Cheech Tremendous

That sounds utterly ridiculous. I would like to see the article in question because that sounds like a writer entertaining himself on a slow news day. I think it's been proven time and time again in the five years Theo's been in charge that this FO will not trade for aging, overpaid superstars on the downside of their careers. I don't even know what Griffey would offer. They'd have to move JD Drew to center for defensive purposes, which would probably hurt the pitching staff. Griffey makes boatloads the next two seasons and this team is counting the days until Ellsbury takes over in center. The last thing they need is a CFer (Crisp, Pena, Moss, Murphy and Ellsbury are all in the system and capable of handling the position). Coco has been something of a disappointment offensively, but he's a valuable member of the current roster. He's been an acceptable bottome of the order hitter for the past month or so. No reason to shake that up for a marginal upgrade, especially if it costs money and prospects.

Well, if we flash back to Kobe's free agent period a couple of summers ago, at the eleventh hour he decided he wanted to go to Chicago. I guess he had dreams of being the heir to Jordan, or something like that. Problem was, Chicago didn't have to cap room to sign him. Whether the Lakers either flat out refused a sign and trade or nothing materialized because Chicago lacked anyone with trade value, I have no idea. Things could have definitely changed since then, but all of the Kobe to Chicago stuff was covered really well at the time he signed with LA. I don't know how much of it was serious and how much was a romanticized vision of being the next Jordan though. With regards to Phoenix, I remember that they went hard after Nash when Kobe's agent informed them that they had no chance to sign him. They had cleared all that cap space with the intention of going hard after him and he had little to no interest.

It has to be the Bulls. I can't think of any other team he'd leave LA for.

According to espn.com, Clemens won't pitch in Boston this weekend. He'll be back next Monday. What a wuss.

There was a snippet in the New York Post that said Kobe told management he'd approve a trade to one team only. The author doesn't know what team that was. He won't be traded.

I remember that the pre-posting scouting reports had him as a Japanese Jeff Suppan, which wasn't met to be a compliment. I bet the Yankees would be thrilled if he ended up being anything close to resembling Suppan.

They really missed the boat on that guy, didn't they?

I heard that the rain delayed portions of the Indy 500 actually beat the NBA in the ratings this weekend. If that's true, it's incredibly sad.

I have heard them use that term for a putt in golf. On a related note, has anyone noticed how obsessived they've gotten over "clutchness." It seems that every situation is broken down into who was and wasn't clutch. Cavs lose? Lebron wasn't clutch. Cavs win? Lebron is learning how to be clutch. Doesn't matter what sport or what time of year either. It's so annoying.

The SSP and 450 are inherently dangerous moves. The workers who currently use them may not have a history of hurting people, but that doesn't make it any more safe. Brock Lesnar damn near killed himself trying his shooting star. If the small guys need these moves to get over, then they probably aren't that important to the product. I commend the WWE for taking a stand and making things a little better for their employees.

5. People that don't care either way

It's not so much that they get ragged on because there are better sites for wrestling debates but because the other folders on this board have better traffic and discussion. There's just not a lot going on in the WWE folder compared to the rest of the board. Most of the posters that have been around a while stay completely away from the wrestling folders and much of the discussion on the top of the board seems lame compared to say, Sports or NHB.

Protecting your workers is a bad thing?

I don't mean to be a dick, but that's a terrible misinterpretation of that article. Nowhere in that article does it say that they want to package Randolph and Jack for the no. 3 pick. The article implies that they want Conley and the author wonders if between those two could they have the right mix to pick up a top 5 pick. It goes on further to say that Atlanta doesn't have the right mix of players to send back to Portland to entice them to trade Randolph.

