TruffleShuffle

hey, we've found someone else who likes dusty baker!

$15 million per year? That is crazy. If I were Mussina, I'd be pretty pissed off that Pettitte will make $4M per year more than me.

Thompson and Wainwright I can understand... Looper? He's never started a game! I can't imagine they'd convert a moderately successful middle reliever into a starter at this stage of his career.

So 11-2 Wake Forest shouldn't get in, but 10-2 ND can? Good example.

Considering how crazy the market is right now, you're not going to get a guy like Jacque Jones for $5M per year unless it's via a trade. Nixon and Gonzalez probably aren't going to sign for a contract significantly more than Jacque's. That's only because Nixon can't stay healthy enough to play everyday and Luis is a washed up old man. yup, plus they test for steroids these days

yeah cubs give up jones and ohman, and get burrell, lieber and money. sounds reasonable to me! Maybe the phils and white sox can throw Hamels and McCarthy to the Cubs to even the deal out a bit :lol:

if you see a 450 lb black man on tv who tries to accuse everyone of being biased against black and/or fat people, you'll know you've found jason whitlock

Two things, I don't see why it would necessarily cost $175-200m just to field a respectable team. And, 8 years ago people would have said the same thing, only using $75-90m as the number. There have been a heck of a lot of mediocre starting pitchers who have signed for between 8 and 10 million in recent years. This is not completely out of the blue. Plus, baseball balances this out with how cheap young talent is. In football, draftees get 8 figure signings bonuses and count huge against the cap right away. In baseball, you have guys like John Lackey, who has been a good pitcher for 4+ years and has barely made $4 million. Not every team has to sign free agent $10m 4th starters. Some teams, like Oakland, will always be more efficient with their money. You are acting as if everybody is going to look like the Cubs. The Cubs are going to spend more than the vast majority of teams. Because they have to make up for having a crappy farm system and an unwise GM. *sigh* no, because they can

fixed

And ND can play a weak schedule whenever they want and get in the BCS. edit - or they can play what looks to be a good schedule and turns out to be weak (like last year, when two teams they played were ranked by the end of the season). The weak schedule can work in ND's favor just as much as it can in a conference team's favor.

Maybe. But in that case, who's screwed? The small market teams. They'll have to win by building strong minor-league systems and by producing guys who can contribute toward winning a championship in their first five years (before they reach UFA status). Well, how's that any different than the way things have been for the past 15 years?

How do they retool though? Aside from Pie and Patterson, there aren't any position players worth a damn who are close to being ready to contribute at the major league level. Some of the pitchers show promise (Veal, Gallagher, Marmol, etc), but we've heard that song before. Bottom line, the farm system is pretty lousy right now, and the only way to restock it would be to deal off guys who would fetch good prospects in return - i.e., Zambrano, Lee, Ramirez, Barrett and Hill. If you trade those guys, you're taking two steps back in hopes of taking three steps foward later - not the greatest idea.

How do you know? You've done a revenue analysis? I haven't done a revenue analysis, but if average #4 starters keep getting 4/40 and Gary Matthew Jr. types keep getting 5/50 it looks to me like it will soon require a Yankees-size payroll to field an MLB contender. 1. Alex Rodriguez 25,680,727 2. Derek Jeter 20,600,000 3. Jason Giambi 20,428,571 4. Mike Mussina 19,000,000 5. Randy Johnson 15,661,427 6. Bobby Abreu 13,600,000 7. Johnny Damon 13,000,000 8. Hideki Matsui 13,000,000 9. Jorge Posada 12,000,000 10. Mariano Rivera 10,500,000 11. Carl Pavano 8,000,000 12. Kyle Farnsworth 5,416,667 13. Tanyon Sturtze 1,500,000 14. Mike Myers 1,150,000 15. Robinson Cano 381,100 16. Scott Proctor 353,675 17. Chien-Ming Wang 353,175 18. Andy Phillips 331,150 19. Wil Nieves 328,600 Total Team Salary: 198,662,180 When the Cubs have 10 guys on their roster making $10M per year, let me know and four guys making about $20M or more, let me know.

What about the Michigan mascot? http://www.riverwestcurrents.org/Images/yuppie.jpg

I didn't know that. http://www.hickoksports.com/history/cfchamps.shtml I guess I should have said that no two-loss team has ever won a title outright. Minnesota won a share of the title in 1960 with an 8-2 record. Every other year dating back to the 1870s, the champ or co-champ has had 0 or 1 loss.

Why? Do you really think the difference between USC/LSU and Michigan/Florida is so great that they would be unworthy of a championship even if they won a playoff(and in turn beat at least 3 top 10 teams)? An NFL team can be 9-7 and win the Super Bowl, so what's the difference? The difference is that college football champions have always had a sparkling record, going back over a century. No two-loss team has ever won a title. It's part of the charm of college football, and what makes it different - every week means more than any a regular season in any other sport that I can think of. Just because other sports and other leagues devalue the regular season, doesn't mean that college football should do the same.

Yeah, they were overrated at one point in the season but I wouldn't consider them overrated right now. They started the season overrated. Several experts had them winning NT. I really think if people would have objectively looked at them at the beginning of the season they would have to come to the conclusion that OSU and several SEC schools were better. Notre Dame did look like they could possibly go undefeated with the schedule they had. I dont think noone outside of me and some Michigan fans thought Michigan was a better team then Notre Dame before the season began. So most people thought if they could beat USC at USC they would go undefeated. So Notre Dame was ranked to high to begin the season. Which puts them about were they are now. Except for Lou Holtz I dont think anyone else outside of Notre Dame thinks they are a Top Ten team now. Really I do get tired of people just throwing out that Notre Dame sucks or are overrated. There is no other eligble team that is more deserving who was left out of the BCS. They are a double digit underdog in the Sugar Bowl. What exactly are we trying to prove. They should be 21 point underdog or West Virginia should have made the BCS. I almost feel dirty. Defending Michigan and Notre Dame in the same week. Therein lies the problem. Wisconsin is more deserving, but can't go, because they actually play in a conference. Auburn also has a higher BCS ranking, but they can't go either. The system gives a huge edge to a team that doesn't play in a conference.

How do you know? You've done a revenue analysis?

You seem unwilling to believe that last year was anything but a fluke. P/PA: 2005 - 3.65 2006 - 3.90 BB/PA: 2005 - .048 2006 - .092 SecA: 2005 - .339 2006 - .423 Even his strikeouts increased by 35 last year - again, indicating an increase in patience. It's not like he had some bizarro BABIP that clearly indicates a fluke year. It seems to me that he had a breakthrough last year in his plate discipline, and his numbers jumped accordingly.

4/40 for a 4.36 ERA in 1st year of the deal? Awesome, what a bargain! feel free to share your ideas for what the cubs should do. They could've NOT tried to do a worst-to-first overnight rebuilding job in the least favorable market in the history of pro sports. maybe it's the least favorable. From what I've read, a lot of people don't expect this to be a bubble that will burst in the future. Contracts are just going to keep going up. Plus, even if they sign someone like Lilly for 4 years, that's not a crippling contract. Soriano is the only one with a very long, very expensive deal.

Because the Rockies need pitching and they have corner OFs all over the place. Jeff Baker lit the ball up in his short stint. Atkins may have to move to the OF shortly when Stewart comes up. The Rockies want a young CF and pitching to go along with Francis. If they can get that for Hawpe, they will trade him. Jones+Marshall for Hawpe. Hell, give them Mateo or Marmol too. Murton-Soriano-Hawpe. Mmmm. Rockies have corner outfielders everywhere, so they resolve the problem by.... trading for one corner outfielder and getting one in return?

4/40 for a 4.36 ERA in 1st year of the deal? Awesome, what a bargain! feel free to share your ideas for what the cubs should do.

Floyd really doesn't have much in the way of value any longer. If I were Kenny I'd throw in Crede to try and get Hamels. won't work, hamels is untouchable I doubt untouchable is the word. Ryan Sweeney, Crede, Vasquez and Garcia would probably get Hamels and Rowand. No. Sweeney projects as something like Kotsay, at best, and won't be as good as Rowand for at least 2-3 years. Crede's career best OBP is .323. If you mean Carlos Vasquez, he doesn't have a lot trade value. If you mean Javier Vasquez, the Phillies are not going to invest $21M on underachieving starting pitchers (Vasquez and Garcia) - especially when Hamels will be better than both of them this year. I read the Philly papers a lot. Howard, Utley and Hamels are the building blocks. Unless someone like Miguel Cabrera were coming back for Hamels, he wouldn't be dealt.

The Cubs came within 5 outs of winning the National League in 2003. Kent Mercker joined the Cubs in 2004. The Cubs haven't sniffed the playoffs since then.

Floyd really doesn't have much in the way of value any longer. If I were Kenny I'd throw in Crede to try and get Hamels. won't work, hamels is untouchable