EVIL~! alkeiper

I'm a fan of Soccer but I only can really get into it during the World Cup. MLS doesn't have a Philly team, and I can't bring myself to cheer for a team based in New Jersey. The quality of play in MLS simply doesn't match the standards of the rest of the world, and that hurts the sport in this country. I do think soccer is an exciting sport, particularly if you have a rooting interest in one of the teams.

Other teams are well represented. As stated before, we have MarvintheLunatic and DrTom supporting the Orioles. Spaceman Spiff, Pinjockey, and myself are the big Phillies fans. Bored and NoCalMike cheer the Oakland Athletics. Treble cheers the Blue Jays. MrRant shakes his fist in rage at his beloved Mariners. When the Man In Blak makes an appearance, he supports the Cardinals. Kkktookmybabyaway roots for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Once in a great while, Bob Barron drops in with his Braves love. Obviously, we have a diverse group of fans.

Given Ramon Martinez's hitting, there's obviously been a mistake. He's really Ramon Martinez the pitcher, and its time for the Cubs to install him as their new closer.

The Padres have some pitching depth, and the division absolutely sucks at this point. I think they can win it.

And here come the pies.

Tomas Perez wins it for the Phillies!

That's ridiculous. They're not giving him an award to make up for not playing him. They're making up for making a fool out of him in front of his peers. There's a difference.

Its Liberal PC to get pissed off when you publicly humiliate a 14 year old kid?

Hasegawa's just as bad as Borowski. No need for a trade. Just install Hawkins as the closer, and move the bullpen guys up a notch.

Hawkins performed poorly as the Twins' closer, but he has really taken his game to a new level in the last two years. He's not the same pitcher he was in 2001.

Its maddening because they have LaTroy Hawkins anyway.

Team chemestry is a load of crap. Mondesi's teams have made the playoffs three times. He's an underachiever and not mature, but that effects his performance, not his teammates. Vlad Guerrero is not going to lose 20 points off his batting average because Mondesi is a big poopy-pants.

http://yesnetwork.com/yankees/news.asp?news_id=235 Steven Goldman's column for the YES Network site. Goldman suggests DHing Jorge Posada on days he does not catch.

A word of clarification. Mondesi's salary ($1,750,000) is the same that he received with the Pirates. One difference is that I don't think this contract has the buyout the Pirates contract held. So Mondesi loses $600,000 out of the deal. For the Pirates, it was an opportunity because they had Jason Bay and Craig Wilson, and didn't need Raul Mondesi. They saved money without risking team quality. If a player held real value, the team would never void his contract.

From a strictly baseball standpoint, Raul Mondesi is not much better than Jeff DaVanon, from whom he'll likely take at bats. The Angels need infielders more than they need outfielders.

I passed because I wasn't sure he'd get playing time. I have Eric Chavez anyway, so Youklis wouldn't have helped much. Justin Morneau was a great pickup however. And the Cleveland Indians decided to make Jose Jimenez their closer, so I grabbed him as well.

Beane was actually a first round draft pick. Beane's career stats.... http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/beanebi01.shtml

Picking up Zach Greinke was a real coup in the AL only league. This kid is special.

From the "Interesting For No Apparent Reason" Files. Jesse Orosco has pitched, but less than 5 IP, for three different clubs. The Twins, Yankees, and Cardinals.

Correct. Kind of sad on the Devil Rays' part.

Johnson (Arizona) and Penny (Florida) are correct. Moyer trails Randy Johnson on Seattle's list by 9 wins.

Here's a trivia question. Three pitchers active in baseball lead their respective franchises in wins all-time, and still pitch for those clubs. Who are they?

Did the Cubs sign the wrong Ramon Martinez? If so, they should consider letting this one pitch.

How often do you use every bench player though?

Hell, why didn't they use an actual hitter?