caulfield12

Louisville and Buffalo used to have the best AAA attendance numbers every year. Indianapolis is a big MAYBE. I am sure Buffalo will be screwed over the next 10 years, but how is Louisville doing? You always think of that area as being all UK/UL (like the Portland area's taste for college sports) and thoroughbred racing/farms. Chattanooga is obviously too small, Birmingham or Knoxville. That leaves you with the original too choices of Charlotte and Nashville in that region.

That power should be replaced by Fields, Viciedo, Flowers and Allen...not to mention "plus" power up the middle of the diamond with Beckham and Ramirez. Then a couple of nice athletes in Shelby and Danks. If there's any huge long-term concern, it's defensively, and the LH power (which right now is only Allen). However, if the economic troubles continue, it's not difficult to imagine not having to spend very much to acquire it. The days of a Thome-like contract for a DH are long gone now.

1) Immense poverty/very weak educational system...no opportunities even w/ a college degree 2) Beisbol is king of the island, MLB players are like gods there 3) Athletic ability/instincts 4) Sports are not fragmented like US, where youth are also steered into golf, tennis, soccer, basketball, football, etc. 5) Relative "cheapness" of game...just need a field, can improvise to make a glove and ball, sticks as bats, etc. 6) Year-round weather and games 365 days a year, not seasonal like US 7) Satellite tv and Internet, everyone around the world can follow MLB

Certainly, you'd have to believe it would be easier to trade Dye and then Konerko over Thome...but hopefully we'll just keep things intact one more season. Konerko's right, seemingly we've been saying that every year, year after year. The only major offensive changeover was losing Magglio, C-Lee (anyone want his contract how, $68 million for four years), Thomas (essentially) and Valentin... Then we'll have the changeover with Dye/Thome/Konerko, too. Kind of the end of an era of White Sox baseball, but an exciting time too.

Well, yes, in the overall scheme of things...it still probably wouldn't come close to adding up to Borchard or Viciedo's bonuses. Let's say it was $3 million, $4, maybe even $5 million total. We sunk half of that money into Mike MacDougal. Or Uribe. Of course, the bigger damage is the institutional/organizational damage getting things re-established again in the DR. The two scouts we fired were Dominican, and then there's all the problems with our academy as well, and Denio Gonzalez. You have to go back to Magglio and Carlos Lee to find homegrown, high-impact players....and neither of them were Dominican. Who is the best we've had since those guys that we didn't acquire via trade? Jesus Pena? I'm joking, but that might even be the answer. Now we've brought a ton of Hispanic players in from other organizations (Loaiza, D'Angelo Jimenez, Julio Ramirez, Jose Paniagua, E, Sierra, Jimenez this year, Pablo Ozuna, Miguel Olivo, Damaso Marte, L.Vizcaino, Contreras, El Duque, Ramirez, Viciedo, etc.), but Carlos Martinez is/was one of our brighter prospects from the DR. Other than that, there's only been who...De Los Santos recently? Gio Gonzalez (I know he's not Domican, just trying to think of any Hispanic players we've developed)? Lorenzo Barcelo, but he was part of the White Flag trade to SFG.

Maybe it's also reminiscent of Bourne because of the European sets... The irony is that everyone complained that the new James Bond (QOS) was too much like Bourne and not humorous or romantic enough. I tend to agree, because it's hard for this most recent bond to stand up in comparison to Casino Royale. Having Eva Green witty repartee and banter back and forth with Craig (especially the train scene) just added something that Olga Kurylenko, despite her near supermodel status....didn't. Which was enjoyable action AND dialogue and a hint of sex/fun without straying too much from the main storyline from too pretty talented actors. I think what distinguishes the Bourne movies from say Seagal or National Treasure or DaVinci Code is that they're written for people with some intelligence...that like to think while they're watching a movie, instead of being spoon fed. Watching him stay one step of David Straithairn in the last movie was enjoyable, in and of itself. So maybe Bourne is like a modern-day, intellectualized Rambo/First Blood.

