Frank the Tank 35

Some person over at the mlb board said Politte just got DFA'ed. http://www.forums.mlb.com/n/mb/message.asp...g=65653.1&ctx=0 ...so hopefully the polecat will be the first to be traded.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5762486 yup

Nationals GM Jim Bowden was arrested on Sunday night in Miami Beach and charged with DUI. The joke possibilities are tremendous, but drinking and driving, if that's in fact what Bowden did, is hardly a laughing matter. The chances of him holding on to his job when new ownership takes over certainly diminish with the news. "I intend to plead not guilty at a future date in a Miami Dade court," Bowden said in a statement. "I deeply regret any embarrassment that my arrest may cause the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball." Apr. 18 - 1:36 pm et -rotoworld As if the Nats needed something else to worry about...

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Apr 12, 2006 -> 11:49 AM) In other news, before his AB Jim Thome knocked out Chuck Norris with a roundhouse kick. I heard baseballs everywhere are forming a union... they're going on strike whenever Thome steps up to bat.

Mike Sweeney career: .304 182 HR 766 RBIs in 4197 ABs MS career vs Sox: .322 28 HR 90 RBIs in 394 ABs

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 01:20 PM) You are mistaken. Driving is a legal priviledge. It has nothing to do with "making a profit" (I assume you actually meant something about driving for work anyway, not profit, since I see no logical connection between profit and driving). It is a regulated activity, and the state has the right to revoke said priviledge any time it chooses. Therefore, it is not a right at all, but a priviledge. You have a right to travel within a state (which cannot be revoked unless you are in jail), but no right to do so by car. As for how this connects to smoking, I am not sure if the analogy is accurate. Seems like a different setting, though there are similarities. But I honestly don't know how the laws about public health effect smoking legislation. I agree, the connection between this and smoking is loose at best which is why this is off topic. As I stated before, you are correct in saying driving is a legal priviledge. The conflict is in the definition of "driver." I'll have more to say about this later.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 09:51 AM) Actually, to be clear, there is no such thing as a right to drive. Driving is a legal priviledge, subject to government conditions. Smoking as an activity is not per se regulated the same way driving is, but there are definitely laws conditioning the activity, so I am not sure about that being a right either - kind of a grey area. Sorry, OT: But there is a right to travel. Traveling by automobile is a facilitation of this. Driving, as you say, is a legal priviledge. However, in a legal sense, the only actual reason you would need for a "license" for "driving" is if you are directly making profit from the driving. I'm not just talking about going to work in your car, but people who actually make money for driving such as cab drivers or truck drivers. The "driver's license" and you and I have come to know it, is actually a sham. Thank the insurance companies. It is somewhat of a necessary evil to ensure a semblance of safe travel on the road, but it's been gone about all underhandedly. But that is neither here nor there in regards to the smoking legislation. Continue the smoking debate!

QUOTE(mreye @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 08:37 AM) It's socially accepted to ridicule and make fun of smokers. No one ever publically disagrees with any laws or ordinances hindering their rights. I've seen people yell at smokers out of nowhere and the smoker is supposed to take it. Maybe I should have been more clear. A ban in the seating area is fine. I'm talking in more general terms. And it's socially acceptable among this circle to ridicule Cubs' fans. If you're doing something stupid, you may get ridiculed for it. Smoking not only hurts you but everyone else who is around you. And I'm honestly sorry for those who have not been educated about the dangers of smoking or those who blindly retort, "Hey, we all gotta die some day." Meanwhile there's a likely chance that they'll slowly die one day by suffocating on their own fluids. I'm not even being unnecessarily graphic, that's just how it is. My girlfriend is a year away from being a nurse, and she's already seen some pretty horrible things. I will definitely not point out this thread to her to save you all from the longest of rants this board has ever seen. Just to be clear, I'm not judging you smokers, do with your life as you will, just please don't let it affect the rest of us.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 04:00 PM) And he won't give up another run until 2010, when Jerry Owens misplays a ball in left. I heard that one time Boone Logan threw so hard, Travis Hafner struck out, hit into an unassisted triple play, and fouled the ball shattering his shin... all on the same pitch.

I actually see one problem with it... ...it looks too big. With all the championships we're gonna win in the next few years, we won't be able to fit them all.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5441426 Here's your big chance Joe!

Regardless of value going one way or another, this was just a dumb trade by the Reds IMO. By the time the Reds are ready to compete again, Arroyo will be an afterthought. It just looks to me like an attempt not to finish in last place, trading for the sake of trading, trying to look like you're improving. I boo this trade.

I'm going to preface this by saying that personally I would not want Wily Mo on the White Sox. He is everything that is disgusting about baseball... free-swinging, all-or-nothing K-machine. However, Petcota thinks this guy has all the potential in the world. I'm not one to buy into every stat I read, but there is something to be said for it. If someone's gonna say that Pena can only hit lefties, then certainly Arroyo can only get righties out. Lefties batted .288 against him last year (.284 for his career). Arroyo's only attractive because of his salary, otherwise he is what he is- a mediocre, run-of-the-mill pitcher. The Reds shouldn't have wasted their time with middling talent like Arroyo. His flyballing ways are bound to screw him over at the GAB a la Eric Milton. If they were going to trade a highly rated petcota player like Pena, they should have traded him to the A's since Billy eats stats for breakfast. I know, outfield surplus in Oakland... get the Dodgers involved, they're looking for an outfielder. Arroyo's 29, but how long do you think it's going to take for the Reds to be competitive? By the time the Reds are ready to compete, Arroyo will be a back-of-the-rotation starter (not that he isn't already). They should have traded for a young stud pitching prospect but instead they just blew a huge trading chip.

