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Does it make me stupid that I played the game for 16 years of my life and don't have a clue as to what the hell y'all are talking about? What the crap is WARP?? it doesn't make you stupid, it makes you ignorant. How is he ignorant? Most of us, I'm assuming, have played baseball on a competitive level at least a couple of years in our lifetimes. I don't see how it's ignorant for some of us to not understand what exactly "WARP" is. And what Mizzou said is right. It seems like people focus more on stats than they do the actual game. I have no problem with people using stats to make their judgment on a player, but I also think it's wrong for people who use those stats to flat out criticize people who don't use them. For example, by saying that they are "ignorant" and that "you don't know what you're talking about" when you don't use those stats. Do you know what "ignorant" means? I'm discovering quickly that most people don't. Yeah, I know what ignorant means. Here are some examples that I found on the web: uneducated in the fundamentals of a given art or branch of learning; lacking knowledge of a specific field; "she is ignorant of quantum mechanics"; "he is musically illiterate" uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication; "an ignorant man"; "nescient of contemporary literature"; "an unlearned group incapable of understanding complex issues"; "exhibiting contempt for his unlettered companions" Basically backing up my belief of what the word means. I still think that it's an attack, but I can see how you can say otherwise. I think that's the difference. The literal definition of the word ignorant is not a bad one. However, the connotations it has in today's society are so negative. Many words have extra connotations to them that are added even beyond the definition. To me as well, calling someone ignorant is a grave insult. However, I can perfectly understand as well that sometimes when people say that they don't mean it as an insult. However, the word is used that way so frequently though and that connotation is so firmly attached that it is hard to tell when it is being used without the insult attached.

Well, regardless of the likelihood of them coming back and winning bigtime in the second half, WV is not giving the style points they need. If Boise State wins today, the final at-large spot in the BCS is going to come down to a second Big East team (likely WV) and a second SEC team (LSU or Florida if they lose to Arkansas). WV needed to increase their style points as much as possible, and being down 14-6 to South Florida at halftime will not do that.

That could be helpful with Manning Jr out. Yeah, and special teams coverage. The injury report is now clear after Jones and Wesley were removed on Friday. The Patriot, on the other hand: OUT SS Rodney Harrison (Shoulder) QUESTIONABLE TE Daniel Graham (Ankle) CB Ellis Hobbs (Wrist) LB Corey Mays (Hamstring) P Josh Miller (Shoulder) CB Asante Samuel (Knee) CB Chad Scott (Groin) TE David Thomas (Groin) FS Eugene Wilson (Hamstring) PROBABLE QB Tom Brady (Shoulder) DE Richard Seymour (Elbow) But that's from Thursday. Faulk is now questionable with the flu. And Josh Miller is now out. They are bringing a punter in off the street. I can't remember his name, but he hasn't punted in 2 years. That could really help. I believe his name is Ken Walter. There are a big number of Patriots fans on the Colts board that I am on. One of them described Walter's punts as almost like a pool shot-he said it went 30 yards in the air, and then simply spun backwards every time. It infuriated Patriots fans then, and they hate that he is back.

Just remember everyone-even with the Bulls miserable start, you are exactly 1 game out of the final playoff spot. I know you guys are very disappointed with this team. Just remember there are plenty of new additions-it will take time. Also, the East is not going anywhere-the whole conference is pretty pathetic right now. There's still plenty of time for the Bulls to rebound and become a contender.

I would also. I think Smith, Quinn, and McFadden are definitely going to New York, and Slaton is likely to go. I'm not sure who would be the 5th right now though as there are several candidates on the next level.

It looks like Butler is back. Remember, a few years ago they had the reputation as one of the best 2 mid-majors. They blew out Wake Forest in a tournament game, they should have beat Florida in the 1st round in the year Florida went to the title game (Mike Miller's shot down 1 at the OT buzzer saved Florida). Then they went 25-5 in 2002 including a win over Indiana but got snubbed for the tournament, and then 2003 they beat good Mississippi State and Louisville teams before losing a close game to the number 1 seed. They've had two bad years, but if they are back they are a tough team to beat. They make enough 3's to win, play good defense, and don't turn the ball over. That makes up for their complete lack of post presence, no size, and very little athleticism.

I really don't get ideas of starting Lugo or Soriano in CF. They have COMBINED to play....wait for it....ONE game in CF in their careers. I know, let's sign JD Drew to play catcher! Maybe Vicente Padilla can spell Izturis at SS! The only reason I can see why they want to do that is to not block Pie. They think if they start Lugo in CF in 2007 that they then can move him to SS after 2007 when Izturis's contract runs out and Pie is ready to play CF.

