At 11/29/09 02:30 PM, jonthomson wrote:

At 11/29/09 12:24 PM, agustana wrote: I don't see one person rooting for Cleveland.
This makes me proud.

I like to root for teams that can show me that they can win more often than once a full moon.

the browns are so terrible they make the raiders look like a well managed franchise

At least with the Raiders when an oddball draft pick or play comes in one could think "well there's Al Davis again." The mismanagement of the Browns is so widespread it's ridiculous.

At 11/25/09 10:00 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: This guy must feel like a bigger ass than usual since two of the Red Sox best hitters in their recent championship years took some. Also one of the commenters disgraced Jack Bauer's name although Kiefer Sutherland's DUI kinda...you know.

Meh, there's always retarded fans out there. I just wish someone posted a video response with basically the same video, but with Ramirez and Ortiz names in there.

OMG some Yankees took steroids?! So what? Every team has probably 1 or 2 people that tries to circumvent the system for their own personal gain. It's just magnified 'cuz they were Yankees and the whole Red Sox/Yankees rivalry blows this out of proportion.

And on a bit of an aside, that video wasn't put together all that well. The song itself was annoying at best, and the visuals "editing" was piss poor too. Also, shouldn't Cartman be a Rockies fan?

At 11/24/09 01:27 AM, reverend wrote: Most Wins This Week:
phileeguy - 13 wins

Aha! The bounceback mojo worked. Let's see if I can keep the bounceback mojo, or I bounceback from the bounceback (if that makes any sense).

Week 12 Schedule:

Geez. Looking at this schedule I see ton's of games that could go either way. Last week looked like "lead pipe lock city" but this week looks like I could just as easily go 4-12. Should be a great week for football, maybe not so much for me.

Green Bay at Detroit -

Stafford just put his health out there on the lion against... the Browns?! Dude Matt, if you're going to make a statement win against a team and get yourself hurt in the process, maybe you should save it for a team of a better caliber. Still, healthy Stafford or no, Green Bay wins here.
Green Bay

Oakland at Dallas -

Even with Oakland's crazy win and playing better under Gradkowski, paired with just 14 points by the Cowboys in 2 games, I don't see Oakland winning here. But would be tickled pink if they did.
Dallas

NY Giants at Denver -

Both teams are hurting, both physically and in terms of needing some wins. Giants are usually a good road team, but they're going to the thin air of Denver and the Broncos have the advantage there. I could see this one going either way, but I'll go with the Broncos
Denver

Tampa Bay at Atlanta -

Atlanta

Miami at Buffalo -

T.O. will be thrilled seeing that he's got another 100+ yard, 1+ T.D. game here. Too bad he doesn't care that the Bills will still lose.
Miami

Cleveland at Cincinnati -

Cincinnati, if you blow this here... well I'll just pretend you don't exist as a city anymore.
Cincinnati

Carolina at NY Jets -

This could be a close game, and we all now know how Sanchize has fallen. Still, Delhomme can be as equally dreadful, but they've got their act together better than the Jets do as of now.
Carolina

Washington at Philadelphia -

Philadelphia

Indianapolis at Houston -

I WANT to pick Houston here for the upset, but my head keeps telling me Indianapolis is the better team, and I can't argue with that logic. Even if my gut keeps saying to go with the Texans.
Indianapolis

Seattle at St. Louis -

It seems we get a game like this every week. One bottom feeder against another. Last weeks' was actually interesting though. I don't have the same optimism for this one. I could still see the Rams winning, but I'm going with Seattle as they count on St. Louis being bad for 2 wins each year.
Seattle

Kansas City at San Diego -

Sorry K.C., no 4th quarter/OT magic here.
San Diego

Jacksonville at San Francisco -

Yet another game I could see going either way. MJD will hopefully have a big game here
Jacksonville

Arizona at Tennessee -

Kurt Warner plays, they've got a shot. Leinart plays... not so much. But I've gotta stick with my horse til he breaks down in Chris Johnson
Tennessee

Chicago at Minnesota -

Vikings should put the last nail in the coffin on this Bears season.
Minnesota

Pittsburgh at Baltimore -

Ugh. another close game in my opinion. Polamalu probably won't play and Flacco will look to make up for last week's failure to win a very winnable game against Indy.
Baltimore

New England at New Orleans -

I give up! I give up you football scheduling gods! This week has beaten me down, and my brain and gut are in a war to end all wars over choosing winning picks. That being said, I'm picking New England to stop Drew Brees and the perfect Saints. They blew their opportunity to do the same thing against Indy, and won't make the same mistake again.
New England

Oh man, it's Deja Vu all over again for Texan's kicker Kris Brown. 2nd week in a row he had a chance to tie the game in the waning seconds of the game and force overtime, 2nd week in a row he missed wide left.

At 11/22/09 07:03 PM, EternitySpent wrote: Also, LOL Steelers. Can't say I didn't enjoy watching that.

