Cheech Tremendous

He can't be a heel. The women love him!

The long-time criticism of CM Punk has been that he "imitates" a wrestling match instead of "working" a wrestling match. He has also been cited as a guy who tries to shoehorn a storyline into his matches, even if it's just 5 minute filler. It's completely plausible that an old-school guy like AA would be down on that sort of thing because he was raised on realism in his matches. It doesn't necessarily mean he's a toadie for HHH. Just because the internet likes the guy doesn't not mean he's above criticism, and just because HHH and Michaels had issues with his match doesn't mean they are openly burying him. It's not as black and white as the internet tries to portray it.

The AL has determined the DH to a position on a baseball team. There should be no reason to disqualify a DH from MVP discussion. Good defense should be rewarded accordingly, but just being a position player doesn't make one inherently more valuable. Last year, I had A-Rod over Ortiz for MVP. My decision was based on the fact that their numbers were essentially equal, but Rodriguez had plus defense at 3B, and I felt that was enough to separate the two. But this year, I don't see any reason to discount Ortiz or Hafner when they are having the best offensive seasons. KO was way off base on the Dan Patrick show. He kept pointing out that Ortiz was so horrible defensively that he couldn't be an MVP. Someone should let him know that Ortiz really isn't that bad as a 1B. He moved to DH due to concerns with his knees over a 162-game schedule and the fact that the Sox had the luxury of letting him DH. If he were in the NL, this wouldn't be an issue at all.

Who the fuck is Murray Chass and why is he allowed to write about baseball? Check out this line from his NYTimes article: Sure, he qualified it by saying "everyday player", but does he even realize that David Wells, Matt Clement and Tim Wakefield, who made up their 3, 4, and 5 starters, have all missed the majority of the season. Their long man/#6 starter (DiNardo) is out indefinitey, and their insurance starter (Papelbon) out of the pen moved to the closer role because Keith Foulke was injured. Coco Crisp also missed a good chunk of the season, as has Wily Mo Pena. Trot Nixon is on the DL. I know these names aren't as sexy as Matsui and Sheffield, but the Red Sox have had major injury problems this year. The pitching staff is a wasteland. Why he concludes that they should have run away with the division is beyond me.

Rocky doesn't stand a chance. It won't touch the Good Shepherd or Night at the Museum. Those movies are loaded with A-listers.

I wasn't specifically mentioning anyone on this board, but a lot of the talking heads of tv and radio were ready to hand the gold to this team before they even faced real competition. I am cautiously optimistic.

That's why I thought it was a little premature to give them the gold after skunking Puerto Rico's practice team and a Yao-less China. Not saying this team can't win, or that they won't be better than Athens, but let's not get ahead of ourselves before they play any real competition.

I suspected that the Orton thing was going to be much worse than that. Sounds like he was being an arrogant prick, but what else is new?

So, basically, he was the JBL of the mid-90s?

It was being discussed all week. The Yankees were never keeping Betemit though. He would have been moved in a second deal, probably San Diego for Linebrink.

What makes you think that? Who would be a buyer of Lee's services and what do you think they would offer? What's a better deal that makes sense that one of the contenders might pursue?

They showed that they were willing to spend money. They offered 4/$48 to Lee and he rejected it. That's a lot of money for a hitter of his age, and offering more isn't a commitment to win, it's payroll suicide. The Brewers were able to haul three major league players, albeit of varying success, instead of minor leaguers that do nothing for a team that is still in some form in a playoff race (albeit a slim, slim chance). The team needed a closer ASAP. Adding Francisco Cordero may not seem like much, but it solidifies that bullpen. Cordero's numbers may look a little shakey this year at first glance, but keep in mind he's going to AL and is moving from an extreme hitter's park. He should have a good future in the NL Central.

The idea behind the "seller's market" is overblown in relation to the state of most major league teams today. It is becoming increasinly obvious that teams are not really willing to give up top quality prospects for a two-month rental. Contracts are too steep these days, and unless you can work out an extension in a short negotiating window, it doesn't make economic sense to lose prospects who can contribute in a year or two at a fraction of the cost. You can't fill multiple holes through free agency, thus necessitating a strong AA and AAA system. Conversely, teams who are out of it have less incentive to deal than ever before. Once the big market teams shy away from dealing their top prospects, it becomes more advantageous for a team to just hold their player until the offseason where they can get two draft picks just by offering arbitration. The most obvious example of this in practice is the way the Red Sox and Yankees have approached the trade deadline. Despite being major market teams that are willing to spend dollars to win, their respective FO's have taken a hard-line stance against dealing prospects for overpriced veterans. That's a complete reversal from where these teams stood one, two or three years ago and it effectively sets the market for the rest of the league.

