a700hitter

2011 has nowhere to go but up for me. My mom died suddenly on January 14th. My Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer 8 days after my mom was buried. We kept vigil at his bedside from that day and he passed on February 9th. His funeral was today. They lived full and interesting lives. My mom was 86 and my Dad was 92. They were married for 64 years. My Dad enjoyed unbelievable great health until his final two months. Losing them both in less than a month has been a devastating emotional blow and it leaves an enormous hole in my life. Spring training can't get here fast enough for me. Go Sox!!! Edit: Had to correct the month of my Dad's death. I've been in such funk that I don't even know what month it is

I like this move.

I bow to you.

The guy is not worth the plane fare to the mainland. They should make him swim. That would show some phenomenal athletic talent.

The season that I hit .714 I had groupies. My playoff average was even higher, because I am clutch. I should have sent the local press clippings to the Sox Scouting Department.

That bad?

LOL!! I'm old, but not old enough to remember the Negro Leagues. It just seems ridiculous to dedicate any resources to New Zealand where baseball is probably not a very popular sport and the country's population is roughly one-third that of Georgia. You are probably just angling for the Sox to come scout your Wooden Shoe League.

I'd crack open your home brew if you had ever sent me a bottle.

How many New Zealanders are in the majors? I anxiously await your scouting report on this softballer.

Scouting a kid in New Zealand who is unlikely to progress beyond A ball just seems to be a little cost ineffective.

It's never good to lose a player like Michael Young.

Last year they signed a midget, I.e. Nava and now they are signing New Zealand Softballers. What next, a Canadian Curler.

At this point, I have no confidence that Wakefield can be a productive major leaguer.

Spud, you have a knack for summing things up very succinctly.

If the Six win, I don't mind losing the sleep, but it sucks when they lose.

The "HGH was not cheating" is a ridiculously stupid argument. If the players thought it wasn't cheating, why did they all hide the fact that they used it? The answer is, because everyone considered it cheating.

Even according to your version of the events, he wasn't forthright after the Mitchell Report, but you think he decided to come clean with Congress because it was the right thing to do. If he was the good Christian that he claims to be he should have been forthright after the Mitchell Report. He didn't merely fail to disclose after the Mitchell Report. He affirmatively lied saying that he only used twice. Again, it's not something a good Christian would do. I have nothing against bad Christians. I am not a churchgoer. However, I despise religious hypocrites such as the bible-thumping Pettitte. I choose to believe that he changed his tune when Congress subpoenaed him, because the penalties for lying to Congress are severe, not because he thought it was the right thing to do. Like you, I don't care what a player does in his personal life. However, when we are righting a guys player obit and he is called a class act, when in fact he was and is a scumbag, I will speak up. If we want to talk about him as a performer, I have no disagreement that he is a borderline HOF performer, but as a person he was not and is not a class act. If you only care about how he performed, why does it bother you that I post my opinion that he's a scumbag? My opinion of Pettitte might change if someday he donates his liver or a kidney to a total stranger.

His motivation can be inferred from the circumstances. It is only my opinion, and only Pettitte knows the truth. If he was a forthright guy, he would have been completely forthright in his statement after the Mitchell Report, but he wasn't. He said that he only used it the two times mentioned in the Mitchell Report. He was forthright when Congress called, because his lawyer told him the consequences of lying. Then and only then did he remember additional times where he used HGH. Unfortunately for Clemens, his attorney could not convince him of the severity of the consequences.

Also, the statement was a lie. That was his statement after the Mitchell Report. He admitted to using it twice, and that turned out to be a lie. When Congress subpoenaed him, he recalled additional times that he used. As for the "i only used it to recover from injury and get back on the field" argument, that is the main purpose of roids and HGH-- to allow the athlete to be able to train more with better recovery periods. If they tried to train as hard without the juice, they would injure themselves or suffer from fatigue. He was a cheater, and his rationalization is a very lame attempt at an excuse. He was taking it to get an edge and heal faster.

I just think that you should judge people by what they did, not on a crafted public persona. When the lights and cameras were off and the pressure and the heat got turned up, he showed no character. The fact that he made no waves in the clubhouse and was a gentleman during interviews is irrelevant. That is just phony-ass PR stuff.