vandy125

A lot of people are talking about pitching being the issue. Could our pitching be an issue because of the way our defense is playing? I remember last year, we seemed to be really solid on defense, and I am sure that helped our pitchers a ton. This year, to me, our defense just seems ehhh. Are there any decent stats that we can look at to compare the defense between this year and last year?

QUOTE(RibbieRubarb @ Jul 19, 2006 -> 03:30 PM) Do they even have electricity in Iowa?!? They must have to have invented the first electronic computer out here.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Jul 18, 2006 -> 02:05 PM) Best advice I ever got...be prepared to walk. If it's not what you want...leave. One of two things will happen, the salesman will make the deal...or they won't and you go somewhere else where they can... Within reason of course. ^^^^^^^^^ This is the best advice that I have gotten. I even had a car for a day and drove it around. I noticed some problems that I did not see until it had been thoroughly cleaned. Brought it back to them, and they would not do anything until I set the keys down on the table (there was a 3 day no questions asked return policy). They paniced when I started to walk away and fixed everything.

Reminds me of the Circuit City commercials I see all of the time. There are none in all of Iowa (although one is supposedly going to be built within a year or so).

QUOTE(Soxy @ Jul 19, 2006 -> 10:58 AM) I just wanted to post the vote from the Senate here. If you have a senator that voted against this, and you disagree with him/her, please send an e-mail, call, or let him/her know about your displeasure. I would say that the opposite should be true as well. If you have a senator that voted for this, and you disagree with him/her, please send an e-mail, call, or let him/her know about your displeasure. If they don't know, they won't do anything about it.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 03:49 PM) again what improvement are you talking about. To me he is just as horrid as he was in spring training. I guess there isnt as much silence..... I think that he is doing much better than when he had first started (I'm not calling it good by any means, but definitely better). The difference that I noticed has been with the flow of Singleton's talking. To me, it seemed like everything was incredibly choppy when he first started, and he had problems even finishing.... his ......... sentences. I think that he has gotten much better with the flow of his talking, but he still has some work to do.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 12:26 PM) Palestinians aren't Arab, although they speak Arabic - it is a distinct nationality. Has there ever been a Palestinian nation? What are their national holidays, customs, etc? Do they have any distinct cuisines or anything? I am curious as to what makes them a distinct nationality? I hope this does not sound confrontational (I do not mean for it to be), because this is something I am curious about.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 10:26 AM) So, based on this argument, you would admit that since the Native American claim on much of U.S. territory is far older than the claims of the current American inhabitants, they should have the right to reclaim as much of that land as they see fit? Their claim is far older than ours is, for example. Balta, that is a good point that you make. If someone came and wiped us out, then gave the Native Americans their mostly uninhabited land back, then I think there is a good correlation. I think that I needed to add that the land was conquered and mostly uninhabited at the time. From what I have read, the 'Palestinians' were recent Arab immigrants to that area. This is something that I have not gone too deep into, but this book seems like a good reading to take a look at. There were not a bunch of 'Palestinians' living there who have been there for generations and are being displayed. There was not much there.

I think that Israel's claim to the land is much older than the Palestinian's claim is. That is the key difference that I see in the comparison. In one case, it is a group of people returning to their land that they had thousands of years ago. In the other case, it is a group of people taking over land that they never had a claim to before. This is an interesting little read about some of the history. I would be interested in seeing other sources that people run across with it: http://www.science.co.il/Israel-history.asp QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 10:16 AM) Just, no. First of all, Manifest Destiny was the idea that America had a divine mission to expand across our continent; it has nothing to do with European colonization of the Americas. Now as for the supposed parallel -- while the Native Americans were clearly defined nations/peoples, it's hard to argue that about the Palestinians. There were a significant number of Jews in Palestine, originally, who were very much pro-Israel. And the fractured nature of the population makes it hard to say that there was a right to the land -- whose right? And while you admit that the land was taken as a "defensive buffer", you fail to mention that it was taken in response to an attack on Israel by the countries that controlled those areas (there was no 'state of Palestine' that Israel overran). That's war -- if you use something against me, or if you can, I'm gonna do something to neutralize that advantage. Hardly "Trail of Tears" type stuff. Finally, I don't know how you can seriously compare explicit exploitation for economic reasons, under a "manufactured banner" of bringing Christianity to 'heathens' (not MD, but okay), to a claim of landright that dates back millennia. Just, no similarity at all, none. That is a good point. There is no such thing as a recognized 'state of Palestine' from what I have read.

Photoshop job? I think that would be a pretty easy one to do.

Count me in as being optimistic about this team! They are a lot of fun to watch, and I think that the starters will get back to their career norms.

QUOTE(rangercal @ Jul 15, 2006 -> 02:17 AM) 7-13 when widger starts 50-19 when aj starts How do our starters fair when widger starts?