LOL Bungles. Watching them melt down against Oakland was equally enjoyable

Oh Cleveland, can you do nothing right? Let's see, you blew a 24-3 first quarter lead, to the Lions no less. But then you actually had the stones to come back to take the lead, only to have your super-duper defense give up a pass interference in the end-zone when all they had to do was knock the ball down on a hail mary as there was no time left on the clock. So instead of winning 37-31, you have to send that super-duper defense back on the field for a 1st and goal at the 1 with no time left on the clock as the game can't end on a defensive penalty. A blind man with no idea what football is could see what would end up happening there.

Thanks for screwin up my upset pick. I don't think these guys are going to win any more games, not even vs. Oakland or Kansas City. And speaking of K.C., there's an upset I don't think anyone saw coming. Oh well, there's 2 games that should've went other ways. Man, 4 measly points separated me from starting 10-0 so far on my bounce-back weekend, and here I stand 8-2. C'mon late game picks!

Well they did end up winning in overtime, 33-30. The running game was all over Notre Dame's defense. Guess UConn took a page out of Navy's book. Nice to see them win a good one after their tragedy.

But, this is just another nail in the coffin for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. They could've finished strong and went 9-3, they even could've made a record of 8-4 for themselves. Either of those records and Charlie probably stays. A 7-5 record would definitely put that in jeopardy, and that's what I thought could very well happen. But losing at home today, their last home game, with Stanford still left to play... well let's just say I don't see ND finishing 7-5 anymore. I don't care how much certain people like Charlie there, 6-6 is not a record anyone is going to be happy with.

Charlie came in saying that a 7-5 team "wasn't good enough" and that if anyone thought he'd be a .500 guy they'd be wrong. Well I think 7-5 is looking pretty good to him right now.

Wow! UConn just blew a golden opportunity to win the game against Notre Dame in regulation. I mean it's tied at 20, with less than a minute to go and they force a fumble to get the ball at Notre Dame's 40. They have all their timeouts and they decide to run the ball to get within field goal range, good idea. So they end up running the ball to around the 20-25 yard line, which would be something like a 38-43 yarder. But instead of using their timeouts and trying to get ever closer to make what would be a chip-shot of a field goal they let the clock run down because ND has no time-outs. Well, their kicker missed it wide left. I understand that they would be afraid of fumbles and whatnot and don't want ND getting the ball back at all, but they've gotta be aggressive there.

They better hope they find a way to win it in overtime.

At 11/19/09 02:17 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Stoner won the NL Cy Young award.
Apparently two Cardinals team mates split the votes amongst themselves and you know what happens. Overall I'm kind of mixed but whatever.

I won't argue with it. With his pitching he helped make an offense deprived San Francisco team relevant until the last 2-3 weeks of the season in terms of the Wild Card. And since he's on a team that doesn't hit, he's going to have a worse record than Carpenter or Wainwright.

Yes, there's something to be said about having 2 Cy Young contenders on the same team and subsequently splitting votes because they were both instrumental in helping the Cards make the playoffs. It could've easily been either of those 2 due to the fact that in the end all 3 were separated by just 10 points.

Then again there's also something to be said about voters who look at just the wins. Wainwright got the most first place votes even though he had the highest ERA of the 3, had the most losses, and was behind Lincecum in Ks.

At 11/19/09 10:36 AM, Fro wrote: I'm not sure if I should start Reggie Bush this week or Laurence Maroney in fantasy football this week.
So big play that may result in a lot of yards and maybe a score or the back that you know is going to get the tough touchdowns, but might not get the chance to with Tom Brady.

IMHO, I'd go with Bush. First off, the Saints are playing Tampa, who are 31st in Rushing defense in terms of yards per game; Pats play the Jets who are 18th. I can see New Orleans taking a good lead against Tampa and just using Bush to pound the ball at the end of the game to eat up clock and get tack-on yardage.

Also the Jets are a much better team than the Bucs and they could actually hang around with New England or perhaps threaten to take the lead, forcing an offense that requires more passing than rushing. If that's the case Maroney loses touches, and he's not a major factor when it comes to New England's passing game, but Bush is a regular target for Brees so you might get some more points there.

Just a disclaimer, when it comes to fantasy football I'm usually a middle of the pack kinda player. I usually make it to the playoffs but usually don't go very far. I think in most leagues I average around 4th place or so out of 10 people. So if you want to use my advice, good luck. Just don't blame me if it backfires ;)

At 11/19/09 02:47 PM, Buddhist wrote: Sign of the times right here.
Brian Brohm, once the pride of Louisville and a sure first-rounder, was signed by the Bills from the Packers' practice squad.
But at least this means he'll likely get a few cracks at a starting gig, since Ryan Fitzpatrick sucks and Trent Edwards is mediocre at best.

Well if we're to believe guys like Tony Dungy and other reporters, Vick is probably going to end up there next year. So if Brohm does get a few chances and some playing time, he better make the most of them and be rather impressive.

