Bored

Paul O'Neill - Rightfielder Cincinnati Reds 1985-1992 New York Yankees 1993-2001 Awards None All-Star Selections: 5 (1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998) League Leader 1994: Batting Average Career Ranks Doubles: 75th Hall of Fame Stats Black Ink: Batting - 4 (401) (Average HOFer ≈ 27) Gray Ink: Batting - 45 (538) (Average HOFer ≈ 144) HOF Standards: Batting - 36.9 (184) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Batting - 70.5 (246) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Batters in the HOF: None Top 10 Similar Batters: Bobby Bonilla, Del Ennis, Fred Lynn, Bernie Williams, Reggie Smith, Ruben Sierra, George Hendrick, Ken Boyer, Bob Johnson, Will Clark Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3) 1985: 1/0.1 1986: 0/0.0 1987: 5/1.1 1988: 13/5.2 1989: 18/5.6 1990: 16/5.0 1991: 19/8.6 1992: 13/6.4 1993: 15/7.1 1994: 23/11.5 1995: 18/6.8 1996: 22/8.7 1997: 28/9.2 1998: 26/9.8 1999: 16/5.9 2000: 13/4.4 2001: 13/3.1 Career Win Shares: 259 Career WARP3: 98.6 Would he get my vote? No. If he could have hit as well as he did in his 30's while he was in his 20's he might have had a case. Went from being a unspectacular corner outfielder with the Reds into a damn good hitter with the Yankees but is no where close to being a HOF. What am I'm trying to figure out is how at age 38 did he steal 22 bases and only be caught three times?

Wally Joyner - First Baseman California/Anaheim Angels 1986-1991, 2001 Kansas City Royals 1992-1995 San Diego Padres 1996-1999 Atlanta Braves 2000 Awards None All-Star Selections: 1 (1986) League Leader None of note Career Ranks None of note Hall of Fame Stats Gray Ink: Batting - 16 (1106) (Average HOFer ≈ 144) HOF Standards: Batting - 24.9 (482) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Batting - 27.5 (603) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Batters in HOF: None Top 10 Similar Batters: Hal McRae, Jeff Conine, Chris Chambliss, Keith Hernandez, Cecil Cooper, Don Mattingly, Felipe Alou, Ken Singleton, Dusty Baker, George Hendrick Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Leven (WARP3) 1986: 21/7.5 1987: 22/8.4 1988: 22/7.7 1989: 19/6.9 1990: 9/2.6 1991: 25/8.2 1992: 14/4.7 1993: 17/7.3 1994: 11/5.0 1995: 18/6.9 1996: 16/4.1 1997: 21/5.2 1998: 22/3.9 1999: 7/2.4 2000: 7/1.0 2001: 2/0.6 Career Win Shares: 253 Career WARP3: 82.3 Would he get my vote? No. I'm exercising my one year, steroid user boycott when it comes to Joyner...okay maybe not. Nice little hitter but "nice little hitter" isn't a ringing endorsement for a first baseman let alone one who played in the era Joyner did. Great start to his career and I have faint memories after Mark McGwire's horrific 1991 season of A's fans hoping they would sign Joyner as a free agent and release McGwire. Good thing team's typically don't listen to their fans.

That could end up being a defining play for Alex Smith's future right there.

Pepsi Blue Bored Bowl Picks Miami - Spaceman Spiff December 19th Poinsettia: TCU vs. Northern Illinois December 21st Las Vegas: BYU vs. Oregon December 22nd New Orleans: Troy vs. Rice December 23rd Papajohns.com: South Florida vs. East Carolina New Mexico: New Mexico vs. San Jose State Armed Forces: Tulsa vs. Utah December 24th Hawaii: Arizona State vs. Hawaii December 26th Motor City: Middle Tennessee vs. Central Michigan December 27th Emerald: Florida State vs. UCLA December 28th Independence: Oklahoma State vs. Alabama Holiday: California vs. Texas A&M Texas: Rutgers vs. Kansas State December 29th Music City: Clemson vs. Kentucky Sun: Oregon State vs. Missouri Liberty: Houston vs. South Carolina Insight: Texas Tech vs. Minnesota Champs Sports: Purdue vs. Maryland December 30th Meineke Car Care: Navy vs. Boston College Alamo: Texas vs. Iowa Chick-fil-A: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech December 31st MPC Computers: Miami vs. Nevada January 1st Outback: Tennessee vs. Penn State Cotton: Auburn vs. Nebraska Gator: West Virginia vs. Georgia Tech Capital One: Arkansas vs. Wisconsin Rose: USC vs. Michigan Fiesta: Boise State vs. Oklahoma January 2nd Orange: Louisville vs. Wake Forest January 3rd Sugar: Notre Dame vs. LSU January 6th International: Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan January 7th GMAC: Ohio vs. Southern Miss January 8th BCS Championship: Florida vs. Ohio State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 56 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Ohio State's Troy Smith have against Florida? 246 Tiebreak #3: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship game? 702 Georgia Tech - iggymcfly Bowl Games December 19th Poinsettia: TCU vs. Northern Illinois December 21st Las Vegas: BYU vs. Oregon December 22nd New Orelans: Troy vs. Rice December 23rd Papajohns.com: South Florida vs. East Carolina New Mexico: New Mexico vs. San Jose State Armed Forces: Tulsa vs. Utah December 24th Hawaii: Arizona State vs. Hawaii December 26th Motor City: Middle Tennessee vs. Central Michigan December 27th Emerald: Florida State vs. UCLA December 28th Independence: Oklahoma State vs. Alabama Holiday: California vs. Texas A&M Texas: Rutgers vs. Kansas State December 29th Music City: Clemson vs. Kentucky Sun: Oregon State vs. Missouri Liberty: Houston vs. South Carolina Insight: Texas Tech vs. Minnesota Champs Sports: Purdue vs. Maryland December 30th Meineke Car Care: Navy vs. Boston College Alamo: Texas vs. Iowa Chick-fil-A: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech December 31st MPC Computers: Miami vs. Nevada January 1st Outback: Tennessee vs. Penn State Cotton: Auburn vs. Nebraska Gator: West Virginia vs. Georgia Tech Capital One: Arkansas vs. Wisconsin Rose: USC vs. Michigan Fiesta: Boise State vs. Oklahoma January 2nd Orange: Louisville vs. Wake Forest January 3rd Sugar: Notre Dame vs. LSU January 6th International: Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan January 7th GMAC: Ohio vs. Southern Miss January 8th BCS Championship: Florida vs. Ohio State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 48 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Ohio State's Troy Smith have against Florida? 218 Tiebreak #3: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship game? 705 Traditional Bowl presented by the Yellow Submarine Picks Minnesota - Vern Gagne December 19th Poinsettia: TCU vs. Northern Illinois December 21st Las Vegas: BYU vs. Oregon December 22nd New Orleans: Troy vs. Rice December 23rd Papajohns.com: South Florida vs. East Carolina New Mexico: New Mexico vs. San Jose State Armed Forces: Tulsa vs. Utah December 24th Hawaii: Arizona State vs. Hawaii December 26th Motor City: Middle Tennessee vs. Central Michigan December 27th Emerald: Florida State vs. UCLA December 28th Independence: Oklahoma State vs. Alabama Holiday: California vs. Texas A&M Texas: Rutgers vs. Kansas State December 29th Music City: Clemson vs. Kentucky Sun: Oregon State vs. Missouri Liberty: Houston vs. South Carolina Insight: Texas Tech vs. Minnesota Champs Sports: Purdue vs. Maryland December 30th Meineke Car Care: Navy vs. Boston College Alamo: Texas vs. Iowa Chick-fil-A: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech December 31st MPC Computers: Miami vs. Nevada January 1st Outback: Tennessee vs. Penn State Cotton: Auburn vs. Nebraska Gator: West Virginia vs. Georgia Tech Capital One: Arkansas vs. Wisconsin Rose: USC vs. Michigan Fiesta: Boise State vs. Oklahoma January 2nd Orange: Louisville vs. Wake Forest January 3rd Sugar: Notre Dame vs. LSU January 6th International: Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan January 7th GMAC: Ohio vs. Southern Miss January 8th BCS Championship: Florida vs. Ohio State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game?48 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Ohio State's Troy Smith have against Florida?240 Tiebreak #3: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship game?659 USC - Cartman December 19th Poinsettia: TCU December 21st Las Vegas: Oregon December 22nd New Orelans: Troy December 23rd Papajohns.com: South Florida New Mexico: San Jose State Armed Forces: Utah December 24th Hawaii: Hawaii December 26th Motor City: Central Michigan December 27th Emerald: Florida State December 28th Independence: Alabama Holiday: Texas A&M Texas: Kansas State December 29th Music City: Clemson Sun: Oregon State Liberty: South Carolina Insight: Texas Tech Champs Sports: Maryland December 30th Meineke Car Care: Boston College Alamo: Texas Chick-fil-A: Virginia Tech December 31st MPC Computers: Miami January 1st Outback: Tennessee Cotton: Auburn Gator: Georgia Tech Capital One: Arkansas Rose: USC Fiesta: Oklahoma January 2nd Orange: Louisville January 3rd Sugar: LSU January 6th International: Western Michigan January 7th GMAC: Ohio January 8th BCS Championship: Ohio State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 68 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Ohio State's Troy Smith have against Florida? 258 Tiebreak #3: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship game? 700

Sort of the same way, I've been shaving my head for six years now because I hate having to deal with it in the morning and before that I grew my hair out long because I hated taking the time to go get a haircut every month. I haven't gone to a barber in over ten years. In 5th grade for a book report I just copied the book jacket word-for-word. I got a B-.

Albert Belle - Leftfielder Cleveland Indians 1989-1996 Chicago White Sox 1997-1998 Baltimore Orioles 1999-2000 2nd year on the ballot Past HOF Voting Results 2006: 7.7% Awards 1993 AL Silver Slugger - OF 1994 AL Silver Slugger - OF 1995 ML Sporting News Player of the Year 1995 AL Silver Slugger - OF 1996 AL Silver Slugger - OF 1998 AL Silver Slugger - OF All-Star Selections: 5 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997) League Leader 1993: RBI 1994: Total Bases 1995: Runs, Doubles, Homeruns, Total Bases, Slugging Pct. 1996: RBI 1998: Total Bases, Slugging Pct., OPS, OPS+, Runs Created Career Ranks HR: 54th SLG%: 19th OPS: 35th OPS+: 58th AB/HR: 22nd Hall of Fame Stats Black Ink: Batting - 28 (62) (Average HOFer ≈ 27) Gray Ink: Batting - 137 (117) (Average HOFer ≈ 144) HOF Standards: Batting - 36.1 (187) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Batting - 134.5 (94) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Batters in HOF: 1 (Hank Greenberg) Other Similar Batters: Juan Gonzalez, Carlos Delgado, Jim Edmonds, Jason Giambi, Moises Alou, Vladimir Guerrero, Dick Allen, Rocky Colavito, Tim Salmon Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacmenet Level (WARP3) 1989: 6/0.9 1990: 0/-0.1 1991: 15/4.9 1992: 16/5.3 1993: 27/10.5 1994: 24/11.4 1995: 30/13.7 1996: 31/11.3 1997: 18/5.6 1998: 37/12.3 1999: 24/9.9 2000: 15/4.2 Career Win Shares: 243 Career WARP3: 90.0 Would he get my vote? No. From a peak standpoint, Belle has a serious case. He was one the most feared and best hitters of the 90's. Four times he posted an OPS+ of better than 150, six times in the Top 10 in the league in slugging, eight times in total bases, nine times in RBI, and nine times in homeruns. Although he isn't listed as one of Belle's comps you can bring up Ralph Kiner who is in the HOF, who like Belle had a very short career and was a dominating power hitter while he was active. But I personally don't view Kiner as a HOF and even though I weigh peak a little more than a player's career I just don't think Belle lasted quite long enough to be a HOF. If his hip had held up just for a couple of more good years I think it would have pushed him over the top. I may also had given him my imaginary vote if he had been a good defensive outfielder but he was below average at best. It was actually a mild surprise he got enough votes last year to stay on the ballot given his on the field and off the field persona but with a much deeper ballot this year I doubt he makes it to 2008.

