Phightins

Lmao Desean.

You sure about that? With that pitching staff you'd probably have an 8 ERA playing here.

Brett Myers has to be the closer of this team. Ryan Madson has shown time and again that his niche is the 8th inning and for whatever reason he cannot handle the 9th. But mother[expletive]er this is so frustrating. This team is 20 games over .500 WITH 16 blown saves from Lidge/Madson. How good could they be? So goddamned frustrating.

James van Riemsdyk scored 4 goals and added an assist in yesterday's rookie game vs. the Capitals.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=290808 Oh [expletive]...

Lol I was just going to say the same thing.

Wouldn't have minded the Flyers signing him, but I guess they are set on giving their young forwards a shot to play.

Yeah, well I was just going on numbers, trying not to think about steroid allegations for this particular discussion.

Didn't really think of him as a current player. Same reason Greg Maddux isn't on the list.

Oh yeah, another brain fart. Now that I think about it, there are a lot of current players who are looking like locks. When I was making my list I was trying to keep it as exclusive as possible, but lots of these guys really have numbers that are too good to ignore.

I completely skipped over Helton in my mind while making this list, my apologies. Anyway, I see both sides of the argument here. Very good numbers which will likely only improve in the next couple years, but you really need to take the park into consideration with him. I know he would have been an all-star caliber guy playing in any other city, but a hall of fame guy? It is questionable. The numbers would not be nearly what they are now. With that said, I do think he winds up in the Hall. And yeah Ichiro is in too, my bad on skipping over him.

Well they are the road team for the Winter Classic so they needed to make a white version of the orange ones. They are only wearing these one time I think.

The Neftali Feliz thread got me thinking. Which current MLB players, if they were to retire today, would be absolute locks to get to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot? I suppose a lot of this depends on how liberal each of your views on the Hall of Fame are, but I guess that's what I want to find out (I happen to be very selective). This is not a thread to predict which young super-prospects may wind up there. This is all based on how the players have performed so far in their careers. Also, try to keep steroid allegations out of the equation. I know a lot of you are against steroid users in the Hall which is fine, but lets just keep this to numbers. It will get too messy if we try to point fingers. Pitchers: Absolutely 100% locks: John Smoltz Pedro Martinez Randy Johnson Tom Glavine Mariano Rivera Well, the first three go without saying, and I see no way you can keep Tom Glavine out either, not with 305 wins. Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer of all time in a lot of people's minds (myself included). Nearly locks: (this group could probably make it should they retire today, however they are still in their primes and may need 1-2 more great years) Roy Halladay Johan Santana This is where I think we will start to have some disagreement, since some of you would probably put these guys down as absolute locks already. I think they are as close as it gets, but since they are in their primes I would like to see what they do in the next 2-3 years. But at the rate these two are going, I don't think there is any question that they will be in Cooperstown four years after they retire. Honestly that is all I can come up with right now as far as near locks go. As I said I am very selective. There are some fringe guys though. I think there are a few guys such as Chris Carpenter and Brandon Webb who are heading in the right direction if they can stay healthy, and in Webb's case possibly go to a better baseball market, but as of now the numbers are not there. And obviously the guys like Tim Lincecum, Dan Haren, and Felix Hernandez are looking promising, but there is just way too small of a sample size as of now. Position Players: Absolute Locks: Derek Jeter Alex Rodriguez Manny Ramirez Jim Thome Albert Pujols Chipper Jones Gary Sheffield Ken Griffey Jr. Vladimir Guerrero I doubt there will be much argument over these guys. I can't think of any other guys who are nearly 100% locks. Borderline: Scott Rolen Jason Giambi Jorge Posada Miguel Tejada Bobby Abreu I really think that if Rolen can put together 3 or 4 more healthy seasons, his offensive numbers might actually be close enough, and combining that with the fact that IMO he is one of the top gloves at 3B ever, I think he will have a very good shot. Giambi and Tejada will obviously have the steroid allegations surrounding them, but based on pure numbers they have a shot. Tejada still has a few years to improve on his too, in all likelihood. Posada is the ultimate fringe hall of famer. I just threw him in there because of the position he plays. I do not expect him to make it on the first ballot (if he even makes it at all) unless it is a very light year of candidates. And Abreu should be an absolute lock within the next 2-3 seasons. He is just the definition of consistency. And, as with the pitchers, there are plenty of young guys who look like they are headed in this direction (Joe Mauer, Hanley Ramirez, David Wright, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Justin Morneau, Mark Teixeira, etc), but this thread is not for predicting the future. Also, I am kind of tired and may have just flat out missed some obvious ones. So, lets see what everybody else thinks.

