Bored

I don't think a team should be penalized for good teams ducking them. Gonzaga only got to PLAY two games against the RPI top 25 this season, and those two teams both happen to be undefeated. I'm not necessarily disagreeing I'm just telling it like it is. The committee does not care if teams were ducking you. They don't care where you rank in the voter polls. Gonzaga is only #12 in the RPI through yesterday and I doubt any #1 seed has ever had an RPI that low. In fact they might get a #3 seed believe it or not but I think they'll get a #2 seed simply because their two losses were to the two undefeated teams as you can't really fault them for losing to either. If Kentucky or Missisippi State win the SEC tournament that team will get the final #1 seed, I can almost guarentee it. It was actually in Oakland although kinda splitting hairs. Stanford was still without Josh Childress at that point.

Gonzaga really has almost no shot at a #1 seed as they don't have a win over a team currently in the Top 25 in the RPI. Duke is still very secure with their #1 seed. Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Pittsburgh all have better shots the final #1 seed than Gonzaga.

Blalock's numbers were padded a bit by playing in Arlington. He really could have been high as #5 or #6. Guys like Mueller and Mora are that high just because of last year. Hell Mora had the same OPS+ as A-Rod last season if you can believe that. Larson just ended at the bottom because for his few number at bats in the Majors he's been terrible. Rolen is still a better hitter than Chavez at this point so that's why I went with him for #2.

Here are my third basemen rankings for the projected regulars. You know the drill at this point if you read the other ones. The dreaded shortstop rankings come tommorrow. 1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees 2. Scott Rolen, Cardinals 3. Eric Chavez, A's 4. Mike Lowell, Marlins 5. Bill Mueller, Red Sox 6. Morgan Ensberg, Astros 7. Corey Koskie, Twins 8. Troy Glaus, Angels 9. Melvin Mora, Orioles 10. Hank Blalock, Rangers 11. Sean Burroughs, Padres 12. Scott Speizio, Mariners 13. Eric Hinske, Blue Jays 14. Edgardo Alfonzo, Giants 15. Aramis Ramirez, Cubs 16. Joe Crede, White Sox 17. Wes Helms, Brewers 18. Eric Munson, Tigers 19. Rob Makowiak, Pirates 20. Joe Randa, Royals 21. Shea Hillenbrand, Diamondbacks 22. Casey Blake, Indians 23. Adrian Beltre, Dodgers 24. Vinny Castilla, Rockies 25. Ty Wigginton, Mets 26. Mark DeRosa, Braves 27. Tony Batista, Expos 28. David Bell, Phillies 29. Geoff Blum, Devil Rays 30. Brandon Larson, Reds

Whatever. Every topic you create in this folder is to talk about Oklahoma football including this one.

Listen to what your saying, read your own post. Your saying he hits better against bad pitching. Doesn't logic dictate the worse the pitching the better the chance the hitter has of getting a hit? No matter how great the hitter they will always have a better chance of getting a hit off of Brett Tomko than they do Pedro Martinez. I don't know what your obsession with Reggie Sanders is but he is not like a Hall of Famer by any stretch. He's only made one All-Star team, in '95. Reggie Sanders numbers don't indicate he should be able to hit Greg Maddux with regularity. And like I already pointed out he is very inconsistent. He has literally never had two years in a row where his numbers went up. Yes I want certain hitters up there in big situations, I want the better hitters. See you'll learn when you really look into the perceived great "clutch hitters" they happen to be the great hitters in general. I would have wanted Barry Larkin circa 1995 up there over Reggie Sanders circa 1995 because Larkin was consistently the better hitter even though Sanders numbers were outstanding for that season but he never proved that season wasn't a fluke. If I were you I'd try to come up with a better example than Reggie Sanders or I'd just agree to disagree because your argument just isn't very strong.

