geniusMoment

My predictions are: NL Central 1. Cubs--strong lineup,if they get Roberts maybe the best lineup in the NL 2. Brewers--bullpen and Sheets health are questions 3. Reds--young talent, maybe the most in baseball, but still a year away from competing for real 4. Astros--still have Oswalt, that puts them ahead of the cards who don't have carpenter. Tejada is a big key, and Hunter Pence all year improves the offense 5. Cardinals--wow, that pitching staff, beyond bad, it's amazing how far they've fallen since the world series 6. Pirates--they're the pirates NL East 1. Mets--Santana added means at least a few more wins and the division 2. Philly--Maybe the best offense in the NL 3. Atlanta--Glavine doesn't mean much, but they'll be solid 4. Nationals--First year in new park, what will Pena do in his first real staring role 60 HR's or .230 with 200 strike outs? 5. Marlins--Traded away Willis (good) but traded Cabrera too (very bad), why is this still a team? NL West 1. Arizona--Added Haren, along with Webb the best 1-2 combo in the NL 2. San Diego--Playing in a unique park (in that it is such an extreme pitcher's park) gives them an advantage, hint--more teams should build pitching parks 3. Colorado--I don't really believe that their run was a total fluke, but still, they aren't as good as they played in Aug./Sept. 4. LA--Really, they have a good shot to be better than the Rockies, and really could win the division, actually everyone but SF could 5. San Fransico--Just a terrible team, hopefully they trade Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum to the reds for Juan Castro Wild Card--Phillies NL Champ--Arizona--Webb and Haren in a short series, damn AL Central 1. Detriot--Cabrera is one of the best in baseball, added to an already potent lineup makes them better and central champs 2. Cleveland--Solid young team, if they were in any NL Division I'd pick them as NL Champs 3. Chicago--Twins lost Santana and Hunter, Delmon Young is a good pick up, but Liriano needs to prove he is healthy before they even think about competing 4. Twins--Again, Liriano is great if healthy, Mauer and Morneau along with Young give them a solid base, if they were in the NL Central they'd compete all year 5. Royals--You just know Alex Gordon will be a bust, he's a Royal after all NL East 1. Red Sox--I'm sick of them too 2. Yankees--I'm sick of them too 3. Blue Jays--I think more of Rolen than most, and Eckstein is underrated at leadoff, Burnett is finally healthy and BJ Ryan is back, rays need to prove it first 4. Rays--dropped the devil, have tons of young talent like Cincy, need to prove it first, could move into third 5. Orioles--the worst team in the history of organized sports, have a legit shot at going 2-160 AL West 1. Angels--tons of young talent, love watching Vlad hit 2. Mariners--added great starter in Erik Bedard, Silva is overpaid but is good enough back of rotation guy 3. Texas--added Mickey Mantle and Roy Hobbes reincarnate ( I know one of those is a fictional character) keep clean Josh 4. Oakland--a rebuilding year, added young players but really have a chance to be a very bad team Wildcard--Cleveland Champs--Cleveland (again pitching in a short series) World Series Cleveland Rocks, finally a champion for Ohio

What, no Brian Blair? If Sheik and Volkoff are teaming it has to be against the Killer Bees. Break his fucking back and fuck his ass Sheiky.

Paul Daugherty is a general douchebag. He wanted the Reds to trade Jay Bruce and Johnny Cueto for Joe Blanton. When everyone railed against it he said that's what prospects are for, to be traded for pieces that give you a chance at winning. Using Blantons win and loss record as a barometer for success is the same thing that caused the Reds to give Eric Milton a 3 year 27 million dollar deal three years ago. Someone mentioned that to him but he just blew them off. He does have a Hall of Fame vote.

Actually, his fastball averages 95 on the gun from the starts I've seen. But, he can get something extra to move it up to 97-98 when he wants to. I've watched quite a few Cueto and Bailey starts and I'd take Cueto in a second, and it's not even a close decision for me. I'm actually not all that high on Bailey. I hope I'm wrong.

