BERIGAN

Dan, is your team ever lucky!(And the last thing your team needs is luck!) Braves have been beaten up by the Nationals 3 out of 4 games, and hard throwing leftie Mike Gonzalez was throwing 83 MPH fastballs the other day, and is on the DL now. Redman has been activated, so get ready for BP of the highest order. Also, if I understand correctly, you are going to have 2 rookies starting? What you may consider bad news, is the very best news for you. Braves SUCK everytime they face some pitcher they have never seen. Honestly, at least against Schilling, and Beckett we'd have some slight chance of success. We have kept Saltalamacchia on the roster, but sounds like he won't be DH'ing (Or catching)and showing off for teams that might want to trade for him. Instead, singles hitter Matt Diaz (With 5 RBI's!!!!) and sore handed McCann will keep catching.... Ok Red Sox nation, let me know if you think Cox has lost it, after you see the decisions he makes, or doesn't make during the series. A lot of fans have felt this way, starting last year, and carrying over thru this one. Clearly, players love him, would run thru walls for him, but.....he never rests guys,(Andruw Jones, and Francoeur) pitches relievers way too much,and keeps Andruw batting clean-up even during the worst year of his career. It's not just that though. Like last year, even when things are going well, there are decisions that just make you wonder. He was abusing Wickman before he was on the DL, he was on pace to pitch in 80+ games. Cox doesn't seem to understand that he is hefty, 38 years old, and hadn't pitched more than 74 innings since 1999. After being perfect thru most of April, he was brought in during the 9th inning against the Marlins with the bases loaded, and NO OUTS! "Wicky" as you know, doesn't have a blazing fastball, but will get you a lot of saves if used properly. But no, instead of bringing in Rafael Soriano throwing 97 to 100, Cox brought in Wickman. It was a disaster. Braves lose. 2 days later Bobby used him in Colorado where his pitches were not breaking, and got slammed. He more or less pulled himself out of the game to keep us from losing. Smart move by a guy who knew he didn't have it. Cox brought him back after one day off again against Colorado, same thing, knocked out of the game, braves lose. A couple other times he left a starter in too long(Sound familiar?) and the braves lost. I will boldly predict if the Braves have a lead, Cox will go with him in the 9th instead of Soriano, and the Sox will pound him, and his confidence will be weaker than ever, and it never should have been shaken, if he had been used properly by a very veteran manager. If we lose the division or wildcard, it will clearly be Bobby Cox's fault. Everyone knows that a manager will make a mistake or two throughout the season, but this has happened so often so early this year, it just makes you wonder. Perhaps it explains why the braves have only one WS to show for going to the playoffs year after year..... by the way, I was halfway thru this when I had to stop. Got back to it a few hours later, that's why it's so stinkin' long!

They showed all those blown saves from last year on Baseball tonight, man I felt sorry for him! Glad he has been able to turn it around so completly!

She then switched attorneys and is now represented by drunken driving specialist Richard Hutton Ummm....

Then I'll warn my wife that it's gonna be another 7 years or so before I do. Umm, you might want to drink some olive oil and avoid surgery altogether!

Oh, forgot, but the other post is too long as it is, from the AJC baseball blog writer David O'Brien .... Andruw is 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts in his past three games, and 7-for-47 (.149) with 15 strikeouts, one homer, eight RBIs in 13 games (including consecutive game-winning hits to the opposite field, after which he reminded us both times that he’s a pull hitter, period). But here’s the stat that might be most alarming. We all know Andruw’s capable of carrying the offense for two or three weeks at a time when he’s not, but consider how long he’s been hitting for a very low average: Are you ready for this? In 87 games since Aug. 7, he’s hit .228 (69-for-302) with 21 homers, 61 RBIs, 58 walks, 73 strikeouts, one stolen base, a .367 OBP and an .867 OPS. Folks, that’s .228 for more than half a season by the 2005 MVP runner-up.

