EVIL~! alkeiper

It's just talk. Who the hell would play shortstop? 90% of these trade rumors are made up, yet we go through this every year.

Again, to my knowledge Young has never been in legal trouble. His brother Dmitri got in trouble for domestic assault. Teammate Elijah Dukes is a basket case. But the bat throwing incident is the only black mark on Delmon's record as of yet. I can question his plate discipline, but I don't see any special reason to question his makeup.

For the Rays: I think Bartlett is an upgrade over Harris, honestly. Harris gives you some more power. Bartlett provides speed and defense. With lefty Kazmir on the mound, Bartlett could be a boon for the Rays. Matt Garza is an elite young pitcher. His numbers last year over two levels include 175 IP, 162 strikeouts, 63 walks, 13 home runs allowed, and a 3.65 ERA. As a 23 year old. He immediately becomes the Rays' number two starter. Eduardo Morlan looks like a future closer in the making. Giving away an elite talent like Delmon Young is an interesting move. I think the Rays have enough elite young talent that they can make the move. For the Twins: Delmon Young is an elite talent. It'll be interesting to see how the Twins align their outfield. The sensible plan would seem to be Cuddyer-Pridie-Young. A possibility though is that the Twins attempt to move Michael Cuddyer back to third base to shore up their infield. Alexi Casilla becomes their best option at shortstop, Brendan Harris sliding over to second base. Rotation at this point looks like Santana-Bonser-Baker-Slowey, with Glen Perkins, Brian Duensing and even Francisco Liriano figuring into the final slot. I LOVE this offseason!

Hell, I think Kowalski was around 48 years old at the time of the match. Remember it was the early 50s when he famously severed Yukon Eric's ear in a match.

I don't know. Twins fans think that their GM is always screwing them somehow, I guess. Maybe they have a point sometimes. Letting Hunter go is not one of those situations. Trading Santana is a great move. If this Young & friends for Garza & co. trade goes down, it is not a bad move either. Anyway, if you really want to look at the work of Ed Wade, check out the Doug Brocail signing and all the other crap middle relievers he's brought in already. I know of a particular Astros fan who threw a fit when he saw that Wade had been hired as the GM, because he knew that this is what the team would turn into. Ed Wade is very bad at his job, and it's unclear how he continues to get them. Kidding aside about Wade, I don't get how he is so bad at his job. The armchair GMs look at his moves, scoff and chuckle. In reality, he took a Phillies team coming off consecutive 90 loss seasons and a barren farm system, and made them contenders in three years. He was fired after the Phillies won 88 games and replaced by an experienced GM in Pat Gillick. The Phillies have won 85 and 89 games in the seasons since. Some drastic improvement, huh? Wade got a raw deal in Philadelphia. He could really surprise people in Houston.

Why the vitriol regarding the Twins? Letting a 31 year old center fielder go is not a terrible move. They have two stars yet in Mauer and Morneau, and real depth in their pitching ranks. I can't see this Garza for Young trade going down, since corner outfield is not the Twins' problem. The Phillies picked up Shane Youman off waivers. The Astros signed Tomas Perez to a minor league contract, a sure sign that Ed Wade is their GM.

SEMIFINALS San Diego 5 Atlanta 4 WP: Heath Bell LP: Peter Moylan Sv: Trevor Hoffman Brian Giles drew a bases loaded walk in the eighth inning to force in the winning run. The major turning point of the game occurred in the fourth inning, when Josh Bard drove in two RBIs with a two-out double and Justin Germano followed up with an RBI single. Colorado 5 St. Louis 4 WP: Jeff Francis LP: Ryan Franklin Sv: Manuel Corpas Troy Tulowitzki drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth with a single and David Eckstein's error in the eighth allowed an insurance run to score. That gives us San Diego @ Colorado for the finals, fittingly.

Hammonds was a Brewer. The third outrageous contract was probably Todd Helton, but they are still getting some value back on that one.

"Bowling Shoe Ugly" or "Bowling Shoe Tendencies."

