Nottso

Why must we have a LOOGY at all, if we have 2 left-handers that can come in to face that tough LH batter, and then stay in the game? If they're good enough to be starters and face both LH and RH batters, or good enough to be long relievers and face LH and RH batters, why can't they be your LOOGY+ guy? (Look, Mom, I invented a word: LOOGY+) This would actually save wear and tear on the 'pen in general. Instead of Stetter coming in for one batter, then using another bullpen arm (if not several more bullpen arms), LOOGY+ comes in for that tough LH batter, and then hopefully takes you all the way to Hoffman. Maybe those guys that Mr. Attanasio pays all that money to might not be so dumb after all. Oh.... and I hereby Trademark LOOGY+. Free to use here on BF.Net, but if it catches on elsewhere, I'm gonna need stuff.

Make mine a 2x/tall or I'll club a baby seal.

Exactly. And, I sure wish some sharp T-shirt making kinda guy would make up some shirts with "The Zaun Abides" on the front, and BF.Net on the back. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/DanAuctions4u/posting/abide-detail.jpg

One thing I'd like to see the team really take a good look at, is the area along the Illinois state line. There's entirely too much Cubs/Sox support down here. It's "cool" for the teens and younger twenty-somethings to declare themselves Chicago "gangstas," and of course, the younger kids follow right along. I think a concentrated effort to win over the younger kids down in this area via player appearances, free tickets, etc. would be a solid investment in the future fan-base. After all, today's third grader is tomorrow's season ticket holder.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/DanAuctions4u/posting/verizon.jpg

That's beautiful.

Don't get me started.

Here's hoping it's broken again by Braun/Fielder/Weeks.

I've also been of the opinion that Braun's confidence played a large part in this matter, on a couple of different fronts. First, I'm fairly sure he was a business major, applied himself, and did rather well academically. I'm guessing his thoughts were along the lines of "I don't need $150m to be a success. Give me this solid (assured) stake, and I'll use my own acumen to amass my fortune, and enjoy myself in the process." Secondly, I think "the money" is so important to pro athletes because it's the only yardstick they have by which to measure themselves amongst their peers. The All Star Game is a joke. Gold Gloves are a joke. All of the prestige awards are jokes. None of these things mean anything anymore. The following is certainly off-topic, but I think somewhat relevant overall. I remember right after Favre won his first MVP, John Elway got a new contract that made him the highest paid player in the NFL. Favre came out publicly and said "If I'm the best player in the NFL, I should be paid the most," and demanded a new contract. And the difference wasn't a lot if I remember correctly. The point is, probably every player in MLB history was the best player on his little league team, if not the best player in the whole league. Then he was the best JV player, and then the best Varsity player. Quite possibly the best in his district, or even his entire home state. If he went to college, he was probably the best player on the team, and again possibly the best in his entire conference. As he came up through the Minors, he was still the best, or right up there with the best. His entire life, this guy has been told "You're the greatest;" now he reaches the bigs, and he is but one among many. After a lifetime of ego stroking, the only stroke left is "the money," and Braun doesn't need to be stroked. He's confident enough. It's too bad there aren't more like him.

I'm pretty sure Rivera never hit for the cycle.

Estrada.

I think Weeks will play 150 games this year. I just cannot understand the "injury prone" label being hung on the guy. The thing in his wrists is (was) a congenital thing, and they've both been repaired. I don't think they're likely to cause further problems.

I like the shotgun video. Kids bein' kids...

You guys are killin' me. Absolutely killin' me.

Uhhhm.... eerrr...... razzzorsharp? I'm old and crazy and can't quite comprehend this new math.

18-5 2+8+1= 11

I use Avast antivirus, and it has caught numerous pieces of malware within Facebook. It's free for home users and very good. It usually catches the uglies before they can get in, alerts you, and even tells you what to do. I do run a monthly full scan just to be sure, but I always come up clean. I also like MalwareBytes and SpywareBlaster. Also free, and also good. You should also add 00001@000000111.com to your email address book as well. Any nonsense will do, but it should begin with all zeros so that it will always be the first addie in the book. Then if you ever get a "bounce back" saying "mail to 00001@000000111.com was undeliverable," you'll know right away that you have an infection and can take steps to correct it. You certainly didn't send mail to an address you know to be bogus, now did you. Some say that that bogus first address will stop the malware from emailing anyone else, as it gets "stuck" on the bogus addie, but I can't confirm that. Perhaps some of our resident IT personnel will be able to assist further.

Brian, If and when Jo signs on as a member here, I'll be highly disappointed if her user name is anything other than Golden Girl. I'm just sayin'.... Hawing, Sgtcluels won the "nerd-phone shootout" hands down when he simultaneously pulled the Droid from one pocket and the Iphone from the other pocket. Sadly, I cannot have either one of them. They make the plate in my head hurt.

He's probably still wandering around the desert. He was Nomadic among other things. And look at ME go. This is the third night in a row I've stayed up past 8:30.

No Ma'am. He was barely over 4 feet tall, if that. http://rarediseases.about...fism/f/dwarfismtypes.htm Question: How many types of dwarfism are there? Answer: There are an estimated 200 types of dwarfism. Dwarfism means that a person has an adult height of 4 feet 10 inches or shorter. There are two main categories of dwarfism. One category is disproportionate dwarfism, meaning that the person has some average-size parts of the body, such as the head and/or trunk, and some shorter-than-normal parts of the body, such as the legs and arms. The most common type of disproportionate dwarfism is achondroplasia. In fact, achondroplasia acounts for about 70 percent of all cases of dwarfism. The other main category of dwarfism is proportionate dwarfism, meaning that the person is small all over. Growth-hormone deficiency dwarfism, primordial dwarfism, and Seckel syndrome are types of proportionate dwarfism. In the past, a person who was very small was called a "midget" (a term now considered offensive and derogatory).

This was discussed at the Winter Meeting. My wife and I met this little guy (complete with Jamaican accent) on a roadtrip 4 years ago. He was quite the interesting character.... mon. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/DanAuctions4u/posting/roadtrip2006021.jpg

Home safe and sound, and had a great time thanks to all that were able to attend.

I'm just glad I don't have to make these decisions. Narveson has been great this spring, as well as last September. How much more does a guy have to do to get a job? On the other hand, Parra's potential is so crazy-high, I wouldn't want to give up on him too early. As bad as I hate it for Villy, his remaining option pretty much has to relegate him to AAA to start the year. And, I personally would have a hard time eating all of Suppan's 14.5 million, and would have to hope that someone out will there get desperate enough at some point during the season for a "gritty battler innings eater that will take the ball every fifth day and keep you in ballgames by doing all the right things" kind of guy, that they'll at least take some of his salary along with him. It's a real zim-zam, I tell ya... Time to head out for the winter meetings. It's a fairly long drive for me.

Ms. Hawing, Oddly enough, your Davis signature is one of my personal favorites. Now to get back on topic, it looks like I will indeed be in attendance Saturday night.

I wish I could, Casey, but if I were to bring Clubber I'd have to also bring Lilly and The Georgeopottamus. Lilly's no problem... she's 9 pounds of loveability. George is... well, he's George, and he's everywhere. He's also known as "Gigantor" and "Uproarious George." Quite possibly the world's largest St. Bernard, and completely, entirely, criminally insane. The little girl in the poor-quality cell phone picture is my wife, and she's relatively tall (5'-8") for a woman. Believe me, there's never a dull moment around here. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/DanAuctions4u/posting/Pets/cid__1108072057a.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/DanAuctions4u/posting/Pets/dogs003.jpg