• The Balboa Observer-Picayune: "Your hometown paper & Arrested Development fansite." It's the ultimate resource for the greatest television comedy ever produced by Man. Click here for the random quote generator, but only if you have a few hours to waste laughing your ass of.

  "You know, say what you will about America. 13 bucks still gets you a hell of a lot of mice."

  BTW: The stunningly beautiful Portia de Rossi is a lesbian (whoa- John Kerry moment), and she's apparently dating Ellen Degeneres. WTF is that? She could do soooooo much better! Like, oh, I don't know... me. Not to sound like the stereotypical male here, but I could set her on the straight and narrow in no time.
  
  
• An interesting look at how the GOP wooed the Amish vote in Pennsylvania. Makes sense, as they do share the same values. Although, on the other hand, Bush did run on a very pro-electricity platform...
  
  And of course liberals complain that the GOP is taking advantage of the poor Amish. Look, they may live in the dark, but they're not stupid. Not everyone can be the victim of social injustice, and not everyone needs your help - get over yourselves.
  
  
• Steve Nelson (formerly of the Mariners Wheelhouse) has made his first appearance over at Leone for Third, his new digs. It's good to see Steve hasn't completely stepped-away from the keyboard. He was the first blogger to give me a link when I started this blog almost a year ago, and for that the Wheelhouse always held a place of honor at the top of my blogroll. I was very sorry to see it go.
  
  
• Check out this neat year-in-review "audio slideshow" from the BBC, and this interactive timeline of events.
  
  
• Here's a pleasant little surprise for Orange County sports fans - a Mighty Ducks blog. I'm going to read it everyday. You know, once there's is something to read about.

"...blah blah... Arte Moreno... blah... city council... blah blah blah... Disney... blah blah... Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim... blah blah... increased revenues... blah blah blobiddy blah... lawsuit."

But U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland suggested that the United States and other Western nations were being "stingy" with relief funds, saying there would be more available if taxes were raised.

"It is beyond me why are we so stingy, really," the Norwegian-born U.N. official told reporters. "Christmastime should remind many Western countries at least, [of] how rich we have become."

"There are several donors who are less generous than before in a growing world economy," he said, adding that politicians in the United States and Europe "believe that they are really burdening the taxpayers too much, and the taxpayers want to give less. It's not true. They want to give more."

I commend the city of Fullerton for voting in support of an airport at El Toro, a precious national resource ["Fullerton wants to operate an airport at El Toro," Dec 22]. An El Toro International Airport is desperately needed to serve 30 million annual passengers in the 21st century. I believe even Irvine, which sent its goon squad to Fullerton masquerading as the public, will eventually support the airport when it sees its quality of life enhanced.

Donald Nyre
Newport Beach

"Fake But(tsex) Accurate"

• A complete set of Fiona Apple CDs. You mention once that you enjoy Fiona Apple... actually, I really needed these, as I had "loaned" my CD's to my brother (and by "loaned", I mean he took them without my permission or knowledge), who then had them stolen from his car. The least he could do was replace them.
  
  
• Two copies of Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral: Deluxe Edition". To go with the one I bought myself a month ago. Luckily both came with receipts.
  
  
• ESPN Major League Baseball for the PS2. Which I had diagnosed as the worst baseball game of the year within two minutes of booting it up. It's the thought that counts, anyway.
  
  
• An awesome wireless controller for my XBOX. Seriously - this thing is great. As good as the Wavebird controller for the Gamecube.
  
  
• A memory upgrade for my MP3 player. Sweet.

And if bloggers do become big business, they will lose their free pass and become subject to the same scrutiny that 60 Minutes is under. After all, it's not as if Power Line never makes a mistake. It's just that right now, because Scott Johnson isn't as famous as Dan Rather, the expectations and the stakes aren't very high.

• Cabrera can't hit. Of course, neither could Eckstein. Cabrera is probably going to be an ever-so-slight improvement over Eckstein with the bat, but that doesn't mean he won't be well below league average. Gaze:
  
  
  
  
  Keep in mind that somebody like, let's say, Nomar Garciaparra (who the Angels could have had for one year at a very reasonable price) would be off this particular chart. Literally off the chart - with a .284 GPA last season, Nomar falls outside of the data range. Another guy the Angels could have had (though a somewhat less than reasonable price) was Edgar Renteria, who's .247 GPA last season was also better than Cabrera and Eckstein (and it was a down-year for Renteria). Perhaps the best available option was Placido Polanco, who's .266 GPA was Ruthian by contrast, and who ended up accepting arbitration from the Phillies. So don't go thinking for a second that Cabrera is any good just because he's better than Eckstein.
  
  
• Cabrera's glove is overrated. "Hey, this guy can't hit. He must be good defensively!" Yes, Orlando Cabrera won a gold glove in 2001, and he might of even deserved it. But since then his defense has fallen off a cliff, and is now to the point where he's below-average at the position. Defensively speaking, the Angels would be far better off with Eckstein at short.
  
