Milkman delivers

QUOTE (michelangelosmonkey @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 08:53 AM) I'm with you on this. I'm really fascinated with Kenny Williams and this spring in particular. OK, every once in a while a guy can get lucky on taking another organization's failed top prospect...but Kenny did it with Quentin, Jenks and Floyd in the last few years...guys that when we got them people said, m'heh. And now they are stars. And you think...maybe he was lucky or maybe...I don't know, maybe he sees things the rest of the GM's don't. Then this offseason he acquires Marquez, Betemit, Lillibridge, Van Benschoten and Nix and one has to sit up and wonder. Then KW did the same with international players...Tadahiro Iguchi, Shingo Takatsu and then last year Lexi...and now this year he adds Viciedo...who might be the most intriguing of all. And even the eye rolling over Bartolo Colon...but remember him pulling Estaban Loaiza off the old players scrap heap? Remember El Duque? Contreas? Jermaine Dye. Maybe it's not so crazy. Add into that mix, after the mess of the Sox minor league organization in the past we are presented with maybe the most interesting six pack of sox prospects at one camp...Flowers, Poreda, Allen, Bekham, Danks and Allen. And that's a dozen guys that are interesting. Sure everyone is a "maybe". But for most organizations "maybe's" are just organizational mirages sent to fans to give false hope. I've followed a lot of Sox teams over the last forty years and in so many years the Maybe's would be Getz, Fields and Broadway...and if you thought too hard about them you realized third place wasn't so bad. But Kenny? Maybe Kenny has a gift. If he does...perhaps the next WS isn't so far off. How dare you spell Tadahito's name incorrectly.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 10:03 AM) Saw Taken last night and was thoroughly entertained. Yeah most of it was implausible and there were some corny scenes, especially everything leading up to the trip to Paris, but it was fun. I'm also surprised at PG-13 ratings given to movies like this and Dark Knight. They were both ultra violent and I couldn't help but think what the heck did it need to get an R rating? I guess if they showed a boob it would have gotten the R but having 40 people savagely killed or injured is fine. A sad commentary on society today that violence is so easily accepted. There was no blood or gore of any kind. That's why it got the rating it did. And that last sentence made you sound really fruity

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 08:27 AM) I wouldnt even put those two in the same sentence. Bale has a much bigger acting repertoire and better skills than Wahlberg will ever have, like or dislike the guy. The guy I am starting to dislike a lot is Clive Owen. I just dont see the draw to the guy. I put them in the same sentence because they are both actors that the general public drools over. Bale is definitely a hundred times more talented than Wahlberg. I still don't think either is a very good actor, though. Mark Wahlberg is like Ben Affleck to me...I think both of their lesser-known brothers are more talented.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 07:51 PM) The funny thing is Colon and Garland had nearly identical numbers that season aside from Colon's superior K rate and yet when the Cy Young voting results are released Colon gets 118 points and Garland 1. And yes Buehrle was better than Garland that season and finished with 5 ponts in Cy Young voting. That's what I was referring to. I remember people posting their lines, and they were identical.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 07:09 PM) Sean Penn. He's a great actor and State of Grace is one of my all time favorites (largely because of the great Gary Oldman but Penn too) but I just can't stomach him. I know it sounds real juvenile but I think it's his face. It's kind of like Depp in Donnie Brasco where he just looked too damn young for the role even if he was 34 at the time or DeCaprio in The Departed, a lot people just can't take him seriously as a toughguy, that's how I am with Penn. For whatever reason I just can't take him seriously and given the nature of the vast majority of his roles that's a serious issue. Penn also bothers me a little, and I'll probably hate him if he gets the Oscar over Rourke. For two actors that I dislike that others seem to love, I'd say Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg. I don't think either of them is that good of an actor, though.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 07:59 PM) I was watching the Godfather several days ago on AMC and noticed their shameless promotion of Breaking Bad, so I decided to watch the first season on OnDemand. I honestly believe this is the best show on television. Even for a cable network original series I was blown away with the subject matter they discussed. Just the idea of a chemist teacher dying of lung cancer, with his wife pregnant, and him having to resort to creating a high quality of meth to help finances after he's dead is a great plotline. Additionally, so were the issues facing Cranston of whether or not to kill to gang member in his partner's basement, and his families intervention to convince him to seek chemotherapy. I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow survives the disease, though. Or it atleast goes into remission. I've been pimping that show for a while, to my friends at least. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it on this site, but it's awesome. The new season starts two weeks from tomorrow. I was very happy that Cranston won the Emmy for Best Actor.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 03:59 PM) Eh, he was that same shape when he threw 222 IP and stole the Cy Young from Johan in '05. You can argue Jon Garland, too.

