dew1679666265

Agree...Auburn's offense in '05 was superior in almost every aspect. HB Kenny Irons (2nd round), WR Ben Obamanu (7th round), WR Devin Aromashadu - (7th round), WR Courtney Taylor (6th round), Cooper Wallace ('06 Titans), LT Marcus McNeil (2nd round), LG Ben Grubbs (1st round), RT Troy Reddick ('06 Giants). Cox absolutely benefited from that. Hey, i'm ready for the Kodi Burn era to begin at QB...promise. I will argue that Lester may be better than you think. He took a backseat to Kenny Irons with respect to playing time in '05 and '06, but he rushed for more yards per carry than Irons in both seasons, and he scored over twice as many touchdowns as Irons did last season. Sophomore Ben Tate played RB last night, and while he outweighs Lester by 15 pounds and is stronger, he is not as fast nor can cut as well Lester. Auburn would benefit from using two backs again. Bottom line...Florida and LSU may embarrass them. I haven't seen much of Lester so he could be better than I'm giving him credit for, but I don't put much credence into him being better than Kenny Irons. I was never really that impressed with Irons. He benefitted, in my opinion, off the great receivers much like Cox did in 05. His real breakout year came in 05 (his first year after the transfer) and, much like Cox, that coincided with the senior years of Wallace, Obomanu, Taylor and Aromashadu. How did he follow up his 1,000+ yards and 5.1 per carry the following year? Less than 900 yards and 4.5 per carry. He also didn't have the durability to carry nearly 250 times like Cadillac did when he rushed for around the same yards per carry in 04. On top of all that - he was supposed to be the focus of the Tiger offense last year. I'm not entirely sure what it was that NFL people saw in him to take him in the second round. Must just be physical talent, because he didn't impress that much in college stats-wise. Cox and Irons are very similar players in terms of how overrated they are.

Xavier only had a concussion apparently and should be ok. Fulmer said there was no structural damage done. Good sign for a great kid.

I like that you cheer for your conference though. I find it amazing how many Big Ten fans would rather Michigan and OSU lose in non-conference games. Not realizing this only make their school look even crappier. So who are some teams that impressed people in the first day of college football. Besides the obvious ones. I was really impressed by Georgie Tech. Could end up in the Top Ten I was really happy with Michigan St. I didnt know what to expect from us or UAB. MSU has the talent to be a bowl team. Hopefully they can change from their annual plunge once the Big Ten season starts. I think Auburn is obviously overrated but I was impressed with Kansas Sts defense. I've been very vocal the last couple of years in stating that Auburn's QB, Brandon Cox, isn't good. He is about as immobile of a QB as you will see. That coupled with an offensive line that only returned one starter caused a lot of problems for Auburn. How many times was Cox sacked? Another key factor is that Auburn's starting RB, Brad Lester, was suspended for this game. Sophomore Ben Tate rushed for 90 or so yards, but they could have used Lester's breakaway speed. Is Auburn really overrated? They're ranked #18 in the nation and behind 4 other SEC teams. Everyone knew this was going to be somewhat of a "rebuilding" year for them. Auburn plays weaker opponents for the next three weeks before traveling to Gainsville to play the Florida Gators. I'm hoping their offensive line has matured some by that time. Cox is a very average QB. He benefitted two years ago from having very good wide receivers, but since then his weaknesses have been more than obvious. The Tiger defense is terrific, no questions about them. But the offense is mediocre with or without Lester. He's not a game changer in the Cadillac/Ronnie Brown mold and that's what Auburn needs right now. If they had the running game they had in 04, they could once again cover for an average QB.

The defense for Tennessee didn't even bother to show up tonight. They couldn't cover anybody, and even worse couldn't tackle anybody. Cal has some very good players and terrific athletes, but there's no reason why we should have missed as many tackles as we did tonight. Kudos to Cal. They showed up and wanted to win more than Tennessee. There was no real apparent desire in the way the UT defense played and you're not going to beat good teams like Cal when you don't show up. Needless to say I'm pissed and, at the same time, worried about the game against Florida. If the defense doesn't remember how to tackle by then, we may give up triple digit points.

It was our defensive end Xavier Mitchell. One of our better defensive players and a senior. The thing that worries me still is that last year, one of our starting corners, Inky Johnson, had a similar incident and was carted off. When he went off, he too waved his arm on the way out. He ended up having nerve damage around his neck and will never play football again. It would be a shame to have that happen to a second very good player in consecutive years.

4.48 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 99 ERA+, 45 K/69 BB I wouldn't want him acquired to start, but I guess if we gave up next to nothing, he'd be kinda ok out of the pen. Not sure it'd be worth it, though. He's walked more than he's struck out and has a WHIP of 1.56. That's god awful. Very true. That's why I wouldn't want to give up much of anything worth anything for him and would only want him in a long relief type role. I'd be hoping for a Lilly-esque turnaround (I wouldn't think he'd be close to as good as Lilly, just improved) with him leaving the AL East and working under Rothschild. If it didn't work, just don't use him and let him go after the regular season. It should be why you don't want him. Trachsel sucked when he was in the NL, last year. I don't want him, I just wouldn't be outraged if we gave up nothing to get him. I would probably prefer having Gallagher in the long relief/spot starter role, but with rosters expanding it wouldn't mean not having somebody like Gallagher up if we acquired Trachsel. Plus, I'd hope he'd be on a very, very short leash.

