Cheech Tremendous

I thought that this might an interesting exercise on a slow sports days. Take a look at the rosters of the teams that you follow and see if there are any future Hall of Famers. This could range from sure things to guys that you see on a HOF trajectory. For instance, I could look at the Red Sox and identify one sure thing (Smoltz), but I could also get crazy and try to argue that Dustin Pedroia is on that path if he continues what he's done already. Basically, it's up to you to make the case.

Week 3 results: Poster Name Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Total Loss Loss % Cheech 195 195 187 8 4.10% KOAB 208 208 211 -3 -1.44% Mik 223 221 221 2 0.90% Still Fly 253 250 246 7 2.77% Fazzle 220 214 218 2 0.91% Pbone 160 160 160 0 0.00% Cuban Linx 240 240 240 0 0.00% DCH 93 93 91 2 2.15% Kinetic 140 140 140 0 0.00% CanadianChris 291 288 288 3 1.03% Cyber Mark 145 144 144 1 0.69% Hollywood Spike Jenkins 189 186 183 6 3.17% Twisted Intestine 170 166 163 7 4.12% King Cucarcha 180 180 180 0 0.00% Krankor 166 165 165 1 0.60% Brody 248 251 249 -1 -0.40% Haws bah gawd 270 268 265 5 1.85% Obi Chris Kenobi 196 196 195 1 0.51% I pulled into the lead for total pounds lost as a result of a weekend long bout with the flu. However, Twisted Intestine took the overall lead at 4.12%, just 2/100 ahead of me. How long are we going to keep this going? Initially I was thinking one month, but that doesn't seem like quite enough time for a full evaluation. Suggestions? EDIT: Is there anyone who can help me with formatting so that I can make that table readable? Send me a PM.

Varitek may reject contract offer Michael Holley reported something similar in WEEI. Tek, in my opinion, is making a huge mistake if he rejects this offer.

"Player X belongs in the Hall of Very Good, but not the Hall of Fame."

Shaq's going to the make the team. It's not even worth arguing about. I don't see David Lee making it in the east. Jameer Nelson is probably a lock, both for his play and for the fact that they'll want a second guy from the Magic. Other than that, I'd say you hit it right on the head.

Or the cousin to that: Just having fun out there!

I felt really bad about participating in the Worst Poster tournament (felt even worse about being in the tournament, but that's neither here nor there). Has there been enough bad posting over the past year that we think it's necessary to mock and ridicule one more time? On a tangential note, my goal when I returned to the board in August was to keep myself from attacking and belittling other posters or parts of the board. Yes, Cheech went pussy in '08. Any feedback on how that went? Kamala still thinks I'm a grouch, but what else is new?

Then we are on different planes, sir. Side B of III is probably my favorite side of any record, ever. "Tangerine" and "That's The Way" are two of my favorite Zep songs, and "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is unbelievably fun. I could take or leave the closer, which I guess devalues my argument a bit, but to steal a phrase from a fellow poster: C'mon man.

This: ...is hardly a vote of confidence, mere musings. Unless he's got a time machine hidden in that beard, he's not getting to the hall. He's still a lock for the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame!

I didn't think he was around long enough for anyone to get to know him.

He still needs two more seasons to qualify.

He's a PG for the Toronto Raptors. He's good, but he's put together like a season and a half of quality basketball. He's not even an All-Star, let alone a HOFer.

This is Nikita Koloff BTW They play football in Russia?!

I understood the qualifier you were using, I just didn't agree. To me, Cano's first four years look like a guy who could run himself out a job in a couple of years, not a future HOFer. The comps you used showed players who were growing into superstars, with strong OBPs, defense and baserunning. Cano is on the opposite track. But, hey, I respect your opinion and enjoy the debate.

I would've put him down, but I find it silly to put down players with not even a handful of seasons. It is just far too soon. A lot of the names mentioned so far have made me laugh, but I've kept it to myself. Oh, you have to share - that's half the fun of this. I nearly shit myself when YKRG mentioned Robby Cano earlier, but hey he had a POV and the debate was interesting. I've found some of these choices just absolutely bizarre, especially for my Red Sox. Beckett? Youkilis? You've got to be kidding me. W/R/T Pedroia: I don't see a future HOFer, but a ROY, MVP, GG and WS ring in two seasons is quite amazing. If 2008 is the norm and not the exception then he might have that sort of career. Still awfully early to even start that type of thinking. Hell Nomar looked like a Hall of Famer before he died.

