mul21

Are the BB/K numbers reversed there?

The ticker on ESPN this morning had a typo and it was showing as "drug racing" for a while. I was very confused.

Just saw a highlight of the game winning HR. Travis Wood got royally hosed getting an L today. That pitch was nowhere near a strike and the guy golfs it out of the park. Unreal. The "bad luck" really is unbelievable, but the lack of offense is inexcusable.

That is absurd. If it is unrealistic for him to feel as though they should let him go, how can it possibly be unfair of them not to let him go? Well, he's right. Hence the speculation there may be some sort of mutual agreement to part ways with some, but not all, of his remaining salary to be paid. He is not right about it being unfair on their part not to let him go. That's a ridiculous statement. It's unfair to the Cubs if they let him go and have to pay his entire salary. I may have read that differently than you, but that's how I took it. Probably giving him too much credit for having a coherent thought though.

That is absurd. If it is unrealistic for him to feel as though they should let him go, how can it possibly be unfair of them not to let him go? Well, he's right. Hence the speculation there may be some sort of mutual agreement to part ways with some, but not all, of his remaining salary to be paid.

Yep, this.

Saw a clip of the CJ thing a little while ago. I really kind of think the judge was out of line. He gave his male lawyer a pat on the backside for a job well done and the judge reacts like that? [expletive].

With all the Jordan/LeBron comparisons going on, I'm watching this game in amazement seeing the defense give LeBron a 4 foot cushion on the perimeter and him not take the shot ever. I'm talking 3 point line and in to about 19-20 feet. 8 years into his career, there's no way Jordan would have been given that cushion and not just knocked down the shot almost every time.

Was that really a trip on Bickell right before the goal? Looked like pretty incidental contact to my untrained eye.

Dude on MLB Network was quoting W/L record to mock the pick. Might have been as bad as anything Gammons or Reynolds said. That was Greg Amsinger, huge Cardinal Homer. Always mocks us, totally unprofessional. He's a regular guest on one of the sports talk shows in STL. It amazing how douchey he is, even for a Cards homer. He really is completely unprofessional, which seems to be a theme for those out of TBFIB. The inferiority complex in general towards Chicago is spectacular to watch, especially when they criticize people from KC for the same thing.

Obviously SP are generally much more valuable, but could the 2nd rounder potentially be a guy who they've targeted as a pen arm? With the reports of some pretty good high end velocity, harnessing that with a solid change would be a recipe for a very good late inning/setup guy. Probably not the case, but with his profile and the possibility of it being an under slot type pick, I thought it might be a thought to consider.

This is some pretty good end to end action for being halfway through the 2nd OT.

Actually, looks like another moron, Steve Lyons, is the original culprit: http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/dodger-thoughts/post/_/id/1778/another-backer-for-the-home-runs-are-rally-killers-theory ETA: And it looks like the George Brett thing was taken slightly out of context. http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2013/06/home-runs-kill-rallies.html

Mitch Williams I think?

Oh, come on, .500 is completely sustainable!

Wait, what? They went all those innings with 0 runs and then that happened? Baseball is [expletive] crazy. I was paying attention to this game because I couldn't get a damn win out of Iwakuma. Yep, Seattle scored 1 with the bases loaded and then hit a GS to tie it.

And why the [expletive] is Darwin Barney batting leadoff??? So he can get on base for Cody Ransom homers?

It's a small consolation that the Sox just blew a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the 14th inning to Seattle. The silence on the broadcast is deafening.

Is it necessarily player development, or is it that their scouting might just be better at finding guys who actually develop into things? I think the guy who put this system together being gone to Houston will be an issue for them in the coming years. Cardinals management took a chance on Luhnow when they got rid of Jocketty because the two couldn't play nice. The guy who owns the Cards is a smart dude and probably saw something in Luhnow he really liked. There is a very good developmental system in place, but I have a feeling Luhnow has an eye for talent unlike many others out there. This Cards farm system didn't really start taking off until he was given pretty much full control of the draft and IFA signings.

He's a plus defender. Yes, power is probably the biggest concern with him. I did a little digging on BA and found this: Ranked Chicago Cubs #12 prospect after the 2012 season Blocked by Adrian Beltre and Mike Olt in Texas, Villanueva's chances for future playing time improved dramatically when the Rangers dealt him and strike-throwing righthander Kyle Hendricks to the Cubs for Ryan Dempster. He still has to worry about Jeimer Candelario and perhaps Javier Baez (if he moves to third base), but Villanueva suddenly has a lot more upward mobility. On the 20-80 scouting scale, one Cubs official described him as having 80 makeup, 70 defense and questionable power. Villanueva's short stroke is conducive to line drives more than longballs, and he tends to inside-out quality fastballs and serve them to the opposite field. He has the potential for average power, but he'll have to get stronger and turn on more pitches to get there. He can hit for solid average and provide some doubles. He has fringy speed but has the instincts to steal bases if the defense doesn't pay attention to him. Defense is where Villanueva really shines. He has the first-step quickness, hands, arm strength and savvy to make tough plays look routine. Chicago added him to its 40-man roster and will send him to Double-A in 2013. He could get a big league audition sometime the following year. He sounds like right handed Bill Mueller to me.

Year to year, relief pitchers are never the same. They have an annoying habit of suddenly not being able to get anyone out. If the season is already going poorly, what difference will Having or not having Russell make? It might make a difference the next 2 years when we still have him if he's not traded.

What he's saying is that it's a stimulant and does, for whatever paradoxical reason, help many people with ADHD calm down and concentrate and it does not help people without ADHD. I know. What I was trying to say is that for those who don't have ADD it can improve focus and concentration. That's why a lot of baseball players abuse it. Anyways, Law seems to think it will improve the chances of him being taken #1 b/c the Astros will have an easier time low balling him. Not sure I'm buying it, but it's interesting. Except you're wrong. It simply acts as a stimulant for people without ADD. If you have ADD, it can have the opposite effect, which is to relax you enough so you can sit still and pay attention. In no way, shape or form does it help a person without ADD concentrate. You're wrong. Baseball players take it because they can't take greenies anymore.

No, I remember back when Glavine was in his prime some of the switch hitters would actually bat lefty against him to get a better look at his change up since it was so devastating.

But they've only played one game 7. 2-1 at "forcing game 7's" and 0-1 at winning them. Wait, how have they forced 2 game 7's but have an 0-1 record in them? Or am I missing something? Tonight's game hasn't been played yet.

According to Tim Legler, the Heat got calls all game except for the Lebron foul and the Wade travel, so we're not the only ones seeing it.