Outshined_One

I think I just saw a flock of sparrows come flying out of Bagwell's beard.

Looks like it What's the old saying if you can't beat em, join em? Eh, more like Schaudenfreude on my end of things. Misery loves company, ya know?

Hooray Magic Wandy.

Of course, this being a game shown in Chicago, Fox must show proper love and respect for Vince Lombardi.

Joe Buck: World-renowned expert in international relations and the Cuban economic structure.

Tadahito Iguchi was absolutely crucial to the White Sox this season and pretty much proved that some guys can come over and immediately produce, especially given how cheap he was. I wonder if that'll have an impact on some of the guys who are posted?

That game broke an agonizing losing streak in which the bullpen was completely shot. I saw that one as justifiable because, at the time, the Cubs needed a big shot in the arm and that CG win was absolutely huge. They needed to break that losing streak if they wanted any chance at actually competing for the WC/Division. Of course, that turned out to be a completely moot point. Everything looks completely obvious in hindsight, ya know? That said, there were plenty of other instances in which I was incredibly pissed off at Dusty for overworking the arms.

Mwahahahahahahahaha.

Yost is as clueless as Baker when it comes to in-game managing.

And what about all of the boos that rained down on the Astros after the last out?

Red Sox will probably also make a charge at him.

Depends on the situation. For one, I do not buy for a second that Pujols is 25. I don't necessarily think he's as old as, say, Julio Franco. However, I could definitely buy him being in his late 20s or around 30 (A-Rod's age). Secondly, I think people are jusitified in their arguments regarding positional scarcity. If we're talking straight up defense, I'd take A-Rod over Pujols. Thirdly, the stats are quite telling. A-Rod is the better fantasy player because he plays a positional without many good offensive players as compared to 1B. However...I think I would take Pujols over A-Rod if I were running a major league club. After seeing what's happened to A-Rod with the Yankees, I just can't place such a high value on him. He's not likable, he's not a leader, and he is the last guy you want at the plate in pressure situations. Yeah, I know RISP fluctuates and it's hard to assess whether or not clutch hitting actually exists...but A-Rod just isn't a guy I'd want at the plate in the bottom of the ninth, two outs, two men on, and my team down by 2. He's the first guy I'd want to have at the plate if my team were up by 4, though. Pujols, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. He's a back-breaker in every sense of the word. How many heart-breaking big hits has he had so far in his short career? Every time he comes to the plate in a situation where he could swing the momentum of the game, you can just feel the air starting to get sucked out of the stadium. Plus, while he doesn't quite stack up to A-Rod in terms of stats and defense, he is not a slouch by any stretch of the word.

What ever happened to the financial problems of the Diamondbacks? Did they magically fly away when no one was looking?

And as for the Astros "catching fire", as it were...was anyone else watching the Wild Card race this year? Did you all notice that no one wanted the Wild Card throughout the course of the year and the the Astros nearly blew it to Philly, but didn't because Philly was slightly more inept than Houston? Houston was the best team in the NL playoffs this year. Between the injuries and shoddy offensive play of the Cardinals, the pitching issues of the Braves, and San Diego just basically sucking, Houston has every right to be in the World Series. I say good for them, they deserve it.

They do lack the pitching depth that a team like them would need to really compete down the line. There are some guys in their system I like, but unless Capellan steps up, there aren't many guys in that system to my knowledge who can come in and round out that rotation effectively. Then again, with the right trades, that will officially be a non-issue...

Considering I have no faith whatsoever in this coaching staff, I think that as long as Corey remains a player under Dusty's/Sarge's/Clines'/Coleman's/Jackson's watch, he'll never come close to approaching the player he was hyped to be. You could make it a case of too many chefs spoiling the broth (although I'd equate those guys with the "DING FRIES ARE DONE!" guy cooking-wise) or you could say that Corey needs some one who can either correctly keep on him about his approach or who knows how to handle a player like him. Trade him to a team with a competent hitting instructor and things might be different, imo.

I see you lurking. :) Got any good rumors flying around regarding what moves the Cubs are currently looking at this offseason, or have things been quiet lately?

That's overpaying to an incredible degree. I don't think Corey's actual talent is anywhere near as bad as it was this past season and the Cubs have been jerking around Mitre and Wellemeyer since 2003. I don't like the idea of Mitre and Welly being coached by Mike Maddux unless he's in Cubbie blue. I like Clark and all, but not to that degree.

You know what they say about people who assume... I'm pretty certain they didn't do this last year. They didn't. I'm positive. Didn't they put Z on a cottage cheese and broccoli diet one or two seasons ago to get his weight down?

Fox tried everything humanly possible to jinx the Astros in the 9th. Yet it did not work. Impressive.

Eh, it all depends. I agree that the BoSox would not pull the trigger on a deal like that unless some one like Sheets was involved. However, right now the key to this offseason for Boston hinges on what the heck they are going to do with Manny Ramirez. I simply cannot see them retaining him for another season, especially given the fact that he's putting up gaudy numbers, is due a heck of a lot of money, and that it seems as if all sides have soured on one another. Yes, it could well be that they retain him, but that's unlikely. At the moment, it seems like the Mets are the most likely to end up with Manny, but things might change. If this happens, I predict he is traded for some package involving Lastings Milledge, Petit, and one of either Mike Cameron or Carlos Beltran. Adjust contracts accordingly or throw in some prospects on Boston's end if you don't think it's even. If that happens, that should address their need for a CF, but open up a hole in LF to go along with their hole in RF whenever they are facing a left handed pitcher. Geoff Jenkins doesn't particularly hit lefties well, so I think he could be ruled out of trade speculation here. Now, given that the White Sox managed to put a (s)crappy leadoff type of guy in left field for most of the season, I'm curious as to whether the Red Sox would be willing to do the same with Brady Clark in LF. They definitely would be upgrading hugely from a defensive standpoint, but I wonder if they would be able to absorb the hit or not with Clark in LF.

I'm impressed at the sheer lack of quality in umpiring in this year's playoffs. Then again, it's not like the players are overcoming those obstacles.

Alternatively, if they want to add a talented player who would cost them a decent amount of dough, they have the depth in terms of prospects to make a few trades if they so desire. The Brewers are kinda hard to predict now that they're no longer run by a bunch of cheapskates. Couple that with '05 first round draftee out of UMiami FL 3B Ryan Braun looking terrific in limited action down in the Sally League...yikes...

In other words, it'll be business as usual.

Ugh, Uno's outside of Chicago is absolutely terrible. There's one here in Madison and I refuse to go in there and waste my money on what I know will be a subpar attempt at a Chicago classic. It's odd considering that I don't mind Uno's and Due's in Chicago. They're not that bad. And also, people, people, Giordano's does not make deep dish pizza. They make stuffed pizza; there is a difference. Deep dish pizza just has the crust, cheese, and sauce topping it all. Stuffed pizza has a small layer of dough over the cheese, which is then covered with the sauce. Giordano's does not make good thin crust pizza (imo), but their stuffed pizza is a personal favorite. The outer layer of the crust is dry and occasionally burnt, but the inner part of the crust is always moist and delicious. If you want good deep dish, it's all about Lou Malnati's. I hate getting pepperoni pizza from anywhere except when it's homemade or when it's at Malnati's. Moist, cheesy, and really darn tasty. Crap, now I'm homesick for pizza.