Rob

Was that a straight SB or did Lou call another damn hit and run?

You know what would have been awesome? PH Floyd for Izturis.

Son of a... This is what I get for not just re-watching the Lost finale.

Leaving Izzy on the bench at the start of the game would have been the better move.

Aramis' grand slam? I think all of the grand slams have come with the bases loaded I think the bases were empty for DLee's.

I would have rather he laid down a neifi-style bunt there.

DAMN IT!!!

Going 3-10 in a September callup is far from a huge success. The other teams and GM's who passed on Brown were correct. Beane was the one who was wrong. No offense to Beane, it happens to everybody. Sorry, but I'm still inclined to think the fact that Beane's longshot gave even a modicum of production to the big league club and the fact that Cincinatti and Montreal's sure things at #3 and #5 still haven't made it out of A ball makes this a notch in the win column for Beane. Even had Brown never made it past AAA, it still does show that performance analysis can be just as valuable as conventional tools-oriented scouting... making Moneyball a success. How is that a success at all? Brown was never good, and the only reason he ever made it to the majors was, most likely, because he was a former first round pick. And the only reason Grueler and Everts aren't in the MLB is because of injuries; it happens to every team. I'm not sure how Brown's failure equals a success for performance-based analysis. People before the draft said he sucked, Beane took him and, sure enough, he sucked. Surprisingly, the two legitimate first round talents he took (Swisher and Blanton) ended up being productive players. All the Moneyball draft shows is that, no matter what approach you take, the draft is a crap-shoot, and you shouldn't use one approach at the expense of all others. If you call Brown's draft selection a success, we better keep you away from the Cubs before you give Hendry an extension. I'll go ahead and admit I may have jumped the gun, but I think everybody expects far too much from the #35 overall pick, sooo... Since 1970, people taken with the #35 pick. Ron Kinner Dennis DeBarr George Lusic Eddie McMahon Gary Harqis Mitch Lukevics Tom Hawk Linvel Mosby Edwin Hook Scott Glanz Jim Weaver Mark Langston Jim Opie Mickey Brantley Matt Kinzer Mike Schooler Cliff Brantley Terry Jorgensen Wynn Beck Brian Hunter Stan Spencer Jeff Ware Johnny Damon Todd Dunn Sean Johnston Mark Bellhorn Jason Marquis Mark Fischer Aaron Rowand Brian West Tyrell Godwin J.D. Martin Luis Atilano Matt Fox Cesar Ramos Kylar Burke Only Langston, Damon, Bellhorn, Marquis, and Rowand have any success drafted from that spot in the last 36 years. While it's too early to tell on the most recent draft picks, none are looking too strong. So yeah, it's possible to find a valuable major leaguer at that point, but it's the exception rather than the rule. Even getting a guy to the majors is a success of sorts, is what I guess I was trying to say, and the further you get from the top five picks, the faster your chances of getting anything from them fall off a cliff.

I was gonna say - maybe you're onto something here. I say keep him in the rotation except when his special time of the month comes, then give him a bottle of Midol and a "Steel Magnolias" DVD and put him in the bullpen. I thought Midol came in pill form? :?

I've moved into the top 100! Sitting at 99 with an ESPN of 194. Once Scotty Pods comes back and Randy Winn comes down to earth, I should be in pretty good shape.

Sorry, crappy puns are fun though. Somebody in my league just dropped Cano, and I had to drop Kendrick earlier because I didn't have a place to put him after he got injured. Right now, I'm holding on to BJ Upton. Stats are R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP. I've got top waiver priority, so I'm assured of being able to grab Cano once he's eligibile, and Kendrick is just sitting on the waiver wire. I can't decide which of the three to go with, though. Opinions?

Going 3-10 in a September callup is far from a huge success. The other teams and GM's who passed on Brown were correct. Beane was the one who was wrong. No offense to Beane, it happens to everybody. Sorry, but I'm still inclined to think the fact that Beane's longshot gave even a modicum of production to the big league club and the fact that Cincinatti and Montreal's sure things at #3 and #5 still haven't made it out of A ball makes this a notch in the win column for Beane. Even had Brown never made it past AAA, it still does show that performance analysis can be just as valuable as conventional tools-oriented scouting... making Moneyball a success.

I say we trade for him. His trade value has to be at a low, and his actual value to this team would be pretty high. Not only that, but it'd keep him away from his wife. Win-win!

Considering what a crapshoot the draft is, I'd count Brown's limited ML playing time as a huge success of the Moneyball philosophy. Beane was able to draft somebody that everybody hated, was mocked extensively for it, and yet his player still made the big leagues while others from that draft haven't even come close... including the number 3 and 5 overall picks.

Stupid Cubs have to ruin my freaking evening.

Oh yeah, see, all innings pitched be relievers are inherently more leveraged than those pitched by starters. So much so that his 1.2 IP of mop-up work has already surpassed anything he could have done in 5 or 6 innings during a start.

That kind of performance sure would be nice to see from our fifth starter. BTW, what the hell is Lou doing pulling him now in a double switch? It's like the man doesn't believe in straight pinch hitters.

A fastball in the dirt, and Jacque didn't swing at it?

Rob, the difference between left and rightfield is not only your arm. It's a little ridiculous to act as if it is. Soriano would be much worse in right than he is in left. Soriano's problem is getting a good read on the ball and taking the right route. This is significantly more difficult to do in rightfield. First of all, in all of those days games the sun is going to be in the rightfielder's eyes most of the time. Therefore, in Wrigley the rightfielder must rely on anticipation much more so than sight. This is something Soriano has a very difficult time with. Secondly, the most difficult ball for Soriano to judge is the opposite field slice. Obviously this would be a much more frequent adventure in rightfield considering the ratio of RHB:LHB. There's also plenty who say that ball off a righty bat tails more making it even more difficult but that's rather arbitrary. In rightfield, Soriano would have to take the hits that give him the most trouble much more often and with obstacles to make it even more difficult... His arm is the only thing that would be any good in right. In terms of team construction, there's no doubt you'd want Soriano in center or right longterm--and there might be enough to improve and turn him into one-- but right now it's very clear why he isn't in rightfield and it's certainly not because some dummy didn't think about it. I'm not debating that Soriano would have trouble in RF. But would your opinion of him change if he were the one forced into RF duty on the fly that he was ill-prepared for? Cause that's what your judging Murton on. Bottom line, one of Murton or Soriano was going to get screwed, and Lou chose to stick it to the rook. I'm not debating whether that was right or wrong, but I'm saying it's unfair to judge Murton on the basis of being a true RF. He's only had a handful of innings to try and figure it out.

Hill looks to be tipping his pitches for the most part. His pitching hand is flashing behind him before the pitch, and you can see his grip pretty clearly... presumably the batter could too.

For anybody who's interested, there's a rematch of Oswalt vs. Lincecum going on right now.

No, Izturis only had a single.

I'm gonna have a beer and a smoke... maybe things'll get better after that.

He screwed enough up as is, let's just leave it at that please. right, i really would like to let this go, but i don't think he has really screwed up so far, i think he is doing a great job...the only thing i would really like to see, which is probably under his control would be to move soriano to the 2 or 5 hole... other than that...he can't help that jones and zambrano are still with the team Lou deserves to be fired for his bullpen handling alone this season.

He screwed enough up as is, let's just leave it at that please.