Dan Gould

So now the Angels sweep in and grab Torii Hunter for five years and 90 million? After overspending for Gary Matthews Jr last year? Color me confused, but I guess it will work out overall if all four outfield bats are in the lineup at a time, rotating the DH among them. Unfortunately, Hunter will never be a true impact bat - though I'd expect he'll hit better than Matthews.

Killer track, guys! Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to y'all.

Seems the bully can't be bullied Telling someone they're an idiot hasn't the slightest thing to do with being a "bully". Telling someone that they have to change their avatar because you are offended, then refuting anyone who points out how you can avoid seeing the avatar, IS the act of a bully. See? Forcing someone to do something against their will - that's what a bully does. Telling you you're a fucking moron because ninety nine times out of a hundred you post nonsensical crap - that's the act of a friendly neighborly sort who doesn't tolerate stupidity. I don't care whether you ever start posting intelligent commentary about Bonds/steroids/baseball in general. Just as you shouldn't care what aloc has as his avatar.

Please. Censorship is no answer. Insulting my intelligence isn't either. I have posed a question of BBS etiquette. Is that a problem? You just like to piss off everybody, don't you? And impose your view of what is "true" and "right" on everybody else, huh? You don't like someone's avatar, change your settings. You have no right to tell ANYONE what to display. If there were something remotely offensive, it is up to JIM to make that decision. Now, I am going to send a PM to aloc to get him to send me the old avatar. If he will do that, it will become my permanent avatar, for many reasons: 1) it pisses you off. That means its gold to me. 2) the idea that it is Keith Jarrett at the piano beating himself to a bloody pulp is wonderful, since I wish he'd do it in real life. 3) I've been doubling up on the Coltrane pic, time to replace it. Look for it and bitch and moan, you self-important, censoring POS. I will never be bullied into changing it like aloc was.

I can read it lots of ways, but it would be nice of you to clarify your meaning, Renier. Otherwise the people here who have been hoping for some sort of Sounds release will be left in the same place they have been, a state of confusion. Makes no nevermind to me because I have the BN releases in one form or another.

I would hope so. As of now, you're on my coal in the stocking list, buster, and I don't care if you celebrate Christmas or not, that's what you're going to get!

Can the Tribe catch lightning in a bottle (or is that Japan)? Indians Sign Japanese Closer Kobayashi Given his reputation in Japan, I don't doubt that this guy should be a very solid reliever, and I'd hope that at some point they will wise up and replace Borowski with Betancourt or this guy. A very good move for the Tribe.

I take it this means that the "work" is done and Michael is waiting for the right time to put out a Sounds set? Otherwise you seem to be contradicting yourself.

Want to try that one more time?

Interesting. That hasn't been reported in Boston, but it means that he did get the offer he was looking for, and from a club with a home stadium that would have fit his swing almost as well as Fenway does. I guess he really did want to stay in Boston when push came to shove.

A tough call but I think he deserved it. When you get right down to it the Phils have some tremendous young players and if their pitching comes through I think they have as good a chance as any team to hoist a trophy in the next five years.

Hey, anyone who wants to question if there is a difference between the Yankees and the Red Sox just have to look at how each team handled its free agents. The Yankees threw money and years at Rivera and Posada until they said "OK" and committed to paying A-Rod a ridiculous salary that will never be eclipsed by anyone else, until he's all of 42 years old. On the other hand, the Red Sox set reasonable values on their two free agents, stuck to them, and ultimately signed them both. Which team is in better shape for 2008, and equally important, beyond? I think the answer is clear. The Sox have youth - both established and on the cusp - plus veteran talent and they aren't on the hook for any of the vets beyond their sell-by date (well, Ortiz may age rapidly due to his body type, and Drew is signed til he's 36 or 37 - but still, compared to a Yankee roster that will soon enough feature a 41 year old closer, 40 year old catcher, and 37-38 year old SS, LF and fourth outfielder, I think Theo has GM'd rings around Cashman and the Steins.

