Mather, Glaus, Ludwick, Molina, Larue

He can play anywhere. :-)

TSF

ok so i hardly ever post here, maybe i’ll change that but i had to comment on Steven Erikson. He is by far my favorite form of fictional entertainment-books, movies, tv, games, etc. His books are absolutely amazing. They are the best books i’ve ever read by leaps and bounds. Azru-did you know he is up to 8 now? You can get 7-8 on amazon.co.uk if you’re desperate for them once you finish the Bonehunters. Also, did you know Erikson created the world with a friend, who he is sharing the world with? His name Ian Something Esselmount. His first book is out—Knight of Knives (prequel of sorts, good stuff). His 2nd, Return of the Crimson Guard should be out soon. I’ve pre-orded it but can’t remember the date.

Also, i’m not sure how into you are but if you haven’t stumbled across it, i’ve found this to be the best site for discussion of the series:

http://www.malazanworld.com/forums/

Erikson himself posts from time to time. They frequently post a prologue before the book comes out. and several members actually know Erikson and give good inside-info.

I too really enjoy Wheel of Time, though some books sorta dragged along. Both though authors destroy Goodkind (sorry Matty!). I read the first 2 Goodkind and found that he borrowed too much from Jordan and i just didn’t like in general. To each his own though. I have no hesitation in recommended Erikson though. All the ppl i’ve let borrow books and such have loved it. it’s confusing at first, but the payoff is totally worth it :P

I think that As I Lay Dying is the great American novel. Faulkner just does it for me in a way that Melville can’t. Runner up would be Old Man and the Sea. Good luck on Ulysses, I can’t tell you how many times I started that. Finnegan’s Wake took forever to get through. As far as baseball, despite this series, the Cards are by no means out of it. However, the next several weeks will tell the tale. The Cubs seem to be falling to earth and it could easily be the Brewers and the Cards coming out of the Central with the Cubs failing to make the playoffs entirely. I tend to agree with LaRusa that we just need to score more runs. When you only give up three or four in 9 innings, you have to win most of those games. The question then becomes, where does that come from and where does he fit in?

We are clearly set at 2 OF positions (Ank and Ludwick), 1B, 3B, and Catcher. That means that any offensive help must come in the form of a 2 month rental in the OF (Rasmus is clearly the 3rd OF of the future) or (perhaps, and probably prefereably) a MIF. Given cost considerations, the most likely scenario is a 2 month rental in the OF. A few considerations (based on contract year, or club option for 2009): Adam Dunn, costly, but monster power, Ken Griffey Jr., (probably doesn’t want to move), and Raul Ibanez (really intriguing, decent power, walk year, maybe combine with deal for Washburn) seem to be the best possibilities. All three are in a walk year, all three could be considered salary dumps, and all three represent a significant power upgrade as the 3rd outfielder. Considering the Cincinnati is in our division and that Jockety is their GM, I think that Ibanez is probably the most likely option.

Lets look at his numbers:
.277/.345/.455 with an OPS of .800 which is just below his career OPS of .814.

Compare that to Skip Schumaker:
.292/.357/.419 with an OPS of .776 which is above his career OPS of .757.

Ibanez has much more power than Schumaker and draws more walks. Ibanez has 14 HR’s on the season, more than double Schumaker’s 6. All in all, this would be a nice upgrade as it would allow Schumaker to be where he really belongs, which is as a 4th outfielder. This does, however, leave a hole in the leadoff slot that Schumaker has been filling as of late. I think given that it would be, at least in part, a salary dump, we could have Ibanez for Duncan (I know he’s on the DL) and a B-level prospect. If we went for a trade with Washburn too (which I don’t think is such a great idea) we would include Reyes, and another B-level guy.

Just some thoughts.

loved LotR but Malazan is more purely entertaining.ducks lightning that is high end blasphemy i’m sure. Erikson throws sci-fi/fantasy conventions on their heads and is a breath of fresh air. there’s really nothing like it. :)

Winter’s Heart is pretty good. the ending is amazing! sadly, book 10, Crossroads of Twilight, is the worst of the series (comparable to book 4 of Martin’s). thankfully, 11 was quite good though. I’m looking forward to the final book even tough RJ, God bless his soul, isn’t writing it.

They were staring at Lohse’s corner fastballs like they would be beaten if they chased.