02-22-2010, 12:36 PM
<!--quoteo(post=80233:date=Feb 21 2010, 08:16 PM:name=jstraw)-->QUOTE (jstraw @ Feb 21 2010, 08:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=80231:date=Feb 21 2010, 08:08 PM:name=KBwsb)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KBwsb @ Feb 21 2010, 08:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=80167:date=Feb 20 2010, 03:02 PM:name=jstraw)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (jstraw @ Feb 20 2010, 03:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=80164:date=Feb 20 2010, 02:08 PM:name=KBwsb)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KBwsb @ Feb 20 2010, 02:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I love Sammy Sosa. And I dislike Mark McGwire.
Just like I love Derek Lee and dislike Albert Pujols.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
How are Derek Lee and Albert Pujols analogous?
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Derek Lee's career OPS+ is 124, which is very close to Sammy's 128.
Albert Pujols's career OPS+ is 172, which is relatively close to McGwire's 162.
So, as a hitter, McGwire is much closer to Pujols than he is to Sosa.
As I've stated, I don't like McGwire. I love Sammy. But saying he was a better player is analogous to saying that Lee is better than Pujols. Yes, I wish it were true. But we all know it isn't.
Critics of McGwire say "He could only do two things!"
That may be true, but those two things were getting on base at a phenomenal clip, and hitting home runs at a higher rate than anyone in the history of the sport.
If a hitter were to only do 2 things well,<i> those</i> would be the two things you'd most want.
Hey, this is a Cub's board. I understand the Cub love. In contrast, the Cards are our hated rivals. And as I've stated, Derrek Lee and Sammy Sosa are two of my favorite players of my lifetime.
But reality is reality. Those Cardinal players, in addition to being shitheads, were certainly great players. That's all I'm saying.
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Personally, I'm resigned to the possibility of never knowing if Lee is better than Pujols. Lee isn't juicing and I believe Pujols is.
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What has happened at any point in Pujols career to make you think he is juicing? Seriously, I understand that he is a Cardinal and we all hate him....but do you logically believe that he has been juicing all of these years without getting caught?
Sure, he may have juiced in the minors and got away with it, but that was also the same time that McGwire, Bonds, and countless others were juicing. To seriously believe that Pujols is still juicing is just plain stupid, there is NO logical reasoning behind it. There has never been any proof, he wasn't in the Mitchell report and you never even hear anyone (outside of Cub fans) even question him.
Being Cub fans, it hurts to say that the best baseball player in all of baseball plays for our hated rivals, but that is what it is, he is a freak of nature with a gift that can't be matched by anyone else in the league and we have to deal with that.
Just like I love Derek Lee and dislike Albert Pujols.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
How are Derek Lee and Albert Pujols analogous?
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Derek Lee's career OPS+ is 124, which is very close to Sammy's 128.
Albert Pujols's career OPS+ is 172, which is relatively close to McGwire's 162.
So, as a hitter, McGwire is much closer to Pujols than he is to Sosa.
As I've stated, I don't like McGwire. I love Sammy. But saying he was a better player is analogous to saying that Lee is better than Pujols. Yes, I wish it were true. But we all know it isn't.
Critics of McGwire say "He could only do two things!"
That may be true, but those two things were getting on base at a phenomenal clip, and hitting home runs at a higher rate than anyone in the history of the sport.
If a hitter were to only do 2 things well,<i> those</i> would be the two things you'd most want.
Hey, this is a Cub's board. I understand the Cub love. In contrast, the Cards are our hated rivals. And as I've stated, Derrek Lee and Sammy Sosa are two of my favorite players of my lifetime.
But reality is reality. Those Cardinal players, in addition to being shitheads, were certainly great players. That's all I'm saying.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Personally, I'm resigned to the possibility of never knowing if Lee is better than Pujols. Lee isn't juicing and I believe Pujols is.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What has happened at any point in Pujols career to make you think he is juicing? Seriously, I understand that he is a Cardinal and we all hate him....but do you logically believe that he has been juicing all of these years without getting caught?
Sure, he may have juiced in the minors and got away with it, but that was also the same time that McGwire, Bonds, and countless others were juicing. To seriously believe that Pujols is still juicing is just plain stupid, there is NO logical reasoning behind it. There has never been any proof, he wasn't in the Mitchell report and you never even hear anyone (outside of Cub fans) even question him.
Being Cub fans, it hurts to say that the best baseball player in all of baseball plays for our hated rivals, but that is what it is, he is a freak of nature with a gift that can't be matched by anyone else in the league and we have to deal with that.