Clem Fandango

For some reason I thought it was in the "The End of Pujols" thread. Yup, kudos on the prediction. I've always been high on Votto, but admittedly I never would've expected this kind of production from him.

Says the user who made their first post last week. I do remember that though Yep...after 2 different names, I finally found one I liked on this board. I was actually trying to find that thread a few days ago, what thread was it in?

Says the user who made their first post last week. I do remember that though

Doug Glanville chimes in http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=glanville_doug&id=5358661

This is seriously the best joke account I have ever seen on any message board ever, you guys. So obviously you have little knowledge of cubs history then, nor the understanding of temperament of people with an addiction. If you are going to throw out a combative statement without support of why you think I am wrong then just don't post a reply. or go back to the Cubs message board You're all twisted... he's not just insulting you because he thinks you're incorrect in your assessment (though you are), it's that you're perpetuating the myth that Jim Hendry let Josh Hamilton slip through his fingers when it's been clearly documented and proven God knows how many dozens of times over the last several years that the Cubs had no intention of even using the draft pick, let alone use it to draft Hamilton, nor did they know that Hamilton was the selection the Reds were going to make. They struck a deal with the Reds beforehand and did what the Reds asked them to do. Because of this, he is in no way comparable to the Dennis Eckersly situation of the 80's, because Josh Hamilton never spent a single day as a Chicago Cub. They didn't trade him because of his baggage or his reputation, they traded him because that's the agreement they struck with the Reds before the draft even happened. They had absolutely no intention of keeping Josh Hamilton because they had absolutely no intention of using that draft pick for themselves. Is it that hard to comprehend? Also, comparing Josh Hamilton's situation to an alcoholic in the 80s? Really? You could throw a can and hit a baseball player in the 80's who was on something, it's not very common for a baseball player today to be addicted to the things Hamilton was addicted to. You could make a Who's Who list of players in the 80's who were addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Rafael Soriano and Heath Bell were added as subs for Mariano Rivera and Yovanni Gallardo who are out with injuries. Would've much preferred to see Billy Wagner instead of Bell, but Bell isn't a bad choice. Soriano is also very deserving

Chris Davis I get, but Justin Smoak? Are they already willing to deal that guy? I know he's started off slow but yeesh, they must really be hungry for a World Series. No way Lilly nets Smoak. Davis, sure I could probably see that. But not Smoak. He'd probably coast too much It's just a reporter saying they should consider it. Duh... missed the "should", thought he was reporting a rumor he heard, not an opinion

Chris Davis I get, but Justin Smoak? Are they already willing to deal that guy? I know he's started off slow but yeesh, they must really be hungry for a World Series. No way Lilly nets Smoak. Davis, sure I could probably see that. But not Smoak. He'd probably coast too much

One of the more notoriously one-sided trades in the last 10 years. Twins also got Boof Bonser, but he's bleh. Even if Liriano hadn't put it back together a bit and ended up fading away, Nathan for Pierzynski would still be a big win for the Twins.

I wonder how much they value Wilmer Flores

Which is still better than Yadier Molina's total OPS. So he's better offensively with or without Coors than Yadier Molina, and he's been the best in the majors at catching base runners trying to steal, yet Yadier Molina is starting this game :-k

I feel like I'm Kurt Russell in Big Trouble in Little China and you're all Lo Pan

the managers pick the reserves, right? So that's Charlie Manuel's doing? WTF is he thinking?!?!?!?!?! I thought reserves were the runners up to the first place vote getters.

Despite it being absolutely idiotic, Molina gets in based on his name and his defensive reputation. I'm not surprised by that, even though he deserves 0% of it. But the Omar Infante nod is a [expletive] joke. If Atlanta fans stuffed the box for his name, they all should be taken out back and shot. The NL is really over the top now that they got a guy with 164AB who has started 35 games this season to his name on their roster. Nice work, Atlanta fans. Real nice work. Way to give the NL the best possible odds of winning.

Gallardo just left the game today with an injury, too

According to his fielding statistics, Omar Infante has appeared in 67 games this year and started 47. He has 164AB and has a whopping 96 OPS+ Meanwhile his teammate Billy Wagner, who has been arguably one of the best relievers in the game this year, if not THE best, has to get voted in by the fans while this douche has a golden ticket. HOW THE HELL DID OMAR INFANTE GET SELECTED TO THIS GAME?!?!

Well he's not gonna come around any time soon after this I would imagine... http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=5353885

Not for nothing, but I'm pretty sure Marlon Byrd might be worth a decent package at the moment. He's putting up stellar offensive numbers for a center fielder right now, and he's very affordable. A team might bite on that and give up a decent prospect for him at the least I would think.

In all seriousness though, I wonder if a lot of the players with NTC's would just outright waive their NTC if the Cubs declare a fire sale

Trade the bench, fill with minor leaguers.

It's on Insider, but Buster Olney polled all 30 GM's and asked 5 questions. 1) Who is the easiet GM to make a deal with 2) Who is the toughest to make a deal with 3) Who is the most open with information 4) Who is the biggest card player (doesn't like revealing info) 5) Which one would you hire? Guess who came in first on the easiest GM to deal with! In Buster Olney's video blog apparently Brian Sabean is the worst to deal with, and was a landslide winner of the category. Supposedly he doesn't answer or return calls, and one GM said he's only had two baseball conversations with him in the past 5 years. Guys who hide the most info... Of course, Theo Epstein was considered the best all around GM in the game. Full article on Insider here: http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/news/story?id=5343749

And the Buster Posey era at catcher officially begins, I would assume

He's made $3 million as a pro pitcher, I'd say it's worked out quite nicely. Making a good first impression usually does... until it wears off

I've never even heard of that bone. Maybe it's time to become a finesse pitcher, Joel. This whole throwing as hard as you can thing isn't exactly working out

I thought I read somewhere that it was also supposed to be a charity dinner? Or am I imagining things?