Jordan4life_2007

QUOTE (rangercal @ May 30, 2009 -> 10:18 PM) Dwight was a Beast tonight. Not sure about all the Lebron hate in this thread, but the 2 most stand-up guys who happen to be superstars would be Lebron and Dwight imo. The NBA has a very good thing with those 2. He's the best player on the planet. I just don't like when guys get crowned prematurely. And the way he stormed off the court without so much as shaking an Orlando player's hand was no different than Isaih, Laimbeer, ect walking off the court like little b****es after the Bulls waxed that ass in 1991.

How the hell is Texas gonna have anything left for today's game? They're fortunate they have probably the deepest collection of quality arms in the country.

QUOTE (shipps @ May 30, 2009 -> 08:34 AM) Strasburg did not WOW me like I thought he would. He is a prospect and he is not major league ready like I heard from other people. Then you're pretty damn hard to impress. He gave up 1 solo HR and another R that wasn't even all his fault due to some horrific defense by Eric Castro behind the plate. 15 K's and 0 BB's against an absolutely stacked Virginia offense. I was definitely "wowed." QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 30, 2009 -> 02:35 PM) I was at the game and I won't lie, the first three or so innings I was completley unimpressed. I saw big league stuff but he was struggling a bit. Than as the game went on and on, he got into a rhythm and damn did he look good, like real good. All against a very very good team. I still don't think he's as ready as some say cause I think he's got command issues but his delivery is very clean and he showed a very advanced feel for his off-speed stuff, which is to me what makes him special. Oh and he must have insane movement cause the catcher was looking like an idiot behind the plate. There was one fastball that completely missed the catchers glove and caught him right in the chest protector (and it wasn't due to him expecting an offspeed pitch and getting the heat either). The fact that he struggled just a tad the first couple innings (not all his fault, as you already mentioned what a butcher Castro was behind the plate) and still finished the way he did was even more impressive. The kid is human. There's so much hype surrounding him right now that anything less than a perfect game with 20 K's has people surprised. As far as him not being ready for the majors? I don't see any issues at all with command/stuff. He's already got all that. He'll obviously have to adjust (as every college pitcher does) to pitching every 5 days instead of once a week. You'd have to really nitpick to find anything else to be concerned about.

QUOTE (scenario @ May 29, 2009 -> 10:52 PM) Confidence in his stuff. This is what he was throwing like in the minors last year. Last year after getting called up, he looked like he was scared to throw balls and as a result dialed his speed and repertoire down. Now, I think he's past the shock of being in the bigs and turning it loose. I hope you're right. The pessimist in me can't ignore the fact that two of the three teams he's gone up against during this mini-streak are terrible offensively. Will obviously see in the coming weeks just how good Clayton is or isn't.

QUOTE (rangercal @ May 30, 2009 -> 01:38 AM) like during the Bulls dynasty? Yes, exactly like the Bulls dynasty. Everybody knows that before the playoffs start there's about 3, maybe 4 teams tops, with a legitimate chance at actually winning it all. The west has been wack all year. I'll admit I jumped on Denver's bandwagon for a few seconds. Not because I really thought they had a shot. George Karl is a terrible playoff coach. Carmelo is a second-tier "star." Chauncey Billups is officially "Mr. conference finals." And that's not at all a compliment. I jumped on because, well, I hate the Lakers.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ May 29, 2009 -> 10:51 PM) I’ve had the opportunity to watch Castro a bit, because of where I live. He’s a solid player with a lot of room for growth. The reason he did get the bulk of the playing time is because the Mets want to maximize value from the Milledge trade. He's 33. What you see is what you get. I'll take it considering the crap we gave up.

Not sure what's gotten into Clayton Richard, but I f***in' like it. Tomorrow is critical, as Sunday is an automatic loss.

QUOTE (JDsDirtySox @ May 29, 2009 -> 10:25 PM) I found this on a Mets message board and lost it... I just want to learn more about Lance Broadway. He's been a legit prospect in the ChiSox system for a couple years, so I'm just wondering why they were willing to trade a legit starting pitching prospect for a starting-caliber but injury-prone catcher. That dude is in for a rude awakening. I love the trade. Quality backup catcher for a guy who wouldn't even make an Astros top-10 prospects list.

