Texsox

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 01:55 PM) I am sticking with Forbes terminology. You money guys never say what something really is in plain English What that says is the team A. Is optimistic that any gains, will carry over to the next year. If we made X in 2004 we will make X+ in 2005. That's aggressive and should be applauded. B. They invest that the following season and theoretically, if things stayed the same, would break even. I believe the team has been fair in what they spend. I appreciate the caution in signing guys to long term deals. I think it has allowed us to be competitive out of spring training every year for a long time. I also believe it would take a series of minor miracles for a new WS Banner to be flying over Charles Cominsky's place for long time.

QUOTE(Jeckle2000 @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 01:53 PM) IMO the key to this season is Ozzie being able to learn from the mistakes last year. For example I don't want to see a guy like AROW buried in the 7th hole when he's red hot while a guy like Valentin who is barely treading the mendoza line and stiking out on everything is put in the cleanup spot. Ozzie needs to prove that he can lead this team now that he has "his" kind of team. Good point Jeckle. While I think you can tinker with a lineup too much, a la Manuel in 2003, Oz should be vastly improved over 2004.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 01:46 PM) Well I have been waiting for you to do better than the same old conspiracy theory's and that hasn't happened. Once again, since you seem to have forgotten it already, here is the Forbes article. http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2004/0426/066tab_19.html 2003 season's operating income was almost $13 million. The 2004 payroll went up about $14 million over the 2003 payroll. Coincidence? I think not. Also if you actually read the article gate receipts were only $32 million, which means their total revenue number was indeed their total revenue, which blows that whole "hiding revenue" conspiracy out of the water. Yes the Sox had over $90 million in revenues that were not gate receipts. Forbes is a great source for this info as they are experts in corporate structure and actually understand what goes into financial reports and how to dissect them They are a much better source of info than you will get out of JR or MLB. You should try looking for your info there. I believe you mean profit not operating income.

QUOTE(Wong & Owens @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 01:20 PM) Society is nose-diving? Get YOUR nose out of mass-media reporting and try some independent thought. The society we live in is less racist than it was 100 years ago for example. It is also a better time to live in if you're a woman. Is it better overall? No. Is it worse overall? Hardly. Society has not gotten wholly better or worse, just different. Old problems or issues get resolved, and new ones pop up. Some issues stay constant. But to say that it is "nose diving" is more than a bit on the over-exaggeration side of things. Unless you have some basis for making this statement. Do you? Cause I'd love to hear it. Excellent points. One factor that is here today and not 100 years ago is the pace that society can change. I think we need to be more vigilant that 50 years ago. With all the instant methods of communications, and all the methods that are far more persuasive than before, we could undo 100 years in a decade.

*My* key is to keep my expectations low and lower. Fortunatly the national media is helping with that. Top Ten Least Improved Teams, Power Rankings, you name it. If I can convince myself we are a 6th place team in a 5 team division, it will be a great season. The key to the teams success will be Pitching. The organization is still razor thin with proven starting pitching. I like the staff, if they stay healthy, life could be good, Average. Speed is nothing if the player is sprinting to the bench after grounding out. We need men on base and I didn't see Kenny bringing in a .325 hitter. Team batting average needs to improve with power down. Something that hasn't been talked about. A HR is a RBI, a single and a stolen base is nothing without another hit. Health. Major League starting line-ups are not backed up with great talent. Expansion and salaries have conspired to end the days of a team coming at you with 25 great players.

QUOTE(AnthraxFan93 @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 01:10 PM) Source is look at the gate Revunes from last year, they should equal our payroll before we were "okayed" to increase the payroll, do you actually think that money came out of the owners and JR pocket? NOPE, it was a part of that TV deal they signed. Quick math. just under 2,000,000 fans. No way average ticket price is anywhere near $35 with all the specials, discounts, promotions, etc. So I would say at $70,000,000 the team isn't just basing it on tickets. They couldn't pay the rest of the staff, travel expenses, etc.

