When is Florida going to finally call up Chris Coghlan? In the last 10 games, Coglan has hit .556 with 8BB and only 1K. On the season he is hitting 348/425/565 with 12/10 BB/K ratio and 9 stolen bases and only 1 caught. Scouting reports have him being plus defensively at 2B, and I think I read that he was a plus 3B in college.

Emilio Bonifacio is hurting the team as a starting 3B. He is not that great defensively and gets on base at a sub-300 clip. When will Coghlan get the call? I still think he can be a Pedroia-type player with less power and more speed.

I know a lot of members here use the DMB Simulation program for their sim leagues so I thought this would be a decent place to ask this...

It looks like DMB is going to keep us waiting before they finally tell us if they are going to release a projection disk for the 2009 season. They did the same thing last year before deciding at the last moment to release it... and it was obviously hurried (some players missing that should have been listed and some weird sim projections). For some of us who have been faithful subscribers for years now and depend on the projection disk to run their sim league this is disappointing and enfuriating.

What, if any, other plans are DMB users making this year? Our league may use the ZIPS Projections for this season, but it is lacking the same detail that DMB uses (no R/L splits). Are there any other great programs out there? What about any other projections that may be turned into a DMB Projection? Our league is looking to maybe make a permanant change instead of holding our breath every spring to see if this will be the year that DMB finally lets us down.

Being a big Joey Gathright homer (don't ask!) I am surprised to find out that I never heard about him hurdling a standing up Hideki Kuroda last year in a spring training game. And to think, people said his ability to jump over cars would never translate to the diamond. He made Felix Pie dispensable! 2009 will be a career year for Joey. Not only will his batting average be over 300, but his slugging will too.

I need to start watching Sportscenter more, I guess.

http://www.iviewtube.com/play.php?vid=172

I just finally got around to looking at the box scores from last night's games, and checking the Oakland-Seattle one got me wondering... statistically speaking, is Oakland's line-up this worst of the modern era? Or at least since the mound was lowered in the early 70s?

At the end of the game, not a single starter was hitting over 250 (Three under the Mendoza Line). Only two had OBP over 315. I mean, if the best hitter in your line-up is Jack "Quad A" Cust, your team is having issues. Are they throwing games now, seeing how quickly they can catch up to Seattle and Washington in the race for Strasburg?

I know they are playing a lot of kids so they know what they have in their system, but why does it seem so many of their touted prospects come up lately and are average or below while so many other teams have kids that come up and hit the lights out (Jay Bruce, Ryan Howard, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Chris Davis, Dan Murphy, etc). So many A's players they bring up are below replacement level right now it seems. Dan Johnson wasn't very good, Daric Barton is a no glove, no power 1B (he won't last), Carlos Gonzalez strikes out too much and only has one decent stat (doubles which won't cut it), Crosby couldn't hit for shit, Charles Thomas was a decent LF until Atlanta traded him to Oakland, Emil Brown was usually an 800 OPS guy until coming to Oakland, Sweeney is a no power/no speed OF with a decent BA and OBP.... but is nothing special.

What's in the water in Oakland?

So I was just reading how Team USA lost another game, this time to Cuba in extra innings. But one line in the article really caught my attention:

"International baseball's new extra-innings rule was used for the first time Friday. Beginning in the 11th inning, runners go to first and second and teams can start at any point in their batting order."

So now. starting in the 11th innings every team starts with runners on 1st and 2nd and with any batter they want??? What the Hell is this? Why wasn't a bigger stink made of this? I know tons of people were pissed when soccer and hockey developed shoot-outs to eliminate ties in their sports, and I think this is so much worse. This is like if you made the goalie start from behind the net in a shootout situation. This rule really hinders the defense in Olympic action now. Awful, awful rule I believe.

I have been keeping an eye on Burgess for most of the season, and eventually drafted him in my DMB Keeper league. I just noticed that he was promoted and had his first game in High A today. He went 1 for 4 with a solo HR.

My question.... do you think it was too soon? 46-136-401 BB-K-AB ratio in Low A. Very high K numbers and decent walk numbers. Will this promotion help or hinder him long term?

