A possible trade, some weird Ohtani contract provisions, Zack Greinke's will to press on, old Certs, Musk's mess, gift maps, movies, "The Meatball" and "The Worm."
There is a lot wrong with how the exploding rocket program is being run, but at some level, it's not the worst approach. I just hate how the people who live in that area and the environment are treated.
It was in there on first draft but later when it was revealed who it actually was my multiple choice bit -- which also included more Drake LaRoche jokes -- seemed sorta dumb so I played it straight.
I like both NASA logos. Though it's funny that the choice is something created in the 50s and something created in the 70s. But that is fine. There's no need to change just to change, and no need for a cash strapped agency to spend money on graphic design it doesn't need.
The worm has been on a couple of SpaceX rockets. And SpaceX continues to stand out as the one thing Musky Musk owns that, Starship aside, does well. No doubt despite him. But its success - indeed its dominance of American rocketry - feeds into his boundless ego. I admire what SpaceX has done to change things, as it made reusable rockets a thing. But knowing Musk gets the accolades, I feel bad about it.
If the Dodgers make that trade, are they still in on Yamamoto? Are they building a superteam?
The government has given billions to Boeing to make a manned space capsule and Boeing has not managed to come even close to matching SpaceX in this regard. So even endless money can't do everything. (I really wonder just how mismanaged Boeing is. Though "bad space capsule" is not nearly as bad as two passenger jets crashing because of a software error.)
What Boeing is doing is a shame. They under bid on these government cost-plus contracts so they will make up the money through cost overruns. Plus, it isn't like they are building a new concept space vehicle. It is a bigger reusable capsule.
NASA has two visions. One is to explore the universe with marvelously well made machines and not bother with human spaceflight. The other is to go to Mars. These visions aren't mutually exclusive, but the latter vision eats money that could do a lot more without having to send people into space. I love the idea of humans leaving the mother world - what kind of Trekkie would I be otherwise? - but right now it seems like a waste of resources.
The Vanguard 1 satellite, from the dawn of the space age, is still up there and will be for another few hundred years before its orbit fully decays. Unless, of course, somebody rescues it and sells it on EBay. I’d probably put my money on the latter.
NASA still has a significant role in aeronautics, which is a first A in the name. Just about all of their facility here in Hampton Roads Virginia has some role In aeronautical research. My brother-in-law works there doing human factors research on airline pilots, like how they react to visual or auditory alerts in the cockpit.
Both of those require humans to reproduce in space and we are pretty sure radiation and zero g aren't a good thing. There are people working on it. the best quote from article link is:
"We know that natural conception in space is ethically and medically not a good idea. But there's this space tourism sector opening up and accelerating.
That will be a magnet for couples that want crazy bragging rights, like “Hey, we have the very first baby conceived in space naturally”. That's not a good idea."
They really need a Buck Rogers-ish logo. Maybe see if Tim Rickard will let them use Brewster Rockit. Or if Matt Groening will let them use the Futurama characters and spaceship.
Re: Dodgers, why not? Yamamoto costs them nothing but money, and he's exactly the kind of upgrade the Ohtani contract (among others) gives them room to add. And what would be enough pitchers in these what-not times...?
It may be pretty standard language, but to the uninitiated(me) “Player will donate to club charity amount not to exceed 1 percent.” sounds more like a limit on how much he can donate to the charity rather than a requirement. It does say "will", so Ohtani has to donate something ($1?), but the rest just says he can't donate more than 1%.
I'm envisioning the club charity rep standing at end of the table with one of those handheld payment processors. On the screen it reads "Donate 1%" or "Donate Custom Amount Not To Exceed 1%".
I'm just glad to read anything on NASA. It takes me back to the rapturous early shuttle launches. If by chance I'd miss one, the old mechanical VHS would be on the timer to record it for later, where I would operate my corded remote and cue it up after about 20 minutes of rewinding. And seriously - NASA TV is a great watch whenever you have time to kill (any of the various ones - there are multiple channels).
