Find MASN on your cable or satellite provider.

May as well get this out of the way for the whiners.

WORST PITCHER EVER!
WAY TO GO ANDREW!
Must have claimed him while tapping in on 16...
This is going to take away innings from Andy Mitchell!

Organizational depth, people. Don't get too excited one way or the other.

Inventory... at least the cavalry wasn't insulted by using that term to describe his joining the pot.

As I feared, Ryan and I find ourselves in another teapot tempest. For those following along at home, yesterday Ryan wrote complaining that Nick hadn’t won the rookie of the year, even though he played better than Pedroia did when he won. I wrote a reply curtly dismissing this argument and complaining that he’d posted this argument previously and I’d “completely debunked” it, which was a dumb, arrogant thing to say. After a night of sleep I re-read my reply this morning and posted an apology, but of course not soon enough. Oh well. So here’s Ryan’s reply:

Orange Crayon Jesus-
I don't know how I saaw (sic) my name on your post, it was longer than war and peace. Who takes that kind of time?

--Um, me? If you hated that one, you're really going to hate this one. I apologize for writing long posts. I don’t want to contribute to the noise pollution here and always feel compelled to read everything before I post. Sometimes I think the class discussion is even more interesting than Roch’s posts – there are some very smart people gathered here – so I take notes as I’m reading along and post it all at once. I know that puts some people off, but I figure people know me by now and either want to trouble themselves or not. I know if you posted something, I’d read it, no matter how long, because you’re passionate and usually pretty thoughtful, IMO. Which is why I particularly regretted writing what I did.

Anyway . . . I am the one that said Nick had just a good a rookie year as Pedroia, it just happens that Weaver, a pitcher, came up and had a good year as well. So, Nick didn't win the ROY. You said I said something about MVP. NO.

--Correct. I miswrote. I was thinking RoY and wrote MVP by mistake. My bad.

But the biggest factor, YOU DOPE . . .

--At least we’re not resorting to name-calling. So we’ve got that going for us.

. . . is Pedroia is on the friggin RED SOX. Look at the protection he has. Who protects Nick? NO ONE. So, to say you "totally debunked" me with stats, makes me think you might be a slow adult. If that is the case, than I am sorry for picking on the handicapped.

--You are! No you are! I know you are, but what am I?

What are you? A bandwagoning Sox fan? Are you one of those? Who have never even been to Boston?

--Thanks for asking! I was born in Baltimore and started rooting for the Orioles in 1966, becoming particularly passionate in ’69 and thereafter. The Red Sox weren’t particularly good for most of that time, and for whatever reason my hatred of the Yankees, cemented in the early Steinbrenner years, made me think of the Sox as compatriots against the Evil Empire more than competitors. There was no question of my loyalty to the O’s, but the Sox were loveable losers, and Fenway Park was a great place to watch a game. I have no love for Dustin Pedroia, and the Sox have become more like the Yankees than the old Sox ever were, but I can’t hate them the way I hate the Yankees. All of which has absolutely nothing to do with our argument. Which is:

We were talking about how Nick gets shunned for everything. But, then you said, you "completely debunked me with stats". Pedroia hit .317 8 HR 50rbis 7sb- and a .989 Fielding PCT in 2007 (his rookie year). Markakis hit .291 16HR 62 RBI 2sb- 8asst .998 Fielding PCT in 2006 (his rookie year). Pedroia was called up for 31 games in 2006 at the end. He hit .191. So, technically, he was able to get his first 100 at bats to adjust, without it counting against him as a ROY candidate.

--Ah, back to the content! You make an excellent point that Pedroia got 100 practice ABs the year before that didn’t count against his RoY candidacy, while Nick’s slow start did. I completely agree that Nick is underrated because he plays in Baltimore. But the argument I felt I had debunked before was this one, which you made a couple of months ago:

You could argue that Nick got hosed on the ROY too. Since Weaver played for a good team . . . . Nicks (sic) numbers were better than Pedroia's and Nick had ZERO protection. . . . Reimold is hitting 295. If he hits anywhere near 280 or higher and 20+ HR's, and does NOT win, then something is wrong with the process. The worst part about Nick, is I don't think he even got 1 vote.

