The Man in Blak

If the Mets keep spending all this money, how will be they able to burn $40 million on washed-up retread superstars on the down side of their career?

Keep an eye on the Griffin/Droughns situation, even though Mike Shanahan is always an infuriating bastard when it comes to releasing accurate injury information. If you had to ask me now, I'd side with Droughns. Johnson is a definite play against Pittsburgh, Caldwell is an okay start with Atlanta (whose defensive hype has come more from their run-stuffing prowess), which leaves the tandem of Denver receivers. Smith, sadly, isn't a no-brainer with Charles Woodson blanketing him all day and Ashley Lelie has quietly been turning in a decent season, gaining at least fifty yards in four of the first five games this year. So, it depends on how big of a gambler you are - if you're conservative, go with Smith (who will certainly get looks, no matter how much Woodson is hassling him). If you want to gamble, go after Lelie and the possible TD. I don't care how much he may be struggling, you've got to start Santana Moss every week, especially against San Francisco. Moss, Moulds & Smith should be your definites and, as far as the Cowboys go, it's really a coin flip. Personally, I'd side with Bryant, as Glenn slid down the stretch last year and Bryant is that pivotal third year of his career...but both have marginal value any way you look at it. Go with Holmes and Westbrook - Emmitt's on a bye, the Dolphins may be switching starting QBs again and Buffalo has absolutely owned opposing running backs all year (only 1 rushing TD against, 85 yards per game). Plus, Leonard Henry sucks, which is always something to keep in mind when making these very important decisions in fantasy football.

Flik, as far as the WDI league goes, you have a very convenient "problem." There are no guarantees for points across the lineup in a deep 15-team league, but you've got two (potentially three) competent backs for next week. As you said, Westbrook is a lock, but Rudi Johnson has a very favorable matchup against Cleveland's DEF, who's given up a whopping eight rushing touchdowns this year already (only New Orleans have given up more). Cap that off with 114.6 rushing yards allowed per game (roughly in the middle of the league), and Johnson makes an excellent play. Suggs isn't bad either - even though the perceived "RB-by-committee" approach and the Browns' overall terrible play is rightfully scaring everybody away, Suggs is apparently (and inexplicably) the man for the job in Cleveland and he's got a favorable matchup in the Bengals, who are dead last in the league in rushing yards allowed (165.8 yards per game).

The Green Bay offense is good, other than Ahman's fumbl-itis. The defense, however...

Actually, I think either match-up would present an interesting NLCS for the Cardinals. The Braves and the Cardinals were both picked to finish third in their various division, both have managers that will make the games interesting (plus, you have the minor J.D. Drew/Jason Marquis trade undercurrent). Meanwhile the Astros were left for dead and have come back with a lot of veterans (Bagwell, Biggio) who are desperately looking for one real shot at the World Series. Both make tough matchups for St. Louis, with Houston providing slightly more difficulty than Atlanta, I think.

I think the rules are good - it just gets down to consistent enforcement, which the NFL hasn't even come close to reaching in the first five weeks of the season.

PUJOLS~!

You're going to indict Angels/Twins on the claim of it not being "something new"? With Yankees/Red Sox on the horizon?

I meant in the "hideously underwhelming rematch" context of Rock/Hogan, not the actual results of the match. It would be pretty damn funny if New York just went out and won all three games at Fenway, though.

Well, I'm sure it would have been appealing to Twins and Angels fans. But they're obviously not a big part of Fox's target demographic, so fuck 'em.

Collins is a great pickup, with Gannon looking to be toast for the year, and he's especially a great pickup against the Colts. The only situation where I might not drop Roethlisberger for Collins would be in a keeper league. As for Dillon/Moore/Stecker, it depends on your scoring system: if your league counts TDs only, then go with Mewelde Moore, as Dillon hasn't been a goal line option and Moore has the much better matchup. If you've got yardage in the equation, then go with Dillon - I'd guess that New England will play more ball control this week, just to wear that defense out, so Dillon's number will be called frequently.

I'll go the Rock/Hogan-rematch route and predict the Red Sox in five.

Right, everyone who forgot that Lima was 9-1 at home and that Matt Morris has a 6.02 ERA on the road.

