Valadius

Completely robbed.

And it's a tie game!!!

SB #55 for Reyes!

Finally, we catch a break.

I just don't see Fred McGriff making it. Had he put up decent numbers his last two seasons instead of dropping off the face of the earth, it would be a different discussion.

WTF David?!?!?!?

Mota, I fucking hate you.

In other news, Rick Ankiel hit two home runs tonight.

Dammit Mota!!!

Thor is going to start production this winter.

Following up on Nymr's analysis of active players, here's my take: Will make it: Barry Bonds Roger Clemens Greg Maddux Tom Glavine Randy Johnson Pedro Martinez Ichiro Suzuki (if he plays another 3 seasons in MLB) Mike Piazza Alex Rodriguez Ivan Rodriguez Manny Ramirez Frank Thomas Ken Griffey, Jr. Jeff Kent Sammy Sosa Trevor Hoffman Mariano Rivera (grrrr...) On the cusp: Jim Thome Gary Sheffield Omar Vizquel John Smoltz Curt Schilling Mike Mussina Probably not: Luis Gonzalez Steve Finley Kenny Lofton Jim Edmonds Jason Giambi With a few years more, yes: Carlos Delgado Chipper Jones (grits teeth) Vladimir Guerrero Todd Helton Albert Pujols Billy Wagner

I think I brought this up a year or two ago, but seriously, how can you deny Larry Walker a spot in the Hall of Fame? Lifetime average - .313 Home runs - 383 RBI - 1,311 SB - 230 OBP - .400 OPS - .965 7 Gold Gloves 1997 MVP 3 Batting titles His OPS+ number, 140, is better than the likes of Reggie Jackson, George Brett, Dave Winfield, and Al Kaline.

DAMMIT BILLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's go Jose!!!!!

NICE PLAY DELGADO!!!

LOL Edgy. Nice blooper by Wright.

Well those guys are everyone remaining on the ballot that I think merit inclusion. Harold Baines had probably the quietest career of any great player I've ever seen. He has the most base hits (2,866) and RBIs (1,628) of any player currently eligible for the Hall of Fame. He was seriously overlooked for much of his career.

Good job Lawrence!

That's not nice of Tom McCarthy to imply that Mike Jacobs' recent hitless slump was because his wife gave birth to their first children.

Carlos comes back with a bang!!!

Please walk the pitcher...

Does anybody post in the game threads anymore? Come on, people! Now who the hell is this Barone dude?

I wasn't around when we had our most recent Hall of Fame induction, but now that I am back again, I wish to comment on the state of our Hall of Fame voting. Two legends were inducted this year, both on the field and off it. Ripken and Gwynn were both incredible ballplayers, and seriously, who didn't like them? But is the Hall of Fame reserved only for the squeaky-clean? Have we pushed the pedestal too high? I say yes, emphatically yes. Since when did a baseball player have to be well-liked in order to merit induction into the Hall of Fame? When did we stop treating baseball players like human beings, with faults and weaknesses and personal demons, and start looking at them as more than human, and let their human errors that we all have become a reason to banish them from baseball's Valhalla? I refer, of course, to the debate primarily surrounding Barry Bonds at this moment. Does he belong in the Hall of Fame or doesn't he? Of COURSE he does!!! Good lord, look at the bigger picture here! Lifetime average near .300, nearing 3,000 hits. Now up to 757 homers, some of which are tainted, but even without steroids I doubt he would have ended up with less than 600. The best eye of any ballplayer I've ever seen. Over 500 stolen bases. Nearing 2,000 RBI. Has a chance at breaking Rickey Henderson's all-time runs scored mark, when no one thought Ty Cobb's previous mark could be broken. Seven MVPs, eight Gold Gloves, twelve Silver Sluggers. Before he started juicing, when other players had the limelight, he was named the best player of the 90's. For him to be excluded from the Hall of Fame would be a travesty, as much as I don't like the guy. When all three retired in the same year, the media and the country touted the three legends who were sure to be inducted in 2007: Ripken, Gwynn, and McGwire. Then McGwire's non-answer in front of Congress got everybody screaming at him. As a result, he appeared on less than a quarter of ballots this year. I, for one, believe he should be in the Hall of Fame. Certain numbers have a bit of magic to them, and I think we should keep the number 500 as a sacred milestone. Maybe he cheated, who knows? But one writer (I forget who) summed up how I'm going to judge the Steroid Era: "Hundreds of players probably used steroids. But did they all do what Barry Bonds did?" Indeed, even though many players cheated, they didn't all put up the numbers that the select few did. And I am of the opinion that the best players of that era would have been the best players even if no one was doing steroids. Therefore, it's simply insane to exclude somebody from the Hall of Fame just because somebody accused them of doing steroids. Have we excluded everybody that threw spitballs? Or used amphetamines? Or used excessive pine tar? Or used nail files on baseballs? No, we haven't. The only excuse for exclusion from the Hall of Fame has been gambling. Even Jose Canseco, blowhard that he is, is in my mind a borderline Hall of Famer. Next year, the ballot will include only one newcomer who belongs in the Hall of Fame: Tim Raines. One of only four players in history with 800 or more steals (the others being Henderson, Brock, and Cobb), Raines had a .294 lifetime average with 2,605 hits. Here's who I'd like to see elected next year: Tim Raines Goose Gossage Mark McGwire Jim Rice Andre Dawson Bert Blyleven Harold Baines Jack Morris In 2009: Rickey Henderson Mark Grace In 2010: Roberto Alomar Barry Larkin Edgar Martinez In 2011: Jeff Bagwell Juan Gonzalez Rafael Palmeiro Larry Walker In 2012: Craig Biggio

I am adopting Michael Parker, formerly the star shortstop for my college, George Washington University, and presently a stand-out second baseman for our Kingsport Mets. He was named Appalachian League Player of the Week on August 6th. He's currently batting .329 in 73 AB with 3 HR and 13 RBI with 6 SB, a .419 OBP and .898 OPS. Hail to the Buff and Blue!!!

My favorite home run that didn't really mean too much: Benny Agbayani's grand slam in Japan. They gave him a freaking samurai helmet. How awesome is that? Speaking of Benny Agbayani, Chiba Lotte Marines fans have created a chant for him while he's up at bat: