The Critic

QUOTE(Brian @ Mar 28, 2005 -> 11:19 AM) What? No mention of the thin air of AZ? Slight hijack: The two matches in your sig will be the only reasons to watch WrestleMania. I doubt they put the strap on Dave, but if they do it'll be a VERY short title run. Back on track: Cliff Pollitte has looked pretty damn bad every time I've seen him. His fastball looks straight as an arrow, and unless you throw a 98mph dart you're gonna get smacked around. He better get it turned around quick.

Haven't decided yet whether we'll go up the night before or just come up for the game. Have to drive back after, though - the Mrs. works the next morning.

Pay = very good. Benefits = great. Co-workers = average to good. Schedule = great, flexible within reason. Industry = stable and solid. Job = some things I really like, some things I really don't like. Manager = good to very good. So while I checked "love", if there was a "like" option I would have checked that instead. I don't have much to complain about, that's for sure, but I don't think I've ever LOVED any of my jobs. I've been at this one for about 8 years, though, so it can't be all that bad....

Smells like a minor-league catching depth move. If Mark Johnson is up with the major-league squad at all this year, it would mean they had a LOT of injuries and/or failures there. ...hope Michael Barrett doesn't have to change uniform numbers AGAIN....

QUOTE(Al Lopez's Ghost @ Mar 27, 2005 -> 05:58 AM) Thanks, Kid. I was beginning to think I was invisible or something. Well, you ARE a ghost, after all.....

when's the next one, Maury, you fat bastard? I was up in the Land Of Cheese And Beer this weekend, so I had no chance to spend Holy Saturday with the SnR crew....

QUOTE(Jabroni @ Mar 26, 2005 -> 01:47 PM) Bruce LeVineLine loves to report any bad or scary news regarding the Sox. I gotta say, I love the new Broooth nickname. LeVineLine....perfect.

Replacement players = busted union. The "real" players will start trickling in, whether it's career fourth-liners looking for one more payday or young guys looking for a break. Then more will cross, then a "name" player will cross and it'll be all over. That WILL happen, I have no doubt. I can only hope that Bettman and Goodenow both lose their jobs over this. They're both incompetent.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Mar 26, 2005 -> 01:11 PM) I see your point, I just disagree. McGwire always had a ton of power (and he was never small), but he also got injured early and often. Without the huge surge at the end, which is under suspicion, I don't know if he gets 500. Who knows, though. And, jmho, I think this will linger -- maybe not with all sportswriters, but there'll be enough to make his bid risky. He may get in, but if so I'd guess a squeaker. He may have never been "small", but he was much smaller as a rookie than in his glory years. Take a side-by-side look at him as a rook and in 98 - HUGE difference. Hardly even looks like the same guy. And I see your point as well, and you may well be right. Only time will tell.

I agree with Jim and 406. Ozuna deserves to come North with the big club. He's done everything they've asked of him, and done it well.

There's no one cause for the Cubs/Sox situation, so there's no one solution. Some causes for the Sox being less popular include, but are not limited to: the new ballpark the 94 World Series being squashed, and JR being a prime figurehead in it Sox being the first to go to pay TV the neighborhood the White Flag trade WGN helping to create a national audience for the Cubs for decades Increasing payroll is not going to solve this by itself. I'm not even sure it would make a dent. Look at Magglio, for example - the entire time he was here, he was an All-Star calibre player and was ignored. As soon as the Sox decide not to pay him, they're labeled as letting a perennial All-Star leave, despite the knee injury and the reluctance of his agent to disclose everyhting or have Magglio inspected. There are preconceptions about the White Sox that are now kind of deeply ingrained. If the Cubs had acquired Colon, Wells, Everett, Alomar, Belle, etc. it would have been seen as HUGE moves by a team serious about making the playoffs. It's just the way things are, and the ONLY way for this to change is for the Sox to win A LOT and win consistently. Acquiring marquee players could help in this, but it's not the "be all, end all" and it SURE doesn't guarantee success - ask Texas, the Mets or the Orioles about that.

QUOTE(joemg311 @ Mar 25, 2005 -> 10:39 PM) Thanks for the help... Lot E it will be then. and i do hope the 35th and 31st exits are open otherwise my getting lost chances increase HA! You'd just have to get off on Pershing (39th) and head west for a few blocks, then head back north. Others would be doing the same, so you shouldn't have any problem at all.

QUOTE(T R U @ Mar 26, 2005 -> 10:23 AM) If we were able to have the same payroll as they have we could easily get more attention If a frog had wings, it wouldn't bump its ass. The fact is, more people care ( or are PERCEIVED to care ) about the Cubs than the Sox. Until this changes, the newspapers will do what they see as necessary to sell newspapers.

McGwire's supporters will remind you that he hit 49 HR his rookie year, when he was still a pencil. I don't doubt that he could and probably would have hit 500 without juicing, that will never be known for sure, and his reputation will be tainted forever now. I just think that in a few years, people will care less about any of this. I know this sounds like a contradiction, but I think both things are true. I think McGwire will always be seen as a cheater, but I think when the freshness of the scandal fades, he'll get in. People always move on to the next outrage, evidenced by the growing support Pete Rose was getting for his HOF crusade until he exposed his decades of lying in order to sell a book.

I also think they'll both get in eventually. Might take McGwire a few tries, but I think eventually the numbers will win out.

Not surprised. Tony G is a backup. A very valuable backup, but a backup nonetheless.

QUOTE(Iwritecode @ Mar 24, 2005 -> 12:01 PM) I believe that's alcohol abuse. You should never drink and drive either. You might hit a bump and spill your drink. If I'm flinging a full beer bottle at ss2k5, it WON'T be full of BEER.....it will have been emptied and "refilled", if ya know whum sayin'....

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Mar 25, 2005 -> 11:03 PM) Post Porn... is that some new cereal I haven't heard of before? Cheery Ho's? Porn Flakes? Silly rabbit, "Tricks" ain't JUST for kids anymore.... ...oh, and WATCH OUT for the "prize" in every box.... condoms pregnancy tests STD tests dental dams

No Sox gear yet? ....slacker/cheapskate....

QUOTE(Spiff @ Mar 25, 2005 -> 09:36 AM) You missed the most obvious one... Stop, hammer time. I shouldn't joke about this stuff but I can't help it. Well, I claim a technicality on that one, since the title of the song is "U Can't Touch This", but that IS a good one....

Was she singing "If I Had A Hammer" while she did it? Or maybe "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"? Or "Hammer To Fall" by Queen???

Wait....I thought KFC was "Finger Lickin' Good".... Ohhhhh.....KFC means you lick YOUR OWN fingers......

wow, they renovated themselves out of their own home....that IS "extreme".....

Does anyone know if the 31st or 35th Street exits off 94 are going to be fixed by Opening Day? I went by there last Sunday night and they still weren't open. It would SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK if everyone had to get off at Pershing and double back.

QUOTE(Jeckle2000 @ Mar 23, 2005 -> 09:47 PM) It's just so amazing to me that the Trib has been able to hide just how dangerous it's becoming. Maybe people just don't want to believe it's dangerous? I can see why TribCo would want to bury bad "Lakeview" news ( Wrigleyville always turns back into Lakeview when the crime happens )...bad for business....