Hey Dan, wanna trade for Andruw Jones? You can have him, reallll cheap! We would gladly accept Jon Lester for him! Andruw is hitting a robust .223, with fairly decent power numbers, 6 Hr's, and 27 RBi's. He just looks terrible! he has completely changed his wide stance of his (nearly)MVP year, and now swings in a way that looks like the best way to hurt your knee, back, and shoulder, all at once, while swinging at a slider 2 feet outside! Since Andruw's one and only .300 season in 2000, his average each year after that has been, .251, .264, .277, .261, .263, and .262 last year. His OBP isn't bad, surely Theo isn't going to be fooled by that fact and the RBI's, is he? Honestly, before this season, many a braves fan was trying to figure out how the hell we could keep him , what we would have to do to make him fit in our limited budget. Myself, and many others were more than willing to give away Tim Hudson for a nice bag of balls to save some money, that would have been great! Double Some people think he is trying too hard in his walk year, but it looks more like he is just incredibly stubborn, keeps saying he is a pull hitter, period.(this after back to back game winning opposite field hits) Hitting coach Terry Pendleton has even mentioned how he has tried to work with Andruw, but he doesn't listen to him. Now, a lot of folks will be more than glad to see him go, and wish we could trade him NOW, for a pitcher(Of course, he is a 5 and 10 man, and wouldn't go even if management was smart enough to trade him) We have several outfield prospects,(And amazingly, Willie Harris is hitting well over .400 right now inleft) and we really don't want to lose "Salty", who looks to be the best catcher prospect in the game right now, he is even taking some balls at first base.

Dan, and the other Red Sox faithful, I meant to post a few days ago how the Braves might actually give you some decent competition this year(unlike last year's lameass team) then Smoltz got hurt, and then I heard Mark Redman might actually make a start with the Braves again,(Just made a AAA for a rehab start) In BOSTON! How did he only have an ERA of 5+ last year in the AL? Without a DH, we thought he'd be a 3-4 run guy per 6 innings. Well, he's been more like a 4 inning run plus per inning(10.62 era) guy. And what's up with the interleague play this year? We play the Red Sox May 18-20th, then don't play anyone in the AL again til June 12th??? Anyone else's team have this kind of strange interleague schedule? Not really against spreading the fun out a bit, just seems weird to play 3 AL games only in May.

Sorry to hear that RT, but if it has to come out, it has to come out!(Sounds like a Yogi Berrism!) Who knows if you will heal in any way like I did, but I flew to Illinois and drove back to Atlanta(With my 1973 Lincoln) in less than 2 weeks! And I do not heal all that fast. I had pain after the surgery, mainly getting in and out of bed, chairs, but other than that, you just feel slightly sore. Hey, if your Dad can fly, why not have him come to you??? Heck, you may even be up to traveling by the Memorial day.

