Sammy Sofa

OK, "WHAV" just flew right over my [expletive] head. When did that show up? Have I just been stupidly ignoring it for years now?

While I agree with you, that LD% isn't exactly impressive. Yeah; bad luck clearly impacted his numbers this season, but to say that he was JUST unlucky is a bit of an overstatement.

You're looking at it all wrong. The prospect of having a manager like Girardi convinced Sweeeny to sign 12M below market value. http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/proud.gif

Meaning that you think he's too similar to Sveum? Because Girardi isn't exactly an unknown.

I'm asking questions, not espousing any theories. Then the answers should be obvious; no, managers aren't going to have an impact that wildly swings a team's record from one year to the next.

How do you explain situations like the Cleveland Indians where they went from a 90+ loss team one season to a 90+ win without making any major changes other than the manager? They have to be at least part of the reason for that, right? For the record I'm not saying I believe any specific manager will make us 30 wins better but there do seem to be examples where a managerial change makes a big difference. Is it a matter of a bad manager making the team worse as opposed to a good manager making the team better? Ummm.......Because they had a lot of guys have better years on offense and pitching than the year before Indians 2012 offense: http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2012&month=0&season1=2012&ind=0&team=5&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0 Indians 2012 pitching: http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2012&month=0&season1=2012&ind=0&team=5&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0 Indians 2013 offense: http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2013&month=0&season1=2013&ind=0&team=5&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0 Indians 2013 pitching: http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2013&month=0&season1=2013&ind=0&team=5&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0 Ok, do the manager & his staff not have anything to do with that? So how do you apply this busted-ass theory to the White Sox under Ventura? Was he responsible for their record in 2012? Is he to blame for 2013? Or was AJ Alphabet a human-fountain of magical PEDs?

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/giggle.gif

Can that team beat the Heat, Thunder, Spurs, or Rockets? If so, then don't trade for Aldridge. I just don't think they can be that good, but I'm willing to wait 5 months to find out. In playoff crunch time, Deng and Noah can't be relied upon to score regularly. Jimmy maybe, but I want to see his development. The Bulls are 64-18 the last 82 games Derrick Rose has played in, IIRC. That's basically the epitome of a team that has a core that should be going for it. Of course things can change and they could be proactive about making changes on the margins. This team will be really, really good if Rose is Rose. 60+ wins, top 3 defense, and top 8ish (potentially better) offense. No doubt, but they really aren't close to winning a championship. They aren't better than the other teams I mentioned because they can't score with other top 5 teams in the playoffs in half court offenses. So you want them to just mix things up just because? Because the moves mentioned so far aren't gonna do [expletive] to change things if you're convinced those teams are basically unbeatable.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b352/gutterglitterxx/gifs/PRiNCE/yikes.gif

Given his age that seems likely.

You're overselling it pretty hard, largely for the reasons UMFan just mentioned. There's little to suggest that his numbers last year were based on a decline or drop off as opposed to the circumstances of Rose not being there and his role on the floor.

No kidding; the Bears were plowing headlong in the wrong direction for so long, and someone expects them to reverse course and the offense to be stomping on throats 5 games into the season?

Yes, the only options are to love him or hate him. NO OTHER OPINIONS ARE POSSIBLE.

Boozer is really good, man. What about him? Still with this?

Why is this trading deadline the cutoff? The guy didn't play a lot in his first season and obviously didn't play at all with Rose last year. You've got Rose coming back from his injury and them simply getting used to being starters together...seems a bit quick to throw in the towel unless it's just a disaster.

OK... Zah? These seem like rather contradictory thoughts.

The Maddux love for The Fresh Prince of Bel Air is legendary.

Yikes. That's even worse.

I really want the Maddux bros. I'm imagining a sort of Mario/Luigi dynamic here. Obviously it would be Will/Carlton.

Anyone know where there is video of that play? I keep trying to find it. Also, shockingly, Girardi was an All-Star in his second stint with the Cubs. I had never noticed that Chip Caray initially blew the play by play call. He first says that Gutierrez was out, but then changes it to safe. If there's a call of a big moment it's a safe bet that Chip fucks it up somehow.

"Forced"...or taking what everyone thought would be an easy credit because they're just pawns in the great, gaping, sucking cesspool that is college sports. They can't even do their easy classes right.

Who was the rape-y No Limit guy? Was it Silkk or Mystikal?

Pretty sure it was all about the haircut.

The comments section makes me want to smash things.

This surprises you? Not anymore, but I remember him being one of the first players I looked up when the lights switched on stats-wise and a little part of younger me dying inside when I saw the truth. I wasn't expecting him to be good, but man, that was ugly.