witesoxfan

Technically, it was 81 wins for the '71 Orioles pitching staff Palmer - 20-9 2.68 ERA Dobson - 20-8, 2.90 Cuellar - 20-9, 3.08 McNally - 21-5, 2.89 An interesting little tidbit...McNally threw the fewest amount of innings of the starters(224.3 compared to 282, 282.3, and 292.3 from top to bottom of the 3 respectfully), and he also started 7 fewer games than Palmer and 8 fewer than Dobson and Cuellar...yet ended up with more wins.

QUOTE(Chisoxmatt @ May 6, 2005 -> 03:56 PM) What are ports? Places where ships come in and unload

QUOTE(TheBigHurt35 @ May 6, 2005 -> 03:39 PM) It's sad that the former frontman of a great band like Soundgarden is not only a Communist-sympathizer, but a hypocrite as well. :headshake How are Cornell and Audioslave communist sympathizers for playing in Cuba? I am not seeing the connection.

Would you give $7-8 mill a year for a guy that was not good for you in the second half of the season when you were trying to make the playoffs?

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ May 5, 2005 -> 11:46 PM) I've been hearing that a lot, but the NFL (as opposed to the three other major sports) is crazy in that it takes guys until like mid-season to gel. There are various reasons, most notably the fact that there is only one game per week, but also the insane amount of roster turnover from year to year. The Vikings got a s***load of new guys, especially on defense. There are a ton of question marks. You have to kinda wait and see. I'm not ready to call them a lock for division winner, and I ain't a Bears homer either. I'll give credit where it's due. I would agree with that, but you do have to like what they have done, no matter what. I think a good example of that would be my Bills. Started the year off 0-4, and then went 9-3 in the next 12 weeks. What will be interesting to watch is that the Vikings, under Tice the past 2 years, have gotten off to very, very hot starts, and then have cooled off considerably down the stretch.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ May 4, 2005 -> 08:56 PM) Was I the only one stunned last night when Kevin Blackistone (sp?) actually said the "n" word and it wasn't bleeped out? I thought that couldn't be said on TV...? I'd assume it has something to do with the context it is used in. If he called someone else a stupid n*****, they would not bleep it out, they would cut the entire show out immediately for a matter of minutes, and I'd assume Blackistone would probably not be allowed to go onto TV again. I'm sure he did not do that.

This brings up the classic debate on what the MVP should be. Is it the literal meaning of Most Valuable Player, as in, without this player, the team goes nowhere and does nothing? Or does it signify who is the best player in the league, statistically and talent-wise? I have always felt it was the former, personally, but the point could be argued many, many ways. I honestly have no take on the issue.

It feels good to come home from work and see that the most recently posted in topic in PHT is this one. Gotta f***in love these motherf***ers. Win, win, and win some more baby. Just f***in win.

I wouldn't make the trade as of right now...that is a guaranteed fact. You don't f*** with something that is so good. But if the Sox offense continued to suck complete ass, and the pitching started to slowly fall apart, you have to atleast entertain the offer. Maybe get the Cubs to throw in a decent pitching prospect(not Brownlie or Pie or whatever other desserts they have that are like top notch), and I would probably have to make it. This is of course assuming Shingo does not come out of his funk, which I think he will. You do that, and you have one of the most underrated 1Bman in the league for a couple more years(consider that DLee can do just about everything PK can do - hit for power, catch almost every ball hit and thrown at him, draw walks, even though I believe Lee does it better, hit in the clutch - plus more, including being a GG 1Bman and having speed). Of course, I would make goddamn sure that I have another trade ready to go, that being for a reliever...be it Hawkins in the trade with the Cubs picking up some money, or for a stud like Billy Wagner, or be it just picking up a reliable arm that will get the job done for a little bit, like Karsay/Flash/whoever else the Yankees have in that pen that is not doing so hawt. If you get rid of one of your decent relievers, you need to have another in the pen like a second after the first one is moved, even if you only have him for a week or so.

