*** Is it me, or did Bruce Marshall mumble this to Barry Laws, Jr.? ***
 BLJ> NL CENTRAL : Astros, Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Reds, Pirates
BM> The Astros shouldn't have any problems winning this division, but, 
BM> you placed  the Cubs way to high, they'll more than likely finish in 
Okay. In what place (first thru sixth) do you think the Milwaukee Brewers 
will finish in the NL Central as this is their first year in the NL?
--- Telegard v3.02
The new Yankee GM can't sign any worse players than our GM does.  Pat
Gillick has dredged the bottom of the barrel.  A GM is supposed to try
to improve his team, but I have yet to see evidence of Gillick doing
that.  After 1996, he "fixed" an offense that wasn't broken by adding
Mike Bordick, who doesn't hit for average, walk, or run well. and moved
Cal, who was above average offensively and as good as Bordick
defensively as a shortstop, to third base, where he's average
offensively and defensively.  We were weakened at two positions.
Meanwhile, Peter Angelos hired Ray Miller to repair our actual problem,
pitching.  This past season, our offense was weak, so Gillick has spent
this offseason signing the worst players available!  Joe Carter doesn't
hit for average, walk, or put up a high slugging percentage, despite
having a good hitter (Carlos Delgado) hitting behind him in 1997.  RBIs
are a terrible stat to judge players by - they're dependent on opportunities.
Carter had numerous opportunities, but hit poorly with RISP.  Like
Palmeiro, he got 100+ rbi because he batted in a spot that provided many
rbi chances.  Ozzie Guillen doesn't hit or walk.  Doug Drabek and Norm
Charlton are batting practice pitchers.  All are has-beens who won't
make the 1998 Orioles better than the 1997 version.  Who's next, Tony
Pena?  Rafael Belliard?
Raffy's not worth 10 million a year.  In fact, judging by 1997, he's no
longer worth 6 million a year.  His average, OBP, and slugging
percentage all dropped greatly in 1997 (he was 20th among ML first
basemen in on-base % plus slugging), and he's not at an age where
he'll return to or exceed his best years.  I expect a slight bounce back
this season, though.  He's been a good Oriole, but it's time to let him
go after the season.
The Yankees had a better offense than we did last season.  Their offense
is now much better than ours, as ours has been weakened by the swap of
Carter for Berroa, while theirs is strengthened by Knoblauch and Chili
Davis.
I hope our pitching dominates this season, because our offense is probably 
going to be even weaker than 1997's (which scored 137 fewer runs than the 
1996 version.)  It's again up to the pitchers to get the O's to the Promised 
Land.  Hopefully, a few of the geezers in the lineup will remember what the 
bat is for, and how to take pitches.
--- Msged/2 4.10
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