TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe

...and Pujols just went YA-YA

You should check out the "Refuse to Boo" campaign over at NYYFans.com.

That was classic.

Mark Prior's been sent to AAA.

I think either a) if you really wanted to know, you could wait for the Lakers score to scroll by, or b) you already know what Kobe or Bonds did because you saw their game.

But Bret wore a pink singlet....

Tony Almeida should have been in over Aaron Pierce.

People bash Mike Mussina alot for his strict rest habits, but the guy has been a horse for 16 years and he's within reach of 300 wins.

I can't state this enough. The overuse of the ESPNEWS OMG~! box. It usually contains something stupid that I could simply wait to see in the scroll. "Kobe: 50 points" "Bonds: 0-2, BB" Or when they use it as a heads up to watch an interview with somebody that they're gonna lob softball questions to in order to get cliched and nothing responses.

Didn't you know that Dice-K is already penciled in for the triple crown of Rookie of the Year, the MVP, and the Cy Young Award?

Yankees opening day starter might be....(wait for it)....Carl Pavano.

Did you get them from IGN by any chance?

Giving Rookie of the Year awards to Kaz Sazaki and Ichiro in 2000 and 2001, but not to Hideki Matsui in 2003 because he "wasn't a true rookie" and turning around now and giving it to Matzusaka is beyond criminal.

Rivera isn't built to go more than 2 innings, and at his advancing age, its now more 1 only.

Yes. I think it was when Felix Heredia was continously used in late inning situations despite his apparent lack of talent.

Almost as good as Lou Pineilla's idea to start a reliever, and then bring in his starter in the 2nd or 3rd inning.

I had an idea several years ago where if a manager were in a tight jam in the 6th, 7th, 8th, whatever the case may be, that they go to the closer/relief ace to deal with that situation and worry about the final inning when we get there. Racking up saves to me is unimportant. But somebody's gotta be there to pitch the 9th. Might as well be somebody really good so you can rest assured that that person can effectively get 3 outs without making a manager sweat..too much.

They were fortunate to have the wild card to fall back on - and to have Cleveland fizzle at the end of the year after nearly catching up with the White Sox.

Not trying to get saves. Trying to save/close out games. I can not speak for the entire community, but here is my view. The lack of a quality closer can seriously hinder a team. If a team has Joe Scrub in the closers' role, they will lose a few games. The same is true of a team that lacks a quality second baseman, a quality right fielder, etc. You can not expect to compete with a black hole in your team. That said, the idea of the "proven" closer is what is overrated. Every year three or four closers emerge in baseball, guys who can get the job done but do not yet have the credentials. If a team can identify a closer rather than overpay for one, that provides a huge advantage. Last year the Sox did just that. Maybe Manny Delcarmen does the job this year. Or Joel Pineiro, or Devern Hansack. As for Jon Papelbon, a starter is more valuable than a closer. It does no good to have a lights out pitcher in the bullpen if you can't get them a lead. The big problem is that if a pitcher's condition will let him start but not close, I don't trust his health period. One other note, the difference between a great closer and good closer is maybe a win or two a year. For example, the Sox went 47-12 in games Papelbon pitched last year. The Phillies went 51-8 when Tom Gordon pitched. If a closer for the Sox puts up a 3.00 ERA, that means maybe a game or two less due to the closer. Meanwhile, the Sox gave twelve starts to Matt Clement and ten to Kyle Snider, both of him posted ERAs north of six. If making Papelbon a starter means shoring up that spot, they will win more games. I don't think the Sox are abandoning using a good closer. There was just no good closers on the market and they need to explore other options. If Papelbon is healthy, he should explore a career as a starter. In 2005, the Yanks and Red Sox tied for the division at the end of the year but the Yanks got the crown because they had one more head to head win over Boston. There's an example of "one win" that meant a hell of a lot. Just because a few guys emerge per year that can close games, and because Boston happened to have one in '06, doesn't mean that lightening will strike twice in 2007.

I think the value of the closer is hideously undervalued by the internet community/bloggers/statheads. You can't oversimplify everything - Boston has been searching for a quality 9th inning pitcher for a very long time (other than one season of Foulke - and look at how far that got them), and now one has fallen into their laps and they've decided to f with it. I can see them going with some garbage retread as the closer this year as usual, and when the pen blows 10 or more saves this year and loses the division again, it won't be too hard to see why.

Boston needs a closer? Hello, he's in your starting rotation.

They would have to go back to the 12 events per year, since all those extra ones added the last few years to add balance to Raw/SD shows wouldn't be needed anymore.

Same for Phil Hughes

Mike and Mike bring on "ESPN Baseball Insider" Jayson Stark, I assume to talk about spring training today. - Question 1: How GREAT~!! will Daisuke Matzusaka be? - Question 2: Roger Clemens might go to Houston, New York, or Boston. (!) - Next 10 Minutes with the ESPN Baseball Insider on NCAA Tournament including "How many brackets do YOU fill out?" Surprizingly I didn't hear the B word mentioned. But I may have missed the begining. Thankfully Opie & Anthony weren't on commercial break for very long so I could switch back quickly.