SeldomSeen

Link Much ado about nothing, or potentially real trouble? I don't like the timing with contract negotiations coming on.

Very disappointing. Mike Davis teams have typically been pretty good at that end of the floor. They also got murdered on the boards.

May 1st. We already know that one.

I agree with you there. :D How? I could understand if they've been a thorn in the side of teams (other than Penn State and Purdue lately), but they have consistently sucked in the Big Ten for years. How can you hate them for that? I hate every Big Ten team because they keep kicking our asses in b-ball every season. Sure, we occasionally pull off an upset or 2 in the tournament, but we never do a damn thing throughout the regular season. OK, I'll bite. I lived 15 minutes outside of Iowa City for most of my life, am going to attend Iowa in the fall, and I can honestly say there is no entity in sports I despise more than Hawkeye basketball. It hasn't always been that way. Heck, when I was kid I didn't mind the Hawks at all. I don't like to generalize, but Hawk fans are the worst excuse makers and whiners I have ever had to deal with. Most of them can't accept that their team sucks, but whine and blame injuries and officiating all season long. At least when the Illini were bad, I could accept it. And when the Illini suck again, I will accept that. But if's, and's and but's are the mantra of most Hawk bball fans. When they win, it's because they are great, but when they lose it is always because of some outside influence. If I sound bitter, that's because I am. Whenever the Illini (or other teams) would beat the Hawks, it would be because: "(Insert Hawk name here) was injured." or "The refs were out to get us." or "You guys were lucky." Hell, even the local news media were that way. I know that basic homerism is to be expected, especially in the heart of a team's territory, but I have lived in a lot of places in my life and nowhere I have I seen it as blatant and unfailing as in Eastern Iowa. But it's not all bad. I made a killing in bets with Hawk fans. :P Never lived near any Kentucky fans, huh? Sorry Wastra, but it's true.

man, you are bitter. no he doesn't... you are just pissed that he just beat your team. he didn't. The referees did. :shock:

So who would you draft with the number two pick? Remember, you're the Saints and no one likes your franchise. And you have no face of the franchise. Trade down. Who do you take after you trade down? There has to be some agenda to it. Cutler. I can't imagine Aaron Brooks will be around much longer. BTW, Vince Young is a MAN.

Wide left???????

My observations in this thread are golden (0 for 2). Maybe I should be an analyst or something. Ummm, this Penn State offense is dynamic!

Penn State's passing game looks like a high school's. If FSU would stop committing penalties, they might be up 19-7.

Now is a good time considering they have a huge momentum swing on their side. I'd say they at least tie the game here. Betcha 5 make believe, internet dollars they don't. http://www.5fingermagic.com/_images/images/fiveone.jpg:oops:

Now is a good time considering they have a huge momentum swing on their side. I'd say they at least tie the game here. Betcha 5 make believe, internet dollars they don't.

If you're going to turn it over, I guess that's the place to do it. Maybe the D can score another safety.:P

Agreed. Unless Penn State turns it over, it looks like their D can hold the lead. Outside of the punt return, FSU really hasn't gotten much done all night.

60) Juan Pierre wil score 130 runs, leading to a WS title, and have to make up a new song. No more "wiggly feel" or "ivry."

How can you say that? He's hit 9 in his major league career of 3411 at bats. If he gets 3500 at bats in 2006, surely he has the chance to hit 10 HR's. :D :-k i'm just wondering how he got those 9 in the first place. He hit 8 of them from second base. The other was inside the park. :D