QUOTE (That funky motion @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 05:11 PM) CQ is the sexiest man alive!!! False. Quentin is not a man, and I'm not sure you can actually consider him to be alive.

I fear that Fields is going to get a lot of undeserved hatred this season from a LOT of fans because he took Crede's spot. He's going to have to be perfect to gain a decent following.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 12:24 PM) Sorry, but Perry, while he was good for a short period of time with Sox, doesn't match up to either Ventura or Crede when it comes to quality, long term performance at 3B. I'll tip my hat to Perry, but he doesn't rate near as high in my opinion as the other two. Joke.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 10:03 AM) I watch the game too, and in about 30+ years of watching, he's the second best 3b we've had. I'd say third, behind Perry and Ventura. Also, I think your statement speaks more to the quality of our 3B's.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 10:01 AM) I just know this much. I'm 51 years old and have been a Sox fan as long as I can remember. I have seen the Sox in the World Series exactly one time, and Joe F'n Crede was a big reason that happened. He will always have my respect unless he does something stupid like PED's or something to that effect. I don't put him on a pedestal (sp?) and I know he's never been more than a solid MLB player when healthy, and his ability to stay healthy is iffy at best, but Joe Crede will always be near the top of my list as favorite players to wear the Sox uniform. Totally agreed. I just think people are totally polarized here. If you don't think he was that great of a player, the other side thinks you hate him, and vice versa.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 08:25 AM) Well, I'd rather he didn't end up with a division rival. But he had to go somewhere, not the Sox. I will miss Joe Crede. The only official jersey I've owned in my adult years is a black alternate Crede jersery. I loved watching him play 3B, where, until his back problems became too much, he was one of the best among current players. And, again prior to the back, I think he was coming into his own as a hitter. He was never going to hit for a high average with any regularity, or walk much, or provide much speed. But I think he is capable, when healthy, of very good production, mostly via power. Good luck, Joe. Except against the Sox. I wish Crede nothing but the worst in 2009. He'll be on a division rival. I don't want him to do well even when he's not facing us. It hurts our chances in the long run.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 09:21 AM) But f*** him, toss him out with the garbage. Nobody is saying that. He just wasn't as good as he's being eulogized as on this site. We're trying to say that we won't miss him as much as some think, and he won't hurt us as much as some think.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 06:50 AM) Did Joe Crede steal your GF or something? I notice that anytime anybody attempts to give him even a shred of credit you come swooping in with all this Bills James, Sabermetrics, Bible awards, zone rating, ect in an all out attempt to dismiss him as some bottom-tier third baseman who did nothing for the franchise save October, 2005. You're asking for proof of Crede's clutchness? Are you serious? A Sox fan? Who gives a s*** if Crede doesn't make some Bill James list. Do you want a list of games from 2004, '05 and '06 in which Crede saved our asses? I expect somebody from the east coast to have no clue about anything not Yankees/Redsox, but c'mon now. Am I glad Crede is gone? Yes. He's too much of an injury risk and is no longer a fit with this franchise. That's fine. But don't try and discredit all the good that he did here when healthy with this endless barrage of new-aged statistical formulas (i.e. he's not good if Bill James doesn't say so) that are flawed to begin with. Ain't nothin' like actually watching the games. Bill James be damned. Joe Crede made a reputation on this site for being one of the best players on the team in the span of half of a year (September 2005 through the break of 2006). Other than that time frame, he was never anything more than mediocre. I watched the games, too.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 21, 2009 -> 12:19 AM) Last "Late Night with Conan" on in 10 minutes. I didn't realize it was the last show. What happened on it?

Is there a link to that story about the Roman Villa in Mozambique? I find that incredibly interesting to hear.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 07:12 PM) How did I contradict myself??? Nowhere did I contradict myself. As for last year's Angels outfield, you nailed it right on the head, that was the word: ROTATION. I believe that the DH should be utilized as a rotating position for fielders. And again: having a player on the roster who cannot play on the field and can only play as DH is completely wasteful of a spot on the 25-man roster. So, knowing that you're going against decades of baseball knowledge makes you think you're correct?

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 07:08 PM) I know the purpose behind the DH, I just don't agree with the way it's implemented. If a player is too old to play the field, then they should just go ahead and retire. You have a fundamental problem with the DH, then. You would be a terrible, terrible manager.

