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Results tagged ' Max Scherzer '
Decision of Yoenis Cespedes Could Decide the NL East
After watching the majority of above average outfield free agents get plucked off the market over the course of this offseason (the most recent case being Justin Upton, who agreed to a six-year, 132.75 million dollar contract with the Tigers), Yoenis Cespedes is currently in the process of determining his fate for the 2016 season and beyond.
Reportedly, the two teams most in the running to nab Cespedes are the New York Mets and the division rival Washington Nationals (though the Yankees have been mentioned as well).
As with every team around baseball, either team would be a better version of itself with Cespedes as part of their everyday lineup in 2016, but in this case I think the choice could wind up being more important than usual. With the Mets and Nationals going back and forth in the division last season, all the way until the latter part of the year, I truly believe that the team that gets Cespedes will be the team that holds the advantage to win the National League East division.
Back on July 31st of last year, the National held a two game lead over the Mets and were seemingly on their way to the postseason as had been expected from Opening Day. But a trade for Yoenis Cespedes by the Mets ultimately gave them what they needed to surpass the Nationals and never look back.
In 57 games with the Mets, Cespedes blasted 17 home runs and drove in 44 runs, all while hitting a cool .287. With Cespedes leading the way, New York wound up taking what was supposed to be an easy division win by the Nats and turning it a complete 180 degrees into a cakewalk division win by the Mets — an outcome that truly stunned many around the baseball world.
Sure, the Mets had a lot go right last season, and the Nationals had almost everything go wrong, but you can't deny the impact that the lone presence of Cespedes brought to the Mets.
With the Phillies still seemingly lost heading into 2016, the Braves working on rebuilding their club and the Marlins being much improved but still likely a third place team at best, the division will inevitably go to either the Nationals or the Mets.
On paper, the two teams are quite even. While I would give the edge to the Mets in terms of pitching staff (with guys like Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard), I would declare the Nationals the better lineup, with tons of pop including the 2015 National League Most Valuable Player, Bryce Harper, who hit 42 home runs and batted .330 a year ago. The difference maker, in my mind, for both teams comes down to one free agent: Yoenis Cespedes.
With the National League East division set to be just as competitive as ever between the Mets and the Nationals, whoever can win the Cespedes sweepstakes (given the reports are correct, and he does end up with one of the two) will hold the upper hand heading into 2016 to win the division. As history has shown since the introduction of the second wild card in 2012, winning the division is extremely important in securing a long playoff run in October.
Max Scherzer Pitching Like It's 1938
The only time in baseball history that a pitcher has ever thrown back-to-back no-hitters was in 1938, when Johnny Vander Meer did so for the Reds.
But with Max Scherzer coming off of a no-hitter in his last start, in which he was one plunked batter in the ninth away from a perfect game, many people began to wonder if Scherzer could become the second pitcher to accomplish the amazing feat.
Going up against a subpar Phillies roster, Scherzer appeared to have everything going in his favor, having allowed a mere one hit — a bloop single back on June 14th that kept him from a no-hitter then — over his last 18 innings pitched.
As predicted, Scherzer was dominant to start the game, carrying a perfect game through five full innings for the third straight start, helping to extend his hitless innings streak to an amazing 16 innings.
But it wasn't meant to be, as Freddy Galvis of the Phillies rocketed a double down the line in the sixth innings to stop Scherzer's bid at history. Even so, Scherzer didn't let the hit shake him that much, as although he would allow four more hits in the game, as well as two runs — ending the National's starters streak of 48 innings without an earned run — he still picked up his third straight start with a win, giving him 100 career victories altogether.
Not a bad night at all.
With his terrific string of starts as of late — six hits and two runs over his last 26 innings pitched — Max Scherzer now sits with a 9-5 record and a 1.79 ERA on the year. If he can keep pitching the way he has been lately, the Cy Young award is nearly a lock.
Nationals Lock Up Scherzer; World Series to Follow?
Patience is a virtue — especially in baseball.
Max Scherzer proved that on Wednesday afternoon by officially inking a seven-year, 210 million dollar contract with the Nationals that's set to keep him in D.C. through the 2021 season. Coming after Scherzer took the gamble of turning down a six-year, 144 million dollar offer from the Tigers last year, waiting things out until free agency, and betting on his abilities, paid off extremely well for him, with Scherzer netting a total of 66 million extra dollars.
But the money is well deserved, as Scherzer has quickly become one of the most feared pitchers in baseball. While Scherzer didn't start off his career with fantastic pitching performances — posting a 4.43 ERA over 33 starts with the Tigers in 2011 — over the past two seasons he's been one of the best. Going a combined 39-8 with a 3.04 ERA between 2013 and 2014, it's no mystery why the Nationals wanted Scherzer so badly.
Heading to D.C. after five years in Detroit, Scherzer's mega contract sits second all-time in amount given out to a pitcher, behind only Clayton Kershaw's 215 million dollar deal with the Dodgers. (Kershaw, however, is in a class all his own.)
Choosing to receive his contract over the next 14 years, coming out to 15 million a year, the structure of Scherzer's contract allows the Nats to use the money saved per season to lock up other talented players around him, making this an even better deal in the end.
With Scherzer joining a rotation that already consisted of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister, the Nationals now have one of the best — if not THE best — rotations in baseball. (The Nationals also have a couple promising pitching prospects in A.J. Cole and Lucas Giolito in the minors who will be making major impacts over the coming years, so they will have additional pitching options for years to come.)
Although their bullpen could use some work after the loss of closer Rafael Soriano — there's still plenty of time to improve that aspect of the team — the Nationals' lineup is equally as talented as their pitching staff. From Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon to Jayson Werth and Denard Span, along with a hopefully healthy Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper, the Nationals are going to score a lot of runs.
With the Nats likely setting themselves up to produce runs night after night, and a rotation filled with pitchers capable of giving up a few mere runs a game, the Nationals have a nice combination that should lead them to a ton of wins in 2015.
After going 96-66 last year — good enough to earn Nats' skipper, Matt Williams, the National League Manager of the Year award — there is truly no reason they couldn't post a 100-win season this year. If that happens, it will make them the first team since the Phillies in 2011 to win 100+ games in a season.
And therefore, after winning the National League East division by a staggering 17 games a year ago, the Nationals could be looking at the same type of dominance in the foreseeable future. The Braves, who finished in second place for 2014, are in the process of rebuilding and currently seem to be out of the postseason picture for 2015, as do the Phillies who are theoretically trying to find their new identity. That leaves just the Marlins and the Mets to challenge the Nationals for the divisional title — though both teams, especially the Marlins, could make a big push towards the playoffs this year.
Even so, the Nationals are nearly a lock to make the postseason for the third time in four seasons, with an aforementioned 100-win season not completely out of the question. They have all the talent in the world, with great pitching and a good mix of young and veteran star players. But in the end, making the playoffs is only part of the goal. The one question on everyone's mind is whether or not the Nationals have enough with the addition of Max Scherzer to lead them to the World Series and a subsequent World Title?
The unfortunate truth is, only time will tell. All too often does a team expected to dominate fall into a slump and not do much of anything for the season, while a team that was predicted to go nowhere exceeds expectations and makes a playoff push. That's baseball. That's what makes things fun each and every season.
But regardless, I have to agree with the majority of people that the Nationals are going to be terrific, and therefore anything short of a World Series appearance for them would be a disappointment with all the promise they have of putting out an effective winning machine this season.
After all, it's that very expectation of winning (I'm sure the money was a factor as well) that ultimately led Scherzer to sign a deal with the Nationals, saying, "I think this team is capable of winning and winning a lot. When you look at near term and long term, this is an organization you want to be a part of . . . . I want to win and that's why I'm here."
With Max Scherzer now on board, it looks to be an exciting season in D.C.
Best Landing Spot for MLB's Top Free Agent Players
The 2014 Major League Baseball season ended nearly a month ago, but the team changing deals that take place every offseason are already taking place. The biggest trade that has happened so far is undoubtedly Jason Heyward going to the Cardinals in exchange for Shelby Miller, however, there is a good chance that there will be several more before 2015 begins.
As far as free agent signings go, Pablo Sandoval signing to play with the Red Sox was a big time deal, with Hanley Ramirez, Russell Martin and Victor Martinez inking large contracts as well.
But despite that, not too many of the 100+ free agent players have signed yet — just over a dozen are off the market, having signed with a team or retired — but there's still plenty of time left for a lot of exciting deals to go down. (The trades that could be made are nearly impossible to predict, but every free agent has to find a home somewhere — either with their same team or a new one — so that's what I'll be talking about.)
Notable current free agents include Jon Lester, James Shields, and Nelson Cruz, among others, but I'm only going to be discussing the top ranked player available at each position (in my mind), and which team I feel they'd fit the best with.
Keep in mind, these are the teams I feel would be the best fit for each player/team, not necessarily a team that's interested in them, or subsequently will sign them.
Catcher: A.J. Pierzynski
Team I feel should sign him: Pirates
Losing their catcher from 2014, Russell Martin, to free agency, A.J. Pierzynski would be a decent pickup for the Pirates. Though they have a few options for the catcher position, including former first round draft pick Tony Sanchez, who has been waiting and waiting to take over the spot, Pierzyski could serve at least as the backup. His veteran presence, along with his overall offensive production, would give the Pirates a slightly better lineup in 2015.
