Gregory Pratt

Anderson isn't a good baseball player. I am so happy Jose Contreras is good again. I really admire Contreras.

What a tangled web baseball has weaved.

happy happy

QUOTE (knightni @ May 25, 2008 -> 03:53 PM) Your nickname used to be 'Brokeback Pratt', should we be making assumptions? Probably not. But I've explained the nickname before, and am happy to reiterate that I like women. Like I said, my suspicions about Quentin have more to do with other things than just the nickname. We'll likely never know whether or not Quentin or anyone else on the team is clean because the league and the players themselves aren't interested in cleaning up the name in theory and in practice, so I'm sorry I said anything at all.

We disagree. No problem.

I wrote up this response to the criticism that I've faced in this thread and had Balta read through it to make sure that it is proper because I do not want to cross any lines. He approved it, though that doesn't mean, of course, he agrees with it. As far as I am concerned, MLB players -- through their union, their commissioner and their own refusal to speak with investigators or come clean with the public -- are all worthy of suspicion except for men like Thomas who spoke with the investigation and others who have been forthright. When someone who is a big guy putting up big numbers is referred to by his teammates as "Little Canseco," it has to give me pause. The question is, "Why?" Why is a nickname reason to have some doubts? Well, the first answer is that the lack of testing for HGH, the fact that there are still designer drugs all over the place, that the processes used by the league might not be trustworthy, all make the league and its players' achievements suspect. The other answer is that MLB players have long been arrogant in their belief that they can't be caught, that they won't be caught, that reporters won't go after them, that the fans don't care, etc. etc. This has manifested itself in some disgusting ways: if some sources are to be believed, and I think they are, clubhouses often saw players injecting in their clubhouses and locker rooms as if they were exchanging baseball cards. With this open defiance, with these indiscretions in mind, when I hear that one player is referring to another as "Little Canseco," I immediately think of steroids. "Canseco" and steroids will forever be linked, and comparing anyone to Canseco has an implicit connotation. That's all I'm saying, and I don't think it's an unreasonable or "ridiculous" assertion. Until players can be more forthright in regard to testing and their pasts, until the League becomes serious about steroids, I don't give the benefit of the doubt to many people and I will be skeptical about almost all, especially if they're being referred to as a Little Canseco and lead the league in homeruns. No offense to Quentin -- I like him very much. He's a good player and seems like a good guy. I'm just not sold on him being clean, but I'm not sold on many people being clean anyway. I think you guys are overreacting to my remark, and I hope that this clarification is helpful. I don't believe the game is clean or anywhere near it. That's going to be a long time. Maybe I shouldn't have even made a remark because of course fans of our team and our player are certain to take exception, but I did, and I don't mean to needlessly offend or even to offend. My suspicions are based in a wide variety of things, though like I said I think the author of that blogpost is being silly. Maybe I am too. I'm human. But if I were a MLB player, and anyone referred to me as Little Canseco, I'd probably tell them to get me a new nickname.

What a demagogue.

Ideally, this decision depends on what your scouts say, and whether or not they have a track record you can trust. Is Contreras fluking it out or is he for real? What can we project for the second-half? Do we have scouts who are good at projecting, whose projections we could trust? Then it depends on what we have on the farm and whether or not we can trust our scout's projections for them. And then secondary, though-still-important questions: what sort of return would we get? Would this have an adverse effect on the clubhouse? I don't know what sort of faith we have in our scouts and decision-makers, in prospects or what sort of offer we'll be given. I'd probably keep him, but I don't have access to all the information so I do not know.

Chipper Jones is ridiculous this season.

QUOTE (DumpJerry @ May 23, 2008 -> 01:14 PM) The individuals who caused that debacle last year were perma banned from WSI to a degree never seen before. We went to each of their computers and made sure all and any cookies were removed from them to prevent them from even lurking us. We then traded for some prospects that, by comparison, make the Carlos Quentin deal look risky. Saddam Hussein, is that you?

Alexei? Go Floyd!

Rodriguez, wow.

COME ON CREDE

QUOTE (Gregory Pratt @ May 23, 2008 -> 08:16 PM) I've never seen you post like this before. Are you preparing for a heel turn? No, with this recent turn you'd be a babyface.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 23, 2008 -> 08:15 PM) Please, she's done with work for the summer in a week. I've never seen you post like this before. Are you preparing for a heel turn?

QUOTE (fathom @ May 23, 2008 -> 08:14 PM) I'm going to Diamonds Strip Club with my wife if the Sox win. Taking her to work?

Hey fathom... want to bet on the result of this inning?

Fathom keeps offering his wife up on this board. One of these days, someone's going to take you up on that bet, too!

As 84 says, let's just make it an avatar bet or something. It would be ridiculous to kick a great poster off of SoxTalk because of an offhand comment.

I'm sure most people are willing to let it go, fathom. Don't leave.

I don't want to drop him. I probably won't at this stage. :/

Vladimir Guerrerro is terrible this year. He's in my utility spot. I can replace him with any of these players: Atkins Pedroia McClouth Youkillis Pence Uggla Ludwick Burrell Who should I do it with? The rest of my lineup is: Martinez Gordon Utley Furcal Chipper Dunn Hamilton Kemp Guerrerro So, who do I replace Vlad with?

Hawk is seriously complaining that the homeplate is moving around on Floyd while Floyd is throwing it into the other batter's box. That man is ridiculous. /// Get out of it, Floyd!

I'm wearing my rally cat for the Spurs tonight, but let's put it to good White Sox use too.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 23, 2008 -> 07:37 PM) Ha, Swisher has no power. And I wish Carlos Zambrano was our DH. I worry about Swisher. Anderson doesn't look like a major league hitter. Let's hold them and gget some runs!