At 11/17/09 05:03 PM, reverend wrote: * Dick Jauron was fired today

No surprise there. I'm still waiting for the hammer to drop on Mangini too.

Anywho, I'm feeling good even with the horrible last week picks. Why? Well I can't do any worse can I? Bounce-back time.

yeah right...

Week 11 Schedule:
Miami at Carolina -

Carolina has only won 2 games in a row once this season, and that was against Washington and then Tampa successively. I don't see them winning two in a row here.
Miami

Washington at Dallas -

Dallas

Cleveland at Detroit -

Both are 1-8 teams, both have young QBs that are struggling. They're 31st and 32nd respectively in the league of yardage given up. So that's all pretty much a wash. Mangini - even though he's done a poor job with the Browns - has more experience at head coach than Schwartz.
Cleveland

San Francisco at Green Bay -

Green Bay

Pittsburgh at Kansas City -

Pittsburgh

Atlanta at NY Giants -

Giants have had a week off to reflect on losing 4 in a row and prepare for Atlanta. I don't think they like losing much right now.
New York

New Orleans at Tampa Bay -

New Orleans

Buffalo at Jacksonville -

Jauron's out. That's not a good thing right now, perhaps in the future, but not now.
Jacksonville

Indianapolis at Baltimore -

Colts are riding high, but I have a feeling this might be a close one.
Indianapolis

Seattle at Minnesota -

Minnesota

Arizona at St. Louis -

Arizona

NY Jets at New England -

Belichick will take his anger over last week's loss out on the Jets... I think
New England

Cincinnati at Oakland -

Cincinnati

San Diego at Denver -

San Diego

Philadelphia at Chicago -

2 struggling teams, both desperately needing a win to keep themselves relevant in the wild card/division races. Philly has played well in Chicago over the past decade or so, but lost in their most recent trip there due to red zone and 4th down problems (sound familiar?). It's also an NBC Sunday Night game, which the Eagles are 0-7 in. That said, Cutler has been bad this year too. Both teams have similar defensive numbers, are pass happy, and have a sub-par rushing game. Still, I can't see Donovan laying an egg in his hometown, nor the Eagles shooting themselves in their feet again, even though they're very capable of doing so.

Now watch the Bears end up winning :/ after I said that. But I'm still going with

Philadelphia

Tennessee at Houston -

I'm going to keep riding this horse 'til he can't take me any further. That horse's name is Chris Johnson
Tennessee

At 11/17/09 03:18 AM, SpiffyMasta wrote: On another note. What the hell happened to my Cowboys?! Green Bay allows 76 points in two games including against the worst team in the NFL (the Bucs) and the Cowboys can't even get more than a touchdown in the dying minutes of the game!! I was so pissed off. I don't know who to blame more, Jason Garrett's play calling or Romo's general complete inconsistency? I had a feeling with the way he was playing he was bound to have a horrible game. Seriously, the Packers defense is not that good, and they are mostly down to back-ups. It just boggled me. It was seriously one of the most boring games I've watched in a long time.

Frankly, I think this game highlights how inconsistent the NFC is, and particularly the NFC East. Giants go 5-0 to start, then lose 4 straight. Dallas plays the Giants well when they're rolling but lose and beat the Eagles in Philly, but can't put away Green Bay and struggle to beat Kansas City. Eagles can't beat Oakland, and still struggle to do anything in the 4th quarter when they had chances to beat Dallas and San Diego. Washington is awful, but finds a way to beat Denver. Green Bay loses to Tampa, yet shuts out Dallas for most of their game. I could go on and on.

Realistically I'd say there are only 4 very good teams right now in the whole of the NFL: Saints, Colts, Vikings and Patriots. San Diego I'd say is a "hot" team, but I don't think I'd put them in the very good category just yet. I can't buy Cincinnati until they prove to me that they can finish strong and win playoff games; Denver has fallen back to earth. Pittsburgh gets swept by a team that I can't buy, so by the transitive property/deduction I can't buy them as of now. Arizona has a good record, but they play in the division with the worst winning % and they still lost to San Francisco at home and Carolina.
Everyone else is pretty much mediocre at best, and at worst they're the Lions/Rams/Bucs/Browns.

On another note, I'm sure most of you have seen the articles that say Belichick statistically made the right call. If not, here's one of them. That specific simulation had the Pats a 79% chance of winning had they went for it on 4th and 2, whereas the percentage of winning when punting was only 70%. Other simulations had a much smaller margin like 2%, but still argue that he made the right call. Frankly, I still think he made the wrong call, computer simulations or no computer simulations.

Some argue that he went for the win by going on 4th and 2, but like I said previously, I see it as him having no faith in his defense to stop Manning with that little time left and having to go probably 70+ yards. Maybe that's true and is why he went for it, but I guess I think higher of the Pats defense than he does. Then again he's the coach, he would know better than I. Still, I think he was needlessly putting the entire game on the line with 1 play, instead of having Manning run most likely several plays to get a touchdown, any one or two or three of which could go the Pats way.

