Tim

Once again... there is no need to "re-sign" Walker. The Cubs hold an option on him that merely needs to be exercised. He's with the team if the team wants him.

Voros work says that pitchers can't control whether or not a ball lands as a hit once it is put into play. However, the defense can influence that rate (as can the park).

BTW - I really don't see Nomar as an option at 2B. The sidearm throwing motion would be awful for taking a throw from SS and trying to turn two.

I'm now 1-7 in achieving quality starts this week. My sole remaining hope being Cain, who is pitching at Coors today. Incredible that I'm even close in this matchup.

Pudge is gunning for the all time record this year in fewest walks taken per plate appearance. He's the leader, but there's still a week to go for people to pitch around him somehow. Two words: No Thanks.

That is a Cubs option, btw, so Walker doesn't have any choice about coming back if the Cubs want him. And that's the question. It's not a question for me, though, as I exercise the option the first day I can and bring back Todd for 2006.

:D Freaking yeah. I note that your sig has changed, though Tsk tsk, lawyers who steal sigs. I bet that's a copyrighted image, too.

Not only did Dusty let Nen ruin his career in order to reap the benefits, the very next season he continually put Wood out there for extended outings even when it was obvious his effectiveness in subsequent games was hurt by it. When a pitcher has lingering effects from one long outing to his subsequent outings, it seems obvious that you stop running him out there for 130 pitches at a time. But no...the team was in the playoff hunt and Dusty just couldn't back off using up a pitcher for the long-term good of the franchise. It's not a one time thing. It's a pattern with him that is going to continue as long as he manages. He learned nothing with Nen and I doubt he's learned with Wood. The in-game strategy, the lineups and the difficulty in breaking in rookie position players are all good reasons for getting rid of Dusty, but in my opinion they are balanced by his strengths in getting older players to overperform. However, his willingness to trash a pitcher's career for the short term playoff chase (flags fly forever!!!!) is why he shouldn't manage in the big leagues again.

So the theory of evolution has not been forced on students in school? Say what you want about the evidence supporting it and what have you, but the fact remains that there are plenty of people that do not believe in evolution that have it thrown at them every day in school/college. There will always be things forced on others... that'll never change. They force the theory of gravity on kids at school, too. What a shame.

When did Shelton become bloody superman?!? I thought he had been mired in a dreadful slump. And, on the week, I have six starts, six losses. Pretty darned good ratio.

My current contract with my hosting company runs out on Oct 12th and I caan't get away from this server fast enough. I am looking for alternative hosting companies but I think I've learned my lesson about going with the cheap alternatives - you get what you pay for. I'm currently looking at a company called Rackspace. They seem to have an excellent reputation in the marketplace and they offer a lot more support service than most companies. Which is a good thing since I'm not a real webmaster and I really can't afford one for the site. For example, after all this time, I still don't know why the site gets the periodic connection error issue or how to stop it. I think these guys could help out with that. The issue, of course, is cost. I'm looking at a minimum of $400 / month for the server with Rackspace, which is 4x the cost of a "bargain" hosting company. I need to make a decision soon, though, as I want to be able to make the transition as seemlessly as possible for everyone. So I've got a couple questions I'd like to ask everyone: 1) Has anyone had any experience with Rackspace? If so, can you relate whether or not their support is as good as their sales and marketing says it is? 2) Does anyone know of another company that offers managed, dedicated hosting that is less expensive? 3) Does anyone know someone that might want to advertise on NSBB? I'm looking for answers by mid-day on Monday, so any feedback you can give would be appreciated as soon as possible. Thanks!

Someting to do with a Goat, a Black Cat, a Steve Garvey and a Will Clark. Or the fact that Farnsworth has Leo Mazzone as his pitching coach now. Yeah...but that's boring :lol: He was pitching just about as well in Detroit, so you can't use Leo to explain all his success. I think the fact of the matter is simple and I outlined it last year, over this winter and at the time of the trade. Farnsworth cannot handle a heavy workload. He puts too much effort into his delivery and his recovery time is too long. Detroit was careful early in the season not to overwork him and he's had a successful year. Huh. Who knew?

Before Batista's implosion the past few weeks, we each had three of the top 20 relievers in the game. Cordero's been #1 all season long and Izzy's been great when the Cards have given him opportunities. I figured you had an edge in the pen, but I didn't think it was a big one. Of course, I've got the coldest closer in baseball right now and I wouldn't be surprised to see him relieved of those duties next week. With any luck, they'll put him on the DL and I can move Hansen into my lineup. On the six inning thing - sorting the stats by QS gives me the impression that my guys should be a whole lot more likely to put that out than your guys. Oh well, there's still time, as you say.

