Texsox

Very intelligent men and women study abortion, regardless of term, and arrive a vastly different opinions.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 07:46 AM) Almost every speech Obama gives is to a local audience. He rarely gives a "national" speech. It may be to a local audience, but it is followed internationally. The President cannot make a remark that is not immediately translated into 100 languages and studied around the world. How many people are ready to pounce?

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jun 7, 2009 -> 01:22 PM) You guys knock Rush Limbaugh - he gave that CPAC speech without one note or telepromter, and it was pretty coherent. Why is this significant? My theory is that if you are speaking what you truely believe, you don't have to rehearse s*** ad naseum and read off of a telepromter to ensure every word is what you need it to be to make it sound like you know what you're talking about. When the POTUS is speaking there is a great deal of interest world wide. Therefore every word, every word, has to be exactly perfect. Countries all over the globe pour over those looking for the exact meaning. I do not want any POTUS speaking off the cuff if possible. And how many times has Rush given that speech? How much time did he have to prepare? I have three or four speeches in my back pocket I can give without notes. How many other speeches, on different topics, has Rush given in that same time frame? I do not think it is a fair comparison. And giving speeches is what Rush does for a living. Certainly Obama gives many, but it isn't something he does 4 hours per day. We have a President that embraces technology to make his life easier, and improves the quality of his work. This seems like such a silly debate. I wonder if someone criticized Cesar for scribbling down notes on papyrus? What's next criticizing him for using a laptop?

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jun 8, 2009 -> 07:07 AM) This is my mindset. I don't know if things will get worse without Walker, but they might. Works both ways. I wish I had the time today, but I have to get to South Padre Island. Would someone take a few minuites and see where the Sox rank in offensive categories? Perhaps check how bad he has been the past three years. I imagine if the team is ranked beloe the top 33% in most categories, it would be pretty obvious he has to go. Objective evidence is usually what is required to fire someone from a job. This should be easy, look at averages, runs scored, you name it. Show how bad the offense really is.

Stepping back for a moment, I believe coaches should be fired when players under-perform to their potential. Honestly, if we are looking for three or four .300 hitters among these guys, keep looking. I'm, not certain A. Who is really available that could do better and B. If there is much better than could be done with these guys. Fire him if you want, but I do not believe during the season is the right choice in time.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 6, 2009 -> 10:17 PM) Only because we derailed it Kind of like Field's and Getz' careers? /back on the tracks

Happy Birthday!!

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jun 6, 2009 -> 10:00 AM) It's difficult to argue with that, but the precedent has already been set with Ty Cobb in the HOF. If there was ever a player whose behavior should exclude him from Cooperstown, it's Cobb. Frankly, I'd rather my kids looked up to a 'roider like McGwire than a racist thug with an out-of-control anger problem. And where does the character analysis stop? What about the large fraction of players that cheat on their wives? Should they be banned from Cooperstown as well? What about guys like Mickey Mantle, who routinely treated fans like crap and lead less-than-dignified lives off of the field? I'm all for recognizing really good players who lead positive lifestyles (Baines, Ventura, Moyer, etc.). But, unfortunately, the people who are the best of the best in any profession tend to not be the most honorable people in the world. In contrast to your opinion, I'd rather have guys like McGwire and Sosa get inducted into Coopertown than to automatically blackball anybody who was suspected of using PEDs. And the reason is that the owners and player's union were complicit in this scandal. I would rather that MLB itself be shamed for knowingly allowing this to happen AND FACILITATING IT, than to make McGwire and Sosa the fall guys and to sweep it all under the rug. The PED era isn't just about the 89 rogue players named in the Mitchell Report and the others outed by other means. The problem is deeply entrenched, spanning from the Commissioner's Office to the top of the MLBPA. All of Major League Baseball pissed on the game. I agree there are some characters already in the hall that are not the best people, but there are so many ways to say two wrongs don't make a right. As a society we have stopped wrongs and adjusted our sails. Should character take an average player and place him in the hall? No. But I believe the character of some borderline players should be weighed more, positively and negatively. I like your point that these guys were cheating, it seems most everyone knew it, and everyone, *including players* were quiet. I believe I would also be against an automatic kind of disqualification, but I'd like to see character be more of the equation. Baseball, as America's past time deserves it.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 6, 2009 -> 08:45 PM) What's the point of this thread? I'm coming in late reading this and my first thought was this is a solution looking for a problem. But, there wound up being some good posts in here. Overall, they are separate, but everything is intertwined. I remember hoping Fields would be the next Robin, now I'm wishing he could be a healthy Crede.

