Bruiser Chong

Hehe. Those jackasses. We'll see how well a 40-year-old Moises makes the transition going from the Friendl Confines to Shea. He'll still produce, but this deal is pretty nutty. He had 39 homers, but with that, you've got to remember that he had more homers at home than anyone else in the majors last season. IIRC, he was pretty terrible on the road.

I wonder what Clement's goatee will be asking for from the Yankees.

Pavano will be to the Yankees in '05 what Vazquez was to them in '04. Both are okay pitchers, but they can't come close to reaching expectations.

Pfft. This was supposed to be about the off-season, but whatever. *is horribly biased*

Were you not appeased when I presented Hawkins and Smoltz' stats and how similar they were for the most part? It'd be great to get a bonafide closer, but they really weren't that far apart in 2004 stat-wise. And I posted that story about Sosa yesterday to further prove that the Cubs can't go after Beltran, because they don't look to be unloading Sosa.

Yeah, exactly. So how well would Kolb make the transition of going from pitching in front of half-empty stadiums, to a rabid, sold-out stadium, where every loss is treated like the end of the world?

I wouldn't mind at all parting with Farns, but what's with the Cubs continually trading guys they view as potential closers? Francis Beltran and Todd Wellemeyer were two guys they envisioned one day taking on the closer's role; they've traded the former and may deal the latter. Granted, neither guy really proved he could take on such a role and the Cubs don't have a great track record of picking their closers well (Alfonseca, Borowski V.2004 and Farns, just to name a few), but I would've like to see what Wellemeyer could do. It should be noted that while Kolb was the shiznight for most of last season, when he blew saves, he blew them. He hadn't given up a run in a ton of innings and then during the closing weeks of the season, he seemed to be giving up two or three runs in one appearance on a weekly basis. I also wonder how he'd react going from the laidback atmosphere of Milwaukee to the asylum that has become Wrigley Field.

It's those damn white shoes the A's wear.

I must be one of the few who think that the Vacation series, outside of the original, is vastly overrated. I love Chevy Chase, but aside from the first, they're all pretty crappy. I know Christmas Vacation isn't a classic in the traditional movie sense to those who view it that way, but when I saw it a few years back, I thought it was a marginally funny movie, but nothing to hit my knees and bow down to. I love A Christmas Story, but I've always been a fan of A Christmas Carol story. A lot of the adaptations aren't that great, but the 1951 version starring Alastair Sim is not only one of my favorite Christmas movies ever, but one of my favorite movies. Period. Anyway, I'm done placing myself in the minute minority.

And about the Marlins signing Todd Jones; yeah, that'll improve that pen of yours.

Someone wanna explain why a team that basically missed the playoffs because they had shit for pitching, goes out and their first order of business is to sign a high-priced batter?

Well damn. Google sucks. I thought there were two r's in there, but Google didn't correct me with just one. Ah well.

Uh yeah, it sure is ape warfare. I think you mean guerilla there, guy.

I know, I'm just jaded. He seems like a humble guy and a cool customer. I had envisioned collecting enough of the Simpsons figures to display across my mantle. This was back in December of last year. I've got three up there right now. I should probably get back with that.

I'd say she's on to your shifty eyes and is pulling out all the stops to ensure that you approaching her isn't feasible. But just leave class before you think she's gonna and then hang around the area until you see her and think of something to ask or say to her.

This should further illustrate my point.

Because we aren't gonna. Honestly, there's no reason to even get optimistic about it since there's never been any indication that the Cubs were gonna make a serious run at him. Everyone thinks because the Cubs are going to be contenders and Beltran's hitting like .850 at Wrigley, that it's a natural fit. And I think it would be, but that doesn't mean he'll wind up here. Resigning Nomar and still having that Human Payroll Eating Machine in rightfield basically ties up all the major coin the Tribune is willing to shell out. You'd imagine that with all the bad signings the Yanks have made, they're bound to try and make at least one good one, i.e. Beltran.

White Sox also signed Jermaine Dye. So instead of going out and getting a big upgrade, they went and got a guy who hasn't been the same since that injury that took him out a couple seasons back.

It's a very well done site (made me feel like I was watching RAW or something), but something tells me this guy's dance card is pretty barebones come Saturday night.

Which makes it funnier when he does try to rap.

So now that SNKT is no more, I guess I need somewhere to throw some thoughts out on an album that I was beginning to think was never going to be released (I began to lose faith after the ninth or tenth time it was pushed back). Anyway, I just downloaded it, since I haven't been to Best Buy yet and have been giving it a "spin" for a bit. Anyway, the standout tracks seem to be: - Get Down - Down and Out - Adrenaline (yep, the old Twista joint) - Hey Lady - Get 'Em Girls - Take 'Em to Church There are some other good tracks on here, but these are the ones with the best production, and let's face it, that's the best part of anything with DipSet ties. Down and Out is a Kanye-produced track. I'm getting tired of him being everywhere, but I'm not sick of the old school soul sampling yet. Get 'Em Girls features the beat used in the video, unlike the version that's been on any mixtape. I've always liked the video version more, so this was a treat to hear and may have renewed my fondness of the track. Overall, this is basically what you've come to expect from Cam. The production is the hook, which is good, since he says some pretty damn stupid things, even for him these days. There are a couple tracks that recycle a lot from older songs, which I think is pretty lazy. Obviously this is a good compliment piece to Diplomatic Immunity II, which dropped two weeks ago. Anyone cop a listen yet?

I wouldn't rely on Conine. After a resurgence after the trade in 2003, he really fell back to earth last season.

They didn't sign him with intentions of making him their closer, did they?

So I guess Florida's letting by gones be by gones with Alfonseca?

I'll refrain from making the joke about SNKT going down for good on Dec. 7. Wait, I guess I didn't.