--My reply then was:

“For the record, Nick came in sixth in the ROY voting in 2006, with 7 vote points. I guess you’re right, a person technically can argue anything, including that trolls make witty comments, but the evidence that Nick was hosed is not on your side. He came in behind Justin Verlander (17-9, 3.63), Jonathan Papelbon (35 saves, 0.92), and Francisco Liriano (12-3, 2.16), among others (Weaver was fifth, by the way). All of them played on better teams, it’s true, and Nick didn’t have much protection. But did he have a better year than those guys? Really? Pedroia won in 2007, so that’s like arguing that Mantle should have won the HR race in 1961 since he would have won it in ’62 with the same numbers. I will mention, though, that Dustin did have a higher OPS by about 30 points for a team that won the World Series.

“Look, we’d all love to see Nolan, or Bergy, or any Oriole player in the running for ROY. It’s a sign of a good organization. But running a set of projected totals and saying there’s something wrong if the player reaches them and doesn’t win the ROY award is pretty ridiculous. Being a homer sure beats being a troll, but there are lots of good players out there who don’t happen to be Orioles. Don’t deny them their due.”

****

This time around, Ryan added fielding into the argument, which is very reasonable. Let’s look at their rookie year UZR/150 ratings:

Dustin: 4.4
Nick: 2.8

Nick did much better, a 7.0, in just right field, but he played elsewhere as well that year before displacing Gibbons. Furthermore, interestingly, Dustin’s defense in his first 20 games the year before was as bad as his hitting, -11.7. But their overall rookie numbers favor Dustin.

How about OPS+, which takes out the advantage of Dustin playing half his games in Fenway?

Dustin: 112
Nick: 106

What about Wins Above Replacement, which includes running along with fielding and hitting?

Dustin: 4.3
Nick: 3.4

One last point, about Dustin having protection that Nick didn’t. Certainly it’s true that Pedroia was part of a better lineup. It’s accepted baseball wisdom that this is important to individual stats, although Jeremy might have something to add about that. But just look at Nick last year and this. Last year he had Aubrey behind him hitting like gangbusters with a 135 OPS+. This year he had Aubrey-lite, with an 87 OPS+, a spectacular almost-50 point drop. Yet Nick’s BA (.306 vs. .307) and slugging (.491 vs. 484) are almost identical last year and this, and his walks are almost HALF what they were last year, down from 99 to on pace for 52! So you’re saying that last year pitchers were walking Nick to pitch to the Silver Slugger, and this year they’re challenging him so they don’t have to face one of the worst cleanup hitters in the major leagues? Granted this is only one example, but my suspicion is that “protection” is overrated.

Ryan, you make some good points about Nick’s disadvantages. Nick had a fine rookie season, he's a terrific player who may get better, and maybe he'll end up having the better career than Dustin. But saying “Nick’s numbers were better than Pedroia’s” during their rookie years just isn’t true, IMO.

I read he lost his fastball velocity once he became a pro

Did they need to clear room on the 40 man or was this Huff's spot?
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He's not on the 40, as far as I know. - Roch

i don't know about other O's fans, but I love when we do this. Picking up former high draft picks for nothing is a great way to add depth and potential to our system. It worked out great with Guthrie, and while he may never have developed into a true major league ace, the return on investment is great.

Pie, Michael Aubrey and now Lambert all, at one time or another, were viewed as top prospects. Maybe none of them work out, but its a great no risk, all reward move.

he will be in the Orioles starting 5 next year, he will bring "a quality veteran presence and will provide a mentoring attitude for the young arms."

who actually reads these ten page posts of people arguing with each other about stupid things like who won the mvp last year? Can't you guys just state the obvious "Nick Markakis has yet to be shown the respect he deserves around baseball" Look at that, see how easy that was....

jdb: I love the idea of automating the strike zone. I'm guessing it happens like most changes in baseball, about 40 years after it should.

Alan in VA: Fantastic post (riposte?) to kbp, whom you hoisted on his own petard, although I'm not sure he'll even get it. Terrific work!

Rich: Interesting post about GB/FB ratio, which sheets often brings up but which I've never paid much attention to. I'd always heard that K and BB stats in the minors are the things to pay attention to, but I don't know enough about how to value GB/FB ratios in the majors. Sheets, care to weigh in?

Doug from York: Excellent point about Matusz correctly using the singular verb form with "neither," which almost no one does. I was terrifically impressed with Brian's comments generally, and immediately stopped worrying that he's being rushed.

Thanks, Roch, for the great interview comments. Absolutely priceless. Brian may become my new favorite Oriole.

Is it just me or do the links the same color as the rest of the text? "click here" you literally have to put the mouse over "here" to realize it's a link. just sayin'.
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Yes, it's that simple. - Roch

I think orange crayon jesus has too much time on his hands.

To: Mark C. and JDB

I like the idea of an automatic strike zone, but forget the buzzer in the pocket, I say just taze the ump if the call is incorrect.
I can hear John Hirschbeck by the 4th inning, "Don't taze me Bro!"

i think they have to put him on the 40 man to claim him. Also orioles.com has him on it. http://www.mlb.com/team/roster_40man.jsp?c_id=bal.

I must be bored at work, my minds starting to wander. I read "Chris Lambert" and immediately thought, "The guy from Highlander?"

Hey Roch,

Lambert was added to the Orioles 40 man roster. It is now full at 40. Lambert was optioned earlier in the season by Detroit. He has two option years remaining.

-Mike

Can we have some kind of character limit on responses? I get tired scrolling down let alone reading.

orange crayon jesus your new name should be "debbie downer"

Alan in VA said:

KyleProBoller said:

I'd be interested to see the K/9 and K/BB numbers of those pitchers. I'd bet they were far superior to the numbers we've seen with our crop of talented pitchers in Baltimore.

*************************

In their first two full seasons in the major leagues:

Greg Maddux - 5.4 K/9, 1.55 K/BB

Tom Glavine - 4.2 K/9, 1.69 K/BB

Randy Johnson - 7.2 K/9, 1.50 K/BB
Johnson actually lead the AL with 120 BB in 1990, his second season. He went on to lead again in '91 (152 BB) and '92 (144), before figuring things out.

John Smoltz - 6.9 K/9, 2.09 K/BB

**************************

While I'm on the subject, I realized I should have included stats for our own rookies this season:

Bergesen - 4.74 K/9, 2.03 K/BB
Hernandez - 4.90 K/9, 1.35 K/BB
Tillman - 5.10 K/9, 1.55 K/BB
Matusz - 8.78 K/9, 1.63 K/BB

Aside from possibly Hernandez, our guys actually have better numbers, although granted it's a much smaller sample size, and I don't think these numbers are actually significant. But it makes the point that good pitchers often start out very mediocre. Does anyone here remember Bedard's rookie year?

Two other good examples are Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan, who started out with astonomical walk totals (Ryan lead the league in walks MORE TIMES than he lead in strikeouts).

Brummie, Jack and Boller,

For once, please just stop referencing the 'Plan' in every post. We get your shtick. You don't need to pummel us all into oblivion with it. Mix in a little intelligent dialogue just to be creative. Good God.

colorado dennis: You're right that today I do have too much time on my hands, but I'm about to pick up my kids, so that's over! Also I'm getting set for two months of silence in about six weeks, having lost my bet about Guthrie and Bergy. Just trying to get it all in now.

ps I LOVE the stats that people have contributed lately. Thanks to all for making the SoR a better place.

Hey Roch, I clicked there and nothing happened :-) I was hoping for some soothing music or encouraging words from someone famous. I'll have to say that on the surface this doesn't make much sense. Maybe this was a guy they looked at while they were working on the Huff trade and saw something. On the surface he doesn't sound like much.

Hmmmm, I'm thinking "the plan" may involve Matusz, Bergeson, Wieters, Nolan and Tillman (amongt others) but I'm really not sure. I'm pretty sure a "few" signifies about 3, so seeing how we have control of Matusz for 6 years, well we get yet another astute observation from our future GM. Give it up ladies and gentlemen for our resident troll comedy troupe.

Here is one for ya guys... it's better to drive drunk in Florida & kill someone while doing it than it is to be in NYC & have a gun in your pants (don't say it) that goes off when it drops out .... 30 days vs 2 years. Interesting legal system huh?

It's great to see a Boston College guy on the O's! Don't count this guy out. He is still pretty young and will add to and benefit from the pitching competition in our farm system. Not a huge move, but not a bad move either. Its a no-lose situation.

It's telling of KyleProBoller's character and perspective that he showed no interest in researching the K/9 and K/BB of Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine and Johnson as they compared to Matusz, Tillman, and Bergeson, but chose instead to simply assume that they didn't compare favorably.

Who says you're just a whiner, KPB? With baseless pessimism like you've got, you're creating a whole new realm of dissatisfaction.

I'm expecting a big game (& career obviously) from Matusz, what a great read Roch, thanks.

