BrandoFan

Offensively, this isn't even close. Frank lags in the clutch numbers, but they should normalize as he goes on one of his patented June-July-August tears. One could say Patterson plays CF and is much faster. Well, unless he is gonna steal 50-60 bases and stop booting every other gapper, it ain't gonna make a difference. Patterson is a just a faster LH'ed Aaron Rowand.

And that makes him different from Crede how? Both have OPS around 730, neither is playing all that great of a D, but Rowand is actually can run and bunt. If we're patient with Joe, what makes Aaron any different?

Check the 02/5 Glove of the Game.

It wasn't "magic" It's called a "96mph fastball" in 2001 and "94mph fastball" in 2002. And it SHOULD be called "94-97mph fastball in 2004 as a reliever". Back when he was in mid-high 90's, batters had to cheat and that exposed them to his solid change-up, to say nothing of that + curveball. Now that he is 88-91, batters stay back longer so that curve is not quite as effective and that change-up gets smashed. He also falls behind 2-0/3-0 mre often because hitters are less willing to swing at border-line pitches because they know they don't have to. Watch how Zambrano shut down potent Cardinal offense with nothing more than his moving 94-97mph fastball which they kept chasing out of the zone.

Don't bother, YAS. It will fall of def ears.

That's called being oblivious to baseball reality. I'd rather have a 4 game split in NYY, knowing that if the series are replayed 10 times, we take 3 out of 4 more often than not......than to BARELY split a 2-game set against the awful Tribe AT HOME. The HOW matters very much. Do you think I was clairvoyant when I predicted a Wright collapse during Wright's 1st start of the season when he had no ER until facing Bubba Crosby? No, it was woefully obvious he had nothing and it was just a matter of time before he got pounded by ML hitters..... Of course 7-5 is better than 5-7 which is what Sox "deserved" to be. That goes without saying. Now they have to kick it up a notch. Simple as that.

Excuse me? --Almost got SWEPT by the Yankees, winning the last game by 1 run. --Almost lost 2 of 3 to Tampa if not for late-inning heroics against Dan "2-0" Baez --By all rights should have been swept by the Tribe -- comebacks from 8-2 are rare. --Now won 3 games against the punching bag Blue Jays by a grand total of 3 runs. That's called living on the edge, and unless you think Sox have the monopoly on LUCK..... Now....2000 team would have gone 8-4 and I suppose 7-5 is pretty solid. But make no mistake about it, if you're dancing in the street because we survived a HOME stand, playing the listless Yankees and the scum of the AL.....there's no cure for homeritis acutus. Now let's go into Baltimore and take 2 out of 3 and build on the momentum from there. Thankfully, Wrong is not starting anymore.

Now you're talking, kid. Thandie, Angelina, Mandy, Linsday Amy....ep, that's it right there....sdkibvd/,mbx.b

Could be, but what's his excuse for last September series? If he catches a routine pop-up in LF and hits a sac fly in another game, Cards take at least 3 out of 5 and Flubs don't make it to the playoffs. Of course I'd take him on the Sox.....but Bonds he is not.

My god, is this guy brutal against the Cubs lately or what! Absolutely choked in EVERY way (fielding, running, hitting, etc...though to be fair Rolen was even worse) during the definitive 5-game set last September which gave the Cubs a tremendeous confidence boost and propelled them into the postseason. Now totally lost at the plate and pretty brutal at 1B as well -- can't scoop the ball or handle a routine bouncer to save his life. Without steroids, there is no way he'll touch Bonds. None.

A labotomy old school-style -- with a rusty ice pick and trembling hands. What was that acresses's name from the 40's who got "fixed"?

That ferret-faced bimbo? No thanks

When he came up, scouting reports had him in the 95-98 zone as a AA starter. With my own two eyes I saw him hit 96-97 (with tail) numerous times in 2001 in Seattle. That was back when Kip Wells was topping out at 93 on same gun, so if the gun is wrong, it would have to be wrong for everybody. Not possible. As recently as September 2002, he was sitting comfortably in the 92-94 zone. As a starter. As starters, Gagne and Hawkins topped out at 93. Why couldn't he throw 95-97 as a reliever if he indeed as healthy as Sox are claiming?

You know what would make me happy? Danny Wright (he's 'Wrong' only as a starter ) coming into the ball game against Carlos Beltran in the 8th and unleashing a 96mph four-seamer that tails just enough as to hit the outside corner for Strike 1. Then while the dumbfounded Beltran is looking to cover that location and velocity, Danny uncorks a tantalizing 91mph sinker inside and just low; Beltran is slow to adjust and so he barely tips it with his bat for a foul Strike 2. Finally, after a waste pitch up in the zone that spins Beltran's eyes, Danny puts him out of his misery by dropped a knuckling hook for Strike 3. Smirk. Resin bag swipe. Bring on Sweeney.

I dunno, this introduction is so-bad-it's-good, and as such not restricted to one player. O-e-O Doug-Menkevich has a nice ring to it.

And Ron Belliard will be forever known as the guy who allowed Mariners to let go of Bret Boone.... Lew'll be under 290 by the ASB...

Man, I wish Sox would have had him in his prime....lights out.

Nah, Bonds has a shorter-quicker swing while Thomas has a better eye/coordination.

Ya jus' jellas, playaheyta.

I know he had a slow start (1-for-12) and all, but last time I checked his 910 OPS is 3rd of all SS, only behind Uribe and Wilson. His 4 errors, although disappointing, don't look nearly as bad when you realize he leads MLB in range (weighted ZoneRating) and is 9th in DP efficiency. The team plays better with him in the line-up for some reason as well. If that's a "slow" start, I can't wait 'til he heats it up.

The funny part is that even without THG, growth hormone, etc Bonds is STILL one of the best players of the second half of 20th century and a 1st ballot HOF'er. Which is different from Sammy Sosa and Giambi who were all-star caliber talents but without de vait'mince they probably wouldn't have gone on to put up HOF numbers -- not even close to 1st ballot anyway. Bonds just got super-greedy. He wanted Ruth's ass on the plate. He wanted to be a legend talked about 150 years from now. To accomodate that ego, his head grew two sizes....literally. Asterisk would be nice, but if that doesn't happen I'll be content knowing what a f***ing sham Berroids (and Sosa and Giambi and Big Mac) really is. Words for the day: vision; recovery time; strenght; batspeed. Water the flower-bed.

Oh gimme a break, maaaan. He's busting his ass to make us awwwl proud, muchacho. YOU try slinging the rock very fast-like from 60'6'', in front of billions (trillions on firework Saturdays) of people.....I bet you couldn't even handle the resin bag. Oh and...don't criticize what you don't understand.

Sat GoG (2): Olivo Throw.

But, wait..........the team obviously plays better without Manos -- that's why they're about to fall to 5-6 on the season when he doesn't start. If they're lucky, Cleveland will return so they could almost sweep us at home again

Agreed. When/if corpseball comes back, I'll pull the thread up....but not a second sooner. The only people corpseballing are Rowand, Lee and Wright. Everybody else is doing fine as of May 1st....**knocks on wood**