DBAHO

So yeah Greasy, remember that Artest for Francis trade? Can we please do that right about now?

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Dec 25, 2005 -> 10:49 PM) Ya, great, he starts to play well again once I'm out of the playoff picture for fantasy. :headshake It is a bit of worry for him that in his 2 seasons he's been injured quite a few times. He's shown though, when his legs are at 100%, he's got that burst and cutback ability, that makes him a top 10 RB in this league. Of course, he hasn't been helped by the subpar play of our O-Line this season which has been my main gripe with the Boys this season. It's also a reason why the Bears have done so well besides their defense. THey've protected the QB well, and it's really helped the running game. Teams like the Texans and the Browns today have shown, if you don't have a good offensive line, you're not going to win a lot of games at all.

If they sign Jeff DaVanon, I'd say Young will definitely start the year in AAA as well. But if they don't, I could see him starting as they've said Luis Terrero will be a bench player and Shawn Green won't be in CF again. Frankly I think that's a mistake though as I'd have Green in CF and Quentin in RF for 2006, and then you can bring in Young in 2007 when he should be definitely ready.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Dec 25, 2005 -> 10:56 PM) Because it seems like the dodgers have been burned by the long term deals for SP's---Perez and Lowe last yr, Dreifort ]even though Colleti is new]. Plus, from their various message boards, most fans believe Weaver is a very mediocre pitcher who is similar to a guy like Tomko, and not worth a long term deal. Yeah I just had a look at Weaver's stats for last season, I can see now why'd they're probably heading down that path. My reasoning before was that they might as well keep their really good prospects and try to sign a starter on the FA market. If they're going to go after a starter on the FA market, it should be Millwood, not Weaver, and even Kevin isn't the greatest bet to produce long - term under a 4 to 5 year deal.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Dec 25, 2005 -> 10:13 PM) Stolen Bases are severely underrated on this board. Well you can argue it both ways, even if a guy steals a lot of bases and it doesn't bring in a lot of additional runs, you can say it hasn't been that valuable. But then there's the pressure it puts on the pitcher, and help minimising double plays etc.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2005 @ Dec 25, 2005 -> 12:32 PM) The Dodgers aren't giving up any of their top prospects for David Wells. Well it kind of shows the mind that Ned Colletti is in right now. He's got 4 starters locked up and with these rumors he's shown that he doesn't want Edwin Jackson starting in the rotation for 2006. But they don't want to give up their top - notch prospects for a SP like Jon Garland even though he'd be a HUGE upgrade, because he's not signed long - term. If they can trade for Wells without giving up some up their premium talent, Colletti would probably jump at it. But really, why don't they just sign Jeff Weaver and keep their prospects? I'd imagine a team like the Nats are going to get Weaver though.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Dec 25, 2005 -> 03:01 PM) Thats the same place I get my stuff from. I don't know whats up with it, but I'm too lazy to dig through my stats right now. I think he hit around 26 HR's in Birmingham and played the entire year there. After that year, people were really really raving about him. Its not to often a guy comes into Bham and hammers the ball like he did. Chris Young's one of the few that has and I fear were really going to miss him. The worse part about the Chris Young trade for me is that not only did I lose my favorite prospect, but it means we'll lose one of my favorite pitchers in Garland for a guy thats been a grade A baby for the past couple seasons in Vazquez. I'll let that end my rant. The more it settles in the more I hate that move. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Young, and whether they rush him to the big leagues straight away. If they play their cards right, they're going to have a hell of a young nucleus in a few years with Quentin, Jackson, Gonzalez (not Luis), Young, Tracy, Drew, possibly Upton and Montero. Jason what are your thoughts on Vazquez, and do you think it was wise trading for him so we get the 3 years out of him, instead of just the 1 year out of Jon (which could still happen), and losing Young in the process. And the part that really bugs me about this deal (right now I'm prob 45-55 on it), was that we could of possibly traded Brian Anderson instead of Chris Young, but we chose Anderson because he's supposedly ready now.

Yeah I know he still ain't with us, but what do you think will happen to Chris Young in 2006? Where will he start, in CF for the D-Backs, in AAA or in AA? And what type of numbers will he put up wherever he's playing?

Well somehow we're still in it, I don't know how, but we are. And I don't care who you are, winning in Carolina means you must be pretty good. I still think we can possibly do some damage in the playoffs, but unfortunately losing Flozell Adams has killed any chance this team had getting of getting thru the NFC. Bill Parcells, your number 1 task in the off-season, get a damn GOOD Right Tackle. And no, Rob Pettiti or Mark Colombo ain't going to get the job done. And I think Ware proved something today to those who said we should have taken Shawn Merriman. 3 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. That's gotta be defensive player of the week surely. Oh and Julius Jones, he's BACKKKKKKK.

We had lunch at home today, which is what we do every year. Of course it may be the last with the whole family again, depending on what happens with me after I finish Uni, and my sister probably relocating somewhere else in Australia to get the type of job she wants.

From the Toronto Star;

How we Aussies do our Weather Reports; (Warning loads of colorful Aussie Banter though) Chopper Does the Weather

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Dec 24, 2005 -> 09:54 PM) This team has no sense of purpose or system. Trent Yawney is a f***ing idiot. Fire his ass. I still think it goes both ways a little with Tallon, as I'd like to see what Yawney could do with some players who are actually suited to playing in the new NHL. But yes, Yawney's on thin ice at the moment, although I don't know who'd take over if he got fired. Isn't Bruce Cassidy (former Capitals Coach) one of the assistants?

QUOTE(Dam8610 @ Dec 24, 2005 -> 07:36 PM) Correct me if I'm worng, but isn't he moving to 1B? If so, trading Marte would open a hole at one of the corner infield positions for them. They've got Kevin Youklis to play at one of the corner IF spots.

When did Phil Rogers become the GM of the Baltimore Orioles?

QUOTE(SnB @ Dec 24, 2005 -> 03:10 PM) = you and who else? GPA's are based on a 4 point scale an a = 4.0 b = 3.0 c= 2.0 d=1.0 plusses and minuses are worth +.3 and -.3 So basically i got a b- average, I'll take it. Hey we're an international community you know. Looks like you did ok though. Right now I just want to pass all my subjects and don't really care what I get. Not a great attitude to have, but I couldn't really be bothered, especially since now my vacation job may turn into something more pernament after talking with the boss yesterday.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 24, 2005 -> 03:08 PM) Dont you love winter sports in Chicago! The United Center should be embarrassed of what they have to offer. I told you they should have gone with Curling DAMNIT!!!!!! Hopefully Tallon actually has the balls to do something after this debacle.

QUOTE(SnB @ Dec 24, 2005 -> 02:53 PM) Final grades are in. Ended up with a 2.83 for this semester, my worst so far, but it could have been far worse. I'm blaming .3 points on the white sox, and that's probably underestimating it Speak English for those not educated in the land of GPA's.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 24, 2005 -> 03:06 PM) I dont think anyone cares to be honest. Oh yeah you're right, this is the Blackhawks we're talkin about.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 24, 2005 -> 03:05 PM) GOAL!!!!! IT COUNTS!!! GWG for my fantasy team! BWAHAHAHAHA. Man O Man I hope they're booing the hell out of em right now.

XBOX TRADES!!!!!!!

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 24, 2005 -> 03:01 PM) Daytsuk scored with 0.0 time left, waiting for the call.... Did it count?

QUOTE(quickman @ Dec 24, 2005 -> 02:33 PM) In my opinion yes the cardinals would have been stupid. To pay a 500 pitcher 10 million a year in my opinion is overpaying. Just my opinion. Don't know what your argument is, but my argument is I beleive the sox would do quite well with getting a couple of mid tier prospects or a reliever and a mid tier prospect. I think I have remained consistant. I would be very happy with this type of trade but who cares if I am happy the whitesox will do what they think is best they can do in this market. Sometimes I think certian people believe our players are the best. They are not, we had the best team last year, not the best players. Ok so what about Kevin Millwood. Do you think a team that offers him $10M a season is overpaying because he wasn't even a .500 pitcher last season? Would you pay more for Rodrigo Lopez then Millwood because Lopez won 6 more games last season? I think the Sox can definitely do better then a reliever and a mid - tier prospect. Remember the Mark Mulder deal was Mulder for Kiko Calero (there's your reliver), Danny Haren (now a good young starter) and Daric Barton (definite top 20 prospect in baseball). Now I don't know if the Sox would be able to get something like this because of Garland's contract. But the market for starting pitching hasn't gone done at all, the Paul Byrd's and Scott Elarton's are still getting very nice contract. Of course we had the best team last season. But I'd like to see you show any team at all last season that had better starting pitching then us at all in 2005. That's what won us the World Series.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Dec 24, 2005 -> 11:12 AM) I think its a solid move by eac hteams. Of course this all depends on what the Jays can do with there bevy of 1st/3rd baseman. However Glaus is a force in the middle of a lineup. He can hit for 40 hrs if he stays healthy over the full course of a season and the Jays could use a big bat. At the same time Batista goes back to Az. He's a solid pitcher and can close if necessary and Hudson is a good infielder. I don't watch enough of Hudson, but I remember quite a few people always raving about Orlando. I never understood it but I always figured thats probably because I don't watch or pay much any attention to the Jays. I know Josh Byrnes for a while was trying to attach Luis Gonzalez to any Troy Glaus deal, but they become unfeasible. Still I think he's done a pretty solid job here, and in the off-season as well. Their payroll had to come down from $67M to about $60M, and trading Glaus and Vazquez will have helped that immensely. I'd expect Craig Counsell to start at SS and Hudson at 2B, which is a pretty solid middle infield combo. Still Hudson only had a .315 OBP in 2005 which probably highlights how Willie Harris was undervalued here. That definitely needs to improve if he wants to stick around in the desert. Miguel Batista's role will be interesting though. Right now the D-Backs have a rotation of Webb, Halsey, Ortiz, Vargas and El Duque. Batista could be used as a starter to replace Halsey or Vargas if they don't perform in spring training, or he could be used as a set-up man or even a closer depending on what they want to do with "Big Papa" Jose Valverde. But at least their bullpen should be better then what it was.