AP All-Americans First-team offense Quarterback: Troy Smith, 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, senior, Ohio State. Running backs: Darren McFadden, 6-2, 212, sophomore, Arkansas; Steve Slaton, 5-10, 195, sophomore, West Virginia. Wide receivers: Calvin Johnson, 6-5, 235, junior, Georgia, Tech; Dwayne Jarrett, 6-5, 210, junior, Southern California. Tight end: Matt Spaeth, 6-7, 265, senior, Minnesota. Tackles: Jake Long, 6-7, 313, senior, Michigan; Joe Thomas, 6-8, 313, senior, Wisconsin. Guards: Josh Beekman, 6-2, 318, senior, Boston College; Justin Blalock, 6-4, 335, senior, Texas. Center: Dan Mozes, 6-4, 290, senior, West Virginia. Kicker: Justin Medlock, 6-0, 197, senior, UCLA. All-purpose player: DeSean Jackson, 6-0, 178, sophomore, California. First-team defense Ends: LaMarr Woodley, 6-2, 269, senior, Michigan; Gaines Adams, 6-5, 265, senior, Clemson. Tackles: Glenn Dorsey, 6-2, 299, junior, LSU; Quinn Pitcock, 6-3, 295, senior, Ohio State. Linebackers: Paul Posluszny, 6-2, 238, senior, Penn State; Patrick Willis, 6-2, 240, senior, Mississippi; James Laurinaitis, 6-3, 244, sophomore, Ohio State. Cornerbacks: Leon Hall, 5-11, 193, senior, Michigan; Daymeion Hughes, 6-0, 188, senior, California. Safeties: LaRon Landry, 6-2, 202, senior, LSU; Reggie Nelson, 6-1, 175, junior, Florida. Punter: Daniel Sepulveda, 6-3, 230, senior, Baylor. Second-team offense Quarterback: Brady Quinn, senior, Notre Dame. Running backs: Ray Rice, sophomore, Rutgers; Mike Hart, junior, Michigan. Wide receivers: Jarrett Dillard, sophomore, Rice; Jeff Samardzija, senior, Notre Dame. Tight end: Zach Miller, junior, Arizona State. Tackles: Sam Baker, junior, Southern California; Arron Sears, senior, Tennessee. Guards: Ben Grubbs, senior, Auburn; T.J. Downing, senior, Ohio State. Center: Ryan Kalil, senior, Southern California. Kicker: Arthur Carmody, junior, Louisville. All-purpose player: Ted Ginn. Jr., junior, Ohio State. Second-team defense Ends: Justin Hickman, senior, UCLA; Mkristo Bruce, senior, Washington State. Tackles: Alan Branch, junior, Michigan; Amobi Okoye, senior, Louisville. Linebackers: Dan Connor, junior, Penn State; Ameer Ismail, senior, Western Michigan; David Harris, senior, Michigan. Cornerbacks: Aaron Ross, senior, Texas; Ryan Smith, senior, Florida. Safeties: Eric Weddle, senior, Utah; Michael Griffin, senior, Texas. Punter: Durant Brooks, junior, Georgia Tech. Third-team offense Quarterback: Colt Brennan, junior, Hawaii. Running backs: Ian Johnson, sophomore, Boise State; Garrett Wolfe, senior, Northern Illinois. Wide receivers: Robert Meachem, junior, Tennessee; Johnnie Lee Higgins, senior, UTEP. Tight end: Jonny Harline, senior, BYU. Tackles: Levi Brown, senior, Penn State; Tony Ugoh, senior, Arkansas. Guards: Kurt Quarterman, senior, Louisville; Nathan Bennett, senior, Clemson. Center: Jonathan Luigs, sophomore, Arkansas. Kicker: Mason Crosby, senior, Colorado. All-purpose player: Sammie Stroughter, junior, Oregon State. Third-team defense Ends: Quentin Moses, senior, Georgia; Anthony Spencer, senior, Purdue. Tackles: Jay Alford, senior, Penn State; Eric Foster, junior, Rutgers. Linebackers: H.B. Blades, senior, Pittsburgh; Rufus Alexander, senior, Oklahoma; Brandon Siler, junior, Florida. Cornerbacks: Dwight Lowery, junior, San Jose State; Brandon Flowers, sophomore, Virginia Tech. Safeties: Tra Battle, senior, Georgia; Tom Zbikowski, senior, Notre Dame. Punter: Jeremy Kapinos, senior, Penn State.

