Hairyducked Idiot

I just had a flashback to Meph telling us that Jake Peavy was worth something like 1.3 Championships to the Cubs based on Probability.

Okay, according to my calculator, assuming a 1/8 chance of winning the WS each time you make the playoffs, Theo just needs to make the playoffs 6 time to have a >50% chance of winning the WS at least once with the Cubs. I'm going to say it, then. It is probable that Epstein wins a WS with the Cubs.

It's close. From what he's said, he intends to be here for about 10 years. I expect to make the playoffs at least 6 or 7 times in that period. So maybe not better than 50% of winning a WS, but in that ballpark.

Pujols combined regular and postseason for 2011: 165 games 304/376/556 I understand a little power loss, but where did the walks go?

As far as I'm concerned, Not The Cubs won the World Series for the 102nd consecutive time. I don't care which flavor of NTC it was. Isn't it 103rd consecutive time? 103 years, but only 102 WSes.

As far as I'm concerned, Not The Cubs won the World Series for the 102nd consecutive time. I don't care which flavor of NTC it was.

He used his HOF speech to call out a non-white Cubs player.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_system Teams have five business days after agreeing with a contract to the player to pay the full amount of the posting fee. It's a sealed auction and the Japanese team doesn't know the team that made the high bid, so there'd be no opportunity to negotiate a longer payment schedule.

Sandberg is going to teach Castro how to protect his fielding percentage by not diving for tough plays.

Okay, updated OP.

If you sign a player before Nov. 23, you have to give his team whatever compensation is due, whether they intended to offer him arbitration or not. You can sign players earlier than that. Examples would be stupid teams who don't care, players who are definitely going to be offered, or players who don't require compensation to be given up by the signing team. Free agency formally begins Nov. 3, six days after the World Series ends. It used to start much later than that, but they moved it up this year. And players don't have to formally file anymore, they just become free agents.

It's on there. Dec. 5 huh...I thought the rostering deadline was normally earlier than that to give teams a chance to do more review before the draft. Hmm, not sure. http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2003/01/important-transaction-dates_03.html I don't know what the Nov. 19 one means. Maybe that's the deadline for most players.

It's on there. Dec. 5

Yes. I have no use for replay in any sport. I understand why other people prefer it, but it is not my preference.

I didn't say they would. I just find it less enjoyable to know that the call on the field isn't necessarily how it's going to turn out.

3.9 fWAR

That's not fair enough. His stance on football players is absurd. You don't know how to react to a play? Oh shut up. You react to the play and call that you see. Who the hell just sits there and ponders whether he should cheer because of the possibility that the review guy will summon the ref to take a look and overturn it? That's moronic. If Devin Hester does a nifty sideline dance to avoid a defender and steps very close to the line, I want to be able to go nuts when he reaches the end zone and the officials raise their hand. I don't want to be thinking "That was cool but I don't know if it's going to count!"

Thought this would be worth having in one place. Compiled from a few sources, but most of the credit goes to the excellent http://www.bleachernation.com. Oct. 29-Nov. 2: This is the five-day period during which teams can exclusively negotiate with their own free agents. Oct. 31: Deadline for all team/player/mutual options. Cubs have Dempster ($14 million player), Samardzija ($3 million team, still under team-control if they don't pick it up), and Ramirez (mutual that almost certainly won't be picked up) Nov. 19: Roster deadline for minor leaguers to be added to 40-man roster before Rule 5 Draft. Nov. 23: The deadline for offering arbitration to free agents, which is required for getting draft pick compensation from them if they leave. Decisions for the Cubs include Ramirez, Pena and possibly Ryan Dempster. Any compensation-level free agent signed before this day gets the compensation automatically, which will significantly slow down the pace of mid-level signings. Dec. 7: The deadline for free agents to accept arbitration. I don't think this will affect the Cubs, but I guess it isn't completely impossible that Pena or Ramirez could try for a quick, one-year payday. Dec. 5 & 8: Rule-five draft. The 40-man roster must be set by the fifth, the actual draft is on the eighth. Someone who knows the Cubs' minor leagues better than me will know if we have any major decisions that day. Dec. 12: The deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible, pre-FA players. Teams will opt to relinquish their rights to some of these players and let them become free agents, aka non-tender them. The Cubs' most likely non-tender is Koyie Hill, but other arbitration-eligibles include Samardzija (if they don't pick up his option), Garza, Castro, DeWitt, Baker, Barney, and Soto. Feb. 13: Pitchers and catchers report

Explain your terrible position. Sports are entertainment. I find more value in an always immediate, usually accurate call than a usually immediate, always accurate call. I hate it in football when you don't know how to react to any close play because of the possibility of a two-minute review. I hated that long period in hockey when you couldn't get excited about any goal because half of them were going to be called back. I'd rather deal with the occasional bad call than have the life sucked out of so many key plays.

Castro next year is I think the most fun projection for the Cubs in 2012. There's a lot of variability going into it, and most importantly a ton of upside. Can he improve his fielding (and was it as bad last year as the one-year UZRs claim)? How much of his late power burst was real? Can he keep racking up base hits at the rate he has for the last two years? I think he's going to see just a little bit of a pullback in batting average. Despite the fact that he's done it two years in a row, I don't think he can maintain a .345 BABIP in the majors. That just seems like a bit much. I expect him to make up for that with improved power and possibly the slightly improved IsoD that may come with that power.

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've found that most people will give up if you don't play along. I have no interest in talking baseball with random people I know. If they try, I just smile and give vague platitudes before steering the conversation somewhere else. I live in Cardinals territory and don't really have much of a problem.

Take out the average pitcher's worst month and worst start outside that month, and I bet the average is better than 3.5.

Yes to automated balls and strikes, no to replay.

Aren't you a Cardinals fan? Go eat an entire bag of dicks. Wait, she is? Then why the [expletive] is her insane stream of consciousness madness always here? she is not. i don't know who you're thinking of but controversy is a cub fan. Okay. Then I withdraw the comment. I'm still happy for my Cardinals fans friends, but any Cardinals fans who would come here and post now are beyond the pale.

Aren't you a Cardinals fan? Go eat an entire bag of dicks.