My only thing with him is, what will his # be next year...Not going to spend $100+ on his jersey until he settles into "his #."

AK:

Baseless pessimism??? LOL!!!

What's our record??? When is the last time we had a winning season??? Yeah me expecting this team to fail time after time is completely baseless. You must be new to Baltimore.

Alan in VA: Excellent research, sir. I suspected, having watched a LOT of the terrible Braves franchise pre-Scheurholz sic?), that our guys looked about as overmatched as theirs did. And they did. Why? Same for Wieters or anyone else human. They are rookies who have yet to master this level of competition. KyleProBoller, however, grasps at chances to complain about this team. Thanks again, Alan, for bringing us back to common sense.

To Everyone Complaining About the Oriole Franchise and its Owners Making Money:

Where is the Communist Party meeting being held? Being an open-minded fellow, I'd like to hear from you all and your compatriots about why our owner should not want his property to generate value, revenue, MONEY. If the team, and hence the owner(s), didn't make money, guess how long the Orioles would be in Baltimore? Are you all endorsing co-op, not-for-profit baseball teams instead? It really is an intriguing idea, but I bet you all aren't really free-thinkers, but just complainers, and the only thing you really know about Angelos is that he is wealthy. You have decided that he is the reason for the Orioles' struggles, and you know nothing else about him but his wealth, so you blame his making money for things you don't like or decisions you disagree with. This behavior is not only illogical, but it is really distasteful, too, making YOU seem resentful and petty, not making Angelos seem greedier and more monstrous.

(BTW, Brian, is "potter" from Mr. Potter from "It's a Wonderful Life"? Cause THAT'S a way to insult someone with a little style and creativity, although the content still remains...)

i got a little excited when i saw "adding to the inventory", but this doesnt help us. why would we want a guy with a 14+ era this year? i dont care if he WAS a first round pick, he sounds like garbage.

the o's are 8-25 since the all-star break. there is just absolutely no enthusiasm and none of the players care. how are we supposed to be building for the future if we are doing worse than last year!? i know we are bringing up our young arms and guys like reimold and wieters, but just act like you want to WIN the game and show some EFFORT. i never thought it would happen but i dont want huff back, like they were talking about about signing him as a free agent in the offseason. i dont want mora, guthrie, or any of these other guys that show no effort. i hear guthrie talk after the game and he acts like he wants to do better and that he's disappointed in his performance, WELL THEN GO OUT THERE AND SHOW THAT YOU WANT TO WIN! stop giving up 2 or 3 HRs a game.

For the ones on here who are from Maryland...

What happens when you delude your crabcakes with filler....
Yep your right, turns the entire pile into one big mess.

Well Andrew, keep deluding our AAA with rejects from other organizations. And in return they will just eat up space for the legit prospects from progressing....case in point Snyder at 1st/DH

Andrew....
a.k.a Mr Electricity

It's also better to drive drunk and kill someone than it is to bank roll a dog fighting operation on your property.

I have a unique perspective on Chris "Highlander" Lambert, as I live in Michigan and have seen him pitch for the Tigers. The dude got lit up every time he was in there, and was just not good. He may be a good AAA guy, though, and we need those guys too. As Roch mentions, we need some "organizational" types. Maybe he turns into Jeremy Guthrie (of 2008) too. It's a no-risk move on our part. As long as Lambert doesn't block anyone, I'm cool with the signing.

Andy said:
"Tillman's fastball looked a lot less flat last night, had some tail/movement on it. Any idea if he's made an adjustment to his grip or delivery, or if that's just regular variation we'll see from start to start?"

Andy,

I think for his first couple starts, Tillman was just adrenaline-pumped, understandably, and was overthrowing his fastball. He had always been 92, good command, good movement, but when he came up at first we saw 95, mediocre command, no movement. This is classic -- been happening to Guthrie all year, cause he overthrows about every pitch. Now that Tillman's settling down emotionally, he's going to work and concentrating on the pitches, and we're seeing his "natural" 92 with good movement. When he needs to "give a little extra" or other related euphemisms for when a pitcher intentionally overthrows the fastball, usually up out of the zone in order to blow a hitter away when you need a K, I bet we'll see that flatter (part of why it can't be hittable) harder cheese @ 95.

My crab cakes aren't deluded. In fact, I think they're quite lucid.

God, you are a moron.

