XZero771679666304

I gave the Colts no chance to win this game. Now I am going to give them no chance to win next week's game. That was one ugly game, and I think the Ravens took it for granted.

My opinion of Stone has taken a nose dive in the past year or so. I thought he was a baseball genius for years, but after hearing much of what he has said recently, I can't say I still believe that, or even close. But in general athletes invariably try and inject some superstition and athletic mysticism into the games they play. Having experience, or having been good at something does not make you an expert. One only has to listen to guys like Morgan and McCarver to realize that.

the argument on the other side was that wins are of no value in determining the effectiveness of a pitcher and shouldnt be considered. as far as your "knowing how to win" theory, i have heard many prominent baseball men disagree with your statement including steve stone. i'm sure that mathematically you can run circles around him but my guess is that he might know a tad bit more about pitching in real life than you do. A lot of "baseball people" say a lot of stupid things. It's just not logical at all. You are either effective, or you are not. Wins and losses are a byproduct largely dependent on the offense, not the pitcher. This isn't about sabremetrics or statistics. It's stone cold logic. If your offense isn't scoring, is their some bit of arcane baseball knowledge that will allow you to counteract it? Of course not. You can pitch as well as you can, nothing more. A great pitcher can learn to minimize the damage when he doesn't have his "A" game, but that is knowing how to pitch, not "knowing how to win". A pitcher can go out and pitch the best he can, be it with stuff, or with guile. Unfortunately, he is dependent on his team to win the game for him, because no matter how well he pitches, it won't put runs on the board. I am not one who dismisses all things that cannot be quantified. I believe a hitter can psyche himself out, or shrink his strike zone and become more selective in clutch situations. Clutch or not clutch has a very real explanation. But the whole notion of "knowing how to win" is bunk. Total, unadulterated myth. An attempt by some to inject more into the equation than is actually there. A pitcher can use any method, any strategy, any knowledge to shut down the opponent. But in the end, it's just knowing how to pitch. He won't ever win games on his own merit. There is no logical argument to the contrary.

You can use wins to evaluate a pitcher. But if you place the wins ahead of stats like WHIP, ERA+, etc., you are a fool. Wins can reflect a pitcher's ability, but they can also be incredibly deceiving. Ask 2005 Clemens, 2004 Johnson or 2003 Wood. Or Pettitte with NYY, who was average at best and won 20+ games. You can be a mediocre pitcher and get 20 wins, or a great pitcher and get 12 wins. Wins are an unreliable means of measuring a pitcher's effectiveness. There is no such thing as "knowing how to win". You do the best you can and hope your offense scores some runs.

Does he ever talk out of anything else? Actually he's been dead-on pretty often this offseason. Hopefully not this time. Gammons hasn't been around as much, someone has to break stories. Except Gammons breaks stories by reporting the opposite of what is actually going to happen.

At this point, I really don't want to see Jones traded.

I don't understand. Are you a barroid fan? No, I just don't care. Now the media's going to start up the whole 24/7 coverage of this again though, making it more difficult to avoid. No, it's Bonds. ESPN at least is going to do their best to ignore it. They'll acknowledge it (begrudgingly), but won't beat it like a dead horse the same way they would if it were nearly anyone else. ESPN still pimped Bonds after the leaked grand jury testimony, his trainer going to jail, etc. Then Bonds claims ignorance (as if a pro athlete doesn't ALWAYS know EXACTLY what he puts in/on his body). Now he is blaming it on Mark Sweeney. "Gee, I just grabbed a bottle from Mark's locker and took it. I didn't know what it was, it's not my fault." Yeah right. With every new development, it becomes clearer and clearer what a lousy human being Bonds is. He's a scumbag. If you ask me, his guilt is FAR more apparent than that of a guy like McGwire. Not only that, but Mac is a first rate person, while Bonds is a total cretin. If Mac doesn't get voted in, Bonds sure the hell shouldn't be.

Does he ever talk out of anything else? Actually he's been dead-on pretty often this offseason. Hopefully not this time.

:( I don't get it. IIRC, if he's put on the IR he can't come off until the next season. Meaning he wouldn't be able to play at all next year. He'll be back next season.. He's on IR for this season, not next. Even that quote just says that he won't be eligible to play before next season. In fact, the injury wasn't as bad as had been feared and he's ahead of schedule in his recovery. I know. I had thought it was pretty much a forgone conclusion Harris wouldn't play before next year anyway.

