FIRE BOWA

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59834032011-04-21T20:09:06.934-07:00FIRE BOWADry Your Eye for Master Jeltzmark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comBlogger1711100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1113446589810235882005-04-13T17:59:00.000-07:002005-04-13T19:43:09.816-07:00

And now for something completely different (aka Have I used this title before?)...In the past I have stated that I would only use this space to write about baseball. I broke that promise once, to rant about people complaining that politicians only do things for your vote and nothing more, then complain when politicians dont' pander to them. Well, count this post as deviation number 2.A little

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1113077737626019052005-04-09T12:51:00.000-07:002005-04-09T13:15:37.630-07:00

I know that this is late, but I am finally getting around to posting my NL predictions. There won't be many comments.NL EastBraves 87-65Phillies 84-68Marlins 83-69Mets 81-81Nationals 62-100I am only picking the Braves because they have won the division each of the last 10 seasons, and won the NL West the last three full seasons before that. The last team to win the NL East in a non-strike

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1112574481912794592005-04-03T17:23:00.000-07:002005-04-03T17:28:01.913-07:00

Harold Reynolds and John Kruk just picked the Yankees to win the World Series over the Braves and the Marlins, respectively. We're F**ked. I had a very weird feeling of Deja Vu when tonight's Yankees/Red Sox game started. It was cold and blustery, the place was rockin' and most of the Yankee players are the same. It was like you take a two week vacation from work and upon return wonder if you

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1112216452669288342005-03-30T12:23:00.000-08:002005-03-30T13:00:52.676-08:00

The seasons gets underway early next week with an eraly matchup between the Yankees and the Red Sox. I am both psyched and dissapointed. I hate jumping right into Red Sox/Yankee games, it is better to have a week or two or practice first. Well with such a small amount of time beween now and the first pitch of the 2005 seasons, here are my American League predictions.AL EastRed Sox 97-

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1111335489089760702005-03-20T07:53:00.000-08:002005-03-20T08:18:09.090-08:00

I am fresh off of my Sunday Morning routine of watching Meet the Press, where I learned that 63% of fans think that players who have used performance enhancing drugs should have their records erased and 66% believe they should never be in the Hall of Fame. If those are true I would like to see the records and Hall of Fame plaque of Willie Mays and others who took amphetamines (the evidence is

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1111101464666612902005-03-17T14:32:00.000-08:002005-03-17T15:50:32.310-08:00

Spent a decent part of the day watching the congressional hearings on steroids in baseball on ESPN. In bullet point form here are some of my immediate thoughts.The first part of these hearings was a big joke. Do you think that many Congressmen were thinking, "Gee, you know what would really round out this farce? If we brought a former House member and current Senator who happened ot have played

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1110836877693599742005-03-14T12:41:00.000-08:002005-03-14T13:47:57.696-08:00

Phillies Top 10 Prospects Part IIFirst a correction,Anderson Machado injured his knee playing winter ball in his native Venezuela and will be out for a good chunk of the season. So chances are that he would not have been a cost effective version of Tomas Perez in 2005. However, I guess you could argue that had he not been traded events may have turned out differently.When taking a look over the

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1110677215370358362005-03-12T15:56:00.000-08:002005-03-12T17:26:55.376-08:00

Top 10 Phillies Prospects Part IFor as good of a season the Phillies had in 2004 they were only on the edge of contention on July 31st. They still had a chance to overtake the Braves for the division or the Cubs or Giants for the Wild Card. But if they were going to get any closer they needed some bold moves. Enter Felix Rodriguez, Doug Jones, and Cory Lidle, the three players traded for in

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1110419773791478882005-03-09T17:29:00.000-08:002005-03-09T17:56:13.796-08:00

I have been really bad when it comes to posting in the past few months. For the last week and a half I have been ensconsed in the latest version of Baseball Prospectus, an anvil of a book that has bogarted my non-spectator baseball energies. When i finish the book I will have my top 10 Phillies prospects and in the spirit of self-depracation, a look at last year's list. In the meantime, 1947

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1109804290837626302005-03-02T14:49:00.000-08:002005-03-02T14:58:10.840-08:00

I got to actually watch a baseball game today. Okay, so I only watched about two innings and the game doesn't count seeing as how it is March and all, but they were using wooden bats and everything. It felt good.A few pieces of injury news coming out of Clearwater, Fla. Neither is terribly unexpected but they do have differing levels of worry. The first is that Vicente Padilla will be shut

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1109527586110904902005-02-27T09:24:00.000-08:002005-02-27T10:06:26.113-08:00

It has been a while since I have ventured to do a Hall of Merit update. The last election i covered was 1942, we are now about a day from the opening of the 1946 poll. So what has happened since then?In 1942 we elected 1B Bill Terry and RHP Dazzy Vance. It was what we tend to call a 'backlog' year. That is a year when the new candidates aren't necessarily no brain decisions. Terry was a new

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1109439004413938672005-02-26T09:01:00.000-08:002005-02-26T09:30:04.416-08:00

Will Carroll, Baseball Prospectus' injury guru, is currently posting a series he does every february and march calle Team Health Reports. In these reports he goes over a team's lineup, starting rotation, and bullpen, giving players a traffic light that coincides with that player's cahnces of staying healthy inthe upcoming season. You should be able to guess what each light means, but for those

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1109114113879607662005-02-22T15:09:00.000-08:002005-02-22T15:15:13.880-08:00

I had a nice long, and even well written, post finished up on sunday on what PECOTA sees for the Phillies 2005 rotation. However, blogger ate it when I hit post. AARRGGHH! I know that you expect a certain level of mediocrity when you choose to read what i have to say, but this tiem you wont' get it. Here, in bullet points form, is the jist of that post.The Phillies rotation is expected to be

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1108331640381923292005-02-13T12:54:00.000-08:002005-02-13T13:54:00.383-08:00

The new 2005 PECOTA projections have been out for a few weeks now and BP subscribers, like myself, have been given the opportunity to download a spreadsheet. The rest of the world will have to wait until Baseball Prospectus 2005 hits shelves in a few weeks. Well, except for you. You have me. So you get to see the Phillies 2005 PECOTA projections. Here is the Phillies projected starting lineup.

