Sports? I'm down. I'll start...

Mike Redmond=great addition. Seriously. I'm surprised that Florida let him go, but understand with Loduca still under contract for 2 years. I just don't know why they didn't release Castro. Redmond will be solid in the backup role, if Mauer is healthy. I assume he will be, but ya never know. If Redmond starts, prepare to see some good numbers, especially against lefties. He annihilated Glavine on a daily basis, even when Glavine was still an elite pitcher. On a side note, glad to see Redmond leave because he had a penchant for kicking butt against Atlanta. Redmond is far better than Blanco. And i'd like to think that his numbers will be pretty sweet at the dome.

I do NOT understand the Juan Castro signing. $2 million/2 years? For a 32 year old backup? He is a little past the "late bloomer" status. I'd plug Bartlett in there. I'm a little more than surprised that Pokey Reese wasn't acquired. He would have been cheap, although his bat is suspect. Still, he is a very gifted defender and wouldn't look so bad in the 9 hole.

That's all i have for now. I need not ramble more...

Hmmm...so i guess Glavine is the only pitcher Redmond hits well. His numbers against lefties last year left much to be desired. Nevermind.

Still, i think he will be a good one for the Twinks.

Ryan, as long as I was at the dome, Henry Blanco was a killer. I have seen him get a freaking triple, ok? I am the founder of the Henry Blanco fan club.
Bartlett is NOT GOOD. Bartlett has some sort of vision problem, he thinks Justin Credible is 7 feet tall. All his throws to first base were way off base. I think he'd crap himself if he had to turn a DP. And then throw the ball to the bullpen catcher.
I'm soooooooooooo excited to see Justin hit 40 HRs this year and Jason Kubel should be kicking some major ass. Jones needs to go so we have room for Jason, and Lewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. That is, if Lew is not too busy playing Doom.
Signing Pokey would have been great, Guzman's bat could be suspect at times. But we signed Castro because, deep down, Pohlad is a commie.

Kate, I don't know if you would like Anal Blast. I mean, not only are they totally ridiculous and disgusting, but they are fronted by... well I can't even begin to explain Decker.

I think talking about sports is much better than talking about A:pod anyway. And this IS "Everything Else," so you can cram it with walnuts, cracker!

Correct me if i am wrong, but i doubt Kubel will be in the Twins plans in 2005 due to his knee injury. Word is that he will miss the entire season. I don't know if anything has been reported since late October, but that was the latest i heard.

Blanco is a killer, all right. Rally killer, that is. .206 average? .260 OBP? The guy is NOT good. Defensively, there aren't much better in the game at cutting down the running game.

Redmond on the other hand, is a career .286 hitter and was BETTER than Blanco behind the plate. Runners stole more bases on him, but his fielding percentage was better and he didn't allow a passed ball. In the long run, Redmond will give you similar defensive stats and WAY more run production. And that is crucial with the uncertainty of Mauer. Plus, Redmond can give you an emergency 1B and 3B in a pickle.

Of course, i'm not sure if you were being sarcastic about Blanco, so...i really hope so.

And Justin is going to be a good player to watch next year. Finally a legit 4 hitter.

Aight, so I split off the sports from the previous thread to both satisfy Jon and Brian, and to do my duties as a moderator.

Don't like it? Tough shit!

Y'all know I'm down with taking baseball all the time, but hijacking threads ain't cool, so now we have our own thread that Brian & Jon can ignore.

Now on to sports.

While Blanco's batting skills may not be the best, nobody and I mean NOBODY calls a better game than Blanco. If Mauer was healthy all season then Johan would not have won the Cy Young. I think they should have held on to Blanco as Johan's personal catcher, they could have kept him for less than they got Redman for.

Castro was not signed to be backup, like it or not he will be the starting shortstop come April. If he is come October will depend on a number of "what ifs." Pesonally, I think they could have got someone better than both him and Pokey, but I'm not the GM. As far as Bartlett goes, NOT THIS YEAR, maybe next but the guy seriously needs more seasoning. Bartlett is a better hitter, but his fielding is subpar, and this is obviously a defensive team.

Ryan, what do you think of the Giants signing Vizquel? I believe they are attempting to be the oldest team in the league. Pretty soon they're going to trade for Bob Melvin and Brett Butler from the D-backs, and pull them out of retirement. Who know's maybe their annoucing team of Mike Krukow & Duane Kuiper will suit up again, or wait Roger Craig's still alive isn't he? Give him a uniform and put him in the pen, he can't be worse than who they had last season.

See now we're treading into rough territory. You want to sign a catcher JUST to be Johan's personal receiver? Hank WAS NOT the best at calling a game. In fact, his starter ERA was 4.25 and that was WITH Johan's ERA factored in there. He ranked damn near the middle of the pack in that category. And that is if you believe Hank actually called the game without the guidance of Gardenhire. In this day and age, many of the catchers are given their signs from the dugout. We will never know who those catchers are, unfortunately.

Yes, Redmond is a little more expensive, but he is far more capable of making a difference than Blanco. Redmond will give you just as good defense and MUCH more in offense. Keep in mind that Redmond is not a slouch when it comes to catching good pitchers. And McKeon was known to call games, even with Pudge behind the plate. I think Redmond IS the better deal.