I know, sounds like a lot of other stories, but still interesting, IMO.... Music Piracy Crackdown Nets College Kids By ANNA JO BRATTON LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - At first, Sarah Barg thought the e-mail was a scam. Some group called the Recording Industry Association of America was accusing the University of Nebraska-Lincoln sophomore of illegally downloading 381 songs using the school's computer network and a program called Ares. The letter said she might be sued but offered her the chance to settle out of court. Barg couldn't imagine anyone expected her to pay $3,000 - $7.87 per song - for some 1980s ballads and Spice Girls tunes she downloaded for laughs in her dorm room. Besides, the 20-year-old had friends who had downloaded thousands of songs without repercussion. "Obviously I knew it was illegal, but no one got in trouble for it," Barg said. But Barg's perspective changed quickly that Thursday in March, when she called student legal services and found out the e-mail was no joke and that she had a pricey decision to make. Barg is one of 61 students at UNL and hundreds at more than 60 college campuses across the country who have received letters from the recording industry group, threatening a lawsuit if they don't settle out of court. "Any student on any campus in the country who is illegally downloading music may receive one of these letters in the coming months," said Jenni Engebretsen, an RIAA spokeswoman. Barg's parents paid the $3,000 settlement. Without their help, "I don't know what I would have done. I'm only 20 years old," she said. At least 500 university students nationwide have paid settlements to avoid being sued, Engebretsen said. Students who don't take the offer face lawsuits - and minimum damages of $750 for each copyrighted recording shared if they lose. UNL officials have been told 32 more letters are on the way. At least 17 UNL students who did not take the settlement offer have been sued, according to the RIAA, although the university has been asked to forward only five subpoenas. But the students coughing up the cash question why they're the ones getting in trouble. "They're targeting the worst people," UNL freshman Andrew Johnson, who also settled for $3,000. "Legally, it probably makes sense, because we don't have the money to fight." Johnson got his e-mail in February, with the recording industry group's first wave of letters targeting college students. He had downloaded 100 songs on a program called LimeWire using the university network. The money to settle came from the 18-year-old's college fund. He'll work three jobs this summer to pay back the money. Johnson compares what he did to people driving 5 miles per hour over the speed limit. "It's not like I downloaded millions of songs and sold them to people," Johnson said. But just one song can bring a lawsuit, Engebretsen said. "It is important to send the message that this is illegal, you can be caught, and there are consequences," she said. The industry realizes attitudes need changing, and money from the settlements is reinvested in educational programs schools and other groups can use to spread the word that song sharing can have severe consequences. Some of the programs are tailored to start with third-graders. "We do recognize that by the time students reach college, many of their music habits are already formed," Engebretsen said. Earlier this month, members of Congress sent a letter to officials from 19 universities, including UNL, asking for information about schools' anti-piracy policies. According to the letter, more than half of college students download copyrighted music and movies. The information requested is intended to help assess whether Congress needs to advance legislation to ensure illegal downloading "is no longer commonly associated with student life on some U.S. campuses," the letter says. Barg is still angry about her letter from the recording industry group, which she calls bullying. But she agrees sharing music is common, and that other students don't understand the consequences. "Technically, I'm guilty. I just think it's ridiculous, the way they're going about it," Barg said. "We have to find a way to adjust our legal policy to take into account this new technology, and so far, they're not doing a very good job." Barg thinks the university should send an e-mail to all students, warning them that the recording industry won't look the other way. As campus clears out for the summer, UNL officials are considering launching a new educational campaign in the fall. "If we can do anything to help educate students about what illegal file-sharing is, we're willing and interested in doing that," said Kelly Bartling, a university spokeswoman. Bartling said no one wants students to have to worry about how to pay tuition because of an expensive settlement. "It is a hugely expensive lesson," Bartling said. Johnson, the UNL freshman, doesn't think the threats from the recording industry group are going to solve the problem. Friends who know he got in trouble still share music online. "People are still going to do it until they get caught, and they can't catch everyone," Johnson said. --- http://apnews.excite.com:80/article/20070513/D8P3LS2O0.html

I used to agree with it not really being a sport. But thru the years of living in the south, and ESPN I have caught enough inside the car footage to realize it does take a lot of concentration to drive at such a high rate a speed for so long a period of time, without crashing. And they are in a oven for 3-4 hours, with other guys all driving too fast, following too closely. For the most part, older drivers don't seem to do as well as you would thing, since they have so much experience. You have to be in some decent condition. Some call golf a sport as well!

RT, I had my GP prescribe the Actigall pills, since they had worked for my Mom.(They do take awhile to work, something to consider, perhaps months) Still had problems, so my GP scheduled that HIDA scan test I mentioned in the first post. It showed the lack of function, so then I went to see the surgeon with the results of the test, knowing I was going to have to have surgery. In your case? I am guessing you should see a gastroenterologist(Mine was not the surgeon, in fact I don't think I even saw him for the gall bladder issues!) and just make sure there isn't something else going on(especially after reading about Soul Stream having his removed when it didn't need to be! ) And like I mentioned in the post above, if drinking Olive oil might pass them, why not try it, unless there are some horror stories out there of them blocking somewheres? Don't think there are, and I think if they get stuck in the bile ducts, that is what can be so painful.

or get when you called a helpdesk! http://chroniclesofgeorge.nanc.com/index.htm It just goes on and on! 44 pages I only got half way, but some of the best were after page 15....

I didn't know if you meant here in particular, or around the world....(And I am not a big motorsports fan) But anyway, from the Ombudsman of ESPN(Never even knew of her til today!) Stick-and-ball fans may not understand its appeal, but neither can they deny the popularity of NASCAR, whose race-day ratings, despite a recent dropoff, routinely exceed those of baseball and basketball, including most NBA playoff games and those highly rated Yankee/Red Sox games that are the source of so many East Coast bias complaints. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/sto...&id=2866241 Interesting column overall as well...

RT, Sorry to hear about this! One thing(or more) you should look into is googling Gallstone flush, alternative, etc...well, here's a start... http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&saf...ative+olive+oil Some of the testimonials I read a few years ago sounded like people could see the suckers in their waste!!!! I tried some olive oil, lemon juice, but this was before I found out the stones were gone, and these things are to help reduce, and/or pass gallstones, not bring a non-functioning bladder back to life. Also, mention to the doctor about Actigall. Unfortunately it's quite expensive, about $150 per month if your insurance doesn't cover it. I also don't know if it was a reason that my gall bladder stopped functioning, but as bad as it was, it really didn't matter...it was going to have to come out anyway.

And can anyone explain how Jason Marquis, who apparently didn't listen much to the famous pitching coaches in Atlanta or St. Louis could go from a 6.01 ERA in Busch, to a 5-1 record and 1.77 ERA pitching for the Cubs???

Al....explain something to me, will ya? Francisco Cordero, 15 saves, 0.54 ERA?????

Double

Sigh..... Rainbow-PUSH is pissed that there aren't any blacks on the team. Wait, there are black players on the team! Just not African-American players(except Willy Harris just called up this week.) Sorry Chipper, we need to trade you for a black African-American player. Andruw, Frenchy, Salty, Thorman, you are next! Winning is aways a secondary concern.....now, who will be the first female-American to play for the braves? Braves meet with Rainbow/PUSH officials By CARROLL ROGERS The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 05/07/07 Upset over the lack of African-Americans on the Braves roster, members of Jesse Jackson's Rainbow-PUSH Coalition asked for a meeting with team officials. They got one Monday. Joe Beasley, Southern Regional Director for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, said he and Dexter Clinkscale, the director of sports for the organization, met Monday morning for nearly two hours with Braves general manager John Schuerholz, assistant general manager Frank Wren and three other Braves officials. Your Turn Why do the Braves have so few African-American players? There aren't enough African-American prospects out there. The Braves aren't trying hard enough to bring them along. Some of both of the above. I don't care who they are as long as they're good players. Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results RELATED STORIES * Braves fail Young's tall test * Giles unfazed by getting dumped * Braves meet with Rainbow/PUSH officials • More Braves coverage "The team slipped ... down to [no African-Americans]; it wasn?t something that just happened," Beasley said Monday afternoon. "I think it was a lack of diligence on the part of the Braves to recruit African-American players. There's not diminished enthusiasm for African-Americans playing baseball. It's simply the opportunity hasn't presented itself." Schuerholz acknowledged the meeting Monday but declined further comment, saying in a statement: "We had a meeting with Mr. Beasley and another member of his organization this morning and discussed a variety of topics." Less than 10 percent of major league players are African-Americans. In a recent interview on the subject, Schuerholz said: "You go to where the talent leads you. Finding major league-caliber baseball players is far too difficult if you try to narrow your criteria down to demographics." Countered Beasley, "As I expected, [schuerholz?s] idea is the bottom line: I'll put the best 40 men I can get wherever I can get them from on the field, and that's fair. But the fact of the matter is if they put resources into recruiting here in the United States, and more specifically here in Atlanta, there are talented players here." The issue was brought to the attention of the Rainbow-PUSH Coalition during the 60th anniversary celebration of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier. The Braves and Houston Astros did not have any African-American players on their 25-man rosters at the time. The Braves' total grew with the promotion of left fielder Willie Harris, who is from Robinson?s hometown of Cairo. "You slipped down to nothing, now you've got one, we expect it to start going up higher," Beasley said was the sentiment he voiced in the meeting. "We want to see incrementally it move back up, rather than moving down. There was an openness on [schuerholz's] part to talk and to be in dialogue and hopefully be in partnership in trying to make sure that it happens. He was very nice, a gentleman. I'm going to hold him to his word to work with us and move those numbers back up to a respectable level." http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/b...esminority.html