Heenan was, without a doubt, the greatest manager in the history of wrestling. Also, every time I see BigSqwert's avatar out of the corner of my eye, I think it's Mr. Perfect. Perhaps that's what he'd look like at that age, ha.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 02:41 PM) I thought it was entertaining, if nothing else. The best component of the film, aside from the soundtrack, is how Fishburn's character is at risk of losing his job due to the advancement of face recognition technology within casinos. It gave this sense of urgency for him to prove himself, and for all the players (including that douche Spacey, who I f***ing hate as an actor) to avade detection while collecting their money. Here's another tune from the soundtrack: Don't like great actors?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 18, 2009 -> 08:21 AM) First off, I never said anyone gets a free pass to cheat. ARods test was taken under the presumption it was annonymous or he had no responsibility to even take it. MLB has changed the rules. When ARod was positive there was no penalty. You can't go back and charge all the guys who blew a .15 40 years ago with drunk driving. Its time to move on. I just don't understand your thinking that amphetimines were nothing. Its common knowledge they were in every clubhouse. Amphetimines were illegal,no? Good for you if you went to look for something in your garage and found a bag of amphetimines and proceed to pat your son on the back and say, at least they weren't steroids.(This is just a hypothetical, I don't know even if you have a son and I'm not implying this would occur) Why do you think amphetimine use is OK? Just because it wasn't universally considered that DUI wasn't that big of a deal 30-40 years ago by a lot of society, didn't make it right. Hence, the laws were change. It also wasn't frowned upon for a pregnant woman to smoke and get wasted, now it is. Amphetimines were PEDs. They were cheating. If 30 years ago, the players thought it was no big deal, so what. The players today have the same attitude toward steroids. If you can go back 6 years for ARod's test, when there were no penalties, why can't you go back 40 and if you found out Willie Mays was hopped up on amphetimines, for which there now is a test, shouldn't his HOF status be reconsidered? This is baseball, not a court of law. They can punish him however they see fit, and seeing as steroids were banned at the time, I don't give a s*** how severely they punish him.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 04:42 PM) Of course not. I'm all for penalties, but they should not include not getting into the HOF. And cheating from past eras should be examined as well. Maybe make baseball like golf. If you're out and the umpire calls you safe, tell him you were out and go back to the dugout. ARod not in the HOF? That's ridiculous. As I said, he's also facing juiced up pitchers. I'm saying cheating has always been laughed at. What a player could get away with has always been sort of admired. I don't admire anyone taking steroids, but if there were no penalties when this cheating occurred, what can you do about it? Guys with a HOF vote try to use their power to keep guys out of the HOF, when, most likely, guys they do elect, at least a few of them, used, and either weren't caught, or it wasn't obvious. Sammy Sosa won't get in the HOF and he's never tested positive as far as I know. Is that fair? He got bigger. He played 15 years and gained 50 pounds of muscle. It looks very suspicious, but its not impossible to be done without cheating. Hell yes.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 04:27 PM) Saying some forms of cheating are OK and some are not doesn't make sense to me. If I ever was caught stealing a candy bar I know my punishment at home would have made me want to be in jail. I think what I'm saying is the other trangressions were cheating as well. People laughed. Gaylord Perry is a HOFer, he cheated. So did Phil Niekro, and many, many others. How many players do you think used greenies the past 30-40 years? When ARod tested positive, there were no penalties in place in MLB for this type of cheating. None. Now there are. I never said look the other way, but keeping guys out of the HOF, because of one or two positive tests seems ludicrious. How many times did Steve Howe test positive for cocaine? Tim Raines was a cokehead, but a lot of people here think he's a HOF. Did kids snort lines because Tim Raines did? Its sad ARod made the choice he made. Its even sadder a most predictable press conference occurs. Its time to move on. The testing is in place. I still think many are using and are ahead of the tests. The only reason steroids are an issue is the home run records. When Sosa and McGwire were hitting everything out of the park in 1998 nobody blinked an eye. If they hit 50-55 each and everyone stayed around there, I believe there still would be no issue. Cocaine doesn't help you play baseball better, nor does using it help you make money by playing baseball better. QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 04:27 PM) Just remember, the guys pitching the ball were also users. They all weren't. I don't see what you're getting at. Guys cheated on both ends, but all players on each end weren't using.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 03:54 PM) You think they talked for the good of the game? Doesn't matter. When it came down to it, they did the right thing.