There's a body wash form Gilette that I really liked using that was discontinued a few years back. For a while I was buying them up off ebay/amazon at "normal" prices as inventory depleted, until they more or less disappeared, and now the ebay listings have them going for $50/bottle which is a little absurd. I have a couple of full bottles left, and use it very sparingly...
the biggest problem is when i'm groggy and i squeeze a little more out than i really need and i go "oh nooooze" because that genie doesn't go back in the bottle
I hear you with the discontinued body wash. I had a face wash I really liked and used for years and suddenly it disappeared from store shelves earlier this year and I haven't seen it since. Haven't found anything close to it yet.
My #1 discontinued product is O'Boisies potato chips. The cheddar and sour cream version was perhaps the greatest potato chip ever created. So bubbly and crunchy.
You know it's not especially difficult to make your own personal care products. With a little experimentation you might be able to reproduce it well enough to not have to rely on your existing stock.
Bulk Apothecary (bulkapothecary.com) has an unscented shower gel/body wash base that you could fragrance as you wished, and Brambleberry (brambleberry.com) has a Stephenson suspending body wash (out of stock now but estimated restock date is 12-21) if you want to add exfoliants of some type. Using a pre-made base and customizing it is a lot easier than starting with basic ingredients.
Well I am definitely going to be poking around those websites later today. I have trouble finding the kind of citrus scent I truly want, this could be a way to do it.
They have a lot of great recipes and tutorials for soaps, body wash, shampoo and conditioners, shampoo bars, lip balms, lotions, etc. And are excellent about describing which fragrances and colorants are appropriate for each type of product.
It's a great way to customize a product for exactly what you want, especially if some ingredients in store-bought varieties are irritants or cause allergies and are nearly impossible to avoid.
Baseball America named ATL hitting instructor Kevin Seitzer coach of the year. Looking at him in the dugout and remembering the line drive hitting third baseman who nearly won a ROY award when I was 20 leaves me thinking that there is a 90% chance that they are not the same person. My goodness, he has aged poorly.
Ooof. Most former athletes look like, well, former athletes. I remember Seitzer as the original Alex Gordon (heir apparent to George Brett), which of course is unfair to label any young player with. I was an Angels fan at the time, and I would note the somewhat parallel careers of Seitzer and Wally Joyner who both peaked very early but receded into averageness instead of ever taking the leap into stardom.
They were both older when they came up. 24 & 25 in their rookie seasons. They both peaked in the rabbit ball year of ‘87. And both played on forever as good but disappointing players.
Oh yeah, the first heir apparent (or maybe the designated Robin to another Batman) to Brett was Clint Hurdle, an uber prospect who was on the cover of Sports Illustrated before going on to more fame in the CoC and HBT Handsome Manager list.
I didn’t know the Worm wasn’t the logo til recently. Child B was playing an online game that asked her to draw logos by memory. NASA came up and asked she started to draw a blue circle, I was like, no, no sweet child. Then the real deal came up and I was all, whaaaaaat? It will always be the Worm for me because that was the logo when I was 10, which was the last time I apparently paid attention to space.
That ‘nonittage’ map was the least disturbing thing in the pic. The weird decorations snaking around the house. The half trees and presents strewn everywhere. Grandpa Dad having extra fingers. Both him and the child looking like they’re planning to murder someone with the radioactive map. Haunting.
Oddly enough, there is a "rhyming gene," and it runs in my family.
I can pretty much do it on command. I even did a rhyming version of a section of the Internal Revenue Code (by request of one of my co-workers).
On TalkNats.com I used to do rhyming summaries of every Nationals game. That ran for about five years until June 2022 when I got tired of figuring out how to say "the losing losers lost again" for the umpteenth time. I also did baseball versions of Christmas carols and Auld Lang Syne. May or may not do it this year.
Big props to you if you can put dlf's excellent breakdown of how net future value must be considered when valuing Ohtani's contract into verse, but working in 'huckleberry'.
Greinke must really really love to pitch after his 2023. That said (caveat: he’s among my favorite players) he’s earned the right to write his own finale.
Maybe he just doesn’t know how else to live like a lot of professional athletes?
if someone will pay you even a few millions and you get to do all the high level things, get clubhouse perks etc, it'd be hard to walk away, he doesn't strike me as a guy overly concerned about tainting his earlier stats for hof candidacy. i think it's great if he really is into the mentoring of the youngins. and the couch and/or whatever awaits, can await, as long as his family is cool w/that. god bless!