What makes you think Corey isn't going to be awful again next season? Nothing but the knowledge that he's a much better player than he's shown this season. And I firmly believe that Lofton could really fall off a cliff at any time, too. In general, I'd rather be hoping that a young player will recapture his form from the past couple of years than hope an old player doesn't experience the decline his peripheral numbers point to. Even if Corey recaptures his "form" where looking at a guy who strikes out way too much, doesn't get on base, can't sacrafice a runner, and makes dumb mistakes on the basebaths all for around what close to 3 million nexr year? Please guys this kid has to thing about playing winter ball this offseason after he turned it past offseasons. Let the love affair end. LOL. I think people are mis-interpreting my position. In my original statement above, I meant the comparison of Lofton to Corey to show just how low my expectations were for Kenny in '06. I did not mean that comparison to show how high my expectations were for Corey.

My pitching is just killing me. Offense totals: NSBB: 118.0 GHS: 122.75 Starting Pitching: NSBB: 27.2 (5 starts) GHS: 43.25 (5 starts) Relief Pitching: NSBB: 0.05 GHS: 22.25 My offense is hanging right in there, which is about what it should be between these two teams. Our totals for the year were very similar. However, my pitching, by far the best of any team in the regular season, has just sucked rocks.

What makes you think Corey isn't going to be awful again next season? Nothing but the knowledge that he's a much better player than he's shown this season. And I firmly believe that Lofton could really fall off a cliff at any time, too. In general, I'd rather be hoping that a young player will recapture his form from the past couple of years than hope an old player doesn't experience the decline his peripheral numbers point to.

I'd really rather give Corey another shot than going with Lofton. Heck, I'd rather give JHJr CF next year than Lofton.

If Carp doesn't straighten out, the Cards and I may both come up short of our goals.

It was someone else questioning Jim's dedication to the cause, not you. And I said that overall, Hendry's tenure has been a success. I wouldn't term 2005 to be a successful year, either. Even in my more generous definition.

That just says that the stuff is still there, but he's not as sharp with his location. Sometimes he's missing off the plate, but sometimes he's catching way too much of the zone. Wouldn't that statement be true of most pitchers who's ERA is high? The second part of the statement is really meant to be considered to be in combination with the first part. Given his K/9 and BAA, Prior's stuff is still way above average. He just has been susceptible to grooving more pitches than in the past. It goes hand in hand with the walk totals. With his stuff, all he has to do is get ahead of hitters, and the ace shows up. The home runs would argue otherwise. No pitcher in MLB has stuff good enough that it can be thrown right down the middle and not get punished.

Ah, but I never contended that Hendry has been a raging success. All I've contended is that he has done, on balance, more right than wrong. And that he has tried to make this a better team. I do not personally agree with all the moves he's made or his complete faith in Baker. But there are far worse GM's out there. And I don't personally believe that only the team that wins the world series in any given year has been successful. Success, to me, isn't an either/or proposition. In my view, Hendry's tenure has not been close to a failure. It has been a success in many ways. However, I am nowhere close to satisfied with where the team is at and I honestly believe that some of the things that we have recommended would have worked out far better than what Hendry actually has done during his reign.

Just Premium, I believe. Or maybe not. :?

Sweet! The ad is doing its job then! :D Serously, thank you for joining.

The fundamental responsibility that Hendry has is to continually increase the talent level of the team and organization, as well as position it for future success. Let's focus on the position players here... He inherited a team in 2002 that was one of the oldest in the majors and based around a fading superstar. That team only won 67 games. Since then, he has not only led the team to the playoffs, but has also turned the team around so that it is based nearly entirely on players at or below 30 years in age. He has assembled a core group of players that are young and that can be built around for the future. It is true that the team was in the playoffs in 2003 and then missed the playoffs in 2004. So it may look like the team declined. However, the team in 2004 was actually stronger than the one in 2003, both in record and in talent. What other teams do is outside of Hendry's control. All he can do is make the team better from year to year. He has done that more often than not so far during his tenure. To say that he's reluctant or unwilling to fix the team is ridiculous. You may not agree with the choices he's made. But to deny his intentions or effort is flat out being blind to what is going on.

I'm not sure what kind of support you could possibly have for such a statement. The team went from 88 to 89 to desperate for 80 wins. I don't know how a GM can do more good than bad and have his team get worse. If I look at the structure of the team today and compare it to the structure of the team at the beginning of 2003, I'd say he's improved the overall talent level and condition of the team (including age of core, etc.). Talent is worthless without production. The team has gotten worse under his watch. But Hendry didn't take over an 88 win team. He inherited a 67 win team at the end of 2002, didn't he? 80 is still greater than 67, isn't it? Yes, however it's less than 89. The team keeps getting worse under Hendry's watch, and yet he seems reluctant or just plain unwilling to do anything to fix it. They must have changed math since I went to school. 67 - 88 - 89 - ~79 == "keeps getting worse"? I count two increases in record and one decrease. How is that, "keeps getting worse"? Hyperbole is not your friend when putting together a convincing argument.