davearm2

If you want to make the same mistake Ed Lynch did in 1998, sure. Millions of Cub fans are going to be shocked to learn that the Cubs won the WS in 1998. :wink:

Leyland didn't trade for Willis. And Detroiters have bigger concerns than Tigers baseball. So if I understand you correctly here, a manager's job security is negatively correlated with the quality of life in the city he manages?

Even that's not a very compelling argument. Having an elite DH like Big Papi miss a couple months with a broken hand could be just as damaging to a team's outlook as losing a front-of-the-rotation starter like Wang to the same injury. And arguing that the DH would be better able than the pitcher to avoid being hit in the first place would lead to a hopelessly speculative discussion.

You do realize that this very thing can be done in the AL right now. Someone will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong, but nowhere does it say that the DH has to hit for the pitcher.

Not enough for Beltran and maybe too much for Burnett IMO. I don't think Burnett is gonna cost as much as you think. He's been injured a decent amount in Toronto and has put up ERAs in the high 3s and now high 4s. He got paid a lot to be an ace and hasn't been since he arrived there. I think they wouldn't mind getting out of his contract and picking up a couple good prospects. I guess it really matters what Hill's value is. Right now it's likely real low and your offer is probably about right on for Burnett. Burnett's pricetag should be below that of a two-month rental, because with the opt-out clause, he'll be a two-month rental, or worse. He's only going to stay in his deal if it's to his advantage, which by definition is to the team's disadvantage.

Well the guy in charge now is (was) Bavasi's assistant GM. For all we know he was onboard with the direction Bavasi charted, and the decisions he made along the way. Really what the guy needs to do first is to determine whether getting back into contention next year is realistic. If he thinks it is, then Bedard won't be available. If he thinks it isn't, then Bedard should be the biggest name out there in a month (assuming Sabathia will not be moved).

Clemens Abreu Damon Pettitte And if they haven't been buying up the stars quite as much recently, it'd be in large part because the ones they bought up awhile ago are still with them (Giambi, Matsui, ARod). Looking only at the 8-figure guys whose contracts are up this year you've got: Giambi (21M) Abreu (16M) Pettitte (16M) Pavano (11M) Mussina (11M) If you don't think Hank and the Yanks are going to be throwing wads of cash around this winter with all of those salaries they're shedding, well...

I thought the same thing. Piniella decided to give Murton another chance the day they're up against one of the toughest lefties aroud, who's on fire and nobody's ever faced.

That's not even the issue. A ball off the top of the wall is NOT a home run either way. The issue was whether or not it hit the ivy behind the wall and then bounced off the top of the wall. umm the announcer said that at this park if the ball hits all yellow its a homerun thus if it hits the top of the wall it IS a homerun. If it if hits the ivy behind the wall wouldn't that be a homerun since it went behind (or over) the wall. Well then that announcer is wrong. At every ballpark, the yellow line on the wall denotes the point the ball has to clear to be a home run. Hitting all yellow and coming back into play = no HR. Seriously, it takes two seconds to look up the Miller Park ground rules: The play being discussed here happened about 200 ft from the left field corner. http://www.ballparkdigest.com/visits/miller_park_2.htm Scroll down from the link above, and you'll see a picture of the area being described in the ground rules (5th pic on the page). It's a vertical pad that runs the first few feet above the wall, in front of the foul pole. Earlier on that same page is a shot of the RF wall. You've gotta hit the ball completely over those yellow pads for a HR, just like in all ballparks. But at least there can be cases where a ball that hits the yellow line and comes back in play is a HR. The only time this is even an issue is in ballparks where there are vertical yellow lines, or some other quirky characteristic exists. That's where you need a groundrule to clarify. The standard horizontal yellow, the rule is the same everyplace... gotta clear completely for a HR. I'm certain you'll correct me if I'm wrong here.

Hello my name is Trevor Hoffman. Now the single season record is held by Thigpen a guy who had a career ERA of 3.43 and that's with his last three years having a well over 6 ERA. Plus the year he set the record his ERA was 1.83 with a 210 ERA+ so yeah I think it's fine Bobby Thigpen, yes BOBBY THIGPEN, holds the single season record. Do you discredit the single season home run record because Maris, who only had 275 career home runs and career BA is .260, held it for 37 years??? Good call. Roger Maris is exactly who I thought of when I read that nonsense.