I don't know. There's so much travel away from your family (maybe a good thing to some), fans getting pissy because you had a bad game, maybe a chance of a debilitating injury. Me, I retired the month I hit the savings marker my financial guy set even though I had a decent paying job.
He’s having fun and that seems to matter to him more than the stats. He’s always struck me as somewhat of a gadfly among the orthodoxy of MLB which is one of the reasons I rooted for him.
(That and those years when he was in LA and his hair was immune to humidity. That was some next level s***.)
I love players who just want to play. From Julio Franco to Rickey Henderson, players who can live lavishly on their earnings but got play independent ball because they love the game.
Same. But I will admit, I'm a little different in literally every way. I owned my anxiety from the jump. Every employer and virtually every co-worker is aware. Aware to the point of noticing it from time to time and telling me to take my medicine. But at the same time, I appreciate that I'm in the minority with that and have huge respect for people when they open up about it.
I am guessing that Ohtani has a clause that says if he opts out he still gets the deferred compensation he has earned up to that date. Otherwise there is next to no chance he would or out.
On the MLB Network yesterday Alex Avila, a former catcher of Zack Greinke, said that he didn’t think 3000 strikeouts meant that much to Greinke, he thought Zack just loved to compete.
I'm guessing the acquiring team would assume the obligation - LA could throw in some (deferred? Is that allowed, dlf?) cash to soften the blow or get a better prospect return.
That would be my guess too. The acquiring team assumes all terms of the contract (so the remaining salary plus deferments), while the Dodgers are obligated to pay deferred salary for the years he was with them. And if cash is thrown in, that could be earmarked for the deferments.
Assuming no side agreements between the teams made part of the deal (e.g. when a team throws in some money as part of a trade like we saw with the flurry of deals ATL made last week) it is really simple. The Dodgers are responsible for the entire salary earned in the years he played for them and the acquiring team is responsible for the entire salary earned in the years after the trade. The salary earned includes the deferred money. That is, if Ohtani plays for LAD in 2024, the Mets in 2025, and the revived Oakland A's in 2026, LA pays $2m in '24 and $68m in '34, the Mets $2m in '25 and $68m in '35, and the A's $2/$68 in '26/'36.
Among other things, the Dodgers and any team that trades for Ohtani, will have to set aside the NPV of the $68m in unencumbered assets that are cash, cash equivalencies (i.e. bonds or T-bills), or marketable securities (stock). The NPV calculation is also specified: $68m will be "discounted 5% annually." Basically, by the end of next year, LAD will be sticking $43m into an account to provide security that Shohei gets paid $68m in a decade. Absent a clause in the individual player contract, the team can pick how that it invested, but here with the amount so large, I'm guessing that they have a specific clause negotiated.
That’s what deferred compensation is, he’s earned the money by playing he just gets paid 10 years later. This differs from a backloaded 20 year deal, with the last 10 perhaps not requiring him to play but work for the team.
This does get at my concern about these 13-year deals where the compensation is implicitly deferred -- the (potentially) washed up 38 year old has to keep showing up for 4 years to get paid.
Yep. Those de facto but not de jure deferred contracts are definitely similar. Pujols got paid in 2021 for his work in 2011 even if that isn't how it is legally defined.
Similar story with the insured contracts where, for example, Albert Belle - who was de facto retired due to his hip injury - had to show up to training camp with the Orioles for several years, fail his physical, then go home in order to collect his pay and the O's to collect their insurance proceeds.
I watched the Netflix movie "Leave the World Behind" the other night. 2 1/2 out of 4 stars for me, but it contains a dunk on Teslas that was almost worth this month's subscription fee.
Re: Musk, the multiple exploding rockets is not nearly as bad as the other stuff. Not even close.
It’s not as effed as you might think. You learn stuff from failure. You do. I can attest to that, many many times over.
There is a lot wrong with how the exploding rocket program is being run, but at some level, it's not the worst approach. I just hate how the people who live in that area and the environment are treated.
No doubt it could be done better, or I should say, differently, to care for those things.
You left the Weisman joke out? Boo
It was in there on first draft but later when it was revealed who it actually was my multiple choice bit -- which also included more Drake LaRoche jokes -- seemed sorta dumb so I played it straight.
