EVIL~! alkeiper

It seems odd for Mick to bitch about Marc Mero's contract to that extent. I always wondered if he wanted to bitch about Sable's contract but didn't want to come out and create trouble (considering Sable was still a top star at its writing).

'01 Mariners 2, '46 Red Sox 1 WP: Kazuhiro Sasaki (1-0) LP: Bob Klinger (0-1) Sv: Norm Charlton (1) Ichiro's RBI single in the 7th put the Mariners ahead 1-0. The Red Sox tied the game in the bottom of the eighth thanks to an RBI double from Rudy York. Carlos Guillen smacked an RBI single in the top of the ninth to give the Mariners the lead again. Norm Charlton shut down the Red Sox in the bottom for the save. '95 Braves 6, '06 Twins 0 WP: Greg Maddux (1-0) LP: Johan Santana (0-1) Greg Maddux pitched a complete game shutout, surrendering just one hit to Michael Cuddyer. Jeff Blauser and Dwight Smith both collected two RBIs for the Braves in the victory. Mariners 1-0 Braves 1-0 Red Sox 0-1 Twins 0-1 Play-by-Play Lineup: 01 Sea. Suzuki RF Guillen SS Boone 2B Cameron CF Martinez 1B Buhner LF Wilson C Bell 3B Garcia P Lineup: 46 Boston Moses RF Pesky SS Dimaggio CF Williams LF York 1B Doerr 2B Higgins 3B Wagner C Hughson P Inn. 1: 01 Sea. [Starter] Hughson Suzuki 6-3 . . . Guillen 8 . . . Boone K . . . Inn. 1: 46 Boston [Starter] Garcia Moses 4-3 . . . Pesky 2B . X . Dimaggio 1B . X . X@4:Pesky 7-2 . X . Williams BB . X X York 6-4 F X . X Inn. 2: 01 Sea. Cameron 2B . X . Martinez BB . X X Buhner 4-3 X X . Wilson K X X . Bell K X X . Inn. 2: 46 Boston Doerr 6-3 . . . Higgins K . . . Wagner 4-3 . . . Inn. 3: 01 Sea. Garcia 4-3 . . . Suzuki K . . . Guillen 1B . . X Boone 6-4 F . . X Inn. 3: 46 Boston Hughson 8 . . . Moses BB . . X *SB:Moses SB . X . Pesky 9 X . . Dimaggio 6-3 X . . Inn. 4: 01 Sea. Cameron BB . . X Martinez 9 . . X *SB:Cameron SB . X . Buhner 4 . X . Wilson 7 . X . Inn. 4: 46 Boston Williams BB . . X York K . . X Doerr K . . X Higgins BB . X X Wagner 3UN X X . Inn. 5: 01 Sea. Bell E-1 . . X Garcia 3-1 SAC . X . Suzuki 9 . X . Guillen 9 . X . Inn. 5: 46 Boston Hughson 6-3 . . . Moses 7 . . . Pesky BB . . X Dimaggio 5-3 . X . Inn. 6: 01 Sea. Boone K . . . Cameron BB . . X Martinez 6-4 F . . X Buhner 8 . . X Inn. 6: 46 Boston Williams 8 . . . York K . . . Doerr 8 . . . Inn. 7: 01 Sea. Wilson 1B . . X Bell 2 . . X Garcia 3-1 SAC . X . Suzuki 1B . . X 1 Guillen 1B . X . X@3:Suzuki 8-5 . X . Inn. 7: 46 Boston Higgins 1B . . X Wagner 2-3 SAC . X . *EX:Hughson (for PH) *PH:Metkovich 3-1 X . . Moses 2-3 X . . Inn. 8: 01 Sea. [Relief] Klinger Boone 1B . . X Cameron K . . X Martinez K . . X Buhner 6-3 . X . Inn. 8: 46 Boston [Relief] Rhodes Pesky 4-3 . . . Dimaggio 1B . . X Williams 7 . . X [Relief] Nelson York 2B . X . 