Bored

Oh ya I still need to complete this. The Loser League goes out with a whimper which should have been expected. 1988 Atlanta Braves def. 1988 Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 0 Game 1: Braves 5, ORIOLES 3 Game 2: Braves 11, ORIOLES 1 Game 3: BRAVES 5, Orioles 4 Game 4: BRAVES 5, Orioles 4 10 innings The series ended on a Gerald Perry RBI single off of Tom Neidenfuer (man never count on this guy in the postseason) to complete the sweep and crown the 1988 Baltimore Orioles as the Worst Team of My Lifetime. Congratulations guys!

Well I certainly wouldn't argue with anyone who claimed Biggio was better as that was pretty much a toss up for me, hence why they are ranked next to each other. In fact he was one player among many others that when I finished the list I was afraid I may have underrated him. But again there was only so much time I wanted put into this list.

Yes, Pujols is too low but again I was conservative with players who still have several years left in their career. #40 Jeff Kent, 2B #39 Will Clark, 1B #38 Carlos Beltran, CF #37 Vladimir Guerrero, RF #36 John Smoltz, SP/RP #35 Tom Glavine, SP #34 Alan Trammell, SS #33 Jim Edmonds, CF #32 Curt Schilling, SP #31 Ozzie Smith, SS #30 Derek Jeter, SS #29 Lou Whitaker, 2B #28 Mike Mussina, SP #27 Albert Pujols, 1B/LF #26 Jim Thome, 1B/DH/3B #25 Paul Molitor, DH/3B/2B #24 Tim Raines, LF #23 Craig Biggio, 2B #22 Ryne Sandberg, 2B #21 Ivan Rodriguez, C

THURSDAY Purdue vs. Connecticut, 7:07/4:07 PM Xavier vs. Pittsburgh, 7:27/4:27 PM Missouri vs. Memphis, 9:37/6:37 PM Villanova vs. Duke, 9:57/6:57 PM FRIDAY Arizona vs. Louisville, 7:07/4:07 PM Syracuse vs. Oklahoma, 7:27/4:27 PM Kansas vs. Michigan State, 9:37/6:37 PM Gonzaga vs. North Carolina, 9:57/6:57 PM

Justin Duchscherer will have arthroscopic surgery on his elbow and will be out six weeks and that's if they find nothing wrong. Given the A's history with injuries I'm just going to assume he's out for the season. This all but guarantees at least one of their top pitching prospects Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson will begin the year in the Majors, if not both of them. They will also now have an all 25 and under rotation.

1982 Minnesota Twins def. 1988 Baltimore Orioles 4 games to 2 Game 1: Twins 6, ORIOLES 4 10 innings Game 2: Twins 3, ORIOLES 2 Game 3: TWINS 7, Orioles 1 Game 4: Orioles 7, TWINS 5 Game 5: Orioles 6, TWINS 2 Game 6: Twins 7, ORIOLES 2 After dropping their first six games of the postseason the '88 Orioles made a spirited comeback but all it meant was that they forced their fans to see another home game. Eddie Murray may be in the Hall of Fame but he takes Least Valuable Player honors in this series he scrapes together only 2 hits in 25 at bats. 1981 Chicago Cubs def. 1988 Atlanta Braves 4 games to 2 Game 1: BRAVES 7, Cubs 4 Game 2: Cubs 7, BRAVES 4 Game 3: Braves 5, CUBS 3 12 innings Game 4: CUBS 2, Braves 1 10 innings Game 5: CUBS 4, Braves 3 Game 6: Cubs 3, BRAVES 0 The Cubs once again can't even win the big one as they eliminate themselves from the Loser League setting an all 1988 match-up to crown the worst team of my lifetime. After hitting .480 against the Padres in the previous round, Ron Gant takes the LVP by hitting .115 and committing three errors which reminds you why he was moved to the outfield.

