EVIL~! alkeiper

Adam Eaton is pitching for the Low A Blueclaws tonight. Guess who's trailing 2-0 in the 2nd.

This is probably a good debate for the off-season, but let's just say Andruw is dead and done as a contributing major leaguer. Does he have any shot at the HOF with 370 homeruns and 10 years of amazing defense? Yes, for the reason that his defense coincided with the greatest team pitching staff of all time.

I like the Manny trade for all involved. Honestly, there is an argument that Jason Bay alone is a better player than Ramirez right now. He's a bit behind Manny at the plate, but he's a better fielder and baserunner. The Sox are not losing much at all. The Pirates get some decent guys that needed a change of scenery. Any 24 year old who can slug .500+ in the IL has a future.

Arthur Rhodes to the Marlins for Gaby Hernandez. A starting pitching prospect for a LOOGY?

I'm glad I'll be at work for the duration of the trade deadline. Trades themselves are interesting, rumors are tiresome. And there's something to be said for an event that gives a hack like Will Carroll an audience, just because people are desperate for information.

It should remain hidden until Griffey agrees to the deal. Otherwise if he blocks the trade, it makes things quite awkward.

I can just imagine Graham cutting a similar line at the returns desk at Target or something.

Phillies are back in first place!

Matt Cusick. Astros aren't exactly mortgaging their farm here.

I get the feeling Wade is acting on orders from management. He was never this delusional in Philadelphia.

Theo Epstein is working on a remake of No, No, Nanette? Heh, not quite. Besides being a slugger and pitcher, Ruth was one of the biggest clubhouse distractions in baseball. He set his own training rules, punched umpires, drank, caroused and showed up more or less when he wanted.

To put things in perspective for Red Sox fans, this was more or less the same reason the team felt they should trade Babe Ruth.

Holy !#%^, Cheech is back! And I'd wait until the Sox actually make a bad Manny trade before eviscerating them.

Farnsworth had a fine half-season in Detroit in '05. He's well suited for that park, remember they have deep power alleys.

He played in 1 game for the Yankees in April this year. Stewart's the regular catcher in Scranton. Only thing notable is that he has quite a small head for a 6'5" body.

They get brownie points for having a bikini-clad Mickie James introduce the clips. A bit of eye candy is nice from time to time, but it's tiresome when the shorties consist of five clips lasting less than ten minutes apiece.

A mini-MLB draft is in the works. Instead of the whole of MLB history for this one, we are going to focus solely on the New York Yankees. Why the Yankees, a team I despise? They simply have the talent necessary to sustain this kind of idea. I'd run Phillies, but who is going to get excited over Fred Luderus? We have five entrants. Myself, Canadian Chris, Smues, Brooklyn Zoo and 161st and River. One more person can join in if they are interested. Here are the basics. 1. 21 man rosters (eight position players and a DH, three reserves, five starters, three relievers, and a manager) 2. You draft a player's career ONLY as a Yankee. If you draft Randy Johnson, you're getting 34 career victories. 3. A player may only be chosen either as a manager or player. A player may not be chosen twice for each role. Two exceptions, Hal Chase and Clark Griffith may be player-managers. 4. All home parks are assumed to be Yankee Stadium. Results Round One CC: Babe Ruth Al: Mickey Mantle Bored: Lou Gehrig BZ: Joe Dimaggio Smues: Alex Rodriguez 161st: Bernie Williams Round Two 161st: Whitey Ford Smues: Yogi Berra BZ: Mariano Rivera Bored: Derek Jeter Al: Charlie Keller CC: Bill Dickey Round Three CC: Tony Lazzeri Al: Lefty Gomez Bored: Red Ruffing BZ: Don Mattingly Smues: Spud Chandler 161st:Ron Guidry Round Four 161st: Jorge Posada Smues: Jason Giambi BZ: Thurman Munson Bored: Reggie Jackson Al: Joe Gordon CC: Andy Pettitte Round Five CC: Goose Gossage Al: Allie Reynolds Bored: Rickey Henderson BZ: Dave Winfield Smues: Roger Clemens 161st: Roger Maris Round Six 161st: Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez Smues: Mike Mussina BZ: Earle Combs Bored: Ed Lopat Al: Phil Rizzuto CC: Paul O'Neill Round Seven CC: Bobby Murcer Al: Elston Howard Bored: Graig Nettles BZ: Tommy Henrich Smues: Casey Stengel (manager) 161st: Dave Righetti Round Eight 161st: Willie Randolph Smues: Sparky Lyle BZ: Wade Boggs Bored: John Wetteland Al: Herb Pennock CC: Bob Shawkey Round Nine CC: Jimmy Key Al: Bill Skowron Bored: Hideki Matsui BZ: Joe McCarthy (manager) Smues: Mel Stottlemyre 161st: Waite Hoyt Round Ten 161st: Joe Torre (manager) Smues: Tino Martinez BZ: Catfish Hunter Bored: Tommy John Al: Gil McDougald CC: David Cone Round Eleven CC: Home Run Baker Al: Roy White Bored: Alfonso Soriano BZ: Vic Raschi Smues: Robinson Cano 161st: Lou Piniella Round Twelve 161st: Hank Bauer Smues: Frankie Crosetti BZ: Tony Kubek Bored: David Wells Al: Carl Mays CC: Chien-Ming Wang Round Thirteen CC: Mike Stanton Al: Johnny Murphy Bored: Gary Sheffield BZ: Bobby Richardson Smues: David Justice 161st: Clete Boyer Round Fourteen 161st: Jeff Nelson Smues: Gene Woodling BZ: George Selkirk Bored: Steve Howe Al: Miller Huggins (manager) CC: Don Baylor Round Fifteen CC: Kid Elberfeld Al: Bob Meusel Bored: Billy Martin (manager) BZ: Al Downing Smues: Ben Chapman 161st: Wally Pipp Round Sixteen 161st: Jack Chesbro Smues: Mickey Rivers BZ: Bob Turley Bored: Butch Wynegar Al: Steve Hamilton CC: Nick Etten Round Seventeen CC: Jerry Mumphrey Al: Urban Shocker Bored: Ron Davis BZ: Fritz Peterson Smues: Hal Chase 161st: Bob Wickman Round Eighteen 161st: Roberto Kelly Smues: Clark Griffith BZ: Joe Page Bored: Ralph Terry Al: Ryne Duren CC: Lindy McDaniel Round Nineteen CC: Johnny Blanchard Al: Mike Stanley Bored:Roy Smalley BZ: Red Rolfe Smues: Joba Chamberlain 161st: Ron Blomberg Round Twenty 161st: Tom Tresh (or Shane Spencer) Smues: Wally Schang BZ: Joe Girardi Bored: Ron Hassey Al: Snuffy Stirnweiss CC: Randy Velarde Round Twenty-One CC: Ralph Houk (manager) Al: Birdie Cree Bored: Tim Raines BZ: Ramiro Mendoza Smues: Tom Gordon 161st: Rick Cerone Round Twenty-Two (Relief Pitchers) 161st: Shane Spencer Smues: Lee Guetterman BZ: Dick Tidrow Bored: Hal Reniff Al: Steve Farr CC: Jack Aker