Greg Maddux is an all-time great and Tom Glavine is a potential future Hall of Famer and them shutting down Reggie Sanders in the 1995 NLCS is your evidence that clutch hitting does exsist. Greg Maddux went 19-2 with a 1.63 ERA that year. Tom Glavine had his usual solid year going 16-7 with a 3.08 ERA. Like I pointed out in my post is it possible Reggie Sanders just hits poorly against these pitchers because they are great pitchers? I'm sure there are a lot better hitters than Reggie Sanders who couldn't hit Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine in their primes very well either. Looking at the numbers to that series, Barry Larkin was the only Reds player who had a good series. Now I know why your pointing out Sanders so much is because that season he had a career year. Sanders got exposed in that series not because he wasn't "clutch" it was because his season was for the most part a fluke. He is consistenly inconsistent through out his career. He usually follows up one good year with one bad year. In fact last season was his best year since '95 and it still wasn't close to that year. Barry Larkin on the other hand in his prime was consistently a very good hitter. Larkin didn't have a better series than Sanders because he's "clutch", Larkin had a better series than Sanders because he was a better hitter.

Ya well I guess he kinda goes into the category of a rookie almost where it's hard to know where to place them at this point. But his numbers for those at bats were solid especially for a 20-year old. Just wait till you see where I have Bobby Crosby and Jason Bay at their positions. I'm not proud of my shortstop list and almost don't even want to post it. I'd make changes to it but then the list might become too subjective and these lists are mostly objective.

Here are my second baseman rankings for the projected starters for this year. Now I might as well explain why Alfonso Soriano is not #1. This is again because this is not a true projection and is meant to be based if everyone played on an even field. Obviously Soriano's numbers will be huge this year with him playing in Arlington. 1. Bret Boone, Mariners 2. Marcus Giles, Braves 3. Alfonso Soriano, Rangers 4. Jeff Kent, Astros 5. Jose Vidro, Expos 6. Luis Castillo, Marlins 7. Placido Polanco, Phillies 8. Mark Loretta, Padres 9. Ray Durham, Giants 10. Jose Reyes, Mets 11. Adam Kennedy, Angels 12. D'Angelo Jiminez, Reds 13. Mark Grudzielanek, Cubs 14. Junior Spivey, Brewers 15. Jerry Hairston Jr., Orioles 16. Mark Ellis, A's 17. Orlando Hudson, Blue Jays 18. Aaron Miles, Rockies 19. Marlon Anderson, Cardinals 20. Bobby Hill, Pirates 21. Roberto Alomar, Diamondbacks 22. Fernando Vina, Tigers 23. Luis Rivas, Twins 24. Ron Belliard, Indians 25. Desi Relaford, Royals 26. Alex Cora, Dodgers 27. Pokey Reese, Red Sox 28. Rey Sanchez, Devil Rays 29. Enrique Wilson, Yankees 30. Willie Harris, White Sox

Unless I have an injury in Spring Training I'm not going to actively pursue any trades until after the season starts. But if anyone wants to make me an offer be my guest.

I completely forgot about tonight's draft until about midway through it. The autodraft gave me Palmeiro in the 4th round and Randy Winn in the 5th. Last place here I come. Although I guess the real Bill Bavasi would love my team.

Yes Bonds, Giambi, and Sheffield all will play this season as this still isn't proof that they are guilty but it certainly raises the level of suspicion. The only way the'll miss any time this year is if they were dumb enough to obtain steroids another way this offseason and test positive. On top of it that's only if they test positive twice before there is finally a supsension of like two weeks. Obviously IF they were using steroids before given to them from BALCO they wouldn't have been doing them this offseason. Even if they didn't know they were taking the steroids it still means they were on the steroids and it still puts into question the legitimacy of Barry Bonds 73 homerun season. All of this of course brings into question again why the hell did Giambi say he only lost four pounds? Why would he just make it up? Also something that hasn't been talked about much was Bonds saying that they made the baseballs softer last year and that's why homeruns were down. Curt Schilling came out the next day and said that was a load of crap. Why would Bonds lie about that? What's his motivation to just simply make up a story about baseballs being softer?

