Transmogrified Tiger

Wilson's arbitration eligible, I think 2nd year. There have been newspaper quotes that Wilson doesn't fit in with "Tracyball", which is apparently what Jim Tracy wants to do with the club.

His OBP and power are much tougher to ignore. K's are not a crippling negative.

They really must not like Craig Wilson. Go get him Hendry.

Bobby Hill is most similar at age 27 to Patsy Gharrity. :shock: I hope that's a dude. :D I guess its 20-20 hindsite, but I am not positive that Hill is/was a head-and-shoulders better pro than Harris was in 03'. Plus, sending him back down to the minors may have allowed him to maintain his value enough such that the Ramirez-Lofton deal got done. Had he languished on the bench in Chicago, his value might have dropped. Its probably too close to call. In Grissom's case, there seem to be better options. You don't think Hill was better than this: .183/.255/.229/.484 That's what Harris put up in around 145 PA's. You'd be very hard pressed to find someone worse.

We didn't offer Burnitz arbitration, we get nothing.

if you want me to stop, simply quit proving my point. with every word you write, it becomes more and more evident that you simply can't stand looking up at illinois in the standings. 1. redick is nowhere near the best player in the country, unless, by player, you mean best outside shooter--i wouldn't dispute that. he scores, but not much else, can't defend, can't pass, and can't run. his a/to ratio is significantly worse than dee's, anyone who drafts him is drafting a nice little steve kerr in the first round. watching him play in the NBA will be something to behold. your boy ager is a much better player than redick--but ager isn't the returning B10 POY, is he? 2. so augustine sets "laughably illegal screens", does he? so what? the best players in the country cheat-jj "the chosen one" redick is the biggest criminal in the nation in terms of pushing off. shelden williams routinely travels when he gets the ball. if you can get away with it, why not? he must be very adept in disguising his cheating, which is the mark of a great player. i'm not sure of your point on this one. so, we've decided that: redick is a great shooter, but otherwise can't run, pass, or defend in the league of dee brown, but not many in the country can, that's a fact; and augustine is a cheater, but gets away with it. i'm not sure why you keep bringing up redick, has this turned into a "my dad can't beat up your dad, but i know this guy down the street who can" argument? You disputed the Duke comparisons, and I replied. That's "keep bringing up Redick"? I never said anything about Redick being a great pro, and I can't stand him so I'll just leave it at you're selling the rest of his game short. I also never said that no one else cheats, but your rationale behind Augustine being a great screener was independent of the rest of the comparisons. I really don't want to get into whether I think Ager is better than Redick or Brown, since I can guarantee it will get twisted into something entirely different. And why do you keep throwing around Brown as the returning B10 POY? Will you acknowledge he hasn't been near the player he was last year yet? I'm done with this discussion, but I can already see that my last comment is yet another attempt to bash Illinois at every opportunity, despite it being factual and provoked, and despite the fact that I, Raw, and other non-Illinois supporters have already said that Illinois is very good, may or probably will win the B10, etc.

3.65 the last 2 years, 3.64 career. That was 95th among qualified hitters. 95th best or 95th worst? Oh yeah, thanks! 95th of 148 Is that with 450 AB's or more or whatever it takes to be eligible to win the batting title? yes

3.65 the last 2 years, 3.64 career. That was 95th among qualified hitters. 95th best or 95th worst? Oh yeah, thanks! 95th of 148

I was thinking about that; it may be a faulty comparison. Who was Harris in competition with for the last roster spot; in other words who got cut or sent AAA in favor of Harris that year? May be Harris was the better option or it was "six of one, half-dozen of the other". Bobby Hill Harris wasn't the better option.

He would not be at the end of the bench. He'll be 39 years old. He doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt that he'll go back to the way he once was. His age 38 season was awful, and while it may be due, in part, to being injured, that's what you expect from mediocre players as they get old. And if you look at Dusty's history there is no way he properly uses Grissom in a platoon with Jones, none. Jones is the starting RF, he'll play almost every day if healthy this year. And I'm not saying that he does deserve the assumption that last year was a fluke and he'll automatically be healthy and albe to hit lefties well again. This goes back to the fact that it's a minor league contract and he'll have to EARN a roster spot. And this goes back to the fact that he's an ancient veteran who will only have to be able to stand upright to "earn" the spot. :roll: You're entitled to your own opinion. One that's already been proven by the previously outlined Lenny Harris situation. And one that's been disproven by the Dave Hansen, Trenidad Hubbard, Jimmy Anderson and countless others situation. Hansen got sick(and could actually hit), Hubbard was a minor leaguer to begin with, and the pitching rotation is an entirely different animal.

