Transmogrified Tiger

Hmm. When I right-click on the picture, there is no "copy image location" option. There a "copy" option, but that's it. i'm using firefox As you should be.

Because his famed forkballs turned out to be as straight as Hawkins' fastballs. That re-tread should NOT be brought back to the Cub organization. At the time of the trade he was more hittable than previously, but it was only like 25 innings. Gordon's been a pretty good reliever for a very long time. I don't know how much he has left in the tank, especially after this year, but he's not a re-tread by any means.

If family/location is the big concern, how could Boston, Houston or STL be ahead of the Cubs? They win? They don't win THAT much more, it's not like the Cubs are the Devil Rays. Plus, Boston has no place to put Giles unless he or Nixon are moving to CF. I have doubts about Houston being able to afford an 8 figure Free Agent, they have 55 mil in 5 players, and that doesn't include Clemens plus Arby raises for Ensberg and Lidge. STL doesn't have the cash to offer that we do either, although they have more flexibility than Houston.

Didn't I read that the guy they're sending to work with Ramirez is the same guy that worked with Colon?

Hmmm, 3/24 maybe? Like many things this offseason, it would depend how the rest of the offense is shaping out. I wouldn't sign him. What would you do with him in 2007 or 2008, when Pie will likely be here? Move him to the corner? That's a valid point, but I don't think even with a player of Pie's talent that you can guarantee that he'll be up. However, that is worth considering in the FA market, which is another reason not to sign Damon. On the other hand, Pie wouldn't prevent me from trading for Milton Bradley.

Good point.

I wouldn't even think about that trade. But Giles is better than Walker. He's faster. Better defensively. Walker has better power and patience. I'd say it's a push. IsoP Giles: .170 Walker: .169 IsoD Giles: .074 Walker: .050 I love Walker, but Giles is pretty much superior in every aspect.

Hmmm, 3/24 maybe? Like many things this offseason, it would depend how the rest of the offense is shaping out.

Exactly. If I invest $10m over multiple years in a player I want Top 3 production from his position in the league, for the length of the contract. Damon won't deliver that. Give me a list of ten players who have in the last 10 years produced in the top 3 for his position every single year of the contract and had a top 5 salary for the position. Good luck. When was the last time a player of Damon's caliber got 8 figures? There can't be more than a couple since the market settled down several years ago. Renteria, Garret Anderson, Kendall maybe? All 3 of those are pretty bad contracts.

By the way, if you've got 30+ pages you need to get Premium! Best bargain on the 'net. :) ha ha, right on! I have premium...but I don't get it :-k This thread is only 23 pages long for you I see. I am assuming it is the ads that make it longer. I think Premium pages have 20 posts, and Regular UI pages have 15.

It depends on which ad gets clicked. Google doesn't say which ads are worth what amount. It also gets blended with ads one which I get paid per view instead of per click. In general, though, it's like $0.10 - $0.20 per click or something like that. But I get docked if I get one person clicking like mad -- in fact, I'd probably have my account cancelled. That's why I just recommend that everyone not on premium try to find one ad a day that appeals to them and check it out. When I've talked with Google, they say most sports sites get around a 1% click through rate. I typically hover around 0.1%. I was getting around 0.3% in September, which is part of what made me optimistic about being able to afford this server. If I open an ad in a new tab in Firefox, do you get credit for the click?

I can't answer any of those since I'm terrible at trivia(my age doesn't help), but here's one that someone should be able to get this one. This Cub turned an unassisted triple play, but not in a Cub uniform.

I think that was game 4, which we lost anyway. We actually won Game 4, and I think that was the Lofton catch game because didn't Ramirez hit the grand slam a short time later? Ramirez hit his Grand Slam in like the second inning of an earlier game I thought. I'm positive the Grand Slam was in Florida, and I think that Lofton's catch was back in Chicago.

What does he have to do? Signal an out? Oh wait, he did that. Then tell me how a catcher knows he made a signal? He has to yell he's out too. Again, if Eddings didn't make that sign, then Escobar would've gone to the ball and thrown AJP out easily. He said it was his third strike call and Escobar assumed wrong. You say "assumed", I say "following his motions from the entire game".

