Bald Vinnys Roll Call: First Installment

post from The Voice of Yankees Universe on 19 March 2009 09:49:31 PM. © The Voice of Yankees Universe

The Voice of Yankee Universe is excited to bring you the first installment of Bald Vinny’s Roll Call. As we reported earlier this week, Vinny Milano, the man you know as the face and voice of the famed bleacher creatures, will be sharing some of his insights with writers exclusively from our site. Hats off to [...]

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Koskie Lifted in Third...Cubs Romp - Cubs 9
Mariners (ss) 2

post from ChicagoCubsOnline.com on 19 March 2009 09:40:00 PM. © ChicagoCubsOnline.com

Game Twenty-Four - Cubs 9 Mariners (ss) 2
WP - Aaron Heilman (1-0) LP - Gaby Hernandez (0-1) Save - None

Lou Piniella and a mostly B-team lineup made the trip to Peoria on Thursday and left with another Cactus League victory led by Micah Hoffpauir. Hoffpauir hit his fourth home run of the spring in the third inning off Gaby Hernandez...a three-run shot and the biggest hit in the Cubs' six-run third inning.

Jake Fox followed Hoffpauir in the third with a solo home run, his third of the exhibition season. Aaron Miles hit leadoff on Thursday and was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Nate Spears made the trip from minor league camp and drove in three of the Cubs' nine runs with a pair of singles in five trips to the plate.

Koyie Hill, who appears to have the inside track at being named the Cubs' back-up catcher, added another single to his spring resume and was 1-for-4 with a run scored.

Corey Koskie started the game at third base but was replaced by Bobby Scales in the third inning after he told the coaching staff he did not feel good. Koskie received his first action of the spring in the field and reportedly dove for a ground ball in the first inning. Koskie said he was not feeling well soon after and the Cubs lifted him immediately.

Aaron Heilman put together another impressive outing. Heilman threw the ball well and allowed only one unearned run in 3 2/3 innings. The Mariners' split squad put together only four hits and a walk while Heilman struck out a group made of mostly minor leaguers. Heilman found out after the game that he would begin the season in the Cubs' bullpen.

David Patton improved his stock once again. Patton gave up a pair of hits and struck out two in an inning of work. However, he dealt well with a first and third situation with one-out in the eighth and induced an inning ending double play that got him out of trouble.

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When Being Hated is a Good Thing

post from The Voice of Yankees Universe on 19 March 2009 09:16:59 PM. © The Voice of Yankees Universe

Mariano Rivera World Series 2000When I recently became a member of Facebook, I decided to join several Yankees groups in order to communicate with other fans. Upon sifting through a very large number of Yankee-related groups, I noticed a number of anti-Yankees groups as well. I was taken aback by the fact that [...]

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Win a Copy of Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee

post from The Voice of Yankees Universe on 19 March 2009 09:10:05 PM. © The Voice of Yankees Universe

We will be giving away two copies of Allen Barra’s new book, Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee. All you have to do is identify 10 of Yogi’s teammates in the pictures below. I told you which person you needed to name below each picture, so read carefully. The people with the most correct will win, but [...]

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WBC Round 2: 3/18/09: 6:30 MT

post from Purple Row on 19 March 2009 08:34:00 PM. © Purple Row

Here is your WBC Update for Thursday

Pool 1 - San Diego, CA, USA:

CUBA HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

Japan: 5, Cuba: 0

The two teams took a scoreless tie into the 4^th inning, when Japanese 1B Michihiro Ogasawura sent a ball deep into the foggy outfield on 2 outs with runners on 2^nd and 3^rd. Cuba CF Yoennis Cespedes took chase, and made the catch, however, was unable to hang onto the ball, which scored 2 unearned runs for Japan.

It turns out that was all they needed, as the Japanese added 3 more runs while stoning the Cubans and guaranteeing themselves a berth to LA.

Interestingly enough, the Cubans did not show up to the postgame conference, save Manager Higinio Velez , and that was simply to praise the Japanese team as the better team and to reinforce Cuba's commitment to the game of Baseball.

Lines of the game:

Japan SP Hisashi Iwakuma: 6.0IP, 5H, 2K, BB, 0R

Japan LF Norichika Aori: 4-5, 2RBI, R

Japan plays Korea tonight to determine the Pool Victor at 7PM MT on ESPN. If you can wrench yourselves away from your brackets, it promises to be yet another excellent matchup between these two teams.

