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ZoomSlowik

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  1. Forgive me if someone has already said any of this, but I didn't feel like reading through 7 pages of this. Just wanted to post my opinion because I am pissed off. U.S. Cellular is not any worse than any other park. I have been to numerous games at numerous parks in numerous sports and never run into a problem. It's all a matter of chance. Anytime you combine fiercely loyal sports fans with alcohol, especially when their team is losing, problems will arise. The Sox problems just seem to be more well publicized. I read about occurences in sports religiously, and I rarely see reports about occurences at other places, but they happen pretty regularly. Several people have been shot in the general vicinity of Wrigley Field in the past few months, but you don't hear this big stink. I've heard stories from friends who were involved in numerous fights in Wrigleyville, but none of them make the papers. I have a few friends that refuse to go to Wrigley, despite the fact that they are diehard Cub fans, because of incidents they were involved in. It seems like ever since those two retards charged the field against the Royals, everything that happens at U.S. Cellular is a big story. Come on, fans spilling beer on Rocco Baldelli made Sports Center. That happens on a daily basis at Wrigley! You're always going to find people that claim they go to a park regularly and never have any problems, and you're always going to have people afraid to go somewhere. Basically, just go to the game, try not to be a druken ass to the people around you, and you should be fine.
  2. Because Braves fans smoke crack. Defensively, yes, he is their best player. But to say that he is or was their best offensive player recently requires one to be under the influence of some type of narcotic. Anyone looked at Sheffield's stats last year? How about Jones, Lopez, or Giles? 116 RBI and 102 runs in the middle of those guys is almost an insult. He didn't crack 100 in either category the year before. At one point, he was a stunning all around player that was a great defender, had 30 homerun power, and could steal some bases. That's just not the case anymore. While he is better defensively than what the Sox have, anyone watching baseball should know that Hunter and Beltran have passed him defensively, his 20 stolen base days are long gone, and he isn't even hitting with that much power this year. Any team that thinks someone batting that poorly is their best hitter needs a lot of help. And if Jones is such a great player that is locked into a "hometown discount," why are they so desperate to unload him?
  3. There's one main reason that Beltran is in much more demand than Jones, it's this little thing called EVERY offensive category this year. He's hitting 36 points better has 15 more runs and 12 more RBI. Plus he isn't the clubhouse cancer and notorious loafer that Jones has become. Also, Beltran is lightyears better as a baserunner. Jones is not a $13 million player. He's batted better than .280 once, and that was 4 years ago, and he isn't that great a run producer. Considering how loaded that Braves O was last year, he should have had much more runs and RBI.
  4. Another comment: we've scored 11 more runs and allowed 4 fewer than the Yankees, they've played one more game. As Rob Neyer put it, they are not significantly better than a lot of the teams in the AL (he was specifically talking about the Red Sox), they've just been luckier in close games. And we would be at least 4 games better without that talentless ass that we recently traded to Florida.
  5. By the way, we didn't face Brown this year, and I wouldn't exactly call Mussina's performances "shutting us down." He allowed 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 6 and 1/3 and 4 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks in 8. Good but not great outings. And we would have beaten Mulder this year if Koch didn't pitch, so quit your b****ing.
  6. Quit talking about the Yankees like they are invincible. I'm sick of this s***. There's a reason they are trying so desperately to get Johnson: They have no faith in their pitching. Even when they were healthy, Brown and Mussina weren't doing that well. Vasquez is awesome, but the other two are getting old and losing their effectiveness, and you can throw Lieber in that category too. Plus, in case you haven't noticed, many of their key players are not performing that well. Jeter is about 30 points under his normal average, Posada is batting .267, Williams is too old, and Giambi sucks without the steroids. I heard this same s*** the last two years, and they lost. They should have lost to Boston, but Grady Little forgot that Pedro has no stamina anymore. As for Boston, they have a two man starting staff, and as I said, Pedro has no stamina anymore. No matter how good he is, you won't see him finish the 7th, and the rest of their starters suck. Plus, their offense isn't what it was last year. Quit forfeiting the series before we even get there, and have some faith.
  7. Wow. Way to be pessimistic. We're tied for first now. You should know that No one gets too far up in the AL Central. Twins are not that good this year. They have a two man pen, a s***ty O no matter who is healthy or hurt, and a two man staff. Silva is starting to suck, and everyone knows it now. His ERA might have looked good, but going into his start today, his batting average against was .315, while the Sox regulars don't have anyone over .295 despite their recent struggles. How could you call the Twins a great team when they have been outscored by 8 runs?! If it wasn't for Koch blowing some games they would be our b**** right now. After getting Garcia, we are a much better team. Lightyears better on the offense, especially with a healthy Maggs, and a deeper and better rotation now. Their schedule after the break is brutal, so we are going to win this by a few games. As for the Cubs, they are really overrated. I'm sick of hearing about them. Everyone makes it sound like they are flawless, which is a joke. Rusch is finally coming back to earth, so until Prior and Wood are back to the point where Dusty can overwork them horribly, their thin pen is going to start getting worn out. Merker, Hawkins and Farnsworth are the only ones that seem to be dependable, and even Farns has been sucking recently. Their lineup isn't as good as people think either. They have a lot of guys that swing and miss frequently, which will keep them inconsistent. When healthy, their starting staff nullifies their inconsistent lineup and shallow pen however. But until then, they are going to struggle, since Wood, Prior, and Maddux can't get into the 7th right now. As for Frank, you gotta be smoking something if you would rather see someone like him in the field. :dips*** There are a ton of guys that would be better off as DH's but aren't. Look at virtually anyone that plays RF or 1B and you will find them. Besides, nonexistent or poor fielding doesn't hurt one's legacy. Do you really think guys like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams would have been in the field with a DH? How about Mickey Mantle once his knees became an issue?
