Texsox

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 18, 2009 -> 01:51 AM) so how bout this mike, despite EVERYONE saying alternator (even in green) it wasn't. My positive connector was overly corroded and the wires in the cable were frayed. good thing i didn't just fix it without getting it checked huh? Hey, we figured you already checked out the easy stuff Why wasn't that fixed when you installed the new battery?

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 17, 2009 -> 10:57 PM) In real life, hookers just plain do not look like that. Not even close. They do, but you have to either have a huge bankroll or be a five diamond government official. And then you have to pay extra for the outfit. They do have standards and all

Given the two extremes in choices, I selected the good. Having a world forum seems almost like a necessity to me. Although I sometimes wonder if Coke, McDonalds, and Nike are better avenues for dialog between nations. Could it be better? Of course. After all it is a man made creation and man has never created or maintained anything perfectly. Maybe I set my standards for mankind too low, but to point to some corruption, on a global scale, and use it as a reason to throw out the entire entity, seems extreme to me.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 17, 2009 -> 05:30 AM) You mention someone doesn't "know the game well enough", and you cite some crazy stats that have a pitcher who was : 11-12 4.84 ERA for a team that won 90 games 15-8 3.74 ERA for a team that lost 90 games 12-16 4.67 ERA for a team that won a division worth almost $30 million a year for those 3 years. In other words, if he was paid what your crazy stats think he should be paid, Javy Vazquez basically should be the highest paid player in baseball history on the basis of a 38-36 record with a 4.40 ERA. You even have his 2006 performance worth more than his 2007 performance. I figure I have a little bit of knowledge when it comes to baseball, and just by looking at stats and the games, I would think Javy was much better in 2007 than he was in 2006. Jon Garland on the other hand was 18-7 4.51 ERA 10-13 4.23 ERA 14-8 4.90 ERA According to your fine stats and "knowledge of the game" Garland's 42-28 record and 4.54 ERA over the same time (during the 3 seasons Garland pitched 11 total fewer innings than Vazquez and gave up 4 more earned runs) those numbers are "worth" $20 million less than Vazquez. An average of 3 2/3 innings a year and 1.3 runs a year, is worth $20 million. In fact, pitching on the same team in 2006, Garland's 18-7 4.51 vs. Vazquez 11-12 4.84 is worth $12 million less. LOL. Nice stats. Scott Boras has his eye on you. If he ever takes over for Trump on "The Apprentice", you would have to be a favorite. Dick, quit watching games and get back to your computer, you will never understand baseball by watching

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jan 17, 2009 -> 12:00 AM) LOL, one of my employers major clients is Chevron, and I know for a fact that they dont use gmail as their email server. I like to email these guys back and tell them how dumb their scams are, every once in a while I get a funny reply I strung one along for a couple weeks. It was fun.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 10:09 PM) It is literally a 15 minute job that you will end up paying about $200 for. That's what she says . . .

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 09:17 PM) that's all well and good, but a) it's flippin' cold B) i'm in school and c) i'm also doing a show that has me commuting 50 miles a day, 5 nights a week. I just have no time. This is the easiest way for me to get it done. oh and i suck at mechanical things. The alternator is kind of a gateway repair. Once you master that, you will be able to move on to other more challenging, and dangerous repairs. Good thing you just said no!

QUOTE (philadelphia sox fan @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 08:50 PM) Got this one just a few minutes ago... congrats. Better send that one back right away.

QUOTE (Ozzie Ball @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 06:36 PM) Cherry-picking stats? I used tRA, probably the best stat currently available for evaluating a pitchers ability (along with tRA* and tRA+) as well as WAR, you use the awful ERA+ stat, really, if you can't see how flawed that metric is then it's impossible for me to have a discussion with you about pitchers and a pitchers ability. You know just sayin' basically you are telling someone, use my stats (which prove me right) or it's impossible to have a discussion. Kind of stacking the deck before playing the hand.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 12:55 PM) Would you have contacted the police if this happened to you? The packaged originated from right by me. Dammit, I was sending it to Rock for a frat party

My guess your alternator figured out how to log onto soxtalk and now it spends all day posting and not working. It is a fairly easy replacement on most cars. Look at the shop manual or search the net, pull it off and have it tested. Easy stuff.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 16, 2009 -> 09:39 AM) If this were a Republican appointee, was the way I needed to phrase it. It's about appearances. Rep + Rep + Rep = Instant Approval Dem + Dem + Dem = Instant Approval And other combination is time to get out the magnifying glass and go to town. I said this all the time with Bush and I believe it with Obama. Political ideology should not be a factor in approval. Ethics, character, etc are all fair game.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 10:50 PM) Everyday Thomas, yes, they would... but then again, everyday Thomas wouldn't be making this kind of money. Since he makes this kind of money, and it's just an "oversight", of course it'll get glossed over. Now if this were a Republican, he would have had to withdrawl his name... Maybe it is a regional thing. The attorney I know here whose practice is almost 100% taxes, said the IRS doesn't want to lock up anyone, they want the money. You can't earn anything while in prison. So probabtion and a hefty fine is their usual route. Or at least from his limited scope of of one law firm.

