I can't believe I am going to root for the Pads or Cardinals.

Hey Jon, did you highlight all of the names in that article or did SI do that?

2 Now there's a challenging algorithm.

"Proper name Y/N
If Y, insert {bold} tag
Next space blank Y/N
If Y, close {bold} tag"

I'm rooting for Oakland or Detroit to win it all, now. Strangely, I was sort of resigned to defeat after the play when Kent and Drew were thrown out at the plate. It just seemed ordained.

We made the playoffs, though, and that's all that matters. You just need to make it, as has been proven before, superior teams can be beaten by weaker teams in the playoffs, we just didn't get so lucky.

I'd like to see a little more trust in the youth for next season.

Why not root for the Mets. They are clearly the best team in the NL right now.

3 - Now now Link, apparently it hasn't been trained to discern between sports and non-sports-related names, which is what I was trying to ask...unless Jon somehow convinced his editors that one of those hotshot Dodger rookies is named Bart Simpson!

I got back from work at 1 in the morning and watched the game on tivo until 3 o'clock. I feel better now than I did last night, mostly due to what everyone has been waiting for here the past few years. Watching the young players step in and play well has been the most rewarding aspect of an inconsistent year. Seeing them all play together next year should be fantastic.

Also, it seems to me the big difference between this year and last, wasn't the injuries, but that this year we had capable young players to step in and fill the void.

All of this is old news, but I just wanted to say my peace.

6
"Proper name Y/N
If Y, Lookup MLB.com database
If HIT,..."

;)

2 - I don't do it. Not even Squeaky.

I want the A's to win it all and I do not want the Mets to even have a chance to get to the World Series (especially after what Loduca said)

I would really like to see a Tiger team go all the way. I say this with no malice to the other teams
I find my mind already grinding away at things like the Kent,Nomar amd Loney situation so I'm sure I'll be checking D thoughts often.

The Mets were the team of my younger days, growing up outside NYC. I gradually fell in love with the Dodgers in the mid-70s, but still consider the Mets my #2 team. My copy of Lindsey Nelson's "Backstage at the Mets" still has an honored place in my bookshelf. I have no problem hating them when they're up against the Dodgers, but once that's resolved -- it's "Let's Go Mets."

Between the A's and Tigers, I'm pretty sure my heart will be with the Yankee-slayers. America goes a bit schizophrenic when it's Underdog v. Underdog.

I'm pulling for the Cardinals to humiliate the Padres tonight. I can handle the Dodger season ending, but only if the Padres also fall, and as ignominously as possible.

This is tough for me. I don't like American League baseball--sorry, I still don't accept the DH. But my 86-year-old mother-in-law is an A's fan, so I guess I'll lean that way.

My problem with the Mets actually is their fans. I lived in NYC for four years in school and never got over it in 1989 on opening day when the first seven callers to a talk show said Davey Johnson should be fired for losing the opening day game. They weren't rational and I might not seem rational, but if rationality had anything to do with rooting, we'd all be in trouble!

I am a very sad Greg Brock today. I also have a headache.

But mostly, I'm just really sad. Go Dodgers.

I am a very sad Greg Brock today.

If you had an emoticon for this mood it would be Greg Brock in a Brewers uniform.

15
As Comic Book Guy would say, "There is no emoticon for how I am feeling right now."

10 Train....what did LoDuca say?

17

It involved a word beginning with the letter f and ended with "...the Dodgers."

chin up boys, it's only a game! i've seen you boys at each other's throats and i just want to say, in the words of the great angeleno, can't we all just get along.

anyway, there's so much to be thankful for. loney, chad, and russ all looked great and there's more coming. all we need to do is let nomar and gagne go, and pick up carlos lee and barry zito! lady (that'd be me) and gentlemen, your 2007 dodgers:

C martin
1b loney
2b kent
3b betemit (until andy's ready)
ss furcal
lf lee
cf drew
rf ethier

sp zito
sp penny
sp lowe
sp maddux
sp chad

let's make it work!

For whatever reason, there doesn't seem to be any chance of the current administration letting Drew play CF.

20 I'm still waiting for somebody to explain why Andre Ethier can't play center either.

He's not fast, but he's fast enough. He's got a good glove out there. As a corner outfielder, he's not an asset with the bat.

19

Considering salary and age along with ability, I'd rather see Kuo in that rotation over everyone but Billingsley.

