snoodmonger

Steve Spurrier vs. Gary Pinkel? South Carolina.

If you say yes, tell us who you think we'll send to Baltimore.

i agree

I thought rules prohibited us from trading Rusch until sometime duriing the season (May?). Is that correct? I don't know. It doesn't seem like we have the chips for Tejada.

Brown has been absolutely abysmal shooting this year. If he were producing at last year's levels they'd be fine. Brown was a player that really benefitted from the presence of Deron and Luther. I'm not sure he's the kind of guy who can really shoulder the load. As a result, I'm not sure how good the Illini really are. Right now they remind me a bit of KUs team last year, some good players who were much better when surrounded by lotto picks like Hinrich/Gooden/Collison. Don't get me wrong. The Illini are still a good team, but I'm not sure how good, and I'm inclined to think by season's end they'll be a bit lower in the polls. i agree. i think this is a sweet sixteen team based on defense alone, though. yep and anything past that would be gravy. I do think though that part of Brown's problem is that he isn't 100% yet and as a result he isn't playing nearly as well as he was. As for the Kansas remark, that sure isn't what all Kansas fans were screaming about there guys last year. Miles was a McDAA, Simien is an NBA player, and Giddens was the best sg in highschool of his class not named LeBron. I think Dee will play much better as his foot continues to heal and Jamar SMith continues to knock down more shots. Right, and the KU fans who thought we were good enough last year were wrong (although Simien is an NBA player). That talent wasn't good enough to stand on its own. Much like yours this year, I suspect. For the record, I don't know why any honest criticism of UI has to be met with a slam on KU. Kind of weak, IMO. Sorry I am not trying to slam KU, I thought you guys had good pieces last year. I thought you would get to UNC in your draw. I think that Roy was killing you guys still though as it is rumored he was still talking to all of the guys he coached there. Which if true is just messed up, if he wanted to coach those guys so bad he could have stayed with them. I really think the team you guys had last year was an elite eight type team that didn't buy into their coach. So if our guys buy into our caoch and we make an elite eight I would be pretty happy. That said I am hoping for a sweet 16 and anything after that would be gravy. I agree with you on some level there. I thought we'd get to UNC (and get smoked). But I don't really blame Roy too much. Him calling his old players shouldn't have been enough to throw of the team. It probably didn't help Self connect with those guys, though. A decent win today for KU over a Cal team withn a misleading record (they're 6-2 now, but they really haven't played anyone.) Still, I'll take what I can get. Go UT.

I'm surprised by all the Freel hate here. Sure, a .50 downgrade in career OPS from TWalk, but a better, more versatile defender and a guy who can run the bases a bit. If I could pick from the two, I think I'd rather have freel.

So I guess you're saying there's a lot of Love in the arena. Alright, that sucked.

"Ray Allen isn't merely in the top 1 percent of NBA players; he's in the 51st percentile of human beings."

Brown has been absolutely abysmal shooting this year. If he were producing at last year's levels they'd be fine. Brown was a player that really benefitted from the presence of Deron and Luther. I'm not sure he's the kind of guy who can really shoulder the load. As a result, I'm not sure how good the Illini really are. Right now they remind me a bit of KUs team last year, some good players who were much better when surrounded by lotto picks like Hinrich/Gooden/Collison. Don't get me wrong. The Illini are still a good team, but I'm not sure how good, and I'm inclined to think by season's end they'll be a bit lower in the polls. i agree. i think this is a sweet sixteen team based on defense alone, though. yep and anything past that would be gravy. I do think though that part of Brown's problem is that he isn't 100% yet and as a result he isn't playing nearly as well as he was. As for the Kansas remark, that sure isn't what all Kansas fans were screaming about there guys last year. Miles was a McDAA, Simien is an NBA player, and Giddens was the best sg in highschool of his class not named LeBron. I think Dee will play much better as his foot continues to heal and Jamar SMith continues to knock down more shots. Right, and the KU fans who thought we were good enough last year were wrong (although Simien is an NBA player). That talent wasn't good enough to stand on its own. Much like yours this year, I suspect. For the record, I don't know why any honest criticism of UI has to be met with a slam on KU. Kind of weak, IMO.

What makes you say Carpenter was lucky? Carpenter's tats 2000 - 6.26 ERA 2001 - 4.09 ERA 2002 - 5.28 ERA 2003 - did not play 2004 - 3.46 ERA 2005 - 2.83 ERA Career high for IP before 2005 - 216.2 (in 01) 2005 IP - 242.2 HR allowed in 01, 02, and 04 - 30, 29, 24 (in fewer IP may I remind you) HR allowed in 05 - 18 Career high SO before 2005 - 157 2005 SO - 213 Career high W's before 2005 - 12 2005 W's - 21 I could go on but you should get the gist by now. As far as the ERA goes, he was younger (25 in 2000) and pitching in the American League. it stands to reason that he might get hit a bit harder early in his career for both those reasons. The strikeouts going up might have something to do with him pitching more innings. We've all discussed how little wins mean as far as an individual pitching statsitic, so I dismiss the relevance of that stat. The HR allowed I'll give you; that seems anomolous, and I also agree his durability is questionable. But we've all seen him pitch. He has good stuff, and I don't see why it's out of the realm of possibility that he might just be pretty good.

What makes you say Carpenter was lucky?

Brown has been absolutely abysmal shooting this year. If he were producing at last year's levels they'd be fine. Brown was a player that really benefitted from the presence of Deron and Luther. I'm not sure he's the kind of guy who can really shoulder the load. As a result, I'm not sure how good the Illini really are. Right now they remind me a bit of KUs team last year, some good players who were much better when surrounded by lotto picks like Hinrich/Gooden/Collison. Don't get me wrong. The Illini are still a good team, but I'm not sure how good, and I'm inclined to think by season's end they'll be a bit lower in the polls.