3.65 the last 2 years, 3.64 career. That was 95th among qualified hitters.

He would not be at the end of the bench. He'll be 39 years old. He doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt that he'll go back to the way he once was. His age 38 season was awful, and while it may be due, in part, to being injured, that's what you expect from mediocre players as they get old. And if you look at Dusty's history there is no way he properly uses Grissom in a platoon with Jones, none. Jones is the starting RF, he'll play almost every day if healthy this year. And I'm not saying that he does deserve the assumption that last year was a fluke and he'll automatically be healthy and albe to hit lefties well again. This goes back to the fact that it's a minor league contract and he'll have to EARN a roster spot. And this goes back to the fact that he's an ancient veteran who will only have to be able to stand upright to "earn" the spot. :roll: You're entitled to your own opinion. One that's already been proven by the previously outlined Lenny Harris situation.

NFC Wild Card round: #5 Panthers at #4 Giants #6 Redskins at #3 Buccaneers AFC Wild Card round: #5 Jaguars at #4 Patriots #6 Steelers at #3 Bengals NFC Divisional round: #3 Buccaneers at #2 Bears #5 Panthers at #1 Seahawks AFC Divisional round: #5 Jaguars at #2 Broncos #6 Steelers at #1 Colts NFC Championship: #3 Buccaneers at #1 Seahawks AFC Championship: #5 Jaguars at #1 Colts Super Bowl: #3 Buccaneers vs. #1 Colts at Detroit In Chris Simms we trust. Or bust, or something.

He would not be at the end of the bench. He'll be 39 years old. He doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt that he'll go back to the way he once was. His age 38 season was awful, and while it may be due, in part, to being injured, that's what you expect from mediocre players as they get old. And if you look at Dusty's history there is no way he properly uses Grissom in a platoon with Jones, none. Jones is the starting RF, he'll play almost every day if healthy this year. And I'm not saying that he does deserve the assumption that last year was a fluke and he'll automatically be healthy and albe to hit lefties well again. This goes back to the fact that it's a minor league contract and he'll have to EARN a roster spot. And this goes back to the fact that he's an ancient veteran who will only have to be able to stand upright to "earn" the spot.

i would argue that not picking them #1 until they prove that they aren't is a knock on them. one can't some out and say "illinois isn't good". that would be lunacy. what they say is "illinois is going to finsih third and they're going to have to like it." as i've said, illinois has turned over their team a couple of times without finishing lower than second. So, should UNC be #1 this year? By that logic it would seem they would be. They lost players as did U of I. It's not the same team that won it last year, that's why they aren't picked to win. So why was Duke selected as preseason number one. They return a guard who has less talent than Dee Brown, and a center who has more than James Augustine. Demarcus Nelson is pretty much Brian Randle. Paulus and McRoberts were highly touted, but so was Shavlik. Before the year how did they know what these guys would be? Who said Duke deserved to be number 1? But if you have to compare them to U of I, Redick is much better than Brown, and Williams is much better than Augustine. Their recruits are ranked higher than U of I, and most importantly, they are DUKE, who the media loves to pump up at every opportunity. And don't use that as an opportunity to use that as a platform to claim Illinois is underappreciated, because then that claim is made about every team in America. well, as far as proving my point is concerned: you certainly never pass up a chance to take a shot at an illini player. dee's not the shooter that redick is, no doubt. but in addition to winning the POY, dee was B10 DPOY as well. unless you want to consider defense as not being half of the game. i don't think many would compare the low-post abilities of williams and augustine, but augustine is the better perimeter player, runs the court better, and, as bilas pointed out, may be the best screen player in the country. williams may have the edge defensively, but augustine is no slouch, either. there IS most definitely a comparison there. He's the one that started the ridiculous comparisons, and I hardly see what I said as "taking a shot". If claiming Brown isn't as good as (arguably) the best player in the country, and that Augustine isn't as good as one of the best inside presences around, then I guess I'm taking a pot shot at them. And yes, Brown is a better defender, but not so much more that he's on the same plane as Redick. Williams is better than Augustine, and (BIAS ALERT)Augustine sets some of the most laughably illegal screens in the country. I'll ask it again, is it possible to discuss B10 basketball without having several Illini fans jump off the deep end with an inferiority complex?

