Wedge

We need Randy Johnson

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ May 22, 2005 -> 06:48 PM) If people considered Glavine an ace than I consider Buehrle and ace. Exactly, that's probably the best way to determine if somebody is an ace: draw a comparison. If you consider Maddux or Glavine aces, then I think you have to give it to Buehrle.

I don't think we have to worry about spoilers at this point... anyone who wanted to see the movie unspoiled probably would have by now. Or they wouldn't be reading a thread about the movie.

QUOTE(danman31 @ May 22, 2005 -> 03:13 PM) That totally cracked me up. Ahh the way he said it, lol. Man, that was bad. That line almost entirely ruined my enjoyment of the movie. I thought Organa was a really good character. I wish they would have used Jimmy Smits more throughout the trilogy. The "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" notwithstanding, Sith probably ended up just about as well as it could have. Sith's shortcomings really demonstrate how big of a set-back Phantom Menace really was. Menace was terrible for the following reasons: 6) Pod Race 5) Midichlorians 4) Jar-Jar 3) Darth Maul - once Maul died, there wasn't much opportunity for a villain to really establish an identiy in two movies. Additionally, there was no attempt to establish his character at all. In reality, Maul and Tyranaus should have been one character. Anakin could have confronted him three times, faring better each time. The final time, Anakin slays him brutally and in cold blood to become Vader. 2) Introduction of the Droid Army/Trade Federation - What a worthless, unbelievable set of pathetic villains. 1) Complete failure to advance the Star Wars Saga in any fashion. You could have added about 5 minutes to the beginning of Attack of the Clones to establish that Padme and Anakin knew each other already. That said, I'm glad they left out the "I am your father" moment from Sith. I think I'm going to re-write the prequel trilogy sometime this week, where primarily the same stuff happens. Hopefully you all enjoy it. My rankings: 1) Return of the Jedi (I consider myself a true star wars fan, and don't understand why everybody hates it) 2) Empire Strikes Back 3) A New Hope 4) Revenge of the Sith 5) Attack of the Clones 6) Phantom Menace

Oh boy, I really like Nick Setta. I think he has a really good chance to make the roster.

QUOTE(danman31 @ May 22, 2005 -> 02:58 PM) That's irrelevant. Dubois is the guy that hit the HR. It is relevant because if he had gotten those two out, he would have been out of the inning.

In Ozzie's defense, the two hitters that Viz faced upon replacing BMac were 4-21 in their career against Viz. I don't think it was a bad decision by Ozzie.

Wow! Whatever the outcome, I am very impressed by McCarthy. He looks like he has better stuff than any pitcher on our staff, other than maybe Contreras on a good-day. This kid has a very bright future.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ May 22, 2005 -> 11:43 AM) I don't care whether this team has more or less weaknesses than other playoff caliber teams. That's not the point. The point is minimizing the weaknesses and making this club the best that it can be going into the playoffs. THAT'S the point. To say that we have no more weaknesses than other clubs and having that as the reason to not add more talent to this club is just stupid. I don't care how we match up with other clubs. If there's an opportunity to eliminate a weakness, you do it. Simple as that. The problem is that by solving a weakness, we would introduce a new one. I don't think the weakness solved would compensate for the weakness made, either.

QUOTE(qwerty @ May 22, 2005 -> 03:21 AM) Nine million. $10-12 million for Gagne $9 million for Wagner It just shows you how overpriced closers get!

The Carlos Lee trade is starting to look brilliant.

QUOTE(BobDylan @ May 13, 2005 -> 12:10 AM) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) Final Fantasy VII (PS1) Metal Gear Solid (PS1) Please tell me that you meant Final Fantasy VI and not Final Fantasy VII... VI is an infinitely better game...