4.48 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 99 ERA+, 45 K/69 BB I wouldn't want him acquired to start, but I guess if we gave up next to nothing, he'd be kinda ok out of the pen. Not sure it'd be worth it, though. He's walked more than he's struck out and has a WHIP of 1.56. That's god awful. Very true. That's why I wouldn't want to give up much of anything worth anything for him and would only want him in a long relief type role. I'd be hoping for a Lilly-esque turnaround (I wouldn't think he'd be close to as good as Lilly, just improved) with him leaving the AL East and working under Rothschild. If it didn't work, just don't use him and let him go after the regular season.

He's signed just through this year. Signed a $3.1 million, one-year contract in February.

4.48 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 99 ERA+, 45 K/69 BB I wouldn't want him acquired to start, but I guess if we gave up next to nothing, he'd be kinda ok out of the pen. Not sure it'd be worth it, though.

The Matt Morris trade is one of the most inexplicable trades in recent history. If Littlefield doesn't get fired in the offseason for that trade alone, he might very well be GM for life out there. There is precedence. For some strange reason, Matt Millen has yet to be fired by the Lions. He's far worse than Littlefield could ever hope to be. the reason is that william clay ford can't fire anybody. He also let wayne fontes coach the lions for 9 years, and everyone thought he was going to be fired in at least 7 of those years. This is a good point.

You can't possibly be serious. He wasn't hitting for contact or power and wasn't getting on base much. His approach at the plate at times bordered on masochistic. He looked washed up to everyone. Hendry took a flier on the guy hoping a change of scenery or for that matter was better than what he was putting up in Oakland. Hendry gambled right only after he gambled wrong. And by the way, it's not scouts vs. 'sabers'. The two are complimentary, not mutually exclusive. Reports were that Gary Hughes and others watched Kendall in person and said his bat speed and other attributes were still solid. There were people watching him that said they felt he could come around. While the turnaround may have been lucky, it wasn't blind luck. There was some preparation and research behind the Kendall deal.

The Matt Morris trade is one of the most inexplicable trades in recent history. If Littlefield doesn't get fired in the offseason for that trade alone, he might very well be GM for life out there. There is precedence. For some strange reason, Matt Millen has yet to be fired by the Lions. He's far worse than Littlefield could ever hope to be.

Is this for sure??/ They just announced it on Comcast. Said Lou said Soriano will bat first and Theriot second.

Neifi's was worse. Blanco is a nice player to have on the team and can actually contribute offensively (though very little), he's just extremely overpaid. Neifi should only be a 25th man and defensive sub. He has less offensive ability than Henry. And he was horribly overpaid.

What's the major league record for 1 team? Geez, that is ridiculous. 30 is a modern day record. And the Rangers' reliever got a save. Awesome. :lol:

I think I'd rather see Kendall hitting second and DeRo down in the order. While the difference is small, DeRo has some form of power while Kendall doesn't, but Kendall gets on base (especially now) better than DeRo. Minor issue though, generally it's a good lineup (Murton aside).

I haven't read much for a while (still getting over reading so much in college), but when I do there's nothing like a good political book. Good stuff.

I thought for sure he retired a few years ago. Of course, a beating like this might warrant bringing pitchers out of retirement. I believe he came out of retirement this season. I think this game will send him right back. I would tend to agree with you there. Not sure if he could top tonight's game. :D

While I disagree with playing Floyd tonight, we simply don't have a better option than Jones in center.

I thought for sure he retired a few years ago. Of course, a beating like this might warrant bringing pitchers out of retirement.

Z was perfect thru three. Bottom third, Murton with an IF single and Kendall up to bat when the tarp came back out on the field. Murton's single is the only blemish on either pitcher's line thru 2.5+ innings. Theriot walked to lead off the game. So that's two blemishes for Wells. Quit making him look better than he's been. :wink:

Maybe the Cards would send Ankiel to the mound in a spot start? I've been wondering if LaRussa would ever consider using him as a pitcher in an emergency situation, or a late-inning blowout BP saver. Probably not with the mental issues that took him from the mound. I agree. I don't think that should ever be an option. He worked very hard to get back and I think it would be too much of a risk to put him back into that position. I enjoy seeing bad things happen to the Cardinals and I have to admit I took some satisfaction in Ankiel's inability to find the strike zone, but I still think it's a really good story that he was able to get back to the major leagues and not have his career completely ruined. I hope he can still enjoy a semi-successful career, while somehow not helping the Cardinals win along the way. Yeah, I definitely don't think La Russa would risk any more mental issues with Ankiel just to save a few pitches. As important as this comeback seems to him, I'd say Ankiel's pitching days are over for good. And that's probably the right decision.

Won't be a DH tomorrow. Why not? Both teams play night games the following night. We have to head to the West Coast Tuesday, though. It'd be doable maybe, but absolutely not ideal. Tuesday's game against the Giants isn't until 7 p.m. Crap. Just realized my mistake in my original post. A double header could happen tomorrow - like I said it's doable - but they'll get into San Fran on short rest most likely with a day/night DH. May still be the best option though.

Won't be a DH tomorrow. Why not? Both teams play night games the following night. We have to head to the West Coast tomorrow, though. It'd be doable maybe, but absolutely not ideal.

Maybe the Cards would send Ankiel to the mound in a spot start? I've been wondering if LaRussa would ever consider using him as a pitcher in an emergency situation, or a late-inning blowout BP saver. Probably not with the mental issues that took him from the mound.