ZZZZZZZZ@Denver. This series was over after game 3. The NBA is easily the most predictable sport there is.

Angelo and co. are doing a hell of a job.

Wieters=bust

This was the first chance I've had to catch Strasburg live. Dude is even better than advertised. Virginia has one of the top 5 offenses in the country and they had no chance after the second inning. Strasburg single-handedly gives the Nationals instant credibility. He could definitely pitch and more importantly be effective in the majors right now.

Do the Dodgers have any legitimate weaknesses? I mean something you can point to and say that could hinder them at some point this season? The Phillies have MAJOR starting pitching issues. Same with the Mets (outside of Johan). Not really sure what to make of the Cardinals and Brewers to this point. Reds have trouble scoring runs consistently. Not even gonna mention the Cubs (I guess I just did). The Dodgers have the perfect blend of youth/vets/depth.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ May 28, 2009 -> 10:56 PM) I don't know. If a reporter like Selena Roberts wants to dig deep, she probably would find the pre-arranged deal with Adidas, more grade alteration, etc. Rose is a nice guy, but him and Reggie are slimeballs and I think Derrick is because he doesn't know any better. Obviously an English grade/Speech grade had to be altered because this guy gives the worst interviews ever. Devin Hester says hello. And I couldn't give a flying f*** about this. So D-rose might be a moron. He can play basketball really, really well.

Seems like Oswalt has been in decline for a few years. But his peripheral statistics are still pretty damn good. The Astros have by far the worst farm in baseball. I'd imagine they would be after an absolute killing if they decided to deal him.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 28, 2009 -> 03:24 AM) I agree with you for the most part about him not being ready. On the other hand, he seems to have the makeup that he could come up here and struggle a bit and not let it get to him. I have no concerns about us "ruining him." And to be completely honest, could he really be much worse than Josh at this point? Probably not. But that's what's got me pissed off about this. If you bring Beckham up because you truly think he's ready, fine. I don't believe you do this just because another guy is struggling. Gordon appears to be the best prospect we've had in quite a while. When he comes up, I want it to be with the obvious expectation that he's ready to contribute right away. And being better than Josh Fields does not qualify as contributing right away. QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 28, 2009 -> 03:31 AM) I agree with you on the defensive perspective, however, Birmingham is known to be a notoriously hard park to hit HR in, ask Viciedo and Brandon Allen. The fact that about half of his base hits were for extra bases is phenomenal. When I say I don't believe Beckham's ready I'm certainly not implying that he's nowhere near ready. He's been pretty impressive for the most part. I just don't want to see him rushed. That's all.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ May 27, 2009 -> 11:10 PM) You are doing a damn good job, Bear Sox. When you're not focused on Ryan Sweeney's pec's, you do great work. I was going to say something similar to this. These reports are very informative. Keep it up, Bearsox.

QUOTE (rangercal @ May 28, 2009 -> 02:11 AM) 82 GAMES, 8 playoff games His cast has struggled when it counts. That means he has no supporting cast when it counts. When Odom and co. went retarded I never blamed kobe. It was the big 3 vs the big 1 and 3/4ths. I never blamed Kobe. Anyone who did last year does not know basketball. So if Buehrle, Contreras, Garcia and Garland had gone a combined 0-4 with an ERA of 8 in the '05 World Series would that mean they weren't a great staff? World Series > 162 games and two rounds of playoffs? I know they're great. I just don't think he's blameless. As if he's played 4 flawless games. You've seemed to make up your mind that Lebron will be absolved of any blame whatsover if the Cavs lose this series. I obviously don't agree. I don't need to be reminded that #23 (the real #23) had bad playoff games and series. The topic was Lebron and the Cavs.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 28, 2009 -> 02:02 AM) 1, except not accept. f*** me! I hate when I do that. Well he has 3 more errors than home runs in his very brief minor league career. That's a start. He's now in the beginning stages of learning a new position (and at least judging by the error count, he wasn't fielding his natural position all that well). That's something that I would imagine could take a little time. And recent history says he's not ready.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ May 28, 2009 -> 01:42 AM) If someone is ready than they are ready, and I wouldnt be so sure on Wallace/Smoak, they could be an injury away from getting the call up. You are the one over-reacting to everything, Beckham if he does reach the majors is still atleast 1-2 months away so that would be pretty close to a season in the minors. Accept he's not ready. That's pretty much the point. And I'm not overreacting to anything. Have you not been keeping up? http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,0,554515.story And just coincidentally he gets promoted to play, um, 3rd base? It's quite obvious what's going on here.

