Teufelhunde

I'm pretty good friends with farily prominent NHL hockey player. He's had a house down the shore just 2 doors away from mine for some time now. Over the years I've met a whole bunch of his teammates and friends and with the exception of only a few, they're all really chill guys, not at all prima donnas or full of themselves. Maybe it's the setting, I don't know, but I've met other pro athletes, though briefly and in a public forum, and most of them seemed to be arrogant douche bags.

Hockey players seem to be pretty grounded, especially compared to other sports.

Not only that, but he's not a real #1 receiver...but you can be damn sure he's gonna want #1 money, probably why the eagles haven't signed him. Add to that all his douchebag antics and I don't want him anywhere near this team.

I wish they all would. Tons of guys were juicing back then, many I'm sure still are today - I'd have a lot more respect for them if they'd just come clean instead of continually denying it. What people don't seem to understand is that you still have to work your ass off when you're taking steroids. They just give you the stamina and recovery time beyond that of normal humans so you can work out more and more and more. It's not just some magic pill you can pop and become superman.

Mets will be a lot better this year...probably not gonna be in direction contention for the division with the Phils and Braves, but they're not going to be doormats either. That title belongs to the Nats.

But they've got a 126 million dollar man out there in right field who's never had 100 RBIs or hit .300 and has only been relevant for about 3 years now. I always liked Werth and didn't blame him for going after the big contract, but he's done nothing but run his mouth and talk shit since he signed that contract, I hope enjoys the view from the basement of the NL East for the next 7 years.

And just like that - Castillo is once again unemployed...but still making 6 mil.

Hell, they were dropping like flies before he even showed up to camp (a day late).

No guarantee he's even on the team come opening day, they have until to decide...besides, the Mets are the ones paying him so technially the curse is still on you fellas.

A lot of people around here seem to think a WS championship is in the bag already since the Lee signing, I know better than to think like that. Halladay is Halladay - dominant most of the time, but of course he's going to have a few stinkers here and there. Same with Lee, so long as he stays healthy. Oswalt has had some back issues, but he was lights out after he got traded here last season. Hamels bounced back nicely last year after a lousy 2009...hasn't had any significant injuries in the last few years and was outstanding in the second half of the season last year. His record definitely didn't reflect how well he pitched. And I think Blanton is one of the most underappreciated pitchers on any staff. He's not going to put up Hallday-like numbers, but he gives you a chance to win every game. He's been their most consistent pitcher besides Doc this spring too. Bottom line though, none of this matters if the bats can't come out of the funk they were in last season. Doesn't matter how great the pitching is, how many 1-0 or 2-1 games can you really depend on winning? Postseason is a whole different animal though, good pitching beats good hitting and the hot team beats the good team - both of which the Giants proved last year in their run...same as the Phils did in 08.

Outlook isn't good on Utley, especially considering that the surgery he might need isn't 100% guaranteed to fix the problem. But it's not a done deal that he's gonna be out all season just yet. Werth isn't quite as big a loss as people are thinking though, he's never hit .300 and never had 100 RBIs - not to mention he finished dead last in the NL in average with RISP last season. Losing his defense, especially that arm, is gonna hurt the most I think. That's some high hopes you've got there, jim.

He had a series of misdiagnoses on his wrist while in LA...once he finally got the right diagnosis he got the right treatment and was able to perform. His home/away splits favor CBP, but not overwhelmingly. My link

I've got a bad (to me obviously) feeling that SF takes game one...I think they'll get out of this weekend with 1 win and I don't think we'll see a repeat performance from Oswalt like his last outing, and for whatever reason the Giants have had success against Halladay.

Fortunately for you guys the Phils aren't exactly swinging hot sticks either...still overall, I think our lineup matches up better with your rotation than vice versa...Phitins in 6 sounds good to me. Should be a good series either way.

Fuckin Joe Carter.