Pitchers and Catchers and Reporting
by DanUpBaby on Feb 16, 2010 5:13 AM EST
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PrintNow it's time to read the tea leaves, although I doubt the newspapers would appreciate you calling them that. What does Derrick Goold know that we don't? (N.B.: An A paper will parse this for tense, name location, and Dave Duncan's use of the em-dash.)
Mitchell Boggs, Blake Hawksworth and Jason Motte figure to be the favorites to fill out the bullpen. But Duncan also mentioned Rich Hill - a starter candidate - and there's also the return of Josh Kinney, Rule 5 pick Ben Jukich and a handful of other younger pitchers who could elbow their way in.
"Hawksworth was impressive with what he did last year, Boggs, Motte - you still have got guys who haven't established themselves," Duncan said. "They've got a leg up because of what they did last year. But they've still got to be better than the competition."
Hawksworth at a remove from Boggs and Motte? Boggs placed with full-season, full-time reliever Motte? Ben Jukich has been asked to report to camp, instead of just assuring Cincinnati management that he threw a few average innings and forging Dave Duncan's signature on the return slip? Now that players are doing things we can't see, and coaches are having meetings we won't hear about, we're left to speculate about comments that, in the grand Bull Durham tradition, explicitly reject speculation.
And where does it get us? Luckily, we have a record of that very speculation in the VEB archives—
2009: The recent conversion of Skip Schumaker to second base was enough cause for me to construct a lineup of players playing out of position, some of whom could earn extra La Russa points by playing out of two positions at once; Chuck talked, topically, about outfield and second base defense. Albert Pujols said the Cardinals had to remain competitive if he were to remain a Cardinal.
The big news this time last year, of course, was Adam Kennedy's surprise release and Skip Schumaker's even more surprising conversion from joke second baseman to purported second baseman. That would remain big news, but in the end both players did about equally well for—one more surprise—reasons we couldn't possibly have guessed. Kennedy's sterling defense collapsed, and he spent some time at third base, but he also turned in his best offensive season in years; Schumaker had the usual Schumaker year but clawed his way up into defensive relevance in the middle infield.
2008: lboros and Bernie Miklasz are both surprised and angry to learn that Matt Clement won't be ready for opening day. Of all the Cardinals' star-crossed non-trade deadline acquisitions (you know, it really is), Clement seems to have made the least impact on me—ten years from now there's almost no chance I remember that on this day in 2008, lboros was dismayed to learn he wouldn't start the season with the Cardinals.
You'll also notice the transition to the new platform—you're looking at it—being discussed. I'd say that's at least as important, in the long run, as some of the moves the Cardinals considered making at this point in the offseason, among them giving Bartolo Colon a once-over.
2007: This is where the Cardinals start to seem comparatively distant to me. There's a community projection for Jim Edmonds, which brings a tear to my heartless-blogger eyes, and which shows once more this community's ability to peg projection systems (if not the actual seasons) with remarkable accuracy. Valatan's announcement that pitchers and catchers have reported is combined with Ray Lankford apologia, which is always a plus. And the late-offseason acquisitions include a returning Preston Wilson, for whatever reason.
2006: Trade rumor, one that had just died as February, 2006 kicked into less-low gear: Jim Edmonds for Chien Ming Wang and Robbie Cano. Cano was coming off a batting average-driven 106 OPS+, with just 16 walks in 551 plate appearances; Wang, who I could have sworn was still called Tiger Wang at this point, had finally cracked the Yankees after a long career as an injured prospect with a funny name, but his strikeout rate in limited action was 3.6 per nine innings. Both players were good then, and would turn out to be very valuable later on, but 2005 was the last year of Jim Edmonds's incredible peak—that would have been a remarkable bit of selling high, even for Walt Jocketty.
(I remember there was a reasonably large contingent of sabermetric types convinced that Cano was a low-OBP slug who would end up at first base, and for good reason—his UZR that year, though it was considerably harder to find than it is now, was over -20. Trading Edmonds for the Robbie Cano would have been an astute move, but he could just as easily have been Jorge Cantu.)
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As good as Cano
has turned out to be, I still resent his success and continue to call for a decline, mostly because of his poor walk rate. I would have been among those irritated if the Cardinals had traded Edmonds for Cano in 2006. Never been a big fan of Chien Ming, either.
sprayahen.com -- Entertaining mean-spirited baseball fans on and off since 2005.
outside of 2008 the dude has been flat out tremendous
He’s going to be good for a while w/o the walk rate for a couple more years then his OMS will kick in. (and no, i’m not being facetious)
"How depressing is it being you? Would you equate it to being a lifelong Cubs fan?"
Reading about 2008
does not make me feel good about Brendan Ryan. Or really any of our pitchers. Would you like the opportunity to bring up Mark Mulder again? I’ve an open festering wound, Danup. Do you have any salt?
Think; It's not illegal yet.
wow...mlb.com has SABR projections linked on the homepage
mmmmm this is the year fellas…last couple of years slash stats have been creeping into broadcasts….now maybe this year is the death of W-L and RBIs!!!!
"How depressing is it being you? Would you equate it to being a lifelong Cubs fan?"
"Now it's time to read the tea leaves,
although I doubt the newspapers would appreciate you calling them that."
More Win. Turns out this dan guy is a clever fellow.
"How depressing is it being you? Would you equate it to being a lifelong Cubs fan?"
I wish you were right.
But, for how long did Gammons use OPS on Baseball Tonight and espn.com? Then, cut to 2009 Opening Night with the three-headed Sunday Night Baseball monster talking about “Ops.” Don’t forget that it was just last year Bernie was able to get the guys in the truck to show OBP in the hitter’s stat line while they were at the bat.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
It's just too bad about Kinney
I really liked him, though there probably aren’t stats to back that up. I know how TLR likes his pushbutton bullpen.
Kinney endeared himself to us all with his October '06 performance.
He did not give up a run in 7 postseason appearances and that’s what we remember. Since then, he has not had very good control. I think we may need to resign ourselves to Josh Kinney being one of the ’06 October heroes and not much more.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Yeah
looking back at his 06 season stats, he wasn’t really that great then, either. I mean, he was a decent 7th inning type, but no more, and he’s taken several steps backward since. He was rocked around pretty badly in Memphis last year, too…
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 16, 2010 12:06 PM EST up reply actions
azru covered this at futureredbirds.net
a few days ago, if you’re interested, sdrone.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Thanks for the heads up
Understand I’m not saying that he’s great; I’m just had hoped that we’d found a decent 7th inning guy for a few years.
Joe Posnanski's Predictions
As always, the whole piece is well worth a read. Here is some his NL Central analysis:
Best pitcher: Adam Wainwright. I wasn’t sure whether to list Carpenter or Wainwright as the Cardinals No. 1 starter. I ranked Carpenter No. 1 out of respect for his comeback and because he was so dominant when he pitched last season. For health reasons, though, I think Wainwright is the best bet in the division to have a great year. Chicago’s Carlos Zambrano and Houston’s Roy Oswalt are a couple of other candidates.
Best player: Albert Pujols. Who else? I have only two other 70s players in the division, both from Milwaukee: Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun.
And the predictions:
St. Louis: 93-69
Comments: I think Colby Rasmus might be the most exciting young player in the division — him or McCutchen in Pittsburgh. … I wonder if Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan will pull off some magic with starter Brad Penny. It’s amazing how Duncan simplifies things and teaches pitchers to stick with their strengths. I have no idea what, if anything, Penny has left, but I think he picked the right team.
I will also let you know that he does not classify Matt Holliday as the division’s best left fielder.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
This is amazing.
Or should I say, rediculous?
I should tell you that a big part of the system involves the ranking of players. I ranked each team’s top 3 starters, closer and everyday players on a 20-80 scouting scale, with 80 being Pujols and, well, here’s a little cheat sheet:
80 — Albert Pujols
75-79 — The best of the best not named Pujols. Only a handful of players in baseball in this group. Joe Mauer is a 78.
I want the Walrus back...
The whole post is filled with things that make me smile.
Posnanski is awesome.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Whaaaaa?
I think Colby Rasmus might be the most exciting young player in the division
Does that mean we have to start singing “Col-beeee Colby Colby Col-beeeeee”?
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 10:54 AM EST up reply actions
If we're going that route
it’s gonna have to be
Col-baaaay . . .
by brackenthebox on Feb 16, 2010 10:55 AM EST up reply actions
After Reyes's injury,
might Colby be the most exciting player in baseball?
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
*GASP*
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 11:29 AM EST up reply actions
Depends on your definition of "exciting"
I think McCutchen will be much more “exciting” to watch on a shitty Pirates team because he’ll be the best player they have, most likely, and he’s going to get the opportunity to steal a shitload of bases because he plays on a shitty Pirates team that isn’t going anywhere.
Rasmus will be a solid if not spectacular centerfielder, much like Andruw Jones in his younger years — he won’t make a lot of web gems like Jimmy Edmonds or Torii Hunter, he’ll just make everything look so easy that most casual fans won’t realize how good he actually is. He’ll probably hit with some power as well, but I don’t see him stealing 30-40 bags, even though he could, because he plays on a team that will be in competition for a pennant, meaning he won’t get to do “exciting” things the don’t help the team — like stealing bases.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
yeah
McCutchen and Rasmus are remarkably similar players imo, interesting that they started in the same year. I just think McCutchen has more entertainment value for the casual fan, because he will probably be the better hitter, while Colby is probably the better defender
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 3:09 PM EST up reply actions
McC can SELL IT
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
true
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 3:10 PM EST up reply actions
I want a magazine cover with him and McC and Panda
or maybe a humorous insert.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
i'm not sure
i think colby out ops’s mccutchen.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
I'm not sure he's the better hitter
I think he played way over his head last year. I do think he’ll be more exciting because he’ll get to tear up the basepaths since there’s nobody good hitting behind him.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I agree
if you compare their minor league records (and Colby had some injury issues in his last couple of years) there’s not a lot to separate them. If anything, I think Colby will turn into the better hitter ultimately.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:01 AM EST up reply actions
McCutchen is faster so he's more "exciting"
But I’ll take the player who is hitting 450 foot bombs.
Not afraid to nitpick
me too :-)
I think Colby will be the better player in the long run. He’s got better power potential and is a better fielder. I think McCutchen will end up in LF at some point.
Kinda like I would rather have Hanley Ramirez than I would Jose Reyes…
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
i would declare yet
that mccutchen is a better hitter. he’ll probably be a better avg/obp guy, but rasmus will have much more power. they’ll probably be about even according to OPS or wOBA
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
I Think...
…Duncan’s magic will work moore with Rich Hill than Penny, but then Penny needs less help, or so it would seem.
Big McLargehuge!
:=8O
Rich Hill
needs more help than just Dave Duncan. Dave Duncan and an army of doctors to figure out why he can’t hit 90+ with his fastball anymore. He’s Mark Mulder without the stupid tax.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
he better be
doesn’t he know what this is?
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 3:09 PM EST up reply actions
is it a round shape?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
I don't see how that's possible, even sarcastically
I remember watching him when he was at Iowa in AAA for the Cubs before his initial call up and then after his demotion. Looked like two different pitchers entirely. I just don’t see him making it all the way back.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
He's a lefty.
And, they tend to be able to hang on longer with sub-standard fastballs, don’t they? If he can re-invent himself, relying on his curveball to set up his fastball, he might be okay. However, he has always struggled with control, and to re-invent himself, he’d have to be able to spot his fastball much better than he’s ever done. It’s unquestionably an uphill battle for Hill, but he is left-handed, so he’s got that going for him.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
But he's a fastball/curve lefty though
Those guys don’t do well once they lose a little bit on the fastball or can’t throw the Bugs Bunny curve anymore. Zito and Mulder would be two examples. Zito hasn’t ever been as good as he was in Oakland, mostly due to a dropoff in fastball velocity and the fact that his curve isn’t as nasty as it used to be.
The Al Leiter’s and Jamie Moyers’ of the world can stick around a bit longer because they aren’t strictly fastball/curve pitchers.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
That's true.
But, if we were to get production out of Hill that is the equivalent of the ineffective Zito, I’d be pleased. Wouldn’t you? After all, he’s the no. 5 starter, if he makes the rotation, and we don’t need someone who is as good as Al Leiter or even Jamie Moyer in that role, although it would be nice.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Curveballs imo are useless
If you don’t have a fastball to set them up
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 3:54 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed, but I think for him to be effective at all
he’s got to be able to locate his fastball and curve, which he hasn’t been able to do for two full seasons now. He literally does not know where the ball is going when it leaves his hand. His BB/9 hasn’t been below 5.00 in either the majors or minors since 2007 — that’s nearly double his career rate before that.
I think the loss of velocity has led to a loss of feel for the strike zone because something just isn’t right about him and he knows it.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I suppose the question then is
whether the shoulder problems which led to surgery were directly related to his inability to throw strikes, and, secondly, whether that shoulder surgery correct the problem. I’m not particularly optimistic about the answers leading to an effective Rich Hill. It’s a good thing that Dave Duncan has magical powers.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Two things about Hill that worry me the most
1) Very high BB/9 rate
2) Very low O-Swing rate. Meaning no one is swinging at his pitches outside the zone
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 6:53 PM EST up reply actions
The thing about Hill that worries me the most
is that he’s finished as a major league pitcher…
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:03 AM EST up reply actions
ouch
I have to say it seems that way to me as well. I just watch from afar to see if he walks out of Duncan’s Repair Shop looking good.
I think the double-whammy of shoulder surgery
AND Steve Blass disease is going to be a tricky one to overcome. I guess it’s possible, but it may be Duncan’s greatest achievement yet, if so…
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 18, 2010 9:28 AM EST up reply actions
Hill has been a trainwreck for two years
I doubt much comes of him. Duncan isn’t a magician; ask Kip Wells, Brett Tomko, and Dustin Hermanson.
VivaElBirdos: Celebrating glorious mustaches since 2009
by redbirdnation8206 on Feb 16, 2010 6:17 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I REC'D THIS
but didn’t Hermanson do a hell of a lot better here than those other 2?