I'm worried, too much good press makes me worry he'll be a bust. Things seem to work that way

The Johnny Cueto lovefest has really picked up now: "He's the best I've seen since Pedro Martinez. His stuff is actually better, nuclear, not electric." Pirates Dir. of Scouting http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/content/s...cincinnatireds/ --from hal mccoy From the Blue Jays Head Scout, "The comparisons to Pedro Martinez are accurate. He was throwing 97-98 with ease, but his best pitch is his change. He has pinpoint control, he's the best we've faced this spring." From Reds beat writer C Trent Rosecrans: SARASOTA, Fla. -- Put Johnny Cueto in the Reds' rotation right now. Put him third behind Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo -- not because Cueto could be the Reds' third-best starter, but because Arroyo’s done it long enough to have earned the No. 2 spot. I'm the first to say "it's only spring." But this time I'm answering my own statement -- "I don't care. The kid is good." The kid is really good. It's not just me, listen to what Cueto said when asked if he should start in the big leagues. "Yes," Cueto said through interpreter and catcher Javier Valentin as if he'd been asked nothing more if he wanted a bottle of water after pitching three innings and striking out four Pirate batters, while surrendering a single hit. "That's why I'm here. I'm throwing the ball good, if I've got a chance to start the season in the big leagues, I'll be happy." On display on the mound is not just Cueto's outstanding fastball and change-up (oh, the change), but also his confidence. Not at any point did Cueto look as if he didn’t belong -- not just on the Ed Smith Stadium mound, but on the mound at Great American Ball Park or Yankee Stadium or the moon. Not only did Cueto dominate -- the only hit he surrendered was a liner by first baseman Scott Hatteberg by former National League batting champ Freddy Sanchez -- he did it making the Pirate hitters look like Little Leaguers. Those same Pirate hitters greeted Cueto's replacement, Richie Gardner, with seven runs on five hits in 1/3 of an inning. "I feel good, I felt comfortable," Cueto said after Friday's performance. "I trust my stuff, I don't do anything specific to impress anybody. I throw the way I'm used to throwing and challenge the hitters." Sunday in Dunedin, Fla., Cueto made his first appearance of the spring, striking out two batters in two innings against the Blue Jays, one of those being All-Star Vernon Wells. Cueto also gave up four hits and a run against Toronto, but he was dealing with the flu. Still, after that game, Reds manager Dusty Baker called Cueto's stuff "electric." If Cueto was electric against the Blue Jays, he was nuclear against the Pirates. "He throws easy, he throws strikes, he mixes up his pitches well," Baker said following the 13-8 Pirates win. "He threw the ball well, he looks nice and relaxed. He's coming fast. He looked good." None of this surprises those who have seen him pitch before. Jay Bruce, ranked as the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America, isn't surprised at anything Cueto does on the mound. "Sometimes those guys have no chance -- no chance at all," Bruce said. "I asked him how he was throwing, he said, 'maybe 98.' I believe him. He's ridiculous. He's going to be good for a long, long time." Even though Cueto can touch the upper 90s, his fastball is merely a set-up for a devastating change-up, which will be his out pitch. It's what he got Pirates' leadoff man Nate McLouth looking at to start Friday's game, and the pitch he had several Pirates whiffing at throughout his three innings. Bruce called it "dirty" while future Hall of Famer Frank Thomas lost his balance swinging at one last weekend. "If you have that kind of changeup, welcome to the big leagues," Valentin said. "Everyone says the next Pedro Martinez, and hopefully that's what we've got here, the next Pedro Martinez." And finally, from Dusty Baker: There's a lot of spring training to go. But it sounds like Dusty Baker wants Johnny Cueto in his rotation. A sample of the what Baker said about Cueto, the 22-year-old right-hander, today: "Who's looked better than him?" On making the big leagues after so little Triple-A time: "Everybody doesn't have to go through the natural progression, especially pitchers. Hitters have more they have to work on." "If you have good stuff, you can make hitters swing and miss and foul off pitches off. Ninety-five is 95. Ninety-five with location, boy." It was pointed out that Cueto hit 97. "I believe that -- 97 with location and nasty change-up and slider." "He has better natural stuff than Wood or Prior, let's see how he handles the pressure of being on the mound for real." Again, it's early so ratings can change quickly, but here's how the starters in competition for the rotation -- Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo are already in -- have looked: 1. Cueto 2. Josh Fogg 3. Homer Bailey 4. Edinson Volquez 5. Jeremy Affeldt 6. Matt Belisle

