Cheech Tremendous

Scheurholz can't be this stupid He's not stupid. Glavine is a better pitcher and Hudson still has enough name value to bring back something good in a trade.

Wait, why are Michigan and Florida more deserving? USC played a tougher schedule and arguably played in a tougher conference. Is their still a question that they are the second best team in the country?

I think we all know why Rodgers wasn't out there this week. We are talking about McCarthy wanting Favre back for the next two years. If that's true, they burned a first round pick on an heir to Favre who will do nothing but hold a clipboard for the length of his contract. Favre was a great player and a legend in Green Bay, but sometimes you have to move on. The team isn't in playoff contention, so maybe they should start eyeing towards the future.

The guy has thrown 31 passes in his entire career. How has he been a bust? Maybe if they had a QB who was interested in training the guy he'd be better off. Why are GB fans so attached to Favre?

Yeah, and it would also be funny if Jeff Suppan ends up better than Johan Santana. Probably just as likely, too.

Ha! The Yankees were the team that bid $25 million for Igawa. I bet there are some people backtracking on the Matsuzaka hate now that the Yankees just dropped a boatload on a junkballer who looks no better than a #4 starter. Edit: Here's Rotoworld's take on it:

Then why did they draft the guy with a first round pick? Rivers, Campbell, Losman, Young, Leinart, Cutler, Grossman, Romo... you have to make the switch sometime.

I understand that your point is that Eaton and Wolf are essentially the same pitcher, but it's not exactly like Wolf is a great candidate for a breakout season. He hasn't been healthly since 2003, and even then he put up an ERA+ of 97. I don't like the years or the money for Eaton, but at least he will probably contribute something over the life of the deal. Hey Al, where do you see that the Phils got two draft picks out of Dellucci and Wolf. Wolf's not an A or B is he? It's like putting new rims on your car when it has no engine or body. The Orioles don't seem to have any clue, do they?

Is that what you really want? I have nothing against the guy, but I haven't seen anything the past two years to suggest that Favre is more than a mediocre quarterback at this point. He just tries way too hard to be the gunslinger he was ten years ago and it just kills the team in any close game. Wouldn't next year be a great time to finally hand over the team to Rodgers?

Summary of Peter Gammons' appearance on the Hotlist today: -The Matsuzaka contract will get done no matter what. Seibu will kick back money or extend the negotiating window if they have to. There is far too much at stake for all the involved parties to let this thing die over money. Peter expects negotiations to go up until the last minute. -For the first time, he truly believes that Manny Ramirez will be traded. They will sign Drew after the arbirtration deadline and then look for the best deal out there. They want three players back. Dodgers have the best fit, but their scouting director will never sign off on the prospects Boston wants -The Yankees have mild interest in Jason Schmidt, but the Cubs and Mariners still have the inside track. Cubs have offered 3/$44 million, but he would still like to go back to the northwest -Piazza will probably be the Thomas replacement in Oakland, and Barry Bonds is just a pipedream. Bonds probably won't sign anywhere until at least February. -Glavine is probably going to go back to Atlanta for family reasons. If so, Zito would probably end up a Met and the Braves would look to deal Tim Hudson -Roger Clemens probably won't pitch next year. Houston does not want to pay him. Boston is possible if the Matsuzaka negotiations stall out

Really, even though the Red Sox have to now jettison one of the best hitters of our generation to afford the contract? Look, I know that the Red Sox spend a ton of money and have an unfair competitive advantage over nearly every team in MLB but they still aren't the Yankees and they never will be. They will still put out a payroll comparable to the Angels, White Sox, Mets, Dodgers and Cubs next year.

Kind of puts the Matsuzaka posting in perspective, doesn't it? Igawa isn't even considered to be a fraction of the talent that Dice-K is. I wonder who bid that much.

