah. Go Javelinas!

Oh yeah, Tony Clark's the colour guy again so be prepared to hear the word 'mister' a lot and about 'things you can't teach'.

As most of you know by now, the Irish again failed to qualify for the World Cup yesterday.  They had several gilt-edged scoring chances that they did not convert, so instead of talking about Ireland's return to the World Cup, the entire soccer world is talking about this (the fun starts at the 5.34 mark).  Not only was Henry offside, he handled the ball not once but twice. He owned up to it after the game, but that doesn't matter - France won, and is through to the World Cup, on a goal that never should have been allowed in the first place.  It seems the only people that didn't see it are the three referees that are supposed to see these things.  Instant replay would be great, but FIFA doesn't want it.

There's now a lot of controversy over whether Henry should have said something, should have insisted to the ref that the goal not stand, but I think that's kinda stupid - if Ireland feels hard done by, they should talk to Robbie Keane, who missed an absolute sitter that would have put the game beyond doubt.  Instead we get controversy, and demands for the game to be replayed.

So, since the last OFFTOP is filling up/bogging down slow computers and we needed a new one, the question I have is simple:  What is the most egregiously bad officiating decision (in any sport) you know of?

Also: movies, beer, bands, you know the drill.

This is hopefully going to be the big one. The Black Friday Turkey Bowl!

If you haven't played with us before, you're very encouraged to show up for this special after-Thanksgiving calorie burnoff.

Playing on Lynnwood High's new field was cool, but I think we should try Garfield unless enough people say otherwise. Also, I wont be able to make many decisions on this thread because I wont be online much in the upcoming week, so I hope you guys get time and date sorted out.

By the way, theres a link to the facebook event page in the thread below. Check it out!

I'll be updating the 'people who are playing' list semi-daily.

Playing: JamMasterJesus

johnbai

katal

BrettJMiller

LantermanC (+two)

I started listening to the Hot Stove league show tonight on KIRO-710 ESPN, just barely soon enough to hear the very end of the interview with Tony Blengino.  It was awesome...and now I'm desperate to hear the rest of it!

Does anyone know if there is a way to listen to a recording of the program? Does 710 AM post recordings of their broadcasts or interviews anywhere?  Thanks!

Anyone have any thoughts on the interview?

I recently lost a friendly wager with my roommate over the results of a sporting match, so  I need to cook us and some guests a big dinner as payment.  I'm feeling a little homesick, so I really want to cook a Vietnamese or Thai meal.  I don't have much experience with cooking, but I have wits enough to pull off some fairly elaborate meals if I do my homework and have good recipes (I made a chicken curry meal a few weeks ago).  

I plan on using chicken, and I have ready access to a good deal of cilantro, garlic, ginger, vegetables, noodles, and a big stir fry pan.

Also, in this thread, feel free to consider:

-What recipe(s) I should use for the meal I'm cooking this weekend?

-What are your favorite, most especial recipes (and maybe the story of how you found it)?

-What are you favorite types of food and restaurants the Seattle area (or wherever in the world you live, for that matter) - perhaps which neighborhoods or cities have your favorite restaurant scenes or general attractions and vibe as well?

-Does anyone who has grown up and lives in a big city use travel guides for it (e.g. Frommer's, Rough Guide, etc.) to find things to do there?

-What do the statistically or football-ly inclined think of Nate Silver's new Soccer Power Index at ESPN.com (a good summary of it may be found at Dave Cameron's hang out, full methodology here)

-What new blogs, fiction, or LL-safe non-fiction books have you recently discovered?

-What's the best piece of advice anyone's ever given you?

-Anything else you'd like to talk about?

Hi guys,

My name is Chintan Desai and I am a member of the Lookout Landing community and UC Davis student doing a paper on a community that I am apart of. I have decided to choose the Lookout Landing community. In order to do so, I have to collect some census data on the demographics of the community that I have chosen so that I can accurately paint a picture of the community as a whole. Now obviously there is the problem with the anonymity of the Internet, so I was wondering if you guys could help me out by listing as much as you want of the following things: There is no pressure to fill out all of this, but obviously the more I have the more useful it would be.

Age:

Male/Female:

Education Level:

Race/Ethnicity:

Now, obviously asking for people's race/ethnicity may be controversial, but again note that this is simply for a research paper on community. None of this information will be used for anything other than the paper. I will also gladly share the paper with you once it is complete.

Thanks guys! Hope to hear your responses!

My cat 'Baxter' is the Franklin Gutierrez of cats. 

And not just in that he is good looking.  He is very athleticic and can do some incredible jumps and backflips. 

Truly, he is Death to Flying Things, with extreme bird-catching ability.  I would estimate him to be a +20 Birdcatcher, possibly even the greatest Birdcatcher in the league.  His defensive value alone is worth 2 Birdcatching Wins (10 Bird Catches per Birdcatching Win).  On the MLB free agent payscale of 4.5 million per win in 2009, I thus estimate him to be worth around $8-9 Million per year. 

If you are a major league General Manager and are interested in discussing the acquisition this incredible talent, just let me know!

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/1564411-p2.html

The part of this article that interests me:

Rumors suggest the Royals are seeking to swing a deal with the Dodgers to acquire catcher A.J. Ellis for second baseman Alberto Callaspo. If true, financial benefits would be down the road. Callaspo should reach arbitration eligibility after next season, but Ellis not until after 2011 at the earliest.

If those talks stall, the Royals seem determined to unload Callaspo in hopes of selling high after a season in which he batted .300 with a .356 on-base percentage, 11 homers and 73 RBIs.

Well, you can't say Dayton Moore doesn't evolve.  He's gone from his "look at the wrong things and buy high" strategy to a modified version of "sell high" that has led him to the conclusion that after batting .300 in his age-26 season and failing to qualify for super-2 status Alberto Callaspo has to go.  Wow.  Callaspo is coming off a 2.8 WAR season where he maintained his excellent contact rate (8.9K%) and nearly tripled his career .ISO.  Yes, he's not great on defense and a lot of his value lies in his batting average, but with his ability to make contact there's good reason to believe he isn't due for major regression, and his .315 BABIP this year doesn't exactly scream fluke.  The return Moore appears to be looking at?  A 28 year old slap-hitting catcher who failed to hit a single home run in the Albuquerqe band box.

Callaspo failed to qualify as a super-2, so he's near league minimum for another year.  He's bad at 2B, but he's not a total butcher and he's shown some ability to play 3B in the past.  He's also under club control for his age 27-30 seasons, and he's coming off a .352 wOBA this year.  He's a switch-hitter whose value shouldn't be undermined too much by the Safeco effect, and as a guy with a good bat who doesn't steal bases or put up gaudy HR totals, he's likely to get undervalued a bit in arbitration, keeping his price tag low through his prime.  In short, I'm a fan.

This looks like a great opportunity to add a couple wins to the 2010 roster for virtually no cost.  If the rumors are true and AJ Ellis is the kind of return that Moore's looking for, I have to believe the Mariners are capable of stepping in and offering more.  We already know Moore overvalues scrappy Mariner castoffs.

Thoughts?