They wouldn't have gotten it within 3 unless they actually made the 2 point conversion in the 4th quarter-if they didn't make it in the 2nd, how were they going to do it in the 4th? I agree they should have gone for the extra point early, but they still would have been in the same situation later.

The only thing I disagree with you there on soccer is Arkansas. Even if they had been rated in the top 10 to start, that blowout loss to USC would have hurt (see what happened to Cal after they lost to Tennessee in much the same fashion). After that, the close games against Vandy and Alabama early in the season would have kept them low in the polls-low enough that this wonderful run would have kept them just about exactly where they are now. They would still have been too far behind teams like USC and Florida to have caught them in the polls at this point.

That's how I feel. Aside from Lee being healthy and addition by subtraction in regards to Pierre, this offense really isn't that much better. I'd expect both Jones and Soriano to regress with Soriano putting up 2006 Jones-esque numbers from last year (and keep in mind he'll be doing that in the leadoff spot, not with Lee and Ramirez in front of him) and Jones putting up numbers closer to his final two years with the Twins. And then you have the middle of the infield. A lot of things will have to go right with the pitching staff this year. The only thing I don't understand is why Jones would slip all the way to his last two years with the Twins. Jones couldn't hit in the Metrodome-in just about every year, his OPS at home was significantly worse than on the road. That, combined with moving from the AL Central to the NL Central, was much of the cause for his having much better numbers last year than it simply being a career year for him.

If all "#4" pitchers are getting "#2" money is it really "#2" money anymore? The whole cost curve has shifted. That's what I was thinking. If Padilla, Lilly, Meche are asking for 8-10 million, then how much more is Suppan really going to get? He's consistently a little better than those pitchers, and if he only gets 1-2 million more he could end up being the bargain of the pitcher signings.

So you are using July 2004 as a basis for that claim? Neifi had better months in March/April and August in 2005? Does that mean he has shown the "tools" to become a league average hitter? Izturis has over 2500 ML plate appearances to show that he is nowhere near a league average hitter. Scroll down to OPS+ I think Rob is making the point that Cedeno is very young and more likely to improve and learn from Perry than Izturis. He also had a 2005 that was above league average in AAA. I'm using 2004, where he almost was a league average shortstop, and then April/May of 2005, where he was well above average for those couple months, and then he got injured and his stats went way, way down. His injuries make it somewhat unlikely he returns to that, but he has the skills to make it back to league average for a shortstop.

Yup, and our high incidence of double plays didn't help either-12th in the majors in grounding into DP's, even though we had so few baserunners. I wouldn't call 13 points insignificant though-if we could add 13 points to our OBP from last year, we'd go from last to the middle of the pack in the NL. I do agree though that batting with RISP was certainly not our biggest problem, nor is there any real way to make that better except for simply getting better hitters. Reason for edit: Edited last paragraph to make it a little clearer

Well, if he hits like he did last year, he would have 4 million dollars of value at any poistion he can play. If he reverts a little bit, he can become a super utility player again, or else he could become a valuable trade chip because of his versatility. No, I'm not saying because it's not the worst deal. I'm saying that there's a certain point where you decide you want to upgrade the team-and it looks like there may be 2, 3 players at most that would not be classified as "overpaying" after this free agency period. One of those players has a good chance of being DeRosa-if he is an average second baseman, then he will be worth the average second baseman salary of 4 million-and to be an average second baseman, he doesn't even have to come close to what he did last year.

DeRosa does not block anybody. That's partially why they signed him instead of some other options, because if Patterson is ready there are some places in which to move DeRosa. The same thing is going on in CF where they are trying not to block Pie. We may have set the market for overpaying, but other teams have taken it to a new level. For example-the Alex Gonzalez deal. These signings were made within a week of each other, and which one was the clearly worse deal?

That's not Wisconsin's fault. The Big 10 has a 2 year rotating schedule that determines who is on/off the schedule. Some teams will always play each other (OSU and Michigan, PSU and MSU) but others rotate on and off. In 2005/2006, PSU did not play Iowa or Indiana, and the next 2 years, they don't play Minnesota or Northwestern. Heck, a few years back they went 2 seasons without playing Michigan. I also doubt the Big 10 is the only team that does this. Even more of a reason for them to schedule a couple of decent teams out of conference. They knew ahead of time they were not playing OSU and should have to make their schedule harder than it is. As I said, the Big East and the Pac 10 might be the only ones that every team plays each other. I think it's just plain wrong not to play all the teams in your conference. Imagine if Dallas didn't play the Eagles or the Giants in any given year? It's actually possible that Wisconsin did not know they were going to play OSU when they made their schedule-usually the Big 10 doesn't release who you're not going to play till about a year before the next 2 year schedule starts. I do agree though that they have been a good team for a while-there is no reason at this point to schedule such a weak nonconference schedule. The other conferences don't play each other for a simple reason-they all have too many members. A conference would have to have 10 or less members to even consider that.