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1108166499126348852005-02-11T15:49:00.000-08:002005-02-11T16:01:39.126-08:00

Here is what I have to say about Jose Canseco's book and the steroid allegations therein...I DON'T CARE!!!!The Balco proceedings already forced both MLB's and the Player's Assosciation's hand in coming up with a stricter steroid policy. What does ratting on what players were doing in the early to mid 1990's accomplish? Is what Jose Canseco's alleging true? Some of it is most likely true and

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1107631863929353142005-02-05T10:55:00.000-08:002005-02-05T11:31:03.930-08:00

The Cubs have found their replacement for Sammy Sosa by signing OF Jeromy Burnitz to a 1 year $5 million dollar deal. $5 million is too much for Burnitz, but the Cubs have the money and it is only a one year deal. This signing isn't bad because of the Cubs are overpaying, they are, but because they are essentially paying Sammy Sosa's salary for a platoon second baseman (Jerry Hairston), two

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1107106007106861662005-01-30T09:07:00.000-08:002005-01-30T09:26:47.106-08:00

Before you read anything, I want you to take a look at this link. @#$&! @#$*&^&*^#! *&^$&@^#&$**@! Barbara Streisand! Seriously, what did I ever do to deserve this? Is this retribution for being so hard on him while he was in Philly? Did Glanville think, "Hey, that Mark guy is a real asshole to me, I should get back at him by sucking for his favorite team instead of his second favorite team!

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1106750741397545972005-01-26T06:05:00.000-08:002005-01-26T06:45:41.396-08:00

A few transactions that I want to cover so I may as well to right into it. Marlins sign Carlos Delgado to a 4 year $52 million deal. This deal also contains a vesting option for a fifth year at another $12 million. That option will be guaranteed if the Delgado does well in MVP and postseason MVP balloting. I could explain the nitty gritty of this deal, however it is hard to explain. Needless

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1106509824807539602005-01-23T10:46:00.000-08:002005-01-23T11:50:24.806-08:00

Pat the Bat (yet again)... At this point last year I was tipping Pat Burrell to turn things around following his deadful 2003. In that season Burrell posted a .253 Eqa, which was below the league average of .260. Now, it is entirely possible to be a useful, and maybe even good player, with a .253 Eqa. You just need to be a really good up the middle defender. Burrell is an average at best LFer

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1106101115919185152005-01-18T17:30:00.000-08:002005-01-18T18:18:35.920-08:00

The Phillies have come to terms with three players, avoidiong arbitration. Below is the list of players and their new 'contracts'. 2B Placido Polanco: 1 year, $4.6 Million SS Jimmy Rollins: 1 year, $3.8 million RHP Vicente Padilla: 1 year, $3.2 million For those of you who dont' know what arbitration is, here is a crash course. For the first six years of a players' career he is 'owned' by

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1106013040863940722005-01-17T17:23:00.000-08:002005-01-17T17:50:40.863-08:00

"Every player to wear a Phillies uniform is listed here, including Steve Jeltz." I just saw this here. Damn, does it make me happy. It just makes me wonder, do the editors of phillies.com read this humble blog?

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1105900913000202662005-01-16T08:58:00.000-08:002005-01-16T10:41:53.000-08:00

Right after the Baseball Writer's Association of America (BBWAA) released the results for the 2005 Hall of Fame voting, I posted about a few players that the BBWAA were close to electing that would be huge mistakes. In that post I compared two players, Jim Rice and Andre Dawson, who have gotten a lot of support in the voting to two, Dale Murphy and Dave Parker, who don't. I think that I

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1105757756347552422005-01-14T18:22:00.000-08:002005-01-14T18:55:56.346-08:00

A short post, which inevitably will pass 1000 words, on the mollifies new steroid testing policy. I must has that I am very happy with it. No, it won't completely take illegal performance enhancing drugs (IPEDs)out of the game, but that is not why baseball needs strong policy. That sounded wrong, let me try this again. Baseball will never be able to completely eradicate IPEDs. There will always

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1105570668291967072005-01-12T14:15:00.000-08:002005-01-12T14:57:48.290-08:00

There is still hope... Believe it or not there is still time for the Phillies to drastically improve their ballclub for the 2005 season. No, it is not by oging out and giving too much money to Maglio Ordonez, Jeromy Burnitz, or Carlos Delgado. They dont' need them, they need CFers and top level pitchers. And lo and behold, this offseasons biggest moves may have freed up two good players at

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1105483393593118992005-01-11T13:53:00.000-08:002005-01-11T14:43:13.593-08:00

1942 HOM results and the case for 'Memphis Bill'. Last night the results for the 1942 Hall of Merit election were announced and the newest electees are Pitcher Dazzy Vance and First Baseman Bill Terry. It was the first election in a while because we took a break for Christmas. Thsi is also my first HOM post in a while as I believe that I skipped the 1941 results. The '41 election was an easy