Reggie Sanders with runners in scoring position last year: .308 AVG, .390 OBP, .647 SLG. Runners in scoring position with two outs (the definition of "clutch hitting"): .300 AVG, .395 OBP, .629 SLG You were saying? Now Reggie Sanders postseason numbers are not good to say the least but let's compare his league championship series numbers to his World Series numbers LCS: .102/.214/.102 World Series: .273/.320/.432 Now his LCS numbers are just horrendous. But on an even bigger stage, the World Series, he performed better. Why is that? You say he can't get any big hits well he hit .304 in the 2001 World Series and slugged .524 in the 2002 World Series. Why can Reggie Sanders hit better in the World Series than the League Championship Series? The point about things like clutch hitting though is you can't compare such a small sample size to a player's career numbers. Reggie Sanders has 5,102 career at bats in the regular season. He has 147 at bats in the postseason. What's to say if Reggie Sanders has 5,000+ at bats in postseason he doesn't put up similar numbers to his career numbers? Oh finally as for him not performing well against "big game pitchers", did you ever think he hits worse against them because they are *gasp* good pitchers? Don't you think most hitters hit better against bad pitching?

Adam Melhuse is his name. I should have said something in the chat as I had no clue who "Eric Melhouse" was. Since everyone seems to be doing it might as well look at my team. C: Paul Lo Duca, Dodgers C: Robby Hammock, Diamondbacks 1B/OF: Albert Pujols, Cardinals 1B: Nick Johnson, Expos 2B: Marcus Giles, Braves 3B: Troy Glaus, Angels SS: Bobby Crosby, A's SS: Rich Aurillia, Mariners OF: Bobby Abreu, Phillies OF: Luis Gonzalez, Diamondbacks OF: Jeromy Burnitz, Rockies OF: Bobby Kielty, A's SP: Curt Schilling, Red Sox SP: Matt Morris, Cardinals SP: John Thomson, Braves SP: Jeff Weaver, Dodgers SP: Jerome Williams, Giants RP: Arthur Rhodes, A's RP: Danys Baez, Devil Rays RP: Justin Speier, Blue Jays

Here are my rankings of the projected regular first basemen for this year. Again it's based on what they did last year and loosely based on what they might do this year but not meant to be a true projection. Also it's based on if everyone played on an even field and if everyone is relatively healthy. Adam LaRoche is the one rookie in the group and like all rookies I'll probably have them rated a little too high but it's tough to compare them when they've never played in the Majors. 1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals 2. Todd Helton, Rockies 3. Carlos Delgado, Blue Jays 4. Jim Thome, Phillies 5. Jason Giambi, Yankees 6. Richie Sexson, Diamondbacks 7. Derrek Lee, Cubs 8. Nick Johnson, Expos 9. Jeff Bagwell, Astros 10. Doug Mientkiewicz, Twins 11. Phil Nevin, Padres 12. Shawn Green, Dodgers 13. Mike Sweeney, Royals 14. Jason Phillips, Mets 15. Rafael Palmeiro, Orioles 16. Carlos Pena, Tigers 17. Mark Teixeira, Rangers 18. Adam LaRoche, Braves 19. Kevin Millar, Red Sox 20. J.T. Snow, Giants 21. Ben Broussard, Indians 22. John Olerud, Mariners 23. Tino Martinez, Devil Rays 24. Paul Konerko, White Sox 25. Hee Seop Choi, Marlins 26. Sean Casey, Reds 27. Randall Simon, Pirates 28. Scott Hatteberg, A's 29. Lyle Overbay, Brewers 30. Darin Erstad, Angels

