Everybody loves free stuff (even managers)
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Dec 06, 2007 
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There’s a giant baseball trade show that is held in conjunction with the Winter Meetings. There are literally hundreds of booths showcasing everything from wood bats to garbage cans.
A few of us weasel reporters visited the show yesterday to collect free stuff. There were magnets, pens, pencils, hats, stickers, golf balls, etc. There is so much free stuff that they hand out bags to collect it. It’s like Halloween for baseball nerds.
The funniest part for me was seeing Tony La Russa with a bag walking around and loading up on stuff. Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson was there too. Nobody has any shame.
I packed most of the stuff up and will give it to my 2-year-old nephew Jason to play with. I’m sure the soft baseballs will be fun to throw at Bailey the dog.
(No, I won’t wrap them up as Christmas presents, I’m not that cheap. I got him a B.B. gun, two ferrets and a case of diet Coke).
Garbage cans?
Wow Pete. You and Kyle Farnsworth both got someone the same Christmas gifts!!!
SWAG!!!! Gotta love it.
Peter, do you really want to be held responsible when your nephew shoots his eye out?!
How do you know Tony LaRussa’s not giving his SWAG to his kids as well?
“Garbage cans?”
To put the “Winter Meetings 2007″ t-shirts in.
Is that red strapy thing really a roach clip?
did Tony larussa walk in a straight line?
Um I think Pete was joking about the gifts.
I used to love getting stuff at trade shows, but most of it was typical garbage.
Then again, I never got to go to an MLB trade show.
I’ll echo Bryan’s sentiment – SWAG!!!
Switch the diet coke out with some mountain dew. Theres nothing like a 2 year old on a sugar high.
His parents will thank you.
A BB gun? Don’t you know that the kid could put his eye out with one of those things?
LaRussa was looking for a baseball bat/breathalyser key chain
is this fair?
To Yankees:
Johan Santana
To Giants:
Joe Nathan
Hideki Matsui
To Twins:
Tim Lincecum
Ian Kennedy
Melky Cabrera
Jeff Marquez
Somehow I would have thought of Pete as the type of guy who would give his nephew beef jerky instead of Diet Coke.
I love free stuff too, and I would love for this thread to be free of any suggestion that Jason Giambi will be traded to the San Francisco Giants.
Thank you in advance.
A drum set and you would be so loved by his parents
The Twins won’t give up their ace and closer for those players. Linecum and Kennedy look good, but both could be busts. Twins don’t like Melky much and Marquez isn’t even a top prospect. I just don’t see them gicving up so much for that little.
Pete.. I hope you didn’t wrap the ferrets up already.. they might die in that paper!
gotta love the name of the picture
crap.jpg
who is going to see JOBA tomorrow at Penn Station? I’m going!!
Do you think he’ll be there to sign autographs and stuff?
joey vegas that is a bad trade..
so the yanks get santana and give up kennedy, cabrera, marquez, and matsui….they would need a outfielder.and SF gets screwed..Minny makes out like bandits……
I do not think SF does this also Nathan is a FA after this yr. and already got traded from SF once…
Neither the Giants nor the Twins would do that deal.
coke zero > diet pepsi > diet coke > that diet pepsi that’s supposed to give you energy…
Nor the Yankees.
Peter, what did you get your niece? Reme3mber girls play sports now, too.
Was La Russa collecting some stuff to give to Scott Rolen?
Yeah, remember the Twins aren’t forefiting this season and completely rebuilding..
They think they have a team that can compete in 2008, so they’re not going to ship off their ace and their closer just to get some prospects/young players..
If they don’t get a good enough offer, theres no reason for them to trade Johan. They can compete with the pitching staff they have.. If Liriano comes back healthy, him and Santana make a good 1,2 punch.. The Twins know that.
Saucy – Correct on all accounts.
BTW – The name of that pepsi is Pepsi Max.
Pete, I don’t blame you, I would have tried to get a bunch of the free stuff as well. Tony La Russa was probably picking up some stuff to nail Scott Rolen in the head with, since they are having another war of words.