A friend of mine brought this up to me a couple days and it got me (and him) wondering. With Volquez being a leading Cy Young Award candidate in the NL, and Josh Hamilton being a top MVP candidate for the AL, has there ever, in the history of baseball been a pitcher traded for a hitter and both go on to win the most coveted award the next season?

I would look myself, but I know many members here are much better at finding things like this. Also, I think it could bring up some interesting discussion.

Poll

Who has a better shot at winning an award this year, Josh Hamilton for the MVP or Edison Volquez the Cy Young?

38%

Hamilton

43 votes

17%

Volquez

19 votes

10%

Both win awards

12 votes

33%

Neither will win an MVP or Cy Young

37 votes

111 votes | Poll has closed

Just saw this horrible news. He was my favorite comedian for many, many years. I still remember listening to his album "Playing With Your Head" for the first time when I was visiting my mother in Alaska. His comedy always made me think as much as it made me laugh.

He will be missed.

http://tv.msn.com/tv/celebritynews/george-carlin-dies/?GT1=7703

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) -- George Carlin, the dean of counterculture comedians whose biting insights on life and language were immortalized in his "Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV" routine, died of heart failure Sunday. He was 71.

Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John's Medical Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.

Carlin constantly pushed the envelope with his jokes, particularly with the "Seven Words" routine. When he uttered all seven at a show in Milwaukee in 1972, he was arrested for disturbing the peace.

When the words were played on a New York radio station, they resulted in a Supreme Court ruling in 1978 upholding the government's authority to sanction stations for broadcasting offensive language.

"So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of," he told The Associated Press earlier this year.

He produced 23 comedy albums, 14 HBO specials, three books, a couple of TV shows and appeared in several movies. Carlin hosted the first broadcast of "Saturday Night Live" and noted on his Web site that he was "loaded on cocaine all week long."

He won four Grammy Awards, each for best spoken comedy album, and was nominated for five Emmy awards. On Tuesday, it was announced that Carlin was being awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

When asked about the fallout from the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jackson's breast-baring "wardrobe malfunction," Carlin told the AP, "What are we, surprised?"

"There's an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body," he said. "It's reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have."

Carlin was born May 12, 1937 and grew up in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan, raised by a single mother. After dropping out of high school in the ninth grade, he joined the Air Force in 1954. He received three court-martials and numerous disciplinary punishments, according to his official Web site.

While in the Air Force he started working as an off-base disc jockey at a radio station in Shreveport, La., and after receiving a general discharge in 1957, took an announcing job at WEZE in Boston.

"Fired after three months for driving mobile news van to New York to buy pot," his Web site says.

From there he went on to a job on the night shift as a deejay at a radio station in Forth Worth, Texas. Carlin also worked variety of temporary jobs including a carnival organist and a marketing director for a peanut brittle.

In 1960, he left with a Texas radio buddy, Jack Burns, for Hollywood to pursue a nightclub career as comedy team Burns & Carlin. He left with $300, but his first break came just months later when the duo appeared on the Tonight Show with Jack Paar. r Carlin said he hoped to would emulate his childhood hero, Danny Kaye, the kindly, rubber-faced comedian who ruled over the decade that Carlin grew up in — the 1950s — with a clever but gentle humor reflective of its times.

Only problem was, it didn't work for him.

"I was doing superficial comedy entertaining people who didn't really care: Businessmen, people in nightclubs, conservative people. And I had been doing that for the better part of 10 years when it finally dawned on me that I was in the wrong place doing the wrong things for the wrong people," Carlin reflected recently as he prepared for his 14th HBO special, "It's Bad For Ya."

Carlin's first wife, Brenda, died in 1997. He is survived by wife Sally Wade; daughter Kelly Carlin McCall; son-in-law Bob McCall; brother Patrick Carlin; and sister-in-law Marlene Carlin.

 

I just read at MiLB.com that both Jeremy Hellickson and David Price are moving up to Double A Montgomery tomorrow.

Both have been absolutely dominant in Hi-A so far. I expect both to go through some growing pains (Hellickson more than Price) but I personally think they are the top two arms in the Tampa Bay system. I would rank them ahead of Davis and McGee. Am I the only one who feels that way?