I thought Seattle looked really good last night once Hasselbeck and Alexander settled in. It was Green Bay, but still, you have to be impressed with their performance in the second half. I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that Seattle can't win the NFC this year. They've become the forgotten team because of all the injuries and the weak schedule they've played.

Just heard that the Rod Barajas to Toronto deal fell apart at the eleventh hour when he switched agents and refused to take a physical. Presumably the union pressured him to walk away from the deal and go for more money. Toronto quickly signed Gregg Zaun to a two-year deal instead. Here's my interpretation of the Manny situation. I still think he's a Red Sox next year, but if not the Dodgers are the most likely destination. I would venture to say that a deal could already be in place, and as part of the negotiations Theo has asked the Dodgers to not offer arbitration to Lugo and Drew. This would explain Buster Olney's newsbit regarding a deal happening this weekend (the arb. deadline). That way they can quickly ink them to deals and then flip Manny to LA for a package built around Loney or Laroche.

The Baltimore Sun is saying that the Orioles are close to signing Chad Bradford to a three-year deal. Is this a new anti-Moneyball strategy? Find the most expensive, overvalued commodity in the market and pay out the ass for it?

Watch Ned Colletti throw Broxton, Loney and Kemp at them. I'd shit my pants.

It all depends on what sort of package they get back for Manny. Of course you can't trade him just to trade him, but if one of the lesser GM's decides to throw a great package of prospects or an impact bat at you, then it's a gamble you might want to take.

I'm surprised that Dallas got fooled into thinking that Vanderjagt could kick outside of a dome. Most accurate kicker in history, my ass.

-The Phillies sign Adam Eaton to a three-year, $24 million deal with a fourth year mutual option. Eaton seems like a guy who people think is better than he really is. He's never really translated his talent into success and has injury concerns. Could be a decent pickup if he can put it together. -Buster Olney thinks that the Red Sox will deal Manny Ramirez by this weekend if they get the Drew deal finalized. I'm still not buying it. He's been on the verge of being traded for two plus years now but there isn't one team that I can think of who matches up well in terms of movable pieces.

Wait, you're telling me reality tv is in fact, not real? Get the fuck outta here.

I wouldn't. That lineup would be abysmal. If Scott Shields and one of their busted prospects (MacPherson, Kotchman, etc.) were included then maybe, but only if JD Drew was signed first. Manny means far too much offensively to throw away for 50 cents on the dollar. The way things are going in this market, he's bordering on being underpaid. I prefer the Manny to the Rangers rumors (which include Young or Teixeira coming back). At least we would be bringing back a big time bat. We'd have to throw in lots of money and probably a prospect to make that deal work, though.

Pena does have some glaring weaknesses in his game. The problem is his upside is so good you tend to overlook everything else. With a few tweaks in his game he could be a dominant hitter. Seeing that he is just 25 and had almost no minor league development, the chances that he puts it all together are still good. He'll never be an MVP, but it's very hard to find young power hitting. He hit .300/.348/.487 last year while battling injury. An .850 OPS for a 24-year-old in his first trip through the AL is really good, at least in my opinion. As for the defense, he's an enigma. He's a butcher in the corners but is actually average to good in centerfield. His speed is phenomenal for a guy of his size.

I heard it and I don't like it. Once again, I would not trade a 25-year-old slugger with Pena's potential for a relief pitcher, unless I was damn sure that the reliever was a special talent (Cordero might be; I'm still not sold). They are far too volatile to risk giving up a prime positional player. Just let Manny Delcarmen close and be done with it. Acquire a reliever midseason if things aren't working out, but don't start axing talent because you are desperate. That's how we ended up losing Cla Meredith and Josh Bard.

I thought it was just the writers who were idiots, but it turned out it's everyone. Dan Patrick said on his radio show today that this vote symbolized the writers taking things seriously and doing their homework instead of just handing it to the easy choice. Uh, what? Isn't this the exact opposite of doing your homework?

I kind of like this Keith Law guy over at espn. From his blog: