Drew

Russell in the upper deck is the best. My brother has his card.

I'm reminded from a line in Adventures in Babysitting. "Thor's my hero." "Thor's a homo."

The Hall of Fame is for the very best of the best. Buehrle is good, even stellar within his contemporaries of the past 10 years but the best of the best during his career span has included Randy Johnson, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana, just to name a few. Be that as it may, if Don Sutton made it to the Hall of Fame, Buehrle can—if he keeps producing at his current rate through his 30s and into early 40s. Sutton was a guy who didn't have dominant numbers for his time but had a very long and consistently productive career. Big ifs. Me? I'd expect to see his #56 on the outfield wall in Bridgeport one day, anything else above and beyond that is a bonus.

With a background and profession in various fields of design, I'm into aesthetic sensibilities and stories. Baseball is the sport which more than any other is in touch with both. There are no two ballparks exactly alike, each designed and made to fit the land procured for their purpose. The uniforms are steeped in tradition, the logos and lettering and nicknames of yesteryear preserved for generations. You don't have to put nameplates on the back of your jersey if you don't want to. The bats are still wood. They decided that things like concrete donuts, astroturf, and double-knit v-necks weren't such good ideas. Grass, brick, piping with buttons are back in force. In the stands there are things like nachos, elephant ears, churros, hamburgers, pastrami—hell, I think you can even get sushi in Seattle, or so I've heard—but the dogs, peanuts, and beer spring eternal. It's exciting but relaxing to take in a game. There are home runs and suicide squeezes, pitcher's battles, and no-hitters. The keeping of score isn't the same in any other game. Because going to a Bears or Bulls game wasn't the same as going to see the White Sox, even in dismal years like the late 1980s. Because while I can still tell you every player on the 1985 Bears roster, I never dreamed of taking the field at Soldier Field like I did at Comiskey Park. Because like Phil Berquist said in City Slickers "When my dad and I couldn't talk about anything, we could still talk about baseball."

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Jul 9, 2008 -> 08:17 PM) Comiskey Park? Seeing as how I am a mere 20-minute walk from Dodger Stadium... and yes, I'd call this an ugly win. A good win, a win's a win, but six earned runs off Vag-quez?

Where can I buy an '83 Winning Ugly t-shirt?

Bobby Thigpen was a mediocre—OK, decent—relief pitcher that had a few par-for-the-course seasons as a big league closer and one season for the ages. After the 57-save season, he could never get it back on track. Be that as it may, I've enjoyed having a Sox pitcher holding a record for nearly two decades and no record will ever stand forever. K-Rod's not my favorite guy in baseball, but if he keeps it up he'll be a Hall of Famer. And the article linked in here earlier has it wrong. Dave Righetti had 46 saves with the Yankees in 1986 which at the time was the standing single-season saves record.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jun 11, 2008 -> 05:13 PM) I hope you dont have to put the stuff together. A friend of mine got a table from there and it came in 2000 pieces 2000? Really? Must have been broken when he got it. We do have a full-time builder, but often we pitch in if it's what we have to do to get done on schedule. You put enough of the stuff together, it becomes intuitive. Quite a change from my graphics/advertising days, but it's actually the best job I've had, period. I love what I do. The suitcase and shoe cabinets were unfortunately sold today. If I weren't mired in boxes and trying to get stuff from K-town to Echo Park and all the hoops landlords make you jump through to get a deposit back, I'd be down for shipping, but since my timeline is what it is, I'm keeping these to local pickup only.

I work for IKEA. Burbank. I design the room settings.

I'm moving from a 2 bed/2 bath in Koreatown (near the Wiltern Theater) to a studio in Echo Park (close enough to stumble home from Dodger Stadium). ...and I've got a bunch of stuff that won't fit in my new place. Take a look. If you're interested in anything, drop me a message. I'll make a deal for Soxtalkers. http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/fur/715665102.html

I love AJ in the 2 hole ahead of Quentin.

That is how you make a sliding catch.

Good one, Thor.

"Thor's my hero." "Thor's a homo."

David Wells. Slimy piece of worm-ridden filth. Came to Chicago, didn't take care of himself, underperformed, then went back to the Bronx and dominated. Got pwned by Iguchi in Game 2 of the ALDS, though.

Shingo forgot where the strike zone was. Don't get me wrong, I loved watching him in 2004 as he was one of the only things about that season that wasn't disappointing, but he pretty much fell apart in '05.

When, upon further examination, an individual continually fails to meet not expectations, but rather perceptions. Thus, overrating is usually debatable.

Boras is a lawyer, the man knows how to present arguments.

Brian Cashman is the same GM who unloaded José Contreras to us for a journeyman pitcher that had precisely one good season named Esteban Loaiza, so I wouldn't necessarily rule that out. I don't think you can ask for Joba Chamberlain or Philip Hughes, though. I think the stakes for Melky Cabrera would be more than a straight-up with Crede, but if Crede + parts brings us a young stud CF on house money--thank you for everything, Joe. Jerry Owens is basically a young version of Scott Podsednik--a track star wearing a ball glove. If Owens has a good career he could turn out to be a Johnny Damon-type player, but needs a lot more work at the plate (as an understatement). Give me Cabrera's cannon over Owens' cap gun in center any day of the week.

It was speculated that Boras tampered with the J.D. Drew deal although the Dodgers never pursued that end. Then there was the grievance the Players' Union filed over Tony Abreu's demotion coinciding with an abdominal injury that Boras claimed was enough to DL him. The demotion cost Abreu major league pay. I'd say Slappy McBluelips ends up in Anaheim, and I'd love to see him get less money and fewer years than what Boras thinks he can get.

I'd like to see Colorado take it, but I'll settle for them making it slightly interesting. The suspicion I have is that this will be a Boston bloodbath like the last three games have been.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Oct 11, 2007 -> 12:00 PM) So who's joining me @ Chavez Ravine? Me. I'm also thinking May 11 in Seattle for my birthday and because I have friends there I haven't seen in a while. Then the four-game stretch at LAA right after.

QUOTE(joeynach @ Oct 16, 2007 -> 07:56 AM) Anyone have or know a good site to find Hawk soundclips. I am trying to put something together and I could really use a place to find these things. I really would love a "This ballgame is OVAAA" soundclip. Thanks. Download a copy of AudioHijack and help yourself to the highlights archive on the team site.

Wow, a lot of players have s***ty taste in music.

QUOTE(The Critic @ Oct 14, 2007 -> 10:16 AM) I thought he said during the interview with TBS that he can't do day games because of work, but he makes all the night games. When I went to The Jake, I was two sections over and I didn't really notice him at all. I don't think I'd buy a ticket in his section, though - that drum would drive me nuts. Anyone remember when the Blackhawks had the four or five drummers walking around during games? I wanted to strangle those guys. Watching the Indians drummer makes me miss Andy the Clown.