The fact that Pat Borders was even on the Twins roster should give you a good indication of how well equipped they were for the playoffs. I cringe to think of how differently the series would have gone with Joe Mauer in there. This one sucked. From the phantom tag on Jacque Jones, to Rincon's meltdown...this one was just depressing. But hey, "America asked for it - Yankees/Red Sox", as the wonderful people at Fox said roughly 100 times.

One part of me really wishes that Morris would have parked a fastball in Lima's grill when he first came up to bat, just for all of those ridiculous theatrics he does. Another part of me applauds that the guy has literally resurrected his career and had a chance to shine on the biggest stage in the sport. Overall, exactly what I predicted happened - we got in trouble when Morris fell behind with some baserunners (and a momentary thanks to the umpires who blew TWO calls in the Lima Bunt fiasco) and they put some on him early. And Lima, who's been an ace at home all season, did exactly what I figured he'd do - steal one from the Cardinals.

I hope this series finally gets it into the Twins' skull that Jacque Jones should not be playing in the outfield on an everyday basis.

Well, it's not like Astros fans had a lot to cheer about before September.

You're going to run out of liquor very quickly.

Just did some additional research on that - if it weren't for a couple of tough losses in September (Marquis did fairly poorly with both catchers that month), Marquis would have been 7-0 with Molina and 8-7 with Matheny...which is probably where I got the perception that Molina was the better catcher. Though half a run in ERA certainly isn't sneezeworthy.

Los Angeles basically handed the Cardinals the game last night, between Milton Bradley's hijinks in the outfield, the blown pickoff throw, the choke against Eldred with the bases loaded...seriously, we caught some huge breaks there. And just out of curiosity - what's Marquis' stats when Matheny catches him, versus the games where Yadier Molina catches?

Maybe it's just me, but the album seems a little too polished - tracks like the Fire suite ("Mrs. O'Leary's Cow") and "Heroes and Villains" really suffered in the re-recording process, and I'm far from being an analog-worshipping purist. Oh, and I'm not a big fan of the new "Good Vibrations" either. (The altered lyrics stink.) The content is still there and it's still remarkable...but the presentation and production left a lot to be desired, in my opinion.

Through all of the games before today, here's the current standings, by my count: ------------------------------------------------------ SMELL THE RATINGS! * 2B - Marcus Giles (2/10, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB) * 3B - Scott Rolen (0/6, 1 R) * OF - Gary Sheffield (1/7, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI) * OF - Manny Ramirez (3/8, 3 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI) * SP - Pedro Martinez (1 W, 7 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 2 BB) * SP - Javier Vasquez * CL - Mariano Rivera (2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K) Alkeiper * 2B - Marcus Giles (2/10, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB) * 3B - Adrian Beltre (3/8, 1 R) * OF - Lance Berkman (3/10, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI) * OF - J.D. Drew (1/8) * SP - Pedro Martinez (1 W, 7 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 2 BB) * SP - Roy Ozwalt (6.1 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 4 K, 1 BB) * CL - John Smoltz (3 IP, 3 K, 2 BB) the pinjockey * 2B - Jeff Kent (1/9, 1 RBI) * 3B - Alex Rodriguez (6/10, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI) * OF - Vladimir Guerrero (1/8, 2 RBI) * OF - Gary Sheffield (1/7, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI) * SP - Pedro Martinez (1 W, 7 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 2 BB) * SP - Roger Clemens (1 W, 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 7 K, 6 BB) * CL - Brad Lidge (2.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 K, 1 BB) The Man in Blak * 2B - Tony Womack (1/10, 1 R, 1 RBI) * 3B - Scott Rolen (0/6, 1 R) * OF - Larry Walker (3/8, 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI) * OF - Hideki Matsui (3/8, 1 RBI) * SP - Roy Ozwalt (6.1 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 4 K, 1 BB) * SP - Roger Clemens (1 W, 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 7 K, 6 BB) * CL - Mariano Rivera (2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K) Team Stats: STR: .207 BA, 6 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB, 1 W, 0 SV, 6 K, 2.79 ERA, 1.03 WHIP ALK: .250 BA, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB, 1 W, 0 SV, 13 K, 2.20 ERA, 1.16 WHIP PIN: .265 BA, 3 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, 2 W, 0 SV, 16 K, 3.24 ERA, 1.50 WHIP MIB: .219 BA, 5 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 SB, 1 W, 0 SV, 13 K, 1.69 ERA, 1.50 WHIP Team Ranks: (higher the better) STR: 1 BA, 4 R, 3 HR, 3.5 RBI, 3.5 SB, 2 W, 2.5 SV, 1 K, 2 ERA, 4 WHIP ALK: 3 BA, 1.5 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3.5 SB, 2 W, 2.5 SV, 2.5 K, 3 ERA, 3 WHIP PIN: 4 BA, 1.5 R, 3 HR, 3.5 RBI, 1.5 SB, 4 W, 2.5 SV, 4 K, 1 ERA, 1.5 WHIP MIB: 2 BA, 3 R, 3 HR, 2 RBI, 1.5 SB, 2 W, 2.5 SV, 2.5 K, 4 ERA, 1.5 WHIP Overall Rank: 1:Smell the Ratings! - 26.5 (-1.5) 2:the pinjockey - 26.5 (-2.0) 3:The Man in Blak - 24.0 (+1.5) 4:Alkeiper - 23.0 (+2.0)

