EVIL~! alkeiper

I would also add that given Billy Kock's previous success, taking a flier on him is not a bad idea. He could pay off like Benitez did for the Marlins, and if not its just a $900,000 loss.

Oh, goody. Just what they needed. Man, this team is going to suck this season. I've got a more substantial write-up of the Blue Jays in the works. For now I'll say I really think this team will finish above the .500 mark. I'll be interested to see it. Right now, they don't have a whole lot more than the Ewing Theory going for them, from what I've seen. The Blue Jays have several substantial prospects entering as soon as this year, including David Bush, Russ Adams, Alexis Rios, Brandon League, and Guillermo Quiroz. In addition, they solidified their bullpen, they should get a full season of Roy Halladay, and their starting lineup should perform better. Nearly every player on the Jays last season performed at the low end of their ability. A few will doubtlessly rebound.

John Gibbons More Randy Johnson trade news (parody)... http://www.sperts.net/article.php?page=352

I think the Dodgers have essentially spent the $16 Million on Odalis Perez and Derek Lowe. A lot of analysts downgrade Hee Seop Choi, but I think he should become an acceptable first baseman.

Oh, goody. Just what they needed. Man, this team is going to suck this season. I've got a more substantial write-up of the Blue Jays in the works. For now I'll say I really think this team will finish above the .500 mark.

Exactly. The athlete's career is a ticking time bomb. His skills will only carry him until he reaches his late 30s, or early 40s if he is lucky. Job security is important for an athlete.

I had KFC. Does that count?

I think the Mets would settle for a salary dump.

Incidently, I apologize for my recent absenses. As I've stated in the General Chat folder, we had a hell of an ice storm hit my area, and it knocked out power for four days.

A few replies to random people in this thread... 1. I could write a column about "Wrong Hole" Buster Olney, but its been done to death. Larry Mahnken was quite adept at bursting the bubble of productive outs. 2. I think Scott Boras gets too much of a bad rap. He's an agent, and he is good at his job. He sets high prices and works his way down. He works as an agent should, getting the best deal for his client. Blame the Astros for basing their offseason around what they knew would be a risky signing. 3. The Brewers had an excellent offseason, and have good prospects coming down the pike. With the Astros weakened by the loss of Kent, Beltran and possibly Clemens, it would not shock me to see the Brewers finish in the first division. 4. The Yankees should seriously consider a trade for Mike Cameron. Cameron's offense is not good enough for a corner outfield position, and the Yankees could use a good defensive center fielder. 5. Carlos Beltran's talents are well suited to Shea Stadium, in my opinion.

Fuckin' A. I lost power at my house AGAIN for a full day. I finally went back to my girlfriend's apartment, because I really can't put up with this crap anymore. It's not the power outage as much as these things tend to make my family REALLY annoying. At least here I can once again contact the outside world.

Al in his backyard, in front of what used to be a tree....

Well, its more like a plateau... Buddy, if you think I'm risking a Bill James book just to fend off deadly mountainout creatures, you must not know me that well.

I spent the last couple days in Portland, PA (borders New Jersey) with my girlfriend at her apartment. We had a winter storm blow through, with a few icy roads here and there, but mostly rain. On Thursday, I travel back to my home in the Pocono Mountains, get to Mt. Pocono, and find the traffic lights are out. When I make it home, I find out the entire area is knocked out of power, because all we got on the mountain was 14 hours of freezing rain. That night, all hell breaks loose, as ice covered branches, and sometimes, entire trees bring down power lines and block roadways. We were lucky here to only lose power for a day, as some parts of the area may not receive power until Sunday. So I missed about a day worth of message boarding, and I'm sure you all missed me greatly.

Nearly a full page, and no one mentions Hogan/Flair? The WWF had the other company's headline star cross over, with the championship belt no less. It was a match 10 years in the making, and it never made it to television until two years later, in WCW.

Two nights, Monday and Tuesday.

Unforgivable Blackness Ken Burns is releasing a new documentary, a two episode special about the career of Jack Johnson, boxing's first World Heavyweight Champion. I find Johnson's career quite interesting, and Ken Burns usually puts out an excellent product. For those interested, the show premiers on PBS next Monday, January 17. The dvd comes out Tuesday, the 11th.

I don't see a big problem with Mientkiewicz keeping the ball. I think its Luccino who's making a big deal out of this. Gary Carter kept the '86 World Series winning ball, and no one makes a big deal of it. As long as Mientkiewicz doesn't sell it at auction to Todd Macfarlane, its not a big deal.

Obviously the idea of wearing non-wrestling attire goes back more than just a few years. Thinking the issue over, however, I was surprised that I could not think of any examples from before the 1980s. Big Bubba Rogers and One Man Gang were probably among the first the wear them full time. Sure there are a handful of wrestlers who wore non-wrestling gear for one match, but that hardly counts.

Obviously the idea of wearing non-wrestling attire goes back more than just a few years. Thinking the issue over, however, I was surprised that I could not think of any examples from before the 1980s. Big Bubba Rogers and One Man Gang were probably among the first the wear them full time. Sure there are a handful of wrestlers who wore non-wrestling gear for one match, but that hardly counts.

Past 2 years, the average OPB between them has been similar (Jeter .393, and .352, Beltran .389, and .362) Jeter's still had more doubles, more hits (and Jeter only played 119 games 2 years ago), and that's about it. Jeter's had higher OBP's throughout his career, and is a better hitter. Beltran has him with the slugging though. When you take a look over a career evaluation, Jeter clearly has better hitting statistics. When you look at their current ability, however, it is much closer. As has been stated, Jeter is as adept at reaching base as Beltran, and I would still rate Jeter higher, because 2004 was a down year for Jeter. The problem is, once you get past OBP, it is Beltran all the way. As stated, Beltran is a much more prevailent slugger. Beltran has posted a higher slugging percentage than Jeter each of the last five years. In addition, Beltran has many, many skills beyond hitting. While Jeter is an excellent base-stealer, Beltran is so off-the-charts dominant on the basepaths it's ridiculous. Beltran's current 89% success rate is the greatest ever. His 2004 basestealing mark of 28 for 28 is a National League record for consecutive successes, in just half a season! Beltran's fielding is much better than Jeter, who is often criticized for his poor range. Using Win Shares, the system rates Beltran better in 2003 and 2004. With Jeter past his prime, I don't see reason for that pattern to change, barring injury.

You know what? To hell with this. I'm sick of the verball blowjob football receives in general.

A belated happy birthday to one of our most knowledgable basketball posters.

Enough of this. Damaramu is banned for the time being, and that means he is not to post on the board, either himself or through someone else. No one here gives a damn about his Oklahoma football rants, and we need a break from them anyway. Until then, I am adding a day to Dama's suspention for each OU rant we've gotten out of this thread.

Lo Duca was terrible for the Marlins, as he's been terrible in the second half for four years now. Mota had a bad season with the Marlins as well. The trade really turned into a non-event. The Dodgers got no appreciable talent, but didn't give up anyone of importance either. Because Jeff Kent's offense far outweighs Cora's defense. Cora's career OBP is .314. Sure he's a nice defensive player, but this is not Trammell/Whitaker we are talking about here. Given that Kent has played for playoff teams in San Francisco and Houston, I'm sure LA can survive the slight downgrade in defense.