Is that video supposed to be sexy? She sucks as a stripper

truthiness edgehead69 MVP dustinbeaverton Enigma Kawalimus Marvinisalunatic MOD BRACKET/FINALS! Cena's Healed Pec

Mecca--Equally as annoying as his brother Enigma truthiness--A horrible poster, hopefully is banned Bruiser_Brody--he works at walmart Superjerk--he teaches high school, judging by his actions he hasn't moved past his own high school life MVP jericholic82 Dustinbeaverton Vanhalen Enigma majormayhem1 EHME/Simon Brigante Kawalimus Marvinisalunatic flairfan Illustrious One Mole I don't feel like writing reasons for the rest

And you have? So what gives you the right to already declare this as the best WM ever? WMX7 or WM20 will be hard to follow... WM21 is slept on aswell. Man is your period on or something? I was kidding and marking out for 50, I have no idea if this will be the best mania ever. I see no reason why you took a simple statement so seriously. You are pretty bad. I'll be sure to put something like a "j/k' to a joke next time. Well considering you fucking suck you really have no room to talk.

I know Chip isn't really a very good announcer but I have a soft spot for him and Stone together. I'm not really sure why, but I remember on the last broadcast steve mentioned how good he thought chip was so they must've got along.

I'd much rather have stone on the cubs tv broadcasts, as I hate Len and Bob, they are a very boring team. Hell, I'd rather have Chip and Steve back.

The Reds opening day lineup is obvious: Corey Patterson CF Neifi Perez SS Griffey RF Phillips 2nd Jerry Gil 3rd Jerry Hairston LF some black dude at 1st and catcher There, a whole lineup of minorities, Dusty and Joe Morgan won't be able to control themselves. I just hope it's not cold on opening day.