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 09:45 PM) My view is this. I am an organ donor, just like my wife is. Once you are dead, what they do with the organs doesnt really matter. If it can help someone, it would be the right thing to help that person. The same goes for stem cell research. I am not for abortion, but people are already aborting fetus's and the bodies are cast away, not buried as medical waste. I am not against using them for stem cell research and for a possible supply of stem cells later on. Some of my conservative legislators have a misguided view that this will start a run on abortions. That cause and effect is a weak link at best. As a diabetic the cure for my disease and a lot of other diseases probably lies within stem cell research. I hope for a cure, and we have seen some strides with Iclet cell replacement. I hope for the cure not just for myself, but for my son and future children. In my family the gene for diabetes is very very dominant. My grandfather, my mother, all 3 of her siblings, and at least 5 of my cousins all have diabetes. My mother watched her father die of complications when she was 10, I saw her pass away from complications a few years ago at 58. That is a strong link, and something that I am sad to say probably was passed on to my son. If this can help diabetics, and all sorts of other diseases then I am for it. Dying too soon when we have the technology to help fix this or in the future fix it, is stupid. Just wanted to through in my quick viewpoint on that. I do not think that it will start a run on abortions, but that it would strengthen the case for allowing abortions to continue. It could be said, "Well, we are already using aborted fetus's for stem cell research. We cannot regulate abortion because we would then lose that ability." And Jim, there are many Christians who are actually consistent with what they say about IVF, abortion, and the death penalty if you want to bring that in as well. It seems like you are painting Christians who are against abortion with the same broad stroke and saying that they are all hypocrites. I know that you are not actually saying that, but it is coming across that way IMHO.

I think the situation in the Middle East has caused gas prices to go a bunch higher today. The latest market update that I have gotten: 12:30 pm : Market spikes lower since the last update as reports of a rocket hitting Israel's third largest city, Haifa, suggest the situation in the Middle East could easily get much worse before it gets better exacerbate underlying nervousness. Oil prices are now up almost 2.0% at $76.40 per barrel while gasoline futures, up 4.66 cents to $2.3035/gal, are hitting their highest level since last September.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Jul 7, 2006 -> 10:25 AM) His run support actually has very little to do with his win total. A good chunk of those runs came in his good starts, like when we beat Cleveland 11-0, Seattle 13-3, and that 20-6 Cardinals game (Montero allowed 4). Including last night, only 2 of his 9 wins came in non-quality starts, and even last night it might have been a quality start if not for the error. He also got a no-decision in a game where he went 7 innings and only allowed 2 earned runs, so even that kind of balances out. I think that kind of goes along with what has been said here. With the big run support, he is able to focus and pitch up to his capabilities. Hopefully, he can start pitching well regardless of what kind of runs his teammates are putting on the board. How do his quality starts look when he does not have much run support?

This is the direct address to the form: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2006/fv/index.html I found it helpful to copy this into an address bar and use a full size window instead of the smaller popup window that was making me scroll.

QUOTE(hi8is @ Jul 6, 2006 -> 03:27 PM) the logic is there... i just cant test it because when i make a bookmark on a toolbar in firefox, it tries to load up.... www.javascriptfunction(){f=document.forms['mlb_allstar_fv_ballot'];f.al[3].checked=1;f.nl[1].checked=1;f.on.checked=0;f.oa.checked=0;f.submit();})(); even if i dont put in http:// or www. odd indeed. I'm limited to IE. So, nothing I can do as far as I know to check. Probably not worth the effort (although I am curious) just keep voting.

I would guess that you would just need to change it to be this for AJ: javascriptfunction(){f=document.forms['mlb_allstar_fv_ballot'];f.al[3].checked=1;f.nl[1].checked=1;f.on.checked=0;f.oa.checked=0;f.submit();})(); BTW, this would vote for Capuano for the Brewers in the NL (if it works).

For those who think Liriano deserves it, think about what AJ has done for this team. He is a HUGE part of the way that the Sox have played this year as well as last year. This is one way that fans can show they are 100% behind him. Let him know that Sox fans appreciate what he has done!

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jun 29, 2006 -> 09:55 AM) In their last 20 games the Sox and Twins are 17-3, while Detroit is 16-4. We talked before about who would be getting more stressed about the other team being hot between the Sox and Tigers, but how must it feel to be the Minnesota Twins today. They have gone 17-3 in their last 20 games and gained exactly zero games in their push for the playoffs. I have a co-worker that is a big Twins fan, and he is getting pretty frustrated that his "red-hot" Twins have not been able to gain any ground. He keeps saying "would you guys lose one already?"

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jun 29, 2006 -> 08:47 AM) that's a cool signature Thanks!

Phillies. Guess that narrows it done since I think that was the only one they have won.

QUOTE(DABearSoX @ Jun 29, 2006 -> 02:18 AM) What's the Jays, Sawk, and yanks combined record against the NL Sawks: 13 - 1 Jays: 6-8 Yanks: 8-7 Looking at all three divisions: West: 30-27 .526 East: 45-27 .625 Central: 52-21 .712

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Jun 28, 2006 -> 08:48 AM) I disagree. Tejada over his career is a much much better defender with much better range. Even most Yankee fans will admit that Jeter doesn't have much range. I'd take tons of players ahead of Jeter defensively at SS. That is what I think too. Jeter has to make spectacular plays on one's that should be routine because of his range.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Jun 27, 2006 -> 01:03 PM) They still are using it as a bargaining chip. The language used seems to suggest that Iran is no longer interested in talking with the US over such matters. It doesn't mean that Iran is giving the rest of the world community the cold shoulder. That was my optimistic take on this too. They do not want to deal with the US on this. Is that really all that surprising? I am hoping that they will make a deal with someone to stop this, but the pessimistic side of says that it is not realistic. I have a feeling that they are just going to keep dragging their feet, playing the waiting game to see if someone will actually take a step to stop them. To me, all I have seen so far is talking and posturing but no real action, and I think Iran will keep on doing what they are as long as that remains the status quo.