EVIL~! alkeiper

Renteria? He's not been especially good, but there are far worse busts. Russ Ortiz owns a 6.73 ERA in 21 starts. Adrian Beltre has posted a .299 OBP. Eric Milton takes the cake for his 6.84 ERA in 32 starts, becoming to my knowledge only the third pitcher to give up 40+ home runs two years in a row. The difference is that it took Robin Roberts and Bert Blyleven over 250 innings a season to do it.

Boston goes final, so the Yankees trail the East by just half a game.

I'm not saying he's the best. It's all guesswork, and I don't know how he'll do overall. I do know however that college closers will peak much earlier than high school draftees.

With the increased coverage the MLB Draft has received, there's a tendency to misunderstand what goes on. First off, you usually don't neglect positions in the draft because you have a star in the majors. You might draft pitchers over hitters, or infielders over outfielders, but you do not get that specific. Jeter will be in his mid-30s by the time Henry reaches the majors (assuming he does), and Jeter may move to center or elsewhere by then. Second, draftees are almost always center fielders, shortstops, catchers or pitchers. If a high school player plays a lesser defensive position, chances are he is not much of an athlete compared to someone else on his team. If there's a positional blockage, Henry can learn a new position, no big deal. And here's the key. That a player reaches the majors quickly does not mean one team outdrafted another. Looking for an example, in 1989 the Orioles drafted Ben McDonald 1st overall, who reached the majors that year. The Twins drafted Chuck Knoblauch 25th, who wouldn't reach the majors til '91, but helped the Twins win a world championship, and had a better career. It is WAY too early to tell. Finally, while Henry's batting average was low, he showed exceptional plate discipline, some power, and speed.

They would play the Hawks at home once I believe. Of course if the team is marketed like most other teams these days, the Hornets will announce the Lakers game is "sold out", but tickets are still available in a package that includes the Hawks game, or something of that nature.

I assume you are referring to the 1964 club. Really it was both, as when the Phils lost 10 straight, the Reds won nine straight and the Cardinals won eight straight. Overall, I find that these noteworthy collapses are more the result of the team doing the chasing. People forget the 1978 Red Sox won 99 games. The 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers won 104 games. The 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers won 96 games. The Chicago White Sox have 90 wins with 14 to play. Most years, you will cruise into the playoffs with those kind of win totals, but sometimes there is a determined team that refuses to lose. There are exceptions of course (witness the 1995 California Angels).

Either the Hornets will draw dismally because they are a poor team in an unfamiliar market, or draw exceptionally due to moving to an area where the NBA is a new market, and there is no other big time sports franchise. I'll lean towards the latter, at least for the first few months.

Lots of scoreboard watching tonight as the Red Sox, Yankees and Astros play sub-.500 teams. The big matchup of course is Indians/White Sox, as Kevin Millwood pitches against Freddy Garcia. The Indians have a chance to make the greatest comeback in baseball history, coming from as far as 15 back. The Sox are still five games up on a playoff berth however, and a series win would effectively seal the season.

Nope. If he was concerned about testing positive for steroids, why would he wait until after this year?

There's almost no chance the Giants will catch the Padres. If you want a story though, this could be Trevor Hoffman's swan song with the Padres. Hoffman rates as this generation's second best closer behind Rivera, but without the postseason credentials. Here's Hoffman's chance to prove himself in the postseason and win a ring. As an aside, how many wins will it take to not mind the Padres in the postseason? Above .500? 83?

+1 I also echo the sentiments of the poster who said ESPN Radio's coverage was overkill. It truly is. No sport is analyzed more than football, with less to analyze. All year, you can't run 10 feet without running into someone talking NFL. It's fine on a Monday morning, but when it's April and there's a full month before the NFL draft, it's too much.

He undoubtably did. No player ever dominated baseball the way Ruth did in the 1920s.

Ruth used a corked bat and consumed alcohol when it was illegal to do so.

Looking at the standings, the White Sox are currently 90-58. If they lose the division, I think it will have more to do with the Indians' success than any real failure of the Pale Hose. Sox fans should keep in mind however that while this is a close race, the Sox would have to lose the division AND fall behind the Yankees in the wild card race. The Sox are still 5 games up for a wild card berth. But speak of the devil, look who kicks off a series tomorrow night! Tomorrow will be a banner day, as we finally get rid of that annoying half game the Astros have.

It depends how technical you want to get. The Dodgers and Giants finished tied for the pennant that year, so they did hold a three-game playoff.

As much as I support A-Rod over Ortiz, there certainly are situations where a DH could deserve to win an MVP award. That Ortiz does not play defense and plays in Fenway are points against him. They do NOT disqualify him. As an example, Edgar Martinez deserved the MVP award in 1995, when he played just seven games in the field. Never happened.

After all the problems the Phillies had against the Marlins, it honestly seems like the Marlins just can't solve the Phils this time. The Phils have just abused the Florida pitching staff the last two series. The Marlins are not out of it yet though, as a win tomorrow would bring them one behind the Phils.

If the season ended today without the Yankees in the playoffs, Rodriguez would get my vote. But it depends on what happens the last two weeks. Ortiz could go on a tear while A-Rod could go 0 for 40.

Man, looking through the old posts, why did it take us so long to ban cpac in the first place? Jesus christ he was terrible.

Ah, bringing back memories of cpac.

The idea is that in a seven game series, upsets can happen. A ball travels ten feet further and a game turns out completely differently. Look at the 2001 World Series. Does a single half inning really determine who is truly the better team? The difference between a .250 hitter and a .300 hitter is ONE hit a week. Random occurance has a ton to do with a short series. However, if a team is swept, that is certainly an emphatic message. Considering the difference in schedules, it is reasonable to think the Sox may very well have been better overall.

Taveras is a better player, but that's meant to illustrate the type of player Taveras is. His defense is better, but empty batting averages abound.

The NL wild card will be the third best team in the league. The low win total is more reflective of overall league balance than any poor quality of the team.

Mostly because when you add the postseason records, the Red Sox had a better overall winning percentage than the Yankees last year (though its very close).

That's true. Considering the Phillies are in the playoff hunt, I have little room to complain. It just seems that expanding the playoffs gives lesser teams a chance to win, and that weakens the later rounds of the playoffs, particularly the World Series. Only in 2004 have I really felt we saw the best two teams in the World Series in the last five years.