Texans - 10 points Seattle Dallas Cleveland Green Bay New England Jacksonville Miami Minnesota Philadelphia Carolina Chicago New Orleans Denver San Diego St. Louis Cincinnati

Williams Games SinisTar Bowl Picks Stanford - My Picks Poinsettia: TCU Las Vegas: Oregon New Orleans: Rice Papajohns.com: South Florida New Mexico: New Mexico Armed Forces: Utah Hawaii: Hawaii Motor City: Central Michigan Emerald: UCLA Independence: Alabama Holiday: Texas A&M Texas: Rutgers Music City: Clemson Sun: Oregon State Liberty: South Carolina Insight: Texas Tech Champs Sports: Maryland Meineke Car Care: Boston College Alamo: Texas Chick-fil-A: Virginia Tech MPC Computers: Miami Outback: Tennessee Cotton: Auburn Gator: West Virginia Capital One: Arkansas Rose: USC Fiesta: Oklahoma Orange: Louisville Sugar: LSU International: Cincinnati GMAC: Southern Miss BCS Championship: Ohio State Tiebreaks: 44/208/675 Kentucky - Danville Wrestling December 19th Poinsettia: TCU vs. Northern Illinois December 21st Las Vegas: BYU vs. Oregon December 22nd New Orelans: Troy vs. Rice December 23rd Papajohns.com: South Florida vs. East Carolina New Mexico: New Mexico vs. San Jose State Armed Forces: Tulsa vs. Utah December 24th Hawaii: Arizona State vs. Hawaii December 26th Motor City: Middle Tennessee vs. Central Michigan December 27th Emerald: Florida State vs. UCLA December 28th Independence: Oklahoma State vs. Alabama Holiday: California vs. Texas A&M Texas: Rutgers vs. Kansas State December 29th Music City: Clemson vs. Kentucky Sun: Oregon State vs. Missouri Liberty: Houston vs. South Carolina Insight: Texas Tech vs. Minnesota Champs Sports: Purdue vs. Maryland December 30th Meineke Car Care: Navy vs. Boston College Alamo: Texas vs. Iowa Chick-fil-A: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech December 31st MPC Computers: Miami vs. Nevada January 1st Outback: Tennessee vs. Penn State Cotton: Auburn vs. Nebraska Gator: West Virginia vs. Georgia Tech Capital One: Arkansas vs. Wisconsin Rose: USC vs. Michigan Fiesta: Boise State vs. Oklahoma January 2nd Orange: Louisville vs. Wake Forest January 3rd Sugar: Notre Dame vs. LSU January 6th International: Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan January 7th GMAC: Ohio vs. Southern Miss January 8th BCS Championship: Florida vs. Ohio State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 35 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Ohio State's Troy Smith have against Florida? 245 Tiebreak #3: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship game? 840

Ken Caminiti - Third Baseman Houston Astros 1987-1994, 1999-2000 San Diego Padres 1995-1998 Texas Rangers 2001 Atlanta Braves 2001 Awards 1995 NL Gold Glove - 3B 1996 NL MVP 1996 NL Gold Glove - 3B 1997 NL Gold Glove - 3B All-Star Selections: 3 (1994, 1996, 1997) League Leader None of note Career Ranks None of note Hall of Fame Stats Gray Ink: Batting - 28 (802) (Average HOFer ≈ 144) HOF Standards: Batting - 24.8 (488) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Batting - 38.0 (462) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Batters in HOF: None Top 10 Similar Batters: Travis Fryman, Doug DeCinces, Larry Parrish, Bret Boone, Richie Hebner, Bobby Thompson, Ben Ogilvie, Johnny Callison, Bobby Murcer, Gus Bell Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3) 1987: 3/1.1 1988: 1/-0.2 1989: 25/7.9 1990: 11/3.8 1991: 17/7.1 1992: 21/7.4 1993: 14/4.9 1994: 16/7.6 1995: 24/9.8 1996: 38/12.9 1997: 26/9.5 1998: 20/4.1 1999: 10/3.5 2000: 9/2.7 2001: 4/1.1 Career Win Shares: 242 Career WARP3: 83.1 Would he get my vote? No. Even if Caminiti had never used steroids and hadn't become a cocaine addict and died, he still is no where close to being a HOF where bringing up those issues would be relevant to his candidacy. Had a good peak although his 1996 season where he won the MVP stands out as a fluke and his career counting numbers are underwhelming.

Jack Morris - Starting Pitcher Detroit Tigers 1977-1990 Minnesota Twins 1991 Toronto Blue Jays 1992-1993 Cleveland Indians 1994 8th year on the ballot Past HOF Voting Results 2000: 22.24% 2001: 19.61% 2002: 20.55% 2003: 22.78% 2004: 26.28% 2005: 33.33% 2006: 41.15% Awards 1981 AL Sporting News Pitcher of the Year 1991 World Series MVP All-Star Selections: 5 (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991) League Leader 1981: Wins 1983: Innings Pitched, Strikeouts 1986: Shutouts 1990: Complete Games 1992: Wins Career Ranks Wins: 40th IP: 48th K: 31st GS: 34th Hall of Fame Stats Black Ink: Pitching - 20 (88) (Average HOFer ≈ 40) Gray Ink: Pitching - 193 (46) (Average HOFer ≈ 185) HOF Standards: Pitching - 39.0 (73) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Pitching - 122.5 (64) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Pitchers in HOF: 6 (Bob Gibson, Red Ruffing, Amos Rusie, Burleigh Grimes, Bob Feller, Jim Bunning) Other Similar Pitchers: Dennis Martinez, Tom Glavine, Luis Tiant, Chuck Finley Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacmenet Level (WARP3) 1977: 3/1.0 1978: 4/1.1 1979: 17/6.7 1980: 14/5.3 1981: 16/6.5 1982: 14/4.8 1983: 20/7.6 1984: 14/5.4 1985: 19/8.1 1986: 20/8.3 1987: 21/8.8 1988: 12/4.7 1989: 4/2.4 1990: 8/3.0 1991: 18/7.1 1992: 15/5.7 1993: 1/0.6 1994: 5/2.8 Career Win Shares: 225 Career WARP3: 89.8 Would he get my vote? No. Morris was incredibly durable, throwing 240+ innings in 11 seasons, and very consistent but was rarely dominant. He never posted an ERA under 3 in his career which is fairness to him was in part to pitching in Tiger Stadium but his career ERA+ of 105 is very unimpressive. He does get a bonus for two excellent World Series but he also had an awful postseason all around in 1992. Now his comp pitchers paint him as a Hall of Famer as he has six current HOFs and one futuer HOF in Tom Glavine but Morris' ERA+ is worse than all of them with only Burleigh Grimes being close at 107 and he's a questionable HOF. His #1 comp is Dennis Martinez who is a very good comp for him but like El Presidente, Morris is not a HOF.