1 Doerr BB . X X Higgins HBP X X X [Relief] Sasaki Wagner K X X X Inn. 9: 01 Sea. Wilson 8 . . . Bell 7 . . . *EX:Sasaki (for PH) *PH:Olerud 1B . . X *EX:Olerud (for PR) *PR:McLemore Suzuki 1B X X . Guillen 1B . . X 1 X@4:Suzuki 9-2 . . X Inn. 9: 46 Boston [Relief] Charlton *EX:Klinger (for PH) *PH:Culberson 5 . . . Moses 8 . . . Pesky 8 . . . 03-17-2007 19:37:17 # 1 --------------------------------------------------- Lineup: 95 Braves Grissom CF Blauser SS Jones 3B McGriff 1B Justice RF Klesko LF Lopez C Smith DH Lemke 2B Lineup: 06 Min. Castillo 2B Punto 3B Mauer C Cuddyer RF Morneau 1B Hunter CF White DH Tyner LF Bartlett SS Inn. 1: 95 Braves [Starter] Santana Grissom 4-3 . . . Blauser 1B . . X Jones BB . X X McGriff 6-4-3 DP X . . Inn. 1: 06 Min. [Starter] Maddux Castillo 5-3 . . . Punto 3-1 . . . Mauer 7 . . . Inn. 2: 95 Braves Justice 9 . . . Klesko 1B . . X Lopez E-2 . X X Smith K . X X Lemke 9 . X X Inn. 2: 06 Min. Cuddyer 2B . X . Morneau 6-3 . X . Hunter BB . X X White K . X X Tyner K . X X Inn. 3: 95 Braves Grissom 8 . . . Blauser K . . . Jones K . . . Inn. 3: 06 Min. Bartlett K . . . Castillo 3-1 . . . Punto 6 . . . Inn. 4: 95 Braves McGriff K . . . Justice 1B/E-7 . X . Klesko 1B . . X 1 Lopez 8 . . X Smith 3B X . . 1 Lemke 1-3 X . . Inn. 4: 06 Min. Mauer 8 . . . Cuddyer 4-3 . . . Morneau 6-3 . . . Inn. 5: 95 Braves Grissom 4-3 . . . Blauser 4 . . . Jones 8 . . . Inn. 5: 06 Min. Hunter 6-3 . . . White 4-3 . . . Tyner 9 . . . Inn. 6: 95 Braves McGriff K . . . Justice HR . . . 1 Klesko BB . . X WP . X . Lopez 1B X . X Smith 8 SACF . . X 1 Lemke 4UN F . . X Inn. 6: 06 Min. Bartlett K . . . Castillo 6-3 . . . Punto 8 . . . Inn. 7: 95 Braves [Relief] Crain Grissom 8 . . . Blauser BB . . X Jones 1B . X . X@3:Blauser 9-5 . X . McGriff 9 . X . Inn. 7: 06 Min. Mauer 7 . . . Cuddyer K . . . Morneau K . . . Inn. 8: 95 Braves [Relief] Reyes Justice K . . . Klesko 7 . . . Lopez 4-3 . . . Inn. 8: 06 Min. Hunter K . . . White K . . . Tyner K . . . Inn. 9: 95 Braves [Relief] Rincon Smith BB . . X Lemke 3-6-3 DP . . . Grissom 2B . X . Blauser HR . . . 2 Jones 4-3 . . . Inn. 9: 06 Min. Bartlett 4-3 . . . Castillo 6-3 . . . Punto BB . . X Mauer 3UN . X .

