The size of any Duncan contract in the near future means insurance wont be an issue either.

Do I think Duncan got some breaks/special considerations over his career because he was
Dave’s boy – yes.

Do I think Duncan made the most of those thus earning himself some level of respect – yes.

What I don’t know (probably never will) is if the league figured Duncan out or injuries led to hsi down fall.

My guess is Duncan will see maor league time again. How h’ll fare I’m less sure of.

There are problems inherent in this position. Scottie knows he could probably get 12/16 million on a one year delaying deal, giving him more weapons in any collusion grievance which is bound to happen after this year. Regardless off what the Holidays think, either side might sabotage these negotiations to further their own agendas. Lets face it, the Cardinals were waiting for some reason. Was the apparent Boston/NY agreement know to them, or are they stuck in a negotiation that they really weren’t planning on. If it breaks down, all will have their excuses I’m sure, but I’m sure curious as to the details. If the family thinks they will be content with anything at this point, and are left with no security………..I’m dying to here why.

Dave was trying to bury Chris on the injured reserve at the time he was offed. If the PTBNed money is 400,000……….Red Sox were doing Garbage duty with face saving considerations for Dave. That could also be seen as a bribe in an attempt to temper Dave’s angry reaction buy maintaining Chris’s perceived value……………….. If the PTBNed money is over 1.5……….clearly that suggests “other arrangements”……………………….. Lugo was reviled in Boston. He could have been had for the prorated minimum in 3 days. Some business was done here. Lets watch and see.

There was Ankiel too, Westy, as far as compromised logic goes. And K. Greene hanging around. And Luddy getting benched. And top prospect Rasmus being shuffled through the lineup batting everywhere except 3rd. It has to create ‘atmosphere’ issues when what happens on the field gets repeatedly trumped by various agendas, and there were three: BDW/Mo, TLR/DD, AP. The large number of different lineups? Mo is trying to have the agendas in cosmic alignment this year by eliminating the the points of divergance. An outfield of Holliday/Rasmus/Ludwig, day after day is one objective. I have said before that a full time 2nd baseman would further the cause, or at least an everyday #2 hitter. Telling Ryan he’s the leadoff man, end of discussion. Mo is smart and will try hard to avoid letting a battle of agendas traumatise the team all year long causing burnout and frustration a few weeks before the end.

It is unfortunate for him that he wasn’t able to play first base in the bigs and had to learn left field on the fly.

Within the past year, Baseball America had a nice article on the park effects within the PCL, because there is such a range. I do not have a subscription anymore, so this is the only clue I can offer you. It seemed like a thoughtful article, as I recall.

I agree entirely that we cannot know for sure the source of C. Duncan injuries. Bling hypothesized that Chris injuried his neck when he suffered a head injury just before Hancock’s fiasco. I cannot rule this out, nor can I rule out that Duncan ruptured a disk while lifting weights. But I also think some weight has to be paid to what Chris said. He said he got hurt in a game in late July 2007 and that this created the hernia and the neck problem, though he Duncan thought the neck pain was just a :”crick.” (This what Chris said to the P-D circa August 2008, after his neck operation.) I have a choice between regarding Chris as a liar and deferring to his explanation. Since his explanation makes some sense and cannt be rejected, I choose to accept it as the likeliest explanation.

Does this guarantee it is true? No. We live in a world in which there are many explanations for things and we have to caveat emptor choose among the explanations. Since Duncan is the biggest expert on how he feels, I tend to accept his views, because I do not know of more credible explanations.

The Colby/Shumaker/ Kennedy maneuver was about BD getting his prospect playing time. For Tony, going into the year with 4 outfielders, begs the question whether creating opportunities for Chris wasn’t the real reason for his acquiescence.

We have such a panoramic view of these issues in hindsight. The important revelations are in the dynamic of the division between on field and off field operations. Both parties seemed willing to compromise baseball logic to achieve their personal goals.

I wonder if the trade deadline for Holiday and the completion of Lugo’s unconditional release deadline reveal anything?

Please share the specifics behind this statement. Thanks.

P.S. It can only be speculation as to the cause of Duncan’s injuries and what aggravated them. At the time, some close to the situation suggested weight-lifting was a factor, but no one knows. At least certainly not us here in this forum. As such, it may never be possible to tie a nice, tidy bow around the situation.

The Cards probably did not give the Red Sox much cash in lieu of a 2nd player, since the Sox were willing to pick up Lugo’s high salary. They were desparate to unload him and took little in return.
It is interesting the Sox gave up on Duncan so fast, based on a few weeks at Pawtucket. Whereas the Cards stuck with the Kid for a long time at the ML level, the Sox were not patient.
Kid Duncan is going to need to re-establish himself at AAA in 2010 to have another ML at bat.