RockRaines

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 10:04 AM) And Rock would probably tell you no on the grounds that he doesnt allow people to crash if they let their wives get beat up. *rimshot*

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 10:02 AM) I'd be PM'ing your ass about a place to stay. Rock, you're being very rational and that's easy to do sitting where we are. I'm saying I can understand how and why it happened. Of course he'll be punished, rules are rules. Hahaha, I have a big couch! Im trying to be as rational as possible. If this wasnt AD, if it was Artest, or Stephen Jackson or someone of the sort, we would be complaining about the lack of security to keep them OFF the court, no matter what reason they chose to go into the stands. Fact is, his presence in the stands makes the situation more dangerous, for his wife and for the fans. I do not feel comfortable in the stands where it is a common place for players, who are 10 times bigger than us, to come up into my seat anytime. Its not acceptable, and its not his job to protect people in the stands. Based on her prior record, she is a woman who can handle herself. She went toe to toe to with Spreewell in NY and most likely had her fault in the situation as well. Fact is, there is no place for players in the stands under ANY circumstance.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 09:50 AM) I was reading on the ESPN message boards that the wife might well have started this mess by going up to say something to a fan that had been heckling her husband. Does anyone have a link to a more reputable board where I can try to read somemore about this? www.soxtalk.com ?

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 09:33 AM) I would not be able to look my wife in the face if I stood around and let other people try to 'handle' a situation in which another man was threatening her in any way. If those other people were paid security guards that were 10 feet away, and you are obligated not to leave the floor, and your presence could make the whole situation more dangeous for everyone, Im sure she would understand. If I am correct, im SURE your wife could handle herself.

Yeah, hes not juicing.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 09:24 AM) Security wasn't there when AD got there first off, second your family comes first no matter what. It's against the rules for AD to go into the stands so whatever suspend him a couple of games but I have 0 problem with what he did, if I'm him I'm going right into the stands as well. Sorry, but if you got an asshole harrassing your wife you can go protect her whether the NBA has a rule against it or not. Thats such a weak argument. You are in the NBA, you have an obligation, not only to your team, but to the NBA. One of the NBA's rules is not going into the stands. That is an obligation for you as a worker. She was not being physically harmed, and his presence there could have cause even a worse situation for her. Would it have been responsible for him to go up there if it started another riot AROUND his wife? And yes, watch the replay, the security guy got there the same time he did. Who would have been more effective in making it a safe situation? Exactly, the guy who is paid to do his job. There is no valid reason for a player to go into the stands, period. He is putting his team at risk, other fans at risk, and in this case, making the risk worse for his wife. He should undergo a large suspension for his actions and should lose his position as player representative in the union. If Ron Artest did the same thing, would you have the same reaction?

QUOTE(longshot7 @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 02:14 PM) Uh oh, now I've done it. Put up or shut up time. Go Jerry! Please show I'm not a complete boob. btw, I'm not anti-Anderson. I like him a lot. I just like Owens' numbers more, so I'm going out on a limb, pimping him. The last guy I felt real good about was Iguchi. And before that, Carlos Lee. Of course, I thought Carlos should play 3B, so what do I know? How can you like Owens numbers more?? How many seasons have you actually seen Ownens' numbers? 1? Because ANderson has been doing it since he was drafted in our system, not to mention shown improvement and ability to adapt at every level he was placed. Not to mention that Owens is probably a corner OF'er eventually, and ANderson plays a better CF.

Well, in 2004 Uribe had a good amount of his at-bats in the #2 hole. Hitting .285 .331 .846 with 12 HR 39 RBI's 18 2B. I think maybe Ozzie remembers that performance and thinks his new approach may improve upon those numbers. In 2003 he even had better numbers than that with only 51 at bats though. .294 .357 .906. If you compare Iguchi's #2 numbers: .274 .338 .772 114 SO 507 AB With uribe's in 2004 batting #2: .285 .331 .846 52 SO 260 AB It almost looks like Uribe would be more succesful.

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 10:45 PM) Another factor into the equation. AD is widely known as one of the best guys in the NBA. I see no problem with him going into the stands. Once it becomes OK for a player to go into the stands for a certain reason, there will be players in the stands all the time. Even if his wife was having an argument, you call security. The guards were there even before AD got there. So what exactly was he helping? What if the guy took at swing at AD? Then Eddy Curry decided to help out? Now since you think thats acceptable behavior, Ron Artest goes into the crowd to protect his brother, someone takes a swing at him, and he swings back. But its ok because he went to protect a family memeber? Thats flat out retarded. PLayers have no business going into the stands. Remember when Bagwells wife got her hair pulled? If that was above the dugout and he saw it and ran into the stands, would that be acceptable? No. What would be acceptable is alert the guys who are paid to handle the situation, and keep your ass on the playing field. There is no excuse for a player going into the stands.

