DBAHO

Found this interesting piece of Kendall too, I just have to respond to Jim Costantino's remarks from last week regarding Jason Kendall being a positive role model. While I agree that he's done a great job improving his catching skills and I'm glad to have him on the team this year, he needs to be held accountable for his actions in the past. First of all, it's not only his large contract that has made him unable to be traded, he has also performed below expectations. He has not performed at the same level as he did before signing the contract. Go look at his career statistics and I don't want to hear the ankle injury being used as an excuse. Additionally, it is well known that Kendall was a negative force in the clubhouse in years past. He doesn't necessarily have to be a leader, but he could have at least been more of a positive influence. His clubhouse antics are also very well known and were reiterated last week in Ron Cook's column on Jack Wilson. Now that Kendall's cronies are all gone (Mike Williams and Brian Giles), he is a man without a country, so he has no choice but to grow up, which I believe he may have done. Also, why is it just this year that he's improved his defensive skills? Shouldn't he have been working on improving over the past few years? No player should ever stop trying to improve. Again, I'm glad to have him on the team this year since it looks like he's finally matured, but his actions in the past are reprehensible. He still has a way to go before I view him as a "great professional role model."

Q: What are the chances of the Marlins acquiring Jason Kendall? Would the Marlins end up with egg on their faces if he signs for the same money that Pudge was asking? Frank Carnicelli, Melville, NY A: While the Marlins are in need of a front-line catcher and Kendall would fit nicely in the middle of the order, acquring him presents too many obstacles. Kendall's contract calls for $35 million from 2005-07. Even if the Pirates agree to pick up half of it, that's still a formidable financial commitment for a team like the Marlins. The other factor is that Kendall has a no-trade clause and could veto a move to Florida or anywhere else.

Everyone can wish about acquiring Jason Kendall, the fact is he has a no trade clause and only wants to play for an NL team.

Only if Houston gets desperate and is willing to take less than what they could "Really" get for him. But I'd leave A - Row in center field, because I'd don't think Beltran would move to RF, which would cause problems. Call me crazy, but even Larry Walker could be an option.

Found this from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, could be an option as a replacement for Maggs, with Everett becoming the full time RF. "The Rangers are trying to trade designated hitter Brad Fullmer. If they are unable to trade him, the Rangers might release him when Herbert Perry returns from the disabled list..."

Good piece on possible bullpen additions from the New York Post, So what relievers are on the market? The most interesting name that's often speculated about is Seattle closer Eddie Guardado. The left-hander owns a 1.87 ERA and lefties are hitting .093 off him. Problem is, the Mariners are not believed to want to trade him. Seattle likely will move sidearming southpaw Mike Myers (.226 vs. lefties) but with Duquette's talk about preferring a righty, he doesn't seem like a candidate, either. Toronto has three right-handed relievers who are available: Terry Adams (4.07 ERA), Justin Speier (5.40) and Kerry Ligtenberg (5.29). Ligtenberg would seem the least likely candidate for the Mets because he's the only one signed for next year. Reportedly, Baltimore will consider moving right-handed closer Jorge Julio (5.40 ERA). Meanwhile, even if Detroit ends up moving closer Ugueth Urbina, the Mets are not interested.

I find it interesting that most teams would hav Urbina instead of Eddie Guardado. Guardado is clearly the better pticher, but he has 3 years and $13 million left on his contract, while Urbina has a $4 million option for next year. If KW wants to make a move, Maggs' price tag just went down, we just might have room for Everyday Eddie now.

Ah the joys of getting fans hopes up in Summer League.

Baltimore is offering a package of Jorge Julio and Brian Roberts around the league to try and get a quality starter, they missed out on Zito with this deal.

Great Falls lost 5-2, Box Score will be up soon.

July 23 2004 Boxscore Huntsville vs. Birmingham Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Huntsville « 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 4 9 0 Birmingham 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 2 Log | Wrap | Box W:R.Costello(6-3) L:R.Meaux(4-8) S:F.Rijo (2) HR: HVL- None BIR- None Huntsville AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI W K AVG Rickie Weeks 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .257 Anthony Gwynn cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .258 Prince Fielder 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .270 Brad Nelson lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .276 Jamie Gann rf 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 .296 Chris Barnwell 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .255 Ryan Knox dh 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 .288 Johnny Raburn ss 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 .275 Joel Alvarado c 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .153 Totals 34 4 9 4 0 0 4 1 8 &nbsp &nbsp Birmingham AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI W K AVG Michael Spidale lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .284 Ruddy Yan 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .246 Brian Anderson cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .307 Rob Sasser 1b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .231 Carlos Maldonado c 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .254 Rich Paz 3b/ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .262 Normand Martel rf 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .301 Andy Gonzalez ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111 &nbsp Tommy Nicholson ph/3b 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .278 Chris Stewart dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .223 &nbsp Scott Bikowski ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .274 Totals 31 1 3 1 0 0 1 3 7 &nbsp E_R. Sasser, A. Gonzalez. LOB_Huntsville 5, Birmingham 7. 2B_P. Fielder (20), J. Gann (4), R. Knox (10), J. Raburn (10), N. Martel (9). RBI_R. Weeks (31), A. Gwynn (27), B. Nelson (60), R. Knox (17), T. Nicholson (13). SF_R. Weeks. SB_R. Knox (7). CS_B. Nelson, C. Barnwell. GIDP_J. Alvarado. DP_Birmingham 2. Huntsville IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Ryan Costello (W 6-3) 6.0 0 0 0 3 5 0 4.02 Paul Stewart 2.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 2.70 Fernando Rijo (S 2) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3.74 &nbsp Birmingham IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Ryan Meaux (L 4-8) 7.0 9 4 4 1 6 0 4.71 Josh Fields 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.24 HBP_by R. Costello (A. Gonzalez). WP_P. Stewart. T_2:36. A_6369. powered by www.sportsnetwork.com.