Ummm don't you have a list of our AIM names? Bored2578

It's Monday so here is Joe Lunardi's latest Bracketology and seed breakdown: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology #1 seeds: Saint Joseph's, Duke, Stanford, Kentucky #2 seeds: Gonzaga, Connecticut, Mississippi State, Pittsburgh #3 seeds: Providence, Texas, Wake Forest, Oklahoma State #4 seeds: Illinois, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati #5 seeds: Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, Louisville #6 seeds: Southern Illinois, Wisconsin, Charlotte, Syracuse #7 seeds: Florida, Arizona, Michigan State, Utah State #8 seeds: Boston College, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Seton Hall #9 seeds: Dayton, UTEP, LSU, DePaul #10 seeds: Missouri, Kent State, UAB, Air Force #11 seeds: Utah, Florida State, Georgia, Alabama #12 seeds: Texas Tech, Manhattan, Richmond, Western Michigan #13 seeds: Virginia Commonwelth, Troy State, East Tennessee State, Colorado #14 seeds: Boston University, Louisiana-Lafayette, Austin Peay, Wisconsin-Milwaukee #15 seeds: Princeton, East Washington, Monmouth, Mississippi Valley State #16 seeds: Valpariso, SE Louisana, Liberty, Lehigh/Coppin State Top 25 teams in the RPI ratings from collegerpi.com, thru Sunday's games. 1. Duke 24-3 2. Saint Joseph's 26-0 3. Kentucky 21-4 4. Mississippi State 23-2 5. Stanford 25-0 6. Texas 21-4 7. Wake Forest 19-6 8. Providence 20-5 9. Pittsburgh 24-3 10. Connecticut 23-5 11. Gonzaga 25-2 12. North Carolina 17-8 13. N.C. State 18-7 14. Southern Illinois 24-2 15. Oklahoma State 21-3 16. Florida 17-8 17. Syracuse 19-6 18. Louisville 18-7 19. Kansas 17-7 20. Cincinnati 20-5 21. Seton Hall 18-7 22. Alabama 15-10 23. Wisconsin 19-6 24. Georgia Tech 20-8 25. Memphis 20-5

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nf...e-changes_x.htm Here are the proposals:

Well it's very debatable how important an individual catcher is to a pitching staff. Just looking at last year Red Sox pitchers had an ERA of 4.51. With back-up Doug Mirabelli they had an ERA of 4.46. Hell I had him #6 overall so that's not exactly low. Posada I think is definently the best catcher in baseball, just overall consistency and he gets better every year. Pudge is still very good and then Lopez which has already been discussed is coming off an incredible year but had him #3 since his numbers were so above anything else he'd ever done. Piazza if healthy would still be an elite catcher so that's why he's still so high. After those four it was between Varitek and Pierzynski for #5. Pierzynski is five years younger, has improved every year he's been in the majors, and is better at throwing out runners than Varitek so I went with him. Hmm well I generated a debate about shitty Cubs catchers, Javy Lopez, and now Jason Varitek. Guess I'll keep posting rankings then. I'll post my first basemen rankings tonight.

First off it is a valid point about OPS+ not being as effective to compare part time players. Hell I'm not even sure if there is an individual statistic that effectiely compares part time position players. Problem is you completely contradict yourself with a sample size of seven at bats to prove Bako couldn't hit in Puerto Rico either. Funny thing Barrett went just 2 for 32 in Puerto Rico. Both hits were homeruns. Not surprising since Hiram Bithron was even more homerun friendly than Coors Field.

Bako is better than no one. Barrett could hit around 15-20 HR if he gets clsoe to 450-500 at bats. Bako was better than Barrett last year although that's not saying much. No ... no he wasn't. Yes, yes he was...well when park adjusted. Both Olympic Stadium and Hiram Bithorn Stadium (Puerto Rico) were hitter's wet dream parks last year. In OPS+ Bako had a 69 and Barrett had a 63.

Here's CRZ's recap to the before mentioned Hart/Benoit match:

