EVIL~! alkeiper

Baseball-reference.com is the best website for stuff like that. They list age and accomplishments for each player, and it's easy to read. If you scroll down to "frivolities," you can find a link that allows you to compare two players in frames.

I think two general points need to be made here... 1. A larger sample is better than the more recent sample. Seventeen starts are not alot in the grand scheme of things. 2. Just because a pitcher (or hitter for that matter) has better statistics in one park does not necessarily mean he is a better player there. Remember, statistics must be read in context. If a pitcher's ERA rises when he moves to the American League, it isn't necessarily because he has trouble adjusting. A 4.75 ERA in Coors Field, for example, is better than a 3.95 ERA in Dodger Stadium.

Really? Perez is pretty good. He's better than David Wells. He's simply another pitcher who's stats are helped by Dodgers Stadium Like Pavano in Pro Player? Even though Pavano's ERA was .37 points lower on the road, and opponents' BA was .236? Like 400 points lower? Anyway, Odaliz Perez's era is .10 lower on the road, so that can't be the case. Except that the year before his home ERA was 2.73, and his road ERA was 5.59. In 2002, his home ERA was 2.75, and his road ERA was 3.31. His career ERA is a full run better at home. Perez is a fine pitcher, but his raw numbers have certainly benefitted from Dodger Stadium.

Guys, anytime a poster has a substantial post on a topic, he is more than welcome to start a new thread on the topic. I haven't seen a specific Patriots topic, so I see no reason for ridicule of this thread.

I don't think the Owens injury changes the NFC picture much at all, to be honest. The Eagles are undefeated against the NFC, at 11-0. Their point differential is +167. The next best is Green Bay at a paltry +24. The Eagles still have the lowest points allowed of any team in the NFL, and losing Owens does nothing to change that. I really think this team is so good, and the rest of the NFC so mediocre, that they should coast into the Super Bowel. Yes, facing New England or Pittsburgh might be a problem then, but no one really watches the Super Bowel for the football anyway.

I hardly blame Ed Wade for the Polanco dilemma. We would have gotten two first round draft picks if Polanco signed elsewhere. Considering we don't have any picks in the first 50 picks, we could've used them. So now we've got Polanco, at a reasonable price. I won't weep if Polanco takes up at bats we would have given to Tomas Perez. Besides, there is always opportunity to trade Polanco. Besides, there's no reason Polanco should earn $5 Million in arbitration. His most similar players in terms of win shares last season were Tony Womack, Marcus Giles, and Alex Cora. Combined, they make about $2 Million. Obviously, if Polanco didn't get a $5 Million offer on the free market, it's hard for his agent to argue in arbitration that he IS worth $5 Million. Of second basemen in Polanco's range, only Alfonso Soriano made more than $4 Million last season. I think if the Phillies offer an arbitration figure just a shade below $4 Million, they're in good shape.

Telemaco and Geary come as a surprise. Suddenly the Phillies need a back end of a bullpen again. Of course, a handful of these players will sign back with their old teams.

The Anaheim Angels are the new kings of redundancy. So far they've spent $8 million on a shortstop they din't need (besides Eckstein, they also have Maicer Izturis), and they've spent $7 million on a 40 year old center fielder when they have one of the game's best defensive center fielders tethered to first base (with a cool .400 slugging percentage and his own $8 million contract). Cabrera's better defensively, but is he $8 million better? Of course not. The Angels have spent $15 Million without actually making their team better.

Munson is roughly the equivilent of Jim Presley, and a slightly better version of Drew Henson. He's an acceptable backup. The Royals non-tendered P Miguel Ascencio.

This is a blow, simply because this is likely the best team the Eagles have fielded in their history. It was their best chance at a Super Bowl. I think the team is so far ahead of the conference that they should be good enough to make the Super Bowl. At that point, it's up in the air. The Eagles have other receivers, so I don't think its curtains just yet.

If Wilkerson is non-tendered, I will be HUGELY surprised. Sportswriters love to speculate about players that could be non-tendered (such as Wade Miller), but rarely if ever is a good player non-tendered.

The Nationals are allowed to tender their players, obviously. They can also make whatever moves they need, within budget. The new contracts thing was an empty threat by MLB that they couldn't try and get better by signing players, which is an empty threat because the Montreal Expos haven't signed an impact free agent since the early 80s.

Placido Polanco and Ron Villone accepted arbitration from the Phillies and Mariners, respectfully.

Yes.

Once again, http://www.fieldofschemes.com has some excellent analysis on the situation.

The stadium itself is a success. But residents say it has done little for the surrounding area.

Greg Miller is a very good prospect who unfortunately underwent TJ surgery, and missed the season. If he rebounds, he's a great pitching prospect.

While Baltimore is a success story, new parks in Cleveland, Milwaukee and elsewhere have done little for their cities.

Or look at the url very carefully. Don't miss the links on the side.

So the poorer people of Washington D.C. wouldn't even see the team. No wonder they are against it. Wouldn't you? The city needs new hospitals, schools and such. Businesses are willing to pay for baseball, but they can't raise money for civic services? This is exactly the problem with the stadium. The needy people of the city are screwed so that the rich can have their new plaything. In the last election, three anti-stadium represenatives were elected to the council. That is a strong message from the taxpayers of Washington, right there. They don't want to spend public money on a stadium. Given how much of a cash cow this would be, $140 million is nothing. I question whether they will get a better deal elsewhere. There are a plethera of financing opportunities, so I see no reason MLB and DC cannot get get this deal done. Thomas Boswell is clearly biased in this situation. He has nothing to lose from the DC stadium deal, and he'll get press passes to 81 major league games. Of course he wants to see a DC Stadium deal. I would also add that there is no reason a team couldn't play full time in RFK Stadium, if need be.

Apparently the Dodgers new third baseman will be Jose Valentin, according to Peter Gammons. Here's how the Dodgers' 2005 team shakes out... C David Ross 1B Hee Seop Choi 2B Jeff Kent SS Cesar Izturis 3B Jose Valentin LF Jayson Werth CF Milton Bradley RF Shawn Green SP Brad Penny SP Kaz Ishii SP Jeff Weaver SP Edwin Jackson SP Elmer Dessens RP Eric Gagne RP Yhancy Brazoban RP Duaner Sanchez RP Darren Dreifort RP Giovanni Carrera RP Scott Stewart Bench ------- Tom Wilson Ricky Ledee (platoon with Werth) Olmedo Saenz Jason Grabowski Alex Cora Chin-Feng Chen or Joe Thurston The Dodgers may have another signing in them, so we'll see how this team shakes out. They've done a decent job at filling Beltre's absence. Valentin is a downgrade from Beltre, but Kent is an upgrade from Alex Cora.

Iverson scores 54 points as the Sixers defeat the Bucks.

How about..... Board Member 1: I've never heard of half of these guys and the ones I do know are way past their prime. Billy Beane: Most of these guys never had a prime. Board Member 2: This guy here is dead. Steve Schott: Slap a Milo on him. Anyone who read Moneyball will understand that one.

Chavez: “What the hell league you been playing in?” New A's Player: “California penal.” Chavez: “Never heard of it. How'd you end up playing there?” New A's Player: "Gave some girl genital herpes"

Chavez: “What the hell league you been playing in?” New A's Player: “California penal.” Chavez: “Never heard of it. How'd you end up playing there?” New A's Player: "I stole Derek Jeter's glove and sold it on ebay."