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1105408780050552272005-01-10T17:07:00.000-08:002005-01-10T17:59:40.050-08:00

It's official, Carlos Beltran and the New York Mets agreed on a 7 year, $119 million deal. With a signing like this it is not terribly hard to figure out what this means to the signing team. Carlos Beltran is one of the 10-15 best players in baseball. Yes, the Mets probably overpaid. But they have a YES style TV Network in the works and play in the biggest market in the Nation. They can

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1105302167178678342005-01-09T11:35:00.000-08:002005-01-09T12:22:47.176-08:00

There is about a 99% chance that Carlos Beltran will be a Met for the next seven years. I will touch on this today, but I will also wait until it is official to go over exactly what this means to the Mets and the rest of the NL East. Today I want to finally cover the Randy Johnson trade. Yankees get LHP Randy Johnson Diamondbacks get RHP Javier Vasquez, LHP Brad Halsey, C Dioner Navarro, and

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1104888560462200982005-01-04T16:29:00.000-08:002005-01-04T17:29:20.463-08:00

A Victory Lap Around Yankee Stadium... The BBWAA released the results of the Hall of Fame voting, with Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg being the only two players to make it over the 75% threshold needed for induction. Boggs is one of my favorite Yankees, which is weird because he played most of his career and all of his best years in Fenway. However, he isn't a very popular guy in Boston. This

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1104430817431112292004-12-30T09:17:00.000-08:002004-12-30T10:20:17.433-08:00

There is a lot I would like to cover about the second permutation of the Randy Johnson trade, including possible trade scenarios involving the Phillies. Thing is I want to wait for the trade to go down first. There have been way too many stops and starts on this front for me to make any rash decisions. So in the meantime I want to continue my look at the 2005 Hall of Fame ballot by going over

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1104354791254645102004-12-29T13:11:00.000-08:002004-12-29T13:13:11.256-08:00

It's been a week since my last post, I guess that the Holidays will do that to a fella. Luckily there was not much Hot Stove action over Christmas Weekend so I decided I will begin my look at this year's Hall of Fame Ballot. Oddly enough, this year I feel much more qualified to give yay's or nay's to these players with my Hall of Merit experience, though I am still far from ever receiving a

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1103662298380973592004-12-21T11:57:00.000-08:002004-12-21T12:51:38.380-08:00

More moves to get to, seriously they just dont' stop happening and I have only covered the ones I want to, not every single one. I bet most are getting tired of this, but it is exciting for a baseball fan. Padres get CF Dave Roberts Red Sox get OF Jay Payton, INF Ramon Vazquez, RHP Dave Pauley, and cash. Roberts fits in nicely with the Padres. He plays good defense, has a decent OBP bat for

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1103595703449168412004-12-20T17:34:00.000-08:002004-12-20T18:21:43.450-08:00

In a few days I will have a write-up of the Hall of Fame ballot, but for now I just want to cover a few more hot stove items. Mariners sign 3B Adrian Beltre to a 5 year $64 million dollar deal Were I Yankee GM Brian Cashman I would have gone after Beltre instead of Beltran, move ARod to SS and Jeter to CF. And by the looks of this deal, it would also have saved me money. Alas I am not Brian

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1103494368527774522004-12-19T13:01:00.000-08:002004-12-19T14:12:48.526-08:00

A few big moves that I haven't had the chance to go over. There is a good chance that Rnady Johnson is a Yankees before Christmas, but I want to wait until the trade is finalized until I do a recap. Braves get RHP Tim Hudson A's get RHP Dan Meyer, RHP Juan Cruz, and OF Charles Thomas Cardinals get LHP Mark Mulder A's get RHP Kiko Calero, RHP Dan Haren, and C Daric Barton I don't disagree

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1103224933043268532004-12-16T10:17:00.000-08:002004-12-16T11:22:13.043-08:00

Why are you in such a hurry?... First some Phillies news, then onto a couple big free agent signings. A few days ago I tackled rumors about Marlon Byrd to the Brewers for reliever Jeff Bennet. Today I hear rumors that Royals GM Allard Baird has been trying hard to get a number of outfielders via the trade market, one of them being the Phillies Jason Michaels. It would seem that Ed Wade wants

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1103146308071869152004-12-15T13:53:00.000-08:002004-12-15T13:31:48.070-08:00

Petey's a Met... Mets sign Pedro Martinez to a 4 year $52 million deal Okay, I would like to state my bias right up front. I am happy that Pedro Martinez is a Met and not a member of the Boston Red Sox. Pedro is also the best pitcher I have ever seen during my lifetime. He is the only pitcher for whom an 8 inning, 3 run outing made me go, "Wow, they got to him last night!" So with that

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1103047201670937432004-12-14T08:48:00.000-08:002004-12-14T10:00:01.670-08:00

Phillies Knicknacks... There have been some transactions that I could go over, like Jose Hernandez to the Indians and Esteban Yan to the Angels, but today I want to get back to the Phillies, they are the focal point of this blog after all. According to Paul Hagen, writer for CentreDaily.com, Ryan Howard wants out of Philly because he doesn't see how he can get any ABs with Jim Thome, Bobby

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102967243776435502004-12-13T10:56:00.000-08:002004-12-13T11:47:23.776-08:00