You shouldn't be. If he's truly the 5th or 6th option off the bench, Hendry has done another terrible job putting together the bench. What is more likely is that he'd be the 8th or 9th best option, but Dusty would bump him up the list due to service time. Give me a break. If he's the 5th or 6th option off the bench that means that he's the 25th man on the roster. What exactly do you want out of the 25th man? Why do I have to give you a break? My point is that if he makes the team, he will likely do it due more to age than ability. That would be bad for the team. And while he might be designated as the 25th man by some, he'll get a lot more playing time than a 25th man should, as he'll likely become the 4th starter, subbing for Murton more than he should, and coming up in big pinch hit spots when a real pinch hitter should be in there. Grissom is about the 29th man on a good team, he could easily become Dusty's go to guy off the bench if/when Neifi gets a starting gig. It just seems that you have unreasonably high expectations for the guy at the end of the bench. That's all I meant by that. 29th man on a good team? Yeah, I guess if you only look at his injury riddled season last year. If you choose to look at his splits over the previous several years though, and you consider how terrible Jones is against lefties, I wouldn't come to that conclusion. You can't just ignore that he was an offensive embarrassment with injury problems last year at age 39. With those circumstances, there's a very real possibility he'll never return to those previous splits.

Lenny Harris hit .262/.295/.357/.652 in ST of '03 and still made the team. Grissom had a hamstring strain last year, I don't know if that was his only injury. Yeah, but in fairness, Harris is and was a pinch hitting extraordinare. A quick check of his game log showed that Harris started 25 of his 62 games for the Cubs.

Lenny Harris hit .262/.295/.357/.652 in ST of '03 and still made the team. Grissom had a hamstring strain last year, I don't know if that was his only injury.

Hunter Cantwell did a great job for Louisville...he's about as tough as they come. What a way to step up in a pressure situation. And Marcus Vick is a punk with absolutely no class. How can everyone in the world see him stomp his cleat into Dumervil's calf but none of the officials did? What a loser...... He just got out of prison so maybe he thought Dumervil was going to take his smokes? I can't believe Syracuse knocked your QB out for the year. :x Well, I forgive Syracuse....but not the turf...that's what happened to Broehm. His cleat got stuck and that's when he twisted his knee... Turf shoes....

The way I see it, Texas's defense stands a much better shot of stopping USC's offense than the other way around. USC has been giving up points all year long, and for all the talk about the O at USC, Texas puts up points like no other.

i would argue that not picking them #1 until they prove that they aren't is a knock on them. one can't some out and say "illinois isn't good". that would be lunacy. what they say is "illinois is going to finsih third and they're going to have to like it." as i've said, illinois has turned over their team a couple of times without finishing lower than second. So, should UNC be #1 this year? By that logic it would seem they would be. They lost players as did U of I. It's not the same team that won it last year, that's why they aren't picked to win. So why was Duke selected as preseason number one. They return a guard who has less talent than Dee Brown, and a center who has more than James Augustine. Demarcus Nelson is pretty much Brian Randle. Paulus and McRoberts were highly touted, but so was Shavlik. Before the year how did they know what these guys would be? Who said Duke deserved to be number 1? But if you have to compare them to U of I, Redick is much better than Brown, and Williams is much better than Augustine. Their recruits are ranked higher than U of I, and most importantly, they are DUKE, who the media loves to pump up at every opportunity. And don't use that as an opportunity to use that as a platform to claim Illinois is underappreciated, because then that claim is made about every team in America.

I don't know if it was his senior year or his "5th" high school year. Either way though, Ginn didn't do that, he was a public HS guy all the way through.

Ridiculous. It's more of a knock to the rest of the B10 to have that attitude.

I'm really disappointed that I missed most of the second half of the Fiesta and most of the Sugar being in Airports around the midwest. Especially this Georgia comeback. Oh, and FYI AJ Hawk is dating Brady Quinn's sister.

This may be true if things like speed and actually being on the field didn't matter. Walker's managers DO PH (remember he's lefty only), PR (he's 2/6 in SB in the last 3 years) and sub for him on defense (while Soriano's mgrs leave him in). And Walker gets hurt while Soriano doesn't. What you get then are the subs totals added to Walker's. That and the kind of difference that 30SB in 32 attemps can make means this isn't even close. Metrics like Runs Created include SB, and Walker still tops Soriano as a rate. You can't punish Walker for getting leg-whipped by Carlos Lee, or for the incompetency of managers.