At 11/17/09 05:16 AM, Coop83 wrote: I thought that Happ was a shoe in, to be honest. Then again, I also think that you should have gone with him instead of Pedro for Game 6. Especially if Pedro was ill.

Hell, I would've went with Happ over Hamels in game 3. I mean throughout the year he was the Phillies' most consistent pitcher, and faced the Yankees earlier this year and gave up only 2 earned runs over 6 innings. But on the other hand you had Hamels who can get it done, but never did this year, and blew up in innings 4 and 5. Of course I'm just a fan, what do I know!?

AL Cy Young - I've got to go with Greinke - he's been the pace setter for the field all year, especially with his 6-0 start and perfect April. The most Earned Runs he allowed in one start was only 6 and on an under performing Kansas City team, he's probably been denied a chance at his first 20 win season.

Verlander and CC will both feature in the voting, but don't be surprised to see Felix Hernandez up there in the voting either, even though I don't personally think he'll win it.

*waits patiently for Felix to win AL Cy*

Nope, you were right. It was pretty clear cut throughout the year. Grienke wins it.

At 11/16/09 03:53 AM, reverend wrote:

At 11/16/09 12:53 AM, SpiffyMasta wrote: Who else thinks Bill Belichick made one of the worst coaching decisions of his career tonight?

I never really liked the guy, but I never really disliked him either. If anything I always wished my team had a coach that won like he did. That being said, Sunday's game puts him in arrogant asshole territory in my opinion. Some think the call was gutsy, I call it stupid.

He must have someone like Brady or the O-Line yelling in his ear to go for it. There is little excuse for a veteran coach to not block all that out and do the sensible thing which was to punt; especially if it's two yards. Who knows; he must have not had any trust in his defense at all to make that call.

What he should've done was remember the Dallas @ Philly game last Sunday night, I'm sure he caught the highlights. Reid tried the same thing at around midfield and blew it and Romo hit Austin for the game winning Touchdown. I don't care how much faith or lack thereof you have in your defense, you make Peyton drive 70+ yards or so, not risk giving it to him with less than 30.

Anywho, picks weren't all that hot for me this week, along with many others. At least we're not alone. I love to check out the ESPN "expert" picks and well, oh man look at all that red below the unanimous Vikings pick in week 10.
Link. Well, that's why they play the game.

At 11/16/09 08:44 AM, Coop83 wrote: Right, we've got Rookie of the year candidates taking the stage today, with a close race in the NL and a wide open field in the AL. Place bets now!

National League
I don't know about you guys, but I've got it down to two forerunners: J.A. Happ of the Phils and Tommy Hanson of the Braves.

That was pretty much the consensus of most people at the end of the season. Hell, both had 11+ wins, sub 3 ERA, and they finished the season leading most other categories, and whichever category one of them wasn't first in, they were 2nd to the other.

Both ahve pitched really well this year, for rookies, giving the voters something to think about. I'd say that Dexter Fowler coudl surprise a few this year, given his 5 steal performance against the Padres.

But the surprise was Chris Coghlan of the Marlins winning it. Granted he didn't get much publicity on a team that was young and didn't make the playoffs, but he did put up some good numbers batting .321 overall and leading most offensive categories for rookies.

I'm a little surprised that Happ didn't win, but I can't argue with the pick. Coghlan played really well, especially down the stretch batting like .388 after July or something. He finished overall with 105 points, with 17 first place votes, Happ a close second with 94 points and 11 first place votes. Hanson surprisingly finished a distant third with 37 points.

American League
Hells bells, we've got a field this year... I think it's got a shot of being a pitcher from both leagues. Of the three pitchers making the most noise (Jeff Nieman, TB; Brett Anderson, OAK, Rick Porcello, DET), I think that Porcello's performance on October 6th is the tell here - he pitched pretty good for a guy just about still in his first year. It wasn't playoff baseball then, so it counts. Only the bullpen let him down there.

Well lets see, Nieman finished 4th with 21 points and 0 first place votes, Anderson 6th with 4 total POINTS, and Porcello finished 3rd with 64 points and 7 first place votes. I actually thought Elvis Andrus would've won, but he finished 2nd with just 1 more point than Porcello. No, the award goes to Andrew Bailey, A's closer who posted 26 saves and a 1.84 ERA. Interesting pick I thought.

I think on reflection, I'm going to say that it'll be Happ in the NL and, by the smallest of margins, Beckham in the AL.

Not bad on the Happ prediction (well the smallest of margins part was right, just 2nd and not first), but kinda off on the Beckham pick there. He finished 5th with 10 points and 0 first place votes.

