EVIL~! alkeiper

Let's see. McDowell did pitch poorly in the playoffs in his career, so you've got a point there. Alvarez pitched well the year before in the playoffs, however, so I see no reason he'd crumble. Alex Fernandez pitched well in the postseason as well. Meanwhile, Texas had NO rotation depth outside Brown and Rogers. At some point, they would have to put Hector Fajardo or Roger Pavlik on the mound. If Brown and Rogers don't give them a 2-0 lead, they're fucked. Henke doesn't help unless you keep it close. Kevin Brown would only get two starts (and that's if it goes five games), and Pudge only gets 4 at bats a game. I won't deny that the Rangers had their strengths. But they ranked dead last in pitching. That sort of thing tends to bite you in the ass when you make the Playoffs.

Check it out!

Care to provide an explanation? That's a bold statement to make about a sub-.500 team.

Absolutely. Although in all fairness, the Cards rotation is not as bad as people think. Its solid albeit unspectacular.

In what sense? I don't quite understand.

The Cards are on pace to win 106 games. The last team to do that was the 1998 Braves. In the last 25 years, the '86 Mets are the only other team to win that many.

They won't, but the Cards offense is leaps and bounds better than the Cubs. Everyone says pitching wins championships, but I still maintain that's a load of crap, and I hope the Cards shove it down their throats. And it is worth mentioning that the Cardinals have a better bullpen.

I've never seen where managers wearing the uniform was any problem at all. In addition, it helps to identify them via uniform numbers, and by their team. As for tradition, its worth noting that Connie Mack managed in a coat and tie.

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? Highly unlikely. Certainly not with DiMaggio, Musial, and Mays as his peers. 2. Was he the best player on his team? No. Hodges was never the best player on his team in any year. 3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position? A reasonable statement can be made that Hodges was the best first baseman in baseball from 1949-53. His reign ended when Stan Musial moved to first base. 4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races? Situational data is unavailable, but Hodges did play regularly for six NL championship teams, and two World Series champions. 5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime? Yes. 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 Hodges ten most similar players are in the Hall, and all are eligible. 8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? No. Hodges scores only 2 on the Black Ink test, and those were for leading the league in games played. 9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics? Hodges won three gold gloves. He also managed the NY Mets to a World Championship in 1969, but its worth noting that none of his other teams won more than 83 games. 10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame? Doubtful. I think Don Mattingly, Keith Hernandez, and Dick Allen are on a higher level. 11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? Hodges finished in the top 10 of MVP voting three times, never finishing higher than seventh. 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? Hodges played in eight All-Star games, a good number. 13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant? In a good season, 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? None apparent. 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. Hodges was one of the most beloved players of his era. Conclusion: Hodges was a very good player, but he's not a HOF-caliber player. He didn't rack up the career totals necessary, and voters of his day did not consider him an extremely valuable player, as evidenced by his MVP votes. Much of Hodges' candidacy is based on sentimentality, rather than statistics.

All of that adds up to very good. There's a higher standard to achieve to reach the Hall, and I don't see where Hodges qualifies.

Millwood might be out for the season, Wagner is pegged to return in September, Abbott can't find the strike zone, we traded a reasonable pitching prospect for Doug F'n Jones, and we're 5.5 games out. This season is one step away from disaster.

Quite the opposite actually. The other leagues spoiled it for baseball by demonstrating what athletes were actually worth on the free market. While baseball had the reserve clause, football had competition with the NFL and AFL, and basketball had the NBA and ABA. The other leagues were forced to compete for players, thus driving salaries. This led the players to realize they were getting screwed. And I think the unseen effect of Moneyball and the Oakland A's is that there are a LOT less dumb contracts being thrown about recently.

I would tend to agree. That this was the poster's first post makes it very suspicious.

I'll add him to the hat. I have a list, and players are selected randomly.

Maddux wins his 300th game. Congratulations to him.

Its 8-4 thanks to an Alou HR.

Neifi Perez up with runners at 1st and 2nd, 0 out. Assuming Perez bunts, I actually agree with it here. Correction, it was Deivi Cruz at bat.

The Cubs now lead 6-4, and Maddux is the pitcher of record. Maddux is out of the game, going into the 7th.

Giants lead 3-0.

Greg Maddux goes for win #300 today. So thanks to Fox's arcane airing setup, Fox 38 has a local gold tournament, Fox 5 is showing MASH, and no Cubs/Giants game in sight.

Do I want to know?

Lofton hit .333 with a .409 OBP in Atlanta. And that's considering he left a hitters' park in Cleveland for a pitchers' park in Atlanta. His steals and home runs fell, but bring in other improvements into the equation, and he was every bit as valuable as in his other seasons.

Have you been treates to the "Scooter's favorites" graphic yet? Don't think I have, thankfully.

The Red Sox drafted Hatteberg in 1991. Wade Boggs left at the end of 1992. That's the only overlap I saw. I'm guessing Hatteberg was invited to Spring Training in 1992, where he would have encountered Wade Boggs. The book doesn't refer to them actually playing or training together outside of spring training.

I hate that fucking baseball. I mean Jesus, three year olds have already grasped the concept of the fastball.