Off of MLB.com- the Nationals have signed Aaron Boone.
i think the Twins would do that deal.
the Giants would be the ones getting screwed.
So are the ferrets and Diet Coke the targets for the BB Gun?
A BB Gun and ferrets?
Someone’s friends with Charlton Heston…
Why does it make Rick Peterson cheap or shameful because he took stuff that was being offered for free? Should someone who makes more money than the average person turn down something free just because they make more money? There’s always a low-blow shot to someone on this blog.
Ahhhh, a pic of Pete’s hotel bed. That’s where all the action is.
“A BB Gun and ferrets?
Someone’s friends with Charlton Heston…”
…and richard gere….sorry, i had to
Jay- He was being self depricating when he said “Nobody has any shame.” Most of us enjoy the humor, keep it up Pete.
Pete, you should be fired immediately! I can’t believe you would be so unprofessional as to make a joke about ferrets!! Unconscionable!!!
Adam – You really should consider posting under the name “Plus upside”. Just a thought.
“Why does it make Rick Peterson cheap or shameful because he took stuff that was being offered for free? Should someone who makes more money than the average person turn down something free just because they make more money? There’s always a low-blow shot to someone on this blog.”
Jay… it’s OK, man. It’s going to be OK. Just put down the gun and let the hostages go….
Who would you rather have playing first base, a ferret or Josh Phelps?
a couple of ferrets? Could name the Ferret Faucett and Ferrett Buhler
Looks like I’m not the only one who has noticed that the file is called “crap.jpg”
I used to own ferrets. But eventually I had to kill them. Lucky for me Im an amateur taxodermist.
Pete, any blog contests for the stuff your nephew doesn’t like?
Come on Saucy. Who would want to win Pete in a contest?
Ferret or Phelps? Wait, I’m still thinking….
Ferrets have outstanding range according to Bill James.
Jay…relax this is just comic relief.
A guy I know was with the Celtics front office during the 80′s and recalls the two times Bird reached in his wallet the way many people recall the Space Shuttle crash or Kennedy getting one in the head…..
My own experience was as a bartender on Hilton Head in the mid 80s and watching Jordan pick quarters up off the bar after ordering a round. In his defense he got the hang of going out later on down the road
Guys dont get it twisted rich guys take free stuff all the time. Most of the stuff we see sports stars wearing they were given. Thats how it works in this country. The rich people who have all of the money get free stuff while people without money have to pay top price for things they need. And the saga continues.
Can the ferret catch?
Most ferrets have outstanding range. Derek Ferret can’t go to his left.
I dont want lowry or aurilia – i dont think either of them would really address a need. Aurilia was injured for much of the season last yr and had a 300 obp. He couldnt even be considered an every day player i wouldnt think. We already have too many first baseman who arent very good and cant play every day – we dont need another one. As I said before, Lowry sucked in the NL, he would be absolutely awful in the AL East. I would take cain or lincecum from the giants thas all. Maybe a prospect if they have any good relief, first baseman and/or catcher. Doubtful tho.
I think ferrets would have pretty strong upside. Especially considering that at their height, they’d pretty much have a nonexistant strike zone.
the ferret or the squirrel?
BobK55
December 6th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Can the ferret catch?
———-
even if it couldn’t – it’s still a better fielder than Phelps.
Ghost of A.E. – would the ferret also be a future Hall of Famer?
The squirrel. Hands down!
lame
battle of the irrelevant:
midges versus ferrets
squirrels versus safron risotto
Ferret would have to be HOF candidate because of high OBP
Safron risotto? Hmmmmmmm.
Pete, you can’t use free stuff as the actual gift, but how about stocking stuffers??
Everyone loves free stuff!!!
I feel full after the risotto
Are we all just killing time at work? Or is it just me?
What’s the ferret’s PUD?
sounds like an ethical violation. journalists shouldn’t be taking free stuff from organizations they cover. i’m just sayin’. your paper should have a rule.
Is the ferret a Boras client?