Ends up the youngster named to eventually replace Cabrera is a kid named Wood. But they also have Izturis, and the kid I mentioned, and even a couple of other bodies so they wouldn't have to start super-sub Figgins there. So they can throw a lot of wet noodles at the wall & see what sticks! Cabrera has really upped his OBP & hitting the past 2 years. Good thing y'all won another WS, otherwise you'd hear more of the "why did you get rid of him" talk. This is true, and I stand by my prediction that they will go all in on winning the Cabrera sweepstakes, otherwise it seems as though their best hope is to equal the offense from last year (and that will be a challenge), and that was only sufficient to win a decidedly mediocre division.

:party:

Not sure why you say they have to get a poor fielding great slugging 3rd baseman to replace a SS who hits for average but not power. They've got a kid named Sean Rodriguez who has a bit of pop who they've probably figured is a cheaper alternative at SS. And if he doesn't work out, there's always Figgins. This isn't to say they won't try to make a play for Miguel, it's just the Angels use the farm to feed positions when they can & that may be what they're doing. I think it's also a sign that they have questions about 4 & 5 starters Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders, and rightfully so. Santana took a big step back, with a road ERA over 8 and he missed some starts as well. Perhaps the loss of Bud Black as pitching coach is to partially to blame. Garland has never excited me, but for the past 6 years he's made at least 32 starts, and has 4 years in a row of over 200 innings. Probably better to spend 10 million on that kind of pitching than 8.5 million on Orlando Cabrera. Well my point was that they gave away one of the few bright spots in a profoundly mediocre offense, and while I did not know if they had someone to replace him in the system, I'd be surprised if this kid plays as well. O-Cab scored 100 runs and drove in over 85. Pretty good numbers for a rookie to replace. And isn't Figgins best suited to the "super-sub" role? I thought that he isn't exactly great when he plays every day at one spot. I do think you make a good point about the 4-5 pitchers. Garland is a better alternative, certainly. Let Saunders and Santana fight it out for the number 5 spot.

Make the margin five scores instead of four?

I am not sure that everyone is universally praising every recording Turrentine made. Is it merely coincidence that the period you saw him and were unimpressed was also the period of his most commercial, snooziest recordings and that both before and after he recorded many fine albums? I would consider what tunes he was playing in those sets before making judgments about his live performances in general. In his own way, I think Stanley is every bit as pleasure-inducing as Pres. Your mileage may indeed vary, however.

Interesting breaking news, from expected to least expected: Glavine returns to the Braves, for 1 year and 8 million Was pretty much expected that this would happen, I have to wonder though whether Glavine has reached the end of the line with his slop. When he can't get that outside pitch called a strike, he tends to get hammered. But it makes sense to return to Atlanta for one more go round, and the Braves upgrade the rotation at minimal cost. Lowell about to re-sign with Red Sox for three years/around 37 million I am most pleased with the fact that Theo didn't have to add a fourth year. Hitting at Fenway, I expect that he can continue to produce above his career norms for the duration of the contract but at the same time, I have to somewhat regret that this takes us out of the running for Miguel Cabrera (I have to assume that the team decided that they need to save their bullets for a run at Johan Santana). Which leads me to the least expected bit of news: Angels trade Orlando Cabrera and cash to the Chisox for Jon Garland The Angels must be ready to go all-in for Miguel, because by trading O-Cab, they've put a significant hole in a lineup that already had offensive issues. I really can't figure out why they did it, since the Angels are pretty solid in the starting rotation, too. Garland only figures to give you league-average innings (and lots of them); if the Angels fail to get Cabrera from the Marlins, they've got even bigger problems in the lineup, with A-Rod off the board too. Do they overpay for Torri Hunter or Andruw Jones? Don't they already have an over-priced CF from last year's free agent class?

