EVIL~! alkeiper

And ultimately that bitching means nothing, as Thome homers. But the Sox still haven't recorded an out otherwise.

Three straight batters reach, pitcher can't get an out, Polanco up, and big hitters afterwards. What do you do? Sacrifice bunt! Grrr.

What Max Power said. And given Ventura's performance, they might as well let him keep pitching.

Roberto Hernandez coming in. Goody Goody Gumdrops!

Ted Williams was despised as a player. DiMaggio was booed at times, but most young, slumping players are at times.

I'll go on the record and say this trade makes the Royals better, right now. John Buck is better than Alberto Castillo or Kelly Stinnett. Mike Wood is an upgrade over Chris George. I think those acquisitions make up for Beltran.

You can't just evaluate the Royals by comparing Beltran versus DeJesus. They acquired their future catcher and third baseman, and a starting pitcher. Its up to them how they spend their money in the offseason, but this is a good trade right now.

A few years, if ever. I'm not going to claim DeJesus is as good. The idea is that Beltran isn't so much better that he's worth 8 figures more a year. You have to look closely at the talent. The Cubs lost 90+ games two years ago. But they weren't that far from contention. I honestly don't know if the Royals are on that level, but there are differences in 90 loss teams. By point is that the Royals aren't going to blow up and start over. They don't need to.

Hell, I've seen posters quote Ann Coulter with a straight face.

I took the progressive step of watching the movie yesterday. A few thoughts..... 1. Maybe 30-40% of the film details Spurlock's quest to eat McDonald's for a month. The rest of the film covers our food culture, what we eat, school lunches, etc. 2. The film takes aim at the food industry certainly. McDonald's in particular, but they are not by any means the sole group under fire. At the conclusion Spurlock states that it is up to the consumer to make responsible choices. 3. Spurlock does admit his diet is excessive. However, the health effects on his body are shocking even to the medical men examining him. Spurlock gained 25 lbs. in a single month. That's insane. Food should not do that. 4. The general message conveyed, by Spurlock and health professionals, is that any fast food consumed is highly unhealthy, and should be avoided nearly entirely as part of a healthy diet. 5. The film criticizes our culture as much as the actual companies. Now, let us take another look at that poster created by McDonald's of Australia..... We don't Super Size meals at all. McDonald's of course cancelled their Super Size program after the film premeired at Cannes. Spurlock was asked to super size nine times in the film, and I do not think that was an optical illusion. Says salads contain more calories from fat than a Big Mac Spurlock claimed the Crispy Bacon Ranch Salad with Ranch dressing had more fat than a Big Mac. According to McDonald's nutrition facts on its own Web site, this is absolutely true. Of course, McDonald's in Australia does not serve that particular salad. No mention of that little nugget of information in the advertisement. Suggests Yoghurt Parfaits have nearly as many calories as a Hot Fudge Sundae Spurlock referred to the 12 oz. Parfait when making this claim. For some odd reason, McDonald's no longer offers that size. However, by checking the 5 oz. parfait and doing some simple math, we can adjust. A 12 oz. Parfait with granola contains about 362 calories, compared to 340 for a hot fudge sundae. Believes nutrition information is hard to come by. Spurlock stated that not every home has internet access, and that pamphlets were in short supply. Spurlock claimed 1 in 4 McDonalds he visited had no nutrition information available.

Re: The Royals. The Royals have David DeJesus, not far away from taking over at center field. Any smart organization will take the cheaper player, and spend their money elsewhere. DeJesus is currently hitting .315 for AAA Omaha, and will cost less than a million dollars TOTAL over the next three seasons. Second, I don't think the Royals are as bad as their record indicates. They've been unusually unlucky with pitcher injuries. Angel Berroa missed a month with migranes. But now they have DeJesus, Zach Greinke, Mike Wood, and Mark Teahen as up and coming stars. Add the money they'll save on Beltran and Joe Randa, and they could add a free agent this offseason. The Royals are certainly not a moribund organization. Here's a secret. If you don't offer that money, the asking price goes down. No way in hell does Carlos Beltran earn $18 Million.

I still give him the benefit of the doubt. His peripherals are much better than his ERA indicates.

The Phillies have Paul Abbott on the mound tonight, against Pedro Martinez and the Red Sox. I have this strange feeling that my team is fucked.

Right now, the Orioles have no one good enough to be called a starter, period. Granted, a lot of it is bad luck. No one could have thought Riley, Ainsworth, Bedard, etc. would be this bad. But they are awful right now. Not quite. Let's look back at my season preview.....

Its definately a problem, as old sports stadium grow out of use. They're landmarks, no doubt, but they're also white elephants. But there's got to be some way to keep these places around. Memorial Stadium and the Vet weren't worth saving, but places like Boston Gardens, Ebbets Field, etc., are places we wish we would have saved. Tiger Stadium has been in danger the last few years.

So Tim Montgomery relays information from a man currently indicted by the federal government, in testimony which is not supposed to leave the Grand Jury. To say the information is highly suspect is an understatement. It hardly qualifies as proof. Bullshit, on two counts. One, not taking random piss tests is not an admission of guilt. Its a desire for privacy. If its not part of woprk regulations, then I cannot imagine anyone who would submit to a random drug test. Second, Bonds is far from the biggest asshole in sports. The only thing I've ever seen from him is surliness. No off-the-field incidents. Doesn't argue often with umpires. I can't remember him brawling on the field. There are dozens of characters in baseball, and professional sports, worse than Bonds. Not at all. And for the historical perspective, I'll say it again. Babe Ruth corked a bat or two in his day. Ted Williams may have. Athletes have been looking for a competitive advantage ever since the game began. That's correct Tom. And keep in mind the other team is LOOKING for this stuff from Perry. I think he actually doctored the ball far less than we think, although he did it plenty of times.

The Hidden Game of Baseball, published in 1983, had this stuff in it. You would think managers would get the message, but so far, only Earl Weaver ever understood the concept. And he managed before that book even came out.

Wow. I've considered the Astros the favorites since December. Obviously, this trade benefits their team. A center fielder is more valuable than a relief pitcher. And the defense will show immediate dividends in the Astros pitching statistics. The A's benefit as well, as neither Teahan or Wood really fit into their future. From a first glance, it looks like a good trade all around.

The '96 Tigers do deserve some credit, as they had quite possibly the worst pitching staff in the history of baseball. Only the 1930 Phillies, who played in a big hitters' era, in a big hitters' park, allowed more runs in the 20th Century.

Again, what jobs are they taking? I don't see it. Most immigrants have minimum wage, manual labor jobs. Last I checked, I don't see anyone having a problem finding manual labor.

I'm willing to trade Octavio Dotel, but the only starter you have that interests me is Dontrell Willis.

Who's the best currently active player never to make the playoffs? My pick is Todd Helton.

Well, legal if you don't mind overrunning the indians and forcing them onto reservations. But that's neither here or there.

By that measure, I could be disgusted with a lot of people here legally. What's the difference really? If you come and can make a contribution to our society, by all means welcome. We all emigrated here at some point.

The CPU trading AI doesn't really take potential into account, nor does it take position needs into effect. This was very amusing when the Jays traded Delgado to the Cubs for Sammy Sosa. The Cubs already had Lee, and they benched him and played a scrub in right field. Obviously that did not improve their team. I'm definately adding Harris. Anytime you can have a knuckleballer in his mid-40s, its a good time.