bobbob1313

The staged 2004 presidential election? These guys sound rational. And there you have the reason why the far left frightens me much more than the far right.

Last 2 seasons without Kobe the Lakers are 0-4. Whats your point?

Right now its not about building a team for the future, its all about keeping the salaries to a minimum and getting that new stadium. Loria wants that stadium deal, and then he can sit back and rake it in with a lousy team, revenue sharing and luxury box money. You people are real suckers if you think he'll do any differently. It's almost impossible to respond to this kind of comment as it flies in the face of everything ever said about the owner by players who have played for the guy. I can't remember a former player in the last three years, from Paul LoDuca to Carlos Delgado to Josh Beckett or Mike Lowell who didn't speak positively about Loria's passion for winning, his willingness spend to put the best possible team on the field, and there is no reason to believe he'll do anything less once a new stadium is in place and he can compete financially on a level playing field with other owners in the game. Will the organization ever rival the Yankees, Mets or Red Sox, or other marketing behemoths in the game as to payroll? I doubt it. For one they don't own, and will not be in a position to own for many years to come, the tv rights that allows some of the above-mentioned franchises to build media empires to backup their onfield expenditures. But that's not the standard they are trying to achieve. He's proven his willingness to spend in the past and there's nothing to suggest he won't again, especially when he has revenue streams not available to him now - corporate sales, concessions, parking, etc. For a new stadium to work, even if he was the cheapest of cheapskates, the most miserly of men, he needs to put a quality product on the field to convince corporate ticket buyers to pony up the big bucks for skyboxes and clubseat season tickets. To do otherwise runs contrary to his best interest. I was a Red Sox fan in the fifties and sixties (and seventies and eighties and early nineties for that matter) and I can tell you that for most of the period the Red Sox had few if any sellouts, and lousy attendance generally. Until the mid-seventies you could get a walk-up ticket to any game you wanted, any day of the week. Even with Ted Williams as a draw, you had your choice of seats. It wasn't until the financial boom of the late seventies and eighties when ownership switched their marketing to one based on corporate ticket sales at the expense of retail (everyday fans) that attendance skyrocketed. The same thing will happen here, not because Loria is a good guy or altruistic, but because financially it's in his best interest to do so. So, those of you who keep trying to convince yourselves and others here that things won't improve with a new stadium I suggest you go take a course in business economics 101. You may not like Jeffrey Loria, you may in fact hate the guy, that's your right, you may think he's a scum-sucking pig, but give him this, he'll do what's best for him, and what's best for him is to sell 35,000 seats a night. And in order to do so, there is only one way, and that is to put the best possible team on the field he can. Yeah, don't try to reason with Heywood. He's all about the "LORIA IS A MURDERER" thing. It is, apparently, his schtick.

He doesn't really have a change-up. And he's no Randy Johnson in that he can get by on just a fastball and a slider alone. It's a lofty comparison, I admit, but it is still something to consider. He did have some good starts at the beginning of the season but has been struggling with insanely high pitch counts since the very beginning? How would you explain that? Girardi has been leaving him in too long. He doesn't seem to expend too much energy when he throws, since he's always been a horse. I don't think it's anything to worry about. Girardi left him in too long against the Phillies (And they should've been out of the inning earlier if not for Uggla's lapse) and he ran into a strong Cardinals line up that leaves absolutely no room for error. 2 starts does not a downfall make.

An ERA close to 5? Because pitchers who should have won the Cy Young become terrible at the age of 24. If he has a high ERA this year it will be more a result of inconsistent defense than his own shortcomings. He's had two starts where he's been bad. Or maybe his magnificent season was just a fluke? I honestly don't think his stuff is that good. Try watching a Marlins game with out of town commentators. When they talk about D-Train, they only really comment on his unconventional delivery. Well, deception can only work for so long before hitters begin to catch up to it. I'm sorry to say that it appears to be happening. Even during his "Fluke" season he had bad starts. It happens. He's got a 93-94 mph fastball, a good slider, and a changeup that he can throw consistently. His biggest problems come if he gets out of his rythym as he relies a lot on working quick and throwing strikes. He may not be one of the top 5 pitchers in the league, but he'd still be an ace on most staffs, including this one. He'd easily be the Mets number 2, and it wouldn't be questionable. Dontrelle has pinpoint control as long as his mechanics don't get messed up, and he relies on this as much as anything to get batters out. Even if he doesn't have great stuff, that mix of pinpoint accuracy, solid pitches and an unconventional delivery mean he will be good for a while. Maybe never as good as last year, but he will be good.