I don't really know what the "right way to play the game" is in football compared to say baseball. But to me (and I say this as a Patriots fan), going for it on 4th down at the ten yard line with a big lead isn't appropriate. In baseball, you don't steal with an 8 run lead. You don't swing at 3-0 with an 8 run lead. Unless the team plans to never kick a FG and always go for touchdowns, at some point, you stop going for TDs on 4th and goal from a makable FG distance. I am not saying that a team should run the ball and not try to score. By all means, run your offense until you score, punt, or face 4th down from the ten yard line. At that point, you kick a FG, because its the right thing to do. You're respecting the game - by scoring points when possible - while at the same time respecting your opponent by not, yes, running up the score. Since when is toying with your opponent and disrespecting them the act of sportsmen? I don't know if karma will get pissed and take it out on the Pats at some point, but I think sportsmanship has a place in the game. Maybe its a function of the game - football is a brutal sport, played by manly men who are out there to kick the crap out of their opponent. Maybe there is no thing as letting up, maybe its just like boxing - keep hitting your opponent until the referee makes you stop. Conn brought up college football and that makes me think of the criticism Spurrier received when he coached the Gators. He'd always say, we're going to run our offense, its up to them to stop us. How can I tell my kids not to play hard? And as much as I despised the man, it was impossible to argue with that. But at the same time, I cannot remember a time that even Spurrier wouldn't send out his FG unit with a huge lead and 4th down at the ten yard line. If this means I think Spurrier has more respect for the game than Belicik, then so be it.

I'm telling ya, get an education at UF so you too can sound like a moron. I'm pretty sure UF is one of the top academic institutions in the country ... top 10 I believe. Not an easy school to get into. Of course, that's now. Back when Emmitt attended, I'm not so sure that was the case. Its a state school, and while it is trying to be more selective, its goal is to be a Top 10 public university - not quite the same as "top 10". And when Emmitt attended, believe me, its admissions policy was a lot more lenient - as was its educational standards.

I'm telling ya, get an education at UF so you too can sound like a moron.

I'm sensing a little hostility here. You'd be correct. He's a fool and a joke and has yet to say a single intelligent, defensible thing about this issue, and I am going to continue to point that out.

That pretty much sums it up, as far as I can see. They gave him immunity and he pissed in their faces. This tends to upset people for some reason. If you were innocent wouldn't you tell the GJ to go to take a flying leap if they offered immunity? I sure as hell would. They were assuming guilt at that point, otherwise it never would have been offered. You continue to be a dumb ass fuck. The government was going after BALCO and its employees. It offered the exact same deal to every athlete caught up in that criminal organization: testify truthfully, and there will be no charges whatsoever. Only Giambi understood that and doesn't suffer from the immense ego that prevented Bonds from understanding the risk he was running. There have been so many articles about the indictment I can't recall which one this appeared in, but it is went like this: You go after the customers to get the company. ********************** As for your wholesale acceptance of how the defense is going to try to explain away the positive steroid test, good luck. Anyone with a brain will see the mountain of evidence for what it is: A devastating picture of a man who used countless steroids and failed to tell the truth under oath.

Now this seems to me the crux of the whole matter: The government has proof of a positive test and can link it by DNA to Bonds, and this was the very thing Bonds denied. Remember, BALCO was an illegal, for profit, drug operation, that sold illegal and dangerous drugs. As you say, the trail might tell a different story, but for right now, it doesn't look good for Bonds. One last comment about the length of time: It would not be the first time the the DA's office was hesitant to indict a famous, popular local figure -- not good for the reelection prospects. Thanks for that tidbit, Matthew, as its already being reported that the defense will contest the validity of the result, on the basis that Conte was cheap in his provision of testing services. He used "quick and dirty" techniques. Normal protocols were not followed by the testing company they used - no one watched Bonds piss in the cup, so how can anyone know that it was his urine, and additionally, where is the chain of custody? If in fact they can make DNA connections between Bonds and the material tested, he's good as done.

I don't pretend to know what will happen in a jury room. What I am reasonably certain of is that in open court, the prosecution will present a mountain of evidence regarding Bonds' use of steroids and his lies on the stands regarding it. We can only hope that we do not get a re-run of the OJ criminal trial, in which a jury acquits even though every rational person on the planet knows what the truth is. That is my fear, due solely to where the trial will take place.