biggentleben

Unrequited stalker love. Bastard Larkin!

Kaat is off the ballot. He has to be a veteran's committee choice now. Just like Jack Morris. He has 2 more years on the ballot, then he's a veteran's committee choice only.

This could get messy in a hurry. Boras is being very veiled in his comments http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8358229/scott-boras-says-kept-quiet-washington-nationals-stephen-strasburg-shutdown ...but it sounds like he's not exactly a fan of how this has been handled, and that could be big if you look at the list of current and future National players that Boras represents.

Who would have thought' date=' ten years ago, that Jeter would be the only one those latter three going to the Hall of Fame?[/quote'] I do believe ARod will make it for the same reason as Bonds. The totality of the numbers will be so large that just the roids argument won't be able to stand up.

Next year is a good class, but controversial with the following first timers (in order of who I think will get in first ballot): Piazza, Biggio, Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, and Schilling. Then, the 2014 class: Maddux, Glavine, Frank Thomas, and Jeff Kent/Mike Mussina (don't think they get in, but good arguments for each) The 2015 class: Randy Johnson, Pedro, Smoltz, Sheffield The 2016 class: Griffey, Jr., Hoffman, Billy Wagner You can make an argument that 3 will make it each year from first timers, meaning if Clemens doesn't make it this year, he could sit on the ballot for 3+ years, which is not something his ego would be able to handle, so I could see him coming back to play a season and push back his eligibility another 5 years.

You're not presenting anything to counter any of the overwhelming number of folks who see something much different when they see Larkin. However, you've not once stated anything about seeing him on the field, just continually referenced his hits number. From your comments it seems you're looking at stats only and never truly saw the player because anyone who did have a chance to see him and know him in his era knows Barry was at the top of the game. He was the bridge from Ozzie/Ripken to the Nomar/Jeter/ARod grouping as the best SS in the game. There wasn't anyone in his class for a good portion of his career at his position. He's a Hall of Famer, easy.

That's the point. Larkin's offensive numbers were elite at his position, but perhaps arguable as borderline HOF worthy on their own. Add in his defense that makes him NOT a one-dimensional player, and he moves way ahead of others who also have borderline offensive cases. He belongs.

Clemens has had mediocre velocity and hasn't even been striking out indy ball guys. If he's in Houston, it will be very, very bad. The interesting thing is that he's eligible for HOF voting this offseason, however with a ballot that will have a lot of steroid talk going, he may try to duck it to avoid such controversy. You have Bonds, Piazza, and Sosa also first ballot this year along with holdovers Bagwell, McGwire, and Palmeiro with steroid stuff surrounding them (not all deservedly).

Except that those numbers by a shortstop that was as good as there was in the entire game for most of his career defensively are pretty much unmatched. Larkin's offensive numbers are borderline, but the fact that in most eyes when Ozzie retired, he handed the throne of best defensive shortstop immediately to Larkin with no one close says that those numbers are nowhere near all that matters. Brooks Robinson is in at a less demanding defensive position with worse numbers because of his reputation as a stalwart defender there. Larkin is similarly excellent at SS with better offensive numbers.

Who cares? Sometimes, people just need to stand up and call the douchebags out for being, well, douchebags. If we can shame just one of these bastards into shutting up, it's a small victory. If not, at least we all got a good laugh from it. Does that include those d-bags participating in this thread? Just saying....

You're assuming Morneau will even get to 14 full years in the majors, more than twice the number he has now. Konerko has played 140+ games all but two seasons since 1999 (and the two he missed were 122 and 137 games). Their rate stats are similar, but Konerko's been doing it every year since 1999, while Morneau had a good run for 4 years, and since, he's struggled to stay healthy.

As far as McGriff's spikes, remember that he lived during an era of expansion. That really drastically affected numbers in the year or two following each expansion. I was blessed to watch him play daily. I'd compare him to that era's Paul Konerko. You put Fred McGriff on the Yankees during his career and he's in. You put Paul Konerko on the Red Sox currently, and he's considered one of the best players in the entire game. As both should be. The trouble with a lot of this is perspective. Jack Morris isn't close. He's simply not. He was not much better than other starters around him every year...until it came time for the playoffs. Curt Schilling is a similar pitcher as far as turning it up in the playoffs, but he was also one of the 2-5 best pitchers in the entire game for years. The awards argument is a crap one, though. MVP voting is so moronic nearly 90% of the time. If I were to go back year by year, I'd wager that not one season in the last 30 was there a top 5 in both leagues that included the top 5 actual players that season. Using WAR is difficult because of the defensive statistics used and the weight against pitchers in general. It's hard to tell who belongs from generation to generation. We've all seen how poor the writers understand the modern game in their awards, and they've got more access to truly compare players than they ever have had before. Even in 1995, comparing Fred McGriff to Barry Larkin would have been very difficult for a writer from San Francisco who have seen all of a few games of each during the season in person and another handful on television during the year. Now any writer wanting to compare players can review baseball reference or watch every game via MLB.tv. Yet, even now, voters screw up ALL the time, so comparing how a guy did on award voting is about as useful as having them all drop trousers and getting out the ruler in determining who was a better player.

Kluwe 1, Maryland Congressman 0 Beautiful work by Kluwe...just wow. Beautiful.

