Rex Hudler

Yes there is a downside to bringing up too many players. Extra players crowd the clubhouse, can change the team chemistry, makes the regulars change their routines because they have to fit all the guys into BP, bullpen sessions, etc. Having a bunch of extra players around can be disruptive in many ways.

I'm sure with all of the media MLB clubhouses have cleaned things up a little, but you might still be surprised at what you might see if you are there at the right times.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Aug 26, 2005 -> 10:35 PM) He could be a lot worse, Bracey Wright was not as bad as many make him out to be. He is actually a very good kid who got some bad advice about going to the pros and he basically had no help last year. I think there was a lot more to Bracey than that. Whether he is a nice guy or not, or whether he did what he thought he was supposed to be doing is a moot point. He played very selfishly for three years at IU. Great players make others around them better. Bracey did not do that. He tried to do it on his own. It just didn't work.

QUOTE(Randar68 @ Aug 26, 2005 -> 02:24 AM) Well, let me ask you this... What else is he throwing these days? Last year, his change was pretty meager and I know he's been working on it. A good curve is hard to get called for a strike consistently at the upper levels and the majors, especially for an unestablished pitcher. How is his change? He's always had a good curve and great instincts. He probably needs to have 3 minimum, 4 probably, good and reliable pitches, IMO, based on what I've seen of him previously. He threw two different breaking balls. One more of a 12-6/1-7 curve and the other more like a slider with less break. His change is average I'd say. Fastball had pretty good movement and was hard enough to get in on righties.

Stewart and Ulacia do not come close to comparing to Haigwood. Stewart had a nice season here in AA and I believed he had a shot to make the bigs as a fringe (there's that word again) pitcher. Ulacia has not done s*** since 2001 and has never shown the stuff or the moxie Haigwood has. I'm not ready to annoint Haigwood for future Cy Youngs, but I really like this guy's makeup and haven't heard anything but good things. And his stuff, might be better than you think. Many guys add velocity once their arms become conditioned to pitching a full season.

Perhaps, but he'll need to string together a couple of good years to be seriously thought of again. Fringe is a good word. If things don't go just right, he lands in the Spidale/Bikowski category.

I hate to make the comparison, but Haigwood reminds me of Buehrle with a better curveball. No, he doesn't have the 90+ fastball, but neither does MB. While I agree with you that his margin for error is less than a guy with better stuff, I really like what I have seen from him. He really knows how to pitch and his breaking balls are definitely PLUS pitches. Remember Cotts wasn't breaking 90 when he got called up either.

Whoever made this comment just doesn't get it. If they were that uptight, they would never allow their kid in the locker room in the first place. The locker room is basically a fraternity house. Naked pictures of women, constant cursing, talk of women and sexual conquests, pranks and jokes, even porn. Most MLB batboys are 18-21 years old, not 14 like you might see at a Minor League game. The batboys have clubhouse duties and work for tips as well, doing whatever is needed, from cleaning up, helping with laundry, shining the players shoes, or just running errands for the players. Whoever made that comment just doesn't understand the dynamics of a locker room. I'm not saying that everything that goes on in there is right, but to act shocked is pretty naive.

The whole idea of opening up a roster spot in case the Sox want to make a move makes no sense at all. If the Sox made a trade, they could outright Smith or someone from the 40-man then. They don't have to have one open ahead of time. The moves are often made simultaneously. And capn12, I have been slumming over on other threads more this year. All this winning doesn't find much interesting stuff to talk about for me. When you are winning at the clip the Sox have been, who the hell cares whether Timo plays too much or whether Crede is good enough. Bring that stuff up once, fine, but this whole season has been about the same stuff. I prefer to just sit back and enjoy the winning.

eloan.com will give you your credit score once for free. Your credit score is different than your credit report. It is good to have both.

QUOTE(GoSoxGo @ Aug 25, 2005 -> 05:48 AM) If outrighting this guy to Charlotte... brings this guy... No one will remember who the hell Matt Smith is anyways. I will. He's a blast to drink beer with and is a Karaoke madman!

I'm stumped........ when speaking of Italian beef, what is giardiniera,?

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Aug 25, 2005 -> 04:46 AM) I do like that Cincinnati chili. First time I encountered it was - where else? St. Louis. But once I got over the fact that it was obviously a very stoned person who decided spaghetti, canned chili, and shredded cheese was a match made in heaven, it turns out I really like it. I eat it without the spaghetti.... just a straight bowl of chili with a mound of finely shredded mild cheddar cheese and some oyster crackers does it for me. They carry it in a grocery store two minues from my house down here, so I get my fill on occasion. Before, a buddy and I used to order it by the case and have it shipped down here at least once a year.

Cheat, while looking up those places, I found the same link @ Tastes of Chicago I saw the pizza, Vienna dogs and Carson's all together and it made me want to catch a flight on Southwest ASAP. lol Yes it is expensive, but a great site for out of towners. Also a great gift idea! Okay, I am done on here for the night. Going to bed hungry..... oh well. lol

Some of my favs.... Mother's: New Orleans Skyline Chili: Cincinnati Dreamland BBQ: Birmingham Any Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Grippos BBQ Potato Chips Ok so I have hijacked this thread, but I'm on a roll now... Eat these and there is no other BBQ chip left worth putting in your mouth, I guarantee it!

