kevin57

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Jan 29, 2006 -> 11:55 AM) For the US/Israel to immediately say that they won't talk to them is f***ing stupid. At least show up for f***'s sake. I mean, Bush is the one saying that democracy needs to be on the march through the Middle East and they should be free to pick their leaders. Well, that's what happened. Don't you think that Hamas should at least have to first declare that they accept some sort of "two state solution" and renounce terrorism as a means to accomplish their goals?

I believe that honest elections are always a good thing. We may not get the results we would like and frankly, it is hard to imagine how any free country could like the results of a Hamas victory, but now the Palestinians can't just point a finger at the US or Israel or anyone else. THEY have chosen THEIR own leaders, and those leaders will be judged on what they actually ACCOMPLISH. Notice how already Fatah and Hamas are fighting. This 'civil' war has been a long time in coming. It was bound to happen and now it is. From a purely geopolitical point of view, this is not necessarily all bad. They'll have far less time and energy to attack Israel if they're squabbling among themselves.

I vote "yes" to capital punishment, but I believe in it only for the most heinous of criminals, the Timothy McVeighs of the world. Because I want it to be an option in such cases, "yes" was my choice, but it should be rarely applied. In my opinion, it should exist only as a societal statement that there are those (few) among us who have essentially forfeited their right to be called "humans." For instance, if Saddam is ever actually convicted, he would merit such a societal condemnation.

I thought the article was well-written as well. Agree or disagree, he does know baseball better than most.

I just can't see this happening, for reasons articulated often and convincingly on this very site.

This lineup looks like a dream to me. I expect Crede to have a very decent year at the plate this year (No, not .300 but maybe .285). If true, pitchers will not get a break with this roster.

The problem is that by the day she's saying ever more outrageous things...so outrageous that she wouldn't pick up Michael Moore's vote! Not much siphoning to happen there.

QUOTE(Beltin'Bill @ Jan 28, 2006 -> 04:37 PM) Frank may be an icon on the baseball field (or at least at the plate), but he is a spoiled prima donna everywhere else. I do not mean to sound disrespectful of his career, but Frank has done his fair share over the years to cause problems for the WS. He used to show up late for spring training so he could sell shoes in Japan. He staged contract holdouts because he was embarrased about the mega millions he was making. He consistently said dumb and insenstive things in public. He was also as big a hawk as Reinsdorf prior to the strike in 1994. He did not stay in good physical condition and started breaking down after he hit his thirties. He gets paid tens of millions for two bad seasons but wants more money after he has a season worthy of the money. He refused to do drills that his teammates had to do in spring training. The guy does not run the bases well (I still remember his "I am that big train" Reebok commercial despite the fact he never had the desire to run over a catcher to win a ball game). He barely knows what to do with a glove and he could never turn a 3-6-3 DP to save his life. And as far as Thomas saving the White Sox with his valient return to the line-up, give me a break. I agree Jurassic was brutal swinging at balls at his ankles. I also know the numbers show the Sox had the best winning percentage in the regular season when Thomas was in the line-up. However, things have a way of evening out and I will not go so far as saying the Sox were winning because of Frank. They did pretty well to start the season without him. The string of consecutive games with a lead was done without Thomas hitting 1st inning homers. And if my memory serves me right, the White Sox went 16-1 to end the season...without Frank Thomas! I do not mean to bash the guy, but before this past week, I was disappointed Thomas would not be on the south side this year. I have concerns about Thome being healthy or as productive as Thomas just as much as I have concerns about Thomas being healthy and in the right state of mind. However, all his mouthing off this week once again revealed the true Frank Thomas, a surly prima donna shooting for 50-some more home runs to validate his entry into the HOF. I acknowledge his accomplishments and agree that his career is nothing short of exceptional, but here in 2006 I must say good riddance to Frank and his selfish ways. Thanks for these reminders of the bad side of FT. I've been struck by the extremes on Frank Thomas. On the one hand, there were those (in the media many, among die-hards few) who despised Frank. On the other hand, there are many die-hards for whom criticizing Frank Thomas is blasphemy. The truth about this man lies somewhere in-between.

I was convinced that D.J. would not be back this year, mostly because he was NOWHERE to be found for the post-WS festivities. I would like to hear some explanation.

What made Thomas's remarks about Thome all the more inappropriate was that he referred to him as his "good friend"!