FireJoeMorgan.com Bowl Picks Arizona State - Spicy McHaggis December 19 TCU December 21 Oregon December 22 Troy December 23 South Florida San Jose State Tulsa December 24 Hawaii December 26 Central Michigan December 27 UCLA December 28 Oklahoma State California Rutgers December 29 Clemson Oregon State South Carolina Texas Tech Maryland December 30 Navy Texas Virginia Tech December 31 Miami January 1 Tennessee Nebraska West Virginia Arkansas USC Oklahoma January 2 Louisville January 3 LSU January 6 Cincinnati January 7 Ohio January 8 Ohio State T1: 47 T2: 210 T3: 600 LSU - teke184 December 19th Poinsettia: TCU vs. Northern Illinois December 21st Las Vegas: BYU vs. Oregon December 22nd New Orelans: Troy vs. Rice December 23rd Papajohns.com: South Florida vs. East Carolina New Mexico: New Mexico vs. San Jose State Armed Forces: Tulsa vs. Utah December 24th Hawaii: Arizona State vs. Hawaii December 26th Motor City: Middle Tennessee vs. Central Michigan December 27th Emerald: Florida State vs. UCLA December 28th Independence: Oklahoma State vs. Alabama Holiday: California vs. Texas A&M Texas: Rutgers vs. Kansas State December 29th Music City: Clemson vs. Kentucky Sun: Oregon State vs. Missouri Liberty: Houston vs. South Carolina Insight: Texas Tech vs. Minnesota Champs Sports: Purdue vs. Maryland December 30th Meineke Car Care: Navy vs. Boston College Alamo: Texas vs. Iowa Chick-fil-A: Georgia vs. Virginia Tech December 31st MPC Computers: Miami vs. Nevada January 1st Outback: Tennessee vs. Penn State Cotton: Auburn vs. Nebraska Gator: West Virginia vs. Georgia Tech Capital One: Arkansas vs. Wisconsin Rose: USC vs. Michigan Fiesta: Boise State vs. Oklahoma January 2nd Orange: Louisville vs. Wake Forest January 3rd Sugar: Notre Dame vs. LSU January 6th International: Cincinnati vs. Western Michigan January 7th GMAC: Ohio vs. Southern Miss January 8th BCS Championship: Florida vs. Ohio State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 53 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Ohio State's Troy Smith have against Florida? 210 Tiebreak #3: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship game? 504

Eric Davis - Outfielder Cincinnati Reds 1984-1991, 1996 Los Angeles Dodgers 1992-1993 Detroit Tigers 1993-1994 Baltimore Orioles 1997-1998 St. Louis Cardinals 1999-2000 San Francisco Giants 2001 Awards 1987 NL Gold Glove - OF 1988 NL Gold Glove - OF 1989 NL Gold Glove - OF All-Star Selections: 2 (1987, 1989) League Leader None of note Career Ranks AB/HR: 83rd Hall of Fame Stats Gray Ink: Batting - 61 (398) (Average HOFer ≈ 144) HOF Standards: Batting - 26.8 (395) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Batting - 27.5 (603) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Batters in HOF: 1 (Larry Doby) Other Similar Batters: Kirk Gibson, Jeromy Burnitz, Darryl Strawberry, Raul Mondesi, Roger Maris, Bill Nicholson, Reggie Sanders, Danny Tartabull, Ray Lankford Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3) 1984: 7/2.2 1985: 5/1.6 1986: 25/7.1 1987: 30/11.2 1988: 27/7.7 1989: 26/7.5 1990: 17/5.8 1991: 8/3.2 1992: 6/1.2 1993: 12/5.8 1994: 1/0.4 1996: 22/6.8 1997: 6/1.4 1998: 18/6.9 1999: 5/1.0 2000: 8/2.1 2001: 0/0.1 Career Win Shares: 224 Career WARP3: 72.0 Would he get my vote? No. Yet another player on this year's ballot who's career was wrecked by injuries. From 1986 to 1989 he posted OPS+ of 143, 155, 139, and 154 respecitvely while playing Gold Glove defense in center and being a force on the base paths. Even during these years when he was at the top of his game he had nagging injuries and he never played more than 135 games in a season at any point in his career.

Ex-Lax Toilet Bowl Picks UCLA - phoenixrising December 19th Poinsettia: TCU December 21st Las Vegas: Oregon December 22nd New Orelans: Rice December 23rd Papajohns.com: South Florida New Mexico: San Jose State Armed Forces: Utah December 24th Hawaii: Hawaii December 26th Motor City: Central Michigan December 27th Emerald: UCLA December 28th Independence: Alabama Holiday: Texas A&M Texas: Rutgers December 29th Music City: Clemson Sun: Oregon State Liberty: South Carolina Insight: Texas Tech Champs Sports: Maryland December 30th Meineke Car Care: Boston College Alamo: Texas Chick-fil-A: Virginia Tech December 31st MPC Computers: Miami January 1st Outback: Penn State Cotton: Auburn Gator: West Virginia Capital One: Arkansas Rose: Michigan Fiesta: Oklahoma January 2nd Orange: Louisville January 3rd Sugar: LSU January 6th International: Cincinnati January 7th GMAC: Southern Miss January 8th BCS Championship: Ohio State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 48 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Ohio State's Troy Smith have against Florida? 250 Tiebreak #3: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship game? 675 Florida - Urban Warfare December 19th Poinsettia: TCU December 21st Las Vegas: Oregon December 22nd New Orelans: Rice December 23rd Papajohns.com: South Florida New Mexico: New Mexico Armed Forces: Utah December 24th Hawaii: Hawaii December 26th Motor City: Central Michigan December 27th Emerald: Florida State December 28th Independence: Alabama Holiday: California Texas: Kansas State December 29th Music City: Clemson Sun: Oregon State Liberty: South Carolina Insight: Texas Tech Champs Sports: Maryland December 30th Meineke Car Care: Boston College Alamo: Texas Chick-fil-A: Georgia December 31st MPC Computers: Miami January 1st Outback: Tennessee Cotton: Auburn Gator: West Virginia Capital One: Arkansas Rose: USC Fiesta: Oklahoma January 2nd Orange: Louisville January 3rd Sugar: LSU January 6th International: Cincinnati January 7th GMAC: Southern Miss January 8th BCS Championship: Ohio State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the BCS Championship Game? 59 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Ohio State's Troy Smith have against Florida? 274 Tiebreak #3: How many total yards of offense will there be in the BCS Championship game? 791