Designated Hitter: Nelson Cruz
Team I feel should sign him: Mariners
Although Nelson Cruz has played both outfield and designated hitter over the course of his career, he would best serve as a primary DH, in my mind, going to the Mariners. After falling just short of the playoffs in 2014, adding Cruz to protect Robinson Cano in the lineup would go a long way in making the Mariners contenders in 2015. Given, moves that seem to make sense don't always work out, but taking a chance on Cruz is more than worth the risk.
First Base: Michael Morse
Team I feel should sign him: Rays
This move would be a better fit for the Rays rather than Michael Morse, however, it could end up benefiting Morse in the long run. Having played numerous positions, Morse could answer a lot of problems for the Rays, even if he serves as a platoon player and part time DH, as Morse's bat could go a long way in helping the Rays next season. All they need is a little more offensive pop, as their starting pitching is already good. Morse could be a great addition to the Rays.
Second Base: Jed Lowrie
Team I feel should sign him: Marlins
Jed Lowrie didn't have the best season in 2014, but he's one of those players that is just good enough to have an impact. Though that impact can vary from game to game, Lowrie has been a good player over his career, and could fill the Marlins' second base slot. After locking up Giancarlo Stanton to a record deal, and with the young players the Marlins are adding to the roster, Lowrie at second could help the Marlins finally make a push in 2015.
Third Base: Chase Headley
Team I feel should sign him: Giants
With Pablo Sandoval off the market, and the Giants' backup option for third base, Yasmany Tomas, out of the running as well, Chase Headley is their best free agent option. While he can't completely replace Sandoval, Headley would fill the spot well. Headley had decent offensive numbers this past season with the Yankees, and he plays a decent hot corner. Everything together, the Giants could solve their problem at third base relatively cheap.
Shortstop: Asdrubal Cabrera
Team I feel should sign him: Yankees
Now that Hanley Ramirez off the market, the best remaining free agent shortstop is Asdrubal Cabrera. Although he played second base for a good part of last season with the Nationals, he's a natural shortstop and would do a good job of filling the Yankees' empty spot at short, now that Derek Jeter has retired. Although it wouldn't be a long term solution for the Yankees, Cabrera taking over the shortstop role would help for the time being.
Left Field: Melky Cabrera
Team I feel should sign him: Athletics
Melky Cabrera had a bounce back season in 2014, and could be a valuable pickup for the Athletics if they decide to snag him. While the Athletics aren't the favorite to sign Cabrera, and aren't really in the running at all, after the loss of their previous left fielder, Yoenis Cespedes, to the Red Sox for Jon Lester last year, getting Cabrera would make the A's a better all around ball club, in my opinion. That is, if he can have a year close to the one he put together in 2014.
Center Field: Colby Rasmus
Team I feel should sign him: Braves
Despite being a solid outfielder, Colby Rasmus heading to the Braves is admittedly a long shot, but I feel he would fit in nicely. With Justin Upton in center field, Rasmus would have to move around in the outfield throughout the season, but he's a good enough defender with a decent amount of pop in his bat. Rasmus isn't a player that would completely transform the Braves, but after they missed the playoffs in 2014, he could help them over the hump.
Right Field: Torii Hunter
Team I feel should sign him: Orioles
The Tigers have made it clear that they don't plan to bring back Torii Hunter to play right field in 2015, and therefore he'll be on the move this offseason. Although Hunter has been around for years, he's still a very consistent player, both offensively and in the outfield. With only a year or two left from Hunter, he'll likely be looking to head to a playoff contender. Thus, I feel Hunter would be a good fit with Orioles (assuming they lose Nick Markakis).
Starting Pitcher: James Shields, Jon Lester and Max Scherzer
Team I feel should sign them: Red Sox (Shields), Cubs (Lester) and Rangers (Scherzer)
With the free agent market overflowing with great starting pitching, it was impossible to narrow the options down to a single top choice. In the end I got it down to three, with James Shields, Max Scherzer and Jon Lester coming out as the best statistical starters available.
For Shields, the Royals would fare well to resign him, but it will likely be another team. In my opinion, the Red Sox would benefit from a signing of Shields as a cheaper version of Jon Lester. As far as Lester is concerned, he is reportedly in talks with a number of teams, including the Cubs, who, with their great, young lineup, would really be an intriguing team with Lester's addition. Max Scherzer is yet another front of the rotation starter on the market, and if the Rangers are looking to compete again in 2015, signing Scherzer long term would put them into position to do so.
Relief Pitcher: Andrew Miller
Team I feel should sign him: Tigers
Some would place David Robertson ahead of Andrew Miller in terms of value, however, I have to put Miller first. He has turned into one of the most dominant relief pitchers in the game today, and would make any teams' bullpen immediately stronger. With the Tigers being a solid bullpen short of a World Series Championship caliber team, a reunion with Miller could help them make that type of playoff run in 2015.
So, there are my thoughts on which players are the best remaining free agents at each position, and which team should sign them. Odds are that everything won't go exactly, if at all, how I feel it should, but this is just the way I see things working out best.
Kluber and Kershaw Win Cy Young Award
The Cy Young award — named after the Hall of Fame pitcher who died in 1955 — was first handed out in 1956 to Don Newcombe, with the goal of recognizing the "most valuable pitcher" from each season. The first eleven years of the award saw one pitcher per year receiving the honor, but in 1967 the Cy Young began being handed out to a pitcher from each league who was voted on as the best from the season.
Seventeen players who have won the Cy Young award have gone on to the Hall of Fame up until this point — several of those winners are still active players, however. The current record for most Cy Young awards is held by Roger Clemens, with seven, but sixteen total players have won multiple Cy Young's in their career.
Voting for the award is fairly straightforward.
Two writers from each city of both the American League and National League make up the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) voters for the Cy Young award, making a total of thirty voters for each league (fifteen teams, with two voters per city). A first place vote earns a player seven points, a second place vote gets four points, a third place vote receives three points, a fourth place vote is worth two points, with a fifth place vote earning a single point. Once added up, the player with the highest overall total wins.
The 2014 Major League Baseball Cy Young award winners for both the American League and National League were announced Wednesday night on MLB Network. Here are the winners, along with my thoughts on each:
Original Pick: Felix Hernandez
Finalists: Felix Hernandez, Corey Kluber and Chris Sale
Winner: Corey Kluber
Thoughts On Corey Kluber Winning
I originally had Felix Hernandez winning the 2014 Cy Young award, and after seeing that he was one of the three finalists for the honor, I still held strong with my selection. However, in one of the closest votes in Cy Young award history, Corey Kluber took home the award for his terrific, breakout season.
Just edging out the win by ten points, Kluber received a total of 169 points and 17 first-place votes, with Hernandez getting the other 13 first-place selections totaling 159 points. Third place recipient Chris Sale got 78 points from the voters.
Never receiving a single vote for the Cy Young award before this time around, Kluber becomes the fourth player in Indians' franchise history to win the Cy Young award.
Going 18-9 with a 2.44 ERA on the season, Kluber essentially came out of nowhere and posted some incredible outings on the season. Kluber was one of the absolute best pitchers in baseball after the All-Star break, recording back-to-back 14 strikeout games in September and notching the best overall ERA of any starting pitcher over that span.
Heading into next season, it's hard to know what to expect out of Corey Kluber. Although he was superb in 2014, there have been plenty of cases where a pitcher breaks out for a season and never performs that way again. But despite that, Kluber will in all likelihood be one of the best pitchers in the game, even if he isn't quite as good as the masterful year he had this past season.
Original Pick: Clayton Kershaw
Finalists: Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto and Adam Wainwright
Winner: Clayton Kershaw
Thoughts On Clayton Kershaw Winning
After yet another historic season put together by Clayton Kershaw, there was no real debate over whether or not he most deserved the 2014 National League Cy Young award. Winning his unprecedented fourth straight ERA title, Kershaw's stats simply blew away the competition, which saw the next closest N.L. ERA nearly half a run higher.
Kershaw's unbelievable season netted him a unanimous vote for the Cy Young, with him receiving all 30 first-place votes and 210 points overall. Johnny Cueto, the second place vote getter only tallied 112 points, with Adam Wainwright finishing in third with 97 points. With the unanimous selection, Kershaw becomes the first to do so since Justin Verlander in 2011.
Tying Sandy Koufax for the most Cy Young awards in Dodgers's franchise history, Kershaw's back-to-back Cy Young awards make him the youngest in MLB history, and one of only nine players, to win three in their career.
Firing a 15-strikeout no hitter in June, Kershaw's season was remarkable, as despite missing the first month of the season, Kershaw was able to record 21 wins to go along with a mere 1.77 ERA. With many already naming Kershaw as the predicted front runner for the Cy Young award again in 2015, barring injury, there's a chance that Kershaw could challenge Roger Clemens' all-time record of seven career Cy Young awards.