Congratulations to the Butler Bulldogs. Another good win out of them beating Tennessee 56-44 and advancing to the NIT final to play the winner of North Carolina/Gonzaga. Butler's really trying to make a case here to take them as an at-large even if they don't win the Horizon League.

Agreed. Addai is becoming more involved in the Colts' running game. He may not officially be the starter yet, but it seems to me like he's really the regular. That's correct. Addai has gotten approx. 70 percent of the carries in the last 4 weeks, even though Rhodes has started each game.

Possibly. If he does though, it will be by a very small amount. If you want to trade Izturis so badly, then why would you sign a player to replace him that is probably going to be exactly like him, and has probably lost a step in the field?

That wasn't exactly a bad year for Counsell. In fact, he's only broken a 700 OPS one time out of the last 5 years (same as Izturis). He has been more consistent than Izturis, but it certainly isn't enough to try to trade Izturis and sign Counsell.

As a Colts fan, I have to disagree with the assertion that Grossman is as important to the Bears as Manning is to the Colts. Grossman is what-the difference between 10-6 and 14-2? Manning is the difference between 14-2 and 4-12-it's simply amazing how much different the team would be without him. I do believe the Rivers comparison is apt though, and I do agree that the Bears are maybe not getting the respect they deserve right now (most teams aren't-it seems like the media is trying to say why every team won't win the Super Bowl right now, instead of trying to say why one team would) and that they will get more respect if they beat the Pats.

I don't think the Cubs have talked about anybody-it was rumored a few days ago that Floyd might be the 4th outfielder in a platoon, but from the recent reports he probably wouldn't be considered for more than a bench role. The most recent reports speculate that Jones and Murton may platoon if the Cubs get another CF.

I wouldn't. I'd rather put the 9 million to better use Yeah, same with me. If I thought Maddux was going to put up a 5 ERA next year, I wouldn't want to sign him. I don't think he will do that though at all.

Padilla and Lilly will both be better in 2007 than Maddux will be. Westbrook, Lee and Jennings will be. Suppan will probably be. Marshall will be close. Guzman is a year stronger; he should have much better command on his change, which was his best pitch. The Miller/Prior combo will be better. There's no reason to spend any signifigant money on a guy who will put up back end numbers in the rotation, regardless of the warm fuzzy feelings Cubs fans get for him. I don't really have any warm and fuzzy feelings about him. I just know he has had a better ERA than Padilla the last 3 seasons. He has had a better ERA than Lilly the past 3 years as well. He has been better than Lee 2 out of the last 3 seasons. Sean Marshall had over a 5.50 ERA last year, and would have to drop over a full point to catch Maddux. Guzman/Miller/Prior may be, but they all are pretty big risks. The only 2 who are better than Maddux are Westbrook and Suppan, and the fact that probably every other pitcher will ask for more money and more years than Maddux, and the fact that Westbrook will require talent to be sent back, Maddux should still be seen as a good option for one of the rotation spots. I am also fine with saying that Westbrook is a good option for the rotation.

-He had a 4.20 ERA overall, and a 4.69 ERA with the Cubs. That's bad. He won't be worth whatever he costs. That's not bad, that's average. He puts up similar numbers to the free agent pitchers not named Zito or Schmidt, and they all are asking for 8-10 million dollars. Do you think Maddux will sign for more than that? I doubt it. Zito and Schmidt are asking for around $12-15m per. I'd guess Maddux could get at least $6m or $7m. He's not worth that. Regarding his ERA, if you take out April he had a Cub ERA well over 5. He was terrible for us. Why would you want him back when better options for a back end rotation guy are available via trade, FA or in house? What I meant is that people like Padilla, Lilly, Meche are all asking for 8-10 per. I'd much rather sign Maddux for 1/6 than sign any of them to 3/27 or 4/36. I don't know of anybody in house of the youngsters besides Rich Hill that could be likely under a 5 ERA. Trading? Well, there's been some rumors-but none of those players are significantly better than Maddux either except Jennings who will cost way too much talent. What pitchers would you want for the starting rotation, and at what prices would be better enough to Maddux to both justify the difference in salary and years?