Brian Anderson was hit in the side by a Jenks fastball, but early reports are that he's fine. Expext him to be hunting "honeys" tonight. 11:43 AM Feb 21st from txt thanks for that great insight, Cowley

It seems the amount skimmed is pretty limited...well, in the overall scheme of things. Something like $200,000, most of it from the bonuses to Juan Silverio and OF Rafael Reyes. I'm sure $50K plus changed hands with Reyes, too. That's $100,000 right there between two players. Other players that I've heard or logically deduced were Anderson Gomes and Paulo Orlando...any Latin American player that received $100,000 or more in a signing bonus would draw a red flag I guess over the past 3-4 years. We lost the money to essentially pay one or two high round draft picks. I don't the organization was decimated like it could have been, and KW has recovered pretty nicely. I think it's safe to say that the new emphasis on the minor league talent side might be directly related to the whole Wilder situation, and the realization that none of his prospects were ever going to pan out, that they were essentially fool's gold. Seems that most of the problems were in 2005-2006-2007, so more recent...probably related to his Club Burn leaking cash like a sieve. Must have been pretty desperate to hatch that idea, or think he could run a successful club of that nature while also being the GM of a team like the Boston Red Sox.

I guess that brings up an interesting question. The teams who have built (or had built for them these days) new stadiums and then moved to a new city? Key Arena in Seattle comes to mind right away in the NBA...not sure if there are any relevant MLB comparisons. The Expos' stadium was about 30 years old when they moved to DC. Seattle had a team for one year in 1969 and then had to wait nearly a decade for a new stadium (Kingdome). Milwaukee also lost its team for four years before the Brewers came in 1970. Then again, we haven't seen economic times like these since the 1930's, I just thought it was an interesting idea for a topic. Las Vegas; Norfolk, Va.; Monterrey, Mexico; Portland, Ore.; and Northern Virginia (those were the five other areas, along with DC, bidding on a team five years ago)....we've been talking a lot about Portland in this thread, obviously Northern VA has to be out with both the Orioles and Nationals. That leaves Norfolk (AAA city for a long time), Mexico and Portland. I can't see how shipping or ship-building will increase in this economy, so strike Norfolk probably, and Las Vegas is in the depths of a real estate bust, so cross them out too. There have always been doubts about Vegas' viability for MLB for a number of other reasons besides the economy.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123543721679054667.html Another article on the perfect storm of problems converging on AZ.

QUOTE (scenario @ Feb 23, 2009 -> 12:28 PM) I really don't know how deep the rabbit-hole goes. I would assume it would have to go deeper than 3 players to get the FBI involved. But I have no idea. Well, the Rafael Reyes kid is obviously part of the subplot. I tried thebaseballcube's scouting index, but neither Victor Mateo (I think he must have played in 97-98 in GCL) or Domingo Toribio is listed (the two fired DR scouts). The only logical thing to do would be to look at the organizational bios for the minor leaguers at the back of the media guide and you should be able to find every player scouted/signed by those two or Deny Gonzalez, who, if memory serves me correct, played briefly with the Pirates in the 80's or early 90's. His name was Denio then.

Here is the concept of what was going on (and no, this is not something that happens throughout the industry - and the Chicago White Sox did not "find this out and report it to MLB." It was found out by MLB & reported to the White Sox through arrests & warrants). Dave Wilder and his staff were in control of California (most of the Western part of the USA), and all Latin American operations (including Cuba, etc.). Wilder signed many (MANY!) latin-americans to rather large contracts (+ $100,000) who had no representation in the latin-countries. Now - for anyone who knows and understands latin scouting - there are almost ZERO players without latin representation (meaning - players in these countries are in academies run by agents from these countries who then sell players off to MLB teams to put in their own academies). Now - when a player has no representation - there is generally a reason, i.e., they're terrible. Now - what happened was this: Wilder would find these players and sign them for a large amount of money (as mentioned above) and then take their money as their "agent." Now - he had to get permission to pass these players off & what he was doing was supplying these players with fake birth cerficates taking as many as 5 years off their age & also supplying them with HGH & steroids (even as they were in MiLB). He was then taking this money and putting it into an off-shore account, taking the maximum amount possible at any given time and washing it through a business he opened up in Arizona that rehabs houses. "cheat" southsidesox.com Scenario, besides Juan Silverio, Anderson Gomes and Paulo Orlando, do we have any other players signed in the last 3-5 years (specifically from the Dominican, but theoretically all of Latin America) that are possibly part of this scandal? Bonus skimming Denio "Deny" Gonzalez, a former major-league player, had been the White Sox's director of field operations in the Dominican for nine years until the club declined to renew his contract after the 2007 season, he said. He also oversaw the White Sox's baseball academy located in Boca Chica, east of the capital, Santo Domingo. Recently, Gonzalez said he had "done nothing wrong" and that his departure from the White Sox was a result of the team "going in a different direction." But multiple baseball sources familiar with Gonzalez's dismissal said it was prompted by the MLB investigation. Gonzalez said he has met with MLB investigators, who requested all his documents from the academy. He told the Tribune he had heard about bonus skimming, but not in the Sox organization. The practice, he said, started after the bonuses paid to Dominican prospects began escalating: They have jumped from an average of $15,000 in 1998 to nearly $110,000 in 2008, according to MLB figures. "With [my] guys, there weren't problems," Gonzalez said. "The more recent guys, who they signed for large amounts of money, it appears that is where the problems are." One of those players who did sign for a large sum was Rafael Reyes, a 16-year-old outfielder who got a $525,000 bonus from the White Sox in 2007. Former White Sox scout Victor Mateo, who was fired along with Wilder and fellow scout Domingo Toribio, has told ESPN that Reyes' uncle gave him $50,000 as a gift after the signing. Mateo told ESPN he passed $45,000 of that on to Wilder. Another big-money signing was 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Juan Silverio—Wilder and Mateo signed him for $600,000 in the summer of 2007. The Silverio and Reyes signings were among at least five with which MLB investigators found problems, MLB sources said. Those sources said up to $200,000 was skimmed from the bonuses of Sox prospects. from Nation World

Fathom, I was about to use your comment for a segue into the next salacious details, but decided not to...other than the fact that we can all feel chastened that we indirectly supported this bar with our hard-earned money buying Sox tickets and merchandise: from www.soxmachine.com I googled Club Chafe Burn so you don't have to, and there are some interesting things associated with it beyond Wilder: An American Idol contestant, who reportedly stripped for men, worked there for three years. "Meatheads beware: Saturdays are known for gay night, featuring chiseled and tanned go-go dancers in tighty whities." "I can't believe how few shirts there are in this place! Do they get inside and then take their shirts off, or just not wear shirts out of their houses? I'm not sure how this works." I think this story has now passed Roberto Alomar's AIDS lawsuit on the weirdness meter.

I'l answer my own question, the wonders of the Internet! White Sox Senior Director of Player Personnel, Dave Wilder, compared Gomes to Alfonso Soirano when the Yankees signed him out of Japan. bostonredsox.barebaseball.com/2005/11/wilder-interviews - [Cached Version] Published on: 11/19/2005 Last Visited: 4/20/2008 BOSTON -- Interested in changing his Sox, White Sox director of player development Dave Wilder officially entered the Red Sox general manager race Saturday when he met with Boston brass at Fenway Park."The opportunity to be involved with this type of organization is an honor," Wilder said after four hours of meetings in and around Fenway."I know it's a very attractive opportunity."The 45-year-old Wilder is the latest in a string of candidates being interviewed to replace Theo Epstein, who turned down the club's three-year offer at the Halloween deadline. ... Wilder woke up early Saturday and flew to Boston from Chicago, where he helped the White Sox secure the franchise's first championship since 1917.Now he's in the running to take over in Boston, where the Red Sox won that franchise's first title since 1918 in 2004."I don't think anybody in baseball could tell you they thought this would happen with this club, with the club they have in hand -- they still have the opportunity to compete for another World Series title," Wilder said of Epstein's departure.Wilder didn't acknowledge the other issues that seem to go along with the Boston job, such as the pressure to succeed and working with president/CEO Larry Lucchino. ... Instead of the negative, Wilder talked about the chance to take over a team that has a chance to win a world championship, a team with a big budget, "the best fans in baseball" and the tradition of these Sox."It's not only a good organization," Wilder said, "[but] the history and background of the Boston Red Sox ... it's a wonderful opportunity."Wilder, who interviewed for the recent Arizona opening as well as the Baltimore and Seattle jobs the previous year, said, "I feel I'm ready -- definitely."Wilder served 5 1/2 years under general manager John Schuerholz in Atlanta and calls that admired baseball man the No. 1 influence on his career. ... Wilder met with Lucchino, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner, senior advisors Bill Lajoie and Jeremy Kapstein and others Saturday and will wait to hear if he'll be coming back for a second visit. ... Among professional baseball people, David has a very, very outstanding reputation -- and if you look at where he's been, in Atlanta I think he made significant contributions to the Braves, and when you look at the White Sox this year, when you talk to people in baseball ... we all know that success is a total team thing.In Chicago, [general manager] Kenny Williams and David Wilder are the two leaders of that franchise in terms of putting that club together. ... Clearly, Wilder seemed to want to be that person."I think I was ready to do the job," Wilder said of his first interviews two years ago.