As for the future, I wonder if there is anything we should conclude about the Dodgers' brass this year : I think Colletti deserves a lot of credit for taking a flyer on Saito and snagging Betemit. It's sad though that he traded so many young players and spent so much free agent money and got so little good in return: Nomar, Maddux, Betemit and Lofton all turned out to be solid pick-ups for the price (though only Betemit will defeinitely return); Tomko, Hendrickson, Hall, Lugo were exactly the wrong players for this team (though Lugo sure looks like he'll continue to have a good career eslewhere).

I wonder if Colletti regrets not acquiring a better starter, for all the money and major-league ready and almost-ready talent he gave away: Sanchez, Schmoll, Navarro, Guzman, Edwin Jackson, Tiffany, Aybar, Choi (sorry), Ledee; even the Perezes (Antonio of the sub 100 batting average and Odalis of the super-6 ERA) might have been leveraged for more in return at the times they were traded.

I wonder of there are any regrets about Little's ability to run a ptching staff within a game. I think Little, as wonderful a guy as he seems to be, has proven that he cannot adjust his mindset properly to maximize his team's probability of success within game. He sure seemed to underutilize or misuse the skillsets of Saenz, Lofton (batting 2nd against a lefty?), Penny, Broxton and Saito.

Sorry this post is so long. Great work, Jon on the site. Keep hope alive. Cheers.

Jon: Fine, fine piece of work, from concept to mataphors to basic tools. One disagreement: with all potential changes, with still, to my eyes, shaky pitching top to bottom (exception Saito - league seemed not to catch up with him!), with possible flood of unpredictable youngsters, with Ned still finding his way (hope he and his "baseball people" have learned to be more cautious getting players with no proven credentials to handle big-city pennant pressure), not sure they'll be legit championship contenders next year; I still wanna see them play consistently well against the league's best before I buy in.
4: Had that same feeling that my "puncher's chance" (gotta find a better metaphor; from decent amateur as a kid, have grown to hate boxing and almost everything it represents)
was gone in that fateful, amateur-hour inning.
(Organization, manager, coach, players all share responsibility).
12: as usual, agree with almost everything, except Pads/Cards. Would like to see Dave R.
get another chance.
Greg B. I saved myself that sadness; thought this team was fun and marginal; they couldn't beat a Mets team that started Maine, Glavine and Trachsel. Keep that in mind as next year's optimism predictablt builds around here.

As is so often the case, I made a couple of posts in the dead thread before realizing there was a new one... allow me the indulgence of re-posting.

--------------

206 "5) Bills looks like a 5th starter for next year"

I'm not sure whether that's intended as a compliment or an insult to Billingsley, but I for one have significantly higher expectations for him next year than 5th starter.

208 Maybe it's the cynic in me, but I read Saito's comments all along as a ploy for more money rather than a genuine desire to return to Japan. Which is fine with me; he deserves the dough. We still will probably end up paying him significantly less than most front-line closers make.

One question I have (Bob?) is: Why was Saito so utterly dominant in MLB while his stats in Japan were fairly mediocre? I doubt the Central League is a higher caliber of baseball. Is it luck? Or maybe American unfamiliarity with his repertoire, in which case we should probably expect a significant dropoff next year? I don't know, but in any case he's a guy I hope to have around next year.

Also, the note in the Times about Beimel not being allowed to watch the game from the dugout makes me wonder whether the Dodgers will even offer him another NRI invitation in 2007, or just look around for another LOOGY who might end up having a lucky year.

As is so often the case, I made a couple of posts in the dead thread before realizing there was a new one... allow me the indulgence of re-posting.

--------------

206 "5) Bills looks like a 5th starter for next year"

I'm not sure whether that's intended as a compliment or an insult to Billingsley, but I for one have significantly higher expectations for him next year than 5th starter.

208 Maybe it's the cynic in me, but I read Saito's comments all along as a ploy for more money rather than a genuine desire to return to Japan. Which is fine with me; he deserves the dough. We still will probably end up paying him significantly less than most front-line closers make.

One question I have (Bob?) is: Why was Saito so utterly dominant in MLB while his stats in Japan were fairly mediocre? I doubt the Central League is a higher caliber of baseball. Is it luck? Or maybe American unfamiliarity with his repertoire, in which case we should probably expect a significant dropoff next year? I don't know, but in any case he's a guy I hope to have around next year.

Also, the note in the Times about Beimel not being allowed to watch the game from the dugout makes me wonder whether the Dodgers will even offer him another NRI invitation in 2007, or just look around for another LOOGY who might end up having a lucky year.

