EVIL~! alkeiper

They're on pace to lose 94 now. They've got growth potential, and 12 of their last 48 games come against the Baltimore Orioles. I peg their chances of 100 losses at 20-25%.

Well, in March of 1995, the Strike was ongoing, with no end in strike. The owners decided to try using replacement players in order to keep a product on the field. The idea had its obvious flaws, the main one being the quality of talent. Other problems included the issues with advertisers and sponsers, who would have possible problems with their own unions for supporting the owners, and would not wish to continue with a subpar product. Training camps opened in Florida with the replacement players, and they proceeded with spring training. Peter Angelos and the Orioles did not participate. The teams planned to commence the regular season with replacement players. The plan didn't fail as much as it was usurped by the conclusion of the strike. To this day, when you play an MLBPA liscenced video game, you'll notice a handful of players missing, such as Shane Spencer, Todd Pratt, and Damian Miller. These are some of the replacement players, and as replacement players, they are barred from joining the players' union.

Anything specific? Why it didn't succeed?

Luck. The Expos were 2-4 against the Reds. I'm not saying they were worse, but in a short series, its easy for a good team to upset a very good team. An odd note. The Expos were 12-0 against the Padres that season.

I really think most of the listings are random, because otherwise they would become overly grouped by sports. For example, you'd have 5-6 straight NFL moments, followed by five MLB moments. This creates some variety. 1974, so its ineligible.

There was a thread a week ago discussing the '94 Playoffs. The Expos and White Sox most likely would have beaten their mediocre West opponents, in my view. NY beat Cleveland nine out of nine in the regular season, so they'd likely advance. Reds/Braves is completely up in the air. Slight edge to Cincy for having home field.

Unfortunately, work will keep me away until the evening, but if anyone has any questions about the specific details of the Strike, I'll be happy to answer them tonight.

Essentially. The players' Union filed a grievence claiming the owners were not bargaining in good faith. The judge agreed, and the Union agreed to return to the field under the old agreement, while a new agreement was worked upon. That agreement was reached in 1996. The Strike itself, in my view, was caused by the owners. They wanted a hard salary cap, and of course players weren't buying it. The problem was if there was no new contract by the 1995 season, owners could declare an impasse and impose their new rules. So players had no choice but to Strike. They struck in early August hoping that would leave plenty of time to renew the season, but obviously it didn't work out that way. And contrary to popular belief, most of the fans returned by 1996.

So has anyone actually seen the full Playboy interview?

The Red Barons actually had a 7 inning no hitter earlier in the year by Bob Ellis. I've got to try and make it to Scranton to see Gavin Floyd.

Also, anyone else catch Germany-China today? Germany absolutely beat the crap out of one of the best womens' soccer teams in the World, 8-0.

Tomorrow we've got a handful of men's soccer matches. Iraq makes their olympic return, playing Portugal. I smell blowout. Otherwise we have the excitement of Costa Rica-Morocco, Paraguay-Japan, and Ghana-Italy.

Randy Wolf, Eric Milton. Sometimes Brett Myers on a good day. He's young, so he'll have his struggles, but he has great potential. Vicente Padilla pitched well yesterday as well, but I'm waiting before declaring him 100% healthy. Randy Wolf has an excellent night tonight, hitting two home runs.

Good news for Phillies fans. Paul Abbott has been designated for assignment.

Reports are the Royals wanted Berroa to work on his defense, and Frank White is a coach at AA. Considering the Royals' woes this year, they should probably call up Frank White to the Majors to work with Berroa instead, and insert him in the lineup while they're at it. And (more) bad news for the Mariners. Eddie Guardado is done for the season, and Rafael Soriano needs Tommy John surgery, which will likely make him unavailable for most of next season as well.

For what it's worth, Total Baseball states the Expos lost $15 Million due to the Strike, which forced them to cut salary.

Ten years ago this week, Major League Baseball went on strike, eventually wiping out the season and the postseason as well. Now this is NOT a "who's responsible" thread. This thread is to ponder what might have been. What follows are the playoff matchups we would have seen had the Playoffs occured. Who would have won? Montreal Expos vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers Thanks to the unbalanced schedule, we have a good idea of how good/bad teams really were, as opposed to the muddled records brought by the unbalanced schedule. I think the Dodgers and Rangers would be dispatched in short order. The Dodgers had a weak bullpen, and the Rangers had no pitching whatsoever. I find the '94 Yankees interesting. Fans today bitch about their rotation. How about a postseason rotation containing Jim Abbott, Melido Perez, and Scott Kamieniecki? Still, the Yankees would have had an excellent matchup here. The Indians had only one lefty on the entire staff (Derek Lilliquist) to combat Paul O'Neill, Wade Boggs, and Don Mattingly. Moreover, the Yankees were 9-0 in the regular season against the Indians. The Reds and the Braves are the best matchup. The Reds' hitting against the Braves' pitching. They're nearly equal in the standings, and they split the season series 5-5. Better yet, the teams made a challenge trade earlier in the season, Roberto Kelly for Deion Sanders. I'm running a seven part series in my column starting next week, simulating one series per week.

