Gregory Pratt

Pete Rose lives his baseball life in exile. Shoeless Joe Jackson was reduced to pretending Ty Cobb hadn't entered into his store and saying, "I thought you guys didn't want anything to do with me..." when he asked, "Don't you recognize me Joe?" It's the biggest rule in baseball: you don't bet on teams, let alone throw them. And so it always makes me a little sad to hear about people placing their bets on teams.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 07:30 AM) It would have been interesting to see how differently his Presidency would be viewed if he operated with this kind of moxie back then... He had a lot of Cubbie swagger, that's for sure. "Let's invade Iran with four Mark DeRosas!"

I'm just glad I don't have to hear every Cub basher's mouth because the Cubs have lost. "OH MY GOD, THEY'RE THE BEST TEAM IN THE NL!!!!" "OH MY GOD, MY NEIGHBORS WILL BE SO MEAN TO ME!" I hope the people who b****ed all season about how afraid they were, or are, of the Cubs have been really giving it to Cub fans. Hell, I -- I of the, "Wrigley Field is beautiful, I don't mind the Cubs very much" mentality -- have really been giving it to Cub fans. And one Cub fan in particular.....if choo know what I mean.

QUOTE(Steff @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 09:35 PM) Even if Kenny himself told me Bonds wasn't coming here, I wouldn't bet on it. Regardless, that wasn't really what my reply was about. I know your stance on Konerko which is why I was surprised to see you use him in such a comparison. Especially against Frank. An argument, by the way, that Paul admitted he was wrong about and apologized many times for. It just bugs the hell out of me to see people talk about us bringing Bonds in as if it's realistic. There's a 1 percent chance of that because of the situation the team is in -- we have a DH. And then for someone to pretend that there might not be clubhouse problems, or who cares? If Konerko couldn't get along with Frank, I have some doubts he could get along with Bonds.

John Adams!

QUOTE(Steff @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 06:21 PM) Bonds and Baker didn't get along because Baker has a vagina rather than a penis and had no clue how to stand up to Barry. Stone Bonds for taking advantage, but he did what anyone else in his position would have done. That would not happen here since Ozzie does seem to have a penis and wouldn't take his s***. As for Paul getting along with Frank... no offense but IN MY OPINION from seeing things with my own eyes and hearing things with my own ears Paul is a mf'er and doesn't get along with anyone who he feels threatened by. Paul was the #2 man until Frank left. As for Fank and Barry having a similar type of personality... in nearly 15 years I have never seen Frank act anything like Bonds does (in public) or how Bonds is stated to act in private (rumored from the press and from 2 former teammates). As for what Ozzie would or wouldn't like... I'm sure he likes to think he has control over what free agents come here, but the reality is that he doesn't. If Bonds coming here is an option after all the pros and cons are weighed he'll change his tune so fast he'll get whiplash. It's business. Come on Steff...Bonds isn't coming here for a variety of reasons, and that's about the end of it. And about Konerko -- I agree, but we've had this discussion before.

If this is true, that we aren't schmoozing enough -- holy s***, that's embarrassing. We should be able to schmooze. That much should be a no-brainer. Get your head in the game, Mayor Daley!

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 12:51 PM) Actually he only pardoned one man who tried to kill Truman. The other was killed at the scene IIRC. Oh and Pratt, read your Zinn - America loves dictators. Always has, always will. Oh, that makes it so much better, Rex. And I just told you -- Carter's love of dictators is even worse than the average President's because he genuinely loves them. He is no longer President. No longer has to deal with them for political reasons. His success no longer hinges on them. He is free from the people, free from the economic agreements, free from the burdens of the world and yet he loves every single dictator he meets. No man in American history has gotten by with more smoke and mirrors than James Earl Carter.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 12:50 PM) We really do not like integrity and honesty.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 12:39 PM) I met him at Cominsky. He was in town to build a house and came to a game. His Secret Service detail was small and you couldn't guess who they were. Very cool. Pratt, I was going to respond but instead I'll just You're just the type of guy who WOULD buy that, especially if you've got John McCain in your signature. Yeesh. Besides, we've been over this and I don't care to talk politics with you, especially since that time I said, "Carter's peace prize is a fraud meant to say, 'f*** Bush'" and you said, "NO WAI!!" and I said, "Look, even the director in charge of awarding it said so," and you said, "Oh so what? What does he know? He's only the guy who makes the decision..."