I clicked only once, I swear.

23: Nice work - share your sense of Grady.
Sorry if I'm an echo; was composing when you posted.

2 Did anyone read the NYT article on Vinny the other day and notice the hyperlink on Duke Snider's name? It took you to the homepage of a lacrosse scandal-plagued university...

24You're right, there is much to look forward to with the Los Angeles baseball club. Like I said last night, I haven't been this optomistic about the direction of the club in a long time.

Losing still hurts. But this is going to be an offseason of anticipation and excitement, which is a nice change.

28: Thanks. Glad someone else maybe feels the chill when there are shots of Grady cogitating in the dugout...

13 In our family the A's are the second favorite team (albeit a distant second), since my dad grew up in Oakland and my grandfather worked for the A's during the Joe Rudi-M.C. Hammer years. But honestly I really don't care who wins the World Series now as long as it's not the Padres.

But this is going to be an offseason of anticipation and excitement, which is a nice change

I think the post-2004 off-season met those criteria...

33 I didn't have that feeling after 2004. The farm kids were still years away, and the free agent crop was largely uninspiring. There is pitching out there this year, and a power bat or two, some marquee players can be acquired via trades, and the team has a better foundation.

The farm kids were still years away, and the free agent crop was largely uninspiring

True, but we had a GM whose entire philosophy was based on finding players who were "uninspiring" to the rest of the world, but productive nonetheless. Regardless of one's opinion of Ned, it would be hard to characterize his transactions thus far in a manner other than "Buy high, sell low." That doesn't really bode well for the future, and doesn't make me very excited about the offseason.

I meant to add: it's true that he found a few diamonds in the rough (e.g. Saito, Sele, etc.), but I didn't get the sense that Ned really knew what he was doing in those cases. They just seemed "lucky" to me. But maybe I'm wrong.

36 I can see what you're saying. But I think that Ned dealt prospects who had lost their luster in the eyes of the club (yes, he should have gotten a lot more for them, I concede that readily). He held on to the real building blocks. Since I have yet to form a concrete opinion on Ned (leaning towards negative, but open minded), what he does this offseason will say a lot.

Now go get me a Zito, you silly mustachioed GM.

I can't say I'm really troubled by the prospects he got rid of, but I certainly wasn't happy with what he got in return. I think the thing that worries me the most is that Ned appears to place a lot of weight on very recent performance, and seems a sucker for the "career year."

36:
Spending the Green for the Blue

According to the DT sidebar and mlbcontracts.blogspot.com, Colleti paid around $19 million for the srevice of Hendrickson, Hall, Lugo, Alomar, Baez, Mueller, Tomko and Ramon Martinez this year; all of whom were readily predicted at the times of their acqusitions to be superfluous or likley non-contributors.

That's Bobby Abreu and Manny Ramirez money right there. In fact that's more than the Yankees pay A-Rod each year (They pay him only $16 million, as the Rangers are on the hook for a prorated $9 million a year, according to ESPN.com)

Looking at potential acquistions, does Torii Hunter strike anyone else as a "likely" possibility?

Addendum:
To be fair, Depo (and during the GM interreignum Kim Ng) stuck the Ds with $22 million total for Gagne, Odalis Perez and Jose Cruz this year; though I don't think anyone predicted what busts those would all be. The Colletti busts were bemonaed loudly at the times of the acquisitions, as I recall.

I'm pretty sure that every team can be picked apart, player for player, and bad money can be found everywhere. Again, I'm not sold on the mustache man by any stretch, and he's made some mistakes, but there is pitching out there, there are power bats, and we have the resources to go get them.

We need a corner outfielder with pop. We need a third baseman. We need a legitimate #2 (I'm happy with four #2's, even without a true ace). If Ned can acquire those things, the Dodgers are in very good shape next season.

37 You got somethin' against mustaches?

In fact, I've noticed a definite anti-mustache bias on this site (see Kent, J.), but I've held my peace about it.

No more! Knock it off with the anti-mustache remarks! Many good men (and maybe a few women) have mustaches!

;)

In some ways, this offseason will provide a "fairer" test of Ned's abilities, given that he got a late start last year

43 Hey Hey! Ho Ho! The Mustache hatred has got to go...Hey Hey! Ho Ho!

Looking at potential acquistions, does Torii Hunter strike anyone else as a "likely" possibility?

Much rather Hunter than Juan Pierre.
Whatever you do Ned, just stay away from JP.

If the Dodgers make bad trades,bad free agent signings, and get a few injuries . This could be next years starting rotation. SP Eric Stults SP Spike Lundberg SP Kenny Rogers SP Oliver Perez SP TJ Nall

Is a Crawford for Penny deal possible?

26
I'm guessing Saito was effective in the US because of unfamiliarity and for being used for shorter periods of time.

And also not playing in a bandbox like Yokohama Municipal Stadium.

And having better defenders behind him.

Baseball America's now issued all their lists of top 20 prospects in each league, so I thought I'd do a rundown of all the Dodger players who appeared on the lists. Dodger prospects won a total of 16 places on these lists, although that includes three players who were double-mentioned and two who are no longer with the organization.

I can't help but notice that for the first time in my lifetime, the Dodgers have exactly zero top Latin American prospects in their farm system.

Pacific Coast League (AAA)
4. Chad Billingsley, RHP
5. Andy LaRoche, 3B
6. Matt Kemp, OF
12. James Loney, 1B
20. Joel Guzmán, IF/OF*

Southern League (AA)
3. Scott Elbert, LHP
4. Matt Kemp, OF
5. Andy LaRoche, 3B

Florida State League (High A)
3. Scott Elbert, LHP
9. Blake DeWitt, 2B/3B

Sally League (Low A)
None

Pioneer League (Rookie)
1. Bryan Morris, RHP
2. Josh Bell, 3B
15. Steven Johnson, RHP

Gulf Coast League (Rookie)
1. Clayton Kershaw, LHP
9. Jhonny Núñez, RHP*
11. Preston Mattingly, SS

*no longer with organization

47 You left out the partridge in the pear tree.

48 Only in my dreams. Tampa Bay can't take on the salary (I don't think), and they'd want more than Brad Penny to give up a stud like Crawford.

Penny and a pitching prospect, and pay most of Penny's salary...Maybe.

42: Point taken, but look at the Oakland and Minnesota rosters and see how much bad money there is there (not much). I would like to think it is possible for Ned to learn from this experience and to do better this offseason. If not, I fear that ned may just be the New New Sheriff in Town.

I dont think I'd considering trading anyone.
Keep all the young guys and sign Aramis, Zito, and either Edmonds/Byrnes for CF.

After the 2007 season, the Dodgers should know whether Matt Kemp can be counted on for CF, or whether they should go after Andruw Jones (who becomes a Free Agent).

But, I dont really think alot of changes need to be made. 1 big bat, and 1 big starter. Keep the youngsters. Thats what I'd do.

49
And the Midas touch

43 The main thing I have against mustaches is that I have trouble growing one. Certain people look silly with them; then again, certain people would look silly without them (see Kent, J.).

Apparently Tampa is going to show him since they have so many outfielders. Aside from Penny we do not really have any pitching that anyone would want that we can afford to trade.

Kevin Malone and Adam Morrison have mustaches. That's enough to make me anti-stache.

57
*shop him

Eric, the other day on your all-time team you said you couldn't include Koufax.

Does this have to do mostly with his career not lasting long enough at its peak? Or?

Eric, I meant 5th spot as a compliment, assuming that either maddux returns or they go get someone like Zito. Also I imagine Kuo is a possibility. I don't like much of what happened with the pitching this year, but everything but Henrickson seems understandable. Sele really helped out earlier, Tonko was OK. Kuo definitely had problems. Really, if Penny hadn't imploded at the end, the Dodger's would have been a much better team the last 3-4 weeks.

Billingsley's awesome and so is Kuo. So that adds up to yet another nice problem to have. I could almost see staying the course with those starters and taking flyers on Free agent middlemen and going out and getting Soriano or someone like that.

Arod and Andruw Jones are top two on my shopping list. Penny is the bait (along with others).

60,61 Probably a DT first. Two posts in a row from TN.

62 If Pinella gets the Yankees job, Rodriguez isn't going anywhere.

why no love for carlos lee? put him in left, and drew and ethier play the other outfield positions.

I'd rather have Soriano. Dodgers get Soriano and Zito, and I am in a very happy place.

That's not going to happen.

60 It has partly to do with the fact that his career as a great pitcher was so brief. Also, even at his peak he didn't really compare to most of the guys I listed. Koufax benefited from what might be best described as the pitching version of the Coors Field effect. He had the good fortune to spend his prime years in what was very possibly the most pitcher-friendly environment that has ever existed in MLB.

