Screw you, Orioleboy. You guys are going DOWN tomorrow. And Wednesday. Not to mention Thursday. :hearts:

And I've always said if there's anything worse than a Yankees fan, it's a Red Sox fan.

or cubbies fans who always want to blame someone else..

The sinking ship known as the DBacks are playing the Red Sox in a 3 game series. This should go great.

The stupid thing is that despite the shittiness of the DBacks, until yesterday they had the largest division lead at 4.5 games.

Seconded

Good lord, these new look Mets are gangsta. What the hell has Jerry Manuel done with them?

Beltran just took Felix Hernandez out while stealing home on a wild pitch. I'm sure it wasn't on purpose, but the Mariners just lost their best pitcher for who knows how long?

Sorta puts a downer on the fact that he hit a Grand Slam off of Santana earlier tonight.

Haren Vs. Beckett was quite the game.

I thought for sure that Pena was going to give it up in the 8th. The AB against Manny was awesome.

yeah, that pitching duel certainly lived up to its billing.
Nice to see the Sox finally get to the Dbacks pen tonite. Hard to believe that was their first win ever against the Dbacks at Fenway.
Still need to keep winning since the Rays are still just one game back. Obviously I am biased, but it is nice to see the Sox keep battling despite all kinds of obstacles, like injuries etc. If they were not so deep they would probably be third place team in the AL East.

Fucking Chad Qualls.

Hey, you could have Bronson Arroyo...

I'd rather give it away in teh first inning than to have my heart torn out in the bottom of the 8th.

Or Oliver Perez.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...o/c4de5131.jpg

Final score Mets 15, Yankees 6

Delgado sets a club record with 9 RBI's in a single game (including the team's first grand slam in over two years).

Who are the clowns now, Daily News?

Second game of the double-header's in less than three hours.

Cubs are banged up and hitting a tough stretch here. 2 more @ CHW, 4 @ SF (should be easy, but you never know) then 3 @ STL. I'd like to avoid a June Swoon if we can

I'd hate to distract from the "big city" teams, but the Tigers finally reached .500 for the first time all season. They've won 6 series straight and the starting pitching has been astonishingly good, especially Verlander, Galaraga and Bonine (we never even heard of those last two when the season began). If the bullpen can hold up, the AL Central could get pretty interesting.

The Tigers have shown some courage, sending Dontrelle Willis (and his huge contract) to the minors to get his shit together, while trusting some very young talent. Ryan Rayburn hit a grand slam, then scored the winning run tonight. Clete Thomas has been lighting it up. Along with those rookie starters, they've lit a fire under those big-name veterans that were playing like complacent fat-cats through the first two months of the season.

Granted, the whole AL has feasted on the NL during interleague play(even KC was 13-3), and the Tigers still need to prove something inside their division. But, things look promising for the first time this season. Should be fun to watch!

Chris Snyder from the DBacks is on the DL with a fractured testicle.
http://beat.bodoglife.com/sports/chr...deo-59875.html

Saw that on Jim Rome this pm. All I can say is that he is the toughest man alive to get up and go back to catching after that. Chuck Norris doesn't get up that quickly. As Rome said, dudes everywhere are pulling for you, Chris Snyder.

In related note, most of Red Sox Nation would almost rather suffer a similar injury than watch their bullpen if the middle relief is going to continue to pitch like this.

pan, you got your wish: Sabathia is no longer an Indian. This, combined with a typical Cubs meltdown should help the Brews get deep into the postseason.

The Cubs would have to pull off a meltdown of Mets proportion to blow this. Even if they lose the NL central, they're still miles ahead of anybody else for the wild card.

You know everyone thought that the Colon trade sucked also...... but we got Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips..... Colon won a Cy young shortly afterward, then....... welllllll..... Sizemore and Lee are all stars and of the Indians best players.... Phillips is one of the premier second basemen in the majors. The Indians missed Colon for a season or two but had Sabathia. The Indians have Fausto, Lee and possibly Laffey now. So they are a stronger team now then when they traded Colon.

Sabathia, will help the Brew Crew out this year and with Sheets that's one Hell of a one two punch in a short series. Long term though, Milwaukee sacrificed their future. The player to be named later is the key according to Shapiro. The list is two players and both are impact Major League ready players. And who knows that list may include Gamul, Escobar or Green.

