EVIL~! alkeiper

That's just recent. The Dodgers also won in '59, '63, and '65. In fact, only three other cities (New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis) have won more World Series than Los Angeles.

L.A. can kiss my ass. They have the Lakers, and the Dodgers won in '81 and '88.

They're still on the four-man rotation.

The Colorado Rockies are using a four-man rotation. Which other teams could stand to give it a shot? I think a four-man rotation would be a good idea for the Mets and Yankees.

Probably in the same article where they said they needed a new stadium to maintain a competitive payroll.

And they didn't. Here's the difference between Red Sox fans and Philly fans. Sox fans are heartbroken when their team loses. Philly fans left in the 7th with a two run lead because they knew the team would lose. Sad but true.

That and the ability to last a few rounds.

Philadelphia absolutely has to be #1. With teams in all four sports, they've won nothing since 1983.

First off, baseball is a highly competitive enterprise, in which you must maintain your skills in order to survive. Playing the game is NOT the only work athletes perform. They must constantly practice and train in order to succeed. Players travel for long periods, spending weeks at a time away from home. They sometimes grab only a few hours of sleep before hopping on a plane to catch the next flight. Besides, I think the fact that athletes DO get tired is some indication that the game requires a great deal of physical exertion.

In fairness, the Pythag. W/L Pct. for the Reds 6 game win streak is .764.

He's gotta be a misprint. Nothing in John Sickels' book, nothing in Baseball Prospectus, nothing from Google, and Minor League Baseball's web site has no record of him.

Cole Hamels returned from injury last Thursday, and K'd 6 batters in just 3 innings in a A game. No hits or walks. It won't take long for Hamels to reach AA. Hamels has yet to surrender a home run in his professional career.

A blurb on espn.com listed the prospect as Brian Morris. I can't find a thing on him.

I'd honestly be shocked if the Jays traded for Encarnacion. He's not a good on base hitter, and as treble said, the Jays outfield is stocked in the minors.

Edgar Martinez has been with his current organization far longer than any other player in baseball today. He signed as an amateur free agent with the Mariners in December of 1982, meaning he's now in his 22nd year in the Mariners system.

Martinez DHed full time beginning in 1995, so its his 10th season as a DH. Still, I don't see what the DH has to do with anything. Castillo was on the '97 squad but did not play in the '97 playoffs. Jeff Conine played for both championship teams.

He was a Yankee in 1995. Pitched 19 games with 10 starts, and had pedestrian statistics. This stuff is easily accessable on http://www.baseball-reference.com.

Not quite. Edgar Martinez is in his 18th season as a Seattle Mariner.

John Franco has been with the Mets since 1990.

I honestly can't picture Garciaparra in another uniform. It wouldn't seem right.

Gah. No. They are an indicator of how well the team has TRULY played thus far. And they are no less effective than the W/L record itself.

It makes them a .500 QUALITY club.

Based on peripherals, Acevedo far and away has the best prospects on that staff, in my view. He's the guy I keep long term.

It is VERY telling early in the season, because it is an indicator of whether an early W/L record is the result of great play, or luck. As for different team, it works both ways. Sean Casey, Paul Wilson are playing way over their heads. That makes the club .500 quality. Last time I checked, .500 clubs didn't make the playoffs.

Actually the Reds only have 4 pitchers with an ERA over 5 and one of them was released. John Reidling has a .042 ERA in 22 IP. Graves, Wilson and Van Poppel are all pitching in the 3 ERA range and that's pretty good considering Van Poppel was thrown into a starter position. Lidle is a little ify but he just threw a complete game shutout. Harang is inconsistent but he's still really young. Acevedo is the same way but he does have 45 Ks before this game started. So really the pitching staff isn't doing that badly at this point in the season. If they're not doing so badly, why do they keep allowing runs? Because 4 guys, one who got released, have been giving up most of the runs. Looks like Lidle, Jones, and Harang are pulling their fair share. The only guy I'd trust on that staff is Jose Acevedo.