George Will on the real home run champ...... Henry Aaron's legacy By George Will Sunday, May 6, 2007 This city has belonged to five nations -- France, Britain, Spain, the United States and the Confederate States of America. Or four, if you think, as Lincoln did, that the Southern states never succeeded in seceding, so the CSA never existed. In any case, Mobile has done much for the national pastime of the country to which it currently belongs. Mobile has incubated tremendous major league talent. In a few games in 1969, the ``Miracle Mets'' had an all-Mobile outfield. Five Hall of Famers were raised here -- Satchel Paige, Willie McCovey, Ozzie Smith, Billy Williams and the man whose achievements gain luster from the contrast between him and the man who may soon surpass one of those achievements. As Barry Bonds continues his gimpy, joyless pursuit of such glory as he is eligible for, consider the odyssey of Mobile's greatest native son. San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds watches after hitting his 739th career home run in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks during a baseball game, Saturday, April 21, 2007 in San Francisco. (AP Photo/George Nikitin) Henry Aaron's parents had moved south from Selma, drawn by work in the shipyards during World War II. So many blacks came here that Davis Avenue -- named for Jefferson Davis -- became known as Little Harlem. You think that is incongruous? Try this. Grip a bat as a right-hander -- but with your left hand on top. That is how the man who would hit 755 home runs in 23 major league seasons gripped his bat when, as an utterly uncoached 17-year-old, he signed his first professional contract, with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues, who recognized an uncut diamond. When he boarded the train to his future, he had $2 in his pocket. He had never had his own bed, and with the Clowns often slept six nights a week in a bus. He remembers sitting with teammates in a Washington restaurant ``hearing them break all the plates in the kitchen after we were finished eating.'' Aaron's signing bonus with the Milwaukee Braves was a cardboard suitcase. In his first Spring Training, during a game against the Red Sox, Ted Williams came running from the clubhouse to see whose bat was making that distinctive sound. The bat had a slender handle and was whipped by wrists developed hitting dipping and floating bottle caps, pitched by Aaron's playmates when, as was usual, baseballs were scarce. He was 0 for 5 in his first regular season game, which was the first day in which players were no longer allowed to toss their gloves on the field when coming in to bat. Soon, however, Time magazine was heralding ``The Talented Shuffler'' who ``is not as dumb as he looks when he shuffles around the field.'' Misperceiving, through the lens of race, economy of motion for lethargy, sportswriters called him ``uncomplicated'' and ``a child of nature.'' Lonnie Wheeler, who helped Aaron write his autobiography ``I Had a Hammer,'' notes that Joe DiMaggio's similar understated manner was characterized as dignified and graceful. In 1973, as Aaron approached Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs -- he would break it in April 1974 -- he received, according to the U.S. Postal Service, about 930,000 letters, more than any nonpolitician in America. Dinah Shore was second with 60,000. Much of his mail was hateful. He took out his anger on baseballs. The 1973 season was the last in which horsehide balls were used. Aaron's 714th was the first home run ever hit with a cowhide ball. When Aaron retired, he was Major League Baseball's last link to the Negro Leagues. Today he is baseball's link to the era when home runs did not cause fans, suspecting steroids, to view sluggers with a moral squint. Aaron became baseball's most methodical -- and, properly measured by total bases, most effective -- hitter after being raised in a household where, he remembers, ``we almost never ate anything that was store-bought. I've gone many, many weeks with just cornbread, butter beans and collard greens.'' Mobile's public library, writes Wheeler, ``opened its doors to blacks before other Southern cities encouraged them to read.'' Spring Hill College here, which integrated -- by conscience, not coercion -- in 1954, was praised by Martin Luther King in his ``Letter from Birmingham Jail.'' Today, if you turn onto Satchel Paige Drive, then onto Bolling Brothers Boulevard (Frank and Milt, nephews of a major leaguer, played a combined 19 seasons), you reach Hank Aaron Stadium, home of the Mobile BayBears. When Bonds hits his 756th, real fans, who know how to read the record book, will yawn, confident that Aaron's record will remain the real one until Alex Rodriguez, who has 175 more home runs than Bonds did when he was Rodriguez's age, breaks it.

Saw an ad during a baseball game on espn... http://www.nothingbutnets.net/ No, I haven't sent them any more yet! -_- but, if others do, I will be reminded to when more awake!

http://www.notsonoisy.com/spaceinvaders/index.html

Astros must be plenty pissed off right now as well.....

Yeah, but he isn't playing for San Francisco....and he's the correct color. Funny, Sosa no doubt used Steriods, but isn't an asshole....is he booed in the AL? I like the fact Sosa has been doing fairly well this year....Bonds, breaking another black man's record pisses me off. Why? Because Hammering Hank Aaron didn't cheat! Oh yeah, and Bonds is a compete jerk.

Sorry to hear about your loss. Sounds like you have many fond memories from the past decade and a half. You have to feel a bit sorry for those who never have been attached to an animal..... Have had to put 3 cats down in the past 4 years, and they went very fast as well. Hopefully, someday soon you will find just the right cat to terrorize those two dogs!

Big Al, who was that in Left field for you guys last night? the Ghost of Roberto Clemente???