I have the Ferret’s scouting report from Wikipedia
Ferrets are energetic, curious, interested in their surroundings, and often actively solicit play with humans, having a repertoire of behaviors both endearing and difficult for some human owners. Play for a ferret will often involve hide-and-seek games, or some form of predator/prey game in which either the human attempts to catch the ferret or the ferret to catch the human. They also have a strong nesting instinct and will repeatedly carry small objects to hidden locations. It is difficult to predict what objects ferrets will attempt to hoard, with owners reporting play toys, socks, bags of onions, keys, calculators, silverware, shoes, sponges, toilet paper rolls, textbooks, video game controllers, etc. Ferrets will seemingly form attachments to certain objects and will repeatedly ‘steal’ the same object and bring it to their hiding place
Sounds good to me.
RangerBob, you beat me to the punch with that quote!
And I don’t know about y’all, but I’m definitely killing time at work.
Dustin Pedroia:
OK, while he’s bowing to you, look out for Joba. He got Youkilis so you’re next.
ferret, by nature have a high PUD…I can see someone taking over Abreu in May (abreu, low PUD)
Jacoby Ferret just switched to Boras I heard.
I wonder if ferrets like to horde laptops?
why is everyone talking about ferrets? Just because PETE said ferrets?
Hopefully they didn’t have a free mini bar. Larussa would do a number on that.
Boredom
i’m just wondering what the reaction would be if my company handed out “security project meeting” t-shirts…
complete with logo.
“I wonder if ferrets like to horde laptops?”
best one yet
The funny thing is, my friends and I used to have a joke about ferrets in loincloths, so now anytime a ferret is mentioned, i think of one dressed up in a magenta loincloth shouting THIS. IS. SPARTA!!!!!!
So if pete started talking about buthole pleasures this board would start talking about that?
“sounds like an ethical violation. journalists shouldn’t be taking free stuff from organizations they cover. i’m just sayin’. your paper should have a rule.”
For the items to pose an ethical problem they would first have to have VALUE. Second, assuming the items in the picture labeled “crap” have an actual value other than as landfill or ballast, as long as they are widely available to all at well attended functions of the profession (and not only available for a select few) that dissipates the taint by not singling out any specific recipients, thereby reducing the likelihood of a quid pro quo.
OK, cool. That was like actual work. I’m not completely goofing off.
Um, Pete, will you be my uncle?
BX 12 Fordham Rd., one of the reasons I don’t come here often is that I feel most of the people here are Peter-worshipping, brown-nosing clique-y A-holes, but your post was hilarious. Thanks for that. A little levelheadedness and wit goes a long way.
“Jay…relax this is just comic relief.
“A guy I know was with the Celtics front office during the 80’s and recalls the two times Bird reached in his wallet the way many people recall the Space Shuttle crash or Kennedy getting one in the head…..
“My own experience was as a bartender on Hilton Head in the mid 80s and watching Jordan pick quarters up off the bar after ordering a round. In his defense he got the hang of going out later on down the road”
yes
We will take that recommendation into account, but I don’t think that it is a topic of interest for anyone else. I think a quick google search can point you in the right direction.
Shantee — You never know. There might well be a post on Dave Pallone one of these days.
The Shantee:
Way to raise the bar.
We were talking about naked pullups at one point, weren’t we?
Rebecca – And clown hair.
i mean, people post under the name the ghost of alvaro espinoza, how serious can it be?
Mike R.:
Very discrete. I hope it helps him. (Should you have mentioned abstinence as well? Just a thought.)
Um. What is wrong with me? I didn’t even read all these comments talking about the ferrets playing various positions.
Oh boy.
I didn’t think of that. I have some pamphlets that could be helpful.
What do you mean, Migames? Alvaro Espinoza will HAUNT YOUR DREAMS!! Very disquieting, to say the least.
Andrea – It has been a slow day. :’(
Ok, let’s get back to some baseball talk here. What do you think it would take to get the ferret?
Pete, substitute Red Bull for the Diet Coke and then steer clear when Jason picks up the bb gun.
