soccer10k

Z with the strikeout. Huge. I love it.

Anybody warming up in the pen?

because Mettallica isn't universally appealling enough, or hailed enough to have a landslide win. 100 million total albums sold. not quite the beatles, but that's pretty dang good 20 million of which you can say succeeded more because of the success of the black album, but i wont go into those waters don't get me wrong, i love mettallica from Kill Em All to The Black Album, but maybe it's there last 4 or 5 effors that have subsequently disappointed me that makes me value them less. But i voted for them. Assuming your numbers are correct, that would still leave 80 million albums sold which is still pretty darn good. I only have a problem with St. Anger but I understand how people would have a problem with Load and Reload, and to a lesser extent the Black Album because they do veer away from their earlier work. But again, 80 million is nothing to be ashamed of. And I won't even delve into your spelling adventures.

John Hollinger. He's one of the founding fathers of APBRmetrics -- basketball's answer to SABRmetrics. He's an Insider columnist. ESPN makes a number of his basketball metrics available to Insiders. Do you have an Insider membership? Hollinger's latest article answers your comments so perfectly, it'd be a shame to have to summarize it. I should have insider, since I subscribe to that crap magazine, but I've never signed up. You get Insider if you subscribe to ESPN the magazine?

Bingo. Wilt's 50.4 ppg average will never be touched. Wilt changed the game, not Mikan. Mikan forced them to change the shotblock rule, the width of the lane, and institute the three second rule. not sure what rules you are saying they changed for Wilt. Chamberlain forced rule changes as well. obviously my mistake. again the relative greatness of Mikan and Brown is not relevant to point I was making. Mikan changed the game 10x more than Wilt did Mikan was the first dominant player in the proffessional basketball, face facts. Just becasue you think "Mikan was the first dominant player in professional basketball" doesn't mean he necessarily changed the game more than Wilt did and definately didn't do it 10x more than Wilt.

Agreed. Tinkering with a lineup is a necessity to give players the occasional day off. You also have to deal with injuries as well as slumps and hot streaks. Like you said, it's not a bad thing if done correctly.

No, it's not decent, a .299 OBP is pathetic. It's terrible overall, and it's bad even for a shortstop. Then what would you consider Ronny's line against lefties to be? This arguent blows up every couple of weeks it seems. Put me in the cam that believes Neifi catches a lot of unncessary criticism. SHould he have a 2 year deal? No. Would it hurt my feelings if he wasn't on the team? No. Is he as bad aas everyone wants to make him out to be? No. He's insignificant and doesn't merit as much discussion as he seems to generate. His playing time doesn't support the claim that he is insignificant. And yes, he is as bad as people claim him to be. No he's not. There have been a few guys in the past few years that have been as bad or worse than Neifi. I'm not saying he is good, don't get me wrong. Neifi doesn't control his playing time, neither do I, neither do you. He is rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Well stated. My sentiments exactly.

I AM IRON MAN!! I give Sabbath the lead 20-19.

Definately Slayer. I have huge respect for Hendrix but I have to go with Slayer, who should be rated higher than #15.

Yes but its like the US Open. When you kick so much ass it gives you 10 years of exemption. In those 10 years you can suck like David Duval but man during those years you kicked ass you are still hailed as a legend for that time. Thank You. And Metallica still kicks all kinds of ass live. Robert Trujillo was a great addition Agreed. Trujillo is awesome onstage. Metallica is the easy vote here and will always kick serious ass.

No, it's not decent, a .299 OBP is pathetic. It's terrible overall, and it's bad even for a shortstop. Then what would you consider Ronny's line against lefties to be?

Neifi is not a good hitter vs lefties. Hell, he's not even a decent hitter against lefties. If Ronny needs a platoon partner, the team would be a lot better off if Hendry went out and found a real one. Um, your stats from earlier say otherwise: That is a decent line against lefties for his career and he is doing much better than that this year. Since it is a lost season I would love to see Ronny play every day so he gets used to hitting lefties better. But to say Neifi is not even a decent hitter against lefties is just wrong.

Only 4 in Premium.

I'm not sure if this is me you are referring to but I talked about the Bulls players making natural progressions because they are young and not the 3rd year leap theory. I was referring to Nocioni who only averaged 13 ppg in the regular season but averaged 22.3 in the playoffs. He might drop a bit but he should still average close to 20 ppg starting every single game. The Bulls do have a young team that is likely to improve again next year as they did this year.

