Outshined_One

I lol'd This is Sparta This was Sparta.

Updated, looks like the AP got it wrong: Dang. :(

It's unclear whether this report is incorrect or whether the initial announcement was incorrect. If this report is correct, then wow.

The insanity of the 49ers/Briggs situation deepens! Link

Now we can trade Murton for pennies on the dollar! Hooray!

I never was a fan of "exploding offers" in these kinds of situations. The problem with a "take it or leave it by X date" approach in Hendry's case is that the Orioles likely have not devoted much time to scouting and researching the players he is offering in the deal. That sort of a process takes a lot of time and effort on the Orioles' behalf, since they need to now re-focus resources that have likely already been allocated elsewhere so that they can do their homework. If a guy gives me an exploding offer on something, I'm automatically suspicious of it. It's like the guy is trying to pull a fast one on me by trying to catch me off-guard. I need some time to make sure the offer doesn't blow up in my face when I take it, you know?

Must...resist...bad joke...

Tree?

Aw, I was hoping Hoffpauir would make the team as a 1B/OF reserve. Oh well.

Well, hopefully this will put an end to those annoying Byrd rumors.

Considering Brian Roberts is my father, this comes as little surprise to me.

Knowing the Cardinals, they'd trade Colby Rasmus, Chris Perez, and Adam Ottavino for him.

Honestly, I think Wisconsin or MSU will be in the Final Four at the rate things are going. They're two of the best-coached teams in the nation and have enough talent and firepower to match up with teams like Kansas, Memphis, Davidson, and Texas. You have to admit, they've been impressive.

Nice http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/7764/nelsonhahakk4.jpg

It's fair to give the Big 10 props for playing to the seed (read previous post about 4-5 matchups as tossups)? And yes, Pac-10, Big East and ACC are easily superior to the Big 10 and the Big 12 is a bit better. The only conference the Big 10 is better than is the SEC. The Big 10 didn't get unfairly criticized for anything this year. They were down in both football and basketball and that's what was said about them. In football the best team got killed in the title game after not playing anybody in the regular season (though I know they ususally do) second best team got annihilated by USC in the Rose Bowl and the third best team lost to a I-AA team at home and then got embarrassed by Oregon at home. That came after they got the crap kicked out of them in the Rose Bowl last year as well. I don't see where this criticism was undeserved. Funny you said all that about football, but forgot to mention how the 2nd/3rd best team in the Big Ten beat mighty Gators. Oh well, Big Ten basketball and football is on its way up so Im not concerned. I don't give a damn about Florida and not once have did I refer to their 2007 team as mighty. They didn't have a defense this year and clearly weren't as good of a team as they were when they won the title. Considering he who shall not be named was recently launched from this board, the rampant Gator/SEC homerism around these parts has been ratcheted down a few notches.

General comments... -Iowa looks like it'll have a nice group of pitchers. Gallagher, Holliman, and Mateo all have potential to be SPs down the line. A lot of the other guys have good potential as relievers (I like Ascanio, Avery, and Petrick best). Considering AAA tends to break pitching prospects in the Cubs' system, it should be interesting to see how that all pans out. -As for their hitters: Jake Muyco supposedly is the most defensively advanced catcher in the system, but can't hit worth a lick. It looks like he might be in the process of being groomed as Hank White's replacement, especially considering he skipped Tennessee altogether. Matt Camp's jump is a bit surprising. He must have been the one to make Chris Walker expendable. -Tennessee is going to have a nasty relief core with Ceda, Maestri, Papelbon, and a bevy of others. The SPs range from questionably talented to enigmas with huge upsides. -Regarding Tennessee's hitters: Welington Castillo and Josh Lansford skipped Daytona? Interesting. I'm a bit disappointed Colvin might not end up in Iowa at the start of the season, but he definitely needs more seasoning in AA. Jonathon Wyatt skipping all the way up to AA is surprising. Dopirak and Harvey reunite for another go-round, so break out the tape measures and those K signs. -Daytona's pitching has some intriguing names in Robert Hernandez and James Russell. I can't say the rest excite me nearly as much. -However, the hitters have some better names among them. I'm disappointed I won't see Tony Thomas in Peoria, but oh well. Kyler Burke skipping Peoria altogether is a bit shocking, but considering the winter the guy had in Hawaii, I would not be surprised if he's carried his success over into this season. Marquez Smith has nice sleeper potential in this system at 3B. -Peoria's pitching: This is always where it gets fun. Cabrera, Rhee, and Huseby are all well-known names with loads of potential. Mark Pawelek's future is beginning to look in doubt, but a bounceback season could help matters. Rafael Dolis looked impressive out of the gate last season, but his injury is a bit frustrating. I'm hoping he recovers and can pitch this season. -Peoria's hitting: They have a player-coach? Go figure. Vitters and Donaldson are the two big names here. It's good seeing Vitters practicing with Peoria, all things considered. Rundle, Samson, and Andersen need to start living up to their hype and contracts. 19 year olds Marwin Gonzalez and Gian Guzman could catch some eyes. -As for Boise/AZ, does anyone know what the injury statuses are on Marwin Gonzalez and Larry Suarez? Also, does anyone know if Alvaro Sosa is solely a left-handed hitter, or does he also throw left handed as a catcher? Because that would be sweet.

And my brackets do not go down in flames!

Where the heck was DeAndre Jordan? Don't you want a big man underneath to prevent that kind of thing from happening twice in a row?

Kevin Love would be pretty good at horse.

They're nothing compared to the Big East.

Whew. Glad to see MSU pull that one out. Who was it that predicted Pitt would win it all on ESPN or CBS?

A UCLA loss would pretty much destroy my bracket. That would not be welcome at this point.

It'd would appear Xavier has an easy road to the Final Four if UCLA loses. Yet, with the way this year has been going, we might end up seeing WKU make the Final Four.

Where's Navin when you need to make fun of him?

Gus Johnson just woke up. Also, for Bo Ryan is a very photogenic man: Link