EVIL~! alkeiper

Read my post again. The catcher in question was Huber, and the above average pitcher is Benson. The last paragraph is meant as a summary of both moves.

I think Vazquez is as good as any other Yankee pitcher.

One week for purposes of recruitment. After that you're on your own.

Kazmir is 20 years old, and in AA. He'll probably see the Majors in 2006.

I'm stunned about Kazmir as well. Kazmir is the kind of pitcher that you trade when you pick up Randy Johnson or Carlos Beltran. In Philly we have Cole Hamels, who is at about the same level, and he's untouchable.

I got Jose Bautista confused with Denny Bautista, who I think the Royals picked up for Jason Grimsley.

Tommy John, Jim Kaat, Jack Morris, Blyleven, Luis Tiant (there's an interesting candidate), Mel Harder, Wilbur Cooper. There's a whole class of pitchers at Mays' level that deserve at least consideration.

Banks was an average player by that point. Jenkins brought them to the brink of contention, but keep in mind it was a 10 team league at that point, not easy to win. And bottom line is, their other players just weren't good enough. The Cubs had Williams, Santo and Jenkins yes. But the Cardinals had Gibson, Carlton, Brock, and Cepeda. The Mets had Seaver, Koosman and McGraw. The Cubs had tough competition.

Good news for Philly, as Gavin Floyd has been promoted to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Unfortunately, I have work that day, but I really have to try and go see him pitch.

Well, if you want a player that has an OBP nearly 200 points better than the second best hitter, you better believe you're going to pay out the ass for it.

The Royals started 16-3 last year, so the collapse actually occured a year ago.

We've got nine days left on this roadtrip. If we were at home, the boobirds could show their appreciation for Bowa's job, and that would be the end of it. As it is, I can't believe Bowa's not gone already. If a four game sweep to a sub-.500 team won't do it, what will?

Don't worry, according to espn.com's article, they've installed a NET! Oh well, there's always the chance that falling concrete strikes Bowa.

Well classic stadiums don't necessarily equal attendance. Boston didn't always sell out their games, and in the early 90s drew less than 30,000 per game. The Mets usually outdraw the Yankees when the Mets are winning and the Yankees aren't (late 80s and early 70s). There are external factors, but the number one influence on attendance is wins and losses.

I get them from Bill James' Win Shares. Currently, there's no web site that has them archived, and even looking them up in the book is a pain, as they are poorly organized. The new version of Total Baseball has them as well, and that should arrive in my mailbox any day now.

I'm not sure about sightlines, but they did remove obstructive columns.

That's funny. I could have sworn they won the division.

Strictly statistics. Similarity scores take two players, starts at 1,000 points, and subtracts points for differences in statistics. The database at baseball-reference.com is able to calculate the similarities of all players, and gives a list of the most similar players, using this method. http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/similarity.shtml On Base Percentage plus slugging percentage, adjusted for park factors and compared to the league average. 100 Is league average, 110 is 10% better than the league average, and so on.

Since two posters mentioned Trammell, and since he's a favorite, we'll run him through the motions here.... 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. Trammell led the American League in Win Shares in 1987, but this quesion isn't meant to mean in just a single year. 2. Was he the best player on his team? Yes, from 1984-90, Trammell was the best player on the Detroit Tigers. 3. Was he the best player in baseball at his position? Was he the best player in the league at his position? At times, yes. Trammell led ML shortstops in Win Shares in 1987 and 1990. He was among the leaders consistantly, falling only to Ozzie Smith and Cal Ripken, who are HOF caliber players. 4. Did he have an impact on a number of pennant races? Yes. He hit 338/399/515 in August and 321/402/432 in September to drive the '84 Tigers to the AL East crown. In 1987, when the Tigers edged the Blue Jays by two games, Trammell hit .416 in the month of September, with a .573 slugging percentage. A reasonable argument can be made that the Tigers may not have won the division if not for Trammell. 5. Was he good enough that he could play regularly after passing his prime? No. His days as a regular were gone when he was 34, but he stuck around as a role player. 6. Is he the very best baseball player in history who is not in the Hall of Fame? Doubtful. I've advocated the candidacy of Ron Santo previously. 7. Are most players who have comparable statistics in the Hall of Fame? Of the ten most similar players to Trammell, six are not yet eligible. The other four are Lou Whitaker, Ryne Sandberg, Pee Wee Reese, and Buddy Bell. Reese is in the Hall. Sandberg SHOULD be in the Hall, and his exclusion is puzzling. The most comparable player to Trammell is Larkin, a HOF candidate himself. It should also be noted that Derek Jeter's most similar player at 29 is Alan Trammell. If you asked fans, many would tell you Jeter is a HOF caliber player. 8. Do the player's numbers meet Hall of Fame standards? Not at a glance, although such numbers are biased towards first basemen and outfielders. Trammell never led the league in any offensive category (besides sacrifice hits). 9. Is there any evidence to suggest that the player was significantly better or worse than is suggested by his statistics? Yes. Trammell was an excellent fielder who won four Gold Gloves, and along with Lou Whitaker, is considered part of one of the five best double play combinations in baseball history. (Dick Groat and Bill Mazeroski, Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers, Ozzie Smith and Tom Herr, anyone I'm forgetting guys?). 10. Is he the best player at his position who is eligible for the Hall of Fame? Yes. 11. How many MVP-type seasons did he have? Did he ever win an MVP award? If not, how many times was he close? He finished second in the MVP voting in 1987, behind George Bell. The Bell award is one of the All-Time "what the heck?" moments in MVP voting, as Bell hit 47 home runs but did little else. Trammell also finished in the running in 1984 and 1988. 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? Trammell played in six All-Star games, a respectable number. 13. If this man were the best player on his team, would it be likely that the team could win the pennant? Yes, Trammell was the best player on the '84 Tigers, who are considered one of the greatest teams in baseball history. 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. Trammell was not involved in any off-the-field disputes, to my recollection. Conclusion: Alan Trammell deserves the HOF. He was overshadowed, unfairly, by Cal Ripken and the streak. He was one of the greatest shortstops in history. Bill James ranks him 8th All-Time at the position. Joe Cronin, Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto, and many others of similar quality are in the Hall. Trammell should go as well.

Tyson was the only boxer to ever beat Spinks. Larry Holmes boxed ten more years after the Tyson bout, and Tyson is still the only person who ever knocked out Holmes.

Woodward was never more than a placeholder. The Blue Jays are grooming Russ Adams, currently in AAA Syracuse.

You're right about Gene Alley. Molitor only played more than 100 games at second once in his career, so I can't see the Molitor/Yount pairing receiving significant noteriety. He is one of baseball's most underrated players. He drew walks, hit for power, and played Gold Glove defense. His OPS+ was 125, meaning he hit 25% better than the league average over his career. And this is as a second baseman.

At least at the Vet they have the decency to paint the old baseball diamond on top of the parking lot. No word on the rumor that they didn't even have to remove the turf.

Wrigley and Fenway are one thing, Yankee Stadium is another. It was practically gutted and rebuilt in the mid-70s, so it isn't like the other parks. And I've yet to see why St. Louis needs a new ballpark.

The point is the ballpark is a major franchise value in itself. There's a reason they haven't sold naming rights, and that's because it would devalue the franchise more than the revenue it would bring. That's why Yankee Stadium is important.