Vizquel is a crap shoot. I think their starters will benefit from him at SS, IF he is healthy. It isn't nearly as bad as the starting infield Texas had a few years back with Caminiti, Palmeiro and Velarde. Arod was the only guy under 36. Yuk.

But, i think San Fran is 1 outfielder away from getting back into contention. They need their closer figured out though. Is Nen back next year?

Man, I hate when people call someone named HENRY hank!

I seriously doubt Gardy calls the games, and there have been many cathcers over the years who have been signed pretty much to be personal catchers, Doub Mirabelli comes to mind. I don't think we can hold Blanco responsible for the fact that Kyle Loss is a shitty pitcher and is most likely responsible for most of that 4.25 ERA.

I like the idea of Vizquel, but i'm not sure they should have signed him to a 3 yr deal was smart, but again i'm not a GM.

I agree the Giants are 1 Steve Finley away from a playoff run, and of course an ENTIRE bullpen. No Robb Nen is DONE thank god, his contract is up and I beleive his carrer is over. Unfortunately, barring siging a closer in the off season it appears our closer is going to be (hangs head) Dustin Hermanson. Yes the same guy who blew any possibly of the Giants going to the post season last year.

Yeah, i hate it too. My uncle is named Paul, but for some reason people call him Hank. Why? I dunno. Either way, it is pretty retarded. I call Henry "Hank" due to my disrespect for him. Hey, he was traded for Wes Helms. I miss having Helms on the bench, filling in at third and first when needed. Plus, he had some power.

I just don't believe in personal catchers. How much further could the Braves have gone with Javy Lopez catching Maddux, instead of Paul Bako, Eddie Perez, Fernando Lunar or Henry Blanco? I do think that Henry had a better communication level with Johan than most catchers would have had, so i gotta give him that. But we'll never know who actually calls the games...

Finley would be a good addition. He has a couple good years left. SF is more in that "win now" phase, so i gotta think that this year is pretty darn critical that they get their shit together. Hermanson is NOT the answer as a closer. I see them picking up Urbina and he could be alright. Grab Steve Kline and you're set.

Finley is the big "rumor" floating around SF, and I do believe that the aquisition of Finley would give them the oldest outfield in baseball.

Dude, no one believes that Hermanson is not the answer more than me. I didn't think he was the answer last year. After blowing the playoffs for the Giants I was ready to lynch him and Cody Ransom who thankfully no longer wears black and orange.

What'd they do with Ransom? Seems to me that he is still on the 40 man...

Yeah, i am pretty sure that Finley will end up in SF. LA is "ho-hum" about the whole thing, San Diego can't afford him, he doesn't want to go back to AZ either. Anaheim is the only other place i could see him. And i don't know where they'd play him/who they'd move. I suppose with Guillen gone, there is an opening...

So much to comment on...

First of all, I don't WANT Brian and Jon to ignore this! I want to annoy them!

I forgot about J. Kubel's knee injury. That is such a bummer! He is going to be an amazing player. Hopefully he will not be as fucked up as Chairman Mauer, and will rehab more quickly. I wonder how Terry Tiffee is doing.

As for Henry Blanco, I was not joking. Every time I went to the dome, he got a fucking homerun and went 3 for 4 or some shit. He hit a homerun in the playoff game I went to. I was so pumped I headbutted AJ so hard we both screamed. I guess I should go to games more often... And if Henry was anyone's personal catcher, it was Joe Nathan. Also, Henry is Venezuelan, and so were Johan and Carlos Silva, so the communication between them was better. And as AJ already said, Kyle Lohse had an awful year, it's not Henry's fault.

AJ, Bartlett is a better hitter than whom? You? My grandmother?

The Twins need to sign B-Rad and cut Joe Mays.

Oh, and you can call me Hank.

Technically Ransom is still on the 40-man roster, but I seriously doubt he'll make the team, he's been tyring to make the team for 4 years and hasn't yet played in 100 games. The Vizquel signing I think marks the end for him, plus in the next season or 2 I see Dallamore as the future backup infielder.

The Twins would be stupid not to resign Bradke, and I definetely don't think Terry Ryan is stupid. Joe Mays will be the 5th starter this year, unless he doesn't recover from Tommy John surgery.

Or unless I kill him...

Oh my. I forgot about Joe Mays. Even if he is healthy, they need to let him go.

As much as i hate to admit it, resigning Radke should be a top priority. Otherwise, the rotation lacks that veteran leadership. I just don't think he is a $10 million pitcher anymore. Actually, i never did, but that is besides the point. I do believe Cleveland will make a good run at him, as well as (get this) Tampa Bay.

There is an interesting problem in Atlanta: Smoltz returning to the rotation. That may a good or bad thing. He claims his arm would not tire as much in a starting role, but he hasn't started since 2001 and wasn't very good either. If he DOES start, that kicks in an incentive clause of $100K per start, making his salary (if he makes 30 starts) some $15 million. Ouch. But, if he succeeds, that gives Atlanta the ace it has needed for a few years.

But then who closes? Reitsma? I'd hope that snipers were there ready for action. Juan Cruz? He'll hit the beer vendor...in the upper deck. Antonia Alfonseca (if he's resigned)? Ugh. Not many good options out there.