EVIL~! alkeiper

Here we go. Las Vegas drew 306,628 fans this season, an average of 4,946 per game. That ranks juat 48th in the minors. I know AAA and the majors are two different animals, but that is not encouraging. I think the problem is that LV is tourist based, and teams need a strong season ticket base to draw big attendance numbers.

Las Vegas does have a AAA team. I don't know the attendance numbers, but I'll track them down.

If everyone is ok with that.

Oy. That has got to violate some kind of tampering rule. Can MLB be any less brazen about their plans to screw the Montreal Expos? Why would baseball want to screw with the Expos know that they're moving to D.C.? Whatever Minaya did to deserve such a high market job. It would seem he would of had one if he would of just stayed. A new owner, who you have to assume will attempt to make the team better and actually care about the teams future. Unlike the Mets, with that dink Fred Wilpon. Its not that the Mets hired Omar Minaya. Its that they did it DURING the season. By any standard, that's tampering.

NL Wild Card Cubs 54% Astros 23% Giants 20% Dodgers 3% Padres trace NL West Dodgers 96% Giants 4% AL West Athletics 64% Angels 36% Rangers trace AL East Yankees 93% Red Sox 7%

That's essentially the essense of the problem. The owners failed to properly market the team, and attendance fell accordingly.

I'd take that bet. Selig may be an ass, but he's formed solidarity with the owners.

Oy. That has got to violate some kind of tampering rule. Can MLB be any less brazen about their plans to screw the Montreal Expos?

As I announced earlier this season, I am going to run a special postseason fantasy baseball league, exclusively for the winners of the four TSM leagues. This is an invitation only league. At the present, the posters that would be included are Smell the Ratings (AL League), The Man In Blak (NL League), Pinjockey (TSM Mixed League), and either myself or Bored (TSM H2H League). Here are the rules.... -On Monday, each team will select a roster of 13 players, from the eight playoff teams. I would prefer to receive them via PM. In the event I am one of the teams, I would give my roster to Lightning Flik the day before. These teams will include eight position players, four starters, and one relief pitcher. Position eligibility is determined by if the player played 15 games at the position this season. The outfield slots are not position specific, and a DH can be your 1Bman. -These rosters will carry throughout the playoffs, with no changes. This means that if your guys are eliminated, you can no longer accumulate stats for the position. So you can go for broke and carry mostly players from one team, or you can spread your team around. I'm doing this to avoid confusing calculations with statistics, as I will be calculating everything myself. -The standings will be calculated roto-style, with the stats being BA, HR, R, RBI, SB, W, Sv, ERA, Whip and Ks. Again, I'm going with batting average because it is much easier to keep track of. -If I am a participant, Lightning Flik will be the independant arbitor, should there be any disputes. Any questions, feel free to post.

Radio.

Isn't one of them blind? I don't have a clue what their names are even. All I know is that they are informative, and very good at making sure the listener is updated about the count, outs, score, and little things like that.

Looking at Eric Milton's stats, he's allowed 41 HRs this season. And less anyone thinks that is due to the new ballpark, 23 of those have come on the road. 23 road HRs in 96 2/3 IP.

It depends on what Yahoo offers. I will try and consider more accurate measures of player performance when choosing stats, while maintaining balance.

I really enjoy listening to the Devil Rays' broadcasters. They do a good job.

Reds/Devil Rays tied at 8 in the 8th.

They would have, but if they did, they would not get a better deal from Washington D.C., thanks to the incoming city boardmembers.

It won't have turnovers. Turnovers are essentially a junk stat, because they are highly dependant simply on who carries the ball the most for the team. The league leaders in turnovers (usually high scoring guards) are very different from the most turnover prone players (mostly awkward centers). And I don't see any value in carrying fouls.

I am probably going to set up a separate Roto league on Yahoo if anyone's up for that.

Because the owners don't care about markets, amenities, or anything like that. They just want free stadiums.

Reds lead 4-0 in the 3rd inning.

Yes they were. They were actually the Nationals for most of their existance. As for the Expos, let's not forget the owners still have a pesky little racketeering lawsuit staring at them.

http://www.fieldofschemes.com The taxpayers (obviously) will foot a good portion of the bill, despite soundly voicing in the elections that they don't want to. The stadium initiative is being rushed through by a lame-duck legislature. But hey, as long as Bud's cronies make money, everyone wins!

1%. To address the Padres, they do have some good players. Brian Giles is a very underappreciated hitter, as is Mark Loretta. Mark Loretta has played insanely well this season. Akinori Otsuka is one of the best relievers in the game, with a funky delivery to boot. I enjoy watching them. 2004: 88-68 (.564) 2003: 88-74 (.543)

Didn't Jim Palmer say he did not too long ago? Yup. Palmer's accusations were more baseless than the ones against Bonds. Palmer's sole evidence was that Anderson hit 50 home runs one year, and never again came close. So obviously Anderson must have roided up to reach that total. It fails to answer second questions. One, why didn't Brady's OBP flucuate with his slugging percentage? Second, if the steroids were that potent, why did he stop taking them? In any case, Palmer had no evidence whatsoever beyond the stat line.

Unlike Popov, this fan can't even claim that he caught the ball. It seems like a real stretch to say that by touching the ball with your leg, you've established ownership. I can't see it happening, especially since I doubt there is sufficient videotape proof. The cameras caught Popov's glove. I'm not sure they would have caught thism minute detail. But while we're at it, Jake Peavy should sue for the ball as well. "It slipped out of my hand."