:idea: re: Maddux He pitched here at the end of his career and I was amazed at what that guy could do. He never threw over 87mph and most of his pitches were clocked in the low 80's, but no pitch ever went straight to the plate and every location was somewhere on a corner. He made every pitch a chore for the batter... re: Ozzy Smith Ozzy was the greatest defensive player of all-time, at any position. Sabermetricians credit him with being the only position player to have prevented more than one run per game... re: Jack Morris Morris is getting screwed. He should be in there and he will be there once the Veterans Committee gets his nomination. I was listening to Dodger manager Don Mattingly on the radio today and he called Morris "One of those pitchers that no one wanted to face."
Hey Trammell and Smith were 2 different types of short stops. Trammell had 4 golden gloves to go along with 3 Silver Slugger awards. According to the New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract he was the 9th best short stop of all time and was better than 14 short stops already in the HOF. In 1987 he should have been the AL MVP. He batted .343 and had 105 RBIs. He narrowly lost the MVP vote to George Bell whose Toronto team gagged in the last week of the season as they were overtaken by Trammell's Tigers. Bell was less than ordinary in the field.
Well Yankee's put out the big bucks for the newest Japanese phenom. Hope he works out better than some of the others. Dice K is in AAA, Yoshii was 5yrs and shoulder surgery, Fujikawa didh't last long till the Surgeon got him. Yu Darvish seems to be an exception so far.
Only Yankees would take a crap shoot on a Jap...new culture..country. George be happy if he wins 10 games
Not too good. But you're point was that only the Yankees would spend $$ on a japanese pitcher. How about Yu Darvish and Texas? Kuroda and the Diodgers and Yankees? Your current closer?
:idea: :!: The Dodgers have had great success with Japanese pitchers like Nomo and Kuroda. We had bids in to get this guy too, but he chose the Yanks. Based on the videos that I've seen he looks like the real deal: very smooth, very clever, no fear. I like him a lot... <iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NpjAi0EjOmg?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0"></iframe>
Hey Joel! Johnny Gomes says that the beards are coming off this season. I kind of liked them. http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/10338025/jonny-gomes-says-boston-red-sox-beards-coming-off
Astro's took Roger Clemens with them when they went to L.A. to talk to Tanaka. Great offer him an insulting 100K$ and use Roger Clemens as part of your negotiation team. I'm sure he looked at Clemens and said I don't need any drugs man, bye.
I never got the whole beard thing, they looked awful. I wish James Harden would shave his off as well. We have a basketball player at ND who has one...looks terrible.
sports coverage has turned into a fashion show. These guys went with beards and a lumberjack look in previous years. Don't be surprised to see some guys going back to it again if things don't go their way early.
Terry, Lance Berkman has retired after 15 years. 366 HRs and a career .293 BA. Pretty impressive. Not sure if he's a HOF candidate, but his stellar career has earned him a place in the conversation. http://tracking.si.com/2014/01/29/lance-berkman-retirement/?xid=si_mlb
Lance was a great player for the Astro's, had a terrific run of about 10 years where he always hit homeruns/rbi's/and for average. I was glad to see him get his ring with the Cards in 2011 and be a significant part of the effort not just a guy who got the ring for sitting in the dugout. He was always a great player in the community as well. The exact opposite of ARod.
re: Berkman He was one of the quietest players I ever saw. He hit two HRs in a game that Bear Down Rick and I attended at Dodger Stadium and I really didn't notice him until the second one...no kidding. He hit it in the rightfield bullpen and I turned to Rick and said, "Who was that?!" he replied simply, "Berkman." I couldn't believe it. I asked, "THAT is Berkman?" He looked like an insurance adjuster who had just wandered onto the field: a tad overweight, slump shouldered, and bleary eyed. He didn't come alive until the ball was thrown, then he exploded with a power and desire that had not been apparent until that moment. He was no entertainer and certainly not a natural athlete. He was just an old-fashioned ballplayer who put up numbers that few could match. He was a good one.