Milwaukee meanwhile may win it all this year, but I think that highly doubtful as CC can't win big games and may find himself lost in the NL. And after this season Milwaukee will have what? Sheets will be gone, Sabathia will be gone and their future will be gone.

Meanwhile the Indians will have some very strong up and comers, the money they offered Sabathia can and will be used for someone... possibly Sheets and the Shapiro/Dolan team know if they do nothing this off season they may as well sell the team because the fans won't be drinking their magic kool aid anymore. the fans want and need results NOW.

So looking at what happened.... I think the trade is a great move and Milwaukee fans are going to regret it even if they win it all this year, they have no future, no core players coming up and their pitching is decimated after this season.

I think the Indians made out quite well in the trade. They got a lot of talent back in return for a rental player. The Brewers gave up a lot though. If they win it all (doubtful) I don't see why they would regret anything. I'd trade a few years of mediocrity for a World Series win. Look at the DBacks, they are still paying for their 2001 World Series (about $20M per year in deferred salaries). This absolutely handicaps their ability to sign talent but I wouldn't change a thing, it was totally worth it.

So the Brew's pitching will be gone next season; in return they will have two type A free agents and get some great draft picks as compensation.

I'll say it again, I think it's BS to look at 20 innings and say that CC can't win big games. He has thrown over 1500 innings.

This Cubs fan is happy tonight. Starting rotation, Zambrano, Harden, Dempster and Lilly. Lights out if they all stay healthy.

But being a Cubs fan I know something will hit the fan sooner or later.

arrrgh....... :D

I've watched CC for years.... he cannot win big games.

I do have a question, do the Brewers get two compensation picks for CC? I'm not so sure since he came midseason through trade. I thought since he was traded they wouldn't get anything in draft comp. I admit though I am not up on all the free agent comp drafts. So I would like clarity.

Draft comps only apply to free agency. Since this is a trade, picks are automatically included - more likely a "player to be named later".

So Milwaukee won't get any comps at the end of the season when they lose CC, like Cleveland would have?

The Cubs have majorly increased their potential to finally win.. something. I'm just not so sure I would start jumping up and down if I were a cubs fan yet though.. Harden has a great arm.. but also a great ability to find the DL.

Yeah, they do, as far as I know.

I think The Jazz misunderstood your question :lol:

Mr. O is right. I misunderstood. Or, rather, if I were in Baltimore, I would be putting the "moron" in "Baltimoron".

Free agent draft comps work like this:

At the end of the year, Elias ranks all the players base on their last two years. The top 20% are given type A status and the next 20% are given type C status. Type A or B free agents that are either signed before the arbitration deadline or offered arbitration but sign with other teams are given compensatory draft picks.

After the first round of the draft there is a supplemental round. Teams losing Type A and B free agents are each given a pick. The draft order is based on the reverse order of standings with all Type A teams going first.

The team signing the Type A free agent loses their first round pick to the team that lost the free agent (unless the signing team is scheduled to pick in the first 15 spots, then they lose their second round).

You know what sucks?

When your team is supposed to do poorly, and you prepare yourself for a season of building for the future.

Then they start out hot, and even though you enjoy seeing them do well, you know it won't last, and still are set in building mode.

Then they keep it up by winning close games and making comebacks that they have no right to make, but you see the major flaws and the players playing over their heads, and so you still keep that mindset.

Then all of a sudden everything bad starts happening at once. The comebacks fall just short, the pitching falls apart, and you start losing to worse teams. And no matter how you have kept your mind and heart separated throughout the season and fully expected what is happening, you still end up feeling upset and angry and shitty all at once.

Ugh.

I feel your pain. I really do. Add in fielding errors on routine ground balls and baserunning errors (I get angry just typing that) and you've got your 2006 Chicago Cubs.

Take solace in the fact that you're not a Yankees fan. Or a Kansas City fan.

and before long .. the 2008 cubs :p

yeah, you're not alone in feeling this, most of us have experienced this as sports fans too many times to count. Those of us who are Red Sox, Cubs fans etc know what it's like in a way, but I think that it's almost worse to be a Baltimore or Oakland fan sometimes.

By the way, I don't have as much interest in the Allstar Game this year, is anyone else in this boat? I can't say whether is is because of all the Yankee Stadium hoopla, or because of a sort of disillusionment...

This season is so frustrating. The DBacks are a shitty team right now and they've been a shitty team since mid-May. However, somehow they are clinging to a 1-game lead in the NL West.

3 errors in one game certainly doesn't help either..


as far as the All-Star game is concerned.. I'll watch it but no I'm not all about it this year.. who gives a fuck if it's the last season of Skankee Stadium..

That's because the NL West is a shitty division.

all I have to say is Josh Hamilton is a fucking beast

yup, agreed. He has one of the sweetest natural swings since Griffey Jr. and is strong as shit. Did you see the amount of torque and bat flex he had in some of those slow mo replays? Imagine if he was turning around a 95 mph heater and not a bp pitch thrown by a senior citizen? Not to knock Council. To be honest, I thought that was almost as good of a story as Hamilton's recovery and return. That dude knew how to groove them just right.
Did you hear how careful the Rangers are being with him? He has a sort of a guardian angel who stays with him pretty much all the time on the road, and he can't have more than $20 cash on him, and he gets drug tested like twice a week. Seems like due diligence on the part of Texas.

3-3 going into the 9th.

So what would happen now if the all-star game ended in a tie now, like what happened several years ago? Who gets home-field advantage in the World Series then? I really want this to happen tonight so that MLB would get rid of this stupid rule.

it's only common sense for Texas to do this.. even Hamilton says he doesn't trust himself yet. When a team has that much money and PR invested in a guy.. they have to make sure it's going to be worth their while. It's a good story .. baseball needs something like this.

And how about J.D. Fucking Drew.. MVP baby! :)

Wow 12 straight winless years for the senior circuit, that's turning into a nasty streak. I guess this is the opposite of how it was 20 or 30 years ago when the NL always won. Never thought I'd see JD Drew win the All-Star MVP. Good for him, he's really putting together a great season.

JD Drew has never gotten the respect he deserves. He's an OBP machine and he has plenty of power. His little brother could learn a thing or two from JD about how to take a freaking walk.

I was really hoping for a tie. Having the ASG determine home field advantage is just silly.

Stephen may need to learn patience but I like his style.. he's not so over the top and he keeps his emotions in check.. much like his older brother

They weren't going to tie.

Selig might be able to pull something like that in his House that Used Cars Built in Milwaukee, but if it happened again, at Yankee Stadium, under the circumstances of this year, he wasn't making it out of the stadium alive.

Just to add to this part...

http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/drewj.01.shtml

You tend not to get much respect when you can't stay healthy. He's had 600 PAs once in his career, and only even approached it one other time. Between that and his reported attitude problems in the past.

Of course, no one has ever denied his talent. He can get on-base by hitting and walking, he has power, he could run when he started out, and he's pretty good in the field. He's underrated, but for good reasons.

They were in serious trouble though. Francona couldn't use Kazmir for another inning and that was his last pitcher. Is the ASG so important that they would have used position players as pitchers? I doubt it. It's a freaking exhibition game. There is no reason for it to go 15 innings. That's just silly.

Well, I saw an article stating that Francona was going to use JD Drew as a pitcher had the game gone on, and that David Wright was going to pitch if need be, as well. I'm pretty bummed that this didn't happen. I'm also bummed by the general lack of media outrage demanding that the silliness surrounding the ASG and its connection with home field in the World Series seems not to have taken root. If there was any year for that, this would have been it.

Well now they play for home filed advantage in the World Series, so yes it can be pretty important.

But even back in the day the game was important.Back before free agency and players swapping leagues, the All Star game was to show who the stronger league truly was. Which league had the best players.

And for those who think it isn't all that important and never was..... ask Pete Rose and Ray Fosse, how important that game is.

...fuckin' Billy Wagner...

Come on, it's one game. One game does nothing to show what league has the best players. As for home field advantage, it is and always has been a terrible idea. If they want to base it on league vs league performance, then make it dependent on interleague play. At least then it would be based upon real games.

That was an asshole move by Pete Rose. He permanently fucked up Fosse's shoulder in a game that didn't count for anything.

As for using Drew and Wright, that would have been a terrible idea and a great way to get someone hurt during an exhibition game.

I got $10 on Rose saying it wasn't really that big of a deal..

lol

It would be at least a little more sensible to use the league records in interleague play to determine home field, one game is almost meaningless in the context of a season...

