EVIL~! alkeiper

Only if they're dressed as a pantomime horse.

Note the batting averages for LeCroy though, consistently poor. His walk rates are good, the problem is that he literally lacks the physical ability to contribute in any other fashion. His low average isn't bad luck, it's that he can't run at any better than a slow jog. And he passed the age of 30. His body type will not age well, and he can't weather the process.

On a side note, it's somewhat fitting that the A's signed Matt LeCroy on the same day that Brown retired. LeCroy is worse defensively than Brown, his offensive skills are sapped and he is easily the worst baserunner in organized baseball. He is what Jeremy Brown could've become. Brown hit .268/.367/.439 in his minor league career. He could've stuck around in AAA if he desired.

MSG from March '86. That show actually features Dump Matsumoto and Bull Nakano in tag action! The Crush Gals wrestle another match on the card as well. I like having Wrestlemania 2, it could be fun if they have the original PPV airing instead of the Coliseum version. I like '70s era MSG shows. Baron Von Raschke and Ivan Putski for 30 minutes? That'll take some patience. We get early Nikolai Volkoff and Larry Zbyszko though.

At least Jeremy can always claim he was a .300 hitter in the majors.

They gave up eighth inning runs in both games, but they never led either. Correct. I should also point out that despite the Cards 98 win season, the Sox were 20-7 favorites in the championship series. Their loss was mostly due to questionable managing decisions down the stretch. The loss was mostly due to the fact that it's just a seven game series, and those Cardinals were good enough to win four out of five pennants in their own right. Of course, Ted Williams famously hit just .200 and he was playing with an elbow injury. I'd say the Sox in 1948 and '49 were worse. 1948 saw them lose a playoff game using their third starter, and in 1949 they dropped two in a row to the Yankees to lose the pennant.

They gave up eighth inning runs in both games, but they never led either.

I'm not usually sold on season collapses. Usually the "collapsing" team ends up winning 90-100 games anyway, and it takes a hell of an effort from the winning team. Take that '78 Red Sox team for example. They still have the highest winning percentage of any Red Sox team since the playing days of Ted Williams. They went 15-15 in their last 30 games, that's not bad. The Yankees just went 23-8. My own honorable mention is the 2007 Padres, who twice got within three outs of the playoffs and blew it. Sparked by the Devil Rays comments. What team winning the division/league (in any sport) was the greatest upset of that kind?

I'd give the benefit of a doubt to a young player, but I can see bypassing him. It's kind of amusing since Eric Patterson is in the doghouse as well.

Anyone interested in the TSM Fantasy League please PM me. I have 12 entrants, leaving 8 openings. Entry decided largely based on seniority, but doesn't hurt to throw your name in.

Referring to the NLCS? They got beat, and one error in particular (Alex Gonzalez) contributed to that. But they got beat, put up an effort and didn't come through. The 1985 Cardinals not only lost game seven, but lost it 11-0. And not only did they get blown out, they brought in a starting pitcher as a reliever who got himself ejected, and their manager got ejected.

Theriot got a lot of credit for his 2006 season, where he had a hot streak. That was a small sample though, and 2007 is more indicative of his true quality. Meanwhile, Ronny Cedeno hit .359 in the PCL last year, third among hitters with a minimum of 150 plate appearances. Cedeno was just 23 in 2006, and likely overmatched at the plate. He has shown ability and probably at least deserves a second opportunity.

For a single game, the 1985 Cardinals in game seven of the World Series. Given a single bad call in game six, the team turned into a group of absolute shit.

Considering I live less than an hour from the Ag Hall in Allentown, this would be the greatest development ever. Getting kicked off major networks would seriously harm the WWE. For me personally, another terrorism angle might do it. I quit watching for 18 months after the Mohammad Hassan crap.

How is that different? It seems like standard booking.

The "greatest IC champion" talk was Honky himself referencing his record reign length, not any serious analytical talk. Classic bombastic heel schtick.

Next question: Pick the best and worst uniforms in sports history. Provide images.

MLB.com allows you to create custom shirts with your own name and number. That's where that comes from.

Ah. Honestly, I'd much rather own this shirt. Apologies to Mets fans. I couldn't resist.

I don't get it.

He's got a career line of .277/.315/.401. His career OPS+ is better than a few starting shortstops in the league. He's not great but considering the internal options, this is a really good idea.

Excellent blog post from Kansas City writer Joe Posnanski. http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2008/02/14...le-in-congress/

Ryan Howard's arbitration date is Feb. 20.

Red Sox/Cubs or even Yankees/Cubs, 2003. Yankees/Phillies, 1977. Yeah Reggie, try hitting three home runs off Steve Carlton. Same question.

I meant a surplus in regards to crowding the ballot. If you have 30-35 equally talented players and the writers can pick ten, no candidate is going to get a consensus. It is easier to elect candidates when there are one or two sure things, 10-15 maybes and some filler. In the earlier example, you would have a runoff to reduce the ballot if no one reaches the 75% on the first try, and then run the election with a condensed ballot.