Don't get me wrong; as a fan, I revere Sandy Koufax. But as someone who interprets baseball history, I can't really put him on an all-time team.

66 unless kent retires, i think lee's the more realistic option just because soriano wants to play second. i think it's a bad idea to get soriano at second and move kent to first just because i think loney is ready.

Furcal and Crawford are a great top of the order.

Ned needs to tell the D-Rays they owe us.

68 Good point. I still believe that Soriano will play left field if the team that offers him the most money tells him to play left. We shall see. I don't know why Carlos Lee makes me nervous, but he does.

70 lee used to make me nervous, too. but check out his numbers. remarkably consistent, good average, decent on base, good numbers close-and-late, and good numbers at dodger stadium.

why do we want soriano?

Carlos Lee makes me nervous too, in a Greg Vaughn sort of way. I'm no Soriano fan, but I'd rather have him than Lee in a heartbeat.

If Oswalt is still on the block I wonder what it would take to get him. I'm a huge fan. Or maybe we could just wait until he becomes a free agent.

72 Because he hits bombs, and we like those.

We don't hit any, either. And home runs are important.

What are peoples guesses on what it would take to get A-Rod?

also, one other thing about soriano - he struck out 160 times this year and he only has 200 more hits than strikeouts in his career

Having the highest BA in baseball is cute and all, but when you need three hits for every run, it really costs you. Three runs with one swing of the bat is a lot better. And more efficient.

Plus, Greg Maddux tells me that chicks dig the long ball.

chicks do dig the long ball, but in baseball we appreciate a more well rounded approach

78 There's no better approach than hitting the ball out of the yard. That approach is pretty awesome, and it leaves a lot fewer men on base (sorry, Bob, but the LOB record has been broken).

74

oh right, of course. silly me.

well, carry on.

i was being silly, greg. probably should have added a " ;) " after comment 78

80 Are you not a Soriano fan?

75.
Brad Penny, Chad Billingsley, and maybe Broxton.

But anyway, my ideal offseason:

Matsuzaka
Lee
bullpen
sign Nomar to play 3rd

and start next season with:

Furcal
Nomar
Drew
Lee
Kent
Ethier
Loney
Martin

I'm sure Drew can play center. And keep Betemit in case Nomar gets hurt.

82

I just dont want to pay 14 mil per year for his age 31-36 seasons.

I don't like Soriano either. I just do not like his approach at the plate at all. He had a good year though no doubt.

84 Totally understandable. It's usually hard to get a true power hitter in the 27-30 peak years, so I'd be willing to take a gamble on Soriano.

I should add that this is all academic, and that we're not going to sign Soriano.

87

but we will get arod. :P

Am I the only one who thinks LaRoche should get third?

88 I wish. But Pinella and A-Rod will be making music together in New York soon enough.

90
Some NY papers are suggesting that the Yankees are going to try to get rid of him. Who knows.

His teammates started to get irritated with him, I think that is the biggest issue.

I'm going to book Torii Hunter and Jason Schmidt as Ned's most likely offseason pursuits

91 If Pinella gets the job, the Yankees will be A-Rod's and Pinella's team, and Jeter will have to sit there and deal with it.

The Yankees and their fans will have to face the reality that the rest of the world knows: That Alex Rodriguez is a better baseball player than Derek Jeter.

90

that doesnt matter. Arod is NY's scapegoat (along with torre), hes not going to be around next year.

89

Laroche tore BOTH his labrums this year and he is having surgery on one of them. I am skeptical if his health to start the 2007 season. Honestly, I am perfectly fine with Betemit playing 3b next year for us. I know some people cant stand him but i like the way he is developing and if given 500ABs next year I think he could definately hit 280/340/490 for us with 25homeruns.

92

Twins have a 12 mil or so option on hunter and a buyout of 2 mil or something. I dont think hunters going to be a FA this winter.

20 I don't think the team has a problem with Drew in center.

IIRC, when Bradley came he preferred CF. To help the team, Drew agreed to move to RF and spell Bradley occasionally. I gather he also agreed in part since RF would be less of a strain, and he wasn't 100% physically.

This year, pretty much same with Lofton. Seems like Lofton was agreeable to CF only. Which makes sense; KLo is not exactly your typical corner outfielder.

Could be playing center might spark Drew to the next level. He had a solid year but IMO is capable of more.

Hunter has no patience at all so I hope we do not get him.