I like both NASA logos. Though it's funny that the choice is something created in the 50s and something created in the 70s. But that is fine. There's no need to change just to change, and no need for a cash strapped agency to spend money on graphic design it doesn't need.
The worm has been on a couple of SpaceX rockets. And SpaceX continues to stand out as the one thing Musky Musk owns that, Starship aside, does well. No doubt despite him. But its success - indeed its dominance of American rocketry - feeds into his boundless ego. I admire what SpaceX has done to change things, as it made reusable rockets a thing. But knowing Musk gets the accolades, I feel bad about it.
If the Dodgers make that trade, are they still in on Yamamoto? Are they building a superteam?
The government has given billions to Boeing to make a manned space capsule and Boeing has not managed to come even close to matching SpaceX in this regard. So even endless money can't do everything. (I really wonder just how mismanaged Boeing is. Though "bad space capsule" is not nearly as bad as two passenger jets crashing because of a software error.)
What Boeing is doing is a shame. They under bid on these government cost-plus contracts so they will make up the money through cost overruns. Plus, it isn't like they are building a new concept space vehicle. It is a bigger reusable capsule.
70s are the new 50s? Gen X is weird. I hate all that boomer nostalgia, unless it’s about me, then I find it interesting.
I like both logos too. It would be nice to have a new one, or would also be nice to have a vision of what NASA was doing and why it was doing it.
NASA has two visions. One is to explore the universe with marvelously well made machines and not bother with human spaceflight. The other is to go to Mars. These visions aren't mutually exclusive, but the latter vision eats money that could do a lot more without having to send people into space. I love the idea of humans leaving the mother world - what kind of Trekkie would I be otherwise? - but right now it seems like a waste of resources.
Who is in charge of making sure there aren’t a bunch of busted satellites up there making it dangerous to get our spaceships into orbit?
And wasn’t I promised an elevator to space by now?
I think the Trump Space Force has that job.
And space elevators are a terrible idea. Imagine what would happen if the tether snapped?
Just got to the space elevator part of three body problem, after finishing red mars, so space elevator problems are on the mind lol.
Put A.C. Clarke’s The Fountains of Paradise on your reading list.
We need some significant materials science breakthroughs before the space elevator can escape all the sci-fi universes they’re in.
US regs require that satellites have some kind of deorbit capability if it will take longer than a certain length of them for them to decay into the upper atmosphere anyway. https://www.space.com/satellites-deorbited-5-years-low-earth-orbit
There's also a robust tracking network for space debris https://spacenews.com/u-s-space-command-announces-improvements-in-space-debris-tracking/
And the term for what you're think of is Kessler Syndrome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kessler_syndrome
I won’t lie, I was hoping the Kessler Effect was about how every generation has a turn to the very nostalgia they claimed was ruinous to progress.
But learning about space debris was more fun
For a sufficiently generous definition of fun.
The Vanguard 1 satellite, from the dawn of the space age, is still up there and will be for another few hundred years before its orbit fully decays. Unless, of course, somebody rescues it and sells it on EBay. I’d probably put my money on the latter.
the potential boost mission for hubble is on my mind a lot rn.
NASA still has a significant role in aeronautics, which is a first A in the name. Just about all of their facility here in Hampton Roads Virginia has some role In aeronautical research. My brother-in-law works there doing human factors research on airline pilots, like how they react to visual or auditory alerts in the cockpit.
Both of those require humans to reproduce in space and we are pretty sure radiation and zero g aren't a good thing. There are people working on it. the best quote from article link is:
"We know that natural conception in space is ethically and medically not a good idea. But there's this space tourism sector opening up and accelerating.
That will be a magnet for couples that want crazy bragging rights, like “Hey, we have the very first baby conceived in space naturally”. That's not a good idea."
https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/space-babies-reproduction
And to be prurient about it, but someone probably also wants to be the first to have sex in zero G, and will pay to be the first.
The prurient among us think that’s already happened.
If it has, it's a wonder no one has ever leaked it.
They really need a Buck Rogers-ish logo. Maybe see if Tim Rickard will let them use Brewster Rockit. Or if Matt Groening will let them use the Futurama characters and spaceship.
