jackie hayes

QUOTE(qwerty @ Jan 6, 2005 -> 05:45 PM) Another example is to call an austrailian (dbaho) an aussie. I am sure he is not offended by it and if he was i am sure he would say something about it. Like i said, i can name more but is it really necassary? You may not like that people do it but it happens daily and i think you would be lying to say you have never used a shortened version of a nationality. But i do not care about this anymore because it is silly to be talked about in the pale hose forum. "Jap" is different qwerty -- during WW2 it became a slur, and it still has that connotation.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jan 6, 2005 -> 05:43 PM) I'll go along with that. In and of itself, it's not. But considering that the first remark may have been just laziness and the other was clearly meant as an offensive remark, I find it curious that you picked the one that may not have been intended as a slur. If you're insinuating something by "curious", it's bs. I don't use terms like that, I never have, and I've argued against them before (eg before the election in SLaP, iirc). Everyone already jumped all over the "trailer trash" comment -- mission accomplished, I don't have anything to add. But in doing so they ended up defending the use of "jap", which is unacceptable imo. I thought it hadn't been made clear, so there was still something worth saying. That's why I "picked" that one.

QUOTE(C_LEE45 @ Jan 6, 2005 -> 05:35 PM) the jap 2B. Not cool.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jan 6, 2005 -> 05:33 PM) As for the "Jap" thing .... I think the "trailer trash" remark was even more offensive. There was no doubt about the intent of that remark, but the Jap remark could possibly be attributed to pure laziness. I agree that "trailer trash" is offensive, but that doesn't make the first remark acceptable.

QUOTE(quickman @ Jan 6, 2005 -> 01:53 PM) Qwerty, i think it goes back to his attitude or else others would be stepping up. Why are no other teams being mentioned or even offering. Something with this guy is not right. i don't know exactly what it is but he is a solid hitter and average behind the plate, it seems teams don't want any part of him. I would correlate it to people on a sales team, good sales person but doesn't care or get along with the team. Now I am purely speculating with this analogy but I think there is somethign to it. I don't buy this as an answer to what qwerty is saying. If the White Sox believe there's an attitude problem that would hurt the clubhouse (not hard to believe), they wouldn't offer him any contract whatsoever. A cheap clubhouse "cancer" is no less destructive than an expensive one. Based on the fact that they offered him a contract, I'm assuming that they think he won't be a problem. Which still leaves the question of why the hard upper limit of $2 mil, if the Sox stick to it and don't sign him. Btw, I want to add, I feel strongly that "jap" shouldn't be tolerated. Maybe he meant it as a shortened version of "Japanese", but historically it IS a racist term. If he didn't know that, fine, just as long as it doesn't keep happening. So many people jumped to defend this use, and I just hope noone finishes this thread with the idea that it's okay to use that term.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 10:40 PM) Tony Kornheiser! He said she cheated. She went on SNL, and blamed the whole thing on her band. "She's the Jason Giambi of popular music." Radio or newspaper? If radio, where is he still on? I thought he was pretty good, I was disappointed when he was canned from ESPN radio.

QUOTE(Soxnbears01 @ Jan 6, 2005 -> 01:55 AM) welll...if this does end up being true, i can't complain. no cubs....no yankees True, the Mets are the dustbin of the present.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 11:01 PM) Anyone else see what he's doing wrong? ROFLMFAO!!!!!!

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 01:31 PM) Right now it seems like Fassel is going to become the next Ravens OC. If the bears don't get Linehan, they could possibly look at Brad Childrees the Eagles OC, as he could leave if he doesn't get a head coaching job and then Marty Morhninweg would take over as the Eagles OC. Billick is saying that he thinks Fassel will get an opportunity to be a head coach. You don't think so?

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 05:54 PM) Ok... Granted it might not work out. Considering what other options are available, is it worth a gamble? Sure, if the scouts like him. I'm not saying we shouldn't sign him, I'm just wondering why everyone seems so hungry for this signing. I don't have any notion how good he'll be, so I'm pretty much indifferent. He could be great for all I know. Maybe "Tadahito Iguchi" is Japanese for "Melvin Mora".

