XZero771679666304

And Keppinger. That's bad. I'd be willing to put down a large amount of money that those 3 don't all homer in the same game again this year. Pudge is going to abuse those Crawford boxes this year. I think he hits 15-20 homers (total). I don't know about that, there's a reason no one signed him until late March - he's done. No one signed him until March because he didn't want to be a backup. I think anywhere else he wouldn't hit more than a handful of homers, but MMP is pretty much tailor made for his approach at this point. Look what it did for Biggio at the end of his career.

And Keppinger. That's bad. I'd be willing to put down a large amount of money that those 3 don't all homer in the same game again this year. Pudge is going to abuse those Crawford boxes this year. I think he hits 15-20 homers (total).

Running to first on a BB. Charlie Hustle It's bad enough when a rival team has one guy everyone hates simply based on how they behave on the field, but the Astros have two. I agree, and drfting Valverde still makes upset. That said, running one out to first while moving the winning run to second, after being down with 2 strikes is not a reason to dislike a guy. I hated Pence for acting like a [expletive] monkey long before tonight.

Running to first on a BB. Charlie Hustle It's bad enough when a rival team has one guy everyone hates simply based on how they behave on the field, but the Astros have two.

There should be some rule prohibiting this level of annoying spaztardedness on one team.

The only thing about tonight's game that perplexed me is that Fuku got lifted when Gathright came in and not shifted to right, particularly after Milton's ankle roll earlier. I really don't think Houston scores the second run if Kosuke is in right.

that's an amazingly charitable description of their rotation. That's amazingly charitable for mostt every topic. Their "2 MVP candidates" are DHs who couldn't crack 900 OPSs last year. Their "deeper bullpen" consists of trading out Salomon Torres and Brian Shouse(their 2 best pen guys last year) for full seasons of Todd Coffey and the awful Jorge Julio. Oh, and the ancient Trevor Hoffman.(DL right now) The deep bench has the Gathright like Chris Duffy, and the despicable Casey McGehee. Their 2nd bat off the bench is a 38 year old Craig Counsell. Manny Parra's servicable, I think it's a bit premature to call him pretty good. Jeff Suppan hasn't been any good since leaving St. Louis, and I don't think it's a stretch to think the same about Braden Looper. The Brewers have not upgraded anywhere from a team last year that won the wild card on the last day of the season and was 11 games worse than the Cubs in pythag. They've since lost their 2 best starting pitchers, their 2 best bullpen pitchers, and their 2 best bench bats. Yeah, that about sums it up. Not to be inflammatory, but I think a lot of crew fans are having a hard time coping with going from nowhere to being hyped as the best young team in the game and now fading back again. The offense will be good, but the pitching staff will be awful, outside of Gallardo and Hoffman. The Cardinals are much more frightening, though much of that depends on the health/stamina of Carpenter.

It seems to me that it was a stand pat or go all in scenario that depended greatly on what happened yesterday actually happening. I'm guessing there wasn't going to be much middle ground.

I'm expecting at least a couple more dominoes to fall. Angelo is clearly (IMHO) making some sort of major "win now" play here, and today's moves aren't enough on their own.

I completely agree with you, and if that had been what Schlereth was saying, I'd agree with you. Schlereth outright said this trade makes the Bears a worse team, which is patently ridiculous. Yeah, it's not that he hasn't made some valid points, but he seems to be either unaware or unwilling to recognize that the oline has had some work done. I think the guy is a Broncos fan, has a real beef with Cutler over this whole mess, and is allowing it to skew his analysis.

That's because no one cares. I would bet more people were tuned into ESPN2 or ESPNews watching Mark Schlereth wax moronic about the Cutler trade than gave a thought to the NIT final. And I can say with all honesty that even if the Illini were in the same position, I would hardly care then, either.

who cares what the coaches would say? even jamelle cornley was on the local radio and said their big goal was to make the ncaa tourney, and he was disappointed that they were left out. but overall, who had a more noticeable march/early april, illinois or penn st? illinois wrong everyone's wrong but you, per usual. No, we're just Illini fans jealous of PSU's NIT title. Except that no one outside of the PSU fanbase cares. Every single player in the PSU locker room would have traded that NIT banner for one game in the NCAA's. If he doesn't really believe that, he's an idiot. Also, notice how his argument shifted from "an NIT championship is better than one game in the NCAAs" to "well, we got more exposure". I'd be surprised it even that is true. I don't know the numbers, but I would be surprised if more people watched all of PSU's NIT games than watched Illinois' (or any of the other 32 teams eliminated on the first weekend) one loss.

