jacksonianmarch

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2006/12/16/column_whos_the_evil_empire_now/ This is a pretty good article on the upgrades on both sides of the fence from the globe.

true true.

I'd say Portland.

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/881877.html The twins tried to convince him to give it one more yr, but Radke has made up his mind. On tuesday, he will retire, ending a solid career of 12 seasons.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6283264 Has an option as well. No word on salary.

Hinske and a mid level gets your nothing. Hinske is awful.

wait, you hate the fact that people have differing opinions? Isnt that what a board like this is all about? If everyone had the exact same thing to say, it would be boring.

Any reason other than blind homerism?

if you acquire a closer you will have a serviceable bridge to a closer.

no, but there is a reason why a former first round pick was cut by the worst team in baseball after getting a significant major league chance.

isolated case in a low pressure environment. Also, Street did not pitch in the season he was drafted. He was brought up the yr after.

That is an old link my friend, but they are really trying to make this happen. I think this is a good move if it involves only Melky. It becomes absurd and stupid if it is Proctor too. Here's the deal TGov. Mariano is signed through this season. The Yankees are likely to extend him for 2 more years. But even as a yankee fan, I know that he is likely going to be a tough sell 3 yrs from now as an elite closer. Gonzalez is 28 and from his scouting report he has some nasty stuff. He has had issues with his health and has some control issues as well, but he can handle the closers role. I think this deal may have more to do with insuring themselves than anything else. Plus, Farnsworth aint exactly a sure bet. So adding a kid with a 93-98mph heater and a deadly slider couldnt hurt. That bullpen would be unbelievable. Look at the arms. Rivera- 95mph cutter 95mph 2 seamer Proctor- 95-98mph fastball Farnsworth- 95-101mph fastball Bruney- 95-98mph fastball Britton- 93-95mph fastball Gonzalez- 93-98mph fastball all having success the previous season in the majors and all with insane power arms. That is a bullpen to be reckoned with. Sadly, I would HATE to see Melky go and this deal would be immensely stupid if it involved proctor, but if it is Melky for Gonzalez straight up, you have to do it.

hey Gom, how's your MUMMY. ROFL. Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. [/sarcasm]

(scratches head, tries not to remember anyone named Farnsworth) No he is not god.

he walks too many and doesnt have the stuff anymore to get away with it.

That was a long time ago. He hasnt been primary setup man since then. And as many have noted, his trends are not good. I like him. I think in a limited role, he will be a solid reliever. But heaping 60-80 innings on his shoulder as a setup man will be disastrous.

Did you see what I posted? He had a OPS against of greater than .950. You could win an MVP with a .950OPS. The guy is terrible.

deep bullpen? What are you talking about? Timlin exploded last yr. Donnelly is a solid MR guy, but not a setup guy. Okajima is a ??. Romero was flat out AWFUL last yr. The kids were terrible too. The bullpen has nobody who you can point to and say reliably that they will have a solid season.