Now that's a great question. I'm assuming I could beat up somewhere between 5 and 8.

no one gives a care about placido polanco. he's completely underated. same with guillen. but guillen gets a bit more press because he has better numbers in the flashier categories. Why should anyone care about Polanco? He has a career OPS+ of 97. His OBP has always been driven by his batting average. He has no power and no speed. He has a nice glove, but that's about the extent of his abilities. Not that I have anything against him, he's just not underrated. I'd say he's sufficiently rated.

I was very unimpressed with Michael Kay filling in for Dan Patrick today on ESPN Radio. The Yankee homer stuff is fine when you are in your local market, but it's totally inappropriate for a nationally syndicated show.

That underrated list is pretty good. I don't consider Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez, Jake Peavy or Placido Polanco underrated, but the other 6 would all appear if I were making a list.

I wasn't sure what do with Jeter. He's overrated on the whole clutch thing, plus his defense is still piss poor no matter how hard people try to defend him. But he's a good hitter for his position and is extremely durable. It's not so much that he is overrated, but comparable players, such as Carlos Guillen, are criminally underrated. On a second look, you may be right. He had an excellent peak as a hitter. It mostly stems from him still being regarded as an elite power hitter even though he's been deteriorating the past 2 or 3 seasons, but that's to be expected at his age.

After their World Series run, many analysts were calling him one of the best hitters in baseball. That's died down now that the White Sox aren't that competitive, but he gets way more praise than he should for a marginal first baseman.

I could give a shit about DVDR, but that's an okay list so far.

I'll give this a whirl. 1. Barry Zito Based on the contract he got, yes he is overrated. But I think the sabermetric community underrates him. He benefited from the park and good defense in Oakland, but the fact remains that he is a lefty that can get you 200+ innings a year with a better than league average ERA. I think there's a lot of value in that. 2. J.D. Drew I have a hard time calling him overrated because of all the flack he gets for the injuries and perceived lack of clutchness. He's overpaid but he's been an above average hitter and fielder for years and he's carried several teams to the playoffs. 3. Andruw Jones Yes, he is overrated. His defense has slipped in recent years and despite the gaudy homerun totals the last few years he hasn't been an elite hitter. 4. Juan Pierre Totally agree, and he might be the most overrated in the league. He can't hit, can't run and is only average defensively because of weak arm. If he hit 9th, or was used as a fourth outfielder he'd be very valuable but he's not worth what he gets paid. 5. Bobby Abreu Disagree - He's having a poor season now but he's been a great player for a long time and has never received his just due. He's an OBP machine, he runs the bases well and fields his position competently. He's like the NY version of JD Drew. 6. Brian Giles He was one of the best hitters in the game, but that's all gone now. I don't think anyone calls him great anymore, so he's a push. 7. Alfonso Soriano Agreed. He had a great 2006 but in the previous two or three seasons he had deteriorated into a below average player that got by because he played 81 games a year in a hitter's haven. His defense has improved but he's not a CFer. 8. Richie Sexson He still has power and he's a decent defender. You get out of him what you expect. 9. Bob Wickman Agree, only because he is considered special because of the saves. He's a decent bullpen arm 10. Jeff Suppan Like Zito, he's overpaid but has value because of his many innings that are better than league average. Guys who I consider overrated (not that they are bad players by any means): Carlos Lee Chien-Ming Wang Robinson Cano Vernon Wells Paul Konerko Jason Schmidt Ken Griffey Jr. Justin Morneau Michael Young Carlos Delgado

Pretty stupid thing to say, considering how often you post in those folders yourself. Dude, it was a joke.

Quick question: how many of you played basketball on a competitive level? I know that my varsity coach used to offer a dinner to anyone who'd flop on a charge and get the opposing player a foul. We used to have drills practicing it. I don't know where it got the stigma of being a European thing because it's always been a part of basketball culture.

Then Theo panicks and trades him to bring back fan favorite Dave Roberts, who arrives in a limo in full uniform. Hey, it's happened to a Cla before. Since we all know trading a middle reliever with fringy stuff is the same as parting with a guy who's predicted to be a #1 or #2 starter.