fromthestretch

I think there is a good chance that at least one of Johnson or Moore go pro. I also think that Hummel won't be as good after his second major injury in as many years. I still think you will be a really good team though. Obviously, they could change their minds, but Johnson and Moore both recently stated (within the last two weeks) that they are returning for next season.

They may not have put them over the top, but they did fill holes that Boston needed to fill since defense was a major concern that year. Without those two players (and Dave Roberts), I seriously doubt Boston wins the WS in 2004. 2004 UZR/150: Nomar: -15.8 Cabrera: -2.3 2004 OPS: Nomar: .842 Cabrera: .689 Was the defensive difference between the two enough to make up for the offensive gap? I doubt it. orlando put a .785 ops as a red sox player Nomar had an .867 OPS while in Boston. I'd have broken it down to only when the players were with the Red Sox, but I don't know how to do that with UZR. I didn't want to have tiny samples offensively and full season samples defensively. If you go to fangraphs, you can look at the 2004 Red Sox team and see the individual fielding stats for their players for that season. From what I can see for UZR: Nomar with the 2004 Sox: -8.6 Cabrera with the 2004 Sox: 1.1

Wasn't he initially acquired via trade? I thought the Cubs dealt Miguel Batista for him.

OK then.

Why exactly does one have to be that type of hitter in order to successfully teach hitting? You make it sound like he's going to turn Brendan Ryan and Skip Schumaker into pull-happy, swing-for-the-fence type hitters, when that's most likely not going to happen.

Harang actually did improve last year over a really crappy 2008 season. He was around league average in 2009. Still 6-14 last year, mid-4's ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. The record doesn't worry me, as they weren't that great of a team, but I didn't even take a look at the H/9 or the WHIP. He's always been hittable, but has typically limited the damage with decent strikeout and walk rates. However, he's been even more hittable the past two seasons and has been giving up homers at a higher rate. I think his best days are behind him.

That's not a bad idea on their part. You're a loyal customer who has shown a willingness to consistently spend money on a sports package year after year, so they figure they'll give you this other sports package free this year, and maybe you'll be more inclined to purchase it in future years.

Yeah, you can see him almost foul on purpose when he gets frustrated. He seems to lack focus and makes pretty simple mistakes sometimes - I agree he has a lot of upside (in my opinion). I pray for Barlow when I see Bade on the floor. Barlow plays a hell of a lot bigger than Bade even though he's three inches shorter. What are your thoughts on Bade? It seems like Painter is giving Bade a lot of chances to improve, but he just looks so hopeless and lost out there. The best thing I can say about Bade is that he is a project. You can see that he has the potential to be a very good rebounder, but his feet are way too slow right now for him to be very effective in most aspects of the game. That's the main reason he also gets into foul trouble...he can't move his feet fast enough and ends up having to foul to prevent people from driving around him. He actually could be a decent shooter, although he does a horrible job getting himself in a position to shoot. I'm just hoping the coaching staff can get him to improve his footwork to the point where he can be valuable for 10-15 minutes per game next season. By the way, WTF ever happened to Sandi Marcius? Early in the year they kept hyping him up, saying he'd be healthy by the time conference play came around and that he'd be able to give them quality minutes in the post. I haven't heard anything about him since late last year. I'm assuming he redshirted, but I have no idea.

That, too. Worst case scenario, I can see him having a career similar to Grant, provided that Barlow stops acting like a [expletive]. However, I think the potential is there for him to be much better than that. I'm concerned that his attitude might not come around though. I think a lot of it is going to hinge on his ability to hit those free throws. He's a great athlete and driving to the basket is/should be a big part of his offensive game. At this point, teams are just going to hack him and let him brick his free throws. He hasn't impressed from mid-range and beyond shooting either. I don't think he even hit a 3-point shot on the year. I'm seeing best case scenario as him being an active and athltetic defender with the size to defend any guard in the league. If he starts hitting his free throws and drives to the basket more he could become pretty valuable. He was 0-for-5 from beyond the arc this season. He still has some time to work on that. Not saying Barlow will become a great shooter, but keep in mind that Cuonzo Martin was 0-for-6 on three-point attempts in his first two seasons before becoming a great three-point shooter his final two years. I do agree that his value comes in driving to the basket/shooting within 10 feet. He also has value on defense, but he tends to be too aggressive, leading to foul trouble. He's actually not a bad rebounder either. I'm curious what his work ethic is like. He's obviously immature, but you have to think he busts his butt in practice. Otherwise, Painter wouldn't have started him 11 times this season.

