The Critic

QUOTE (TLAK @ Jan 1, 2005 -> 09:59 AM) MLB's coverage of the Mulder trade included this quote from Billy Beane, 12/18/04. Did something change? I think the speculation comes from the fact that "The Big Three" seemed untouchable, and now two of them have new addresses. It's only natural to wonder if Beane would just go ahead and deal the third, regardless of quotes to the contrary.

I believe that Oakland will hang onto Zito this year for two reasons: 1. To see if his trade value improves after ( they hope ) a better year than 2004 and 2. To see if their young arms develop enough to feel confident about letting Zito go.

QUOTE (Gene Honda Civic @ Jan 1, 2005 -> 02:20 AM) Two people list Florida in their top 5, but they 1) have no 5th starter 2) have two guys who can't seem to stay off the DL (Beckett & Burnett) 3) have a wildly inconsistent pitcher in Willis on their staff There starting four may look good on paper, but I know I'd place money on one of those guys being injured for most of the year, and onother one being completely ineffective all together. I was thinking the same thing about FLA's rotation, GHC. As for the Cubs, keeping Rusch around as a #5 was key for them - he provides a good option for starting in case Guzman's not ready, and is a reliable lefty bullpen arm if Guzman pans out. I was amazed that Rusch didn't draw more interest from other teams - he had a VERY good year, and lefty veteran starters are hard to come by. I'm not ready to put the Sox rotation TOO high up yet - IMO, Contreras and Hernandez have to prove it to me this year. I'm happy with MB and Freddy, and I think we know what to expect from Garland in the 5 spot. I think the Mets are going to have a very good rotation this year. Pedro, Glavine, Benson, Zambrano and Traschel give the Mets 5 pretty reliable arms.

It's just a scam to get more money from people from IN and WI, in my opinion. The tollway thing has been a huge scam since its inception. I'm old enough to remember when the taxpayers were told that the tolls were a temporary thing, only there to help finance the building and improvement of Illinois' roads. As it turns out, Illinois has absolutely s***ty roads, AWFUL repair and construction schedules, and huge waste in the entire scheme of things. I spend a lot of time in Wisconsin, and their roads are FAR superior to those here, and the turnaround time for road repair/construction there puts Illinois to shame. And somehow THEY manage to do that without tolls. I know at some point I'll succumb to Gov. HairHelmet's scam, but I'm going to hold off as long as I can.

The reasons I remember Hawk's GM days as a mess were: The feuding with LaRussa - Hawk seemed intent on undermining Tony rather than working with him The focus on himself, as mentioned before - he seemed to be in the papers constantly and it must have distracted the team somewhat. I can't really blame him for the Fisk-to-LF debacle. That appeared to be more LaRussa-driven, unless I'm forgetting something ( which at my advanced age is entirely possible... ) I always got the feeling that Hawk didn't want to be the GM.

I'm happy with the moves KW has made. Change was needed and IMO the proper steps were taken, given the budget they set for themselves. If they can grab AJ and a new 2B, be it Cora/Iguchi/Cairo, I'd be REALLY happy with this offseason. I honestly don't think there's any reason to attack KW at SoxFest this year. He's been very aggressive within his limitations and has done a nice job.

In ML2, his character wore his Injuns hat inside-out with "NO WAY" written on it, had a black tape X over Chief Wahoo on his Injuns shirt and every time they did something good, he'd say something like "SO WHAT? They'll just BLOW IT in the playoffs anyway".... I'm just messin' witcha, though - I see as many reasons for worry this year as I do for optimism, but that's the life of a Sox fan every year, isn't it?

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Randy Quaid character from Major League 2!!!!

No better way to start the New Year than lying in bed with a massive hangover... I've never understood it either....I've DONE it, but never understood it....

With "In Your Eyes" blasting out of the car stereo. Just add rain and you've got a CUSACK MOMENT!!!

My New Year's Eve plans have been derailed by my 4-year-old daughter's illness. She threw up 7 times last night and was running a 103 degree fever. The fever's down to 100.4 now, and the vomiting has stopped, but the Mrs. and I wouldn't have any fun thinking about her at home with Grandma, so we're gonna do Chinese food and a rented film instead.

I'll tell you what - my little green '98 Chevy Cavalier is over 105,000 miles and ( knock wood ) has NEVER needed a major repair, except for when some drunk-ass lady U-turned right into me. Cheap car, very reliable.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor..._nightclub_fire Also over 600 injured, many critical as of now. Someone in the crowd apparently threw a flare in the crowd. So f***ing sad.... for the families and the injured.

They're not playing, and even when they do, the 16,000 fans ( thanks Tex ) already know that their douchebag worthless owner will never let them truly be competitive. Any success they have is accidental, and leads to those responsible requesting more money and subsequently being chased out of town.

Excellent point. The salary drop probably did allow them to take on Mulder's money. Hadn't even considered the money aspect - I'm a Sox fan, I'm used to teams who have unlimited funds to throw at the top players in the game!!!

That b**** is TOP-HEAVY, yo!!!!

Pujols = class. One of his own children has the same affliction ( can't recall what it is ) as the child he "adopted", so it's obviously close to his heart. Dumbest thing I heard last baseball season that wasn't said by SS2K4: A guy I work with - Cub fan - said he wouldn't trade Kerry Wood for Albert Pujols "because Pujols is always hurt" and "he can't throw well anyway".

There's no reason at all to ever listen to the Score except for.................... .................uhhhmmm................... ...................can't think of one reason to listen.

If it is true, Patrick WILL have another sidekick before too long. Probably someone like Sean Salisbury.

Check the edit on that post.....

I don't care if the Sox got AJ, Beltran, Johnson AND Eric Gagne, I am NOT gonna talk about them being favorites in the Central AT ALL this year. I got burned two years in a row thinking like that, and I have switched over to the "God, Minnesota is tough/Detroit's improving/LOOK OUT for them Injuns!!!" way of thinking! EDITED TO ADD: f*** the Royals, I ain't scared of those fluke-ass, one-year-wonders!!!

Where's "scrumptrulescent"????

Stupid move on the Cubs' part - they absolutely make enough money to take a one-year hit on having Sosa & Beltran on the payroll, and Beltran's a much safer 5-to-7 year bet than Sosa was a 4-year bet in 2001. Carlos is much younger than Sosa was then, and is still improving as a player, where Sosa was certain to decline during the contract period.

I think it would be the same backwards as forwards.... Mario Tit is an anagram for Mariotti, Mariotti is an anagram for Mario Tit. Molto.....any thoughts???

NY Newsday reporting that Robbie Alomar has signed a 1-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. If true, I wonder if they plan to start him, or if he's simply "plan B" type of insurance in case Bo Hart ( or whoever else is a 2B candidate ) can't hack it? From Renteria/Womack to Eckstein/Alomar.....downgrade.....