Transmogrified Tiger

1:00 class with computers that I do stuff on during class anyways = gameday until class is over

Agreed. That crowd was so jacked up when he hit that. I thought for sure the game was going to the Cubs after that. I'll never forget Len Kasper saying that Wood's home run was the loudest crowd he's ever heard. Now excuse me while I go puke for a moment. Uh, Kasper wasn't around back then.

What are the good moves that he makes? Putting his team in the best position is what he's supposed to do, anything less than that is him hurting the team. That's why the manager can do little to help and a lot to hurt.

Not with all the time Wood and Prior will miss :( With them missing a bunch of time Z is our only big HR threat from the staff. I dunno, Maddux and Rusch can both swing the bat pretty well. On the other hand, Marshall doesn't inspire much confidence with his career .322 OPS(15 PA's, but still...)

while I don't know what the Indian's bench situation is, I know many people around here would be going ballistic over this move. A bench role is much different than a starting role. Also consider that the Tribe are an AL team that doesn't have to use it's bench as much, and according to some friends I talked to when I was up there this week, Gutierrez and Snyder are close to being ready in the corner OF where they have Michaels and Blake now. In addition, going by ESPN it looks like they are only carrying one backup outfielder, so the ability to play all 3 OF positions(even though Michaels can play CF as well) is more valuable in this instance. Cleveland also has the benefit of seeing all of last year's performance from Dubois. Sorry for the hodgepodge of thoughts.

There is absolutely such thing as winning despite the manager. It's unfortunate for those who hold the position, but managers can't do a whole lot to help a team. They can do plenty to handicap, but outside of instruction(which a manager doesn't do a whole lot of anyways), there's very little they can do. If Dusty starts 9 pitchers in the lineup and we win 1-0 because Zambrano went the distance and hit a home run, I'd say we won in spite of the manager's foolishness. The same thing applies to a much lesser degree when managers do stupid things like ignore L/R splits or OBP, or favor some players over another without valid reason. Also, evaluating a combination of 2 hitters by W/L record says nothing. Comparing Neifi/Patterson and Hairston/Patterson is easy, it's simply Hairston v. Neifi. And offensively there's no contest, Hairston is the far superior hitter, and much better suited to hit at the top of the lineup.

Rowand is their CF. Victorino probably goes back to the minors or is wasted as the 5th OF. Ack, forgot about Rowand. Dellucci seems excessive, wonder why they picked him up. They paid a decent price for him.

Are they unhappy with Victorino? I can't imagine Dellucci replacing Burrell or Abreu.

12 teams, HR, RBI, SB, BB, AVG, OPS, W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP, K/BB C Varitek 1B Dunn 2B Roberts SS Peralta 3B Wright OF Giles OF Drew OF Holliday Util N. Johnson Util DeJesus BN Michaels BN Willingham BN L. Gonzalez (Col) SP Peavy SP Zambrano SP Hudson P Linebrink P Betancourt RP Nathan RP Gordon BN Blanton BN Shields At first glance I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I think you have a pretty good team. Not fantastic, but far from mediocre.

The Cubs were using as a starter for a few games in the minors last year. He started 3 games, and relieved in 30.

I would think Ardasma and his 99mph fastball and knucklecurve. Aardsma at 99 mph? McKamey's prospect book has him 88-95 on the FB.

Dusty takes old hitters from scrap heaps and helps make them better. TLR does it with the pitchers. They have a lot in common in a lot of ways. What hitters are those? In either case, I'd have to give more credit to Duncan and the hitting coaches than the manager.

Nothing quite like Bhogg starting a game thread.

Are you sure about this?

I can't believe that Koronka is the best they could do. It's just impossible.

Go Vance go!

Wuertz is a guy we need to keep in there. He has good stuff, and misses more bats than just about anyone. There's a lot pointing toward him being a very good reliever in the future. Aardsma gave up a ton of baserunners at AA and doesn't have better stuff than Wuertz.

Lee only puts up good OBP numbers in even numbered years. Don't wait til next year to get him, not that I really am interested in him.

I have not read the book, but here's my take on Baker and LaRussa. Baker does a pretty good job of letting his offense go without meddling. LaRussa isn't as good at this, but he's no Guillen either. LaRussa has shown a willingness to try new lineups, the pitcher hitting 8th during McGwire's time comes to mind. Dusty is traditional to a fault with his lineups, leading to acquisitions based on lineup spot rather than offensive ability. There are pros and cons to both of these. Dusty runs his starting pitchers into the ground, one of his worst traits. I don't really know that much about LaRussa in that respect, maybe one of our resident Cards fans can elaborate. Dusty and TLR both live and die by the Lefty/Righty bullpen matchups. Dusty follows them almost blindly(see Remlinger and Farnsworth). TLR I'm not as familiar with, but he is ridiculously obsessive with L/R matchups, using 3 and 4 relievers in an inning even when not necessary. From my experience, LaRussa is better with younger players than Baker. In the past you've seen TLR ride the hot streaks of Bo Hart and John Rodriguez, although with the way the Cards organization is run you don't see a lot of top prospects trying to get time. Dusty's preference for veterans is well documented. He's shown he will stick with a veteran guaranteed to give you poor performance over a younger player who is an unknown. Other factors include LaRussa being much more vocal/whiny with opponents and umpires, and Dusty's "player's manager" reputation, what it entails and if it's deserved

haha, what in the world is a post-season workhorse

me too

I'm a big fan of Gomes.

Is this a 40 team keeper league? No love for the stolen base? As far as I can tell, both are mid-second round guys in a 12 team league. I'm far from a fantasy aficionado, but SB is only one category. With your second pick, I'd be looking for someone who can help you in multiple areas, like a stud OF or SP.

I agree with your point about Marshall's lack of experience, I just found it funny that you didn't think of Dontrelle in your original post. I don't really consider Willis to be a "Cubs minor leaguer" since he pitched all of 121 innings with us before being traded. Willis also had a sub 1.50 ERA in his short stint in AA. As opposed to his 66 IP in the Marlins system?