Tim Raines compared. http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/shareit/FuvM

QUARTERFINALS San Diego 5 Minnesota 4 WP: Greg Maddux LP: Carlos Silva Sv: Trevor Hoffman Padres scored four in the fifth, including Adrian Gonzalez's two-run home run. Atlanta 3 Chi. Cubs 1 10 Innings WP: Peter Moylan LP: Scott Eyre Sv: Rafael Soriano The Braves prior to the tenth scored just one run on 12 hits. The Cubs only managed two hits in the game. Kelly Johnson drove in he go-ahead runs with a double in the tenth. Colorado 5 Oakland 4 WP: Josh Fogg LP: Lenny Dinardo Sv: Manuel Corpas Brad Hawpe homered for the Rockies. Travis Buck hit three doubles in a losing effort. St. Louis 10 San Francisco 7 WP: Adam Wainwright LP: Matt Cain Sv: Jason Isringhausen Cain imploded, giving up four runs without recording an out. The Cards scored nine of their runs in the first three innings. Chris Duncan collected four RBIs in the victory. Semifinal Matchups: Atlanta Braves @ San Diego Padres St. Louis Cardinals @ Colorado Rockies.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3130149 I'll be surprised if Juan Lara pitches again.

I'd give up Cole Hamels for Santana and wouldn't think twice about it.

Those "gifts" better be good because otherwise this month looks like absolute shit.

If Jim Rice gets in and not Raines, I am going to have to hurt people. The way the veterans' committee is comprised, no one is getting in. Gil Hodges and Ron Santo have all the popularity contests in the world going for them and they can only reach 60%.

If the Yankees want Johan Santana it is going to take Phil Hughes or Chamberlain as part of a package. If the Yankees do not offer that deal, the Twins can turn to a team who will part with a top prospect. If Santana goes to free agency the Twins get two first rounders, so they are not quite in a position where they MUST trade him.

My picks. Tim Raines: The second greatest leadoff hitter of all time, and the greatest percentage basestealer of all time. Goose Gossage: Now that some relievers have been elected, Gossage rates far above their established standard. Andre Dawson: Naysayers note the low OBP. In his prime, Dawson was a gold glove center fielder with 30/30 numbers. Mark McGwire: Without the steroids cloud he was a devastating offensive force. Bert Blyleven: No brainer, 60 shutouts rate top ten all time. Alan Trammell: Combine offense and defense and he's clearly more valuable than some existing HOFers in only for their offense.

You know, if Knoblauch hadn't developed that throwing problem and been able to stay at second base, he might've had a Hall of Fame career.

1. Was he ever regarded as the best player in baseball? Did anybody, while he was active, ever suggest that he was the best player in baseball? No, he nvever won an MVP award nor finished consistantly high year to year. 2. Was he the best player on his team? No. The Atlanta Braves of the early to mid 90s contained Hall of Fame talents like Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Chipper Jones. In Cleveland he was overshadowed by Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome and after those years, he was past his prime. 3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position? The best I can place David Justice in the American League is third, behind Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield. Add the National League and you have Larry Walker, Tony Gwynn and Sammy Sosa to contend with. 4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races? Justice played for a large number of playoff baseball clubs, and played well on most of them. However, Justice performed poorly in the postseason, hitting .224 in a large sample of games. 5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime? Somewhat. He played into his mid-30s and retired while still productive. 6. Is he the very best baseball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame? No, far from it. 7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame? No. Only Larry Doby on his comparable batters list is in the Hall, and he played center field and got credit for being a pioneer. 8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? No. Never led the league in any category whatsoever. 9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics? None apparent. 10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame? No. Andre Dawson is on the ballot. Dave Parker may have an argument as well. 11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? Justice finished third in 1993 and fifth in 1997. 1993 was fueled by a plethora of home runs and RBIs. Jeff Blauser was more valuable. 1997 was Justice's best year statistically but he missed 23 games. 12. How many All-Star-type seasons did he have? How many All-Star games did he play in? Did most of the players who played in this many All-Star games go into the Hall of Fame? Three All-Star appearances, two as a starter. 13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant? No, unless the team was deep. 14. What impact did the player have on baseball history? Was he responsible for any rule changes? Did he introduce any new equipment? Did he change the game in any way? First ballplayer to get served with papers on field. 15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider? Yes.

There is going to be a drag-out brawl over Tim Raines, but we'll get to that in due time.

I'm new to Fire Pro Wrestling, but intrigued by the $15 price point on Amazon. Can someone give me a quick sell job for the game?

Because it is tremendously difficult for an elderly person to operate a manual can opener.

My guess is that Raines gets screwed, and Gossage is the sole inductee. If Rice gets in and not Raines, I will hurt people.

http://www.amazon.com/WWE-WrestleMania-23-...376&sr=1-11 Today only, limited edition Wrestlemania set is 50% off.

It was a studio crowd inside Titan Towers! You'd think they would toe the company line but it's pretty obvious to me that Vince was putting minimal effort into the show at that point. Were they actually taping that in Titan Towers or in Baltimore like they did Primetime? I thought it was a crowd of WWE office employees but I had it confused with early 90s Prime Time Wrestling.