POLL! What do you think of conference tournaments? Personally I think they are the reason why many don't pay attention to the college basketball regular season. What's the point of the scheduled conference regular season if every team in a conference can still win their title going into the final two weeks of the season? I view conference tournaments as nothing more than made for t.v. events that only accomplish in weakening the overall field of 65. Full TV Schedule for Week of 3/2 - 3/8 The Games Most of You Can See MONDAY #11 Villanova at Notre Dame, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN Baylor at Texas, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN TUESDAY #8 Michigan State at Indiana, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN Kansas State at Oklahoma State, 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPN2 Auburn at Alabama, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN WEDNESDAY #2 North Carolina at Virginia Tech, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN #13 Marquette at #3 Pittsburgh, 7:30/4:30 PM, ESPN2 #9 Kansas at Texas Tech, 9:30/6:30 PM, ESPN2 THURSDAY Tennessee at South Carolina, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN Providence at #11 Villanova, 7:00/4:00 PM, ESPN2 #23 Illinois at Penn State, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN Dayton at #17 Xavier, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN2 California at Arizona, 10:30/7:30 PM, FSN SATURDAY #1 Connecticut at #3 Pittsburgh, Noon/9:00 AM, CBS Michigan at Minnesota, Noon/9:00 AM, ESPN California at #21 Arizona State, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, CBS* Kentucky at Florida, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, CBS* #15 Missouri at Texas A&M, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, ESPN2 Oklahoma State at #4 Oklahoma, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC* Oregon at #20 UCLA, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC* Maryland at Virginia, 3:30/12:30 PM, ABC* Texas at #9 Kansas, 4:00/1:00 PM, CBS Big South Championship, 4:00/1:00 PM, ESPN2 Washington State at #16 Washington, 5:30/2:30 PM, FSN Atlantic Sun Championship, 6:00/3:00 PM, ESPN2 OVC Championship, 8:00/5:00 PM, ESPN2 #6 Louisville at West Virginia, 9:00/6:00 PM, ESPN SUNDAY #19 Purdue at #8 Michigan State, Noon/9:00 AM, CBS* Alabama at Tennessee, Noon/9:00 AM, CBS* MVC Championship, 2:00 PM/11:00 AM, CBS #7 Duke at #2 North Carolina, 4:00/1:00 PM, CBS #18 Clemson at #10 Wake Forest, 6:00/3:00 PM, FSN WCC Semi-Final: #14 Gonzaga vs. TBA, 9:30/6:30 PM, ESPN2 WCC Semi-Final: St. Mary's vs. TBA, 11:30/8:30 PM, ESPN2

Now we start to get to the meat of the list and I swear that's not a crack at the next player on the list. #60 Andruw Jones, CF #59 Bret Saberhagen, SP #58 Kenny Lofton, CF #57 Robin Ventura, 3B #56 Albert Belle, LF #55 Kevin Brown, SP #54 Fred McGriff, 1B #53 Sammy Sosa, RF #52 Jorge Posada, C #51 Jason Giambi, 1B #50 Lance Berkman, OF/1B #49 Larry Walker, RF #48 Kirby Puckett, CF #47 Brian Giles, OF #46 Bobby Abreu, RF #45 Mariano Rivera, RP #44 Bernie Williams, CF #43 Scott Rolen, 3B #42 Edgar Martinez, DH #41 Rafael Palmeiro, 1B

Agent's pick Eddie Cicotte My pick Paul Waner

Damn, you just cannot fuck with the Big East this year. It's like 1985 all over again.

Agent's pick Darell Porter My pick Alan Trammell

Marlins received approval yesterday to build a new stadium in Miami. I'm so happy Jeffrey Loria's suffering is finally over. As part of the deal they'll be re-branded the Miami Marlins when the stadium opens in 2012.

The Rays have optioned David Price to Triple-A which really comes off as a move to delay his arbitration clock than doing what's best for the team. It's even worse than the Orioles having Matt "God's Real Son" Wieters start the year in the minors as at least in Baltimore's case it won't be effecting their playoff chances.