From what I saw, I was not very impressed with Barlow. Barlow has talent, but he needs to learn some discipline. Plus, he's kind of a d-bag. He needs to learn how to shoot free throws too. That, too. Worst case scenario, I can see him having a career similar to Grant, provided that Barlow stops acting like a dumbass. However, I think the potential is there for him to be much better than that. I'm concerned that his attitude might not come around though.

From what I saw, I was not very impressed with Barlow. Barlow has talent, but he needs to learn some discipline. Plus, he's kind of a d-bag.

I don't think Owings will be given serious consideration for a rotation spot. I thought I read somewhere during the offseason that they were thinking about giving him a role similar to what the Brewers did with Kieschnick a few years back.

Harang actually did improve last year over a really crappy 2008 season. He was around league average in 2009.

He's been pretty good when healthy. Good strikeout rate, doesn't give up a lot of hits, keeps the ball in the ballpark. The big issue the past few years has been health.

Your obsession with McGwire is ridiculous.

Hummel gets hurt, and the rest of the team forgets how to play. Moore looks like he's never shot the ball before. All they can do is shoot 3's. Not getting it to JJ and Moore is doing absolutely nothing. Moore isn't hitting anything when he does get an open look. This is painful to watch.

Hummel gets hurt, and the rest of the team forgets how to play. Moore looks like he's never shot the ball before.

Jeff or McCutcheon? Jeff I'm sorry. Have you learned to spell Broncos yet? I graduated from that school nearly 17 years ago. Who gives a damn how they spell it? It's a freaking high school. Oh, and there's also this.

Jeff or McCutcheon? Jeff

The Phillies were the joke of the Nat. league 'till the '50s...they did not win a WS 'till the '80s!! They got notice in '64 for a good team that collapsed in the final 2 weeks, but thats not a good story! They have NO Cobb or Greenburg in their history, and the Tigers have won many pennants over the years. The town itself took little notice of them until the Athletics decided to become a farm system for the Yankees, and eventually moved to KC. Philly has 7 pennants to Detroit's 10, they have an equally legendary announcer, they have numerous legendary players. I think each organization is fairly similar. Been around a very long time, some success, some legends. I don't know who the Philly anouncer is now...is it the guy that called the Micheal Jack Schmit thing that's replayed so often? Ernie Harwell? Isn't Ernine Harwell the Detroit announcer? Harry Kalas was the Philly announcer and he was the voice of NFL Films and Inside the NFL. Very well known, did the 7th inning stretch in Wrigley quite often. I only included him because you talked about other announcers. My guess is that he's hung up on the phrase "have an equally legendary announcer", when neither Kalas (death) nor Harwell (retirement) are currently working for those respective franchises.

The Phillies were the joke of the Nat. league 'till the '50s...they did not win a WS 'till the '80s!! They got notice in '64 for a good team that collapsed in the final 2 weeks, but thats not a good story! They have NO Cobb or Greenburg in their history, and the Tigers have won many pennants over the years. The town itself took little notice of them until the Athletics decided to become a farm system for the Yankees, and eventually moved to KC. Philly has 7 pennants to Detroit's 10, they have an equally legendary announcer, they have numerous legendary players. I think each organization is fairly similar. Been around a very long time, some success, some legends. I don't know who the Philly anouncer is now...is it the guy that called the Micheal Jack Schmit thing that's replayed so often? Ernie Harwell? He's referring to Harry Kalas.

'08 alum. First became a full fledged Boiler basketball fanatic when I got there in '02 with Willy Deane flying all over the court and Kenneth Lowe dropping shots from Slater Hill. Sounds like we've got a little overlap, I was there from '98 until '04 (graduated in December of '03). I think a lot of the other guys are more recent grads too. Da Bum is local (W.L. native) but not directly affiliated with the school. Can't speak for circlecitycub or grassbass, though. I grew up in the area and attended Purdue for my Frosh and Soph years. Finished up at IU but I have always been a Boiler at heart. Born and raised in Lafayette, graduated Purdue in '97, and worked in the athletic department full-time for a couple years after graduating. I was apparently destined to be a Purdue fan from the beginning.

As a Purdue fan, I'm asking you nicely...please stop.

Chad Tracy has never played a single inning at second base since becoming a professional ballplayer. He's only played the corners in the infield and outfield.

Not with that attitude you won't.