Rex Hudler

The only problem I see here is that Thomas like many other players equate respect wtih dollars. Paying me more means you respect me more. Well unfortunately, it doesn't quite work that way. The mindset is certainly not exclusive to Frank. That said, if someone asked me about my job, I would answer in a similar way. It may not be about the money, my answer would be more general. Something like "I really enjoy what I do, but like any job, there are things you don't like. I am smart enough to know that I am pretty lucky to do what I do, but its not perfect by any meants." That answer carries the same tone as Frank's, Frank was just more specific in what he doesn't like. So what. Frank doesn't need to be 100% happy. Hell, if he were, he probably be too content and not perform as well. Frank just needs to mind his P's and Q's with the media and think team first and Frank second. If he can do that even marginally better than he has in the past, then there will be no problems this season at all.

I still can't find any stats that show these numbers........

Just for fun, allow me to defend Mariotti for a moment...... First of all, I thought his repsonse to you Yas, was bush league. Perhaps you just caught him in a mood or he didn't want to get into an email battle with a Sox fan who would never see his point of view, I don't know. But Mariotti is a columnist, not a reporter. In the newspaper world, there is a difference. Columnists cannot write fluff piece after fluff piece and retain readership. Part of what makes a great columnist is the fact that many of his readers hate what he writes. The key is, they keep reading it. So don't take it so personally, when he picks on Frank or the Sox. Whether he truly believes everything he writes or not is not relevant. Getting a rise out of people and making people think about and react to his stories is his job. That is what he is paid to do. This is quite common in the industry in cities all over the country.

The only numbers I can find for Willie in Puerto Rico is three games played for Mayaguez where he played in three games and went 2-10. I remember JoshPR saying Willie came down there, and left within a week. Unless he came back for the playoffs, I have no idea where those numbers are coming from. I looked up the stats for all the Puerto Rican League teams.

No way Steff, that's NOT possible. SSIrish said so!

Not if you are simply retaining the lean muscle tissue you have and lose body fat on top of it. Giambi's look could very well be the result of losing 25 pounds of fat. And you don't convert fat into muscle. You can lose fat and you can increase lean muscle tissue by working out, but they are two separate processes.

Then you have no clue southside...... Everything I said in that post is quite possible. I have seen it done and done legitimately. Get in a gym and work out a little and see what a difference you can make just working out 3-4 times a week. Then think about doing it 5-7 days a week for 2-3 hours at a time with an extremely restricted diet including supplements and the possibilities are amazing. The possibilities are real, there is no refuting that.

That is the amazing part of this..... Now let's get through one more day without Frank stepping on his tongue. LOL

I agree that testing should be much tougher. But Giambi has also had knee problems and had surgery in the offseason. So perhaps he just cut back or changed his workouts? Have we seen him without a shirt? He could be ripped, opting to lift less for bulk, and we not know it. My thought is, if a guy didn't stop working out altogether, he isn't going to just drop 25 pounds of lean muscle tissue because he got off steroids. Steroids don't build mass without the workouts to go with them. So for a guy to lost that much mass, in that short of a time, it tells me that he changed his workout regimen, or reduced it because of the surgery. I am far from a body builder, but I have been around gyms, trainers and athletes enough to see some amazing tranformations. I have seen guys go from being pretty big to losing an amazing amount of body fat in a hurry, yet still maintaining the lean muscle tissue. I have seen them get big in a hurry, just through a regimented workout and normal supplements like MetRx, for instance. My guess is that Giambi didn't lose as much lean muscle tissue as he did body fat, which gives him more of an appearace of losing "bulk". Either way, whether on steroids or not, I am tired of all the accusations. I agree the weak testing policy following no policy at all, has created it, but I still think that is a pretty big stone to throw when you don't know for sure.

If you must.......... just don't ask me to join in Yas. ;-)

I was speaking about all the threads and accusations in general, not just you. There are lots of ways or reasons guys lose weight or look thinner. They may or may not be, but just throwing out names based on that fact is making awfully strong accusations.

From what reports? Gagne has always looked a little heavy. Can a guy not lose some weight? Can we get a moratorium on accusing guys of taking steroids? There is no evidence and many other possibilities than just the fact a guy looks thinner this year that exist. As much as I am against steroids, I find it ridiculous that people are tossing around accusations like this.

I posted this yesterday on another message board...... I wasn't completely off. LOL On Frank/Ozzie: I think Frank should throw all the media off by quietly showing up to camp on Tuesday. He and Ozzie can talk, yell, scream, FT can throw punches, Ozzie will run and Frank won't catch him, until Ozzie trips over the bucket of BP balls and then Frank can't hit him because he is laughing so hard. They both realize this whole thing was pretty damned funny, hug, kiss and make up. They seal the deal with a handshake and a promise from Frank to run out every groudball. The media horde comes in on Wednesday to pick up the scraps of a story that is not there, as Frank and Ozzie walk out onto the field at Tucson Electric Park, arm in arm with big smiles across their faces.

Thanks for the input Steff......

I think I will puke if Rose gets reinstated this year.....

What would you suggest as an alternative, Steff?

Yas, it is light outside. What are you doing on here?

Steff: Why don't you think Willie will succeed? What do or don't you see in him to make you think that? I really haven't gotten to see him play much, so I can't really comment.

So we can finish in 2nd place again? Or was it 3rd last year? LOL

The bottom line is if he is our best option at 5th starter and steps up, then we want him there, not in the bullpen. The best case scenario is that he pitches well, but so do several others. Ozzie would then have to pick someone for the 5th starter spot and could use Wright out of the bullpen.

I want in on that roadtrip! lol

A combination of that, plus the fact the Twins walked the fewest hitters, committed the fewest errors, allowed the fewest unearned runs and had the best on-base percentage in the division.

Steff, I was expecting Luther Vandross or Barry White, not John Fogerty! LOL Hey, if you like that song, I have a better version that you would like. It is hard to describe, but it has voices/lines from baseball movies mixed in. If you have high speed access and want a copy, email me and I will send it to you. I am not real good with audio/video type stuff, but I do know that Windows Media Player will play it. For some reason, I can't get my MusicMatch Jukebox to play it, but it will work with Windows Media Player.

Perhaps he was talking about the Buzz around town, what was in the media, the hats people were wearing on the subway, etc..... He didn't say inside SoxFest.

KW has said as much. He said they would have had to move other pieces around to make Colon fit into the budget. He just didn't say which ones.