dime

wow, just got back to this thread. lot of fumin going on! no, I don't think it's wrong to criticize authority, I do it all the time. what I was referring to was the blindly partisan presumptions, hindsight and just plain hatred that I see on this board so frequently. the manager, the GM, and certain players are savaged EVERY DAY, simply because the sun has come up again. any successes are ignored or belittled, because certain posters are afraid to be objective or give credit when it's due -- they feel it would weaken their position. that is not meaningful criticism or thoughtful debate. it's churlish, knee-jerk vitriol...why should I respect that? if that means I should be banned for having a more discriminating outlook on things, so be it. cyber-lynchings aren't my thing, and I don't need to be assimilated to feel validated.

the short answer is that some people will always criticize those above them (fav team's manager, GM, boss at work, etc.) because in their mind, criticism is a sign of intelligence...and they want everyone (especially everyone on the internet) to know how smart they are, especially in comparison to the manager/GM/boss/president, etc. it's like those kids movies where all the adults ignore the kid and the kid ends up solving the crime all by himself, winning adoration and respect from those dumb-dumb grown ups!

the difference is that erstad didn't make a big show of apologizing after trying to knock the guy out -- he's not a hypocrite. I'm glad we are now aware of the "danger" of questioning sammy sosa's "class". ...what?

so...was it bill james or theo epstein who thought edgar renteria was worth $40 million? :P

I'd trade hill for kearns before I trade hill for dunn. easily.

whether or not the a's needed to deal hudson is one issue. whether or not they needed to deal him for a journeyman and a B-grade pitching prospect is another. I wonder if schuerholtz used anything he read about in "moneyball" to snooker beane? it should be pretty obvious that beane valued cruz a lot more than schuerholtz did...and valued hudson much less. why?

Avenger, I see your point...but conversely, I was suggesting the reds would be more likely to trade kearns for less value to a team other than the cubs just to "punish" him.

before we get too enamored with hill, let's remember the lineup he was pitching to last night.

the problem is that the reds are the kind of organization that would cut off the nose to spite the face. they may not entertain a deal with the cubs simply BECAUSE kearns has publicly said he'd like to play for them. kearns and reds mgmt have had an ugly relationship the last couple years.

you gotta be kidding me. I know you some of you have an allegiance to billy beane, but this is a ridiculous series of implied conclusions. - Tim Hudson's career ERA+ is 138. He is an established pitcher who supplies a lot of quality innings at the top of a big-league rotation. - Juan Cruz is "dominating" AAA? HE'S TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OLD! His ERA in oakland this year? 8.49 - Dan Meyer is either injured or just not a good pitcher: 55 IP, 67 H, 27 BB, 12 HR to date I don't see how you can suggest Beane didn't get the worst of this deal. They'd give Cruz and Meyer back for Hudson in a heartbeat...but at this point I don't think they'd get anything more than a AAA reliever for either of these guys.

just think how good they'd be if they hadn't given away tim hudson!

I bet julio franco wishes farnsworth was still in the NL. what pitch would you look for here? 13th fastball in a row? yep!

the only worry is that dunn is likely as good as he's going to get...so banking on improvements in his performance is not a good idea. that said, he'd be a real nice #5/6 hitter to pencil in even if he doesn't get any better for the next 3-4 years.

I'd be interested to see the last time Matheny hit 5th in the lineup...I'm guessing he was about 17 years old when it happened.

brewers come back from a 4-0 deficit tonight to beat the cards. that ridiculous Cardinal luck/mystique/destiny/whatever saw them start Hector Luna and "John Rodriguez" at the corner OF spots...and get 3 hits and a walk out of them. :roll: