geniusMoment

milb.com ranked the top 50 prospects in the minors: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/news/top50/y2008/ Top 10 Prospects 1. Jay Bruce 2. Evan Longoria 3. Cameron Maybin 4. Clayton Kershaw 5. Joba Chamberlain 6. Clay Buchholz 7. Colby Rasmus 8. Andrew McCutchen 9. Homer Bailey 10. Adam Miller 11. David Price 12. Wade Davis 13. Jacoby Ellsbury 14. Rick Porcello 15. Travis Snider 16. Franklin Morales 17. Fernando Martinez 18. Nick Adenhart 19. Brandon Wood 20. Jacob McGee 21. Matt Wieters 22. Mike Moustakas 23. Carlos Gonzalez 24. Gio Gonzalez 25. Eric Hurley 26. Ian Kennedy 27. Matt Antonelli 28. Carlos Carrasco 29. Chase Headley 30. Josh Vitters 31. Chris Marrero 32. Reid Brignac 33. Andy LaRoche 34. Joey Votto 35. Max Scherzer 36. Scott Elbert 37. Ross Detwiler 38. Elvis Andrus 39. Chris Volstad 40. Luke Hochevar 41. Ian Stewart 42. Alcides Escobar 43. Jeremy Jeffress 44. Tyler Colvin 45. Radhames Liz 46. Jeff Clement 47. Johnny Cueto 48. Carlos Triunfel 49. Austin Jackson 50. Dexter Fowler I think Adam Miller, Andrew McCutchen and Cameron Maybin are way too high. And Luke Hochevar doesn't even deserve to be on the list.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Cardinals and Brewers are discussing a Scott Rolen trade, but they haven't decided how much money St. Louis will pick up or what players the Cards will get in return. It appears safe to assume that Chris Capuano would be in the deal. The Brewers shouldn't need to give up much more talent in return for Rolen, assuming that they're willing to pay the majority of the $36 million the third baseman is owed for the next three years. If Rolen is acquired, Ryan Braun would move to left field, leaving Matt LaPorta wondering about his future role with the team.

I like how you assert that Bill James has stopped "sniffing glue" when the article you cited presented the exact same stance he's always had and the work he shows, as much as I love Bill, is miles behind some of the other stuff that has been done on the subject (most notably in Tom Tango's The Book). The problem with measuring clutch hitting is a) how do you define it and b) once defined, how do you ever compile enough data to prove it? Look at what he has presented here. Pujols, Chipper and Papi hit well in the clutch? Pierre doesn't? Well, no shit. You just presented three of the best hitters in baseball. How does the performance compare to non-clutch situations? What was the platoon advantage? Did they control for park effects? The quality of pitcher faced? What's the correlation coefficient of the data? What's the standard deviation? There's not information here to figure out if we've proven anything at all. We already know clutch hitting exists. Fangraphs.com measures it and posts updates everyday on their website (using WPA - win probability added). Factoring in the leverage of the situation, how much did your at bat change the expected outcome of the game? That's simple to measure, but does it mean anything? The white whale for all statisticians is finding out if clutch ability exists. Do some players, in fact, possess a special skill set that allows them to recognize the situation they are in and change their approach to become better than they are at all other times they play the game. I think that's a ridiculous notion, but I don't know for sure because I can't test it. Until then, it's easier to say that clutch hitting ability doesn't exist. And when I say that, I don't mean to imply that there is no chance that it out's there, just that the probability of finding it is so small that it would be foolish for a manager to make any moves based on it and ever more foolish for writers/fans to pretend like they know it and use it to judge the quality of the player. I was just joking, I figured the "sniffing glue" line would get a rise out of someone here

Reds GM Wayne Krivsky was on the radio in cincy today. He said the Reds are aggresively after a starting pitcher, and that owner Bob Castellini has given the ok to spend whatever is necessary to compete in the market. Josh Hamilton, Edwin Encarnacion, Joey Votto and Johnny Cueto could all be had in deals for a number 2 type starter. I wouldn't be surprised if 2 are packaged together, along with a few lower ranking prospects for one of the pitchers on the market. Reports in Cincy are that the Reds are really serious about competing, and even though you don't hear them mentioned in the national media, they are after a lot of the same names others are after, and may be willing to deal more prospects to get a starter. and Bill James must have stopped sniffing glue, as he know believes what real fans have known all along, clutch hitting exists. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/base...utch/index.html

Mickie James

What about when Bulldog said he was going to win the 97 rumble because he was bizarre. I never really got that.

I don't vote for anyone off that list, but I've been told before my standards for the Hall of Fame are too high.

This is a great signing by the Reds. You now have: Cordero Jared Burton (who was lights out as an 8th inning guy) Weathers Bray All of whom could be very good in their bullpen roles. It's not so much just Cordero, it's how he pushes everyone down into a more suitable role. Also, rumors are flying in Cincy that the Reds are willing to deal Hamilton, looking at Garza from Minnesota as one strong possibility, and bringing up Bruce for center field. A starting rotation of: Harang Arroyo Garza Bailey Cueto A bullpen of: Cordero Burton Weathers Bray Coutlangus Salmon And a lineup of: Keppinger/Alex Gonz. Brandon Phillips Dunn Griffey Encarnacion Bruce Votto Valentin Gives them an actual shot of winning the central

I don't know, he looks a little faggy.

Nope, meatball sub is the way to go.

Those pics just make her more appealing to me, she looks more like a cougar now.

Did you sell it, or do you still have it?

