Quincy

It really is heavily left-handed, though that can be fixed in 2012 if they feel the need (or earlier than that I suppose). One thing I noticed about Crawford's splits is that for the past few years he doesn't steal vs. LHP at all. When he was younger he stole no matter which arm was on the mound. So I'm not sure if this because a) lefty samples are small b) despite more experience he now can't read lefty pitchers (?!) - this doesn't make sense c) don't slice & dice numbers stat-boy. It could be as simple as as the Rays became a better team men were on base more often, thus SB opportunities didn't happen as often (also he batted 3rd some last year). I dunno. Because lefty samples are small it's often advised to look at the past 2 years combined (and keep rolling them as you look back - this is also true of RISP btw). Gonzalez has a .440 lifetime slugging average vs. lefties and when you consider where he played that's alright so it's not like he's helpless. Crawford's numbers look better if you toss the 1st 2 years out when he was so young. Crawford is an exciting sign for the next 3-4 years, after that you have wonder how he'll age. Tim Raines had a lot of value as an older player as he got on a lot. Crawford hasn't shown that degree of discipline.

It really is too much sometimes. You might want to get a neck brace for the next week or 2 so you don't get whiplash.

Some pretty cool overlays showing how Adrian's PETCO fly outs become HRs in Fenway.

Your 2nd linked article begins " Baseball fans love to blame players' multi-million dollar salaries for rising ticket prices. They're wrong."

You're right, it has nothing to do with a more AT&T being a modern ballpark on pricier real estate and certainly not a cotton-picking thing to do with there being a higher demand for Giant games over A's. (I've been to the Oakland Coliseum btw, but not AT&T). The A's have long had attendance problems even during the days of the Mustache Gang, hence one reason for there being lower prices. But I'm not continuing on with discussing economics as the disastrous steroid thread amply illustrated your difficulty with math & logic, and I have no desire for turning this thread into that. IT'S ALL BARRY ZITO'S FAULT!

Me too. I don't have the time right now, but thanks to TTK (and others) for providing suggestions.

Thanks! I had just visited a couple of days ago and discovered I had $0.01 in credits from past promotions. Kinda hard to get a mp3 for a penny.

As it involves sports and thus is more likely to keep the attention of young minds compared to other examples sports salaries & ticket prices are included in entry level economics since it touches upon so many fundamental concepts. In fact you could probably walk down the hall and visit your own school's class and catch it being covered on the right day. A basic university lesson plan.

You're blaming the players for the high price of parking? Although they're well compensated I wasn't aware they were in charge of that. The salaries the players are paid does not cause high prices. It's the ticket prices that lead to higher salaries. Google around, there are loads of economic studies about this.

Your team wins, getting married....pretty good week. Congrats!

It's not good for that. I picked up Molly O'Neill's latest cookbook as a gift. Better price than Amazon.

Oh yes! I bought to the Jazz Icons box to get the bonus Sonny Rollins material. But it was the bonus Nina Simone that blew me away. Man!, it's something else!

The engine does, especially if you run it too long trying to haul something it wasn't designed to haul.

In 1931, when Babe Ruth was 36 years old, the same age as Jeter, he hit 46 home runs, had 163 RBIs and batted .373. The Yankees rewarded him by cutting his salary from $80,000 to $75,000 for the 1932 season. That year, as a 37-year-old, Ruth's numbers slipped to 41 homers, 137 RBIs and a .341 batting average, so they cut him to $52,000 for 1933. In 1933, the 38-year-old Ruth was clearly finished: a mere 34 homers, 103 RBIs, .301 batting average. Numbers that Jeter would have killed to have as a 24 or a 36-year-old. In 1934, his last year with the Yankees, Ruth hit 22 home runs, had 84 RIB's and batted .288. His salary was $32,500. Good stuff! Just for fun I hit the U.S. inflation calculator. Because of deflation Ruth actually got a raise with his first pay cut (those were especially tough times) but still, it always is an eye opener how hardball salary negotiations could be with upper echelon of Hall Of Famers. Here's Ruth's salary translated into 2010 dollars. 1931 - $1,151,111 1932 - $1,197,323 1933 - $874,844 1934 - $530,456

Saskatchewan 35.

These pitcher contract demands with the extra year (or 2 or 3) remind me of box set purchase considerations. "Oh man, I really want discs 1-3 as it's killa, but 4 peters out and 5 is garbage." (This example doesn't work with all boxes as sometimes disc 1 is the culprit. ) Glad to hear Pettitte is leaning towards coming back. I'm just so used to seeing him in October it'd be too weird to contemplate having fall without him.

This is not a complete solution but I would recommend Dropbox as well for certain files or photos. It's much easier and faster than emailing certain things to a Gmail account (which is another way people sometimes back stuff up). Dropbox has different uses as there are private & public portions. The public can be useful if you're trying to share music or a video clip with someone(s) as those files are typically too large to email. The private can be yet another safe spot for whatever your needs are, such as a folder with pictures of your worldly possessions for insurance purposes in case of fire.

I could of told you that the Sox were not interested in resigning Martinez. He reminds of Gene Tenace in that while technically he can catch you're better off if you only let him do that 40-80 games, and more the lower end than the higher the older he gets. The Red Sox have Youk & Ortiz at 1st and DH so better to let Martinez go and spend the money elsewhere. Not sure if Theo or any GM is preaching the joys of cheap defense this season as after last season the M's probably have destroyed that a trendy catchphrase, but Martinez didn't fit that profile either. Of course if Youk or Ortiz are hurt much of next year it'll provide a lot of "told you so" ammo from bloggers, members of "the Nation" etc.

Very sorry to hear to hear this. Thanks for sharing the tributes.

I heard there are loads of counterfeits too which tend to be priced on the low side.

Sports Illustrated was associated with a few different games. I had Superstar Baseball (which is pictured amongst the others) with the 96 greatest players. Another edition added 4 more players (I remember Dick Allen was one of the players added - I was jealous). The card was wrong for Jackie Robinson so he could only hit about .240. Later an Avalon Hill game magazine provided a proper card and small set of more modern players (Catfish, Schmidt, etc.) was sold too. I still recall that there was an 8.33% chance of rolling a 34 or 35 and some of the other combinations. I later got Statis Pro because of the Avalon HIll connection. Then Earl Weaver for the Amiga...

Considering that Koufax & Gibson faced Aaron and Mays I don't see why you're making a such a big deal about Jackson. I loved watching Reggie, but as the all-time strikeout leader it's not like he was in the class of Aaron or Mays.

You've probably consulted it but if not, a reminder that jazzdiscography.com Joe Henderson entry is extensive and lists private recordings.

It's not a battery if they're on opposing teams. But the last time a pitcher & catcher won ROYs might have been in '72 when Matlack of the Mets and Fisk of the Red Sox won. There may be others. As far as both ROYs making it to the World Series, I started at the bottom of the list and found a pair fairly quickly. 1951. Willie Mays & Gil McDougald. Also '81 - Fernando & Rags (current Giants pitching coach). There might be more.

Wishing you a great day.