Here are the season stats for all four pitchers:
Davis
Hellickson
McGee
Price

Just adding this line in case there aren't enough characters here.

Just thought I would throw this out there, maybe get some good conversation going. We are in the middle of our annual DMB Draft in my league. We are currently in the middle of the 2nd of three rounds. We've discussed expanding the draft with additional rounds, but we decided we liked it at 3 Rounds. Keeps the talent fresh and exciting because there are solid names out there every year.

30 team league with 25 man active and 25 man reserve rosters.

Eligible players include: Anyone in college or the minor leagues that is not currently on a roster, foreign players in the minors who are not in their first season in the states (for example, Villalona and Triunfel were not eligible last year, but have both been drafted this year), major leaguers who have never been on a roster before.

Older prospects many times don't get drafted because we also created a rule that states that any player 26+ years old with either 5 or more years in the minors or 2 or more in the majors are free agents.

Also, we do have Supplemental picks for teams who lose top free agents in the offseason. Teams are also allowed to trade their picks, with the only rule being that they need to keep at least one pick per year (and I think we have a max of like 7 picks per year too).

I have not drafted yet. I had pick 1.19 but traded it for picks 2.14 and 3.14. I am trying to rebuild my reserve roster after trading many of them off looking to win the past couple years. Here is what has transpired so far. Still a lot of names out there too. So far the drafts I like most are the ones by the Dodgers, Orioles, Phillies, and Astros (I planned on taking Zimmermann). Not a big fan of the Diamondbacks or Pirates drafts (both teams are in last place in their divisions and could use more immediate help).

Round	Pick	Team	Player
1	1 (1)	Oakland Athletics	Trevor Cahill
1	2 (2)	Texas Rangers	Chris Volstad
1	2 (3)	Arizona Diamondbacks	Todd Frazier
1	4 (4)	Cleveland Indians	Greg Smith
1	5 (5)	St. Louis Cardinals	Buster Posey
1	6 (6)	Kansas City Royals	Brian Matusz
1	7 (7)	Los Angeles Dodgers	Blake DeWitt
1	8 (8)	Los Angeles Dodgers	Jeremy Hellickson
1	9 (9)	Pittsburgh Pirates	Tim Beckham
1	10 (10)	Florida Marlins	John Lannan
1	11 (11)	Washington Nationals	Mat Gamel
1	12 (12)	Cleveland Indians	Jake Arrieta
1	13 (13)	Minnesota Twins	Gordon Beckham
1	14 (14)	Minnesota Twins	Yonder Alonso
1	15 (15)	Texas Rangers	Jason Heyward
1	16 (16)	Baltimore Orioles	Aaron Crow
1	17 (17)	Los Angeles Dodgers	James McDonald
1	18 (18)	San Francisco Giants	Chris Tillman
1	19 (19)	San Diego Padres	Aaron Poreda
1	20 (20)	Los Angeles Angels	Brett Cecil
1	21 (21)	Cleveland Indians	Ryan Tucker
1	22 (22)	Colorado Rockies	Tyler Robertson
1	23 (23)	Florida Marlins	Daryl Thompson
1	24 (24)	Baltimore Orioles	Stephen Strasburg
1	25 (25)	Cincinnati Reds	Madison Bumgarner
1	26 (26)	Arizona Diamondbacks	Jordan Schafer
1	27 (27)	San Francisco Giants	Wes Hodges
1	28 (28)	New York Mets	Brett Wallace
1	29 (29)	Atlanta Braves	Phillippe Aumont
1	30 (30)	Toronto Blue Jays	Jordan Walden
Sup-1	1 (31)	Kansas City Royals	Jhoulys Chacin
Sup-1	2 (32)	Philadelphia Phillies	Tim Alderson
Sup-1	3 (33)	New York Yankees	Luke Hughes
Sup-1	4 (34)	San Francisco Giants	J.P. Arencibia
Sup-1	5 (35)	Pittsburgh Pirates	David Huff
Sup-1	6 (36)	Baltimore Orioles	Angel Villalona
Sup-1	7 (37)	Washington Nationals	Jesus Flores
Sup-1	8 (38)	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	Carlos Triunfel
Sup-1	9 (39)	Houston Astros	Armando Gallaraga
Sup-1	10 (40)	Los Angeles Dodgers	Vince Mazzaro
Sup-1	11 (41)	New York Mets	Dan Cortes
Sup-1	12 (42)	Atlanta Braves	Brandon Jones
Sup-1	13 (43)	Toronto Blue Jays	Michael Saunders
2	1 (46)	Philadelphia Phillies	Neftali Feliz
2	2 (47)	Philadelphia Phillies	Nate Schierholtz
2	3 (48)	Seattle Mariners	Austin Jackson
2	4 (49)	Kansas City Royals	Eric Hosmer
2	5 (50)	Pittsburgh Pirates	Jesus Guzman
2	6 (51)	New York Yankees	Collin Balester
2	7 (52)	San Francisco Giants	James Simmons
2	8 (53)	Houston Astros	Jordan Zimmermann
2	9 (54)	Arizona Diamondbacks	Kyle Gibson