It's playoff time for the Loser League and remember it will be loser advances. There's only one Losertober! 1979 Oakland A's def. 1988 Baltimore Orioles 3 games to 0 Game 1: A'S 24, Orioles 4 Game 2: A'S 11, Orioles 3 Game 3: A's 7, ORIOLES 3 That Game 1 score is not a misprint as this series reminds you why Baltimore lost 21 games to start the 1988 season. Baltimore's team ERA for the series was 14.40 as the A's hit .374 as a team. No word yet if Cal Ripken will request to pull himself out of the line up for the next series. 1979 Toronto Blue Jays def. 1982 Minnesota Twins 3 games to 1 Game 1: TWINS 6, Blue Jays 1 Game 2: Blue Jays 3, TWINS 0 Game 3: BLUE JAYS 7, Twins 6 Game 4: BLUE JAYS 5, Twins 4 Do you believe in miracles, eh? The '79 Blue Jays were the only team to top 100 losses in the Loser League and were the runaway favorite to take the title entering the postseason but they shock the world but beating the '82 Twins. The Jays mounted a five run 8th inning comeback in the deciding Game 4 to send the Twins to the Loser Championship Series and many of their players to suicide. 1998 Florida Marlins def. 1981 Chicago Cubs 3 games to 2 Game 1: Marlins 4, CUBS 1 Game 2: CUBS 10, Marlins 6 Game 3: MARLINS 5, Cubs 4 12 innings Game 4: Cubs 5, MARLINS 1 Game 5: Marlins 6, CUBS 4 Cubs' fans this might be your year! No team was happier that two months of the 1981 season was wiped out by a player's strike than the Cubs and it almost seems cruel to make them keep playing. I don't know if Bartman stole a foul ball from Steve Henderson in the deciding game. 1981 San Diego Padres def. 1988 Atlanta Braves 3 games to 2 Game 1: Braves 4, PADRES 2 Game 2: Braves 6, PADRES 4 11 innings Game 3: Padres 8, BRAVES 3 Game 4: Padres 4, BRAVES 2 Game 5: PADRES 9, Braves 8 18 innings Go Braves! After dropping two at home the Padres make a remarkable comeback and in Game 5 defeated the Braves in an 18 inning classic or really 6 hours and 26 minutes of torture if you had watch these two teams play. The game ended on an Ozzie Smith RBI single off rookie Tom Glavine who was forced into the game as a pinch hitter and remained in the game to pitch after the Braves bench and bullpen had been used up. Here's the boxscore: BOXSCORE: 1988 Atlanta Braves At 1981 San Diego Padres 10/6/2008 Braves AB R H RBI AVG Padres AB R H RBI AVG R.Gant 3B 7 1 2 1 .480 O.Smith SS 9 2 3 1 .278 D.James LF 9 2 3 2 .304 R.Jones CF 6 0 1 1 .167 G.Perry 1B 7 0 1 1 .167 J.Curtis P 0 0 0 0 ---- D.Murphy RF 7 1 1 2 .238 N-S.Swisher PH 1 0 0 0 .000 O.Virgil C 9 2 4 1 .348 S.Mura P 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Thomas SS 8 1 2 0 .120 P-D.Gwosdz PH 1 0 1 01.000 M.Lemke 2B 3 0 1 0 .357 C.Welsh P 0 0 0 0 .500 A-J.Blauser PH 1 0 1 1 .286 G.Richards LF 9 2 3 0 .261 B-L.Smith PR 0 1 0 0 .250 T.Kennedy C 8 1 4 2 .346 E-J.Royster 2B 5 0 1 0 .200 B.Perkins 1B 6 0 1 1 .125 T.Blocker CF 7 0 1 0 .222 K-J.Moreno 1B 2 1 1 0 .500 R.Mahler P 3 0 0 0 .000 J.Lefebvre RF 7 2 2 0 .188 C-P.Runge PH 0 0 0 0 ---- L.Salazar 3B 7 0 3 2 .476 D-A.Hall PH 0 0 0 0 .167 J.Bonilla 2B 5 0 2 1 .500 G.Jimenez P 0 0 0 0 ---- M-T.Flannery PH,2B 2 0 0 0 .200 F-B.Benedict PH 1 0 0 0 .000 J.Eichelberger P 3 0 0 0 .000 J.Alvarez P 0 0 0 0 ---- D.Boone P 0 0 0 0 ---- H-T.Simmons PH 1 0 0 0 .500 J.Urrea P 1 0 0 0 .000 