Olerud won't move away from the West Coast, I'd say he's headed to San Francisco.

It's a great community here, lots of Sox fans all over the world with loads of knowledge, I've been here over a year it's gone so fast.

I don't love the signing, but it's a good signing. We needed another guy in the mix really bad, no way we can depend on Julius Jones from day 1. If managed properly, which I'm sure Parcells will do, I think George will suprise a lot of people.

Fact - Emmitt Smith was due to make $10 million in 2003. Fact - Eddie George will be making just over $2 million this season.

Bull's gotta get his ass up to Charlotte now so we can update that avatar.

BEGOOD now Be Good.

McInnins will be starting with Eric Snow backing him up, although I expect McInnins to be moved, possibly to Dallas for Josh Howard.

LOL, my Macro - Economics Lecturer was showing us this exact picture yesterday, funny stuff. I felt quite proud too when he used Alex Rodriguez as an example of Market Failure and I was the only one in the theatre out of 120 people who knew who he was.

That's the only possibly justification I can see for this trade, we get 2 future 2nd round picks as well. But c'mon, Drew Gooden 2 years ago had a 20/10 series against Ben Wallace. The worst move this franchise made was signing Juwan Howard to a 6 year deak, it killed Gooden's future with the Magic. But at least get a starting center, like Erick Dampier in a sign and trade deal for him, instead of Tony Battie, who will be backing up Kelvin Cato and Dwight Howard for the next 2 years.

No Carlos Zambrano profanities?

Joe Nathan's been a godsend to them, but the rest of their bullpen has been overworked, and it'll show in the next few months.

Lack of a real run producer in the middle of the lineup, the back end of their rotation ain't too grand either.

Santana and Radke have been lights out lately, if they can keep pitching like that, and they acquire Benson, that's quite a rotation they've got.

MORE than 30 jailed Bali bombers could win new trials after Indonesia's highest court ruled yesterday that the terror law used to convict them was unconstitutional. Lawyers said yesterday they would submit applications for judicial reviews of all the bombers' convictions after the Constitutional Court ruled the anti-terrorism law under which they were imprisoned - and in some cases sentenced to death - was invalid. "We won today," lawyer Wirawan Adnan said. "Our appeal to deny retroactivity (in Indonesia's anti-terrorism legislation) was granted. That's what this case was all about." Mr Adnan later confirmed that he and his colleagues would submit applications for judicial reviews for all the Bali bombers. In a split decision, five of the nine Constitutional Court judges found that convicting a particular Bali bombing suspect under retrospective anti-terrorism legislation was unconstitutional. The Bali bombings killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, on October 12, 2002. Indonesia's anti-terrorism legislation, law No16 2003, was passed months later, although the forerunner presidential decree was issued in November 2002. Among the Bali bombing militants convicted in Bali last year were the so-called "smiling bomber", Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, his older brother Mukhlas and their colleague Imam Samudra. All were sentenced to death, and they await their executions once all the judicial avenues are exhausted. Australian survivors of the Bali bombings face the prospect of having to relive the horror of the 2002 attack, with the possibility that some may have to return to give evidence against the bombers. Victims and their families reacted with shock, disappointment and anger to news of the court rulings. Jake Ryan, 23, who was injured in the bombings and whose Southport Sharks teammate Billy Hardy died, was disappointed yesterday with the ruling, which could lead to retrials for Amrozi and the other bombers. Mr Ryan, now living in Perth, won world attention when he confronted Samudra on the steps of the courthouse and shouted: "You're a f..king dog, mate, you are going to die, you f..k." Although he felt yesterday that it was unlikely the men would ever be released from jail, he thought it could mean some escaped death sentences. "If it (their release) happened, they would be hunted down. There would be a few people chasing them. That is for sure," he said. Mr Adnan said the case could open the jail doors for the Bali bombers. "We consider this as new evidence," he said, explaining that judicial reviews could only be heard if new evidentiary material was available. "After we discussed it, the whole team agreed to submit judicial reviews for all the (Bali bombing) clients." Australian diplomatic staff were in immediate contact with the Indonesian Government following the court ruling. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer promised to fight to ensure those convicted remain behind bars. "If they get overturned on technicality in an appeal, in those circumstances we'll be working with the Indonesian Government, encouraging them to bring fresh charges, if that is going to be at all possible," Mr Downer said. If retrials are ordered, under the criminal code rather than the anti-terrorism legislation, the prosecutions will have difficulty with "double jeopardy". Retrying a suspect for the same crime using the same evidence could prove to be illegal, experts say, although the death sentence would still be applicable for murder. Bali bomber lawyer Lutfi Hakim said Indonesia's national police chief, Da'i Bachtiar, should study the verdict, as it could halt all unresolved cases, including that of extremist Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir. Bashir, accused of leading the terrorist network Jemaah Islamiah, is awaiting his trial under the anti-terrorism legislation and police have said he will be tried in connection with the Bali bombings. "Regarding the cases which have been tried, we obviously will refuse to allow the cases to continue, including Abu Bakar Bashir's case," Mr Hakim said. Prosecutor Andi Herman said members of the Bashir prosecution team would study the verdict. The Constitutional Court judges referred to section 28I of the Indonesian constitution's second amendment, which rules out prosecutions using retrospective laws. "The rights to life, freedom from torture, freedom of thought ... and the right not to be tried under a law with retrospective effect are all human rights that cannot be limited under any circumstances," the constitution says.