Speaking of the Reds, they just spent 2 million on 16-year-old Juan Duran. I don't know, is it a good idea to spend 2 million on a 16-year-old? Maybe? Many thought player wasn't eligible to sign By Ben Badler March 4, 2008 E-mail Print The international signing period is still four months away, but the Reds have already made a big splash in the Dominican Republic, giving a $2 million signing bonus to 16-year-old outfielder Juan Duran, a player who many thought would not be eligible to sign until July 2. "We've scouted him extensively," Reds scouting director Chris Buckley said. "We had not thought he was eligible until this coming July 2. But we found out he was eligible, and when we did we were able to react. (Assistant general manager) Bob Miller and (director of Latin American scouting) Tony Arias deserve the credit on this one, because Bob was going over guys we were preparing for this year's signing period, and he said, 'You can sign this guy right now.' "We did not know that, but when we found that out, we were able to go get him because of the work Tony has done. He compares favorably to this year's high drafts." Players who are 16 years old are eligible to sign with major league teams during the international signing period, which lasts from July 2 to Aug. 31. Players who turn 16 years old during the international signing period are eligible to sign with teams on their birthdays. Duran's birthday is Sept. 2, 1991, making him a 16-year-old who seemed to have barely missed the cutoff point to sign during last year's international signing period, and it appeared he would have to wait until the commencement of the 2008 period to sign. However, the rules state that for an international player to be eligible to sign, he must be 16 years old at the time of the signing and turn 17 years old by either Sept. 1 or by the end of his first professional season. Players signed during the international signing period are not eligible to play that same year, so their first professional season comes the following calendar year. For example, a player signed during the 2007 international signing period would have his first professional season be the 2008 season. The Reds realized that they could sign Duran if they assigned him to their 2008 roster in Billings in the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where the regular season ends on Sept. 5. Since Duran will turn 17 before the end of the 2008 Pioneer League season, he was eligible to sign before the 2008 international signing period and was eligible to sign back on his birthday last year. One American League international scouting director said that he had Duran in for a workout as recently as last month. "I think it caught everybody by surprise," he said. "Even his agents were promoting him as a July 2 guy. He really doesn't follow the July 2 cutoff for this year. I guess we all thought that, with the Sept. 1 cutoff in mind, we all figured he was eligible this year instead of last year." Duran, who bats and throws righthanded and checks in at roughly 6-foot-6, 190 pounds, likely will not play a game this year in the PL, however, where at 16 years old he would be by far the youngest player in the league. The Reds cannot assign him to the Gulf Coast League, since the GCL season ends on Aug. 27, so sending him to the GCL would void his contract. Buckley and Arias were both with the Blue Jays when the team drafted outfielder Alex Rios as an 18-year-old with the 19th overall pick in the 1999 draft. "He compares favorably, only he's bigger and stronger at this age than Rios was," Buckley said. "He's more physical, and he has shown some of the same feel for hitting that Alex displayed. "We don't have a second-round pick this year so we wanted to be creative and get more talent any way we can." The $2 million bonus that Duran received was $500,000 more than the Red Sox gave to Dominican third baseman Michael Almanzar, who received the highest bonus of the 2007 international signing period. In 2006, the Giants gave Dominican first baseman Angel Villalona that year's top bonus at $2.1 million. It is the highest international bonus in Reds history, and tied for the third-largest signing bonus given to any player in club history. Arias said that Duran was one of the Reds' top targets for July 2 before they realized within the last week that they could sign him. "His body and offensive ability stick out like a sore thumb," Arias said. "In batting practice, he was just hitting them over the trees in our complex, hitting them out to center and right-center field. You can tell just tell from the way the ball jumps off his bat. "I've never seen a 16-year-old with this type of ability. I talked to some people in the Dominican Republic who crossed paths with Vladimir Guerrero at that age, guys who have been scouting in the Dominican for more than 20 years, and they said they've never come into contact with a bat like this. He's got 80 power potential (on the 20-80 scouting scale) and just gets tremendous loft. In my opinion, in terms of his bat and his body, he's a better overall package than Angel Villalona. We wanted to change the perception in the baseball industry that Cincinnati is a cheap organization. We want to get back to being the Big Red Machine." Another AL international scouting director said his team was also interested in Duran. "We liked him," another AL international scouting director said. "We saw him as a corner outfielder, big, long-limbed, real bat potential. He's definitely a guy a lot of people liked." One National League international scouting director compared Duran's body to that of a young Juan Gonzalez. "He might end up being in center field because he's a plus runner. It's all going to come down to how big he gets and if he slows down," the scout said. "He's going to put on some weight, so whether he retains that speed will tell if he ends up at a corner. "He's got some bat speed, and the power will come from the bat speed, but it all comes down to how thick he grows." The same NL international scouting director also noted that Duran has been bothered by an elbow problem—which Arias said might have something to do with Duran having grown six inches in the past year—and that Duran only started throwing as far as 40 feet last month. "He went to a tournament in Puerto Rico in the winter, and he didn't throw there. I saw him in February, and all he did was hit. I don't know what the up-to-date situation with his elbow is, but maybe they already checked him. Was he worth that kind of money? I guess he was to the Reds because they think he's an impact guy, but to me, I don't think so." One AL international scouting director called him "one of those guys who don't come around very often." "He's got all the tools," he said. "He's a pretty good player, very advanced for his age. I think it was a good investment. He's a good athlete, he has above-average power right now and he has a chance for 80 power (on the 20-80 scouting scale). He demonstrated every ability that you like to see in a kid. He's a very outgoing kid, good swing. There's no doubt about his approach, bat speed and power . . . he has all the common denominators you like to see, good balance, rhythm and a pretty good idea of what to do at the plate. "If he has to go to a corner (outfield position), he certainly has the power to go there. But right now I'd give him every opportunity to play center field because he's light on his feet and has a good idea how to play out there. He's probably 6-foot-6, 195 pounds, somewhere in that area, so he could gain a whole 40 pounds with no problem. You look at this guy, and you hate to compare guys to major league players, especially at his age, but he could be a young Dave Winfield in the making."