All of the above are horrible, making it hard to choose. I voted for McCarver, but also wanted to vote for Bill Walton, Buck and Morgan.

OSU - 42 FLA - 27

I didn't see him in the press conference. Was he in bad shape?

:( I would LOVE for the Bears to win, but the AFC is just too strong. I wouldn't have said that in week 5 or 6, but nothing I have seen is past month or two leads me to believe anything different. I am not going to go all Salisbury and say any of the AFC teams would win, but if it's the Chargers or Ravens, I can't see them losing to any of the NFC teams. As a Bears fan, the most I can hope for is that the Patriots or Colts make it.

I can't believe the "I hope his family doesn't live in Texas" thing. Are these fans deluded? They weren't going any further than next week even had they won. It's not like the guy cost them a Super Bowl win. All the NFC team are playing for is the right to get spanked by the Chargers or Ravens anyway.

Despite the drops and minimum receptions, he did look more serious in this game then he has in previous games. It was a big game, so it would be in his own best interest to perform, no? I am just saying he probably doesn't care about the loss beyond how it reflects on him personally. He said he felt like crying, yet he had the look of a guy who was deciding which nightclub to go to.

My thoughts: Dallas did not get hosed, the re-spot was good. I hate the Cowboys and Tony Romo, but can't help but feel a twinge of pity for him. Did anyone see TO on ESPNews saying he felt like crying? Right TO, as if you care.

A 5/70 contract can't be a millstone for a team with the payroll of the Red Sox. True enough. But when he is hurt, the BoSox fans are riding him like a rented mule and no one else will take him at that price, it may seem like it.

Matsuzaka, probably. Giving Drew 5/70 guaranteed is sheer stupidity. Same for Zito and his contract. All the others were pretty bad, but Zito and Drew will be millstones around the necks of their respective teams in short order.

Like I said, in their minds it's probably something else. But in reality, what they are after is average. They think 88/89 win seasons are great. They think contending within the division is admirable. They think Soriano is a whole lot more than he is. What is average in reality appears to be gold in the eyes of the Cubs. Striving for mediocrity implies intent. Clearly, the Cubs are not spending all these millions with the intent of being average. You can call their methodology lousy, and their philosophy garbage and their GM deluded, but to say they are "striving" to be average is just wrong. Because Hendry did his job so poorly over the past couple years, he put himself in the position of having a ton to spend with nothing to spend it on, while fighting for his job. Soriano is overrated and now overpaid, but he was the best position player on the market. By all accounts Schmidt wasn't going to leave the coast for anyone. Zito isn't worth a fraction of his contract. There really wasn't a lot Hendry could do that he didn't. With the premium put on pitching this offseason, you better believe a legit #2 and #3 would have cost the Cubs Pie, Veal, Pawalek, Gallagher and more. But of course, Jim helped put himself in this position. I just think it's sad that the Trib finally opened the vault when the store shelves were nearly bare.

people don't seem to be as giddy this offseason. Rightfully so. It's been a lot better than the previous two offseasons, for what that's worth. But it is coming of a season that was so much worse. That's true, but I don't recall too many being "giddy" since the 2003-04 offseason. It's been cautious optimism at best. At least after last year, we know the improvement won't have to be too great to win in this dumpster of a division, and it would take something utterly catastrophic for the Cubs to be as bad or worse than last year.

people don't seem to be as giddy this offseason. Rightfully so. It's been a lot better than the previous two offseasons, for what that's worth.

History is littered with players who had great physical tools and thunderously flopped in the pros. Russell is a specimen for sure, but I'd choose Quinn with no hesitation if I had to choose right now.

Comparing Sheets to Prior is a much more valid comparison than Sheets to Zambrano. And it's not like Ben's missed time was a straight shot. He missed starts in May of 05', in addition to his September. He missed starts in April, May, June and July of 2006, but he also made starts in April and May. It's not at all like a guy who has a straight 6 months of rehab and comes back. It's spotty, and reeks of a nagging injury.

i just read that on yahoo, some of you thought we had it bad with Lillys contract The number of years is bad on the Zito contract, the pay is not. With Lilly the number of years isn't so bad but the pay is. Zito will probably perform better given the dimensions of Pac Bell. I really worry about Lilly in the NL Central ballparks. So you think that Zito is worth 18 million a year? In this market, maybe. In a neutral market, I think Barry would be worth no more than 10-11 million per, tops. I'd rather have Lilly and his contract than Zito and the one he just got.