Pastime

Since the team is "broke" and "penniless," expect to see guys like El Duque signed by us. We have to claim every reclamation project and broken-down person we can find. We don't have money, so we must build a team with Elmer's Glue and Scotch Tape. Thanks, Jerry. :fyou :fyou

Yep, Jerry Manuel was Garland's biggest problem. Now, he can go 16-14 instead of 14-12. Yep, it was Manuel keeping Garland down. Actually, let's just examine this - maybe it was Garland's lack of aggressiveness, maybe it was Garland's lack of a sack, or maybe it was just Garland's lack of confidence. Either way, the guy has a million-dollar arm and a ten-cent head. If he goes 15-14, is that success? In some people's minds, I guess it is. Whatever. He's a #5 on a Championship-caliper team. NOPE.

IF the deal doesn't involve Jackson, then shut it down. This scouting report from Baseball America: Strengths: Jackson’s picturesque delivery, clean arm action and premium athleticism aid him in making 98 mph fastballs look effortless. He sits between 91-97 and can maintain his velocity deep into games. His slider and changeup both have come a long way since he made the full-time conversion to pitching, and while he’s not consistent with his secondary pitches he flashes above-average potential with both offerings. Each of his three pitches features plus life, with his fastball boring up into the zone, his slider showing hard bite and depth at times, and his circle changeup fading and sinking. Jackson demonstrates an advanced feel for pitching too, not afraid to pitch inside or double up on sliders and changeups. The Dodgers have done a fine job limiting Jackson’s workload. He was limited to around 100 pitches a start, and he was scratched from the Arizona Fall League to avoid putting more innings on his arm. Weaknesses: Jackson has been unfazed by his rapid ascent. He still needs to gain consistency and confidence with his slider and changeup. Like many strikeout pitchers, he can amass lofty pitch counts. With three potential out pitches and plus command, that shouldn’t be an issue for long. The Future: Jackson is the complete package, and fits the profile of a top-of-the-line starting pitcher to a tee. He established himself as one of the elite prospects in baseball even before his September callup, and his performance all but guaranteed him a spot in the Los Angeles rotation for 2004. He’s the best homegrown pitching prospect the Dodgers have developed since Pedro Martinez, and they don’t plan on letting this one get away.

Because we are broke and completely poor. Didn't you see Reinsdorf open his wallet on TV and show nothing in his billfold? The lumps in his pockets were a distraction, however, and upon further observation, it was wads of cash wrapped with rubber bands. LOL !!

Brando, Let me fill you in on something. Jerry Reinsdorf has a lot of power in the upper management of MLB. He also likes to play the "minority" card - whether that card be racial or monetary. He won't fire Kenny. No way. Kenny is the GM here for the next decade - bank on it. If he fired Kenny, then he would have to deal with people saying, "Well you had a minority GM, which is fine and dandy, but you gave him no payroll to work with!" "We're the poor team in the large city." Cry me river, asshole. You are still profitting off the team, jackass, or you would have sold it many years ago. You ain't bulls***ting any of us, liar bastard. Reinsdorf wants to be politically correct on every level. He will retain Kenny for as long as he can - trust me, he will. He will wait and "bide his time" until the team finally gets lucky and wins another division. That way, he can say, "See, my minority GM gets the job done." Don't believe for one minute that Jerry Reinsdorf doesn't do whatever he can within his power to not only make himself look good, but his team as well - as long as it doesn't involve spending money. He can now cry to the masses and say, "We spent last year, but it didn't work out." He's a real con-man. But he's an effective con-man. He knows how to pacify the simple-minded and uneducated. He is the epitome of "the master manipulator." A true lost art. He wants to be a "model" for the other MLB owners. "See, I spent minimal money and still won with my token GM by my side." The guy isn't worth a billion and a half dollars from stupid business dealings. He takes advantage of the weak and stupid, and then manipulates people and uses rhetoric and persuasion to get his point across. My hat is off to him. If I could bulls***, manipulate, and confuse people with half the success he has, I will be rich enough to buy the team in about 5 years. You can be my assistant, I promise. Okay? Basically, if he wins, then he's responsible, but if he loses, it's the fault of everyone else. When the Sox won in 2000, you couldn't get his ugly face off the screen, but when the Sox lose, where the f-ck is he? He's nowhere to be found. Same thing with the Bulls. When they were winning, he was all over the place. But in the last 6 years of their miserable failure, where oh where is Chairman Reinsdorf? You couldn't find him with a map and a f-cking search party. He's an opportunist owner. When things are right - here I am!! When things are wrong - who's to blame, dammit? The epitome of a LIAR - the epitome of a con artist - the epitome of STICKING IT UP PEOPLE'S ASSES. I have already cancelled my season tickets - I hope that all of you do the same.