I am his boyfriend? HAH. Coming from the guy who thinks "sexyness" is more vital in judging a player than, say, OPS or K/BB ratio. Yeah, keep it up with the personal attacks Mr. "Model Poster". I love the irony though. You were just congratulated for being so good at "handling trolling", but apparently you are pretty good at dishing it out too. Oh, while we are on the topic, what do you think of the hall of fame chances for Fernando Martinez and Jon Niese? Because, you know, this is up for debate in so many baseball discussions right now. "Which low-20 something with barely any MLB experience has the best shot at Cooperstown?". It's the latest craze.

Pitching matchups for Mets series: Tonight: Cole Hamels vs. Nelson Figureoa Tomorrow: Jamie Moyer vs. Mike Pelfrey Sunday Game 1: Kyle Kendrick vs. John Maine Sunday Game 2: Pedro Martinez vs. Tim Redding Apparently Andrew Carpenter was called up today, so maybe there is a chance he pitches the first game of Sunday's doubleheader instead of Kendrick. Who knows. Also, Scott Eyre is going to receive a cortisone shot in his elbow and will attempt to pitch the rest of the season in pain.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g96/philsphan1210/29127245.jpg Winter classic jersey unveiled today. They are okay I guess, pretty much the same style as the orange ones except inverted.

Well, I still think he is very overrated defensively, but there are very few guys (if any) that I'd rather have hitting 1 or 2 in my lineup.

Well, unless you add in penalty minutes (which is stupid), there are not many things to consider when drafting a fantasy hockey team. Who puts the most points on the board? That is the only question that needs to be answered. In baseball, you need a decent combo of hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, etc. In basketball, you need guys who get a lot of rebounds, guys who shoot the 3 well, etc. In fantasy hockey it's basically all about scoring. +/- I guess adds a decent element to fantasy hockey, but that is such a team dependent stat so I don't even know if that belongs in the fantasy game. Like I said I am down for it, I just find it way more boring than the other games.

I used to think he was the most overrated player in baseball, but the fact that he does this year in and year out is just astounding. He is not even close to done yet, either.

Fantasy hockey is IMO the 2nd worst fantasy sport, but it's still something cool to do on the side I guess. There really is nothing tricky about it, no strategy. Just pick up the best available goalies and the guys who score the most points, lol, defensemen too

Well clearly if he puts up Pedro Martinez Expos-Red Sox numbers, he will be in the hall of fame. But what is the point of even discussing this now? This has applied to so many other "can't miss" prospects over the years, very few of whom have turned out exactly as planned. Neftali Feliz may be different, who knows, and if he is then we can start discussing his hall of fame credentials in 6 or 7 years. Having the talent to perform at the Major League level, and actually doing it against Major League hitters once the book is out on you and guys have faced you a couple times are two very different things.

I don't feel like getting suspended again, especially not over you, but seriously grow up. I got your point the first time you made it, I simply find the concept ridiculous (the concept of even thinking about hall of fame credentials for this guy, that is). Anyway, we have all seen Feliz pitch (well ECN and I at least, I'm sure Waldo and some others as well), and I think it's safe to say that everybody expects huge things out of him, but it is impossible to know. So it's not like I am undervaluing him or anything. I mean Christ, his changeup is 91 mph, and it's a damn good one. That says more than enough about the guy's talent. But it just doesn't work like that. There are only a handful of active players who should be mentioned in hall of fame discussions, and a 21 year old who has been in the league for a month is certainly not one of them. As I said, no matter how good he may look now, it's a whole new ballgame when you have to face guys the second time around. I don't know how long Texas plans on leaving him in the bullpen, but if/when they take the Joba approach and try to work him into the rotation, he will be challenged far more than he has to this point. Facing a lineup twice, three times around in one game is a whole different animal. Anyway, while we are at it, I guess we should start evaluating the hall of fame odds for Blake Griffin or Matt Stafford too, huh?

Phillies or Flyers beat writer for one of the local papers.

As I said, it all depends on the individual. I know some people who have smoked 3 times a day for years and you wouldn't know the difference, they act completely normal. I know others who sound like the person you described. By the same token (lol no pun intended..just noticed this), I know some people who have allowed weed to be a stepping stone to harder drugs, but I know far more who are mature about it and don't cave in to that peer pressure.

With regards to the question you posed, it all depends on the individual. I'd say that the people who smoke weed to be "cool" are more likely to try other drugs than the people who smoke it occasionally to relax, or just to experiment. Those who do it to be cool or impress people are victims of peer pressure and let the bad crowd get ahold of them. That is more than likely what leads to trying harder stuff. The marijuana itself really does not mess you up. I know this is hard to prove with statistics, so all I can say is trust me from experience.