katway

One critical notion that's being lost here is that they need each other to perform as they have. If Ramirez is not a homerun threat because he pulls it back a little, then pitchers are less afraid of walking Lee. If Lee bats leadoff, then who is he going to drive in for an RBI? If Ramirez bats too far in back of Lee, who is he going to drive in? In any event, if a player changes his approach to simply bow out for another player, rather it be the triple crown a less substantial HR race, then he has cheated the integrity of the game and tainted any record that comes of it.

It's a 2 to 3 month rental with a bad health record. So, no one wants to overpay. Also, the Marlins aren't holding all the cards here since Burnett is leaving after the season so the other teams know the Marlins can either take something through a trade or get nothing for Burnett when he leaves. Nevertheless, the Marlins are trying to tie Lowell into any trade for Burnett. Since they are a shoe string budget team, getting rid of Lowell to make room for Cabrera at third also helps them from a fiscal standpoint, which may be more important to them than the prospects they acquire in return for Burnett.

actually, players were just standing around until hernandez (I think thats his name) started talking again...then Farnsworth tackled Affeldt. I am guessing Affeldt was also talking smack (A few tigers said he was after the game) which is why Farnsworth went after him. I think it is silly to try to paint Farnsworth as a bad guy here, since the KC starter intentionally threw at a guys head, and then kept inciting things. True Farnsworth didn't handle it in the smartest way, but then again baseball's rules about fighting encourage stupid stuff like this to happen. I would much rather have Farnsworth on my team after what happened today than anyone even came close to standing up for Hernandez did Sticks and stones... another typical Farnsworth move showing his lack of judgment.

My understanding is that Prior is subject to arbitration after 2006 since the arbitration rules are part of the collective bargaining agreement that cannot be waived by the individual contracts. In any event, the Cubs will not negotiate mid=season as that is their policy.

Bullpen is a greater priority than hitting outfielder IMO.

He's always been a streaky hot and cold type of player. I think he could help, but he's not much of an upgrade over Hairston and will make at least $3.75 Million next year. So, I wouldn't give up a decent prospect for him.

One thing we are underestimating is that some switch hitters who seem to hit poorly from a certain side of the plate may actually hit worse against lefty/righty pitchers if they do not switch hit. For instance, a player may bat .330 from the left and .230 from the right and it would seem that that player should always bat left handed; however, that player may actually bat .100 left handed against left handed pitchers. In such a situation, the player should be a switch hitter. In addition, speedy slap hitters can benefit from hitting left handed by virtue of being a step closer to first base. But this is only beneficial if they can hit equal to their right handed stance against right handed pitchers.

Washignton hasn't played very well on the road (except Wrigley), so this isn't a surprise. I think it will be a collapse if they fail similarly at home, where they have a 30-13 record. They also play Colorado next, a team that any contender must beat. So, that series might be a better indication.

I recall when the Yanks had both Winfield and Mattingly going for the batting average tittle and neither one of them was sat for the good of the other. It was great to see them both going for it..it would have been bad for the fans if either of them were to concede.

The brawl looked like it was going to come to a close without any punches until Farnsworth's bonehead body slam. Typical Farnsworth to become a team's closer, only to take himself out of action with an idiotic move. Guess there wasn't a fan around the clubhouse that he could kick.

What?? Did I miss a Detroit-KC game that I shouldn't have? Yup, bench-clearing brawl, 7 ejections, Farmsworth among them. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2110060 It looked like the brawl was coming to a close, then Farnsworth lifts Affelt and body slams him. Classic Farnsworth maturity on display. I guess there wasn't a clubhouse fan close enough. He becomes Detroit's closer and then does something like this.

Cubs are 45-0 when scoring more runs than their opponent. Cubs are 0-45 when scoring fewer runs than their opponent.

Farnsworth's maturity shines through in a brawl with the Royals today: "The scuffle appeared to be over with no punches thrown, but more pushing and shoving began. Detroit reliever Kyle Farnsworth then charged Kansas City relief pitcher Jeremy Affeldt, picked him up and slammed him to the ground." He gets the closer jobs and then does this...How many games will he be suspended this year?

Z with the double! Cubs up 6-0. :D

Way to go Barrett! He has been locked in the last couple weeks.

Good hit Burnitz! Keep the rally going.