If you're giving that $10 to Rose, he'll tell you anything you want.

I think I've just seen the most amazing thing from the Mets tonight.

Guts.

They may make a believer out of me just yet.

The coolest home run you'll ever see.

Melvin Mora hit a home run off the top of the foul pole Friday night against Detroit.

I mean, the TOP of the foul pole...

ya know, if the red sox could actually win a fucking game on the road.. they'd be a good team.

goddamn.

Note to Theo: Please get us some reliable middle relief. Thank You.

One HELL of a game last night between the Cubs and the DBacks. Harden allowed only 1 hit (a solo HR) and lost the game. The Unit went seven shutout innings to improve to 13-0 in 14 starts against the Cubs. According to the Arizona Republic, only one other pitcher (Sal Maglie, 10-0 in 19 appearances from 1954-58) is undefeated in 10 or more starts against Chicago.

Oh, and the reason why I can't stand the Cubs? Phoenix is full of Chicago transplants and they invade our ballpark like cockroaches when the Cubs are in town. Our loyal newspaper (some of the senior sports writers are from Chicago) even had a full page spread about the Cubs, all their tradition, and readers' greatest memories of the Cubs. Embarrassing.

Agreed. I wish I had stayed awake for the whole thing, but I was too beat to keep my eyes open.

I'll read the rest when your team plays in a real division, NLWestboy. Maybe next year. I woulda read it last year, but not this year.

We can get into a whole long diatribe about how the main industry of Phoenix is in making Phoenix grow bigger, but that's not what we're here to do.

We might win the next two, if we could get the lumber to move.

Agree on all just about all points. The NL West sucks, plain and simple. However, despite the suckiness I strongly believe that if they can just make the playoffs then anything can happen. A rotation of Webb, Haren, Davis, and Johnson is good enough to beat anybody if the damn hitters can just do SOMETHING.

It looks as if the DBacks just aquired Jon Rauch for Emilio Bonifacio. There must be another player involved because this just doesn't make sense on its own. Closers are highly overrated and Bonicafcio is a AAAA player. He's probably one of the fastest guys in MLB but you can't steal first base.

Who am I kidding though. Chances are it will blow up in thier faces just like their most recent aquisitions: (Carter for Quentin, Rosales for Hairston).

Just saw on rotoworld that Wood is probably going back to the DL. Poor guy.

This is really a puzzling issue with this team. If it was a team of 24 year olds, I would almost understand, but despite the fact that they do have some young players, they are a pretty experienced ballclub. You know that Theo won't pick up much because one of the only guys out there is Fuentes and he won't give up Buckholtz for a two month rental. Maybe Masterson will be the answer. Or maybe Papi will come back and Manny will stop acting like a pussy and they can just win 10-8 games on the road. Or Lester can throw every other day. hmmm

So at the top of the ninth inning, the Mets were up 5-2 on the Phillies. Now it's 8-5, Philadelphia.

THEY'VE GONE THROUGH FOUR RELIEVERS AND THEY CAN'T GET THREE OUTS.

I don't expect the bullpen to be the a reincarnation of Mariano Rivera, BUT HOW CAN ONE TEAM GO THROUGH FOUR RELIEVERS AND FAIL TO GET ANY OUTS?

Am I wrong to be upset over this collective failure of the bullpen to get three outs? My TV should be lucky I don't have a gun, because I would've shot it out a long time ago.

Just don't forget to vote Bowden a half-share of the playoff money...

lol, do you know that Bowden is has been questioned by MLB and the FBI about skimming money from DR players' signing bonuses? Maybe a shitty trade was needed to deflect attention.

Oh, believe me, I could write a college essay on why that whole organization is in the shitter. Jim Bowden is only the beginning, but he just adds a whole new level.

CC in the NL = 4-0, 1.36 ERA, 0.848 WHIP

/not big games though... ;)

good news/bad news

Good news: Xavier Nady comes back to New York
Bad news: Xavier Nady is coming back to the wrong team.

The Pirates got owned in the trade. No wonder they perpetually suck.

And that's a shame because they have too nice of a ballpark to suck so much.

To trade Manny or Not To Trade.


duh. don't trade him. even if he does whine sometimes at least he puts his money where his mouth is.

No shit. He has a 142 OPS+. Even considering what offense is lost due to his defense they aren't going to be able to replace him.