Re: Dodgers, why not? Yamamoto costs them nothing but money, and he's exactly the kind of upgrade the Ohtani contract (among others) gives them room to add. And what would be enough pitchers in these what-not times...?
It may be pretty standard language, but to the uninitiated(me) “Player will donate to club charity amount not to exceed 1 percent.” sounds more like a limit on how much he can donate to the charity rather than a requirement. It does say "will", so Ohtani has to donate something ($1?), but the rest just says he can't donate more than 1%.
Or more likely the reporter just erred.
I'm envisioning the club charity rep standing at end of the table with one of those handheld payment processors. On the screen it reads "Donate 1%" or "Donate Custom Amount Not To Exceed 1%".
So $20,000 max? That’s peanuts.
I'm just glad to read anything on NASA. It takes me back to the rapturous early shuttle launches. If by chance I'd miss one, the old mechanical VHS would be on the timer to record it for later, where I would operate my corded remote and cue it up after about 20 minutes of rewinding. And seriously - NASA TV is a great watch whenever you have time to kill (any of the various ones - there are multiple channels).
There's a body wash form Gilette that I really liked using that was discontinued a few years back. For a while I was buying them up off ebay/amazon at "normal" prices as inventory depleted, until they more or less disappeared, and now the ebay listings have them going for $50/bottle which is a little absurd. I have a couple of full bottles left, and use it very sparingly...
We still don't know the dog's name yet, right?
I am imagining you rationing your body wash and calculating the number of showers you can take per month after rebalancing your inventory.
the biggest problem is when i'm groggy and i squeeze a little more out than i really need and i go "oh nooooze" because that genie doesn't go back in the bottle
I hear you with the discontinued body wash. I had a face wash I really liked and used for years and suddenly it disappeared from store shelves earlier this year and I haven't seen it since. Haven't found anything close to it yet.
My #1 discontinued product is O'Boisies potato chips. The cheddar and sour cream version was perhaps the greatest potato chip ever created. So bubbly and crunchy.
O'Boisies! Those were great.
You know it's not especially difficult to make your own personal care products. With a little experimentation you might be able to reproduce it well enough to not have to rely on your existing stock.
Bulk Apothecary (bulkapothecary.com) has an unscented shower gel/body wash base that you could fragrance as you wished, and Brambleberry (brambleberry.com) has a Stephenson suspending body wash (out of stock now but estimated restock date is 12-21) if you want to add exfoliants of some type. Using a pre-made base and customizing it is a lot easier than starting with basic ingredients.
Well I am definitely going to be poking around those websites later today. I have trouble finding the kind of citrus scent I truly want, this could be a way to do it.
They have a lot of great recipes and tutorials for soaps, body wash, shampoo and conditioners, shampoo bars, lip balms, lotions, etc. And are excellent about describing which fragrances and colorants are appropriate for each type of product.
It's a great way to customize a product for exactly what you want, especially if some ingredients in store-bought varieties are irritants or cause allergies and are nearly impossible to avoid.
Baseball America named ATL hitting instructor Kevin Seitzer coach of the year. Looking at him in the dugout and remembering the line drive hitting third baseman who nearly won a ROY award when I was 20 leaves me thinking that there is a 90% chance that they are not the same person. My goodness, he has aged poorly.
Having a tussle with Bo Jackson will do that to a man.
Ooof. Most former athletes look like, well, former athletes. I remember Seitzer as the original Alex Gordon (heir apparent to George Brett), which of course is unfair to label any young player with. I was an Angels fan at the time, and I would note the somewhat parallel careers of Seitzer and Wally Joyner who both peaked very early but receded into averageness instead of ever taking the leap into stardom.
Wally World!
They were both older when they came up. 24 & 25 in their rookie seasons. They both peaked in the rabbit ball year of ‘87. And both played on forever as good but disappointing players.
Oh yeah, the first heir apparent (or maybe the designated Robin to another Batman) to Brett was Clint Hurdle, an uber prospect who was on the cover of Sports Illustrated before going on to more fame in the CoC and HBT Handsome Manager list.
That rabbit ball year really messed up my perception of power number expectations, especially for young players.
Waffle House right on the job site. What's a fella to do...?
I didn’t know the Worm wasn’t the logo til recently. Child B was playing an online game that asked her to draw logos by memory. NASA came up and asked she started to draw a blue circle, I was like, no, no sweet child. Then the real deal came up and I was all, whaaaaaat? It will always be the Worm for me because that was the logo when I was 10, which was the last time I apparently paid attention to space.
Me too.
Thanks for writing about the DC/VA arena debacle yesterday. No Nats fan should want any part of Leonsis buying that team.
I already thought the worm was the NASA logo. I much prefer it myself.
You can take it to the bank that absolutely no pitching prospects will appear in the Spring Breakout (just like the AFL, natch).
As for 70s throwbacks, I invite my fellow Gen-Xers to revel in the glory of the Fayetteville 'Peckers: https://fayettevillewoodpeckers.milbstore.com/products/1970s-peckers-jersey
Love...love...love that jersey!
The Disco Turkeys need more cowbell and a more transparently tawdry name, but not a terrible fallback plan if the Peckers sell out:
https://shopdiscoturkeys.com/products/limited-edition-inaugural-season-jerseys-presale
That's not just a vintage map of the entire earth, it's a radioactive vintage map of the entire earth. Look at it - that thing is glowing!
I noticed that too. Obviously the red bow is covering a chunk of plutonium or something.
That ‘nonittage’ map was the least disturbing thing in the pic. The weird decorations snaking around the house. The half trees and presents strewn everywhere. Grandpa Dad having extra fingers. Both him and the child looking like they’re planning to murder someone with the radioactive map. Haunting.
Yesterday's Caps/Wiz news to the tune of Joy to the World.
Cap, Wiz to move, the Mystics stay.
Potomac Yards in play!
But DC has a offer, they’re willing to pay!
And VA has to vote,
The legislature votes,
Sen. Lucas, Sen. Lucas, will have her say.
Tax bucks will flow down Ted L.’s way,
From DC or VA.
He’ll work the legislatures, he’ll wheel and deal his way.
But Lucas prefers roads,
Fund schools and health and roads,
Sen. Lucas, Sen. Lucas, wants teachers’ pay.
This is really something, LHP.
Oddly enough, there is a "rhyming gene," and it runs in my family.
I can pretty much do it on command. I even did a rhyming version of a section of the Internal Revenue Code (by request of one of my co-workers).
On TalkNats.com I used to do rhyming summaries of every Nationals game. That ran for about five years until June 2022 when I got tired of figuring out how to say "the losing losers lost again" for the umpteenth time. I also did baseball versions of Christmas carols and Auld Lang Syne. May or may not do it this year.
Big props to you if you can put dlf's excellent breakdown of how net future value must be considered when valuing Ohtani's contract into verse, but working in 'huckleberry'.
Here's two. I'm still working on the huckleberry part.
700 million? Not now.
Close to $450. But how?
How’er calculated,
P-valued, or weighted,
Ohtani’s deal’s still worth a “WOW!”
Ohtani has structured his deal
With terms most are finding unreal
Almost all is deferred
(Lower taxes preferred)
California may call for repeal.
Well done Laura! Clap...clap...clap.
Greinke must really really love to pitch after his 2023. That said (caveat: he’s among my favorite players) he’s earned the right to write his own finale.
Maybe he just doesn’t know how else to live like a lot of professional athletes?
if someone will pay you even a few millions and you get to do all the high level things, get clubhouse perks etc, it'd be hard to walk away, he doesn't strike me as a guy overly concerned about tainting his earlier stats for hof candidacy. i think it's great if he really is into the mentoring of the youngins. and the couch and/or whatever awaits, can await, as long as his family is cool w/that. god bless!
I don't know. There's so much travel away from your family (maybe a good thing to some), fans getting pissy because you had a bad game, maybe a chance of a debilitating injury. Me, I retired the month I hit the savings marker my financial guy set even though I had a decent paying job.
He’s having fun and that seems to matter to him more than the stats. He’s always struck me as somewhat of a gadfly among the orthodoxy of MLB which is one of the reasons I rooted for him.
(That and those years when he was in LA and his hair was immune to humidity. That was some next level s***.)
That guy is so freaking funny. I would love for MLB Network to bring him on as a commentator.
I love players who just want to play. From Julio Franco to Rickey Henderson, players who can live lavishly on their earnings but got play independent ball because they love the game.
Good for him. He has been outspoken about his anxiety, which could have derailed his HOF-caliber career early on. He's an easy guy to root for.
As someone with anxiety, I had tremendous respect for that. Especially because he did it what? 15 years ago before anyone else talked about it?
Same. But I will admit, I'm a little different in literally every way. I owned my anxiety from the jump. Every employer and virtually every co-worker is aware. Aware to the point of noticing it from time to time and telling me to take my medicine. But at the same time, I appreciate that I'm in the minority with that and have huge respect for people when they open up about it.
I am guessing that Ohtani has a clause that says if he opts out he still gets the deferred compensation he has earned up to that date. Otherwise there is next to no chance he would or out.
On the MLB Network yesterday Alex Avila, a former catcher of Zack Greinke, said that he didn’t think 3000 strikeouts meant that much to Greinke, he thought Zack just loved to compete.
I also wonder, in the unlikely event that he wanted to be traded somewhere and waived his no trade clause, how the money would work in that case.
I'm guessing the acquiring team would assume the obligation - LA could throw in some (deferred? Is that allowed, dlf?) cash to soften the blow or get a better prospect return.
That would be my guess too. The acquiring team assumes all terms of the contract (so the remaining salary plus deferments), while the Dodgers are obligated to pay deferred salary for the years he was with them. And if cash is thrown in, that could be earmarked for the deferments.
Salty has it right.
Assuming no side agreements between the teams made part of the deal (e.g. when a team throws in some money as part of a trade like we saw with the flurry of deals ATL made last week) it is really simple. The Dodgers are responsible for the entire salary earned in the years he played for them and the acquiring team is responsible for the entire salary earned in the years after the trade. The salary earned includes the deferred money. That is, if Ohtani plays for LAD in 2024, the Mets in 2025, and the revived Oakland A's in 2026, LA pays $2m in '24 and $68m in '34, the Mets $2m in '25 and $68m in '35, and the A's $2/$68 in '26/'36.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement has a specific article devoted to deferred compensation: Article XVI. It is at pdf pages 103-4 (numbered pages 89-90) of https://www.mlbplayers.com/_files/ugd/4d23dc_d6dfc2344d2042de973e37de62484da5.pdf
Among other things, the Dodgers and any team that trades for Ohtani, will have to set aside the NPV of the $68m in unencumbered assets that are cash, cash equivalencies (i.e. bonds or T-bills), or marketable securities (stock). The NPV calculation is also specified: $68m will be "discounted 5% annually." Basically, by the end of next year, LAD will be sticking $43m into an account to provide security that Shohei gets paid $68m in a decade. Absent a clause in the individual player contract, the team can pick how that it invested, but here with the amount so large, I'm guessing that they have a specific clause negotiated.
Deferred compensation is earned in the year played, not the year paid. If he is traded in 2025, LAD is obligated to pay the $68m in 2034.
And the CBA has a clause that basically requires the team to put the deferred amount in certain investments to ensure payment.
That’s what deferred compensation is, he’s earned the money by playing he just gets paid 10 years later. This differs from a backloaded 20 year deal, with the last 10 perhaps not requiring him to play but work for the team.
This does get at my concern about these 13-year deals where the compensation is implicitly deferred -- the (potentially) washed up 38 year old has to keep showing up for 4 years to get paid.
Yep. Those de facto but not de jure deferred contracts are definitely similar. Pujols got paid in 2021 for his work in 2011 even if that isn't how it is legally defined.
Similar story with the insured contracts where, for example, Albert Belle - who was de facto retired due to his hip injury - had to show up to training camp with the Orioles for several years, fail his physical, then go home in order to collect his pay and the O's to collect their insurance proceeds.
I watched the Netflix movie "Leave the World Behind" the other night. 2 1/2 out of 4 stars for me, but it contains a dunk on Teslas that was almost worth this month's subscription fee.
I love the worm logo, was very cool to see it on the crewed F9, even if that booster is charred to hell and back now.
Anyone interested in NASA/space in general, I really enjoy this podcast. https://www.spacerockethistory.com/