Duck-Billed Catechist

Right. They have a lot more complicated angles and responsibilities on the double play than the 1b's positional equivalent, which would seem to me to be the bunt or grounder up the line.

Ok, would you rather have *generic 1b* at 2b or *generic 2b* at 1b? As long as the 2b is 6' or over, I'd take the the latter (for defensive purposes).

Would you rather have Jeff Kent playing 1b or Mo Vaughn playing 2b? Howzbout that?

Maybe for a bad shortstop or third baseman or centerfielder. But you wouldn't hide a bad first baseman at second base.

How about this: first basemen with a high OPS (say, higher than .800) are much more common than second baseman with the same. Also, players with declining defensive skills are often relegated to first base and that's often the last stop before DH. No one ever says "He's a bad fielder, let's hide him at second base."

Uh, it clearly bends facts to make them seem more similar than they are. I don't think the reader necessarily thinks "All these true things about Obama,' but rather they think "Another one of these damn Obama email forwards."

It's supposed to make the reader think it's talking about Obama, and then surprise them with Hitler at the end. They have so much in common!

It is not really intangible. Fewer games played is pretty tangible.

I have seen the mother dropped in for a feeding before.

Hitler "converted to Christianity" from...Catholicism? Uh...

Fielding percentage is a terrible measure of defensive play. Plus, Pedroia plays a tougher defensive position.

Sandberg had a better OPS from a tougher position (though basically the same OPS+ because he played in a hitter's park). Mike Schmidt actually had by far the best numbers that year, but the Phillies were .500.

Hmm, I dunno. Justin Morneau almost won it twice and he's not as good as any of those guys. Which years do you think Puckett, Gwynn, or Molitor should've won? Also, I would say most casual fans know who Hamilton (tons of media coverage last year) and Mauer are. I'm not sure who "casual fans" are, really, but it's not like sportswriters aren't going to give them consideration.

Eh http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081119/ap_on_...HkclOXuPkis0NUE

Without knowing too much about it, I'd wager that both US and Japanese automakers source a good deal of their parts from third world countries. But that's different than competing with the third world countries.

What, they don't have environmental restrictions or pay fair wages in Japan? Well, they do have universal healthcare--that's got to be the major difference. Plus, a lot of the Japanese cars are made here. The US automakers are not competing against third world countries.

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They were 4 games out of the wildcard. He had a monster season. Way better than Howard or, say, Ramirez.

Well, all of these bailout programs have winners and losers. Obviously the companies that don't get anything suffer by comparison. Additionally, a moratorium on foreclosures hurts first-time home buyers, etc. That doesn't necessarily preclude any of these steps, but I do think that aspect of it needs to be discussed. Also, it seems that most can agree that GM is very important to the US economy. However, what is the model for their recovery other than government loans? They are going to face a major reorganization one way or another. I'm not sure that their importance to the economy necessi

I do get that impression.

Question: Are a lot of NBA GMs pretty stupid? It seems like, for instance, the firing of D'Antoni and Avery Johnson have backfired. Also, those teams' respective blockbuster trades from last season seem dumb. A: The Suns are fine and you haven't been paying that much attention. Ok.

I have to make this post to remember what my avatar is. Then I'll explain it. Oh yeah. "In 1970, when he (Ed Hermann) hit a career-high .283 with 19 homers in 96 games, he spent his bench time during home games in the bullpen helping restore a 1929 Ford. After infrequent Chicago victories, he'd delight fans by riding the smoking "Big White Machine" around the park" I believe there was an elaborate horn as well.

It seems as if the biggest policy differences that Obama and Clinton had were on foreign policy. It would be odd if he picked her.

Yep.

Swisher is due for a rebound season. His BABIP was really low this year. I don't think he's a plus defender in CF though--more like average.