Milton Bradley absolutely destroys a high Marquis meatball to tie it up at 3-3. As Tim McCarver would say (but didn't), that ball got fucked.

Through all of the games before today, here's the current standings, by my count: ------------------------------------------------------ SMELL THE RATINGS! * 2B - Marcus Giles (1/5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB) * 3B - Scott Rolen (0/2, 1 R) * OF - Gary Sheffield (1/7, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI) * OF - Manny Ramirez (3/8, 3 R, 1 HR, 5 RBI) * SP - Pedro Martinez (1 W, 7 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 2 BB) * SP - Javier Vasquez * CL - Mariano Rivera (2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K) Alkeiper * 2B - Marcus Giles (1/5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB) * 3B - Adrian Beltre (2/4, 1 R) * OF - Lance Berkman (2/5, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI) * OF - J.D. Drew (0/3) * SP - Pedro Martinez (1 W, 7 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 2 BB) * SP - Roy Ozwalt * CL - John Smoltz the pinjockey * 2B - Jeff Kent (1/5, 1 RBI) * 3B - Alex Rodriguez (6/10, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI) * OF - Vladimir Guerrero (1/8, 2 RBI) * OF - Gary Sheffield (1/7, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI) * SP - Pedro Martinez (1 W, 7 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 2 BB) * SP - Roger Clemens (1 W, 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 7 K, 6 BB) * CL - Brad Lidge The Man in Blak * 2B - Tony Womack (0/5) * 3B - Scott Rolen (0/2, 1 R) * OF - Larry Walker (2/4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI) * OF - Hideki Matsui (3/8, 1 RBI) * SP - Roy Ozwalt * SP - Roger Clemens (1 W, 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 7 K, 6 BB) * CL - Mariano Rivera (2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 K) Team Stats: STR: .250 BA, 6 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB, 1 W, 0 SV, 6 K, 2.89 ERA, 1.09 WHIP ALK: .294 BA, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 SB, 1 W, 0 SV, 6 K, 3.86 ERA, 1.14 WHIP PIN: .300 BA, 3 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 0 SB, 2 W, 0 SV, 13 K, 3.21 ERA, 1.43 WHIP MIB: .263 BA, 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 1 W, 0 SV, 9 K, 1.93 ERA, 1.63 WHIP Team Ranks: (higher the better) STR: 1 BA, 4 R, 3 HR, 3.5 RBI, 3.5 SB, 2 W, 2.5 SV, 1.5 K, 3 ERA, 4 WHIP ALK: 3 BA, 2 R, 1 HR, 1.5 RBI, 3.5 SB, 2 W, 2.5 SV, 1.5 K, 1 ERA, 3 WHIP PIN: 4 BA, 2 R, 3 HR, 3.5 RBI, 1.5 SB, 4 W, 2.5 SV, 4 K, 2 ERA, 2 WHIP MIB: 2 BA, 2 R, 3 HR, 1.5 RBI, 1.5 SB, 2 W, 2.5 SV, 3 K, 4 ERA, 1 WHIP Overall Rank: 1: the pinjockey - 28.5 2:Smell the Ratings! - 28.0 3:The Man in Blak - 22.5 4:Alkeiper - 21.0

... So, yeah. I know Jesse Crain has a horrible K/BB rate and he's young, but I tend to subscribe to the theory that having a live arm is better than a dead arm. The four pitches to Jeter weren't even remotely close and that should have been signal enough for Gardenhire to get the hook, converted starter or no.