EVIL~! alkeiper

Teams benefit from home field, but rarely to that degree. Its often forgotten, but Fenway Park in the 70s had the highest park factors for offense in the American League.

Then I say they match him and send his ass down to the minors where he can sit till he rots. Can he be sent down? No. If they tried sending him down then they would basically being designating him for assignment. Which means they have 10 days to trade him to a team that makes a waiver claim or give him his outright release. To clarify, if he were to clear waivers, they could send him to the minors if they wished. But since Johnson's situation doesn't appear to effect his performance, there's no reason to do it.

Where the fuck does that come from? I'm sorry if I didn't cowtow to you on the Pedro argument but get over it! Anyway the last thing they were supposed to do was squeak by in the West and get bitchslapped out of the playoffs by a team that came out of nowhere in Baltimore. That might have been more to their lackluster pen but Johnson and Moyer getting lit up the first two games and scoring a grand total of eight or nine runs the whole series didn't help either. Plus you had Randy Johnson beginning to mope about a new contract as well. It's called not being ready to play, you might not call it chemistry--then again you're also the one saying Enrique Wilson is just as good as Derek Jeter in the 9th inning with 2 on and 2 out down by two--but it's something. Point is you have to have more than an 'all-star' team. It might be the manager, it might be something else, but it's there. Call it what you want. I guess the '99 Dodgers would be a more clear example eh? You do need more than an All-Star team. But that's not an issue of team chemestry. That's an issue of having to field a player at every position. The '97 Mariners had great players. Johnson, Griffey, and Rodriguez at least are going to the Hall. But they also had Joey Cora, left field by committee, and a complete lack of pitching outside of their three best starters and Bobby Ayala. That's not a problem of team chemestry, that's a problem of talent. And that Wilson/Jeter comment is asinine. When have I EVER said anything remotely resembling that comment? I do not believe in clutch hitting ability. That said, Jeter is better than Wilson in that situation. Not because Jeter hits in the clutch, but because Jeter is just a better hitter. And no, the '99 Dodgers are not a better example. Their hitting was near the bottom of the league and their starters were weak outside of Brown and Valdes. Seriously dude, a debate consists of intelligent points and counter-points. You grasp for straws at everything you argue, and you easily venture off topic. Phrase your arguments better.

The Mariners lost to a team with 98 wins. How is that an example of ANYTHING?

A's beat the Mariners for their fifth game in a row, and Mark Mulder wins his 14th. They stand just a game behind Texas, who they play for a four game series this weekend.

Ankiel to start rehab The interesting part is that the Cards plan to bring Ankiel to the big club when rosters expand in September. God bless those LOOGYs. In all seriousness though, I hope Ankiel can get his career back on track.

Bobby Cox isn't in the top 500 of the last 25 years. He'd be overrated, but that would mean that anyone not a Braves fan would have to actually rate him somewhere. Seriously his ability to turn a powerhouse into a nearly could have is absolutely astounding. I'm a Phillies fan, and I consider Bobby Cox the best manager of the last twenty-five years. Nine consecutive division titles, and twelve out of thirteen. He's 60-52 in postseason games with the Braves, and 12-11 in postseason series. Plus, he led the Toronto Blue Jays to their first division titles, and came within one game of the World Series. He's 9th ALL TIME in wins. He'll likely retire in the top 7. To leave him off this list is a travesty.

I've never seen him hit anyone, or get arrested. So he's surly to the media. Big deal. If I had to deal with the media on a daily basis, I'd sure as hell get annoyed at them.

www.baseball1.com has a historical archive available through 2003. I don't know anyone who has the current stats however.

You most certainly do. Take a look at the Sox' Home and Away splits for 1975-79..... 1975 H 281/353/445 A 269/335/391 1976 H 288/348/449 A 238/301/355 1977 H 300/367/516 A 264/325/417 1978 H 291/362/475 A 244/310/375 1979 H 306/368/521 A 261/321/395

I don't understand the Sutter love. He only pitched for twelve seasons, and he was above-average in eight of those. He had a great peak, but what separates him from other closers, such as Dan Quisenberry, Jeff Montgomery, or even John Franco? As for the veterans' committee, first off I don't think Hodges deserves the Hall. In an 18-year career, he never finished higher than 7th in the MVP vote. NONE of his most similar players are in the Hall. As for the '69 Mets, sure he deserves a little credit, but the team finished third the next two seasons. He wasn't a great manager. Good perhaps, but good doesn't make the Hall. I'm not sure this new veterans' committee will elect anyone, quite honestly. They'll likely need to revamp the system in the near-future.

