Lammycat

No big news, but Mirabelli gets picked up to catch Wakefield again: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpag...MLB&id=2300

I agree, though I enjoyed both Fay and The Rabbit Factory more so. Brown is one of my favorites. I started his last novel, published post-humously, A Miracle of Catfish before the holidays and need to finish it. Per Brown, very well done so far.

Good for you. Enger writes uniquely and brilliantly imo. There are times reading that book where I'll just pause to re-read some magnificently constructed sentece/phrase/section. I really hope he puts out more work. He supposedly wrote under a pen name with his brother for some mystery books for a spell, but I'd love to see another novel as richly written as Peace....

Manny Ramirez should easily get in on a first ballot. I think the BBWA have spoken about their take on steroid-using HOF candidates by the lack of votes McGwire recieved.

True. True again. Which is what made me think of Dwight Evans' omission from HOF consideration with the Rice talks. Evans was arguably a comparable hitter and definitely a better fielder. He had a better overall career yet gets no mention in HOF consideration.

Playing Devil's Advocate, the last 5 seasons of Rice's career were unremarkable/poor. Just saying again....borderline case. The Mets in on Santana possibility: http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/13627791.html

Cheers to you, man

To each his own, of course, but I highly prefer both '83 and '85 to '84 and would even slip '88 into that category. Not that there weren't good/great shows in '84, but I prefer the cocaine-fueled Garcia ferocity of a lot of the '83 catalog and the experimentation with set lists and stray/rare tunes from '85. And for '88 (and '89, really) Brent was particularly on fire imo.

I've been o.k., thanks. Rice's case for/against HOF-worthiness is the epitome of "borderline." I had the pleasure to be able to watch him play growing up and he was always a thrill to watch. However, when comparing him to other hitters in and about his era, a case can easily be made for and against HOF worthiness. HOF candidates and enshrinement really shouldn't be era-based, anyway. I think bobbob mentioned Dwight Evans and I think that it's a valid point to reiterate that Dewey doesn't even get mentioned as a HOF candidate while having a better overall career than Rice had. Really. Rice

Hola. Good to see a new baseball thread up and running.

I'm not surprised Rice didn't make the cut. As much as I enjoyed watching him play, he's a borderline candidate and probably just a tad under that border line. Rice may have a better chance when it goes to the Veteran's Committee vote, though. I'm glad Gossage got in as I've always thought he deserves it.

Precisely. I'll give the man the benefit of the doubt at this point, but it may end up being another Pete Rose type deal where he just digs a deeper whole by not coming clean.

No, but I think it's possible he's convinced himself he's innocent. I'll admit I haven't read the entire Mitchell report concerning him, but it appears there's a pretty solid case made that he injected/had someone inject PHDs. He and his attorney seem to be playing games with semantics.

This is very sad and unfortunate news. My sincere condolences to her friends and family and all of you who were a close part of her life.

I thing Clemens thinks he is. And possibly his attorney.

Thanks everyone! Belatedly, of course.

I assumed this would be a thread on a new Ween tune, along the lines of "I Saw Deaner Making Sunday 'Sauce'." Is it just me or does that sauce look kind of weak?

Sorry, a lot of mediocrity in the FA market is what I meant. Even a lot of those gargantuan contracts for the top-tiered players can be considered "bargains" when looked in in relativity, though.

I'm not sure if it's the economics you should hate or the lack of quality talent. Baseball player salaries have actually increased at a pretty small rate compared to the money teams/owners have increasingly made and shared of late. It seems absurd to give mediocre players millions but you need to look at the big picture in a lot of these cases, too. Sure, Silva seems overpaid with a deal like this considering his mediocrity, yet this is what mediocre players are getting these days and it's relative to how well teams and baseball are doing. Actually, a case could be made that most players are

Any of the New Belgium Brewing beers are excellent, particularly the Mothership Wit Organic Wheat, Skinnydip, and Sunshine Wheat. I'm also a big fan of Full Sail Ale.

Carlos Silva to Mariners, 4 yr./44M. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...7&fext=.jsp Ron Mahay to K.C. probable, 2 yr./8M: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7584366...3162&ATT=49

I keep my car papers locked in a safety deposit bank in the Swiss Alps.

I'll have to check that out. I remember him from King Missile but was completely unaware of his own material. One of the coolest things I ever caught was King Missile in a tiny bar near VT college in the mid-80s and they encored with "Tuesday's Gone, " (Skynyrd) with John Hall singing while wearing a gas mask.

Y'all are just jealous.

Not a crime? Or just not in Loiusianna? So an adult can meet a teen at church and legally knock her up, eh? That doesn't seem right.