I'll bet that kids treasures his Jim Bullinger autograph to this day.

The O's owner is pretty tricky so I'd watch out for the bait and switch...the Cubs might just end up with Gibbons and a Tejada baseball card. Still an upgrade over Neifi.

Wasn't Ty Griffin a third baseman ? Second basemen, I thought. He was gonna be the guy to replace Ryno.

Isn't it the overall budget the big guys would be concerned with, not individual contracts? I mean, if they give Hendry 100 mil to play with, are they really going to micromanage each million, or are they going to say, put the team together however you want (within reason), just don't go over 100 mil? That's what rings false about this rumor to me. Why would they care how much he spends on Furcal, provided he stays within overall budget? And if they do micromanage each dollar, where were those guys when the Rusch/Perez/Eyre/Howry contracts were drawn up?

i hope he's wrong. i'll take floyd or wilkerson over bradley any day. Why not both (Floyd and Bradley)? Can the Cubs pull off a trade for each? I think it's possible. Platoon Murton and Floyd in LF. because both murton & floyd should play full time. as i said, i would much rather have murton in lf & floyd in rf than bradley anywhere in the mix. Murton is no guarantee for 600+ PA of solid production, while Floyd is not a 600+ PA guy either. I'd take an OF of Murton (400), Pierre (400), Floyd (400) and Bradley (600), with Hairston and Mabry down the line. That would be affordable, flexible and productive. I'd love to get Murton 600 PA this year. But this offense isn't good enough to take the chance that he'll end up with a 750 OPS. Floyd would be nice to have, but he never plays a full season. Bradley would be great to have, and the worst that could happen is he's only out there for 200 PA (if he gets hurt or flips out), in which case you have Floyd and Murton to step in. it is if the starting pitchers stay healthy & the bullpen comes through as expected. floyd had 600+ pa last year so why not in 2006? Because he's only done it three times in his career, and last year was the first since 2001.

I'm not sure I want Bradley now. I want a 30 HR 280/350 guy in right and I'm not sure Bradley fits that bill. That's only a .630 OPS! :wink: We had a funny guy like you in Korea. We killed him. :D Master of the house Doling out the charm Ready with a handshake And an open palm Wow, A Les Miserables reference. :shock: Now folks, that what makes this board special. You don't get culture like that on other sites. I thought it was a Seinfeld reference. :P

I'd still prefer Bradley, despite the Pierre acquisition. He may not have the same power potential as green, but he's younger and still has a chance to get better. Green's 33 and probably declining (though his OPS has held steady the last three years). Also he's so streaky. I just can't imagine a more frustrating player to depend on.

That one might keep us out of the tourney. I know it's early, but we have to win the winnable games we have, and we should beat St. Joes.

I think you're overreacting. Not overpaying for the swill that's left out there is probably the smartest thing to do at this point. Now, I don't think we should give up on the big trade or two, but I don't want to see Hendry go on a bum spending spree because he's got payroll to spend and no one to spend it on. Why not give it to our current players who do produce (Lee, Z, etc.) in the hopes we can keep them longer? What's the use of keeping our good players without working to surround them with other good players (and role players)? DLee, Aramis, and Barrett had nice offensive years, this past season, but without key people to get on base infront of them it's hard to score much less win. There is time to fill the holes in the lineup.. Like someone said earlier, who knew Scott Podsednik, and bunch, would win a WS? Their fans were outraged with Kenny Willams. I also recall Williams trading away Miguel Olivo in 2004 to net Freddie Garcia. The Sox fans screamed about how Olivio was to be the next Pudge. He's now working on his third team and struggling to stay in the Major Leagues. Personally, I'm ready for some bold moves! I'm not going to overly covet prospects. If the right deal comes along I think we should make a trade (even if that mean Pie, Cedeno, Murton, Nolasco, Pinto, Hill, et al are involved). I'm not saying that we should give away the farm but at least be open to the idea. I'm sure the Cubs passed up on a few opportunities because they didn't trade Corey sooner when they had lots of teams knocking on their door. I hope Felix doesn't fit that mold because he's also quite the free swinger. I'm tired of waiting, I'm confident that Hendry is working hard to improve this team. There's a lot at stake for him this year. I think you just agreed with me. I said pursue trades, but don't go spending money on bad FA just to spend it.

I think you're overreacting. Not overpaying for the swill that's left out there is probably the smartest thing to do at this point. Now, I don't think we should give up on the big trade or two, but I don't want to see Hendry go on a bum spending spree because he's got payroll to spend and no one to spend it on. Why not give it to our current players who do produce (Lee, Z, etc.) in the hopes we can keep them longer?

I agree. I've cooled on him. At this point, outside of Dunn or Abreu, I don't know who I want. The Trot Nixons/Kevin Menchs/Aubrey Huffs of the world just don't seem like nearly enough.

I'm looking forward to watching our newly stocked pen maintain our deficits at 3 runs because our offense is incapable of scoring.

My friend put his fist through a support pillar in his basement, breaking two of his fingers. This is when the Cardinals came back from like 5 runs or something in the ESPN Sunday Night game, Renteria hit a walk-off jack to win it. Instead of hitting things, I just drank. I remember that game, it was in 2002. That may have been an Alfonseca special. Not to quibble semantics, but "special" insinuates it was extraordinary or different from his typical performance.