EvilMonkey

Sounds like Somalia issued a deadline to Ethiopia, and Ethiopia said no. But I would agree with your line, who would have thought Ethiaopa had jets?!?!

QUOTE(Texsox @ Dec 24, 2006 -> 02:26 PM) Agreed. I am surprised that you now support higher wages. When the Dems were pushing for increases in the minimum wage, that was going to kill businesses and the owners. Just keep in mind how low our unemployment rate has been for the past couple decades. A meat packing plant is about the worst job you can imagine. I'm not certain how many people are wanting to get in that career. Long, monotonous hours, cold, sharp knives, blood, etc. The meat packing companies have been begging for employees for a long time. Would you encourage your kid to take a job in a packing plant for $15/hour? The other issue the meat industry faces is people eating less and less beef. With a huge increase in cost, that would further increase. I don't think the American public is ready for $8/pound ground beef. But we've killed or downsizes other industries and survived. I worked in a meat packing plant, albeit a very small one, with only about 25 employees. On that level, at least, it wasn't that bad, I just hated the constant cold. I did have one incident with a dead, bleeding pig running towards me that sorta freaked me out for a moment, but otherwise it was a pretty interesting gig. Being a small place, I did many different things. Although it took me a while before I could eat sausage again. As for encouraging kids employment, I will encourage mine to do whatever they want to do (although I think porn may not be met with the same amount of enthusiasm as other choices). For the moment, my oldest is considering the military. But since he is only 13, that could change. Or it could stay the same.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Dec 24, 2006 -> 12:31 AM) 7 people that you are sure that give the whitesox a good chance and still competing in the best division in baseball over Bmac. What FAs are still out there, that arent either silly money or just bad. Come on, are you sure Brandon would make it? He had as mixed a bag as any of the others. Yes, he showed some good stuff, but he also sucked sometimes too. Bmac could be a big bust. Or, he could not.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Dec 24, 2006 -> 12:29 AM) You dont trade for Thome if you believe that 2005 was a one shot in the dark. You trade for a Thome because you think you can win it all again. In 2004 we were also down one starter also. That cost us the division, mind you in a bad AL Central. But we have like seven people that could take that spot. Or there could be another trade. Or a FA?

As it stands now, aren't we only down one starter vs. last year? Why is this such a big deal (short term)?

QUOTE(Soxy @ Dec 22, 2006 -> 06:00 AM) I hope you're joking, because I actually thought that was kind of funny. . . Well, I though it was kinda funny as well, but I am pretty sure that is spot on how many PETA people would feel if Santa was real. So maybe my header shoulda been in half green?

http://www.peta2.com/ecard/holidays06/index.asp

If they were just copies, and he knew that, because he never intended to destroy the originals, just what the hell WAS he doing because he certainly didn't take them on accident.

I wouldn't be suprised if the kid got a little extra attention from some of his peers (asswhupin') for being such a pud to complain to his parents. Or for having such pussy parents.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 21, 2006 -> 02:34 PM) The strawman thing went out of style a while ago, Kap. No one has said anything to defend this, and I suspect no one will. Its not different. Its the same. Show me where anyone other than you said otherwise. Well, the judge sure did by giving him a small fine and community service.

Smith didn't work for Lovie, so why should he do anything for him. None of the information he has regarding the Bears involvement seems to be provable. Just "I heard...", or "I was told...." "He would like to get a better explanation from the Bears about his firing." Why from the Bears, THEY DIDN'T FIRE YOU! Talk to Fox, and if they give you a reason, get it in writing. Sure, Lovie was probably pissed, and let Fox know, and Fox overreacted and fired him, then maybe tried to shift some of the blame to the Bears? On a different note, if the Bears just outright released Tank, and they got bounced in the first round, Morrisey would be the second one in line to say how they should have kept him thru the playoffs. (You know Moronoti would be first)

QUOTE(Damen @ Dec 20, 2006 -> 04:18 PM) Does he always pop up in the news? Outside of going to Iran, I can't think of the last time I saw him. He was on CNN last week spouting off about something, and the reporter made sure to mention 'Republican' by his name every chance he got.

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Dec 20, 2006 -> 11:53 AM) Because she is an ex-Congressperson thrust off into obscurity by most of the mainstream and nobody really gives two tugs of a dead dog's cock what she has to say anymore, especially after hitting the Capitol cop incident. Kinda like David Duke, who seems to always pop up in the news even though he should be thrust off into obscurity, eh?

Because it's always different.....

QUOTE(greg775 @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 09:10 PM) It seems Pods was a pretty big fan whipping boy. B Because he looked pretty pathetic when he stood there looking at strike 3 going right down the middle of the plate a little too often last year. But I still have faith he can be productive.

Love it. Except when the wife rearranges the wish list and all we get are movies i have no desire to see! I have heard the same thing as Kid, that if you start returning them too fast, they start not having the top title you ask for right away. However, since we occasionally go a week or two with them all sitting on top of the dvd player, not a problem for us.

