EVIL~! alkeiper

They'll be ok once they figure out which players belong in Philadelphia and which players belong in Scranton.

Yes, because 40 year old players never drop suddenly. Hank Aaron's OPS fell 200 points when he turned 40. Did he stop taking steroids? Willie Stargell hit 21 less home runs when he turned 40. Cy Williams hit 18 less home runs when he turned 40. Willie McCovey hit .228 the year he hit 40. Ted Williams lost 250 points from his OPS. Babe Ruth hit .181 when he turned 40. Once you reach your late 30s and early 40s, every year is a land mine, steroids or not.

In other news, with the Mariners dropping Aaron Sele, indications are that top prospect Felix Hernandez will make his debut Thursday. Hernandez will be the youngest player to reach MLB since Adrian Beltre in 1999.

Somewhat, but it is a part of baseball. Every player reaches a point where his skills can not carry him anymore. It will be interesting to see if Boone tries again with another organization or if he calls it quits.

Chipper had a Hall of Fame peak. The only question is whether he can remain good into his mid to late 30s.

How about Andruw Jones for the Hall? At the age of 28, he already has 282 home runs, and might be the greatest defensive center fielder of all time.

Good grief. It would be one thing if that were an even handed portrayal, but that was clearly a smear piece.

Jack Daniels

Frank Thomas from 1991-97 led the league in OPS four times, and finished third or higher every year. No player beat him twice. Two seasons in a row Thomas was considered dominant enough to win the MVP award, and he led the league in On Base Percentage four times. If that is not dominant, what is?

Many voters look at those numbers. More importantly, many of the counting stats are there. Thomas has 440+ home runs and a .308 career average.

In. He had 262 wins coming into this season with a better than .600 winning percentage. No pitcher with as good numbers in both categories has been denied entry. In. Dominant player for a full decade. I'd vote him in but I'm not going to get into a steroids debate. If he retired today, he would have the third best win/loss record of all time. If his career is cut short now, he would fall into the Sandy Koufax/Dizzy Dean category. He's in. In. Remember, Bagwell played his prime in the Astrodome, one of the toughest hitters' parks of the modern era. The greatest hitting catcher of all-time. More importantly, played in 11 All-Star games.

I can't see an argument for leaving Thomas out. Thomas is 11th all-time in On Base Percentage, 16th in Slugging Percentage, and 10th in OPS. Thomas is 16th in Adjusted OPS, around the same spot as Stan Musial. And on top of that, Thomas has two MVP awards to his credit. The only argument against Thomas is the fielding aspect, but is that really enough to keep a legendary hitter out of the Hall?

Harmon Killebrew is the perfect name for an MLB slugger.

I highly doubt the winner of the National League West will own a record below .500. The unbalanced schedule makes such an occurance nearly impossible.

Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma (Cal) McLish

For Houston to be third in the National League in runs allowed while playing in that ballpark is nothing short of astounding. They are a force to be reckoned with, and a legitimate World Series threat. And CanadianChris, Brandon League will be a very good pitcher at some point. Give him time.

ESPN.com reports the Yankees have acquired P Shawn Chacon from the Rockies for two minor leaguers. I think this is likely a steal for the Yanks.

Agreed. Those rumored trades are quite stupid, but wait until they make a bad, official trade before rushing to judgement.

Believe me, I've noticed.

I don't usually predict win totals, especially now when the complexion of the team could change drastically within a week. They're about a 5:1 shot right now.

There's probably nothing wrong with cities like Colombus, Nashville, Phoenix, etc. having NHL teams. Their attendance numbers have been acceptable, they are not that small of cities, and with the exception of basketball, there is not much competition for the sporting dollar. I think the problem is with the sheer number of franchise moves. What hurts is not the location, but the history. Part of selling a matchup is the history of each team. When each franchise moves and changes its name, it essentially starts over. Without any kind of perspective, the NHL becomes a game between two unfamiliar teams with seemingly random players assigned. The hockey between Nashville and Phoenix might be as good as any other in the game, but how can a person become excited to watch it?

In 2000 they were down 2-1 facing elimination, and they pounded the Yankees in Yankee Stadium 11-1. In 2001, they played their first two games against the Yankees in New York, and won both. I've heard much nonsense about their inability to play smallball, but I've never heard anyone claim they could not handle the postseason pressure.

It's not like Kemp killed anyone. Of course he deserves an opportunity.

It is entirely possible Joe does not type his own responses to his chats. In addition, what kind of grammar nazi criticizes responses from a CHAT? I'm all for bashing a person when he's say something idiotic, but that's just unnecessary. It's not even close. The difference between Morgan and Sandberg? The man who despises Moneyball had 1,100 more walks. The difference itself would rate 63rd all time. Morgan had a higher OPS and hit in less favorable conditions than did Sandberg. Morgan stole 300 more bases, at a higher percentage. Morgan compiled an OPS+ of 132 compared to 114 for Sandberg. Sandberg had a higher fielding percentage, .989 to .981. The league average rose four points in Sandberg's time. Sandberg had slightly better range factors as well. However, Sandberg would need to have saved 250 more runs with his glove to be as good as Morgan.

So let's get this straight. Burnitz drops the sac bunt and Neifi Perez hits a grand slam?