Pastime

At least Pudge got a motorcycle out of the whole thing. That's not so bad (unless he doesn't know how to drive it).

because there isnt much pitching out there. I just said that on another thread. The state of pitching is as bad as I can ever remember it. A lot of it has to do with expansion. Because there are so many teams now, there's probably 50-100 pitchers in baseball today that wouldn't have even sniffed the majors in the old days.

I don't worry about Ozzie's use of the pitching staff. If you think he'll be clueless, just remember who was pulling the strings for the past 6 years. That should brighten up your spirits immediately. As for the bullpen being full of a bunch of "ifs," unless you have a truckload of cash like the Yankees, Orioles, Red Sox, Cubs, etc., you're most likely going to have a bunch of "ifs" in your bullpen. There's just not enough quality pitching out there - unless you're willing to open the wallet and pay a handsome price for it. If the Sox can just get ONE more quality starter, preferrably TWO, then my mind would be much more at ease. Plus, if the Sox have a quality starting rotation, the bullpen won't be relied upon as much anyways.

PANICKING? WHO'S PANICKING? NOT ME!!! WE GOTTA SIGN SOMEONE FAST!! BUT I'M NOT PANICKING!! Tavarez to the Cardinals - I'm sure the Flubs are just shaking in their shoes. :fthecubs

Peter Angelos just loves to throw money around, doesn't he? He has it to throw, I guess. However, he usually doesn't get anywhere near the bang for his buck. Plus, he's in a division with the Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays. How much of a chance do the Orioles REALLY have? If they don't shore up their pitching staff more, it's just an exercise in futility. The White Sox are a great example and great proof that you can have all the offense you want - if you don't have good pitching, forget about it.

Cheat, Hell, you should be in my house right now. I'm throwing a party! We finally made a move!

I still say he should just call him "Skippy."

I walked downstairs a few minutes ago, and he meowed at me. I couldn't figure it out. I mean, "Meow" can mean so many things. So I go into the kitchen to refill my cup with soda, and he meows again. I still don't get it. Finally, I look at his dish, and he's out of water. I just filled it this morning. Someone is very thirsty! Needless to say, I truly think that having him will prepare me for having children in the next few years. Cats puke, and so do kids. Cats wake you up, and so do kids. Cats bug you when something is wrong, and so do kids. However, I will be really disturbed if I have a kid who attacks mice or scribbles on the walls with crayons.

The big question is this: Which major offseason acquisition will propel the Sox to the division title? Pollite or Uribe? Wow, that's a tough one. I say Uribe.

Unfortunately, Jose's "clutch hitting" usually involves him going 5-45 with no HR, until he "breaks out" and goes 15-25 with 5 HR's. He's as streaky as a mud-smeared windshield.

I only hope that we have him for a long time. Cats (when healthy) can live 20+ years. I hope that's the case with Rafiki. Laura is gone for a few days in New Orleans, and I'm here just with him. It's so nice to have another "person" to talk to, even though he looks at me and doesn't understand what I'm saying. He's like my "Wilson" (the volleyball that Tom Hanks had in "Castaway.") My only complaint is that he eats the grass off of our shoes in the Summer and then pukes it up on the kitchen floor. Other than that, he's all good. For the record, he was named "Rafiki" before "The Lion King" even came out. My evil sister-in-law's husband is from Africa, and "Rafiki" means "good friend" in their language. As I type this, he's laying in the spare bedroom curled up in a ball. And he left his normal trail of cat food on the kitchen floor, which ends up between my toes. It hurts a little.

We adopted Rafiki 3 years ago - he was going to be put to sleep by Laura's mean witch sister (as you can tell, I dislike her with a passion). He was already 8 years old, and had lived in Hell. Her husband threw things at him all the time and yelled at him, and her 2 sons (demon spawn if I've ever seen it) used to try to ride him, and they threw Matchbox cars and stuff at him and all that other crap that little boys do. We went to her house to help them pack their stuff because they were moving, and I'm standing in their bedroom packing stuff off the dresser - and here comes this gray cat who looks up at me. I know he's going to be put to sleep, so I look down and say, "You're a dead man walking, aren't you?" He immediately rubs up against my right leg and meows at me. I look across the room at Laura, and I say, "We're taking him home. " Laura says, "But you are horribly allergic to cats." I say, "I don't give a s*** - I will get used to it. There's no way he's dying. He's coming home with us." Needless to say, his adjustment to our house took about 2 weeks, but now he's as happy as a clam. He gets 3 types of food, catnip regularly (since I remember how nice "weed" made me feel in my younger years), and he gets petted constantly. He purrs at least 10 times a day, and he has the run of the house. He has 3 beds to sleep on, as well as 4 couches, and any other spot. He is so happy - I can't even begin to tell you how happy he is. Now he jumps in my lap all the time, he meows at me, and I love to get "slimed" by him (he rubs his nose on my chin). And I'm not having any allergic reactions the last 2 1/2 years. I've become immune to his fur and dander. He's our "boo bear," and I wouldn't trade the furbag for a million dollars. And yes, I love him dearly. He's a "freak," meaning that he's about 17 lbs and he has very large paws. Sorry to make such a long post, but I figured I'd just "share."

