BigSlick

I can't believe how awful this guy is. He's truly a bad, bad player. But as long as Nocioni is injured and Tyrus Thomas is getting 5 fouls by the 2nd quarter, he'll play.

EDIT: I'M WAY OFF BASE HERE

:lol: Tyrus Thomas had a really great game, but he still was in consistent foul trouble. I don't really want to say it, but he might actually have to tone down his intensity. EDIT: Ben Wallace took so many shots because the Celtics were sure not to let the guards beat them again. The plan was actually pretty smart because we can't consistently depend on Ben Wallace to score as well as he did, he added a 15 foot jump and a couple sky hooks too. He had some nice dunks though. So did TT.

He's a special teams stud, but is one dimensional as a player. He's good against the run, but he can't cover, and he can't rush the passer either. He's a good backup ILB/special teamer, but that's about it. Eh, sounds ok. No idea why we're going to pay him $4 mil and didn't have interest in similar dollar amounts for Stallworth, Bennett and Travis Henry, though. Oh, don't worry. You guys aren't the only team not to do anything in FA :x Flames it seems like more than a few teams are just abstaining from FA completely, and for good reason. The market has gone out of control Its sometimes better to just consolidate what you have and wait for the draft. Its not worth it to overpay very mediocre players just because you feel like you have to do something in FA. Some teams have pretty much stuck to the philosophy of maybe one big sign an off-season and then just resigning what talent they have and then signing their draftees. Teams that spend a ton in free agency...don't seem to have a higher winning percentage at all. Its frustrating, but blame people like Dan Snyder for it.

I'll never understand how Hendry could justify going into 2005 with the OF he had, which pretty much guaranteed Burnitz would get a ton of playing time. He was, uh, hamstrung by the sosa situation. Which is why we had to have Burnitz instead of Beltran. Or something like that. Yeah but we had this dude named Matt Murton who could have used some more starts but Dusty just had to play Burnie damn near every day. It was like Burnie was some indispensable superstar and not a washed up geezer who wasn't going to be on the team the next season. No way did he need or deserve to get 155 starts. I don't think we got Murton until halfway through 2005? At least thats what I thought.

Well I would like to see it cause we made it that far extending our 25 win season streak. But, I think they will destroy us. I wish we could have gotten that game two years ago. You know the kids Bill left playing against him. Self couldn't make it out of the first round in 2005. Hard to meet your old team when you can't get up and beat a 13 seed or something. :lol: I'm pretty sure I have a rematch of the National Title game of...Football for me. This time I have the Buckeyes taking it. Not sure how 2005 is relevant to this year. There isn't one remaining player from that season. I'd say 06 is pretty irrelevant, too. We were basically all freshman. I'm pretty sure I responding to someone talking about Illinois and Kansas meeting in 2005. Yea. So thats how its relevant. In response. To what that guy said.

Well I would like to see it cause we made it that far extending our 25 win season streak. But, I think they will destroy us. I wish we could have gotten that game two years ago. You know the kids Bill left playing against him. Self couldn't make it out of the first round in 2005. Hard to meet your old team when you can't get up and beat a 13 seed or something. :lol: I'm pretty sure I have a rematch of the National Title game of...Football for me. This time I have the Buckeyes taking it.

I think I've found my new Facebook profile picture.

The irony here is that he'd still probably get a Super Bowl ring.

The only problem with that is we take a pay cut whether or not he plays, so although he wont be paid his 7 million, it WILL be deducted from the salary cap.

Let me say that I think the Illini are going to lose in the first round. :cry: i think it's more than a winnable game for them. with the defense that the illini play, VT is not unbeatable. however, with the offense that they play, it's not super-likely that they'll make it out of the first round. The Illini are so poor offensively its hard to pencil them in for a win even against another 12 seed. They...just...can't score well enough. Its very painful watching this team while I rooted for the powerhouse, juggernaut that was the 2005 Illini.

Monday, for one reason: Heroes.

God some of you just don't get it. I'm not one to name a starting pitcher's role. The simple fact (FACT, NOT OPINION) is that every single starter in baseball has the same damn job. What difference is there between an "ace" and a "5th starter" when it comes to baseball? Are the Cubs spotted a run when their ace goes? No, they have the same job. Naming them means absolutely nothing and is a waste of time. When I say dominance, I don't mean going out there and pitching like an "ace." K:BB dominance is no more than being the best pitcher you can be. There's maybe one or two other factors, but K:BB is one of the most important if not the most important thing when evaluating how good a pitcher is. Quite frankly, Marquis is not very good at it, never has been and never will be. The ability to strikeout guys without walking them is by far the most important skill a pitcher can possess. It has nothing to do with his "role" it has everything to do with his job - getting people out. Capable to living up to his contract? Come on, let's not be naive, I'm not looking at his contract and saying he sucks. I'm looking at him and saying he sucks. It doesn't make a difference if he's making seven million or 1/7th of a million. At the end of the day he's the same pitchers so I am going to evaluate his pitching looking at that, not the number of zeroes on his paycheck. Does it really make a difference? For the love of God it's nine innings. We all saw what Ryan O'Malley could do for about the same time. :lol:

Let me say that I think the Illini are going to lose in the first round. :cry:

Bizarro Izturis batted 1-1 with 2 walks today. Why is he taking pitches? I have no idea what is going on. If Bizarro Izturis lasts throughout the regular season, we'd have the best 8 hitter ever. (He wont, and we wont)

Why do we care if they are unhappy? The more talented players should play. Which means for the moment Pie should sit.