QUOTE(winodj @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 11:22 AM) Loving who you choose to love = evil. Ok, then. WDJ, I know you accept some boundaries in all this. Age for one. I will assume mental and physical condition. Would you agree it is wrong to fall in love (and let's assume sex is involved) with a 15 year old when you are 30? Would you agree if someone does not have the mental capacity to agree, that sex with that person is immoral also? Once we have barriers, I can understand, but not agree, with people who feel that gender barriers are natural as well. I've read scripture regarding the issue, read various studies on the "meaning" in Hebrew, Greek, etc. and feel that since it is unclear, and since so many homosexuals I know have fought hard to live a straight life, that it isn't up to me to judge, but to accept. Maybe it's the cowards way out. I respect PAs character to stand up and proclaim his belief without apologizing and I hope he respects my beliefs as well. Further, I think to be polite we are using "love" to mean both the emotion and a sexual act. I don't believe anyone would disagree with loving anyone, it's the physical act that gets some people's tightly whities in a bundle.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 12:45 PM) But why do you suggest life is so black and white, so all or nothing? You're a more critical thinker than that. Being a secularist doesn't equate with being a "hedonistic, anything goes" person any more than being a spiritualist equates with being an abortion-clinic-bombing, homophobic hatemonger. Spirituality gives meaning and greater purpose to many people's lives, and good for them. For others, spirituality rings hollow and they focus attention on earthly matters and find fulfillment and satisfaction in that, and good for them. It's a disservice to secular-minded people to assume that life in the No God Zone must either equate to total dispair ('Oh, there's no God, what's the point of it all') or total abandonment of one's moral compass. Of course there are many shades in-between. I apologize if I seemed to paint a black and white picture. There is a great deal of "painting with a broad brush" from both sides, and I should have been more careful and not added to it. To me it is all about goals and what are you striving for. To use a political analogy, we know that our office seekers will not be able to fulfill all the promises they make. Political reality being what it is. What we want is to see the vision and the direction the person has. Everyone falls short in some ways. Regardless of how they choose to spend their weekends. I just know those people who have their goals firmly grounded in Biblical truths seem to be happier and weather life's storms better than those that don't. Extremism is unhealthy in just about everything.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 12:36 PM) McGovern vs Mondale, and death is not an option? The beauty of our Constitution is we could elect the biggest idiot to be President and we have the checks and balances to survive. Sometimes we even re-elect them. (something for everyone, some are thinking Dubya, others Billy the Kid)

Why is anyone surprised that some Iraqi citizens support our efforts? I hope we aren't extrapolating that to mean the entire population is happy to be living in a war zone, where buying bread could get them killed. During the Vietnam War, the north Vietnamese could have printed hundreds and hundreds of pictures showing that Americans did not want to be at war. Yet we all know that our society is never 100% behind anything. Although Reagan - Mondale came very close. Another sceptical thought. Our government has paid US columnists to promote education initiatives and other policies, do you think they may have offered some families a few $$ to hold up signs? Just wondering. And I do believe many Iraqi people are happy we are there.

QUOTE(mreye @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 12:20 PM) How does one come up with something like this? Unbelievable! :headshake My guess is he wants the spotlight for a minute, to do something important. Obviously he probably has a mental problem. I was also fearing he would use that entrance for a sexual assault. It would be easy to gain access wearing a military uniform in a military town. And judging my that sketch, Crimson is right, he could be an alien.

QUOTE(CrimsonWeltall @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 12:13 PM) WTF. I can hardly stay awake watching NASCAR. Just LISTENING to it? VROOOM VROOM VROOOM VROOM VROOOM VROOM VROOOM VROOM VROOOM VROOM VROOOM VROOM OK JUNIOR IS PITTING NOW VROOOM VROOM VROOOM VROOM GORDON PASSES BUSCH VROOOM VROOM VROOOM VROOM VROOOM VROOM VROOOM VROOM They will probably also have the pit/driver communications as well. That's what really adds drama and excitement. I was never much of a fan, but I was at the Milwaukee race and a friend brought a handheld scanner and we listened in on each driver and his crew. Made the race much more interesting.

Call me crazy, but I want both. Currently, about all we can compete for is the Upper Mid-West Series. It would be nice of we could join the likes of Boston and New York as perennial contenders, but that seems unlikely. I don't believe the path to a winning chance at something is 25 homogenous baseball players, all worth $3,000,000. I don't think it is good business and I certainly know it isn't going to win us an AL Pennant. We cannot afford the really high tiered players like A-Rod or Beltran. We do need two or three top tier guys to have a reasonable chance. Guys like Kong, Mark, and 6 months ago, I would have said Lee.

Until someone comes up with a better guide to living, I'll accept the Bible. Worshipping nothing, worshiping whatever feels good, is a fine path to STDs, addictions, and a miserable life. Having said that, I also recognize that some people find interesting interpretations of Bible truths and IMHO are dangerous. But overall, I would rather be in business with a believer than a hedonistic, anything goes, "nice person".

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Feb 22, 2005 -> 10:22 PM) Siriusly though, I'm expecting an increase in spelling mistakes in the south. A couple days ago WDJ wrote he didn't mind gay jokes if they were actually funny. I didn't mind this rip on southerner's love for NASCAR and the old stereotype of being dim witted for that same reason. That was pretty damn original and funny

QUOTE(YASNY @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 11:50 AM) How many of those 150 other countries have tens of thousands of Americans firmly planted under crosses and stars of David on their soil. France, as an ally, is not worth the power to blow it hell and certainly not worth one more drop of American blood on their behalf. Period! Amen to that! But I still think the rest of the world choose sides in this, and they choose Russia, China, France and that group. So they aren't allies either they can run to China if they have a problem. How much money have we sent around the world in famine relief, how many Peace Corp workers lived in poverty digging wells and bringing clean drinking water? How many American souls were lost stopping Hitler for everybody?

Gas will not hit $3 per gallon. Dubya will fix that well before.

What a sick, disturb, bastard.

We also shouldn't allow American countries to operate in any country that isn't an ally. If they didn't back us on Iraq, pull every damn product out of there and start building it in the US. If an American company wants to operate in France or any otehr non ally, they can just close their doors here. Let's take back America!

QUOTE(YASNY @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 11:19 AM) Why are you so defensive of France? Me? I say screw France along with every other country on the planet that didn't back Dubya's play in Iraq. Why single out the French? There was about 150 other countries that did the same thing. They all suck.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 11:00 AM) I'm sorry people ... Use all the logic and political arguments you want. I feel that France has been anything but an ally and if somewone invades their pussy ass country, as far as I'm concerned, they can fight their own battles. They are not worth one drop of American blood. Same can be said for Canada, Mexico, China, Germany, Poland, Italy, and all the others that didn't back our action in Iraq. There were WMD, Bush knew it, and these "pussy ass countries" didn't do a thing to help. Edited to add: Here's the Coalition of the Willing Full list of coalition countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and Uzbekistan. The rest of the world can go to hell. Actually, with Pearl Harbor, screw Japan. Afghanistan helped Iran during the hostage crisis, so screw them. Any of the ex-Commie countries can get lost also.

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 10:46 AM) I was merely agreeing with his point that anyone can make anything they want, but I was ultimately saying all of that crap is worthless and devoid of anything positive. Good point. I remember the Ayatollah Khomeini toilet paper of 1979. ANd all of the Khomeini dart boards with his picture and a bullseye.

The nice thing is, we only have one or two on the planet, so we can save ourselves a lot in foreign aid that would be spent on food, raiment, shelter for our citizens. England, Spain, and a couple other small countries are still in, for now.

QUOTE(Cerbaho-WG @ Feb 22, 2005 -> 11:19 PM) I feel proud that I have either confused or dumbed down a large population of the posters here at Soxtalk. Here's to another 3,000 posts or something! QUOTE(The Critic @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 08:02 AM) I just went back in the Soxtalk record books, and THREE of those posts DON'T COUNT!!!! Sorry for the Mr. 3000 reference..... to myself.... Nice touch on a baseball board.

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Feb 23, 2005 -> 10:29 AM) where were my purple heart band-aids again? Nothing like making fun and casting doubt on every Purple Heart ever awarded. Oh wait, Out of the tens of thousands of recipients, Kerry's was the only one in question. :headshake