hawkeyecub

We'll miss his talent. Physically at least, he's a beast. Iowa is in decent shape with another 4 star TE but this dude looks like a freak. Illinois going from being out of the picture a couple months ago to earning his commitment because he thought the coaches were guys he would like to hang out with is fairly odd though. And I would submit that by his junior year the Zooker is out of Champaign.

You didnt think that last one to rasmus was a strike? It was close but it was outside.

This should turn out well.

I just want one base hit in a relatively big spot.

Stop throwing belt high pitches over the middle of the plate to every batter!

When he misses it's not close and when he throws strikes they're up and on a tee.

We're at least hitting Carpenter hard up and down. Damnit Rich would you stop throwing [expletive] shots?

His bat just looks SO much quicker than it did in April/early May. He's able to turn on inside pitches he wasn't catching up to earlier and driving the ball to right often enough. God we have some idiot fans booing Soriano when he actually drove an outside pitch pretty hard opposite field.

If the Spurs can avoid multiple major injuries they're winning the title again next year. They signed Antonio McDyess who will give Duncan probably his best sidekick inside since Robinson. Plus they also grabbed my man-crush in the draft to immediately help on the boards and give value minutes. And they're adding a healthy Manu and even if overrated, an upgrade in Jefferson. Spurs over Cavs again, in 2010.

I was always under the impression that it stemmed from the fact that he looked like a total preppy, especially in his early years. I guess that's true of most golfers but he just had that rich kid look. I've always been a big fan of Phil.

Nice to see they have Ben Brust ranked 6th.

That makes zero sense. It's almost automatically retroactive. Even if they don't THINK he'll be ready before 15 days from today there's no reason not to at least have the flexibility. If they made it retroactive to that date they couldn't recall Hart because he was on the roster July 3rd. They want Hart and they know it will be at least 15 days for Demp so they made it active from today.

Just to clarify "great" isn't used as an adjective. He has a fracture in his great (big) right toe. And no this isn't good.

From what I've read, unless they get creative they won't have room for two max contracts. So many teams will have a ton of cap space next summer and the ones that don't get LeBron/Wade/Amare/Bosh will go crazy to make sure they don't strike out.

I don't get why the Clippers wanted Richardson. How does that help? Randolph is a weirdo and all, but he's still a 20-10 guy, and you got back...Q-Rich? Okay... it probably has something to do with blake griffin and the fact that z-bo is fat, lazy, expensive and a defensive liability. I didn't say I didn't get why they traded Randolph. I just have a hard time seeing how Richardson, aside from contract, helps the Clippers at all, and I suspect they could have gotten more for him--or at least different. But the contract is basically the whole deal. They weren't going to be anything on the court next year anyways. Now they at least can go all in with offers next summer and hope that people want to come to LA and play with Baron, Griffin and Gordon.

Soriano out of the lineup again. Fuld in LF and leading off.

I have little to no confidence in this current regime to step in and make any trade of high significance. The Salmons and Miller deal was a nice little trade but I don't think Paxson has what it takes to ship out some of his pieces to land a big-name player. We've been talking about getting a star player ever since Paxson became the GM in 2003. It's 2009 and we still haven't made a big splash. Color me unconvinced that we can land a big-name player. I know. I'm not convinced either. Although having Rose should be a bit more of an enticement for free agents to want to come here. I'm still of the mind that "I'll believe it when I see it." Well the only guy that I think will be moved before or during the season will be Amare. I think Bosh is going to end up in NY and I think Wade will more than likely re-sign with the Heat. So that leaves Paxson with the option of trading some of his glorified pieces for Amare or more than likely, we'll have to settle for a couple of free agents from the next crop of players. At least that's how I view it. Thankfully the second and third tier of players in next year's class is world's better than that free agent class in 1999. I think Wade is likely staying in Miami also. Joe Johnson would be a great fit for the Bulls and as some have suggested, likely a better fit than Wade.

I'm not sure how anyone can come to the conclusion that Gordon can't create his own shot.

I don't see Wade and Rose working well together. Everyone says that, and it doesn't make sense. Every player that can honestly call himself a great player can play with anyone. They both need the ball in their hands to do what they do. Neither plays very well off the ball. Neither is a 3-point shooter. They're two 6'3-6'4 guys who dominate the ball, can't shoot from the outside and have to drive to the rim while running a lot of pick and rolls. I'm not saying they couldn't play together, I just don't think it's a great fit.

I don't get why the Clippers wanted Richardson. How does that help? Randolph is a weirdo and all, but he's still a 20-10 guy, and you got back...Q-Rich? Okay... Q makes less than $10M next year, Randolph makes $16M. Q expires after next year, Randolph makes over $17M in 2011. It clears room for Griffin on the court and gives them a chance to be major players in the 2010 class. You might wonder why anyone would go to the Clippers, but Baron, Gordon and Griffin plus the LA market would be fairly attractive.

What did he turn down last off-season? Something very similar, correct? 6/$54 I believe

I don't see Wade and Rose working well together.

ESPN reporting that the Pistons have reached agreements with Gordon and Villanueva. Ben will get $55M over 5 years, Charlie will get $35M over 5 years. I'm pretty mixed and would like to hear what you other NBA guys think about the signings. I think it could put us right in the middle of the blob for the foreseeable future. Not good enough to really contend, not bad enough to get lucky in the lottery. The good news is we're getting younger and I think Villanueva still has a lot of potential he can reach. He's kind of a younger Rasheed with less defense. Gordon is probably overpaid but not by that much. He's more efficient than he gets credit for and I think his defense is also better than his rep. Especially when Stuckey will be guarding all 2's. I think they'll look to trade Rip for a big now but don't know what they can fetch. We need a big man somehow.

With free agency beginning in 5 hours we might as well start an offseason thread. Pistons (thankfully) fired Michael Curry after one year. Doug Collins, Avery Johnson and Sam Mitchell being talked about as replacements. Carlos Boozer and Okur both opt-in so they'll be with the Jazz again next year. This may let Paul Milsapp walk free and there are reports that OKC may make a huge offer to him. Pistons are also interested.

Yeah, I saw that, and I agree. Any GM who passes on Wade/Anthony and Bosh to take Darko should be instantly fired. But I digress. I hear the new coach will either be Doug Collins or Bill Lambeer. Even when that GM put together a team of spare parts and castoffs that won an NBA title just prior to that draft decision? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Besides, it's not like Joe was the only one caught up in the Darko hype. I disagreed with it at the time because Carmelo was the sure thing and Darko was based on potential. Regardless, nearly everyone thought Darko would be much better than he is and Joe made the error of drafting on need rather than taking the best player. At any rate, wherever you heard Laimbeer you heard wrong. It will not be Laimbeer. He's going to hire a coach with more experience and basically everyone with knowledge of the situation says it won't be Bill. The move needed to be made. Curry was a disaster all around last year. The Pistons fan in me wants Doug. The NBA fan in me doesn't want him to leave TNT. I think Avery could be alright.