Now go home and get some ass!

If this was 2003, the Lopez trade would be great for Boston. The big question that will need to be answered..... will there be room for two players named Javy Lopez in the clubhouse down the stretch?

If the Braves let Jones go to the Cubs, I'm gonna firebomb something.

Yeah, plus the cubs don't have much to give back in return.

Yeah, Zambrano, and I don't want him.

If the Cubs gave away Zambrano, I'd call up some of my former clients and ask them to please take care of everyone in Cubs management for me. WTF. He's the best thing that crappy team has right now. As a Sox fan, I shouldn't really care, but I love that guy.

He is a good pitcher. He's also a good target for taunts due to his attitude:rolleyes:

true.

A #1 starter, with the way Hudson is pitching? Why not?

Granted, Charles Thomas, Juan Cruz and Dan Meyer wasn't exactly a massive haul to ship to Beane, Hudson is declining and BADLY . . . plus the injuries . . . I'd much rather deal with Zambrano and his overwork than Hudson's myriad issues.

When Big Papi wins the MVP over Jeter, Liriano, etc. this year, will people (Bill Simmons, etc.) finally shut up about last year?

No.

It's kind of funny, b/c Jeter's probably having his best season . . . but Papi's 'clutch' homers (plus leading the league in counting stats, which are SOOOO overrated) will probably put him over.

Liriano will have trouble w/ his DL stint . . .

If I hear "clutch" one more time, I'm going to be sick. A-Rod deserved it last year; I can understand saying Papi had an excellent year, but I wish people would just look at the numbers and admit that A-Rod was a good call. Bill Simmons and others need to get over the bitterness. I'll normally stand up for Sox fans, because a lot are very knowledgable about baseball.

I love that Jeter is having such a good year, although I must admit he gets the same halo affect as Papi from Yankees fans.

It's funny that Travis Hafner, who is probably the best hitter in the AL this year, isn't even getting a mention.

Agreed about Hafner - he's the classic example: his rate stats (which are way more important to, y'know, SCORING RUNS) are off the freaking charts, making him easily the best hitter in the AL. However, no one cares (at least, none of the asshole writers who vote) because other guys have better counting stats . . . like RBIs are 100% the hitter? C'mon.

A-Rod definitely deserved it last year - Simmons is awesome, but he's a classic Masshole in his Red Sox columns. They're filled with so many mistakes (starting with whining about the perfectly sane decisions to let Pedro and Damon walk, and ending with his manlove for Orlando Cabrera) that sometimes it's hard for me to read - I want to scream "YOU MAKE NO F-ING SENSE, I KNOW YOU HAVE BOTH A B-PRO AND SOSH ACCOUNT - USE THEM, YOU RETARD."

Brokeback Jeter
 

Definitely, and I've actually emailed Simmons a couple of times. He probably didn't read the emails, but I had to take issue with some of his points.

Hopefully people will start to notice just how good Hafner is; kind of like a Frank Thomas in his heyday, you think? I know PECOTA has some interesting comparables for him, like McCovey, McGriff and Pops Stargell.

Also, as a huge fan of Jeter, I really wish he'd avoided the whole cologne thing. Those ads are awful.

Jermaine Dye should get some consideration this year as well for MVP. He has had an amazing year.

It's probably similar, where people don't realize that hitting .300, walking 100 times, and smashing 40 doubles is actually better than hitting 50 home runs (and since he'll probably hit 45-50 HRs this year too, I mean . . . SICK) . . . Thomas eventually got his recognition, but only after years - plus his counting stats are nuts too. Part of it might be because Frank played in the field, too - but seriously, he barely played in the field . . . Hafner is a total freak, though, and in that regard they're totally similar.

S, I'm not sure if you read about this, but there's a new rule that no former Royal can win any award, ever again. Sorry.

(Know who leads the planet in SLG? Yep, Dye - he's definitely having a great season, way under the radar)

Thomas was probably the worst defensive first baseman for a while in the 90's, and probably one of the worst defensive regulars, period. However, I think his lack of recognition goes back to the counting stats you were talking about; you always heard more about Juan Gone during that time period because of the home runs and RBIs (even though he didn't do anything else).

I think Hafner could end up like a Manny case - one day someone will figure out how good he is, and you'll have 1000 columnists taking the credit for "discovering" his talent.

ETA: I think I found the next topic for my blog. Thank you, Mr. Hafner.

Word - Big Hurt's Rate2s in the 90s:

94
99 (56 games, clearly an abberation)
91
91
93
89
93
91
85(!)
92

FRAA:
-3
-1
-16
-14
-7
-10
-10
-9
-2
-4

Because 10 runs ~= 1 win . . . that means all those White Sox teams lost about one game per YEAR because of Big Frank's D - that's insane. Totally insane. Luckily, he was having overall WARPs of 8-10(!!!) in that time, clearly a Hall of Fame peak . . . but yeah, SHITTY fielding. While Hafner definitely sucks, he's never had a RATE2 below 94 (just for completeness).

-RC
--Is a nerd.

[QUOTE=KSig RC]Agreed about Hafner - he's the classic example: his rate stats (which are way more important to, y'know, SCORING RUNS) are off the freaking charts, making him easily the best hitter in the AL. However, no one cares (at least, none of the asshole writers who vote) because other guys have better counting stats . . . like RBIs are 100% the hitter? C'mon.[QUOTE]

Yes, but guess who checked out his rates prior to posting before that?

This guy.

Also, I got excited about having a new blog topic. Weird.

KSigKid
- Also a nerd

How did Mike Lowell get left off for comeback player of the year? I would have picked him before Schilling.

Went to Detroit to take in all four vs the white sox. Sooner or later, folks will have to start recognizing how good Dye has been this year in terms of the MVP race.

Yo yo yo yo yo wassup?

Who's gonna win it all this year?


Tiguh Tiguh Tiguh Woods yall!!!

4 games. 34 hours. What a weekend this is going to be for NY/Boston Baseball fans...

Add in two good football match-ups on Sunday (even though I can't stand football, it's Jets-Pats & Giants-Eagles) and it's an all sport weekend for NYers!:D :D

I'm looking for my Mets to secure the NL East title tonight... and I am hoping for a Subway Series this year!

WTF! The Mets just can't do $#!T against left-handed pitchers! Looks like they'll have to clinch it another day...

I wish I could see the games here in DC. mlb.com is simply not enough. :(

Let's Go YANKEES! :D

I'm with you there (except for the "Let's go Yankees" part ;) )! Last night I was so mad that I couldn't even go to a sports bar to watch baseball because of college football. Sometimes it sucks living in NC State/UNC/Duke country, and not giving a damn about any of the schools! Won't be able to watch it today either, because of NFL football (but at least I'll watch that).

Jeezuz H. Christ.

WTF happened to my Dodgers? Last night, they completely imploded. Ugh! :mad:

You're kidding, right? The Mets have a huge lead, and the Yankees trotted out Nick Green and Andy Canizarro today. Not to mention that they've been using Kevin Thompson and Andy Phillips regularly. Don't be one of those fans that makes too much out of a handful of games, even if they're against the Red Sox.

Fixed your post.

Trust me, nobody is more disappointed than me that the Mets just got swept by the 2nd worst team in the NL... but they are WAY ahead of the rest of NL, and the Mets and Yankees are tied for the best record in baseball. They will both win their respective divisions.

New York Mets: NL East champions, for the first time since 1988. :D