Emmz

Used to have the most wins, and national titles of any program. Haven't done jack s*** in 50 years though.

Well, Minnesota's pretty different. We have pride in the Gophers, just because they used to have a history of winning. They don't anymore, but the atmosphere is crazy. We just haven't had a team that's won anything besides the Twins in about forever. I don't think you can say that college athletics are "taken up another notch" in certain areas, because in reality, any team that has any success usually has a very strong atmosphere at the games, and it helps even more if you're a big school. University of Minnesota football isn't as big as it used to be, because we were an Empire 50 years ago, and now we're a laughingstock.

In Plump We Trust.

Run. Differential. Say it with me, it feels nice. Run. Differential. Cameron is an offensive downgrade compared to Bay, but is a MASSIVE upgrade defensively. Beltre is about the SAME, but with slightly better power than Lowell offensively, so if anything, he's an upgrade offensively, and a massive upgrade defensively. V-Mart is a HUGE upgrade offensively, and neither one of them, Martinez or Varitek, were any good on defense. Scutaro is a downgrade defensively from Gonzalez, but probably an upgrade from the others, and a massive upgrade offensively from Gonzalez. Statistics agree with me on this, too. We may not score more runs than last year, but we have a more consistent lineup, with a potential to score more runs than last season. Also, you're focusing solely on how many runs we're going to score. Acknowledge that the lineup is more consistent, and has had several offensive upgrades to help take away from the loss of Jason Bay. Not to mention, we've become what is probably one of the best defensive teams in baseball, if not THE best defensive team in baseball. Add that to our stacked rotation, where Jacko's shiny new "number two" starter, Javier Vasquez, is nothing but a 5th starter, and you've got a team that is a legitimate contender. Don't mind when Jacko tells us all that we'll be fighting for our wild card lives, or whatever. This team has what it takes to contend with the Yankees themselves.

I think that's everywhere. In the north, that's certainly the case as well. I assume almost everyone has some sort of pride in their favorite nearby school.

Ortiz Youkilis Pedroia Ellsbury Scutaro Cameron Beltre Drew Martinez In all seriousness Ellsbury Pedroia Drew Youkilis Ortiz Martinez Beltre Cameron Scutaro

University of Kentucky Basketball is the Roman Empire. University of Kentucky Football is like... The State of Kentucky.

That's why. It's football, not basketball.

I believe this argument has been used a few pages back, too, though... ERA's have been inflated in the American League since the beginning of the DH Rule.

Exactly. Honestly, I highly doubt he has an ERA of 4 flat. I'll put money on a 4.50, and Jacko eating some major crow about his shiny new "number 2 starter". He's a 5th starter on the Red Sox, and that's really about all that can be said. 3rd or 4th starter on the Yankees is a 5th starter on the Red Sox. Burnett is a 4th starter on the Red Sox. CC can only get you so far, and he's not as "vastly superior" to Lester as many would lead you to believe. Those are the same Yankee fans who were saying that CC was "vastly superior" to Cliff Lee, who completely manhandled the Yankees, and totally outpitched his "vastly superior" counterpart.

Yeah... And there's not really any sound proof behind the statement, so you really can't use it for argument's sake.

I hope the Knickerbockers don't pick up Lebron.

I understand that, and especially for that case. Oklahoma and Texas hate each other in a similar way that we hate Wisconsin and the Dakotas. I personally wouldn't root for the Badgers if it was between that and death. I hate the Badgers with every fiber of my being. However, if it was Iowa, or maybe Northwestern or Penn State, I'd probably cheer, because I don't hate them the same way I hate the Wolverines, or the Buckeyes, or the Badgers. Heck, I was cheering for Michigan State in Basketball. Just never Michigan, OSU or Wisconsin. That is all.

I don't see how this is really going to make any sort of impact, even if he is smart.

But on a serious note. You should, however, acknowledge regional pride. Some people have a lot of regional pride, like in the mid-west. I'm not big on regional pride, so I don't root for OSU against Texas, although I probably would against USC. Anyways. Some people see it as a regional thing, so I don't think it's the dumbest position, even if I don't personally feel the same way.

Dude, suns roots for Cleveland in several sports, cut 'im some slack.

You're talking to a guy who thinks the Yankees have a better to superior rotation to the Red Sox. He's really just a basket case.

He has no grasp of unbiased analysis. It's like arguing with someone who plugs their ears and yells "lalalalalalalalalalala"

I'll take consistent 115 OPS+ and defensive excellence from Pedroia, over Cano's inconsistency over the past three seasons eight days a week.

Thank you for proving my point for me. And I never said that you DIDN'T say Cano and Pedroia were even. I know you did, and I think that's a bit of a stretch. Even 26 to 6 admitted Pedroia was superior to Cano. They're about the same offensively, with Pedroia vastly superior defensively. As for the rotation argument, well, that's really... Sad. Vasquez is a 4th starter at best. He'd be a 5th starter on the Sox, and you seem to think he's a number 2 or 3.

Someone who agrees with you that the rotations, and Cano and Pedroia are equals. At least you admitted Drew was superior to Swisher...