More trades, signings, and such... There were a number of deals that were supposedly finished this weekend including a trade of Tim Hudson to the Dodgers and the Red Sox signing Edgar Renteria. Alas they are not done deals and all parties invovled are looking at other possible avenues. The Yankees also have yet to announce the signing of Carl Pavano, hell they have yet to announce the signing

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102802745034940362004-12-11T13:37:00.000-08:002004-12-11T14:05:45.033-08:00

More moves to analyze so I better get right into it... Red Sox sign David Wells to a 2 year deal wirtha nywhere from $8 million to $18 million dollars If you are wondering how the above is possible, there are plenty of performance bonuses included. The one I know about is if he makes 30 starts in 2005, he will get $2.5 million dollars each year of the deal. This deal is bad news for Padres

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102725354563550952004-12-10T15:59:00.000-08:002004-12-10T16:35:54.563-08:00

More moves to talk about, first some that I like Cubs sign SS Nomar Garciaparra to a 1 year $8 million dollar deal Cubs sign 2B Todd Walker to a 1 year $1.5 million dollar deal Take a look at these sets of EQAs 2002 2003 2004 Player A .239 .207 .265 Player B .268 .257 .273 Both players have been consistently below average defensively and have played

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102640108881182032004-12-09T16:06:00.000-08:002004-12-09T16:55:08.880-08:00

A flurry of action the past few days, I will trya nd touch on everything but first some Yankee and Philly signings. Yankees sign RHP Jaret Wright to a 3 year $21 million deal Yankees sign 2B Tony Womack to a 2 year $4 million deal. I will take these together as they happened either Wednesday morning or Tuesday night after the arbitration deadline. These signings shocked me. When I first read

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102460958040701332004-12-07T13:53:00.000-08:002004-12-07T18:21:25.790-08:00

Okay, I am bored, not hungry and ther are two hours until Hardball is on. So, I will go ahead and show my 'system' for ranking players in my Hall of Merit ballots. I put the word 'system' surrounded by apostrophies like that because I actually don't have a system. The reason for this is I never want to rely solely on some numeric value to tank these players. And THIS is because I dont' think I

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102443695236333682004-12-07T09:18:00.000-08:002004-12-07T10:21:35.236-08:00

Yay Baseball! The winter meeting are just around the corner so hopefully all of the trade and free agent talk will put this whole steroid issue on the back burner. It will in this space. I will try and cover as much of the movement as possible, but as always I will not get to all of it. In the meantime we can get back to all things baseball by taking a look at my 1940 Hall of Merit ballot, and

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102374743646696262004-12-06T14:51:00.000-08:002004-12-06T15:12:23.646-08:00

Before I start writing anything, click here and take a look at an article at Baseball Prospectus dealing with the same issue (I cant' believe I am doing this, but the user name is jschmeagol, the pass word is melmothe. There you go, now you can read BP for free, I trust you are all excited). The author, Gary Huckabay, even went over soem issues that I forgot to/didn't think about including how

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102282456179991962004-12-05T13:39:00.000-08:002004-12-05T13:34:16.180-08:00

Alright, Barry Bonds... So far here is what we know about steroids in baseball from this week... 1. Jason Giambi admitted to taking steroids AND substances known as 'the cream' and 'the clear' to a grand jury in the BALCO case. As par my understanding, he started to take steroids in 2001 and in 2003 was approached by Greg Anderson about the other two substances, which he took and stopped

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102200092962220322004-12-04T11:53:00.000-08:002004-12-04T14:41:32.963-08:00

Movement for movement's sake? In the past few days, amisdt all of the steroid talk (I will get around to writing something about Bonds, Gimabi, et al. soon enough, but I want to collect my thoughts and wait for more information. makes me very unlike most of the main stream media.) there were a few trades featuring my Yankees. So to remind you that yes, there still is baseball business going on

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102037799213134222004-12-02T17:16:00.000-08:002004-12-02T17:36:39.213-08:00

Okay, So Jason Giambi... For those of you living under a rock the size of Turkmenistan, the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Giambi told a Grand Jury last December that he indeed had taken steroids. With this story still so fresh in my head I will run this post in bullet point form. First of all, shame on the Chronicle and the source that leaked this story. Grand Jury testimonies are

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1102013471447349952004-12-02T09:54:00.000-08:002004-12-02T10:51:11.446-08:00

Mark's belated trade analysis... While I was doing my Padres offseason report and a few other things, I happened to miss doing one of my favorite things, analyzing trades. In the past few weeks there have been two significant trades invovling All-Stars, so I am going to take some time right now to give you my all so important take on them. So without further ado, Onward Ho... A's send LHP

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1101759182526712852004-11-29T10:33:00.000-08:002004-11-29T12:13:02.526-08:00

How to fix the... San Diego Padres Okay, I realize it has been a while, but there was a holiday and some computer problems so I haven't been able to post anything substantial for some time now. This one wont' be as in depth as the one I did on the Phillies, but here are the positions for which there will be or should be no change. C - Ramon Hernandez 1B - Phil Nevin 2B - Mark Loretta SS -

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1101346607677121032004-11-24T17:16:00.000-08:002004-11-24T17:36:47.676-08:00

It's that time of the month... My latest Hall of Merit ballot, for the '1939' election year 1. Hughie Jennings (2) PHOM 1938 2. Cupid Childs (3) 2a. Stan Coveleski (4) 3. Red Faber (new) 4. Eppa Rixey (new) 5. Lip Pike (5) 6. Tommy Leach (7) 7. Dick Redding (8) 8. George Sisler (15) 9. Rube Waddell (9) 10. Max Carey (6) 11. Hugh Duffy (10) 12. Jose Mendez (12) 13. Bobby Veach (11) 14. Pete