But before Kershaw makes a run towards reaching Clemens, he is looking to become the ninth player in history to win both the Cy Young award and the Most Valuable Player award in the same year. Although some people have Giancarlo Stanton taking the honor, with a few giving it to Andrew McCutchen, there's still a good chance that Kershaw could win the MVP. In my opinion, he deserves it.
Are the Tigers On the Verge of Disaster?
Heading into the 2014 Major League Baseball season, there weren't very many people around the baseball world who didn't have the Tigers winning the American League Central division. Citing the fact that the Tigers have one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball, in addition to a really good lineup that includes, arguably, the best hitter in all of baseball, Miguel Cabrera, a lot of pre season predictions had the Tigers completely running away with the division. But with around five weeks of games remaining in the season, the Tigers finishing in first place isn't a lock, as it was once viewed.
A game and a half back of the division leading Royals, the Tigers have some work to do to retake their lead in the Central.
Back on July 31st, the Tigers made a move that seemed certain to help them pull away from the Royals. In a three team trade with the Rays and Mariners, the Tigers sent Austin Jackson to Seattle, who in return sent Nick Franklin to the Rays, with the Tigers sending Drew Smyly and a prospect to the Rays in exchange for David Price.
Though Price hadn't been overly dominant before the trade went down, a team with David Price is much better off than a team without David Price. And that has proven to be true in his few starts since the trade.
In Price's most recent outing at his long time home, Tropicana Field, Price had one of his best games of the season. Going eight innings, giving up just a single hit, Price was fantastic on Thursday afternoon. However, Alex Cobb, who was on the mound for the opposing team, was just as good. In the end, despite the amazing pitching performance by Price, he was handed the loss, as the Tigers failed to provide any run support whatsoever.
If the Tigers want to win the division and not be faced with a one-game playoff that comes with a Wild Card spot — a spot that isn't guaranteed by any means, as the Mariners currently sit just a half game back of the second Wild Card — they're, obviously, going to have to start playing better as a team than they have been recently.
The day the David Price trade occurred, the Tigers were in a great spot. Sitting in first place, four games ahead of the Royals, the acquisition of Price looked to only improve their team, which was already seemingly on the way to another division title.
But while Price has done his job for the most part, as has the always terrific Max Scherzer, the remainder of the pitching staff, along with the lineup, has been hit and miss from one night to the next, with their entire bullpen being subpar at best.
Justin Verlander hasn't been the same caliber pitcher he once was in quite some time; Joe Nathan, who they acquired to strengthen their bullpen, hasn't been that great; and although Miguel Cabrera is having a good year, he's currently on pace to finish out the season around 20 home runs and 30 RBI's shy of the unbelievable numbers of 44 home runs and 137 RBI's he posted in 2013.
Those three players are going to have to catch fire for the Tigers to take off in any major way.
With the entire Tigers team underperforming for the most part at the moment, and with the Mariners right behind them, threatening to overtake their playoff chances, the Tigers are experiencing quite a bit of struggles. Though they'll likely find some sort of groove at some point in September, the Tigers are doing extremely poor in comparison to where they should be with the talent they have. If, somehow, the Tigers miss the postseason altogether, it would be nothing short of a disastrous season on their part.
Royals Playing Better Than They Have In A Decade
When Max Scherzer allowed a mere three hits over nine shutout innings in his first career complete game last week, I made the statement that, despite a dismal start to the season by the Tigers, the great outing by Scherzer could be the starting point in a turn around for the team.
But it appears I was wrong.
Lasting just four innings against the Royals on Tuesday, giving up a total of ten runs, and raising his ERA up to 3.84 on the season, Scherzer joins the long list of Tigers players who've struggled at some point this year.
More importantly, however, the Royals 11-4 rout of Scherzer after an 11-8 win against Justin Verlander the night before (the first time since 2011 that they've posted a double digit score in back-to-back games) helped them swap places with the Tigers, moving them into first place in the American League Central by a half game.
The first time the Royals have been in first place in their division this late into a season (70 games or beyond) since 2003, and the first time the Tigers haven't held the first place spot in over a year, the great run by the Royals as of late should help to get their fan base excited, at least for the time being.
With a slow start to the year leading many people to once again assume that what was supposed to "finally" be the Royals' year was yet again another bust, the Royals have gone from seven games back of first a month ago to leading the division. Thanks to a nine game winning streak (the longest winning streak for the Royals since July of last year) and to a struggling Tigers team, the Royals are seemingly in good shape to make the playoffs for the first time since 1985 (the longest drought in all of baseball).
It's important to remember, however, that the AL Central is a very close division.
As I touched upon in a previous post, the Royals aren't the only threat to the Tigers. Every single team in the entire division stands a legitimate chance at being at the top when the end of the year rolls around. Though the Tigers should be running away with things, struggles by most of their offense and the majority of their pitching staff has left more to be desired, giving every other team room to make a run.
The Twins are playing decent baseball (with the exception of a slow stretch lately); Jose Abreu and the White Sox are hanging in the mix; and the Indians are looking to pass the Tigers in a matter of days if the Tigers' struggles continue. And thus, the Tigers need to turn things around fast.
With just under a month remaining until the All-Star break in mid-July — though teams will undoubtedly move up and down in the standings between now and then — things are setting up for an extremely exciting second half of an already eventful season.
Scherzer's First Complete Game Stops Tigers' Skid
After winning over 20 games last season and picking up the 2013 American League Cy Young Award, it's hard to believe that Max Scherzer had never thrown a complete game over the course of his seven-year career heading into Thursday night's start against the White Sox.
But after 178 previous starts without achieving the feat (the longest streak of any active pitcher without their first complete game), Scherzer was finally able to go the distance against the Sox, outpitching the equally dominant Chris Sale, throwing 113 total pitches over his nine innings of three hit, shutout baseball (it was Scherzer's first career shutout as well) on the mound.
Moving to 8-2 on the year, with an ERA of 3.05, Scherzer's great start helped to stop the Tigers' three game loosing streak as well as put a little more room between them and the White Sox in the American League Central standings. When playing a division rival it becomes even more important to pickup the victory, and Scherzer made sure that happened.
One of only two divisions in all of baseball with less than ten games separating the first and last place teams (a mere four games separate the Twins at the bottom from the Tigers at the top), the Tigers are looking to begin turning around a somewhat disappointing year by their standards.
With the team the Tigers possess (Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez on the offensive side; Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer on the pitching side) many people agree that they should be running away with the division as they had been predicted to do. But despite their strong team on paper, not a lot has been going well for the Tigers this season.
Justin Verlander — once one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball — and Joe Nathan — once one of the most dominant closers in all of baseball — are both trying to figure things out, along with the majority of the Tigers' pitching roster. With their lineup being hit or miss on any given night (except for Miguel Cabrera, who's having a great year despite a slow start, and Victor Martinez, who's having a career season), it's still going to take a lot for the Tigers to begin increasing their current lead.
Although the Tigers currently sit atop the division, they hold only a two game lead over the Royals. With the Royals on a four game winning streak, and the White Sox, Indians and Twins all within a few games of first place, the Tigers shouldn't be panicking quite yet, as there's still plenty of season remaining. However, they need to pay close attention before things get too far out of hand.
With such a small margin separating the Tigers, Royals, White Sox, Indians and Twins in the division, no matter how you look at it, any team in the American League Central currently has a chance at finishing in first place at the end of the season. While it's a long shot at best for a couple of the teams, if the Tigers want to be the division winners, they're obviously going to have to start playing better.
But if Max Scherzer's dominant outing was any sort of sign of what's to come, the Tigers could easily begin to pull away from the rest of the pack in the upcoming weeks before the All-Star break.
Best Players Going Into 2014 — By Age
Coming off an exciting 2013 Major League Baseball season and heading into what's sure to be another fun year of baseball, things are beginning to heat up again. Spring Training camps have seen all their respective pitchers and catchers report, with the remaining players reporting over the course of this week.
With the arrival of baseball comes the annual rankings of teams and subsequent predictions of how they will perform. While my predictions for each team, and numerous players from around the league, won't be posted until sometime next month, I wanted to take the time to post a "top players" list, of sorts.
But instead of making my own version of a top 10 list as many are doing, I decided, as I did last year, to make a list of the top player for each year of age throughout Major League Baseball. Meaning, of the 20 year olds in Major League Baseball, I'll list the player I feel is the best of them all; with the same holding true for the players age 21, 22, 23, 24, and so on.
The range of ages this season runs from 20 years old, with Jose Fernandez, among others, all the way up to age 43, with Jason Giambi — excluding age 42, which has no players this season. Just so you know, before I reveal my list, I'm going by the age each player will be to start the season. Therefore, a few players will be listed a year older than they currently are, due to them having a birthday between now and March 22nd.
