EVIL~! alkeiper

Personal picks. That's my ballot. Sorry if I didn't clarify that.

I'm not getting my hopes up for a starting gig obviously. I just want to see him on the team. He's 3rd in OPS, so even if Bonds or Berkman didn't make it, he should still make the reserves. As Leo Durocher said, "you don't save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it might rain." Besides, if you won't use your bullpen, then what the heck do you keep 6-7 guys on it for?

Once again, Loss proves he is truly one of our class acts.

By the way, here's a rundown of my All-Star ballot.... -The AL leader in OPS among first basemen is Paul Konerko?! I never would've guessed that. With Frank Thomas on the ballot, however, Thomas gets the nod. -The two leaders in OPS among second basemen, Juan Uribe and Mark Bellhorn, are not on the ballot. I give the nod to Rafael Belliard here. -Carlos Guillen takes the nod at shortstop. Take a look back at my season preview and note what I wrote about the Mariners. They spent $1.5 Million because they didn't think Guillen was good enough. His replacement, Rich Aurilia, is hitting 242/304/346. -Hank Blalock over A-Rod, in a close one. -Ivan Rodriguez, and its not even close. 381/422/568, and seven for seven in steal attempts. -Manny Ramirez, Vlad Guerrero, and Gary Sheffield. -In the NL, Jim Thome at first. A bit of homerism here, but he leads NL first basemen in home runs, OPS, slugging percentage, and runs created. -Jeff Kent at second. Its close, but Kent is established, and its his home park. -Jack Wilson at short, despite his abysmal walk rate. There are simply no other qualified candidates. -Scott Rolen at third. -Mike Piazza at catcher. He only plays half his games at catcher, but he's outhitting the rest of the ballot, and we need him for the Clemens/Piazza battery. -Lance Berkman, Barry Bonds, and Bobby Abreu. If Abreu doesn't at least make the All-Star roster, then something is seriously wrong.

I would've pulled him. Abbott isn't good enough to trust with the game. The problem is his usage. Geary is good enough to pitch in close games. Yet Bowa only uses him when the Phillies are way down or way ahead. And managers insistance on saving closers for the ninth is maddening. The Phillies needed their best pitcher on the mound. Worry about the ninth later. The way Jimy Williams used Brad Lidge this afternoon (tie game, 0 out, 2 on in the 8th) is ideal.

Just a reminder that the MLB Online Balloting ends tonight at Midnight Eastern.

Jesus, teams leave guys on base all the time. EVERY team in baseball leaves guys on base. And despite this LOB "problem," the Sox still manage to score alot of runs. They never do it with consistency, though. For every game they score 12 runs, it seems like the next day they leave 8 guys on base and lose 4-3. So how do you fix it? If there's no real solution, then its just something that happens, rather than an identifyable problem.

Can someone explain to me why Billy Wagner is nowhere to be seen?

Jesus, teams leave guys on base all the time. EVERY team in baseball leaves guys on base. And despite this LOB "problem," the Sox still manage to score alot of runs.

And what do you do to solve this problem? Better hitters? Ortiz was supposively clutch MVP God last season/

Brad Lidge is pitching almost as well as Eric Gagne this season. Getting that run across was no easy task.

The Wonder Team of Nomah, Bob Holly, Bellhorn and Pokey play like they did last night tonight and tomorrow, and they have collapsed. 8 and a half out, 9 in the loss column, and it's basically over. The thing is, they don't have to beat the Yankees to make the playoffs. And their Runs Scored/Allowed differential is very good. If they make a move, it could be a panic move which makes the club worse in the future.

Now we'll see if Lidge's 24 pitch inning slows him down. Leading off with Ordonez isn't a good start however.

BWAHAHAHAHA! Oh, come on, at the very, VERY least you have to mention their disgusting fielding. I (A Yankee fan) was actually embarassed for them at the end of the night. All teams have weaknesses. I'm just saying the Sox aren't in danger of collapsing right now.

Exciting game in Chicago so far. Tied at 2 in the 9th.

Probably, but I'll listen to your argument. They still score 5.43 runs per game. They lead the league in OBP. A juggernaut offense is not the reason not play small ball. Small ball is simply not an effective strategy even for the most punchless of teams. Doubtful. They'd be giving up outs, and thus opportunities to drive those runners in. 8th in the league in runs scored. Someday, someone is going to have to explain to me how you suicide squeeze with two outs. It wasn't a sacrifice. He was bunting for a hit. They're fifth in runs allowed, and the third and fourth teams have only allowed three runs less. The Sox W/L percentage is third best in the league right now, behind New York and Texas. Their pythagorean W/L pct. is second best behind Chicago. There are no problems with the Sox right now. They aren't getting the breaks, but that stuff levels out over time. Giving up outs is not going to help.

Actually, the NFL won't let ESPN Classic show full games. Just the NFL Films stuff.

Its true that the Twins usually outperform their runs scored and allowed. But this season they allowed more runs than they've scored. That simply cannot hold up. Particularly when the closest competitor is only about a game behind.

So the League starts out by asking for ridiculous concessions, and its the players' fault somehow?

I've got Midway Arcade Treasures for my PS2. Games include Spy Hunter, Defender, Defender II, Gauntlet, Joust, Joust II, Paperboy, Rampage, Robotron 2084, Smash TV, Bubbles, Roadblasters, Rampart, Sinistar, Super Sprint, Marble Madness, 720, Toobin', KLAK, SPLAT!, Satan's Hollow, Vindicators, and Root Beer Tapper.

Runs Scored/Runs Allowed.... Minnesota 343/357 Chicago WS 416/349 I think it was only a matter of time before the Sox pulled away, regardless of any moves they made. Minnesota's record is much better than it should be. When a pitcher pitches in an extreme pitchers' park like Safeco Field, you have to look at the splits. Look at Chan Ho Park. Park pitched fantastic in Dodger Stadium, but wasn't so good elsewhere. Yet the Rangers gave him 5 years/$60 Million. And he tanked. "Ace makeup" I've never believed in, because for one it should show up in the stats, and two, I keep hearing the same thing about Kevin Millwood. If you look at Garcia's numbers, the big difference this season is that he's keeping the ball in the yard. You have to believe that is going to change in Comiskey. Its not that Garcia will pitch bad in Comiskey. But the Sox gave up their best position prospect, and their catcher for a three months of an average to above average pitcher. It just doesn't seem intelligent.

Newhan is an odd player. I've looked over his minor league stats, and I don't know what to make of them. He's a career 281/347/417 hitter in exactly 1,000 at bats in AAA, with 25 home runs, and 40 steals in 52 attempts. He only played 20 games in 2001-02, so its hard to judge his recent history. In any case, I don't think this hot streak will last. Newhan's best suited as a utility infielder, but probably a good one.

David Bell hits for the cycle!

It depends on whether they offer them arbitration. If they do, there's the risk they'll accept and stick around.

Aren't we jumping the gun slightly? Besides, the fact that at least nine teams (assuming we go by standings) will get better players out of the deal, simply because they suck, greatly disturbs me. I feel like I'm getting screwed. And what player does the commissioner happen to get out of this deal?