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Pool 2 - Miami, FL, USA

Venezuela: 10, USA: 6

Of all the games to be effectively meaningless, I'm glad it was this one. Jeremy Guthrie got beaten up for 6 runs (2 earned) while recording only 5 outs. Mark DeRosa brought the game within 1 in the 6th with a 2-run shot to LF, but LaTroy Hawkins proceeded to give it right back up with a 3-run shot to Max Ramirez.

The Americans lost the last game of the pool by a tally of 10-6.

I'd be more upset, but once again, this game didn't really count for much, whether we face Korea or Japan in the next round, it's gonna be a challenge. So I'm glad Guthrie got his work in, and I'm glad it didn't really hurt us that badly.

Lines of the game:

Venezuela DH Miguel Cabrera: 3-5, 2RBI, R

Venezuela 1B Max Ramirez: 2-5, 3RBI, R, HR

USA LF Mark DeRosa: 3-5, 3RBI, R, HR

Saturday will be the first game of the Semifinals, where the loser of Japan and Korea tonight will play Venezuela. USA and the Pool 1 winner will play Sunday evening.

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World Baseball Classic Thread: 3/19

post from Red Reporter on 19 March 2009 08:30:00 PM. © Red Reporter

Not a big day for the WBC, today, with only one seeding game, and most Americans focused on some big college sports event for whatever reason.

Today's Game: Korea v. Japan, 9:00 PM

Ok, so this is the fourth game between Korea and Japan this classic. As it's fairly meaningless, does anyone care anymore? The loser has to play the mighty Venezuelans, but the winner gets an easy berth to the final game against the weak US? Maybe not so much. In any case, the Japanese will have Matsuzaka ready for their semi-final game and instead start Tetsuya Utsumi, against Korea's Won-Sam Jang. Utsumi pitches for the Yomiuri Giants, and has been one of the top pitchers in the Central League of NPB for the last three years. Jang was the KBO's ROY runner-up in 2006, and his overall record in the 2008 Olympics was 12 1/3 innings, 0 ER, 11 K - to be fair, most of that was a complete game shut out against the Netherlands. In any case, while pride is on the line, neither team wants to overkill with the finals coming up. Also, evidently the Koreans claimed PETCO's pitchers moung by planting a flag on it. ..so it's theirs now, right?

Yesterday's Games:

Pool 1: Japan 5 Cuba 0

Japan shuts Cuba out again, and Cuba exits the classic uncharacteristically early. Last night, Cuba still just couldn't put anything together offensively, with only two extra-base hits, and five total. However, after three scoreless innings, Japan capitalized on a Cespedes error to score two runs, slowly adding some insurance in later innings. Norichika Aoki was really the player who 'got things done' for the Japanese, with four hits and 2 RBI. Ichiro looked more like himself last night after a pretty lackluster performance, hitting 2-5 with a triple. Hirashi Iwakuma pitched six full innings, and was still only at 69 pitches at the end of them. But Toshiya Sugiushi came in for three perfect innings to end the game, with four strike outs. Pretty damn impressive.

Pool 2: Venezuela 10 USA 6

This time, the defensive scapegoat (and rightfully so) is Adam Dunn, who was not good at first base, and made an error in the second inning which opened the door for Venezuela to score six runs in that frame. I foretell trying times in the nation's capital this spring. Jeremy Guthrie did not go six innings last night, and, although Dunn's error was responsible for four of the six runs allowed by Guthrie, he certainly wasn't pitching strongly, and exited after 1 2/3 innings. The USA battled back, and looked to make it a close game in the top of the sixth, but the Venezuelans came back in the bottom of that inning and scored three runs off LaTroy Hawkins. The Venzuelans did a great job offensively - six of their 9 starting batters had multiple hits. The best hitter for the day on the US side was Mark DeRosa, who had three hits, one of them a home run. The Venezuelans brought K-Rod in to close, again, though only for one inning, and if I were the mets, I would be slightly displeased.

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Greed vs Incentives - Liberals Take a 2nd Look

post from 2 think good on 19 March 2009 08:13:00 PM. © 2 think good

Fans of Alec Baldwin would not recognize him--even skinny non-elder ladies who strive mightily, but without success, to retell his 30 Rock jokes--in his latest role, supply-side economist. That's right one of Hollywood's most vocal liberals has seen the low-tax incentives light--from a WSJ Editorial:

The actor recently rebuked New York Governor David Paterson for threatening to try to help close the state's $7 billion budget deficit by canceling a 35% tax credit for films shot in the Big Apple.

