DMVol

Absolutely no doubt who is going to win this game..They know, we know it...they have owned this series for the last 4 years...

Brian Runge was fired earlier this year but it was for failing drug tests..... http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1692315-mlb-umpire-brian-runge-reportedly-fired-following-drug-violation

It made sense for him to play 2b with Howie hurt but when Howie came back and Romine gets the starts at 3b, you have to wonder about long term plans....Scioscia said they didn't want to put Green in a tough spot at 3b since he hadn't played there much in the minors but, with everything at this point geared to 2014, not sure why you couldn't give him a look at 3b....I don't think Romine has much 3b experience either (I may be wrong ont that)....I'm sure winter ball and/or spring training would give Green some time to adjust to 3b but it's not like we're playing for anything this year anyway.... Makes me wonder if they main thing was to see him at 2b, in case Howie is traded....no real plans beyond that....

Thought the same thing, ettin....seems to be the way things are trending....

Obviously you're not a dumb and dumber fan....

So you're saying there's still a chance?

I hope you're right but I don't see it...if I have a young, cost controlled starter who is better than Vargas, I wouldn't move him for Howie...Howie is a good player but not good enough to give up a good young starter for....young starters are the most valuable piece you can have, short of a Trout type everyday player.... A prospect for Howie? That might be different...most prospects are still a hope and a prayer...you may get Corbin or Sergura but you may not....

I don't think so either....you might get a similiar player for what we got for KMo--Vargas....that isn't going to please many around here but that's the way I see....

This.....

Don't think he did....low back issues were the only physical issue I can recall with him....seemingly, it was more of a high mileage/loss of velocity thing with Haren....similiar to Weaver, except Weaver has adjusted pretty well to the loss of velocity....

+1....81-81 would be an achievement for this team...I know it's not where anybody expected them to be but considering that, in mid August I thought they might lose 90 or 95 games, you have to give them some credit....And no, I don't want to lose in order to get a higher draft pick....

Watched him play in the Rose Bowl in 1994 when the starting Tenn QB (Colquitt) blew out his knee....he was a pretty good college QB, maybe the best I've ever seen in High School, but you knew his future was in baseball....the Manning guy who eventually replaced him in 1994, was pretty good, I seem to rememeber.....

Wow....didn't think anybody on this board would know UT history and stats that well, AandRF...I'm impressed...

If he could hit .260ish, might give you an option to trade Aybar....if the return was good enough, otherwise I'd keep Aybar....

It matters only, in my view, if Calhoun sits.....there is no reason to play Cowgill or Shuck over Calhoun, ever....Calhoun has legit potential to be an everyday big league OF'er...Shuck and Cowgill don't...4th or 5th OF'ers maybe but not everyday players....whether Calhoun pans out as an everyday player, we'll see, but he has that potential....I appreciate Scioscia's abilities but playing Shuck or Cowgill while Calhoun sits (not yesterday but it's happened some this year) is a head scratcher...particularly when we're out of the race and evaluating for next year....Calhoun needs to play everyday from here to the end of the season...same with Green over Field or Romine...Green might not pan out as an everyday player but he has that ability....not sure the other guys do....

I think Richards has earned the right to be penciled into the rotation at this point, unless he just falls apart down the stretch....I would try to resign Vargas and then go all in for Tanaka and/or a trade or trades....not sure there will be starters available on the trade market that most on here are hoping for, unless you overpay....we'll see....

Unfortunately, when you look at that list, I think a lot of teams will come to that conclusion...not everybody will be able to afford him but it will still be a very competitive market, that's for sure... I think the bottom line is that we are probably going to have to get in the trade market for starting pitching.....

You're not missing anything....the Rockies and Twins released him before we picked him up....and brought him to Jerry's home for ex Rockies and Dbacks....

True....but if Blanton, Hanson, Burnett, Madsen, trading Santana and letting Torii go were all Dipoto moves, then it's a mixed bag at best...signing CJ looks like a good decision, trading for Vargas was a good move, releasing Haren was a good move, I guess trading Wells was a good move, even if we're still assuming most of his contract...but the bad moves, even excluding Hamilton and Pujols, probably outnumber the good....

Not the same....we are still paying 75-80% of Wells' contract (a good deal for us)....the Dogs took on virtually all of the money owed on the Sox contracts, including 2 that looked unmovable--Crawford and Beckett....

Agree with a lot of what you're saying but you have to remember that the Dodgers/Red Sox trade gave the Sox a huge amount of payroll flexibility, an unprecidented amount from one trade....Don't think anybody will help us with Hamilton and Pujols like the Dogs did the Sox.....

The Braves are pretty good at evaluating their pitching talent and when to dump it....Tommy Hanson says hello....

Pretty good article about re-signing Vargas and having Weaver, Wilson, Vargas and Richards as 4 of the 5 starters for next year.... http://aldengonzalez.mlblogs.com/2013/09/06/is-weaverwilsonrichardsvargas-enough/

Injury?....Haren just wore out...too many innings....and there were indications of wear and tear when the trade was made....not unsual when you throw as many innings as he has....that said, it was a classic now for later trade....and if we make the playoffs in 2010 or 2011, it looks a lot better....Haren did his part, at least for those 2 years...

If he does recover, it'll be in the NL...the AL is a tough place to fix broken pitchers like Blanton and Hanson...