rician blast

I really didn't have a problem with him once we established I didn't appreciate his condescending nature. The marriage...peculiar. I thought my wife was a saint to put up with some of my b.s.but his must already have her wings.

The kid was utterly predictable...and that was one of the fun things about having him around. You knew exactly what to say to elicit an emotional and less than thoughtful response from him. In the BH forum he gave me some s***...once. just once. I friggin hammered him on some of his less than politically correct, insensitive or just plain ridiculous comments and he kept it above board after that. If you played along with him he was a douche...if you stayed firm with him he was ok.

what'd he get banned for, if anyone knows.

and hopefully torre continues on this path of BP decimation.

not me. Smoltz is money in big games.

I'd agree with this. I've probably been one of the most agressive fans in listing potential users, based on what I've seen. My list includes: Trot Foulke Nomar Tek Damon Jetes O'Neill Posada Clemens Pujols Edmunds Bagwell Thome I could go on forever.

that's exactly the sort of deal I'm wondering about. I've said this same thing about the Yankees in the past, i.e. are they bringing up the youngster because HE'S ready or are they bringing him up to showcase him because THEY ARE READY to move him for proven big league talent. Virtually no one is untouchable and any deal that helps the club near-term without spelling doom long-term will be considered.

morinin', Sean. 'tis a beautiful day in CT today... the birds are chirping...the sun is shining...Sox youngsters are throwing nicely and are supposedly up for more than a cup of coffee... or are any of them auditioning for other teams? Would the Sox consider moving one of these guys near the deadline if it brought back value?

uhhhh...sure....right. most of those Yankee "fans" would think that a "Red Ruffing" was when you get anally abused with a toilet plunger handle wrapped in sandpaper.

his "health" will be dependent upon what performance enhancing drugs he can get away with using. i truly believe he was on the s*** in '03 and '04.

what is more disturbing to me than just scoring one is the way VAritek approached his AB. Smoltz walks the bases full... and Tek swings and fouls off the first pitch, up out of the zone, then later grounds out on a pitch down. How about a little fkn discipline?

take drugs outta baseball and ther numbers go down...less homers, less accomplished athletes = less revenue. MLB woulda swept this under the rug forever if they had their way. now its out so they have to look concerned, all the while saying damn it, damn it, damn it, why couldn't the use go on unreported?

not sure I agree...let's say this: you can't assess the future of a trade 3 months after it happened. assessing it currently, or even immediately as it happened, is absolutely appropriate. My point is that we've seen that pitching and defense win titles...or at the very least contribute greatly to winning titles. When the trade occurred, many of us wondered why we'd fck Arroyo and ship him off for Wily Mo when there were obvious question marks in the starting rotation (i.e. Clement, Beckett's health, fat boy Wells, etc.) So I am not even looking at the future of this trade at this point...maybe in the long run it works. But in the near term , in the present, it would be awfully nice to have that rockin' righty on our staff. This ain't hindsight...this was the position many expressed at the time...and as of right now, they were right.

good point. I ususally go on the theory that the F.O.knows more than I'll ever know and makes moves based on information that I am not privvy to (i.e. scouting reports, inside info regarding injuries or struggles, personal issues, overall organizational goals, salary and contract issues). So if they're keeping Rudy instead of Riske then there must be a damn good reason and I'll refrain from second guessing. Of course the Arroyo trade would be a case where I second-guessed immediately, just because a relatively young innings-eater at Arroyo's salary seem too damn valuable to trade for unproven talent...but that's an entirely different issue.

but what would it take to get him? It's not like any sane team is gonna agree to a trade take someone like Wily Mo Pena for Arroyo. stupid fkn trade and we all knew it when it was announced, no?

ya know what? you are right. The Yankees are doing just enough when it counts to stay at or near the AL East lead, despite some key personnel losses.

exactly, and if he were on my team I'd want to give him a break to see if he turns it around...for the better of the TEAM. But as a Sox fan I'm ok with it.

lefty specialist. for Riske? I like it.

The fans have a right to boo, that is without doubt. But if they truly cared about their team, wouldn't they back off? I mean the treatment of ARod is in part exacerbating his struggles, no? ARod has to learn to just play ball and forget all of the PC s*** and concerns over his image and also learn to ignore the fans boos...but I think that's going to be very hard for him to do. As a Sox fan I say boo his ass off, Yankee fans, because I really think that you bear some of the responsibility for him not living up to his contract. Let's face it...he doesn't suck...he's just underperforming in relation to expectations. If the day comes that Jeter or any other key Yankee player publicly steps up and supports ARod I'll be a little concerned, as a non-Yankee fan. If the day comes where the fans back off and try and urge ARod on through acceptance (yeah, right!), I'll wonder if he's gonna turn it on big-time. Until then I think ARod should say fck the fans, fck George, fck his image, and just play ball. Problem is, I don't think he knows how to do that.

Not totally sure about that...but I also have my suspicions...when a guy totally sucks and only then it is reported that he has been nursing a nagging injury for the last few weeks, it makes ya wonder.

hgh?

this didn't necessarily need to be its own thread but what the heck...so let me ask a few questions that came to mind while listening to Mike and the Mad Dog on WFAN this afternoon. Regarding the incessant booing of ARod: Do you feel the booing of ARod is about appropriate, too much, not enough? Do you Yankee fans feel that Jeter should step up, as Captain, and tell the fans enough is enough? Does the fact that Jeter (and no one else, for that matter) has really supported ARod highlight some internal issues? WFAN speculates that the rift that existed between ARod and Jetes prior to ARod's arrival in the Bronx still exists and that perhaps Jeter will not go to bat for the guy. Thoughts?

according to some who've used that isn't the case...guys have claimed even their eyesight improved when using performance enhancing drugs. I respect your opinion above. However it is fairly reminiscent of those I've seen over the last 2 or so years which say "'oh not that guy, he doesn't use" and "no, not this guy"...but based upon what? With the little bit of light that has been shed by Grimsley, which indicates that a guy could have been using HGH, been tested, and not been considered positive for performance-enhancing drugs how can you be so confident that Pujols is "natural"?

OPT clearly doesn't watch the Sox often, which is fine and makes his erroneous statement excusable. from what's been said about Manny's off the field work ethic, i.e. studying pitchers, there is no one who takes his craft more serious than Manny. an occasional blip in the basepaths isn't nearly reason to label the man a slacker.

true. Varitek did not want to wear the C either...that's pretty well known. He felt like it could be construed in a negative fashion...he preferred to lead by example. However his teammates suggested, then requested and then pretty much demanded he wear the C...because they wanted to show HIM how much they respected him as a teammate, a person and a leader. In the land of superstars and egos in the Bronx ya just don't hear anyone going to bat for Jetesy like that. Perhaps THAT is the true source of your ire?