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1101180706949302562004-11-22T19:03:00.000-08:002004-11-22T19:31:46.950-08:00

With Baseball news flowing at the pace of cold molasses these days (the big rumor on ESPN right now is that the Marlins are interested in Al Leiter. WOO-HOO!!!), I decided that I will weigh in on the top two 'sports' stories of the past week plus. With no further ado and in chronological order... The T.O. and Nicolette Sheridan fiasco was making a mountain out of a molehill, you know kinda

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1101098915766086962004-11-21T20:03:00.000-08:002004-11-21T20:48:35.766-08:00

What the Phillies and the Music Industry have in Common... So is anyone else impressed with those HP digital camera commercials? You know, the ones where what look like white frames turn into pictures and vice versa? For some reason I am always interested and amused when this happens in these commercials. I guess some of us never get past our inner child expunged. And to show you how much of

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1100572310620045912004-11-15T17:14:00.000-08:002004-11-15T18:31:50.620-08:00

Tomorrow morning I head out to Monterey, Ca. Since I do not know if I will have the time there to do any entries I want to get to one of the topics I have promised for quite some time, a "How to fix the Phillies" post. With every free agent now declared and the winter meetings a few weeks off, now is probably the perfect time to get into what I would if I were GM Ed Wade this offseason. Today

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1100478334232776282004-11-14T16:12:00.000-08:002004-11-14T16:25:34.233-08:00

Last season's free agent period was kicked off by a really dumb signing, namely Raul Ibanez for 3 years and $14.5 million. This year? It is the Giants and their signing of Omar Vizquel for 3 years and $12.5 million taht will kick off the free agent period with a dumb signing. In the last year of that deal Vizquel will be 40. 40! And he isn't even that good now! What makes this deal even

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1100392149630456502004-11-13T15:44:00.000-08:002004-11-13T16:29:09.630-08:00

Well the complete list of free agents has been released. It'a amaing that I am not more excited about something like this, especially since I am a Yankees fan and could see my team sign two or three of the top guys. But really, what am I supposed to do? Ranking them is something that virtually every major news outlet, plus countless numbers of baseball only websites and blogs have done or will

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1100019866301822882004-11-09T08:41:00.000-08:002004-11-09T09:04:26.300-08:00

Mark's 1938 ballot for the Hall of Merit was as follows... 1. Heinie Groh 3B 2. Hughie Jennings SS 3. Cupid Childs 2B 4. Stan Coveleski P 5. Lip Pike CF 6. Max Carey CF 7. Tommy Leach 3B/CF 8. Dick Redding P (Negro leagues) 9. Rube Waddell P 10. Hugh Duffy CF 11. Bobby Veach RF 12. Jose Mendez P (Negro Leagues) 13. Pete Browning CF 14. George Van Haltren CF 15. George Sisler 1B 16-20 Roger

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1099951163603840962004-11-08T13:39:00.000-08:002004-11-08T13:59:23.603-08:00

Well, I am back. This should officially end my little break from baseball that I decided to take after the Yankees lost, the Election turned out horribly wrong, and a few other personal issues diluted my interest. It is, of course, the best time of the year to take some time off of baseball as nothing usually happens. Free Agents have until Nov. 11th to file and the GM meetings do not start

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1099234443800905792004-10-31T05:58:00.000-08:002004-10-31T06:54:03.800-08:00

*WARNING* the following post has not been edited due to the author's extreme laziness. *WARNING* While surfing around espn.com a few minutes ago, I came across this article. Sosa's complaint was somethign that had crossed my mind fmany times while watching Cubs games this past season. See, their #'s three through six hitters were often Moises Alou, Aramis Ramirez, Derek Lee, Sammy Sosa or

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1098925557850519622004-10-27T17:34:00.000-07:002004-10-27T18:05:57.850-07:00

Okay, so it has been a while, ten days to be exact. But in my defense, well...something happened. I guess I am still dealing. That being said, I did pick the Red Sox to win in seven, though not exactly in this way. As for the series if I had been up to it my World Series Preview would have been the following: Red Sox in Four I hate life I really can't ask for any accolades if the Red Sox

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1098028127287593392004-10-17T08:30:00.000-07:002004-10-17T08:48:47.286-07:00

Yankees 19, Red Sox 8 This is the most intense blowout I have ever witnessed. The first 3 1/2 innings of this game were just crazy, tons of rallies, tons of hits, tons of runs (17 to be exact). Just crazy. Yankees go up 3-0, Red Sox counter 4-3, Yankees answer 6-4, Red Sox 6-6, Yankees 11-6. 27 of the first 46 batters reached base, and by the end of the fourth inning the Red Sox were on

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1097876518318134762004-10-15T14:29:00.000-07:002004-10-15T14:41:58.320-07:00

Cardinals 6, Astros 4 The Astros have three better than average pitchers. Or at least three better than average healthy pitchers (Sorry Wade Miller and Andy Pettite). They are Roger Clemens, Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge. All three are, of course, not merely better than average but really wonderful pitchers. None have pitched in the NLCS as of yet. This is understandable, to a degree, where

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1097793200798388262004-10-14T15:05:00.000-07:002004-10-14T15:33:20.800-07:00

Didn't get to watch muchof the game becuase of my 8:30 meeting at the Olive Garden and the debates. By the way, I realize I am biased and all, but I think Kerry was a slight winner in this debate. Overall though they are very unfulfilling. The candidates dont' get the time properly explain their plans and they are more like dual interviews (Ryan Keenan's words, not mine) than real debates.