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 10:31 PM) Let's see how long it takes us to knock down all the houses he's helped build for people without homes. I would have hoped you could have figured out that I meant in the human rights area, especially since I acknowledged in the same post that he had done good building the homes. I fixed my post for the temporarily challenged people.

Property taxes are evil!

QUOTE(Texsox @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 09:47 PM) While others have lined their pockets, played in pro-ams on the PGA tour, or any other retirement activities, he remained active and used his platform as an American President, to champion human rights around the world. He was a much more worthy pick in 2003. Even when some of the elections he certifies are considered to be almost invalid because of the amount of corruption involved? If he champions human rights but sucks at actually accomplishing anything (in the human rights department), does that make it ok because his intention was in the right place? He probably got the award as much for trying to be opposite of Bush as he did for his charity work, which is a shame because it almost overshadows his good work after leaving office. He should have let Habitat be his legacy and left it at that.

QUOTE(JackTalkThai @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 04:19 PM) The Tigers paying Bonderman $12.5 million a year at what would be his first year of free agency following his arbitration years (when he will only be 26 years old) is not only NOT out of whack, it is a veritable bargain for a team like Detroit. To compare his situation and contract to guys like Meche and Lilly is just silly. How much do YOU think a 26 year power righty who registered 200+ IP and 200+ K's and who has proven himself in the playoffs could receive on the open market with the whole league bidding for his services? A whole hell of a lot more than $12.5M per. Well considering that he was only 23 years old this past season I would say that his growth curve is still climbing rather steadily. When do you think power pitchers generally peak? Definitely not in their mid twenties. I'd say their early to mid 30's when their power begins to click down a notch and they're finally forced to become a complete pitcher with a full repetoire of pitches. Obviously there're always exceptions but historically speaking, he's not even close to his prime yet. I mean, the kid is still only using two pitches out there. Wait until he finally trusts his change-up...that'll be when he jumps to the next level. Bonderman's best days are still a few years ahead of him. The comparison between him and the others was general, at best, in decrying the huge dollar amounts in the contracts being awarded this year, not a comparison of ability or worth. 3 years ago, you would have been laughed at for giving him that much money, even with his current stats. Now, that much money is the norm. Also, he has registered 200+ Ip and K's for the first time in his career. I like to see it more than one year, otherwise it could just have been luck. Maybe he breaks down next year from the use? Maybe not? As for when he will peak, only time will tell. As for his changeup, ha can trust it all he wants, but it had better be more than a showme pitch or it will do him no good. Best years ahead of him? probably. Worth the money? Only in today's market.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 04:46 PM) It was more than just one good year, but I'm one of Bondy's bigger backers. I think this was a great move by the Tigers and Bondy would have got more than that 12 million on this years market and I still think its a relatively fair dollar value for the guy. He would have been the 2nd best FA on the market (behind Zito and ahead of Schmidt, imo). I'm not debating the 'value' of it, especially considering this screwed up FA market. But yes, one good year. last year. 2005 he was one game over .500, and his ERA and K's were on par with his first 3 years. I'm not saying his other years were BAD years, just not GOOD years.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 03:51 PM) Just out of curiosity are you a big fan of Alan Dershowitz? Agree with his politics? It would seem that all of you that are calling Carter chicken must be big fans of Alan Dershowitz, hold him in the highest esteem, putting him on the same plane as a President. If a professor at Princeton challenged Carter, would the indictments be the same? And at what point would Carter have to stop debating? Any and all challengers? NOT a fan, but at this point, I would say he would know more about the situation there than carter would.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 03:35 PM) And y'all think an eighty year old man should stand up and debate, that is still laughable in my view. Reagan was too old when he left office, but you expect that from Carter. But I guess he can still write a book, go on book signings and give interviews on CNN and such, thats not as strenuous for an old man as a debate would be. Carter sets hiimself up as an expert in writing a book, gets called on it by another person, and refuses to be held accountable.

QUOTE(JackTalkThai @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 04:15 AM) One good year? It's not always the pitcher's fault when they find themselves on horrible teams. Bonderman's numbers and peripherals have improved each and every season that he's been in the majors. Only two pitchers last year had over 200 K's and over 200 IP. Bonderman and Santana...and I believe Jeremy's only 6 months older than Justin Verlander. That was a smart and well-timed extension by the Tigers. YES, one good year. Problems reading? So if he gets a break because he has played on bad teams, do other pitchers not deserve their $$ because they play on good teams? Last year was his best year. Winning record and alot of k's. Year before, 1 over .500, k/9 of almost 7 and a .271 BA against. Last year was an improvement in all catagories. So when does the improvement stop? YEs, especially considering the current climate for pitching, it was probably a wise move. My comment was more along the lines of the pricing just being totally out of whack, for him, as well as other (Lilly, meche) out there.

One good year = $38 million? Damn, I should have learned how to pitch better.