Centerfield

I won't believe it until Ed Price says so.

Stolen Bases: Carl Crawford Triples: Carl Crawford

Hits: Ichiro Sac Bunts: Willie Randolph Everything else: Pujols

sharpie wrote: I saw only nine of them. I guess that number will rise via video. In order IN THE LOOP A SERIOUS MAN ADVENTURELAND BRIGHT STAR SUGAR (500) DAYS OF SUMMER* ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL JULIE AND JULIA HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU* *saw on airplanes. I could have seen INKHEART on a plane which would've gotten me to 10. It would almost certainly have been #10. I think showing "He's Just Not That Into You" on an airplane could be one of the few things in life that would make me try skydiving.

Jose Canseco saved baseball.

Is the implication that the Mets will offer a two year deal? That makes me sad.

I'm just glad we're keeping our non-heinous Reyes.

That's the fucked up thing. No one is ever going to investigate John Kruk, even though he might have been the biggest roid-head of them all, because no one cares if he used. Everyone knows I was opposed to people excluding McGwire based on speculation alone, but if the voters hadn't done so, he would be in and we would never have this admission. And something that promotes players to stay silent is clearly not a good thing. Of course, the last thing I would want to see is a "Come clean and we'll vote you in" policy. Whether intentional or otherwise. That's idiotic. Maybe you just let them all in and chalk it up as a circumstance of the times. I don't know. I wish there was a good answer.

What the fuck Trachs. Stop being such a loser.

You think he looks like Bodie? Sheee-it.

In my mind, he is one of the best examples of the notion that you can suck and still be a fan favorite just as long as you don't make lots of money.

An apology to the Maris family would have been nice.

Please let this turn into a Tiger situation. Please please please.

Great stuff. I'll decline to vote as I think it's enough to just re-post them and enjoy them again.

You're talking to a guy who forgot he died.

And the Bengie Molinas.

One vote for each probably would have done it. Thank Jay Mariotti, a complete douchehandle, who remarked in a recent chat: Now, the baseball gods can strike me down, Reali (sic), but guess what? I didn�t vote for anybody in the baseball hall of fame this year. Ya know why? To me�the first ballot is sacred. I think Roberto Alomar is an eventual Hall of Famer, not the first time. Edgar Martinez, designated hitter, eventually, but not the first time. Same goes for maybe Fred McGriff. As far as Blyleven and Dawson�if they haven�t gotten in for years and years I cannot vote them in now. Ripken, Rickey Henderson and Gwynn. They are true first ballot Hall of Famers, but I didn�t vote for anybody, throw me out of the Baseball Writers. I don�t care. here's more on that irresponsible dickhead: http://www.baseballink.com/archives/stories/mariotti-volunteers-to-be-thrown-out-of-the-bbwaa-4061053 This is what I was talking about when I said certain guys should be stripped of their vote. I'm guessing he would care if they threw him out.

Me too. A lower height. And no stupid alcove in RF.

This is very encouraging. If this is true, the organization seems to realize the limits of Jeff Francouer and the possible upside of Carlos Delgado. They also seem to get that Molina is not that good.

I'm sorry, were you saying something?

What a douchebag. He never had any news.

With the signing of Bay, there has been talk of shifting the focus to pitching. Some think that the lineup is good enough to go, as is, while others think we still need more. Here's a look at the lineup as is with their OPS from last year: 1. Reyes .772* 2. Castillo .732 3. Wright .837 4. Beltran .915 5. Bay .921 6. Francoeur .732 7. Murphy .741 8. Blanco .703 *Career OPS. Last year was injury shortened and at .750, was considerably below 2008. I think we can expect a bounceback. When I saw these numbers, I figured we had a lot of work left to do, even if everyone stayed healthy. Out of 5 position players, we had 5 that were in the 700's and our middle of the order guys are not particularly top-shelf superstars. But when I stacked this lineup against last year's playoff teams, it wasn't as bad as I thought: N'York 1. Reyes .772* 2. Castillo .732 3. Wright .837 4. Beltran .915 5. Bay .921 6. Francoeur .732 7. Murphy .741 8. Blanco .703St. Louis 1. Shumaker .757 2. Ludwick .775 3. Pujols 1.101 (wow!) 4. Holliday .909 (whole year) 5. Rasmus .714 6. Molina .749 7. DeRosa .646 8. Ryan .740LA 1. Furcal .711 2. Hudson .774 3. Ethier .869 4. Ramirez .949 5. Kemp .842 6. Loney .756 7. Martin .680 8. Blake .832Philadelphia 1. Victorino .803 2. Rollins .719 3. Utley .905 4. Howard .931 5. Werth .879 6. Ibanez .899 7. Feliz .694 8. Ruiz .780Colorado 1. Gonzalez .878 2. Fowler .770 3. Helton .904 4. Tulowitzki .930 5. Atkins .650 6. Torrealba .732 7. Smith .889 8. Barmes .734 Taking a look at these, only Philadelphia's lineup is noticeably better. And a lot of that can be attributed to the ballpark they play in. In fact, if you factor in the park, it seems to me that the Mets are right there with the rest of the playoff teams. I still think they could use an upgrade at RF or First Base, but maybe it's not as dire as I originally thought. I was too lazy to do AL teams. By the way, if any mod wants to format this so we can see them side-by-side, feel free.