Imagine if we'd signed Juan Silverio for $1.4 million and ended up not having enough money for Viciedo because of it? You have to feel sorry for the Washington fans, at least the damage done by Wilder to the White Sox seems to have been contained and those acting in a criminal fashion were dealt with quickly and harshly. They also ended up not signing their first rounder (Aaron Crow), and some of the skimming might have led directly to that eventuality. Was Wilder also responsible for perpetuating the "legend" of Anderson Gomes as a legit prospect as well?

try www.justin.tv/ enter Academy Awards or 81st Academy Awards in search

The Frustrated DC Faithful May Finally Get Their Wish... According to a report by the same SI.com writer, Melissa Segura, whose work exposed the secret identity of the Washington Nationals' prospect formerly known as Esmailyn "Smiley" Gonzalez, DC GM Jim Bowden is the subject of a federal investigation into the "skimming" of bonuses awarded to prospects from Latin American countries, going, in Ms. Segura's words, "...as far back as 1994, when he was GM of the Cincinnati Reds, according to a baseball executive familiar with the investigation." The SMILEYGATE scandal that broke last week was just the latest in a long line of disturbing events that are part of an FBI investigation (my lord, why am i writing about this?) into the activities of the then-Reds' GM Jim Bowden, Jose Rijo, (a former Reds' pitcher and assistant to Mr. Bowden with Washington), and David Wilder, a former Chicago White Sox' executive, who are all connected, Ms. Segura writes, by "Two sources inside baseball," to: "... a long-time scout in Latin America, Jorge Oquendo, 47...who links the FBI's investigations of Bowden and his special assistant Jose Rijo to that of former Chicago White Sox senior director of player personnel David Wilder." Mr. Wilder and "two Dominican-based scouts", Ms. Segura writes, were fired by the Chicago White Sox, "Last May...after allegations surfaced that they had pocketed money earmarked for player signing bonuses." MLB.com's Bill Ladson, in an article entitled, "Rijo takes leave of absence", reported on 2/21/09 on Jose Rijo's decision to "take a leave of absence" from the Nationals in the wake of the "Smiley" Gonzalez revelations. Rijo was Special Assistant to the DC GM Mr. Bowden, who, according to Mr. Ladson's article had been told not to talk to the media about the Esmailyn Gonzalez case by the Nationals' Team President Stan Kasten, though what, if any role Mr. Bowden played in either scandal has yet to be revealed. Ms. Segura notes in the new SI.com article that the aformentioned Jorge Oquendo, "...distances himself from Jim Bowden, saying, 'He didn't even know who I was,'" though Oquendo, again, according to the article, worked for Mr. Bowden during two different periods of Bowden's tenure in Cincinnati. And you thought not signing Aaron Crow was the worst thing that could happen to the Washington Nationals? Missing out on Mark Te - - - - ra was as bad as it could get? Thought Odalis Perez holding out was a big story? Now this tops them all...How can any Major League GM who is under investigation remain in his post? I would never go so far as to say that anyone should be fired, and especially not before they have been proven guilty in a court of law or admitted their own guilt...But I wonder if maybe Mr. Bowden, or any member of the Front Office who is under investigation, shouldn't step down, or at least relinquish their duties until such a time as it would be appropriate for a return? Is this the end for GM Jim Bowden in DC? from federalbaseball.com http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/2/19/7...ton-nationals-p (more details) http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/2/18/7...-a-fraud-who-is