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 05:41 PM) Yes I do think that's the worst-case scenario. He's had an outrageous obp the last 2 years, he's done this for two years in a row now, I'm thinking he's developed into this type of guy and Iguchi's numbers the last two years were better then the best years Kaz put up, Kaz wasn't great but his obp was right around .335 iirc, I really do believe at worst Iguchi would put up a .340 obp, jmo. Kaz had an obp over .360 for 7 consecutive seasons, and his walk numbers were consistent, always around 50. Iguchi's been great for only 2 seasons, and his walks numbers have jumped all over the place (from 30 to 80 to 50). I don't know how we can be sure from those numbers that this guy instantaneously developed so much plate discipline that he's guaranteed a .340 obp in the US. The possible range looks much wider to me, jmho.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 05:22 PM) Jeckle, because aaron is better suited to hit down in the order. I think at worst Iguchi would post a .340 obp and do more in that spot then aaron could do as far as moving runners along. Then we move aaron down to give him more rbi opportunities. Before a couple years ago, he hardly ever had a .340 obp in Japanese ball, yet now you're sure that he'll be that good in the ML -- even though his strikeout and walk numbers returned to Earth last year. I'm not saying it can't happen, but I find it hard to believe that's the worst-case scenario.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 03:14 PM) Everything that I've read about Iguchi says that he's pretty much a slick - fielding infielder. I think I read on a recent ESPN article though about Japanese players that he could struggle fielding on grass instead of artificial turf, but I could be wrong on that. Now I've found these snippets on the net about Iguchi; 1 - Iguchi's possible stats if he moved in 2004 (late 2003 piece): 2 - Forum Thoughts; Also Iguchi's 2002 stats shoudln't really be taken into consideration as he was suffering from a shoulder injury for much of the year. I've heard that he's good, but after Kaz I think there's reason to question how well 'good fielding' translates for Japanese middle infielders. Perhaps Kazuo had trouble b/c of the turf, I don't know, but something must have changed. Nobody could have watched what we saw last year and thought he was a whiz. 2b isn't as challenging as ss, admittedly, but many of the same skills are needed. I don't put too much into his 2003 stats either, they look like an anomaly. The ks drop way down, the bbs skyrocket. But hitting has translated fairly well, so I'm not too worried about that aspect. Except, if we pick up this guy on the premise that he's more consistent than Willie -- I'm not sure about that. His stats have been all over the place.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 11:02 AM) Rotoworld seems to think he's big upgrade over willie. That's a statement about their perception of Willie at least as much as of Iguchi. There aren't many warm bodies Willie would rank above if Rotoworld were making the lineup. I still don't understand all the excitement over this guy, he still seems to be very much an unknown quantity (especially his fielding).