At 11/12/09 08:53 PM, TheThing wrote: Aparently, the NFL doesn't have a little Captain in them

Yeah, I found that kinda funny, but also kinda lame if thats possible. Course I thought Jason Avant coming in to "help out" kinda screwed the pooch there, making it a 2+ person excessive celebration for a 15 yard penalty.

At 11/13/09 01:33 AM, TheBlackDahliaMurder wrote: Is it fair to nickname Cutler, "Jay Chokeler?"

How about Jay Douchebag-thanks-for-costing-me-and-thou sands-others-picks-and-fantasy-points? He's been dreadful.

At 11/13/09 05:31 AM, Coop83 wrote: Also, do you think Mike Lupica is bitter?

Holy crap! He wrote an entire article about the Yankees without mentioning how much their payroll is, or how "overrated" they are and he didn't find a way to squeeze in a reference to the Mets. Course he did dwell on the whole "we waited a long 9 years for this!" which I found kind of funny. Some Yankee fans that have been spoiled with that 1996-2000 run and expect to win it every year should really go talk to some Cubs or Indians fans or other fans of teams like those for some perspective. Hell, they can come talk to me, I still remember what it felt like waiting 20+ years for a championship team of any kind.

At 11/11/09 08:56 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Hindsight is fun but still, 3rd place team? What 3rd place team?

Hindsight is fun, indeed. Still, remember they signed C.C. before they signed A.J., before they resigned Pettitte (which Krukker said they needed to do to not be a 3rd place team) and before they got Teixeira, which was also a huge upgrade.

At 11/11/09 01:43 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: He lost me after fiirst few lines.
Youk over Teixeira? Really?
Must have been the same guy who thinks Raffy deserves the award in 1999.

I never listen to Rob Neyer. The most I do is look at what he writes for a laugh.

Here's the NL GG winners:
P Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
C Yadier Molina, Cardinals
1B Adrian Gonzalez, Padres
2B Orlando Hudson, Dodgers
3B Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
SS Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
OF Shane Victorino, Phillies
OF Michael Bourn, Astros
OF Matt Kemp, Dodgers

...And here's Neyers response to them. He only agrees with 3 of them, but the funny part is he shoots holes in his own arguments. He argues that voters get lazy by picking players with the best fielding percentage (which is actually a valid portion of the equation), people who've won it recently (which shouldn't be part of this years equation, but is), but also for non-fielding and offensive statistics. But then he argues that players like Utley, Pujols and Tulowitski - all of whom are fine defensive players - should get the award because they're the best players at their position without the "defensive" qualifying adjective in front of his statements.

Granted I kinda agree with him about Utley (call me a "homer" if you'd like), even though he may not be the fastest or the best arm, but he's always in the right position and consistently sound technically. He forgets that reasoning when it comes to Rollins because Tulo makes "prettier" defensive plays, when Rollins is usually better positioned and fast to the ball and needs to make said plays less often.

At 11/10/09 05:02 AM, Coop83 wrote: I'd have said second best - The Yanks have been pretty solid with Tex, Cano, Jeter and A-Rod manning the infield. I know that there's possibly slightly more power from Howard / Utley / Rollins than A-Rod / Tex / Jeter, but if A-Rod starts to hit well, that's not an issue ;)

You might be correct for this year, due to the addition of Teixeira, but I'm talking about 2003 onward as a whole infield for multiple seasons had they kept Polanco.

Couple comments on week 9 before my picks for this week. Curse you Thursday night games! Making me think hard this early in the week.

1.) Green Bay... really? You lose to the creamsicle unis, for shame.
2.) Giants woes continue, as does my pick of them as they lost by 1 point to San Diego at home. They had the game won, too. Their poor defense just gave Rivers too much time and too many options on the game-winning drive. Can't do that when you've got a good QB that smells a winning drive.
3.) And onto a QB that can't smell a winning drive if he was in between Elway and Montana with clear sinuses... Donovan McNabb. Eagles are 1-8-1 over the last 2 years in games decided by 7 or less points. A lot of the blame there is heaped on the head coach and an inaccurate QB. True, the Birds got some questionable spots on a few of their drives, but if Don throws to receivers and not behind them or at their feet, or if Reid lets the power fullback pound the ball on 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1 they might not be in this mess.
4.) Tennessee, whaddya know 2 in a row. Guess the Titan's owner is feeling kinda smart telling Fisher to start Young at QB. Then again they weren't exactly up against the Pats or Steelers. Young and Johnson didn't make mistakes, Alex Smith did.

Week 10 Schedule:
Chicago at San Francisco -

Both coming off losses, both mediocre teams. But Cutler>Smith imo.
Bears

New Orleans at St. Louis -

Saints

Tampa Bay at Miami -

Dolphins

Detroit at Minnesota -

Vikings

Jacksonville at NY Jets -

Jets are at home coming off a bye week. Should be better prepared against an average team. Jets

Buffalo at Tennessee -

Titans for 3 in a row... why not!?