Regarding trades, I hear the that if the Braves were to trade Teixeria to the DBacks they would want Conor Jackson back.

I don't think so.

the Texeira trade doesn't make sense to me for the Dbacks. I'm pretty sure the GM realizes this too.

If it is Jackson for Teixeria sure I makes no sense. CJ is not getting traded. The buzz today has been Chad Tracy + prospect for TexMex. Whether or not that is a good deal depends on the prospect. If the prospect is Scherzer or Jarrod Parker then it doesn't sound good for the DBacks. Same for Micah Owings.

I will say that AJ Hinch (DBacks director of scouting) has been in South Bend (DBacks Class A affiliate, where Parker pitches) the past 2 days. AJ doesn't make it to low-A very much so that can't be a coincidence. It better not be Parker. He's too much to give up for a rental.

At this point I am in the don't trade him, but don't resign him camp. This petulant fucking baby will quit on them next year if they resign him. It is amazing to me that he has no moral fiber whatsoever, so that even if the club appears to have the leverage, by way of the options, they still don't because he can always just not play (or push over another 64-year-old) next year, or come up with some stupid phantom injury. I have to say, it freakin kills me that he is getting away with this and Scott fucking Boras will profit from this. It was Manny and his old agent who begged for these two club options just so that they could brag that he got a $200 million dollar contract, and not id the team picks them up he will probably take his toys and go home. I hope he gets blackballed like Bonds, but he will probably go to the NL and hit 40 home runs because the pitching sucks. //end of rant

eh.. I dunno. I wouldn't want it to go that far. There's just no way to replace Manny. Seriously, I don't know of anyone they can just trade for and get the same production out of. Think about it, everytime Manny gets pissed at the front office, what happens? He blows his numbers up. It's almost like a little game that Boston plays with him. He's just too good to lose right now. I'd even go so far as saying they should pick up his option for next year.

I'm beginning to notice that whenever contract disputes come up, it's with players who always the same agents. When it's baseball, it's Scott Borras. If it's football, it's Drew Rosenhaus. If it's basketball, it's David Falk. Am I the only one who notices this?

THIS JUST IN:

The Atlanta Braves have just sent 1B Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Casey Kotchman. Well, that's one less team the Mets have to worry about.

I was holding out hope that the DBacks could land him but this is a descent return for both teams.

As for contract issues, I used to think football players were assholes to constantly ask for contract renegotiations but contracts don't mean a lot in football. Even if you have a multi-year deal, a team can cut you. If the teams demonstrate time after time that they won't honor the contract, why should the player?

Baseball is completely different. It is damn near impossible to void a contract. It doesn't matter how much you suck. The DBacks, ingnoring all common sense signed Russ Ortiz to a 4 year 32 million dollar deal. After a year and a half they released him but were on the hook for all the money. Once he cleared waivers, any team could pick him up for the league minimum and he'd still get the money the DBacks said they would pay him.

I'm not sure how it works in basketball.

Hopefully the Angels can use Teixeira to their advantage before he comes home to Baltimore in the offseason.

They needed another bat, and that is what they got.

Well, I would definitely separate this year from next year as far as his production. There are something like 50 some games left, lets call it 1/3 of the season. If Manny is still the 30/100 guy that he's been, he may hit 10 hr and 35 RBI in the next two months. If you get a halfway decent player to "replace" him you may not get a 30/100 guy, but it could be a 20/80 guy. That 20/80 guy could be projected to hit something like 7/25 over the that same two months, so we're talking about the rest of the team making up 3/10 over two months. Now you could argue intangibles (Manny is "clutch" e has good postseason numbers, whatever) but there are also PLENTY of negative intangibles about the Manny experience.
Hey, I know that the dude can rake, and he always seems to do so when he fights with management, but I think that he is really wearing out his welcome, plus he is becoming less and less reliable. Every time he wants to send a message to management he does something when they play the yankees, because he knows that irks them the most.
Problem is, it's damn hard to find or get good sluggers nowdays, and Manny Papi have been one of the best 3,4 tandems ever.

Yeah you're right with the production numbers, but, projection only goes so far. At least with Manny you can look back and see what he'll do in a Boston Uni. Putting on that uniform has buckled many a player to their knees.