You know what would be a good screen name? Kawalimus#1 It's so original, I bet no one else here has a name anything like it. Anyone here think it'd be good screen name? Maybe I should change

Enigma's been seeping down into the lower half of the board. Maybe it was just to call people gay in the Maria playboy thread, but it's troubling none the less. A potential worry is that this thread could bring down the bad posters from the WWE folder to see if they're listed. Next thing you know they've infested the entire board.

Let's talk about the "Let's Talk About" threads. I remember the Let's talk about thread about Wrestlemania 2. I loved the way Al started the thread, it gave it a nice flow, and the posts, wow, not your ordinary run of the mill garbage we usually see.

I'm actually going to watch the Hall of Fame Ceremony this year to see Jake Roberts speech.

"Jake Roberts is scheduled to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next month. Prowrestling.net has learned that he will be released temporarily from treatment to attend the award and someone will be assigned to keep an eye on him. There are also rumblings that Scott Hall, who is in the same treatment facility in Georgia, might attend the Hall of Fame ceremony with Roberts." credit prowrestling.net--Jason Powell

If the Orioles traded an old pair of Jim Palmer's underwear for Albert Pujols and an old hot dog from 2002 for Johan Santana they still wouldn't compete. In fact, they still wouldn't be .500, yes, they suck that much.

Bruce Mitchell chimes in on Mayweather's payoff (after Bubba the Love Sponge claimed Mayweather's payoff was only a fraction of what's been reported): Hey, Jim Rome, AP, and the rest of you lazy, stupid marks who fell for that twenty million dollar salary line WWE and Floyd Mayweather fed you -you got played like a tourist at three card monte. The cheesy wrestling promoter got you to give him millions of dollars worth of free publicity by blatantly lying to you and betting you were too lazy to do your homework or too stupid to remember wrestlers and boxers are con men, I mean, multi-level marketers. Even you, Michael Wilbon. You guessed in the opposite direction, figuring Mayweather might get a few hundred thousand because "WWE isn't American Idol." Great. Five minutes on Google would have told you this: Last year's Wrestlemania, co-starring Donald Trump, did big business for WWE, business this Mayweather thing will be lucky to match. That show did about 1,200,000 buys. for the sake of argument - and to do this in less than five minutes - let's say Wrestlemania this year does the same business. Now round off the pay-per-view price to the show to fifty bucks a head. Let's see: A million two times fifty equals sixty million dollars. Half of that goes right off the top to the cable companies. That leaves thirty million dollars. Add five million for the live gate. Now you've got thirty-five million dollars BEFORE expenses. This ain't the NBA. It's wrestlers and boxers - two groups who are notorious for making the worst financial deals in sports and entertainment. You really think Vince McMahon is giving anyone twenty million dollars and ensuring his biggest show of the year will be a money-loser? Suckers. Two questions, though. Do you guys just do shoddy work on the stories you think readers care about, but you don't? Or does this laziness touch every story you report and comment on?

I still argue if you offer Austin 10 million he fights Hogan. What would be a bigger draw, Mayweather-Show or Austin-Hogan? I argue Austin-Hogan by far. If this years mania buyrate comes in and is relatively close to past years they've just wasted money.

It's weird, the 90's made me a fan of wrestling, and the 00's have basically made me not a fan despite better matches. Now, I mainly just download old 90's shows or watch Raw to mock it. There was something special about the 90's that is missing today, perhaps it was a great crop of wrestlers, perhaps it was the monday night war and the general competition between WCW and WWF before the war, maybe it was the prolification of hardcore matches and ECW or maybe it was wrestling finally leaving smokey gyms and going really big budget with sets and lighting. In all honesty the last wrestling feud I really enjoyed was the Mick Foley-HHH feud that ended in Feb. 2000.

Czech I now really feel your pain: "What you do is run the pitcher's count up, that helps," Baker said. "You put him in the stretch, that helps. But your job in the middle is to either score them or drive them in. The name of the game is scoring runs. Sometimes, you get so caught up in on-base percentage that you're clogging up the bases." From yesterday at Reds spring training. It's almost too good to be true, and some people never learn.

The Orioles blow. I like how you think trading away your ace isn't going to negatively impact the pitching staff. It's cute really.