EVIL~! alkeiper

The Phillies in 1970 had a heck of a run with their catchers. Catchers Tim McCarver and Mike Ryan were both injured in the same inning! Emergency catcher Jim Hutto got to fill in for a couple of days until the Phils could call up their AAA crew, Mike Compton and Del Bates. When Bates was injured the next month, the Phillies were forced to activate bullpen catcher Doc Edwards.

I feel bad for Schilling. That he had to attempt rehab at all rather than surgery was a circumstance of having a one year contract. It was detrimental and ill fated from the start. Hall of Fame? I say yes. 216 wins is at the lower end, but you have a high winning percentage, 127 ERA+ (42nd all time), and he is an amazing 11-2 in the postseason. He spent a few of his prime years with the Phillies when the offense was truly inept, keeping his win totals down. I don't sweat the counting stats if there's a HOF level peak, and Schilling certainly has it. As for Ballparks: Citizens Bank Park Veterans Stadium Yankee Stadium Oriole Park at Camden Yards

I may not be around much in the next two days, so if my turn comes up just skip me and I'll take my two matches when I get back.

Hodge had a TON of pure talent, both an amateur wrestling and boxing champion. The thing that hurts him is that in his prime, the NWA had a legitimate lightweight world championship. Nothing like that exists anymore. One name I'd be tempted to add: Joe Louis.

I'd check this one under "things that personally annoy Czech," along with the White Sox. Your constant Cubs pessimism is tiresome at times, but I'm not going to start moderating it.

Ponson's first AAA start is Saturday, which means I'll see his fat ass pitch next Thursday.

According to ESPN.com, he's 109th out of 116 in terms of run support (60 IP minimum). John Lannan is the worst, 4-8 with a 3.36 ERA thanks to 2.39 runs per game in his favor. He has pitched four consecutive quality starts and lost the last three, with a no-decision before that.

I watched again. That ball sailed in straight, hit the umpire's mask, and dropped straight down. There is absolutely nothing special about that pitch. If it hit the batter at all, he'd be awarded first base.

No need to get on the guy for making an honest mistake about a player on the team. I think the complaint about the way they fired him is how they flew him out to LA just fire him, and waited until the Mets were starting to win again, and did at 3 a.m. to hide it from the press. That's classless. Yes, it's the manner rather than the firing itself. Randolph had to fly across the country and was fired the next day. The heads on XM Radio made a great point as well, saying that it's common for the manager to leave in the afternoon, giving him a chance to gather his things, leave with dignity, and get out of dodge. Randolph would have needed to have someone fetch his belongings, walk through the airport, etc. The Mets aren't really bad, just mediocre. Their weak spots are catching, first base, corner outfield, and the back of the rotation. Losing Ryan Church to post-concussion syndrome really was unexpected. Delgado is awful, but that's the price of having an elite first baseman for that 2006 championship attempt. Honestly, I just don't think the talent is there. That would be ok if the farm system was producing, but that avenue is barren right now.

I guess good player = primadonna. And Snyder = Schneider? Shouldn't one learn the players on his own team before calling for the head of the GM?

Ripper, if the ball hit the batter first it would be a dead ball, and the runner would not be able to advance to third. If the ball hit the batter, he would immediately say something to the umpire, no? And if the catcher was looking for a low pitch, would he put his glove face down on the ground?

Wrestlemania disappeared from Sunflower's schedule as well.

Honestly, there isn't a fat pitcher that hasn't come through Scranton. Chris Britton, Heath Phillips, Ron Villone, Runelys Hernandez, Jose Veras, Colter Bean. Sidney Ponson would be an ideal addition to that rotation.

MIB, I think there is an equal mistake in assuming the AL manager does not need to dictate much strategy. People assume that the only decisions managers need to make regard playing time and when, and that is simply not true. Should a team hit and run? Steal? Play the infield in? Overshift? Swing away on 3-0 count? There's plenty of strategy in the American League, if you know where to look. An AL and NL bench are essentially the same. Backup catcher, utility infielder, spare outfielder, and either another outfielder or corner infielder, depending on who you use as your DH. The days of specialized bench construction died with the 12 man pitching staff.

Control-F and search, it'll really save you a ton of time.

Hell fucking yes.

Japanese guys are a tough go. Could a wrestler like Jumbo Tsuruta, Mitsuharu Misawa etc. get over in the States if they wrestled here full time? I think some could individually, but I couldn't see 6-7 of them in the same American promotion. I avoided listing guys who never wrestled here with any regularity. Regarding the big men and heels, there are a surprising number who are available yet. Even George "the Animal" Steele is out there.

Your reasoning is absolutely on the right track, though I personally am not a big fan of that particular song.

Czech, had I not shown my hand, what song would you have guessed?

I'll agree that the pitcher at the plate is rarely a source of excitement, but you seem to ignore the actual strategy that is involved. It has nothing to do with what happens when the pticher's in the batter's box, but rather in deciding when or when not to send him there. If a guy's struggling on the mound does a manager choose to leave him in with 2 outs because his spot's due up next inning or blow a guy out of the pen for one out? If a pitcher's doing well, but it's late in a tight game and a good scoring opportunity does he go pinch hitter to try to score or does he believe the pitcher can hang on? In the AL everything is based on the pitcher's performance on the mound and your offense doesn't have to be factored in. Look at some of Roy Hallady's complete games this year, probably none of those happen in the NL. I don't think you'll find anyone who argues that the parts you mention have some great strategy involved. I just don't think it's that big a deal. Great action in baseball comes from action on-field. Hitting, running, fielding, pitching. There is always strategy involved, but most idiot commentators these days can't explain what is going on, so you miss most of it. Defensive positioning, pitch guessing, bluffing a run, etc. From my time watching the AAA Red Barons in 2005-06, I had the unique opportunity to watch a mix of DH and non-DH games at the same park. I found the AL game preferable due to the lack of double switches (stat stringers hate that). Otherwise not much of a difference, except a tick higher offense.

Shoot. I got my titles mixed up. I'm thinking of Within You Without You.

Tomorrow Never Knows is a title that might fit you.

Fresno State's miracle run continues, they are now 2-0 with a win over UNC. One more win will put them in the finals. The remaining schedule: Wednesday: Stanford vs. Miami, 7pm (Elimination Game) Thursday: UNC vs. LSU, 7pm (Elimination Game) Friday: Georgia vs. Stanford, 2pm. Fresno State vs. UNC/LSU, 7pm. Saturday: Games if necessary. With the double elmination format, Georgia and Fresno State need to win once while their opponents need to win two straight. Finals run June 23-25, all games at 7pm.

I'll narrow it down to three. Things We Said Today, She's Leaving Home and Penny Lane.

Team USA Baseball announced their final roster of invitees. This is not the Olympic team, rather the amateur team that represents the country in many competitions no one cares about. http://www.mlb.com/usa_baseball/article.js...am_invites_2008 The reason I point this out is because of a young infielder from Baylor U. named Shaver Hansen. Most of you are familiar with his father, Stan.