EVIL~! alkeiper

I wouldn't take the PR hit. Warts aside, Howard is a valuable piece of the Phillies' image. No long term deal though. Keep going to arbitration for three years if need be, and let him hit the market afterwards.

And to add, I think we're crossing signals a bit. You always want your team to win a championship. You just can't expect it to happen as your birthright.

Oh of course. You have every right to be disappointed. Where the problem comes in this scenario is where the fans call for the head of the coach or star player for that failure. It's unrealistic expectations.

Exactly. And remember that this approach for the Phillied DID win a championship. They didn't go all in, just kept a good team together and they got hot. Which makes the big championship push in MLB so ridiculous. It takes a truckload of money and guarantees absolutely nothing. Stay competitive and hope good things happen. And if not hey, the Yankees still broke an attendance record. How are the Marlins drawing?

If he's upset he's misguided. Howard only played 90 games in AAA, it was only a news story because Jim Thome looked like such a significant mountain at the time. Chase Utley spent 271 games in AAA. I never heard him whine about it. And god it's infuriating even today to look at those stat lines.

Agree with Cheech's point about loss =/= choke as well. It amazes me how people get upset over the lack or loss of a championship. It's a 30-32 team process, only one team can win. It is really difficult, and there is an equally talented team on the other side trying just as hard. I don't think championships mean much anymore given that we're in the realm of 3-4 round playoffs. Particularly in MLB, where many of the traits that won the regular season (i.e. depth) do not mean as much. And heck, if you put an All-Star game together of champions vs. non-champions, it probably isn't clear who is better. It's better to have a contender rather than shoot for a title and then stink. I follow my team on a day-to-day basis. My season isn't geared up just for a few nights in October, it's my life. Winning a championship really isn't everything. The joy is in the hunt.

$18 million?! Seriously? Let's take a look at Cot's. First basemen The highest-paid active first basemen, by average annual value: There is one first baseman in baseball making more than $18 million. The Phillies countered with $14 million, making the break-even salary $16 Mil. Justin Morneau has about the same service time and finished second in the AL MVP voting. I got burned last year, but I really can't see the Phillies losing this case. And all this for a first baseman who didn't finish in the top ten in OPS.

WM 2 worked at the time because it was commonplace to go to an arena/theatre for a closed circuit show. PPV wasn't tremendously widespread then, so the appeal was not only a live card, but a CC broadcast of the rest of the event. It might be worth another shot with the brand extension though. One card for raw, another for Smackdown.

Checking past Prospect Handbooks, BA writes that Adam Jones was moved because of Yuniesky Betancourt. Of course, he's also blossomed to a potential gold glover there whereas he was just average as a shortstop. I wouldn't pull the trigger on it, I think it would be harmful to change Jones' position yet again.

I picked up a few tickets for a house show in Wilkes-Barre next month. It's been awhile since I've been to a pure wrestling show.

Scott will not net the Orioles a significant pitcher. The Orioles have to hope that their improved defense gives their pitching a boost, and that their good young pitching prospects continue to develop.

Gotta throw in one of my co-worker's rantings about her husband. Seriously, unless you're planning on getting back at him by sleeping with me, I really don't care.

The Cubs dealt Felix Pie to the Orioles for Garrett Olson and another minor leaguer. Pie is a good pickup for the O's, though they already have a good young center fielder in Adam Jones. Garrett Olson could turn out to be a John Maine type starter.

Amen to the jobs. I had dinner last night with a bunch of friends, 3/4ths of whom work in education. The weather. I know it's cold out. I'm not impressed that you survived it.

Tough crowd.

Out of curiosity, what would be Bagwell's best ever match?

Yeah, Dusty Rhodes and Jerry Lawler both had significant feuds with Terry Funk. And Dory's trained so many guys (and girls) that you could easily pick a presenter there.

Basically my argument is that he was one of the ten best pure hitters of this generation. Had a .418 career OBP, as well as 514 career doubles. In a seven year stretch from 1995-2001, he hit .329/.446/.574. That's unquestionably a Hall of Fame peak. The two arguments against him are fielding and career length. I'd argue that 2,000+ games is not too few for a Hall of Famer. As for defense, no one else with those kind of numbers is kept out regardless of their defense.

1999

What a bizarre stretch for Lewis that was. First he had that McCall fiasco. Then he fought Henry Akinwande in a fight where Akinwande was actually DQ'ed for holding too much. And then a one round KO of Andrew Golota.

That turned out well.

The federal government over the last several years has spent millions trying to prosecute athletes, giving plea bargains to those who actually sold and distributed drugs in the process. It's time for this madness to end.

That would be a loss for the Brewers no doubt. Uecker is excellent, but he's also about to turn 74.

Game six of the 2004 NLCS. Astros tie the game in the ninth, Cards win in the 12th on Edmonds' home run. The win forced game seven for the Cards. Also game five was a scoreless game until Jeff Kent's three run walkoff in the bottom of the ninth. Here's the Mariners/Indians game. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CL...200108050.shtml