What's with Yankee fans and fretting their eighth inning guys? Joking. The Yankees' bullpen is really in good shape yet with Veras, Ramirez and Robertson. This is an odd trade. The Yankees' had a glaring weakness at catcher, acquiring Pudge makes sense. But both teams dealt players in their last seasons. The Tigers get two months of a reliever in exchange for two months of a catcher. You'd think they would at least get a prospect in the swap.

DAMN HIM STRAIGHT TO HELL For Cabrera to hit a batter intentionally would suggest that he has some semblance of control. That is obviously false. Now if he gets one over the plate, THEN he should get tossed for headhunting.

A note from Jim Callis of Baseball America in the "Ask BA" column. I personally still am interested in Olympic baseball (it IS baseball after all), but I agree with his opinions. The new rules are ridiculous.

I like the deal from both sides. The Angels have the best record in baseball. With Vlad Guerrero possibly beginning to slide, they need to go balls out to win a title. The Braves get three years of a strong young first baseman, and a reliever with some upside (Marek has dealt with extremely difficult pitchers' environments the last two seasons).

If Cot's information is correct, he will not reach free agency until after 2011.

Jayson Stark reports a Jason Donald for Ron Mahay deal possibly in the works. Donald would will the Royals' gaping organizational void at shortstop. Mahay would gives the Phillies an actual relief pitcher. For kicks here is my favorite Jason Donald picture.

Teams draft players at their amateur defensive positions. In this case, McLouth played second base in high school. You find a few guys who played second base in college, fewer in high school. I looked over the period from 1993-99. In those years, eight high school second basemen were drafted and reached the majors. Brandon Watson, Willie Harris, Marcus Giles, Aaron Miles, Jerry Hairston, Edwin Diaz, Jose Vidro and Frank Catalanotto. These players have a couple things in common. * They are all short. Watson is the tallest at 6'1". Giles, Miles and Harris are all 5'9" or shorter. * Except for Watson, all of them primarily played second base in their pro careers. When they did not, they usually moved left on the defensive spectrum to either left field or first base. * Only Vidro and Giles made All-Star teams. Most had cups of coffee or spent careers as reserves. I get the feeling high school second basemen who make it are Rudy types. Guys without the raw ability to play short, and not big enough to justify using at the prime offensive positions. Yet they stick it out, work hard and force their way into action.

This month 24/7 has ten WarGames matches in total. Here's a catch-all thread for discussion. I watched '93 for the first time this morning. Definately a let-down. You want a double-cage blowoff match to be something epic. This went maybe two minutes after Ottman entered the ring, and the faces were never even threatened by then! Four heels standing at the end, none of them bloodied at all.