Daily Archives: February 12, 2004

I won’t be available to post on Friday the 13th on the count of I’m going to spend most of the day at New York Hospital with Emily, who has an examination under anesthesia first thing in the a.m. Good thing I’m only superstitious about important things like baseball games. It’s not an operation, just an exploratory exam. Still, she’ll be knocked out something good. Those of you who have been reading the old Banter here for a minute know that Em had a major surgery last spring, which made nine since 1996. She originally suffered from Crohns; her current problems remain somewhat of a mystery, but they stem from complications that occured during her initial procedure if you can believe it.

Anyhow, Emily is a more than a trooper. She’s down right inspirational. I don’t know that I’ve ever met anyone as brave or willing to do the work she needs to do to get better. She may appear dainty, but let me tell you: the goil is tough. She’s a bulldog, for cryin’ out loud.

I’m sure everything will work out OK tomorrow. We’re hoping that the doctors will have some concrete answers this time round. We’ll be back in the Bronx for a chill weekend. I’m happily playing the role of caretaker

Hot Stove Edition

By Bruce Markusen
February 12, 2004

Beantown Bunts
Theo Epstein has rightly received credit for completing two master strokes of pitching makeover with the acquisitions of Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke, but he deserves just as much acclaim for the subtle moves heís made in fortifying Bostonís bench and platoon options. The recent signing of solid citizen Ellis Burks makes so much sense that thereís virtually no downside. Heís the perfect man to platoon at DH with David Ortiz; over the last three seasons, Burks has thumped left-handers to the tune of a .384 on-base percentage and a .564 slugging percentage, all coming in a decent sampling of 305 at-bats. And even though Burks has played only 28 games in the outfield over the past three years, he still might be able to spell Manny Ramirez in left from time to time. Letís face it, the more that Ramirez serves as a designated hitter, the better off the Red Sox will find themselves in cutting down the risk of injury and bonehead plays in the field

Peter Gammons is reporting that Paul DePodesta, Billy Beane’s right-hand man in Oakland, will be announced as the new general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend. How will this affect Beane in Oakland, let alone the Dodgers in La-La Land? Head on over to Elephants in Oakland and Dodger Thoughts for the lowdown.