EVIL~! alkeiper

I would be absolutely stunned if the Yankees got Micah Owings in return for Johnson. Owings compiled a 16-2 record between AA and AAA last season. He surrendered few home runs and produced great results despite pitching in extremely difficult parks. He's a stud. Ross Ohlendorf is an older prospect but still produces decent K:BB ratios. That's a plus in those environments, and I think he could be a fourth starter. Luis Vizcaino is a side-arming righty reliever, classic trade bait. He's been dealt four times in his career, and was a reliever on the White Sox' championship squad. I could see the Yankees grabbing Ohlendorf if they take part of Johnson's salary, but there's no way they get Owings at any price.

I don't think there is any muscle behind that rumor. It's just another case of a reporter taking separate facts, coming up with a theoretical trade, and reporting it.

I love it. I have XM Radio and it's a nice thing to have when you live too far away from the big cities to get their radio coverage. I listen mostly for the MLB coverage. If you get a free afternoon, check out a Cubs broadcast with Pat Hughes and Ron Santo. Sometimes the music isn't an improvement over my cd collection, but I won't complain.

I think injuries hurt Spivey. Remember he did have that mid-90s run as Waylon Mercy. But Sid had something that you just can't put your finger on.

For a moment there I was hoping K-Fed was going for the five-knuckle shuffle.

Headgear, perfect. Classic chickenshit heel manager move.

I believe I posted this in my own blog, but I think it is worth mentioning again. Ripken: .276/.340/.447, 112 OPS+ Trammell: .285/.352/.415, 110 OPS+ Trammell struggles to get 15%, while Ripken will almost certainly draw 90-95% of the balloting. Ripken and Trammell were contemporaries, and while Ripken was a better player, the margin is much closer than people realize. Looking at Runs Created Above Average, Ripken scores 215 at his peak while Trammell checks in with 196. That is a difference of 19 runs over a pair of careers spanning 20 years apiece. That does not take into account defense, where Trammell enjoys an edge. What really hurts Trammell is that middle infielders who contribute across the board receive little acclaim. Hall voters love big numbers they can hang their hats on. The idea of a complete ballplayer eludes them, while guys like Jim Rice continue to draw decent support.

If Bored doesn't endorse Trammell, I will.

In this case, since the topic was moved there's a link in site feedback. Presumably Mike clicked on it and did not notice it was moved.

There's been talk about that. Giles would have earned somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 Million via arbitration. Apparently no one is willing to pay that much for Giles.

Out of curiosity, who's left?

Not to degrade the signing though, because Huff's versatile and can play four positions.

Millar's had a higher OPS+ each of the last two seasons.

The Balco list is not the same as the congressional witnesses.

i don't get caught up in speculation, but I think a lot of those names would wind up to be fringe guys on the cusp of the minor leagues.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/...your-4-starter/ This was quite an enlightening article. Like the author says, you usually expect a #5 starter to post an ERA a bit better than five. Certainly not above six, but that is what most teams get. With these numbers in mind, Yankee fans, are you quick to trade a guy with a 5.00 ERA when he makes 33 starts?

Ford only served two years, so there's something amiss with that.

Yeah, no one here is suggesting the Sox pitchers are that good. Save it for a board actually making that argument.

This seems like a good time to address a general fallacy seen in Hall of Fame arguments. A chatter posted this question to Rob Neyer on espn.com... Among those thirteen eligible players, Rice ranks thirteenth in home runs and tied for twelfth in batting average. The problem with this method is that it eliminates all players close to Rice but slightly worse, while leaving in all players clearly superior to Rice. Is Rice similar to Babe Ruth (.342, 714)? Of course not. Expand the criteria a bit, and you have Albert Belle (.295, 381), Harold Baines (.289, 384) and Ellis Burks (.291, 352). Just by lowering the bar to .285 and 350 home runs, you now have a group of 38 players. 23 are eligible for the Hall, 18 are in. Still a good percentage, but not a slam dunk case.

Really?!!? I think the Dodgers' could be really good. Schmidt, Lowe, Penny and Wolf. Or 3 of the 4 could get injured. Who knows?! Everyone fawns over the Tigers and Marlins but I always feel like it's a crapshoot with young pitchers like Verlander and Johnson. There's a long list of guys who started out great and were never that good again. Yeah, you've got Carlos Zambrano (a true ace), followed by Rich Hill, Mark Prior, Wade Miller and Ted Lilly. If one or two of those guys fall through, you've got a group of Jason Marquis, Carlos Marmol, Sean Marshall and Angel Guzman. You can't count on all of them, but you figure with strength in numbers, some of them are going to come up big.

Har Har. Now that I've looked at it, it's hard to spot a single dominant rotation. There are rotations that COULD be dominant, but again there are a lot of "ifs" involved. If I had to pick a rotation to take into the season, it would be the Cubs'. But most rotations you could pick apart the same way you could the Red Sox.

So who does have the best pitching staff right now? White Sox? Phillies? Dodgers? Tigers?

How much of LaRussa's bullpen micromanagement was to cause for the decline in innings? He did manage to make 30+ starts every year. Suppan's value is that he is durable and consistent. He's posted an ERA better than average every year except one since 1999, which is a very good track record. He won't dominate, but he'll prevent the Brewers from falling back on options such as Geremi Gonzalez and Jorge de la Rosa.

...Why?! Presumably, Johnson would use his no-trade clause as leverage.

I don't mind the lack of snow, but when it's unseasonably warm, it's also damp as hell.