Transmogrified Tiger

Walker is a better offensive player than Soriano. His 45 point advantage in OBP is much greater than Soriano's 35-30 point SLG advantage. I know you've made that point before and you have the numbers which you believe establish and I do not want to recreate that thread but I remain steadfast in my opinion that your statement would be found incredible by most. How? It's been proven that a point of OBP is more valuable than SLG, and even if you count them equally Walker has an advantage in OPS. If you don't like OBP Walker had nearly 40 points of AVG on Walker. This doesn't even include that Soriano had astonishing discrepancies in his home/road splits, and he was worse than Neifi away from hitter's haven Ameriquest.

Walker is a better offensive player than Soriano. His 45 point advantage in OBP is much greater than Soriano's 35-30 point SLG advantage.

RJ Jackson should compete at RB, no? He should. LSU has had some very good recruting classes lately. While Sabean was there, they had their pick of the very best in Louisiana and made in-roads into Texas and Mississippi as well as the entire Gulf Coast. Hopefully, Miles will continue that. Whooping the dog mess out of Miami should help in the recruitment as well. Maybe Sabean should give up on the Giants and go back to football. I kinda see LSU as the new Texas, not that Texas has moved on or up though. They'll always have great talent, it's just a matter of are they going to screw up a game or two over the course of the season that'll keep them out of the NC hunt. Well...I'll admit LSU always seems to drop a game they shouldn't each year. But unlike Texas (at least for now), LSU does have a national championship in recent years. Absolutely, the comparison wasn't meant to be a bad thing. For the forseeable future, LSU should be a NC contender and a top 10 team. Talent shouldn't be a problem.

That's Thom Brenneman. And he's horrible with football. That's probably the 8th time I've made that mistake. I should've figured he couldn't do an NFL game yesterday then the Cotton bowl today.

RJ Jackson should compete at RB, no? He should. LSU has had some very good recruting classes lately. While Sabean was there, they had their pick of the very best in Louisiana and made in-roads into Texas and Mississippi as well as the entire Gulf Coast. Hopefully, Miles will continue that. Whooping the dog mess out of Miami should help in the recruitment as well. Maybe Sabean should give up on the Giants and go back to football. I kinda see LSU as the new Texas, not that Texas has moved on or up though. They'll always have great talent, it's just a matter of are they going to screw up a game or two over the course of the season that'll keep them out of the NC hunt.

Attention Joe Buck: there are not two quarterbacks named Brody Croyle playing in the Cotton bowl. Attention Texas Tech: please score a touchdown.

translation: the big ten has sucked the last 2 years because illinois has won it. despite putting 2 teams in the final four, the big ten sucked because illinois won it. illinois could win 8 national titles in a row and each of those 8 years would be a "down year for college basketball". what a joke. people are so afraid to give illinois any credit for anything they do. Do any group of fans whine more about "no respect" than Illinois fans? Who cares what people say, prove them wrong on the court, like Illinois has done the past couple years. If your wining it shouldn't matter what others say. The inferiority complex is getting old. this is a message board, the place for whining. and what's getting old is the repeated lack of respect for the illini, who, as you've said, should have earned it with their performances over the last few years. i don't know if the illini just aren't exciting enough for some people, or maybe it's that they don't have the program pedigree of an MSU or IU, or even an OSU, or maybe they don't like players who get angry with their girlfriends when refuse to watch roots--i don't know--you tell me. why do you think the illini get disrespected every year? I don't think they get disrespected every year. Everybody heaped praise on Illinois last year, and deservedly so. I don't think its a slap in the face to not predict them #1 in the conference this year. There are some very good teams in the Big10 this year. Hell, finishing 2nd or 3rd this year could still equal a top 10 team. Illinois is undefeated, but besides a win against a young (up and down) UNC team, who have they beaten? Xavier is a decent squad, but not top 25 material. They are a good team, but I don't think they are top 5 in the country good. Michigan state has had its ups and downs as well, same can be said for IU. But again, It wouldn't surprise me to see any of those teams win the conference. Nobody is out to get Illinois, picking them third still means they are a damn good team. i think that they've returned enough players from the 2004-2005 team to deserve respect as the #1 team in the conference until someone knocks them off. and i think it patronizing to tell the two-time returning big ten champs that a #3 finish would be at all validating. illinois hasn't finished below 2nd in the Big Ten standings since the 1999-2000 season. finishing below #1 would be a major disappointment for them and their fans. Seriously, it's hard to talk B10 hoops with you if you are going to be this paranoid about Illinois getting disrespected.