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1097704180271316892004-10-13T14:12:00.000-07:002004-10-13T14:49:40.270-07:00

Yankees 10, Red Sox 7 Wow! Crazy game last night. Coming into the seventh inning I was in the 'I am tired but I am styaing up for another hour or so to watch the end of this game' phase. By the end of bottom of the seventh, I was in 'Holy Shit' mode. While the Yankees held on, I saw a few instances where I was saying to myself, "Joe Torre blew it", after a Red Sox hitter had yet another big

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1097623983455681292004-10-12T16:32:00.000-07:002004-10-12T16:33:03.456-07:00

Alright, I have to get this out before the series starts (roughly 20 minutes) so I will say it now and not explain it. Red Sox in Seven Also Cardinals in Five

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1097443364940502512004-10-10T13:40:00.001-07:002004-10-10T14:22:44.993-07:00

Hall of Merit Ballot for 1936 My original idea was to do a daily blog entry taling about the Division Series, while making predictions for each game. Well, that didn't work out so well. I figured out very quickly that it would be impossible for me to a) watch all of the games, what with work and having to study for the GRE, and b) make predictions on games that would be in progress when I was

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1097443257002998682004-10-10T13:40:00.000-07:002004-10-10T14:20:57.456-07:00

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1096938890507702392004-10-04T17:37:00.000-07:002004-10-04T18:14:50.506-07:00

Let's get it start-ted AH... A quick set of predictions for the Division Series and sorry for the Black Eyed Peas reference. Boston Red Sox vs. Anaheim Angels Right now the Red Sox are my pick for 2005 World Series Champs. However, this is a wide open American League. The Angels may be a more well-rounded team. I trust the Angels 3 and 4 starters (Escobar and Lackey) over those for the

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1096833183554427002004-10-03T13:36:00.000-07:002004-10-03T12:53:03.553-07:00

A few thoughts about the Phillies and the firing of Larry Bowa... No, the name of this blog will not change. For one, some part of me kind of takes a weird sense of pleasure out of having a blog with an outdated name. I mean won't the name become an inside joke of sorts if I am still doing it five years from now? The second reason that the name of this blog won't change back to 'Dry Your Eye

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1096763619067907112004-10-02T17:30:00.000-07:002004-10-02T17:33:39.066-07:00

It would seem as if the Phillies finally got around to my little corner of cyberspace huh? Now if only they had done this a few months earlier... What this will do is force me to place my pontifcatin' hat upon my crown and post tomorrow. Damn Phillies, why did they have to fire him!

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1096584627201658522004-09-30T15:09:00.000-07:002004-09-30T15:50:27.203-07:00

The Phillies are officially out of it now, I must admit I expected to happen a week or two ago, but when ti happens doesn't really matter much. With them now out of the reace, this will be my last post until the playoffs start next week. I will try and do daily posts, with analysis and predictions beginning when the playoffs do. There is no joy in Cincy today as Mighty Adam has struck out...

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1096231876961997032004-09-26T13:17:00.000-07:002004-09-26T13:51:16.960-07:00

Big news! Well at least if you live in my little world it is. I have just been bestowed with the honor of a vote for the Hall of Merit. The Hall of Merit (HOM) is run by a website called Baseball Think Factory, the same website taht runs Baseball Primer, for which there is a link at the right of this website. It's purpose is to create of Hall of Fame where the players have been chosen purely

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1095369980930197562004-09-16T13:12:00.000-07:002004-09-16T14:26:20.930-07:00

The Coxian Empire in retrospect... The other day I read where someone mentioned, and I am not sure whom but as I recall it was someone I read often and therefore respect, that the Atlanta Braves recent run of 13 consecutive division titles is the most impressive run in baseball history. Being the argumentative cuss, and Yankee fan, that I am my immediate reaction was, "NO, they are not. The

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1095351920959286192004-09-16T08:59:00.000-07:002004-09-16T09:25:20.960-07:00

Something else you haven't seen before... Kevin Millwood is due to make his return from injury this weekend. That is not really news in that getting an overpaid, mediocre starter back when your team is essentialy out of the playoff picture is not particularly interesting. What is interesting is the way in which Millwood figures to make his return. If what I hear is correct, Millwood is

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1095293983292430712004-09-15T16:13:00.000-07:002004-09-15T17:19:43.293-07:00

Now for something that you have never seen before... For those of you who haven't watched SportsCenter or Baseball Tonight recently you may be interested to kow that Ichiro! currently has 232 hits. Big deal right? Well, according to this espn.com player card, Ichiro is on pace for 261 hits, four more than George Sisler had in 1920. Sisler's 257 is also the single season record for hits in a

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1095115065810771822004-09-13T15:05:00.000-07:002004-09-13T15:37:45.810-07:00

Don't look now but with their weekend sweep over the Mets, the Phightins have won 9 of their last 10 games and sit just 4 1/2 games back in the Wild Card, where before this run they were 8 games back. Now you probably remember the 17,000 times that I have said with Revere's zeal on the blog, "The Phillies are not going to the playoffs!" Despite their recent run I still stand by that statement

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1094693041277447532004-09-08T17:31:00.000-07:002004-09-08T18:24:01.276-07:00

