Pants Rowland

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Jan 26, 2009 -> 05:45 PM) if he were to write a book once he retires, about his managerial career, wow thatd be a great book!lol I would hate to be the editor of that manuscript.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 23, 2009 -> 10:22 AM) Crane Kennedy admits Wrigley Field is a dump: "That's one part of it, and the other parts of it are fan amenities. Our mezzanine suites, we don't even call them luxury suites anymore because they're neither luxury, nor suites. We call them skyboxes. We all know the washroom situation is unacceptable. The concession, the quality of the food—we rank at the bottom. On the Crane Kenney note, my understanding is during Cubs Convention, he made a joke out of the whole incident where the Orthodox priest blessed the dugout before the playoffs. Apparently he said it was a bad decision and that the priest contacted them to do the blessing and take the curse off. I know for a fact that this is not true. Crane Kenney contacted a Catholic priest to solicit a blessing and try to remove the curse. That priest said "we do not do that...what you need is a Greek Orthodox priest." He then reached out to a Greek church in NW Indiana. The priest he got to agree to do it is related to a close friend of mine. This priest specifically said he wanted no cameras or exploitation of the church. He did not want a mockery made out of it and did not request tickets, let alone contact Kenney directly to solicit tickets. The Cubs are a bunch of lying spinning chumps. May they lose another 100 seasons.

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Jan 20, 2009 -> 05:12 PM) looks like no Elvis night :-( I'll bet Saturday 8/8 fireworks night v. Cleveland will end up being Elvis night. That is always the weekend they usually hold it. No rat pack night again either. Still upset they got rid of that promo last year.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 16, 2008 -> 02:17 PM) If someone did the same to a visiting President of another country I'd guess they were going to face some pretty stiff consequences too. No, I understand the law is likely written to have stiffer penalties for assault on the leader of any sovereign nation. I just get the impression that some posters here feel this guy should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law not because he attacked another human being or even because he attacked the leader of a sovereign nation. Rather, it seems that what some feel he really did wrong was to have the audacity to do it to our President.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Dec 16, 2008 -> 10:46 AM) What was life like for the average Iraqi under Saddam? Did 100% live in fear of a bomb destroying their homes or killing themselves? 100% of the people are affected by living in a war zone. There was food in the stores, goods available to purchase. There were jobs to go to. It will be a long time before Iraq is back to the level of normal they had under Saddam. That! QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 16, 2008 -> 12:03 PM) It wasn't our business until we made it our business (for other reasons which have turned out to be BS), something I wish we'd quit doing. That! QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 16, 2008 -> 12:04 PM) Sadly, under Saddam, Iraq and Iraqis were better off. And the argument that they'll be better off in 10 or 20 years now free of Saddam, is pointless, because Saddam would have been gone anyway. Iraqis are significantly worse off because of this war, and that's an impressive feat. If BushCo had bothered to pay even the slightest attention to how the building of such a factuous nation should proceed, instead of simply handing it off to political appointee goons, then perhaps an argument could be made that Iraqis could have been better off. and That! QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Dec 16, 2008 -> 09:32 AM) I just laugh when i hear people complain about the suffering of Iraqis now, totally ignoring the facts about what life was like under Saddam... Anyways, I dont care how you feel about GWB. The fact of the matter is he is the president of the united states of the america and there was an attempted assault on him on foreign soil. I hope he gets punished to the fullest extent of Iraqi law (which, from what I read could be 2-7 years). This, not so much. Please explain to me again why someone with no prior criminal record deserves to be locked up for years for throwing a shoe at the US President. Is the President of the US so important to the nation of Iraq that he deserves such reverence? We Americans are not nearly as important as we like to believe and our leaders are no more important than anyone else for that matter. In the words of Crash Davis, GWB is as full of s*** as anyone. The reporter should not have thrown his shoe at Dubyah, but he should be fined and released in fairly short order.