Imagine what he will do when he discovers pot . . . /ducking

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 11:11 PM) I grew up in a house with guns. Dad had a gun rack in his bedroom with the shotguns and rifles on it. Of course, that was in the 70's, and in the 80's he graduated to a gun cabinet. But Juddling and I have been around guns forever. I have owned my shotgun since I was 12 and been hunting off and on since. We were taught to respect guns and never had any problems. When dad went out of town, the rifle was loaded and under the bed for mom. We knew enough not to touch it. Currently I have a safe under my bed that even when waking, I can open and load in less than a minute. If I need to get into the gun safe, that would take me an additional minute. I am teaching my boys gun safety, and if the slow-ass State police ever approve my sons FOID card, will be taking him to the range. Yep, I've heard plenty of stories like yours. I just factored the chances of someone breaking into my home versus the chances that one of my kids or a friend of theirs would be curious and the potential for an accident and made a different decision. And you are an amazing person if you can get a safe open, and gun loaded in less than a minute with an attacker in your home. Most people could not do that.

QUOTE (103 mph screwball @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 10:42 PM) Pocket change right? Think of it this way. Colon will make less than 1% of last year's payroll unless he meets his incentives. He will make 1.2 million less than Hall and 3.5 million less than Uribe did last year. Colon will make 1/10 of what Contreras will make to rehab. You could sign 14 Colon's for the price of one Zito. If Buehrle wins 14 games, he will earn a million dollars per win. By those standards, Colon only needs to win one game. Colon will make what Ben Davis made to go to the minors when the Sox signed AJ. Timo Perez earned 1 million in 2005. I see your point about the money being out of whack with the average person. Exactly. Salaries are so out of whack I saw he signed for a million and wondered if that was MLB min

That works too. I'd laugh if this year they would welcome a coin flip.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 11:33 AM) No, it's not a complicated one. He KNEW he needed to pay the taxes, he even got an extra check just to cover the taxes. he even signed a form saying that he would use this extra check to pay the taxes that he owed. If he is that stupid, he doesn't desrve that kind of a job. http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzJjO...jhlMWQ2MWZiNTA= That kind of blatent disregard for the tax laws would land you or me in jail. This guy is just another rich asshole gaming the system because he thinks he can get away with it, and hoping now that his 'friends' and connections can get him out of it. Jail him! I agree with the spirit, but seriously, you would not find yourself in jail for this. We just do not lock people up for this. Heavy fines. No jail time.

I believe the original intent was for private citizens to be armed and available to fight what ever needed fightin' I also weighed the pros and cons of having one available in my house for "protection" and decided the risks outweighed the benefit and never had one even remotely available when my kids were growing up. Basically, I decided for the gun to truly be protection, it would need to be easily accessible, loaded, and without a lock. I imagined I would have less than two minutes to react to save my family. That same situation was too risky for my kids, so I opted against it. Did I mention that was when my kids were growing up? Don't even think about it now.

Wrap yourself around this A question mark player becomes a low risk high reward type signing when he signs for ONLY $1,000,000

I had just heard that for the first time in commercial aviation history in the US, we went two consecutive years without anyone dying in a commercial airplane crash. That pilot is a champion.

Another point Rock, remember I favor legalizing marijuana, the difference is I do not put a bow tie and tails on a pig and sell him as the Prom King. You mention other drugs that are legal. Great point. Alcohol. I believe far more dangerous than pot. What are we doing about alcohol? Raised the drinking age Lowered the threshold to be considered drunk taxed the crap out of it restricted advertising Cigarettes, again, arguably worse than pot Restricted adverting sued the crap out of them made them fund anti-smoking campaigns taxed the hell out of them restricted where people can smoke I see this and believe society is becoming more restrictive and moving away from anything goes. Since the trend is towards more and more restrictions with alcohol and cigarettes and a lower and lower image for those activities, why would you think society would be less and less restrictive on pot? It just is not logical. And the financial picture, the #1 benefit of legalization is also too idyllic. Once pot is legal, manufacturing costs will increase. Manufacturers will have to carry product liability insurance, workers will be paid wages, benefits to employees, advertising, FDA inspections, etc, will all be included. Then you are going to add a tax on top of that. You are suggesting that users will gladly pay double or triple for a legal product. I agree, some will. But unlike alcohol, where there is a huge difference between home brews and professional brewing, a very good product can be grown at home and smoked. Law enforcement will shift from criminal to tax violations and we try to collect those taxes on the home grown stuff. I see that reality and still believe the benefit outweigh the cost. You'll argue there are no costs. And perhaps I am out of touch with today's pot smoker. I certainly did not mean to insult pot smokers by insinuating they would get high and watch TV. I recall pot smokers watching TV. Fire up the bong and watch SNL. Perhaps lighting a joint, turning on Dark Side of the Moon and syching it with Wizard of Oz. So tell me, what are pot smokers doing today that is so valuable and worthwhile?

I've stated why I believe marijuana should be legal. You want that plus wanting marijuana called a miracle drug that will be the savior of our society. Sorry. I do not believe it. But seriously, when it is made legal, Please get a job promoting pot, I have never met anyone so devoted to a product. If you find that mocking I am sorry. And the get "high and watch the tube" was a Steve Miller band song. Popular during a time when drugs were not looked down upon by society. You see, I've lived through times when drugs were socially acceptable and when they were not. That gives me a different perspective on why pot remains illegal. Not some textbook fallacy about 100 year old faulty research that people think of when they are high. If society truly valued those benefits, they would just raise taxes to pay for them. But as you have explained, you need the incentive of legal marijuana. Basically, if pot is legal, stoners will then send money. Works for me. All the benefits are financial. You seem willing to trade higher taxes if you personally have legal pot to smoke. But once again, you believe that nothing bad ever happens because of pot. And I find that laughable.

I am trying to think of a player who via free agency did not do bettr than a sure thing that was offered. I am certain there has to be some.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 15, 2009 -> 10:31 AM) Woo-Hoo TEX IS BUYING TICKETS TO THE SOFTBALL/PATIO PARTY THIS YEAR!!! Doesn't this read like Gage wrote it?