Maybe we can obtain Santana from the Twins for Horne, Cabrera, Marquez, Gonzalez and a ferret to be named later.
ghost, its by far one of the best names, i would go for the glasses of alvaro espinoza, but thats just me
Mike R:
Excellent.
You know, it’s never too late to deal with ferret addiction. The first step is admitting the problem.
Brokeback Mountain?
And the blog has reached a new low.
we might have to let go of the squirrel
Mike R: I officially handed in my thesis! Not a slow day for me!
Crap. I feel like I was at the damned hotel for four days. Is it Feb. 14th yet?
Andrea:
Congratulations!!! That is incredible news! How does it feel?
Andrea:
Did your thesis have anything to do with ferrets? Just checking.
I like free stuff too!
I tell you that kid runs so fast that the wind can’t keep up w/ him
At least we’re not talking about Santana anymore. And I think that’s because we’ve all realized the ferret projects to be a top of the rotation guy. Ferrets are mustellids, meaning they’re in the skunk family. You trying to concentrate when there’s 95 mph heat coming at your head and some funky smell all up in your nostrils.
Good point Ghost. The heat plus the smell = unhittable
RosterRooster: someone at the Stadium said that theres actually been a lot of squirrels living in/at the Stadium for a while. The YES crew just happened to find one this year. now that they found one, they might show any one they happen to see. And you know how much Michael Kay likes to harp on things. It’s never going to be let go.
I hate ferrets I was to step on them. Nasty creatures.
Question: How many Dead Ferrets can you stick into a garbage can?
Mike R: it feels great. my advisor is recommending a grade of A. I don’t think an MA thesis actually gets a grade, but it’s still nice to hear. It still has to be accepted by the department though. And my department is a bunch of jerks, so it’s scary.
murphydog: actually, yes. My thesis was on the impact that Ferret can and will have on the 2008 Yankees starting rotation!
Question:
Who would win at poker? The ferret or the squirrel?
Congratulations again Andrea. All that hard work paid off.
I remember whehn my thesis got approved. ’twas a great day.
“The funniest part for me was seeing Tony La Russa with a bag walking around and loading up on stuff.”
They were giving away bottles of Chivas Regal?!
“An official Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time”
Read this on mlbtraderumors.com… Gagne may accept the artbitration. So what dows this mean is he accepts the arbitration. Is is going to come back to Boston and suck again. Something to discuss instead of ghosts, squirrels, ferrets and naked pullups.
We call that stuff “DiMage”
You know, free stuff, they kind of stuff that Joe D was famous for getting…
Nice name for the picture. “crap.jpg”
Really? That would be hilarious if Boston was stuck with the E-Gags for another year.
Come to think of it, he kind of resembles a ferret…
Heyman saids Lowry & Sanchez are what’s being talked about in the potential Matsui deal
SWAG! Stuff – we – all – get. I basically decorated my condo for free with all of my SWAGGGG!
The Shantee… it all depends on the color of the garbage can.
I thought SWAG was Scientific Wild Azz Guess.
Drew
December 6th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
“An official Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells timeâ€
___________________________________________________
A Christmas classic
Boras hadn’t had a very good year, A-Rod and the upcoming tell all book “If I opted out how I would do it”, Roger’s defection, Jones signing for a little tinsy bit shorter time than the billion years Boras was saying.
Now watch, Ellsbury will look like the jpg picture’s name and Boras will end up having to settle getting his 5% of Tacos.
Mike R: we shall see. The guy from my dept who is my reader hates me.
Gagne DOES look like a ferret!
Major League Baseball could easily sell tickets for people to go to the winter meetings trade show and people would probably get a lot of baseball trinkets so that they can use them for Christmas presents. I am sure Bud Light Selig would love to take credit for making coin for MLB on the fan hour in the winter meetings.
all that stuff in free carry out bags makes it sound like the auto show!
I’ve seen MLB and other sports garbage cans, but nothing tops the astrays for sale outside of the Vatican. They had photos of Pope John Paul on them !
anything you would like to give up from the free stuff??? lol