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 04:26 AM) Rotation: 1. Jack McDowell '93 (256.2 IP, 22 W, 10 L, 10 CG, 3.37 ERA) 2. Esteban Loaiza '03 (226.1 IP, 21 W, 9 L, 1 CG, 2.90 ERA) 3. Wilson Alvarez '93 (207.2 IP, 15 W, 8 L, 1 CG, 2.95 ERA) 4. Mark Buehrle '01 (221.1 IP, 16 W, 8 L, 4 CG, 3.29 ERA) 5. Bartolo Colon '03 (242.0 IP, 15 W, 13 L, 9 CG, 3.87 ERA)*iffy* Bullpen: CL Bobby Thigpen '90 (88.2 IP, 4 W, 6 L, 57 S, 1.83 ERA) SU Keith Foulke '99 (105.1 IP, 3 W, 3 L, 9 S, 2.22 ERA) SU Damaso Marte '03 (79.2 IP, 4 W, 2 L, 11 S, 1.58 ERA) RP Roberto Harnandez '92 (71.0 IP, 7 W, 3 L, 12 S, 1.65 ERA) RP Shingo Takatsu '04 (62.1 IP, 6 W, 4 L, 19 S, 2.31 ERA) LR Jon Garland '01 (117.0 IP, 35 G, 16 GS, 6 W, 7 L, 3.69 ERA) I get 1678 innings. That's a lot of long extra-innings games for such a good team.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 03:32 AM) holy crap, this is what INTERRUPTION SHE JUST ENDED, HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHHAHAHAHA THE BOOS anyway, this is what she sounds like not lip synching? holy crap She's a professional what?! Was, anyway. That reminded me of the Simpsons episode where Bart et al are in the boy band, and Lieutenant Smash switches on the voice machine. Yvan eht nioj, then please, please take Ashlee to Guantanamo. Word.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 08:31 PM) My bad. The article did say "cancer". But "widespread" dislike for him? Two players were mentioned [anonymous at that]. And the articles after this one from an OAK. paper seemed to down play the whole thing. Now the media would never a mountain out of a molehill now would they?! BTW, I think KW or Ozzie used that "winner" term when praising one of their new players. I know Hawk did. I'm sure it made your skin crawl It's not really clear how many players are talking. One article on aj-pierzynski.com suggests the quotes come from 4 players -- "Among the charges were one player calling Pierzynski a "cancer," another saying the catcher doesn't watch video on hitters before games, and two others saying San Diego's Phil Nevin told them Pierzynski criticized Giants pitchers while he was at the plate." I don't know if that's reliable, who knows. But it doesn't sound like it's coming from one person, and I only heard one strong defense of AJ (by Mohr). Even Rogers' article, a defense of AJ, doesn't make him sound great (he's "full of himself" and "a whiner" to the umps). If AJ is a little lamb in the clubhouse, merely a jerk to the other team, why don't his teammates jump to his defense after all these unwarranted attacks? I don't know if it'd be a problem here, and I'm not saying it would be -- I'm just saying that the accusations didn't come out of his opponents. That's not where his bad reputation comes from. (After all, the Giants only got rid of him after they got to know him.) I don't know if I heard the quote you're talking about, but I probably wouldn't have noticed. I'm used to it fr/ Ozzie & KW, I often don't know what they're talking about.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 08:01 PM) Kiper's board does not include underclassmen. Also, Williams has not run a 40 time yet for this draft. If it is sub 4.5, his value is top 5. If it over 4.5, his value will be around 10. SB I know his time this year will be all-important, but I'm just trying to remember -- wasn't 4.5 about what he ran last year?

QUOTE(JimH @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 07:45 PM) Mohr is trying to rebuild (build?) his value... Lol, nice. I don't agree about Timo and depth. Good players make depth, Timo's not a good player. I think it's a wasted roster spot, but I very much doubt it is making any difference in negotiations w/ AJ.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 07:02 PM) From what I have read and heard Lovie will bring in someone to run the same system if they do end up firing Shea. It is not the system they are having a problem with, it is the person calling the plays and the person running the system they have a problem with. Lovie loves the St. Louis/KC offense and wants to run it here. I do agree with you that you need a TE, but I don't see a difference maker in that dept. Yeah, I hadn't heard that until today, about picking someone from the same system. It's true that Williams and Edwards are much different wr than those in KC and St L. I still don't think too much of KC's receivers, and I think our offense will look more similar to KC than St Louis. (I'm not sure St L's style will fit the Bears, or Soldier field, very well.) We can't count on Henry lasting till we pick, so there has to be a backup plan. Since te is a position of need, it seems like a useful backup plan, but of course you're right, it only makes sense if there's value. I don't have any idea who might be available there, myself.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 07:04 PM) Maybe Shea wasn't the best guy for this job, but holding him responsible for that mess is like firing the weatherman in Thailand for not predicting the precipitation that came through... I really don't think he's being fired for the offense as a whole. It sounds like he was stubborn and wasn't really aware of what was going on on the field. I think he just proved unable to work with the people he needed help from. Don't know how large a part he had in bringing in Quinn, that could be part of it, too. (But just my speculation, I've got zero evidence for that.)

