Lynn Henning = Idiot ?

Is Lynn Henning of The Detroit News the stupidest man alive? Probably not, but he's struggling to earn the title with gems like these:

Lynn Henning breaks down the National League - 4/4/05

Excerpt:

"2. Ryan Klesko, San Diego: Good left-handed bat for an American
League contender in the stretch drive."

Well, if Henning had taken the time to think before writing this, he would have realized a few things: 1) Klesko has a no-trade clause, 2) Klesko has stated that he won't wave his no-trade clause, & 3) the Padres are contenders to win the NL West this year.

"Teams on the decline 
2. San Diego: Bad recipe: a chock-a-block big-league roster and not
much on the farm. "

I'll let that one speak for itself.

NL West Division 4/4/05

Excerpt:

"SAN DIEGO PADRES, 2004 RECORD: 87-7, Predicted finish: Third place. 
The problem with the Padres is that they're just plain unimpressive.
They can beat you about as often as you'll beat them. And this year,
that's about what the Padres are staring at: a .500 record.  David
Wells is gone, which could be overcome if the Padres' starters
weren't so otherwise undistinguished. Woody Williams has been added
to the rotation -- he will help -- and Dave Roberts is the new
center fielder. But this team, despite a decent lineup (Ryan Klesko,
Phil Nevin, Brian Giles, Sean Burroughs, etc.), is no threat to the
Giants, and no threat to be much more than a so-so team."

Now, I'm not taking issue with the pick, but rather with the reasoning. Plenty of intelligent people have picked the Padres to finish third. I don't see it happening but reasonable people can disagree. That the Padres are unimpressive is a matter of opinion, though I question what Lynn finds impressive.

If he's going to cite the Padres first week of the season to project victories, he could have at least used RS:RA. There's at least some logic to that approach. I wonder if he thought the Mets would finish 0-162 after their first five games.

David Wells is gone, granted (do look at his performance so far in this young season, though). The Padres' starters are undistinguished? What about that Peavy guy, you know the one who won the ERA title last year? No mention. Also, Woody Williams is no better than the third-best pitcher on this year's staff. That's some awesome analysis.

Also, Henning drops a backhanded compliment on the lineup and lists Burroughs but not Nady, Hernanez or Greene (all of whom are bigger offensive threats than Sean).

I'm aware I'm picking on a nobody (hey, I'm nobody, too), but it just grates on me to see such blatant stupidity being disseminated.