I particularly enjoyed the "my pitchers" comment. Perhaps Mr. Steinbrenner needs to join the 21st century and not view these elite athletes as chattel. That attitude truly does date to the 1800s.

Well, it's pretty assumed around the league that they won't resign him. Maybe i'm jumping the gun, but I feel pretty confident in saying they won't agree with anything in the neighborhood of what CC's agent wants. IIRC Sabathia has come out and said that he likes it in Cleveland and would like to work out a deal to stay. I think you probably are jumping the gun.

I find it amazing to consider that the chance remains that ultimately, the Cards could end up paying this guy $63M for 1 lousy start (literally and figuratively). I suppose the odds that the guy never pitches in the majors again are probably small, but you read news like this, and suddenly it doesn't sound quite so hard to imagine.

Not quite sure why it is a foregone conclusion that a flameout by Edmonds is imminent. Personally I don't think him continuing an .800 or .850ish OPS against nearly exclusively RHP is all that crazy, or even particularly unlikely.

Johnson has another arbitration year left. Given the contribution he's made, I expect he'll be tendered, and will be staying around for '09.

That's not even the issue. A ball off the top of the wall is NOT a home run either way. The issue was whether or not it hit the ivy behind the wall and then bounced off the top of the wall. umm the announcer said that at this park if the ball hits all yellow its a homerun thus if it hits the top of the wall it IS a homerun. If it if hits the ivy behind the wall wouldn't that be a homerun since it went behind (or over) the wall. Well then that announcer is wrong. At every ballpark, the yellow line on the wall denotes the point the ball has to clear to be a home run. Hitting all yellow and coming back into play = no HR. Seriously, it takes two seconds to look up the Miller Park ground rules: The play being discussed here happened about 200 ft from the left field corner. http://www.ballparkdigest.com/visits/miller_park_2.htm Scroll down from the link above, and you'll see a picture of the area being described in the ground rules (5th pic on the page). It's a vertical pad that runs the first few feet above the wall, in front of the foul pole. Earlier on that same page is a shot of the RF wall. You've gotta hit the ball completely over those yellow pads for a HR, just like in all ballparks.

The only problem with this is that Howry is the kind of meh player that could potentially accept arbitration. Good point, especially at his age. Another 3 year deal might not be out there for him this time around.

FWIW, I saw a suggestion on another board that the Cubs could send Howry back in the deal, so that the Indians can essentially recoup those two comp picks they're giving up. I thought that was an interesting idea.

They wouldn't be giving up, and it'd be stupid of them if they pass on prospects who they feel can help them for the next 10 years for a half season push just to make the postseason, let alone get anywhere in it. And even though Lee has come back down to earth a little, he's one extra top of the rotation guy who they didn't even know they had coming into the season. C'mon now. If they trade Sabathia, then they're giving up. You don't trade your ace unless/until you're packing it in. They're also basically giving up any hope of re-signing him, too. Bottom line is looking at the situation as draft picks vs. guys gotten by trade is oversimplifying, as it ignores several other key elements in the decision.

That's not even the issue. A ball off the top of the wall is NOT a home run either way. The issue was whether or not it hit the ivy behind the wall and then bounced off the top of the wall. umm the announcer said that at this park if the ball hits all yellow its a homerun thus if it hits the top of the wall it IS a homerun. If it if hits the ivy behind the wall wouldn't that be a homerun since it went behind (or over) the wall. Well then that announcer is wrong. At every ballpark, the yellow line on the wall denotes the point the ball has to clear to be a home run. Hitting all yellow and coming back into play = no HR.

The most curious part in all of this is that apparently Matsui still hasn't shed the interpreter after 5+ seasons of MLB. How much daily exposure to English does a guy need to achieve a conversational level of fluency, anyway?

Can anyone find this article? Heck I'm not even "within the industry" and I still could've guessed this was true. Hendry has always been aggressive/generous on the trade market, and especially so when he figures he's got a contender on his hands.

Just this past offseason the Rox inked Cook to an extension thru 2011 or 2012 (team option). I wouldn't assume that the team having a down year changes their view that he's a big part of their rotation for the long-term.

Frankly I'd be more concerned about the 14-game stretch that comes right after the ASB than the 30-whatever games leading up to it. The former has no offdays, and all tough opponents (@HOU, @ARI, FLA, @MIL). The latter has several offdays, and a healthy dose of weaker opponents like BAL, CIN, and SF, not to mention @CWS isn't a roadtrip at all.

To be fair, it would appear he's denounced communism. :wink: