ZoomSlowik

QUOTE(joeynach @ May 7, 2007 -> 01:41 PM) Id kill for a SS that would hit .275 with a .340 obp from 8 or 9 spot. That's a hell of a high standard for a #8 hitter. There were only 13 qualified shortstops that had an OBP over .330 last year, and none of them hit lower than third... Now for a leftfielder, okay, that's another story. But capable SS's that get on base don't exactly grow on trees. I'd love to have a lineup full of .350+ OBP guys, but there are only around 100 of those in the entire league, not exactly good odds there.

I like it, there is a very heavy reliance on the 3 in college and this will make it a little harder to make while also creating some more room to run the offense. 19'9" is just too close. The really good shooters will be virtually unaffected, but it will deter a fair number of the more marginal shooters and hopefully reduce the number of teams that take over 40% of their shots from outside (that's just a ridiculous total IMO).

QUOTE(joeynach @ May 4, 2007 -> 02:50 PM) So u are in favor of giving MB before any other pitcher potentially available a 5 Year 75 Mil deal? Well then we are lucky you are not the GM. Whats wrong with MB on a 3 year deal at 11-12 per year with an option. I'll take "He already turned down an offer in that neighborhood last year" for 500 Alex...

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ May 4, 2007 -> 02:45 PM) How is his delivery "illegal"? I googled it and came up with this link (includes video and frame-by-frame link as well): Lincecum's delivery The sticking point is that he has an extremely long step forward, which causes him to leave the rubber a little bit before the pitch is delivered. I personally don't really see the issue, every pitcher's back foot leaves the rubber roughly at the point of release, it's part of the mechanics of delivering the pitch. Also, I'm not sure exactly what rule that is breaking, strictly speaking the only ruling governing the rubber is that the pitcher must start his delivery from there.

I don't know, there was one earlier this year in one of the Arkansas papers that was something like "Nutt says Dick hurt."

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ May 3, 2007 -> 11:58 PM) I can handle one s***ty season and losing Buehrle if it means landing one of those guys, honestly, truthfully, 100% positive for sure I can. I'll b**** and moan while Darin Erstad is still the Sox CF next year, but I'll take it. The first three I can agree with, but Sheets makes me a bit nervous. He missed about 30 starts over the last two years, and the last start he had against the Cubs his fastball was floating between 88-90.

QUOTE(BobDylan @ May 3, 2007 -> 11:14 PM) Pretty much right on. The way I see it, the Sox have two choices with Buehrle: resign him or trade him. The Sox are absolutely f***ed if they just let him walk. While they've recently added depth to pitching within the system, it's nowhere near ready, nor does it look flawless and "the can't miss plan." However, if they were able to pull off a miracle and get Santana, that's when you let Buehrle walk. And I think that's the idea the Sox have (pure speculation and hopes). Let Buehrle take his offers and court Santana. If they can't get Johan, they match whatever deal Buehrle is offered. The ideal situation, if we're talking about rebuilding, is to deal all of Buehrle, Dye, Crede and Thome by the deadline and do whatever you can to get Johan. With a Johan at the front of the staff, and the bullpen they have and the years they'll get out of it, they won't need to overpay the market and fill holes offensively--especially if you can get major league talent back for all the players dealt away. Pitching wins games (unless the offense is as bad as it is now, which is pretty tough to do) but the Sox cannot go into next year without somebody they know will flat out get the job done. Whether that means a legitimate ace or Mark Buehrle doesn't matter. Did you mean Zambrano? He's a free agent after this season, Johan is not. Santana, Sabathia, Peavy, and Sheets are free agents after 2008.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ May 3, 2007 -> 01:48 AM) His value might not be there come that time of his contract. Would you give up 1 top prospect, let alone 3, for Mark Prior right now? That's why Beane's investigating a trade. If he can get a trade he's satisfactory with, I've no doubt he'd take it in a second and let the other team hope and pray he can stay healthy. Well, he's not at that point yet. His injuries are getting annoying for fantasy leaguers like me, but unlike Prior he can still pitch well when he's healthy. As long as he's not out like all of this season I could still see it, though you've got a point, who knows what his injury situation will be in a few years. I would still think he'd try to get at least someone like Ervin Santana or Mike Pelfrey while he still probably could...

QUOTE(South Side Fireworks Man @ May 2, 2007 -> 09:24 PM) Why do you think they need to buy a little more time for Danks in AAA? Gio and Dye is a big price to pay. And it probably wouldn't be a package Beane would take anyways. He's not the kind of guy that is going to take a guy for half a year and likely lose him to free agency at the cost of a talented 25 year old starter. IF he were going to try to trade Harden (which I don't buy until he gets down to his last year or so), he'd probably be looking for 3 top prospects or a young major leaguer and another prospect or two.

24, a little over 5'8".

QUOTE(Brian @ May 1, 2007 -> 07:37 PM) Papelbon blows a save, giving up a 2 run homer to Travis Buck in the 9th and still not out of the woods yet. ESPN cries. Don't feel too sorry for the network, the Yankees are up 9-0 and Phillip "The Savior" Hughes has a no-hitter through 6.