Sucks that the Bulls aren't in the Atlantic Division. But they'll still do well regardless. BOOOOO to steve smith! I can see every team in the Central making the playoffs for several years in a row. I could see 4 making it, but there is no way all 5 make the post season next year. All you need is a key injury to Indiana or Milwaukee and they'll miss the playoffs. Same goes for Cleveland if LeBron gets hurt and misses an extended period of time. Too many things have to go right for this to happen. Didn't all 5 make it this year? Besides, I don't see any reason why Philly, Boston, NY, Toronto, Orlando, Charlotte, or Atlanta would be better than Indiana or Milwaukee. Of course, if there are injuries to key players, one of the 5 might not make it, but I'd say there's a better chance for it to happen than not happen. Yes it did happen last year but the odds of it happening "several years in a row" are slim and none. It could happen next year but as I said, one key injury leads to a big time slide for Indiana/Milwaukee/Cleveland and they miss the playoffs. Wouldn't Larry Hughes qualify as a key injury for the Cavs last year? I know you said losing Lebron would disqualify them from the playoffs, but that's the same for most teams--you lose your star player it's hard to overcome. But seeing as the Cavs lost their #2 guy for a significant portion of the season and still took the 4th seed, I think its safe to say they are a lock for the playoffs. Looking at the conference right now, Miami, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and New Jersey are safe bets for the playoffs. 5 or 6 teams, including the Pacers and the Bucks will battle it out for the last three seeds. So to say the odds are slim for that to happen isn't exactly true, considering the Central contains 5 of the likely 10 teams with a legitimate shot at the playoffs. Now, I will say that the Pacers probably have the worst shot out of the division after losing Peja, but reports are they are trying to sign Harrington, which would put them right back into the mix. So you know which free agents are going where in the next couple years? I didn't think so. My point was that the chances of all five Central teams making it to the playoffs for several years in a row are slim and none. I agree that all five could make it next year, which I stated in my previous post. But you have no idea what the landscape of the NBA is going to look like for the 2007-2008 season so saying that it's a lock for all five Central teams to make it to the playoffs in that season is absolutely absurd. Take the Magic with Dwight Howard. Darko improved significantly in the 30 games with the Magic. Who's to say he won't improve in the offseason and next year when he gets regular playing time. They also drafted J.J. Redick who I'm not that high on but is on the right team with a good post presence (which was the key for him). Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson are both decent players. With Steve Francis the Magic were 19-33. Without Steve Francis the Magic were 17-13. That bodes well for them and they were the team I was thinking of beating out one of the Central teams. You don't know what trades are going to be made and where next years free agents are going to end up so the odds that all five Central teams are going to make the playoffs for the next several years are infinitely small. Actually, in your first post, you stated "there is no way all 5 make the post season next year." My post simply pointed out that there is a very strong chance that it will happen. (Not that it will, as I only said the Central contains 5 of the top 10 teams.) I also never said I knew who was going where, just that the Pacers are going after Harrington, which is true, and that it will improve them, which is also true. Guilty, forgot about that. For the rest of it, fair enough.

Bingo. Wilt's 50.4 ppg average will never be touched. Wilt changed the game, not Mikan. Mikan forced them to change the shotblock rule, the width of the lane, and institute the three second rule. not sure what rules you are saying they changed for Wilt. Chamberlain forced rule changes as well.

Just curious Vance, but who do you consider the better quarterback, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? I don't need an explanation, just a name. Manning. Thank you Vance and I now understand how you look at things. This isn't a good or bad thing, I just wanted to know how you rated football players and now know why you back Emmitt Smith. Again, not a bad thing, just information for me.

You're comparing a 6'8" that can move to guys that are shorter but what your missing is that Mikan didn't dominate the game like Brown did. Yes, Mikan was a cordinated big guy but Brown owned defenses like no other. Chamberlain made the NBA change the key rule not Mikan. Mikan was an inovator but don't confuse that with being the best ever and IMO that's what you are doing. Bingo. Wilt's 50.4 ppg average will never be touched. Wilt changed the game, not Mikan.

Just curious Vance, but who do you consider the better quarterback, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? I don't need an explanation, just a name.