Wait, why do people think this was a bad deal for the Brewers? Both teams got what they needed to compete this year, and didn't give up anything that will hurt them long term. Even though this has been deemed a "seller's market", it's obvious that the market has shifted in the past year or two. Teams are not giving up talent for rentals. The Brewers recognized that and made the best deal for themselves.

I was actually surprised that the Brewers got that much for him. Milwaukee is not interested in minor leaguers, or holding out to get draft picks. They want guys who can come in and help them now because they still have a chance at the playoffs. The bullpen is awful, and Cordero will help immediately. Mench is a downgrade from Lee, sure, but not so much that it will devastate their offense. I give a mild thumbs up.

I am still trying to figure out how any of you are shocked that these guys might violate the wellness policy.

Al will have a good explanation I'm sure, but I'd like to jump in on this one. RBIs and Runs Scored are a team based stat and have little reflection of the actual player's ability. The ability to drive in runs is entirely dependent on the number of opportunities presented. It doesn't really indicate how the person hit with runners on, just that a lot of runners made it home. Joe Carter routinely had 100+ RBI seasons, but he wasn't much of a hitter. A better representation would be to look at a player's avg./obp./slg. with RISP. Then we know what the actual player's performance with scoring opportunities.

I've come to determine that Buster Olney is either insane, extremely gullible, high on crack, or some combination of all 3. So far this trading deadline he has said the following regarding the Red Sox, including a new doozy that I will discuss at the end: -Bobby Abreu for Trot Nixon and parts. This didn't make a lot of sense for the Sox seeing that the actual production between these two is fairly close, and Abreu has years at tens of millions left on his contract whereas Trot is up this year and the Sox are ready to begin the Wily Mo era next year -Soriano for Pedroia, Hansen, and Lester - Yes the Red Sox are going to trade the future of their pitching staff and infield for a rental that plays the exact position as Manny. -Peavy for Lowell - That's it. No prospects. No money. Straight up. There isn't a GM in the free world that would do that deal, no matter how bad you need a 3B. and finally, the big one - Miguel Cabrera to the Red Sox - Are you kidding me? The Marlins are going to give up one of the most phenomenal talents in the game to the Sox at the trade deadline, with no bidding war taking place beforehand? That's insane, and as strong as the farm system is, they don't have the guys to that deal. Go home, Buster! Keep the Yankees' dick in your mouth, at least we don't have to hear you speak then.

That's sort of incorrect. I think they were okay with the Stossel thing, but actually fired him because of some altercation with Mr. T and then retroactively blamed it on the Stossel thing and subequent lawsuit.

But I wasn't 100% clear on what that meant. It sounds like they just they tested the Smackdown roster as a whole, but have yet to do the same with the other brands.

By no one mentioning the ratings, did you actually mean discussed ad nauseum two pages ago?

The thing about Tejada is he 32 years old, plays the worst SS defense in all of baseball and is owed $36 million through the end of the decade. You can't ask someone to take that sort of commitment on and then demand the world for him. Things don't work that way. The Orioles need a rebuilding plan, and that plan would probably work better without Tejada involved. But that's just an opinion.

If Hunter Pence is that old and still playing AA, you need to disount all his stats heavily. He might not be the prospect the Astros think he is. If they can keep Hirsch out of the deal somehow, they should go for it.

The Astros, as of Thursday July 27 have a 1.17% chance of winning the division and a 2.86% shot at the wild card, for a combined 4.03% chance at making the playoffs. They aren't completely out of it, but it's damn close. If they have a shot at Tejada, it's a deal they should absolutely do. But for a rental like Soriano or Lee they are just mortgaging the future for something that is out of their reach this year.

What do the BJ's need badly? They need pitching, as do the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox and every other team in the AL not named the Tigers (and they could use an insurance arm as well). Too bad there are none on the market to speak of, unless you want overpaid drek like Jon Lieber, Odalis Perez, Miguel Batista or something in that class.