EVIL~! alkeiper

I'd take Milton over Lowe, and maybe over Perez. With Perez, there are concerns that his arm is not 100%, and he struggled in the postseason. Lowe has a poor BB/K ratio. Milton has a good BB/K ratio. His problem was that he allowed an abnormal number of home runs. That will certainly trend downwards. If Perez was healthy, I'd take him over Milton.

Clubhouse chemestry is nice and all, but you can't let semantics get in the way of a business decision. There are legitimate concerns to signing Pedro Martinez and Jason Varitek to long term contracts. It has nothing to do with an omnipotent front office getting carried away with statistics. There's a fine line between keeping your team together, and overpaying your friends because they're your friends. Good teams have been killed by that sort of thing. That the players are experienced does little to change their potential value pattern. Varitek may have won the World Series, but he's still an aging catcher. Martinez may have won the World Series, but he's still an injury risk. Derek Lowe may have won the World Series, but he still has a mediocre strikeout rate. Even Bill James and his ilk will tell you that there might be something to clubhouse chemestry. Regardless, clubhouse chemestry is not something you build your team around. It's one of the last things you worry about, about the same time you are choosing the 25th man on the roster. As for your point about the Yankees, that team with its players intact would be no more impressive than the group that lost to the Red Sox, and probably less so. For one thing, Brosius, O'Neill, and Knoblauch retired. Fans complain that Pettitte left, but they miss the point that he was injured for most of last season anyway. Tino? Jason Giambi torched his performance until last season, and Tino's 37 at this point anyway. The reason the Yankees lost isn't because they gave up their clubhouse guys. It's because you can't guarantee victory in a 30 team league.

Hernandez is useful. He carries some pop, and can play all over the infield. He struggled at Coors and elsewhere in 2003, but hit well in 2002 and this season, in Dodger Stadium.

Infielders. It makes it very difficult for the batter to get a hit.

For the record, I would have no problem with my girlfriend sleeping with Karl Malone.

Barely over 150 voters. Wow. What happened really is that RSPW became so enormous that it became nearly unmanageable to post it. When sites and forums like Rantsylvania came about, posters moved from usenet onto the message boards, and obviously we tend to enjoy message boards more than usenet. I'd be curious to know whether other popular News boards have suffered the same fate.

That's what I'm thinking. I'm just worried that a single thread for all bowl games will get quite unwieldly come New Years.

Christmas is just a good distinctive point. If we want to extend it to the games of the 27th and 28th and such, I won't split hairs.

Let's make this a minor bowl thread, to cover everything before Christmas.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I won this league. Go me!!!

What is it with the Indians and infielders?

The Giants signed Mick Matheny to a three year deal. That means AJ Pierzynski will likely hit the market next week.

Out of all the players mentioned before, I think Pedro has a better chance to maintain his effectiveness for the next several seasons. His peripherals last year were still excellent, despite the rise in ERA. Martinez's problem was that he allowed 26 home runs. For comparison, he allowed 25 the three previous years combined. If this signing becomes official, Martinez moves from a hitters' park to a pitchers' park. And for those of you who didn't watch the Mets at all last year, they finished middle in the pack in runs allowed despite terrible walk and strikeout marks. Their defense is fairly good, and Martinez will benefit. Health is an issue, but you can say that for about half of the market. There's no pitcher on the market close to Pedro's quality. I say thumbs up to the move, particularly with the money mediocre starters are making this year.

Better yet, I am closing this thread until the game approaches. I deeply apologize to iggymcfly and HarleyQuinn, who posted well thought analysis f the matchup. There's just no good this thread can do at this point.

Player, Pos. Old Organization New Organization 1. Angel Garcia, rhp Twins Diamondbacks* 2. Andy Sisco, lhp Cubs Royals 3. Tyrell Godwin, of Devil Rays Nationals 4. Marcos Carvajal, rhp Dodgers Brewers 5. Matt Merricks, lhp Dodgers Rockies 6. Luke Hagerty, lhp Cubs Orioles 7. Shane Victorino, of Dodgers Phillies 8. Tyler Johnson, lhp Cardinals Athletics 9. Ryan Rowland-Smith, lhp Mariners Twins 10. D.J. Houlton, rhp Astros Dodgers 11. Adam Stern, of Braves Red Sox 12. Tony Blanco, 1b/of Reds Nationals

Ben Grieve and Jason DuBois would make a good platoon combination in left field.

Ok....they may be great in a few years, but for now they would leave a hole the size of Asia in the line-up. They trade Sosa, they need to replace him with a solid bat. DuBois is a B/B- prospect. He could be a useful player, but he's probably not a star in the making. Kelton's a C. There's no telling if he can ever be a big league regular or not. So you are telling me that me being hopeful in this situation probably is just wishful thinking? Can you give me ANY good news involving the Cubs or Orioles? Or should I just prepare my "Wait till 2006" signs? For the Cubs, they won 89 games last year. They should have Prior back for a full season, and they have Garciaparra for a full season. If they simply improve their bench, they will win 90+ games next year. Their real problem was that they gave over 100 at bats each to Jose Macias, Alex Gonzalez, Paul Bako, and Tom Goodwin. All posted an OBP of less than .300.

Hence the reason why Philly fans never liked Kobe. despite that he was born just outside Philadelphia.

Ok....they may be great in a few years, but for now they would leave a hole the size of Asia in the line-up. They trade Sosa, they need to replace him with a solid bat. DuBois is a B/B- prospect. He could be a useful player, but he's probably not a star in the making. Kelton's a C. There's no telling if he can ever be a big league regular or not.

Jason DuBois and Dave Kelton.

I'm talking from the Mets' perspective.

That's a little harsh. The trade would increase the Mets' payroll by $16.7 Million, without really filling any of the holes in their lineup. They'd be better off signing J.D. Drew or Carlo Delgado or someone, and keeping Cliff Floyd.

http://www.fieldofschemes.com You know, its amazing that the steroid scandal gets treated like its the worst event in baseball history, while Bud Selig's continued, public attempt to fleece the taxpayers is a mere afterthought.

Colt Griffin is an interesting name.

Scratch that. Rumors are that Buddy Hernandez is a PTBNL in the Capellan/Smoltz trade.