SI1020

I'm with Killa and Greg on this one. I'm bang your head against the wall frustrated now. Manuel just doesn't have the feel anymore.

I have lots of experience fighting with these people. They can be fought off. The fact that I'm still alive is evidence of it. Your point is very well taken however.

I'm going with Carlos too. It's time for him to be a "cub killer" again.

You're more than welcome and they were 1957 Topps like you said. I posted as SI1020 and then switched to HoboKing when for some mysterious reason I could no longer log on as SI.

Whatever happened to the hook slide and fadeaway that many players used to use. Sliding is becoming another lost art.

Don't print in those big letters it confuses me/

They have a few on the Kentucky side don't they?

He's not a bad hitter either.

You are so right. Despite each teams sorry history, the intensity can't be matched anywhere. In all of baseball only Yankees-Red Sox and Dodgers-Giants (when they were both in NY) are comparable. They of course aren't interleague.

I post a lot here and used to post at MLB under this and another name. I'm pretty much under most folks radar screen I think. In any case, I remember you well, you were one of several posters at MLB who were exceedingly nice to me. I still have bookmarked the photos of Pierce, Minoso and Fox you sent me. I really appreciated that. Welcome here. It is wide open in terms of the posters ages, politics, writing styles,etc. People have a go at each other here, but we manage to avoid the real bad feelings for the most part. Thanks again for your thoughtfulness on MLB.com and hope you enjoy yourself here. I went nuts on the clickables too at first, like a kid in an old time candy store, or at his first Sox game.

Thanks, I may do it. It would take about six to twelve months. Have lots of time on my hands at the moment.

That's the point. I was going to make this big long post with lots of criticisms and concerns and still come to the same conclusion. There is no way I would trade this countries system for Canadas or the UK. I'd no longer be here if I were a Brit or a Canadian. Twice in my life I needed life saving surgery, and I needed it fast. I didn't need a big monster bureaucracy in my way and I didn't need to be put on any damn waiting list. Customer service is a disaster everywhere today, not just in medicine. Criticize my politics if you like or my baseball opinions, but I know a little about this subject ( as I'm sure others here do who have butted heads with our health care delivery system. ) I have many criticisms of Amerian medicine, and still may make a long winded post here, but I dread the thought of federal politicians "saving" health care. What they will do is ruin it beyond repair.

How? It has gotten progressively worse since the mid 80's.

I thought Rich King was a White Sox fan? At least Dan Roan and King himself claimed as much a couple of years ago.

So much is made about how todays athlete is so much better in every respect than those of yesteryear. If I listed my all time boxing greats there wouldn't be many from this era on the list. The heavyweight division is the worst. 250 lb + Lennox Lewis does not impress me all that much. Mike Tyson is one of the biggest myths in the history of professional sports. The sport gets very little pay per view money from me, and I'm as big a boxing afficionado you'll ever find. I used to try to go to all the big and little fights in Chicago. I loved the Chi vs. NY Golden Glove challenge. Chicago had a lot of promising fighters in the late 70's and early 80's. Only Lee Roy Murphy and Alfonzo Ratliff amounted to much.

I always wondered if there were any boxing fans here. The state of boxing is pathetic. Klitschko is a stiff, a great big tomato can. The fight went about the way I expected it. Max Kellerman is a pompous ass. You think anyone would be interested in reading SI1020's history of boxing? I'm seriously considering writing one.

The cost has gotten out of control the last twenty years or so. I had to pay for my sons birth and my wifes hospitalization a long time ago, because my health plan at the time did not pay for it. It took me three months and the bill was paid in full. Today it would bankrupt me. For what its worth I don't think the movie is realistic, more Hollywood sensationalism than anything. Believe me, I could have much more to say on this subject but I'll hold off for now.

You really want to know? It could be a very long post, not the snappy quick stuff people like on message boards.

Are you the FoxMVP from MLB? I forgot to ask.

There are three major reasons why I left the MLB.com which actually had some great posters and at times was almost as good as being at your local watering hole talking sports with good friends. One major reason was stupid fights like this. Go lurk on that board now, that's about all you'll see there now. That and trolls. The board is below pathetic. I'd hate to see that become the norm here. This place is the refuge of many who became uncomfortable elsewhere. You can do your thing here whatever that might be and still not feel like an uninvited guest. Nobody loves a good argument more than I do. The personal invective is a real drag however. I don't know what else to say. Perhaps no one gives a s***, I don't know. As far as the topic goes I am not satisfied with the overall performance of Colon. I always thought he was an overhyped pitcher when he was in Cleveland. Because he was 20-9 last year I hoped he had turned the corner to stardom. Instead I see a very inconsistent and erratic starting pitcher, albeit it one with a strong arm and physical constitution. One more thing. I have done "information" related work off and on since the 1970's. I should have some sense of who's credible and who's not. You have to be careful of everything on an internet site, but I have read Ncorgbl for a long time and I never dismiss out of hand his posts concerning the inner workings of the White Sox. I read them carefully, but give them a lot of consideration. JMHO.

The Frank Thomas merry go round again. Frank Thomas is simply the best, the most powerful, the most prolific hitter in White Sox history. Like I've said he's tried my patience at times but I'd much rather have a beer with Frank than a rum and coke with you know who. Whatever mistakes he's made he's paid a much heavier price in the court of public opinion than he deserves. You have no idea how much baseball history would be changed if Frank had come along in the Go Go years. He was the piece of the puzzle we lacked. We almost always had excellent pitching, speed and team defense. We just didn't have the big sticks the Yanks had. He sure as hell meets my definition of a "franchise" player. Maggs has the potential to top Franks accomplishments. Only time will tell.

If I told you this was breaking my heart would you believe me?

Thanks, and yes i do believe in Karma. Im going to move to Vegas, in about a month. Im down now, but maybe its all for the best. At least you know you're not facing this by yourself. Vegas sounds great. I'm one of the few that's never been there. Reno but not Vegas.

That's not necessarily true. In some cases people have gotten unemployment. Every state has little technalities and nuances to their unemployment insurance laws and regulations.

HST integrated the armed forces with a stroke of the pen in 47 or 48 I believe. This led to the Dixiecrat wing of the Democratic party abandoning him in favor of Strom Thurmond in the 1948 presidential election. Speaking of 1948, there's a famous picture of Larry Doby and teammate Steve Gromek happily embracing after Doby hit a homer in game 4 of the 48 WS to ensure a 2-1 victory for pitcher Gromek and the Indians over the Boston Braves. Years later Doby was quoted " I will always cherish that photograph and the memory of Gromek hugging me and me hugging him, because it proved that emotions can be put into a form not based on skin color." My local newspaper the State ( Columbia South Carolinas daily ) is filled with stories on Doby today. If you want to check it out