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 12:45 PM) Although I think Carter misspoke on Venezuela, I think he kept us from an unnecessary war in North Korea in 1994. As much as he pisses off conservatives about how he speaks of the Bush administration, does anyone remember what he said about Clinton? I believe he called the man a disgrace because of the Marc Rich pardon. I think presidential administrations dislike the man because he's honest about his motives - at least post 1981, and honest about his thoughts - despite whether you agree with them or not. Yeah? He said that? I don't doubt it. He's also the guy who pardoned the men who tried to kill Truman and the men who shot up the House because they were "political prisoners." Presidential administrations dislike him for many reasons. I dislike him for many reasons, including his adoration of every dictator under the sun.

I don't think that Carter has been the best of the ex-Presidents. I think he's an embarrassment, from lobbying for Iraq in 1991 to strong-arming Clinton into sending him to South Korea to running his mouth about how Bush's Florida was tainted because he holds a grudge against the Bush family because Reagan kicked his ass with G.H.W. (all while he ignores election fraud in many, many places) to his embarrassing, uncanny knack for embracing of dictators, criticism of Israel to his sanctimonious books. I can't believe he was one of the headline speakers at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Oh, Jimmy Carter builds houses. And he takes every dictator in the World to sleep in them. You know who's a good ex-President? Clinton. His AIDS work is marvelous, he's done hard work to help disaster relief places (with Bush and otherwise) all the while understanding that it is not the former President's place to make himself a spectacle or kiss up to dictators because he holds a grudge against his own country for voting him out (although I do have issues with Clinton as I do with all these guys). But more than anyone, I think, Carter's a fraud, a sleazy man who ran for Governor as a segregationist then said, "I'm against racism" as soon as he won, refused to run for re-election because he'd have probably lost, won the Presidency on the strength of one of American politics' biggest lies ("I will not lie to you") as well as Gerald Ford's lack of sex appeal or balance, only winning 50.3 or so percent of the vote, wearing that stupid thermostat and turning off the public as well as Tip O'Neill thereby failing to capitalize on maybe our one chance to truly reform energy, invading Iran with four helicopters -- and then he has to nerve to present himself as a beacon of integrity or honesty or decency? Thank God he doesn't pretend to be competent but I can't believe people buy the rest of it. And people "swoon" when they meet him? When they meet the man whose Nobel Prize was given to slight George W. Bush, no other reason -- whose "Peace Accords" had as much to do with him as i have with the sun rising? (They said, "We need a place to talk." He said, "So come here, and talk.") Ha ha ha. (And his coddling of dictators is especially embarrassing because he is no longer President. As such, he doesn't have to rationalize their murders with, "It'll save us money, it'll keep the economy going, it'll blank and blank" because he doesn't have to see it through that lense and think about saving the Democratic Party votes and saving the Economy. He can pick and choose who he wants to go to the laundromat with and he makes his decisions.)

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 12:22 PM) You are a baseball fan more than a Sox fan. To a Sox fan Hawk is tolerable at worse. To baseball fans in general he is a homer. Hawk is pretty knowledgable about the game and is entertaining in general a good side kid that can reel him in would do wonders, same thing with Farmer. On an other note, I hope TBS/Time Warner try and take a run at ESPN in sports programming. Everything they do is better. It is good to finally hear unbiased somewhat neutral coverage of sports. Also their graphics kick-ass. TBS/TNT basketball coverage makes it almost watchable. I think a general not over the top programming (Seinfeld, Simpsons, Bond movies late at night, sports coverage, with some History Channel/Discovery channel science/nature stuff) would be a great idea. I wish I could pull this off. My ideal eveneing 6-7 Planet Earth in HD 7-7:30 Seinfeld 7:30-10:00 Baseball game 10:00-11:00 Engineering Disasters XIII 11:00-11:30 Simpsons 11:30-1:00 Live and Let Die re: bold, I agree wholeheartedly.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 12:14 PM) I'd love to see DePo get a real shot. He certainly deserves it. Agreed. As long as we stop giving people these terrible nicknames because modern humanity can't handle more than two syllables.