QUOTE(KWs OK for Me @ May 12, 2005 -> 07:56 PM) If I'm not mistaken, at the time Olivo (whom I have a jersey for and shed a tear when I heard he got traded) was batting .270 with 7 HRs and something like 35 RBIs through like 70 games, with a cannon for an arm. How is that not MLB ready? This is true, it appeared at the time that he was on track for a very solid career as a hitting catcher. However, I do not think that one could argue that he established himself at a certain level that many fans had put him at. He had a nice start to 2004, but was only .211 in 2002 in limited action and .237 in 2003. I guess I'd consider Olivo a prospect in that situation because while he had been performing well for a decent stretch, he had not done it over an extended period. While he had that nice stretch to open 2004, he was still an unknown commodity: his "standard" performance could have been higher or lower. Without a solid foundation of information and statistics, we don't know how Olivo "should" perform. Thus, he is a prospect... hence the AAAA moniker I gave him. It's similar logic that drove up the price of Adrian Beltre. Over his career, he's a .273 hitter, which isn't bad. However, he has a .334 year in a contract year and gets a 11.5 million dollar deal. Now his .241 average is being made out to be a disappointment, which isn't true. It's more of a statistical correction to the outstanding year he had had prior. If you were expecting a .334 hitter, then you were fooling yourself. The exception I'd say is a guy like Contreras. You have a pretty good idea of what he's going to do, BUT he has a legitimate correctable flaw (tipping pitches), which can lead to improved performance. EDIT: You asked how he was not major league ready. Well, he was. He appeared to have the tools to be a good major league player, but still needed time to demonstrate that he could succeed consistently at the MLB level.

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ May 12, 2005 -> 06:03 PM) I don't know that he will but Mo Olivo sorta hurts your argument. Not necessarily true... Mo was sort of a AAAA prospect in the trade for Garcia, whereas Contreras is a guy with a fairly established track record in the majors.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ May 12, 2005 -> 03:46 PM) Wagner's a fine closer but I'm not if he's that much better than what we have for the much higher price we would have to pay. Perfect summary.

"I think Ozzie is way off base with that comment. To really capture the hearts of Chicago, we have to back-up that World Series with another one!"

Did anybody else pick this up? After about 4 listens through it, I still don't know what to think.

All my favorite games were on SNES: Final Fantasy III/VI Ogre Battle Honorable mentions: Star Fox Zelda III I think system with the overall best games made was SNES. They have the best gameplay/storyline combos overall.

I'm actually one of the people that hates media rants... but this really fried my ass. He basically said we don't get coverage because he doesn't like us.

QUOTE(AbeFroman @ May 11, 2005 -> 10:58 PM) I believe its "el stopper" I say we go with the formal title El Duque El Stopper Nice ring to it

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ May 11, 2005 -> 06:51 PM) It won't last...Paulie, Jermaine, and Aaron are all very very good hitters against left handed pitching. Just wait, they'll get that average up like an old man on viagra. Old men on viagra get their average up?

QUOTE(qwerty @ May 11, 2005 -> 06:21 PM) Bad joke. Maybe we could get them to pay it

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ May 11, 2005 -> 06:03 PM) I just don't see any good options out there (yet anyways). Unfortunately, other teams will see that and the price on Wagner will be very large. If Yankees continue to tank... Mariano Rivera? Then we would complete our ex-Yankee staff.

QUOTE(3E8 @ May 11, 2005 -> 05:48 PM) I still say that rotation was damn good in '02. It was a lot like the Cardinal's last year and ours this year. Not necessarily the best pitchers out there, but it was a very complete staff all the way around. That said, I don't think we need Wagner. I think a big issue would be the ability to resign him. Money would be a huge issue. Additionally, he wants to be closer to his family, so we would probably not be able to resign him. I think there are better options out there. What they are bears investigation...

QUOTE(Al Lopez's Ghost @ May 11, 2005 -> 05:34 PM) El Duque ended our 3 game losing streak after the two Oakland and one Detroit loss, and now he ended a 2 game streak. Viva El Duque! Is the word, detenador? Also, props for using the term "stopper" as it was intended: having a stud pitcher that can stop losing streaks, not a closer as it is improperly referred to at times.