QUOTE(mreye @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 04:32 PM) I don't think there's a "magic formula", but I don't agree that raising taxes or cutting benefits are the only way. Let me say, that I'm not a big fan of SS in the first place. I think it discouraged saving for more than a generation by wrongly telling the workforce that they would be fine when they retire. But, since it's here, we're obligated to fix it for our elderly. The first thing I would do is allow people to opt out of it. You would still pay a portion of the SS taxes to help pay for the current SS benefits, but not near as much. I'm not an economist and I'm damn glad I'm not on the team that has to handle this. Problem is, even w/o cutting tax receipts, SS taxes will fall below payments in about 10 years. At that point, the SS Admin will start drawing on the "Trust Fund", so essentially the shortfall in SS benefits will be paid for by the general federal government. Under your plan, tax receipts will fall further, making the shortfall even greater. So you need to cut benefits or increase taxes, now or in the future (issuing bonds today requires higher taxes in the future). There's just a fundamental accounting problem here -- the old in the past received, and the old today are promised, more than they paid into the system. Someone's gotta make it up eventually, either by paying more or getting less. All plans reduce to essentially a tax increase or a benefits cut, all that differs is the timing and the creative description of the tax/cut. As for the change from wage inflation to price inflation, that's long overdue.

QUOTE(lvjeremylv @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 04:56 PM) Eh, not watching video. Big deal IMO. Everyone's got a different method of preparing for a game. If AJ prefers to play cards to get mentally ready to play, that's his option. It's obviously working for him, as he's been a pretty good major league player. Except that Tomko wanted to go over hitters when he wanted to play cards. Sounds like a pretty fair request from a pitcher. It's not his option (at least, it shouldn't be) to not work with pitchers. For the record, I'm on the fence on AJ. He's a very good player. But the next time KW talks about getting good character guys, after offering AJ a contract (and talking about 2nd and 3rd chances meanwhile), noone will call BULLs*** before me. If your priority is good clubhouse guys, you just avoid AJ, that's all there is to it.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 04:58 PM) I'm just saying a sportswriter can make a player look bad. The writer wasn't a SF beat writer but an OAK writer. It was well known OAK players hated AJ. A writer with an axe to grind can make any person look bad. I'm not saying AJ's an angel. But some things could be overblown in the media, taken out of context, etc. In one of the articles, AJ talked about being known as a "cancer", trying to live that label down. That was the only spot I saw that mentioned. We fans throw around labels. But we should be more careful. I was just pointing out that "implied" words and labels are not the same thing as "actual" words and quotes of teammates. Seeing how the players qouted were anonymous, they could have said "cancer" and "jerk". But no one did. No, that's not true, someone DID say that AJ was a "cancer". The full quote: "He's the cancer in here. The pitchers aren't happy with him. If they can trade him, that would be fine with me. We all know Yorvie (Yorvit Torrealba) can catch this staff." There's no way this is a question of context, or something being "overblown". He just wasn't liked, and it seemed widespread. Here's one article on the love for AJ. Btw, if we should be more careful about labels, hows 'bout we start w/ "winner"?

QUOTE(beck72 @ Jan 4, 2005 -> 04:43 PM) If you look back on all that was written, no teammate called him a jerk. I saw a list of all the articles on www.aj-pierzynski.com [some bias, sure] and from the sounds of it, an Oak. sportswriter w/ a beef [AJ hitting the game winning playoff HR vs OAk, they thought AJ was over the top and most of the A's players hated him], started the whole thing. Aj apologized to Tomko about finishing his hand of cards, and the issue seemed to fade. Which was the basis of the story. Imagine that, though, an A's writer who could get back at an old annoying nemesis in print. I know, which is why I didn't put "jerk" in quotes. He was called a "cancer", however. Also, "I've never in all my years seen a catcher who didn't watch video before games. He doesn't watch hitters—other than the Twins games when they are on TV." Which clearly implies that he's unprofessional, even though it doesn't use the word "unprofessional". I think "jerk" is a fair summary of their feelings about AJ, maybe even charitable. ("Cancer" is much worse, imo.) And this isn't just one pitcher (Tomko) -- the article states different pitchers made many of the statements. It's not just a personal beef. As for the sportswriter, I don't really care how he feels. These aren't his quotes.