EVIL~! alkeiper

Honestly, the idea is funnier now than it ever would be in execution.

No. You could try the stunt here or in graphics testing, but the board community would be fully within their rights to hit you repeatedly with a rolled up newspaper.

Not in regards to the workers. But there might be some useful information on how perspectives change (or don't change) pre and post-match. Also, how effective were their promotional efforts for individual matches?

Mayweather and Big Show can't work a real match. But the idea of a 450 lb. wrestler battling a 150 lb. boxer is intriguing, if nothing else. And remember Chuck Wepner vs. Andre the Giant wasn't exactly competitive either. Still made great spectacle.

I really have an urge to post Chris Benoit editing assumptions at every opportunity and watch them turn into facts within five minutes.

Most of it is useful for marketing purposes. How often does their PPV viewer watch the shows, do they frequently buy events on dvd afterwards, etc.

Yahoo had the option of sending invites to managers and I sent them to all besides one. Did you change your email address perhaps? I also renewed the NL League, giving the managers a few days to register before I publish the league.

Because aside from the occasional MMA show, I don't watch sports, period. I don't care about sports. At all. Never have. If they all vanished tomorrow, it wouldn't affect my life one bit. As for the commercials, you mean there are people who actually pay attention to that bullshit? I can buy that. I've probably missed half the good players of the NFL the last several years. But I think those fans need to remember that the WWE target viewer is well aware of other sports. There are people like myself who really don't care for pop culture. But we're not WWE's target audience.

Forty years ago, Bob Gibson set a near-record by posting a 1.12 ERA over a full season. Of course Gibson benefitted from favorable pitching conditions, but his mark is still third all time even taking the deadball era into account. What amazes me most about the season is not the ERA, but the fact that Gibson lost nine games in the process. Without exaggeration, I can find 200 pitchers who had more impressive single season records. I thought it would be interesting to take a quick look at those losses. Retrosheet.org has game logs of course, but thanks to Baseball Reference's Play Index we can create a quick list. http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/shareit/HSpC There are ten games on this list. Nine of Gibson's losses, and a tenth game the Cardinals lost after Gibson left the game. For the record, Gibson had three no-decisions in 1968, the Cardinals went 2-1 in those games. In one loss, Gibson surrendered six runs, three of them earned. He allowed just six hits in a complete game, two walks, and 15 strikeouts. All six runs scored in the final three innings. Three times Gibson lost 1-0 games. In one game he pitched a dual shutout with the Phillies' Woodie Fryman before losing in the tenth. Don Drysdale beat him 2-0, the other run coming off a reliever in the ninth (Gibson left for a pinch-hitter). In the third, the Giants' Gaylord Perry countered with a no-hitter. In those four three-run outings, Gibson pitched eight innings in all four. Two were complete games, the other two saw Gibson lifted for pinch hitters with his team trailing. Here are Gibson's wins for that season. http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/shareit/KtNf Those two at the bottom are Gibson's no decisions that the Cardinals won. Two things stand out about the wins. One, Gibson pitched 9 or more full innings EVERY SINGLE TIME he won a game. Second, Gibson won a game while allowing more than one run just twice. Talk about earning your victories. Many teams struggled to score runs in 1968. The Cardinals finished fourth out of ten teams despite a team containing Orlando Cepeda, Lou Brock, Roger Maris, Curt Flood and Tim McCarver. Just three players (Brock, Flood and Dal Maxvill) posted OBPs above .310. By any measure Gibson was a dominant force that year. If he had the hitting the SF Giants for example enjoyed that season, he would have gone 30-3. As it was though, it's a remarkable season in spite of the nine losses.

The LA Dodgers have named Dr. Frank Jobe special advisor to the owner. I know there's some concern about Tommy Lasorda managing a split squad for a few days while the other half tours Japan, but this seems like an overreaction.

Because sports teams date back to the days before motorized transportation. All the notable clubs in a sport would come from the same city.

Shea Stadium is the perfect ballpark for lefty strikeout pitchers with flyball tendencies. I don't know how the new stadium will play, but for right now he's perfect as a back-end starter. John Maine too. The problem is that if Oliver Perez 2005-06 shows up, no ballpark makes that look good.

