ORS

Thanks, but no thanks, the wife tends to frown on porn.

I'm a little unclear on something. If I'm not to interpret the statement, "ARod's C&L splits weren't as good because he plays defense and is tired by the end of the game", as an excuse, then what should I interpret it as?

Boras may laugh, but not any harder than teams must be at the thought of paying $84M over 7 years to an aging CF with a noodle arm. Anyone who gives him more than 4 years or more than $10M per is overpaying IMO.

Lifetime the first time is way too harsh IMO. I think the new policy is a good one. I also don't think it is fair to compare gambling to trying to enhance your performance. If someone is using steroids, they still have to hit or throw the ball. Gambling on baseball always carries the possibility of the big no-no, throwing games, which is far worse than trying to do better IMO.

That is a philosophical question. Saber types argue that good offense outweighs good defense. Considering that ARod, statistically at least, played about average 3B this year, I'm willing to say that his defensive contribution vs. Ortiz's C&L performance are a wash. I actually think ARod deserved the award. He lead the AL in VORP and WARP1, and he lead MLB in EqA and EqR. However, none of those metrics take into account the timing of the production, so it wouldn't be a travesty if Ortiz had won the award. EDIT: Added EqA.

I don't know the specifics since I haven't bothered to read any of the press regarding the new testing policy. But all amphetamines are at least considered prescription level drugs, meaning it is illegal to use them w/o a prescription. Of course, each team does have a doctor or two working for them.

I'm not arguing that being a DH and playing 3B are equivalent in terms of physical exertion. Nor am I denying the effects of playing every day. My point of contention was with the idea that ARod wasn't able to do what Ortiz did in C&L splits solely because he plays the field, which, magically makes him so tired that he turns into a Trot Nixon type hitter. It does wear you down to play every day, but that didn't affect ARod's 2nd half performance. He had better AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, and HR/AB after the ASB. If the first 3 months didn't slow him down from performing in the second 3, then why would innings 1-6 affect his performance in innings 7-9?

The everyday effects aren't the argument. Your point has been than ARod doesn't perform in close and late situations because he's so tired by the 7th inning. The game isn't so taxing that HOF hitters have a cinderella-like transformation into league average hitters once the pitcher takes the mound in the 7th. EDIT: His C&L splits are above league average. In a small sample he has a significant drop in AVG, SLG, OPS, and HR/AB, but not in OBP. This means he was walking a lot more, which leads me to believe he saw fewer good pitches to hit as pitchers were being careful during his ABs.

The speed is for the next day, not the day of. It isn't tough physically. Obviously you need the talent to field any position, but that isn't the argument. [emoticon]your emoticon usage is queer[/emoticon]

Maybe because several of the players are booze hounds that need something stronger than coffee to get the job done. Playing the field isn't that draining, nothing to see here, move along people.

The amphetamines testing will have a greater impact on the game. They have been a huge part of the game since the 50's or 60's. In a segment on HBO's RealSports a few months ago, they had a report about the influence of speed on the pro game. Their sources claim that about 80-90% of the players are popping greenies and black betties to stay sharp.

Two hours? That's funny. How about 30 seconds times 40 batters. That's 1200 seconds, which makes the grueling workout only 20 minutes long. Of course, there are breaks in between each session, and the whole thing takes over three hours. Hardly taxing. I've played baseball; I've been an infantryman in the Marines. Let me tell you. Baseball is a walk in the park. If playing the field were so tough, ARod wouldn't hit the gym after the game 5 days a week, which it has been reported he does. These guys, well most of these guys, are top conditioned athletes. They have everything from energy bars, for the prudish, to speed pills, for the hardcore, to keep these guys sharp during the game. I know you need something to justify why his bat turns into a wet noodle after the 7th inning, but you are going to have to do better than that.

Jayson Stark's take nails it for me. Sure, ARod is a deserving MVP, but to think he had a better year at the plate is ridiculous. Just read....... link

Three possible scenarios: Both teams play well, both teams play poorly, one plays well while the other plays poorly. In the first case, then one team won and the other just lost. In the second, one team is handed a victory while the other choked. In the third, one team wins while the other chokes. That was easy enough. Personally, I don't think the Yankees totally choked, nor do I think the Sox totally won it, but there were elements of both in those last four games.

I picked the 5.5 point because that is what was mentioned in the quote I used, and August 10 was the latest date that the lead was that big. Thanks for making my point easier to prove. The lead after Schilling's game was 4 on Sept. 10. The Sox and Yanks both had 21 games left. Here's what happened........ Sox: 12-9, .571 Yanks: 16-5, .761 As for last year's playoffs, you go right ahead and call it a comeback all you want. But I'd bet money that if you are truly being honest that is not how you really feel.

Schools in session kiddies, so take your seats and pay attention. Today's lesson: Probability Probability is the likelihood that a given outcome will occur. For our purposes, the outcome is winning a baseball game. Probabilities range from 0 to 1. The Red Sox had a 5.5 game lead on August 10 of this year, with 49 games remaining on their schedule and 50 games remaining on the Yankee's schedule. When the so called choke began, the Red Sox were winning 58.4% of their games. In terms of probablity, this means that there was a .584 probablity that they would win any given game. The Yankees had a .536 probablity of winning at the time. You are probably familiar with these numbers as they are listed as the PCT column in the standings. The Red Sox won 29 of their 49 remaining games, which means that from August 10 through the end of the season, there was a .592 probablity that they would win. Please note that this marginally exceeds their performance from earlier in the season. In all fairness, let's just say that they maintained their level of production. The Yankees won 35 of their 50, meaning that from August 10 through the end of the season, there was a .700 probablity that they would win. This vastly exceeds their production rate from earlier in the season. A choke is when you collapse or fail to perform in a big moment. Neither of those things happened the last two months of the season. The Sox kept playing at the same rate as they did all year, while the Yankees went on a hot streak. It happens. I know it makes you all warm and fuzzy to think of this as a choke after what happened last year, but you are wrong if you think it was one.

I wouldn't say a "few". I'd put it at 1.5 bad starts. The 1 being from a 5 ER in 6.2 against the Jays; the .5 from a 4 ER in 6.1 against the A's. Overall, the trend is good though. He went 3-1 with a 3.70 ERA in his last 5 starts, and medically, he still hadn't made a full recovery. He'll be able to train and rehab this offseason, so I think RSN has reason to be encouraged when it comes to his situation.

Dontrelle is a charismatic guy, so I can understand the sentiment to want him to have won it, but he didn't have the better year. Carpenter: 7.93 K/9, 4.18 K/BB, 1.06 WHIP, 151 ERA+, .623 Opp. OPS Willis: 6.47 K/9, 3.09 K/BB, 1.13 WHIP, 153 ERA+, .644 Opp. OPS ERA+ is park adjusted, so that corrected some of the advantage of pitching in Miami, which is why Willis' margin over Carpenter isn't as big as it would be with their regular ERAs. Of course, Clemens did this...... 7.88 K/9, 2.98 K/BB, 1.01 WHIP, 221 ERA+, .544 Opp. OPS Houston got shutout in 9 of his starts, which is why his W/L record wasn't spiffy enough to get him some real consideration. I'm all for using W/L record as long as it is expected wins from Baseball Prospectus, which corrects for run support, defense, and park factors. EDIT: added Opp. OPS

exactly my thoughts as well Could have fooled me..... from the "What the heck? Adrian Beltre?" thread. link to post

I don't like Helton for one reason, his contract. He's due $16.6M for the next 5 years and it tops out in 2011 when he is due $19.9M. Then there is a team option for $23M or player option for $4.6M in 2012. No thanks. hardballdollars.com

Here's the site I used: mlb4u.com EDIT: I went and backchecked the individual contracts on the team pages of the same site. Prior and Oswalt are FAs after 2006. Sabathia is under contract until 2008, so my advice to mlb4u users is, check the team pages because the FA listings are wrong.

Ellsbury, Buccholz, and Lowrie all played short-A in Lowell. I don't think any of the them played well enough to skip both high-A and low-A. I think Wilmington is more likely where they start the year, with promotions if they are really producing 2-months into the season. Bowden only pitched a handful of innings in the GCL, so I can see him starting the year in Greenville.

Wrong. They have already expressed their disinterest in Ramirez. They are a good, cheap, young squad. It would be stupid for them to give up some of that nucleus in exchange for one player that will be a financial burden on a smaller market team.

I've heard he is possibly suffering from vertigo (sorry, don't remember where so I have no link). Vertigo is no joke. David Duval went from the 2nd best golfer on the planet to a guy who can't make the cut 99% of the time once he started suffering from it. The only reason he's still playing golf professionally is he won the British Open and earned a 5 year exemption. Without the exemption he'd have been off the tour a couple of years ago.

According to mlb.com..... link Papelbon pitched 34.0 innings, and he debuted on July 31. Which means even if he didn't get optioned back to Pawtuckett for a week or so in August, he'd only have 31 days of service time during the 25-player limit. So, he will maintain rookie status next year.