More on Derek Lowe

Rob Neyer at espn.com wrote an article on what he thinks DePo's motivation was in giving Derek Lowe such a huge contract, given the season Lowe had. Basically it has to do with the fact that Lowe just doesn't give up home runs. Here are the key paragraphs:

Dodger Stadium, as noted above, is a pitcher's park. Has been a pitcher's park since Sandy Koufax was a young man. What it's not is tough on power hitters; over the last three seasons, Dodger Stadium's been one of the easier home-run parks in the National League. So why is it a pitcher's park? Because it just crushes doubles, triples, and batting average in general. Remove home runs from the equation, and Dodger Stadium is the pitcher-friendliest park in the league.

Derek Lowe removes home runs. The ballpark removes everything else. And suddenly we're looking at a pitcher who might, with just average luck and a good defense, post an ERA in the 3.50 range.

( Interesting tidbit for espn.com readers... )

On the subject of J.D. Drew, here's another bit of contract chicanery for veejane to add to her Scott Boras files. Apparently Drew's new contract with the Dodgers ($55M for 5 years) has a clause that allows him to declare himself a free agent again after two years if he "puts up big numbers," whatever that means. Note that the Dodgers are still forced to pay him if he puts up crappy numbers.

Huh?

You Are 28 Years Old

28 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

What Age Do You Act?

I think their algorithms need a little tweak.