As far as his welcome, yeah he's pushing it this year, but it may just be because he want's his security. He'd like for the Red Sox to go ahead and say they'll either put him on the market free agent style or they'll pick up at least one of his options. Shit, it's a $20 million option.. I'd want to know too.

And fuck me. Texeira to the Angels. As if they needed help. Yeah they needed another bat to help protect Vlad but fuck. they are on a roll right now. I just wonder what the strikeout differencial is between Kotchman and T. I know that Kotchman is notoriously hard to strike out.

Kotchman: 23K/18BB in 398 PA
Teixeira 65/70 in 451 PA

Kotchman may not K but he's killing his value by not walking either. You can't be a productive 1B if you can't even put up an .800 OPS.

What a game by Lackey last night. Bummer that Pedroia had to screw everything up.

There is something about having security, knowing where you are going to be, but there isn't ever total security. Shoot, he was under contract, but they already tried to trade him and put him on waivers. Not that logic an Manny have any business in the same hemisphere. He said it himself, he knows he will get paid one way or the other, although I think that it is asking a lot to think he will get 4 years $100 Mil.
You are correct that the Angels were already looking very good without TexMex, and he will certainly help them. It is an interesting message, because it is unlikely that they will be able to sign him after this year, so they basically gave up Kotchman for a rental.

yeah.. but it's Manny. He'll get paid. despite other opinions he's a top 5 right handed hitter of all time. Most teams would kill to have his production..even if it means putting up with his cell phone. I think he's really just saying he's tired of Boston pulling out the Trade card every year. He knows Boston is a tough town to play in and they are smart (at least they are now) and they have the cash.

I think for the Angels this trade was for the sole purpose of trying to get out of the first round of the playoffs this time.

WTF is Brian Cashman slipping into the coffee of these other GM's? First Nady for nothing, now they just picked up Pudge Rodriguez from the Tigers for Kyle Farnsworth. Is there some secret deal that the general public is unaware of?

Breaking news: Insider footage of Cashman informing Farnsworth of his decision.

Quasi, that is fucking hilarious. I didn't know where it was going at first.
I am not worried about the Yankees getting pudge. He was good when he was all 'roided up, but not so much now. He can still throw and ht well enough for a backup catcher, but I also have heard that he is a bad pitch receiver and used to call lots of outside fastballs, so he could throw out runners.

eh the pudge deal isn't really that big of a deal.. if anything, Detroit probably got the better player.

And I swear to fucking god. All this Manny shit has me pissed off. Did I seriously hear Jason Bay for Manny? fuck me proper. This is like Roger Clemens all over again. I don't give a shit if he's a baby or not.. trade him and your season (if it isn't already) is down the tubes. How the hell are you going to find someone to step in and keep a lineup like Papi-Manny-Drew? Fuckin A.

Junior might be going to the White Sox. Konerko's bat has been really quiet recently, and guess he'd sit once in a while, let Swisher play first and Griffey would be every day in the outfield. Seems a little bizarre to me since I don't see an obvious place for Griffey on the ChiSox, but that team has always done weird things and made them work.

Top 5 active RHBs? Yes. Maybe top on the upper end of the top 10 all time.

Maybe Bay won't be able to play under pressure as well as Manny, we'll have to see but offensively Bay is 90% of Manny. The runs he'll save on defense would make it an overall improvement.

Manny knows that ballpark.. his defense really isn't as bad as most people think it is. Sure he's not a gold glover, but for an offense that's struggling right now and the pitching giving up that many runs.. I think I'd rather have solace in knowing I have a guy up there than can produce the run at any time. Bay plays in Pittsburgh.. c'mon. There's really (in my mind) no way he's going to step into Manny's place.. with all the fan base and be able to produce in that kind of pressure situation. This is a dumb move. If they want to move him they should just release him at the end of the season and bring someone in then.
-----Added 31/7/2008 at 12 : 54 : 28-----
Looks like Dunn to Tampa Bay is dead. Tampa Bay and Toronto are trying to get Jason Bay.

maybe one of them will snag him and Manny will stay put.

Whoa. Manny to the Dodgers. And for Bay? Wow, I just don't get that one.

And it's a four game sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee. That'll make the road record nicer and give us some room to work with. We're 4 up on the Brewers and 3.5 on the Cards.

Well, shit, as long as he didn't go to Philly, I could care less where Manny goes. Of course, I'm still sour that the Mets didn't get Nady back. If what Cashman gave them was all it took to land him, hell, the Mets shoudl've just given the Pirates a bag of cash.

