EVIL~! alkeiper

Bagwell isn't the Astros problem right now. His OPS is 818. Ken Harvey's OPS is 805, and he's considered a success. Here are their problems, the way I see it..... 1. Unacceptable offense from two positions, catcher and shortstop. Adam Everett (257/296/343) and Brad Ausmus (237/292/314) are absolutely dragging this team's offense. There are probably ten guys in AAA who could outhit Brad Ausmus. The Astros need to face facts and find a new catcher. 2. Andy Pettitte has been a relative bust. He's missed half the season so far, forcing the Astros to reach deeper into their pitching depth. 3. That aforementioned pitching depth isn't there. The Astros cast aside extra starters such as Jerome Robertson and Kirk Saarloos. Tim Redding has pitched horribly this season. Brandon Duckworth has given up 10 home runs in less than 30 innings. An injury to Wade Miller exacerbates the rotation's problems. 4. A complete lack of organizational depth. Only Chris Burke and Taylor Buchholz raise eyebrows. The Astros need to fill those black holes in their lineup, and find an innings eater starter.

MLB Radio will air the Astros announcement live at 2pm.

Bob Feller was also unhappy with the selection of Ali, for different reasons.... http://redsox.bostonherald.com/otherMLB/vi...articleid=35569 MLB should really just use the DH all the time in the All-Star game. No one wants to see a pitcher hit in the game, and we're just kidding ourselves by having one. Home field should simply alternate each year like it used to. Proponents like to trumpet that the home team hasn't lost Game Seven in a Series since 1979, but overall, the home team wins 52% of the time in the playoffs. That's not so significant that it creates a real problem.

Does that mean anything? Anyone COULD be traded before the deadline.

Bill James' Win Shares Baseball Prospectus' Value Over Replacement Player Those are the two best player evaluation stats I've seen.

As for the All-Star game. First off, picking a location based on future stars is a sure formula for failure. Second, anyone who's ever been to St. Louis in July knows why they haven't had an All-Star game recently. That said, they'll almost certainly get the game in 2006 or '08, with the new park.

Well, competitive balance only became a problem when Selig took the job in the first place. Attendance wasn't a problem until Selig took the job. All the problems that Bud Selig "fixed," were created by Bud. Teams like Minnesota and Montreal can't compete? It was the economic incentives of the '95 Labor agreement that encouraged them to stop spending money on their teams so they could get a big, fat check from MLB. The Wild Card has done nothing more than create five new playoff games. It does not make the regular season more exciting, and it make the LCS and World Series worse, by giving inferior teams a chance to make it. What keeps teams competitive despite inbalances in payroll isn't revenue sharing, its the amateur draft. Any team, no matter how financially desolate, controls their players for the first six years of their careers. For the vast majority of players, this is where they have their best seasons. That's what keeps baseball competitive.

Brenly and Torre ran out of pitchers after eleven innings.

This has absolutely got to be the worst managed All-Star game in quite some time. And I include 2002 in that statement.

At least I have the AAA All-Star game to watch tomorrow. Calvin Pickering is playing, and I have to wonder what he's still doing in AAA. .332 batting average, with 28 home runs. Red Barons have four players in the game.

But if they somehow tie the game, then what? I can't wait to see them crying to Selig again that they ran out out pitchers.

Fuck. What's the point of wasting time changing relievers with a five run lead?

You know, take out that horrible first inning, and this would be a good game.

Glavine isn't even in the top four of NL starters. Clemens, Johnson, Sheets, and Schmidt are all better.

The "this time it counts" vibe is killed when Fox decides an interview is more important than the actual game.

Figures I'd spend most of Abreu's at bat staring at Eric Gagne. Fuck Fox.

On the bright side, maybe this game will put the home field rule to rest.

So if the game really counts, why would you play Moises Alou over Bobby Abreu? Or take Bonds out of the game?

I stopped watching, and I've just got the espn.com gamecast going on my computer. Fox has completely zapped all of the enjoyment out of baseball.

I would not, because I don't want to see the Phillies deal their prospects.

ESPN has a full slate of games today, and with it being the holiday, I thought we'd try a thread just for today's games, and start a different thread for the rest of the week. On tap today.... Cincinnati @ St. Louis (ESPN, 2:05pm) Cory Lidle vs. Chris Carpenter Colorado @ San Francisco (ESPN2, 4:05pm) Aaron Cook vs. Brett Tomko NY Mets @ Philadelphia (ESPN2, 7:05pm) Tom Glavine vs. Paul Abbott Houston @ San Diego (ESPN2, 10:05pm) Roger Clemens vs. Brian Lawrence

I'm sick of this courting Johnson nonsense. He's not a free agent, and I don't see any possible way the Red Sox or Yankees could offer a worthwhile package for him. I'm keeping an eye on the Anaheim Angels. If they decide they want him, they have him. They have Casey Kotchman, Dallas McPherson, or Jeff Mathis, and any of those guys could bring in the Unit. Ultimately, however, the D'backs will be worse next year if they trade Johnson. They should hold on to him.

Well, if you don't count Joe Morgan calling Tejada the best shortstop in the league about eight times, sure. I was more referring to them letting Reggie hijack the broadcast with his "Jeter is a true gamer" blabber.... You mean how they let him hijack the broadcast while repeatedly reminding him (and getting him to admit) that Tejada is the better shortstop. I assume you're trying to make some kind of point, but it's getting lost in the usual anti-Yankee whining. Or, possibly, it is only the Yankee whining and there really is no legitimate point. God knows that never gets old. Its more annoyment with Reggie than anything Yankees. Its a pattern of his......

Any truth to the rumor that Royals scouts were in attendance for this game?

Watching the celebrity softball game. Always nice to see Ozzie Smith back at work.