I remember reading all kinds of crazy things that he wanted when he was up for the Sox deal. For one, he wanted a ton of money, two, he wanted final say on personnel decisions, three, he wanted Maggs re-signed among other things (at least IIRC).

I'm with SnB, I don't want to think about what I would do to that guy in the Starburst commercial or the guys who wrote it if I ever ran into them. It serves no purpose whatsoever and is incredibly annoying. I find that I dislike most commercials, but that's the only recent one that makes me want to change the channel when it comes on...

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 11:11 PM) Their pitching is brutal. Their offense is good at doing just what they did off us in the 7th. Getting hits. Getting doubles. #7 in MLB in BA the second half last year. #7 in doubles. #5 in hits. They're really not that good, it's like the Twins without Morneau, Mauer, or Hunter... Any team can get hot here and there, that's why they play the whole year. Plus they have no power whatsoever, that tends to hurt...

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Apr 24, 2007 -> 11:04 PM) They've got a lineup full of guys who s*** line drives all over the field, and then we gave them Gload. Their offense was better than a lot of teams in the 2nd half last year. Please, they've been out-scored by 27 runs so far this year...

Juuuuuuuuuuust a bit outside...

That was fast...

Even if he is at his "off" pace for the rest of the year he hits about 6 a month (based on his two worst years of his prime). That'd put him in the mid-40's at worst, and considering that teams probably won't pitch around him much and his obvious talent 50 looks like a virtual lock. He's cracked 50 twice, 45 another two times, and hit 42 in 129 games, so he's obviously got the talent to put up some serious numbers. Mid-50's is highly possible, after that who knows.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 19, 2007 -> 12:53 PM) I will certainly give you the top 3. Zimmerman though is still developing, even though his contract status makes him more valuable than Mr. Crede, but he has yet to put up numbers like Joe put up last season.. Ryan Zimmerman last year- 84 R, 20 HR, 110RBI, .287/.351/.822 in a pitcher's park Joe Crede last year- 76 R, 30 HR, 94 RBI, .283/.323/.829 in a hitter's park and a much stronger lineup Look pretty similar to me...

Well, assuming I'm building a team from scratch that will take a while to contend, I would take the following: King Felix Miguel Cabrera Grady Sizemore (Reyes gets honorable mention) If I have to take this team and try to win right now, I would take the following: Albert Pujols Johan Santana Sizemore/Reyes

I would say Albert Belle over several of those guys. Big and fairly crazy, that's a tough combo... I would definitely say The Big Unit and post-HGH Bonds belong on that list.

1) At least some humor. Obviously the goal is to be entertaining, though B&B and MJ&H can get a little carried away. 2) Good sports knowledge, the fewer stupid, un-informed comments the better. I don't need you to be drawing up X's and O's or taking a deep exploration of the strategy (in fact, that gets kind of tedious), but I want you to have at least a decent feel for what's going on in the league and players and teams' strengths and weaknesses (with an emphasis on the home teams). 3) I prefer local hosts to national. Granted I follow a lot more than the local teams and it can get annoying when they talk about the Bears for the entire show all week, it's even more annoying to hear them do the same thing with the Yankees or Red Sox or whatever other team/player they feel like talking about. When I was at Spring Training they spent an entire show on Kobe Bryant, and I was about ready to strangle somebody. 4) As for specific aspects of programming, I generally like a bit of a mix in the programming, not depending too heavily on one aspect. Having good guests is nice, but I don't really want more than two or maybe three in one show, that gets to be a little much. Also, it's gotta be relevant, I don't really want to hear from someone like Vida Blue for no real reason, and it gets hard to stick to that if you're stacking up a ton of guests (the one exception is right before March Madness). I like some host commentary, at least to set up the topic and get the discussion started, though it can definitely be awful if they're pontificating for a long time, especially if #2 above is an issue. Also, I HATE it when they talk for like an hour about something that's not a huge story, like the Ben Wallace headband fiasco or a player's holdout. Again, I like some callers, but not an excessive amount. Also, that's more variable in quality depending on the knowledge level and general attitude of the callers. However, it is nice to get some fan input on topics. I also personally like to keep non-sports topics to a minimum, otherwise I'd listen to something else. It's okay if there's a funny story or if it's tangentially related to sports, but I don't really want to hear people arguing about how much to tip a skycap or something like that.

Thanks guys. We'll see on the drinking front, I make no promises one way or the other.

I don't consider anything with subjective scoring a sport (before someone says it, boxing at least has knockouts)...

QUOTE(tealeafreaderii @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 10:49 PM) The allstar appearance was because Ozzie was the manager. The only guy less deserving of a spot was that cat from the royals. When the selections were made he was 9-4 with a 3.22 ERA, I'm not quite sure how that's not All-Star worthy. Unfortunately he started getting rocked with that Cubs' game like the next day...