vance_the_cubs_fan

Ok, who wants to add a caption to this one? :-" http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2284/2270007076_ebb0a2862e.jpg?v=1203204298

All so they can keep Paul Bako on the team. Link. :lol:

Yeah. My guess is he'll miss the first ten days of the season. He could probably be reinserted during the third time through the rotation.

This thread truly has it all. :lol:

For the Cubs, I'd replace either Fergie or Billy with Sosa. But I'm pretty sure I argued for that at the time of the ballot. On the Rangers ballot, Greer should have been replaced with Juan Gonzalez. Arod should have been on the Mariners ballot somewhere.

It's a minor league deal.

What you don't get is that when Soriano leads off with a HR, the chance of scoring a run is 100%. Even when Roberts leads off with a hit or walk, he isn't guaranteed to score a run. So, there is a great deal of value in being able to hit a homerun.

I bet you loved the year we had Juan Pierre.

While I agree that Murton is a far better player, but Byrd may fit what the Cubs desire. I think it's comical that the Rangers think Byrd is worth Murton + a pitcher.

Check out this quote from the article. The Rangers are delusional. LInk

Meph, Can you tell me how you think this team will do? C Víctor Martínez 1B Derrek Lee 2B Ian Kinsler 3B Chipper Jones SS Derek Jeter OF Corey Hart OF Chris Young OF Matt Kemp Util Kosuke Fukudome SP Johan Santana SP Rich Hill RP Bob Howry RP Brian Wilson P Rich Harden P Barry Zito P Greg Maddux BN Willy Taveras BN Jeff Kent BN Eric Chávez BN Rocco Baldelli BN George Sherrill

LSU has suspended Ryan Perrilloux indefinitely for violating team rules. Link.

Rangers in the Cubs division would be nice for me too.

Marquis + lower level prospect for Willis sounds good to me. I'm not sure if the Angels bite, but that's the starting point in my opinion.

John Sickels did one of his "Not a Rookie" reports recently on Felix Pie. It's a decent read. Link. A lot of it is just rehashing of Pie's minor league career and credentials. He does deal with Pie vs Patterson comparisons in one short paragraph.

If you want to watch CSN on DirectTV, you have to subscribe to the sports package.

Round 3 25. Derrek Lee 26. Russell Martin 27. Joe Mauer

If it's a minor league deal it isn't much to get worked up over. Unless a trade happens, he doesn't make the team. My guess is that the Cubs preferred to get him into camp in case a MI gets hurt or is traded. Cintron sucks; we all know that. But if Cedeno were traded, we don't have a lot of depth at the SS position behind Theriot. I don't like it, but at least it isn't a major league contract.

Was this a minor-league deal or a major league contract? If it's a minor league deal, he could be insurance. If it's a major league deal, then it's a head scratcher.

Looks like Kidd to the Mavericks is back on. Link.

Do you have the PbP data to back up how often your hypothetical scenario happens or are you just pulling it out your ass and hoping we'll accept it as fact? I do! in 2007, Soriano had 69 plate appearances that started with an 0-2 count. He struck out 27 times out of 69, 14 hits (3 2B, 4 HR) Overall, leading off and inning, he struck out 45 times in 233 plate appearances, but overall, hit .313/.339/.571 when starting an inning Now, we need the PbP data to compare that to Roberts.

The Patriots have informed Donte' Stallworth that they won't pay his roster bonus due this week so he'll become a FA.

It's not the only fact that matters. It's one of many that are important. But basing things on one season of data isn't a great idea. In 2006, Soriano had a 351 OBP to Roberts's 347. It's not a certainty that Roberts will get on base more often than Soriano. That's not all it shows. It also means, that if Soriano is leading off, he is able to get himself to scoring position via HR, triple, or double more often than Roberts. That in itself is a value. The beating out of ground balls is already figured into each players' performance in OBP and BA, and we've already dealt with that point. It adds nothing. As far as stolen bases, Roberts's 50 of last season out performed his career best by 14. It's quite possible that he'll only steal 35 or so which is much closer to what he's done his whole career. That would be very close to Soriano's career average. And even if the leg injuries suffered by Soriano last season have lingered and he steals only 20-25, the added doubles, triples, and homers still put him a greater liklihood of scoring than Roberts. Patience isn't really measured by K-rates. You would need to look at p/pa if you want to make that argument. Roberts does do that better than Soriano as his p/pa for 2007 was 4.20 and Soriano's was 3.67. That also was a career high for Roberts. His avg most seasons has been around 3.95 or so, and Soriano is usually around what he did last season. While it is an edge for Roberts, it isn't a great one. While Roberts will make the team better, it isn't because he's a better option at lead-off than Soriano is. The Cubs don't need a lead-off hitter. They might need more good hitters.

Do you have the PbP data to back up how often your hypothetical scenario happens or are you just pulling it out your ass and hoping we'll accept it as fact? Fwiw, Wrigley23 did not introduce the bolded part, DexterMorgan did. Then my apologies. But I'm not inclined to receive an argument favorably that is based on hypothetical scenarios and not raw data.

Do you have the PbP data to back up how often your hypothetical scenario happens or are you just pulling it out your ass and hoping we'll accept it as fact?