Bored

Highlanders select Butch Wynegar.

Rivals.com Preseason Top 25 Countdown cont. 18. Illinois 17. Virginia Tech 16. Arizona State 15. Texas 14. Texas Tech 13. Wisconsin 12. BYU 11. Kansas BYU doesn't have the incredibly weak schedule Hawaii had last season but it's not very a difficult one either. A BCS bid could come down to their rivalry game to close the season against what should be a very good Utah team.

Highlanders select Billy Martin (manager).

ESPN/FOX/TBS Games to Poison Our Youth TUESDAY National League vs. American League, 8:00/5:00 PM, FOX SATURDAY Phillies at Marlins, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX Padres at Cardinals, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX Red Sox at Angels, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX SUNDAY A's at Yankees, 1:00 PM/10:00 AM, TBS Red Sox at Angels, 6:00/3:00 PM, ESPN

Highlanders select Steve Howe.

has to be the most disturbing moment in the history of the show.

I'm assuming I can jump Porter here since CanadianChris made his pick yesterday. Charlie Sanders, Tight End Detroit Lions 1968-1977 Hall of Fame - 2007 7-time Pro Bowl Selection 3-time 1st Team All-Pro 1970's All-Decade Team

A few weeks back I finally decided to purchase a subscription to the Baseball-Reference.com Play Index since I figured it'd be helpful in putting together a few random lists to keep this blog afloat. Of course if I had known there would be a free preview over All-Star week (which ends today) I might I have waited a little longer but oh well. Now several times in the past I've mentioned that all my sports memories begin in 1986 so figured my first random list using Play Index I'd have it centered around that year. So here are by position the worst hitters according to OPS+ who had at least 2500 plate appearances (about five full seasons) in the Majors since 1986. In fairness the majority of these players lasted as long as they did due to stellar defense. I left off DH because there's only 10 players that qualified with Dave Parker at the bottom with an OPS+ of 104. Catcher .239/.293/.344, 4287 PA, 353 R, 925 H, 190 2B, 9 3B, 67 HR, 443 RBI, 266 BB, 795 SO, 64 OPS+ First Base .257/.301/.386, 3106 PA, 316 R, 733 H, 135 2B, 18 3B, 66 HR, 376 RBI, 181 BB, 552 SO, 88 OPS+ Second Base .248/.307/.352, 3138 PA, 366 R, 704 H, 128 2B, 17 3B, 44 HR, 271 RBI, 226 BB, 531 SO, 68 OPS+ Third Base .239/.274/.411, 2766 PA, 304 R, 620 H, 128 2B, 10 3B, 99 HR, 377 RBI, 120 BB, 20 SO, 77 OPS+ Shortstop .246/.289/.310, 3407 PA, 291 R, 767 H, 129 2B, 17 3B, 12 HR, 287 RBI, 191 BB, 339 SO, 59 OPS+ Leftfield (since 1986 only) .263/.324/.346, 5278 PA, 742 R, 1255 H, 156 2B, 79 3B, 27 HR, 306 RBI, 427 BB, 845 SO, 83 OPS+ Centerfield .250/.323/.322, 4652 PA, 607 R, 1021 H, 137 2B, 37 3B, 27 HR, 342 RBI, 403 BB, 514 SO, 72 OPS+ Rightfield .272/.315/.409, 2718 PA, 317 R, 685 H, 121 2B, 19 3B, 62 HR, 319 RBI, 149 BB, 409 SO, 83 OPS+

He didn't sign, decided to go to college instead. Loser. He's not that good? Actually his peripherals aren't that far off from his career line but he's also had a groin injury this season and probably would have been better off putting him on the DL a month or so ago instead trying to pitch through it. Here's a new injury: Daric Barton strained his neck over the All-Star break by diving into the shallow end of a pool. This guy has rapidly gone from can't miss prospect to potential bust in a big hurry. As good as the A's have been at developing pitchers their ability to develop hitters has left a lot to be desired in recent years.

Once again bringing mediocrity to the contest as the Texans.

Highlanders select Gary Sheffield.

Highlanders select David Wells.

Highlanders select Alfonso Soriano.

Hey that takes the sting off the questionable return they received for Harden. Blanton does have good long term value simply because he's very durable but he's yet to put two good years together in a row at this point. The Cardenas addition is interesting when you consider that they just drafted Jemile Weeks, in what most think was an overdraft at #12, so one of them is going to have to change positions. It's expected Gio Gonzalez, who they got in the Swisher trade, will be called up to take Blanton's spot in the rotation.

Highlanders select Tommy John. So I got a guy who had a disease named after him and now a guy with a surgery named after him. BEAT THAT!

There will be a free preview for MLB Extra Innings starting tomorrow and will last until next Wednesday.

The MVP of this game is any person who sits through the whole thing without muting Buck & McCarver.

Highlanders select Hideki Matsui.

Well after my latest blow out loss there's no point in trying anymore, time to do a fire sale. Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, and Aaron Cook are on the block. Flame on! Oh and that's not to say I'm going to just give them away, at least try to make a decent offer.

Georgia Tech is reserved for a holdover so I'll put you down as Georgia. And still fly and Canadian Brandon are added to the waiting list.

Highlanders select John Wetteland.

You're in and we've filled the four open spots. Now I will still take new sign ups between now and August 10th as again I've never had 100% return on holdovers. There does appear to be at least one MIA poster and possibly as many as three. Would me huge lack of College Football be a total of waste of time taking part? I'm not even sure which team I'd support - probably the one of good fans, that never wins shit but has some hard hitting bastards. Hey it's up to you. There's always a few people in the contest who rarely watch college football and are pretty much guessing at who wins. Again since the open spots have been filled I can't guarantee you a spot. If you do want to be put on the waiting list, here's a list of Division I-A schools to choose from just don't pick one that has already been taken. Who you represent is pretty much meaningless. The only thing I ask when people sign up is to stick around the whole year no matter how poorly you're doing.

You're in and we've filled the four open spots. Now I will still take new sign ups between now and August 10th as again I've never had 100% return on holdovers. There does appear to be at least one MIA poster and possibly as many as three.

ESPN/FOX/TBS Games to Poison Our Youth MONDAY Twins (Scott Baker) at Red Sox (Daisuke Matsuzaka), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN WEDNESDAY Cardinals (Mark Mulder) at Phillies (J.A. Happ), 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN SATURDAY Rockies at Mets, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX Diamondbacks at Phillies, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX Twins at Tigers, 3:55/12:55 PM, FOX SUNDAY Orioles at Red Sox, 1:30 PM/10:30 AM, TBS Rockies at Mets, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN

Rivals.com Preseason Top 25 Countdown 25. Pittsburgh 24. Wake Forest 23. Fresno State 22. Penn State 21. Oregon 20. South Florida 19. Tennessee Even with the ridiculous number of bowl games there are now, it still is odd seeing Wake Forest as a perennial bowl team.