Kenny isn't the brightest bulb on the old Christmas tree by any stretch, but even HE isn't that dumb. I want MORE than that. And that's not greed - that's realistic thinking.

You are the first "Garland" guy to agree. Finally. Now, as for Willie Harris and Aaron Rowand. This may open up another huge can of worms. I say that Aaron will perform admirably, but will fall short. He's okay, but IMO, he's a 4th outfielder, not an everyday player. I see him as a .243, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 7 SB guy who has minimal speed - he's NOT a CF. When Carl Everett is a better CF than you, you need to move somewhere else in the outfield, buddy! As for Willie, I think with the proper tutoring and a ton of hard work, he can amount to a .271, 4 HR, 40 RBI, 47 SB guy who plays good defense at 2B. I don't know if he will ever be a leadoff hitter (doubtful), but at the bottom of the order, he can give us a nice dimension.

I wouldn't sign that piece of s*** for anything, even if his only duties were to change urinal cakes and defog jock straps. He can take his sad pussarm and go scratch - whether he has an itch or not. TOAD RITCHIE :dips***

Let me simplify this to its very core: Dan Evans - MUST WIN this year, or is gone. Kenny Williams - MIGHT win this year, or not. However he will be back. So who is the GM with the most pressure and heat up his ass? And better yet, who is most likely to be employed next year as a MLB GM? Enough said.

Yas, The thing that hinders Garland is his "moxie." He gets easily flustered at the first sign of any negative stimuli - whether that be a base hit, a walk, an error, etc. He then decides to throw rather than "pitch." I know he's still a young pup, but you would think he would have figured it out by now. It took Maddux 4 years to figure it out, it took Kevin Brown 3 years to get it - can he finally get it at this point? (I used those two pitchers as examples since they have "similar" styles to Gar.) Let's just say this: If Garland will EVER get it, this will be the year. If not, then I say he's nothing more than Mike Morgan II. Is that fair enough?

I used to think that the Sox made the wrong move by picking Kenny over Evans, but I really have re-thought that whole mindset. Kenny is at least keeping his head barely above water, while Evans is on the bottom of the sea sucking sand up his nose. However, it's still the lesser of two evils. Almost like "Dumb and Dumber" - Harry is smarter than Lloyd. And Kenny is smarter than Dan. Hardly a great endorsement.

I still think he'll be nothing more than a Mike Morgan type pitcher - 12-11, 11-10, 13-12, 15-12, 14-12, 14-10, etc. Which is NOT a bad thing if you have 3 other guys who can really bring it. He's a really good #5 or a good solid #4 - nothing more, and nothing less. Garland has the stuff physically, but as Ed Farmer has pointed out ad nauseum, he doesn't have the stuff mentally. You can almost bet the farm that Garland will follow a good performance with a stinker, or follow a stinker with a good performance. As for Kenny Williams dealing with Billy Beane - NO NO NO. Never again, please! Yes, Beane got fleeced by other GM's a few times in his tenure, but never by Kenny - and never will be by Kenny. Beane should have Kenny's head above his desk with antlers attached. Plus, Beane insulted Williams in a book this year, so don't expect many calls between the two, unless it involves Kenny inviting Billy into an alley for a "discussion" - that eventually leads to a "ass-whoopin'."

And I'll miss it due to my work schedule. Damn this stupid swingshift!! However, I do have the comfort of knowing that I can come here and read all the best news. There's my solace. Don't let me down, guys. Give me the play by play.

I don't want him either. If I were Kenny, well, first of all, I would trim that ugly mustache, but second of all, I would tell the Mutts - "Look, if you want Koch, then let's stick Weathers on the table while I stick Koch on the table. If you even so much as even breathe the name 'Roger Cedeno' in my direction, I will take my chips and go elsewhere, understand? " If that doesn't make it clear, then nothing will. Cedeno is a BUM. An underachieving BUM. Steer clear of him, unless he walks in front of your bus.