I don't think it's a "win now" type of team. The Dodgers have a few prospects ticketed, and they're employing a strategy of using veterans as stopgaps until they are ready. They have James Loney, Matt Kemp and Andy Laroche for the lineup, and Chad Billingsley and Scott Elbert coming for the rotation. Clayton Kershaw looks promising but he's years away yet. The Dodgers don't need to rush.

I know Liriano's inclusion is bound to cause some controversy. I could have taken him out, but then you have to apply the rules for all teams. Do the '82 Brewers miss Rollie Fingers? What about the '75 Red Sox and Jim Rice? Red Faber and the '19 White Sox? It would be prohibitively time-consuming to check for injuries on every single team.

06 MIN. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Batting Name Avg G AB Runs Hits TB 2B 3B HR RBI SH SF HB BB SO SB CS SB% GIDP ERR OB Slg HR% OPS TAvg RC/27 Baker, Scott R 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Baker Bartlett, Jason R .282 21 78 13 22 29 5 1 0 8 1 1 0 5 12 0 0 0.0 2 2 .325 .372 0.0 .697 .607 4.15 Bartlett Bonser, Boof R .000 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Bonser Castillo, Luis B .348 21 89 13 31 37 6 0 0 9 2 0 0 11 7 6 2 75.0 0 1 .420 .416 0.0 .836 .900 7.52 Castillo Crain, Jesse R 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Crain Cuddyer, Michae R .299 21 87 17 26 44 7 1 3 24 0 2 0 7 19 0 0 0.0 0 0 .351 .506 3.4 .857 .836 6.90 Cuddyer Eyre, Willie R 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Eyre Ford, Lew R .500 4 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 0 .500 .500 0.0 1.000 .500 0.00 Ford Guerrier, Matt R 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Guerrier Hunter, Torii R .303 21 76 14 23 45 5 1 5 16 0 2 0 11 18 0 1 0.0 2 2 .391 .592 6.6 .983 1.037 7.93 Hunter Kubel, Jason L .286 4 7 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 2 0 .286 .429 0.0 .714 .600 0.00 Kubel Liriano, Franci L .143 5 7 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 .143 .143 0.0 .286 .167 0.64 Liriano Mauer, Joe L .322 21 87 19 28 44 5 1 3 16 0 2 0 9 12 0 0 0.0 4 1 .385 .506 3.4 .891 .898 6.63 Mauer Morneau, Justin L .329 21 82 13 27 46 10 0 3 15 0 0 0 10 13 0 0 0.0 4 1 .402 .561 3.7 .963 1.018 7.98 Morneau Nathan, Joe R 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Nathan Punto, Nick B .287 21 87 14 25 29 2 1 0 8 5 1 0 7 16 0 0 0.0 1 3 .340 .333 0.0 .674 .581 4.12 Punto Radke, Brad R 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Radke Redmond, Mike R .667 3 3 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 .667 .667 0.0 1.333 2.000 36.00 Redmond Reyes, Dennys L 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Reyes Rincon, Juan R 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Rincon Rodriguez, Luis B .000 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Rodriguez Santana, Johan L .333 6 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 2 .333 .333 0.0 .667 .500 3.42 Santana Silva, Carlos R 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Silva Tyner, Jason L .225 21 71 4 16 19 1 1 0 9 2 2 1 1 8 0 1 0.0 2 1 .247 .268 0.0 .514 .375 1.83 Tyner White, Rondell R .300 19 60 8 18 31 7 0 2 9 1 0 1 1 9 0 0 0.0 3 0 .323 .517 3.3 .839 .786 5.07 White TEAM TOTALS: .299 745 118 223 332 49 6 16 116 15 10 2 62 119 6 5 54.5 20 13 .355 .446 2.1 .800 .763 5.41 Pitching Opp Opp Opp Opp Name W L S BS ERA G GS CG ShO Inns Hits Runs ERun HR HB BB SO SO/9 Avg Slg OB OPS Baker, Scott R 0 1 0 0 27.00 3 0 0 0 4.3 16 14 13 1 0 1 2 4.15 .593 1.000 .607 1.607 Baker Bonser, Boof R 2 1 0 0 6.15 5 5 0 0 26.3 32 18 18 4 2 4 15 5.13 .305 .476 .342 .819 Bonser Crain, Jesse R 1 0 0 1 2.03 10 0 0 0 13.3 10 4 3 1 0 2 10 6.75 .200 .340 .231 .571 Crain Eyre, Willie R 0 0 0 0 4.50 4 0 0 0 4.0 5 2 2 0 0 1 4 9.00 .313 .313 .353 .665 Eyre Guerrier, Matt R 0 0 0 0 10.80 3 0 0 0 3.3 7 5 4 2 0 2 1 2.70 .412 .824 .474 1.297 Guerrier Liriano, Franci L 4 0 0 0 1.85 5 5 0 0 34.0 19 8 7 2 0 6 29 7.68 .158 .267 .198 .465 Liriano Nathan, Joe R 1 0 8 0 0.56 14 0 0 0 16.0 5 1 1 0 0 4 20 11.25 .098 .157 .164 .320 Nathan Radke, Brad R 1 1 0 0 4.82 5 5 0 0 28.0 39 16 15 3 2 5 11 3.54 .322 .488 .359 .847 Radke Reyes, Dennys L 0 0 1 0 7.50 7 0 0 0 6.0 6 5 5 0 0 4 8 12.00 .261 .348 .370 .718 Reyes Rincon, Juan R 3 1 1 0 4.82 12 0 0 0 9.3 12 5 5 0 0 3 7 6.75 .308 .359 .357 .716 Rincon Santana, Johan L 4 1 0 0 1.58 6 6 2 1 45.7 29 9 8 3 1 12 35 6.90 .175 .283 .235 .518 Santana Silva, Carlos R 0 0 0 0 15.43 2 0 0 0 2.3 5 4 4 2 0 2 2 7.71 .417 1.000 .500 1.500 Silva TEAM TOTALS: 16 5 10 1 3.97 2 1 192.7 185 91 85 18 5 46 144 6.73 .248 .392 .296 .688

