CRAZY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN; BASEBALL'S WINTER TALKS BEGET SOME WILD IDEAS.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI You might hear the Dodgers are about to unload Gary Sheffield's crushing salary on the San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. Padres and get a stronger bullpen in return. But then, you might hear a lot of funny things these days. Baseball, like golf, has a silly season Noun 1. silly season - a time usually late summer characterized by exaggerated news stories about frivolous matters for want of real news period, period of time, time period - an amount of time; "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his , and it's upon us again, with the winter meeting under way in Naples, Fla. Major-league general managers and a bunch of sportswriters are locked in a hotel together with nothing to do except invent deals that might or might not have a prayer of happening. Tuesday morning, the sports wire carried 46 baseball stories, which was more than college football, more than college basketball College basketball most often refers to the American basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. History
It's a great time of year to be a baseball fan, as long as you're not the sort who demands a game to watch. Even more than the optimistic days of spring training, it's the time of year when all things are possible, from purposeful spending by the Angels to a pennant for the Dodgers. A Giants fan learns his team is raising its salary budget. A Tigers fan learns his team made an offer to Padres third baseman third baseman n. Baseball The infielder stationed near third base. Noun 1. third baseman - (baseball) the person who plays third base third sacker Ken Caminiti
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "the Big Unit . A Red Sox fan learns his team has raised its offer to first baseman Mo Vaughn The Red Sox fan also sees where general manager Dan Duquette Daniel F. Duquette is a former front-office executive in American Major League baseball. He was general manager of the Montreal Expos from September 1991 through January 1994 and the Boston Red Sox from that point through February 2002. claims the Angels' recent six-year, $72 million offer to Vaughn ``doesn't matter to me'' and had nothing to do with the upgrade, which is either a false statement or a foolish one. Onto the scene of such loose and fanciful talk steps Kevin Malone, the new Dodgers general manager who likes to talk ball as much as the next guy. Malone didn't much like it when some of us wrote last month that the extraordinary openness of the Dodgers manager search raised expectations and caused him embarrassment when Felipe Alou said no. Malone thought, I go out of my way to return reporters' phone calls and this is the thanks I get? No offense was intended. His personality will result in more good than bad. He's perfect for the winter meetings, a garrulous gar·ru·lous adj. 1. Given to excessive and often trivial or rambling talk; tiresomely talkative. 2. Wordy and rambling: a garrulous speech. guy who'll chat up everybody in Naples and keep the news wire burbling bur·ble n. 1. A gurgling or bubbling sound, as of running water. 2. A rapid, excited flow of speech. 3. with optimistic speculation about this trade and that free agent. He's perfect for Dodgers fans, who could use some holiday cheer. But the question for Malone this week is, should he go so far as to encourage dreams of the trade that was the talk of L.A. sports Tuesday, the one that would send outfielder Gary Sheffield and shortstop Mark Grudzielanek to San Diego in exchange for outfielder Greg Vaughn, relief pitcher Randy Myers and shortstop Chris Gomez? It's a fantasy deal that would do all this for the Dodgers: Dump Sheffield's $50 million in salary during the next five years, freeing Australian dollars with which Malone could pay David Cone, Kevin Brown or Randy Johnson to be the team's much-needed pitching ace; bring in a 50-home-run left fielder to replace Sheffield; and give them, in the prickly person of Myers, a set-up man for closer Jeff Shaw. Sounds great. Sounds impossible, too. Cutting the Dodgers' $139 million in future payroll commitments is job one for Malone, but getting out from under Sheffield won't be easy. And it won't involve the Padres, who lost $11 million while winning the pennant and are bent on cutting last season's $53 million payroll while re-signing Brown. Sheffield will have to go to a large-market team with a large vault. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , Malone is in no position to pull off the kind of blockbuster free-agent signings that would transform the team. We'll have to be content with building-block moves like the signing of 35-year-old center fielder Devon White and the re-signing of Shaw last week. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (Color) Will Gary Sheffield go back to the Padres as part of a blockbuster deal? It's not very likely. Terri Thuente/Daily News |
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