QUOTE(ChWRoCk2 @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 09:33 PM) Um no, Pitt has to be the most inconsistent team, everyone ranks them high but they are usually one and done in the final four, i fail to see the good in them I will tell you who DOES looks impressive, FLA. That team can play.

QUOTE(thedoctor @ Jan 19, 2006 -> 07:30 AM) yup, i was there as well. if anything ever sucked, that did. then try going to work the next monday in an office full of buckeye fans. not good. Greatest day ever, I repeat. There were 2 crying Illinois fans living below me at the time. It was a great win. Probably the most exciting game of that year. Big win for the Bucks last night, but there is a tough road ahead. The teams in the big ten have ALOT of challenges to overcome down the road, even a good team could lose bunches of games down the stretch. It should be an exciting race. Its really any teams conference.

Go Bucks!!! SB, I told you it would be a good game. OSU rebounding nicely from a tough OT loss to MSU.

QUOTE(thedoctor @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 04:42 PM) ohio state and illinois fans can check out some of their basketball recruits thursday night on espn2 when lawrence north plays north central. ln has osu recruits greg oden and mike conley, and nc has illinois recruit eric gordon. BTW, if anyone hasnt checked out Oden, you should. He is a beast. Likewise, Gordon is a stud in the making.

QUOTE(maggsmaggs @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 08:25 PM) That was one very depressing Sunday. Greatest sunday ever. I lived above two U of I alumni, I jsut blasted hang on sloopy all day.

QUOTE(Wanne @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 05:00 PM) Well goody! thanks Rock! just trying to help.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 04:47 PM) I mean press defense, I expect OSU to use it even if they have not shown it in any game. Even Northwestern tried it for a few minutes because if you watch enough Wisconsin tape it is just puzzeling how bad they are against the press. They honestly just dont know what they are doing, panic, and then throw it away, or do something crazy. Wisconsin strength is half court game and inside outside game. Usually defend the perimeter and paint well, but give up the mid range jumper. If Butch starts to put up 10+ pts 5+ reb per game to go alon with Tucker and Taylor Wisconsin should be in pretty good shape. Oh, I read your post wrong. Im sure Thad will have them adjusting their defense. One thing he has brought to the program is some good defensive sets. They showed some great patience and ability to adapt against MSU this weekend. I fully expect a pretty good game.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 04:39 PM) Every game on the road is a touch match up. Im not that familiar with OSU, but teams that give Wisconsin the biggest problem are quick deep teams who can press the entire floor. For whatever reason Wisconsin is just not that good at handling the ball in the back court, and when you watch them play Minnesota the last few years, you just cringe when you see the press come out. OSU actually brings the ball up pretty slowly. Young PG who likes to spread the floor. Our biggest strength is both the 3 and the down low game with Dials. Sylvester creates match up problems and gets off tough shots. It should be a pretty good game.

Wisco has a pretty tough match up tonight.

QUOTE(Yoda @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 04:02 PM) I don’t understand why anyone would want to sign a long-term deal with the Cubs. The team is not getting any better and the organization can’t put together a team that can be a threat come October. Because of the hot groupie ass?

Which of 2005's division winners won't repeat in 2006? We start with the assumption that the very best teams of 2005 won't be as good in 2006. Why? The technical term is "regression to the mean." In nonstatistician terms, the reasoning is simply this: Teams that win a significantly impressive number of games were probably a little bit lucky (among other things), and can't count on their luck to hold. We see the same effect with individual players. Many fans might guess that Rookies of the Year only get better in the season after they win that award. As a group, they do not. From 1996-2004, 13 nonpitchers won Rookie of the Year awards. Here's what they did in their winning seasons, and in the next: Games Runs RBI BA/OBP/SLG Season 1 150 95 82 .297/.363/.473 Season 2 132 85 71 .287/.359/.468 It's actually been a pretty good run for the ROYs, percentage-wise, in that time span. Thanks largely to strong follow-up seasons from Scott Rolen, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Bay, the sophomores were very nearly as effective, per plate appearance, as they'd been as freshmen. The catch, of course, is that first column. In their Rookie of the Year seasons, 10 of the 13 played in at least 149 games. A year later, only five of the 13 played in at least 149 games (and four played fewer than 110). They were the same players they'd been; they just weren't as healthy or lucky. Teams that win a lot of games are like rookies who play particularly well: The odds are not in their favor. Six teams last season won more than 90 games: the Cardinals (100), White Sox (99), Yankees (95), Angels (95), Red Sox (95) and Indians (93). Without even getting into the specifics of roster composition, I'd be willing to bet, even money, that at least four of those six teams will win fewer games in 2006. If I knew absolutely nothing about these teams but their records, that's what I would say. But of course we know quite a bit more about them. We know how they really played (aside from their wins and losses) and we know what they've done in the offseason (so far). To measure how they really played, we can look at "second-order wins," as seen in the Baseball Prospectus standings. Second-order wins show us how many games each team "should" have won, considering its batting and pitching statistics (except runs scored and allowed). Some of you won't like these next numbers, so feel free to skip ahead (or read somebody else's column; we're always posting new ones)... Real 2W Cardinals 100 91 White Sox 99 87 Yankees 95 93 Angels 95 88 Red Sox 95 90 (Indians 93 98) Well, that was easy. We didn't even have to play the 2006 schedule, and five of the six teams are already worse than their 2005 record -- and it's not even Opening Day yet! And if we're looking for 2005 division winners who seem unlikely to repeat, we've got a couple of prime candidates in the White Sox and the Angels. If you believe in second-order wins -- and I think that you do -- the White Sox were 11 games worse than the Indians last season, and only three games better than the Twins. No, the Indians probably won't play as well in 2006. Yes, the White Sox might be the best team in the Central Division (particularly if Jim Thome is healthy). But if given a choice between betting on the White Sox or the field, you have to take the field, because there's a pretty good chance that the Indians or the Twins -- both of whom strengthened their rosters this winter -- will knock off the Sox. The Angels are in bigger trouble, I think. Three reasons. One, they've lost two key components off last season's roster (Bengie Molina and Jarrod Washburn). Two, they really weren't all that good last season. And three, they face Oakland and Texas squads that have improved measurably since last season. The Angels are certainly in the running, but nobody should be all that surprised if they finish third. In the East, the Yankees and Red Sox have both engaged in their annual winter dance, and while the Red Sox have actually done more, the Yankees seem to have come out ahead. This is probably the hardest race to handicap, though, because it seems unlikely that the Sox will actually feature Alex Cora (shortstop) and Adam Stern (center field) in their Opening Day lineup. And no, I'm not forgetting about the Blue Jays. I like what they've done, but they probably need some help in the form of a rash of injuries to one or both of the other contenders' geriatric pitching rotations (which is more than a remote possibility). The Cardinals also seem primed for a big drop-off, but at the same time they still look like a fairly safe bet to repeat. Sure, there's always "the Cubs' lament": If Prior and Wood are healthy... Hey, it could happen. If those guys combine for 60 starts, the Cubs have a real shot at knocking off the Cardinals. But they combined for 43 in 2004 and 37 in 2005, so I don't expect them to magically become Koufax and Drysdale in 2006. And considering the Astros' loss of their best pitcher, the Cardinals look pretty safe to me, even with the big hole they have in left field. It's a different story on the edges of the country, where both defending champs are at great risk. The Padres really were the best team in the West last season, whether you look at real wins (82) or second-order (76). But the Dodgers were exceptionally unlucky in regard to injuries and they've improved at two or three positions. Maybe it won't be the Dodgers, but maybe it will be. Maybe it will be the Giants, but maybe it won't. The Padres are more likely to lose the West than they are to win it. I hate to do this, because it's exceptionally easy and I'm going to antagonize, once again, all the loyal Braves fans. Here it is, though: I don't see them winning again. They've made one significant move -- replacing Rafael Furcal with Edgar Renteria -- and it's a negative move. They don't have a closer, and they've lost their pitching coach. Meanwhile, the Mets, whose 89 second-order wins last season were three more than the Braves', have added Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner to their roster. Things never seem to go exactly as planned in Flushing Meadows, but the Mets look to me like the best team in the National League. So there it is. Defending White Sox and Angels? Out. Defending Braves and Padres? Out. All hail the New Order in 2006. Senior writer Rob Neyer writes for Insider two or three times per week. To offer criticism, praise or anything in between, send an e-mail to [email protected].

The run by the indians caused some serious stress issues. The WS game 2. Ohio state Fiesta bowl 2002 almost killed me. I would say that my heart races during most games.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 04:13 PM) Honestly I was never that enamored with Self, just seemed the grass is always greener when he left. s***ty coach IMO, but a good recruiter of talent. Still gets top notch players, and gets beat by better coaches.

this makes me nervous. We win the world series after everyone counts us out. Then we are rated highly like the 3 years before we win. Every year that we were picked to be good and win the division, we have fallen flat on our face.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Jan 18, 2006 -> 03:10 PM) Yeah, Thad is assembling quite the all star team of talent in Columbus. I doubt Oden is there more than a year or two, but everybody else is going to cause havoc in the league for the next several years. And he seems to be in the recruiting game long term, which is pretty scary. But looking at 2007, the Illini are in a lot of portfolios too. It seems Bruce has broken through a bit in the recruiting game, although obviously not at the level tOSU is at right now. As I said it s along ways away. Oden is there one year at the most. He will make the jump. The only thing stopping him is the age limit. The big ten is really getting back to the status of a top conference once again. If only they can do some damage in the ACC Big ten face off one of these years....

I use limewire.