Orel Hershiser - Starting Pitcher Los Angeles Dodgers 1983-1994, 2000 Cleveland Indians 1995-1997 San Francisco Giants 1998 New York Mets 1999 2nd year on the ballot Past HOF Ballot Results 2006: 11.2% Awards 1988 NL Cy Young 1988 NL Sporting News Pitcher of the Year 1988 NL Gold Glove - P 1988 NLCS MVP 1988 World Series MVP 1995 ALCS MVP All-Star Selections: 3 (1987, 1988, 1989) League Leader 1984: Shutouts 1985: Winning % 1987: Innings Pitched 1988: Wins, Winning %, Innings Pitched, Complete Games, Shutouts 1989: Innings Pitched Career Ranks Wins: 100th Strikeouts: 58th Hall of Fame Stats Black Ink: Pitching - 20 (88) (Average HOFer ≈ 40) Gray Ink: Pitching - 129 (130) (Average HOFer ≈ 185) HOF Standards: Pitching - 34.0 (101) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Pitching - 90.5 (115) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Pitchers in HOF: 2 (Catfish Hunter, Dazzy Vance) Other Similar Pitchers: Bob Welch, Milt Pappas, Kevin Brown, Vida Blue, Jim Perry, Dave Stieb, Silver King, Bob Shawkey Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3) 1983: 0/0 1984: 18/6.8 1985: 23/7.7 1986: 12/5.1 1987: 21/9.1 1988: 25/10.3 1989: 21/9.7 1990: 1/0.2 1991: 8/3.1 1992: 8/4.5 1993: 13/5.6 1994: 7/3.2 1995: 13/6.4 1996: 14/5.9 1997: 11/4.5 1998: 7/2.9 1999: 8/3.0 2000: 0/-1.7 Career Win Shares: 210 Career WARP3: 86.2 Would he get my vote? No. Looked like he was on his way to a Hall of Fame career at the conclusion of the 80's but a torn rotator cuff in April of 1990 cost him over a year and he was never the same pitcher after that. Like with Bret Saberhagen throwing over 250 innings three straight years did not end being a good idea. Hershiser was arguably a better pitcher than his HOF comp Catfish Hunter but Hunter was vastly overrated and a very dubious HOF inductee, while Hershiser was not at the level of Dazzy Vance.

Could it finally be, someone who I'd actually vote for on my imaginary ballot? Rich "Goose" Gossage - Closer Chicago White Sox 1972-1976 Pittsburgh Pirates 1977 New York Yankees 1978-1983, 1989 San Diego Padres 1984-1987 Chicago Cubs 1988 San Francisco Giants 1989 Texas Rangers 1991 Oakland Athletics 1992-1993 Seattle Mariners 1994 8th year on the ballot Past HOF Voting Results 2000: 33.27% 2001: 44.27% 2002: 43.01% 2003: 42.14% 2004: 40.74% 2005: 55.23% 2006: 64.61% Awards 1978 AL Rolaids Relief Award All-Star Selections: 9 (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985) League Leader 1975: Saves 1978: Saves 1980: Saves Career Ranks Saves: 17th Games: 10th K/9: 40th ERA+: 55th Hall of Fame Stats Black Ink: Pitching - 9 (248) (Average HOFer ≈ 40) Gray Ink: Pitching - 41 (580) (Average HOFer ≈ 185) HOF Standards: Pitching - 19.0 (312) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Pitching - 126.0 (61) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Pitchers in HOF: 2 (Rollie Fingers, Hoyt Wilhelm) Other Similar Pitchers: Lindy McDaniel, Stu Miller, Gene Garber, Kent Tekulve, Tug McGraw, Sparky Lyle, Roy Face, Mike Marshall Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3) 1972: 3/0.2 1973: 0/-0.5 1974: 4/1.9 1975: 23/10.5 1976: 10/4.7 1977: 26/10.5 1978: 20/7.8 1979: 11/4.0 1980: 18/6.2 1981: 12/5.9 1982: 17/7.4 1983: 16/7.1 1984: 15/5.1 1985: 15/4.4 1986: 5/1.5 1987: 7/3.3 1988: 4/1.3 1989: 5/1.4 1991: 3/1.8 1992: 2/1.1 1993: 3/1.8 1994: 4/2.0 Career Win Shares: 223 Career WARP3: 89.5 Would he get my vote? ...No. Like I said in the Lee Smith entry I just have a hard time viewing someone who spent their career primarily as a reliever as being a true Hall of Famer. I absolutely agree that Gossage is much more deserving of enshrinement than that of Bruce Sutter. What's funny is that if Gossage had retired at 35 like Sutter did he probably would already be in the HOF as his greatness as a closer would have been remembered better by the short attention span of the writers. Gossage retired nine years after his last good season as a closer after bouncing around several teams as a moderately effective, situational reliever and he gets unfairly penalized for it. I will not argue with anyone who says Gossage deserves to get in and I will have no problem if he ever gets in, which I think will happen eventually after the big jump in support he's received the last couple of years. But on my imaginary ballot I just can't put him down.