This is the stupidest trade boston could have possibly pulled off. Seriously, you have to pay Manny the rest of his $7 mill, and you give up Hanson and Moss. DUMB DUMB DUMB. They could have just dealt with manny for 2 more months and cut him loose. No need to give up 2 kids that good.

Jason Bay will never be a Manny. He may do ok, but he's under enormous pressure. I think the Pirates came out of this mix as the winners.

And Hardin to the cubs.. just great. Thanks Theo. I used to think you were smart.

Boras would never had let Manny stay in Boston anyways. No money in it for him. Now the Dodgers get good-guy Manny for the remainder of the season so they can both cash in with free agency next season.

I know he would have been gone next year.. which is why I'm saying it was stupid to trade him out now. Especially with what they had to give up.

My luck, I'll be watching Manny in pinstripes next year :rolleyes:

But he may not have. If Manny stayed being good Manny and played the game the way he is capable, the Sox might have picked up the option year. The only way for him to hit free agency next year is to act up and force a trade. Now he can be on best behavior to show the rest of the league he isn't a malcontent and is worth the $20+million/year for 4 years he is looking for.

One of the conditions of him accepting the trade was that the Dodgers would not exercise the option years on his contract.

I think it will be a big mistake for any team to sign him for more than 2 years. Actually, at the money he'll want I would only do 1 year. He's a 36-yr old DH with bad knees. Way too much risk.

The most surprising trade for me was the Griffey trade to the Chi Sux.

It seems really weird this year, teams are stockpiling OF positions and positions they don't need for that run and giving a lot away for what they don't need.

The Chi Sux needed pitching, not Jr. I just don't know ..... weird season.

So the Sux will move Swisher to 1B and platoon him with Konerko. Griffey is going back to CF. We'll see if his old ass can still play CF. It helps the Sux to sit Konerko.

They might be better off with Junior at first, though they may not want to move him in the middle of the season and a pennant race. At least Swisher has played there before.

I don't think the drop-off in overall play between Bay and Ramirez is bad for Boston. However, Epstein and Lucchino and Henry must despise him to give up that much: paying the contract PLUS two players.

Colletti should become the first general manager to be fired after winning Executive of the Year for this deal. They gave up nothing they cared about for two free months of Manny Ramirez. If they were worried about LaRoche, they would be playing him over Blake "Almost Sounds Like A Major Appliance" DeWitt.

As a side note, after looking up the White Sox, is there any more underrated player in baseball then Jermaine Dye?

He hasn't had a below-average year (OPS+ wise, at least) since 2003. He's probably going to hit 40 home runs for the second year of the past three. He hits for average, and doesn't strike out all that much for a power-hitter. And though I don't keep up with it I've never heard any issues with his defense.

Outside of a young player on a lesser team (*cough*Nick Markakis*cough*), I can't think of too many more.

Scott Boras is the devil. No doubt about it.

so funny, I was just having this very conversation with two people earlier tonight...

Boras is not the devil, he is Hitler! The way he maneuvered MR like a puppet with the sole intent of creating a new contract that only Boras will benefit from is comparable to Hitler gaining Austria and Czechoslovakia without firing a shot, simply by browbeating. The only injuries to Manny's knees or hamstrings are in his head, after all there's a lot of confusion, what with his ass being in there too and all. I think last night was typical of what we'll see the rest of the year out of these guys. Manny goes 2 for 4, great numbers but no real contribution, while Bay goes 1 for 3, getting a wall ball triple and scoring the winning run with 2 outs in extra innings, on a hit Manny would have a gotten a single out of. He also made a diving defensive play that Manny would not have made this year. Manny hitting .330, 40 HR and 120 RBI's is a higher liability than a guy with good fundamentals, common sense, and less impressive stats.

I think you guys will like Bay. His career OPS+ is 131.

As for Manny, I had not heard about the incident with their secretary. That's fucked up. It was great to see him GIDP in the 9th. The crowd went silent. He also misplayed a single into a triple. He did run his ground balls out though.

The combination of Manny and Jones in LF and CF is wretched defensively. If Torre would just sit Pierre and Jones for the rest of the year and go with Kemp and Ethier in CF and RF they could probably mitigate most of Manny's defensive shortcomings.