Brummie_Oriole said:
"Jack: We should also have a running countodwn to 94, as in 94 losses, more than the 93 losses we had last year and therefore a regression in the Win/Loss column.

Jack said:
"The only number most fans should be focusing on is
The magic number.
And it stands at 9"

So, what kind of beers do you guys crack open and toast each other with when the Orioles lose? Do you share a cigarette together when the team blows leads? Does the goat's blood wash off easier after each loss? Maybe you should paint your chests with the running tally of O's on the DL, in order to celebrate THAT, too? I bet you think that others think that you are the BIGGEST O's fans because of your passion. Here you reveal that you root for our team's struggles and pains, and it is unfortunate that we have "fans" like that. Very sad. It didn't have to be this way.

AND
Brummie_Oriole said:
"But the team made $16m in revenue the last two years and the value of the team ahs increased by $5m, so Andrew is doing a great job."

Yes, Brummie, when an executive increases his organization's value, especially by millions, that is considered success. Were you hired (or retained) because it contributed to LOSING money, or to MAKING it? (Don't answer if you're a print journalist, that would make my question below the belt.) Was this supposed to be your sarcasm? Cause you are certainly more witty than that -- as usual, your hatred is straining your intellectual gifts, B!. Or maybe you're one of the Commies. Tons of people on here seem to have a problem with making money by selling a product, and especially to do it well. Strange. But it explains why everyone wants Angelos to sell the team and nobody does anything about it, like BUY THE TEAM. What's the hold-up, all you rich people haters? Not enough money to buy the team? Ask Peter Angelos, he knows how to make...oops.

Jack said:
"Now who is going to be right...hmmmmm"

Now who is going to care what Jack thinks...hmmmm.

It (the team's struggles) HAD to be this way. But, it (your irrational obsessive blame) didn't have to be this way.

Dear Roch,

Do you remember, like 20-25 years ago, Rick Reilly delievered the "Heavenly Hundred" (best players at each number) in his SI column? Rick, of course, added some witty comments to spice things up. The very best was:

33. Lew Alcindor. With apologies to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Made me laugh and laugh, even as a little tyke. And definitely KAJ over Bird, awesome as Bird was. Patrick Roy? Ovechkin over Ripken? Come on, hockey is at least a real sport (unlike golf or NASCAR) but not important enough to most Americans to kick ANY worthy MLB, NBA, or NFLer off the list, IMO. Otherwise, then #43 becomes Richard Petty, we start checking Tiger's caddy numbers, and the whole thing becomes ridiculous.

Was/is Reilly one of your inspirations, Teach? He likes to walk the laugh/groan line, too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Love that guy's work. Big fan. - Roch

Alan in Va; thanks for putting things in perspective with FACTS: something the borish whiner KyleProBoller never uses in his pathetic negative comments. It must really suck to be such a negative whiner 24/7.

OCJ, AK, Roscoe, et al: You're welcome. I got tired of hearing baseless arguments from trolls who don't know their baseball history and can't be bothered to learn it.

KPB: Would it kill you to spend 5 minutes on baseball-reference.com before you post?

Can we sign Usain Bolt as a pinch runner?

Roscoe,
I see that you have been goaded into responding to the incessant needling of our resident dementors. I think you've hit on something that bothers me as well. These guys seem to take some perverse pleasure in the O's failure. In rooting against everything Andy, nothing could make them happier than a complete collapse and a hopeless future until years after we have a new GM. You can't root against Andy without rooting for complete ruin because of the position he's in.

In some ways, this season has been even more difficult than any of the others because I probably care more than I have for years. Why do I care? Because to me nothing is more interesting to me in baseball than seeing young guys come to your team and watch them get better. Every one has their own story. The great thing about this season is the story is really getting interesting for a lot of guys and I'm pulling for all of them. And the reason we are in this genesis stage is directly because of the new direction from our FO. And of course pulling it all together is Roch, because without the information (and playful storytelling) there is no story.

I think the painful parts of this season are obvious to anyone and folks have every right to vent from time to time. It just depressing that there are a few people thriving on everyone else's pain with their countdowns and predictions of hopelessness.

Jack said:
". . . What happens when you delude your crabcakes with filler....
Yep your right, turns the entire pile into one big mess.
Well Andrew, keep deluding our AAA with rejects from other organizations.

Who says trolls aren't entertaining? (Stallion, I trust you don't mind if I point out the unintended humor in Jack's last post.)

