Youk Of The Nation

He still tries once every couple of weeks. He apparently is unaware of how IP addresses work.

About time Colorado held on to someone who is doing well for them.

That's pretty cool, I'd never heard about that before. I wonder if any of the other greats from the first half of the century ever took any of those tests?

It's impossible to know for sure, but given that pitchers are throwing way, way harder than they were back then and balls aren't being reused all game until they're brown and spongy, I'd say he might have a point. Baseball is a hell of a lot different than it was back then.

You're not helping.

Seriously dude? For someone who calls out BW as a troll every time he posts an actual baseball article, you seem to have a grasp of the finer points of trolling yourself. Rivera is a class act, as much as I hate the guy for wearing the pinstripes. Quit being such a douche.

I'd also like an explanation for the two guys who voted for Placido Polanco. Really guys?

I knew Halladay would get in. I figured he would due to his sudden death, otherwise he might have gone through two or three rounds. Also stoked that Edgar Martinez finally made it. Ridiculous that it took that long. And I agree with the fact that it's insane that Mariano was the first 100% voted. I'd really like to hear the justifications from the guys who didn't vote for Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, et cetera.

He always seemed like a classic "old baseball" guy. He had a pretty awesome life, all things considered. It's sad that someone who contributed so much to such a successful run for a franchise isn't really appreciated or recognized outside of a subset of very hardcore fans. Also I now love the guy because he laughed at someone insulting Roger Clemens. That automatically makes him cool in my book.

I have no idea if that's even possible without contacting the hosting service. If anyone wants to pitch ideas though, I'll be happy to send them to YZ. On the other hand, this banner has seen us through a lot.

There are 16 non-Red Sox/Yankees predictions on that list, maybe we could discuss some of them instead? If there isn't some actual baseball being discussed soon this thread will just be deleted. I understand that no one likes BW. I don't like him either, because he's a Yankees fan and therefore a terrible person in every conceivable way. But he's not doing anything wrong, and despite the obvious pro-Yankee-anti-Red-Sox slant of many of the articles he posts, they are still fodder for potential baseball conversation, which is what this site is about in the end. The best way to deal with it is to lay out a genuine argument in favor of the other side rather than just yell at him for being annoying. He can't help being annoying. He's a Yankees fan, it's a serious mental illness. Have some compassion for Christ's sake. I'll pick one: The Padres. I highly doubt they will be the "how are they this good" team. They have a few great young players but I think they're still a season or two away from even pretending to contend. They're not going to sniff .500 in 2019 unless they make an unprecedented and unanticipated splash in FA and I think we all know that's not gonna happen.

The answer to this question has always been, is, and always will be "of course, they're the Mets."

People change. The same voters now are not all the same voters as 10 years ago. One and done would mean guys who deserve to be in the hall of fame being left out because that particular year's crop of voters might have a problem with them, either personality-wise or based on their interpretation of eligibility. Martinez isn't in yet because some people think that DHs don't belong in the HOF. But his percentage increases each year because of new voters who have more non-Martinez seasons to reflect on and realize he was a very good player. Guys might be left out because some voters think that their stats didn't put them above anyone else, but the longer they're out of baseball, the more seasons there are without them to compare their performance to. I think the problem is voting. It shouldn't be sportswriters, it should be a committee made up of the same number of people that includes all living HOFers and a selection of current and former players and managers selected by a vote of the living HOFers.

Helton is the interesting one for me. He was always a favorite of mine but I think Coors is going to work against him in the voting, as is the fact that while he played so many seasons, he never made it to either 500HR or 3000H. I think he's going to get in eventually but it's probably going to take five or six years of voting. Bay, Ankiel, Lilly, Pierre, Polanco, Hafner, Garland, Garcia, Oliver, Oswalt, Wells, Young, and, as much as I hate saying it, obvious though it is, Youkilis, should all be laughed off of the ballot on their first go-around. It's long past time for Martinez to go into the HOF. Rivera is an obvious first-ballot choice. McGriff, Jones, Rolen, Wagner, and Walker should have been gone by now. PEDs happened and everyone needs to move on from that s***. All the PED guys had great careers even before their use. It's time for Manny, Clemens, and Bonds to go in. Sosa and Sheffield, no, because Sheffield wasn't that great and wasn't good for long enough, and Sosa was mediocre outside of hitting HRs, same as McGwire. Tejada? I don't really have an opinion there. Halladay and Schilling will be in eventually. I think Halladay's sudden death last year will probably push his induction up a year or two from where it would have been normally. I don't like Schilling as a person, but I don't need to. There are plenty of athletes I can't stand. Youk was a gigantic douchebag. Papelbon was the white-trashiest of white-trash *******s in the history of the world but while he wore the Sox uniform I loved that beady-eyed son of a bitch. He should go in, but I think it'll be a couple years because he wasn't overwhelmingly great a la Johnson or Maddux or Smoltz or Glavine. Andy Pettitte can eat a bag of dicks, which would technically cannibalism as he's a gigantic bag of dicks. I don't give a s*** about HGH, he may have pitched for a long time but at best he was maybe the sixth or seventh best pitcher in any given season he pitched in. He can f*** right the f*** off and buy a ticket to the HOF like the rest of us. Or better yet, he can ride in on Clemens' coattails. Finally, Derek Lowe: No. Sorry dude, thanks for 2004 but no way are you getting in.

Bartolo Colon now the last active player who played in the 20th century.

Paxton for a few minor leaguers? In the words of Aroldis Chapman's lawyer, you can't beat that.

Nothing but upsides!

The only funny name I ever knew personally was a guy in high school named Justin Cais (pronounced, obviously, "Case"). I could never figure out why his parents would do that.

Mapping the low points of being a Mariners fan sounds a lot like arranging sand grains by size without a microscope. How can you decide which one is the worst when they're all so very, very bad?

Orval Overall is my new favorite name.

Ironically the only thing I'm ever going to remember about Kinsler's time in Boston is a stupid error.

I agree! What's double of nothing? I know we have a couple accountants here who could help me out with the math. I could use the money!

Trying to win more games?! Unacceptable! What kind of monsters are these people?

You need new friends.

Your gratitude is worthless to me without cash gifts. Seriously though, thanks for the acknowledgements guys, glad you're all here.