 

I have been using Firefox for over a year now, since I saw several people here preach about how great it was. And once I installed it, I agreed with them.

But my question is this: Are any of you who have updated to Firefox 3.0 having any issues with it? I installed it a few days ago and it has been giving me a lot of problems. For one, a lot of the themes and add-ons don't work on it yet. I can deal with that though. The real problem is that my browsing has slowed down to a crawl. I am on a cable connection, and it's taking me almost five minutes to load each page when I browse now. I did not have this problem with 2.0. Am I the only one having this issue? I tried to find a download for 2.0 so I could reinstall that again, but when I installed it, it wouldn't work. It would freeze up or crash every time I tried to start it, so I moved back to 3.0 since slow browsing is better than no browsing.

Anyone else having problems?

Not sure how many have read about this whole thing, but about a day and a half ago a guy who spoke with the NFL about selling steroids, and provided them with names of players he sold them to was found dead of a gunshot would in his home. His off again, on again girlfriend was dead also. Seemed a little weird at the time, read about it here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3427526

Well, not the Medical Examiner has declared this death to be a suicide (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3429424). So apparently, he shot himself TWICE. Once in the stomach, and once in the head. Now, I have never looked into suicide much, but has anyone here heard of someone shooting themselves in the stomach before taking their own life?

Am I the only one who smells a large cover-up here? Am I the only one who thinks the NFL is more than just an innocent interested party here? This needs to become a federal investigation since it involved the death of a federal witness.

Well, I was just looking at a player that someone in our league is trying to trade me, and I realized, that if you subscribe to the Age Relative to League school of thought, he may just have been the best prospect ever. Take a look:

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/R/Ricky-Romero.shtml

That's right. According to The Baseball Cube, Ricky Romero pitched 56.1 innings for Cal State Fullerton with a 3.20 ERA. Which is all fine and dandy until you realize he did it at the age of FOUR!!!! Looks like he had pretty good peripherals too. 46/18 K/BB ratio. It's just a shame it's going to take him 20 or more years to reach the majors (if ever).

So what happened to him? Why did his progress level off? He was young, but I am guessing had a good frame so was able to add some bulk and pick up some MPH on his fastball. Did he get sidetracked by a Pre-school scholarship and quit playing baseball for awhile? Maybe he had troubles in the classroom since he was so young. Maybe he just pulled a Sean Burroughs and peaked too early. Could he be a victim of Age-gate?

Oh well... guess there really is no such thing as a pitching prospect.

(And yes, I know it is a mistake on the site. Just having some fun. It's really a shame I need to add this onto my post since many year can't detect obvious sarcasm.)

OK, technically he didn't bust it... but I thought it made for a funnier headline. There's also a joke in there with an American Pie reference, but I can't think of it. I wish it said how he did it though. Again, this is from ESPN's Spring Blog:

"Cubs center fielder Felix Pie will miss the next three to five days while he recovers from an outpatient surgery to fix a twisted testicle.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the surgery is a minor one but if Pie didn't deal with this soon he was in danger of losing the testicle.

Manager Lou Piniella said that the missed time from camp shouldn't keep Pie from competing for the starting center field job. Pie currently is the favorite to start for the Cubs in center on Opening Day."

Poll

How painful does this sound on a scale of 1-10?

4%

10

7 votes

14%

10

21 votes

7%

10

10 votes

7%

10

11 votes

16%

10

23 votes

38%

10

55 votes

10%

10

15 votes

142 votes | Poll has closed

Just read this in the ESPN Spring blog:

"Steve Pearce was the Pirates' top prospect at first base -- until Monday. The position figures to be filled long-term by Adam LaRoche.

Welcome to right field, Mr. Pearce. Left field, too.

Left fielder Jason Bay and right fielder Xavier Nady are likely to be the Pirates' most-sought position players in possible trades this season.

So, now the Pirates want Pearce ready to go. That means he's now a full-time outfielder. First base, his natural position, is on hold.
-- The Associated Press"

 What do you all this of this move? Do they try harder to move Bay or Nady now? Which one do you think goes first, and is this a good move? Is there any chance they keep Bay and Nady and trade LaRoche instead?

Poll

Who gets traded first

22%

Jason Bay

33 votes

72%

Xavier Nady

107 votes

4%

Adam LaRoche

7 votes

147 votes | Poll has closed

Let me preface this by saying I do live in the Denver area, but I am not a Rockies fan. Just an interested observer.

With the signing of Hawpe to a new 3-year deal, the Rockies have signed much of their core group to contracts that overpay for their first years or arbitration, but them cheaper for their first years of free agency. Holliday, Tulowitzki, Cook, Corpas, and Francis. And apparently they might do the same with Garrett Atkins.

Now, that in itself is not enough to say the Rockies are a great run organization. But when you stop and think that every single one of those players were home grown talent brought up through the system, it helps their argument. Helton, Jimenez, Morales, and Ianetta are also players that were either drafted or signed originally by the Rockies. They don't trade a lot of their prospects for big name players, instead they turn them into major leaguers and keep them.

They seem good at grabbing players off the scap heap that most teams don't want (Kaz Matsui). They trade away players right before they go down the shitter to get other valuable pieces. Traded Cirillo to get three players, Brian Fuentes was one. And traded Jason Jennings to get Willy Tavarez and Jason Hirsch... who still may work out.

They don't have a lot of head cases and problem children on the team. Other than the Denny Neagle situation a few years ago, I can't recall another player getting into trouble with the law. And Denver is becoming a dangerous place for athletes who aren't in bed by midnight.

Now, being considered the best run organization in baseball is a subjective, unquantifiable thing. But I must say, if I were a big Rockies fan, I would absolutely love how they are building this team. And I wish my Mariners would do it the same way.

What other teams do you think can compete for the title of Best Run Organization? I am curious to see your answers and reasoning.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3266721

CHICAGO -- The chief executive officer of the Tribune Company said Wednesday he won't hesitate to sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field -- even if baseball purists don't like the idea.

During an interview on CNBC, Sam Zell said despite Wrigley Field being known worldwide, he didn't get a discount because he wasn't going to use the naming rights that the field represents.

Zell said he plans to sell the Cubs and Wrigley separately and in his own time frame. He also disclosed that Major League Baseball has approved "four or six" potential ownership groups and that any one of them would be fine.

The sale of the team has been delayed by Zell's plan to sell the team and the stadium separately, and to have a state agency acquire and renovate Wrigley.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Poll

What do you think about Wrigley changing its name?

71%

Blasphemous

56 votes

16%

Don't care

13 votes

11%

Good. I hate the Cubs and Wrigley Field.

9 votes

78 votes | Poll has closed

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2008/news/story?id=3265581

Tampa Bay Rays ace Scott Kazmir left the team's intrasquad game Tuesday without throwing a pitch after feeling discomfort in his elbow, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark is reporting.

Kazmir told told the Rays he felt discomfort in his elbow on his last warmup pitch on the practice mound.

Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn told ESPN.com that Kazmir has been sent for an MRI on Tuesday afternoon, although results might not be known until Wednesday.