I am honestly finding it hard to write anything regarding the 2004 season at this point. For one thing, the Phillies, the supposed main topic of this blog, have been playing out the string for a little over a month now. And this isnt' the kinda playing out the string where a team calls up a ton of prospects and other guys who may very well be part of next year's team. The Phillies aren't

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1094505145587972202004-09-06T13:21:00.000-07:002004-09-06T14:12:25.586-07:00

WARNING! WARNING! Mark is out of his element! WARNING! WARNING! Mark is out of his element! While I realize that this is a baseball blog I am going to delve into something else, something so shocking that manyof you probably won't even be able to finish reading it. That's right, I am going to devote an entire post to FOOTBALL!!!! Damn, am I a well rounded person or what? Anyways it is labor

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1094173235841481162004-09-02T17:57:00.000-07:002004-09-02T18:00:35.843-07:00

According to the latest playoff odds report on Baseball Prospectus, the Phillies have a 0.1% chance of winning the Wild Card and 0.2% chance of winning the division, meaning that they ahve a 0.3% chance of making the playoffs. This is roughly a 1 in 333 chance of making the playoffs. Good thing they are rushing Pat Burrell back. On a happier note both Ryan Howard and Gavin Floyd are up with

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1093565638758538302004-08-26T16:32:00.000-07:002004-08-26T17:13:58.760-07:00

Fun with Numbers... Let's just take a look at how the Phillies linrup has performed this season, with the aid of a...wait for it...CHART! Player Pos PA's EQA RARP M. Lieberthal C 424 .248 9.7 J. Thome 1B 502 .328 43.6 P.Polanco 2B 399 .249 7.1 J. Rollins

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1093482302784728592004-08-25T16:13:00.000-07:002004-08-25T18:05:02.786-07:00

Upon further review... Before I get into my post I want to talk about something non baseball related. I try not to talk about such things because, well, my expertise seems to fizzle out after baseball and medieval England and I for one am not someone who likes to hear opinions from people who don't really know what they are talking about. I guess I am a dick like that. Anways, my latest job

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1093226091040637602004-08-22T17:12:00.000-07:002004-08-22T18:54:51.040-07:00

That don't impress me much... Ugh. Sorry but the quote above is the best one I could come up with. Should I have my male membership card revoked for this? Before I get into the meat of this article, I would like to mention that they Phillies just swept the Brewers today with a 9-6 extra inning win. Of course it is way too little, way too late, but I guess one must take their victories

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1092782257373675452004-08-17T14:56:00.000-07:002004-08-17T15:38:20.846-07:00

New shit has come to light... You what makes me really happy? Anytime I can quote The Big Lebowski and have it realte to the discussion. I know I am a simple man. In my last post I covered the Phillies trade for Cincinati RHP Cory Lidle. Lidle so far has pitched like a 5th starter going five innings, allowing 2ER, with 4 K's and 3BB's in his lone start. Pretty decent actually, but of course he

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1092101458690945582004-08-09T17:11:00.000-07:002004-08-09T18:30:58.690-07:00

It's like rai-eee-ain on your wedding day... I know, I know I quoted Alanis Morisette, so sue me (by the way that isn't ironic that is simply bad luck, dammit!). But after winning 5 of six out on the West Coast against two teams competing for playoff spots, the Phillies get the news that they will be without their third best hitter. Pat the Bat will no longer be able to swing his kinsman this

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1091900817029799002004-08-07T10:16:00.000-07:002004-08-07T10:46:57.030-07:00

The Phillies have now won four in a row, including a sweep of the Padres, two extra inning victories, and a win against Eric Gagne. And where has it gotten them? 4.5 games back (5 in the loss column) of the Braves and 3 back of the Cubs in the Wild Card. I am not sure that I can stress this enough, the Phillies are probably a 1/80 shot (at best) to make the playoffs. It just isn't happening

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1091676543281439982004-08-04T19:06:00.000-07:002004-08-04T20:29:03.280-07:00

It is time to get through the final of four trade deadline installments so that I can get onto other topics. In parts I-III I went over the Mets pillaging of their farm system, Paul DePodesta making 'The Leap', and the trade that made my month, or at least week. Today I want to go over many of the smaller deals in cluding those madeby the the Yankees and Phillies. But before we get started I

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1091554476931228232004-08-03T09:19:00.000-07:002004-08-03T10:34:36.933-07:00

It's time for part III of my trade deadline analysis. Up this time? The big Saturday trade, the trade that brought a smile or 70,000 to my face. I am of course talking about the Nomar trade. Here is how it stacks up, piece by piece. Cubs trade RHP Justin Jones to the Twins for 1B Doug Mientkiewicz Cubs trade SS Alex Gonzalez, 3B/2B Brendan Harris, and RHP Franics Beltran to the Expos for SS

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1091473408301583872004-08-02T10:48:00.000-07:002004-08-02T12:03:28.300-07:00

When it comes to trades...Onward Ho... Dodgers trade C Paul Lo Duca, RHP Guillermo Mota, and OF Juan Encarnacion to the Marlins for RHP Brad Penny, 1B Hee Seop Choi, and RHP Brian Murphy. Much like the Mets deal the press is fawning all over Marlins GM Larry Beinfest for making this deal when he is probably the loser here. The Marlins aren't appreciably better in the near term while certainly

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1091468890106430452004-08-02T09:06:00.000-07:002004-08-02T10:48:10.106-07:00