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Aug 25, 2005 -> 03:42 AM) Yeah, I concur that scrapple hardly qualifies as food. Shame on all of us for not immediately calling 'Nawlins as the home to probably more endemic food than anywhere else in the country. Gumbo, jambalaya, boiled crawfish, shrimp/crawfish bisque, oysters Rockafeller, shrimp Remulaude, Po' boys, muffalettas (yum!), "barbecue" shrimp, grillades, crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice, blackened redfish... damn, that's good eats. 'Nawlins cuisine is hands-down my favorite to cook too. Some great endemic desserts too, with beignets (served with chikory coffee like at Cafe du Monde), bananas Fosters, cherries jubilie. Killer endemic drinks include hurricanes, pickled bean or okra bloody marys, milk punch, Po Boys from Mother's on Poydras street...... They don't get any better, boys and girls!

QUOTE(Steff @ Aug 25, 2005 -> 03:00 AM) Useless. Run 4 miles a day instead. I tried that, but that's a lot of frickin trips to the fridge in a day's time. Doesn't leave time for much else and the butt certainly didn't get smaller.

QUOTE(mochigon @ Aug 24, 2005 -> 11:55 PM) Have Honel and Malone regained their pre-injury heaters? At least partially.......... not sure the consistency is there, but both are working their way back. Better than I thought they would, I might add.

I like...... not that there is much of a chance to get Rush, but I am torn between wanting him or not. My gut tells me that it is probably best he go to Kansas and that IU has what it needs for this year. This guy and Ben Allen are two big question marks, but most reports seem to lean toward both being ready to play right away. Depth may actually be a problem this year. If Monroe and Calloway can handle the point, I like the makeup of this team so far. Now we just need to get all of them practicing and playing together to form some cohesiveness.

QUOTE(3 BeWareTheNewSox 5 @ Aug 25, 2005 -> 03:25 AM) Back to the topic on hand. 1. Why the hell would he get suspended? 2. Why would the Marlins suspend him if Penny is a LA Dodger? Batboys work both clubhouses.........

If I may, allow me to add another turn to this discussion... What other areas of the country are known for specific foods? Off the top of my head, I can think of a few. Texas - chili Cincinnati - chili (I'm jonesing for some Skyline right now!) New York - pizza and Italian (maybe that is too broad) Philadelphia - cheesesteaks Memphis and Birmingham - BBQ others that fit specifically and aren't too broad?

Steff, I'm with you. I'm going to eat ketchup on a dog if I want. Hell, I might even eat some catsup on it too! To ME, a Chicago style dog is simply the good beef hot dog itself (prefer Vienna so anybody that wants to send me some, PM me for my address). I know of all the toppings, but I am a picky bastard and don't eat mustard (I think I had an incident with mustard as a child, but am not sure) or onions. That said, I can't put kethup on any other kind of hot-dog shaped food. Not on brats, not on Italian or Polish sausages or any other kind or 'wurst.

Typical locker room hijinks........ When I was a freshman in college, I walked into one of the dorm rooms of some of the older guys on the baseball team. As I walked in, one of the guys in the back started pouring beers into a pitcher. I had no idea why and everyone was just talking normal BS. When he filled it with 4 1/2 beers, he walked up to me and handed it to me. Said that freshman had to down the pitcher to be part of the team. They said the record was 42 seconds and I had 30 seconds to start, there was no weasling out. Well, me being the seasoned drinker I was at the time (had a lot of fun in HS!), I thought "s***, this will be easy". I took a couple of deep breaths and went to town. I had more than half of it down before I came up for air. I let out a small burp and went back at it. I was probably 85% done with only 29 seconds gone when I stopped to burp and take another breath. As I started to finish it off (in record time), I could feel it coming back up. I tried to burp it out again and realized it was a lost cause. They could see it in my face and threw the door open and yelled "Two doors down on the left!" I sprinted there and unfortunately lost it all. I did make it to the bathroom, but it wasn't pretty. I cleaned myself up, went back all disappointed and embarrased and they all applauded the effort. I had my next (single) beer within 20 minutes! Ah, college days............

I know this will sound criminal to many of you, but I do indeed put ketchup on hot dogs. That said, there are no better hot dogs than Vienna Beef Hot Dogs. Unfortunately, I can't get them down here so I am stuck with Nathan's, which aren't bad. As far as pizza goes, I think Chicago is known by the masses for their stuffed crust pie, more so than the thin crust. The squares cut did originate in Chicago from what I understand, so one cannot ignore the thin crust there either. I have only had thin crust once in Chicago and it was at Gino's East. It was good, but not great. I prefer Giordano's or Uno to Gino's. I've never had Lou Malnati's, but I have heard it is good. Is the thin crust better there? The only time I have had an Italian Beef was in the airport waiting for my plane. I will say it was damned good, but I haven't had one from a beef stand, as you guys reference. I miss Vienna beef hot dogs, but get my fill of pizza here. There is a place down here owned by a couple of reloacated Chicagoans and the pizza is excellent. I have had two friends from Chicago try it and both gave it their seal of approval. Put it in any of the name Chicago pizza joints and it holds its own. This is the only "Chicago Style" pizza I have ever had that actually measures up. Ok, so I am hungry now. Thanks!!

All he said is that he would not be suprised to see it happen. I don't see that as a prediction it is going to happen. It certainly is not beyond the realm of possibility, so I am fine with randar's thoughts. Perhaps he has a hot spring and starts in AAA for a month until a spot opens up via injury or trade. If something like that were to happen, in my mind, I would think that makes randar more right than wrong, despite the fact he wasn't there on Opening Day.