BrandoFan

It's easy to do. Birth certificates is all they could go by when they issue the SS# I tihnk Catherine Zeta Jones got caught when she visited the WH and they ran a background check. And she is from Wales. When you're from, say, Dominican, records are kept on napkins if at all.

I say ban them all. Leave the 50 posters I like/approve of. Make it impossible for people to reguster without at least two recommendations.

It was like this: --Cards are winning late by two runs. --Momo Pujols drops the routine flyball. --The game ends up tied up, goes deep into extra innings --Cards' already s***ty BP sees its two best relievers needlessly burned --Next day Cards squander a 6-0 lead in the 7th after the had to resort to using their worst relivers. Two games on that one drop. A 4-game swing in the standing. Beginning of the end for the Cards who would have been up by 1.5 games had they rightfully won both games. What's more, Cubs would not be in the playoffs. No playoff money gravy. No national buzz. No Hawkins. No Maddux. Same 80 Mill payroll. No chance in 2004. And so on. If their absolutely s***ty defense wasn't enough, neither Renteria and especially Pujols and Rolen hit in that 5-game series. I am talking about bases loaded/1 out, etc. :fyou

No, no, no, no. We should keep Thomas AND Magglio in Chicago if possible. Everybody else is expendable. Including Loaiza, Burhle and Marte. But I'd rather have Thomas here for the next 3 years at a resonable price than Magglio at an exorbitant one.

Ooops, wrong Henry...

You use so many "--" As she did. Well, ever since the third edition was published anyway.

She was awesomer still when bent over.

Is CW a fan of Emily Dickinson?

What's more, I TOTALLY bought it, jaw on the floor style. Now if only I stopped upening the last page of a thread first, stuff like this would happen less :headshake

Yes, and he got what he was worth. And if he could field or run, he'd be making 18 Mill. He is no longer a great bargain to have and takes up a big chunk of a Cardinal payroll. Which is fine....as long as he stays healthy. 7 years is a long time and he doesn't have a luxury of DH'ing. With his unathletic body.....we shall see. That is all.

I don't know about the "same" production, but if the tandem can stay within striking distance of aging Ray, it would be worth it as Sox would be saving 6.5 Mill in salary. On one player. You save enough money (and we are currently overpayng Maggs, Val, Konerko, Lee, Koch and Buerhle) by making smart decisions, and-- lo and behold-- you will find yourself a top of the division instead of the 2nd place. And once you are on top, it means more fans, more revenues and a higher payroll for next year, After a few years of winning and building the attendance momentum, you can start thinking about re-signing player like Ray. But until that happens, giving that kind of a player (I listed his flaws numerous times) 14 to 16% of the ENTIRE payroll is asking for trouble. I am glad Sox didn't.

1. Forget about the 6 Mill figure. It was closer to 8. If anything, he took less money to play in a great baseball place, for a winning, more storied, better-covered team, in a newly buily ballpark in SanFran. 7 Mill is the minimum it would have taken to resign him. He was making 6.5 Mill in 2002, for pete's sakes. 2. Ray defense was average and he was on the wrong side of 30. It's gonna get worse. 3. Forget about Ray swinping 40 bases anymore. 20 is more like it. 4. Wear-n-tear is catching up with him now. It will only get worse given his position and style of play. The extra risk further reduces his value. 5. Good but not great OBP and too many strike-outs. Ray was NOT worth the 21+ Mill it would have taken the Sox to resign him. You're overrating what he brought to the table. Sox's 2003 payroll was TOO LOW to pay Ray's instristic value price (6 Mill) let alone what he was likely asking (7-8) based on what he could get from richer teams on the market. Reality. I was fine with Jimenez at 300K and outside of one terrible month (June), he was performing well with us and with Cincy. Minimal downgrade from Ray. Now I am fine with a Uribe/Harris platoon. Both are talented, neither has gotten a big chance yet-- Uribe was brought up too quickly-- and can do well against LHP and RHP respectively. They are improvements over Ray defensively and in Willie's case on the pads. They cost a fraction of what Ray costs and are much younger. I don't think anyone who extols Aaron Miles's non-existent virtues can diss more talented (and productive as Harris proved in AAA) Uribe and Harris without seeing them on consistent basis.

Because that is a very stupid idea. Who needs to be smart about how limited resources should be distributed? That kind of approach is for losers like Marlins, Twins, Angels and Athletics.... Instead we should have thrown the 50 mill of 2003 payroll on 7 overrrated players. Yep, that's the ticket. :headshake

Over 162 games, it lowers his value. That drop against the Cubs, for example, cost them two games (that game and next one thanks to a burned BP) and basically the whole season with it. One play. Again...AP goes from the best bargain in baseball to being no bargain at all. He is only 24. And didn't Rickey Henderson become the first man to break a 3 Mill barrier in the early 90s? Just saying.

Pujols is an 1050-1100 OPS player. His defense in LF is really bad. He is slow and will be slower still as he ages. Cardinals's payroll is around 75 Mill. 14 Mill (17% of the entire payroll) a year is probably what he is worth, intristically speaking. He sells jerseys, put fans in seats and probably positively affects the TV deal. But 100 Mill? Man, that is a risky proposition for a non-Yankee team. He better not be diving for line drives or sliding head first in the next 7 years. This signing don't means THANG when it comes to Magglio's demands. If he has a 2002-type year in 2004, he'll ask for 5/75. If he has a 2001-type year, he'll still ask for 4/52 at least.

Happy B-day.

Then again, if my own child will be a vile POS, I would much rather not see him/her at all, and instead hang out and help other people's "good" kids. Don't ascribe to God such difinitively human quality as choosing one's own bloodline over honor, truth, justice, etc. It may be natural to us, but God is God is God.

The short asnwer was given by Little Jim: because God is not a vain, petulant child too stupid to see through self-serving ploys. Or something along those lines.

Whoa. How about neither? I am constantly amazed at how most never consider players' salaries when assessing their value (to a team). I mean, Jeter and A-Rod are nice...but do we realize they cost a combined 44 Mill, which is the entire Oakland A's payroll? Ray is not as overpaid as Paul is, don't get me wrong. But at 7-8 Mill it would have talen for Sox to resign him? 14-16% of the entire 2003 payroll? No way.

That's true. But how many times have you heard people answer "no, I don't believe in God. No way" when asked, whether it be in real life or on TV. I know that throughout childhood and adolescence, I've always answered with a resounding "I believe in god, of course" when in reality I was pretty f***ing confused and wouldn't even admit the greater doubts to myself. Heck, I would probably characterize myself as an agnostic with a secret even now.

Jose is only 10 pounds heavier than he was in his early 20s. He doesn't look like a muscle-ripped 'roider and he sure doesn't hit like one. His younger brother is much stockier than him - that body type runs in the family. There's also a good chance he was one of the 15 players volunterily failing the test. They make you stronger, quicker as well as allow for better endurance AND faster recovery time. No, I can't see how that could inflate one's production..... Between this and Steinbrennergate, this beautiful game is going to hell and fast. :puke

The points you bring up are both factually enlightening and morally compelling. I hereby denounce my evil stance. You'd be a fantastic spokesman for the Pro-Life cause.

No soliciting allowed on the board.

Literally.