Also, with there being SO many names, I'm not going to be listing my reasoning behind each pick. I'm just giving a general list of the player (either a hitter or a pitcher) I feel is the best for their age category:
20 years old: Jose Fernandez
21 years old: Manny Machado
22 years old: Mike Trout
23 years old: Yasiel Puig
24 years old: Giancarlo Stanton
25 years old: Craig Kimbrel
26 years old: Clayton Kershaw
27 years old: Andrew McCutchen
28 years old: Evan Longoria
29 years old: Max Scherzer
30 years old: Miguel Cabrera
31 years old: Robinson Cano
32 years old: Brandon Phillips
33 years old: C.C. Sabathia
34 years old: Albert Pujols
35 years old: Cliff Lee
36 years old: Carlos Beltran
37 years old: A.J. Burnett
38 years old: David Ortiz
39 years old: Derek Jeter
40 years old: Ichiro Suzuki
41 years old: LaTroy Hawkins
42 years old: No Players
43 years old: Jason Giambi
So, there you have it. The best players by age, in my opinion, from 20 through 43, going into the 2014 season. Do you agree with my picks? If not, who would you pick to replace the name(s) you disagree with? Let me know in the comments section below.
Prince Fielder Traded to Rangers for Ian Kinsler
Normally I don't blog about trades around Major League Baseball, no matter how big they may be — even huge trades like the one that took place Wednesday evening. But this particular trade — though it only included two players — was so complex and intriguing that I couldn't help but want to post my thoughts on it. It's one of those blockbuster trades that doesn't happen all that often.
The Detroit Tigers announced plans yesterday to send Prince Fielder, and thirty million dollars, to the Texas Rangers, in a trade for Ian Kinsler.
While at first glance it would seem that this is a one-sided trade — Fielder is undoubtedly the better hitter — when you take the time to consider every aspect, I see it as being a nearly even deal.
The Tigers were running into a dilemma, having too little money to afford resigning their Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, and it was going to take a deal such as this one to free up enough money to keep him around. (Trading Fielder saves them nearly 100 million dollars.)
While loosing Fielder, who hit 25 home runs and drove in 106 runs in 2013, in return for Kinsler, who hit 13 homers to go along with 71 RBI's, is a big loss offensively, it gives the Tigers a lot of options defensively for their infield.
Those options include moving Miguel Cabrera back to first base, who doesn't really have the range for third but had been moved there upon Fielder's arrival in 2012. The move of Cabrera would free up the position for the Tigers' number one prospect, Nick Castellanos, who was being converted into an outfielder, but will likely return to his origninal spot. Jose Iglesias will remain at short, with Kinsler taking over at second base.
On the Rangers side of things, they get a big time power hitter, and give up an average hitter who will be replaced by their highly regarded prospect, Jurickson Profar, who had nowhere to go with Kinsler and Elvis Andrus in the mix at second and short stop.
Though the Rangers take on a lot of money for Fielder's contract — he's still owed 138 million, after the Tigers paid 30 million of it — they get an everyday player (162 games for four out of the past five seasons) who will be an immediate impact; their first production at first base since Mark Teixeira left in 2007.
Many people still question whether or not the Rangers will attempt to make a run at Robinson Cano. I don't see it happening, but you never know. They want another bat, but it will more than likely come from a guy such as Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, etc., whom they are reportedly interested in. Cano may end up being a bit out of their comfort zone and price range, especially with it having to come at the cost of losing Andrus at short, where Profar would move, to free up money and space.
In the end, as far as I can see, the Tigers should easily be able to win their division, once again, with their improved infield arrangements. The Rangers, who have been the runner-up to the Athletic's in the American League West Division the past two seasons, should now have the ability to make the jump to first place in 2014 with the addition of Fielder.
Only time will tell who truly "won" the deal, and how things will pan out.
But as far as I can see, neither team can go wrong moving forward.


text:
Being in elementary school brings back painful memories for Lester Denson.
"I always used to ask my mom - why I feel kinda like, kinda weird like hurting inside all the joints or something."
Lester was born with sickle cell anemia.
"When I got about, I say in the fourth grade, I had a blood transfusion."
Sickle cell is a blood disease passed down through families in which there are not enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen through the body.
The disease gets its name because patients' red blood cells will change into a sickle, or half moon shape when they get into a crisis period.
"When they become sickle shaped they are really very rigid so they don't flow very well through your blood vessels. It can be severely painful and that pain could last for days," says Dr. Emad Salman, pediatric oncologist/hematologist with the Lee Memorial Health System.
The only drug treatment for sickle cell is called Hydroxyurea.
"It increases the amount of what we call baby hemoglobin F, F stands for fetal. We noticed that when you have an increase amount of baby hemoglobin within your red cells, it protects you; you don't sickle as often," says Dr. Salman.
First used in leukemia, it's a form of chemotherapy. Now approved for adults, Lester tried it with much success.
"When it first came out it was a breakthrough. It was like the one of the drugs they said well you should try this because you wont be sickling so much."
Hydroxyurea is in clinical trials for children. Results are promising.
"We've noticed that, the number of times they need to be in the hospital has decreased by over 50%. Some of them have really gone one or two years without being in the hospital; these were kids in the hospital five to ten times year for pain crisis," says Dr. Salman.
It may make the pains of childhood, much easier.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
State officials have discovered mosquitoes in South Plainfield, Middlesex Borough and North Plainfield that tested positive for the West Nile Virus, according to a report on mycentraljersey.com.
The test results were included in a report the Department of Health and Human Services relased on Friday. That report said the department tested 1,446 mosquito pools from all 21 New Jersey counties. Positive resutls were found in Middlesex, Somerset, Bergen, Gloucester, and Passaic counties.
The Public Health and Environmental Laboratory also has tested 59 birds from 15 counties with no positives, the report said.


text:
First, I am an independent voter.
If a right-wing tea party Republican gets elected to be president of the United States of America, what programs is he or she going to cut to keep the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan going, since tea partiers believe in running no debt? (The price is $2 billion per week.)
Or, is the price for war going to be like it was in the Bush era — not part of the national debt?


text:
Most mainstream medical organizations maintain the position that saturated fats are unhealthy and should be avoided. New research has challenged this view, however. Recent studies have shown that saturated fat does not contribute to heart disease and even possesses health benefits when consumed in moderation. Opinions regarding refined carbohydrates, in contrast, are nearly unanimous. Medical professionals and organizations agree that refined carbohydrates have no place in the diet.
Saturated Fats
According to the American Heart Association, saturated fats, which occur naturally in many foods, can increase your blood cholesterol and subsequently increase your risk for heart disease and stroke. The heart association recommends getting no more than 7 percent of your total daily calories from saturated fat. Based on a 2,000-calorie diet, this means you should consume no more than 140 calories in the form of saturated fat. A July 2011 report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture also noted that as saturated fat consumption increases, the risk for cardiovascular disease also increases. The report recommends substituting saturated fats with unsaturated fats
Unconventional Wisdom
A 2010 landmark study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" evaluated the health effects of saturated fat. The study was a meta-analysis, examining 21 studies that followed a total of 347,747 subjects for five to 23 years. The authors concluded that there is no significant evidence that dietary saturated fat increases the risk for cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease. A 2010 paper published in "Lipids" noted that while diets very high in any component, including saturated fat, can be unhealthy, consuming saturated fats in moderation can in fact promote overall health.
Refined Carbs
White bread, tortillas, pasta, crackers, sugar and baked goods all fall into the category of refined carbohydrates. These carbs are often referred to as "bad carbs" because they cause insulin levels to rise quickly and have a high potential to be stored as body fat. In addition, these foods add an abundance of calories to your diet while contributing few or no nutrients. Dr. Andrew Weil, a natural health practitioner, wrote in a Huffington Post article that it's not saturated fats which cause disease and obesity. Instead, it's refined carbohydrates. Weil noted that the effect refined carbohydrates have on blood sugar and insulin is a direct cause of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and other many chronic health conditions.
Ditch the Refined Carbs, Keep the Fat
A 2010 paper published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" noted an analysis of 11 cohort studies, which found no association between the replacement of saturated fats with carbohydrates and a decreased risk for heart disease. In fact, substituting saturated fats with carbs was associated with a slightly higher risk for heart disease. Titled "Are Refined Carbohydrates Worse Than Saturated Fat?" the paper concluded that in today's era of insulin resistance, the focus should be shifted away from restricting fat intake and toward restricting consumption of refined carbohydrates. A 2011 paper published in "The Netherlands Journal of Medicine" presented similar findings and noted that when replacing saturated fats with high-glycemic carbohydrates, in particular, the risk of cardiovascular disease increases.
References (8)
- American Heart Association: Saturated Fats
- USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion: Dietary Saturated Fat and Cardiovascular Health: A Review of the Evidence
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Meta-analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies Evaluating the Association of Saturated Fat with Cardiovascular Disease
- Lipids: Saturated Fat and Health: Recent Advances in Research
- WebMD: Good Carbs, Bad Carbs: Why Carbohydrates Matter to You
- Huffpost Healthy Living: Fat or Carbs: Which Is Worse?
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Are Refined Carbohydrates Worse Than Saturated Fat?