What does he have to do? Signal an out? Oh wait, he did that. Then tell me how a catcher knows he made a signal? He has to yell he's out too. Again, if Eddings didn't make that sign, then Escobar would've gone to the ball and thrown AJP out easily.

Like I said earlier, whether Paul sees the call or rolls the ball too early is irrelevant. If Paul screwed up and Eddings didn't make the out sign, then Escobar gets the ball and throws out AJP by 5 steps. But he did make the out sign so the infield rightfully thought it was an out.

I, for one, am not. I've said multiple times that he isn't great. He's put together some fantastic seasons, and he's capable of putting together a great career. But he's got drawbacks. He's not a rubber arm. He's not a great 2 inning reliever. He's a great option to have in the pen, but you have to use him carefully and smartly. You really have to monitor him and stick to the gameplan. No, you're not. Like you said, if used correctly, Farnsworth is very good. I agree completely. I don't agree with this completely. What in my post was an "unreasonable bitter diatribe?" I like Farnsworth, he's just not perfect. That is what I said -- if it came off a different way, I'm sorry, but that's what I meant. Also, I don't want to carry the torch for "clutch" arguments, nor do I want to pile on Farnsworth for the HR's he gave up against Houstion. Like I said, I'm kind of doubtful of clutch, though I certainly believe players aren't robots. However, 1) pressure situations in the regular season? C'mon, that's no where near the same thing and you know it. 2) I think most have agreed that when he gets in trouble, he really gets in trouble and 3) He pitched great for the Cubs in the playoffs, but not as closer. Why does that matter? I have NO idea. But it mattered to Hawkins. It may have mattered to Farnsworth. Is it rational? Probably not, but it seems something is there. PS Sorry, I'm not really sure how to quote from two sources correctly. Sorry, I wasn't talking about you when mentioning the "diatribes", more of the things said earlier. Again though, aside from those couple outings, which he has twice as many with amazing success in the playoffs, where is the evidence that he gets into trouble when it matters?

Regardless of whether or not he saw the signal he was called out by the umpire. If the Angels actually heard "You're out" then they have a 100% legit beef. If they assumed they heard it then we have a problem. I'm curious on what Paul heard. Why is it necessary to have the visual and audible confirmation? Paul's the only one within 60 feet, and the infield's all about 100+ feet away. With the noise level of the crowd, you can't expect the fielders to hear something the umpire says through a mask. Again I'll say it, if Eddings doesn't signal AJP out, then Escobar would've gotten to the ball and thrown him out by 5 steps.

Doesn't an ump yell you're out? Like was brought up earlier, the customary thing on a swing and miss for strike three is to assume that the person is out, but if the umpire yells that the ball hit the ground, then it's to be played out.

In all the games you played when you could run on a 3rd strike what did the ump do? He usually pumps that arm for the 3rd strike but often doesn't call it an out until the play is over. Look at tapes of umps when this happens...look at the earlier AB when it happened. This is exactly the point Cuse. In the very same game(might have even been the previous hitter), Eddings waited until after the tag/throw to first to pump his fist to make the out call. This time he did it right there, so what are the players supposed to think?

I keep hearing this, and don't necessarily disagree, but where are the situations where he doesn't always react well? The guy has had like 3 innings of poor performance in the playoffs, and people are blowing it up to outlandish proportions. I've posted and reposted that in pressure situations during the regular season he's no different than when the game isn't on the line. His other 6 playoff outings are outstanding(7.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 8 K's). There's no basis for the argument aside from the unreasonably bitter diatribes against Farnsworth.

Also, it doesn't really matter if Paul threw the ball to the mound too early or not. Don't you think if there was no out signal made that Escobar would've gone over to the ball and thrown him out? He would've had him easy, BUT THE UMP SIGNALED OUT, so the inning should be over.

So if an OF thinks he caught a ball cleanly that was boarderline close to the ground he should roll the ball in? If the second base umpire makes a fist, one would think he would be safe to.

I don't think there was any doubt in the minds of the Angels players. Exactly. Like I said before, when you see a guy extend his arm to the side, then make a separate motion of a fist, I don't know what else you are supposed to think if you are a fielder.

Do you know what the slugging pct. of that .210 is? I don't know where IMB! got .210 from, opponents hit .180 off Farnsworth this year. Their SLG against him was a robust .275, for a less than .100 IsoP. That's fantastic.