C.Puleo P 0 0 0 0 ---- T.Lollar P 0 0 0 0 ---- P.Assenmacher P 0 0 0 0 ---- G-B.Evans PH 1 0 1 0 .385 L-J.Acker PH,P 1 0 1 01.000 J.Littlefield P 0 0 0 0 ---- B.Sutter P 0 0 0 0 ---- G.Lucas P 0 0 0 0 ---- O-T.Glavine PH,P 1 0 0 0 .000 I-R.Bass PH 0 0 0 0 .000 J-D.Edwards PH,CF 3 1 2 1 .308 -- -- -- --- -- -- -- --- Totals 70 8 18 8 Totals 71 9 24 9 A-Pinch Hit For Lemke In 8th Inning B-Pinch Ran For Blauser In 8th Inning C-Pinch Hit For Mahler In 8th Inning D-Pinch Hit For Runge In 8th Inning E-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Smith In 8th Inning F-Pinch Hit For Jimenez In 9th Inning G-Pinch Hit For Lollar In 11th Inning H-Pinch Hit For Alvarez In 12th Inning I-Pinch Hit For Lucas In 13th Inning J-Pinch Hit For Bass In 13th Inning K-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Perkins In 15th Inning L-Pinch Hit For Assenmacher In 15th Inning M-Pinch Hit For Bonilla In 15th Inning N-Pinch Hit For Curtis In 15th Inning O-Pinch Hit For Sutter In 17th Inning P-Pinch Hit For Mura In 17th Inning INJURY: Broderick Perkins INJURED (for 0 more games) in 14th inning Braves.......... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 - 8 18 1 Padres.......... 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 - 9 24 2 Braves (2-3) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA R.Mahler 7 12 5 4 0 3 0 109 3.75 G.Jimenez 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 24 5.68 J.Alvarez 3 1 0 0 2 3 0 48 4.00 C.Puleo 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 20 5.40 P.Assenmache 1 2/3 1 0 0 2 2 0 38 0.00 J.Acker 0 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0.00 B.Sutter 1 1/3 3 1 1 2 2 0 31 3.00 T.Glavine LOSS(0-1) 1 2/3 5 3 3 1 0 0 39 5.40 Totals 17 2/3 24 9 8 8 10 0 Padres (3-2) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA J.Eichelberg 7 7 4 4 3 4 1 134 3.75 D.Boone HOLD(2nd) 0 1/3 1 1 1 0 1 0 8 3.86 J.Urrea BS(1st) 1 1/3 2 0 0 2 0 0 30 0.00 T.Lollar 2 1/3 1 0 0 0 3 0 34 0.00 J.Littlefiel 0 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 7.36 G.Lucas 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 20 0.00 J.Curtis 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 25 2.45 S.Mura 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 33 4.91 C.Welsh WIN(1-0) 1 3 2 2 0 0 1 21 6.43 Totals 18 18 8 8 5 12 3 ATTENDANCE- 24,996 DATE- Monday, October 6th 2008 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average T- 6:26 LEFT ON BASE- Braves:17 Padres:19 DOUBLE PLAYS- Braves: 0 Padres: 1 ERRORS- R.Mahler, O.Smith, L.Salazar DOUBLES- O.Virgil(2nd), O.Smith(1st), R.Jones(3rd), T.Kennedy(3rd), J.Moreno(1st), J.Bonilla(3rd) TRIPLES- D.Edwards(1st) HOME RUNS- D.James(1st), D.Murphy(1st), O.Virgil(1st) STOLEN BASES- R.Gant-2(5th), D.James(2nd), G.Richards(1st), L.Salazar(1st), D.Edwards(1st) CAUGHT STEALING- G.Richards, J.Bonilla SACRIFICE HITS- R.Gant, L.Salazar SACRIFICE FLIES- R.Gant, D.Murphy, T.Kennedy, L.Salazar WALKS- G.Perry-2, D.Murphy, A.Thomas, T.Blocker, O.Smith, R.Jones, B.Perkins, J.Lefebvre-2, J.Bonilla, T.Flannery, D.Edwards HIT BY PITCH- A.Hall STRIKE OUTS- R.Gant-2, D.James, G.Perry, D.Murphy-2, O.Virgil-3, A.Thomas, T.Blocker, R.Mahler, O.Smith, R.Jones, G.Richards, T.Kennedy, J.Moreno, J.Lefebvre, L.Salazar, J.Eichelberger-2, D.Edwards GIDP- T.Blocker