- The Netherlands Journal of Medicine: Saturated Fat, Carbohydrates and Cardiovascular Disease
Photo Credits
- Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images


text:
From: David White ------------------------------------------------------ So I sent the following email to the pfSense list a few minutes ago, but I also thought I'd post the question here... I'm having trouble getting OpenVPN working on pfSense (I think I'm cursed with OpenVPN - I've never had a successful deployment of it, either stand-alone on CentOS or in pfSense!) I'm not sure if the problem is on the server or on the client. I tend to think that the problem is on the client's side. Here's the email I sent: I'm having trouble connecting my Windows 7 OpenVPN client to the pfSense 2.1.4 server. I have tried two different types of ciphers (BF-CBC and AES-256-CBC). This is a fresh 2.1.4 install with the server's settings generated using the Wizard. I'm including my local config file. As you can see, I'm trying to connect via username / password and not via SSL certificate. *dev tun* *persist-tun* *cipher BF-CBC* *auth SHA1* *tls-client* *client* *resolv-retry infinite* *remote 220.127.116.11 1194 udp* *lport 0* *auth-user-pass* *ca C:\nnh-vpn.crt* *comp-lzo* It seems that the client is hitting the server, but for some reason, my client isn't successfully connecting. Here's the last 50 entries in the OpenVPN server's log (see end of this email). I'm having trouble tracking down the log files on the client machine, so perhaps this email should go to OpenVPN folks and not pfSense. But I'm wondering if anyone on this list has any suggestions. Thanks, David Jun 30 23:29:19openvpn[98461]: /sbin/ifconfig ovpns1 10.1.5.1 10.1.5.2 mtu 1500 netmask 255.255.255.255 upJun 30 23:29:19openvpn[98461]: /usr/local/sbin/ovpn-linkup ovpns1 1500 1558 10.1.5.1 10.1.5.2 initJun 30 23:29:19openvpn[99566]: UDPv4 link local (bound): [AF
=============================================================== From: Dave Brockman ------------------------------------------------------ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Maybe if you tried a more "standard" configuration, you would have better luck? I'm not even going to ask why. Use certificates. You can use X-AUTH to require a username and password pair above and beyond the certificate. And you really should generate a different certificate for each user. Do you have the OpenVPN Client Export Package installed in pfsense? If not, install that, then download the Win package for your user and uninstall any existing versions of OpenVPN client before installing the export package. Regards, dtb - -- "Some things in life can never be fully appreciated nor understood unless experienced firsthand. Some things in networking can never be fully understood by someone who neither builds commercial networking equipment nor runs an operational network." RFC 1925 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.17 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://www.enigmail.net/ iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJTshKIAAoJEMP+wtEOVbcdmV8H/iLuf2xDr50gpuPzSymYcgM5 6NFv8ns4GX3H04kvW9HkOivFI7p+XmsIWKRmmSVXrk/NBf7IVLi1SEAktbm36p3v inIsrKLLtCr4BuoIvt7eVWx4KtNkYlOh5uMvf5J2CpuXsq0HJzdWw5Je5nxNJsr/ sJqNt0WtqTAezKaZDZ12eyqn4d9vlUPJcUsw5Wwru/25oU04wSsF0RjfaMqJQbGn dOhak157LTaPLc6aB/Ds4o8sRasC0PCJDZTpe+OAFrE1Rhuk5OtvyGWy37ZJCvQq 499yHvWdAtJQrUTIR3bpCoTi3dj87LhZbkQ/UvLr2kEJvDdBH4Hl9Fab7U20KBs= =ICA4 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
=============================================================== From: David White ------------------------------------------------------ Heh. Point taken. Thanks. I tried doing the OpenVPN Client Export Utility, but whenever I tried to install the package, I kept running into issues - it kept failing. I ended up having to go into the shell and manually delete an OpenVPN package and install it again. Now it's working, and I've tested the VPN and its working.


text:
'Smash,' 'GCB' on rise; Fox, CBS lead week
It's been tough for new 10 p.m. broadcast dramas to gain much traction in recent years, but a pair of first-year midseason entries, NBC's "Smash" and ABC's "GCB," improved their standing last week by posting gains.
The Peacock skein took advantage of repeat competish, spiking 17% to win its hour, according to Nielsen, while the Alphabet's dramedy led its hour among young adults as well, edging up 5% from its premiere.
But while these newbies perked up, NBC's 10 p.m. Thursday drama "Awake" wasn't as fortunate, falling 20% from its bow. Barring a rally, it could join ABC's "Pan Am" and NBC's "The Playboy Club," "Prime Suspect" and "The Firm" as 10 p.m. newcomers that have been pulled, demoted or simply ended their runs unceremoniously due to low ratings.
The bar for success in the 10 o'clock hour has lowered of late — any show that consistently tops a 2 rating in 18-49 figures to return for another season — but ABC's "Revenge" is the only 10 p.m. rookie to consistently clear the mark. CBS' "Unforgettable" is doing OK on Tuesdays but has been hovering around the 2 demo mark in recent weeks.
Overall in a week of scattered repeats on the competition, Fox rode three hours of "American Idol" to victory in adults 18-49 with a 2.4 rating/7 share. It was followed by CBS (2.0/6), NBC (1.8/5), ABC (1.6/5), Univision (1.3/4) and top cabler TBS (0.9/2).
CBS caught Fox for the lead in adults 25-54 (both at 2.8/7), and the Eye dominated in total viewers (9.5 million to about 7 million for runner-up Fox.)
For Fox, the Wednesday edition of "Idol" was the week's No. 2 show in 18-49 (5.7/16), behind NBC's "The Voice," and No. 1 in total viewers (18.69 million). And Thursday's first results show of the season won its hour (4.9/14, 17.27m).
The net didn't get a lot of help elsewhere, though, as "Alcatraz" hit a low on Monday (1.8/4, 5.47m) and "Bob's Burgers" was nothing special in its season opener on Sunday (1.9/5, 4.04m).
Fox's first attempt at a four-comedy Tuesday didn't generate much heat, either, though "Raising Hope" looked pretty good leading off (2.1/6, 4.74m). The returning "I Hate My Teenage Daughter" at 8:30 (1.6/4, 3.74m) and "Breaking In" at 9:30 (1.7/4, 3.60m) struggled as they began their second seasons, and rookie hit "New Girl" hit a low between them (3.0/8, 6.00m).
At CBS, "The Big Bang Theory" again led its Thursday half-hour in demos (5.1/15, 15.04m) and was the week's No. 1 scripted skein. And 9 p.m. rookie drama "Person of Interest" achieved highs (3.4/9, 15.67m), standing as the week's No. 2 drama in 18-49 and the top-rated scripted hour in 25-54 (4.8/11) and total viewers.
The Eye continues to get good mileage out of vet reality shows "Survivor" (3.2/9, 10.78m) and "The Amazing Race" (2.9/8, 9.65m), with the latter catching ABC's "Once Upon a Time" for the 18-49 lead Sunday at 8.
CBS tried an original episode of Thursday drama "The Mentalist" on Friday (1.8/5, 11.34m) after "Undercover Boss" (2.0/7, 9.40m), faring a bit better than regular occupant "CSI: NY."
NBC had a big Monday as "The Voice" (6.2/16, 16.85m) was on the rise to rate as the week's No. 1 show in 18-49, and "Smash" (2.7/7 in 18-49, 7.76m) grew 17% to lead its hour in key demos.
As for "Awake," the dual-reality drama (1.6/4, 4.33m) dropped a bit from its "Up All Night" demo lead-in (1.7/4, 3.44m) after building on it a week earlier.
It was a quiet week at ABC, where "Modern Family" and "Grey's Anatomy" were in repeats and the net's top show was Sunday rookie "Once Upon a Time" (2.9/8, 9.29m), which was sapped by daylight saving time. Also on Sunday, "Desperate Housewives" (2.6/6, 8.39m) and "GCB" (2.3/6, 7.12m) were up a tick; in a good sign for "GCB" in its second week, it held steady both half-hours in 18-49.
AMC's "The Walking Dead" (3.6/10, 6.89m) edged up heading into its season finale, ranking sixth for the week in 18-49 (and No. 1 among dramas). Also repping cable in the top 25 were MTV's "Jersey Shore" (2.8/8, 4.84m) and History's "Pawn Stars" (2.2/5, 6.45m).
Other cable notables included Lifetime's docusoap "Dance Moms," which hit series highs Tuesday (1.1/3, 2.70m) and was cable's No. 1 program in women 18-49 and 25-54 during the 9 p.m. hour.
Nickelodeon's original "Big Time Movie" drew a big 4.12 million viewers on Saturday (including 2.2 million kids 2-11), and its score in persons 12-34 (1.4/5) led all of television from 8 to 9:30 in persons 12-34.
And Animal Planet's "Finding Bigfoot" capped its second season on a high (1.53m); for the season, the show was up 15% over its rookie year (1.38m vs. 1.20m).


text:
John W. Staeheli, MD
Diplomate, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery & Orthopaedic Trauma Association
Dr. Staeheli concentrates his practice around fractures, trauma, sports medicine, and joint replacement. These areas include arthroscopic knee ligament reconstruction, meniscus cartilage repair, arthroscopic shoulder reconstruction, and other joint arthroscopy. He performs total joint replacements of the knee, hip, shoulder, and treats patients with complex foot deformities. Dr. Staeheli's expertise extends as well into wrist arthroscopy and carpal tunnel surgery.
Specialty Training: Advanced Orthopaedic Trauma Training. Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services, Baltimore Shock Trauma Unit.
