Rex Hudler

Yeah, but hockey sucks! LOL

Pardon me, but how could two pages worth of posts go by without anyone catching this?? One poster even brought up that the D'backs had Brian Anderson in their rotation... Has everyone forgotten that powerful ace #2, RANDY JOHNSON, was a lefty himself?? I haven't been watching all of his starts in a mirror over the years, have I???? Aboz, are you still asleep this morning?

We did..... He had a nice April and then declined consistently until traded in July.

You make good points. I think the easiest way to look at this is there is NO simple solution. Could it be that shutting down the game is in its best long term interest? Perhaps But I am not one to say that is the preferred solution when I know the short-term effects it would have. I for one, am not willing to sacrifice while millionaires and billionaires sort out there petty differences. Nor would I be willing to suggest that someone else's family sacrifice to that degree either. Contracting teams may also be in the game's best interests, but would you agree if it put you out of a job and severely affected your family's daily life, let alone financial future? The key is to find some kind of solution that can bring the game closer to where it needs to be without creating the short-term suffering. I think the owners felt they were headed in the right direction with this last CBA and it does seem that salaries were coming down a bit. But to me, this deal with ARod almost completely negates any positive gains made.

Actually, the commissioner does have the power to veto a trade or contract "in the best interest of the game of baseball". The catch, other than Selig's lack of cajones, is that clause has not been used by a commissioner in years and never has since Selig took over. I think there would be legal battles to deal with along with lots of negative publicity if he did this and I don't think Selig would feel all of that would be in the best interests of the game. I wish he would do it. I think many fans would stand up, applaud him and have a new found respect for Mr. Selig, but I just can't see any realistic chance of it happening. Hell, if he were smart, he would have negated ARod's contract in the first place under the same premise.

Sorry Steff, I have been trying to stop doing that, unfortunately to no avail...

Soxbadger, I hate to be negative but you are missing a dose of reality here. If you think the owners saying "there will be no baseball until there is a salary cap" is easy, you are very misguided. Tell the families of the people that work in the game of baseball who would be laid off that it is just that easy. Tell the people who work part-time on game days for extra income they NEED to support their families it is that easy. Tell the salepeole from the vendors that deal with MLB that their paychecks will be cut in half because they will receive no commision since souvenir sales and food sales will dry up. I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the point. Notice I didn't even bring up the fans. That could be another whole discussion. Such a power struggle between the millionaires (owners and players) would hurt the common person much more than themselves. It would also hurt those guys that are making near the league minimum a lot worse than the guys making lots of money. The guy's that have already made the big bucks don't need it if they have half a brain. They aren't the ones that would get hurt. The players union is very much more powerful than the NFL's or the NBA's. It would take much longer to crack the MLBPA than those other unions. You are indeed correct by saying that the current owner's group makes it harder on themselves and helps the union stay strong. But simply banding together and threatening to shut the game down would have major consequences that not too many people would be in favor of.

I could not agree with you more, Fan. I feel exactly the same way. Also, ditto on Steff's comment about being so ho-hum at the start of baseball season. This whole A-Rod fiasco has turned me off for some reason. I really wish Selig had the balls to use the "best interests of baseball" clause. I think he would run into legal problems if he does and endanger the game's antitrust exemption, but if the original ARod contract didn't scream for it loud enough, to me this situation certainly does.

This is true. They have developed players well and were doing better when they were signing less free agents rather than more as they have in the last 3-4 years. Just think if they could have signed their 1st round pick from 1999. That was some guy named................. Mark Prior. (I may be off on the year and round slightly)

Go to the SoxTalk Photo Album and post your request there. Guys will make sigs for other posters, but you might want to stick around and post awhile first, so people can get to know you.

JBN is a Cubs fan, but he is an alright guy. I do agree with him that Sox fans should worry much more about the Sox than the Cubs. It doesn't have to be one or the other. If both teams do well, Chicago will support both very well.

I am always up for laughing at a good parody!

This is an interesting story about former Barons, and current NY Mets Pitching Coach Rick Peterson and how he uses today's technology to help young pitchers. Other teams will be coming here as well. The story is from the NY Daily News. Peterson Pitches Technology

www.67wasbest.com

You can, next time just flash me the international stirring symbol so I will know. ;-)

Did I miss something? I didn't see a Baj post anywhere in this thread.

Welcome BJ........ Just say no to Weaver. He can't bounce back because he was never better than decent in the first place. He had one year that might qualify as solid, but the bottom line is you don't want a guy whose ceiling is your #4 starter making $8 million.

I was hoping you were laying it thick on purpose Yas..... just wasn't positive and I had to squash the conspiracy bug before others jumped on for a ride.

question is..... will they find anything worth studying or will everything that falls out and seventy-five cents get them no more than a soda?

Sorry cw, I'll try and stop making sense now.

No, I didn't. He came up with the Marlins and they did not have an affiliate in the Southern League at that time. Last year was the first year in the league for the Marlins (maybe 2nd, hell i can't remember).

Bierne certainly had a nice breaking ball. I am somewhat surprised he never hung on in the Majors, even as a 5th starter for someone. He had a nice changeup as well.

Obviously Evansville is not the worst team in the league. LOL

Nipples are porn? What is this, the FCC going after the Super Bowl Halftime Show?

Man conspiracy theories are running wild here....... How about the concept that ATA paid for the spot, therefore ESPN is running it? Also understand that it may not have run nationally. Local cable companies have time slots throughout the day on ESPN and all channels for locally sold spots. I see Barons tv ads on ESPN during the summer as well as on TBS during Braves games. It's not like those spots are being seen all over the country. The anti-Cub paranoia is laughable sometimes guys. Sometimes things are just what they seem and nothing else.