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh -

Steelers

Denver at Washington -

Broncos

Atlanta at Carolina -

Falcons

Kansas City at Oakland -

Another battle of the ughs... Do I have to pick a winner here?
Raiders

Seattle at Arizona -

Cardinals

Dallas at Green Bay -

Cowboys

Philadelphia at San Diego -

I would usually pick Philly here due to my affinity, but I'm really starting to lose that affinity. Eagles haven't shown me anything so far this year really.
Chargers

New England at Indianapolis -

New England is coming on strong, whereas the Colts remain unbeaten but have struggled the last 2 weeks to stay that way.
Patriots

Baltimore at Cleveland -

Ravens

At 11/9/09 11:13 AM, Buddhist wrote: I hear Placido Polanco as a rumor too...longtime 2-bagger but played 3rd with us when he first came to us. Amazing defense, solid hitting, great leadoff man. Wouldn't have any problems signing him either.

If this were 5 years ago, I'd be all for this. But he's getting up there in age and I don't know if I want someone who's 34 manning the hot corner. I mean the Phils just passed on resigning a 34 year old at that position. Plus Polanco has been around longer than Feliz, and the wear and tear on his body is building up. So as much as having his bat in the line-up would make up for the downgrade defensively, I wouldn't risk it with Placido.

Still, this idea of bringing back Polanco just ruffles my feathers because they really shouldn't have gotten rid of him in the first place. If I recall they wanted to trade him because Chase Utley was breaking through at the time, and they wanted him at 2B, rather than Polanco. J-Roll, naturally at SS and Thome at 1B, which left 3B between Placido and David Bell. For some dumbass reason they kept Bell over Polanco (if I remember correctly it was because Bell had a partial no-trade or maybe just no team was interested) and sent Polanco to the Tigers for Ramon Martinez and now imprisoned Ugueth Urbina. How'd that work out? I mean you could argue that if they kept Polanco the Phils would've had the best hitting infield in the bigs (and not too shabby defensive) with, from left to right, Polanco, Rollins, Utley and Thome/Howard. Instead they meandered for a few seasons then found a good glove with no bat.

At 11/8/09 04:58 PM, Buddhist wrote: I don't know if the Packers O-Line is just that porous, or if Josh Freeman is actually that legit.

It's gotta be the Packers O-line. They lead the league in sacks allowed, and allowed 6 more today. Freeman did play well though, apart from his mistakes in the first half, but let's not forget the help he got in terms of Barber's blocked punt for TD and that 83 yard kick return to give him about as good field position you could hope for to start a drive.

My pick 'em teams are gonna get plowed today it appears. Baltimore lost, Green Bay lost,

Ditto

At 11/8/09 04:59 PM, 36Holla wrote: Det: 17
Sea: 7
HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE CRAZY!

Well they just made it 17-10, and it's not even halftime yet, so maybe fate is just teasing the Lions this week. I'm more concerned about the 17-3 score Carolina is putting on on New Orleans

So, Charlie Weiss has to be done with Notre Dame after this season, no? I know that some of the athletic department members there love him, but c'mon he's been a bust as head coach of the Irish. No big wins, and with all the expectations of this year he's got a record of 6-3. And 2 of those losses were vs. a bad Michigan team and Navy, a team whose playbook lacks any semblance of a forward pass play. Not to mention he is still due to play @ currently ranked #13 Pitt, and a game @ Stanford who is an up-and-down team, but who also just put a hurting on Oregon. Weiss could realistically go 7-5 and I don't think that's enough to warrant his return, but who knows?

Man, Cleveland is a mess. Aside from their horrible 1-7 start, the owner now denies firing GM Kokinis, but doesn't exactly say he quit either. Supposedly he didn't ever get to have any input on the player/personnel front, even though he had final say in such matters in a contract stipulation. Guess he thought it would be all buddy-buddy with his pal Mangini, but Eric wants to run the show solo. Course that hasn't really worked well yet for him.

Mangini Strikes Again!

At 11/5/09 04:33 AM, Coop83 wrote: 1) Lose Posada -

Interesting thoughts. I don't watch the Yankees on a day to day basis, but if you think that is the option, well I guess age is finally catching up to him at his postition. Still, any Molina behind the plate is a good replacement.

2) Re-sign Matsui - there's your DH right there, so there would be no room at the inn for Posada. Sorry, but that's business.

Ya, that guy was a thorn in the Phillies side this post-season. Him and Damon at the plate... might as well just walk them to limit them to something less than a HR or 2B.

4) Pitching. CC? Check. AJ? Check. Pettitte? I don't know. He's out of contract and we could bring him back, on the strength of his game 6 display, he's had a good year. Gaudin as #4 starter and Joba / Hughes / Aceves / Wang as #5? That's going to be a tough decision for Joe Girardi.

If Pettitte doesn't fall off the earth over the offseason, I don't see why he couldn't give it a go for 2010.