QUOTE(Reddy @ Mar 20, 2006 -> 04:13 PM) lol yeah i tend to be a little dense at times... No prob... just venting my frustration with sarcasm. The situation is not going to get better. KW is going to have to pull off a miracle. Most teams at this point think they're in the running for their division, so they'd be hesitant to trade off a good relief pitcher. We'd have to match up with one of the teams that is clearly out of it already... and I mean there is usually a good reason why they're out of it... poor pitching... so any good pitching they might have is probably young and off limits anyway. I've been up and down the rosters of all the teams, and it just doesn't look good. Kip Wells for the bullpen anyone?

Too bad we aren't stocked with washed up 30-somethings or overhyped prospects we could trade for Zack Greinke.

QUOTE(Reddy @ Mar 20, 2006 -> 04:04 PM) you're actually serious? Do I really need to answer that?

QUOTE(Reddy @ Mar 20, 2006 -> 03:59 PM) yeah maybe he could if you put outfielders in the bullpen. why not give gload a shot!? As opposed to the other options... maybe we could pull a reverse Rick Ankiel.

Did anyone mention the Sox signed former Royal Mark Quinn to a minor league contract? Maybe he can compete for a bullpen spot too.

Is Wells resigned to playing for the BoSox this year? I don't like this trade for the Reds after all the hype around Pena. Arroyo will never be better than a 3rd starter for a bad team. He certainly has an affordable contract though. (What happened to the gentleman's agreement between Arroyo and the Sox not to trade him?)

I have a lot to say about this subject, but I'll try to keep it as short as I can. I go to the gym all the time. I've known guys who were taking steroids. Honestly, it's not something that bothers me. There are many worse things you could be doing to your body. If you administer them correctly, the amount of actual harm you do to your body is rather minimal. In addition, these people keep their bodies in the best of conditions with proper nutrition, no drinking, no smoking, etc. What it amounts to is instead of a drinking vice, it's a roid vice. Let's put it simply, people with drinking vices peripherally make poor health choices in general. In my opinion, the negative effects of steroids have been well overblown by the media and the "mothers of America." However, when steroids enter the arena of a sport where personal records are what make players memorable, it is an outrage to me. Being a loyal follower of Frank Thomas since his rookie year, I am all the more affronted. To the best of my knowledge, FT was never a juicer. I could be wrong, in which case I would lose all the respect I ever garnished for him, but I do not think that is the case. He has a gigantic frame, and while he was always muscular, he was never unproportionally so. He carried around some extra "girth" which does not preclude him from roid usage, but why would someone carry a gut around if they didn't have to, slowing him down in the field? It's obvious, to me at least, that in the first stage of his career, he did not swing for the fences. His hrs were usually line drive shots and a product of his massive strength rather than an uppercut swing. Anyway, I don't think that I have to argue that point on this board, so I'll continue... Roid usage in baseball not only disgraces the game and everyone involved but especially the greatest hitter to ever don a White Sox uniform and my personal favorite player of all time. During the early and mid-90's it was the Thomas-Griffey show. They would compete for the hr crown with 40 homers a year. Now it seems every other team has at least one player who can hit that many. Not that I measure a player's worth by his hr totals, but so many people do. Now FT and KGJ are mere afterthoughts, great players in their prime but they can't measure up to the spectacular offensive players of the immediate past. These players that are jokes and frauds have had a detrimental effect on two of the better players in history because they have been overshadowed and tainted by the other players in this era. It makes me completely sick, and I can only wish the worst for the baseball careers of these individuals. I don't know what, if anything, can be done unfortunately. I have no faith in Selig to issue any penalties although I can always hope, I guess. Here's one of my worst fears... years down the road... Me: Frank Thomas was the best hitter of his generation. Grandkids: But look at Barry Bonds, he's got much better numbers. I think he was awesome. Me: He was a cheater! So was Giambi! He stole Thomas' MVP in 2000! Grandkids: Sure grandpa... (aside) you old cook.

He's an idiot!

I think a lot of it has to do with his proximity to being called "the greatest player ever." To have the supposed best player ever in America's sport be a hard-core juicer and a cheater... I'd have to think that that wouldn't sit well with most people. I agree he could have helped his cause by not being a prick though.

"Two scouts who saw designated hitter Jim Thome's first Cactus League game with the White Sox were very impressed with his physical condition. "For the first time in quite a while, you can see where his butt ends and his thighs start," one of the scouts said." http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5378632

Since you started it out with King Felix, I'm assuming the Sox get to keep the player in question for as long as he's useful not just the upcoming season. Given those parameters, I'd go with MCab. He's proven that he's not a flop. He's still ridiculously young and will probably improve on those K numbers. Plus he could be used in a position where there would be a significant upgrade from what we have currently.

I seem to remember Yahoo not allowing a previous league to draft since we had an odd number of managers. We're inching perilously close to the draft, so I hope the spot gets filled.