SageAgainstTheMachine

And they probably wouldn't mind seeing a few "soulless American !@#$s" getting pissed on. Perhaps there would be less violent death in the world if we all recognized each other, first, as human.

It's certainly a nebulous term. Franchise QB is another one.

I beat up busking guitarists and take the coins from their cases.

NOOOOOOO! After a decade, I finally forgot it and it was out of my head....

^Hotelie.

I've got a few rather knowledgeable friends who are Jets fan that insist the offensive play calling has been abysmal for the last couple seasons. It's not my own opinion because I'm no scholar of the game, but I take that for it's worth.

It's amazing how many guys are revered for their last name.

That's never brought up? I hear about that discrepancy all the time. And I think 80% and 95% are exaggerations. Pretty big European contingent in the NBA these days.

Now I know who to blame if the D-line doesn't look well assistant-coached.

Did you know there hasn't been one single Cambodian American NFL head coach?

Yeah, but they take their cut. I roll them by hand.

(to the tune of Candle in the Wind) Goodbye Richmond Rob Though we never knew your posts You had the grace to stop yourself When those around you kvetched. You crawled out of the woodwork And you told us You'd never post again, though in your heart You knew that you'd be back. And it seems to me you spend your time Like an attention seeking whore Never knowing how to log out When you pretend to leave. And I'm glad that we don't know ya, 'Cause you act just like a kid. You left Two Bills Drive long before Your legend ever came. PPP was tough The toughest board you ever read. Off the Wall was the place for your martyrdom And replies were the price you paid. And even when you left, Oh the boys still hounded you. All the posters had to say Was that Richmond Rob is a real annoying dude. And it seems to me you live your life Like an attention seeking whore. Never knowing how to log out When you pretend to leave. And I'm glad that we don't know ya, 'Cause you act just like a kid. You left Two Bills Drive long before Your legend ever came. Goodbye Richmond Rob From the posters who just never knew your name, You saw something more than Falcons When it came to talking Bills. AND IT SEEMS TO ME YOU LIVED YOUR LIFE LIKE AN ATTENTION SEEKING WHOOOORE NEVER KNOWIN HOW TO LOG OUT WHEN YA CLAIM TO LEAAAVE. (near whisper) And I'm so glad that we don't know ya, 'Cause you act just like a kid. You left Two Bills Drive long before Your legend never came.

Well somebody had to go first, nitwit.

I was lucky enough to be a young Yankees fan during the same time period and wondered about the hall of famers on those teams. Some people used to assume that Bernie, Posada and Pettitte were shoe-ins, but it's looking more and more like just Jeter and Rivera. Anyway, you're correct...The Wizard of Oz was a poor hitter as well. In fact, his OPS was .666, even worse than Vizquel's .690. His dWAR was an incredible 21.6, compared to Vizquel's 13.3. The only other edge that Ozzie has over Vizquel is a sizable difference in stolen bases (580 to 401). My overall analysis, however, is that they both belong in Cooperstown for being veritable black holes at arguably the most difficult defensive position. An oddity I found in Ozzie's stats...despite only striking out 589 times in 10,778 plate appearances, he sported a decidedly mediocre .337 on-base percentage (not bad in the baseball gen. pop. but as low as you're likely to find among non-power hitting hall of famers). http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smithoz01.shtml (if you've never been to baseball-reference, that site is like a Bible to me)

Vizquel...now there's an interesting case. SPECTACULAR defensive player. He's the Brooks Robinson of shortstops, and I really think that should be enough. Offensively...I have to disagree. A middling career batting average masks a poor OBP (.337) and a terrible slugging percentage (.353). All of it combines for a .690 OPS. That's usually bad enough to earn a ticket back to Triple A, but again, he had that magical glove. Let's compare slash lines of some of the SS's to which Vizquel will be compared... Larkin: .295/.371/.444/.815 Jeter: .313/.383/.449/.832 Wagner: .328/.391/.467/.858 Yount: .285/.342/.430/.772 Ripken: .276/.340/.447/.787 Vizquel: .272/.337/.353/.690 Those are 4 of Vizquel's contemporaries, plus the greatest SS of all time, just for good measure. As you can see, Yount is the closest comparison and even his OPS is about 80 points higher. He got to Cooperstown for breaking the 3,000 hit mark. I've never been a huge fan of the logic because 3,000 hits is a testament to longevity. Yount played for 21 seasons, Vizquel for 22. It would be difficult to NOT approach 3,000 hits. If Vizquel chooses to hobble around until he reaches the milestone, does that suddenly make him a better player? Derek Jeter could probably wax toward 4,000 if he chooses to play until 2017, but that has a better chance of stealing from his greatness than adding to it. Another stat that sabermetricians love is WAR (wins above replacement) which accounts for offense and defensive potency. So the number essentially means, how many wins did this player add or subtract from his team over the course of his career if the alternative is a hypothetical replacement level bench player. Larkin: 68.9 Jeter: 70.4 Wagner: 134.5 (and no, I don't know how they calculate this for players from the 1890's, but that is just ridiculous) Yount: 76.9 Ripken: 89.9 Vizquel: 42.3 Again, not quite in the same league, but his dWAR (defensive wins above replacement) is 13.3, higher than any of the others.

I realize there are psychological benefits to purchases, but collectors amuse me. I just worked a book auction where this decrepit atlas went for $19,000.

I think you nailed it. Hall of Very Good. Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Bernie Williams were all better. Larkin's prime occurred when fast power-hitting shortstops like Jeter, Rodriguez, Tejada and Garciaparra were entering the league so he'll probably be the last SS to get into the Hall on the basis of "Well, he had great numbers for a middle infielder." He also did a lot of the things that shouldn't matter as much as they do...played his entire career with one team, some gold gloves, won an MVP (with a .886 OPS, how freakin pathetic was 1995?).

Drop the sarcasm. This is Richmond Rob we're talking about. You should show more respect for a guy who nobody knew existed until now.

I've never seen coach, QB and city meld together as positively as Payton, Brees and New Orleans. I don't doubt that your sources are sound, but it would truly shock me to see Brees retire as anything but a Saint.

I don't blame any fan who'd rather enjoy the game from the comfort of their home, rather than pay through the nose to see it in person. $833?

Coach and the kid are dirtbags. Chubs is grinning like an idiot after every foul. Flagrant Foul #5 is just ridiculous. Pretty good way to paralyze a person.

I just can't see that happening.

Fresssshhh Fisssshhh

First rule is to befriend Morgan Freeman.