Clem Fandango

Obviously we need to see how this season plays out for McCarthy to see if he was the real deal last year, but I think even if he regresses a bit that he'd still make a nice mid-level addition to the rotation.

Thank God their offensive power numbers can counteract the bullpen numbers. :lol: Anyone who expected this Cubs team to be an offensive juggernaut is foolish. Those numbers are not a disappointment/surprise. The bullpen has been worse than expected, IMO. It was never considered great, but I didn't think it would've been this bad.

10%. Sure, they'll throw in their hat into the ring for PR, but of course come up 20-30 million and two year's short. They aren't going to sign Hamels. I actually tend to agree with you there. I just don't see Ruben Amaro letting him go, and I see him bidding against himself and driving the price for elite FA pitching through the roof in the process. I wouldn't be surprised if the Phillies give him a contract that matches/exceeds Sabathia's/Lee's. How high do you think the Phillies payroll is going to be? They've got several contracts coming off the books this year and next year (Blanton, Victorino, Utley, Polanco, Ruiz, Kendrick, Contreras, etc). Setting it up to be backloaded would work easily for them, especially since if they decide to resign any of those guys they will likely sign for less than (or equal to) what they're making now. None of those guys are going to get a monumental raise, and some will probably be let go and filled internally. Hamels is already making $15 million this year... they can afford that again easily if they let Blanton and his $8.5 million contract walk. Or Victorino and his $9.5 million. They can afford him

From an ESPN article highlighting the best players in April at each position... Just figured I'd post it since it mentioned him, and there wasn't a better place to put it

Those bullpen numbers make me wanna vomit

10%. Sure, they'll throw in their hat into the ring for PR, but of course come up 20-30 million and two year's short. They aren't going to sign Hamels. I actually tend to agree with you there. I just don't see Ruben Amaro letting him go, and I see him bidding against himself and driving the price for elite FA pitching through the roof in the process. I wouldn't be surprised if the Phillies give him a contract that matches/exceeds Sabathia's/Lee's.

What a bunch of bitches. Seriously? Your warm up sessions? STFU, St. Louis

There's literally tens of thousands of homeless people in New York, and you have a good idea as to which one he's talking about?

A little premature, given his struggles in AAA, but I guess they a) want to keep up their winning ways as best as possible and b) want to keep butts in the seats

You've made a terrible mistake. Agreed, you should keep them. They're already paid for and all. You never know when a trend will start again and they could be worth $$$. Look at vinyl records. I've saved my 'Pet Sounds' and other albums. I think what hurt the baseball card market is the influx of other companies who simply milked it dry by flooding it. They subdivided into so many different categories, they drove prices down. I have 6 of the famous Billy Ripken 'f**k face on the knob of the bat' card, only because an Orioles friend got so many in Baltimore. Topps was King, but now I don't know where they rank. They put out a coffee table book years ago with all their cards from the beginning. Very cool to see some of the all time greats. What killed the sports card market wasn't an influx of other companies, it was the 80's when cards from the 50s and 60s started to become valuable, so more people wanted in, so Topps, Donruss, etc. started mass producing all their card sets. Each set had about 800 cards in it, and you could buy the entire thing for about $20. They mass produced millions upon millions of cards. The only cards that are worth anything in that era are the rookie cards of elite ballplayers (specific rookie cards, not any old rookie card) or error cards (Frank Thomas' No-Name-On-Front Topps rookie card or the infamous Billy Ripken [expletive] Face card, for example). Then they started producing insert cards, which were more difficult to obtain, and as such, more valuable. It wasn't until they realized they were overflooding the market with a mass quantity of cards that they started making a limited release, which is why cards today are so expensive. Full common sets are still there, but no one really wants them. The specialty sets all have limited runs, which makes cards even more valuable. I pulled a card out of Topps Triple threads that had 6 pieces of Ty Cobb's bat in it (or one piece layered under a 6-piece cutout). It was one of 200 cards. I thought "I'm putting this in a safety deposit box" but the price guide said it was only valued at $200. Why would a card that has pieces of Ty Cobbs bat, where only 200 are made, be valued at only $200? Because there were only 200 made of that particular card in that color (Brown). there were 150 made in purple, 100 in blue, 75 in red, 50 in green, 25 in yellow, and so on and so forth. all in all there were probably closer to 750 cards. And the reality is there's gonna be more cards with pieces of his bat in it later in life. It wasn't entirely unique. I sold it for $150. They also have signature cards now, lots of autographs out there... but what they mostly do is send packs of stickers to ball players and they sign each sticker then they stick them on the card, so they'e not actually signing the card. They've figured out how to mass produce their value, is what it amounts to. And with the advent of grading scores, it makes cards even more valuable. a Ken Griffey Jr Upper Deck rookie card, without grading comes in at about $60-$80 (haven't checked in a while). I've seen them go with a perfect 10 grading for as high as $2,000 It's no longer a kids hobby. It's expensive as [rackum frackum]

