ORS

He struggled the 2nd time through because he was throwing about 90% fastballs. His secondary pitches, while occassionally very good, weren't consistent enough. If he has just one more out pitch, he can start, but based on what I saw last year, he's not ready yet. He has had all offseason to work on this issue, so it could be that he's ready now. We'll see which is the case when pitchers and catchers report.

I think Arroyo has room for improvement, but it is all dependent on control. A lot of finesse pitchers start to develop control in their late-20's/early-30's, so it's not a stretch to think he could do it too. With good control, I think Bronson would be very similar to a Mike Mussina. Both have a just over 90 FB and very good offspeed stuff; they even pitch the same way by trying to paint with the FB to set up the junk. The difference right now is that Mussina can hit his spots, and Bronson can't. I do think one of Wells/Clement gets dealt before ST, but not both. This is due to the question marks about Papelbon as a starter. I love JP's heater, but he needs something else to be given a shot as a starter. I think the FO knows this and will wait until they see what he has in ST before giving him a rotation spot. If he's got a very good second pitch, then whoever of Wells/Clement is still around can be moved.

I'm ambivalent about this one. Bronson's a decent (meaning league average) pitcher, and 200+ innings of that at the back end of the rotation aren't a bad thing. Locking him up at what is probably below market value is good, and it increases his trade value. However, Bronson's comments in the article make it seem like he was given assurances that no such trade would happen in the immediate future, which pretty much means they can't trade him because if they do they'll look like double-crossing jackasses. I hope that he can start locating his FB a little better so that he can take advantage of his good off-speed stuff, because if he doesn't, it will be a long 3 years at $4M per.

Thanks for the glowing review krazee. While I can see the merits of a rating system based on post quality (it would help noobs quickly filter out some of the irrational posts), I do have doubts as to how it could be fairly implemented and what its effects would have on lower-rated posters. On the first point, how would post quality be gauged? No automated system could accurately measure post quality, and human judgement would be both tedious and biased. Some members would in effect be forced to accept the silver medal because the French judge was in collusion with the Russian judge. Sorry, couldn't resist the figure skating analogy. On the second point, this type of rating would result in de facto censorship, as lower-rated members would be likely to refrain from sharing their opinion if it didn't receive high marks. I suppose this sort of happens already when others rip weak opinions apart (I know I'm guilty of this), but at least the opinion is out there for analysis, and they do receive feedback that has the potential to affect their thought process.

Huckaby and Flaherty are complete drek. They are only there in case Shoppach totally shits the bed, otherwise the job is his.

Most of these systems work on a weighting system, such as 3-2-1. Meaning one year ago is 3 times more relevant than 3 years ago, and two years ago is 2 times more relevant than 3 years ago. That explains why Cora and Lowell have such pessimistic, IMO, numbers for next year. I expect both of them to be better than those numbers since they are coming off down years, and a bounce back isn't unrealistic.

NFL Football Spread For Conference Championships NFL Playoffs Date - 1/22, 2006 Date & Time........... Favorite...........Spread...........Underdog 1/22 3:00 ET............ At Denver.............-3.5............. Pittsburgh 1/22 6:30 ET............ At Seattle............ -3.5............. Carolina Sorry Calvn, but I'm not sold on Denver yet, and Carolina is decimated by injuries.

Talk about being hyper-sensitive. As a non-partisan reader of that quote, my take on it is that the fumble was mentioned because it affected the outcome of the game and there was some doubt about whether or not it was the right call. The point of the quote/statement was to address the fact that the officiating was less than stellar this weekend, and all game-changing plays with questionable calls were included in it. That is all. Enough with the conspiracy theories.

About Hansen's mechanics, I would tend to be more concerned if he were to be used as a starter. Mechanics help your arm/shoulder/elbow hold up when you become fatigued, and pitcher's get more fatigued as starters. He won't be pitching much more than 100 innings, most of them in 1-2 inning stints, as a reliever, so his strange delivery probably won't be a problem. About CF, here's some news about Michaels from Rotoworld.com I'd consider sending Mota for him.

Prorate Peralta's VORP out over 180 more PA (that was the difference) and he's got Jeter whipped by 10 VORP runs. And, VORP is just the offensive side of the equation. Toss in the defensive metrics for last year and Peralta beats Jeter (18 to 7 FRAA) by a total of 21 runs (cumulative), and that was Jeter's best year ever in the field. Their career Rate stats as a SS stack up like this, Peralta 110 (10 runs above average), Jeter 92 (8 runs below average). Peralta won't be better in the future, Peralta is better now. EDIT: Don't get all bunged up by this question, but who really cares about a player's stature? Can you honestly tell me you wouldn't rather have a more talented player than the one with more hype?

How does this inflate his career ERA? The ER goes into the career ER total, the IP goes into the career IP total, and the career ERA is determined from these numbers. Did you think it was an average of each years ERA? If so, that is wrong, because each years ERA needs to be weighted by the innings pitched. Since he pitched so few innings that year, the high ERA would carry little weight toward the total.

I'd happily give up two average-to-decent players to fill a hole with a young guy who can give excellent glove-work and still has a lot of ceiling at the plate. His K/BB rate declined from his MiLB numbers in his debut season, which is why his BA and OBP were below expectations, but who's doesn't? Given time he'll improve as he gets used to MLB pitching. If Seattle is willing to part with him after a poor offensive year as a rookie, then that is their mistake. Mota is redundant with the Seanez and Tavarez signings, and Arroyo pretty much defines league average pitcher (100 ERA+). I'm skeptical of this deal because I don't know how reputable the site is, but I like it if it is true. It fills a need without costing the future or creating another one. SP/RP are two areas of depth, so give what you have to get what you need. I'll be interested to see who the prospect is.

Did anyone think this game would have over 50 total points scored? I sure as hell didn't. Chicago's D needs a gut-check because they are just letting the team down right now.

Today's games are demonstrably better than yesterday's. I hope the conference championship games are as good next weekend.

Chicago will keep the ball because of the penalty, but that was not a TD.

Rate is just RAA per 100 games. It's right there in the player's DT card. I don't subscribe either, but I'm thinking about it this year.

Tarpon fishing is big down here in FL. People go out on skiffs in the coastal shallows and catch them with fly-rods. Supposed to put up a hell of a fight and are pretty tempermental about going after the bait. They are probably the best game-fish in the state, so I can see why they'd use the name since Floridians love their tarpon.

Steve Smith is dominating this game.

Rate is a BP stat, so I don't see how they'd rate him average. His career Rate is 89 whereas average is 100. That means he's 11 runs per 100 games below average. To put that in perspective, Renteria's Rate from last year, his worst ever, was 86. Whoever wrote that article clearly used another metric like UZR or something.

They just did with that 3-and-out from inside their own 10.

Grossman seems to be settling. Looks like we got us another ballgame. 16-14.

Conservative estimate - at least 2 more Optimistic estimate - midseason of 2007 It all depends on how he handles each level. He'll likely start of in advanced A ball this year. If he's in AA by June or so, then he could get a AAA peek at the end of the year. If he struggles at any step along the way, then he's going to need time to work it out. Personally, I think he'll get a September call up in 2007. He torched college ball and the New/Penn League, but this spring will be his first challenge against some pitchers with a little polish.

Anything is possible, I concern myself with the probable. Another blown PI call. That's 3 in 3 different games. One probably affected the outcome. One didn't. I hope this one doesn't either.

He sucks in CF. His lack of errors are mainly due to the fact that he can't get to most balls. Here are his career stats in the traditonal categories, .982 F%, 2.42 Range Factor, .866 Zone Rating. Compare that to Damon's career numbers, .991 F%, 2.66 RF, .903 ZR. By Rate, a runs-based sabermetric stat, he allows 12 more runs per 100 games than Damon does. EDIT: This is the first time I've looked at his career CF fielding stats. Needless to say, this puts me firmly in the Jeremy Reed camp.

Chicago now needs 17 to cover. I think they might do it.......if their defense can score the two TDs for them.