badnews

Debunked? That's pretty generous. It's a fact. The situational hitting numbers aren't small sample sizes; in fact, they're quite large. What more proof do you need? Soriano is a bad clutch hitter. Putting a guy who is a bad clutch hitter in the meat of your order where he's going to see the most men on base (and he does worse with men on base) is unquestionably foolish and ignorant. What part of this is difficult to understand? It's well established - he's not clutch, he "steps it down" with men on base. And then to toss a fallacy in there like "Well, I guess you must want Jacque Jones in there!" No, that's not what it means. That's just a weak attempt to salvage a weak argument. Forget about the smaller sample size for leadoff vs. #5, etc. The large situational sample size speaks for itself.

Giambi won't talk. He'll take a suspension first. MLB was complicit in all of this, so asking for Giambi to turn everyone in is ridiculous. First guy Giambi should turn in is Bud Selig himself. This newfound outrage just doesn't play. Plus, Giambi is still under federal investigation. His testimony, which can't be kept secret, as past testimony has shown, could be used as evidence in the federal investigation, and Mitchell doesn't have the authority, of course, to grant him immunity. So if he talks he'll take the fall in the federal investigation, which he won't do. Giambi won't say a thing. If push comes to shove he'll retire first.

"Lady: We at the network want a dog with attitude. He's edgy, he's "in your face." You've heard the expression "let's get busy"? Well, this is a dog who gets "biz-zay!" Consistently and thoroughly. Krusty: So he's proactive, huh? Lady: Oh, God, yes. We're talking about a totally outrageous paradigm. Meyer: Excuse me, but "proactive" and "paradigm"? Aren't these just buzzwords that dumb people use to sound important? [backpedaling] Not that I'm accusing you of anything like that. [pause] I'm fired, aren't I? Myers: Oh, yes."

Why do people keep complaining to move Soriano down in the lineup? Soriano IS NOT a middle of the order hitter. First of all, he's a far better hitter in the leadoff spot than anywhere else in the lineup according to his career numbers. His career numbers: Bases empty - .863 OPS Runners on - .799 OPS RISP - .770 RISP/2 outs - .740 Bases loaded - .742 Why would ANYONE with ANY intelligence want a guy who folds "faster than Superman on laundry day" hitting in the middle of their lineup? Oh yeah, that sounds good to me! Let's whine about Lou being too dumb to make the move, nevermind the Rangers wasted years trying to make a middle of the order hitter out of Soriano and all they got was an .807 OPS stooge. In 2005, when he had 104 RBIs, he had an .887 OPS with the bases empty, and a .733 OPS with RISP. RISP and 2 outs? .597 OPS. That's who I want coming up in that situation, a guy with Cesar Izturis numbers! So supporters of moving Soriano down in the lineup, be quiet, you have no case at all, you're only exposing your ignorance. As for Soriano "showing up" well, he got 3 home runs off two horrid pitchers, now he's not doing anything, I still say he's a waste of money.

Was Larry Suarez really that heralded? I heard a lot about Delois Guerra before he was signed, I heard nothing about Suarez. As for getting things done in the post 9-11 world, it hasn't seemed to slow the Mets and other teams. We used to hang in there with the Mets when it came to the foreign market! Now? Too many of the recent guys you listed are third tier guys. Where are the Carlos Truinfels and so forth? I mean Sammy Baez? How old is he, he certainly isn't the ripe young age you associate with such signings.

It seems like they're light years where they were in the late 90s, early 2000s.

Fastball speed? Secondary pitches?

Why do people continue to trot out the tired old "Tim Wilken was good a decade ago!" stuff Who cares? Let's see... a guy with a previously good record who gets free passes from eternal optimists based on what he did YEARS, if not decades, ago... sound like Dusty Baker? Lou Piniella? Andy MacPhail (Twins)? And the support for Colvin is ridiculous. Colvin is shabby. He's a tweener outfielder, and he'll end up in left, even though he hits like a center fielder. He doesn't have the arm for right, or the range for center, he's a left fielder. Colvin - decent, but not great base stealing speed. Strikes out a lot for a "batting average" hitter. Horrible strike zone disciplin, 4:1 BB/K ratio. Doubles power. Best suited to left field. Who is this guy's major league equivalent? Jacque Jones? And Jeff the Shark, he looks bad. Huseby, well, he haven't even seen him. Apparently no one realizes that an intelligent organization with nearly $9 million to spend in bonuses on two players would divvy it up between more players. Jordan Walden? Matt Latos? Lars Anderson? How about all of them, and more, you could've repaired the farm in one draft. Instead Hendry blew it all. That's a joke. You know "Roy Halladay! Vernon Wells!" is equivalent to? "Dusty Baker has a great win loss record! He took the Giants to the World Series!" Instead of progress we get ancient history flashbacks. Forget what Wilken did last decade. What's he doing now? Drafting guys with no ceiling, that's what. Hendry needs to be fired and a guy who thinks nothing like him needs to be brought in, same with the scouting director, a new direction is needed. There's too many absolutely useless college picks, guys who barely have a prayer of catching on as the last guy on the roster in rounds WAY too early. Wilken will never find the Matt Kemps, Howie Kendricks, and Joel Zumayas of a draft, it's utilityman college stiff after another. If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.