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. Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson were superior players. 2. Was he the best player on his team? No. Wally Moon was better in 1961, Tommy Davis was better in '62, and from then on Wills was surpassed by Sandy Koufax. 3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position? Wills was the best shortstop in baseball from 1961-62, and the best in the National League from 1961-65. 4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races? Wills was the shortstop for four NL pennant winners, and three World Series winners. 5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime? Yes. He played regularly until he was 38. 6. Is he the very best baseball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame? No. 7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame? Three of Wills' ten most similar players are in the Hall. 8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? Not quite. Wills scores 16 on the Black Ink test, 67 on the Gray Ink test, and meets 28.6% of HOF standards. 9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics? Wills won two Gold Gloves. 10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame? No. Alan Trammell is more qualified. 11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? Wills won an MVP award in 1962 (although several others were more qualified), and finished in the top ten four times. 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? Wills played in five All-Star games. 13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant? Only in 1962, '63 and '65. Otherwise, no. 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? Yes. Wills restored the stolen base to prominence, setting a modern day steals record of 104 in 1962, and winning six consecutive stolen base crowns. The steal, dead as an offensive weapon in the '50s, skyrocketed in the '60s. 15. Did the player uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider? Wills was a petulant character, generally hard to get along with. His managerial stint was a disaster. Conclusion: Another player with a few prime seasons, but otherwise an unimpressive resume. Wills was great for four years, but nothing special in his other seasons. I say no to Wills. He just wasn't great for long enough.

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? Probably not. Dawson was overlooked because he played for the Expos, and Mike Schmidt was a superior player. 2. Was he the best player on his team? In 1981 for the Montreal Expos, and in 1987 for the Chicago Cubs. Otherwise he was overshadowed by Gary Carter, Ryne Sandberg, and Tim Raines. 3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position? Dawson was probably the best center fielder in baseball from 1980-81, and the best in the National League from 1978-81. And yes, that's CENTER field. People forget that Dawson spent half a career in center before moving to right. 4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races? Dawson played regularly for two division winners, the 1981 Montreal Expos and the 1987 Chicago Cubs. However, Dawson hit poorly in the playoffs. 5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime? Yes. Dawson played regularly until he was 38, and retired at 41. 6. Is he the very best baseball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame? No. 7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame? Five of Dawson's ten most similar players are in the Hall, and the two most similar (Billy Williams and Tony Perez) are in. 8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? Yes. Dawson scores well on the Gray Ink and HOF Standards measures. He is also in the top 30 All-Time in home runs, RBIs, and Total Bases. 9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics? Yes. Dawson won eight Gold Gloves, four as a center fielder. 10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame? You can make an argument. Its either Dawson, Dave Parker, or Tony Oliva. 11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? Dawson won an MVP in 1987, and was the runner up in 1980 and '83. 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? Dawson played in eight All-Star games. 13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant? Yes. 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? Andre Dawson challenged collusion by producing a blank contract to the Cubs, and daring them to sign him. 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. Andre Dawson was considered a class act. Conclusion: I think Dawson deserves the Hall. His excellent years are forgotten since he played in Montreal, but he was truly an exceptional player. In addition to the power, he stole 314 bases in his career. So we have a power hitting outfielder, who played Gold Glove defense and could steal a base or two. I say he's in.

By the way, I'm planning on doing a Keltner List on Martinez, but I'm holding off until my next column.

Sandberg isn't borderline. He is IN, and that the voters missed that is a disgrace.

That's true. The Mariners management had their heads planted firmly up their asses for a long time.

Most, if not all Halls of Fame contain more than simply the very elite players. In baseball, the standard disappeared very quickly in 1946 when Johnny Evers and Joe Tinker made the Hall. From then on, choosing just the elite was impossible. In any case, a strict admission criterion is undesireable, because the HOF needs inductions in order to maintain interest, and only having an induction every three years or so for an elite player would harm business.

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? Maris won two consecutive MVPs, so observers considered him the best for two years. However, Maris won the award by leading the league in RBIs, and part of that was simply having Mantle's OBP in front of him in the lineup. Mantle was always the better player. 2. Was he the best player on his team? No, although he was second best behind Mantle from 1960-62. 3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position? Maris was never the best right fielder in baseball, as Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson were better. Maris was the best right fielder in the American League in 1960 and '61, but was overshadowed afterward by Tony Oliva and Al Kaline. 4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races? Maris was the MVP for two pennant winners. He was also considered a valuable role player for the 1967-68 Cardinals. Maris hit just 217/298/368 in 152 World Series at bats. 5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime? No. Maris was out of baseball by the time he turned 34. 6. Is he the very best baseball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame? No. 7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame? No. None of Maris's ten most similar comps are in the Hall. 8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? No. 9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics? Maris won a Gold Glove in 1960, and had one of the better arms of his era. 10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame? No. Dave Parker, Tony Oliva, and Andre Dawson are better. 11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? Roger Maris won two MVPs, but never placed in the top ten in any other year. 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? Maris played in four All-Star games. 13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant? Only in 1960-61. Otherwise, no chance. 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? Maris was the catalyst for the second Dead Ball era. His 61 home runs caused the baseball establishment to overreact to the rise in offenses, and they enacted several changes which crippled offenses for the next decade. 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. Conclusion: Two years in which Maris did not dominate, but was a top hitter and set a home run record. And outside of those two years, Maris was nothing special at all. There's really no justification to place Maris in the Hall outside of the home run record.

Some more Edgar discussion. I took every first baseman in the Hall and plugged their numbers into a spreadsheet. I computed averages and compared them to Edgar. The average 1B had a 142 OPS+. Edgar's was 151. The average 1B created 1557 runs. Edgar created 1567. Total Baseball's Total Player Rating credits Edgar as 45.4 wins above average. The average is 32.5. Don't like advanced metrics? Edgar's BA, OBP, and SLG are all better than the average 1B HOFer. Edgar outhomers the average HOFer, 297 to 286. Edgar appeared in 7 All-Star games. The average HOFer appeared in seven. I think Edgar Martinez deserves the Hall.