"I'm telling you right now," Mr. Baldwin declared, "if these tax breaks are not reinstated into the budget, film production in this town is going to collapse, and television is going to collapse and it's all going to go to California."

This is a great example of the need to recognize the importance of incentives, instead of moralistic judgments [i.e. greed], when it comes to setting public policy, especially taxation. From a conservative point of view, by acknowledging that people's actions are largely driven by responding rationally to incentives, we avoid being exposed as frauds when the issue hits closer to home. So while we agree with Mr. Baldwin's current economic analysis, it reinforces the perception that liberals like him who advocate a greater role in for government in public life, do so never expecting to be affected themselves. He is not alone in his hypocrisy.

Liberal nonprofit organizations are now also invoking the I-word. Again from an earlier WSJ Editorial:

... one of Obama's ideas for funding public welfare is to reduce the tax benefit for private charity. His budget proposes to raise the top personal income tax rate to 39.6% in 2011 from 35%, and the 33% rate to 36% while reducing the tax benefit from itemized deductions for the top two brackets to 28% from 35% and 33%, respectively. The White House estimates the deduction reduction will yield $318 billion in revenue over 10 years.

From the Ivy League to the United Jewish Appeal, petitions and manifestos are in the works. The Independent Sector, otherwise eager to praise the Obama budget, worries the tax change "could be a disincentive to some donors." According to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, total itemized contributions from the highest income households would have dropped 4.8% -- or $3.87 billion -- in 2006 if the Obama policy had been in place. That year, Americans gave $186.6 billion to charity, more than 40% from those in the highest tax bracket. A back of the envelope calculation by the Tax Policy Center, a left-of-center think tank, estimates the Obama plan will reduce annual giving by 2%, or some $9 billion.

If the groups protesting are in favor of expanding the role of the Federal Government, did they think about how it would happen? My guess is no, they hoped or assumed there were enough greedy corporations, not in their communities of course, who would be the ones affected.

All articles referenced are copied in full at end of post.

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Tax Me If You Can

WSJ Editorial - MARCH 14, 2009

We're constantly told that taxes don't matter to business and investors, but listen to that noted supply-side economist, Alec Baldwin. The actor recently rebuked New York Governor David Paterson for threatening to try to help close the state's $7 billion budget deficit by canceling a 35% tax credit for films shot in the Big Apple.

"I'm telling you right now," Mr. Baldwin declared, "if these tax breaks are not reinstated into the budget, film production in this town is going to collapse, and television is going to collapse and it's all going to go to California." Well, well. Apparently taxes do matter, at least when it comes to filming "30 Rock" in Manhattan.

Believe it or not, Mr. Baldwin's views are shared across the movie industry, which is pleading in state capitals across the country for most-favored-tax status. Hollywood productions are highly mobile and can film just about anywhere. So they have taken to shopping around the country -- and the world -- for the most lucrative tax avoidance deal.

According to the Motion Picture Association of America, nearly 40 states have corporate tax carve outs or generous cash rebates to lure movie studios to their states. In Michigan, producers negotiated a 40% tax credit on their production costs. A bipartisan bill introduced in the Texas legislature last week and supported by Governor Rick Perry would allocate $60 million into the Texas Film Incentive Program. Members of the Screen Actors Guild held a rally last week in front of the state capitol urging the tax breaks.

In some cases these state tax credits exceed a company's tax liabilities, which means that Disney, Dreamworks and others can get a net cash subsidy from state taxpayers. "In many states, today, movie producers actually pay a negative tax," says a Tax Foundation report on the subject.

The Hollywood studios are ruthless profit maximizers and are expert at playing state suitors against one another. In the midst of California's recent $42 billion budget showdown, producers threatened to leave the state if the legislature didn't offer more inducements. So lawmakers in Sacramento gave the industry a new $250 million deal to stay put.

The film "Annapolis," about the Naval Academy, was supposed to be shot in Maryland, but producers negotiated a better offer in Pennsylvania shortly before filming was set to begin. So they packed the trucks and drove up the interstate to save $10 million on their taxes. A film based on the John Grisham novel, "The Runaway Jury," is set in Mississippi but filmed in Louisiana thanks to tax incentives.

