XZero771679666304

in his best year he struck out 155 times. because everyone knows striking out automatically means you're a bad hitter, right? seriously, how many hitters do we have to see that strike out a ton yet still absolutely rake before we stop viewing striking out a lot as such a terrible thing? No one is saying he wasn't a good hitter, just that he wasn't a great one. Working the count is to his credit for sure, and if you threw him a pitch from middle to middle in, he'd mash it. But he had limitations. He was not a guy who could take a pitch away and drive it if pitchers were staying away from him. He wasn't a dynamic hitter at all. The book on Mac was keep the ball away from his power, as long as you are willing to lose him, because he won't chase. But he wasn't the type of guy who scared pitchers because he could hit their pitch, even if they made it. You didn't have to worry about him jacking your breaking pitch on the outside black. You just had to make sure you stayed out there, or were willing to walk him. The strike out thing was brought up because it was said he wasn't exploitable (not that he wasn't a good hitter), but when you strike out that much, you're being exploited somewhere. Someone like say, Albert Pujols is relatively unexploitable. To make a comparison, Sammy Sosa was, as we Cubs fans all know, quite exploitable. But during the 1998-2001 stretch, he was also a better hitter than Mac. Being exploitable =/= being a bad hitter.

i think moving to denver made them racist. could be. Crazy, at least.

i've been to probably 50 phillies games in my life and never heard anything racist. Philly fans hate everyone, so it's hard to tell.

I'm happy you guys are ranked. 6 of 11 teams are ranked. Sweet. Damn it, you just reminded me how annoying it is that this whole thread is going to be Big Ten slurping. (They'll likely deserve it, granted, but it'll still be annoying.) Being that this is a board for fans of a midwestern team, you'll just have to deal with it. Most people here are going to be Big 10/Big 12 fans.

None of that is surprising. There's no doubt he loves where he is at, but you hear that kind of stuff from players quite often. He'll still see free agency, barring something unforeseen.

I'm sure Mets fans aren't digging this matchup, either. mets fans are [expletive] miserable about this. go good, beat evil. Calling Philly good might be stretching it, but I'd much rather they win than the evil empire.

You're comparing McGwire to Henderson? Really? Yeah, there is one key difference (besides the fact that Henderson was a much better ballplayer) - Rickey is insane.

I agree that hitting coached don't make too much of a difference, and are often PR hires. It seems silly to classify the McGwire move this way, but STL is relatively insular, so I think the fond memories fans have of him matter more than the steroid business. Obviously if you are in NY, Boston, Chicago or LA you don't make this move. And as far as Mac's approach goes, pitch recognition and selectivity goes a long way, but really what does could he have to say other than be selective and when you get a good pitch, try and pull the [expletive] out of it? Really, that's all he ever did. He may have had physical limitations, but after two decades of the same approach, you have to imagine it led to some one track thinking.

I have zero issue with the steroids angle here. I just don't care. I am more curious as to what he brings as a coach. He hit his fair share of homers (and he would have sans steroids, IMO), but I never thought of him as a great hitter. He was a feast or famine guy with a patient approach, not a refined, cerebral hitter. I mean if I was gong to cull the list of ex-Cards for a hitting coach, I'd go for a guy like Willie McGee or someone similar.

True, but this year the Big 10 is just about as bad top to bottom as it has been in my lifetime, IMO. Maybe that's overstating things, but I don't think so. IDK, seems like every year I hear how great the SEC is and how bad the Big Ten is. The SEC has just about all the advantages in bowl games against Big Ten teams but the record is still pretty even over the long haul. True, but this year I think the notion that the Big 10 just isn't very good has some teeth.

That could be a logical conclusion. Without speculating how much he values what he has invested in the St. Louis area (restaurant, charities, house, kids school, family, etc) the only other reasons he wouldn't want to negotiate this early is he doesn't care about the money (unlikely), the Cardinals offer wasn't worth discussing (unlikely, they know what he's worth) or the aggressiveness of the organization to start negotiations has been over reported (likely). Regardless of what the Cardinals offer or how aggressive they are, I see no way Albert doesn't make it to free agency. He gave the organization a discount last time, and helped the team win a championship. I would be shocked if he doesn't see just how much he can get this time around.

True, but this year the Big 10 is just about as bad top to bottom as it has been in my lifetime, IMO. Maybe that's overstating things, but I don't think so.

It's amazing how bold and plucky Iowa fans can get during those recently rare stretches of relevance.

Don't feel sorry for him. Sleight of fate does not make one a 400 pound sack of blubber.

That will be the best schadenfreude ever. This is because most Cards fans don't believe it will ever happen. It would be so delicious if he goes to a team and has a great stretch during which his new team has a lot of success and he goes into the HOF with another team's hat on. :twisted: i don't think he'll go elsewhere because the cardinals will pay him enough to stay, even if it's $30-35M. they're not a huge market but they're big enough to keep him as long as he doesn't want $40M+ in free agency. If they want to, let them. It will cripple their ability to build a supporting cast.

I have to admit, with Carpernter an Wainwright as the 1-2 and Pujols/Holliday/Ludwick in middle, I thought they had a great chance to do some serious damage in the postseason. I also think they will be a lesser team at the start of 2010. Holliday and DeRo will leave, and Franklin won't repeat his 2009 performance.

That will be the best schadenfreude ever. This is because most Cards fans don't believe it will ever happen. It would be so delicious if he goes to a team and has a great stretch during which his new team has a lot of success and he goes into the HOF with another team's hat on. :twisted:

And 25th in UZR. No kidding? Ouch. I wonder what on earth could cause that large of a disconnect. That defensive metrics are for [expletive] might have something to do with it.

If it were any more palpable, you could actually drink it. And it would taste good.

You should probably hang a banner to go with your big ten tournament championship ones. you should save your anger for someone less relevant than us, such as Michigan State or Louisville. Hawkeye fans are so cute.

And to think, after April we all thought he was washed up. Glad I was wrong. DLee is a great guy and I wish there were more like him. No, "we" didn't No, but anyone who says the expected this is a liar.

Yeah, some team will sign DeRo to a 2-3 year at 7-10 million per, maybe with the third year an option. Either way it won't be worth it. We could have used him this year, but that ship has obviously sailed.

It wasn't that bad in and of itself, but the fact the Brewers, who have well established recent record of celebratory stupidity did it probably makes it a bigger deal. And FTR, if a Cubs player did it, I wouldn't be mad, but I would probably roll my eyes and shake my head.

Not only that, but Valverde may be the biggest ass in the league. Rooting for him would be painful. Last year taught me that if I can root for Jim Edmonds, I can root for anyone. I didn't think I would have a hard time rooting for Edmonds, and I didn't. Valverde's much worse. One day he's going to get a teammate hurt.

Not only that, but Valverde may be the biggest ass in the league. Rooting for him would be painful.