  
• The money. Having established that Cabrera is only a slight improvement over what the Angels already had (if an improvement at all), how can you justify spending four times as much as you would have otherwise? And how in God's name can you justify giving him a contract equal to the one Garciaparra got from the Cubs? (on a per year basis) Ick!
  
  
• The years. Four years? Four years!? Are you shitting me? Keep this in mind - Cabrera is 30 years old, and with the deal structured like it is, the Angels will owe him $9 million when he's 34 years old. Can you say "dead money"?
  
  
• The repercussions. Needed any more evidence that Bill Stoneman is operating without a clear plan for the future? Here he's managed to successfully block four different promising middle-infield prospects (Izturis, Wood, Collaspo, and Aybar) for four years. Lovely. Not to mention that a lot of people are going to be up-in-arms over the departure of David Eckstein (my mom called me last night to inform me she will not be renewing her season tickets, and I'm willing to bet she's not the only one).

Player         GPA+
D Eckstein       89
O. Cabrera       90
V. Guererro     125
G. Anderson     103
T. Glaus        116
J. DaVanon      107

What did you think of the bloggers' role in the Dan Rather affair?

I think they did a disservice to the debate because they made the debate about the documents and not about the president of the United States. There was another half to that story that had to do with verifiable events of what Bush may have been up to.

The pattern of discontent in US ranks

Griping among the troops is as old as armed conflict, illustrated most memorably by cartoonist Bill Mauldin's "Willie and Joe" characters during World War II. But something more than that is happening now in Iraq with what appears to be growing resistance from the troops.

Evidence includes numbers of deserters (reportedly in the thousands), resignations of reserve officers, lawsuits by those whose duty period has been involuntarily extended, and a refusal to go on dangerous missions without proper equipment. There's also been a willingness at grunt level to publicly challenge the Pentagon - as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld found out recently in a trip to the war zone, where he got an earful about unarmored humvees.

While some don't see much defiance - and, in fact, have been surprised by the depth of solidarity - others see an unusual amount of tension surfacing for an all-volunteer military force.

The number of annual military desertions is down to the lowest level since before 2001, according to the Pentagon.

The Army said the number of new deserters in 2004 -- 2,376 -- was just half the number of those who deserted prior to Sept. 11, 2001. That number was 4,597.

The numbers of deserters has dropped annually since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. The fiscal year 2004 total number of Army deserters is the lowest since before 1998, according to Army data.

The Angels' failed pursuit of Clement, who has a 69-75 career record and 4.34 ERA, increases the likelihood that they will enter 2005 with their current cast of starting pitchers, which includes Bartolo Colon, Kelvim Escobar, Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey and Paul Byrd. The Angels were expected to explore trade options for Washburn if they signed Clement.

"We're going to go with the best team that we can, and it's a pretty good team the way it is now," Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman said. "That's not to say you're not looking to be better. I don't think you're ever locked in stone."

Defeated Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry likely is going to get one less electoral vote nationally than he should have -- 251 instead of 252 -- because of an apparent mistake Monday by one of Minnesota's 10 DFL electors.

One of the 10 handwritten ballots cast for president carried the name of vice presidential candidate John Edwards (actually spelled "Ewards" on the ballot) rather than Kerry.

The Angels continue to overhaul their starting rotation, signing free-agent pitcher Paul Byrd to a one-year deal, Sporting News has learned.

[snip]

The team remains in hot pursuit of free-agent pitcher Matt Clement and is attempting to trade Jarrod Washburn. The team declined the option on starter Ramon Ortiz in November.

From several sources, including the Times and Register:

A day after finding their center fielder, the team made an offer to a starting pitcher, Matt Clement, and felt it had a good chance of landing him. They might even get him signed by the time these meetings wrap up Monday.

The Angels offered Clement what's believed to be a three-year deal in the neighborhood of $27 million, which should make them the front-runner to land the ex-Chicago Cubs right-hander.

The Times has the offer at $21 over 3, which I would consider a steal after the ridiculous contracts handed to Benson, Wright, Pavano, and Lieber. Clement is easily the best of the starters still on the market, so even $9 million per wouldn't be too bad.

Perhaps the best part of this move is that it has the added effect of taking the Angels out the Pedro Martinez talks for good, a day after Jayson Stark reported that they could still be in it.

In today's Times, Bill Stoneman reveals that he's not looking to add a shortstop this offseason:

But the GM said he is not pursuing a shortstop, a position incumbent David Eckstein and newly acquired Maicer Izturis will compete for in the spring.

"That's not really where our focus is now," Stoneman said. "That doesn't mean we won't stumble into something, though."

Smart decision. With Nomar and Renteria off the market, there's really no one that could be considered a substantial upgrade over what the Angels already have. As I said after Izturis was acquired in the Guillen deal, "Izturis is basically a David Eckstein clone (Eckstein from the 2001/2002 seasons) with a better glove. In open competition with Eckstein, I'm confident Izturis would win the job." And I'm all for that.