Because it's a leap year you'll see a couple of years skipped this week. Nitro March 3, 1997 Konnan & Hugh Morrus def. Jeff Jarrett & Steve McMichael Diamond Dallas Page def. Rick Fuller Juventud Guerrera def. Rey Mendoza Jr. Dean Malenko def. Mike Enos Eddy Guerrero def. Ultimo Dragon Scotty Riggs def. Mr. Wallstreet by DQ Rey Mysterio Jr. def. Mr. JL Steiner Brothers NC The Giant & Lex Luger March 2, 1998 Chris Benoit def. Scotty Riggs Juventud Guerrera def. Chavo Guerrero Jr. Prince Iaukea def. Psychosis Raven def. Disco Inferno in a No-DQ Match Public Enemy def. Hugh Morrus & Barbarian Bill Goldberg def. Sick Boy Diamond Dallas Page def. Hammer by DQ; U.S. Title Match Davey Boy Smith def. Scott Norton by DQ Konnan def. Super Calo Scott Steiner def. Jim Duggan Booker T & Dean Malenko def. Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho Bret Hart def. Brian Adams by DQ Sting & Randy Savage def. Hollywood Hogan & Scott Hall by DQ March 1, 1999 Kidman def. Psychosis Rey Mysterio Jr. def. Bam Bam Bigelow The Cat def. Jerry Flynn Hugh Morrus def. Saturn Chris Benoit def. Bret Hart by DQ Goldberg & Rick Steiner def. Scott Steiner & Buff Bagwell March 6, 2000 Kaz Hayashi def. Pyschosis Big Ron def. Big Vito David Flair def. The Wall by DQ The Dog def. Evan Karagias Curt Hennig def. Ric Flair Norman Smiley def. Lane Stevie Ray def. Billy Kidman Jeff Jarrett & The Wall def. Sid Vicious & Vampiro March 5, 2001 Booker T def. Rick Steiner by DQ; U.S. Title Match Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo def. A.J. Styles & Air Paris Sean O’Haire def. Lex Luger Jeff Jarrett def. “Dusty Rhodes” Chavo Guerrero Jr. def. Shane Helms Hugh Morrus def. Mike Awesome Booker T & Diamond Dallas Page def. Steiner Brothers Thunder March 6, 1998 Bill Goldberg def. Vincent Eddy Guerrero def. Prince Iaukea Juventud Guerrera def. El Dandy Scott Steiner def. Chase Tatum Curt Hennig def. Jim Neidhart Chris Jericho def. Ciclope Scott Norton NC Renegade March 4, 1999 Rick Steiner def. Hugh Morrus Ernest Miller & Sonny Oono def. Al Greene in a handicap mathc Bam Bam Bigelow def. Prince Iaukea Curt Hennig & Barry Windham def. Horace Hogan & Vincent by DQ; Tag Title Match Kidman def. Chavo Guerrero Jr.; CW Title Match Buff Bagwell def. Booker T March 1, 2000 Chavo Guerrero Jr. def. TAFKA Prince Iaukea by DQ; CW Title Match Brian Knobs, Fit Finlay, & The Dog def. 3 Count in a hardcore match La Parka def. The Demon Lex Luger def. Vampiro Mickie Jay def. Mark Johnson Crowbar def. The Wall by DQ Ric Flair def. Buff Bagwell Jeff Jarrett & Harris Brothers def. Sid Vicious, Booker, & Billy Kidman Raw March 1, 1993 Bret Hart def. Fatu Doink def. Koko B. Ware Lex Luger def. P.J. Walker Steiner Brothers def. Duane Gill & Barry Hardy March 6, 1995 Shawn Michaels def. British Bulldog Bob Backlund def. Buck Quartermaine Duke Droese def. Steven Dunn March 4, 1996 Shawn Michaels def. 1-2-3 Kid Justin Bradshaw def. Hakushi Bret Hart def. Hunter Hearst Helmsley March 3, 1997 Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Bret Hart by DQ Rocky Maivia def. Vader by DQ; IC Title Match Sultan def. Flash Funk Sid def. Mankind; WWF Title Match British Bulldog def. Owen Hart to win the European Title March 2, 1998 Skull & 8-Ball def. New Age Outlaws by count out; Tag Title Match Marc Mero def. Tom Brandi Mark Henry def. Owen Hart by DQ; Euro Title Match Headbangers & Taka Michinoku def. Rock ‘n’ Roll Express & Barry Windham Steve Blackman def. Kama Mustafa Jeff Jarrett def. Flash Funk March 1, 1999 Val Venis def. Ken Shamrock and Goldust by count out in a Triple Threat Match for the IC