An ERA close to 5? Because pitchers who should have won the Cy Young become terrible at the age of 24. If he has a high ERA this year it will be more a result of inconsistent defense than his own shortcomings. He's had two starts where he's been bad.

"What are you gonna do, smack my buns?" The Whoppers are my favorite.

I'd take Wright for Dontrelle any day. Move Cabrera to left field which is a much less important position, and get Willingham back at Catcher or even first base. I feel wright is a better defensive player than Cabrera, and offensively they are similar, with cabrera having more power and wright having some speed (to Cabrera's none).

the blue ray is what is driving up the price. It is a twice as powerful system as the Xbox 360 is and like 5-10 times as power as the nintendo one. I will purchase one and most likely preorder it as soon as I can to get it first in line Where did you hear these power specs?

Guess not...

Wow... If Nintendo can keep the Wii (dumbest name ever) under 250 I'll be waving a remote for the next generation. I mean, if I'm gonna spend 500 bucks, I'll just buy a new pc.

I'm sure we could keep going...

Marion > Odom Best players remaining. assuming Amare isn't hurt.

The Lakers without Kobe hurt much worse than the Suns without Nash. No question.

No. He will be one of the best CF in baseball by 2009-10. He's everything you want in a player. He's right up there with the kids in Arizona. I don't have any stats to back em up, but it just seems like he's not going to be anything unbelievable when he gets up. Remember the Marlins could have had him but they went with Petit instead. Says something.

Billups wasn't more valuable, and it's arguable if his year was better.

LeBron got robbed. He should have won it. Nash didn't even deserve to be in the top 5. Wade didn't get as many votes as he deserved. He should have finished 2nd, IMO. Care to explain why? I'm curious of why you think that. I'd say it's because Kobe, Lebron, Dirk, Dwyane, and Brand all deserved to be ahead of him. But I'm not scientists.

I think Wade is definetly more deserving than Billups.

Anyone else think Milledge is terribly overrated? He may become a solid player, but I don't see multiple all stars for him (especially if he doesn't play in New York, where the media won't be pushing him down people's throats). I could see him becoming a nice Cliff Floyd, Carl Everrett, Rondell White type player. I think Moises Alou would be his top side.

They brought on AJ as a coach who has told them what D actually means, since to Nellie that was considered a vulgarity. I think alot of their defensive lapses have to do with Nash being a terrible defender.

Because I am not exaggerating. you said their entire pitching staff is garbage outside of pedro and wagner. I named 4 guys that're performing very well on their pitching staff outside of pedro and wagner. there you have exaggeration defined. if you can stop this, you may have a shot at losing the idiot tag. Performing well in one month does not a good staff make. The Mets have a bunch of average pitchers, at best.

I have been charged by a good friend/White Sox fan to revive Borchard's nickname: Light Tower Power (LTP for short). Go forth and spread the good word!

But based on other stadiums experience that only lasts about 2 seasons. If Loria doesn't have the money to spend on players now, how is he going to have the money after the "newness" of the stadium wears off and the large numbers of fans wears off because the team is sucky ? This is why I hope that someday Loria will sell the team and we can get a really deep pocket owner, because if not we'll become another Toronto or Baltimore ; stuck in a division with Atlanta and NY Mets that can forever outspend us (just like Red Sox and Yankees do in the AL East to Tampa, Toronto and Baltimore). I honestly think by the time we get a new stadium, this will be a good team on a low budget that will then have room to improve dramatically with a higher payroll. I see greener pastures ahead in the next 3 or 4 years.

I'd welcome a Willis for Wright trade.

My friend is in love with them. They are technically proficient, but it sounds like robots playing.