At 11/5/09 11:37 AM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Now I can finally stop giving myself a heat attack

Heat attack?

I'll try to get fafa to update his anti-Lupica site.

Good idea. I would like to know what that little munchkin is thinking about now.

At 11/5/09 03:25 PM, Buddhist wrote: I get the feeling Victorino, despite being an All-Star who grinds out his ABs and hustles as hard as any Phillie, will be gone.

No, I think he stays.

This is simply because Ibanez is too old and has too large a contract to garner any real trade interest, and Werth is a more valuable player to us, imho. We need at least one OF spot to use for Brown or Taylor, and I would assume that if both get called up, one takes the spot of either Francisco or Stairs on the bench (assuming that Stairs retires this year, which he probably does, along with Scott Eyre).

I actually can see both Fransisco AND Stairs leaving if they plan on bringing up Brown/Taylor to the OF in a platoon situation.

But let's take a look at what needs to be done to get back to this point next season.
- Closer

Brad Lidge sticks around. You can't get around that signing he had middle of 2008. He's the guy unless he has a carbon copy year of 2009. Your Valverde idea isn't bad, but do we really want another closer from Houston?

- Relief pitcher

I'm liking keeping Park, Madson and Romero when they're all healthy and on their games. Eyre is probably gone, Durbin's a toss-up, Condrey might be gone too.

- Power bat

Power bat? You mean the team with the 2nd most HRs needs another power bat? You make a good point with Stairs leaving, but he's more of a flat-out pinch hitter who just happens to hit the ball far. I'd rather some guys that can get on base more frequently, a la Dobbs 2008.

- Starter?

Cliff Lee stays, at least until the 2010 trade deadline, but I hope Amaro signs him for a year or 2 longer. Hamels sticks around, for obvious reasons. Myers is probably gone, Blanton probably sticks around as a 3rd-5th rotation guy. Of course you've got the Moyer situation. I doubt Pedro re-signs, and Happ might be a 4th or 5th guy if he doesn't fight for a starter spot come spring training again. I'm wondering if they decide to bring up Drabek at all. As for the names you've mentioned, well they could bring in a guy or two, but I doubt anyone big comes in.

- 3rd baseman?

This is probably where I'd agree with you most. Great defensively, piss-poor at the plate. He's puts up similar numbers to Ruiz, but that's kinda a knock on Pedro because Chooch is the catcher and not expected to put up good numbers, just catch a good game. And I can live with Chooch considering he steps up his game come playoff time, Pedro goes into a nose dive. Yeah, DeRosa or Beltre would be nice there.

At 11/5/09 03:30 PM, Buddhist wrote: Like JRoll said, "It'll still feel good to win it every other year."

True, it would, but I think J-Roll needs to stop talking for a bit. I like his confidence and swagger, but he himself hasn't been producing as much as other years and his predictions this year have been off.

At 11/4/09 11:53 PM, Coop83 wrote: With all due respect to people like Phillies fans worldwide and Mr. Chase Utley, it gives me great pleasure to say:
World Champions.
World Fuckin' Champions!

*cough*stolen*cough*
Oh excuse me there. So yeah, Yankees won, just like I thought they would. So, props to them.

You know it's funny, if this happened last year I probably wouldn't be seen on this board for probably a few weeks if not a few months or until the start of spring training. But since the Phils won last year, and had a great year this year to come back to actually make a defense attempt at the title, I'm not really all that depressed.

I know what you're thinking, "a Philadelphia sports fan not depressed or angry?!" It's true though. I mean last year broke a 25 year drought of no major sports championship teams in the city, which was great. That was the first title I've ever seen in my life. And those memories and DVDs will last for quite a while (I've posted a pic of my championship shrine right?). So I can't be greedy because I know what it's like to wait forever for a special team to come along and win it all. Philly sports has about a window of probably 2 more years until I really want a championship team again. But anywho, once again congrats to the Yankees, I'll be gracious in defeat... for the most part.

I'm just glad I'm not a Mets fan.

Joe Girardi is going to get fitted with a #28 jersey for 2010 now ;)

Uhh, not so fast there mi amigo. There's a lot of ball to be played until next year about this time and 29 other teams that would have it otherwise. I know Yankee fans are a cocky and title-expectant bunch, but there's no guarantee that you can buy a second title in a row. And yes, I played that card. As much as I respect the zeal of the Yankee ownership and would love a guy who'd shell out that much for a winning my favorite club year after year, since it isn't my team shelling out that cash I've gotta dislike the Yankees.

Oh and just for fun, sticking with the George Costanza/WS theme... KHAAAAN!

At 11/3/09 09:45 AM, reverend wrote: You thought the Raider couldn't have any more bad news: Tom Cable the wife beater

So that would make Randy Hanson his "work wife?."

Anywho, week 8 was ugly. So many games that could've went my picks way, but for one reason or another didn't. So I'mma gonna yell at you players/teams!