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Dec 15, 2008 -> 07:18 PM) I was exaggerating. In fact, I think detaining anyone (citizen or terrorist) on US controlled soil without the ability to hear the evidence against them is against American Principles and Gitmo detainees should stand a fair tribunal and be cut loose if there is no proof against them. I never voted for Bush, but he's my president. I will be the first to say the War in Iraq was a TRAGIC mistake, and he should be judged accordingly based on that mistake. That being said, there is no situation where I approve of someone throwing a blunt object at him. This reporter may have been making a "statement" but I just don't care. Maybe its nationalistic, but I don't want anyone to try to harm, or embarrass my president -- no matter who it is -- for any reason. I will feel this exact same way on January 20th when President Obama takes office. I understand where you are coming from, but I just don't get too excited over American symbols anymore. If you look at the way many presidents in this country's history have handled the office, I question whether the U.S. presidency really can be considered so sacred an office. Further, we have done far worse to leaders of sovereign nations (not to mention sovereign nations overall) in the past and gotten away with it. If you read about this reporter's background, you will see that he has suffered directly by the U.S. occupation, including a period of detention by U.S. forces that was followed by release and an empty apology with no restitution. George Bush's foreign policy was instrumental in the disruption of this man's life, no matter how we Americans see the overall intentions of the war. I think the reporter was justified in his frustration at the American policy toward his nation. While I agree he should not be allowed to throw shoes at another human being without some punishment, I really do not think George Bush's status as sitting president of the US merits any greater punishment than if he threw his shoe at a beggar in the street. Either way, the target of the attack is a human being no better than the other. Both should be afforded a basic level of respect. To me a minor fine is a pretty fair punishment. With all this said, I think Bush handled the incident well and was pretty quick in his dodging of the flying loafers. So, his presidency is not a complete failure.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Dec 14, 2008 -> 08:23 PM) Someone should have beat the s*** out of him. Regardless of your level of derangement, he is still our president, and those bastard-ass jackholes should show him some respect. Beat the s*** out of someone who stages a pretty nonviolent, mostly symbolic protest of throwing shoes? Right, that sounds appropriate. GWB is as unfit for command now as he was when he stole the election in 2000. He is lucky this is the worst attack he has seen in his 8 years in office. I seriously hope this reporter is released soon with little to no retribution.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 15, 2008 -> 08:25 AM) President Bush. Signing will be announced at US Cellular Field on Tuesday, as soon as US State Department background checks are approved and a visa is issued. Kennny Williams had a brief statement for the media at 702 CST: "That guy can bring it! And he's not afraid to throw at people to get them off the plate. In the past, Ozzie had problems with Sean Tracey and Jon Garland decking opponents. Well, we like this guy's long arm motion, extension and wrist snap, and feel that with a few adjustments, we can get his fastball up into the mid 90's. If he can throw a pair of shoes at speeds of 73 MPH (our JUGS assessment from video analysis), just think what he'll be able to accomplish with an offseason of tuturing with Don Cooper? We're already at the breaking point with our payroll, and, after looking at what the Pirates did in creatively assessing the pitching market and signing two former Indian national team cricket players, we think we're opening up a new Middle Eastern Pitching Pipeline, just like our vaunted Cuban Connection. Not to mention that our White Sox logo has been recently showing up on Iraqi hip hop videos as well as Al-Jazeera broadcasts. It just seemed like a good fit in terms of merchandising, and Brooks Boyer agreed that bringing more Islamic fans to Comiskey could be just the revenue stream (the Cubs just announced a plan to allow fans to skate for $10 at Wrigley Field on January 4th http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...,0,65793.story) we needed to let us go out and add a Willie Taveras/Gathright/Gomez burner type that might really put us over the top in terms of competing once again for the AL Central title." The unnamed prospect will sign a one year deal for the major league minimum. "The last time I signed someone strictly from watching video, it was Tad Iguchi. We feel this guy can have a similar impact down the line for us," offered the always-interesting Williams. Ozzie Guillen, relatively a White Sox expert on political affairs, and someone who's been unafraid to take on fellow countryman Hugo Chavez had this to say. "We can't really go wrong with this pick-up. It's classic KW, low-risk, high-reward. He's always joking with me about our team being the United Nations. With the president's approval rating at all-time lows, we felt that the attendance boost alone by putting him out there on the mound instead of Marquez might be beneficial to our bottom line. We anticipate a walk-up gate of 5,000 plus on the nights when he pitches." Guillen had just gotten off a conference call with local Birmingham McDonald's franchisees, having forwarded a picture of Cuban 3B prospect Dayan Viciedo with a promise to send ANY cashier a $100 voucher for White Sox merchandise in return for refusing to serve Dayan any combo meal, even medium size. Good stuff. The news has been sparse and it is nice to see something new to discuss, even if in jest. Thanks for the levity.