Of course, this is the same Hollywood film industry whose members fund causes and candidates that favor raising taxes on everyone else. The Motion Picture Production and Distribution industry last year gave $14 million in political contributions: 89% went to pro-tax Democrats. A few years ago, director Rob Reiner funded a successful California initiative to raise the state income tax rate to more than 10%. Unlike a film shoot, which can relocate on a moment's notice, your average small businessman in Encino is stuck paying the highest tax rate in the country -- at least until he gives up and moves to Reno.

We've got nothing against industries trying to reduce their tax liability. Shareholders expect nothing less. When we asked the Motion Picture Association to justify these tax breaks, a spokesman gladly pointed to studies showing that the industry is creating thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of new investment in the likes of Michigan and New York. Fair enough. This is called "dynamic analysis." The movie industry's tax machinations are irrefutable evidence that low tax rates do affect business decisions.

As a general principle, however, states shouldn't chase smoke stacks or film production crews with specific tax breaks. It makes much more sense for cities, states and the federal government to lower tax rates for everyone. New York City can survive without Alec Baldwin and "30 Rock," but it can't function without the thousands of small businesses that pay taxes without the benefit of lobbyists and loopholes.
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The Charity Revolt - Liberals oppose a tax hike on rich donors

WSJ Editorial - MARCH 10, 2009

Among those shocked by President Obama's 2010 budget, the most surprising are the true-blue liberals who run most of America's nonprofits, universities and charities. How dare he limit tax deductions for charitable giving! They're afraid they'll get fewer donations, but they should be more concerned that Mr. Obama's policies will shove them aside in favor of the New Charity State.

What did these nonprofit liberals expect, anyway? Mr. Obama is proposing a vast expansion of the entitlement state, and he has to find some way to pay for it. So logically enough, one of his ideas for funding public welfare is to reduce the tax benefit for private charity. His budget proposes to raise the top personal income tax rate to 39.6% in 2011 from 35%, and the 33% rate to 36% while reducing the tax benefit from itemized deductions for the top two brackets to 28% from 35% and 33%, respectively. The White House estimates the deduction reduction will yield $318 billion in revenue over 10 years.

From the Ivy League to the United Jewish Appeal, petitions and manifestos are in the works. The Independent Sector, otherwise eager to praise the Obama budget, worries the tax change "could be a disincentive to some donors." According to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, total itemized contributions from the highest income households would have dropped 4.8% -- or $3.87 billion -- in 2006 if the Obama policy had been in place. That year, Americans gave $186.6 billion to charity, more than 40% from those in the highest tax bracket. A back of the envelope calculation by the Tax Policy Center, a left-of-center think tank, estimates the Obama plan will reduce annual giving by 2%, or some $9 billion.

In defense, White House budget chief Peter Orszag wrote on his blog: "If you're a teacher making $50,000 a year and decide to donate $1,000 to the Red Cross or United Way, you enjoy a tax break of $150. If you are Warren Buffet or Bill Gates and you make that same donation, you get a $350 deduction -- more than twice the break as the teacher." This Administration wants to turn even philanthropy into a class issue.

Mr. Orszag revealed the real agenda at work when he pointed out that the money taken from the "rich" would be used to fund such Obama state-run charities as universal health care. The argument is that any potential declines in private gifts, whether to universities or foundations, will be balanced by increases in government grants paid with higher taxes -- redistribution by another means. This is how Europe's welfare state works: Taxes are so high that private citizens have come to believe it is only the state's duty to support cultural institutions and public welfare. The ambit for private giving shrinks.

America has always operated on a different philosophy, going back to Tocqueville's discovery of thousands of private associations that sustained communities without a commanding state. We doubt that a tax benefit is what drives most giving even today. The exception may be the confiscatory death tax that drives many of the superrich to form foundations to avoid the tax. But we suspect that without the death tax the wealthy would give even more of their income away.