A 120 ERA+ is probably closer to $8-12 Million. Of course Perez would likely fall on the higher end of the scale given his youth; he will be just 27 when he hits the market. The Mets may have a problem approaching with their pitching staff. Johan Santana is a rock, and John Maine probably will not hit free agency until 2011. Pedro Martinez and Perez however are free agents after the season, as is Orlando Hernandez. The Mets have Mike Pelfrey, but no immediate pitching whatsoever ready in the minor leagues. They are probably going to need to hit the market next offseason. With that in mind, signing Perez long term is probably a good idea.

I'm a bit surprised, since no other first time arbitration player even approached that amount. I wouldn't be that anxious to extend Perez. His walk rate was worse than in 2004 when he had his other good season. He could easily come crashing back to earth.

With Mayweather/Show on the horizon, I thought it might be worthwhile to track down some of the other famous "boxer vs. wrestler" bouts in history. The two most famous I think were Antonio Inoki/Muhammad Ali, and Chuck Wepner/Andre the Giant. Both were part of the same promotion, albeit on different continents. Ali/Inoki was a farce, but Wepner/Andre became an iconic piece of wrestling history. I know there's a ton more out there.

In stature or the match itself? I think everyone recognizes that the match was dull at best. I do believe it would be famous in Japan, no doubt.

Because the Rays will likely be in a better condition to make a run in 2009 than the Orioles this season. It made sense for the O's to trade Bedard and boost a depleted farm system. The Rays don't have that problem.

Howard and the Phillies go to arbitration today. The AA Reading Phillies host the AAA Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs in a charity exhibition on April 1. I picked up tickets for section 108, 4th row.

Eventually I'll need to post something of this nature in the folder itself, but I'm not sure where. People, if you are repeating news or reports, put the damn thing in a quote tag. Make it clear from the beginning of the post that it is NOT YOUR WORK.

Hernandez has played 120+ games just one year of the last four. What's amusing is that I remember the same Orioles optimism last year. Compare those with posts around July-September. If I were an Orioles' fan, I wouldn't expect much this season except maybe some breakout performances from the kids. The Eric Bedard trade at least represents a step in the right direction, and Matt Wieters and Billy Rowell could make some strides this season. Kazmir is not free agent eligible until after 2010.

Here's where Bartlett helps the club. Last year the Rays finished dead last in defensive efficiency, which is simply a measure of how often a defense turns a ball in play into an out. Part of the reason for that is they had an offense-first shortstop named Brendan Harris manning the position. Bartlett solidifies the position, and will vastly improve the team defense over last season. Matt Garza compiled a 3.67 ERA in 15 starts for the Twins last year, and posted a 3.62 mark in Rochester. Garza was the Twins' #1 prospect heading into the season, so there is no reason to think he is a fluke. The Rays meanwhile had eight pitchers give them ten or more starts. Six of them posted an ERA higher than 5.50. You think Garza won't improve that staff? On the offense you have Dioner Navarro, B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli who have yet to enter their primes. If Cliff Floyd breaks down, Jonny Gomes and his capable production steps in. Evan Longoria should come up by mid season and push Akinori Iwamura to second base. Right now the bullpen is the big concern. A lot of that is actually their fielding. With B.J. Upton out of the infield for good, a steady shortstop and a another great prospect, that situation improves. I'm predicting right now that the Rays have their best franchise season yet.

It's a matter of time before the Rays make some noise in the AL East. At this moment they have the best 3B prospect in baseball, three of the top ten pitching prospects in baseball, and one of the better shortstop prospects in baseball. Their hitting is league average right now. If they can clear up the pitching holes and find guys who are even league average, they will improve in a hurry. Here's something I didn't realize. The Rays actually led the American League in pitcher strikeouts last season.

You probably are. Mayweather along with Oscar De La Hoya set the record for a boxing Pay Per View buyrate last year. For nearly three years he has been recognized as the best pound for pound boxer by Ring Magazine.

And Hornswaggle is really underrated as a worker. He can bump.