EVIL~! alkeiper

The policy almost certainly changed, as MLB effectively folded each league's leadership in the last ten years and brought it under one umbrella.

The Phillies got beat by the Marlins in 2003/04, and I think Pierre left a lingering impression. Wade and the Phillies certainly had an inane fixation with getting a player of like skills, and thus we got saddled with Endy Chavez. Still, I'd be shocked if the Phillies picked up Pierre. For one, we don't have the money to hit up a big name free agent. Second, the Phils now have Shane Victorino, a similar player except that he has some pop. Plus, with Michael Bourn coming through the system and Jason Michaels in place, I think Philly fans overexagerate the team's need in center field.

Minor league free agents... http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/...ue_free_agents/

I'm not sure the BCS can ever be accepted. If the system produces a result different from our expectations, it will be critized. If it produces the same results, then what's the point of having it?

I would think twice before I buy into that theory. Your best bet for bargains is to look for players with terrific stats per minute who haven't gotten regular playing time, but will or might.

No, he's got a point. The "Moneyball" style is probably the most-effective way to win a game, but it is not necessarily the most exciting style.

I would add that Jenks had a 10.73 ERA last year over three levels of the minors, in 19.1 IP. 16 walks and 21 strikeouts. I'd be tempted to cut loose a player like that too.

Jenks had no control, personality issues, and arm problems.

It's been Biggio's strategy for 15 years.

For the heck of it, the All-Astros team... C- Alan Ashby 1B- Jeff Bagwell 2B- Craig Biggio SS- Dickie Thon 3B- Doug Rader LF- Jose Cruz Sr. CF- Cesar Cedeno RF- Jimmy Wynn SP- Joe Niekro SP- Larry Dierker SP- Mike Scott SP- J.R. Richard RP- Billy Wagner Lots of interesting decisions here. Ashby vs. Ausmus? Wagner vs. Dave Smith? Jose Cruz vs. Berkman? Wynn vs. Cedeno? Most teams in baseball have not had a center fielder of the same quality as either Cedeno or Wynn, let alone two. The Yankees and the Braves may be the only teams deeper in center field. Wynn takes right field because that's what the Astros did when both played together. The pitching staff is mushed together. Niekro and Dierker have a clear edge in wins. Scott and Richard have a slight edge in wins, but a clear edge in win percentage.

Pierzynski's had an asshole reputation for quite some time. And he's one of the few players whose reputation may be legitimate.

Live AIM chat at TSMBaseball.

Radke, Santana and Silva are set. Liriano was so out of this world good in AAA that it has to be seen to be believed. That makes it Scott Baker vs. Wang, and Baker is not a slouch in the prospect department at all. Because there's very strong evidence that the peripheral statistics are more important, and if you read into it and study it, I think you will find it is true. Now Chacon I'm not going to criticize, because he was a Colorado pitcher and I said it was a great move at the time. You just have to understand the value of the strikeout rate. If the pitcher has a good strikeout rate, the batter is so fooled that he can not make contact. If the strikeout rate is poor, the batter is making contact, and thus has an idea where the pitch is going. If he knows where that pitch is going, he is going to adjust.

He's one of the 20 greatest hitters in baseball history. Of course he's a HOFer.

First off, Silva did allow more hits. He gets away with it because that is practically the only way to reach base on him. Hits are not the sole weapon an offense possesses. Second, Silva's one of the top ten groundball pitchers in the American League. Wang's groundball ratio is very, very high. If he qualified, it would be the second highest in the league, behind Jake Westbrook. The question is whether this is sustainable, and whether it was any predictive value. I don't have groundball ratios for Wang in the minors, but his home run rates have always been low. I will admit that yes, he's a better pitcher than his peripheral statistics indicate. I'm just not sure if he rates above Baker or Liriano. Certainly not above Liriano, who is just overwhelming, and is likely to turn heads next year. And he's essentially a lesser man's Carlos Silva, who has a track record. Wang's a nice pitcher admittedly. I just wouldn't go overboard on him.

He did indeed. It's a close call, because Thomas played 971 games at first and DH'ed 960 times. I guess the way I look at it is that if you were forming a team and could use the DH, where would you place Thomas? If you had a first baseman who could field at all, you'd DH him. Of course if you chose to place him at first, he'd outrank Konerko. Then your DH is either Greg Luzinski, or Harold Baines (with Magglio Ordonez taking right field).

