EVIL~! alkeiper

Al's Guide to Pissing away a shot at a championship.... 1. Find an aging player who nearly broke the league average at the plate last season. 2. Make sure he has a defensive reputation that he can no longer fulfill. 3. Move him from a hitters' park to a pitchers' haven. 4. Sign him to a three year contract, so you will still pay him when he is 40. Seriously, Vizquel's .741 OPS was considered a great year for him. They're getting him for defense? Vizquel is 38. He's not a great defensive shortstop anymore. Just look at the market. Christian Guzman, Jose Valentin, Pokey Reese, Ramon Martinez, Craig Counsell, Orlanso Cabrera, and Edgar Martinez are still available. Each of them are just as adequate in the field, half would come cheaper, and the other half can hit better. BAD, BAD signing for the Giants.

Hitting points here and there. From Cartman... At least the players got there by talent. How did the owners get there? Most of them are corporate entities. Quite a few are there purely due to bloodlines and nepotism. Should I feel guilty for them? Moreover, they can own teams as long as they damn well please. Most players have a few years at most to make their living, before their talent erodes. Baltimore produced one of the highest payroll teams a few years ago. Mismanagement has doomed the team. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are still recovering from their failed "four DHs" plan. The Toronto Blue Jays are building their shattered minor league system, and it is LOADED right now. I think the Blue Jays will field a highly competitive team in the near future. In any case, the recent failures of these three teams have little to do with the Yankees and Red Sox. It is not like they missed the playoffs while still winning 90+ games. Does anyone honestly think one of those three teams would have made the playoffs if not for those pesky Sox and Yankees? It is not good for fans. The NFL sucks, and the NBA went through a horrible period for five years where the Lakers were ridiculously dominant. Moreover, the salary cap removes the survival incentive, forcing teams to build strong franchises. The salary cap removes darwinism from the equation, allowing owners to sit back and reap profits without actually doing anything. From there, progress in the sport stagnates. We have seen a WEALTH of new learning and information the last 20 years in baseball. Football is the same old machismo bullshit. That mechanism is in place. Draft compensation allows teams to gain players in return for their lost free agents. Moreover, these players have their best years ahead of them, and teams earn their services for six or seven years, very inexpensively. For example, the Athletics now have Joe Blanton and Nick Swisher coming into the majors next season, while Jason Giambi struggles in New York. Who got the best of that deal? To Red Baron... And owners have loyalty? The NHL owners have shown they care more about profits than about running hockey games. And they will cut players at the drop of the hat if they are unproductive. It is the way professional sports work. In the days before free agency, we had player loyalty. It amounted to slavery, and the owners certainly didn't exercise the same loyalty if a trade improved their club. Back to Cartman... 1. Athletes, like the rest of us, are not paid based on how hard they work. They are paid based on the scarcity of labor. Stars are paid millions because they do what virtually no one else can do. 2. With that said, athletes work HARDER than the rest of the population. I am glad that I get to go home after I plug in my hours at work, and eat whatever I want. Athletes do not have that luxury. 3. By the same token, owners should take whatever they get, because they are lucky they don't have to get real jobs. I don't want to pay money so a bunch of greedy fucks can sit in their luxury boxes and watch sports, while I work my ass off to sit in the bleachers. See Cardinals, Arizona, and Hawks, Atlanta. The Toronto Blue Jays were highly competitive in the 1980s and early 90s. They drew over 4,000,000 fans three consecutive years. They won a division that included the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and in a system that offered no legitimate salary constraints. In fact, the Yankees' payroll only became a problem after the MLB owners started whining about salaries, and but bullshit salary mechanisms in place. Now to Ether... It is simple. If your player is going to arbitration, you generally have a good idea of what salary figure he will command. If you feel that is too much, cut him. Let the open market dictate his salary. If some team will overpay, good. Let them bleed themselves. Let the market come to you. Revenue sharing is a different argument, but it has its drawbacks. MLB has instituted revenue sharing over the last decade, and it has done the opposite of what it was meant to do. Let the owners figure that out then. The NHLPA is not responsible for the owners being a set of jackasses.

Obviously he's not bringing enough fans to the seats, if the team is losing money. Smart teams know the true value of players, and pay them accordingly.

In my view, a .270 OBP is unacceptable no matter how many home runs a player hits. Remember, outs are the backbone of the game. Over any other factor, teams that use outs more sparingly are more likely to score runs. Alex Gonzalez made outs at a higher percentage than any hitter in the Majors. That's a tremendous obstacle, and 23 home runs does not cut it. With Gonzalez, followed by the pitcher, the Marlins were essentially giving up entire innings of offense. They cannot continue to do that and still compete for a title.

Why should the Players Union have to take the fall for the owners' incompetance. If my job came to me and said "we're idiots, we're losing money, we need you to take a pay cut," I'd tell them to fuck off. Moreover, why is it assumed that the ONLY way to save money is by cutting salaries? Sports teams have many other expenses they could rework.

How has the NFL salary cap not helped the NFL players? NFL players make far less under the current system than they would in a free market system.

Gonzalez is just a terrible, terrible hitter. And when you are making playing time distinctions based on salary, you've lost the battle. I'd like to see the Marlins target Christian Guzman. He'll give you better defense, a slightly better OBP, and he can run.

It's hot stove time. The Yankees almost crazed obsession with repeating the mistakes of the last two years is relevant. Perhaps. But this is a discussion forum, not your personal bitching space. If you don't like the moves or rumors, explain why, and perhaps suggest some reasonable alternatives. Perhaps something that will lead to further discussion.