Jack,
Correctly, Stallion took me to task because I made fun at his expense when he misspelled one word. You, on the other hand, are fair game. You are adept at churning out malapropisms; today's entry: "delude," when you meant "dilute."
You almost got it right: "What happens when you delude people by diluting your crab cakes with filler . . . ?" Very amusing.

If you have children, I sincerely hope that they are not home-schooled.

ocj: Please continue your long-form posts; there is always much to munch in them. Baseball is a wonderful game for many reasons, including the 162-game schedule with it's changing rhythms, doldrums, and periods of sustained excitement, which provides endless topics that beg to be dissected and discussed.

I have often thought of the SOR as an excellent vanity press in blog form -- inexpensive and very fast turnaround.

Brandon Snyder is a good example of a prospect progressing at a good rate.
He started in AA this year, kicked ass and got promoted, struggled early in AAA and has now come alive in a big way.

He has played 113 games this year, after playing 116 and 118 the two previous years. There are 19 games left in Norfolk's season.

Nobody is preventing him from playing.

Does a deluded crabcake think it's a lobster roll? Keep'em coming Jack. Norm Crosby made a living for years spitting out malapropisms, so if that GM thing doesn't work out for ya...

KyleProBoller said:
AK:

Baseless pessimism??? LOL!!!

What's our record??? When is the last time we had a winning season??? Yeah me expecting this team to fail time after time is completely baseless. You must be new to Baltimore.
--------------------------------

Here's the thing with you, and you've actually demonstrated it more perfectly than I could ever attempt to. Everything is part of one gigantic conversation that begins and ends with the Orioles record over the last twenty years. There is no room for a new conversation, a side conversation, or any sort of tangent whatsover. All roads lead to the same location with you.

You're unable to grasp that the years of Eric Dubose and Kurt Ainesworth are in no way indicative of the abilities of Brian Matusz or Chris Tillman. It is because you constantly correlate the expected and routine struggles of promising young prospects to the longstanding failure of this franchise that you aren't taken seriously.

When you stand at a roulette table, does the ball's termination in the previous role have anything to do with the next turn? The fact that we've been miserable for the better part of two decades says nothing about the guys who've been here for less than a month.

Actually, I take that back. As long as the Randy-Quaid-from-Major-Leauge fans like yourself continue to view the development of our young talent through the prism of the Baltimore Orioles' recent history, you are, in fact, ensuring that we're in store for more of the same.

Good teams aren't created by writing off prospects after a few starts or jumping on "best available" free agents. That's what this team did throughout the aughts, and that's what you're advocating for now.

Pull yourself together. You act like a highschool girl who enjoys playing the role of the constantly scorned. It's pathetic.

Oh, and Jack, that's "dilute" your crabcakes.

If you deluded your crabcakes you'd be making them think they were lobster cakes, or clam cakes, or something other than what they are. The way you've deluded yourself into believing that you have valid opinions.

Good posts Alan and Roscoe. It gives a good laugh to the true fans when they get easily debunked. Funny how the trolls claim to be fans but want to boycott the team. They think Pete will sell if nobody show up at the Yards. I wonder if they were around when Baltimore thought the Colts would never leave? Sick of the trolls, if you aren't a fan go to Natstown, its built for you and close to share the wealth Barack!

Jack said:
For the ones on here who are from Maryland...

What happens when you delude your crabcakes with filler....
Yep your right, turns the entire pile into one big mess.

Well Andrew, keep deluding our AAA with rejects from other organizations. And in return they will just eat up space for the legit prospects from progressing....case in point Snyder at 1st/DH

Andrew....
a.k.a Mr Electricity

------------------------------

You've written an awful lot of really stupid stuff. This is certainly top 10, in fact it might be #1. By the way, do you have any friends?

Oh, and by the way, please check, you will find that Snyder is a regular member of the Tides lineup.

When I was a kid my parents wanted to Bogart all the backfin crab cakes so they would bust out a couple small coddies and tell us they were "mild" crab cakes, perfect for kids. I guess even back then you didn't waste prime crab meat on bratty kids. A good idea since we would just as likely play with our food and then feed it to the dog under table as we would actually eat it ourselves and appreciate it. So no, the crab cakes were not exactly deluded -- but our little coddies did all have a nasty Napoleon complex.

Now we all know the difference of course, but I still have a warm spot in my heart for a warm coddie on saltine crackers with French's Yellow mustard.

AK

Well put.