almagest

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 10, 2008 -> 04:01 PM) Street sucks. Gonzalez may be a good one. I don't know how Smith is a solid #3 yet. Its funny how on this board Carlos Gomez will never be any good and Gonzalez who had worse numbers is going to be a star. They either sign Holliday or flip him at the deadline if they aren't contending. It could be a disaster for Oakland, but for 2009, they received the best player in the deal.He basically is Carlos Gomez -- talent, but a long long way to go to realize it. I don't see Holliday putting up an OPS much over .800 in a better league, with better pitching, while playing in the least hitter-friendly parks outside of Chavez Ravine and Petco. Unless Beane plans on spinning him off for something else, or really knows what he wants to do with those comp. picks, I think this trade is a solid win for Colorado.

Picked up Star Ocean: First Departure for PSP and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for DS last night. Both are very, very good.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Oct 21, 2008 -> 03:07 PM) Who would you rather have at bat in 9th inning Sunday night with the man on first. If you think every Red Sox fan was wishing they had Manny in the 7th, 8th or 9th on Sunday you are kidding yourself. Was, or wasn't? I know they were.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Oct 20, 2008 -> 12:35 PM) There is no way I can believe that. Rays in 6 Pat Burrell has been better almost every year of his career. The only thing Crawford has over Burrell is stolen bases. Crawford was also injured for about 1/3 of this year, and didn't really have a good year in the time he was able to play.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 20, 2008 -> 11:06 AM) That'd be impossible, as he's always been one of the best. Now, you show me which player put up better numbers each year, as that is the question being asked in this thread.Sure -- it's almost even, unless you consider defensive stats, VORP, and WARP, then A-Rod pulls ahead. I mentioned before that this was the case. Alex Rodriguez is certainly not better because he tries harder, which unfortunately seems to be the popular argument.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 18, 2008 -> 04:38 PM) I see them all the time. Everything Dick Allen is saying is true. Here's the thing. Manny might be better than A-Rod. When he actually tries (which he only does on specific occasions, such as this contact year), he puts up incredible numbers. The problem is that he hardly ever puts in that much effort, and therefore, A-Rod puts up better numbers. I suppose you might be saying that you'd take Manny on pure talent alone, but he doesn't put that talent to full use. If you can convince him to give 100%, then good for you. You can have him. See, that's strange, because I watch tons of baseball, including lots of Red Sox games, and I recall Manny putting in about as much effort as any other major-league star. I also know lots of Red Sox fans, and all but one say Manny worked pretty hard at becoming at least decent in left field, always seemed to play hard when it counted, etc. So it looks like we have completely different interpretations of Manny's play style. That's fine; everyone has an opinion. Looks like all that's left is stats, so I'll re-post the question no one has answered: show me a season where Manny Ramirez hasn't produced. Show me how his numbers in previous years don't live up to his billing as one of the best right-handed hitters in the game.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 17, 2008 -> 02:46 PM) I don't even follow the Red Sox....Yet you somehow know all this. M'kay.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 17, 2008 -> 01:47 PM) The problem is that Manny dogs it a lot. Trust me, I see him play all the time. He plays just hard enough, but he has the ability to be much better. Therefore, most people would take Rodriguez over him.Who cares? He "dogs" it at a hall-of-fame caliber. I don't care if he takes a dump in the outfield every game if he posts a .900+ OPS, which he's done pretty much every year of his career. I really just can't understand the Manny Ramirez hatred going on in this thread.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 16, 2008 -> 05:38 PM) And Rodriguez played a pretty solid SS for quite a few years and is now a suitable defensive 3Bman. Manny Ramirez plays a terrible defense in LF. ARod also has a 40-40 season under his belt and he could get his 300th stolen base sometime next season. Add to it that he's going into his age 33 season, and it's quite obvious who the more valuable player is.I'll agree that A-Rod is theoretically more valuable because of his good defense at a premium position (SS), and good defense at an average position (3B). Giving a player grief for playing a mediocre LF is about as logical as getting on a DH for not contributing to defensive win shares, though. LF is the least important defensive position, and we were doing just fine with Quentin's sub-par defense out there this season.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Oct 17, 2008 -> 10:02 AM) ^^^^ With A-Rod I know he's going to give me max effort every night. With Manny, once he has the cash guaranteed, I'm not certain who is going to show up. Advantage A-Rod. So when has Manny Ramirez not produced?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 16, 2008 -> 05:38 PM) Similar offensively. Defensively, no contest. ARod could still probably play SS at least as well as Manny can play LF. The title of the thread was who was more valuable. Its amazing how many nauseating "Manny being Manny" moments are forgotten because some guy forced his way off a team that paid him handsomely and treated him well and went to play for a contract with a team located by his agent, Scott Boras, and was awesome. Sorry, you'll never get that Manny for a whole season if he's signed for multiple years anymore.Yeah, you don't like Manny Ramirez. I get it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 16, 2008 -> 05:28 PM) Jason Bay also isn't walking away from $40 million the next 2 seasons which is one of the conditions Manny put on being traded. Teams cannot exercise the $20 million a year options. At least you know with ARod, he's going to show up and play hard every game. That and Madonna will be watching.Isn't A-Rod's agent Scott Boras? Didn't he go to the Rangers because they had the highest bid in for him, even though other, better teams wanted him? Didn't he ask for the trade from the Rangers to the Yankees? Didn't he also opt-out of his old contract, become a free agent, then re-sign with the Yankees for even more money? Using A-Rod as a paragon of contract virtue isn't really a good idea. Might want to rethink that one.

Standard fearmongering; a bunch of claims made but no actual evidence.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Oct 16, 2008 -> 07:06 AM) I will say this, the White Sox put up a much bigger fight than the Red Sox have, one dimensional offense and all.Agreed. I actually felt like we were in every game, except maybe the last one. Since that last game in Tampa the Red Sox have looked flat and kind of shell-shocked.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Oct 16, 2008 -> 10:11 AM) Do you have access to their VORP numbers? A-Rod does better in WARP, but interested in VORP of the two and can't find it on baseballprospectus.com This should do it. Rodriguez does seem to win the VORP battle as well, at least in the past 3 years.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 15, 2008 -> 10:05 PM) Anyways, Alex Rodriguez plays 3B, doesn't need to be traded to be motivated, and he annually puts up better regular season numbers than Manny Ramirez. Alex Rodriguez is easily more valuable than Manny Ramirez.Rodriguez and Ramirez have career OPS+ within 7 points of each other, in almost the same career length (15/16 years). Their career highs in OPS+ are within 9 points of each other. If Ramirez can post these numbers while "not trying," he's obviously a much better player than A-Rod on potential alone.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 16, 2008 -> 06:09 AM) Manny Ramirez is a douche bag. He loafed this season with the Red Sox who have only paid him about $120 million. It was so bad, his TEAMMATES told management he needs to go. He gets "motivated" playing for a new contract, and suddenly he's a better player than ARod? Please. Barry Bonds was awful in the post season until later in his career. Frank Thomas has had 2 post season series where he failed to get a hit. It happens. ARod is a superior player. Manny could have been right up there with him, but he was the one who chose not to. He is pretty awesome when he wants to be, but that isn't everyday. He even took a couple of Septembers off with the Red Sox with mystery injuries. God help whichever team opens the bank for him this winter.He also put up a .299/.398/.529 line with the Red Sox, at the age of 36. I guess compared to his obscene 213 OPS+ with the Dodgers those numbers could be considered "loafing," but that's almost exactly the same production the Red Sox are getting from Jason Bay. Is he "loafing" too? Manny and A-Rod have very similar lifetime stats, as well. I don't think you can declare either one as "better." It really just seems like you don't like Manny Ramirez, so you find second-hand accounts of how he isn't liked by his teammates, ignore his actual production, and claim that makes Ramirez somehow inferior to A-Rod/whoever else.

Sonnanstine pitched pretty well tonight. Maddon left him in a little too long I think. I don't feel so bad now getting shut down by him in the ALDS. I also don't feel so bad losing to Tampa period, as they look like world-beaters right now.

QUOTE (tommy @ Oct 10, 2008 -> 10:34 PM) He walked two in the first, then settled and cruised. Bottom 8th now, two on with no out, Rays staging a comeback?Nope! Rays ALCS offense = White Sox ALDS offense.

QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Oct 10, 2008 -> 12:24 PM) Female 'friends' are just women you keep around hoping one day you might nail them. Be honest.Exactly. If you hang out alone with her, and talk to her on the phone, chances are you want to nail/date her. QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Oct 10, 2008 -> 12:36 PM) Really? So being a phony is considered great advice?No, it's amusing and well-written, though.

If she makes eye contact, and smiles, and generally looks approachable (e.g., arms aren't crossed, doesn't turn away from you), just go say hi. It's not as complicated as some people think.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Oct 9, 2008 -> 01:54 PM) He also has a bum knee, and pleaded with Jerry Manuel to bench him at home, because he didn't like to be booed. Yep... he'd go pretty well with the fans famous for making sure Damaso Marte never pitched in the Cell againEven in a down year, Luis Castillo managed a .355 OBP. His lifetime OBP is .367. Assuming his knee problem can be addressed, it might be a good idea to buy low on him, and see what he can do leading off.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Oct 9, 2008 -> 10:38 AM) He IS on Soxtalk, isn't he? There are lots of boobs on this board.As soon as I posted that, I knew someone would run with it.

QUOTE (Sonik22 @ Oct 8, 2008 -> 11:02 PM) I still would like more yes, but I can handle knowing shes with someone else. I'm not waiting for her anymore, I'm done with that bs, we'll see what happens down the road.I speak from experience when I say: if you do want more, then let it go. Seriously. Even if you think it's manageable, or that you're over it, etc., constant contact with her will keep all those feelings in the front, and will probably end up ruining any chance for a relationship, or even friendship. You need to let them die down, and you need to move on, and you can't do that if you're in the "will see what happens down the road" mode. Also, she chose someone else over you, she fed you a line about "needing to see other people to be sure you're the one" line, then got mad at you for doing the same thing. You can't let her expect that everything will continue on like nothing ever happened.

QUOTE (BobDylan @ Oct 8, 2008 -> 04:43 PM) I don't get where this comment comes from. Side by side, the game lists are damn near identical. If you buy a console for gaming only (not including the Wii here), it comes down to which exclusive titles you'd rather have. Off the top of my head, for X-box, I can think of Halo, Perfect Dark and Mass Effect. I know there are others, but I feel these are the big ones. Playstation 3, again, off the top of my head, has Socom, Resistance and Metal Gear Solid, (Final Fantasy?). I enjoy the PS3 titles more. What you said about buying a console for gaming purposes only, I do the same. Anything extra I get with it is an added bonus. But now that I have a PS3, I don't have to buy a blu-ray player. Even today, the PS3 is a very good buy just for the blu-ray capabilities. If I had a PSP, I'd enjoy hooking it up to the PS3. I've seen others do it and it's a fantastic feature. Now that they're planning to add a PSP phone, I'm truly excited for what else they can bring to the table and for the PS3. What you say about online communities within the X-box, it's not really that different for the PS3. The X-box has a few extra features like in game chat, but the PS3 with the XMB bar and the PSN friends list isn't that much far behind. Add in that they constantly improve the PSN, it's essentially limitless (I realize Microsoft updates X-Box live, too). Home, from playing the beta, offers an experience in what you call community, that trumps anything X-Box Live offers. And when it comes out, will be free. But it is foolish to think gaming consoles are just gaming machines these days. Consoles are slowly bridging the gap between the PC's and themselves. When the PSN store gets in full gear with it's movie line-up and what Home does, there is no doubt in my mind that X-Box Live will look like the second tier online experience. Maybe it's just my opinion, but you're making a mistake by going with the X-Box 360. I'm not a fan boy, I've had both systems, but if you're leaning towards the 360 only for the reasons you've stated, I suggest you do a little research before spending that money. FFXIII is coming out on PS3 and Xbox360. Also, if you're an RPG fan like me, the 360 is the way to go -- for now.