The Astros should keep Beltan, hold out in hopes of a playoff run, and offer arbitration at the end of the season. At worst, they'll get an extra two first-round picks in return.

Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen. Bullpen deals are the WORST, because you give up quality talent for guys who are going to give you about 20-30 innings. And I agree with Anglesault. Team chemestry can't even really be quantified, much less become a tool to help you win pennants.

Ugueth Urbina. Of course, I agree with the overall sentiment. Deadline deals are somewhat overrated. I don't mind a thread for discussing rumors. If an actual trade comes down, it should get its own thread.

I was responding more to the poster who believed that was the most accurate hypothesis.

I should clarify the HOF Monitor. It is not meant to determine HOF worthiness. Its purpose is to predict HOF enshrinement, based on previous voting patterns. So batting titles, for example, carry more weight than any toll James would usually employ.

Jesus Christ. I see NO evidence that Giambi's health condition was caused by steroids. Do you have ANY evidence beyond the BALCO allegations?

But what about Ken Griffey?

I'm writing up the D'backs for next week's column, and I wanted to throw this out before the trade deadline. The D'backs are on pace for 111 losses. If they trade Finley and Johnson, I honestly think they could give the '62 Mets a run.

Perhaps the lack of names on the jerseys.

Skeptical, I checked the stats. It's true. Derek Lowe's career ERA on artificial turf is 5.93, and 3.38 on grass. He also has an interesting second half split. 4.09 career ERA in the first half, and 3.34 in the second half. Despite the difference in ERA, his opponents' batting average only differs by one point between the two halves.

One minor detail. Embree was in line to pitch, with Matsui at bat.

Given that Rice has missed induction since 1994, I doubt he's going in. I can't see endorsing an outfielder who's only 84th in slugging, and not in the top 100 in OBP. And that's after you account for the inflation he got from playing in Fenway Park. Here's some examples. In 1977, Rice hit 39 home runs, leading the American League. He hit 27 at home, and 12 on the road. He slugged .683 at Fenway, and .509 on the road. In 1978, he had his MVP season, hitting 46 home runs. He hit 28 of those at home. In Fenway that season, Rice hit 361/416/690. On the road, he hit 269/325/512. His HOF candidacy is just an illusion of Fenway Park.

Eric Gagne started 24 games in 2001, finished with a 6-7 record and a 4.75 ERA. Eddie Guardado, Tim Worrell, Rocky Biddle and many others had their turns as starters, and weren't very good. Meanwhile, John Smoltz and Dennis Eckersley are the only two closers I can think of who were respectable starters. As for the three you mentioned. I have alot of respect for Gagne. He is, easily, one of the best closers I have ever seen. But he's been a closer for three years. Three years does not make anyone a HOFer. Hoffman's been around for 11 years, and Rivera's been around for 10. How many starters have pitched just 10-11 years and made the Hall? None in the last twenty years, and I can really only think of two in modern times: Dizzy Dean and Sandy Koufax. I think relievers need to pitch at a high level for about 15 years before garnering consideration. A tough standard perhaps, but the Hall should be tough.

My preseason column is linked in my signature. My paragraph on the Mariners was one of the longest in the column, and I don't even mention the Mariners losing Arthur Rhodes. One post in December shows I was surprised the Mariners didn't offer Arthur Rhodes arbitration. And how exactly would it have been ironic? After reading your column, you pretty much nailed on the head the Mariners problems this year (except Raul Ibanez who, while healthy, was one of the best players on the team this year). What no one could tell was the Mariners were gonna go through an extremely injury prone year. Then, they will release Jon Olerud (potential future Hall O' Famer) and Rich Aurilia (the second coming of Jeff Cirillo). Joel Pineiro (the M's best pitcher EVER in terms of ERA) just went down with a torn ligament in his pitching arm and will be out for a year and a half! Well, goodbye hopes for next year. Good thing I'm moving out to California where, while the stadium atmospheres suck, there will be some winning teams. Edit: Oh yeah, we got rid of McCracken pretty fast, too. Or is he injured? McCracken's back with the Diamondbacks now, who are apparently gluttons for punishment. And just to update Pineiro, the Mariners backed off the announcement that he would need the ligament transplant, so it shouldn't be 12-18 months. Still, he'll be out at least this year I presume.