The Critic

...idea stolen from another board... Do you have any connection to Kevin Bacon? Almost everyone on the planet does! Spell it out for us - I'll start: My brother-in-law's cousin is a stuntman/character actor who appeared in The Fugitive with Tommy Lee Jones, who appeared in JFK with Kevin Bacon. Technically four degrees - sister, brother-in-law, his cousin, Tommy Lee Jones - or would it be five, including Bacon? Now YOUR turn....

They're these big wordy things full of words. Some of them also have pretty pictires, but some are just words and more words. Word after word after word, all in a row. Sometimes they even make books based on popular movies! Can you believe THAT???

HEY!!!! They didn't ask my permission to use that either!!! Those plagiaristic BASTARDS!!!!

Rachael Ray has a giant..........................smile. She doesn't really do anything for me - she seems like a little sister.

Some people just don't like weddings. I hate them - they bore the s*** out of me. Hate the reception too - f***ing chicken dance, garter toss, reluctant speeches by wedding party members who'd rather not have to speak, that cake-in-the-face routine - all boring goddamned rituals. UGH. I can buy my own alcohol, thank you, that's not reason enough to put up with that s***. Maybe your friends would rather ask you not to invite them than respond to an invitation with a "no". However, that explanation doesn't cover the "secondary list" - that's an odd request.

I do not care what kind of contract they would sign him to. Signing that useless slag would be the ultimate concession that the Sox are going nowhere and do not WANT to go anywhere. If he threw with his right arm, he'd be throwing peanuts to customers in the stands.

I haven't read Veeck As In Wreck yet, but I really want to. Most bookstores don't carry many Sox titles, but if you want to read the life story of the Cubs groundskeeper's sister, I bet you can find that anywhere....

If the Sox sign Shawn Estes, I quit. I'm gone. I will NOT watch them for whatever length of time he is there. Sun-Times rumor-mongering that the Sox might pick up that worthless crapsack. It would serve me right, though, after laughing at his pathetic attempt at pitching for the Scrubs...

I'll go with two fairly obvious ones: "Ball Four" by Jim Bouton "Eight Men Out" - can't remember the author's name offhand, but I THINK you can figure out the subject matter...it's a great read, the book is at least as good as the movie.

Perhaps he did, I cannot recall any big hits or RBI delivered by him. I do, however, recall a LOT of soft flyballs to short right field in a pinch-hitting role. I hope he does well wherever he goes - I don't hate him, but I don't miss him either.

Daubach is the first guy they let go that I'm happy about. I was excited when they got him, but he changed THAT fast enough. Let him go somewhere where he'll get the ABs he needs to produce at all.

Don't fight the positive thought, Tex! This team is NOT a disaster. Can they use some reinforcements? Sure. Are there holes? Yes. Can the holes be filled? I think so, at least partially, if KW can pull a couple good deals off. Can they compete in the AL Central? With a couple smart moves, absolutely. Their lineup still boasts very good 2,3,4 and 5 hitters as things stand right now. Crede is solid, and Olivo will progress. E6 can thrive if he ever decides to forget about batting right handed EVER again. The Sox have two reliable starters and a third who is also progressing. Marte has the stuff to be a top closer, and IF Cooper can repair Koch's broken mechanics ( if Koch's problem is really what Cooper thinks it is ), then they still have a good left-right punch late in games. Try not to focus on what the Sox don't have, and you'll see that they still have a solid base that CAN bring success. A World Series? Probably not. A good season with a CHANCE for postseason play? I think so. Maybe I'll think differently if the holes are not filled in February, but for now I will let the optimism carry me for a while.

AWWWWWWWW come ON Cheeeeeeeeeeeat, I KNEW THAT!!!! I just wanted to point out how silly that quote sounded!!!

DAMMIT, STOP making polls where the Scrubbies win by DEFAULT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :fyou :fyou :fyou Hendry is making the most out of that scalping money, that's for sure, but the best moves he's made are the "addition by subtraction" moves. Goodbye to Guthrie, Veres, Alfonseca, O'Leary, Estes, Lofton....all good moves.

My favorite lines from that article: "There's going to be no more riding until I'm done playing baseball. I have a wife and kid to think about. I've been riding my entire life, but it's a reality check as to what is really important." What's he saying? After he's done playing baseball, he WON"T have a wife and kid to think about????? I think Rowand can be decent, and he'll HAVE to hit early next year, or else he's out of chances, I would think.

Unfortunately, last year's manager had no brain - and had to prove a point to Frank that PK was his 1B no matter HOW LOW his average sank. Frank looked just fine at 1B last year, and as long as he's going to be here, and as long as the Sox have "financial restrictions", I'd prefer that Thomas played 1B four or five days a week and have a cheap reliable journeyman fill in a couple times a week. If he flops over there, then try to get someone during the season, when a few teams generally try to move guys anyway.

Of the "affordable" ones, meaning any of them NOT name Todd Walker, I like Miguel Cairo. I don't know if he could be an everyday guy, though. I'd have preferred having him come off the bench rather than Uribe.

Dave Veres???? You'd consider him? Sorry, man, but Dave Veres was an automatic BIG INNING for the opposition. No thanks. I'd take a look at Mike DeJean.

Since they're the only team not trying to kill their fanbase or chasing their tails, I have to vote Scrubbie too. Although it IS easy to raise payroll when you have a company-owned scalping service selling 45 dollar tickets for 1500 bucks a pop - that would give you "fiscal flexibility".......and IT'S ALL LEGAL!!!!

Not trying to belabor this, but why is it that the Twins are "loaded with minor-league talent" and Sox fans are cringing with fear about playing "untested players"? Until they prove it at the major-league level, minor-leaguers are all just prospects. That, in my opinion, is just perception. the grass being greener on the other side and all that s***....

Didn't get Colon til January, so chances are you were depressed last December too. Let's all just wait this out and see what happens ( or doesn't happen ) before we go jumping off bridges... For the record, I was FAR more depressed when the Sox picked up that fat jackass Wells. This is NOT revisionist history - I HATED that lazy asshole before he jerked the Sox around, WHILE he did and AFTER he did. He is a waste of a lot of space.

Don't worry about it. 3 run lead, 5 outs away from the World Series, their ace on the mound at home....and KABLAM!!! They WILL find a way to f*** it up. They always do. It's their identity. Until they get past that point, that's all you need to stop the Cub Cult from yapping. I am ONLY concerned with what the Sox do this year, and again, the AL Central is VERY winnable. Thanks to Minny for playing where they do.

Didn't they lose RonDelL White too? They're going to be decent, but the Central is still VERY winnable if the Sox make just a couple smart moves.

I disagree with Levine ( as I usually do ) about the D, especially the outfield D. Lee made great strides, Rowand would play better than average D and Magglio is underrated and improved defensively. Infield - Crede is average to above, E6 actually looked good over there last year, 2B is a ? and either PK or Thomas give you decent defense ( I'll keep saying that until I'm blue in the face - as a few others have also said, just don't make Frank throw and he's just fine - and how many throws does a 1B actually make anyway? ) Olivo behind the plate is solid. Sox were better than advertised defensively last year. It was hitting and lead-footedness that did the Sox in in 2003.

Any of them on the FBI or Secret Service's websites?