QUOTE(kwolf68 @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 11:16 AM) We should get Andruw Jone and Barry Bonds...we could be on the cusp of building the best team in baseball... For 2001. It would be in line with what we did with Darin Erstad's 2000.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Oct 3, 2007 -> 05:48 PM) The irony is delicious. You say I "misrepresent" your quotes, yet say I'm "mortally offended"? When have I ever said, with a firm stance, that Bonds isn't a clubhouse cancer? The most I've said is, "I'm not sure". There seems to be evidence that points both ways -- maybe a bit more in your direction. No, I more give you s*** when you take away what Bonds brings on the field, and I do that to anyone and everyone who says stupid s*** like, "We don't need another slow, bad defender." Oh noes! Bad defense in LF with a .450 OBP -- noooooo! Full thought? I've given plenty, Tiger. Not my fault you don't agree with very many of 'em. And I'll just leave out the part about you calling someone arrogant. Funny stuff. I am a bit arrogant, don't get me wrong -- this holds especially true with sports because I feel I have a strong handle on what I'm talking about. You won't see me in any political threads talking like I do here -- but that's classic coming from you. Gotcha little guy.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Oct 3, 2007 -> 09:53 PM) Is he even starting for the Phils? I want him back. The Phillies have a certain player at 2nd base...you may have heard of him.

QUOTE(fathom @ Oct 3, 2007 -> 09:24 PM) Did anyone else hear Bernstein talking about how he thinks Soto is on steroids? It warmed my heart, as I've been saying that for months. You know that most players are on steroids.

"current badass" is a huge stretch but good for Carter, bringing attention to this issue. And this is coming from probably his biggest critic on this site.

That Woo Woo commercial makes me want to smash every car at Gillespie's

That Bartman article is f***ed up. What a bunch of sleazy reporters.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Oct 3, 2007 -> 04:00 PM) I'd let Eckstein play 2nd, add Furcal and give Richar a steady dose of at bats in a platoon/developmental type role. It gives you two vets that are solid and Eckstein at 2nd would be very strong defensively, imo. Plus I think you could get Eckstein for a short term deal which means he would walk after a year and you'd hope you would sign Furcal to an extension (with Richar finally sliding in as the starter). Note: This is if the White Sox do not believe Richar is quite ready. Either way I'd prefer Eckstein over Uribe, but I would really have zero problem with Eckstein being one of the top 2 hitters and playing 2nd with Furcal being the other. It gives you a good OBP, good speed, and that defensive duo would be very good. Plus Furcal has pretty solid pop for a top of the order hitter. Its older than I would like, but it would be pretty damn solid. If financial issues were a worry or if Kenny wanted to get younger, he could always move Konerko for a couple young prospects, one of which could play center (or he could move Konerko and use a chunk of that money earmarked for him on Andruw Jones who would replace Paulie in the lineup and play a premium defensive position). You than use Konerko to acquire (for the most part) young pitching prospects or position prospects that you could use to replace Garland/Contreras (as if you moved those two, plus Paulie and added Jones/Furcal/Eckstein and numerous prospects I think you'd be in pretty good shape). Furcal Eckstein Dye Thome Jones AJP Crede Fields * Insert First Baseman Here (you could even put Fields here and insert in a young prospect which was acquired...or if the move was with the Angels Casey Kochman would go where AJP with Crede being by Kochman and than AJP and than Fields). That lineup would have massive power, high strikeouts (Thome/Fields/Jones) but would also be pretty solid defensively. Why exactly would Eckstein sign a one-year deal?

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Oct 3, 2007 -> 06:09 PM) It was only one series but I just can't shake the memory of how much trouble Andruw had playing center in USCF in 03 I believe. Not everybody can be the Defensive Wizard that Aaron Rowand is.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Oct 3, 2007 -> 06:27 PM) Unfortunately, I have to admit you're right on this. Can anyone seriously tell me that those 2 Yankees/Red Sox series from 03/04 weren't some of the best playoff series you've ever seen? Yeah, they were good. So were the Astros/Cardinals series from 04/05. Lots of great series.

QUOTE(fathom @ Oct 3, 2007 -> 06:23 PM) People will hate me for saying this, but I love the drama of the Yanks/Red Sox playing each other in the playoffs. Also, I believe those are the two best teams in baseball, and the teams I'd want to be in the WS if the Cubs make it. Don't worry about people hating you for it. I've taken over for you as the Negative Guy People Jump On for Being Critical of the White Sox and For Saying Something Nice About An Organization/Franchise Popular Consensus Dislikes. You're old! f***ing Red Sox.