Steff, Cats are special, aren't they? Laura and I are so grateful that Rafiki lets us live in his house. I'm sure you know exactly what I mean. Cats don't know why they do the things they do, but they can't help it. Instinct is just too strong - not only in cats, but in humans as well.

Just start calling him "Skippy." It will take a while to catch on, but eventually it will.

Here in Chicagoland, we're experiencing a heat wave. It went from about 2 to 14 in the last 2 hours. Where's that damn tanning lotion? My cat finally caught the mouse that's been terrorizing my kitchen for a month, but he didn't kill it. He just bit it in the neck and hurt it. I threw it on the back porch, and a half-hour later, he was a mousecicle. That's how nasty it is here. The wind blowing doesn't help matters, either. I hate winter.

If they want a more realistic product, they should make it out of tuna or some other kind of seafood.

What's sad is that the poor guy probably didn't even get a piece of her pie. At least he has his looks. Actually, he resembles Mike Vanderjagt, the field goal kicker from the Indianapolis Colts. At least one of them split the uprights last weekend.

I agree. There's something about popping some psycho chick that appeals to all of us. She's the kind that you could bang, and then tell her that it wasn't you, it was some guy named Matt who drove off - and she would believe you. Nut-cases could be fun - if you can get away quickly afterwards. Otherwise, you are dead.

After looking at those three dogs, my 1/3 will end up in a paper towel or in the sheets. ARRGH.

I've already bought 10 packages of Meltaways. I've stuck them in the freezer, and I will enjoy them when I see the need. However, I can't believe that Fannie May is gone. How sad. That candy is heavenly.

We have Ellen Degeneres, Oprah Winfrey, and Sharon Osbourne hogging the TV air time, and they are constantly in the mainstream media. And people wonder why the men can't get the love guns firing? It's very obvious. Those three trolls could make even the most horny, excited, Viagra-inspired man shrivel in his shorts. Ugh.

Rex, I'm in advertising. I have to constantly think. What would the average person think about this product? What do we have to do to sell this to a new audience without alienating our established demographic? ETC. As you can guess, I'm constantly thinking. Even on vacation, I still try to sell things and try to come up with slogans and campaigns while driving in the rental car. It's frustrating to me and to Laura, but I am who I am. I'm sick and I need help. As for thinking too much, I can't help it. I was blessed with a very active brain and a very active imagination - I won't b**** for one second about that. I'm blessed. And yes, I do think too much. That's my strength. : As for Kenny, I still think he's putting up a smokescreen. Before it's all said and done, I think he pulls off another Colon for Biddle/Abbott deal. The guy is starting to mature and grow into the GM position, and I think he can fool more people today than he did 2 years ago. I think that Billy Beane's ripping of him in that book inspired Kenny like nothing else could have. Hey, he got us Alomar and Everett for pennies last year! Kenny is like a buzzard, and Dan Evans is like a dying animal in the desert. (And Evans IS dying - his job is hanging by a thread). Eventually, that animal will die, and Kenny will swoop in and pick that carcass to pieces.

If we're going to post older scouting reports, I have this kickass scouting report about a young phenom who's ready for the bigs right now. He's a can't miss pitcher. As a matter of a fact, the Sox won't even consider any trades for him! Oh crap, now where is that scouting report about Scott Ruffcorn?

Good for Roberto. His fading bat will fit in with all the other stuff that lies dead in the desert heat.

I think the Sox might be blowing a small smoke screen by constantly saying they aren't going to do anything. If you're not going to do anything, then you just don't! You just go on day to day and don't say anything. But by saying you're not going to do anything every week is to me just an attempt to build a false facade in other teams' eyes. You're trying to convince them by using sheer repetiton. You WANT people to believe that by announcing it regularly. If Kenny wasn't going to do anything, then he wouldn't make a peep. But it's almost like he's just trying to give that impression. "Well, we're not going to do anything. DID YOU HEAR ME?? I SAID WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING!" (When deep down, he will do something). I think it's a leveraging position, which is fine if it works. Otherwise, Kenny will become the little boy who cried "wolf."