The Ultimate World Series The series runs for six days. Each team will play two games, one home and one away, against each of the other three teams. The team with the best record will win the championship. In the event of a tie, there will be a one-game playoff for the title. If three teams are tied, the third seed will play the second seed, with the winner playing the first seed. If all four teams are tied, first plays fourth and second plays third, with the winners playing for the title. The seedings will be determined by regular season winning percentage. 1. 2001 Seattle Mariners (CriplerCrosface9) 2. 1946 Boston Red Sox (humanoid92) 3. 1995 Atlanta Braves (Smeus) 4. 2006 Minnesota Twins (Vern Gagne) Finals schedule: Friday '01 Mariners @ '46 Red Sox '95 Braves @ '06 Twins Saturday '01 Mariners @ '95 Braves '46 Red Sox @ '06 Twins Sunday '01 Mariners @ '06 Twins '46 Red Sox @ '95 Braves Monday '46 Red Sox @ '01 Mariners '06 Twins @ '95 Braves Tuesday '95 Braves @ '01 Mariners '06 Twins @ '46 Red Sox Wednesday '06 Twins @ '01 Mariners '95 Braves @ '46 Red Sox

95 BRAVES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Batting Name Avg G AB Runs Hits TB 2B 3B HR RBI SH SF HB BB SO SB CS SB% GIDP ERR OB Slg HR% OPS TAvg RC/27 Avery, Steve L .400 4 5 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 .400 .400 0.0 .800 .667 5.67 Avery Belliard, Rafae R 1.000 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1.000 1.000 0.0 2.000 .000 0.00 Belliard Blauser, Jeff R .234 17 64 7 15 24 3 0 2 9 0 0 1 13 20 0 0 0.0 1 1 .372 .375 3.1 .747 .776 5.36 Blauser Borbon, Pedro L 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Borbon Clontz, Brad R 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Clontz Glavine, Tom L .556 4 9 0 5 6 1 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 .556 .667 0.0 1.222 1.500 17.60 Glavine Grissom, Marqui R .243 17 74 11 18 31 2 1 3 7 0 0 0 5 10 4 1 80.0 0 1 .291 .419 4.1 .710 .702 4.54 Grissom Jones, Chipper B .188 17 64 6 12 16 1 0 1 5 0 0 0 13 17 0 0 0.0 0 3 .325 .250 1.6 .575 .558 3.27 Jones Justice, David L .203 17 59 13 12 25 1 0 4 9 0 0 0 14 17 0 0 0.0 2 0 .356 .424 6.8 .780 .830 5.19 Justice Kelly, Mike R 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Kelly Klesko, Ryan L .345 17 58 13 20 32 4 1 2 9 0 0 0 13 9 0 0 0.0 4 1 .465 .552 3.4 1.017 1.184 9.29 Klesko Lemke, Mark B .167 17 60 5 10 12 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 7 8 0 0 0.0 2 0 .265 .200 0.0 .465 .400 1.72 Lemke Lopez, Javy R .343 17 67 12 23 47 3 0 7 19 0 0 0 3 15 0 0 0.0 1 2 .371 .701 10.4 1.073 1.136 10.24 Lopez Maddux, Greg R .083 5 12 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 0 0 0.0 0 0 .083 .250 0.0 .333 .273 0.60 Maddux McGriff, Fred L .328 17 67 7 22 29 4 0 1 6 0 0 2 6 11 0 0 0.0 3 0 .400 .433 1.5 .833 .822 6.29 McGriff McMichael, Greg R 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 McMichael Mercker, Kent L 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Mercker Mordecai, Mike B .000 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Mordecai O'Brien, Charli R .667 6 6 1 4 8 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 .667 1.333 16.7 2.000 4.000 72.00 O'Brien Schmidt, Jason R 