Cheech Tremendous

With NYankees getting banned and EHME on the straight and narrow, Marvin might have this thing in the bag. However, the WWE folder offers a lot of crap if we want to bring them into the discussion. There's the Truthiness, dustinbeaverton, edgehead69, jericholic82, Enigmecca and a bunch of others. At least they keep to themselves.

Oh no doubt. I love both those stores. I was just looking for some other options to help build a collection (on the cheap). I'm not a collector, nor am I much of an audiophile but I do have an affinity for vinyl.

From the National Enquirer (yeah, I know), but it's been picked up a few other places: Google the chick. She's hot.

I received a turntable for my birthday this week. Any recommendations on sites to purchase used and/or new vinyl?

Continuing the discussion of flamethrowers that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, former Red Sox first round pick Dan Bard is heading to the bullpen this year. I'm expecting to see a lot of 1 IP, 3K, 2BB, 1 HBP in his future.

I guess that 4:37 strikeout to walk ratio (and 108.0 ERA in A ball) was an indication that he wasn't making the necessary progress. I've always found his story to be interesting. Too bad he never put it together. I once read a scouting report from a game he pitched in that indicated he threw 12 consecutive balls, 7 of which were wild pitches. It wasn't even a case of the yips either (a la Rick Ankiel), he just couldn't get it over the plate.

I needed a new heel for my shoe.

If a guy is still available it was because there were 200+ players better than him. The only mystery to me is why Marvin thinks he can identify a a good player that 19 others have missed given the baseball knowledge and logic he has displayed in the baseball threads.

The thing about guys with electric stuff who can't find the strike zone is that they almost never find it. Sometimes a simple adjustment is all you need for better location, but the reality is many of these guys flame out because the mechanics that give them the brilliant fastball keep them from ever harnessing it.

Him and Chris Masters in the same year?

The important thing was I had an onion on my belt.

I could probably name 40 or 50 minor leaguers in the Red Sox system off the top of my head without looking, and I had no idea who Holdzkom was until he was selected by Philly. That should give you an indication of his pedigree. He walked 44 guys in 46 innings last year between AA and AAA.

I have it ranked Paul, Lebron, Kobe right now, but it's close and I think it might shift around a bit as the season progresses. All three have a legitimate claim. Kevin Garnett probably deserves to be in the discussion as well (although personally, I feel his contributions are overrated).

Even in the minors Loewen walked everyone in the ballpark. The stuff is there, but he's got a long way to go before he's a top of the rotation starter. If he can give them 150 innings with a league average ERA they should jump for joy.

Adam Loewen is projected to throw 125 innings at a 4.94 ERA. You really think he's going to put up Erik Bedards numbers? Bedard was one of the best pitchers in baseball last year. Also, Jeremy Guthrie pieced together a nice season, but he was the most hit-lucky pitcher in baseball. He's projected for a 5.07 ERA. He's the kind of guy who's going to have to take a huge leap forward just to replicate his performance from last year. It was bad last year, Ray and Baez are gone and Walker/Bradford were worked till their arms almost fell off. The pen may be slightly better this year, but I wouldn't count on it. To the tune of a projected .273 OBP. He'll be on base once every couple of ballgames. Roberts, Jones and Markakis are good. Everyone else is average or outright sucks. The O's suck. Learn to deal with it.

Even if you consider Tennessee overrated, it's still remarkable what Bruce Pearl has done there in just a couple of seasons. I remember when he got hired the talking heads were saying it was impossible to win there because it was a football school first and a women's college BB school next. Anytime the old guard is proven wrong it makes me happy.

But this stuff is getting out of hand. What if La Russa shows up drunk off his ass to the game one day and does something crazy like batting the pitcher 8th. What say you, then?

From the Spiezio article: He's got a lot of passion. Maybe he could find a home with the White Sox.

Those Cardinals sure know how to party, don't they?

Steroids was an issue that I cared about moderately until it was beaten into the ground from every angle. By the time we got to multiple Congressional hearings and Clemens parading around like a buffoon, I realized that I had gained the ability to block out the entire discussion. I just don't care anymore. Test the athletes for what you can, suspend them when they get caught and move on. I don't think there's anything more we can discuss about the past given the findings of the Mitchell Report. We all know that the previous era was tainted; let's not drag it into this one.

It has been discussed ad nauseum in other threads, but Mayweather drew 2.4 million buys for his last PPV fight, so he's the biggest legit PPV draw in the world right now. Whether or not that translates into additional interest in Mania is anyone's guess. By the way, it's unlikely that he's getting a straight $20 million payday. The package he was offered could probably be worth $20 million total, and is likely based on a percentage of the gate, merchandise and DVD sales. Oh, and your math is off to a disgusting degree. At $50 a pop (BTW, Mania is actually $55/$70 - HD this year), he would have to generate an additional 400,000 buys. However, 50% of that figure goes to cable companies right off the top. So in actuality, it would take roughly 800,000 additional buys to pay him off, but that's before expenses.

I thought it was too. But it's not like they are in the business of pumping up the projection, they're just inputting numbers. If nothing else, it gives you an idea of what kind of upside the team has. I would still lean towards 2009 or 2010 being their year.

Future Hall of Famer Ray Allen isn't a star? In what universe?

Why not 65-97? You may not have noticed, but their starting shortstop has a career .619 OPS in the EASTERN LEAGUE. PECOTA projects them for 65 wins, but given that teams on the margin are the most likely to over or underperform their projections, it might be a rosey projection. The fact that they lack a good bullpen and the most likely scenario at the deadline is sell, a late-February prediction of 65 wins is probably the best they'll look all year. By the way, for those who don't have a BP membership, their new team projections came out today. The Rays are projected to win 89(!) games this season.

Not only are the Oroiles awful on paper (and they should be, it's a rebuilding year) but they play in division that might feature 4 of the ten or twelve best teams in baseball. I just don't see any hope for them other than the fact that a few of the pieces they picked up might give them a decent core in 2010.