I have to disagree. I think If the managment shuts their traps, and deals with it in house, his trade value is higher. Yes he was in a decline. But He was still Slammin Sammy. Despite the fact he only hit in the low 200's, he still had quite a few HR's. I'm sure alot of teams would accept the lower average for the power. The club decided to make him into CLUBHOUSE CANCER SAMMY SOSA, however, and i beleive that hurt his value. If the team didn't reveal his surly dispossition at the end of the year, another team would have surely investigated why the Cubs were trading him and discovered the truth anyway. In addition, there is no way Sosa drops the next guaranteed year unless he has to eat some value do to his poor reputation. No team was going to give us much value for 2 years of an inflated contract.

Farnsworth didn't get traded for lack of talent... even though his fastball is fairly flat and hittable (even at 100 mph). Clearly, the club felt they needed to get rid of him because of his attitude. Farns would still be here if he had matured. The trade, in and of itself, may have been a big wake up call for him since nothing else seemed to work.

Do you mean...how much money did we waste signing Sosa? After all, we were stuck with the contract whether or not we got rid of him. No one else was going to eat that contract. Might as well chalk it up as payment for past services rendered and a nice phased retirement pay out.

I like Floyd (though he has always been injury plagued), but the Mets think they have as much chance as anyone else to get the wildcard or win the division so I don't think they would trade him right now. Hendry also indicated if they acquire anyone it will be a long-term player type and not rental players, so I also don't see Floyd coming here for that reason.

Welcome! It looks to me like Kerry is simply slowing down his delivery. Specifically, his legs aren't moving too far in front of his arm. I always got the impression that his foot would hit and then his arm would follow like a sling with a slight tilt sideways. Now it looks like that doesn't happen anymore because he has slowed down his legs so they are not soo far in front of his torso that his upper body slings forward. This is excellent if he can keep it up long term because he will have greater control and put less pressure on his back and arm; instead, a slower smooth motion puts more of his entire body into his velocity. He seems to have maintained velocity and movement on his pitches, which bode well for him to continue having confidence in his mechanics so he doesn't revert to his old mechanics.

"None of the athletes publicly has admitted steroid use, and pleas by the four defendants would mean they won't have to repeat their secret grand jury testimony in a public courtroom." See http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-athletes-steroids&prov=ap&type=lgns

Ready to put this to bed? What makes you say that? While Bonds hasn't been publicly identified as a target, we know he is by virtue of the FBI undercover operation following him and the tax implications. Bonds is no more in the clear now than he was before Conte's plea. Generally speaking, prosecutors don't try to convict people for possession charges just due to evidence of ingestion. However, that does not mean that Bonds isn't subject to trafficing, distribution, and perjury charges in his own right. While there is little public information available in support of the former charges, the latter seems to be in play. I remain skeptical of anything Conte or his attorney may say with respect to cooperation simply because I have some experience with plea deals and the expectation of assistance, not to mention the fact that Conte has freely lied to the press before. When is the last time someone got convicted of "unknowingly" possessing steriods? What I'm talking about here is scienter. They've got to prove he knew it to a jury of Northern Californians that have stood by him through thick and thin. I'm saying they're done with this because they only have so much money to throw at what is generally considered a petty crime in the grand scheme of things. Unless they uncovered some new information already and Conte and/or Anderson are testifying, there really is very little to go on. They wouldn't even try to convict a common weight lifting thug on the flimsy information that is publicly known without some testimony, yet alone someone that actually can afford decent attorneys. I just don't see where they have enough to go beyond reasonable doubt if we belive that the reports are true. I see no reason to distrust those reports about cooperation because Conte has been less than truthful in situations where it is his word against someone elses. Here, the plea will be in black and white within the 4 corners of the document.. why would his attorneys lie about it?

The others, including Anderson, are all pretty close to deals similar to Conte's. Congress will continue to make noise until Baseball turns the screws a little tighter... but, no one in Congress is going to argue the case to a jury and neither are the prosecutors without a single witness. The doing something was making McGuire and Selig look bad before Congress and twisting their arms to get the owners and the players to address the steroid issue. Prosecuting Bonds without a solid case (no positive test, no proof he knew what he was taking without the testimony of others, etc.) before 12 Northern Californians gets them no where. It looks like the prosecutors are ready to put this to bed and move on. I wish they could convict Bonds, I just don't see it happening without more...

Thome is getting to that age where a lot of immobile heavy guys tend to slow down a little. The elbow is probably bothering him quite a bit and it just takes longer to heal. Strikes me as an AL type player who could benefit from a DH role.