Residency: Mayo Clinic's Mayo Graduate School
Internship: Balboa Naval Hospital
Medical School: Creighton University
Undergraduate: Gonzaga University, B.A. in Biology & Chemistry
For more information on Dr. Staeheli, please go to http://staehelimd.com


text: Though famously willing to take on debt, Americans aren't anxiety-free about it. Mediamark Research Inc. polling found 57 percent of adults are "very uncomfortable with borrowing money; essentially, they hate doing it." Another 13 percent are "credit-reluctant." So, do these people scrupulously avoid debt? Not quite: 52 percent of those who admit they always or usually carry a credit-card balance also placed themselves in the most borrowing-averse category.


text:
HARRISBURG - Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, launched a seven-city tour across the eastern half of Pennsylvania on Monday to call attention to Tuesday's voter registration deadline.
In a brief address to about 150 campaign volunteers and supporters at the Obama campaign office here, Biden hit some of the highlights of the administration's current term: increasing college funding, defending the rights and women and gay Americans, and bringing Osama bin Laden "to justice."
"No matter what, we will keep working so that everyone can create a better life for themselves, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love," she said.


text:
Cult of Personality
Arsenio Hall Show
Hollywood, CA
Make no mistake about, Living Colour rocks hard. And though you may think they haven't done anything since the early 90's, if you read their blog and MySpace page you'll be pleased to know they're still making music and continue to be actively involved throughout the music scene.
Here's a great little video of them from the heyday, performing their hit song Cult of Personality on the gone but not forgotten Arsenio Hall Show.
The song begins as usual, with a paraphrased quote from Malcolm X's "Message To The Grass Roots" speech. And it just rips from there. Corey Glover treats the entire studio as his stage, belting out lyrics as he works the room.
Don't miss Vernon Reid's killer solo just past the half way point. It's a true face-melter with Corey and original bassist Muzz Skillings dancing a little jig in the background. If you want to jam like Vernon Reid, pick up a copy of Guitar Hero IIIL Legends of Rock Bundle which includes a new remix of Cult of Personality as the seventh encore track in the main career.
And if you want more live Living Colour, give a listen to Live at CBGB's Tuesday 12/19/89 or for something more recent try On Stage at World Cafe Live DVD.
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text:
Agosta to appear at CHA Tournament
- The College Hockey America Tournament's final four will begin this weekend with a special appearance from three-time Olympic gold medalist Meghan Agosta-Marciano.
Agosta-Marciano, the former Mercyhurst women's hockey star who won gold with her native Canada at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, last month, will be on hand Friday -- first for a meet-and-greet at Mercyhurst's Student Union from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., where fans can get autographs and pose for photos. Then she will drop the ceremonial first puck for the top-seeded and eighth-ranked Lakers' 4 p.m. semifinal game against fourth-seeded Syracuse at Mercyhurst Ice Center.
Agosta-Marciano, who played at Mercyhurst from 2006-09 before finishing up her four-year career in the 2010-11 season, holds NCAA career records for goals (157), points (303), power-play goals (55), short-handed goals (20) and game-winning goals (39).
-- from staff reports


text:
NHL Officially Cancels 2013 Winter Classic
#41 Guest_irishock (Guest)
Posted 03 November 2012 - 01:35 AM
Posted 03 November 2012 - 08:13 AM
Saying the NHL can go fornicate with itself is putting it mildly. I'm sick of the league, I'm sick of the people running the league, I'm sick of the people running the Players' Association.....sick of them all. Fire them all, hire new people, start from scratch. Or in more direct terms, scorch the earth and then salt it.
Right, and you know there will be another Lockout in 6 years anyway, so what's the point in trying to throw a CBA together? With this current bunch of morons, nothing get's fixed. 50/50 isn't going to fix anything. The Owners need to share revenues better, instead of letting teams like the Leafs sit on massive profits while Phoenix rots, and the city of Glendale pays Millions and Millions to keep the team.
The current system is insane!
- haroldsnepsts and kipwinger like this
Posted 03 November 2012 - 08:25 AM
Yeah a 7% change won't do anything. In 6 years they'll just lock the player out again and try and get them down to 45%. Unless the players take the Owners down, and get them to revenue share better, things won't change.
All the people telling me that the owners need a bigger share of the pie so that the 18 teams losing money can be back in the black...shut up. Please shut up. There was nothing in the owners' proposal that would do anything to keep idiot GM's from circumventing their own rules they asked for, and generally doing an awful job running hockey teams in markets that don't even really want hockey.
Posted 03 November 2012 - 10:57 AM
Screw that. That was the song and dance we got in 2005. We'll get it again in another 5 years or so when the CBA that they finally commit to expires. Part of me wants to go back to the 80s. We sucked, but there was no lockout looming. Ever.
Eh... I know Toronto and Detroit fans feel really shafted due to the obvious, but let us hope things in the end will be worth the wait.
Another part of me wants to travel back in time and give Gary's parents a condom.
This game was HUGE for me. HUGE. Locking all of us out and losing the WC is just too much.
- Hey man nice shot! and kipwinger like this
Can't wait to read the "Phoenix: I still think it's a hockey market" chapter of Gary Bettman's autobiography. I'm guessing it's going to be chapter 11.
- mjlegend 3/9/2011
Posted 03 November 2012 - 11:28 AM
Posted 03 November 2012 - 11:45 AM
Edited by Euro_Twins, 03 November 2012 - 11:46 AM.
Posted 03 November 2012 - 03:43 PM
Another great job done by our great commissioner, I hope whoever owns the Leafs now and Illitch are going to speak up finally against this undersized idiot. God job of killing yourself NHL what a s***job.
Isn't it funny? The by far best WC logos are the ones without the damn BS logo on them *lol*
but whatever the league just shot themselves in the foot even more. I hope it was worth it for some of the crying poor owners and their midget, f*** the NHL seriously. I didn't care that much about the WC itself but seeing the perfect human one more time would have been great.
This ******* has now cost us:
- 1 year of Y
- 2 years of Datsyuk
- 2 years of Zetterberg
- 1 year of the perfect human
- Wings owner millions of $ so he can pony up his stupid sunbelt and micky mouse clubs
There's absolutely nothing funny about the lockout. But all these posts are a totally different story.
- hillbillywingsfan likes this
#48 Guest_Playmaker (Guest)
Posted 04 November 2012 - 06:06 AM
This is playing in my mind as well Im glad I have a few days to decide. One thing I am asking myself is hypothetically speaking if the winter classic tickets were available to be purchased a year in advance would I have bought them? Im sure I would have I am reminding myself this is The Wings and the Leafs in something I will probably never see again in my life. I dont want to kick myself a year from now and start frantically running around trying to get tickets to this thing because I forgot what happened this year.
As angry as I am with the NHL I am surprised that I am leaning towards keeping the tickets till next year even though the "thing to do" should be to get my money back
This is exactly why owners do lockouts...they have nothing to lose...everyone says they're angry and they're done with the NHL blah blah blah...but just as the owners don't change, neither do the fans. They continue to allow the NHL to treat them like dung, and then keep complaining about it and then go back like sheep and buy tickets and Center Ice and the rest only to let the same thing happen again. It's like Rihanna continually going back to Chris Brown and then being shocked when he smacks her around again.
- kipwinger likes this
Posted 04 November 2012 - 11:58 AM
This is exactly why owners do lockouts...they have nothing to lose...everyone says they're angry and they're done with the NHL blah blah blah...but just as the owners don't change, neither do the fans. They continue to allow the NHL to treat them like dung, and then keep complaining about it and then go back like sheep and buy tickets and Center Ice and the rest only to let the same thing happen again. It's like Rihanna continually going back to Chris Brown and then being shocked when he smacks her around again.
Hey remember that time you compared a hockey game to recurring instances of domestic assault? Good post dude, those things are super comparable.
Posted 05 November 2012 - 10:49 AM
"We thought we were indestructible, The Lords of Iron"
Posted 05 November 2012 - 01:05 PM
Posts that cross over into personal insults will be deleted and could result in warnings/suspensions (I've already had to delete a few).
Posted 05 November 2012 - 02:21 PM
- haroldsnepsts and Z Winged Dangler like this
Pavel Datsyuk - "Pasha" - #13
"Got no fun if you got no puck"
'"I like ladies" - Towards the Lady Byng trophy
"Okay $5 now"
I'm Don Cherry and Danny DeKeyser is my Kadri.
Posted 05 November 2012 - 03:10 PM
Which player will be crying this week to the media. Poor NHLPA and poor Fehr. They are just innocent bystanders in all of this. The Devil wears an NHL Logo.
When will the players wake up and finally see that Fehr is just playing a game with all of their money? They are all getting screwed.
Edited by hillbillywingsfan, 05 November 2012 - 03:11 PM.
Posted 07 November 2012 - 01:45 PM
How is it the Leafs fault that they make boat loads of money and the Glendale taxpayers pay millions to keep a team that they don't support anyways? The NHL just needs to leave Phoenix. Why should the Leafs pay any more to revenue sharing than the next team? If they have more profitable teams paying more than others then there needs to be a hierarchy in the NHL where the owners with the most profit have more pull than the owners of teams who can't afford to pay their players and have to give tickets away to get people to the games cause no one will show up otherwise.