Wrong. Simply wrong. The Braves OPS'd 20 points lower than any other month of the year in September, the starters put up an ERA 40 points worse than any month of the season, and the relievers only had an ERA 17 points higher than the next worst month. The whole entire team collapsed, not the bullpen. If anything, the bullpen performed as close to expectations according to previous performance in 2011 as any other part of the team. The media loved that story, but it wasn't true. The Braves best reliever by ERA, Eric O'Flaherty finished with a 0.98 ERA and in September, he threw 14 IP with no earned runs. Venters had a poor showing, and Kimbrel had a couple of bad games, but the bullpen overall was not the issue in September for the Braves.

Interesting, seeing as during Obama's presidency, numerous welfare-to-work programs were set up to encourage those utilizing welfare to work. What Mitt fails to realize is that many in this country would love half of a $22.50 job, and they're just not out there. Clinton actually made a great point when he was discussing the new education for the new economy. My dad is a bright man and not yet 55, but the education he received would not be adequate if he chose to attempt to enter the workforce now, and many of those being moved out of a position by technological advances are finding the same thing. That is not a bad thing, and it's something this country has faced many times before, but for some reason, now it's being politicized in anti-current regime rhetoric from the Republican party as Obama costing jobs. That's not it at all. In the United States' history, aggressive reorder of the job market based on advances in technology have typically happened because of war or depression/recession times that extend multiple years. We're in the midst of that right now, and as unpopular as it may be for people in the country to be out of work, it needs to happen at times to change how we're training students and adults to do their jobs in an ever-changing global economy.

That said, oratory has never been Barack's problem. His has been the extreme partisanship shown by both sides in Congress right now, which pretty much stale mates any decent ideas that may get done.

I was also a fan of Bases Loaded. You'd throw one way off to the left, and the catcher's hand would detach from his body to catch the ball.

The Reds have a very legit chance to win this year, and their farm and smart signings have been a large reason why. The one thing that's flown a bit under the radar this year is the major step back that Devin Mesoraco took in his development. He's not hit, which was his calling card, and his defense, admittedly advertised as average, has been simply bad. One of the major skills that a catcher must develop is positive relationships with umpires, and the word has been that he was stand-offish with many umpires as he was receiving a game, highlighted by his bumping of an umpire, which sent him to AAA once he served his suspension. They traded away Yasmani Grandal with the assumption that Mesoraco was their future at catcher, and while they did well piecing together Ryan Hannigan and Ramon Hernandez behind the plate for a few years, they want to have a player who can be their guy for a number of years. Based on early returns, they may have traded the wrong catcher this offseason. That said, Votto is among my favorite players in baseball, and if the Braves missed out on a WS in Chip's final year because Votto got one, I could live with that.

They still aren't picking guys who have really "succeeded" anywhere else. Often it's a scrap heap guy who blows up. Of the pitchers who have thrown a pitch for the A's this year: 5 made their debut for another team, but pitched their first "full" season for Oakland - Tom Milone, Jarrod Parker, Ryan Cook, Jordan Norberto, Evan Scribner 4 signed as free agent - Bartolo Colon, Grant Balfour, Jim Miller, Brian Fuentes 2 were out of the major leagues for at least a year before Oakland gave them a shot - Brandon McCarthy, Travis Blackley (pitched in BP for Giants before being released and claimed by A's this year after not pitching in the majors since 2007) 6 drafted and developed by A's - Tyson Ross, Sean Doolittle, AJ Griffin, Dan Straily, Pedro Figueroa, Andrew Carignan 4 acquired via trade but made MLB debut for A's - Jerry Blevins, Graham Godfrey, Brett Anderson, Fautino De Los Santos 1 purchased as minor league free agent - Pat Neshek 1 claimed on MLB waivers - Rich Thompson

Wait, shouldn't it read "Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford Salary Dump Trade With Nick Punto sighting"?

Not entirely true in any version of ID verification that I've seen for any state. Each still requires documentation that would require payment to obtain, like a birth certificate. Nevermind that processing time on such requests even for those who do have the money can be months just to get a birth certificate or other such documentation (Social Security card) back to a person.

I work with many who cannot afford an ID. One woman I work with is in her 70s, and she simply will not be able to afford an ID, and after watching this story on the news, she talked with me in tears about it as she has voted in every election she has ever been able to, and she takes great pride in fulfilling her right to vote. Now it's becoming a paid right, in other words, not a "right" anymore than the "right" to groceries.

Epstein is building from within, much like he did when he built up Boston, but he will have some bad contracts to get rid of first. I do like every trade they made this summer. I understand people barking about not getting the Delgado for Dempster deal done, but as we saw, the Braves were interested in more than just Dempster, and those rumors were likely nowhere near a completed deal. Once Dempster invoked his rights, his market was limited, and they got a high-upside guy for him (very low ceiling as well, which is why he's not a monstrous prospect). The only thing I see that they could have done different at the deadline would have been packaging Dempster and Soto together to the Rangers for a better prospect, but then again, most of the world at the time thought the Tigers got a great deal getting a guy who put them into the playoffs in 1987. The guy they gave away wasn't greatly heralded, but John Smoltz will likely see his name enshrined in Cooperstown. Sometimes you have to take a step back to see the whole process.

I agree that I'd rather have a manager who won't take the BS, and Upton's case is different than his issues with Pudge and Magglio in Detroit, but still that reputation is there, which is why I mentioned it.