Maybe gimmick is the wrong choice of words, and Nuxhall by all accounts is a great guy, but that whole pitching at 15 thing is overblown. Here's the story, Nuxhall's dad (a guy named Orville) was a low level prospect, getting a few tryouts. When WWII hit the Reds were looking for talent (along with the rest of the league). They went to see Orville pitch in a game near Hamilton, Ohio. While waiting for Orville, the scouts saw a tall kid throwing on a mound a few fields over, they went and watched him, eventually signing him with the thought that they could someday develop him into a starter. However, he needed permission from the school principal to sign, which he was given. Then four days after the troops stormed the beaches of Normandy Nuxhall was thrown onto the mound in a throw-away game with little to no fanfare. He didn't work his way through the minors, it wasn't because he was the most dominant high school pitcher ever, it was merely the coming together of multiple factors (most notably WWII) and because the scouts just happened to see him despite never scouting him or seeing him throw a game in high school, not a huge amount of talent that has never been seen since.

While it wasn't a surprise given the recent news of his worsening condition, it's still quite sad for anyone that grew up listening to him call a baseball the way it was meant to be called (a fading form in this modern era of broadcasters). He wasn't just a great broadcaster, he was a great guy that truly loved the game. To put Nuxhall in perspective, when Nuxhall pitched in the Majors he was one year older than Danny Almonte when Almonte pitched in the Little League World Series. Also, to put things in perspective Nuxhall pitched one inning as a gimmick, got rocked, and spent 8 years in the minors, not coming back up until he was 23.

Sabu is backstage at tonights tapings, along with Hall.

I was reading through an old 1997 torch online and I found something interesting about Hogan. I've heard a lot of people speculate on why there hasn't been a union in wrestling, and many have blamed headliners, most notably Hogan. After reading this I have to wonder, if Hogan had not ratted people out would there be a union, would many lives be saved, and is Hulk Hogan partially responsible for many of the deaths. "Jesse Ventura should have a field day ripping on Hogan for playing a part that Ventura played in real life -- that of a Navy Seal. Ventura, on his new mid-day talk show on KFAN, is often asked by callers about wrestling. He shows very little interest in today's scene and actually knocks the quality of wrestling today (which proves he doesn't watch any wrestling these days), but is willing to rip into Hogan when prompted by callers to his radio show. He said when he was suing the WWF regarding unauthorized use of his likeness on Coliseum Home Video tapes, he had his lawyers ask Vince McMahon during depositions who told him about the wrestlers' attempt to start a union around the time of Wrestlemania II. McMahon revealed that Hogan was the "scab" who told him that wrestlers were talking about forming a union and who those leaders were. Ventura says finding that out solidified his lack of respect for Hogan as a person. Ventura, by the way, still says he will be running for Governor of Minnesota during the next race."

The Chris Benoit before the last 3 days of his life was a lunatic who beat his wife, thought invisible men were following him, tortured a younger wrestler for "disrespecting Shawn Michaels," laughed at a crying referee backstage at a Japanese show and then called him a "gay bitch," and may have been injecting his son with HGH for non-medical reasons, among other things I'm probably forgetting. Damn, I never heard about those except for the HGH. What are the stories on torturing a young wrestler, the ref and beating his wife. I heard he and Nancy had problems but that it was never confirmed as violent until that last day.

Depends on how you look at it. If her political manuvering is HOF-worthy on its own, then she should be in. If you think she needs more than that, then she's not. Dave Meltzer and Bruce Mitchell discussed this, saying neither had ever heard of anyone going to a show or watching a show because of a Moolah match. She was never a draw at all, and her style and look wasn't impactful, except they realized for a woman to be a draw (sunny, sable, trish, etc..) due the exact opposite.

Would Jay Bruce get it done? If so hopefully the reds offer him up.

And the first official offer is in: TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Alex Rodriguez a Mud Hen? Spurred by an offhand remark from George Steinbrenner's son, the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens want in on the A-Rod sweepstakes. The Mud Hens playfully offered the prize free agent a deal Thursday — a contract proposal that includes a bonus for hitting 75 home runs next year and leading them to 10 straight International League titles. Rodriguez recently opted out of his $252 million, 10-year contract with the New York Yankees. That prompted Hank Steinbrenner, son of the Yankees owner, to tell the New York Times: "Does he want to go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee, or a Toledo Mud Hen?" The Mud Hens conjured up an offer to find out, said Jason Griffin, a spokesman for the Detroit Tigers' top farm team. Toledo created a Hall of Fame plaque of Rodriguez wearing a Mud Hens hat and sent a letter to his agent, Scott Boras. The deal stipulates that Rodriguez will have to compete for a spot with Toledo third basemen Mike Hessman, the league's most valuable player last season. "Would your client be willing to play a different position?" the letter asked.

That probably means no more appearances on Conan.

The official movie preview for the new big budget Andre the Giant movie that will be hitting theaters nationwide. It looks really freaking good. I can't even imagine how much something like this cost. http://vimeo.com/360033

This thread pretty much sucks now, everyone is just taking one thing a poster says (and many times not fully understanding what the poster means) or just making things up, and acting like the whole folder is in agreement on a stupid point. The last couple have been bad in particular.

God, I love Coach's music

Black people are good drivers, but bad at crosswalks. Seriously, they relish that 10 seconds of power, and take forever. I've actually had one stop in the middle, get out his cell phone and start talking to someone while standing in the middle of a crosswalk while a line of cars waited behind me.