I can't get past the ERA/ERA+ for Morris when it comes to his case but I'll get more into that when I do his entry which will be pretty soon.

Texans - 16 points Pittsburgh Atlanta Baltimore N.Y. Jets Jacksonville Minnesota New England Dallas N.Y. Giants Cincinnati Philadelphia Tennessee Green Bay Seattle San Diego Chicago

ESPN is reporting that Tom O'Brien is leaving Boston College for the N.C. State job. Now there's a shocker.

Devon White - Centerfielder California Angels 1985-1990 Toronto Blue Jays 1991-1995 Florida Marlins 1996-1997 Arizona Diamondbacks 1998 Los Angeles Dodgers 1999-2000 Milwaukee Brewers 2001 Awards 1988 AL Gold Glove - OF 1989 AL Gold Glove - OF 1991 AL Gold Glove - OF 1992 AL Gold Glove - OF 1993 AL Gold Glove - OF 1994 AL Gold Glove - OF 1995 AL Gold Glove - OF All-Star Selections: 3 (1989, 1993, 1998) League Leader None of note Career Ranks None of note Hall of Fame Stats Gray Ink: Batting - 41 (581) (Average HOFer ≈ 144) HOF Standards: Batting - 21.3 (651) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Batting - 34.5 (502) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Batters in HOF: None Top 10 Similar Batters: Amos Otis, Claudell Washington, Brady Anderson, Chet Lemon, Marquis Grissom, Johnny Callison, Felipe Alou, Cesar Cedeno, Johnny Damon, Gary Matthews Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3) 1985: 0/0.1 1986: 2/0.6 1987: 17/7.1 1988: 11/5.0 1989: 14/6.2 1990: 7/3.5 1991: 24/10.3 1992: 19/7.5 1993: 20/8.8 1994: 11/5.4 1995: 12/4.3 1996: 18/5.7 1997: 9/2.6 1998: 18/5.1 1999: 12/3.4 2000: 2/0.4 2001: 11/3.1 Career Win Shares: 207 Career WARP3: 79.2 Would he get my vote? No. During his prime he was an outstanding defensive centerfielder, very deserving for most of the Gold Gloves he won, and a good base stealer but outside of 1991 was never that much of hitter. Only had a career OBP of .319, never hit higher than .283, and struck out a lot which is not a good combination. His similar batters make him look better than he was as only Marquis Grissom had a lower career OPS+.

Piazza to the A's is a done deal, 1-year for $8.5 million. Mets apparently had talks with the A's about Rich Harden today. I would be stunned if any deal got done and if the A's did ever trade him I'd think they had officially given up on him ever staying healthy.

I don't have to repeat myself when it comes to what I think of the BCS and what I'd prefer to happen in college football...but I will anyways. I view the BCS as a bad compromise that was created to sort of give us the opportunity to have a clear cut national champion while sort of keeping the tradition of the bowls but fails on both levels most of the time. I personally either want a true 16 team playoff system, like every other level of college football, completely removed from any association to bowl games or just go back to the traditional bowl system where trying to match-up the #1 and #2 teams in the country was an afterthought and stop pretending that we're crowning a true Division I-A national champion when no such thing exsists. But I'm not dellusional, neither of things I want will ever happen. A 16 team playoff would be a cash cow but would have some definite logistical issues where potentially some fan bases would have to travel four times in the span of four to six weeks. Obviously we're also never going to see the old bowl system comeback either. So I've come up with an idea that does in some way combine the playoffs and bowls. First off there would be an 8 team playoff that would include the six BCS conference champions and two at-large teams. Now in a perfect world we'd just take the Top 8 teams in the country but no conference would ever agree to a playoff system that could possibly prevent them from getting a piece of the pie, which is partly why I think a 4 team playoff will never happen. The two at-large bids would be two highest ranked teams not to win their conference or would also include any non-BCS conference team that went undefeated. As good as Utah was in 2004 I don't think anyone thinks they were the best team in the country but they certainly had every right to prove that they could be beaten and the same goes for Boise State this year. If Boise State beats Oklahoma by double digits and Florida beats Ohio State won't on some level the Broncos would have some right to claim that they should be the national champs? The first round games would be home goes for the higher seeded team and then the semi-finals would be played at two of the four major bowl sites and then of course at another bowl site for the finals. So for example this year the Fiesta Bowl would be the site of the finals with the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl as the semi-final locations. The Orange Bowl was at the bottom of the BCS pecking order this year so they would be seperate from the playoffs which I'll get to. So here is how the 8 team playoff would look. Wake Forest at Ohio State Louisville at USC Oklahoma at Florida Boise State at Michigan Now as for my bowl idea I want to change how the bowls are selected. The preset bids I feel devalue the overall importance of the bowls and unfairly punish teams for how their conference has performed in the past. A pefect example is the Big East bids this year. Because of the purge of the conference a couple of years ago this year the Big East bids took a big hit. Their #2 bid, the Gator Bowl, now had a deal with the Big XII where they could have skipped over the Big East and send their second place team to the Sun Bowl which is very much a midlevel bowl. Texas' collapse at the end of the season and West Virginia's win over Rutgers prevented that from happening. Then their #3 bid, the less than prestigious Meineke Car Care Bowl, had a deal with Navy to take them as long as they became bowl eligible and leaving the Big East with no alternative. That would send the 3rd place team in the confernece to it's #4 bid, the "new" Texas Bowl which is replacing the Houston Bowl which went belly up to play the 8th place team in the Big XII. This has of course happened as Rutgers, ranked #16 by the BCS, is stuck playing a bowl game against the #55 team in the BCS, Kansas State who happens to be the lowest ranked BCS conference team with a winning record. Now I understand why some bowls have certain conference tie ins. It wouldn't make sense to have a Pac-10 team play in the Outback Bowl, just as it wouldn't make sense for an ACC team to play in the Holiday Bowl. Travel has to be taken into account and it's completely understandable. But my proposal is have an actual bowl committee that places similar ranked teams in appropriate bowl games. With the current system they set themselves up for bad match-ups. The #9 team playing the #23 team in the Cotton Bowl. The #13 team playing the #28 team in the Gator Bowl. The #25 team is playing the #52t team in the Emerald Bowl. The #19 team is playing the #52t team in the Alamo Bowl. There has to be a better solution. On the subject of the Alamo Bowl, why is a team like Iowa even in a bowl game? With the preset conference bowl bids they're awarding a team that went 2-6 in it's own conference while beating no one of note out of conference and give them a midlevel bid with a $1.9 million payout. Why is Miami in a bowl game? Half of their wins came against I-AA Florida A&M, winless FIU, and winless Duke. There are a handful of other examples of teams that have no business being a bowl game which comes to the next problem with the bowls, there are way too fucking many of them. 32 bowl games is absolutely nuts. More than half of Division I-A teams are going to a bowl game this year. What is this, the NBA Playoffs? My proposal to go along with the bowl committee idea and eliminating preset bids is to cap the total number of bowls at 20, which would not include the bowl sites that are part of the playoffs. With the playoffs and the bowls you'd have 48 teams in the postseason which is plenty. Now going back to the Orange Bowl, since in this hypothetical scenerio it would not be part of the playoffs it would be host the two highest ranked teams in the BCS who did not qualify for the playoffs so this year it would be LSU and Wisconsin. So here is the bowls I came up with using the BCS rankings trying to match-up closely ranked teams in appropriate bowl games. This is some what thrown together so you could argue with the order itself I have of the bowls. I would eliminate bowls that are to reliant on getting their home team into the bowl to hope to make money (Hawaii, New Mexico, etc.) and bowls where there is already another bowl game at the same site (Poinsettia, Champs Sports). Also no team that fails to finish with a winning record should ever to go a bowl game. Orange: LSU vs. Wisconsin Capital One: Auburn vs. Notre Dame Cotton: Arkansas vs. West Virginia Chick-fil-A: Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee Outback: Rutgers vs. Texas Holiday: California vs. BYU Gator: Texas A&M vs. Boston College Alamo: Oregon State vs. Nebraska Liberty: Penn State vs. Georgia Tech Sun: UCLA vs. TCU Music City: Georgia vs. Houston Insight: Oregon vs. Hawaii Independence: Clemson vs. Navy Las Vegas: Arizona State vs. Central Michigan Meineke Car Care: South Florida vs. South Carolina Emerald: Maryland vs. Missouri Motor City: Kentucky vs. Cincinnati MPC Computers: Rice vs. Purdue Texas: Texas Tech vs. Tulsa GMAC: Southern Miss vs. Troy

