Have a seat, Neifi

Marquis doing what he does best...hitting.

Now this is starting to look familiar...

Decent throw by Soto, Fontenot just whiffed on the tag.

Rob Bowen could not make contact with a beach ball.

If you live in DC, just turn on Fox. It's the GotW. Plus, you'll get to hear Dick Stockton pronounce The Riot's last name as "theory - o" with a soft TH.

You guys beat me to the obligatory jokes; I was going to say that if true, Hendry is thus officially the 4th worst GM in major league baseball.

Marshall+Pie for a 37-year old (now) corner outfielder who hasn't played 100 games in 6 years? Um, no.

Can't imagine it'd be the Sox. They're busy as it is trying to ditch their 33 year-old, broken down OF. Can't see them unloading Conteras, Dye, etc. only to turn around and snag a 37-year old OF who hasn't had 500 ABs in a season since 1999. This last point is also why I'd still prefer Dunn over Griffey. With KGJ, we're guaranteed to see Pagan in in the starting lineup many more times simply by virtue of Griffey's likelihood to get hurt at some point.

No disrespect to Big Z, but A-Rod without question.

Hah, thanks for the change in thread title.

It's hard to make a list of guys who remained as productive as Ichiro through their mid 30s because, frankly, there really haven't been many players like Ichiro to begin with. It's pretty close to impossible to predict how a player's game will evolve with age when said player pretty much defies all prescribed logic, fundamentals, recommended plate approach, batting stance, etc. In order words, a player really comparable to Ichiro probably doesn't even exist in the first place. That being said, the flip side is how many guys on that list provided earlier would YOU give $15-20 million per year to? None, of course. Maybe Rickey Henderson in his absolute prime (adjusted for inflation from the 80s, obviously) but certainly none of the others. I think everyone actually agrees on this topic but are simply talking past one another. Is Ichiro - now or 5 years from now - worth $20 million a year on the pure basis of trying to win a WS within the construct of a limited payroll budget (i.e. any franchise outside of NY or Boston)? Probably not. But the positives of keeping him in Seattle far outweigh the negatives - both PR, marketing-wise and on the field - of letting him leave and being perceived as penny pinchers who let a demographic icon walk away because they didn't have the $ when they actually did, but just didn't feel like spending it.

Um, the golfer?

Didn't A-Ram's homer off Francisco Cordero come off a first pitch 'get me over slider' or something to that effect? I agree that when you're facing the nastiest of relief pitchers, you're only to get one decent pitch to hit (if that). Whether that comes on the 1st pitch or the 6th, when it comes you'd better be ready, especially if you are your team's designated run producer (as Ramirez and Pujols are).

Nice to see ol' C-Pat on the list as well.

Gotta love the NBA, the only sport where the product is so boring that they have to play music while the game is actually going on. No kidding. I once fell asleep at a Wizards game. I'm serious. I did see a few games at the United Center back in 96-98 and even those were a bit dull compared to the college games I've been to (not surprising). The most egregious example of an NBA piping in distracting music I can think of was during the Bulls/Magic "Nick Anderson steal" game back in the '95 playoffs. If I recall correctly, the Magic played the theme from Psycho while the Bulls had the ball (the REE REE REE one). That's just dumb.

Following the buzz about possible destinations if fun, but I'd be more interested if there were any scuttlebutt about what position he'd prefer to play. I wouldn't be surprised if he opts out to go to a franchise that only can pay him, but that will let him move back to SS. I have no insight as to which position he prefers more, but I'd be surprised if he didn't at least have a preference between the two. Also, the talk from these sports radio guys that "don't count out the Cubs, provided their ownership situation is taken care of" is a total flake in my opinion. A new owner isn't going to pony up $85-100 mil for Zambrano and $125-160 mil for A-Rod, I don't care who it is. Especially not coming off a mediocre season, if in fact we hover at or just above .500 the rest of the way.

I don't think radar guns should be removed, but there should be a little more oversight than there currently is. I recall reading an article recently where several MLB pitchers commented that certain parks adjust the radar gun readings on the scoreboard downward for opposing pitchers. Thinking is, if a pitcher takes a glance at the board to see his velocity (which many do apparently) and sees he's "only" at 89 or whatever, he'll try to unnecessarily ramp it up or alter his effort/delivery to get back up to where he thinks he should be. Likewise, apparently several parks inflate the readings of home pitchers to psyche out visiting hitters who may take a glance at the board between pitches. Not a fan of that at all. To me, it's similar to NBA arenas needlessly blaring unusual jingles or purposely annoying music when a visiting team has the ball in a crucial situation.

Hey man, just reporting what I read on this board at the time. As I mentioned it that post, I'm not even sure what they're talking about. Just hypothesizing. He definitely 'feels' younger than 31 to me, though perhaps based solely on how he looks. Also, the future will not be brighter if Zambrano walks after the season. Then we'd have our 3 best hitters on the wrong side of 30 with no #1 starter, a bloated payroll and new ownership.

Well, FWIW Bowen didn't even bat in that game.

Ortiz is 31 and Manny's 35 also, FWIW. I think both perspectives are valid, but the fact is a player's "prime" is fluid and often can't be accurately discerned until after it's already ended. Some players don't really hit their stride until their early 30s (like a Steve Finley), some break down by their mid 30s (Garrett Anderson), and some keep on trucking as if they're still 28 (Manny, A-rod, Griffey, Jeter, etc.). I recall that part of the rationalization behind signing a 31-year old Soriano was that the perception is that he's a young 31, and probably won't experience noticeable attrition for another 4-5 years. Now I'm not sure what the exact rationale behind that is - maybe due to his wiry frame and raw ability, I dunno - but I do think every player is subjected to different trends at different rates. For example, the one thing Bonds hasn't lost at all (despite being in his 40s) is his eyesight, which is arguably the most crucial facility a hitter can have. Otherwise, he's a shell of the baserunner and fielder he used to be. So age has affected parts of his game but not others. Point being, it's impossible to predict what's going to happen to these guys as they age, other than point that it's clearly more likely they get injured than if they were 26. But it's by no means assured, and more and more players are remaining productive later into their careers due to strength/conditioning, film, off-season routines, drugs (legal and otherwise), etc...

Fixed.

They realize Murton is sitting in AAA right now, right? But you're not likely to get great numbers from anyone that doesn't get consistent playing time. Exactly. I want to feel excited about the possibility of Murton (and maybe Soto or Cedeno) getting the call, but honestly we all know what'll happen if they do. Arrive at Wrigley, wait 3 days before getting a start, going 0/4 with 2 Ks, banished to the bench for spot duty for a 2-3 week period before being sent down again.

His slugging % is way down this year, but there's reason to believe it'll bounce back in the 2nd half. The last two seasons, his SLG% was .504 and .502. This year it's .408. Also his OPS in July is 1.462.

Most patient...hitter...ever. His BA sucks and his fielding is crap, but man can that guy take a walk. Plus his power always seems to pick up in the second half, and he's been on the trading back on a seemingly annual basis. Maybe getting out of Philly would be good for his psyche as well, a la Scotty Rolen.

I wouldn't mind parting with Pie if it nets us legit major league talent in return, but I'll admit I'm still sore from the C-Pat fiasco and have a general distate for left-handed, free-swinging, young center fields who wear #20 and play for the Cobs.