Right, and you know there will be another Lockout in 6 years anyway, so what's the point in trying to throw a CBA together? With this current bunch of morons, nothing get's fixed. 50/50 isn't going to fix anything. The Owners need to share revenues better, instead of letting teams like the Leafs sit on massive profits while Phoenix rots, and the city of Glendale pays Millions and Millions to keep the team.
The current system is insane!
There is a lockout because there are too many non-hockey markets in the NHL. And why should the rich owners pay the salaries and other costs for teams? Personally, I think revenue sharing is complete BS. That's like Coke giving money to Pepsi cause they can't afford to pay for bottles to put their drink in, but they still want to sell pop....
- evilzyme likes this
I like this team.
Posted 07 November 2012 - 01:53 PM
Not just the events, but the players also lose years of their careers and primes.
Sucks, but it's the best thing to cancel the game. The lockout has left yet another black mark on the history of the league, and that mark doesn't need to tarnish the league's premier event. The teams don't deserve that, the participants in the Winter Festival at Comerica don't deserve that, and most of all, the fans don't deserve it.
Datsyuk and Zetterberg are now short about 100 career NHL points due to the lockout. Teemu Selanne could in all reality have over 700 goals now and over 1500 points. I barf in my mouth as I type this, but Crosby and Ovechkin both had their rookie season delayed a year and lost likely 100 points each to the last full season lockout, and Crosby is "healthy" again and could potentially get 120 points this year with a full season. Nyquist and Smith should be rookies on the Wings roster. Brunner should be on Z's line on the Wings along with Filppula. We have a good backup goalie to alleviate pressure on Howard this year. Tootoo hits and forechecks, nuff said. The Wings are without a captain cause the season hasn't started. The list goes on....Winter Classic. And if there's another year without the Stanley Cup rewarded, the NHL will have a hard time recovering especially in the US. And after their first cup win in history, the Kings don't even get the hounour of defending their crown.
I like this team.
Posted 19 November 2012 - 03:02 AM
Posted 19 November 2012 - 08:04 PM
This is a dangerous game and still can't understand how it has come to this again in 5 years again.?
At least Wings and Leafs are going to play the next WC whenever NHL is back
Sent from my BlackBerry
Posted 19 November 2012 - 08:26 PM
Edited by chances14, 19 November 2012 - 08:26 PM.
Posted 26 November 2012 - 08:48 PM
Posted 26 November 2012 - 10:13 PM
As a Canadian, f*** the NHL and the US currency.
Ouch... Sorry bro
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text:
Thank you all for your response. I tried including the
the "--static" flag while compiling as well as
directly calling the function ENGINE_load_ubsec. All
these methods end up calling ubsec_init which inturn
call "DSO_load" (and thus dlopen).
I am trying to use the engine implementation for
VXWORKS which does not have dlopen (or dynamic loading
I was thinking of modifying the "ubsec_init" and
"ubsec_finish" to statically link to the ubsec
functions instead of using dlopen and so on. Is that
the only option I have or is there any other option ?.
Thank you so much for your help.
--- Ioannis Liverezas <email@example.com>
> Yes it is possible to do it. You have to add the
> --static flag in the makefile
> of the root dir of the openssl release that you are
> compiling. This flag must
> be added both to CFLAGS for compiling and LDFLAGS
> for linking. For further
> use, if you continue integration eg. with openssh,
> you will also need
> ldconfig, libld and libnss in the system that will
> run the openssl that you
> have built.
> Then you 'll have to strip the final executable, to
> reduce its size.
> good luck!
> OpenSSL Project
> [url]http://www.openssl.org[/url]
> Development Mailing List
> [email]firstname.lastname@example.com[/email]
> Automated List Manager
> [email]email@example.com[/email]
Do you Yahoo!?
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text:
Your important moment of the day in U.S.-Russian relations occurred during Thursday's White House press briefing, when ITAR-TASS correspondent Andrei Sitov questioned Robert Gibbs about whether the shootings in Tucson, Ariz. were the "reverse side of freedom," and whether the "freedom of a deranged mind to react in a violent way" was quintessentially American. As you might expect, Gibbs objected to this characterization.
SITOV: First, my condolences to all the Americans, especially to the victims. But second, as to why it does not seem all that incomprehensible, at least from the outsider. It's the reverse side of freedom. Unless you want restrictions, unless you want bigger role for the government --
GIBBS: Look, I think there's an investigation that's going to go on. Hold on, let me take my time back for a second. There's an investigation that's going to go on. I think as it goes on we will learn more and more about what happened. I think the President was clear last night, we may never know fully why or how. We may never have an understanding of why, as the President said, in the dark recesses of someone's mind, a violent person's mind, do actions like this spring forward. I don't want to surmise or think in the future of what some of that might be. But I think it's important to understand, as I said earlier, the event that was happening that day was the exercise of some very important, very foundational freedoms to this country. The freedom of speech. The freedom to assemble. The freedom to petition your government. Democracy, or form of self-government that is of, by, and for the people. all very quintessential American values that have been on display, along with tremendous courage and resilience of those in the community, and throughout this country, but have had to deal with this tragedy.
SITOV: This is what I was talking about, exactly this. This is America. The democracy, the freedom of speech and the freedom of assembly, the freedom to petition your government. Many people outside would also say, and they quote unquote freedom of a deranged mind to react in a violent way it is also American. How do you respond to that?
GIBBS: What's the last part?
SITOV: They quote unquote freedom of the deranged mind to react violently to them, it is also American.
GIBBS: No. I would disagree vehemently with that. There are -- there is nothing in the values of our country, there's nothing on the many laws on our books that would provide for somebody to impugn and impede on the very freedoms that you began with, but exercising the actions that that individual took on that day. That is not American. I think there's agreement on all sides of the political spectrum, violence is never, ever acceptable. We had people that died. We had people whose lives will be changed forever, because of the deranged actions of a madman. Those are not American. Those are not in keeping with the important bedrock values by which this country was founded, and by which its citizens live each and every day of their lives, in hopes of something better for those that are here.
Hey, remember back in September of 2004, when Chechen separatists took hostages at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia-Alania? There was a standoff, and it finally ended when Russian forces stormed the school, with tanks and rockets. About 400 people died. As Yuri Kozyrev reported for Time Magazine, in the aftermath, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was quick to put Sitov's suggestion into play:
Putin wasted no time declaring he would crack down even harder rather than negotiate a political solution to the Chechen conflict. In his televised speech on Saturday, he paraphrased Stalin: "We have shown weakness. The weak ones get beaten." With the Kremlin claiming that nine of the terrorists in Beslan were of Arab descent -- something independent observers have not yet been able to confirm -- Putin blamed the crisis on the "direct intervention of international terrorism" aimed at breaking up Russia. He promised a new "set of measures to reinforce the country's unity," as well as tougher rule in the Caucasus and a new "crisis management system" that would enhance the powers of the security services. Some observers, including senior officers in the security services, worried that these new measures could be used to further enhance Putin's power, entrenching the country ever deeper in his authoritarian rule.
Here's a fun fact about the aftermath, from your Wikipedia:
Increased security measures were introduced to Russian cities. More than 10,000 people without proper documents were detained by Moscow police in a "terrorist hunt". Colonel Magomed Tolboyev, a cosmonaut and Hero of the Russian Federation, was attacked by Moscow police patrol and beaten because of his Chechen-sounding name.
Quote Stalin and consolidate power? Beat up a hero cosmonaut in the ensuing, crazy witch hunt because of his name? Cheery stuff. Does is speak to the national character of Russia? Who's to say that some enhanced personal freedoms couldn't have prevented the Beslan crisis from happening? Just asking, not lecturing.
And hey, not to give Sitov more ammunition, but I'm happy to point out our own little "Thomas Friedman wants the Iraqi people to suck on this" misadventure in Mesopotamia. I guess what I'm saying is this: I'm no historian, but based upon what little I've learned, I've found it difficult to identify the nation or culture that's truly cornered the market on atrocity.
To lighten the mood, here's a more comedic way of making this point:
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text:
Defiance Download for PS3On: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
An open world shooter MMO from Trion Worlds. Set on a future Earth, Defiance introduces players and viewers to a world where humans and aliens live together on a planet transformed by decades of conflict.
Review Verdict Read Review
7Out of 10Back to game info
Download courtesy of:
Download: Defiance: Arkhunter Chronicles
Category: HD Video
Take a look at the most recent game trailer...
Download File
File Size: 19.56 MB


text:
In a society
that calls us extreme and right wing I disagree. We are not the
extremists as we do not, for instance promote the decadent of
buggary. We abhor the decimation of our gene pool. We are proud
to be part of the 8% of the worlds homo-sapien populance. We are
the ethnic minority and so its laughable to hear the ZOG puppets
referring to other Races as such. The constant harping on about
there not being enough 'coloureds' in this or that occupation
is being addressed by our rulers. The power of White gentiles
to forge our destiny has diminished massivly since the end of
WW2 which was the last serious attempt to throw off the Zionist
We are the
moderates, the system is extreme, they let child molesters roam
the streets, they pander to fenian murder gangs, they harass motorists
incessantly and let burglars steal, rapists rape and muggers rob
their victims with little deterrent. The next worse thing to miscegnation
for our Nations well is abuse of drugs, i'm not talking about
the occasionl spliff, i'm referring to 'E', cocaine and heroine
derivatives. The sad individuals that get into this cycle supposedly
for 'the hit' ought really try to enhance their character and
personality with more tradional methods.
