Tracer Bullet

Soto's not a good fielder. Castro has the chance to be at least an average SS. Plus Soto is going to earn more money over the next 5+ years, so I would say Castro will be more valuable. But Castro will have to improve quite a bit at the plate to do that. Why is Soto not a good fielder? I'd say Castro has a chance to be better than average if he's around average at 20.

I was referring to the "also receiving votes" teams, which can move greatly in the early going. If ND and UM move up to just outside the top 25 today, they could sneak in next week if teams in the 20s lose.

yeah as in, if they're ranked then they're way too high. I don't think either of these teams gets into the top 25 starting 2-0. There are a lot of people that are skeptical of both. Plus, I'm not expecting a clean win for either next week. Probably a close, somewhat sloppy game. Disagree. Not sure about the coaches, but the media is always looking for a reason to rank ND and Michigan when they aren't ranked. Guess we'll see how much they move up this week. ND only had a few votes last week and I don't think UM had any. Maybe either would sneak into the top 25; it also depends on the teams ahead of them. Speaking of the media, did you see the ND clip that Gameday played yesterday morning? Even Fowler, when they came back to the 3 stooges, commented on the tone. Not sure if that's a widely held perception outside of ND fans.

Was good to see ND able to bounce back after making it much too close with some dumb mistakes. Hopefully Kelly's motivation, toughness, and conditioning will start to erase the bad memories the team has of late losses the last few years.

yeah as in, if they're ranked then they're way too high. I don't think either of these teams gets into the top 25 starting 2-0. There are a lot of people that are skeptical of both. Plus, I'm not expecting a clean win for either next week. Probably a close, somewhat sloppy game.

yeah, fans are idiots. And I think last year took some of the shine off of Soto (and Lou's hesitancy to play him like an every day catcher hasn't helped). Maybe he's underrated by the general fan base now. though both are superior to Colvin, I wonder who will be more valuable to the Cubs for the next 5+ years: Soto or Castro? If Castro continues to develop power as he gets stronger, you may be picking between a .900 OPS catcher and a .900 OPS shortstop. Please don't screw this up, Hendry.

you get 1 plunking for the catcher and they took that in the 4th. i don't think you get to throw at him again b/c he stole bases b/c he was pissed that you plunked him. that [expletive] can go on forever.

how does riggleman get more games than the Marlins manager?

Hello papajohns.com bowl!

Soto is already our best hitter. Soto. Though Fuku is close. If you use wOBA to determine production at the plate (and there's no reason you shouldn't) Geovany Soto has been the 13th best hitter in baseball (min 330 PA). And he hits 8th on one of the worst teams in the league. Soto is underrated by Lou (and now Quade, apparently), but Fukudome is far more underrated by fans.

completely agree I doubt the Marlins took into account public sentiment toward Morgan in their deliberations. I don't think they sat around and discussed the public's feelings about Morgan. But I'm sure they're aware that he's been acting like an ass and that public perception could have contributed to the general ill will they felt toward him when they decided to bean him again.

It was the FOURTH inning and his team was losing. He got himself not only into scoring position, but 90 feet away from home plate. Could have scored on a passed ball, wild pitch, base hit, etc. You can't expect to chip into a lead without scoring runs. yeah, but down so many runs, you don't need guys getting CS, you need runners on base. What if he had gotten thrown out? I guess the notion was more stupid than anything. You realize they weren't holding him on ? they weren't? I thought they were. According to Morgan, since they were still holding him on "I'm gonna roll out" or something. However, I read somewhere that the Marlins catcher is a rookie and has been terrible at throwing out runners in the minors or something. Then again, Morgan steals a lot and gets caught a lot. It's likely he doesn't know or care about the quality of the catcher. I do think it's generally not wise to steal bases, esp 3rd, when you're down 11. Risk/reward probably doesn't support the move. But I also don't think it violates any unwritten rule that warrants beaning the guy again. I think Morgan was being a prick b/c he was mad that they hit him and I think the Marlins figured public opinion isn't behind Morgan, so they can throw at him for something dumb like stealing.

People with souls I hate Loria, no doubt. But what do I care about Chris Volstad and Gaby Sanchez? This isn't the Yankees. After its two WS victories, the Fish basically overhauled their entire rosters. So you hate Lee for being part of the team that the Cubs melted down against? I'm not sure I could name 10 players that were on the '03 Marlins. I guess I'm assuming the hate comes from '03 or from Loria. I could be completely missing something.

who hates the marlins?

Could be worse. You could be Michigan and have 1 watchable game before November 5.

Glad I'm not the only one thinking that. Oh, there was some definite drama queen-ery coming from the Marlins' side, but Morgan has been squarely in the middle of a lot of BS lately. true. but stealing two bases in the 4th inning of any game in which you're behind shouldn't subject you to a beaning. Wes Helms comes off as a dumbass for suggesting that a team that's down in the 4th should give up.

not something I'd expect from a guy hoping to become a manager. hops on the pitcher while he's on the ground and holds him down. yikes.

This is great: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-09-01/sports/ct-spt-0902-greenstein-big-ten-footba20100901_1_dave-brandon-pat-fitzgerald-ryan-field

Yeah, he got passed by a true freshman (Jones) and a sophomore who was moved from RB to slot (Riddick). He should have stuck it out b/c he could have replaced Floyd in '11 and been a top 3 WR in the offense for 2 years. But he was pissed.

the ncaa doesn't think a felon (who plead to a misdemeanor, but whatever) should get the same transfer benefits as everyone else? and you're crazy if you think everyone is going to have the same attitude about their team adding a felon to their roster. Did you really think this guy is the only thing standing between Ole Miss and a BCS title?

I sure as [expletive] did. Masoli at Ole Miss was a game changer in the SEC. There are some powers that be that didn't want that. This is garbage. This is a completely arbitrary ruling on their part because he met every requirement of the waiver process which is routinely rubber-stamped by the NCAA. Masoli's waiver situation was in no way different than Greg Paulus or something like that. The NCAA's arbitrary power is ridiculous and unfair. If the appeal is denied, I hope he sues them. What felony did Paulus commit again?

I did not miss the "hits well/poorly in the X spot in the order" arguments.

just make it saturday already.

can we let this boring squabble die quietly now?

I guess this depends on who you ask. Given soriano's past it was very probable that he probably wouldn't put up those numbers again. And frankly he was due for some DL time. If he consistently was putting up numbers like 05 thats one thing. But he wasnt. Also I thought he changed his age just before or after the contract. I guess I'm wrong. Either way its pretty well evident that Soriano's contract is a joke. Hendry out bid himself by 20-30 million if the reports are correct. 'nuf said. yes I know what his contract is. I don't think its that bad and neither does fangraphs amongst others. If we can agree that cameron and rios are comparable then its not crazy to think that Cameron at 37 should make less than Rios at 29. Even though they are the fifth oldest team if you look at average age they arent all that old at key positions. konerko is the key guy they lose this year and they may get a home town discount or just start viciedo over there next year. Pierzinski could be had again for cheap or Donald Lucy could take over. If anything they have young(er) guys that will be eligible for free agency for the first time in Quentin, Floyd,and Danks in 2013 ,Alexie Ramirez 2012, Edwin Jackson 2012. This could be the drawback of the Rios contract but given the current bargain basement market of free agency they will be able to sign or resign guys at marginal prices and mix in the occasional more expensive player and bring up prospects. I really don't see it effecting them that much as they get to keep most of their current team for the next three years of the remaining four years on Rios' contract. Where does fangraphs say that Rios' contract in 2011-2014 at $12m per year isn't bad?