Farmer has always been "cut and dry" in his evaluation of persons and events. Notice how he'll summarize a player's strengths, weaknesses, and future. He rarely has to go more than two sentences. It's just his style.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jan 28, 2006 -> 09:08 AM) I'm sure he did, along with cases and cases and cases and cases of wHine.

Anderson will make us proud this year. Book it, boys.

Do we know for sure that Thome will be healthier than Thomas? No. At the same time, if you were in Las Vegas and putting your hard-earned $$$ on the table, would you bet that Thome or Thomas will play more games in 2006?

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Jan 27, 2006 -> 10:15 PM) I'm sick of more green suggestions. I honestly liked the blue better. Shouldn't this be in green?

Rooting for him in every situation except when he plays against the Sox is fine. Let's not be Frankophiles, please. When he plays us, may he go 0-5

I'll concede that perhaps Kenny or Jerry could have shown a little more consideration/respect by calling or sitting down with Frank and telling him directly how he wasn't going to fit into their plans for the future. I still wonder if Frank wouldn't have complained about some other aspect of how he was treated. What bothered me most about his comments was that if he had known about his future, he wouldn't have thrown out the first ball of the ALCS or been in the parade. He was among the very best in Sox history. He deserves a place on the outfield wall, HOF status, retired number, and other honors. But his mouth has tripped him up many a time during his years on the Sox. P.S. There was a thread on whitesoxinteractive on this same topic. It was "magically" removed not long after it started because there was majority criticism of FT's words. I think the Mods and Admins. over there are Frankophiles.

The same thing goes for other businesses, like Cub foods. Because they don't adhere to the myriad of labor laws that the City Council passes (instead of looking into city corruption), and have an exorbitant property tax on businesses, lots of once grocery store buildings stand empty. Tell me that does a lot of good for neighborhoods.

Your beliefs sound more like the GOP platform than the Demoncrats', but don't let titles and platforms define you. Think and vote as you wish, depending on the issue.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Jan 26, 2006 -> 11:12 PM) (btw, I'll assume "demoncracy" was a typo and not a Freudian slip. ) LOL! Yup, a typo...or was it? Even if these counties elect "wacos" (or what we would consider wacos), eventually, leaders who strive for the development of their people in the midst of a broader world will prevail. There's too much TV, internet, media in general for billions of people in countries 'round the world not to say, "Hey, if they have all this neat stuff in the U.S.A. (and Europe and Japan...), why the hell not here?"

Ignored once again.

It should be interesting to see if Hamas starts acting like a political party rather than a terrorist organization. It is in their best interests to start making a transformation, but lots of people don't do what's in their best interests. I think that Hamas won at least in part because of the total corruption of the Fatah party. The people in the territories live in dire poverty while hundreds of millions pour in from all over the world. Where has all that money been going? The people sent a message to the corrupt ruling party. Also, Hamas has done a good deal of humanitarian work for the people. This is in no way to praise their beliefs and attitudes concerning Israel. Just an interesting fact. In any case, demoncracy occurred in yet another Mideast place. YEA! Whatever Hamas may do, they'll have to be accountable to the people. Most of the Palestinians may want Israelis in the sea, but they want bread on their tables, a roof over their heads, a good school for their kids, and a decent street to a decent job a lot more than some political ideology.

I think last year we finally saw Garland do what had been hoped and predicted about him. I would say that we will now see a string of several solid years. Does that mean 18+ victories in 2006. I wouldn't bet a lot on that. I would say that at least 16, though.

I skip around between three books: 1) The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd (okay, but not a page turner) 2) The Treasured Writings of Kahil Gibran (good, but so dense in style and long in content that you have to sip it like good brandy) 3) Healthy Selfishness by Drs. Rachael and Richard Heller (good self-help book)

It seems like there's a clear divide in opinion over what constitutes an "ace." People cite different stats and perspectives to bolster their point of view, but until and unless there's agreement over what makes an ace an ace, we'll be spinning our wheels. For instance, I would look at "workhorse quality" factors (e.g., how many innings pitched with good/excellent quality outings). Given how so many rising stars peter out or get injured, having a guy you can rely on week after week is of paramount importance; however, I understand and appreciate other pitching stats that would define an ace. BTW, I'm not saying that our "goal" should be to come to some agreement on defining an "ace" pitcher...probably not possible...but just describing what I see as the point we're stuck on.