How about
hard work, cleanliness and self respect. Why don't those men that
swap mothers for a wife after adolescence admit it, they are hen
pecked and incapable of functioning because they never stood on
their own two feet. If, for no other reason, the scourge of drug
infestation should be resisted because whilst us old fashioned
individuals are at work doing the boring thing (and paying our
way) these low life miscreants are robbing your houses and desecrating
your homes
It has been Blood & Honour policy here in old blighty
to be positive about our scenes, this policy being unity last
year (or a few months previous). Unfortunately, silence on some
things has kept the facts that we in England, Scotland, Wales
and Ulster know, from our European comrades. It is a fact that
some of the much larger continental Divisions of Blood & Honour
have absolutely no idea about the truth in England. Many people
abroad still believe the word of one liar and dismiss the word
of ten, or any number of honest and true patriots. With the expulsion
of Del O'Connor from Will Brownings ever shrinking band of followers
come the usual lies about him being a traitor, state informer,
money maker etc etc... I don't have a problem with the mis-guided
followers of the states right wing honey trap, their every move
is monitored by the states agents, Gerry Gable and his decrepid
'Searchlight' rag has regular reports of their activities and
still they follow, but for how much longer? The door to the real
resistance is still open, but until you see the light don't take
orders to attack real patriots......enough said for now!
"Schlagt's dich in scherben ich steh' fur zwei
und geht's an's sterben ich bin dabei!"
Hier marschiert
der Nationaler widerstand....SIEG HEIL.
Zoli, Borczy, Jabba, Front line fighters for White
Power who are still in the sights of the Hungarian oppressors
and are still awaiting court appearences for being 'Archivum'
- tellers of truth and the system don't like it!!.
Sale, Aca,
Dule..Belgrade Serbian Idealists, good luck with your own Unity
Movement. "ONLY UNITY SAVES SERBS", B&H Serbia,
Hammerskins, Work F.C supporters and Serbian Front guys under
one banner. Best wishes for the new '88' record label. For indirect
correspondence with Serbian comrades write to:
Aleksander Maksovic, SHS,
PO Box 46, 11070
Belgrade, Serbia - YU
Good luck
Maja in your new life in Austrailia and Aleks, learn to smile
mate. Lastly, greetings to the Slovenian car wash Rok, alias Jamnik
- the king of Jamnik, an honour to be my guest.
Keep the faith.
currently have Mick/ vocals, Steve/ Guitar, Brian/ Bass
and that other firm favourite Animal on drums. Our new songs
include 'Call Yourself What You Will', 'Only The Foolish
Are Fooled', 'Don't Call Me Mate' and 'Who's Afraid Of The
Little French Prick'... that's a great singalong song and
crowd favourite. Plans for the Millennium?..Gigs, more drink
and if there's any room left...more drink!!!!!
label 'ISD' has put out a CD by a band who are for some
reason calling themselves Chingford Attack. What are your
feelings on this release and what can you tell our readers
about this phoney, pseudo NS band and its motives?
we first heard about the CD we thought live material had
been bootlegged but letters started being sent to the B&H
and C.A boxes by comrades complaining that they had bought
this CD and it wasn't Chingford. We have even recieved copies
of the shit from comrades asking for their money back. In
Belgium a comrade asked for a CD to be signed and when told
it wasn't Chingford and he should get his money back he
just slung it in the bin saying that's where it belongs
and other good NS folk shouldn't be fooled into buying it.
In Britain it has been boycotted totally because everyone
knows the score. Maybe a few mugs have bought it but it
has to be said that if they support piracy like this then
are they NS anyway? Anyway, more fool them. We now have
reports that it is being sent free in bulk to various distributors
around Europe sometimes in batches of 100 so it hasn't sold
and is now just being used to curry favour by arse licking
and only greedy people will fall for this state trick. The
Danish label, if they knowingly supported this con, should
have some pride and stop desecrating our founders initials
and ideas and start using ImSaD (or MMM) - Money Making
Machine - instead. What of the phoney, pseudo-NS band and
their motives?...well, it has been narrowed down to members
of the Blackshirts and another band calling themselves No
Remorse - not Paul Burnley's or Big Jackos but yet another
one altogether again (probably just singing Paul Burnley
songs again)...Who they are we don't know but we certainly
know who they are NOT. Motives, even a half blind bloke
can work that out. Maybe they'll do the next Brutal Attack
or Warlord CD next cos they're good earners.
played several small gigs over the last year, when are you
releasing your debut CD, why has it taken you so long and
which label will it be on?
love the small piss up gigs where everyone knows each other
and its just a party really. Chingford is more of a spirit
than a band and having a laugh in these depressing times
is our main Ian. As our debut CD has been done for us with
all OUR material we think we'll let them do our second one
as well. Its all taken so long as the expression and description
"lazy bastards" isn't unknown to us. We still
receive offers for CDs on a regular basis but once again,
we're lazy bastards...
Attack are 100% Oi!, how do you view the heavier bands?
are 100% racket, how people like it beats me. If they can
support us so fanatically I'm sure many will love bands
with a heavier sound and NS message....Good luck to them
Skinhead folklore East London was the birthplace of it all
and the area brought us the '4skins'. 'Cockney Rejects'
etc. What's the East End like to live in these days and
is it right that large areas of the East End are being renamed
to names related to our cultural 'breathen'?
born and bred Eastenders, it saddens our hearts to see whole
areas of the East End resembling poverty stricken slums
of Bangladesh and Africa. Decent White folk have moved to
the outskirts and Essex and Whites still living in the East
End heart are flying the flag against overwhelming odds.
The re-naming of places and streets from their Anglo-Saxon
names dating back from hundreds of years ago to Indian/
Bangladeshi crap is political correctness from lefty outsiders
being imposed on the indigenous population to quell any
Nationalistic pride left in our besieged community. Multi-Racial
society is so natural they have to impose it on us!!!
are your five favourite albums and why?
The New Dawn' a Skrewdriver and White Power Classic. The
first and best and an unbelievable role model for all the
do you think are the most important three people in history
and why?
Adolf Hitler : A far sighted leader who fought for Europe
and the White man before most realised we were under threat.
Sir Oswald Mosley: An East End demi-god who awoke Britain
to the coming Multi-Racial hell that we now live in. If
only more had listened!!
The fellas who invented Beer and Suspenders.....Enough said!
over Europe our ranks are swelling and the movement appears
to be stronger than ever. Where do you think will be the
first country to sweep to power?
current trends Austria and Switzerland look good but the
knock on effect of persuading people to vote Nationalist
in other countries can only make the future look Whiter
and brighter.
political activity do you view as most beneficial, marches,
paper sales etc or direct militant action?
cannot answer this in full length for fear of of incriminating
myself but both ways are beneficial, both do the job. A
lot of hard work is done by many in the parties like the
BNP/NF and these have to be commended, and anyone who opposes
this system directly also.
closing comments?
I think we've said it all! Cheers to all the bands that
have always stuck with us, your support is fantastic and
to all the lads who are the Chingford Attack barmy army,
let the beers flow lads.
done Blood & Honour for speaking the truth and forging
a better destiny!!!


text:
Ranking the Largest U.S. Banks: Capital One Climbs to No. 6
SNL Financial is out with its quarterly rankings of biggest U.S. banks and thrifts by assets.
Once again there was no change among the top five. But after that, there was a lot of movement. Capital One moved up one spot to No. 6, thanks to its acquisition of ING Bank FSB completed last month. Capital One ranked ninth at the end of 2010.
HSBC, which had ranked fifth at the end of 2010, fell to eighth last quarter. HSBC's assets shrunk by $44.4 billion as a result of two sizable sales last year.
The largest gains in the rankings belonged to UnionBanCal, Charles Schwab Bank and First Republic Bank. Each moved up by two spots.
The biggest drops quarter-over-quarter were at Hudson City Bancorp, Synovus Financial, OneWest Bank FSB and First Horizon National, which each fell three spots.
Here are the rankings:


text:
Georgia on my mind
We have Georgia on our minds as we head out of Valdosta today. We hate to leave, but we must press on. Before we go we stop at Stage 51 coffee for lattes on the go and some sammys! We failed to look at the board until we were out the door, so we missed out on the cupcakes. Dang, lesson learned, always check the board!
Our route today is Valdosta, GA to Jackson, MS about a 9 hr drive. Not to worry,we had lots of entertainment along the way. As we drove highway 80 we saw lots of fun stuff, like what has to be one of the worlds biggest roosters (insert another term for rooster if you really want a giggle) and a sign for Cuba! The sign for Cuba threw us for a loop, we thought our Randy (our Rand McNally GPS) had lost her way, so we had to pull over and check the big map! We did make it to our complementary Country Inn and Suites for the night safe and sound!


text:
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