SB Nation User Blog: gwood

This music video was posted in the game recap for the Best Comeback Ever (except maybe for '89) and...

gwood — Sat, 31 May 2008 14:11:19 -0000

This music video was posted in the game recap for the Best Comeback Ever (except maybe for '89) and I thought everyone should watch it.

The Best Game Ever's Post-Game Thread

gwood — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:27:51 -0000

Wow what a game, can't even put it into words, but since I need words . . . best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever best game ever

Why do you love baseball?

gwood — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:33:23 -0000

The Rick O'Dell link that Al posted in today's thread got me to thinking, why do I love baseball so much? It also made me curious to hear why other people love the national past time and are as passionate about it as those on this site are.

It is hard to articulate why I love baseball so much. I love baseball because to me, baseball is a feeling, its an emotion more than anything. To me, baseball is an experience. Unlike football and many other sports, baseball is comforting. It's not violent or dominated by trash talk and people trying to "show others up." Understanding, analyzing, and thinking about the game as it proceeds makes it more enjoyable to watch and experience.

Watching baseball, thinking about baseball, talking about baseball makes me happy (despite the feelings I get whenever the Cubs lose). Baseball means that spring and warmer weather are around the corner. Most of all, baseball means being able to go to Wrigley Field and watch the Cubs play with thousands of other people equally as passionate about the sport. Being a Cubs fan makes a difference because people love this team, they don't leave the stadium even though the Cubs are down three going into the bottom of the ninth. There is a sense of camaraderie surrounding this team. Hearing 40,000+ people all standing on their feet cheering and chanting "Fu-ku-do-me" gave me goosebumps as well and reminded me how much I love this game.

Why do you love baseball?

Murton Trade Possibilities

gwood — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:23:28 -0000

This was posted over at mlbtraderumors.com and I thought it would provide some nice discussion, especially for those who really want to see Murton get the MLB job that he deserves . . .

26 year-old Cubs outfielder Matt Murton is very much available now that they've signed Reed Johnson. PECOTA gives Murton a .295/.359/.462 projection for '08; ZiPS says .289/.360/.465. Here are the league averages from 2007:

AL left fielder: .275/.335/.426
NL left fielder: .278/.358/.478

AL right fielder: .288/.359/.465
NL right fielder: .275/.344/.442

These numbers are presented in the form of batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage. You can see that Murton is comfortably in the league average offensive range for a corner outfielder. He'll be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season. Let's look at some trade possibilities. (As for what the Cubs would want in return - I'll guess a lefty reliever or just a prospect or two).

Rays - DRays Bay suggests Murton could help in right field, not a bad idea.

Padres - The Justin Huber acquisition makes this less likely.

Rangers - They rejected a Murton for Marlon Byrd proposal, and now the Cubs don't need Byrd.

Orioles - He was connected to them until they acquired Luke Scott and Adam Jones to fill out their outfield.

Red Sox - The Cubs no longer have a need for Coco Crisp, even if the Sox had mild interest in re-acquiring The Big Murt. Murton wouldn't start in Boston anyway. Still, Buster Olney says there's still some chatter that the Red Sox will go after him.

Athletics - Some folks think Billy Beane will pluck Murton simply because he's underrated. The A's don't seem to have any kind of opening for him.

Braves - Murton doesn't project as much of an upgrade over Matt Diaz.

Mets - Could make sense for a team thinking about running Fernando Tatis out in left. Longer-term, Murton could be an oft-used fourth outfielder, spelling Moises Alou and Ryan Church.

Giants - Would be a nice low-pressure place to see what Murton can do, but they're already loaded with outfielders.

What are your thoughts on a good fit for Murton?

This is the link for the post as there are some interesting comments too:

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/03/who-wants-matt.html#comments

Discuss