I do believe you can watch it on your computer as well? http://sports.yahoo.com/full-count/

EDIT: Nevermind. I somehow managed to completely forget that Anthony Rizzo exists

Why the sarcasm? I'm not Peter Gamons. Just yakkin' on a forum. I get that you NSBB old timers don't like rookies, or speculating on the possibility that something GOOD could happen. I'll try to be more negative in the future. He's saying there's a designated forum to discuss Cubs games and series so that people don't clutter up the rest of the message board with discussion about those games or series. You know, since there's an entire board dedicated to it and all. Is that what he's saying? You could have fooled me. And sorry, I see none of this "clutter" you speak of. Just tell me where to post speculation on an upcoming series and I will be happy to go there. You're right, you don't see any clutter. That means everyone else is doing it right. What N&G said above me

Why the sarcasm? I'm not Peter Gamons. Just yakkin' on a forum. I get that you NSBB old timers don't like rookies, or speculating on the possibility that something GOOD could happen. I'll try to be more negative in the future. He's saying there's a designated forum to discuss Cubs games and series so that people don't clutter up the rest of the message board with discussion about those games or series. You know, since there's an entire board dedicated to it and all.

Arte Moreno asking Jerry Dipito that same question:

WHY ISN'T ANYONE STOPPING HIM

IIRC he's had injuries before and I know some people didn't love his mechanics. Time for some stem cells... I recall reading on MLB Trade Rumors or Hardball Talk or one of those sites that the Yankees and Ms supposedly first discussed King Felix, and that the Ms wanted all 3 of Montero, Betances, and Banuelos. Obviously the Yankees balked at that and explored Pineda instead. I bring this up because if true, the difference between the 2 offer packages would give me pause as a Yankees exec. Felix is better than Pineda, but is also older and far more expensive. So while he should cost more to acquire via trade, wouldn't you have been struck at how much more the Mariners wanted for him than for Pineda? To a degree, but you're also trading away three unknown commodities for one of the rarest commodities in the game, a legit #1 ace who already has 7 years of experience under his belt and hasn't reached the age of 27 yet. The Yankees would've extended him immediately, the cost wouldn't have been an issue. Betances has already had injuries slow down his career and is already 24, Banuelos is still just 21 years old and struggled at the AAA level last year (and so far this year) so he may need another season or two of work down there, and Montero was a catcher who couldn't catch so he's really only relegated to DH duties. I'd trade all that in a heartbeat for a guy who has averaged 240.2 IP, 2.73 ERA, 223K's, 1.13 WHIP, and a 152 ERA+ the last 3 years... and he's just now entering his prime. Yeah, I'd do that and not think twice about it

Betances, Banuelos, Sanchez?

Doh... posted this in the transactions thread for the Montero/Pineda swap just now. Oh well. What's the ratio of pitchers who have successfully recovered form shoulder surgery? Not good, correct?

Winners: Seattle. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/04/michael-pineda-to-undergo-labrum-operation.html

Maybe his excitement to be on his favorite team growing up will spark the fabled "change of scenery" effect and he'll be extra motivated to succeed.

There's a reason the Braves were trying to vehemently shop him around this offseason. They knew better, but they tried to gamble and hold out for a big prospect package, but nobody (wisely) offered.

Petition to change "[expletive]" to "[rackum frackum]" I'm just gonna start typing that [rackum frackum] out instead.

nobody likes you. Gee Kap, I sure didn't see this coming. it takes a big man to mock another man's charitable cause. And a small one to cruise a funeral looking for work. Well you're definitely not trolling at all