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Schmidt Smith, Dwight L .250 11 16 1 4 7 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 2 3 0 0 0.0 1 0 .333 .438 0.0 .771 .750 4.08 Smith Smoltz, John R .143 4 7 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 .250 .286 0.0 .536 .500 2.54 Smoltz Wohlers, Mark R 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 .000 .000 0.0 .000 .000 0.00 Wohlers TEAM TOTALS: .263 570 80 150 245 24 4 21 75 3 2 4 77 123 4 1 80.0 14 8 .355 .430 3.7 .785 .784 5.47 Pitching Opp Opp Opp Opp Name W L S BS ERA G GS CG ShO Inns Hits Runs ERun HR HB BB SO SO/9 Avg Slg OB OPS Avery, Steve L 2 1 0 0 4.50 4 4 0 0 22.0 22 11 11 0 3 9 14 5.73 .259 .353 .351 .703 Avery Borbon, Pedro L 0 0 0 0 4.91 4 0 0 0 3.7 5 2 2 1 0 0 6 14.73 .333 .600 .333 .933 Borbon Clontz, Brad R 0 0 0 0 2.25 4 0 0 0 4.0 5 1 1 0 0 0 4 9.00 .294 .412 .294 .706 Clontz Glavine, Tom L 2 1 0 0 3.21 4 4 0 0 28.0 29 10 10 1 1 11 19 6.11 .266 .349 .339 .687 Glavine Maddux, Greg R 4 1 0 0 2.37 5 5 1 1 38.0 30 10 10 1 0 7 25 5.92 .210 .315 .247 .561 Maddux McMichael, Greg R 0 0 0 0 3.97 11 0 0 0 11.3 13 5 5 2 1 6 7 5.56 .289 .489 .385 .874 McMichael Mercker, Kent L 0 1 0 0 0.00 2 0 0 0 3.7 3 1 0 0 0 2 2 4.91 .214 .214 .313 .527 Mercker Schmidt, Jason R 0 0 0 0 0.00 2 0 0 0 1.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 .000 .000 .000 .000 Schmidt Smoltz, John R 3 1 0 0 2.54 4 4 0 0 28.3 13 9 8 3 3 12 26 8.26 .130 .240 .243 .483 Smoltz Wohlers, Mark R 1 0 5 0 0.00 10 0 0 0 9.7 8 0 0 0 0 3 12 11.17 .222 .222 .282 .504 Wohlers TEAM TOTALS: 12 5 5 0 2.82 1 1 150.0 128 49 47 8 8 50 115 6.90 .225 .327 .297 .625 Fielding Games-By-Position Name Tot P C 1B 2B 3B SS LF CF RF DH Errs Assts POs Pct% Avery, Steve 4 4 - - - - - - - - - 0 1 0 1.000 Avery Belliard, Rafae 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 Belliard Blauser, Jeff 17 - - - - - 17 - - - - 1 56 26 .988 Blauser Borbon, Pedro 4 4 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 Borbon Clontz, Brad 4 4 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 Clontz Glavine, Tom 4 4 - - - - - - - - - 0 3 2 1.000 Glavine Grissom, Marqui 17 - - - - - - - 17 - - 1 1 51 .981 Grissom Jones, Chipper 17 - - - - 17 - - - - - 3 24 16 .930 Jones Justice, David 17 - - - - - - - - 17 - 0 3 29 1.000 Justice Kelly, Mike 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 Kelly Klesko, Ryan 17 - - - - - - 17 - - - 1 0 31 .969 Klesko Lemke, Mark 17 - - - 17 - - - - - - 0 49 33 1.000 Lemke Lopez, Javy 17 - 17 - - - - - - - - 2 7 118 .984 Lopez Maddux, Greg 5 5 - - - - - - - - - 0 4 0 1.000 Maddux McGriff, Fred 17 - - 17 - - - - - - - 0 10 139 1.000 McGriff McMichael, Greg 11 11 - - - - - - - - - 0 2 2 1.000 McMichael Mercker, Kent 2 2 - - - - - - - - - 0 1 1 1.000 Mercker Mordecai, Mike 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 Mordecai O'Brien, Charli 0 - - - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 O'Brien Schmidt, Jason 2 2 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 Schmidt Smith, Dwight 4 - - - - - - 1 - - 3 0 0 0 1.000 Smith Smoltz, John 4 4 - - - - - - - - - 0 5 1 1.000 Smoltz Wohlers, Mark 10 10 - - - - - - - - - 0 1 1 1.000 Wohlers TEAM TOTALS: 8 167 450 .987

I wouldn't be too enthralled with a cable channel. What I love about 24/7 is that I can watch at my leisure. I'm the type of person who likes to watch an hour at 6am before work.

Let me respond in this manner. Offense: The Yankees will probably not score 930 runs again. 2002-05 they scored 875-900 runs as a team every year and that seems like a reasonable figure to project. And that is just fine. Remember that along with Abreu, they are also looking at a full season of Hideki Matsui. As far as Mientkiewicz goes, first base was not bad because the Yankees placed Jason Giambi there. Mientkiewicz isn't replacing Giambi, he's replacing Andy Phillips. There seems to be some notion that Mientkiewicz is an awful hitter. We're not talking Neifi Perez here. Mientkiewicz hit .283/.359/.411 last year. That's in line with his career totals. And remember that he will be platooned. Defense: It's not what he provides above average, it's what he provides above Giambi. That is a big improvement. I'm not tremendously high on defensive metrics in part because they don't figure in opportunity cost (a non-play not only allows a hit, but a new batter). I don't know if you can put a number on it. What I see is that you have a team that finished first in runs scored but sixth in runs allowed. Improving what side of the ledger will win more ballgames? Pitching: The key is depth. Individuals are not world-beaters on their own. But the Yankees frequently found themselves scraping the bottom of the barrel. Last year included 11 starts from Shawn Chacon and five memorable appearances from Sidney Ponson. If you have depth, you might not get those lights-out performances, but you avoid losing games because your latest fifth starter couldn't cut it. Pennants are won and lost on those type of issues.

Absolutely. The Red Sox from 1946-50 were an excellent team and could have won a couple championships if things broke differently. They lost the '46 World Series of course as humanoid92 mentioned. They finished tied with the Indians in 1948 but lost a one-game playoff. They lost the 1949 pennant to the Yankees by one game after losing the last two games of the season head-to-head. Three more wins and we're talking about a team with three league championships and at least one World Series win.

1995 Atlanta Braves (Smeus) vs. 1986 New York Mets (Naiwf) '95 Braves 3, '86 METS 0 WP: Greg Maddux (3-1) LP: Ron Darling (1-3) A two-out, bases loaded error by Ray Knight led to two unearned runs. Greg Maddux pitched a complete game shutout for the victory. Ron Darling delivered a quality start. Chipper Jones collected the only RBI of the game. '95 Braves 4, '86 METS 3 WP: Tom Glavine (2-1) LP: Bob Ojeda (1-3) Sv: Mark Wohlers (5) Tom Glavine drove in two of the Braves' four runs. The Mets threatened in the eighth but David Justice threw out Kevin Mitchell trying to score on a sacrifice fly attempt. '95 BRAVES 9, '86 Mets 5 WP: John Smoltz (3-1) LP: Sid Fernandez (2-2) Javy Lopez collected four RBIs and Fred McGriff added three of his own. Lopez hit his seventh home run of the tournament. The Braves now lead the series three games to none. '86 Mets 4, '95 BRAVES 3 WP: Dwight Gooden (5-0) LP: Kent Mercker (0-1) Sv: Roger McDowell (6) Mookie Wilson went 4 for 4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Jeff Blauser drove in all three of the Braves' runs. '95 BRAVES 7, '86 Mets 0 WP: Greg Maddux (4-1) LP: Ron Darling (0-4) Another fine performance from Greg Maddux, who pitched eight scoreless innings. Marquis Grissom led off the game with a home run and collected four RBIs. '95 Braves win series 4-1 Greg Maddux pitched a total of seventeen scoreless innings in the series. The Braves' pitching simply overpowered Mets' hitting. The Braves become the last team in the finals. With this portion of the tournament concluded, the tournament MVP award is awarded to Ted Williams, who hit .324/.467/.718, with seven home runs and 22 RBIs. Separate statistics will be kept for the finals. Up Next: Finals!

As an aside, it is all but announced that Jon Papelbon is the Red Sox' closer again.

Looking over Howard's intentional walks through late August, 15 of 21 came with two outs. Except for that Cincy game, Howard mostly walked with first base open, situations where it made strategic sense to walk a hitter of his caliber. Might he get walked less with a better hitter behind him? Of course. But how often can you add a superstar of that caliber? But if the guy behind the hitter is a tougher out, then Howard is no longer the superstar we're discussing. I grant that concept of protection. What I debate is whether or not Bonds would have a better season depending on whether it was Jeff Kent or Edgardo Alfonzo hitting behind him.

I disagree. These new prospect laden Yankees scare me. I know it seems like heresy among statheads to like Doug Mientkiewicz, but the Yankees saw awful production at first base and he is still an offensive upgrade. That he can play defense as well is gravy. I would like to see someone do a study on the diminishing value of offense. Meaning that once you score 930 runs in a season, exactly how many more do you really need? I believe you can punt offense for defense at one position, and if that position is first base your offense is probably in good shape. Then you have the pitching. This season they added Andy Pettitte and Kei Igawa for depth. Behind them they have Jeff Karstens, Darrell Rasner, and then prospects Phil Hughes and Tyler Clippard (I'm not including Humberto Sanchez due to injury concerns). The bullpen last year of three effective pitchers is bolstered by Chris Britton and Luis Vizcaino. And there are 3-4 more relievers in AAA who can contribute. The Yankees' pitching staff is far deeper than they've been at any point in the last five years. That staff was their Achilles' heel in the past, and now it's fixed.

Watching the Phillies/Red Sox on ESPN. The announcers were discussing the notion of protecting Ryan Howard. Apparently Pat Burrell needs to prove he can be a run producer, or Howard won't see pitches to hit. It amazes me this kind of thing still receives merit. Ryan Howard spent last year with either Burrell (.258/.388/.502, .222 with RISP) or Aaron Rowand (.262/.321/.425, .248 with RISP) batting behind him. He hit .313 with 58 home runs, scored 104 runs and drove in 149. Protection does not exist. If you have a player who has an offensive zero batting behind him, he will get walked. Witness this game last season where the Phillies double-switched with the spot behind Howard and Howard saw three intentional walks in extra innings, two of which moved the winning run in scoring position. Otherwise there is no impact on the batter at the plate. Once the manager decides whether or not to pitch to the batter, that's it. I don't have statistics or a study to back that up, but I think Howard's performance last year with Burrell/Rowand behind him speaks for itself.

An 8pm night wrestling show in New York in late March outdoors? Yankee Stadium is a poor venue for a wrestling show (and really, it's poor for spectators for baseball as well). If you wanted to do an outdoor show in the northeast, run Summerslam and hold it at Giants Stadium or Lincoln Financial Field. Actually, given how big Summerslam '92 was, I'm surprised they haven't tried a show of that magnitude again.

I'd like to see '80s supershows that didn't get aired on PPV. Bash '85, Wrestlerock, etc.

Ten years ago he would've been under the limit. .093 doesn't necessarily mean rampant alcoholism.

The idea is to send the message to other teams that "we don't HAVE to trade this guy if we don't get a good offer." I think their intention is still to trade Lieber before the season.

Hamilton really is a difficult player to measure. He does have a world of talent obviously. There is little precedent for a player of his caliber in his situation, so you can't really look at comparable players. Personally, I find it hard to believe that he could continually batter opposing pitchers of Major League quality without ever having faced competition remotely at that caliber in his entire career. He could experience some initial success due to his relative anonymity, but as soon as a scouting report accumulated big league pitchers would eat him alive. Hamilton could use time in the minors, but his status as a Rule V draftee means he's ticketed for the bigs if the Reds are to keep him. If they do, they either play him every day and risk losing games as a result, or use him sparingly and risk stunting his development. I would love to see Hamilton succeed. I just hope we don't expect too much from him out of the gate.

A terrible ending with who it was...but an ending that could, and should, be used again with someone more deserving than him, IMO. If it would work in the current era, which I doubt. How close to "curtain-up" can the outcome be decided, then? Literally until the music hits (apart from during match alterations via the referee)? There've been some outcomes changed in the ring.

The other two choices were Wrestlemanias II and IX. Not a tremendous crop.

They have potential, don't mistake me. If Barfield or Dellucci have a big year, they could win. The same goes for Daniel Cabrera with the Orioles, and 28 other teams with their potential breakout players. People don't seem to understand this and get upset with preseason predictions. There are a ton of variables involved that make it impossible to predict what will happen. The best you can do is set odds and enjoy the season. Forced to pick, I think the Twins will win. But there are four teams that all have a great shot at the division.

That's a big, big if. How many pitchers of his ilk cut their walk total in half? I drew up a list of players with Cabrera's walk and strikeout totals. Guess how many cut their strikeout rate in half. Try zero. You've got Nolan Ryan and J.R. Richard, and then some guys who either flamed out (Mitch Williams, Herb Score) or had mediocre careers (Eric Plunk, Jason Bere). Nolan Ryan was a once in a lifetime pitcher. Cabrera could have a great season, but you can't count on it.

This week we get Wrestlemania XIX, an episode of NWA, an episode of ECW, and a new Monday Night Wars. This is quite the disappointing month. I've seen every Wrestlemania. I'm honestly tired of the over hype for the older shows.