Certainly. But Forbes magazine is certainly more reliable than an "independant" study bought and paid for by the people who have the most to gain from its inevitable conclusion. And they did turn out to be right on the MLB article a couple seasons ago.

I am interested to see how Byrd does. He was once the top contender in the division, but he has left alot to be desired in his recent fights.

Here's the deal gang. 20 Free Agents. Guess where they are headed. Winner gets bragging rights and all that good stuff. 1. Carlos Beltran 2. Adrian Beltre 3. Brad Radke 4. Edgar Renteria 5. Pedro Martinez 6. Carlos Delgado 7. Magglio Ordonez 8. Jason Varitek 9. Carl Pavano 10. Richie Sexson 11. J.D. Drew 12. Nomar Garciaparra 13. Troy Glaus 14. Armando Benitez 15. Odalis Perez 16. Troy Percival 17. Matt Clement 18. Orlando Cabrera 19. Jeff Kent 20. Moises Alou And for bonus points, here are five players frequently mentioned in trade talks. Are they traded, and if so, where? 1. Sammy Sosa 2. Randy Johnson 3. Kevin Brown 4. Charles Johnson 5. Jose Guillen Finally, does Roger Clemens retire?

Thank you. Please shut up until they actually DO something.

Why does baseball need it? Baseball is profitable, and as for competitive balance, baseball has been trying to limit the power of New York teams for eighty years, and it never works. When the reserve clause limited salaries, the Yankees were even more dominant than they are now. If you can't run a profit in a league, that is your own damn fault. Don't expect the work force to pick up the cheque for your imeptitude. And I have never seen a salary cap benefit competitive balance. Just look at the NBA for an example of that. Salary caps do one thing. They take the receipts and stuff them into the pockets of the owners. Will prices go down if players make less money? Of course not. They'll keep charging $40+ a ticket because we'll pay it. If the NHL owners want to become profitable, they should start budgeting a player payroll, and THEN offer contracts. Small market teams can't compete? Its a 16 team playoff. It doesn't matter if there are dominant teams, because the regular season means squat, and anyone can pull off an upset in a short series. All the NHL owners are doing is feeding the public a line of bullshit.

Says who? ESPNEWS If Milton gets $8 Million, its a sad day for all considered. We'll see.

Says who? Good pitchers have bad starts. Andy Pettitte posted double digit ERAs in four separate postseason series. I think Perez had a bad matchup against righties Scott Rolen and Albert Pujols. Its hard to say what caused it, but I'm sure the Yankees will do their homework. The bottom line is, the you sometimes need to buy low, and look for overlooked players. Remember Scott Brosius came off an ABYSMAL 1997 season when he joined the Yankees. The Red Sox grapped David Ortiz, Bill Mueller, and Mark Bellhorn after they had bad seasons. The Yankees may need to look at some underachievers to build their team. Especially since there are no sure bets on the pitching market this season.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylc=X3oD...ov=ap&type=lgns Now, let us take a look at a specific passage from that report.... That sounds familiar. Where have I heard that before? No surprises here. The NHL owners, just like the MLB owners, are a pack of lying scumbags. Hopefully, the fans will wake up to this charade, and the owners will come to the bargaining table with a real offer, instead of this salary cap bullshit which the players will not buy, and does not work anyway.

I'm not suggesting 8 mil a year. That would be insane. He's worth about $4 Million, in my view. If Milton wants more, there are other options available, such as Odalis Perez.

Allen Iverson drops in the game winning shot, in overtime.

Sixers giving the Pacers a serious run. The Pacers literally don't have any substitutes.

Why must we add bad ones? How the hell does Eric Milton help this team at all? We have plenty of number five starters on the team. Adding another does nothing but take up a roster spot. 1. The Yankees last season received 18 starts from Jose Contreras (5.64 ERA), six starts from Esteban Loazia (8.50), seven from Brad Halsey (6.47), two from Donovan Osbourne (7.13), and two from Alex Graman (19.80). That is 35 starts from pitchers who had higher ERAs than Eric Milton this season. 2. Eric Milton allowed 43 home runs this season. That is an extremely unusual total for any pitcher, and his home run rate will certainly decrease next season. 3. Citizens Bank Park was an extreme home run park this season. Yankee Stadium is an excellent park for left handed pitchers. Fly balls that would land in the stands at CBP would fall within the field at Yankee Stadium. 4. If you add a decent centerfielder, alot of those land in someone's glove for an out. There's a very good chance Milton would improve on his performance if he moves to Yankee Stadium. His walk and strikeout totals were very good, and his weakness is negated by the ballpark. And if nothing else, he saves you from throwing guys like Halsey and Graman on the mound.

Why? Because (god forbid) your 100 win team can't add any good players? You could sign Eric Milton, keep Javy Vazquez, and add Bernie Brewer to your bench and the team would easily clear 90 wins. Wait until your team actually does something before bitching. For the time being, please refrain from posting unless you actually have something to say.

ESPN Insider reports the offer is $10 Million over two years. That is too much, in my opinion. Especially when you have so many quality players available on the market.

I would greatly prefer that setup.

Yes, it is little more than a formality. If he does not file, the Astros own his rights entirely over the next season.

Ok, in all seriousness, I'm compiling the winners. Looking over the stats, I find it interesting that no one picked Carlos Beltran, probably the best player in the Playoffs. And the winner is.... PINJOCKEY Pinjockey was the only player to select Brad Lidge, and Lidge's 20 strikeouts and three saves catapulted him to the top of the standings. Congratulations on winning the 2004 TSM Fantasy Playoffs Challenge.