That's all that's guaranteed. Link. this is why the pats are always there. what a great deal for them. Based on their offseason, the Patriots right now are my early pick to win the SuperBowl in 2008. Its still early yet, I'd wait until at least the draft to make a pick like that. And the Pats have 2 first round picks :oops: You can definitely pencil in another AFC East title. That would make, what, 5 in a row now?

They could still theoretically get to 50 wins, they only need to go 13-4 in their final games. As impressive a stretch that would be, its not undoable, considering how well the Bulls, for the most part, have played since the All-Star break. Gotta get that 3 seed. Playing in the first round without homecourt advantage can't happen.

You're right. He's a crappy baseball player who happens to be in the Major Leagues (much like Neifi Perez, Rey Rnez, and many others before them). And there's a reason why those men are playing "slow pitch" softball. Fixed. Well the arguement was he wouldn't belong in a line-up of a "slow pitch softball team". However I beleive none of those "slow pitch softball" players, could even break .050 in the majors. So I beg to differ. 8-) If that. Most of them probably couldn't make contact in 10 at bats. One of my friends said he could get a hit off of a major league quality pitcher if given enough pitches (he played 2 years of Baseball in highschool), but I even doubt that. Or maybe not. Perhaps I've giving too much credit to Major League players? I bet around pitch 180 I could start getting some contact. Someone get carpenter ready, he's gonna throw until I hit something But seriously, I assume that pitchers represent the best that someone who is a decent athlete but not gifted in hitting could do against ML pitching. They're not selected for their ability to hit but they get a lot of practice (compared to a regular person) at it. I don't think it's unreasonable to claim that a lot of people could hit .100 if they practiced for years. Pitch 180 is where you start making contact? What if they start mixing in curveballs and change ups? (Assuming this is some hypothetical pitcher that isn't suject to fatigue) Then you can't just sit and time your swing for a fastball. Honestly people really don't understand how daunting a task of getting a hit in the majors is. EDIT: Yeah, someone said that above. A lot of these hitters put up absurd numbers in High School, like batting .700 and stuff. Could you imagine someone like Albert Pujols against High School or even College pitchers?

You're right. He's a crappy baseball player who happens to be in the Major Leagues (much like Neifi Perez, Rey Rnez, and many others before them). And there's a reason why those men are playing "slow pitch" softball. Fixed. Well the arguement was he wouldn't belong in a line-up of a "slow pitch softball team". However I beleive none of those "slow pitch softball" players, could even break .050 in the majors. So I beg to differ. 8-) If that. Most of them probably couldn't make contact in 10 at bats. One of my friends said he could get a hit off of a major league quality pitcher if given enough pitches (he played 2 years of Baseball in highschool), but I even doubt that. Or maybe not. Perhaps I've giving too much credit to Major League players?

I'm going to be the first one to say that Anorexic-Wood scares me a little.

Jesus, if Donte Stallworth can get 30 million on the free agent market, I can really understand why the Bears have no interest in overpaying for some players. Thats absurd, even given teh year he had.

Adam Everett is widely regarded as an amazing defensive SS. He got 688 chances last year in just under 1300 innings, about 4.7 chances per 9 innings. Or in other words, a little more than the number of plate appearances he'll receive. Now, consider that a very substantial number of those defensive chances are plays that anyone who's played high school baseball can and will make(pop-ups, sunday hops, easy force out throws, etc.), never mind a major league caliber defender. The sheer amount of chances that a defender gets to add value aren't near the amount of chances he gets at the plate. And even then, that ignores that defense is a 9 man affair, where you can bobble a ball and still flip to the guy at second for a forceout, or lose a ball in the lights/sun but the center fielder/second baseman comes in and grabs it. Offense has more of an impact than defense. There is no doubt of that, but defense can still add value. Plenty, actually. The thing is the ceilings we are talking about, and diminishing returns. The worst defender in the league can't really do that much damage. The best defender in the league...doesn't add that much value. Now the worst bat in the league can do plenty of damage, (and we may be talking about Izturis here if he puts up another .225/.275/.300 year) You get an average fielder and compare him with a fantastic fielder, there is improvement there, but it just isn't worth nearly as much as an average hitter compared to a fantastic hitter.

And whats stopping you? Fred McGriff?

Would Izturis (last year of contract), Cedeno (or Theriot), Jacque (to get rid of some salary), Guzman, and get it done for Tejada? :shock: :shock: :shock: Soriano Tejada Lee Ramirez Floyd/Pie Barrett Murton DeRosa Thats an awful trade. You're giving up 2 middling level middle infielders, a mediocre outfielder, a middling pitching prospect and another pitching prospect for a bona-fide star? What? How did that make sense in your head?