In all seriousness, though, I had to work a double yesterday, and came home wiped. I finally woke up around 5 PM to hear all this trade talk. And now it hurts to know that it might be all for naught. I really hope this thing goes through. Look - Kenny has been bashed by me and countless others for years, but at least he's really trying. I'm only sorry his hands are so tied. But if he could pull this off, I think he would end up in the catbird seat. And if he was, I think he could make Dan Evans lick the toejam out of his shoes, if he so wanted to. If this deal goes down, then we finally hold a trump card. It's been a long time in coming, quite frankly.

I'm basically Clark Kent - if he had let himself go after finding the joys of cheeseburgers and beer.

Yes, I'm large. And yes, I'm big. But that's okay, I think. And yes, she's small and tiny. But who cares? Even in the animal world, the big ones can still mate with the small ones, or something like that.

Try again with the link. (If the stupid thing works).

I know, buddy. Here's a photo from July (at a wedding): http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/3fe1937b_b8...hlgZ4_A_n8.6Z.p

I just can't get into that - I mean, once upon a time, I loved gawking at other guys' wives and girlfriends, but I can't get off on it anymore. I guess I'm getting soft. I guess I just wouldn't like it if other guys did that to my wife. I will admit that I am married to a looker - a very beautiful woman with a great body. How did I get her? Don't have the faintest idea, and don't care. I got her. However, the 7 comments I heard on my wedding day along the lines of "how in the hell did you end up with her!" or "how did a guy like you get a girl like her!" really pissed me off. So I married way over my head - who cares? She's MINE, and ALL MINE.

We will never lock anyone up long-term ever again. We got burned by Albert Belle, which was Reinsdorf taking a huge step that he had never taken - SPENDING MONEY. And if you ask the cheap sumab****, he'll point to that as a reason why he's so cheap and afraid to spend on free agents - I'll BET ON IT. He'll find any excuse he can. If the Sox were as "unprofitable" as he says they are, then why would a succesful businessman own them for the last 23 years? Hmmmm. Here's hoping Santa takes a dump in your Christmas stocking. Thanks Jerry. :fyou (And yes, I know he doesn't have a Christmas stocking since he's Jewish and celebrates Chanukkah, but thanks for playing anyway).

Sounds like a typical dumbs*** Cubs fan once again living in their world of fantasy and stupidity - "Yeah, well, hey, how's about we trade you Alex Gonzalez, Paul Bako, and one of our AA prospects for Barry Zito. That's fair!" Consider the source, and then consider never taking them seriously ever again. :fthecubs

I would like the deal for several reasons: 1. We would have a legitimate hitter at SS. 2. We could potentially trade Nomar for pitching. 3. We would remove Maggs' 14 million albatross salary. 4. A SS is harder to replace than an outfielder. 5. We could have a SS who has something to prove. 6. We could have a marquee name in the Sox lineup who can drive in 120 runs. 7. We would improve our offense, IMO. 8. We could use Nomar to command the best package of talent we can get from several teams. 9. We take a load of thunder away from the Cubs and their unimpressive offseason moves. 10. We could really f-ck up Danny Evans' whole offseason and stick it up his ass sideways, thereby killing several of his potential moves. How you like us now, Danny Boy?

Until the "self-imposed deadline" of Tom Hicks happens at 5pm tomorrow, I think a ton of things are now just simmering on the stove. Hard to believe the domino effect, but interesting nonetheless.

"The basic agreement contains a rule that requires any special covenant to be an actual or potential benefit to the player," Manfred baseballs top lawyer said. If that is true, then the way I read it, Alex Rodriguez WOULD have a "potential benefit to the player" - he can finally go to a team that has a chance of winning a championship ring or at least COMPETING - which is what he wants! I don't want to start a huge "labor wars" discussion, so please don't, but my father is one of the heads of the OCAW - Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union in Chicago, and he and the other union people just laugh, mock, and poke fun at the MLBPA. He called it "a bunch of country club sissies calling itself a union just to get what they want and to sound legitimate." I won't go into any of the other things he and the other guys called it.