QUOTE(JUGGERNAUT @ May 6, 2005 -> 02:05 PM) After 3 gms in TAM, it's all +500 teams from the AL & NL plus CLE until they face DET in late Jun. I assume by this you are saying Cleveland is a better team than Detroit. I'd disagree a lot. Cleveland's offense has been horrid, and while that will improve, it will not be just insane like it was last year, and their pitching staff is very overrated in my eyes. Sabathia is decent, Westbrook is solid, but Lee, Millwood, and Elarton are all very hittable. The pen is mediocre too. Meanwhile, Detroit's offense is rock solid again, and the pitching staff is on the rise. I think Detroit finishes in 3rd place in the division this year, so long as Jon Garland isn't throwing behind Rondell's back every time

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ May 6, 2005 -> 02:14 PM) I picked El Duque. He hasn't just solidified the 5th spot. He's served as a mentor an calming influence on El Conde. Is it a coincidence that Contreras has been throwing better with El Duque in the dugout? I don't think so. I've seen him drop down side-arm and throw a variety of pitches from that arm angle. Who do you think is in his ear telling him to do that? It's not AJ or Coop, that's for sure. I don't think there was a better fit for this pitching staff than El Duque. Especially at the price we got him at, considering what others were getting. I think I'd have to go with Duque too. The guy is pitching decent, he solidified the rotation, is helping to fix Contreras, and has done all this while being the oldest person in the dugout.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ May 6, 2005 -> 09:20 AM) Yep, poor guy. Hopefully we win the Series for him and his family. Let's hope we can get to the playoffs first, and then let's hope we win the Series for him and his family.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 6, 2005 -> 12:53 AM) Ummm, how long did we really even have Magg$ last season? The Carlos Lee argument is valid, although he is currently hitting .232 for the Brewers. We had him for about 2 months total, and during that time, our offense was probably the best in the league. Consider that our offense was as good statistically as it was, and consider that we WERE missing our 2 best hitters for over a half a season, and think about how much better it could have (potentially) been. Having Thomas hitting the way he was probably would have put up .300 45 130 1.050(and I am serious with those numbers too...he was f***ing destroying the ball before he got hurt), and Maggs would have put up his normal .310 30 100 .900 season at the very least, and perhaps even better knowing how much easier it was to hit in USCF. Substitute those numbers in for the s***ty numbers we got from Everett and Timjo Borchardez, and our offense probably scores atleast 900 runs, if not more. Had those two stayed healthy, Everett would of course not be here, and we would have Thomas DHing instead, and while that is not a bad thing, I doubt we are 21-7.

That is one reason I wish I could go to Cuba. 18 days till Out of Exile comes out...I'm f***in pumped!

Man, if you guys ever at once thought AJP was bad, this guy is like AJPx12098431 But that was an awesome comeback...we laughed about it in our precalc class.

QUOTE(rangercal @ May 6, 2005 -> 12:45 AM) I guess you don't miss mags then? LOL, I can forgive guys that hit .310 35 110 .900 But man, you wouldn't think losing Carlos and Maggs would hurt the offense that much, but yowza

QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 6, 2005 -> 12:41 AM) Frank will give our offense the biggest boost we could hope to imagine come next month or so. If we can get away with Everett in RF or put him LF with Pods in CF and Rowand in RF, our lineup will be alot better... LF Podsednik 2B Iguchi RF Everett DH Frank 1B Konerko CF Rowand C Pierzynski 3B Crede SS Uribe I do not like that. Sounds like about a zillion GIDP's.

QUOTE(rangercal @ May 6, 2005 -> 12:32 AM) I like the closer Idea. I just feel our O is what needs the upgrade. Crede would be the odd man out because I cant think of any other place in the offense to upgrade. Dye can be replaced by everett, catchers have been great. as great as crede is doing it would be a HUGE upgrade to get Chavez. I figure adding Thomas back into the equation sometime in June(hopefully) will do the trick. Adding a .400 OBP guy is always gonna help an offense out. And then if other small moves need to be made, they can be made.

