SouthSideRyan

A U of I win over Wisconsin would go a long way towards making me think this team is ok again.

So there's actually a possibility we won't trade Jones for worthless crap and find a way to take away ABs from Murton AND start Pie before he's ready?? Or even a chance that none of these happen??? sweet.

So where are you guys going tonight to kill time before tomorrow? Cause I'm going to an NFC championship cocktail party courtesy of Lance Briggs.

My main concern wouldn't be how much, but whether it was real. This just screams of a poo dollar-esque prank.

If memory serves, I seem to recall him saying he tried steroids very briefly and couldn't discern a real benefit from them. If you ever seen House in person, he's tiny, maybe 5'7"-5'8" on a good day, from what I recall he might've been one of the 1st to try steroids to add velo and that's probably the 1st time he realized that maintaining flexibility is more important than adding mass as it didn't add velo. He believes in nutritional supplements to help speed up the recovery time between outings. That is exactly correct. You will not find your fastball in a weight room. Pitching is mainly a speed of movement activity. Weight lifting does not train pitchers to improve in that area. Juan Cruz is a good example of this. He is really thin, but he generates his velocity from his speed of body movement. Good mechanics with a smooth delivery and with proper timing is how you generate a 90mph fastball. r u a pitcher or sumthin Rick Mills.

I am pleased.

When's the last time Prior made less than 5 starts in a season by the way? When he was 5?

The Tommy referenced is Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski, a Buffalo Grove product.

What on God's earth gave you that idea? The fact that he's been hurt?

I don't hate him, but if you did your job as often and with the success he did last year, would you ask for a raise? If I was in a system that encouraged it due to the fact that I was grossly underpaid the previous 3 seasons??(As designed by the system) Yes, yes I would.

I hope he comes back and makes a lot of people look stupid.

Thinking about this really makes you realize how terrible the NL Central is.

Come on now, Jerry Hairston, Ramon Martinez, Izturis, Alex Gonzalez, Jose Hernandez, Hollandsworth, Burnitz, Gerut, Lawton, and Restovich??? They deserved nothing more than NRIs?? What do you expect out of bench players??

For most teams, that would be true. But this franchise has been more than happy to give lots of times to guys who deserved nothing more than a NRI to ST. You had the recently released from SF Neifi Perez, and the released in ST Glendon Rusch. Then you had a handful of other NRI with no upside guys, like Rey Ordonez, Tony Womack, Enrique (he knows how to play in yankee stadium) Wilson, that all got playing time. In the big picture, it probably doesn't matter, but when this team signs worthless NRI guys, there's going to be a natural negative reaction out of fear that they'll actually play. I agree with your overall point, but the year we signed the released in ST Glendon Rusch, he was tremendous for us. I actually like the concept of giving minor league deals to guys who once had a modicum of success, and hope you can get a decent half season off the bench/bullpen from him. But doing it with Dusty Baker was like giving a pyromaniac gasoline, a lighter, lighter fluid, the keys to a vacant building, and rubbing two sticks together to get him started. You can take a gamble with pitching having a surprise year. Hitters who can't hit don't all of a sudden figure it out and start hitting. With pitchers there's at least a chance that a good pitching coach can find some flaws in delivery, mechanics, stuff and correct it. With hitters, if they are bad, they are bad. No hitting coach is gonna make Tomas Perez a good hitter. No hitting coach is going to make Tomas Perez a good hitter, but a hitting coach could turn a Tomas Perez type into an adequate backup. I definitely don't want to see Perez anywhere close to the major league roster next year, but there is value in handing out a bunch of NRIs to guys who were at some point acceptable bench players. I don't know what to argue against first. The chances that a hitting coach can change a 33-year old journey man into a valuable player. Or the fact that you believe a career .291 OBP and .634 OPS player was ever an acceptable player. You're going to argue that he wasn't an adequate bench player from '01-'03. I made it explicit that I don't want Perez on the team in my post.

For most teams, that would be true. But this franchise has been more than happy to give lots of times to guys who deserved nothing more than a NRI to ST. You had the recently released from SF Neifi Perez, and the released in ST Glendon Rusch. Then you had a handful of other NRI with no upside guys, like Rey Ordonez, Tony Womack, Enrique (he knows how to play in yankee stadium) Wilson, that all got playing time. In the big picture, it probably doesn't matter, but when this team signs worthless NRI guys, there's going to be a natural negative reaction out of fear that they'll actually play. I agree with your overall point, but the year we signed the released in ST Glendon Rusch, he was tremendous for us. I actually like the concept of giving minor league deals to guys who once had a modicum of success, and hope you can get a decent half season off the bench/bullpen from him. But doing it with Dusty Baker was like giving a pyromaniac gasoline, a lighter, lighter fluid, the keys to a vacant building, and rubbing two sticks together to get him started. You can take a gamble with pitching having a surprise year. Hitters who can't hit don't all of a sudden figure it out and start hitting. With pitchers there's at least a chance that a good pitching coach can find some flaws in delivery, mechanics, stuff and correct it. With hitters, if they are bad, they are bad. No hitting coach is gonna make Tomas Perez a good hitter. No hitting coach is going to make Tomas Perez a good hitter, but a hitting coach could turn a Tomas Perez type into an adequate backup. I definitely don't want to see Perez anywhere close to the major league roster next year, but there is value in handing out a bunch of NRIs to guys who were at some point acceptable bench players.

I don't think it's fair to look at Dempster's numbers as a whole from '05 rather than just his relief work. Dempster as a reliever '05 had a much better H/9 and HR/9 than Dempster '06.

For most teams, that would be true. But this franchise has been more than happy to give lots of times to guys who deserved nothing more than a NRI to ST. You had the recently released from SF Neifi Perez, and the released in ST Glendon Rusch. Then you had a handful of other NRI with no upside guys, like Rey Ordonez, Tony Womack, Enrique (he knows how to play in yankee stadium) Wilson, that all got playing time. In the big picture, it probably doesn't matter, but when this team signs worthless NRI guys, there's going to be a natural negative reaction out of fear that they'll actually play. I agree with your overall point, but the year we signed the released in ST Glendon Rusch, he was tremendous for us. I actually like the concept of giving minor league deals to guys who once had a modicum of success, and hope you can get a decent half season off the bench/bullpen from him. But doing it with Dusty Baker was like giving a pyromaniac gasoline, a lighter, lighter fluid, the keys to a vacant building, and rubbing two sticks together to get him started.

Ben Wallace for 3!! They'll never expect it!

Does he ever talk out of anything else? Yes, Rosenthal is the best baseball writer out there when it comes to reporting news.

Brian Randle had his best game of the year, actually driving to the basket and looking very good doing it. And Rich McBride even made a couple baskets! On the negative side, Warren Carter, for all the strides he's made this year, is still just not an intelligent ballplayer. He seems to travel at least once a game 25 feet away from the basket, and tonight picked up 2 incredibly stupid fouls(on a 3 pointer and on a drive to the basket by Haluska with Illinois up big late.-Haluska misses the 3 point play and it turns into a 5 point play when Iowa grabs the board)

According to Gammons, incentives can push this to 3/45

I would put Boise ahead of USC. My main point is you said when looking at the wins and losses that Auburn should be ahead, and then you conveniently mentioned Auburn's good wins and left out USC's good wins, mentioning only Michigan, and making sure to add in the overrated part.(Funny, since you touted Georgia earlier in your post)

The Red are gonna be pissed when they find out Keppinger can't pitch.

Noah's definitely uglier than Schrempf and Cassell. That animal trying to escape from Williams's forehead might give him the advantage though.

How about USC killing Arkansas and Auburn losing to them?