The singular usage is my own call.

He might be able to poke in there. His K rate is low, but if he can get it up, I think he'd be more than just solid. At any rate, he deserves some kind of job. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> He has a job with the Yankees. My point was the least of the Twins concerns is starting pitching. So if they trade Hunter to the Yankees it would be for offensive players. Cano would likely be included. One problem with Cano is he's not a very patient hitter, and the Twins need to add players with plate discipline. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You know you want Bellhorn.

I don't agree with the K/BB ratio to decide whether a pitcher is a good one or not. Wang gets outs period. He had a game where he had 10 assists or so. Just because it's not a K, doesn't mean it doesn't matter. It's not like Wang's ERA is over 4.50, it's in the low 4s, and he pitched very well in the ALDS. It's not like he walks batters either. So yes he's better than either of them, considering he's already pitched well in the major leagues. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Silva's a different beast because his walk rate is historically low. In fact, Silva's walk rate in 2005 was the BEST single-season figure in baseball's modern era. The only guys who rate above Silva did it when it took more than four balls to walk a batter. Silva walked a third of the batters Wang did, and did it in 72 less innings. As for strikeout rate, it is absolutely true that pitchers with higher strikeout rates are more likely to succeed in the majors. There is such a thing as "hit luck," that pitchers allow fewer hits than we might expect based on their peripherals. These pitchers almost ALWAYS fall back to earth given time. The ones that do succeed have fantastic control so their hits come with few men on base. For example, David Wells, Jon Lieber, Brad Radke. Wang's walk rate is decent, but if he qualified he'd rank outside the top 25. Control alone won't cut it at that point, and before long batters will figure out how to adjust their swings to get better contact. And if Wang can't adjust and fool them, he's toast.

ESPN.com ran a poll asking who was the greatest White Sock of all time. Over half named Joe Jackson. He is not the greatest Sox, and if I were to form an All-Franchise White Sox team, he would not even be my starting left fielder. Minnie Minoso played twice as many games for the Sox, played at a HOF level, and most importantly, did NOT throw a World Series. Jackson played just four full years for the White Sox and was booted from the game in disgrace. Here's my All-Time White Sox... C- Carlton Fisk 1B- Paul Konerko 2B- Eddie Collins SS- Luke Appling 3B- Robin Ventura LF- Minnie Minoso CF- Fielder Jones RF- Harold Baines DH- Frank Thomas SP- Ted Lyons SP- Ed Walsh SP- Red Faber SP- Billy Pierce RP- Bobby Thigpen Konerko came as a surprise, as it is unusual for a player mid-career to rank at the top of a franchise with a 100+ year history. There's just no one that stuck around more than 3 years to challenge him. Minoso over Jackson may raise some heads. Minoso didn't get a chance to play regularly in the majors until he was 28, due to the color line. If he started when he was 22 or 23, he would be in the Hall of Fame.

He played 82 games there in 1999 and 63 games in 2000. Recently, he played 10 games there this season.

Absolutely. The Yankees need to concentrate on defense and getting someone to flag down the ball, and Pierre can provide that. His stats this season were almost exactly the same as last season, except for the hits column. As a bonus, Pierre hasn't missed a game since 2002.

Betting on a single series is a fools' game. It's entirely too random to go on unless someone is giving you significant odds. If it didn't conflict with the series itself, I'd recommend it.

If I were Brian Cashman and I could trade Chien-Ming Wang for Torii Hunter, the only question is whether I could contain my laughter long enough to accept the deal. The Twins have Radke, Santana and Silva locked in. Francisco Liriano made 14 AAA starts, went 9-2, struck out 112 and walked 24 in 91 innings. He's in the rotation. Baker made 22 starts at AAA, struck out 107, and walked 26 in 134.7 innings. He'll likely make the rotation as well. I would take any of those five over Wang. What the Yankees really should do is take a look at Jacque Jones, a free agent. Jones is good enough to play center field well, and only played right because of Torii Hunter. He could come cheap, play the defense the Yankees need, and pop 20-25 home runs as a bonus. His low OBP wouldn't be such a problem in a lineup that does not usually struggle to score runs.

Lovullo, because I'm biased and I don't know much about the other candidates.