Tracer Bullet

If that were true, Soto would have been bounced up & down to Des Moines a few times this year. No b/c Soto played several weeks at an incredible level to give him a cushion. Murton, Pie, EPatt, Cedeno, Soto - one of these kids doesn't belong.

Vanilla Coke, when you could find it, was awesome. Vanilla vodka and Coke was surprisingly tasty.

I love Rich Harden.

Marquis ERA+ 2005 102 2006 74 2007 101 2008 101 (not including todays game, which will surely push that below 100) I'd call that at or below league average. Calling that "consistently better than league average" is pretty misleading. Correct me if I'm wrong (as I'm sure many will), but by definition, I think 100 is league average. So while it may not be a great deal better, 3/4 years is "consistently better than league average." Now, he'll probably drop below 100 after today and I want him off the team as much as anyone, but his post wasn't really misleading.

I don't think there's anything in the rulebook, but I always saw it as that gray area between trying to get an advantage and being classless. Kind of like when A-Rod yelled "I got it!" while approaching 3rd base against Toronto (I think) last season. It also brings up the age-old debate over playing the game "the right way". That being said, a large part of Spygate was over stealing signs as well. They were videotaped in advance and it's a completely different sport, but it's interesting how it can be so clean-cut in football and not in baseball. I guess I understand this. I guess I just think that the signs are used to disguise and if you aren't diguising well enough you should have to pay by having the other team know what your going to do. The only clear-cut thing about in football was the rule against using recording equipment to film the signs. There's no clear-cut rule against stealing signs though. Yes there is. You can steal signs all you want in the NFL. That's why head coaches hide their mouths and all that stuff. You just can't tape and then use the tape to figure them out. It' virtually impossible to figure out the signs in one game but if you can by just using your eyes the NFL allows it. You lost me there

You bumped a thread that's been gone for over a month, so whether it's enough or not is irrelevant, right? I just figured it'd be much easier to say something optimistic today than it was at the time of the signing, really. Thought it'd be a little funny, too. Apparently, though, there are some who are hell-bent on hating Edmonds rain or shine, and feel like they have to go pee in everyone else's cheerios. It's not a matter of hating Edmonds. Just seemed odd to bump a month-old thread you created when there are already 2 active threads about him.

You bumped a thread that's been gone for over a month, so whether it's enough or not is irrelevant, right?

I'm afraid I have to agree. I don't understand people's inability to separate the team from the individuals. I love the Cubs. So I have to love every player? Do I have to love the manager? Bench coach? [gasp] GM? If you can't separate supporting a team from unconditional love of every player and any other individual associated with the team, then something is wrong with you.

In his defense, if a batter suddenly held up a puppy when Z was on the mound, he'd probably be a little distracted too.

youre kidding right? thats like saying hitler was a better person than mother theresa No. Fontenot is better. You may be alone on this one, TT TT, could be right here. While Hoffpauir has been impressive in his 35 major league AB's so far, it is a small sample size. Their minor league numbers are similar, and Hoffpauir has played at an older age throughout his career than Fontenot. I think TT is right. But I don't think we need 5 second basemen on the ML roster.

Yeah, that seems likely.

So it's a big game of whack a mole? I think someone else would notice guys' heads popping up and down depending on the pitch.

I still wouldn't mind if he could call him "our little guy" ooooh right around August 1st. Why? DeRosa has been better. No, he hasn't. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting?sort=avg&split=0&league=mlb&season=2008&seasonType=2&type=reg&ageMin=17&ageMax=51&minpa=0&hand=a&pos=2b&startDate=null&endDate=null At best DeRo and BRob would have been comparable this yr at 2B. Not an upgrade, in that sense. Not an upgrade? That's just not true as of right now.

I still wouldn't mind if he could call him "our little guy" ooooh right around August 1st. Why? DeRosa has been better. I would think we could find a place for DeRo as well. Where? I can't think of one. the bench, if Roberts is on the team.

So someone with binoculars in the scoreboard is reading the catchers sign and then relaying it to the batter in the 2 seconds between the time the sign is given and the ball is pitched. And the batter is able to pick up this sign from some 400-500 feet without the aid to his eyesight, but NO ONE else in the entire stadium has picked up on it?