Agent's pick Don Sutton My pick Phil Niekro

Final WBC rosters were set today so might as well get this thread up for the tournament that begins next week. Ya it's still hard to take it all that seriously but it's the closest thing to real competitive baseball we have until April 5th. All games will be televised live on either ESPN, ESPN2, or MLB Network. And I'll just predict now that the U.S. blows it in pool play again. Full Schedule Pool A - Tokyo China Notable Players: None Chinese Taipei Notable Players: None Japan Notable Players: Ichiro Suzuki, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kosuke Fukudome Korea Notable Players: Shin-Soo Choo Pool B - Mexico City Australia Notable Players: None Cuba Notable Players: None Mexico Notable Players: Adrian Gonzalez, Joakim Soria, Oliver Perez South Africa Notable Players: None Pool C - Toronto Canada Notable Players: Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, Russell Martin Italy Notable Players: Frank Catalanotto United States Notable Players: Jake Peavy, Dustin Pedroia, David Wright Venezuela Notable Players: Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Zambrano, Francisco Rodriguez Pool D - San Juan Domincan Republic Notable Players: Alex Rodriguez, Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez Netherlands Notable Players: None Panama Notable Players: Carlos Lee, Manny Corpas Puerto Rico Notable Players: Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Javier Vazquez

Agent's pick John McGraw My Pick Al Simmons

CBI First Round Northeastern 64, Wyoming 62 UTEP 79, Nevada 77 Richmond 75, St. John's 69 Vermont 76, Green Bay 72 Charleston 93, Troy 91 Wichita State 84, Buffalo 73 Oregon State 49, Houston 45 Stanford 96, Boise State 76 Quarterfinals Richmond 74, Charleston 72 Stanford 70, Wichita State 56 UTEP 75, Northeastern 66 Oregon State 71, Vermont 70 Here's what the CBI has brought us: CIT First Round Liberty 79, Rider 64 Oakland 80, Kent State 74 James Madison 69, Mount St. Mary’s 58 Bradley 81, Austin Peay 74 Belmont 92, Evansville 76 Pacific 82, Portland 76 Idaho 69, Drake 67 Old Dominion 67, The Citadel 59 Quarterfinals James Madison 88, Liberty 65 Bradley 76, Oakland 75 Old Dominion 70, Belmont 62 Pacific 69, Idaho 59 ESPN just showed a highlight of Bradley beating Oakland with a 70 footer at the buzzer.

Not that anyone is necessarily needing another college basketball fix after the weekend but right now on ESPN2 is Davidson/St. Mary's in a 2nd Round NIT game with a great star match-up of Stephen Curry and Patrick Mills. And hey STANFORD~ has advanced to the Final Four of the CBI! I can hardly contain my excitement.

Agent's pick: Gaylord Perry My pick: Jeff Bagwell

Oakland Athletics Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (pre-Mt. Davis) Dick Williams And I'm taking over for Agent this week so here are his team, ballpark, and manager. Chicago Colts Coors Field Pete Rose (already has him as a player)

Derek Jeter is a poor fielding shortstop. How is he incorrect? And there goes any chance of winning this.

My God, this is like Pearl Harbor all over again!

So 15 out of 16 higher seeds win in Round 2 and we have only two teams seeded below the Top 16, Purdue and Arizona, advance to the Sweet 16 which is the fewest ever since they expanded to 64 teams in 1985. After having every #1 seed advance to the Final Four last season and 2007 was also very much a "chalk" tournament I'm starting to think the committee is getting smarter at putting the field together.