95
Yeah, my booking is dependent on Hunter being a FA. I don't really see Ned trading for him, but then again such a transaction wouldn't shock me

No on Hunter. No on A-Rod. But I'd be open to Soriano. Given everything, he had a fine season in DC. And we have room for him in left. Ethier and Kemp should battle it out for CF.

Just to clarify: I'm not suggesting I want Ned to acquire Hunter, he just seems like the kind of player Ned might be interested in

D4P wants Torii Hunter to be a Dodger.

Glad I cleared that up...

I can't believe D4P wants Tori Hunter.

he just seems like the kind of player Ned might be interested in

and what type of player is that?

A payroll update on the sidebar is in progress. In progress, I tells ya.

He is not a Devil Ray though.

I heard a rumor that D4P wants Torii Hunter to be a Dodger.

Keeping in mind that Torii Hunter hit 31 jacks and OPSed .826, I am not totally averse to having Hunter in CF, if the price is right.

{Heads for the hills}

Rob Neyer mentioned on ESPNews that OPS undervalues OBP. Hunter can't get on base.

and what type of player is that?

1. 31 years old
2. Career high in HRs (31), with 98 RBI and .278 BA
3. Has stolen over 20 bases 3 times in career
4. "Looks like" a centerfielder

109 I concede that point. But a .336 OBP isn't completely terrible, and when you factor in the power, and absolute ridiculousness in CF, Hunter is a heck of a baseball player.

And if the lineup is constructed with good OBP guys, you can have a power hitter with a smaller OBP here and there.

Rumor is just premature fact, I guess.

Of course, this is all predicated on "If the price is right", and the team fills other holes with substantial upgrades. Hunter is alright in my book.

Rob Neyer mentioned on ESPNews that OPS undervalues OBP

Along those lines, I actually "did the math" the other day, regressing runs scored on BA, OBP, and SLG from the 2006 season. The coefficient for BA was not "significant." Interestingly enough, SLG had a larger standardized coefficient than did OBP...

Rumor is just premature fact, I guess

Again, we're talking about Ned here, not yours truly...

114

wow, look at d4p. Loduca lover 2004 turned sabermetrician 2006.

114 omg, seriously, i'm not trying to be mean, but you need a woman. you just crossed a seriously important line.

If only Ichiro would demand a trade.

117 A man named Danny Vermin taught me an important lesson regarding Women:

"Dames are put on this earth to weaken us, drain our energy, laugh at us when they see us naked."

117
LOL. I have a woman...But to your point, my life is consumed by trying to learn various and sundry statistical techniques for my dissertation and beyond. Throwing a few variables into a linear regression is, fortunately, within my grasp...

119
That reminds me: your 16-17 beer binge last night made me suspect that you live alone...

Man the Raiders are a joke. This is depressing.

121 No, I don't live alone, but my friends and roommates were all in on the action. One of them is a Mets fan. There was much confrontation. Words were said, anger was expressed, Pedro Martinez rotator cuff jokes were hurled.

Good times.

Jon, this flashes back to the previous thread.

As a newcomer here this year I had no way to realize the time, effort, and talent you put into DT. Please keep on, as much as time will permit. I don't think you have anything to apologize for in the least.

I enjoy your writing very much. You're very talented, have excellent insights, and write with balance and fairness. Rare indeed.

Thanks!

120 ah, i see, you are a professional dweeb ... just kidding. actually, i have a soft spot for math boys, so sweet, so innocent (small anonymous internet confessional - i once made a math boy a math man). but as a math boy, i venture to guess that you lack for romance, so don't forget to buy your lady flowers. good luck with your dissertation.

Attitude aside, could Kent possibly play third? I like that option better than signing Nomar again. Considering his probable capabilites next year, do you want to pay $8M for that? On the other hand, if we're satisfied with Drew for $11M, Nomar for $8M doesn't sound too bad...

121 Last night was the convergence of a huge day of college football, the end to a week of much work, the Dodgers on the brink of elimination, and many friends getting together to consume a varitable cornucopia of libations.

The stars were aligned, culminating in a record-setting BAC for yours truly. It's rare, but it happens.

You're a good man, D4P, if slightly obsessed with Torii Hunter.

125
Thanks for the well-wishes, but I should clarify that the math (or more accurately, "statistics") is my least favorite part of the whole process. To the extent that I qualify as "math boy," it's strictly out of necessity.

Regarding "math boy to math man": do tell...

New post up top.