Magnetic Curses

while i don't think yelling at players for the sake of "showing emotion" is a very intelligent or effective thing to do, for crying out loud--lou said the exact right thing in the exact right way. throw strikes or die.

charter anyone?

thabo with a double-double! who was he guarding tonight? either prince or hamilton, i'd imagine. neither had good games.

:-s if rocky mcintosh isn't included, i don't do it. i'd even part with a 4th rounder, but that's as high as i go. I'd love Mcintosh. I don't understand why the Redskins would trade up to get him last year and then trade him this year, but I hope they do. i'd imagine that he'd put up pretty good numbers in the tampa-2. but if they want briggs, one of the best in the game, they'll have to give up a replacement. at least if i were in charge. Sounds like you and our good buddy Jerry are on the same page. which is good. i think he's playing hardball and he's not the least bit concerned with appeasing briggs and rosenhaus insomuch as it doesn't appease the bears.

:-s if rocky mcintosh isn't included, i don't do it. i'd even part with a 4th rounder, but that's as high as i go. I'd love Mcintosh. I don't understand why the Redskins would trade up to get him last year and then trade him this year, but I hope they do. i'd imagine that he'd put up pretty good numbers in the tampa-2. but if they want briggs, one of the best in the game, they'll have to give up a replacement. at least if i were in charge.

:-s if rocky mcintosh isn't included, i don't do it. i'd even part with a 4th rounder, but that's as high as i go.

Until you actually show me an example of it happening, I consider it a pretty big stretch to surmise that not getting along (even to an extreme) would cause players to hit or pitch less effectively than they normally would. You would think that in 100+ years of MLB history, you could come up with at least a few examples of the effect that you're suggesting (which, admittedly, a lot of other people also believe in). Look at Sosa. After the combination of the corked bat, the clubhouse demonor, the feeling of the fans turning on him, the Cubs parting ways with him, the distractions took their toll on his play. Roll that out to a team that is consistantly having infighting and distractions and it can effect a team. i think it probably had more to do with being hit in the head by an errant fastball. or it could have something to do with him just getting old.

I could've sworn that team went to a World Series. ;) Yes, but look at the fallout the next season with Kent gone. If you had an entire team full of altercations like that it wouldn't be something easily overcome. Or more of the Sammy Sosa boombox things going on. Egos can play a lot in all sports, baseball included. Did it really matter on the field? The next year they won 93 games and won their division. And the Cubs with Alou's crazy antics and Sosa's boombox were a much better team in 2004 than without them in 2005. But look at it on a large scale. We're talking about isolated examples. Image that kind of a fireworks display all year long with huge egos and pouty stars. I don't think there would be the ability to overcome it despite their talent. That's just flat out wrong. Baseball is different. I just saw a talk show where Tim McCarver and Rolly Fingers were talking about the A's of the early 70s. In five seasons from 1971 to 1975 the As won five divisions, three pennants and three WS in a row (1972-1974) Fingers said there were daily fights in the clubhouse. Reggie Jackson and Sal Bando use to have a fight a week. Bill North hated Bando and Jackson. Joe Rudi hated everyone. And everyone hated Catfish Hunter. They had a saying, "25 guys, 25 cabs". are we forgetting the 27 yankees?

give us an example of a team performing poorply after large distractions. i think the whole chemistry thing is a myth perpetuated by the movie "major league". people actually appear to have learned what they know about baseball from this movie. i call it the Major League Effect.

ah, the ages old debate, chemistry mcdoodoo.

He hasn't been inconsistent. His play has been consistently poor for the most part. I don't think baseball and basketball stats compare well to each other, but if a 22-year-old prospect were to hit .150/.200/.300 over a full MLB season spent mostly on the bench, I don't think it'd be a stretch to be pessimistic about his future. A PER under 9 is atrocious. i'm not saying they do, but a lack of repetition can cause anyone to fail to progress adequately. right now, skiles has to ride grodon and hinrich for as long as he can--but it'd be nice to see sefolosha get good minutes next season.

what do you mean? if the idea is "here, we would like to reward you for one year by paying you a ton of money" and the player can just be a twit and put and demand stuff, it doesn't work. I don't understand why the idea of making the average of the top salaries at your position is often met with disdain Because it doesn't involve a large, guaranteed signing bonus along with a long-term contract. the "long-term" of the contract makes no difference at all. a player could care less if he receives extra years on a contract as a team can cut said player at any time. it's all about the signing bonus. if the bears wanted to give briggs a large signing bonus, i'm sure he'd jump at it. the team is the one to be concerned about years, because, essentially, the bonus should be a reflection of how long the team controls the player.

He's less productive than Griffin this year, scary as that sounds. He needs time to develop but he's played so poorly I can't fault Skiles for not giving him significant minutes on a playoff team. As I said, I think role player is Thabo's most likely future. but why, after having his best game, would skiles not play him at all? it's discouraging for a young player. it's no wonder he's been inconsistent. the more important conventional statistics (OBP/SLG/OPS/OPS+) for a baseball player aren't PT contingent either. but it's hard to judge a young player based on a small sample size, with inconsistent playing time.

12.4 PER for Christie as a 22-year-old rookie, and it took him 5 years in the league to post an above-average (over 15) PER. 12.9 PER for Scottie his rookie season (also 22) and he was in the low 20's by season 4. If Thabo's PER this year were in the 12's, I'd be a lot more optimistic. Maybe he could turn into a Christie down the road. No way Doug was ever one of the best all-around players in the NBA, though. i think at his peak, christie could do whatever you wanted him to do. maybe "best all-around players" might be an overstatement, but "most versatile" wouldn't be.

for example, thabo scores 19 points in 24 minutes on feb. 28. in the ensuing 14 games, he gets a grand tital of 62 minutes, equating to 4.4 mpg. this is supposed to help his development?

The level of play in the Euroleague is better than Division 1 college basketball, and it has been for a while now. you're now making the same unproveable, relative statements you accuse me of making. is that a pet theory of yours? :P Not of mine. It's a widely held belief of the APBRmetrics community based on comparison studies. Is that a pet theory of yours, or do you have some examples that back that up in terms of PER? what do you mean, my theory that players' skill and experience increases with playing time? i'm sorry, that's another crazy statement on my part. No, that players' PERs jump significantly with increased playing time. Same question as above. players like dirk, peja, ginobilli, tony parker, and mehmet okur all have had PER's that have drastically imrpoved since their rookie seasons. That phenominon isn't close to being limited to Europeon players, and it's Thabo's starting point that has me so down on his future. For instance, Okur's PER jumped from 14.7 to 18.3. Parker's 11.7 to 16.5. Manu's 14.7 to 18.5. If Thabo's PER jumps almost 5 full points like Parker's did, he still will be well below the NBA average of 15. so, you don't think that getting more reps will increase his skill, production, and ultimately, his PER?

It's wild speculation after you factor in his performance during his rookie season. yes, yes, we all know i'm stupid or crazy for making the assertion, i don't think everyone saw your previous post. Hilarious. Can you find me one rookie in NBA history with a PER under 9 that developed into one of the best all-around players in the NBA? PER stats go back for years on basketball-reference.com. Or, if you'd like, you can name some players you think Thabo will resemble at his peak, and we can look those guys up. come on, a second line of posts is unnecessary. settle down, i'm not insulting you. I'm serious. Name some players you think Thabo will resemble at his peak as one of the best all-around players in the NBA. doug christie springs to mind. to a lesser extent, scottie pippen.

what do you mean?

It's wild speculation after you factor in his performance during his rookie season. yes, yes, we all know i'm stupid or crazy for making the assertion, i don't think everyone saw your previous post. Hilarious. Can you find me one rookie in NBA history with a PER under 9 that developed into one of the best all-around players in the NBA? PER stats go back for years on basketball-reference.com. Or, if you'd like, you can name some players you think Thabo will resemble at his peak, and we can look those guys up. come on, a second line of posts is unnecessary. settle down, i'm not insulting you.

The level of play in the Euroleague is better than Division 1 college basketball, and it has been for a while now. you're now making the same unproveable, relative statements you accuse me of making. is that a pet theory of yours? :P Is that a pet theory of yours, or do you have some examples that back that up in terms of PER? what do you mean, my theory that players' skill and experience increases with playing time? i'm sorry, that's another crazy statement on my part. Same question as above. players like dirk, peja, ginobilli, tony parker, and mehmet okur all have had PER's that have drastically imrpoved since their rookie seasons.

1. Briggs is a player obsessed with his own stats, pro-bowl appearances, and all-pro selections. he would consider it wasting a year, i'll call his bluff. 2. it's not simply showing the team is bigger than the player. it's sending a message to ther players up for contract extensions, that the bears can and will use the franchise tag, first and foremost, and they will play hardball afterwards. remember, the bears have some other pro-bowlers due for extensions soon. briggs gambled that the bears wouldn't use the tag when he rejected the first offer, he lost that wager. do you think that tommie harris, nathan vasher and peanut tillman were paying close attention? i think they were. those players might be convinced to take the first offer the bears give them, if in the ballpark, rather than waste time haggling over a million or two in guaranteed money--risk sitting out a season and getting no long-term secturity.

with tebow running that offense full time? i don't think so. Tim Tebow's high school passing stats: Year ATT COMP PCT YDS TD INT Soph. 151 233 64.8 2194 18 8 Jun. 247 402 61.4 4304 46 6 Sen. 214 338 63.3 3324 31 4 The guy can do a lot more than just run the ball. so his high school stats are good, so were billy garza's. big deal. doesn't convince me he's anything more than a bulldozer at QB. How can he convince you then? There really isn't much else to point to. He wasn't used much in throwing situations this year. The kid can throw though. I think he'll be a fine passer. I guess we'll see. i just don't think that tebow will be successful in that offense. as a running back, sure, we'll see.

as a result, the green bay packers are often thought of as the #1 franchise in all of sports. green bay is tiny, meaning taxes have to be higher. what would a small tax hike mean to the city of chicago? maybe it would force stupid sox fans to watch the games for a change.

It's wild speculation after you factor in his performance during his rookie season. yes, yes, we all know i'm stupid or crazy for making the assertion, i don't think everyone saw your previous post.

Thabo played pro ball in Europe from 17 on, and he, Duhon and Hinrich were all 22 at the start of their rookie seasons in the NBA. the european game is still different from the american game in coaching style and type of player. he may have seen plenty of guys who weren't good enough to play in the NBA, but he wasn't playing, nigh in, night out with players that he would see in the pro ranks. i'm wondering how many future NBAers that duhon, hinrich, and gordon played against while in the ACC, Big 12, and Big East respectively. i wasn't saying that they did, i was saying that minutes played effects experience and progression, which, at some point will increase his production and help him give an accurate picture of the player he'll be. european players generally have a little lower PER in their first year than college players, anyway. even the ones who become top players.