I don't want to make this a contentious argument, because I, too value the sabermetric organizational philosophy, but do you really believe this stuff? To be clear, you're saying that Hendry intentionally avoids players based on high OBP? Even if deep down he thought they were better players? Could it not be that he believes that what he is doing is making the team better on its own merit (as misguided as that may be)? I doubt that he is trying to prove a point, rather, just trying to win. I don't understand why his moves are taken as a personal affront to those with different philosophies. If you have examples where he has stated the above (OBP means nothing, etc.), I apologize fully. I'm just not aware of any such quotes. I don't think he's fighting any holy war, I just think he's inept. he's made statements in the past regarding OBP that cause me to believe that he's just not concerned with it. i can't recall any specific quotes, but they are there. granted, i'm being a bit hyperbolic when it comes to his anti-OBP position, but i'm frustrated. he's continually spurned players with superior OBPs (and don't get it wrong, OBP is not a sabermetric, it's a very orthodox stat that is easy to see, understand, and value) for players with inferior OBPs. case in point, he doesn't even look or sniff at giles but signs jones to 3 years and 15 mil. furthermore, he has the anti-stathead, assistant GM gary hughes whispering in his ear--and hughes appears to be a much bigger influence than anyone else in hendry's life. he also makes up phrases like "i like players who can catch the ball". who does he think he is? Simply put, if you value OBP, you don't praise hte performance of guys with sub or near .300 OBP like Perez and bring them back, declaring you're happy if they start. You don't routinely sign guys like burnitz and Jones for right field. You don't consider trading one of your few decent OBP guys (Walker) to make room for your worst OBP guy (Perez). The bottom line is that Hendry is an old-school "toolsy" GM. He cares more about natural abilities than performance- always has. That's not bad when drafting and signing pitchers, because control is really a "learned" skill while "toolsy" guys iwth live arms can't be just "created." But at the major league level is leads to constant signings of guys like PErez, Macias, Jones, Burnitz, Hollandsworth, and Baker. It leads to imbalanced rosters with nothing but free swingers with lively bats but no clue how to use them. It is painfully obvious that while Hendry might recognize OBP, he clearly doesn't give it the value that statistics say it should get. And that's why, IMO, Hendry can never get us over the top as GM. I agree 100% with these last two posts. The issue I had was with the contention that Hendry spitefully ignores OBP to aggravate the "stat heads." I think he makes ridiculous signings, but that it has nothing to do with showing anyone up. Again, I just think he's not real good at what he does.

I don't want to make this a contentious argument, because I, too value the sabermetric organizational philosophy, but do you really believe this stuff? To be clear, you're saying that Hendry intentionally avoids players based on high OBP? Even if deep down he thought they were better players? Could it not be that he believes that what he is doing is making the team better on its own merit (as misguided as that may be)? I doubt that he is trying to prove a point, rather, just trying to win. I don't understand why his moves are taken as a personal affront to those with different philosophies. If you have examples where he has stated the above (OBP means nothing, etc.), I apologize fully. I'm just not aware of any such quotes. I don't think he's fighting any holy war, I just think he's inept.

I'm really considering going home, going back to bed and pretending I never saw this.

Edit: nevermind.

Kaplan said that he heard that Hendry was pushing hard to acquire Zito, and P. Sullivan said that he had heard that from his sources also. I say just sit on him and don't flip him. That would be an awesome rotation. I agree unless it is for Abreu. A 3,4,5 with him in the middle would be outstanding.

That Burnitz signing has really pissed him off.

:shock: [rhetorical]So, would you trade Prior for Soriano?[/rhetorical]

I feel exactly the same way about Prior that you feel about Z. How much do you think that the inconsistency in #s of innings pitched has to do with his lack of control? I'm hoping that he has an incident free spring and comes out smoking from the get-go this year. Barring setbacks, and with a consistent throwing program (no 2B roadblocks or line drives off the elbow), I expect a 2003-like year from him. That being said, I am a huge Z fan, and would love to see him continue to improve as well.

1. MSU...Most Talent + Izzo 2. IU...Even Davis can't ruin that much talent 3. Illinois...Weber is a very good Coach 4. Ohio State...Dials is a beast, Thad has a good thing going 5. Wisconsin...Bo Ryan is a great coach, but I don't see enough talent there 6. Iowa...Another underachieving year for Alford 7. Michigan...They are getting better. 8. Minnesota...Not that good. 9. Northwestern...I like Carmody, he might win a few he shouldn't 10. Penn State...Um, it's Penn State 11. Purdue...Purdue is really really bad this year. They havn't been this bad in decades. I mean really bad. I agree with your standings, but I'm curious about this quote. Davis has already been to the finals- yes with Knight's players, but Knight couldn't do squat with them. I think he's a fine defensive coach, and now that he's got the athletes his offense should be ok (although it sometimes hurts my eyes to watch). This team was putrid offensively for the last two years, but really, who did they have? Bracey Wright was one of the worst things to happen to Indiana basketball in a while, as they ran everything through him based on reputation. He was an inconsistent shooter with very little supporting cast, which was a terrible combination. I would not be a bit surprised to see them in the elite 8 or even final 4 if they shoot well from the perimeter.

Through the BS filter sounds something like: "The Cubs were not really offering Prior, but we liked the sound of it so much we've dedided that's our minimum price. Anyone with an offer of a #1 starter and solid, ML ready P prospects can have him."