SeldomSeen

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."

Would you rather trade Prior??? That is the main idea behind this ridiculous theory! If it meant getting Tejada at the cost of replacing Murton with Burnitz, would you then be in favor of making a deal with Orioles. No. These are not the only options out there. What I'm saying is that I wouldn't necessarily "move heaven and earth" for Miguel Tejada. I wasn't trying to trash your proposal, but my dislike for Burnitz runs deeeeeeeeep. As I've stated before, I'd much prefer getting a big bat (LH) for the outfield than upgrade from Cedeno to Tejada. I like Murton a great deal, but I wouldn't hesitate to platoon him with Jones if it meant having a real threat in RF.

Hold the phone, here people. My worst fear last offseason was that Burnitz would be a Cub. The joy I felt when his option was declined was second only to that of Jose Macias Day. It would be great to get Tejada without giving up Prior, but lets not get carried away here. Oh, and it's not going to happen. I hope.

I'll take Greg Maddux for $9 Million, Alex.

Maybe next year they'll take Jones- one crappy ex-Cub RF after another, and another...

Now. I'd rather trade Lee for Tejada than Prior for Tejada. I'd rather assess our needs more accurately at the beginning of the offseason, and not trade either.:headache:

If he played RF his production would be far less impressive. The bulk of his value comes from the position he plays on the field. He's not a triple crown threat by any stretch. He's not a 3 or 4 hitter on a big budget team. Point taken. I was assuming top 3 at his position, and I'd much prefer a top 3 RF than SS with Cedeno around.

No.

I agree 100%. If Tejada were younger, left handed, played RF (pre-Jock signing), and without steroid suspicion, I'd think more of this proposal. As it is I think there is far too much risk involved. Prior's potential to string together 20 win/ sub 3.5 (or even <3.00) ERA seasons shouldn't be taken so lightly, imo.

Post of the year.

Makes it kind of tough to justify trading Prior in this environment, no? Finding someone from outside the organization to fill his spot in the rotation looks to be terribly expensive whether in $$$ or players. I don't think I could do that deal.

4 Runner with 155,000 miles with absolutely no problems. The wife has an Accord with even more miles with only regular mantenance costs. It has been incredibly inexpensive to drive for the last 7 years. I won't rule out domestic vehicles when the time comes to replace hers (soon), but I'd be hard pressed to convince her to get anything but another Honda.

Concepcion was my favorite player for a few years as a kid, but in retrospect it looks like his reputation was helped immensely by the team around him. I don't think we're having the conversation if he played for the Brewers.