Americans of all income levels have long given generously, notably in the 1980s as income tax rates fell and the economy boomed. Over the last five decades, American giving overall has hardly deviated from 2% of personal income, according to the Tax Foundation. In an ideal world, the U.S. would eliminate most tax deductions, including the one for charity, in return for a simpler, flatter tax that would help create more wealth to give away. With his many new income-limited tax credits and deduction phase-outs, however, Mr. Obama is sprinting in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, the White House may have underestimated the power of the liberal nonprofit lobby. The charity deduction cut is the only one of the President's many tax increases that Democrats on Capitol Hill have publicly criticized. Politics hath no fury like a rich liberal scorned.
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If Only It Were True

post from 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog on 19 March 2009 08:05:00 PM. © 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

In today's Salon Editor's Choice:

Bowing to pressure from its Left Coast, slacker dude fan base, the Seattle Mariners today announced that the Nirvana song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" will replace "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the anthem played before the team's home games at Safeco Field.

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Position Analysis: Right Field

Projected Starter: Michael Cuddyer
2008 Stats: .249/.330/.369, 3 HR, 36 RBI

Potential Backups: Delmon Young, Denard Span, Jason Kubel, Jason Pridie

Michael Cuddyer is one of the biggest wild cards for the 2009 Minnesota Twins. If he can simply stay on the field, he should be expected to post numbers around his career line of .268/.344/.441. If he can actually stay fully healthy for the entire season, we could see him return to the level he was at in 2006. Either of those outcomes would be a significant upgrade over what either he or Delmon Young did last season. Cuddyer?s presence in the lineup figures to lead to an improvement, one way or another.

It?s now been two full years since 2006, when Cuddyer seemingly had a breakout season that entrenched him as that crucial right-handed bat which could be wedged between Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in the lineup. Cuddyer played solidly over the first half of the 2007 season, but injuries caused him to struggle over the final couple months. Last year, more injuries limited Cuddyer to just 71 games, and even when he managed to play his ailments weighed on him, causing him to post the worst numbers of his career.

Cuddyer?s standing in the clubhouse and his hefty contract guarantee him the starting job in right field to start the year, but his leash may not be terribly long. With Denard Span figuring to take the majority of playing time in left field, Young will be without a regular spot. Since right field is the position Young is best suited for, he stands as a ready replacement for Cuddyer in the event of another rash of injuries or poor performance.

I get the sense that Cuddyer is exasperated with the injuries he?s dealt with over the past two seasons and is very motivated to stay healthy and productive this season. While I?m not convinced he will ever again post the type of numbers he did in ?06, he definitely seems poised for a rebound. If he can hit for a decent average while posting an on-base percentage in the .360 range and smacking 30-35 doubles with 15-20 homers, Cuddyer will be a fine offensive player and a good fit in the middle of the lineup along with the big bats of Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel and (hopefully) Joe Mauer.

If Cuddyer succumbs to injuries once again, Young should be the man to step in. Young is well suited for right field in the Metrodome, where his limited range is less of a liability since there isn?t as much ground to cover as the other outfield spots, and where his tremendous arm is most effectively utilized. I found Ron Gardenhire?s decision to use Young in left and Span in right last year to be mystifying, so hopefully if Cuddyer goes down this year the roles of those two players will be swapped. I won?t predict Young?s specific numbers during the Position Analysis series since he doesn?t project as a regular starter at any one position (he seems likely to split time between LF, RF and DH), but for what it?s worth I do expect Young to take a solid stride forward this year, and maybe post numbers closer to the .295/.340/.480 line I overzealously predicted from him last year.

Having Young in place as a backup plan for Span and Cuddyer puts the Twins in a pretty comfortable position as far as their corner outfield spots go. When I wrote up the left field analysis earlier this week I explained that I don?t expect a large regression from Span, so Young?s best shot at landing a regular spot at a particular position might be in right field. He?ll see some time there, I?m sure, but I foresee Cuddyer staying healthy for most of the year, holding down the right field job and adequately filling the No. 5 spot in the batting order.

Predicted 2009 Hitting Line for Cuddyer: .265/.355/.450, 15 HR, 80 RBI

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This isn't the fault of the reporter, Alyson
Footer, who did the right thing by confronting Wade,...

This isn't the fault of the reporter, Alyson Footer, who did the right thing by confronting Wade, who proceeded to do the wrong thing by denying pursuit during mid-pursuit...
...But now that he has signed Pudge for $1.5 million plus incentives, he owes an apology to Footer, who had the professionalism to praise him for the move even after he led her astray. For his own sake Wade should also rethink this strategy, because when you're caught telling big fat ones like this, folks tend not to trust you in the future.

Heyman isn't pleased with how Ed Wade handled I-Rod

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