EVIL~! alkeiper

Good trade for the Blue Jays. Durbin is a fairly good relief prospect.

There's alot going on behind the scenes. I am not sure teams can actually do anything today, as league offices may be closed. Expect a few signings and trades to go down tomorrow.

It's not quite the Hall of Fame. It is more along the lines of an award. Still, a terrific honor for Gammons. He deserves it.

Kyle Farnsworth = Mitch Williams 2005.

From what I've heard, Buddy Hernandez looks to be the most interesting prize available in the draft.

I just ran through my NL East simulation again. Each time I ran it a week ago, the Phillies finished way ahead. Now, with the Marlins' pitching acquisitions, and the Braves picking up Kolb and Franco, its a dead heat.

For those who missed it last night, Michael Moorer scored a one punch KO of Vassily Jirov.

The Headhunters have both done serious crimson masks at various points. Going back further, I have to believe Bobo Brazil has a good bladejob or two to his credit.

Since most of the good recent ones are covered, I think Larry Chene of the 1950s/60s deserves a mention.

Matt Clement. A pitcher with a higher K rate (assuming a good BB rate) will almost always have a better chance at future success.

Because you are essentially guessing as to whether he has achieved a new level of performance. And when you are considering giving a pitcher $40 Million, you want more information to evaluate than simply a single year. Take a look at Pavano's stats. In 2003 and 2004, he walked and struck out almost exactly the same number of batters. The difference was that Pavano's opposing batting average fell from .265 to .253. Now, I have taken statistics courses. Do you know how ridiculously easy it is for a batting average to take a 12 point variance? Each year, a handful of batters hit .300 due to pure luck. You have no noticeable change in peripherals. That troubles me. There is every likelihood that Pavano becomes a league average pitcher next season. Are you willing to gamble $10 Million a season to hope 2004 is the true level, regardless of the rest of his career? I see your point, but did the Yankees have any other choice? And do you see Pavanos 03 playoff work as a reason to see he'll be able to stay at this level, or simply a coincidence? Given the free agency market, it is hard to say. Usually, it is harmful to overpay for players, regardless of the market. I would say that the Yankees had several options, but not being in Cashman's position, it is difficult to assess their opportunites at what else existed on the market. It may turn out to be a great deal. It just requires understanding that a fair amount of risk is involved. To answer the second question, I think we need to take postseason statistics with a grain of salt. In Pavano's case, he pitched six of eight games in relief. So it is hard to reconcile those results with his success as a starting pitcher. I could see adding them to his career and/or 2003 numbers, but anything else is pure speculation.

The solution is simple. In my view, the alphabet titles do not exist. Simple as that. The belts they award are no better than a piece of scrap metal I could hand out to any of you. It's time to discard the organizations entirely. As long as we desire them to unify the titles, it will not happen, and they will continue to infest boxing with their power.

Because you are essentially guessing as to whether he has achieved a new level of performance. And when you are considering giving a pitcher $40 Million, you want more information to evaluate than simply a single year. Take a look at Pavano's stats. In 2003 and 2004, he walked and struck out almost exactly the same number of batters. The difference was that Pavano's opposing batting average fell from .265 to .253. Now, I have taken statistics courses. Do you know how ridiculously easy it is for a batting average to take a 12 point variance? Each year, a handful of batters hit .300 due to pure luck. You have no noticeable change in peripherals. That troubles me. There is every likelihood that Pavano becomes a league average pitcher next season. Are you willing to gamble $10 Million a season to hope 2004 is the true level, regardless of the rest of his career?

Kolb is an interesting case, because he did strike out 39 batters in 41.3 IP in 2003. His K numbers this season could be little more than a statistical quirk. After all, Mariano Rivera had a year in 1998 where he only struck out 36 batters in 61 IP. Kolb has an amazing home run rate, and that will do much to prevent a blowup. Honestly, Kolb may be a better investment. Capellan had a great year, but remember he had no real previous track record, and he started the season at single A. It could well have been a career year.

As long as there is productive conversation in both, I see no reason to close any.

I've thought about this kind of idea myself. The main problem I see is that most of the former ECW guys are past their best wrestling days. Guerrero/Malenko is nice, but I doubt it'll be better than their matches nine years ago. This can work, but it needs a fresh angle. Otherwise, its no better than what one could already seek on video.

Baseball-reference.com has a compare teams feature. Using this, one can view attendance data for both clubs. San Francisco's dominance did indeed begin in 1993, with the arrival of Barry Bonds. However, there are mitigating circumstances. For one, the Giants' attendance wasn't great, it was just that the Athletics began a stretch where they weren't very good. Also, that year marked a point where the Giants stopped talking relocation to Tampa Bay. The only time Oakland has really drawn big, big crowds is during the Bash Brother days. Their attendance even during the 1972-74 championship run is remarkably poor. Of course, the Baltimore Orioles suffered the same phenomenon. The Giants drew less than a million fans as recently as 1985. Looking at their numbers, their real attendance spike occured when they opened their new park in 2000, and attendance jumped by a million fans. They have not drawn more fans in any following year, despite the home run outburst. In conclusion, I would say the ballpark is why the Giants outdraw the Athletics.

That's ok. Moneyball succeeds thanks to ignorance.

Ike Ibeabuchi? He was a great talent, but even if he walked free, I think his time has passed.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't reinterate that the Arizona Diamondbacks are the dumbest team alive.

I agree with that assessment regarding Minnesota and Cleveland. Chicago I think will live and die by whether Frank Thomas is healthy.

I think Minnesota are the prohibitive favorites, but the Indians are capable of making a run.

I pretty much agree with everyone else. Klitschko via KO.

No Bobby Abreu? In seriousness, Ashburn is easily one of the top 5 most popular Phillies of all time. Congrats on a great find.

There were rarely official statistics compiled by the leagues. Newspaper boxscores provide most of the statistics we have available from those leagues.