I am not understanding this Chavez talk, quite honestly. Why would you give up a huge package for one of the best 3Bman in the league when you already have a decent 3Bman who is decent with the glove and is still relatively cheap? I figure if you add a big time closer around the deadline in say, Billy Wagner, who I have mentioned before, you then have a top pitching staff in the majors, and quite honestly, I am not sure if there is a better pitching staff in the majors. Probably the best bullpen, probably a top 3 rotation, and a 1-2-3 that has been outstanding thus far...that like almost equals a playoff team and perhaps even a World Series team. One can only hope the Phillies continue to suck

There are reasons for calling Guillen an overrated manager, mainly because he is a poor manager. He does not make good decisions a lot as a manager. He is a guy that can motivate his club and keep it loose in the clubhouse, and makes the atmosphere fun, which is something you want.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ May 5, 2005 -> 11:55 PM) This all a course would happen after this season. Well, yeah But if you could potentially do that well, you are basically saving yourself $16 mill, if not more.

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ May 5, 2005 -> 06:35 PM) I can't see anyone stoppign St. Luois from going to the World Series. Really. The Braves have had a bad playoff record lately and the West is weak so it might come down to the Marlins. The Braves playoff record has not been that good, but you have to look at their rotations for those years and their rotation this year. Huddy-Smoltz-Hampton is looking really f***in good right now...and it definately looks a lot better than Wright-Hampton-Byrd-Ortiz from last year, and Maddux(old Maddux with worse stuff)-Ortiz-Hampton from 03, and I personally like it more than the 02 squad of Glavine-Maddux-Millwood, though those 3 were quite solid for Atlanta all year long too. When it gets to playoff time for Atlanta, it will be a matter of whether the offense can do enough for them. I figure with Furcal and Giles at the top setting up the middle of the order, they will be atleast good enough. This assuming they make the playoffs, which I figure they will - however, it may not be as the division winner, but rather winning the Wild Card. The Marlins too look tough as hell. I think I do like St. Louis taking the NL right now though. Man am I jealous of that lineup. Walker-Pujols-Edmonds-Rolen? Unfair

QUOTE(T R U @ May 5, 2005 -> 10:10 AM) the best was the Charlie Murphy Prince skit they did about playing basketball.. haha, man I almost pissed my pants.. In fact, pretty sure a few droplettes came out And then he made us pancakes

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ May 5, 2005 -> 07:34 PM) Seriously too. It's not even a question. Even if the Bears underperform, the only team that is a complete team is Minny. GB is in shambles. Detroit has no type of defense. GB is not looking good, I will say that. But they have Favre, and while he is good for the 2 passes a game where he just chucks one up to the secondary, he leads his troops to battle like no other. And while Detroit's defense is not good, they do have the foundation of a decent defense up there, and that offense will be quite good this year, regardless of who starts at QB, and it could be explosive. A decent OLine, a good RB in Jones and 3 stud wideouts And Minnesota will likely be one of the favorites going into the 05 season to win the NFC. I would agree that the AFC North is better than the NFC North, but it is not tons better by any stretch of the imagination.

QUOTE(Jabroni @ May 5, 2005 -> 10:44 PM) Would you rather have this guy for $8.5 million next year? If B-Mac is lights out in Charlotte this season and again in 2006 Spring Training, then by all means trade Contreras. I would definately trade him for Adrian Gonzalez or Ryan Howard and if Contreras pitches the way he is currently over the entire season, I think those two teams might be willing to make those deals as well. The Rangers are especially desperate for a quality starting pitcher with good stuff, hence why they were interested in Carrie Woods. For God's sakes, they have Pedro Astacio and Chan Ho Park in their starting rotation. With Mark Teixeira at 1st base, I don't see why they wouldn't want to trade Adrian Gonzalez for a starting pitcher. First of all, Milton was one of the worst signings of the offseason, period. Thousands saw that coming. Secondly, you can't trade Contreras right before, during, or after ST. If you are going to commit to BMac for 06, you're going to commit to him in November, and if you're not, you keep Contreras. It's that simple. Finally, even though you didn't mention it in the post, it has been brought up...I am not a fan of having 60% or more of the payroll tied up in the rotation. I would say 50% at the very most, and preferably, between 35-45% is preferred.