i'd say it's a more rewarding end to the season than... say, losing to western kentucky. Yawn. The Illini overachieved all season, and I was not surprised they lost. But I don't believe for a second most PSU fans wouldn't trade an NCAA berth and immediate dismissal for an NIT championship, nor do I believe the players would. Not for a second. i wouldn't, at all. at all. winning 5 games in a row, two of them at home, at least one of them in really exciting fashion, is a lot more fun than losing a neutral court first round game in the ncaa tournament. i'd say the 36 buses of students that went to MSG today would agree with that. I don't buy it. Sure it's a positive note to end on, but let's face it: The NIT is perceived by nearly everyone as a tournament for teams that are not quite good enough for the NCAAs. It's like winning the consolation game. Or being your buddy's wingman and taking one for the team. Sure, you got laid, but you're not going to be bragging about it to your friends. You can rationalize it any way you want to, but the reality is that no one cares who wins the NIT except for who wins the NIT. I suppose if your team isn't accustomed to any sort of postseason success, it might mean more, but after the pseudo-euphoria of winning the NIT wears off, I'll bet you'll agree with me, whether you admit it or not. If I were a PSU fan, I would be far more satisfied with the improvement within the league and toward the NCAAs than I would be about the NIT. Though having said all that, I really want to see MSU win the National Championship and make it 2-2 for the Big 10 in postseason tourneys just because it would stick in the crevasses of tools like Hubert Davis.

i'd say it's a more rewarding end to the season than... say, losing to western kentucky. Yawn. The Illini overachieved all season, and I was not surprised they lost. But I don't believe for a second most PSU fans wouldn't trade an NCAA berth and immediate dismissal for an NIT championship, nor do I believe the players would. Not for a second.

Not that great once we sign Tory Holt. :beg: Well, that would be nice. EDIT: Though I'm sure Mark Schlereth would tell us how washed up he is and that somehow it makes the Broncos a better team.

I am in pretty heavy Broncos country, and was at the gym on a treadmill watching ESPNews when the news broke. There was a veritable chorus of profanity that went up when it went up on the screen. A couple of guys left in disgust. Meanwhile, I was grinning from ear to ear. I really got the sense that a lot of Broncs fans really thought all of this drama was some sort of posturing, and nothing would come of it, and honestly, so did I. I'm glad I was wrong. I think with the revamped oline, this makes all-pros out of Olsen and Davis. I also imagine a WR will be targeted in the 2nd round. It's going to be weird watching the Bears with a franchise QB. Oh, and I was marveling at how ignorant Schlereth is all afternoon. Research much?

as good as marmol is, it's awfully absurd to suggest that there haven't been just as good, if not better, setup men than him. You're going to have to refresh my memory of set up men that were better than 210 K's in 150 IP and era+ or 326 and 167 over their first two full seasons. K-Rod qualifies as a equal and who else as better or equal? Lidge In his first two years in the pen, Dotel was right up there as well.

Yeah, I am totally over the blue tops. They need to go, or be worn much less frequently.

Baggy pants aren't at all modern. The baggy pants/low socks combo is relatively new. But the baggy pants/high socks are about as retro (and awesome) as it gets.

It's this one for me: http://www.fangraphs.com/wins.aspx?date=1989-08-29&team=Cubs&dh=0&season=1989

I am not trying to make a case for him to start, Im just saying his bat should belong in the Majors. Maybe he sucks like everyone says he does. No one is saying he sucks (offensively). It's just that his only role would be as a backup 1B/PH, which is filled by Hoffpauir. Fox would be redundant. It would be nice to have some RH pop off the bench, but there's nowhere else for him to play.

Now that I think about it, that sounds like a good name for a drink. :-k

whoa. patton has earned his spot over the out-of-options gaudin because of a good spring training? come on. it's spring training. remember when rocky cherry was perfect in ST? gaudin has proven he can be a decent reliever/starter, which is something we'll need with harden in the rotation. what has patton proven? he's almost 25 and has never been past A+ ball.... and hasn't even been good there. Plus you have to keep the guys who are out of options first. If Gaudin stinks during the first month or two, then it might be time to cut him loose.

Just a little??: Jake Fox TEN SOU .307 105 388 76 119 29 1 25 79 225 46 73 4 2 .397 .580 .976 Idk maybe Im wrong, just think he's better than people think I think he's like a poor man's Jack Cust.

there's so much funny about this. he's better than player a, unless he hits first, in which case player a is better than he is. Clearly you lack the proper understanding of the nuances of the game. Being a leadoff man isn't just batting first, it's a state of mind that numbers cannot express. i can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. i'm going to go ahead and assume it is, but you anime folk are tricky Normally I am pretty subtle, opting away from the flaming blitzkrieg you usually employ in these situations. EDIT: Yes, it was heavy sarcasm.