RynoRules

OK, take it easy everyone. This isn't that big a deal. If you don't believe the Cards were lucky, consider the fact that they got into the playoffs with 83 wins, a lineup with a ton of injuries (Pujols, Edmonds, etc.) and a staff that relied heavily on cast-offs (eg, Weaver) and short-timers (Wainwright and Reyes). Moreover, near as I can tell, the Cards we not responsible for all of those throwing errors.

Everyone likes you as a person Gary, but no thanks.

I think the reason that I not more upset about this is the following: 1) Da Bears 2) Da Bulls 3) Michigan Football, on their way to National Title?

Co-sign.

Caught the end of Joe and Phil's careers when I was a young man. That was back when we had a half dozen or more 40-somethings still pitching: the Niekro boys, Ryan, Hough, Tommy John, Don Sutton...a bygone era.

You got to do that for what? 2 and a half seasons? Dude, get off your computer and get ready to celebrate. :wink:

Define well supported. You first.

This sums it up nicely, particularly if we look at this thing out of context. That's not a crticism, BTW. I agree that its not a good idea to have either of those guys on your team. Here's the thing: Izturis apparently has "perceived value", i.e., certain GMs and orgs see him as a good fielder and hitter for his position. Accordingly, is it so out of the relm of possibility that he will be moved this Winter? His contract isn't horrendous (unless you take the time to measure it againt his actual production, which we know many GMs will not do). He's not getting traded to Oakland anytime soon, but is it so crazy to think that teamslike Cinci (traded Lopez and have no one else that I am aware of, sans Clayton), KC (Berrora = bust), or even Minnesota (he'd get a lot more hits on turf and has good range) would want him? I dunno about the thing with Hendry and MaPhail. I did not have a problem trading Maddux, but hated the return. Bruce tells us that the Dodgers refused to give up any prospects, and I have no idea what elese was offere dto Hendry by other teams. Its possible, IMO, that Hendry saw this is a "get-him-then-flip-him" type deal. I do find it very interesting that MacPhail - who supposedly ceded all personnel decisions to the GM - was the one who "resigned". Higher-ups are often given the option of resigning in lieu of being fired.

I heard him the other night preaching patience re the Tigers hitters. Made me crazy. He does sound a lot better on t.v. than he did when he was with us.

He's on now and they are asking him about the WS. Lou, compared to Dusty, seems lucid and well-spoken.

The offense would have to be greatly improved. Marshall sucked this year. He won't win many games without massive improvements himself. Plus, he's as unreliable, healthwise, as any pitcher in the Cubs system. Hill should be good, but he's no lock. Then you talk of a FA as the 5th. As it is, Marshall should be no higher than 6th going into the spring. You should definitely have 5 starters you are going to rely on before him. i, too, am doubtful of marshall's ability as a starter in the major leagues. he's shown very little in terms of pitches, he's been injured, and he's sucked when he hasn't been injured. the only real aspect of his game to build on is his propensity to induce ground balls, which still isn't all that significant. i think the best way to use marshall is in a trade. maybe another GM could be tricked into thinking that marshall is a young mark mulder or something. young starting pitchers are generally overvalued in trades by both parties involved, i'd say capitalize on it now. goony and Sully QFT.

I don't have any problem with consuling with your braintrust, including the manager and whoever your boss is. At the end of the day, however, the buck stops with you, Mr. Hendry, so take this advice: "Who do I trust? Me, that's who!" http://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/img/tv/criticschoice/Scarface.jpg

So was OJ. (sorry - you left that one out over the plate)

How about Marshall and Moore for Tejada?

Haven't looked through all the threads for this, but did anyone else hear Hendry with Mac, Jurko, and Harry this afternoon? He said definitively that "we need picthers" and will be getting some, be it "through free agency, trade, or international." Hmmmm......

One percent? That's kinda silly unless Carroll has amazingly good sources. We're not even into the offseason. Will Carroll on injuries = very very good Will Carroll on transactions = very very bad Meh, you beat me to it. Well said.

QFT. I almost forgot why it is so great to trade in Dusty Baker for ANY other manager. No more crappy excuse making and complaining about everything. Please hold people accountable Lou Damn straight. If I have to hear any more excuses... If you are going to lose, at least say, "we stink, no excuses". But I like what Lou said: "We are going to win."

He hasn't talked freely about it. Because he can't; it would be tampering, no?

And I thought I was nauseated by the news of Piniella's hiring.... :x

Kinda pinning my hopes on this too. I really wanted Bochy. Oh well. See my sig.

I don't get this, but okay.

http://gfx.filmweb.pl/p/6404/po.89062.jpg Nevermind GM, I'm the Wiz!

who the hell's putting up an .800 OPS? soriano put up a .900+ OPS in the toughest hitter's park in the bigs in the toughest hitter's division in baseball. i can't see his numbers going down much playing all those games in gabp, mmp, miller park, etc. i'm also intrigued by the fact that he doubled his typical walk total last season. i'd give him 5/75 and play him at 2b/cf...whichever he wants. Take it easy - I said "Beltre light", and if you look it up, he never had a .900 OPS before last year. Now, may be he was so much better b/c he was playing LF and thus taking less of a beating, concentrating more on hitting, etc., but it bothers me that he did this in his walk year. Moreover, does someone alll of a sudden acquire plate discipline at age 30? Perhaps yes, but is it likely? I dunno, that's why I don't want to give him so much money and so many years. We don't have that kind of margin of error. Soriano put up similar numbers in 2002 and 2003, with just a handful of homers more in 2006. His walks were up this year, but his AVG down from those years. I wouldn't expect a significant dropoff in the coming years. Soriano's OPS this year was about .080 above his career OPS. Beltre's OPS in 2004 was nearly .250 above his career average, and .300 more than his 2003 and 2005. IMO, Beltre's contract year fluke deserves to be in a class of its own. Either way you want to look at it, Soriano isn't worth 15 million plus per year, IMO. I agree. Re the Beltre comparisons: It wasn't a direct comparison; that's why I called him "Beltre light".

This seems premature to me also considering Bochy just became available, and if the reports of mutual love between Jim and Lou were true, why wait? That said, Chambliss was the Yankees hitting coach during their run in the 90's, no? They took as many pitches and worked as many counts as any team in recent memory.

I am not sure how the Padres are superior to the Cards. The Padres don't have anyone who plays even close to Pujols' level. Yes, they have Giles and Piazza, but that would mean a lot more if this were 2001, but it isn't. Rolen might be better than any of the Padres' hitters, and Edmonds, when healthy, is even with Giles, IMO. Peavy-Wells-Young is nice, but is it that much better than Carpenter(easily the best starter in the series)-Suppan-Weaver? Probably not when you consider that Carpenter is a cut above all of them. You want to argue that they are closely matched? OK, I'll buy that. But the notion that SD is "superior" to STL is ridiculous. And could someone clue me into how Bochy "managed" them out of the series?