Look, I'm not in favor of Beltran-or-bust. In fact, even granting that Finley isn't going to play as well defensively or offensively as he has in years past, this is still a defensible signing. First, it's only two years. That by itself is huge. Say the Angels were to sign Carlos Beltran to the seven-year, $100M contract he's supposedly after. Say also that he becomes a quadriplegic after 90 days. What then? The Angels limp along for the remainder of the decade, hobbled as the Rangers were with Chan Ho Park, or the Orioles were with Albert Belle.

Per the Times, Finely's being inked to a two-year deal (with an option on a third year -- pshaw) worth between $15M and $20M total. This gives the Angels flexibility! Yes, we are now flexible enough to put either Finley or Anderson in center and suck hard either way.

[snip]

And here's another thing ... last offseason, Jose Guillen was signed for a two-year deal at $3M per. Now we're signing Finley for a two-year deal at at least $7.5M per. Do you really think Finley at this point is $4.5M better than Guillen, no matter what the off-field nonsense is?

That's a lot of money for a 2005 forty year old. And the idea that Finley is a power threat doesn't really jibe with his career. His career high in home runs is 36, and he hit that last year. (In light of the recent steroid scandal, it makes you wonder.) His career slugging percentage is .450 and his career OBA is .337; those number just don't impress me.

All in all, this is not the best free agent signing ever, but it should be solid, have at least mildly positive consequences, and leaves the team with a lot of flexibility over the coming couple of years.

How strong is the car culture in Southern California? Apparently even pedestrians want to be involved in auto accidents! A few days ago Anaheim Angels blogger Richard Ceccarelli was run over by one while driving.

But Richard is doing just fine -- the Angels went out and threw $20 14 million at a 40-year-old center fielder! Don't stop there, Bill Stoneman! Your fans are still hurting! There's plenty of time help them by signing, say, Kevin Brown and Ken Griffey Jr.

I've been generally pleased with Angels transactions of the Bill Stoneman era, but this isn't one of them. Yes, Finley still had a nice 2004, but why are the Angels so adamant about having Erstad, a terrific defensive player in center, being nearly worthless as a 1B? He's yet to be any healthier as a 1B and if he's playing 1B, you don't want him to be healthy. Finley turned out to be a dandy player after a weak start to his career, but there are very few players that I want to pay big guaranteed money for their 40 and 41 year-old seasons. Let someone else pay to hope time stands still.

*2005 projection based on Dan Szymborski's ZIPS method.

C- B. Molina
1B- D. Erstad
2B- C. Figgins
3B- Dallas McPherson
SS- O. Cabrerra
LF- G. Anderson/Rivera
CF- S. Finley
RF- V. Guerrero
DH- DaVanon/Quinlan/Morales/Rivera/?

Going into spring training, McPherson has to be considered an early contender for '05 Rookie of the Year. If he develops as expected, the Angels won't miss Glaus, at least not enough to compensate for the amount of money it would take to keep him.

In a story that is completely contradictory to this Richard Justice column, the New York Post characterizes the Angels as "enthralled" with Carlos Beltran:

The Angels are said to be so enthralled with Beltran — who wouldn't be? —they are not getting involved in any Randy Johnson trade talks just so they can have more cash to throw at Beltran. They had better keep saving. The Angels spent their money last year on Vlad Guerrero and Bartolo Colon, and landing Beltran would give them the perfect build-around player.

"He's the smoothest player in the game today," one scout said. "Where Beltran goes, World Series will follow."

The Yankees and Mets need to be reminded of that. The serious bidding for the free agent will begin this week at the winter meetings in Anaheim, where the Angels will have temporary home-field advantage.

So the Angels are out of the Randy Johnson bidding, and it's a cost-cutting move? Clearly it can have nothing to do with the fact that the DBacks are batshit crazy.

The price of oral sex on the streets of Denver could be as high as $19m for Denny Neagle:

Denny Neagle likely has thrown his last pitch for the Rockies.

After Neagle's second arrest in 14 months, the Rockies are expected to release the pitcher while seeking financial relief from the $19 million still owed on his contract.

"Rockies fans are going to see through the players that we are bringing in and developing in our minor-league system that our players are about more than talent; they are also about character and morals," owner Charlie Monfort said Saturday. "We are going to field a team with players that Rockies fans can be proud of. This situation doesn't fit into what we are doing. And the situation will be dealt with accordingly."

Good for the Rockies - you don't want those bad influences around your club. Now go out and replace him with a steroid abuser who's going to hit 80 homeruns, for the kids.

Stoneman said he was not deterred by all the well-documented flops or the fact that he would have less money available to sign pitcher Jered Weaver, the Angels' first-round draft pick. Stoneman said Weaver was "still under consideration."