Lighten up, Francis - Sergeant Hulka
* sarcasm might be involved in this comment
yep
and I still can’t believe they made Braden Looper work
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 9:59 PM EST up reply actions
I was at a game he took a no hitter into the 6th...
it was a very odd experience.
"The two most important things in life: good friends and a strong bullpen." - Bob Gibson
I'm excited about
McCutchen- I think he could be a pretty solid player. Not to take anything away from Colby though.
by WyoCardsFan on Feb 16, 2010 11:25 AM EST up reply actions
I think Colby may be the better player going forwards
But I guess time will tell. I think 2009 was pretty much McCutcheon’s power ceiling, and Rasmus can still add a good 15-20 jacks…
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 16, 2010 12:08 PM EST up reply actions
I'm wondering what Colby's diet is
he’s not going to get power from yogurt and bananas, and his daughter is too little to power-lift as yet.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
He'll get power from those if he throws them into a protein shake.
Forget it, spants. It's Chinatown. - tom s.
having a kid
is the first step to obtaining OMS
Blaine Matthew Burns: Albert Pujols' biggest fan (his first words will for sure be "Albert Pujols is RIDICULOUS")
keep us posted on yours?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
3 months this friday
13 lb 4 oz 24.5 in…so far I’ve taught him to throw his binky with both hands and he occasionally gets it out of the crib…
Blaine Matthew Burns: Albert Pujols' biggest fan (his first words will for sure be "Albert Pujols is RIDICULOUS")
well, 12 weeks anyway
3 “months” the 27th
Blaine Matthew Burns: Albert Pujols' biggest fan (his first words will for sure be "Albert Pujols is RIDICULOUS")
so you're saying he's a thrower?
nice work
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
sounds like he's doing some long toss
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
he should get some video
to painguy, before mechanical issues develop – nip it in the bud.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
the opening
2 paragraphs are hilarious.
by WyoCardsFan on Feb 16, 2010 11:34 AM EST up reply actions
douchebaggery and age notwithstanding
would you guys take braun or holliday?
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
i'd take braun
I think the California contingent would be more likely to set him straight. As would the threat of Boog showing up at his house with a cool new t-shirt.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
oh wait... age notwithstanding?
hm… I dunno.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
It's basically a wash for me
But if age were a factor, Braun easily
Of all sad words of tongue or pen; the saddest are these: 'It might have been!'
i think i'd go holliday
they’re similar hitters, but holliday is the better defender
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
haha, who made that recced comment
about Braun drawing something in the dust…
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
it was mojo
http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2009/7/14/948643/all-star-game-overflow-thread#18225757
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Would've been so much better executed without the reply fail!
I need your discipline / I need your help / I need your discipline / You know once I start I cannot stop myself...
2009 wOBA
Braun: .405
Holliday: .390
They both have a career wOBA of exactly .400.
That’s pretty close.
I need your discipline / I need your help / I need your discipline / You know once I start I cannot stop myself...
Left fielders field, too.
And Braun has never struck me, when watching him, as a good left fielder. Of course, neither has Holliday, but he doesn’t look as bad as Braun, IMO. So, maybe Braun is better over all, but it’s got to be very close, especially when fielding is taken into account. Moving forward, I’d much rather have Braun. Before criticizing this sentiment. We are paying Matt Holliday $120MM over seven years, or, through his Age 36 season (meaning he is entering the post-peak decline years of his career). Ryan Braun is entering his Age 26 season (meaning he is entering the traditional peak years for position players) and will make the basement bargain salary total of $20.628MM through the 2013 season.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Yeah, I didn't really mean to imply that Braun was significantly better
I just thought the closeness of their wOBAs was interesting.
I’d take Braun going forward, too, if I’m considering age. If I’m supposed to ignore age…well, I don’t really know how to go about answering that in a reasonable way.
I need your discipline / I need your help / I need your discipline / You know once I start I cannot stop myself...
I just wanted to preempt someone questioning why I would not choose Holliday.
So, I explained why I’d take Braun going forward.
I agree with you that when you look at Holliday’s numbers and compare them around the league, he is a very talented offensive player. For whatever reason, I think that can get lost in the shuffle.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
I think the weird thing about Holliday
is that he’s not out-of-this-world at any offensive skill – he’s got good contact skills and so can rock that .300+ avg (which seems pretty repeatable), he walks a decent amount but he’s not elite in that respect, he’s not really a pure slugger and I doubt he consistently breaks 35 dingers in St Louis, he’s got surprising speed but he’s not really a SB/triples guy. He’s just very solid all round.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:09 AM EST up reply actions
Holliday
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 4:12 PM EST up reply actions
i'd have to take braun
anyway, but i can’t keep their contracts from entering my mind either.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
yeah and I'd have to take Holliday
because I can’t keep Braun’s personality from entering my mind.
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ
"I knew they were up to shenanigans." --TLR
except i said i'd take braun
irregardless of their contracts.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
your use of that non-word has discredited all your points
sorry. here’s a consolation pitcher.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
He makes a perfectly crommulent point.
by Mister Eff on Feb 16, 2010 4:36 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
cromulent
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Tough call
I think Braun is a better bat and younger, while Holliday is the better overall player when you figure in defense. Therefore, I’d take Braun longterm and Holliday shortterm. I will also climb up onto the proverbial fence and hopefully avoid butt splinters.
VivaElBirdos: Celebrating glorious mustaches since 2009
by redbirdnation8206 on Feb 16, 2010 6:21 PM EST up reply actions
I'm honestly not sure if that's supposed to be ominous because of the seriouses
or because it was once Ankiel’s number.
by brackenthebox on Feb 16, 2010 10:58 AM EST up reply actions
What's Mather's ST number this year?
Did TLR give him a single-digit jersey?
The Craig-as-66 news worries me about Craig’s chances of making the big club out of ST.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
i think mather having a little seniority on craig
is a factor – what is gotay’s number?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
The next Babe Ruth
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 11:50 AM EST up reply actions
next Cesar Izturis maybe
I crawled the earth, but now I'm higher, 2010 watch it go to fire!
by First mammal to wear pants on Feb 17, 2010 12:17 AM EST up reply actions
AC66!
I need your discipline / I need your help / I need your discipline / You know once I start I cannot stop myself...
hmm
http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/AC
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Feb 16, 2010 12:43 PM EST up reply actions
Aktivacní Centrum 66!
I need your discipline / I need your help / I need your discipline / You know once I start I cannot stop myself...
I'm kinda partial to Absorption Chiller 66.
Is it Spring yet?
by Bring Back Tommy Herr! on Feb 16, 2010 12:52 PM EST up reply actions
that was the year
Pompey kicked Mithridates’ butt.
Also, Cicero totally burned this guy: Again, there was Vatinius, a man who had a harsh manner and one which showed contempt for the magistrates before whom he pleaded; his neck also was covered with swellings. As this man once stood at Cicero’s tribunal and made some request of him, Cicero did not grant it at once, but took a long time for deliberation, whereupon Vatinius said that he himself would not have stuck at the matter had he been praetor. At this Cicero turned upon him and said: “But I have not the neck that you have.”
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Feb 16, 2010 12:56 PM EST up reply actions
cue Joe Mather montage synced up with
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 11:09 AM EST up reply actions
Bill Conti for the one-hit-win.
Note: Above comment may contain gratuitous amounts of sarcasm.
BOYCOTT HASS AVOCADOS
Well
He did win an Academy Award for the film score for The Right Stuff in ’84.
Time for a new sig.
by ISawGodInGibby'sRightArm on Feb 16, 2010 1:28 PM EST up reply actions
Even Rocky
had a montage.
"The two most important things in life: good friends and a strong bullpen." - Bob Gibson
by ducttape16 on Feb 16, 2010 3:25 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
My favorite montage is
Excalibur Montage, Carl Orff “O Fortuna” is probably the most epic song of all time
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 3:46 PM EST up reply actions
that'd be pretty awesome if he steals freese's job
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 11:14 AM EST up reply actions
when do they break out the cage matches in ST?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Feb 16, 2010 11:16 AM EST up reply actions
after they drink a case of beer
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 11:19 AM EST up reply actions
I'd be rather concerned about Mather's defense.
I doubt it would be very good, and I have no basis for this other than shifting a guy from the outfield to the hot corner seems daunting to me.
Also, Mather’s wrist terrifies me. With him, I’d prefer he start the year in AAA to get regular PAs.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
I agree that it's a stretch for mather to play 3b
but he’s played there some before right? it’ll be pretty hard for him to make the team though considering Freese and Craig are practically shoe-ins I think
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 11:34 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah,
he’s played about everywhere. I think we drafted him as a shortstop (like Skippy), then shifted him to center field a bit, then threw in some left field, tried a little first base, and a dash of third base sprinkled in there, too. So, maybe Mather at third is less of a stretch than Skip at second. Despite my qualms, I doubt Mather would be any worse defensively than Thursty or DeRosa. (I grew up watching Ozzie Smith, so I am probably overly biased in favor of defense.) With TLR, it is certainly possible, especially since TLR all-but-named Mather the starting third baseman last spring. Even if Mather is not the starting third baseman, as the list above establishes, he is the ultimate TLR utility knife, if healthy.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
if healthy
he makes the team, imo – he can play cf.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
only if molina goes down
but that won’t happen, because yadi’s also in the best shape of his life – are the players getting a kick out of/perpetuating this theme?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
maybe that was Piñeiro's terms for having won fantasy football
it has to end up in print to count, so he can check it online
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
I don't think Craig is a shoe-in....
Seems like there’s only one spot for Craig or Mather. Assuming he’s healthy (and none of us knows the state of Mather’s wrist) Mather would seem to have the upper hand because of his ability to play CF (and overall, being a better defender in the OF). Also, he may have the upper hand at 3B defensively since the Cards were seemingly prepared to play him full-time there last year.
by Willie McGee's Twin on Feb 16, 2010 11:51 AM EST up reply actions
i agree
but has it been decided yet that we’re breaking camp with the extra pitcher?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
i hope not
We don’t need 13 pitchers again.
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 11:58 AM EST up reply actions
I wouldn't be surprised though
I can see Julick being there instead of one of those two just for the Rule 5 thing.
by WyoCardsFan on Feb 16, 2010 12:02 PM EST up reply actions
I can't
We will be sending Jukich back to Cincy if they want him. No room for him
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 12:06 PM EST up reply actions
My favorite 13 pitcher moment last year
Was when TLR refused to bring in a pinch hitter in the 4th inning with the bases loaded or something despite the starter struggling badly…..because he didn’t want to burn the bullpen.
Not afraid to nitpick
Every time we PH with a starting pitcher (Wainwright, usually),
after Carp’s oblique injury, I found it incredibly frustrating.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
there was a front page post
sometime that compared the pitchers’ offense to the bench/dwarves. It was pre-Holliday.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
if we don't open Viva El Bar
13 Pitchers would be a good name…
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Feb 16, 2010 12:44 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
thirteenth one is free?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Feb 16, 2010 12:49 PM EST up reply actions
Buy 12 get 1 free
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 2:07 PM EST up reply actions
I think you just call the beer draws "Franklins"
And create some kind of flaming shot called a Wellemeyer, i.e. throwing gas on the fire.
Anyone who downs 13 Franklins and a Wellemeyer and then drives home would be “pulling a Freese”.
Clearly this idea merits a fanpost….
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I vote for a combined Viva El Bar fanpost
the information is spread out through 3 or 4 comment sections, and pops up again a few times
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
the full menu was already done
I’m saying it hasn’t been compiled.
not even So’s Sushi is all in one place.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
how about a few bobblehead nights
during the winter months?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Unfortunately
not to put too fine a point on it, and trying not not to be too gross, but someone driving home in that situatiopn would more likely be “pulling a Hancock”.
Time for a new sig.
by ISawGodInGibby'sRightArm on Feb 16, 2010 5:12 PM EST up reply actions
The flaming Drink should be
called the Jiménez. It serves double duty, after all—not one but TWO horrible relievers.
They say that it's never too late, but you don't get any younger...
I remember that...
Think it was one of those Welly days. I was screaming obscenities at the tv. Something along the lines of, " Wtf!! Why the f*%! do we have 13 f&^@$n pitchers if were not gonna use them NOW?!?!" …That was a fun day
"A slick way to out-figure a person is to get him figuring you figure he's figuring you're figuring he'll figure you aren't really figuring what you want him to figure you figure." ~ Whitey Herzog
I seem to remember many, many of those days...
Is it Spring yet?
by Bring Back Tommy Herr! on Feb 16, 2010 1:25 PM EST up reply actions
Hopefully less this year...
I really don’t think it will take much luck for our 5th starter to be better than Welly, though. Garcia, Hawksworth, or Hill should be fine. As for the bullpen, 13 again this year would be more ridiculous than last year…. Fingers crossed on that one though
"A slick way to out-figure a person is to get him figuring you figure he's figuring you're figuring he'll figure you aren't really figuring what you want him to figure you figure." ~ Whitey Herzog
Re-meme
I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster, drank piña coladas. At sunset, we made love like sea otters. That was a pretty good day. Why couldn’t I get that day over, and over, and over..
Time for a new sig.
by ISawGodInGibby'sRightArm on Feb 16, 2010 5:17 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
+1
Groundhog Day rec
I crawled the earth, but now I'm higher, 2010 watch it go to fire!
by First mammal to wear pants on Feb 17, 2010 12:19 AM EST up reply actions
I was only counting 12 pitchers when i said it'd be either Mather or Craig
by Willie McGee's Twin on Feb 16, 2010 12:11 PM EST up reply actions
if it's 12 pitchers
then the bench is larue + 4. barring an acquisition, i could see them being mather, craig, lugo, and gotay.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
With Brendan questionable
I see Greene on there somehow. Over Craig or Gotay.
by WyoCardsFan on Feb 16, 2010 12:25 PM EST up reply actions
gotay is the only lefty hitter, so he's in by default
i think they’d like greene to play everyday, so i don’t see a reserve role – if and when boog is dl’ed, greene would be called up as the starter.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
good call on both of those
I made this claim under the assumption that Brendan was on the roster, but with questions.