Kazmir, 24, led the American League in strikeouts last season with 239. Overall, he was 13-9 with a 3.48 ERA for the last-place Rays.

Hate to post another fantasy oriented diary with so many up, so I am going to center this on Joel Zumaya... a player I am being offered. I know he had surgery on his throwing shoulder a few months back after it was injured in the California fires. What are the chances he comes back 100% mid-season this year? Does his recent injury history mean people should stay away?

My sim league:
Offered Ryan Garko and Zumaya
for Franklyn Gutierrez and Carlos Villanueva

I need a 1B so I can use Garko immediately. Villanueva I planned on being a long relief/spot starter for my team. My pitching staff is pretty full and I think I can make do without Villanueva. My OF is a little bare already with Jason Bay, Joey Gathright, Delwyn Young, and Endy Chavez being my other OFs. I had planned on signing a free agent 1B since our free agency just started this week. But if I trade for Garko I can instead use that money on an OF. All players involved have 4 or more years under team control. In a semi-rebuilding mode so I am not looking to win now.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants have signed outfielder Aaron Rowand to a free-agent contract, the Giants announced Wednesday afternoon.

Rowand, who played last year with Philadelphia, where he hit .309 last season. He signed a five-year deal.

Roward began his career with the Chicago White Sox. His 27 homers, 45 doubles and 89 RBIs were career highs last season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3152201

Not sure the amount of the deal yet, but what does everyone think of this signing? If it's for more than 9 or 10 million I think they paid too much. I don't think Rowand is worth much more than 7 or 8 million right now, even with his defense. Paying more than that and they are just paying because he had a career year.

Poll

Good signing?

19%

Yes

34 votes

80%

No

141 votes

175 votes | Poll has closed

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3142555

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Baseball players no longer would receive bonuses for winning the Most Valuable Player, Cy Young or rookie awards bestowed by the Baseball Writers' Association of America under a rule passed Wednesday.

Starting in 2013, players with such bonus clauses in their contracts will be banned from receiving votes for any BBWAA awards. Hall of Fame voting is not affected, nor are manager of the year or non-BBWAA awards such as the World Series MVP or Gold Glove.

"When we first started giving out these awards it was just to honor somebody. You got a trophy, there was no monetary reward that went with it," BBWAA secretary-treasurer Jack O'Connell said. "I honestly don't think people vote with that in mind. But the attachment of a bonus to these awards creates a perception that we're trying to make these guys rich."

The vote was 41-21 on the rule, which was brought up by The Associated Press several years ago. The BBWAA appointed a committee to discuss the rule with the commissioner's office and the players' association.

"We've been on record for the past 20 years as being opposed to bonus clauses related these awards," O'Connell said. "The idea behind this was to toughen our stance against these clauses."

Many veterans have award clauses in their contracts, some for honors bestowed by The Sporting News and Baseball America, others for postseason awards given by Major League Baseball, such as World Series MVP. Some are small -- at least relative to the multi-million salaries -- but others are worth millions.

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez earned a $1.5 million bonus for winning the AL MVP in 2007, and Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has a clause in his agreement for next year that would pay him $1 million if he receives even a single third-place vote for the Cy Young Award.

"The Schilling thing is disturbing because he doesn't even have to win," said O'Connell, noting that Schilling joked about a kickback to the voter if he collected the bonus. "That's something that none of us finds very funny."

Only a handful of players have contracts that cover 2013, when the rule would take effect. The lag time was designed to give agents and teams an opportunity to adapt to the ban.

David Schwartz, whose clients include Rudy Seanez and Josh Paul, said the rule would benefit the owners and hurt mid- or low-level players who perform better than expected.

"It seems like ownership put the writers up to this," Schwartz said. "It seems like the real beneficiaries here are owners who don't have to pay bonuses to players who've had good years. Players who have award-winning seasons ought to be rewarded for it."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Poll

Do you agree with this new rule?

