Transmogrified Tiger

How many saves did Farns have as a Cubs?? How many years was he in Chicago?? Dude would have never got over the hump in Chicago. He wouldn't have came close to doing what Dempster did this year in a Cub uniform. He was better than Dempster was this year in '03. The whole "Farnsworth never lived up to his potential" thing is nonsense. He was and is a great reliever, but when he had a less than spectacular '04 and got hurt, people make up nonsense about him being an alcoholic or a headcase or stupid or whatever. He was NOT better than Dempster this year so what are you talking about? Do not count the games that Demspter started. Farnsworth '03 0.88 WHIP 10.85 K/9 2.56 K/BB .196 BAA .580 OPS against Dempster '05 as a reliever 1.25 WHIP 8.17 K/9 1.96 K/BB .218 BAA .580 OPS against Yes, Farnsworth was better. Great fantasy baseball numbers, but he sure as heck chokes in the big games. Yeah, it's not like I posted that his Close and Late numbers were almost mirrors of his regular season totals. Saying he chokes in big games is a ridiculous self-fulfilling prophesy.

Also, just for fun: Farnsworth in Close and Late Situations: 2005: .195/.257/.290/.547 line against in almost 200 PA's. (total numbers: .180/.267/.275/.542) 2004: .265/.346/.387/.733 in around 175 PA's. (total numbers: .260/.342/.426/.769) 2003: .218/.287/.347/.633 in around 115 PA's. (total numbers: .196/.285/.295/.580) Looks to me like Farnsworth is pretty much the same pitcher as he is overall when the going gets tough.

How many saves did Farns have as a Cubs?? How many years was he in Chicago?? Dude would have never got over the hump in Chicago. He wouldn't have came close to doing what Dempster did this year in a Cub uniform. He was better than Dempster was this year in '03. The whole "Farnsworth never lived up to his potential" thing is nonsense. He was and is a great reliever, but when he had a less than spectacular '04 and got hurt, people make up nonsense about him being an alcoholic or a headcase or stupid or whatever. He was NOT better than Dempster this year so what are you talking about? Do not count the games that Demspter started. Farnsworth '03 0.88 WHIP 10.85 K/9 2.56 K/BB .196 BAA .580 OPS against Dempster '05 as a reliever 1.25 WHIP 8.17 K/9 1.96 K/BB .218 BAA .580 OPS against Yes, Farnsworth was better. Why are we comparing 2003 numbers with 2005? I was talking about 05 vs 05, but even so Farns whip in 03 was 1.17 according to yahoo with a era of 3.30. So I personally would rather take the lower ERA above the other stats. I apologize, I read the wrong column calculating his WHIP and then got a bunch of critical errors before I had to leave. ERA for relievers isn't a great metric, their smaller number of IP can skew it, and ERA in general has a lot out of the pitcher's control. But, if you want to compare 2005 v. 2005: Farnsworth: 2.19 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 11.19 K/9, 3.22 K/BB, .180 BAA, .542 OPS Against Dempster: 1.85 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 8.17 K/9, 1.96 K/BB, .218 BAA, .580 OPS Against Outside of a small advantage in ERA(which has problems like I mentioned earlier), Farnsworth is clearly more effective, just as he was in '03.

How many saves did Farns have as a Cubs?? How many years was he in Chicago?? Dude would have never got over the hump in Chicago. He wouldn't have came close to doing what Dempster did this year in a Cub uniform. He was better than Dempster was this year in '03. The whole "Farnsworth never lived up to his potential" thing is nonsense. He was and is a great reliever, but when he had a less than spectacular '04 and got hurt, people make up nonsense about him being an alcoholic or a headcase or stupid or whatever. He was NOT better than Dempster this year so what are you talking about? Do not count the games that Demspter started. Farnsworth '03 0.88 WHIP 10.85 K/9 2.56 K/BB .196 BAA .580 OPS against Dempster '05 as a reliever 1.25 WHIP 8.17 K/9 1.96 K/BB .218 BAA .580 OPS against Yes, Farnsworth was better.