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Dec 15, 2008 -> 11:55 AM) Do the sox have a minor league team down in Gitmo? Seriously, I don't care what you think of the current president... I hope this guy is missing a few toenails right now. I seriously hope you are kidding. The guy threw a pair of shoes at GWB in a symbolic protest of his aggression, indifference and arrogance toward the people and culture of Iraq. I do not care what country he supposedly leads, he is an unremarkable human being. Throwing shoes at him does not merit any more than 24 hours in the cooler. To suggest this reporter deserves to be tortured at Gitmo clearly illustrates why this nation (ours, not Iraq) is in such terrible shape morally. The entire world is celebrating the end of the Bush regime and whether you are conservative or liberal, it is difficult to defend this president in any way, shape or form.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Dec 15, 2008 -> 02:29 PM) That is perfect to display in the front room window.

QUOTE (Jimbo's Drinker @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 02:31 PM) So Santo wants us to feel for his diabetes. He also drank like a fish which I am sure did not help his casue in the long run. Never heard that one. He sounds pretty loaded when he broadcasts so it makes sense. I am actually glad he is calling out the veterans committee. This may now be the last time he gets remotely close to getting in.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 12:40 PM) Dick Allen deserves it more anyways, he was more dominant IMO. I have heard he was one of the most talented players you will ever see...and one of the bigger head cases, too. I think he was the first Sox player to reach the CF bleachers at the old ballpark.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 07:46 PM) Different eras. When Santo was done playing, I believe he was second all time in homers by a thirdbaseman. I could be wrong but I think I read that. I don't think being despised by opponents should hurt your chances to get in. The last 3 elections he's been 8,5, and 9 votes short. He's going to get in. Its just a matter of time. Maybe, but he was an afterthought for many of his years of eligibility. All of his lobbying and sob stories have helped, but he is still coming up short. Doesn't sound too deserving to me.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 06:06 PM) It shouldn't, and I'm saying don't make him a HOFer just because he will probably not be around much longer. He really has earned a place in the HOF. He certainly wasn't a first ballot guy, but he's been done playing for 34 years, and his credentials are good enough. Guys as close as he's come to getting in, always get in eventually. He's waited long enough. 10 years from now, there's a 99% chance he's in IMO. That's probably the same percentage chance of him not being around to enjoy it. I have been repulsed by his campaigning and crying about it as much as anyone, but I think this year was time. 2 wrongs don't make a right. I think he has to wait a couple of years now. I'm just saying if he's going to get in, and all indications are that he will, do the right thing and elect him when he's alive. If Ron Santo played for the White Sox and had the exact same career, this board would be outraged today. Believe me, I'm a guy who in the past has taken some glee out of him being shut out. But no more. Its time. Robin Ventura says hello. In a little over one less season, he had some very similar stats, including fielding percentage. He is 50 HR short of Santo but in about 1000 fewer AB. They both have a case full of gold gloves. Santo was in far more ASG. Go ahead and tell me how Santo was better. Maybe, but not by much. The fact is he was barely getting a sniff at the HOF in his 15 years of eligibility. His highest percentage was in the low 40s. Most of us never saw the guy play. Numbers alone do not always make a HOF player. Those that saw him are pretty split on his merit. From what I hear from those who saw him, he was the master of the meaningless home run, struck out a ton with the game on the line, and was despised by opponents.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 03:04 PM) If Santo got in, the late 60's cubs would have 4 HOF members that other than in 69 were not that good of teams. Something is there for me as to why he should not get in and I am not sure what it is. I also believe he was not well liked by the media or his peers. If his grand standing is not working then there is a reason why he is not in there and he needs to accept it. I have never heard someone politick more than him to get himself in. He almost feels like he is entitled to be in. I really think Billy Williams is keeping him out. I do not pay close attention to this, so forgive me for asking. Did Santo and Williams not get along? I have heard he was not well liked by opponents but not necessarily by teammates. BTW, the Cubs of Santo's era were known to have a solid, if not potent, lineup but not much on the mound. Hence the Brock for Broglio trade. So, no matter how many winning or losing teams he was on, he definitely had protection in the lineup for most of his career.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 02:28 PM) i dont like santo for a variety of reasons, i think he campaigns for himself to get into the hall more than anyone I can remember in my lifetime...and i find that extraordinarily annoying and it really makes me like the guy alot less.....while i certainly empathize with his plight against diabetes and respect him for his charity work, i believe he uses his diabetes as a crutch to get into the HOF, which i also dislike....in addition he is the most annoying of all announcers in sports, and is the quintessential annoying cub fan....even going beyond being an annoying announcer, he is a bad, bad, bad announcer who does very little homework on the subject and barely knows opposing rosters sometimes that said from a strictly baseball standpoint...its very hard for me to tell whether guys before my time are or aren't HOFers...i've heard some good arguments for Santo's induction, and some for keeping him out....One line of argument I do not believe in is the "Well Such and Such is in, and Santo has better numbers, so he should be in too".... It may be a mistake that one guy is already in, but that doesn't mean we should make another mistake by letting another, perhaps undeserving player in either...whether or not he should be in as a baseball player, I have no clue...but from a personal standpoint im not really rooting for the guy, even though I do feel bad for him having to live with diabetes THAT!