Do people not like Sammy so much that they go to lengths to bash him in his appreciation thread? If you don't miss Sammy, then maybe this isn't the thread for you. :? I miss the Sammy that hit lots of home runs.

Neifi Perez is/was a better offensive player than Ozzie Guillen. Think about that for a second.

You can't ignore his '05, especially since he's nearly 40.

Greenberg's HBP was a hired hit!

The BA book is under $20 before shipping at Amazon.

They're irrelevant to the current argument. You constantly claim that those players were claimed to be superstars by people on here, and constantly ignore the fact that the outrage is due to the crappy players that played instead of them.

And you know this how? Sorry, but you always seem to be calling people out for statements similar to this one. Calling people out? That's your opinion. I try to treat people with respect whether I agree with them or not. Dubois was traded because he was a bad defender. I think that speaks volumes. That and he couldn't hit a major league curve. He doesn't seem to be in Cleveland's plans either, along with other former Cub minor league phenoms, Cruz, Choi, Hill, Harris and others that many thought would be stars. Yes, all those other names are relevant. Do Hollandsworth, Karros, and Estes have better chances?

PICKED OFF BY TERRELL!!!

I have no idea why it took so long for King to break into the starting lineup, great read on the slant.

Hollandsworth and Dubois were identical in Rate last year, they weren't that much different defensively. That is not a good thing considering Dubois had fewer opportunities. The rate may have been identical at year's end but Dubois was worse by far. He rarely took a good route to a ball, he didn't throw accurately, and his misjudgements caused runs to score. Hollandsworth was a more consistent defender. Rate is an all-encompassing metric. I'm not saying it's gospel, but it's a misconception that Dubois was significantly worse than Hollandsworth defensively.

Thank you Brad Smith. And cripes Crossett, kick the ball straight.

Hollandsworth and Dubois were identical in Rate last year, they weren't that much different defensively.

There isn't a fullback on our roster.

I swear I'm taking Crossett's job next year, what a joke.

Time to fire up the Chase Connection.

As a team we finally passed him in total yardage, woohoo!

Well, if .319 + .418 = .800, then I wouldn't have made that statement. I think an OPS of .785 is perfectly reasonable to expect, and far more conservative than some others here have predicted for him. He put up a .907 OPS in 2005, and if you subract his bloop and nub hits, I think .785 is a realistic guess. A bit of fuzzy math on my part about the .800, but .785 would exceed my expectations. What would you expect? Roughly .280/.340/.420, not a substantial upgrade over last year.

I would not expect this year's total LF production to be significantly better than last year's total LF production. The Cubs LF put up .265 .319 .418 last sesaon, and while I would hope Murton can do better, somebody else is going to get a lot of time, and will probably drag down the number. If Murton gets the lion's share of the PT, I think it is perfectly reasonable to expect at least a .050 boost in OPS from LF. If being the operative word. I think it's far from certain that Murton will put up an .800 OPS. Well, if .319 + .418 = .800, then I wouldn't have made that statement. I think an OPS of .785 is perfectly reasonable to expect, and far more conservative than some others here have predicted for him. He put up a .907 OPS in 2005, and if you subract his bloop and nub hits, I think .785 is a realistic guess. A bit of fuzzy math on my part about the .800, but .785 would exceed my expectations.