  8. Don't use history as a way to argue that the Twins still own this division. The let us hang around until that series sweep in September, and they had a much better team last year. The lost Guardado and Hawkins out of their pen, which was their main strength last year. While I realize the Sox still have to beat them on the field, in my opinion the Twins are just about done. Their offense is really weak, almost all of their key guys are batting under .270. Their bullpen not that good. Nathan and Rincon are decent, but they needed Romero bad, which hasn't worked out. And outside of Radke and Santana, their rotation is very inconsistent. The Sox have a much better offense, a better rotation with the addition of Garcia, and are about a draw in the pen. The only area that the Twins are better in(in my opinion) is defense, and that only gets you so far. I think the Twins need to start worrying> Have any of you looked at their schedule in late July and September? It's brutal. While the Twins are playing mostly Oakland, Anahiem, Texas, Boston, and the Yankees, the Sox play teams that are mediocre at best outside of two with the Red Sox and the Twins. We see an awful lot of Detroit, Kansas City and Cleveland toward the end of the schedule, which will let us pull away much like the Twins' schedule toward the end of last year.
  9. I hate this potential deal whether we deal Mags or prospects. As a few other people have said, Jones has gotten fat and lazy, and his knees are bugging him. His defense is not as good as it used to be. He's way to expensive for what he provides. Do you really want to commit $13 million for the next 3 years to a guy with a career .267 average? He's notorious for being a pain in the ass. Ortiz would not be much of an upgrade either, if at all. His ERA right now is 3.87, and that's come down quite a bit after a solid start. But it is likely that he wouldn't do that well on the Sox. A) He would be moving to an AL team, meaning he no longer has that easy out in the pitcher and faces more high scoring offenses. B) He would be moving from a decent pitchers park to one of the best hitters parks in the league. Look at his splits and his road ERA is much higher. I would not be surprised if his ERA jumped to 4.50, which would make him about the same as Garland. Plus, how do you thing trading Maggs would affect the rest of the team, especially considering how they reacted when Olivo was delt? It makes sense to leave this team as is at least until Maggs comes back to see what you have. In my opinion if you need to add anything for a playoff run it is another reliable arm in the bullpen. Your starting staff seems fine as is. You got 4 pretty solid guys and a competent 5th starter isn't an instant loss once Shoney gets back. Your never even going to see the 5th starter in the playoffs, so getting Ortiz doesn't help that much(especially since his career playoff ERA is over 5), and Jones' contract will kill you over the next few years.
  10. I don't know where the idea that Jones=Maggs started. That's a joke. Has anyone looked as his stats? He's hitting .248 this year, has hit over .280 once in his career, and his knees are bothering him. His defense isn't what it used to be, and he's notorious for dogging it, and could be a real problem in the clubhouse. Plus by adding him, you destroy your flexibility. If they acquire him, there is no chance Maggs is back(whether or not he is part of the deal), and your chances of keeping Garcia drop, plus you can't add players in Free Agency, where there will be some attractive options. You are much better off keeping Maggs for the rest of the year. There is simply no hitter that would be available that would have the impact Maggs would have once he gets healthy. Even if you lose him at the end of the year, you pick up a few draft picks and have $14 mil to work with in payroll. Ortiz is also overrated. He walks a lot of guys, and without the pitcher as an easy out, his ERA probably jumps a bit. These guys are two of the most overrated players around, and are not worth adding. Some bullpen help might be nice, but these guys suck. The only pitchers that I think would be worth getting before the end of the year that may in some scenario be available are Odalis Perez and Randy Johnson, which are unlikely.
  11. Ortiz might be the most overrated player in the league. He walks a lot of guys, and those 20 wins last year were a result of a stacked Braves offense. If he were to move to the American League, he would get rocked. In the NL, he gets a free out every 9th hitter with the pitcher, and most #8 hitters in the NL are pretty close to one. Look at the numbers, American League teams score more runs. I'm not even sure he would be an upgrade. He would clearly be less effective than Garcia, Buehrle, and Loiza, and is probably a draw with Garland, who I would rather have anyways. Not worth it for a guy who is your 4th or 5th starter. Jones makes this even worse, in my opinion. He's had a good history, but is in decline. He's hitting .248 and strikes out almost once a game. Plus his fielding isn't any better at this stage of his career. He may win Gold Gloves, but that is mainly on reputation. With the current state of his knees, it's not likely to get better. Plus, he is a clubhouse cancer and is notorious for dogging it. The worst part is his salary. He is due $13 million per year for the next three years. $13 mil for a guy that hasn't cracked .280 in 4 years. By trading Maggs for Jones, the salary is a draw for this year, but really handicaps the teams for the next two. That hurts their chances of resigning Garcia or Loiaza, or signing any other significant players. They are better off just keeping Maggs. Even if you can't resign him, you pick up the draft picks and suddenly have $14 mil to invest in a free agent market that will include some position players that could help, like Nomar, Renteria, Varitek, Cabrera, or (longshot) Beltran, or pitchers like Pedro, Pavano, Garica, Odalis Perez, and Clement.
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