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 01:24 PM) So, are we really going to wait till Santo’s dead to admit we made a mistake with him? The guy averaged .277 25 Hrs 96 RBis, while playing good defense, suffering from a horrible case on diabetes, and while playing on terrible teams. I really can’t understand what the hate is about: he’s the Cubs equivalent of Hawk Harrelson, and while truly, a poor announcer, his unbridled love for his team is quite charming. The only thing that I can see happening to change Santo’s fortunes is the Cubs winning a World Series while he’s watching (like that’s going to happen.) Is that entirely true? I seem to recall him playing alongside a couple future HOF hitters and thought he was on at least a couple .500+ teams. If his love for the cubs is so charming, maybe they should create their own HOF and make him the sole member. I am sorry, but it was only until he even got to the veteran's committee vote that he came close to making it. For some reason, the writers and players don't want him in. Maybe it is a conspiracy or maybe he just wasn't as good as the revisionist historian fans make him out to be.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 12:47 PM) It would seem that some people would like about 25 players in the Hall and no one else, as high as they set their standards. It's a fricking museum for the game of baseball. It isn't holy, it isn't offering immortality. It's a museum. A Santo display would be very interesting. More interesting than some 1915 shortstop that no one has ever heard of. I don't know. I was looking at Dick Allen's credentials the other day. Pretty impressive. In fact, pretty similar stats to Santo on many levels. People that saw him mention him as one of the best they ever saw, but something of a head case. Cut his career short because he got tired of the game and wanted to raise horses or something. Not HOF material to date, though. Santo gets a lot of documentaries and whines a lot about not getting in and people feel like he deserves it more than a lot of other almost HOFers. Why is he more deserving than these other guys that come up short? I personally prefer to limit membership to the elite players, but even if you take your approach and relax criteria a bit, I am not sure Santo should be the first through the door. If I were voting, all of Ronnie's lobbying and whining over the years would've lost my vote on principle alone.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Dec 4, 2008 -> 10:45 PM) My wife's maiden name is ...Hahn. Not sure if you are Bulls***ting here or not, but I too have wondered if all of these cost cutting deals are more about the economy and anticipation of a drop in revenues. The only thing that doesn't make sense, however is raising ticket prices. In my mind, the price point to maximize revenue next year is probably below 2008 levels, not above them. See if you can get them in the seats, then push concessions. Time will tell.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Nov 23, 2008 -> 12:10 AM) I'm kind of an anomaly, I played Little League as a kid, but I moved to the city and a lot of the guys that came to play liked baseball but had never played. There were about 4-5 of us that did and the coach could tell immediately just watching simple stuff like how we stand in front of the ball, throwing motion (and throwing with three fingers), etc. Some of these guys were raw, natural athletes that just needed seasoning like the guy that played CF for us who had fantastic range but didn't know how to throw yet, or our behemoth 1B that had tons of power but didn't know how to swing. Jerry Owens?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 19, 2008 -> 10:20 AM) Maybe they'll now give us Billy Butler, who will make up for our losing out on Viciedo. Immobile but the potential to rake. I still think DeJesus, Teahen and Gathright are likely casualties. The problem is that Guillen is really a DH, masquerading as a RFer. I do think that things are really changing economically in baseball when the Royals can afford to take on Meche, Guillen and now Crisp with the downturn we're in. And the Red Sox are the ones shedding salary here. Maybe Maier in LF/CF. Do you know something that has not been reported yet?

