The Message Board Mafia Is Out To Get Me

Note: The following rant has been pent up since April 14, 2009 ... well ... probably before that. Being called out for stealing message board content prompted me to start writing this. God bless the ability to write, save then post later.

I have a message for message boards: Slow your roll.

I've been tempted to say I hate them, but hate is a strong word. So I guess I can say I really, really, really don't like you (sometimes). In principle, I actually like message boards because at their best, they represent a group that is like any passionate fan base. But like any other fan base message board, there are a few bad apples ... amateurish posters have too much damn time on their hands. Don't get me wrong: there are intelligent, resourceful people out there on SalukiTalk ... just like any fan message board. But contrary to popular belief, this journalist is not one of them.Some are parents of the student athletes (which is a bad idea in general). Some are super fans with an inside to a player, coach, student manager, water boy, concession stand worker, ticket-handler ... and all provide an intriguing point of view that folks outside of the circle can't see. And if there is anyone who appreciates that, it's me.

Then there's the heavy mouth-breathing kind that swear they're breaking every story when they heard from a friend of a player whose momma gets her nails done at the same place their cousin's auntie gets stamps for her husband's best friend's brother in law. Those guys provide no insight. Those guys don't bring anything to the table other than an ego not even the borders of the state of Texas could reign in.

These are the same people that befriend the student-athletes to brag to their friends that they are Facebook friends with the star quarterback, point guard, third baseman, etc. I'm guilty of having student athletes as friends as I tried to cultivate sources in my young journalism career, because if it was not for a Facebook friendship with Torres Roundtree, I'm not sure if I would have ever gotten his side of the story when he left the SIU men's basketball team.

But befriending a high school prospect only to check their Facebook status more religiously than their girlfriends is borderline creepy.

And that's where journalism has apparently gone wrong, apparently. Guys like me aren't willing to stalk a high school campus over a kid. Let me repeat: A kid. I'm not going all peepin' Tom over a one-star recruit whose college choices include Harold Washington Community College or George W. Bush Prep School For Kids That Weren't Left Behind.

ST was cool when I first found out about it because it was original thought by passionate fans about their favorite team. But when a thread becomes nothing more than a shouting match between Internet tough guys, what purpose does it serve?

So thanks, Scott Clemenson for making your very insightful comments and inspiring this misguided rant. I will continue to use ST to write my blogs. Now that I'm primarily working off my PC again (because that Apple guy is kinda cocky, IMHO), is it CTRL + A to highlight the text and then CTRL + C to copy before pressing CTRL + Z to paste?

I figure I ask you, seeing I assume you know the difference between lifting message board material and opinion inspired by YouTube videos and scouting reports that are easy to find thanks to a simple Google search.

And as always: Stay Classy, SalukiTalk.

Jake Peavy overload

You might as well put some lipstick and a skirt on the Chicago Cubs, because they're such a tease.

The Hot Stove League is only in its primary stages, yet I am already sick of this Brian Roberts ... er ... Jake Peavy situation.

He's going to be traded, I get it. He is one of the National League's elite pitchers who wants no part of the San Diego Padres' rebuilding plans. I get it.

So the Cubs, Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers are the three remaining teams in the Great Peavy Race. But why do the Cubs have a shot?

I'm still not sure.

Since the beginning of time, the Dodgers have always had myriad top prospects and more often than not they pan out. But L.A. doesn't want to rebuild one of its main rivals' fledgling farm system.

The Braves have also been known for developing talent, but maybe S.D. GM Kevin Towers is wary of Atlanta's trade history in which it trades "prospects" that generally don't pan out while keeping its best prospects for itself.

The Cubs, well, they don't have elite prospects. Their package centers around the fading star of Felix Pie, above average left-handed starter Sean Marshall and 10-year-old middle infielder Ronnie Cedeno.

Yet, somehow the Cubs are the frontrunners.

But it doesn't matter until a deal gets done.

Someone get it done already!

I'm tired of "updates" that tell you that there is no new news. What's the point of said update, then? It's frustrating, it makes me want to not read anything baseball related until April.

It's not like there's nothing else to watch.

College football is as interesting as ever as the best of the BCS schools try to separate themselves and get to the top. FCS schools are putting forth some interesting football too as those teams are vying for a playoff spot.

We're at the 8 game mark in the NFL and things are really heating up as the weather is cooling down.

The NBA is off and running and there are no shortage of storylines in the Association this season, whether it's the No. 1 overall pick Derrick Rose, the best player in the world Kobe Bryant, the monster that is LeBron James or the repeat attempt of the Boston Celtics.

Even college basketball, which is in exhibition season, is worth taking notice as teams and players try to establish themselves with a few early wins.

With all that said, for some reason, I'm hitting the rumor mill early and often hoping something goes down.

I think I'll finally take a hint: Nothing is happening.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Why the idiots shouldn't run the asylum...

Media credit: [mattrosenthalblog.blogspot.com]

Bloggers have come a long way from the days in which they sat in their parents basements, going on internet dates and plotting out another sequel to "Revenge of the Nerds."

Except for this guy.

It's frustrating because as a Cubs fan, I go to his site not to get a hot stove update, but instead for a laugh.

I really didn't want to do this, but this post was the last straw.

I guess we can start with the top half of the post in which he incorrectly spells CHRIS DeLuca's first name - which he spells correctly in the first line. Now this could be just an oversight, but it happens all the time. It's frustrating. I know I'm not perfect, but there are too many grammatical and spelling errors that frustrate the heck out of me.

OK, now that we've got that little pet peeve of mine out of the way. Let's get to some content. He wants the Cubs to think about a deal acquiring Javier Vazquez and/or Nick Swisher of the Chicago White Sox.

First of all, why would you want to pick up a player in which the manager calls out said player for not being a big game pitcher. Especially when your goal is to win the ultimate big game: The final game of the World Series.

But I'll get over that because if you can throw out Vazquez's talents over 30 starts in the regular season you're going to get a pretty good season out of a very talented arm.

But let's move on to Swisher.

"Nick Swisher is also a very interesting scenario. Swisher is a switch hitting First Baseman and Outfielder that could really benefit the Cubs."

How? As a first baseman? Is he really better than Derrek Lee? No. Next question.

"He does not hit for a high average, just a .244 lifetime hitter, but does have a decent OBP of .354 throughout his career. He is a good power hitter( hitting 21+ homers since 2005) that would look nice batting anywhere in the lineup. He is a decent fielder with a .991 fielding percentage throughout his career. Ichiro's is .993 to do a comparison."

Oh no he didn't!

Look the .354 career OBP is less than inspiring. Want to know what's even less inspiring? The .332 OBP he posted last season. He's a decent fielder? Did he really just compare Nick Frickin Swisher with Ichiro, who can play right field and center field, has a cannon for an arm and "more range than a Texan" as rapper Ludacris once eloquently put it.

Swisher doesn't have the range to play center and he's not that much better at first.

"He would be a solid addition to this team and the Cubs should add him to their list of guys that consist of Giles, Hermida, Abreu, and Ibanez."

.219/.332/.410 sounds like a great addition for a team that didn't hit, get on base or slug anything but a water heater in their brief playoff appearance (if you would call it that) against the L.A. Dodgers.

Let's bring back Cesar Izturis while we're at it.

He goes on to note that Swisher is owed $20.05 million over the next three years. Sounds like money well spent for a guy who is just a "good clubhouse guy."

I hope Kevin Millar looks at this post and basis his free agent contract based off what he learned about Swisher's contract in this post.

That's it. I'm done. I've got to go to class.