Miami vs. NYJ: The Jets seemed to have fixed their issues regarding the Wildcat offsense the Dolphins run after they lost to them earlier in Miami. But Ted Ginn... 1 return touchdown wasn't enough? You had to make it 2 so the Jets would lose? Bah.

St. Louis vs. Detroit: Well I can't really be mad at this result. I mean the Rams looked like a team Detroit could actually beat. Then again the Lions looked like a team St. Louis could actually beat.

Jacksonville vs. Tennessee: Way to show up Chris Johnson. You've been pretty hit or miss so far this year when it comes to rushing yards per game. You must be frustrating fantasy owners to no end on your inconsistency. Course that has something to do with the team around you and who you're playing, but you've frustrated me this week by busting out for 200+ and messing with my Jags pick.

Vikings vs. Green Bay: This was actually a pretty good offensive game on both sides. Both QBs had 3 or more TDs with no picks. Green Bay actually won the turnover battle, but failed on special teams and stopping the run. Curse you Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson!

Carolina vs. Arizona: Hey Warner, nice Delhomme impression. But really, you guys knew he wouldn't be asked to do much after the way he's performed and you had to know you'd see plenty of DeAngelo Williams. I guess Jonathon Stewart really rattled you.

Enough of my rants. Picks!

Week 9 Schedule:
Washington at Atlanta -

Atlanta. Washington is a mess.

Arizona at Chicago -

Arizona bounces back. I hope.

Baltimore at Cincinnati -

Baltimore

Houston at Indianapolis -

Colts stay undefeated

Miami at New England -

Pats

Green Bay at Tampa Bay -

Packers

Kansas City at Jacksonville -

Jaguars

Carolina at New Orleans -

Saints

Detroit at Seattle -

Seattle

Tennessee at San Francisco -

49ers

San Diego at NY Giants -

Giants just because I can't see them losing 4 in a row.

Dallas at Philadelphia -

Philly in a close one I'm guessing.

Pittsburgh at Denver -

Oooh, tough one. Steelers

At 11/3/09 11:16 AM, EternitySpent wrote: Also, Chase Utley. Reggie who?

It would be a real shame to let his and Cliff Lee's world series performances be for naught with a loss to the series, but like I said I think that's how it's going to go. I mean if Chase hit's just 1 more HR in game 6 (or 7) he's broken "Mr. October's" record. That would be pretty cool, but instead of taking on the feeling that he is the new Mr. October (which if anyone tried to call him that, I'm sure he'd denounce), the aura of it will just go the wayside in the fact that the Phils lost the series.

At 11/2/09 03:57 AM, Coop83 wrote: You weren't one strike away from winning - the game was only tied, so take some solace.

Yeah, but a tie game going into the bottom of the ninth looks a lot more hopeful than being down 3 going into the bottom of the ninth.

To be honest, I think that the repeat aspirations were ruined after Game 3. Now, with Rollins' prediction completely blown out of the water, we can focus on seeing if our number 2 pitcher can step it up to beat your ace.

I'll disagree a bit with you here. As much as winning game 3 would've been a boost to a Phils repeat, I'm sure a lot of people didn't see it happening with Cole Hamels on the mound. He's been sub-par this year and I don't know anyone who thought for certain that he was going to do well in the game, and true to form, he didn't. But after that game you're only down 2-1 with 2 more to play at home.

As for game 4, well we all sort of knew what we'd get out of Joe Blanton in game 4, and he also was true to form, eating up some innings and giving up a few runs, but nothing catastrophic. Being able to tie it up in the bottom of the 8th was a huge momentum swing by the Phils that was rebuffed in just the next inning with emphasis. So instead of keeping the game tied and thinking "hey we can still win it and tie up the series" they go down 3-1.

So now they've got Cliff Lee back on the mound, who's been money this entire post-season. And of course they end up winning behind him, even though it looked a little shaky in the late goings there. So the series is 3-2 in New York's favor, but letting game 4 slip away like that hurts even more, knowing that they could've been up 3-2. You could argue that winning game 3 gives the same result, but winning game 4 and then 5 would've definitely given the Phils more momentum going into game 6 instead of back and forth in terms of wins and losses.

At 11/2/09 10:20 PM, MultiCanimefan wrote: You know what, Burnett, now that you've pitched ike it, go play golf until Spring.

Realistically he can. I mean unless Girardi plans on using him out of the pen he's done pitching for this year.

At 11/2/09 11:34 PM, VGmasters wrote: Great, now we're going back to NY, where hopefully we'll win there.

Interesting that the new Yankee stadium will see a Champion crowned on their field in it's first year of play. Unfortunately I didn't think the Phils would be the team, and I still don't. Although they've been the best road team in the major league this year and they've already won 3 of 5 of the games they've played there, I don't see them winning 2 in a row. They've got to have so many things go right for them, and they need to pray that using Pettitte and then Sabathia successively - both of whom are on 3 days rest - works out in the Phils favor.