flavum

Thomas-less ballot: https://twitter.com/RRepoz/status/419252914310217728 Turned in a ballot with 9 names. No room for Frank. Old guy, by the way. Retired a few years ago. As far as I can tell, Frank is at 101/112- 90.2%

Pitchers and catchers report in 6 weeks. So we got that going for us, which is nice.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 3, 2014 -> 02:04 PM) Joe Borchard, Brian Anderson, Josh Fields, Tyler Flowers, Brent Lillibridge, Brent Morel, ....just some names that BA had ranked just as high as Matt Davidson as prospects at one time. It's really not that crazy to think Charlotte might be a logical place for him to start the 2014 season. That may be true, but I think they acquired him with the intention of him being the OD 3B. No harm going to spring training with everyone--Keppinger and Gillaspie included, and make some deals in March if Davidson plays like he's ready.

99/109 for Thomas. He's getting in. Voters were more than happy to get three no-brainer candidates without ties to roids. Interesting, next year is Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz (with Sheffield). So the same thing may happen next year. 100 - Maddux 97.2 - Glavine 90.8 - F. Thomas 80.7 - Biggio ——————————— 73.4 - Piazza 66.1 - Bagwell 60.6 - Morris 56.0 - Raines 46.8 - Bonds 45.9 - Clemens 39.4 - Schilling 33.9 - Mussina 22.9 - Trammell 20.2 - E. Martinez 18.3 - L. Smith 14.7 - McGriff 13.8 - Kent 11.0 - L. Walker 11.0 - McGwire 8.3 - S. Sosa 7.3 - R. Palmeiro

Opening Day - Gillaspie different team. Keppinger different team. Unless Dunn is traded, which isn't likely. Davidson- 3B in Chicago.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 3, 2014 -> 01:14 PM) I am sure it would be on a minor league deal, which is OK by me. Yes, and better than Axelrod.

Omogrosso returning? https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/419180159934017536 Funny reply from the player himself.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jan 3, 2014 -> 12:34 PM) The reporter on scene is almost in tears over a 20 year old minor league park. Saw that. Get a grip, man!

Minor league park in Michigan burned down on the 1st base side. http://www.wzzm13.com/video/livestream/live.aspx

If Sale, Quintana, Johnson, and Danks make 32-33 starts each, they'll get by with Paulino/Rienzo/Surkamp. Santiago is an ok pitcher, but it was more important to get high upside offense. Who knows, maybe they get a 1(b) ace pitcher five months from now in the draft.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 3, 2014 -> 09:49 AM) Is it wrong that I really like "Ground Floor"? It's watchable. Good eye candy.

Brawl down under. http://www.csnchicago.com/white-sox/white-...rawls-australia

The first few innings of the last night game at Comiskey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zduJfQWKxA

Frank---94/104 Not sure if this is a bold prediction, but I could see Biggio fall under 75%. I definitely think Piazza stays under 75% 100 - Maddux 97.1 - Glavine 90.4 - F. Thomas 80.8 - Biggio ——————————— 73.1 - Piazza 66.3 - Bagwell 60.1 - Morris 56.7 - Raines 45.2 - Bonds 44.2 - Clemens 39.4 - Schilling 35.6 - Mussina 23.1 - Trammell 19.2 - L. Smith 19.2 - E. Martinez 15.4 - McGriff 13.5 - Kent 11.5 - L. Walker 10.6 - McGwire 8.7 - S. Sosa 7.7 - R. Palmeiro

Joe Posnanski's Blog. http://joeposnanski.com/joeblogs/the-massi...l-of-fame-post/ I don't agree with everything, but if I had a vote, I might actually come up with the same 10.

https://twitter.com/AdamSpankyEaton/status/...844321320669184 I love baseball rats. This guy is going to expect to play 162.

Sox leave Arizona 12 weeks from today. Opening Day can't get here soon enough.

Eaton strikes me as a little bit on the cocky side. As a rookie, he probably came off a little too loud, where old school ways is for rookies to be quiet. I think there's a better chance Eaton is closer to a Swisher type than a Pierzynski type. We'll see. Either way, play good baseball and nobody will care.

Wanna watch the 87 Brewers go to 13-0 on the season at Comiskey Park? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu9yS_vSZe0 Sox beat them the next day. The following year, the Orioles started 1988 at 0-21, and beat the Sox to end it.

It's going to be a loooong ceremony this year. I think they're up to 100 ballots and Frank is on 90 of them.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Dec 31, 2013 -> 10:07 AM) The discussion and controversy is excellent for business. The more the HOF can be in the news, the better things are for the HOF. That's why they'll never change to "more objevtive standards" -- they don't really care who gets in, just that there remains interest in the whole process. I disagree. They don't gain anything if nobody gets in like last year. Their goal should be to get people to Cooperstown, NY.

Updated: Dec. 31 - 10:55 ~ 82 Full Ballots ~ (14.4% of vote ~ based on last year) 100 - Maddux 98.8 - Glavine 87.8 - F. Thomas 82.9 - Biggio ——————————— 74.4 - Piazza 64.6 - Bagwell 62.2 - Morris 56.1 - Raines 46.3 - Bonds 45.1 - Clemens 41.5 - Schilling 34.1 - Mussina 23.2 - L. Smith 23.2 - Trammell 18.3 - E. Martinez 15.9 - McGriff 12.2 - Kent 11.0 - L. Walker 11.0 - McGwire 7.3 - R. Palmeiro 7.3 - S. Sosa

I'm surprised the Hall allows votes to be published before the announcement, and especially before the ballots have be turned in. Suppose a voter wants to wait until the last minute (today) and make their decision based on percentages already known. That doesn't seem right. Plus, why take the suspense out of it for announcement day? We're going to know before they open the envelope unless the percentage is right around 75%. But I do like that Frank is probably getting in this year.

Glavine is going to get a bump just because of Greg Maddux and Bobby Cox going in. Not that he doesn't deserve to go in, but some will vote for him in his first year just because of the link. I bet he stays over 90%. I'd also like to see McGwire, Sosa, and Palmeiro fall under 5%. I mean, really. With only 10 spots open, who is has space for these three? Good god. Use your brain.

With 71 ballots made public, Frank is looking good to get in. http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/newsst...ollecting_gizmo