QUOTE (rangercal @ May 28, 2009 -> 01:14 AM) I disagree. We can all look at what it takes for a good supporting cast. His supporting cast has some talent as seen over the course of 82 games. Fine. His supporting cast also have balls the size of ant s*** when it comes down to the playoffs or pressure situations. Please do not overlook that his supporting cast have been no shows during this series when the pressure is ON. It's all gravy when you are up 15-20 games in the weak Central div/Eastern conf, but when the pressure is on EVERYONE but Lebron has hid in the line of fire. That includes Mike Brown. Wade had Pat Riley, Kobe and MJ both had Phil Jackson in the huddle. Big difference. Kobe and Wade had Shaq and MJ had Pip. I'm not debating about who had better talent, this post is about pressure situations and the lack of iron balled players and coaches. Cleveland can go 82-0, but if they blow this, BLOW THEM up. Get rid of MO,Delonte,Z everyone. They are losers. Get rid of them or Lebron will be gone, guaranteed. (which is a good thing as a bulls fan. I still think it will be NY vs Chi in the LBJ23 Sweepstakes aka Bigger Market vs Better Team. What will be more important to Lebron? ) 82 regular season games, 8 playoff games > this series His cast has struggled this series. Yes. That's doesn't mean he doesn't have a supporting cast. That's all I'm saying. When Odom, Gasol and Fisher went retarded in the finals last year, I didn't hear anybody saying "Kobe has no help." They were blaming Kobe for the most part. And while Lebron's overall numbers are great (it helps when you've gone to the FT line over 60 times in 4 games), he's not exempt. He shot 11/28 in game 3 (1/8 from 3). And he was turning the ball over at a crazy ass rate in the 4th quarter of game 4 and OT.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ May 28, 2009 -> 01:23 AM) How about Ryan Zimmerman?? Or how about fellow draftees who will be in AAA too in Smoak and Wallace. Smoak and Wallace won't see the majors this year. And they're not being asked to learn a new position. Zimmerman has been an exception. But the point remains. Even the very best prospects spend at least one full season in the minors. This is nothing but an overreaction to the suckfest that has been Josh Fields.

QUOTE (103 mph screwball @ May 28, 2009 -> 01:07 AM) Should Beckham's college count for something? It's not like he's a 17 year old Robin Yount or something. In a post steroid / hgh era, where players hit their prime at 27 and decline at 35 maybe they should start bringing these kids up sooner if they are good enough. Um, all the guys I mentioned went to college. What's your point? And does anybody in their right mind believe Gordon is a better prospect than the 3 guys I mentioned above were? Were they just not good enough to get the call as quickly as it looks like Beckham will?

What the hell has gotten into Juan Pierre? He's sporting a line of .408/.473/.571 in almost 100 at bats this month.

Jay Bruce spent 4 seasons in the minors (353 games) before getting the call. Evan Longoria spent 3 seasons in the minors (205 games) before getting the call. Even Matt Wieters, a guy that most scouts believe will be better than this guy named Joe Mauer, spent a full season and 40 games in the minors before his highly anticipated callup Friday. Gordon Beckham? A whopping 50 games and we've already decided to bump him to AAA with the obvious intention of calling him up probably sometime in the next few weeks. Oh, yeah, he gets to learn a brand new position, too! f***ing pathetic!