Youk Of The Nation

I hope you're mocking those sportswriters and not being serious, because I have heard that said before, and every time it sounds even stupider. Babe Ruth didn't get in unanimously because even decades ago, people sucked. Someone didn't vote for him because he said something mean to them once. Somebody didn't vote for Hank Aaron or Willie Mays probably because they still hate black people (It was a while ago, and with 400 people voting, there had to be at least one racist in there, right?). Someone didn't vote for Ted Williams because he had an occasional reputation as 'unfriendly to the media/fans'. Someone didn't vote for Ty Cobb because Ty Cobb was one of the most unlikable human beings in the history of human civilization. Any reason that people come up with that doesn't include something related to the player's on-field achievements is just stupid. The past is the past. Just because someone didn't get in unanimously fifty or sixty or seventy years ago, does not mean that people shouldn't get in unanimously now. Ken Griffey Jr. put up amazing numbers for years, and let himself fall apart like a snowman in early spring during the midst of the steroid era. There was never a hint of PED suspicion surrounding him. He could have taken them and maybe, just maybe extended his career and stats a little bit, staved off some of the physical deterioration. But he didn't, at least, it seems that way, and without evidence or even innuendo, that should be good enough. But even without the nobility of pure play during a dirty time, he was still, by the numbers and by the heart, one of the greatest outfielders to ever play the game. The three guys who didn't vote for him, whether it was for personal reasons or because of some ridiculous arcane superstition about unanimity, should have their voting privileges revoked and then be fed to crocodiles.

Oh and one guy voted for Garrett Anderson. Two guys voted for Jason Kendall. And three voted for Mike Sweeney. It is far, far past time for them to completely dismantle and rebuild the voting process.

Griffey and Piazza in the HOF today. Griffey set a new record for voting percentage, 99.3, or 437 out of 440. In related news, police are searching for a can-opener-wielding maniac who has been stalking and forcibly lobotomizing baseball writers. He is suspected to have claimed at least three victims. Both were great choices. Raines and Bagwell will probably be voted in next year, and they'll both deserve it. Martinez is once again shafted by a bunch of doddering guys who hate the DH and probably night games, batting helmets, and integration. Trammell and McGwire are both gone. Schilling and Mussina both didn't get nearly as many votes as they should have, but I think both will be in the HOF in four or five years. However, I do have one serious problem with the voting, and that is Trevor Hoffman. He should have been in on the first ballot, and given that we all know that Mariano Rivera is going to make it on the first ballot, Hoffman being left out is a travesty.

No, but it is far more admirable. I admit it's very disappointing when the subtlety goes unnoticed, though. I've insulted people more than a few times on this site and had it go unnoticed, like a transparent balloon on a breezy summer day or a girl reading a book in Alabama.

I have no idea what Girls of Summer is, but it sounds like an event I would be happy to attend. Seriously though, what is it?

And something that we wholeheartedly disagree on. I have always preferred baseball on the radio. Castiglione is excellent, and more than makes up for any flaws in his co-hosts. I never enjoyed the shtick that Remy and Orsillo put on every gameday, it distracted from the game. On the radio, since you can't see it, they have to be on top of every pitch, every play, and I love that. I guess it doesn't matter to me because I still plan on listening to the radio, but I'm sure O'Brien will do well. He's much better at irrelevant chatter than Castiglione, so he should adjust well.

I went to a game a few years ago with my mom and stepdad. There was a guy a few rows behind us, drunk, screaming vulgarities repeatedly. After about ten or fifteen minutes, someone finally got fed up and reported him and security came and dragged him away. I'm all for the authentic baseball experience, but I can financially justify maybe one Red Sox game a year, I would prefer to enjoy the game without a guy screaming obscenities uninterrupted at the top of his lungs ten feet away from me.

Welcome to TalkSox.

Yeah, I didn't know about this either. The only difference between UN? and I here though, is that I never liked Lugo, so f*** him.

I'm sure he did, the advertising campaign was very extensive. I paid for at least four skywriters.

He repeatedly posted a bunch of "Go Guardians"-type crap in gamethreads, and when people, including me, asked him to stop he just started doing it more while increasingly displaying a petulant and obnoxious attitude about it. However, it was four years ago when he was 16 years old, and I realize that people mature in many ways between 16-20, (and not at all in other ways), so when I happened to see him browsing the site a couple of weeks ago, I unbanned him and sent him this PM: I felt this was justified, as I felt there was a huge difference between a 16-year old kid intentionally trying to piss people off and a 20-year old kid who has grown a bit, and a big difference between that person and someone who was banned just for being an adult douchebag who is unlikely to change (for example, everyone else who has ever been banned from this site). Anyways, he hasn't posted, he might have left the site before I unbanned him and sent the message, so if he happens to come online again he'll find out he can post.

I'm certain everyone here trusts me to use my powers only for good. Right, everyone? ...right?

Again, I have no insights and no control over the technical problems on the site. As a moderator, I can delete comments, close threads, change signatures or avatars, and ban people, but that's it. I can't change profile information, passwords, or site features, and I have no access to the administrative functions of TS. Only YesZir has that stuff. I would suggest E-Mailing him directly. However, it is possible that it is something on your computer rather than the site, since I don't have this issue and no one else has mentioned it either.

But a team with a strong infield but a weak outfield wouldn't be a team that looked good on paper. I understand what you're trying to say, but my point is that from October to March, there is no baseball being played. Any team assembled in the offseason HAS to look good on paper, because it's all they have until play begins. You can't be sure that a team will play well until they actually play, and until that happens, paper is what you have.

So are you saying that there are teams made up entirely of guys who look bad on paper who somehow perform well enough to seriously contend? Doesn't every team made up of "players who perform well" begin as a team that "looks good on paper"? I don't really get what you mean here. If a GM isn't supposed to build a team in the offseason that looks good on paper, what is he supposed to measure the offseason by?

After spearheading the Red Sox' triumph over them in the 1986 ALCS, Henderson has been traded to the Angels.

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb-news/4689215-dave-henderson-dies-dead-obit-as-red-sox-mariner-1986-alcs

Wow, what a bizarre coincidence. I didn't even know it when I posted that, but today is actually the anniversary of Ruth's sale to the Yankees.

Some people want it too much, and I am thus obligated to withhold it, lest I contribute to their neuroses.

I feel it is a gift I am lucky...no, make that obligated, ​to share with the world.

I suppose not, it wouldn't be fair to expect. Anyways, back on one of this thread's topics, I agree that JD Drew was not nearly as bad of a signing as a lot of people seem to think. I guess I can see Kimmi's point that perhaps it would have worked out better if it was shorter, but he certainly brought something to the team, especially in 2007.

For the last time, no, I will not send you naked pictures.

I have some serious concerns about Frazee's big trade, I think it will come back to bite the team in the ass. Anyone who thinks it will pan out is a moron.

This is a user-created thread for discussions pertaining to a multitude of subjects, and in no way bars you from posting about them in other threads. This is literally the exact opposite of censorship. The only censorship on Talksox is the lack of fight-inciting political discussions and pornography. The internet is not the place for sexual content.

I don't think (actually, scratch that, I know) that none of us on TS can say why Ben did or did not do things, because we are not him, nor were we present when he discussed his reasons for declining the interviews. Until he comes out on camera and says "I declined the job interview because _____ ", it's all just speculation. Anyways, Dombrowski is the GM now, and he's doing an excellent job, so let's just focus on that!