I need Week 3 numbers from Fazzle, Pbone, Cuban Linx, Kinetic, Canadain Chris, Hollywood Spike, King Cucaracha and Krankor.

I don't want to go too far down the rabbit hole on Cano because we don't have enough of a sample size on him yet to make any firm judgments either way, but those numbers you posted from other 2B only reconfirm that Cano isn't in their league. He's had one very good season fueled by a fluke batting average. Other than that, he looks like a .750 OPS type with bad defense, which doesn't even make him a top five ballplayer at his position. My prediction: The Yankees look to upgrade sometime before the 2010 season.

I don't think we've discussed the Beastie Boys in any sort of depth. While compiling my Favorite Albums list earlier this week, I accidentally forgot Paul's Boutique. What a great fucking album, and one that's unique in the fact that sampling laws will prevent the world from ever having a similar record. It's aged really well because of this and sounds miles better than their greatest commercial success, Licensed to Ill. The rest of the catalog ranges from good to great. Check Your Head is a really amazing record. I never fully bought into Hello Nasty or To the 5 Boroughs, but I haven't given either a good listed in years. Maybe I'd come around if I put them on again. The oddest thing about the Beasties is that you'll rarely find anyone that has them as their favorite band, but it is even more rare to find someone who dislikes them. From rap fans to punk to indie guys, just about everyone likes their output to some degree.

It could be the Ray J thing, but you might be thinking of Real Chance at Love. I've never seen said show, but I consulted my VH1-watching friend. He informed me that the two gentlemen on this show are holdovers from a show called "I Love New York." New York, in turn, was originally a contestant on Flavor of Love. So now VH1 is actively recycling the losers from their dating shows for new dating shows. It's like a retarded Bachelor.

I don't agree with any of this. First of all, Jackie Robinson and Ryne Sandberg won MVP trophies in their first four seasons and were definitely considered to be amongst the top five players in the game. Their numbers were off the chart compared to Cano. The other five were definitely way ahead of where Cano is as well. I guess he's put up some decent HR and RBI already, but his other numbers pale in comparison. The other thing to consider is that by their fourth season almost everyone on that list was a superstar or damn close to superstar level. They were beginning meteoric rises. After four seasons, I don't even know if I'd call Cano a good player. He was below average at the plate and in the field last year. He has youth on his side and two good seasons to his name, but nothing that makes him even stand out among his contemporaries at 2B.

It'd be nice if they had some inside views. Best I can tell is it looks like Houston, Milwaukee, and Seattle all smushed into one. Look at the first rendering on the top row and then compare it to third one. Notice anything? There's two monstrous poles down the right field line that block the views for most of the fans. In the first rendering they still show people sitting there, but on the third they've removed those entire sections. It appears that someone royally fucked up on that one. It's funny you mention Houston, Milwaukee and Seattle, because that's exactly what this looks like. I've complained about this growing tradition of the new "cookie cutter" stadium. HOK is the firm that handles the design process and all of their stuff looks exactly the same. These cities have the opportunity to do something that is culturally and architecturally significant and they opt for the high-end mega-plex that everyone else has. It's so boring.

Update to earlier post: The Mariners have acquired SS Ronny Cedeno and P Garrett Olson from the Cubs for RP Aaron Heilman. Linky goodness That's a bit of a step down from using Olson to acquire Jake Peavy. I'm one of the few people out there that actually believe in Heilman, either as a high-leverage reliever or starter, but that seems like a lot to give up. Cedeno and Olson have shaky major league track records, but the upside of both is still great given their minor league numbers and age. Jack Z has shown in a couple months time to be one of the sharpest GMs in the game. If he can keep this act up I see a lot of division titles in Seattle's future.

My buddy had a great idea that he thought they should employ on this type of programming. Any time someone is talking, they should flash their IQ at the bottom of the screen. This would give us some sort of reference point for the retardation that these people show on a consistent basis.

-D'Backs agree to a one-year deal with P Jon Garland -Cubs are close to acquiring P Aaron Heilman from the Mariners. SS Ronny Cedeno is believed to be part of the package. The Cubs are also trying to trade Rich Hill but I doubt he ends up in this deal with the M's. -Also, here are the latest renderings for the new Marlins stadium