It's time for the trade dealine extravaganza that I promised just a few mere hours ago. I Know you weren't able to sleep last night waiting for it, so let's get started. First, the major trades made this weekend... Mets trade C Justin Huber to the Royals for 3B Jose Bautista Mets trade Bautista, RHP Matt Peterson, and 3B/2B Ty Wiggington to Pirates for RHP Kris Benson and IF Jeff Keppinger

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1091416806966141532004-08-01T20:02:00.000-07:002004-08-01T20:20:06.966-07:00

Hooray Bullet Points! After a week of silence I was getting worried that this might be the least active trade deadline of my memory, which, to be fair, isn't very long. However, Firday and Saturday were huge with Nomar Garciaparra being traded and the Dodgers making one hell of a trade with the Marlins. Either way i will be doing a bullet point post today. Tomorrow I will have a big post

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1090891399781670072004-07-26T16:31:00.000-07:002004-07-26T18:23:19.780-07:00

I can change, I can change... It just might be time for me to eat some crow. Maybe. I don't know. Okay, it is, you got me Earlier this year, and pretty much since the start of this blog following the Marlin's World Series victory, I had been pretty tough on David Bell. The way I saw it Bell, who at 31 was coming off of a .195/.295/.285 season wraught with back trouble, seemed like the

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1090636460912966072004-07-23T18:06:00.000-07:002004-07-23T19:34:20.913-07:00

What do I have to do...to make you love me! While late July can be a very exciting time for a baseball fan like myself, what with the trade deadline rapidly approaching, it can also be a very frustrating time for someone trying to write. I have been over what I think the Phillies should do at the deadline (nothing, unless they can pull off a whopper). The team's strengths (power hitting and

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1090086459848852312004-07-17T09:26:00.000-07:002004-07-17T10:47:39.846-07:00

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1090086337243728402004-07-17T00:26:00.000-07:002004-07-17T10:48:21.113-07:00

Hooray Baseball! Back in the days of BaseballPrimer.com (now the new and 'improved' baseballthinkfactory.com)when the message board wasn't member only, you could sign in as anything you wanted to. This led to many 'trolls' on the site, some were funny, many were just annoying. So in the course of one chat Peter Gammons, Casey Stengel, Katherine Zeta Jones, and Stephen Jay Gould

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1089837434800019732004-07-14T12:23:00.000-07:002004-07-14T13:37:14.800-07:00

How much is that pitcher in the window... With the All-Star game now over and teams looking toward the second half of the season, I think it appropriate to take a look at the Phillies needs heading toward the July 31st trading deadline. i really see three such needs, and they are... 1. A starting pitcher 2. A reliever that can make certain that Roberto Hernandez isn't pitching much (A lefty is

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1089666398480101932004-07-12T12:33:00.000-07:002004-07-12T14:06:38.480-07:00

With the All-Star break now upon us there will be no real baseball for the next few days. The Phillies are in first place, and in even more improtant news so are the Yankees. Right now my baseball life is good. Back in March I did a two-part series (scroll down) on the Phillies top ten prospects. Halfway through the saeson I figured that now would be a splendid time to take a look at how each

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1089164720344824752004-07-06T18:03:00.000-07:002004-07-06T18:45:20.376-07:00

Walk into the room, Throwin' around hundred dollar bills... I never thought I would be saying that I am excited for the World Series of Poker, but here I am. One question though, if i am watching poker on TV and am quoting Big and Rich on my blog, how long before I begin wearing wrangler and boots? Before I get to the All-Star reserves however, I do have a announcement to make. I have just

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1088991031621714372004-07-04T17:19:00.001-07:002004-07-04T18:30:31.620-07:00

Starry, Starry Night... All-Star rosters were released today so I thought I would spent the next few days going over them. Today I want to take a look at the All-Star starters. When making my choices I take into consideration two things, a) who is the best player at that position and b)who is the player who is having the best season at that position, in that order. The reason for that is

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1088991005903630932004-07-04T17:19:00.000-07:002004-07-04T18:30:05.903-07:00

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1088471912644885742004-06-28T16:58:00.000-07:002004-06-28T18:18:32.643-07:00

It was early summer we sat on your roof, Smoked cigarettes and we stared at the moon... The above title can only one thing, as promised, my take on yesterday's Freddy Garcia trade. Obvious, huh? Don't worry I will explain. White Sox recieve RHP Freddy Garcia and C Ben Davis Mariners recieve C Miguel Olivo, OF Jeremy Reed and IF Michael Morse The Chicago White Sox, one game behind the

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1088384481719210442004-06-27T17:38:00.000-07:002004-06-27T18:01:21.720-07:00

This post, untitled as it is, is merely a follow-up to my take on the Beltran three-way swap of this past week. So if you haven't read the Beltran post, please scroll down and read that then continue with this post. I mean, c'mon it even has a nifty Beatles reference in it! I have always hated to right intros that are snappy and attention grabbing. It is much easier for me, being the type of

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5983403.post-1088282341563825562004-06-26T12:16:00.000-07:002004-06-26T13:39:01.563-07:00

He's a real Houston man, living in his Houston land... Taking a break from my seemingly Philly-centric universe, I hope you can indulge me as i take a look at what will probably be the biggest trade of the 2004 season. Carlos Beltran is an Astro, Octavio Dotel is an A, and Mark Teahan, Mike Wood, and John Buck are Royals. In 1998, the Astros shocked the baseball world by trading Carlos Guillen,

mark http://www.blogger.com/profile/02139181460830440894noreply@blogger.com