64%

Yes

36 votes

25%

No

14 votes

10%

Undecided

6 votes

56 votes | Poll has closed

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=9258

The Pirate Bay, the world's largest torrent tracker has taken up a surprising new residence.  The site, which hosts over 630,000 torrents, moved aboard the domain ifpi.com, which formerly belonged to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

While many may be unfamiliar with the IFPI, its work is familiar to many. The IFPI is the parent organization of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The IFPI has been a champion of lawsuits against internet pirates, increasing the scope of copyright laws and developing DRM technologies to stop users from copying their songs or media.  Its actions have been mirrored by its lower level affiliates such as the RIAA.

Thus, the Pirate Bay's acquisition of the ihpi.com domain is seen by many as a major coup.  When users go to the site, they are redirected to a Pirate Bay site that bears the text "International Federation of Pirate Interests".  The IFPI is not happy with the move.

The domain WHOIS shows that the domain is indeed officially registered to Brokep, a Pirate Bay administrator and is not a hack.

Brokep was contacted and quoted as saying, "International Federation of Pirate Interests (IFPI) is the new international federation we're starting in order to get the word of piracy spread.  [The domain] is not a hack. Someone just gave us the domain name. We have no idea how they got it, but it's ours and we're keeping it."

The IFPI attempts to take legal action against the Pirate Bay seem to be floundering.  A leaked email between the IFPI and one of their lawyers revealed that they were requesting information from the Swedish police, who have a long-standing investigation of the Pirate Bay.  The Swedish police, according to preliminary reports, have rejected their request.

The IHPI hosts a broad array of television, music, and software torrents.

The internet piracy battle continues as the IFPI and torrent hosters such as Pirate Bay trade volleys, but for now the Pirate Bay seems to have won a handsome treasure.

Okay, Ichiro got his 1500th (and 1501st) hit tonight. My question to you all, will he make the HOF based on his American numbers?

Figure he turns 34 after this season. By the end of this season he will have somewhere around 1570 hits or so. As I see it, I think he can play to about 40 and still be a good player. A lot of his hitting is based on speed, but for some reason, I see him being able to sustain it. If he averages about 210-220 hits per season over the next six years, that should mean he ends up with over 2800 hits.

Do you think that would make him HOF Worthy? If he had spent his entire career in the MLB, it's quite possible he could have had over 4000 hits by the time he retires, and maybe make a run at Pete Rose for the all-time hits leader, alas, we'll never know though. (Spent 8 years in Japan, give him 210 hits a season in American ball, and he would have about 3100 hits already here).

And he is still one of the best defensive outfielders in all of baseball, his speed, routes, and arm are all plus or plus-plus attributes.

Poll

Should Ichiro go into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

8%

No

10 votes

91%

Yes

110 votes

120 votes | Poll has closed

I like to read the different SportsNation questions at ESPN when I visit the site, and one of the ones they have up now I thought may make an interesting conversation piece here. They narrowed it down to 8 players, and want you to list them in order of how you think they would finish in a Homerun Derby. How would you all rank them?

These are currently the results nationwide:

1. Babe Ruth
   
2. Ken Griffey Jr.
   
3. Hank Aaron
   
4. Barry Bonds
   
5. Mark McGwire
   
6. Mickey Mantle
   
7. Alex Rodriguez
   
8. Willie Mays

I went Ruth, Mantle, Griffey, Aaron, Mays, McGwire, Bonds, A-Rod. Taking 'roids out of any juiced players. I think A-Rod very well may break most HR records by the time he is done, but in a Derby, that's how I would do it. Maybe move Mays down a couple spots now that I think about it.

Poll

Who do you think will win the HR Derby this year?

13%

Justin Morneau

13 votes

5%

Matt Holliday

5 votes

5%

Alex Rios

5 votes

33%

Prince Fielder

33 votes

13%

Vlad Geurrero

13 votes

20%

Ryan Howard

20 votes

3%

Magglio Ordonez

3 votes

7%

Albert Pujols

7 votes

99 votes | Poll has closed

Just got this off ESPN. No cause of death is reported yet, but maybe soon. He was only 38 years old. Many of the deaths in baseball happen to guys that retired many, many years ago. But Beck was playing just a few years ago. Sad to see him gone.