Obligatory "he came and went"

I don't have a problem with it. Headlines are written to get you to click or read the article. That one succeeded nicely.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 3, 2009 -> 08:41 AM) Laugh if you like, but the guy starts stammering like Bush when the prompter is gone. Its why he doesn't go anywhere with out it. I always kind of liked Bush speeches during his first term. It seems like sometime during his second term that it broke bad for him. And I do a lot of public speaking and always have note cards with me. If I had the choice to have a prompter, I would. I'd be more upset about a President that didn't embrace technology/

IMHO baseball should celebrate the very best men to have played the game. That should encompass more than just the numbers. Those players that played with class, sportsmanship, and honesty, are a better representation than those that cheated. To value tainted numbers over sportsmanship and honesty are not pillars that greatness can be built on. If baseball, or any sport, was based on cheating, lies, and dishonesty, it would not survive ten years, let alone 100 years. We send the wrong message on what we value in a society when we honor men who cheated. Sammy, Bonds, Mark, and others may have brought great numbers to baseball, but they took away a lot also. They took the all American game, and pissed on it. That stain doesn't go away overnight. Guys like Baines left the game a lot better for them having played. Using Baines as an example, and admittedly he does not have the numbers, how sad is it that a few steroid enhanced years and he would have had the numbers. What are we saying about America's pasttime when cheating pays off? Sportsmanship and class should be a part of the HoF voting, and I sure as hell would prefer thirty years from now kids reading about Baines and Thomas than Sosa, Mark, Bonds, Clemens and the rest. Those guys are not who make baseball a great sport.

IMNSHO Bonds was having a potential HoF career when, again, IMHO, he started the roids. He would not have been a HoF had he stopped at that point, so I am hesitant to call him a HoFer before steroids. I'd prefer to see all the names mentioned not in the hall and guys like Baines in.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 4, 2009 -> 04:56 PM) Yeah, we easily could have bettered Atlanta's deal, but McLouth is simply not worth the cost. We have a very good CF and leadoff prospect in Jordan Danks, who is probably a 1 - 1 ½ years away. Once Danks is ready, we'd have to move McLouth to a corner spot, where his production would only be league average at best. No reason to waste valuable assets on a short-term upgrade in CF. Also, it's pretty clear that Kenny's focus right now is a front-line starter who can help this year and in the future. We shouldn't trade any of the young players we have in AA unless it's for a right-handed, stud pitcher who's locked up for several seasons. If we need do an upgrade at CF or 2B, we should be able to find some cheap short-term options once we get closer to the trading deadline just because of the economy. Welcome to soxtalk.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 2, 2009 -> 08:30 PM) God damn Tex, you are old as hell Well yes I am. Lau, more than just about anyone, revolutionized hitting by teaching the release of the top hand and getting a better extension. Brett, Thomas, McGwire are just a few guys who have credited Lau. Walt Hriniac (spelling??) basically was a devote and continued that with Sox hitters.

I can't believe it has been 25 years since Charlie Lau passed. I'm not up on instructional books, is his How To Hit .300 still the top book for hitters?

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jun 2, 2009 -> 05:29 PM) No - he's perfect though. The right man at the right time to fix all that ails our country. Everything that's f***ed up is about the past administration; everything about today and tomorrow will be fixed by "the best president ever". And that is perhaps the magic of Obama. Even a ardent GOP supporter sees how great Obama will be. IIRC McCain was mentioned as a possible Kerry running mate. McCain enjoyed support on both sides of the aisle. I can believe the story. But I had a much different take. I saw it as more friendly bolstering, than some intimidation thing. I really do not think that Biden could have intimidated McCain at all.

QUOTE (GO CHI SOX! @ Jun 2, 2009 -> 05:40 PM) Obviously we would sign him in September when rosters expand and we could stretch out the finale of his career in a 30 day tribute. Who knows, he may play great and we make the playoffs and forces himself onto the team. Nice thought.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Jun 2, 2009 -> 02:22 PM) Sen. Paul Simon from the great State of Illinois. I was in a documentary class in college and he took time out of his busy schedule to do an interview with us. I wasn't there, but the people that interviewed him said he was incredibly nice and accommodating. And he seemed to have a lot of integrity. He made an appearance when I was in school about the time we were giving up the Panama Canal. Afterward, he spent about 15 minutes patiently explaining to a few people why that was a good thing. He may be the last of the honest beyond approach lawmaker.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ May 31, 2009 -> 10:31 PM) I had a birthday wish designed intelligently, but I haven't seen him in so long, I deleted it! Happy Birthday and come back soon! awesome. Yes, PA, I do miss you posting Happy Birthday!

QUOTE (TLAK @ May 31, 2009 -> 08:33 AM) From 5/14, he talks about how the game has changed in that starters aren't expected to go as long and how it has changed their approach early in games. He ends with this: F'ing poetry.

http://cbs4.com/local/Tanning.Butler.Ritz.2.704601.html

QUOTE (mr_genius @ May 29, 2009 -> 05:24 PM) Well, if I ever end up in court I will demand a judge that is Irish/German, from the southside of chicago, has an advanced degree in the mathematical sciences, and roots for the White Sox. No one else can understand my struggle. well played. Everyone has struggles. I believe there are a shared amount, based on us living in the same environment. Then there are the additional struggles based on our unique attributes. No doubt in my mind that when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s the struggles for minorities were far greater than any advantages that were being written into law. I also believe, at some theoretical point in time, the advantages being written into law, and people's changing attitudes, will balance, or in fact, create a disadvantage for majorities. Some will argue we are already at that point. I'll only say there are still many "firsts" left to go. In 2009 we are still talking about a first on the Supreme Court.

Howl and Other Poems by Ginsberg and The Collective Works of Flannery O'Connor. In-between I am reading Desolation Angels by Kerouac