Herc

yeah the trend is dead, just like cell phones and that world wide web thing--i knew they were all just fads

when leaders like tiki and strahan are openly defying the coach and not buying into what he has to say, the rest of the team is going to follow suit. mike got on board, tiki never did

yeah the truth is the media blew it up cuz he wears a red sox uniform. what k-rod said was way worse and the media didn't care

yeah tye are both risks. the reds felt hamilton was an injury risk and the rangers probably thought they had a bust on their hands in volquez

edinson volquez--sorry you guys don't have one of those

i take the same approach as you. i separate the two. i have less pity for the old closers cuz goose gossage made me sick for years crying about how today's closers couldn't do what he did (where's the proof?) just because he was trying to get into the hall of fame. i knkow that's not an objective way to evaluate it but i can't help it, i really can't stand goose. he basically has been saying that he's better than rivera for years and no one calls him out on it. i agree that rivera is head and shoulders the best ever. there was a time when i'd argue this, but while i can cite hoffman's age when talking about last year's collapse and the bad year he's having, rivera is basically the same age and is better than ever. i do honestly think hoffman's the second best by far though. goose gossage and bruce sutter didn't pitch during the steroids era. you can argue that pedro martinez is the best pitcher of all time but you will get plenty of old-timers saying that starters during this era don'tpitch complete games or throw as many innings per start. of course i could come back and say that the win numbers are inflated in the past cuz they got more starts but that's what makes these debates so tough.

i distinctly remember him(and other met fans) saying 'fuck hoffman' and other similar comments a few years ago on this board. im not seeing the same sentiment this year about wagner (except you, as expected ). the mets are in contention just as they were that year too no one ever remembers the saves, just the blown saves. he blew his only shot in the world series in '98, but he saved games in the playoffs on the way to that series, not to mention 53 out of 54 in the regular season that year. my opinion, and i think most would agree, is that hoffman is by far the 2nd best closer of all time. most saves ever, best save percentage ever are hard stats to argue with

they probably will. it's not fair, but if miguel cabrera could field his position or tony larussa would've put rolen there wouldn't have been a blown save that year either. but no one's ever interestedin the details i guess

by not touching home plate hoffman's past his prime, what's billy's excuse? they were never in the same stratosphere to begin with

hope everyone's as hard on him as they were on hoffman a few years back

geez, k-rod's comment was even worse "just look who has the most saves". dude is also to demanding to be paid as much as rivera. i think he's being way more disrespectful to mo than papelbon

even if he was 40 for 40 with a 0.00 era he'd be fighting a losing battle here. i think he just wanted to piss off some yankee fans

i think we should draft sean taylor

good for green bay for not letting him hold the team hostage. fuck that phony

$500 on espn giving 'best nfl player' to favre

wright wears pink shirts too, i think he's approaching the victorino zone

i'd honestly agree with you 100% if he weren't so injury prone. but i think there's a good chance he's back on the DL before the seaosn ends--and then you're not getting the package they got from the cubs from any team. his numbers over the past month are off the charts and he's healthy, so you can either trade him now while he's at his peak, or you can gun for the playoffs, exercise the option on him, and then run the risk of him getting hurt again. 7 mil down the drain is nothing to the red sox, but it's a lot to the a's. as far as the team goes, i dont think they make the playoffs anyway, but if they hold onto harden and he gets hurt in august and misses the rest of the season you figure they are done. if it happens to him in chicago an the a's miss the playoffs at least they have what they have instead of a dude coming off an injury who you'll have to begrudgingly exercise an option on just so you can hope he stays healthy and is pitching well next year so you can trade for him for a lesser package since he'll just be a half season rental at that point. plus, gallagher is a good talent and if dudes like gaudin, smith, and eveland can succeed in oakland i'd bet a paycheck that gallagher can too. i dont know if the fans will be that pissed off anyway. im familiar with their philosophy, you're familiar with their philosophy, so im sure they are even more so than us. billy doens't like investing long-term in pitchers, there's always been a ton of turnover in that rotation. they draft mulder, trade him to stl for haren (among others), keep him for a few years, trade him to ari for smith and eveland (among others), and eventually smith and eveland will be traded for other good young pitchers. if im an a's fan, i notice this and put my trust in billy

yeah he's an exception--and probably because he's a position player and a safer long-term bet--and look how that turned out. but hudson, mulder, and haren have all been traded before they were fa eligible. and zito was shopped but i guess they didnt like any of the offers for him

well harden is in the last year of his deal. he's an ace, no doubt, but he's really injury prone and if the a's dont exercise their team option harden is going to want ace money and a long term deal. the a's don't do that with plyers who stay healthy so there's no way they're goign to do it with him.

gallagher can contribute immediately though. with the luck the a's have with starters iwouldn't be surprised if he had a good run. you know how bean puts it, they aren't sellers, they are buyers AND sellers

i think the a's were smart to sell high on harden. the dude's too injury prone. sean gallagher is a good player too

maybe that dealer at the trop is his mother

i helped my parents move that day and they had no cable, so i was listening to it on the radio in the car and it was torture. "garcia complete to owens" "garcia complete to owens" i thought i was listening to an old broadcast stuck on loop or something. i couldn't believe they wre having their way with us possession after possession after we had beat up on them all game. i couldn't visualize it at the time and i still can't now. i never watched a highlight from that game except the final play and im kinda glad i never bothered to find any

who do you hate more? him or jim finn

there's more to every position than just offense though and there aren't any .217 hitters at any other position. i'm not doubting how important he is to the red sox as a leader/battery-mate/defenseman but an all-star selection is generally a stat-based achievement