The Sir

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 26, 2011 -> 12:46 PM) He's a good fielder though, and overall probably an average hitter for the position. I don't care what position it is; there is nothing average about a .228 BA. That just stinks.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 26, 2011 -> 12:43 PM) How come big leaguers can't hit this soft tosser? If it's so "different" facing a 60 mph fastball, s***, why don't more scouts just draft guys who lob it up there? I found some success in Little League and High School by just throwing lob balls. Well, I held it like it was a two-seam fastball. Everybody else thought it was a changeup. Either way, they couldn't hit it...

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 26, 2011 -> 12:41 PM) He's not a HOFer. Thank God. He's like the Jesse Orosco of hitters. There's something in his game that's kept him employed for 23 years, but that doesn't make him a HOFer.

Is anyone else tired of Hawk's constant "First Ballot HOFer Omar Vizquel" talk? It really annoys me when he talks about the guy like he's one of the all-time greats. You could compare him to Ozzie Smith, but Ozzie was a freaking wizard with the glove. He had two more GG's even while playing four less seasons. Either way, I've never seen Omar as a HOFer at all, much less a first ballot guy. Anyone agree?

And it's all up to Dunn. Crap.

I've got no problem with gay people. Live and let live, right? I'm all for it. That being said, gay people are every bit as capable of intolerance as anybody else. I read something around Easter of this year where gay people in San Francisco held a public celebration called "Hunk Jesus" deliberately mocking Christianity. I've got no problem with jokes, and I'm not easily offended, but this double standard that somehow this is acceptable while even the slightest criticism of gay culture is homophobia is ridiculous. Gay people wonder why some people ridicule their culture. Certainly, religious fundamentalism has something to do with it, but at the same time, have you ever seen gay pride parades? Some of it's just outright disgusting. I'd have an issue if it were straight people behaving like that in front of my children, or hell, even myself. Nobody wants to see that, and I don't blame Carl Paladino for saying he wouldn't want his children exposed to that "culture". I don't think anyone wants to see that kind of crap. And then there's gay marriage. What some people don't understand is that you have to respect everyone's rights. If there's a church out there that insists gays are sinners and refuses to marry them, the government can't just barge in there and force it. Gays are welcome to marry if they can find a church that will sanction it. But they can't simply force everyone to cater to their whims and accept their lifestyle. So, in short, gays need to practice the very same tolerance that they expect to be given to them.

Personally, I hate the idea of trading proven stars for unproven prospects. Konerko's got ten plus years (minus a few miserable years mixed in) of showing what he can do in the major leagues. But what do these guys you speak of, like Freeman, Minor and Montero have? Good scouting reports? Potential? I hate that word. I'm really just skeptical of prospects in general. Look at all the can't miss prospects we've had over the years: Rauch, Ring, Borchard, Malone, Honel, Anderson, etc. And so far, Beckham and Sale aren't exactly looking like All-Stars. So I think my mistrust of unproven talent is reasonable. Also, how can anyone blame this team's failures so far on Kenny? He built a good team on paper, that's simply sucked on the field. As far as I'm concerned, blame for our current record lies with Ozzie first and foremost, and then trickles down to guys like Dunn, Pierre, Beckham etc. Kenny had nothing to do with this garbage. Just my two cents, anyway.