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Nov 12, 2008 -> 02:03 PM) Yeah, thanks, I KNOW its based on the regular season, but Manuel is still far more deserving, imo. His team won 92 games, wasn't an overwhelming pre-season favorite, and overcame injuries (it lost the reigning MVP for over a month, and Utley, Gordon and Jenkins all got hurt) to win its division. Lou's team, coming off one division champion and having been installed as a runaway favorite after adding Fukodome, the NL ROY, and then Rich Harden, won only 5 more games than Charlie's. I guess that's all because of Lou. This award is probably the most subjective of all the post-season awards, but I don't see how it can be said that Lou managed better than Charlie. If the award is going to go to the manager whose team wins the most regular season games, why even have a vote? I am sure manuel would not change places with Lou right now.

QUOTE (Chet Lemon @ Nov 8, 2008 -> 08:55 AM) I like the idea of getting younger and faster, but wouldn't Owens be a horrible starting OF? Okay, can we PLEASE stop overreacting every time KW uses the press to send a message. I would bet good money that just before he made this statement, he ended a conversation with another GM who was asking too much for the player KW really wants to play CF for the Sox. KW uses the media in this manner all the time. Rarely do his November declarations turn into mission statements for the coming season.

I saw someone at the Grand Prix of Canada with a shirt that said "THAT GUY." One of my all time favorites.

QUOTE (Soxy @ Nov 6, 2008 -> 10:06 PM) Thanks. I love movies. Perhaps too much. I've not seen City of God or Cinema Paradiso--they are on my not too distant list. And, yes, I cried durign Lives of Others, but I actually thought it was a very touching and kind of uplifting film. Not like, leave with a smile kind of happy, more like an existential restore your faith in humanity kind of feel good. When he makes the right choice in the end and thinks for himself--I see that as kind of a victory. I lent the movie to my boss and her husband (he grew up in Germany) and she said it was the most depressing movie she'd ever seen. I can see that perspective. But the transformation of the Stasi character to a "good man" was just so promising to me. I agree but it was tough to see what the writer's girlfriend had to go through. The end was great redemption, though. I loved when the kid in the elevator mentioned what his dad thought of the Stasi and then the agent stopped himself from asking the father's name. Do you ever go to the Chicago International Film Festival? There are always some great films there that may or may not make it to widespread release in America. Sadly, I did not get to attend any screenings this year. I highly recommend it though if you are a film junkie. It is every year in early October. On a similar note, Facets also has some great films in stock for rental as well.