He saved 286 games in his 13 year Major League career.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2880979

It is a mid to long article, but very interesting and enjoyable.

Jason Stark has let ESPN print an exert from his book, and in it he calls Jones the most overrated centerfielder of all-time. HE is not saying Jones is a bad player, just that the perception is greater than the reality. He gives statistical evidence about Jones' hitting and fielding, and quotes some unnamed scouts.

What does everyone else think? Is he right? Is Jones' continued myth just being perpetuated by ESPN? Bravesin07.... I would love to hear an in depth analysis about Andruw from you.

Poll

Is Andruw Jones overrated?

8%

He wouldn't be if he spelled "Andrew" correctly

9 votes

48%

Yes

49 votes

36%

No

37 votes

5%

Maybe

6 votes

0%

Only on Sundays

1 votes

102 votes | Poll has closed

Surprised no one posted this before me. But really, does this shock anyone? Not just the possibility of a threat, I also mean, if he didn't do it, with his background it becomes more likely people will accuse him of things.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2880144

The wife of Tampa Bay Devil Rays rookie outfielder Elijah Dukes filed for a restraining order against her husband and said she fears for her life, The St. Petersburg Times reported Wednesday.

NiShea Gilbert, a middle-school teacher, said that Dukes allegedly burst into her classroom at lunchtime in April. A frightened Gilbert then ran to the principal and got a deputy, who banished Dukes from the school.

Gilbert told a Florida court that Dukes threatened to kill her and sent her a photo of a handgun to her cell phone.

Gilbert played a voice mail allegedly from Dukes for the newspaper. "You dead, dawg. I ain't even [expletive]. Your kids, too."

Gilbert has filed requests for protection twice in the last month, according to the newspaper. A hearing on her latest request is scheduled for May 30.

"I just don't think I should live in fear," Gilbert told the newspaper. "When [the Rays] go out of town, I come home. When they're at home, I go stay with my mother. I shouldn't have to live like that because he's a baseball player."

When approached by the newspaper before Tuesday night's game, Dukes declined to comment on Gilbert's allegations.

"I'm just going to play ball, that's it," Dukes told the newspaper. "I've got to go. I've got a video game to finish."

Dukes is batting .231 in his first major league season with eight home runs and 13 RBIs.

I won't go into too many details here for obvious reasons, but let's just say I have a perfect copy of a DVD on my hard drive and would like to burn into into a playable DVD for my home system. The problem is, that it is a British DVD (The Office, UK version Season 1 Disk 1), so it's not the correct region. I have burned one copy of it, but it will only play on my PC, and not in my DVD player.

Is there anyway to get it to change so it burns to a Region 1 DVD. All the files for this DVD I have are the typical VOB, IFO, and BUP files. Is there something I can download and put on the DVD with the other files that will allow it to be played on my player?

Sorry for the off-topic thing here, but for some odd reason I actually trust you all to give good information. Plus, many of you are quite knowledgable about computer stuff.

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2862901

The NFL and NBA drafts have been televised for years. Now, Major League Baseball is joining the trend.

For the first time in its history, the baseball entry draft will be aired live on ESPN2. Coverage will begin on Thursday, June 7th at 2 p.m. ET from Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. The broadcast will end at 6 p.m. ET.

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said the telecast, "will give fans access to see this critical function of an organization's development. This is an idea whose time has come."

Each team's first round pick will be televised and all clubs will have a maximum of five minutes to make their selections.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will have the first selection. The San Francisco Giants will have three picks in the first round, while the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers will each have two first round choices.

The draft will have 50 rounds and will conclude after all 30 teams have passed on a selection or after the final selection of the 50th round, whichever comes first.

Apparently the Orioles announcer, Gary Thorne, said on air last night that Doug Mirabelli confessed to him a couple years ago that the "blood" on Schilling's sock was not blood at all. He said it was paint and it was all a PR stunt. Of course all the Red Sox are denying this now; Schill, Mirabelli, Francona, etc. But what do you all think? Should the sock that was sent to the HOF be tested to see if it was real blood? Do you think Thorne made something like this up? Or do you think he is telling the truth and the BoSox are just trying to cover for Schilling now?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2849747