EVIL~! alkeiper

I think I'm beginning to see potential problems with our interim closer.

I think stupid pitcher behavior is defined by Brett Myers catching a throw back from his catcher with a bare hand (his pitching hand), with a runner on third base.

In fairness, how often will the Mets need a big hit against the Phils? The term "hot start" means nothing to the Phils. If they start 1-6 again, ugh.

As far as the african-american percentage, I think the big issue is simply that football and basketball offer greater scholarship opportunities. Black athletes have plenty of opportunity, they just pursue other sports. The White Sox have Danny Richar, but he's on the disabled list. Pablo Ozuna is a temporary fix until Richar returns. Baker is an idiot, that we know. Bruce only had a 1/3 season in AAA, so that's not a big deal. Votto should be playing right now, but it's not like Hatteberg is awful. Keeping Votto on the bench though at his age is detrimental. Wellemeyer gave the Cards a 3.11 ERA right now. Reyes went 2-14 with a 6.04 ERA. I can see why the Cards would be loathe to put Reyes back in. They should trade him.

On a lighter note, Joe McEwing is the batting coach for AAA Charlotte. That makes me chuckle a bit.

Scranton/Wilkes Barre raised their single game ticket prices by $3 apiece. YAY YANKEES!!!! Fuckers.

I'd rather freeze my ass off then live another week without baseball.

I'm watching the game. Great to see Nick Johnson back in action.

A) They're going to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Not exactly a long haul. B) The Nationals are playing at 4:00, while Atlanta has a night game. I agree, though, that it makes no sense why the Braves and Nats couldn't just open with a three game series. It's not a long trip, but consider that the Phillies get to hit the Nats' #2-3 starters with Brett Myers and Cole Hamels. I shouldn't complain too much.

The Nationals at least have a fresh unjaded fanbase, and real young talent.

Checking it out, a lot of this is a gross simplification. Some of this is outright wrong.

I guess ESPN was right.

Didn't catch the Marvin/WP "I'm a more pathetic loser than you" feud, hmm? If he's thinking the way I am, we're talking in terms of mismatches.

You know, EHME attempting to debate with Marney is such a wonderful trainwreck waiting to happen that I can't help but watch.

C-Bacon, afternoon Opening Day games are a tradition. I don't have a problem with openers in midwestern locations. Last year was an unusual situation, usually the weather is not that bad. The only thing is that teams in that situation should use some common sense and schedule as many games as possible in the afternoon. It's those 40-45 degree night games that kill you. Having Atlanta/Washington tonight is a bit ridiculous. Both teams have DAY games in different cities tomorrow! If they were playing same city tomorrow, it would make more sense. I've got the Philadelphia/Lehigh Valley game taped on tv right now. Really nice park, they have kind of the Jacobs Field setup with dugout suites behind home plate.

Or because a limo driver and Pete Rose are it, while Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund aren't. Over the past few years, the WWE HoF has become more industry wide rather than WWE orientated, which makes it seem more credible. While criticism has died down over the years, and rightfully so, it's still a HoF that counts a limo driver and Pete Rose as members, when people who have made far greater contributions to the company still aren't invited. Not that James Dudley is incredibly deserving, but isn't that a bit of a harsh description?

Y2J at #3? Way too high. The list is too slanted towards current wrestling, of course. It'd be fun to come up with a list proper. Oh, and #9 and #18 are essentially the same moment.

Jack was NWA champion so that's a high standard. Jerry was definately better in the tag team. They had a great feud against Rick Steamboat and Jay Youngblood in 1983. They then had a short WWE run, with the highlight being a great match against Murdoch/Adonis in MSG in Dec. 1984.

I think it was well known that Prior wouldn't be ready until June when the Padres signed him, so this isn't a surprise. I might have addressed this before, but why the animosity? Prior may be fragile, but that's not a flaw of character. Looking at the NL Central, it seems like pitching moreso than usual will dictate the division. The Cardinals, Astros and Brewers all have potential issues with their pitching depth. The Cubs have the best frontline talent by far. The Reds have the deepest rotation, with a few options beyond the starting five. One thing forgotten about the Cards is that they have Mark Mulder and Matt Clement yet, who might come back and contribute later.

Pitchers and catchers begin reporting tomorrow. I picked up Baseball America's Prospect Guide, good read as always. I'm amazed at the number of prospects who changed hands since the book went to the printer. I'm also real tempted to go back to EA Sports' 2006 NCAA Baseball game. Dozens of players in that game are now names in the Majors and minors.

Nope

The elbow injury is being played up as breaking news, but it has been bothering him for a couple years and I know even the Tommy John eventuality was known late last season. It will knock him out of action eventually, but until it happens Pujols can still play every day at a Hall of Fame level.

The Cubs won the division with 85 wins. The Cardinals only finished seven back, that's not a lot of ground to make up. And they had a season where their third baseman missed 50 games, their shortstop missed 45 games, their catcher missed 51 games, their center fielder missed 45 games, etc. A bit of luck and things can look awfully different in a hurry. Ankiel hit 43 across two levels last year. He might post a .315 OBP to go with it, but he can certainly hit 30 home runs in a full season.

This probably isn't worth arguing, but just because you think the debate is unecessaey and tiresome doesn't mean other people do, as evidenced by the last page. Too many people do, and it floods the rest of the topics. We've got an unconfirmed, third-hand matchlist from a dvd four months away and it turns into a Benoit debate.

I can envision a scenario where the Cardinals win the Central. It's not likely, but it is not far fetched either.