EVIL~! alkeiper

I really need to make an effort to see the team in action myself sometime this year.

Divisions... Northern Division Boston Pawtucket Ottawa Rochester Cleveland Mid-Atlantic Division Richmond Aberdeen Cincinnati Washington Baltimore Western Division Las Vegas St. Louis Kansas City Portland Chicago New York Division Stroudsburg New York Long Island Brooklyn Newark I like the NY division personally. It is my chance to deliver a hearty "fuck you" to the city.

damn you, Al. I should have known you were too slick to forget him even if he's injured. He was going to be my secret final pick to keep for next year... You people should know by now that I have a checklist.

Blame the affiliates. I saw the entire Syracuse game on my station.

McNamara drops the F-bomb. Excellent.

If Syracuse loses, my local tv station will have a heart attack.

Following an 83-79 season, the White Sox shuffled their roster, shifting the emphasis to team speed. They acquired Jermaine Dye to replace Magglio Ordonez in right field. While Ordonez was a great hitter, there are real concerns regarding his knee. Dye is not a perfect solution, but he should provide some punch. Tadahito Iguchi is a terrific upgrade at second base, moving Willie Harris to a utility slot where he should be more useful. On the rotation side, the White Sox' biggest issue last season was their inability to see any production from the back of their rotation. Jason Grilli, Felix Diaz, Danny Wright, Jon Rauch, and Josh Stewart combined for 23 starts, and a 5-14 record. The White Sox acquired Jose Contreras mid-season, and Orlando Hernandez. If those guys can stick in the rotation, it should represent a remarkable improvement for the Sox. The problem is, Hernandez and Contreras have a high chance of implosion. The bullpen suffered after Shingo Takatsu and Damaso Marte, so Dustin Hermanson should help shore up the pen. The Sox did make a dumb move, flipping Carlos Lee to the Brewers for Scott Podsednik. Podsednik may steal bases, but at 29, he is not going to improve. Ultimately, I think the success of this team depends on Frank Thomas. When healthy, Thomas is one of the most dominant hitters in baseball. If Thomas can recover and log significant playing time, the White Sox could steal the division. However, I think a third place finish is more likely.

The Pocono Poison select OF Rocco Baldelli.

You can set your own lineups, and there is alot more you can do. You can do your own depth charts, indicate late inning defensive substitutes, and utility players. You can also choose to have either a three, four, or five man rotation.

Perhaps 9pm ET, since most people are around for Raw anyway.

MartyEWR selects CF Kirby Puckett.

Well, below average, but he is a great hitter.

He should've just turned the question around. How do these congressmen know steroids are bad?

The Florida Marlins finished 83-79 last season. Following the acquisition of 1B Carlos Delgado, many analysts (such as "Wrong Hole" Buster Olney) have chosen the NL East as NL favorites. I'm sorry, but this team is not quite there yet. Let's take a closer look. The Marlins added Carlos Delgado, along with a full season of Paul Lo Duca. Lo Duca was a nice grab, but he turns 33 in April, and he is a miserable second half hitter. Lo Duca's career OPS falls over 150 points after the All-Star break. Carlos Delgado is a great slugger, but he is not that much better than the .270/.388/.495 line the Marlins enjoyed from Hee Seop Choi before the trade. Alex Gonzalez posted a miserable .270 OBP last season, and the Marlins have no depth on the bench past Jeff Conine. The rotation is nice, as long as Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett remain healthy. Get past the front four, however, and Ismael Valdez is your number five. I apologize if Valdez's 67 Ks in 170 innings don't exactly strike fear. Beyond Valdez, and there is no immediate help for the rotation. The bullpen is improved, but no better than league average. The Marlins could contend if everyone stays healthy, but this team has no depth, and their best prospects are a year or two away. If they suffer injuries, the wheels will come off quickly.

I'm trying. It would be easier if they didn't keep taking timeouts.

I am so sick of hearing this argument. Take a .275/25/80 hitter for example. Say this player takes steroids, beefs up, and adds some power to his game. Now maybe once every ten games, one of those outfield flyballs ends up over the fence. You now have a .300/40/120 hitter. That kind of difference takes you from middle of the pack to elite in baseball. This isn't anything scientific, but it shows that steroids can change the complexion of the game. That of course, doesn't take into consideration that many PITCHERS doubtless used steroids as well. Steroid use fell last season, and slugging percentage and runs per game increased.

The New York Mets actually released Joe McEwing. I guess with the steroid hearings, the Mets felt they could finally dump Super Joe without massive outcry from Met fans. Good for the Mets. Also, the Blue Jays released Billy Koch.

I think Monday is a good time for a live draft period.

These have been fun. Senator Davis compared the steroid issue to the Chicago Black Sox, noting that Joe Jackson was banned from the games for "allegations." Of course, he also accepted money from in exchange for throwing baseball games, but I guess that is all hearsay. Like I said before, the idea that CONGRESS is some kind of shining sun that accomplishes change is laughable.

KingPK, HarleyQuinn and Looney Tune are up next.

MIB, MartyEWR, and Treble.

He still struck out righties at a rate better than one per inning. He was ungodly against lefties, but he's effective against righties too.

I give OOTP a year, and it takes three years into account. Of course, the simulation will use a healthy Griffey.

I am delighted to see this spawned some good conversation. Slapnuts... Matos should improve, although his low walk rate in 2003 indicates that even when healthy, he needs to maintain a high batting average. Bigbie I don't see the fuss about. He hit the league average last year at 26. He is a good player, but I highly doubt he is a star in the making. Gibbons has power, but his OBP was low even when he was productive. Here's a case of where you let your homer-ism overshadow the harsh reality. Palmeiro is now 40 years old, and his isolated power has dropped over 100 points. That is not coming back. I doubt Palmeiro will be the primary DH, and even if he were, the statistics tell a different story. Palmeiro played 20 games as a designated hitter last season, and as a DH he hit .240/.313/.440. That hardly seems like a tear. Lopez had a fluke year with the bat in 2003. His 2004 was excellent, and if he just maintains that, he's one of the best hitting catchers in baseball. The Orioles' K/BB ratio after the All-Star break was 13th in the league. Their good ERA was due to not allowing many hits, which is mainly luck. I should not have skipped the bullpen. BJ Ryan is the next Billy Wagner. Marvin.... I remember this five years ago, when Baldwin had a nice first half with the White Sox. I doubt he has learned to pitch at the age of 34. Eight spring training innings consisting of three walks and three strikeouts is hardly convincing.

Ultimately it will not matter as long as Flik or HQ can find the player on Yahoo. You can do the positional adjustment yourself, although I think Pujols is 1B-eligible only anyway.