Title Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett NC Triple H & X-Pac; Tag Title Match The Rock def. Road Dogg; WWF Title Match Droz def. Steve Blackman in a Kendo Stick Match Mankind def. Undertaker by count out Ivory def. Debra by DQ Kane def. Steve Austin by DQ March 6, 2000 Kane def. Big Show by DQ Mark Henry def. D-Von Dudley Road Dogg & X-Pac def. Too Cool by DQ Chris Jericho def. Kurt Angle by DQ; IC Title Match Rikishi Phatu def. Triple H by DQ Steve Blackman def. Jeff Hardy Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn def. Edge & Christian Crash Holly def. Viscera; HC Title Match The Rock def. Chris Benoit in a Cage Match March 5, 2001 Chris Jericho def. Eddie Guerrero; IC Title Match Ivory def. Lita; Women’s Title Match Undertaker & Kane def. Rikishi & Haku Hardy Boyz def. Dudley Boyz to win the Tag Team Titles Big Show def. Al Snow; HC Title Match The Rock & Steve Austin def. Kurt Angle & Triple H March 4, 2002 Steve Austin def. Booker T by DQ Test & Mr. Perfect def. Scotty 2 Hotty & Albert Goldust def. Tazz; HC Title Match Jazz def. Trish Stratus by DQ; Women’s Title Match Rob Van Dam def. Lance Storm Scott Hall def. Spike Dudley Kurt Angle def. Triple H in a Cage Match March 3, 2003 Christian def. Jeff Hardy Chief Morley def. Spike Dudley Trish Stratus & Jacqueline def. Victoria & Jazz Chris Jericho def. Test Booker T def. Scott Steiner Kane & Rob Van Dam def. Tommy Dreamer & Al Snow in a hardcore match Smackdown March 2, 2000 Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, & Perry Saturn def. Chris Jericho & Too Cool Jeff Hardy def. Essa Rios by DQ; LHW Title Match Crash Holly def. Tazz; HC Title Match Road Dogg & X-Pac def. Edge & Christian Test def. Viscera Kurt Angle def. Sgt. Slaughter; IC Title Match Dudley Boyz def. Kane by DQ in a handicap match The Rock & Rikishi Phatu def. Big Show & Shane McMahon March 1, 2001 Matt Hardy & Lita def. Crash & Molly Holly Chris Benoit def. X-Pac The Rock def. William Regal by DQ; WWF Title Match Undertaker, Kane, & D-Von Dudley def. Rikishi, Haku, & Christian Steve Austin def. Kurt Angle by DQ March 6, 2003 Rey Mysterio def. Tajiri and Jamie Noble in a Triple Threat Match Los Guerreros def. Chuck Palumbo & Johnny Stamboli Matt Hardy def. Billy Kidman; CW Title Match Chris Benoit & Rhyno def. Team Angle Brock Lesnar def. Paul Heyman in a Cage Match

Lopez's career OPS+ numbers (not including '92 and '93 since he barely played) 1994: 84 1995: 118 1996: 100 1997: 129 1998: 122 1999: 133 2000: 105 2001: 91 2002: 76 2003: 174 As you see he's never had a season close to the 2003 season although he had a very nice run, especially for a catcher, from '97 to '99. I think Lopez could definetly be as good as his pre-2000 numbers but it is really hard to expect him to match or come close to 2003 again. Nothing wrong with hitting like he did before 2000 as it still makes him one of the best catcher's in the game.

Bako is better than no one. Barrett could hit around 15-20 HR if he gets clsoe to 450-500 at bats. Bako was better than Barrett last year although that's not saying much. Barrett has shown that he can be a half-way decent hitting catcher in the past but he has problems staying healthy. Bako though has never shown any ability to hit. Well again it's not necessarily a projection of how they will do this year and I did the list based on if everyone played on an even field. Obviously it's a good bet than Lopez will have better numbers than Rodriguez this year but it doesn't necessarily mean Lopez is the better catcher. Lopez's numbers last year really came out of no where too as he was just wasn't very good the previous two seasons.