Now we get to the our first holdover and someone who has received some decent support. Lee Smith - Closer Chicago Cubs 1980-1987 Boston Red Sox 1988-1990 St. Louis Cardinals 1990-1993 New York Yankees 1993 Baltimore Orioles 1994 California Angels 1995-1996 Cincinnati Reds 1996 Montreal Expos 1997 5th year on the ballot Past HOF Voting Results 2003: 42.34% 2004: 36.56% 2005: 38.8% 2006: 45.0% Awards 1991 NL Rolaids Relief Award 1992 NL Rolaids Relief Award 1994 AL Rolaids Relief Award All-Star Selections: 7 (1983, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995) League Leader 1983: Saves 1991: Saves 1992: Saves 1994: Saves Career Ranks Saves: 2nd Games: 8th H/9: 97th K/9: 11th K/BB: 61st ERA+: 30th Hall of Fame Stats Black Ink: Pitching - 12 (178) (Average HOFer ≈ 40) Gray Ink: Pitching - 48 (512) (Average HOFer ≈ 185) HOF Standards: Pitching - 13.0 (578) (Average HOFer ≈ 50) HOF Monitor: Pitching - 135.0 (50) (Likely HOFer > 100) Similar Pitchers in HOF: 2 (Rollie Fingers, Bruce Sutter) Other Similar Pitchers: Jeff Reardon, John Franco, Roberto Hernandez, Trevor Hoffman, Rick Aguilera, Kent Tekulve, Jose Mesa Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3) 1980: 2/0.7 1981: 4/2.5 1982: 13/4.5 1983: 19/8.3 1984: 15/4.9 1985: 17/5.9 1986: 17/7.2 1987: 15/7.4 1988: 12/4.7 1989: 11/3.9 1990: 17/6.2 1991: 15/6.5 1992: 12/4.2 1993: 9/3.4 1994: 8/4.9 1995: 8/5.0 1996: 4/2.1 1997: 0/0.1 Career Win Shares: 198 Career WARP3: 82.2 Would he get my vote? No. I personally just have a hard time thinking someone who spent their career almost exclusively as a short reliever as being a HOF. As I've mentioned before a closer can rarely ever be considered the most valuable player on a team. Even though he retired as the all-time saves leader Smith was definately a notch below the elite closers in baseball history (Fingers, Eckersley, Rivera, Gossage, Sutter, Quisenberry, Wilhelm, Hoffman) and by the time he reached his mid-30s he was just padding his career save totals.

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Padres are close to signing Greg Maddux. A's will probably sign Mike Piazza by the end of the week to be a full-time DH. Insert your own joke about him now being able to live in San Francisco during the regular season.

I doubt he'll ever get in, although it will be interesting to see if the Sutter induction gives him and Gossage a boost. The veterans ballot actually came out a couple of months ago but I figured Al might do something with that. The veterans results aren't released until late February so maybe I'll do something with it after I'm done with the regular ballot. 2007 Veterans Committee Ballot