DBAHO

KW was never going to trade Garland to upgrade the pen and farm system because that doesn't increase our chances of winning the World Series this season, and that's what he said all along. Besides, it's not like our bullpen has been a major weakness for us so far (and I think a lot of people thought it would be, but it hasn't been so bad so far).

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Apr 14, 2006 -> 06:38 AM) I'm surprised that Lirano didn't make the rotation over Lohse or Baker. I had him as a major fantasy sleeper before that. Of course, this is the team that waited about a year longer than they should have to put Santana in the rotation too. The Twins have made a lot of questionable roster moves this off-season, from Juan Castro starting at SS over Jason Bartlett, Batista starting at 3B when they could of had Corey Koskie for about 2M per season. With the way Baker has started in the rotation however, we may see Liriano in the rotation sooner rather than later.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 14, 2006 -> 10:52 AM) Which, given how devoted those fans were to that team only a few years ago, is pretty damn sad. Hell, both of those teams managed to make it all the way to 2nd during the Bulls era. The Blazers downfall is especially sad, considering where they were in the mid 90's when they had the likes of Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey etc. Then Trader Bob came in, and the word "character" went out the door. Then finally they got rid of him and brought in John Nash. What does he do? Re-signs Zach "I only care about myself and my offensive output" Randolph and added questionable guys like Darius Miles. That team is a real mess right now, and hopefully Nate McMillan can right the ship.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Apr 14, 2006 -> 08:55 AM) If he can be a one inning guy, or even two innings, with an ERA under 3.75, it's more than we could have asked. He throws serious heat from the left side. That pretty much replaces the output of Luis Vizcaino from last season. It shows how important it is for Don Cooper to stick around for the long - term as well. If we keep Coop, then KW can trade for more guys like Thornton who have good stuff, but some reason whether it's a flaw in their delivery etc. just haven't had much success in the majors.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Apr 14, 2006 -> 10:42 AM) http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2407965 Stern thinks Seattle doesn't want an NBA team anymore. Just think in a few years, it's actually possible they may not have a team in the North-West at all, if the Blazers moved as well.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Apr 14, 2006 -> 01:03 AM) DBAH0, can't you go to a state with stuff to do in it? Hence why I ain't goin, and I'm "casually" suggesting to my Dad to find some work somewhere a little more entertaining when I get my 3 weeks off in June / July. Talking to them before however, they said there's still snow on the mountains, so skiing's a definite option.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 10:32 PM) They're scraping the bottom of the barrel. No that'd be Iowa. Riots and Cyclones aren't really their "thing".

About a year back, I started a thread asking about things to do in Phoenix. Well it's that time again. The folks are off to Utah on business for a few months, staying in a place called Sandy, which I think is south - east off Salt Lake City. Now I've warned them about not being converted to mormonism (or whatever it's called), but does anyone have any tips on anything to do up there (last year's advice was real handy)? Thanks in advance.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 12:51 AM) Crede had a Brooks Robinson type of post season. I'm sure he opened some eyes. He'll have to maintain that degree of excellence to reap the reward though. Hopefully for Joe's sake, that definitely put him on the radar a lot more. But when Torii Hunter won a gold glove last season, that alone just showed how flawed and biased the voting is. And really it's a shame.

Looks like we're done. Have to beat the Spurs tonight in San Antonio to stay alive. Philly beating New Jersey in New Jersey (ugh), and the Bulls winning have probably sealed our fate already though. Here's an early mock draft as well, Bulls getting Aldridge and Brewer (which I'm sure would be the dream scenario for you guys); http://www.nbadraft.net/2006mock001.asp

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 06:21 PM) What doesn't make any sense? I am not discounting what Lee did last year. He was one of the best players in the league. In terms of consistency though, Konerko has had a pretty consistent career from 1999-2005. Besides his injury year of 2003, he has batted between .277 and .298, hit between 21 and 41 HRs, and drove in between 81 and 117 runs. Lee has been up and down. If you take away is 1998 where he batted .233 and his partial year of 1999 where he batted .206, he batted between .270 and .335, hit between 21 and 46 HRs, and drove in between 70 and 107 runs. 2005 was his first year above .282, above 32 HRs, and above 100 RBI. Konerko has had 100 RBI 3 times, hit above .282 4 times, and has had 100 RBI 3 times. The bottom line is he got paid for his 2005 performance. If he stays near that level it was a good deal for the Cubs, if he drops off to pre-2005 levels it will be a bad deal. I would take the deal right now just like the Konerko deal, but the real assessment on the deals can't be made until later in the contracts. You've got to remember though he moved from a notorious pitcher's park at Pro Player Stadium to a hitter's park at Wrigley Field. Kong's hit at U.S Cell for the vast majority of his major league career. So I would tend to look at it from the point of view of what he's done for the Cubs compared to what he's done for his career. He's got a .980 OPS for the last 2 seasons, which is pretty damn good. Also Lee is a much better hitter than Konerko with RISP. He hit .331 with RISP in 2005 compared to Kong's .248 last season. Of course Kong hit .314 in the same situation the season before that, so we'll have to wait and see how he does this season. But what I'm trying to say, for an extra $5 million, I'd take Lee over Konerko any day of the week. He's more athletic and doesn't have any long - term injury problems, which you can always argue with Paulie that he's got that hip, even though we haven't heard anything negative about that for quite a while.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 02:07 PM) I think the reason people like SLG% and OBP more than batting average is because the former two have proven to correlate better with scoring runs than the latter (over the course of a 162 game season -- in the playoffs this changes). And Jason, it's all relative. I mean, yeah, you can say OBP is overrated, but you have to put it in a context. What I'm saying is, if you have a player who is making $8 million a year, but his only real asset is his OBP (say he's putting up a .250/.375/.375 line), then of course he's going to be overrated. OBP isn't the be-all, end-all, and I doubt any real saber fan would tell you that. You have to mix and match it with other things (such as defense, power, position relativity -- ie, is this a catcher or a right-fielder?). If I'm building a team, OBP is going to be extremely important for the first 2 hitters in my lineup, for the obvious reasons. The middle of the lineup should obviously be able to hit. Then it gets interesting in the bottom of the order. Do you want your Bill Mueller's who will have a slightly better OBP or a Joe Crede who won't but will probably hit for more power? It's an interesting argument. OBP alone as Keith said won't make you a great player however.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 12:41 PM) I've said that numerous times. They're not exactly the mid-90's Braves. Sabathia, Westbrook, and Lee can be pretty good for stretches, but they don't have anyone that is consistent. Yeah I don't like Byrd or Johnson at the back end of their rotation at all. I think someone like Jeremy Sowers could be up by the end of the season to replace one of em possibly. Offense has gotten off to a very good start though.

Charlotte lost 12-6 to Columbus. Lubisch got smashed, Tracey not much better in relief. Owens homered, Fields went 2 for 5, hitting .286 so far. Sweeney 1 for 5. Charlotte Box B-Ham beat Huntsville 8-4. Broadway started, and was fairly good except he gave up a grand slam with 2 out. 5IP, 3BB's, 3K's. Valido with 2 hits, Getz still struggling, hitting .185 currently. Nanita had a nice game 2 for 3 with 2BB's, and Micah Schnurstein was 2 for 5. Dizard pitched 3 scoreless innings of relief. B-Ham Box Winston - Salem beat Myrtle Beach 4-0. Egbert started, went 6IP with 3K's, good start for him. Anderson Gomes went 1 for 3 with a BB, he's hitting .190 currently. Chris Kelly the 1B'man went 3 for 4 with 2 2B's. W-S Box Kanny lost 10-3 to Asheville. Coretes started, didn't have a good 1, 3IP, 6ER. Paulo Orlando went 2 for 4 with a triple in the leadoff spot, he's hitting .409 now. Franicsco Hernandez went 1 for 3, hitting .350 now. Kanny Box

QUOTE(SnB @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 01:50 PM) that new bon jovi song 'who says you can't go home' is way too catchy Loser.

This is like the Vikings missing their pick in the draft a few years back all over again.

Right now, Jenks is still the closer no ifs or buts. He hasn't looked dominating at all, but until he starts blowing saves, Ozzie's not going to make a change. Of course, Cotts and Politte haven't been back to their 2005 form either, which makes the situation a little easier. Thome's been a godsend to this offense. It's funny how Carl Everett complains about how KW treated him, and how he should have been re-signed. Well let's have a look at how the 2 hitters have done so far. Thome - .346/.514/.1000 Everett - .115/.258/.269 OOPS.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Apr 13, 2006 -> 10:40 AM) And he's not a douche bag. Absolutely. I don't think Francis is ever going to be the same player again, unless he can play in an uptempo offense that suits his style. The thing is, not many teams play that anymore. I don't think the Magic are ever going to offer max money to a guy unless he's got great character and leadership abilities. In other words, not Steve Francis.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 12, 2006 -> 09:44 AM) He's a very good player, but in reality is a 6' shooting guard. He is developing into a very good player, but nobody is losing sleep over passing over him. Just one of those guys who is overcoming all the things he has going against him, that's all. Still the important thing with him compared with Steve Francis is that he won't turn the ball over a whole lot. I don't think he's going to average more than 5 or 6 assists per game, but he could easily be a 18/6 guy, he's a very good shooter for a PG. Some important games going on right now. The Bulls are starting to pull away from the Hawks, while the Magic and Raps are tied in the 3rd quarter. You guys beating the Nets yesterday probably ended our hopes though I'd say.

Should be an interesting matchup against Robertson. He had a pretty good ERA at home, 3.17 last season. But he doesn't strike out a lot of hitters, and we're better against lefties, as I'm sure most of you already know. Oh and he was 1-7 in day games last season as well. Hopefully that precedence carries over to this season.

Welcome to my world. You'll live with it.

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Apr 11, 2006 -> 11:11 PM) I dont think either statement is really bad, and I think they both are pretty close to the same thing. Didnt a few indians take some "We are better than them" shots last year too? It dont mean a thing without that ring. No worries here. Absolutely, the game's won on the field not through trash talk in the media. But we've become the hunted, and the teams below us are going to try and hunt us down, if they think they can as Bonderman obviously thinks so, then good for them. But last season's comments by Young that it was a 2 team race back in April last year, well that was just plain idiotic, and he got rightfully flamed for it. You've got 4 teams who could potentially win this division (most likely 2, perhaps 3), and anybody can come from anywhere as we showed last season.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Apr 12, 2006 -> 12:15 AM) Mick's still got a ways to go to be considered a true rival IMO. In majors yes, but Tiger doesn't have the aura he had 5 years ago as well.

Where's Adam Scott? Really Mickelson's short game is so much better than Tiger's right now. Tiger's a better ball striker though. Contrasting styles, hopefully we'll see them in many more battles.

QUOTE(Middle Buffalo @ Apr 11, 2006 -> 04:13 PM) My son dropped an ice cream cone today, and, maybe, 2000 ants quickly moved in and made it their ice cream cone. If I was an ant, I'd become a dentist. We had an ant problem at our house for quite a while. It's bad enough when they get in your kitchen and start gettin all over your food.