Depends on the rest of your team - who is your 3B if Wright is gone and who does Hamilton replace? What cat's do you need?

I don't get why everyone thinks this is so funny?

I'm not sure I'd make that trade off, and Pie being an outstanding defender while Patterson is below average makes it easier. I'd probably take Pie with a .300/.400 OBP/SLG over Patterson hitting .350/.400. b/c Pie projects to be better or you mean over the long term you'd take Pie at those #s over Patterson at those #s? I'm having a hard time seeing Pie's defense make up for an extra 50 points of OBP (with equal SLG) esp in Wrigley. A little of both. I don't think Pie's defensive advantage over Patterson can be overstated, it's probably 20 runs over the course of the season(yes I realize the irony of that compound sentence). But yes, the fact that Pie is younger and hit better at high levels than Patterson also gives hope that he'll be at least equal offensively at the MLB level. Ok. I understand the 2nd part, as I think Pie's offensive production will eventually eclipse EPatt's. But I don't think his defense makes up for 50 points in OBP, all other things being equal. EPatt's pretty bad out there now, but I think he can improve - not to the point of equaling Pie, but to close the gap a fair amount.

I'm not sure I'd make that trade off, and Pie being an outstanding defender while Patterson is below average makes it easier. I'd probably take Pie with a .300/.400 OBP/SLG over Patterson hitting .350/.400. b/c Pie projects to be better or you mean over the long term you'd take Pie at those #s over Patterson at those #s? I'm having a hard time seeing Pie's defense make up for an extra 50 points of OBP (with equal SLG) esp in Wrigley.

option years, not times.

All evidence to the contrary. For a left fielder? Absolutely. He was 24. And at 25 he put up a sub-.800 OPS, with a better than typical ratio of at bats against LHP that should've boosted his numbers. Now he's 26 and he's not hitting even at Iowa. He's backslid, and he doesn't have age and salary(as much as before) to help his value going forward. First - I'm not sure what your point is about LHP - he killed LHP last year, to the tune of an .892 OPS. Second - as a LF in '07, his OPS was .876. Also, in the 2nd half, when his playing time was less sporadic, he was killing the ball (OPS of .920 and .979 in Aug/Sept). I'm not sure what his performance at AAA this year means. It's a pretty drastic drop from his performance at AAA and ML in the last 3 seasons, so I'm inclined to place at least some of the blame on the deflating nature of being demoted yet again when you've done a lot to prove you belong in the majors. Murton clearly knows how well he's done the last couple years - he mentioned his 2nd half stats in that article profiling Murton, Pie, Hill, and Marshall. Being demoted probably shook his confidence - being passed over for promotion twice when Soriano hit the DL probably only made it worse. As to your last point - I agree. He should have been traded or handed a starting gig in either '07 or '08. Since JH replaced him with FAs early in both off-seasons, trading him would have made sense. By holding on to him, there's almost no chance his value goes up and if he wasted away on the bench or struggled in AAA, which he did, you've killed his value.

When he can only play in LF with below average defense, it's close to that. Not really. AAAA guys can't hack it in the majors. Murton can, and has. He's no all-star, but he's a perfectly capable major league contributor. Now we're getting into semantics. Murton provides below average offense and below average defense at one position, the easiest to fill on the diamond. Whether or not that makes him "AAAA" or not depends on your definition, but he's fungible, and probably doesn't have a large role on a good team. All evidence to the contrary. For a left fielder? Absolutely. He was 24.

When he can only play in LF with below average defense, it's close to that. Not really. AAAA guys can't hack it in the majors. Murton can, and has. He's no all-star, but he's a perfectly capable major league contributor. Now we're getting into semantics. Murton provides below average offense and below average defense at one position, the easiest to fill on the diamond. Whether or not that makes him "AAAA" or not depends on your definition, but he's fungible, and probably doesn't have a large role on a good team. All evidence to the contrary.

When he can only play in LF with below average defense, it's close to that. You can't be serious, TT.

Guy with a career major league OPS of .815, OPS+ of 106 and EqA of .272 and .276 the last 2 seasons (including 2 half seasons of OPS over .900) is AAAA?