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-d...story?track=rss Apparently Jim Bowden is under investigation going back more than 10+ years...looks like that might be the end of his career. We'll have to wait and see how this all plays out. Bizarre.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 11:45 PM) For real. People are mad that an actor who played a character nothing like him beat out an actor who played a character with many similarities. With Rourke as that character you say "oh that's the perfect match", with Penn you say "ooh I can't wait to see what he did with it". In terms of the history of the oscars, I thought Benjamin Button was the classic academy pick. Numerous locations and documents different era's and costumes, it's the 'epic' movie they love rewarding so much. The thing about CCoBB, it's one of those movies that you can watch or admire, but you don't feel the same sense of identification and "cheering for" Pitt as you do Hanks in Forrest Gump. That, and the syrupy and evolving Jen-nay and Forrest love story was more "touching" to most viewers, and the endings for both, most would agree FG is quite superior. To top it off, there wasn't that one figure that stands out like Captain Dan in CCoBB, although the woman who took him in at the beginning comes close as the moral center of the movie (T. Henson I think her name is).

In all fairness, how many times have movies with an "Indian theme" or cast (I'm thinking Monsoon Wedding or Bend It Like Beckham) ever even come close? And it wasn't directed by an Indian, either. Gay characters, the Holocaust, you can make some arguments, and musicals like Chicago, Moulin Rouge...but it's not like 1958-1968 when musicals just dominated that era in terms of the Academy.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 11:45 PM) Make the gay wrestler retarded and you'll sweep the Oscars. Not "full" retard like I am Sam. It has to be Dustin Hoffman/Rain Man or Russell Crowe/Beautiful Mind....disturbed, mental illness, lol. Even Lenny from Of Mice and Men. That was one of the better moments from Tropic Thunder.

QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 11:21 PM) I'm not debating if Hathaway was good in it, I just have never pictured her as being able to pull something like that off. Anne Hathaway is like a cross between Cindy Crawford and Eva Green...not a model like Cindy, not as good an actress as Eva Green. Sometimes she's really pretty, and I think she's a serious actress with some chops....then there are movies like Princess Diaries or Get Smart. She's had her moments, though, like Brokeback Mountain, Rachel Getting Married and Havoc. Bride Wars, not one of her best. Still, she should challenge Amy Adams and Isla Fisher for the cutesy Sandra Bullock/Kate Hudson/Meg Ryan type roles going forward. Has Sandra Bullock fallen off the face of the earth, btw?

QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 11:16 PM) Randy Newman has only won once. Movie about the Holocaust with a score by John Williams starring Meryl Streep. Can Tom Hanks and Dame Judy Dench or Helen Mirren appear in supporting roles? His career has been really quiet recently...it seemed to me like he almost owned the Oscars, then the baton was handed off to Russell Crowe. And I like Tilda Swinton as much as the next person, but does anyone in mainstream America have a clue who she is. Kate Blanchette is practically Katherine Hepburn compared to Swinton's Parker Posey-counter culture hipness. We need a good Roberto Benini moment with Spielberg just for some needed levity.

I think they should give some type of Hottest New Ingenue statuette to Freida Pinto just so that it would add a little more color to the morning newspapers tomorrow...and contrast well with her Blueberry Cheesecake/Retro India outfit.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 10:47 PM) Yeah, it's probably the biggest snub. if he recorded one for Slumdog or The Reader he would have won...lol....well, didn't his song for Philadelphia win? was "Go, Sox, Go!" ever up for an award?