buddha

he had multiple leg injuries, that's what happened.

i dont think picks alone get it done. he's 26 and a top line center. i bet they want at least danielson/kasper and a first rounder. and i bet if detroit balked, someone else would beat it. like minnesota. thomas was - up until this season - a true #1 guy. like with hughes, those dont grow on trees. unlike hughes, he's signed to a contract that will be extremely reasonable as he goes through his prime. and at louis doesnt have to deal him because of that. you'll have to blow them away. in the end, its likely too rich for yzerman's blood. its not his MO to do something like that, especially since this team doesnt seem to be "one piece away."

would you rather have grich or whitaker? whitaker or sandberg? whitaker or utley? whitaker or kent? or would you consider them all equal? whitaker had a nice end to his career after he became largely a platoon player. trammell got hurt by being compares to the ripken's, yount's, and then arod's of the world. whitaker gets hurt by the rise of the bigger second baseman (even though it used to be a hitter position back in day). but ultimately, he was "good/very good" for a long time. but never great.

What would you trade for robert thomas? danielson, buium, first and a third?

at this point they will probably re-up ivey after the season because he will be really cheap to re-sign.

its why bobby grich isnt in. voters tend to go with narrative and counting stats and peak value over guys who were consistently "very good" over their whole careers. why is jack morris in the hall of fame and dave steib isnt? or mark beuhrle? narrative. big game performances on the biggest stage. not a steady accumulation of stats over a long period. whitaker gets in if there's a massive movement publicly to do it. his peers have rejected him multiple times, they just dont consider him a star. i like lou. i want lou in, but he's still borderline for me because i'm more of a peak voter than a "compiler" voter.

his HOF "political stats" are low. his peak wasnt that high, he didnt win an mvp or ever finish in the top 10 voting, 3 gg's are not high profile and trammell has more, he didnt win any awards in the playoffs, he dropped out of the game after retiring, he is probably best known to most reporters as the guy who forgot his jersey for the all star game. people dont remember lou whitaker. trammell had a higher peak, was in the game after retirement, played short stop, was a top 10 mvp candidate 3 times, six time all star, was second in mvp in 87, was a world series mvp. that **** matters in who gets into the hall of fame. its why morris and trammell are in. its why whitaker isnt.

swept the leafs for the first time since 96.

schedule loss tomorrow.

whitaker was never the best second baseman. he was quiet. he played in an after-thought media market. he was never an mvp candidate. he was a really good lefty bat in a park that made his power numbers look better. like everyone else here, i'd put him in because he was one of my favorites growing up, but he's not a lock by any means. neither was trammell, the difference being trammell played a more glamorous position, stuck around the game longer, had a great playoffs where he was mvp, should have been the mvp in 87, and had more great seasons than whitaker did. now dont get me started on jack morris, probably the least deserving non-friend of frankie frisch who was voted in this side of harold baines.

david ortiz is in the hof because he was a red sox hero and the media loved him. if manny was a fat POS like ortiz who laughed and made the media feel special, they would forget about the roids in 5 seconds. just like they forgot about ortiz's positive test. is ortiz still looking for the culprit who faked his test? or is too busy recovering from getting shot in the bahamas?

the #1 overall pick in the draft turns out to be an ok #4 depth starter. Not ideal. that could easily be jackson jobe soon too. pitchers are fragile.

panarin doesnt really fit for them right now. do they need another small, skilled forward when you already have kane, debrincat, and raymond? kadri too, and i dont want to touch that contract. petersson has been discussed to death. i'm not giving up much of anything of real value for that contract. hamilton makes more sense as a second pair defenseman. they can absorb the contract without any retention. not sure if jersey will actually move him with hughes being hurt, or that they would move him to an eastern conference team. unfortunately i could see them get stamkos just because of yzerman's relationship with him. although stevie holds grudges and might be mad that stamkos turned them down a few years ago (blessing in disguise). out of all the players they mentioned, stamkos or hamilton are probably the most likely to come here. that said, if they do make a move, i bet its for faulk or a depth defenseman that wont cost them a #1 pick.

jordan poole has always been a joke. a very expensive joke.

seider for norris.