I wasn’t thinking about the LH/RHedness of them, so you’re prolly right on Gotay
by WyoCardsFan on Feb 16, 2010 12:46 PM EST up reply actions
With Ryan's wrist health questionable,
I don’t see how T-Greene does not make the Opening Day lineup. And, with Craig’s jersey number, I don’t expect to see him on the Opening Day roster, even if he hits like he did last Spring Training.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
No.
He might even be too old to be a prospect. Both he and Freese are getting long in the teeth to be considered True Prospects. That said, so were Skip Schumaker and Ryan Ludwick.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
yeah, but who cares?
whether Craig is or is not “too old” to make some prospect list is only important to a Lunhow-Law pissing match.
The question now is whether he’s good enough to be useful on the Cards’ roster.
If he’s not better than Joe Mather or David Freese going forward, no one’s gonna give a shit wheher there’s an Amber Alert out on his ass or not.
by Willie McGee's Twin on Feb 16, 2010 1:20 PM EST up reply actions
Apparently,
Cards Fan in Chitown cares, because he asked about Craig’s age. And, thinking about it, I care. I suspect a lot of Cardinals fans care because Allen Craig in 2010 is not Colby Rasmus in 2008, where the young prospect is in camp for some seasoning before his inevitable rise to starter for the Cardinals. Craig’s window is not going to be open for much longer, making this season an intriguing one in which to follow him. At least, in my opinion.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
yeah
he’s on the roster now, and I thought that if he was younger he probably wouldn’t make the team, but his age indicates he should probably make the team unless he really stinks it up in spring training, which would be a big surprise to most I think
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 1:31 PM EST up reply actions
I didn't say "who cares" about how old he is (which was what chitown's question was)....
I said “who cares” whether Craig is too old to be considered a prospect. (which was, IMO, a sort of non-response to chitown’s question)
In any event, Craig is 25.5 years old. That’s two years younger than Mather, Motte, and Stav, a year or so younger than Tyler Greene and Freese, 6 months younger than Boggs, and about the same age as Mark Hamilton or Shane Robinson.
Given the proximity of all these players’ ages and that many are fighting for the last few roster spots, it’s probably not true that his age matters much as far as making the roster.
Also, just for CFIC’s benefit, players who break into the majors at 25-26 yrs of age can be very good and valuable. Ryan Howard and Matt Holliday would be two examples.
by Willie McGee's Twin on Feb 16, 2010 1:59 PM EST up reply actions
ah
didn’t realize Mather was that old!
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 2:03 PM EST up reply actions
one problem
is the lack of a lefty on the bench. The Cards could still sign Lopez, who could partly fill that role. I see Gotay as a longshot, and Mather depends on how healthy his wrist is.
I don't see them signing Lopez
Unless he comes essentially free. Like 1Y$1M type of free.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
if Gotay and T Greene struggles
or Ryan is just not progressing as nicely. I think he will be signed. We still have a lot of money to spend. I don’t see us making a middle of the season trade. We don’t have the prospects to do it.
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 3:48 PM EST up reply actions
No, we don't
but there are a significant number of teams who are undercapitalized STILL and have some big contracts that they might want to unload for next to nothing (salary dumping). Like Alex Rios last year. If the right player becomes available, trading Ludwick is not completely out of the questions either.
Still better to have flexibility rather than spending $5M on a guy who is fairly redundant unless there are significant poor performance/injury problems.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I didn't say that he was
I was simply equating the dumping of his contract for essentially nothing by a team in financial difficulty. I could have used Freddy Sanchez as well.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I dunno if I'd count Sanchez as a salary dump
because the Buccos got one of the Giants’ top 10 prospects back in return; it was actually a fantastic trade for them, value-wise.
Granted, this move probably has to be Sabean-adjusted, but there ya go.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:19 AM EST up reply actions
Granted, I didn't have the chance to watch him utterly stinking last year
but I still quite like Rios and think there’s a good chance he’s above-average going forward. I don’t think that was a bad move by Kenny W.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:18 AM EST up reply actions
He didn't give up anything
so it’s hard to say it was a bad deal in any respect.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
He's had to eat a big chunk of money
that a lot of Jays fans were saying that Rios wasn’t close to being worth. However, I’ll take a multi-tool CF with good defense on a very unlucky year for that deal, I think. It’s a risk, but I think there’s a very strong chance that he bounces back to be well above average.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 18, 2010 9:29 AM EST up reply actions
good points
quibble with the price tag on floppy, though. i don’t see him getting 5. more like 3.5, max.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Lopez as regular SS
seems like a disaster in the field. Felipe hasn’t played shortstop regularly since 2007. The Nationals moved him to 2B in favor of Christian Guzman during the 2007 season. Only after Guzman was injured, did Lopez play SS again. Beginning in 2008, Lopez has primarily been a 2B. His UZR for SS ain’t that pretty.
IMO, if he is signed to play SS, his fielding value will offset a huge part of his offense value.
I'll bet Lugo is worse though
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 4:35 PM EST up reply actions
Too far in the past
the last comparable season is 2007. Lopez had a UZR of -9.0 in 104 starts at SS. Lugo had a UZR of +3.3 on 130 starts. Lopez is four and half years younger so he has that on his side.
I’d rather have TGreene’s glove and no bat with our pitching staff than Lopez’s bat and no glove.
I don't want
either Lopez or Lugo playing shortstop. However, I see Lopez having considerable value to the Cards as a good utility player – now, is that worth 3.5 m or so, I don’t know. But injuries do seem to come along and he provides some protection there as well as a good bat off the bench, given the ones we currently have are unproven.
Lopez is almost certainly worth way more than what he'd cost
but then, so are a few other guys (like Smoltz, Calero etc.). We can’t sign all of them, so I suppose it’s not a question of whether they’re “worth” their prospective contracts (they all likely will be), but which one (if any) fills a need and is the one we go after.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:21 AM EST up reply actions
but he wouldn't be signed to play SS
save for a handful of starts maybe at the beginning of the season or where Boog needs a day off. his value lies in his abilty to platoon with skip and freese.
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ
"I knew they were up to shenanigans." --TLR
Bingo
His “ability” to play short is just a bonus. By that I mean that he can take a few starts at the beginning of the season if absolutely necessary but more importantly he can be switched into that position if the batting order needs to be manipulated late in games.
I don’t see any way he gets less than 550 abs for the Cards with TLR at the helm. That essentially makes him an everyday player. With the way that teams are craving flexibility in their rosters, he would set himself up to have a great second act of his career as a lesser-power higher-obp version of DeRosa.
"I learned a long time ago if you keep checking your stats all year, you're going to end up in the toilet." - Chris Carpenter, 2009.
the way I see it
Felipe Lopez at SS > Ryan Ludwick at CF
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 9:55 PM EST up reply actions
With TLR at the helm
I would not be surprised to see T. Greene make the team as the backup CF.
"I learned a long time ago if you keep checking your stats all year, you're going to end up in the toilet." - Chris Carpenter, 2009.
he is also around to be Albert's new BFF
and the Cardinals do pay for BFFness. see: LaRue.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
(though Albert seems to have several BFFs. he is a generous mang.)
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
last spring
don’t know if this sorted link to fielding stats will work, but last spring Mather led all contestants with 13 GS at 3B while Barden played more innings. Tony gave him the number 7 jersey in anticipation of Joe being with the big club. The wrist injury kept him down last year.
Steller reporting, of course
You see, he planned on just showing up to camp and soaking up some sun. Maybe toss a bullpen or two. Jog some foul poles. See what happens, you know.
These kind of write-ups always bother me. These dudes are professional baseball players who all want to play under the bright lights of a big league stadium. They all want to be starters and all want to play a lot, if for no other reason than they’ll make more dough that way. Why is it news when someone says this?
VivaElBirdos: Celebrating glorious mustaches since 2009
by redbirdnation8206 on Feb 16, 2010 6:23 PM EST up reply actions
I approve of em dashes. see sig.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
The Verducci Effect
So (modestly) named by Tom Verducci is the idea that young starters whose workload increases by more than about 30 innings from the previous year are at risk of injury. Does anyone know of any more formal work on this idea? Verducci has an article up for this year – link.
His most interesting comment concerns Homer Bailey: “Bailey: This is probably the most troubling case on this list, if only because there was no reason to lean so hard on Bailey down the stretch. The Reds finished 13 games out. In his last nine starts, Bailey averaged 112 pitches and was given an extra day of rest only twice even as he far exceeded his previous high in innings. The club kept leaning on him because he was pitching well, but to what end?” So, everyone surprised that Bailey appears on this list raise their hands – Dusty Baker strikes again.
Wainwright can't reside well based solely on his criteria.
+109 IP from 2008 to 2009 (including his fantastic postseason start).
Waino isn't that young
Verducci claims the effect is most prominent for those younger than 25. He also has Bud Norris on the list, but says his increase was partly injury driven. But your angst about Waino is not the first time I’ve heard that his large innings increase last year bears watching.
Actually,
Verducci calls it “the year after effect” and Will Carroll labeled it “the Verducci Effect,” and that name stuck.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
apologies to Verducci
thanks for the link, bgh
I quite prefer
“The Verducci Effect,” as it sounds like a B sci-fi flick starring Nicolas Cage. Plus, I love naming things after the individual who discovered it, or, is credited with discovering it.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
You mean starring Ashton Kutcher...
lol. “The Butterfly Effect” Horrible movie…
"A slick way to out-figure a person is to get him figuring you figure he's figuring you're figuring he'll figure you aren't really figuring what you want him to figure you figure." ~ Whitey Herzog
I think I saw that one.
Wasn’t that the one where he goes to Las Vegas, or something?
Is it Spring yet?
by Bring Back Tommy Herr! on Feb 16, 2010 1:26 PM EST up reply actions
Maybe...
His movies tend to blend together with nothing of any relevance standing out to me. Like they’re all just one long-ass, lame movie with a terrible script. Although, I think the Vegas one had Vegas in the title.
"A slick way to out-figure a person is to get him figuring you figure he's figuring you're figuring he'll figure you aren't really figuring what you want him to figure you figure." ~ Whitey Herzog
Leaving Las Vegas is good.
And Cage was good in it.
Nowadays, he just does almost everything in an over-the-top fashion and it’s terrible. I burst into laughter when I saw Season of the Witch trailer. I may even see it for the humor it undoubtedly involves (unintentionally, of course).
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
I really want to see Warner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 1:44 PM EST up reply actions
So do I.
I’ve heard good things about it. I don’t know that it ever even played in my town.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
reviews were great
of course that’s here in new orleans – haven’t read anything national. anyway, i plan to see it as soon as this mardi gras thing is over.
for animal lovers, a documentary called Mine received a lot of attention down here. it’s about the plight of the former and current owners of rescued pets after katrina – people trying to locate and retrieve their pets from those who adopted them.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
yeah
the first Bad Lieutenant was crazy as hell, need to watch it again… can’t imagine what Herzog would do with this type of movie, it’s supposedly his last movie I heard
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 2:04 PM EST up reply actions
this movie
despite the title, is in no way related to the keitel film – it is not a remake or a sequel. per the reviews here, the only similarity is that both movies are about a cop.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
right
I was just musing on how it will be interesting to see how Herzog will treat a bad cop movie, since he usually does documentaries. I heard there’s a weird fascination with iguanas in this movie
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 2:11 PM EST up reply actions
there was full frontal nudity
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Oh, I was talking about Kutcher...What Happens In Vegas.
Leaving Las Vegas was great. One of my favorites. Cage was amazing in that, but you’re right. Everything he does now has Hollywood written all over it. Just bad movies.
"A slick way to out-figure a person is to get him figuring you figure he's figuring you're figuring he'll figure you aren't really figuring what you want him to figure you figure." ~ Whitey Herzog
No, but he has been in good ones...
Matchstick Men, Bringing Out The Dead, Lord Of War to name a few. His recent ones I haven’t even watched because they look so awful.
"A slick way to out-figure a person is to get him figuring you figure he's figuring you're figuring he'll figure you aren't really figuring what you want him to figure you figure." ~ Whitey Herzog
He did Matchstick Men for scale
All the others he made $10-$12M to do, which is a lot in Hollywood. He was very good playing two different characters in Adaptation (fantastic writing in the movie, btw, I love Charlie Kaufman), he was good in Windtalkers (Adam Beach was better though), and his best post-Oscar work was by FAR 8MM, and you will not convince me otherwise — that was a fucking awesome movie.
His best work, imo, was pre-Leaving Las Vegas:
Guarding Tess
Honeymoon in Vegas
Wild at Heart
Moonstruck
Raising Arizona
Peggy Sue Got Married
Rumble Fish
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Very true.
I’m interested to see him in Kick Ass.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
Face Off was great movie.
At first glance, because of the hokey plot, it looks like it would be TERRIBLE. But it’s really, really good.
by Willie McGee's Twin on Feb 16, 2010 4:02 PM EST up reply actions
Meh
I thought it was one of his worst movies at the time. Although John Travolta’s overacting really didn’t help any. Travolta is such a fucking hack — I don’t understand why people keep going to his movies.
Con Air and The Rock are much better movies. Even Kiss of Death was better than Face Off.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Con Air and The Rock
while being terrible movies, are at least fun. Face Off made me want to peel my face… off.
I unapologetically love The Rock.
Sean Connery is wonderful in that movie. And Ed Harris’s role was horribly underwritten. His was about the only interesting villain from the post-Die Hard terrorist takeover films. (Obviously, Hans Gruber is interesting, hence the use of “post-Die Hard” as the frame. As an aside, I watched Die Hard a little while back from start to finish. That movie is awesome. So entertaining.)
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
In my mind
Die Hard is the best action movie of all time. It is also the best Christmas movie of all-time…non-A Christmas Story division.
"I learned a long time ago if you keep checking your stats all year, you're going to end up in the toilet." - Chris Carpenter, 2009.
that's what we said
http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2009/12/23/1217221/twas-the-wednesday-before-christmas#27694903
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Feb 16, 2010 10:01 PM EST up reply actions
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 4:32 PM EST up reply actions
Con Air and the Rock are just OK.
I actually think Face Off was one of John Woo’s best films.
by Willie McGee's Twin on Feb 16, 2010 4:50 PM EST up reply actions
didn't like it personally
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
Wow
I thought 8mm was very poor, and I don’t mind Face Off (it’s a competent, even quite entertaining action film). We seem to have very opposing thoughts on nic cage movies (although in general I think he sucks…)!
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:24 AM EST up reply actions
8MM was great
You clearly don’t know what you’re talking about…
/sarcasm
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I think that after Leaving Las Vegas
which was his epic tour de force, Nic Cage just decided that he wanted a lot of really fast expensive cars and a shitload of Elvis memorabilia that the only way to pay for all of that was to star in movies based on who was bidding the highest for his services. The "Fuck the script, how much am I getting paid again? Is it enough to buy a new Bugatti or Elvis last toilet seat? If not, then tell them I’m doing “Next”!!!!" stage.
Then he went bankrupt…….interesting.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
+1
"A slick way to out-figure a person is to get him figuring you figure he's figuring you're figuring he'll figure you aren't really figuring what you want him to figure you figure." ~ Whitey Herzog
didn't he collect elvis's daughter?
does ‘jd’ have an opinion?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Yes
2nd weirdest celebrity pairing of all time (Huge Elvis fan marrying Elvis’ only daughter), second only to LMP marrying Michael Jackson (The King’s daughter marries the King of Pop).
Considering the wealth of her estate, she sure does get some props for being a bit of a gold-digger doesn’t she? Not Zsa Zsa Gabor territory, but it’s up there…
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Elvis' estate was in fairly bad shape until the last 10-12 years.
They’ve really turned it around.
Forget it, spants. It's Chinatown. - tom s.
Why did you put my name in scare quotes?
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 4:32 PM EST up reply actions
someone break out that photoshop
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Anytime anyone badmouths Cage
I feel compelled to bring up Wild At Heart, easily his best role. That movie rules so hard.
I still think Leaving Las Vegas is his best film
But I agree that Wild at Heart is right up there.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I think we agree on this one
I’ve not seen Wild At heart, but Leaving Las Vegas is awesome.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 18, 2010 9:30 AM EST up reply actions
you said it there, but I'll say it again
because Dusty Baker.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Feb 16, 2010 12:48 PM EST up reply actions
"Oh, no," Oakland GM Billy Beane told me. "We didn't. We always keep an eye on the Verducci metrics."
I read that with the sarcasm filter.
Not afraid to nitpick
Doesn't that go without saying?
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
I want to know who _isn't_
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Motte
he just ate peanut butter and smoked pot all winter. He wore sweat pants for a week straight!
by Mister Eff on Feb 16, 2010 1:51 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
hmm... I was going to say he was doing the Fernando Valenzuela training regimen
but he wasn’t as big as I remember.. I always saw FV as a really tubby guy but there are a lot worse.
Yay Sarah Marshall quote.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
You shall not pass!
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 2:25 PM EST up reply actions
you know, bgh, it really does
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
ah crap
I have that guy in one of my fantasy leagues
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 2:12 PM EST up reply actions
ARRGGH. Me too.
Is it Spring yet?
by Bring Back Tommy Herr! on Feb 16, 2010 2:15 PM EST up reply actions
who will we look to for awesome baseball names now
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
sucks
he’s an exciting pitcher
always pegged him as a futrue CYA contender
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
That's a pretty damn good deal for just Uggla
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
yeah
i’d say either of those guys is great value for uggla straight up, so you still owned this trade.
In other news, your league sucks.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:26 AM EST up reply actions
Lugo
any chance the Cards just dump Lugo in ST? if Ryan’s healthy at SS, I think I prefer a bench of TGreene (backup SS and 2B, plus PR), Craig/Mather (backup 1B, 3B and OF, plus PH w/ power), Jay (lefty PH, PR, backup CF), then Gotay and Lugo fighting it out for the last spot.
Why would they dump Lugo?
- He’s essentially free.
- He has some on-base chops.
- He can stand around at a bunch of different positions.
- Who will have the nerve to tell him that he is released?
by SouthsideCardsFan on Feb 16, 2010 2:43 PM EST up reply actions 5 recs
worst to worst
He probably can still get his old job back in India
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 2:47 PM EST up reply actions
his laser death stare notwithstanding...
his on-base skills are offset somewhat by his lack of pop and weak defense. and he’s the same price as TGreene.
But, this. . .
OBP + 0 SLG > SLG + 0 OBP
by SouthsideCardsFan on Feb 16, 2010 3:55 PM EST up reply actions
Projections don't peg Lugo's and Greene's OBPs that far apart:
Lugo: .332, .332, .324
Greene: .307, .310, .320
(James, CHONE, Marcels respectively).
If you factor in Greene’s power and much better baserunning chops, and they’re basically equivalent offensive players (around a .310 projected wOBA), if you go by the projections.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:29 AM EST up reply actions
FWIW
if we signed Lopez I would be fine with either dumping Lugo or trying to trade him for a very marginal prospect or bullpen arm or something (I doubt we’d get much back). As it is, I think he’s worth holding onto.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:30 AM EST up reply actions
i can't see lugo being dumped
i think he’s pretty valuable at league minimum, a view likely shared by tlr (though few here, i think), considering the likely inexperience of our bench. i’d be surprised if jay made it – being a lefty he really doesn’t help us in cf. i could see him being traded, though, if he has a good spring.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
perhaps if Mather doesn't make the team
Jay will, unless we sign another player at the last second (don’t wanna see Luddy in CF anymore, anyway)
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 2:48 PM EST up reply actions
you don't platoon a lefty with a lefty
despite our need for a lefty bench bat (which is why gotay has a leg up), jay’s main asset seems to be his ability to play cf, and this is the quandary, because we need that player to be a righty hitter.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
ah
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 3:10 PM EST up reply actions
i understand Jay's rendundancy
but the alternative we’re looking at is Mather or Ludwick as our backup CF, and Gotay as our only LH bench bat (provided he plays well enough to make the team). Jay isn’t a perfect fit, but there are definitely uses for him.
I guess, is it more likely that TGreene learns to take a few more walks (making Lugo expendable), or that Mather or Ludwick become competent CF (making Jay expendable)?
Also, Jay is nearly as good or better than Rasmus on defense
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 3:25 PM EST up reply actions
if he's that good in cf, then unless he beats out colby
he’s gonna be traded at some point.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
I don't buy this, actually
He only had one year better than Colby in the minors, and that was a pretty big outlier from the rest of what he’s done in the minors by Total Zone. He might be as good, but I certainly don’t think he’s better by any stretch of the imagination — if that was the case, he’d be a much bigger trade target then he has been the last couple of years.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
no outliers
in 08: 25+ runs per 150
in 09: 20+ runs per 150
with both being in CF
Rasmus in comparison
07: 12/150
08: 15/150
09: 13.4/150 UZR
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 3:52 PM EST up reply actions
Somewhat oddly
ZiPS projects Jay as only average in CF, very good in a corner, whereas it has Colby as Very good in CF. FWIW, I tend to think Jay’s probably not as good, and if he is, he’s a very good sleeper, as he’s probably got every chance of putting up Colby’s 2009 numbers (.307 OBP, .407 SLG) in the majors, and Colby was an above-average player in 2009 thanks to his defense. FWIW, CHONE projects Jay at .333 OBP, .401 SLG, and ZiPS has him at .329 OBP, .388 SLG, both of which are slightly better than Colby last year, but both systems don’t rate his defense as highly.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:34 AM EST up reply actions
mather is competent in center, imo
and should not be compared to luddy in that regard.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
there's an article just posted on FG
that makes the same case for Endy Chavez on the Rangers as I was for Jay on the Cards… right down to the handedness redundancy
link
he's really a lefty
if you look at his splits. don’t see him getting any righty at-bats (which means he’s not a good platoon for schu, and so probably relegated to taking some ab’s from freeze against tougher righties, plus a little action at ss – lugo looks to me like schu’s platoon)
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Ugh
I hope Gotay doesn’t ever see any action at SS. He’s horrible there, according to UZR.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:34 AM EST up reply actions
Per Bernie, EVERYBODY except for 5 players have cleaned out their lockers
It’s a non-story
Of all sad words of tongue or pen; the saddest are these: 'It might have been!'
Considering how bad they were the last couple of years,
Only Avery, Jackson, Barron, Long, and Laurinaitis should even be keeping their lockers.
That said, that’s a pretty nice core of young guys to build around. They draft Claussen, keep Boller, and trade for Anquan Boldin (or sign T.O. — no matter what you think of him, he can be productive for a team with a QB. He would be a good target for Claussen in his rookie year, imo), and you have a pretty decent shot at winning 6-8 games next year. It’s not like that division is getting any better than it was last year. With Warner retiring, it’ll probably be worse.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
no more DT's
No matter how good they are in college
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 3:41 PM EST up reply actions
Didn't Barron lead the league in false start penalties?
And please no Jimmy Clausen. Do you realize how big a douche you have to be to get punched out by your own fans at a college as the starting quarterback and then that guy doesn’t get beaten to death? I can’t even wrap my head around how big a tool he must be, it’s like this sort of a thing. Plus he’s not a very accurate thrower. Bradford is twice as good as Clausen.
Not afraid to nitpick
Bradford has injury risks
I am not sold on Claussen though
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 3:52 PM EST up reply actions
A whole bunch of NFL QB's have blown up their AC Joints
If Bradford throws at the combine and looks fine (which he should after this much time), he’d be a fine #1 overall pick. But yeah if he can’t throw that’d be dicey.
Not afraid to nitpick
I really don't understand
why everyone is all excited about the QBs. Last I checked we didn’t have anyone who could tackle, pressure the QB, cover a receiver, block for the QB, or catch the ball. I think if you get adequate receivers and a line in front of Bulger he’d turn into a passable quarterback. Which is why I have long been a fan of blowing the whole thing up and trading Jackson for help in the passing game. Like I said in the NFL AP(After Peyton) you pass to set up the run with how they made defense illegal.
"The two most important things in life: good friends and a strong bullpen." - Bob Gibson
I think if you get adequate receivers and a line in front of Bulger he’d turn into a passable quarterback.
Maybe, if he’s not irreparably mentally damaged. Even a below average NFL quarterback should be able to come within 10 yards of open receivers every once in a while. I’m exaggerating a bit, of course, but he consistently made horrible passes even when not pressured. The Rams’ offensive line last season before all of the injuries took their toll was no worse than below average.
by SouthsideCardsFan on Feb 16, 2010 4:16 PM EST up reply actions
But when everything fell apart
I think Bulger reverted to kicked puppy mode… forcing things just so he didn’t get killed. Granted living in Chicago what I saw of him playing was limited so consider that…
"The two most important things in life: good friends and a strong bullpen." - Bob Gibson
I completely disagree with this assessment
Claussen was outstanding for a team with literally no offensive weapons last year. None. He’s played in the West Coast style offense his entire college career and he’s played under center as well. Those are two BIG things going in his favor over Bradford, and that’s before we get to the injury issues.
Case in point: Spread QB’s don’t transition to the pros well at all. Take Matthew Stafford: Put him under center and he’s about half as good as putting him in the shotgun — which the Lions did a lot when they were behind and had to throw the ball. Matt Ryan, Mark Sanchez, and Joe Flacco all played under center a lot in college and were successful transitions into the pros. Same with Aaron Rodgers. Yet guys like Colt Brennan, JaMarcus Russell, Alex Smith, Pat White, and Chase Daniel have trouble even making NFL rosters after being prolific passers in college. Daniel would have been a first round pick had he come out after his junior season — he barely got drafted after his senior campaign. I’m not saying Bradford isn’t good, I just think there’s a lot of questions about a kid coming out of a school with 2 other former Heisman QB’s in the last 12 years (White, Heupel) — neither of which ever made a dent in the pros.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
and the other receiver was just as good
once he returned.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Michael Floyd?
He played all year. Golden Tate was hurt most of the season.
Floyd is an average possession receiver despite being a 5 star recruit. He’s setting Notre Dame records because Notre Dame was an option/running school for most of their history.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
A possession receiver who averaged 18 yards a catch and averaged >100 yards a game?
Not afraid to nitpick
....because he was the only target on a team
with a really good quarterback?
Just because you are a breakaway guy in college doesn’t mean you aren’t a possession receiver in the NFL. See Johnson, Keyshawn.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Golden Tate was the leading receiver in yards and receptions
Michael Floyd was out for 5 games. Michael Floyd is a projected 1st round pick in the 2011 draft and certainly was not in ANY sense of the term a “possession receiver” last year.
Not afraid to nitpick
sorry for the confusion
i meant floyd was just as good as tate once tate returned – just adding to mysterui’s comment..
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
I think you have them switched...
Tate was the Biletnikoff winner (1,500 yards receiving, 15 rec TDs) and was healthy all year. He is projected to be a late first rounder.
Floyd broke his collarbone and missed much of the regular season.
Free Melodi Dushane
Sorry if this is late btw, I didn't read the rest of the thread
and got a little to excited about ND players
Free Melodi Dushane
Yah, I goofed
I thought Tate was a late first round projection AND that he had been hurt. Didn’t look it up, dammit.
I still think he ends up falling out of the first round. I think the only reason he gets drafted there is that the WR class this year is terrible.
Floyd should be a stud in Brian Kelly’s offense and will probably be a top 10 pick next year.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Agree on Floyd. He has all the tools.
Tate seems to be holding on to late-first round status for now. I’m in NYC and Jets fans are all about this guy.
Still I don’t think the combine suits him – he’s not going to blow anyone with his 40 time, and his ridiculous hands won’t get the same press.
Free Melodi Dushane
Unfortunately
the combine can make or break you. He might work on the Jets as a 3rd receiver (like Harvin, but without the explosiveness), but I don’t see him beating out Braylon or Cotchery for a starting spot.
He’s a tweener size wise and he doesn’t have great speed. I just don’t see that type of receiver being a #1 or #2 in the NFL at this point. Moss and Smith had great speed and that made up for their lack of size. Same with Eric Metcalf twenty years ago. I don’t see Tate as that type of guy.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I think you missed a very important "away" in one of your sentences
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 6:54 PM EST up reply actions
No no, you should see him. Totally NSFW.
Free Melodi Dushane
by all4tookie on Feb 16, 2010 7:08 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Golden Tate played every damn game btw.
Michael Floyd is very good though. His stats are going to suffer when a guy like Golden Tate is on the other side. This isn’t even considering Kyle Rudolph and how good of a TE he is.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
...is a 4th round draft choice most likely
He’s not near as good as the guys that Bradford was throwing to last year.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Golden Tate is going to be a late first early second round pick
The only thing wrong with his is his height. I seriously wonder where yo uare getting your scouting reports.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
I don't think he's that good
This year is a crappy year for WR’s — if he was in last years draft he’s a 3rd rounder for sure. He’s not better than Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt, and they were 2nd rounders last year. His height is a huge problem, and he’s not an exceptionally good route runner by the scouting reports that I’ve seen. If he doesn’t post a sub 4.4 dash at the combine he will drop like a load of bricks in the draft.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Arrelious Benn for the win
(after he blows the combine up)
Blaine Matthew Burns: Albert Pujols' biggest fan (his first words will for sure be "Albert Pujols is RIDICULOUS")
he'll be the 2nd WR taken
behind Dez Bryant
Blaine Matthew Burns: Albert Pujols' biggest fan (his first words will for sure be "Albert Pujols is RIDICULOUS")
Bryant is the only true #1 WR in this draft
No other WR is in the top 35 players. I’ve seen Benn and Tate right around the 35-45 mark in most mock drafts, which is why I don’t buy it that they’ll both end up in the first round. I think Benn is more likely to succeed than Tate, but I don’t think either of them are as good as Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt who were second rounders in last years draft.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I'm just going to disagree
I will admit, I have bias here as a ND fan, but other than Dez Bryant and perhaps Benn, Tate is the most viable option. He’s quick, has great hands, and his only shortcoming is his height.
I am relatively sure he will beat a 4.4 seeing him this year. It’s rather impressive how his numbers blew up after Floyd went down.
In football, the object is for the quarterback, otherwise known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his recievers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use the shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.
In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! "I hope I'll be safe at home!"
-George Carlin (RIP)
In fairness,
Darius Heyward-Bey isn’t better than Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt either.
by brackenthebox on Feb 16, 2010 8:52 PM EST up reply actions
Correct
And Heyward-Bey was overdrafted by about 25 picks according to most mock drafts last year. That’s just Al Davis being Al Davis.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I loved the look of relief on Michael Crabtree's face when the Raiders didn't pick him
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 17, 2010 10:28 AM EST up reply actions
Ummm, about....everything
Golden Tate is going to be a 1st round pick. Michael Floyd was a 5-star recruit and a projected 1st round pick next year. He was playing with 2 first round pick receivers.
Stafford is looking to be a pretty good NFL QB. Bradford played under center quite a bit at Oklahoma btw they don’t run a pure spread. JaMarcus Russell played under center at LSU.
Don’t compare Brennan and Pat White and Jason White and Daniel to Bradford. They didn’t have arm strength or the size to play the position at the NFL level and were drafted as such. Chase Daniel would not have come close to the 1st round at any time in his college career. Alex Smith…okay, yeah he sucks and at the time everyone rated him as being high risk high reward. Aaron Rodgers played in Tedford’s pass happy attack. In any case, Brady Quinn’s mediocrity counts against Clausen just as much.
Not afraid to nitpick
And two 1st round pick TE's
and two freshman, now juniors, who will be 2nd and 3rd round picks, and the best offensive line in the country two years ago, and a great running game, and a weaker schedule….on and on and on and on.
You want to bet who is the better NFL QB? I’ll take Claussen. I’m not going to continue to debate this — it’s senseless.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
You don't just get to throw stuff out that's objectively wrong though and not get called on it
Two freshman who hardly played? A weaker schedule that saw them play 7 ranked teams and three top 5 teams? A “great” running game that ran for fewer yards per carry than ND?
Not afraid to nitpick
You're doing the same thing
You’ve decided that Bradford is better and will argue it to the death. I know how you operate.
Fact is, Claussen is more prepared to be successful in the pros than Bradford, has fewer questions about his makeup, and has already been in the limelight for most of his career so he knows how to handle it.
You don’t like him because you think he’s a douchebag — that’s not very objective. I think Deion Sanders is a douchebag, but he’s also probably the best cover corner of all time and one of the top 5 punt returners in the history of the game. Be careful about judging people that you don’t know.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
what are the questions about bradford's makeup?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Haha
The d-bag thing was a joke. Sorry for trying to be funny.
Aside from saying that Bradford played under center “quite a bit”, where exactly have I thrown out something that was objectively wrong in any sense like “Clausen had zero playmakers” or Oklahoma had a “weaker schedule” or “Jason White/Pat White/Chase Daniel/Brennan are at all comparable to Bradford”?
Not afraid to nitpick
The question is
Does Notre Dame win any more games with Sam Bradford at QB or Jimmy Claussen, playing in the pro system that Weis installed? I think it’s pretty hard to make a case for Bradford in that sense actually.
How is Jason White NOT comparable to Bradford? Or Josh Heupel for that matter? They played in the exact same offense at Oklahoma, were awesome in college, and couldn’t hack it in the pros or even get DRAFTED in the pros? I don’t understand why they are not comparable.
I will gladly compare Claussen to Brady Quinn in that same context. I think Quinn’s struggles are a function of his environment. If he was traded to Philadelphia and was the starter there, I guarantee he’s in the top half of the league in passer rating next year. He can play, but you are only as good as the players around you. There’s only a few QB’s in the history of the league that can elevate average talent to an All-Pro level. Manning, Marino, and Elway are the three that come to mind.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Well that addresses my point of asking what "I was doing that you were doing"
But I’ll still bite. If you give Bradford a year of experience in that system (like say the year of experience in the NFL they’ll get, or the two years Clausen spent being bad in that system), yes I’d say he’s better. He’s got a stronger, more accurate arm.
Jason White and Heupel didn’t have NFL arm strength or accuracy. It’s that simple. Bradford does. I could just as easily say look at how badly Landry Jones sucked with pretty much the same supporting cast.
I don’t care about Bradford’s stats or any of that, yes, those are irrelevant in the sense that they’re completely inflated by the system. But the guy is really good at throwing the ball, that’s what matters. I can agree to disagree on that, but I’m not going to sit back for “Golden Tate and Michael Floyd aren’t playmakers”.
Not afraid to nitpick
Again...
I could just as easily say look at how badly Landry Jones sucked with pretty much the same supporting cast.
That’s not even close to true. You put Landry Jones in front of the line from 2008 and he puts up some pretty sick numbers. They lost 4 of the 5 starting OL from that team and 3 of them were in the NFL last year. Loadholt started all year for the Vikings, and Trent Williams (the other stud from 2008) got hurt and didn’t play much last year for OU.
Claussen completed 68% of his passes last year. That’s as good as any year that Bradford had. 28 TD’s to just 4 INT’s. Bradford had 50 TD’s and 8 INT’s the year before in 68 more attempts. That’s pretty similar when you consider that Notre Dame ran the ball a lot inside the 10, where Oklahoma passed a lot inside the 10.
I’m not going to judge them on rating because the college rating system sucks. I clearly think that Claussen is more prepared for the NFL than Bradford.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
They scored a lot more
More than any team in the history of college football, actually.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Then how can you say that Bradford is MORE accurate?
When their best seasons were about the same?
If anything, your Tebow comparison makes Claussen all that more impressive since Bradford plays in a similar system to Tebow and Claussen plays in a pro system.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Seriously take this into consideration in regards to Bradford...
Iglesias is terrible. Im a Bears fan and he spent the entire year on the practice squad. Yes, the practice squad. Even with with our awful receivers, he couldn’t manage to crack to crack the top 6. That list included Rashied Davis for F sake.
Other Stuff: Top 3 wideouts in the order they will be taken..
1) Dez Bryant
2) Arrelious Benn
3) Golden Tate (He is a first rounder…not 4th, or whatever the hell)
"A slick way to out-figure a person is to get him figuring you figure he's figuring you're figuring he'll figure you aren't really figuring what you want him to figure you figure." ~ Whitey Herzog
I think Bradford has talent
I just think he’s really going to struggle, much more than Claussen is due to missing a full year of football and not having played in a pro style offense. Maybe he’ll be better in the long run, but it’s not a chance I would take when there’s a guy in the draft who could come in and be a starter right away while being pretty successful.
I would bet anything that if both guys are on the board when the Redskins pick, Shanahan will take Claussen over Bradford.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
i'm not so confident as to bet anything
but i’d be awfully surprised, unless there were some issues with bradford’s shoulder
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Do you even watch college football?
They keep statistics on this stuff you know. Bradford took exactly 8% of his snaps under center in his college career. 5% of those were inside the 5 yard line. HMMMMMMM. That’s a LOT of time in the shotgun and spread. Oklahoma ran 75% of their plays with 3 WR or more on the field that season. So they even RUN out of the spread.
Claussen took 55% of his snaps from under center. It’s not even a close comparison.
I don’t buy Tate as a first rounder. He’ll drop at the combine when teams get a look at his size — teams were worried about Percy Harvin being durable, and he’s much smaller than Harvin with a laundry list of injury problems to boot. He can fly, but he’s not Steve Smith or Santana Moss in terms of talent. He’s a return specialist/third WR — those guys don’t go in the first round. If he does, it’s a reach.
Stafford was good to above average — when they were playing shitty teams or were way behind. He also is throwing most of his passes to a freak of nature at WR. If Calvin Johnson played on a team that got on TV, he’d be a top 3 WR in the league by everyone’s estimation. He’s bigger, faster, and runs better routes than Larry Fitzgerald. The only guy who’s even close to him athletically is Andre Johnson, and he’s been regarded as the best WR in the league for three years running. I think Stafford could make it, but it’s going to take some time for him to adjust to NFL defenses, which is what we saw with his high interception rate this season. I think Sanchez will be a much better QB and will be better sooner, because he played in a pro style offense is college.
Quinn could be a good QB if he simply got the fuck out of the hellhole that is Cleveland. You put him in a place with some decent talent and he’s probably Matt Hasselbeck, and you can win with Matt Hasselbeck.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Hahahaha
So Bradford ran plays under center sometimes, and 25% with 2 or less WR’s. “Quite a bit” was an exaggeration yeah…….but it’s still not a pure spread or do you not know what a pure spread offense is? Clausen played in a more pro-style offense. Yay! And sucked for two years….boo!
So the draft projections are wrong and if an NFL team still takes him, you are still right. K.
Stafford was a 1st year QB. 1st year QBs suck unless they have talent around them. No one is calling him a bust and is irrelevant to the discussion.
Not afraid to nitpick
If you're talking about the 4 WR look as the "spread"
than you clearly don’t watch college football. Teams run the spread offense now with 3 WR and two backs, 3 WR/1 RB/1 TE. There are very few “pure spread” teams like Texas Tech around or the even purer spread form that Houston ran back in the late 80’s and early 90’s with David Klinger, Andre Ware, etc. Just because they aren’t spread 4 and 5 wide doesn’t mean they aren’t running the spread — Purdue ran the spread for Joe Tiller’s entire tenure there and they used TE’s and H-Backs for most of the time. The spread is an equalizer for the offense to determine what coverage the defense is in and to give the QB fewer defensive looks, making it easier to get reads pre-snap. I’ve spoken extensively with Tom Herman, who used to be the OC at Rice (now at Iowa State) about this, and that’s essentially the entire point of the offense.
The point is this: A QB who’s running the spread offense can generally know where the ball is going to go prior to the snap at the college level. They do not have to make progression reads and a lot of times they don’t even have to survey more than one side of the field. This is simply not the case in the pros.
Defenses do not have as much time to prepare extensive gameplans nor do they have the athletes to run the exotic blitz and coverage packages that most NFL teams have the personnel to run. Laurinaitis said during an interview that his defensive playbook his first year in the pros was about 4 times the size of all the playbooks combined from his four years at Ohio State. With nearly half the teams in the NFL running the 3-4 look now, deception of coverages and blitzes is even more en vogue then it was just 5 years ago, when everyone ran the “Tampa 2” look.
Regardless of his physical tools, Bradford isn’t going to be successful unless he can read defenses. You can’t possibly know that he’s going to be able to do that judging from his college play, because he’s not making 3 to 4 progressions in a drop back post snap. He’s making one read pre-snap, then hitting either that receiver, the hot route, or the middle option. The ball is out within 3 seconds nearly 70% of the time. Claussen essentially runs the same offense the New England ran during their Super Bowl runs in the early part of the decade, meaning post snap reads, drop backs from under center, and lots of option routes depending on coverages. Mentally, he’s much more ready than Bradford, and he played at a very high level most of last year on a team that couldn’t stop the Michigan School of the Blind from scoring TD’s on every possession.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I mostly agree
But teams in the NFL are starting to run more spread packages. The Colts and the Saints both run a ton of spread. It may not be a “one-read” spread like you’re describing, but it definitely “spreads the defense out,” which is the core definition of a spread offense.
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 5:29 PM EST up reply actions
The Colts really don't run the "spread"
except when they go no huddle. They ran the ball ineffectively this year, but still run a lot of plays from under center. Most of this has to do with Manning, who makes a lot of adjustments and essentially calls his own plays. He reads defenses and then puts players in positions to be successful — their system doesn’t work without him.
The Saints hardly run the spread at all actually. They were 6th in the league in rushing yards per game this season. They were 4th in passing behind Houston, Indy, and New England, and just barely edged out San Diego. They had a a great offense, period. They hit a lot of big plays in the passing game, but they were very much a running team for most of the season. The games you SAW (NE, Miami, etc.) you saw them hitting huge plays in the passing game, making you think that they ran a lot of 4 WR and threw the ball a lot, the stats tell it differently.
I think you’re seeing more shotgun now because you’re finding fewer QB’s who can get under center and be effective. They’ve had to adjust. That doesn’t mean that QB’s who can’t make reads and progressions will be more successful though.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
NE basically ran the spread in 07 like 60% of the time if I remember right
Three playmaker receivers make that the smart move.
Not afraid to nitpick
True
Although they were still able to run the ball effectively from what I remember, and not every team has Brady, Moss, Welker, and Watson either.
Can it be effective? Yes. Is it the rule or an exception to the rule? Most likely the exception since fewer teams have done this and been successful at it, including New England against good teams this year.
Also, I think you’re seeing more of this due to rules changes in the game, not simply because of talent. Clearly only teams who have a talented QB can play offense like this — teams without HOF level QB’s are still providing a balanced attack to help keep defenses honest.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I don't consider it a requirement that a QB be in the shotgun for it to be a spread formation
What would you call a formation that spreads out five WRs but has the QB under center?
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 5:47 PM EST up reply actions
You're missing the point....
That doesn’t mean that QB’s who can’t make reads and progressions will be more successful though.
Tell me, what is easier:
- Standing in shotgun making a pre-snap read and then throwing the ball to your read… OR
- Taking the ball from under center, making a pre-snap read, then making two, three, or four progression reads while dropping back in a 3-5 step drop, possibly turning your back to the defense to make a play action fake for two of those steps?
Why in the world would you think that #1 is easier? If you haven’t ever done #2, don’t you think that’s going to be A LOT harder to adjust to if all you’ve ever done is #1? Never mind that the defense was showing zone, but switched into a combo defense at the snap, while you had your back turned, so when you turn around the defense looks totally different.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Bradford made reads in college
Again, they didn’t run a pure spread. Read his scouting reports, he gets raved for his intelligence, ability to make (legitimate) reads and deliver the ball accurately. Consequently, he’s higher on literally everyone’s draft board.
Not afraid to nitpick
any idea what this was about his makeup?
i’d never heard this before, and doesn’t look like i’m going to get an answer from fourstick – not that there’s anything wrong with that.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Everything I've heard is perfect
Really competitive, a video rat, smart and for good measure can kill people on the golf course. Watching him live you got the feeling that he was running the show whereas say Colt McCoy it felt much more like it was the surrounding talent.
Not afraid to nitpick
You can't make progression reads from shotgun?
You can’t have a presnap read from under center? It’s not a black and white situation.
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 6:59 PM EST up reply actions
Also
Who ever turns their head while dropping back unless you are going playaction, and even then it’s usually last second so you make reads, drop back, look down for playfake and back up in a split second. I haven’t seen someone drop back with their back to the defense since 8th grade.
here, both of you guys can disagree with me
I would NEVER draft a QB with the first overall pick. The cash outlay is huge, the bust rate is scary, the upside in the first couple of years is league-average production, and there is nowhere for them to play if they suck. If you bust on a DT, they can at least be part of a rotation, bust at O-line, they can move inside to guard, etc. One Peyton Manning per decade (if that) isn’t worth the risk for me.
by brackenthebox on Feb 16, 2010 4:45 PM EST up reply actions
I would never draft a QB in the first ROUND
But I can understand why teams do. It’s the single hardest position to fill on the football field and the single hardest position to upgrade via trade or free agency. It’s a catch 22.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Pretty much
If you don’t have a QB you are going to suck unless you have the ‘00 Ravens defense. If you have a star QB, you’re going to be decent unless you have say the Rams O-line.
Not afraid to nitpick
This is why
Brett Favre keeps getting to un-retire after retiring 8 different times. He can play and he’s proven that he can still play at a high level. It’s why Kurt Warner got 2nd, 3rd, and 4th chances after his fall from grace in 2003.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I'm a Vikings fan
so I’m concerned with the Favre situation. I’m not certain he’s coming back, and they don’t have a QB on the roster that can play, so I have no damn idea what they’re going to do. The smart play would be to try and pry McNabb away from Philly, but I don’t think that’s likely since their #1 pick is in the late 20’s and giving up two #1’s is foolish for a 34 year old QB.
Their window is the next 2-3 seasons before Kevin Williams and Jared Allen start to get old and Adrian Petersen is washed up. I don’t see any good options at QB without Favre though and that’s disconcerting.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
can you honestly imagine Favre ending his career with that play?
I’d be shocked if he doesn’t come back
by brackenthebox on Feb 16, 2010 5:48 PM EST up reply actions
I dunno
He took a brutal beating in that game, to the point where most of us Minny fans were trying to figure out if they changed all the QB rules before the game or not. The play where he got hurt he clearly got hit below the knees on purpose.
He didn’t really take many hits all season until the NFC Title game. I’m just not sure he’d want to come back unless he thought he was going to be protected that well again. We shall see.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
It's damn hard to fill but it's not clear to me that it's easier to fill by using a first round pick.
I won’t repost the entire analysis in this forum, but I recently looked at where the starting QBs from last year were drafted based on their production (DYAR). In short, there wasn’t much evidence that better QBs came from the first round, or from the top 10 picks.
That said, I don’t have a problem taking a QB in the mid-to-late first, where the money is reasonable. You can let the guy sit a couple years and still come out net positive on the deal if you hit big an a QB prospect. With the top few picks, it’s almost impossible for a QB pick to do any better than barely earn his deal.
by brackenthebox on Feb 16, 2010 5:26 PM EST up reply actions
But ALL of the top 7 picks make huge money
and there are just as many busts with WR, RB, and LB in those spots as their are QB busts, you just don’t hear about them as often because there aren’t as many of them drafted that high, and it’s hard to label an OLB a bust if he’s making tackles and starting games, even if he’s not a franchise changing player.
I wouldn’t have drafted JaMarcus Russell or Alex Smith #1, that’s for sure. Rodgers was clearly the better pick in the Smith draft, it’s just that nobody knew it at the time, and who knows what Al Davis is even doing in Oakland. But Ryan, both Mannings, Rivers, Roethlesberger, McNabb, and Palmer were all taken in the top 10 picks and all have been worth the money or far more than what they’ve been paid so far. They’re all franchise guys. So take the percentage of franchise guys in the first round and then the percentage of franchise guys in all of the other rounds combined. Taking a QB outside the first round is a total crapshoot — you’d be better off signing an Arena League (Warner) or NFL Europe (Delhomme) guy than taking a QB in those rounds. For every Brees and Brady there’s 15 Tarvaris Jacksons.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I remember reading...
A post last year around draft time that showed that its almost always beneficial to trade down in the NFL draft, but fuck if I can find it.
Free Melodi Dushane
I saw a U Chicago econ dissertation on this topic
can’t seem to track it down
by brackenthebox on Feb 16, 2010 6:23 PM EST up reply actions
That's definitely true
Although, as New England has proved, you can do it too much.
Mike Lombardi (of the Sporting News and former NFL Executive) has said for a long time that you can miss on your first round picks as long as you hit on your 2nd and 3rd round picks. There is always a ton of value in the 2nd and 3rd rounds as opposed to the first round of the draft, but he’s speaking of all players combined, not just QB’s. I think you’d be hard pressed to find more value at QB outside of the first round because so many of them get taken there.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
I think one of the problems is
inserting the QB in the offense before he is ready. The class of 04 featured the follow 3 QBs; Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger. 3 Superbowl Rings and several League championship appearances. (6 if I am counting right).
A good Young QB is the signal most important building block a team can have. But even having the best QB can’t help you if he doesn’t have the tools around him.
I think you are underestimating
Larry Fitzgerald. I’m sure it’s possible that Calvin Johnson could be as good possibly as Fitz, but it’s a huge leap to say he’s better. Until you do it in big meaningful games, or at least for as long and as consistently as Fitz, it’s a big stretch to make him out to be Fitz+1. I get to watch him week in, week out here in AZ, and while he will take a hit in the numbers with Warner out, he may be one of the things that lets whoever comes in after Warner look decent. It won’t be his fault if Leinart can’t get him the ball, but if he gets it close Fitz will catch it. Even Moss in his prime didn’t exhibit the strength that Fitz has shown at times. Maybe that’s me being a homer, but he’s made catches that don’t seem physically possible, and the number of defenders around him doesn’t seem to matter.
Meaningful?
Doesn’t that have a lot to do with how good your team is? A “meaningful” game hasn’t been played by Detroit since Barry Sanders retired. Even so, he had his best game of the season this year in one of their two wins (7 for 161 and a TD).
As a Vikings fan, I’ve watched Johnson play 6 times in the last three years – if the Lions’ QB’s could get him the ball in situations where he could do anything with it he’d be putting up pretty sick numbers.
He’s a gamebreaker on par with anyone in the league — it just so happens that those other guys play with other good receivers on good teams with good offensive units. That’s not Calvin’s fault.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Floyd and Tate aren't weapons?
Late in the season their offense was “Jimmy, throw the ball up in the air and see what happens.” He did it well and had a great year, but he had weapons. You don’t pile up a ton of points and yards w/o them.
VivaElBirdos: Celebrating glorious mustaches since 2009
by redbirdnation8206 on Feb 16, 2010 6:29 PM EST up reply actions
I'm guessing he meant Jason smith
Didn’t Barron lead the league in false start penalties?
by brackenthebox on Feb 16, 2010 4:39 PM EST up reply actions
as long as you are giving away players for free
Go ahead and send Atogwe to San Fran for me, please.
"Baseball is like Church, many attend, few understand" - Wes Westrum
Why they didn't cut him last year is beyond me.
It would have saved them even more in the cap hit this year as they could have paid off the rest of his bonus when they were below the cap.
Does that mean that they’re drafting Claussen?
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
Correct
But why not just cut him last season? Did they think they had a shot at winning anything? Why not reserve that money or spend it elsewhere?
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
They very little cap room last year
And they would have taken a huge cap hit if the cut him. It’s not like they had something better lined up. Just worse and cheaper.
do they pick ahead of washington?
with locker staying in school, shanahan likely wants bradford.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Pedro Gomez doin' an outside the lines on bash bros
aw pedro, why’d you hafta go there
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
the file footage is great, though
there’s the Red Sox fans yelling “steroids” at Canseco
apparently no one thought Mac was on it because he never talked about it, but Canseco was always on about it
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
there's a bit of Colby looking 12
and the Riot at the Hyatt, as the twitts are calling the WWU.
this is pretty fun on mute.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
it's Tim Kurkjian!
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
I enjoy it when his voice breaks
because then you know it’s serious.
Timmeh says Mac’s passionate about hitting! dinger camp!
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
haha, BBTN advice to rookies
“don’t you be leaving the ballpark early, because those veterans will be checking you out”
also: stay hungry.
uh huh
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Stay hungry = good advice
Look what happened to Colby when he wasted away last year.
I need your discipline / I need your help / I need your discipline / You know once I start I cannot stop myself...
sadly it's not just last year
if the high schooler posing as Colby is any indication
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
nothing past midnight, Colby!!
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
ran into a Colby Wasting Away thread
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Feb 16, 2010 10:02 PM EST up reply actions
That's why i'm always defending canseco's doucheyness
well, that and we protect our own kind, but I digress….
The dude took the fall alone during the steriod era…fuck it’s even named after him. He may be handling it differently than Bonds, Mac and A-Rod, but I can’t fault him for his bitterness…at all.
"How depressing is it being you? Would you equate it to being a lifelong Cubs fan?"
a quote from a story in the globe democrat's comments section:
mycards , you and all the other blind sheep will follow LaGenius. I’m a CARDINAL fan , not a DeWallet, LaGenius, or McCheater fan.
How can he keep all those straight?
I’m a CARDINAL fan, not a DeCheater, LaWallet, or McGenius fan
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 3:14 PM EST up reply actions
haha
yeah, he obviously doesn’t drink, and therefore i neither trust him nor have any regard for his opinions.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
ha
I have a similar philosophy, I find it rather hard trusting someone who doesn’t drink
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 3:40 PM EST up reply actions
nah
it’s the extremes that bother me I think. just drink like a normal person and we’ll probably get along fine. that said, if the person has a good reason they don’t drink, that’s a different story. I just find it odd when people can’t have a few for no good reason at all, like my stepdad. just kind of prudish I guess.
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 4:42 PM EST up reply actions
other than that
it’s just funny to say that you don’t trust people that don’t drink, heh. also, it makes it seem like they are hiding something, like maybe they have a jekyl and hyde thing going on if they drink!
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 5:09 PM EST up reply actions
But then not drinking would make them more trustworthy, no?
Forget it, spants. It's Chinatown. - tom s.
i dont drink
you dont trust me?
trust me, I’m a doctor (almost)
"Baseball is like Church, many attend, few understand" - Wes Westrum
that doesn't sound very convincing
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 5:33 PM EST up reply actions
which part isn't convincing
that I don’t drink, or that I’m a doctor (almost)?
I’m 28 and I’ve never taken a sip of alcohol. Have no desire to. As far as the doctor thing, well, I’ll be a Doctor of Physical Therapy in May. I know, its not a “real” Doctor, but I think I’m more qualified to say, “trust me, I’m a Doctor” than Gene freakin Simmons
"Baseball is like Church, many attend, few understand" - Wes Westrum
you're not even a little curious?
as a (facetiously) self-proclaimed alcoholic, i’m fascinated by this.
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ
"I knew they were up to shenanigans." --TLR
not in the least
don’t know why. Perhaps it is knowing that alcoholism is a hereditary disease that can be easily avoided by simply not drinking.
"Baseball is like Church, many attend, few understand" - Wes Westrum
by scoot on Feb 16, 2010 6:52 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
You're a lawyer though,
isn’t being an alcoholic part of getting the degree?
* is an Asshat
Also, Dave Concepcion.
yeah, there's a class in law school
they teach you how to cross-examine a witness without letting them smell the scotch on your breath.
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ
"I knew they were up to shenanigans." --TLR
Anytime I've had anything with gin
I’ve immediately regretted that decision. Granted it fits in with my pattern of liking only dark types of alcohol.
"The two most important things in life: good friends and a strong bullpen." - Bob Gibson
Interesting.
Darker the liquor the greater the sicker. Or something.
Forget it, spants. It's Chinatown. - tom s.
I can drink whiskey, bourbon, stouts...
stuff like that all nite long. I get a shot of vodka and I feel like hell. I’m also not a fan of the more yellow beers unless I plan on drinking in mass quantities.
"The two most important things in life: good friends and a strong bullpen." - Bob Gibson
I concur
with everything here.
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 9:01 PM EST up reply actions
I actually don't mind doing shots of good tequila
although I used to steer away from it, I just realized you need to drink good tequila (and don’t have more than a few shots of it!)
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 10:02 PM EST up reply actions
I like margaritas.
Especially the ones from Pueblo Solis. Thanks, Mister Eff!
Forget it, spants. It's Chinatown. - tom s.
gin and tonic rulz
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 9:12 PM EST up reply actions
Tanqueray or Sapphire
Is the only way.
"I learned a long time ago if you keep checking your stats all year, you're going to end up in the toilet." - Chris Carpenter, 2009.
Tanq 10 is where it is at
at least for Gin and Tonic, Sapphire is amazing though too
Belief that success is inevitable is as likely to hold you back as a belief that it is impossible.
+1 on the Sapphire
I’m not really a G&T fan, but it’s good stuff.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:37 AM EST up reply actions
I like the tonic part...
make mine with vodka though. the only thing i’ve found that tastes good with gin is sprite
"A slick way to out-figure a person is to get him figuring you figure he's figuring you're figuring he'll figure you aren't really figuring what you want him to figure you figure." ~ Whitey Herzog
try it with Ginger Ale or Tom Collins mix
Belief that success is inevitable is as likely to hold you back as a belief that it is impossible.
they call him dr. love
he’s the one your dreaming of
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 7:11 PM EST up reply actions
The academic community disagrees
A possible role of social activity to explain differences in publication output among ecologists
Publication output is the standard by which scientific productivity is evaluated. Despite a plethora of papers on the issue of publication and citation biases, no study has so far considered a possible effect of social activities on publication output. One of the most frequent social activities in the world is drinking alcohol. In Europe, most alcohol is consumed as beer and, based on well known negative effects of alcohol consumption on cognitive performance, I predicted negative correlations between beer consumption and several measures of scientific performance. Using a survey from the Czech Republic, that has the highest per capita beer consumption rate in the world, I show that increasing per capita beer consumption is associated with lower numbers of papers, total citations, and citations per paper (a surrogate measure of paper quality). In addition I found the same predicted trends in comparison of two separate geographic areas within the Czech Republic that are also known to differ in beer consumption rates. These correlations are consistent with the possibility that leisure time social activities might influence the quality and quantity of scientific work and may be potential sources of publication and citation biases.
by brackenthebox on Feb 16, 2010 5:40 PM EST up reply actions
I disagree!
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
czech republic also consumes
the most becherova for breakfast, and that’s some harsh stuff, so i don’t know if it’s the best country to study on this.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Only like half a shot
And that stuff is delicious. It’s only 35% but tastes exactly like Big Red gum.
Not afraid to nitpick
you like that?
i think it’s disgusting. i generally saw much more than half a shot consumed, and we’re talking about breakfast.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Loved every bit of it
Probably took more shots of that than anything else. The Becherovka Limon was even better. It was only like 25% alcohol but tasted pretty much like Sprite.
Not afraid to nitpick
but the stuff is like syrup.
i tried to like it, even went to the spa town where it’s made, but just couldn’t do it. and i was there 4 times in a 6 yr. period, so i really tried hard (although i admit, i never tried it with breakfast)
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Karlovy Vary!
We toured that factory deal even. To me it tastes exactly like Big Red gum with a little bite. If I could ever just have mixed it with Sprite or Ginger Ale. They had some other stuff there that was legitimately disgusting though.
The nutjobs in Karlovy Vary drinking salt water to keep up good health were—-odd. I about puked…then left the group and went to the casino.
Not afraid to nitpick
yeah, that's the place
couldn’t think of the name, probably just wanted to forget it – the girl i was with insisted to go there and then lost me completely when she was one of those nutjobs with the salt water.
did you make it to that town with the bone church – i suck at these names. i do remember trutnov, though, up near poland, because i played a little ball there with a team called drak (dragons), and the town seemed to be full of nice polish girls.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Never made it to the bone church
I would be broke and die by 26 if I were to live in Prague. Too many fun bars/clubs/casinos/ummm…“special clubs”?/restaurants. The one thing that saved me was the disturbing event of pulling out 2000 or 4000 crowns scaring me from spending so much money even though that was “only” like 100-200 bucks. Although that was probably countered by my total disregard for the monetary value of coins. It felt very unnatural to effectively flip a quarter at the bartender and receive .5 L of beer everywhere in the country and maybe even get some change back.
Not afraid to nitpick
special clubs
didn’t hit any in prague (always seemed to be with someone), but in budapest i got a kick out of the doormen with calculators figuring exchange rates – they accepted any and all currency.
i probably feel about budapest how you feel about prague.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Prague is on my list
Awhile back I won a contest for accommodations for almost anywhere in the world. I have thought of going to Europe. Either Amsterdam or Prague.
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 8:52 PM EST up reply actions
Prague is 10x as cool as Amsterdam
Aside from the “fun” stuff, Prague has a whole lot more cool historical stuff to go look at in and around the city too. Everything social that’s in Amsterdam is also in Prague, but in a much cooler setting and for 1/3 the price. You can see and do everything in Amsterdam in 2 days, then it’s like “well, I guess we get messed up and walk around in circles?” AND the food is better in Prague. AND a lot of Amsterdam closes down at 1 AM.
Not afraid to nitpick
was just about to say the same thing
plus in czech they still make real absinthe – got lost in those cobblestones of prague and knew the city very well.
have to disagree with your buddy (below) – budapest is much much larger than prague, and there’s a lot of reasons it’s the porn capital of europe. i’m biased as i lived there on and off for years, but i did choose it over prague to begin with.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Straight Absinthe is horrifyingly bad to me
Tastes like toothepaste mixed with Everclear. Flaming Absinthes are the way to go.
Not afraid to nitpick
oh, it's bad
but where else on earth do you get real stuff, like poe and toulouse-lautrec drank? i was determined to get a couple down – big mistake.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
After about 3 straight I puked
Luckily I made it outside…..so they congratulated me with a shot of Becherovka.
Not afraid to nitpick
me and my buddy polished of a bottle of Absinthe
It was the most horrible tasting booze ever. I was so drunk by the end I could not tell any difference.
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 9:22 PM EST up reply actions
Ewww
My taste buds have the opposite effect of everyone else. The drunker I get, the less my stomach is willing to accept more straight liquor without letting me know it’s had too much the only way it can.
Not afraid to nitpick
my taste buds quite enjoy the taste of booze
My drink of choice is either Vodka or Bourbon on the rocks
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 9:26 PM EST up reply actions
Oh I like it up to a certain point
But there are dramatically diminishing returns but I’d imagine I’d have a similar reaction if I tried to drink 15 Pepsis.
Not afraid to nitpick
flim
really, instead of amsterdam you can hit both prague and budapest in one trip – it’s a straight train ride that will likely be a good time in and of itself.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Cannabis alcohol (old-style Absinthe) is outlawed in Europe now.
You could probably find it in Amsterdam, but that’s it.
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 9:45 PM EST up reply actions
i have had a Cannabis alcohol before
Not really a drinking kind though. More of a tincture. One eye drop of the stuff was enough to mess you up
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 9:53 PM EST up reply actions
the only factory i know of
is in czech republic. don’t know about cannabis, unless that’s another word for wormwood, which is what makes absinthe illegal as far as i know. i see stuff labeled as absinthe, but it’s not the stuff i’m talking about.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
you can purchase word wood
I made absinthe before with Vodka. I got the recipe out of either Craft or Make magazine
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 9:57 PM EST up reply actions
well, you're sort of the macgyver
of liquors then. that’s cool.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
agrees
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 9:27 PM EST up reply actions
yeah, especially for the snakes
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 9:31 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
What can I say?
When you are 19 year old Marine in another country, you can’t let your friends one up you!
my landlord is from vietnam
and has jars of that stuff sitting around the back yard. i thought he was eating pickled snakes or something. it must be aging quite a while, because he has lids on them and they are all rusty. he also has, besides hundreds of huge potted aloe plants and green onions (both of which i use freely), a covered greenhouse that i’m sort of afraid to look in – this guy is always sharpening a machete.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
machetes are very handy.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Haha yeah a buddy went to Budapest and said that was cool but a lot smaller
Never took full advantage of the……relaxed legal restrictions, waaay too weird of a situation for me after seeing like 80 year old Russian businessmen in there. But I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that you didn’t have to tip them for just sitting there.
Not afraid to nitpick
The Czechs have way too much fun to write any damn scientific papers
Though really, at 11 AM literally everyone in a restaurant has a beer. Not one person would have water or a soda.
Not afraid to nitpick
not all czechs are created equal
researchers from Bohemia drank significantly more beer per capita per year (median 200.0 litres) than those from Moravia (median 37.5 litres)
by brackenthebox on Feb 16, 2010 5:56 PM EST up reply actions
Didn't spend too much time in Moravia
The population centers and interesting stuff are apparently located mostly in Bohemia.
Not afraid to nitpick
Viva
la Vie Boheme!
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 10:07 PM EST up reply actions
was that a village people song?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
there's a lot of music cluelessness tonight
and I thought I forgot songs
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Feb 16, 2010 10:17 PM EST up reply actions
I dunno, could be.
But I was referring to the song from Rent. You know, as it relates to drunk Bohemian researchers…
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 10:20 PM EST up reply actions
ha
unaware of that song. i thought you were talking more classical, and was merely making a joke.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Nah. Brack's Bohemia and mine actually have very little to do with each other.
Except the fondness for drink.
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 10:45 PM EST up reply actions
One of the better skin bars in Denver is called La Boheme
Belief that success is inevitable is as likely to hold you back as a belief that it is impossible.
Wow, what a bullshit study
it’s totally impossible to control for those sort of biases.
Does he not realise that per capita alcohol consumption is going to be correlated with poverty (or at least, reduced affluence) which will also probably correlate well with areas that have fewer (and fewer high quality) learning and scientific establishments?
And that’s just one of about twenty problems I can see with doing this sort of study.
Crappy social science like this pisses me off.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:40 AM EST up reply actions
yes, he goes in to all of that in the paper
it’s pretty hilarious actually, he’s hedging the entire time.
He also mentions that he is in the high consumption group, so you might not want to trust the study.
by brackenthebox on Feb 17, 2010 7:52 AM EST up reply actions
There's a good article on alcohol and social norms
in the current issue of The New Yorker written by Malcolm Gladwell.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
More videos out of Youtube
ATTN: Goold
<3
I need your discipline / I need your help / I need your discipline / You know once I start I cannot stop myself...
twitters shoud do a hashtag for him
will hashtags take a “<” ?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Is that Skip throwing alongside Waino?
A new position every spring now, I guess.
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 9:05 PM EST up reply actions
oops.
So Carp’s shaving his head and Luddy’s growing it out. This will take some getting used to.
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 9:11 PM EST up reply actions
Jaime looked good though.
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 9:11 PM EST up reply actions
JAIME GARCIA
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
They were supposed to put in some office buildings, but then the economy crashed.
So they put in a parking lot instead.
Forget it, spants. It's Chinatown. - tom s.
by spants on Feb 16, 2010 9:15 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
isn't a lake
just a parking lot for boats?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
by cardball on Feb 16, 2010 9:23 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
did they pave paradise?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
This gives me wonderful ideas for a novel about urban development...
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 9:49 PM EST up reply actions
NBC Preview of MLB
They project us to win 91 games. I love it when previews have quotes about the Cards like this:
Their season will be determined by what happens in October.
Also, they give as our “rookies to watch” Jaime Garcia and Allen Craig. Even though they list Freese as our starting third baseman, he is apparently not a “rookie to watch.” Odd.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
not clicking yet
is that Calc’?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
do not look directly into the Freese!
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
heh
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 3:55 PM EST up reply actions
They have the young bears in 4th place
with a 78-84 record. This season is going to be amazing.
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 9:33 PM EST up reply actions
In a Goold article
Some other notes from Tuesday on Planet Jupiter: Nick Stavinoha is returning to the ranks of catcher. Added to the catching roster last spring, Stavinoha was working in some kneepads on Monday and plans to work with the catchers this week.
Smart move by Stav
Doesn’t look like there’s much room for him in the OF. [Joke about Stav’s waistline goes here.]
I need your discipline / I need your help / I need your discipline / You know once I start I cannot stop myself...
Yadi's Best Shape of His Life vs. Stav... who would y'all pick
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
i can't see larue being back
but i just can’t see stav in the discussion to replace him.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
It's a smart move
i have my doubts he can defend at all at major league level as a catcher, but he’s not a major league outfielder, so I guess if he can be non-dreadful behind the plate he’d have a shot at some sort of career as a backup for a few years. He’s probably a better hitter than Anderson or Pags-lite anyhow.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 7:56 AM EST up reply actions
why does strauss
keep saying that hill had a 17 win season with chicago?
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
C'mon,
it’s not like it’s his job to report facts about baseball or something.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
he's a broken record
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 4:36 PM EST up reply actions
i think he's drunk with power from the midnight thing.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
omg a Colbert-style show that makes fun of SC or BBTN
like Colbert makes fun of the O’Reilly Factor? that is GENIUS. sorry, Eff, i’m taking your idea to hollywood.
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ
"I knew they were up to shenanigans." --TLR
this is just what I heard... but I thought they called that Sports Night
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
hmm
that’s more like a TV show with characters and a plot than it is a fake news show. i envision something that would be on nightly, just like colbert, and discuss actual sporting events in a satirical manner.
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ
"I knew they were up to shenanigans." --TLR
oh... hellyeah.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
you know we'll be waiting for the Closing Limerick
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
btw, i totally have a felipe lopez limerick in the wings
just waiting for the right time to bust it out.
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ
"I knew they were up to shenanigans." --TLR
Made for this guy
You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?
by jd is legend on Feb 16, 2010 5:32 PM EST up reply actions
i am very excited about steve jobs announcement of the iManagement tool.
"It doesn't have to be terribly prolific! Just so that it isn't childish and silly." She reflected. "I prefer stories about squalor." J.D.S.
it's David Lynch's best friend!
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 16, 2010 5:38 PM EST up reply actions
Jazz music is playing in my head.
"I'm gonna throw the nastiest curveball I have ever thrown...if he hits it, I'll tip my cap, but if not we're going to the Series."
--Adam Wainwright on the final pitch of the 2006 NLCS
it's going to be weird
if I see Edmonds playing for Milwaukee when I go to see the Cards play on the July 4th weekend. I also wonder how the crowd will react if Jimmy makes a great catch.
Check out my sports blog!
Best moment I've ever seen at a Cards game in person
Follow me on Twitter: @zoomzoomj88
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ & JOHN SMOLTZ!
Lineups question
Does anyone have a link to that lineup generator that everyone was using a couple of years ago to see what the best lineup would be?
the cut-out dice one?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
The link on the site is not working...
but it can be found at Baseball Musings.
"I learned a long time ago if you keep checking your stats all year, you're going to end up in the toilet." - Chris Carpenter, 2009.
SC is going to feature a giant dodgeball game in a sec.
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
it was 600 per team
looked at photos last nite – somewhere in europe, i think, for the guinness record
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
isn't that a fanshot?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
Yeah that's def worth a fanshot
some very pleasing answers to that (short) set of questions!
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 8:08 AM EST up reply actions
i clicked it thinking it was biography about
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 7:29 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
i chuckled, and therefore i rec'd
Check out my sports blog!
Best moment I've ever seen at a Cards game in person
Follow me on Twitter: @zoomzoomj88
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ & JOHN SMOLTZ!
for $1.5m more than Rich Hill costs
I think I’d rather have a piece of Wang.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 8:08 AM EST up reply actions
he's got about 3 mil in incentives, though
of course you’d hope he was good enough to earn them, but still gotta pay it.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Yeah but presumably he won't make those if he's not starting
and he won’t be starting too much if he’s putting up sub-replacement-level numbers again.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 18, 2010 9:32 AM EST up reply actions
shane petersen
the #9 A’s prospect on fangraphs. would he rank top ten in our system?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
i like petersen more than sugar shane
but i was kind of wondering where the A’s ranked in comparison to us on law’s “controversial” list. petersen wouldn’t make my cardinal list, but maybe sugar made law’s?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
it's hard to fit him into law's list
because I like him more than francisco samuel (#9), but I also don’t think he’d fit into my version of the team’s top ten.
OT: Paletta & surgery recovery
My dad and I were talking about the Cards of this year, and somewhere along the line we came up with the discussion of big-time surgeries and Paletta. Might be b/c of Boog’s recent surgery.
If you think about it, Mulder and Glaus were examples of Paletta gone wrong. Has Paletta had any successful surgeries? Is there such a thing as a stat for something like that?
Check out my sports blog!
Best moment I've ever seen at a Cards game in person
Follow me on Twitter: @zoomzoomj88
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ & JOHN SMOLTZ!
I think medical procedures are a little to complicated
To put into stat form. Also, Paletta didn’t do Ryan’s surgery
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 16, 2010 8:58 PM EST up reply actions
We've gone over this A LOT.
I’d suggest doing a search for “Paletta.”
Forget it, spants. It's Chinatown. - tom s.
If you think about it
Troy Glaus’s surgery was preformed by Dr. Lewis Yocum in LA.
So we are looking at examples of shoulder surgeries not working out.
Well..
His first one wasn’t. It was preformed by Dr. David Altchek. But his second one was done by Paletta.
Source.
Well yeah
But if the first shoulder surgery screws up, the 2nd one probably isn’t going to bring him back.
Not afraid to nitpick
I agree with you
If the first surgery screws up, the odds are the 2nd one isn’t going to bring him back. However; Just because a player doesn’t come back to previous form or heals slower, or differently than expected, doesn’t mean the surgeries were screwed up. It just means that shoulder surgery isn’t going to fix the problem 100% of the time. This is the reason we have situations like Ryan’s were a player waits to the last possible time to have surgery in hopes that rest and therapy will resolve the issue.
That said, being that neither Glaus’s or Mulder’s first surgery were preformed by Dr. Paletta, I don’t see how he can be held at fault in the players inabilities to return when expected.
Exactly
I’m just saying if a shoulder requires a 2nd surgery, it’s likely screwed up beyond the ability of surgery to correct the problem.
Not afraid to nitpick
is this thread a fantasy surgery league?
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
since you are the resident expert
what do you think about that weir guy getting death threats for his fur collar?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
That's disgusting.
Death threats? Seriously people? I’m not a Weir fan at all but come on.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
he said he tried to change to a faux collar
but he didn’t like it – in fact i think he said it just didn’t feel natural, which was pretty funny.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
I don't even know if he's using that costume anymore.
The last I heard he had changed his costume completely.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 10:05 PM EST up reply actions
well, this article was posted yesterday
and he was quoted throughout, about why he was staying in the olympic village instead of the hotel he had intended (security issues). he’s sharing a suite with an american girl, probably a skater too, and the article emphasized that they had separate bedrooms and bathrooms – that was also funny. he was pictured in the costume, and talked about the faux not feeling natural and all.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
I read that.
That’s where he said he had changed the whole costume entirely I thought. The roommate is Tannith Belbin, who I love, an Ice Dancer and Evan Lysacek’s ex-girlfriend. So much drama in Figure Skating.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 10:17 PM EST up reply actions
Tonight however he's wearing a pink corset.
So it’s not a problem.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 10:20 PM EST up reply actions
is this true?
is this the short program? i guess the fur is for the long (if this corset business is true).
the only skater i ever watched was the petite girl from california who was by far the most graceful and athletic but always fell – forget her name, but would watch her even outside the olympics.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
sasha cohen
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
I missed this comment earlier.
It was actually black with pink laces and a pink tassel.
I like Sasha but she always broke my heart with all of he inopportune falls.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 11:22 PM EST up reply actions
um, so it was a corset is what you're saying?
see, i just can’t follow that.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Sort of.
It was stretchy but a corset design. I’ll find a picture.
Evan was absolutely amazing. Amazing.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 11:30 PM EST up reply actions
Here you go:
I can’t remember how to make it smaller. Sorry.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 11:32 PM EST up reply actions
must be see-through
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Isn't that Borat???
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 8:10 AM EST up reply actions
yeah, he said he changed it
initially, to appease the nuts, but that it didn’t feel natural, so he went back to the real fur.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
No I mean changed the whole costume and he said not to appease them.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 10:22 PM EST up reply actions
Here it is:
“I didn’t change the costume, I’m just switching back to another costume.”
He is using a different costume is how I read that.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 10:25 PM EST up reply actions
confusing
if he’s not wearing the costume, why the security concerns?
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
Because they are crazy.
And might hurt him even though he isn’t wearing the costume. He already wore it at least once at Nationals.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 10:28 PM EST up reply actions
I mean I would be scared.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 10:29 PM EST up reply actions
and my guess is
you are tougher than him.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
I dunno, that was a helluva performance he just gave.
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 11:11 PM EST up reply actions
I'm about to die.
I am so nervous for Evan and jeremy.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 11:12 PM EST up reply actions
i know nothing about this
but let me know what happens.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
As I said above Evan was wonderful.
Jeremy not so much. But he’s young.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 16, 2010 11:37 PM EST up reply actions
ok I'm watching this now, on a bit of a delay
what’s up with this guy wearing the half overall thing? terrible outfit.
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ
"I knew they were up to shenanigans." --TLR
and now this other dude is wearing a skeleton shirt.
at least the music is pretty good.
SIGN FELIPE LOPEZ
"I knew they were up to shenanigans." --TLR
It really was a strange outfit.
And he couldn’t keep up with his music. His skating was WAY too slow for it.
Who needs affection when you can have blind hatred?
by ClemsonGirl on Feb 17, 2010 12:49 AM EST up reply actions
Skip is not a sharer.
“I’m excited about it,” Schumaker said. “I’m not excited I have to share [McGwire.]”
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
usual espn
Lick that shoulder—you're in the doghouse now.
"But listen, and understand: more Molinas are out there..." - THT
by Yadi2Second on Feb 16, 2010 10:15 PM EST up reply actions
OT - Anyone else in CodyG's ESPN fantasy league?
Where are the mock drafts?
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
Since it's an auction,
and not a draft, I don’t believe there are any.
* is an Asshat
Also, Dave Concepcion.
Bleh.
Figured there could be mock auctions as well.
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
by EinFesteBusch on Feb 16, 2010 10:38 PM EST up reply actions
speaking of my league
there’s still 3 spots left for those interested, email me and I’ll get the invite out to you.
I'm involved
first auction I’ve been in, and the first keeper too. Should be exciting. I’m the one with the name that’s pretty obviously me.
RELEASE THE CENTIQUID!!!!
by Felonius_Monk on Feb 17, 2010 8:11 AM EST up reply actions
Not to be misogynist
But women’s hockey is the worst thing I have ever seen. Body checking is illegal!
Not afraid to nitpick
She said no?
* is an Asshat
Also, Dave Concepcion.
by RiverRat on Feb 16, 2010 10:40 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
it's too bad there's women's hockey
and no women’s softball in the olympics.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
eh?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147074
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231275
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
lookin' at you, flim
or anyone else, really
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
by prophetjohn on Feb 17, 2010 12:06 AM EST up reply actions
I'd say get a mobo with usb3.0 and a wireless with 802.11n
future proof yourself a bit
"There's a lot of things we say that don't make sense to our viewers. Okay, primarily me." ~Al Hrabosky~
by YesWeOquendo on Feb 17, 2010 12:24 AM EST up reply actions
i don't have an n router
plus those are easy pci upgrades
but future proofing is exactly why i’m getting ddr3 and a 3.2 ghz quad core cpu
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
by prophetjohn on Feb 17, 2010 12:34 AM EST up reply actions
still
badass rig for $700 shipped, eh?
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
by prophetjohn on Feb 17, 2010 12:40 AM EST up reply actions
that 700
includes a 19" monitor, keyboard, mouse, 2 sata and hdmi cable, too
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
by prophetjohn on Feb 17, 2010 12:41 AM EST up reply actions
I just did a fairly similiar system
I’m not wild about on-board video, so I went with a Gigabyte 770TA-UD3 with a nVidia GeForce GT220 card. I backed off to a Phenom II X4 925 to save a few bucks. I upgraded from an Athlon 2200+, so that was still quite an upgrade.
I never would slip you Mickey! It is merely rhinoceros horn. This makes the champagna bubble.
by The Continental on Feb 17, 2010 12:44 AM EST up reply actions
That'll be a smokin' system, though pj.
You’ll love it.
I never would slip you Mickey! It is merely rhinoceros horn. This makes the champagna bubble.
by The Continental on Feb 17, 2010 12:50 AM EST up reply actions
i don't mind the integrated video
mainly because i won’t be doing a lot of gaming. mainly big ticket games like l4d and halo which don’t make it to the ps3. and based on the reviews, the onboard graphics on this mobo can handle games like fallout 3 and can output 1080p at ~70 FPS. perfectly fine for what i need it for.
if not, i can always pick up a nice card at a later date. $700 is hard enough to choke down as is. still haven’t clicked “place order” yet
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
well, i placed the order
/gulp
i guess i’ll just flip this beater that i just built and see what kind of profit i can make on it
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
i could probably find you a comparable set up for sub $400
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 17, 2010 1:19 AM EST up reply actions
how bout
with 15% off with Bing cashback
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 17, 2010 1:21 AM EST up reply actions
that's pretty much the exact price of just the pc i have above
give or take $10-20
the processer is quite a bit weaker. more memory, but ddr2 instead of ddr3. better graphics and larger hard drive. but it’s refurbished
i’ll call it a wash. maybe a slight edge to the newegg build
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
I have a Q6600 with 4 GB ram and 2 TB of HD
I use mine hooked up to a HDTV.
by FlimtotheFlam on Feb 17, 2010 1:29 AM EST up reply actions
mine will take over as my primary pc
so i’m getting a monitor (part of the $700 total), but it will also hook up to my 1080p tv and double as a HTPC
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
Looks good
A couple things I would change:
- I hate on-board video, so I would get a good Vid card with HDMI out and maybe opt for a MB that had another PCI Express 2.0 slot. This is just a personal preference from having too many problems with on board video, but you might need a different case if you get a good video card due to heat dispersion problems. Not sure, just a thought.
- What OS are you going to be running? Win7? I’m assuming so if you’re getting your money’s worth out of that RAM.
- I hate, hate, hate wireless setups for desktops. For that price you could probably run CAT6 to the back of the machine right? If you are going to do this, invest in a higher gain antenna for the card than the one it comes with. Those little antenna’s are total crap.
Can Colby round out our new MV3?
yeah, i'll be running win7 64 bit
might look into a better antenna for the wireless. never had a wireless desktop, so we’ll see. and no, it’s not really feasible to run ethernet to the computer at all, so wireless it is
and i guess we’ll see if i have any problems with the integrated video. i imagine it’ll be fine for watching movies/baseball and the occasional light gaming, but i’m more of a console guy, so i won’t be getting a nicer card unless it turns out that i have to
"Moneyball: It's kind of like communism."
So a buddy
sent this to me and it made me think of a certain left fielder signed up long term…
"The two most important things in life: good friends and a strong bullpen." - Bob Gibson
let's just hope
that LF’er is terrified of getting hit again.
"Some days I feel like the hypotenuse in a love triangle; others as if my lucky number is pi."
As it turns out,
genitals are useless in a number of practical athletic situations. You can’t blame Holliday for trying to break the limits of conventional pee-pee usage.
Writer and editor for sprayahen.com
So next time you're in Philly
watch out for these fuckers.
Better yet, just don’t go to Philly. It’s dirty and the cheese steak sandwiches suck.
Heaven has brick walls and St. Peter is a red bird.
and goddamn laser pointers
f’rs
I'm gonna need a whole lot more franklins if Franklin is our closer this year
by Cards Fan in Chitown on Feb 17, 2010 7:29 PM EST up reply actions
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