Sucks that the Bulls aren't in the Atlantic Division. But they'll still do well regardless. BOOOOO to steve smith! I can see every team in the Central making the playoffs for several years in a row. I could see 4 making it, but there is no way all 5 make the post season next year. All you need is a key injury to Indiana or Milwaukee and they'll miss the playoffs. Same goes for Cleveland if LeBron gets hurt and misses an extended period of time. Too many things have to go right for this to happen. Didn't all 5 make it this year? Besides, I don't see any reason why Philly, Boston, NY, Toronto, Orlando, Charlotte, or Atlanta would be better than Indiana or Milwaukee. Of course, if there are injuries to key players, one of the 5 might not make it, but I'd say there's a better chance for it to happen than not happen. Yes it did happen last year but the odds of it happening "several years in a row" are slim and none. It could happen next year but as I said, one key injury leads to a big time slide for Indiana/Milwaukee/Cleveland and they miss the playoffs. Wouldn't Larry Hughes qualify as a key injury for the Cavs last year? I know you said losing Lebron would disqualify them from the playoffs, but that's the same for most teams--you lose your star player it's hard to overcome. But seeing as the Cavs lost their #2 guy for a significant portion of the season and still took the 4th seed, I think its safe to say they are a lock for the playoffs. Looking at the conference right now, Miami, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and New Jersey are safe bets for the playoffs. 5 or 6 teams, including the Pacers and the Bucks will battle it out for the last three seeds. So to say the odds are slim for that to happen isn't exactly true, considering the Central contains 5 of the likely 10 teams with a legitimate shot at the playoffs. Now, I will say that the Pacers probably have the worst shot out of the division after losing Peja, but reports are they are trying to sign Harrington, which would put them right back into the mix. So you know which free agents are going where in the next couple years? I didn't think so. My point was that the chances of all five Central teams making it to the playoffs for several years in a row are slim and none. I agree that all five could make it next year, which I stated in my previous post. But you have no idea what the landscape of the NBA is going to look like for the 2007-2008 season so saying that it's a lock for all five Central teams to make it to the playoffs in that season is absolutely absurd. Take the Magic with Dwight Howard. Darko improved significantly in the 30 games with the Magic. Who's to say he won't improve in the offseason and next year when he gets regular playing time. They also drafted J.J. Redick who I'm not that high on but is on the right team with a good post presence (which was the key for him). Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson are both decent players. With Steve Francis the Magic were 19-33. Without Steve Francis the Magic were 17-13. That bodes well for them and they were the team I was thinking of beating out one of the Central teams. You don't know what trades are going to be made and where next years free agents are going to end up so the odds that all five Central teams are going to make the playoffs for the next several years are infinitely small.

Bill Simmons is an NBA guru? Nah. Bill Simmons isn't a guru of anything other than writing Boston-centric, poorly researched articles filled with boring pop culture references and analogies. You are right about the third year thing though. I wouldn't necessarily call Bill Simmons a guru but he is fairly knowledgeable when it comes to basketball. And he hates what the Bulls are doing. He makes an excellent point about Wallace peaking a couple years ago. Look at what he is known for: rebounding and defense (blocks). His rpg have decreased 3 straight years and his bpg have decreased 4 straight years. Ben Wallace is an upgrade over Chandler but it still amazes me that a guy that averages just over 7 ppg can get a contract worth 15 mil a year. And based on that he is right that the Bulls will essentially be playing 4 on 5 on the offensive end since Wallace can't score. If the other guys can make natural progressions and become better players then it won't hurt the Bulls as much. I don't completely agree with Simmons but I do see his point.

Sucks that the Bulls aren't in the Atlantic Division. But they'll still do well regardless. BOOOOO to steve smith! I can see every team in the Central making the playoffs for several years in a row. I could see 4 making it, but there is no way all 5 make the post season next year. All you need is a key injury to Indiana or Milwaukee and they'll miss the playoffs. Same goes for Cleveland if LeBron gets hurt and misses an extended period of time. Too many things have to go right for this to happen. Didn't all 5 make it this year? Besides, I don't see any reason why Philly, Boston, NY, Toronto, Orlando, Charlotte, or Atlanta would be better than Indiana or Milwaukee. Of course, if there are injuries to key players, one of the 5 might not make it, but I'd say there's a better chance for it to happen than not happen. Yes it did happen last year but the odds of it happening "several years in a row" are slim and none. It could happen next year but as I said, one key injury leads to a big time slide for Indiana/Milwaukee/Cleveland and they miss the playoffs.

This year he's hitting lefties reasonably well. Over the course of his career, he hits them like crap, though. Neifi has a .275/.299/.429 line against lefties in his career. Is that better than Todd or Ronny vs lefties? Perhaps, but I really don't think it's enough to justify the roster space he takes up, and certainly not at the price he's being paid. For comparison, Todd vs lefties in his career: .259/.311/.370 Against lefties for Ronny: 2006: .177/.210/.208 in 96 AB's 2005: .256/.275/.333 in 39 AB's That would give him an estimated line of .200/.235/.250 for his career against lefties. Neifi's career numbers against lefties look much better than that don't they?

I never said his ERA HAS to go down. I said it was LIKELY to go down. Likely as in not for sure. If we can get him for a good price, then go for it. But the Yankees/Angels/Dodgers are likely to outbid the Cubs.

Under no circumstances should the Cubs trade Carlos Zambrano.