How many saves did Farns have as a Cubs?? How many years was he in Chicago?? Dude would have never got over the hump in Chicago. He wouldn't have came close to doing what Dempster did this year in a Cub uniform. He was better than Dempster was this year in '03. The whole "Farnsworth never lived up to his potential" thing is nonsense. He was and is a great reliever, but when he had a less than spectacular '04 and got hurt, people make up nonsense about him being an alcoholic or a headcase or stupid or whatever.

So people rippin' apart Farnsy makes you a little annoyed huh? A little bit, especially since we have no middle relief and traded him away for nothing.

Here's a fun little exercise. Let's try and find a Cubs reliever better than Farnsworth. To save some time, this is not possible, not even the man we just gave 15 million dollars to be our closer.

2005 Damon at Fenway: .334/.391/.440/.832 Damon elsewhere: .298/.342/.438/.780 3 year splits('02-'04): Damon at Fenway: .318/.388/.448/.836 Damon elsewhere: .278/.340/.433/.773 Gary Matthews Jr., who I believe is also a free agent at the same age, plays better defense than Damon and will command much much much less: 2005: At Arlington: .219/.290/.380/.670 Elsewhere: .290/.350/.492/.841 2004: At Arlington: .293/.364/.512/.876 Elsewhere: .261/.339/.420/.759

If the Yankees win today I'm pretending baseball season is over.

Seems to be functional for me.

16/18 in Saves with 19 holds though, he's uber clutch. I JUST BLEW YOUR MIND HE'S AN UBERCHOKER HE ONLY CHOKES IN THE BIGGEST OF SITUATIONS, AND HE RACKS UP GAUDY NUMBERS DURING THE REGULAR SEASON AFTER THE GAMES DONT MATTER .195/.257/.290/.547 LINE AGAINST CLOSE AND LATE BOO-YEAH

16/18 in Saves with 19 holds though, he's uber clutch. I JUST BLEW YOUR MIND

Really could've used his 1.01 WHIP, .180 BAA, and 11+ K/9.

I don't think you can argue with calling those teams overrated since Pitt, Michigan, and Purdue all have lost 2 games aside from losing to ND. Heck, Michigan has the best record of ND wins, and they're just .500. Also, I think that USC is going to stomp on Notre Dame. USC seems to be playing to the level of their opponents, and I feel that they're going to find another level with all the people saying that this is a possible upset.

Both of the offenses in this game set football back a century. Until Smith and Robinson learn to use their playmakers to their advantage and get the ball in their hands (Wiliams, Ginn, Holmes, etc.) with room to run, they will continue to look bad. Yet another down year for the Big (can't count past) Ten. Down year? They're probably the deepest conference in the country.

"How about this guy....[mindless drivel]"

Yeah, I think Baylor could have a good shot at making a bowl game. Not many Big XII North teams are really "solid" in my eyes. I'm sure they'll struggle aganist most Big XII South teams. But to be bowl eligible, you'd have to win 6 games. Baylor already have 4 wins. Their best shot is to beat the other 2 Big XII North teams IMHO. No kidding. Colorado is the only North team without a conference loss, and they go to Texas next week.

Smith starting at QB. Interesting... And I've decided that I'm rooting for PSU.

Bob Davie again on primetime? Ugh... "The first thing you'll notice about these wide receivers is that they're fast."

Iowa probably just wrapped up a win in Purdue. 29-17 with 6+ remaining. LSU up 9-0 on Vandy early on.

Yeah, great finish. Was that Leon Lett on Nebraska's D-line ? You can't help but think if he had just gone down after the pick...

Yeah, great finish. Not for me. I was rooting for NU too, wanted them unbeaten for their trip to Faurot. Good game though.

Yeah, great finish.

I wonder if Jose Cruz, Jr. would be a good short term solution (1 year) for CF and lead-off. Nice OBP (100 points above batting average), decent slugging and he's a free agent. He had a terrific September. Hoops Didn't he get released twice last year? I'm not necessarily against the idea, but let's just say that he's not my first choice. I think he was traded then released. Cruz isn't really a CF either. This was his first time playing there since 2001(?) and he was pretty subpar defensively.

Oh wow. Crossett misses a 24 yard FG. OSU now has the ball down 7 with a minute remaining. brb trying out for placekicker And Mizzou gets a pick to seal the victory. Iowa State for homecoming next week.