Indecision 08 games

Labels: election , indecision '08 , politics , presidential campaign , sarah palin. As I said before I think the issue is that he's blatantly attacking a young earth viewpoint saying that if you believe in a young earth you're an idiot and unfit to lead. He's judging her based on her religious beliefs which, I think, is biased and elitist.

I disagree, Mick. The dinosaurs are not the issue. The issue is Sarah Palin's ability to fulfill the duties of the president at a time when the country is struggling to come to grips with global climate change, suffering economically, and deeply entrenched in a very complex war. You may not like Damon's approach, but the core of his argument is sound.

I think it's quite amusing that Hollywood actors' opinions are treated as gospel. She is a Christian, pro-life and pro-guns, she loves her country and will defend it. It's not just that someone with those credentials could not get close to politics, it's that such things are non-issues here. Religion is thankfully in terminal decline and abortion is taken as a fundamental right and not questionable.

You only need guns to defend yourself against other people with guns and that's only a guaranteed certainty where anyone can get hold of them. The right to keep arms is only talked up so serve the weapons industry.

McCain seems a good candidate, shame his VP makes Bush look like an intellectual superior. Bob Timmermann My year old nephew wants to start a fantasy baseball league with me and four of his friends. If anybody else has kids of that age who might be interested in participating, drop me a line and I'll see if I can set up a relatively simple league without a lot of categories.

It's a good way for kids to both learn math, learn baseball, and develop extraordinarily geeky habits. Andrew Shimmin How much of Odalis's salary did the Dodgers end up eating? Something like sixteen million dollars, right?

Including the opt-out penalty on the option year. Colletti didn't sign that contract, so it's not the same. But with the way Grittle went down, it doesn't seem like it would take too much of a fight to provoke the swift and terrible justice of Mr. Diamond Leung needs to get Pierre on the record dissing white neckties, and fancy t-shirts.

Marty And the wearing of dead animals on one's head. ToyCannon In our Burbank League we let our commissioner give his son a team in He was around 15 and came in last place but he was setting his team up nicely for Proving he was a quick learner he came in 2nd last year and won about Jon Weisman Off-topic research project of the day: When's the last time the regular season Pac men's basketball title came down to a head-to-head, winner-take-all match on the final day of the season?

I'm guessing this isn't the answer you were looking for. Never mind. Man, if he's back to '06 form, look out. Jon Weisman - Did I not say "regular season"? Or Bob's fantasy team. If Bob plays fantasy baseball, he should let us name his team. Humma Kavula Question: if Liriano is back to his '06 form, should the Twins have kept Santana for the final year?

I'm in the camp that thinks that IF the Twins have no shot this year, then the trade is a good idea Andrew Shimmin Given that he didn't even let us help name his cat, that seems improbable. He's really not a team player.

You might remember [Ambiorix] Burgos came to Mets' spring training last year, and on one of the early days he was blowing mph fastballs by hitters and leaving everyone slack-jawed. My reply: Just wait. I'd seen Burgos' act up close and personal. And on my blog at that time, I also asked: "By the way, what kind of goof throws the ball mph before the end of February?

I'm not crazy, right? Isn't this like walking up to a doctor and saying, 'Hey, would you mind cutting my ulnar collateral ligament? MC Safety Omar sure could have used Bannister's innings last year. Didn't the Mets let go of Lindstrom right before that too? What a series of events. Bob Timmermann Although the moment has passed for Jon, the Nameless Ones beat Oregon State in Tucson on the final day of the regular season to force a tie for first place in the Pac I was just going to start rooting for them!

Jon Weisman - What year? Bob Timmermann Sorry about that. ET Jon Weisman - Was that a Jud Buechler vs. Gary Payton tilt? It didn't come down to the final game, but if the teams had finished tied they would have had a one-game playoff at the Forum.

No tiebreaker formula! Jacob L Guessing, but I want to say they were both out of school by then. I was proud of saying that I liked both it and Big Lebowski while Lebowski was still considered a theatrical bomb.

Bob Timmermann Matt Muehlenbach was the leading scorer for the other guys. So that appears to be the last true "winner take all" game on the last day of the Pac season. Retire 55 Hi everybody,. Anyone have any idea when BP2K8 will be in stores? Having no luck today calling booksellers Dodgers49 I'm not sure where all these reports that Sandy Koufax's fastball was only in the mph range are coming from.

During the 60's when Koufax was at the top of his game I remember reading several reports claiming Koufax's fastball was believed to sometimes exceed 98 mph there were no radar guns being used. He was considered to have the best fastball of his day. In fact, if you search on Koufax's name today you'll find lots of references to the blazing speed of his fastball.

Why would anyone consider a 90 mph fastball to be blazing? Xeifrank Payton's first NBA season was And even then, Morneau isn't anything special.

The Ladykillers, Intolerable Cruelty, The Man Who Wasn't There are all less favored, I know very few people, even those who generally liked them like myself who embrace them in any way. I'll bite my tongue this time. Jon Weisman - Thanks. Maybe next year, they can do a 35th-anniversary story on that game. ToyCannon He may not be special but he provides solid offense at a position that is not that strong in the AL.

Kubel was coming on strong last year, so I think the Twins are being undervalued. Mauer is the best offensive catcher in the AL, combined with Morneau, the sophomore season for D Young, Kubel, Cuddyer, and Harris, it might give them enough offense to compete if the young pitching holds up. Just because Morneau isn't as great as the perception, doesn't mean he doesn't add plenty of value.

The AL is void of premium offensive 1st baseman. Frip Tim Robbin's Press Club anti-war speech was good. However I'm still puzzled by his decision to deliver it with a British accent. The guy was raised in New York. What an odd thing that was. And Tex was traded, of course. But now that I'm making the rounds, reading about it, I wonder if I horribly misunderstood it.

Was it really a drama, as IMDB has it? Jon called it a "high-end soap opera. I laughed the whole way through--I thought it was absolutely a dark comedy and a terrific one!

Nobody else over at SJ seems to have made any mention of it. The person I watched it with was laughing, too, so I can't be entirely alone. Back to lurking. CajunDodger Someone asked me the other day who my favorite sleeper this year was. After a lot of thought, I said the Twins for the reasons you just stated. The other guy looked me square in the eye and with a straight face said "Mine's the Giants. Dodgers49 Paul Blair on Sandy Koufax:.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Blair had often watched in awe when Koufax took the mound. Plus, he had the best curveball in baseball. Jacob L Yeah, the Giants are a sleeper all right. Even I didn't like that one. I blocked it out of my head entirely. I thought "Man Who Wasn't There" was pretty well reviewed at the time.

I remember it being long on atmospherics and short on much else. Jon Weisman - I don't think it was intended as a comedy, no. I don't recall laughing. Eric Enders The Coens seemed to conveniently forget about the Ladykillers during their speech last night when they were talking about the only adaptations they'd done.

ToyCannon Not sure which one they like better or not. I haven't really analyzed the data, just presented it at this point. They love the Giant rotation with good reason but they still fall short of 4.

I expect the total value is higher then ours which is offset by the worse offense in baseball. Yeah, the Twins are definitely a good sleeper. I'd also throw in another team that gave up some good players recently, and that's the A's.

Mostly because I think the Angels and Mariners especially the Ms are a bit overrated. Like pointed out earlier, with Santana and a healthy Liriano, they'd have a decent shot at the AL Central, not the favorites but atleast a decent shot. With the small bounty they got for Santana, why not keep him, atleast until the trade deadline and see if you can make the playoffs, and with the worst case being a draft pick or two?

ToyCannon They probably meant the only successful adaptation they have done. Hasn't everyone in that movie conveniently forgotten their place in it. I'm sure Tom Hanks doesn't mention it, in his resume. Jon Weisman - The Giants do have a really nice rotation. I'm not making any predictions, but remember that the Dodgers won 85 games. I don't know that San Francisco will embarrass itself as much as people think.

I did it as an excercise to see how closely it would match up with what my simulator predicted for each team. Four of the five teams are very close in WAR to the simulator output, but the Diamondbacks had a WAR quite a bit higher than what the simulator predicts.

Andrew Shimmin I've made my peace with finding women who sleep with teenage boys inscrutable. Maybe I'm too willing to suspend my disbelief over it, but it didn't bother me, here. If the movie had gotten bogged down in the boy, I would have had trouble with it, but it seemed to me it spent as little time focused on him as was practicable.

And moved right back to the sweet spot: the crazy lady scheming her way to love and happiness. A couple of the reviews of the book it was based on allude to elements of dark comedy, without putting it squarely in the genre. If it wasn't a dark comedy, then there's no excuse left for the score.

CajunDodger I don't see nearly as much promise in their pen. Jacob L That thought has occurred to me from time to time as well, but when I reflect further, I don't think the 03 Dodgers are good comparison.

The Dodgers had a great rotation, a stellar bullpen, and great defense particularly on the infield. The Giants have a great rotation. Plus the division is a lot tougher now. Jon Weisman - He's a legitimate critic. Eric Enders Andrew Sarris is actually one of the two or three most famous living film critics. Maybe it's like a color blindness test, where only defective people can see it.

Andrew Shimmin Oh yes? Well, there you go! I'm declaring victory and going home. Daniel Zappala The others being? Jon Weisman - I am color blind. And my memory isn't great. So maybe it was funny and I just don't remember.

CajunDodger Possibly MC Safety The Verizon commercial with the girl checking college basketball scores is pretty funny. His collection, "Nobody's Perfect," is howlingly funny. Andrew Shimmin Sorry I called you defective. At least we're taking steps in the right direction with our 2 constants being Jones and Kemp, maybe next year another step will be taken. Jon Weisman - No need - no offense taken.

Kind of like potty training. This year the Dodgers are only wetting the bed. DodgerJoe Someone probably has answered this before Will the pre-season games air live on the radio now that they are with AM?

Jacob L Are we back to potty training chat? This weekend was a big success. One accident. I think that's setting a reasonable standard for the Dodgers in your analogy. Jacob L That's the one. Next time I bring her to a game, I'll spend half the time chasing her down the aisles, half the time feeding her malts, and the other half the time accompanying her to the bathroom.

Gen3Blue Now that is a hopefull thought. Cannon thanks for the Pecotas, which I hadn't been able to wangle any other way. Jon's question about Pitching vs. I appreciate counting vs. Is this straight ERA, and can anyone take a stab at why this might be so? Andrew Shimmin Well, I think you're only saying that so that we don't have to kiss in front of everybody. But, alright. And it's mandatory, people. Times Dodger page. The year-old, who missed all of last season because of a torn left hamstring, credits his good health in part to some changes in his training regimen and also to a recent life change.

Repko returned to workouts Monday after taking four days off for the arrival of his first child, Tyler Jason Repko, who was born Thursday in Washington. The birth was done by a scheduled C-section so Repko could be sure to be there.

That should be:. Eric Enders I'm colorblind too. If I understand the gene thing correctly, Jon's maternal grandfather had to have been colorblind, and while there is no chance that any of Jon's kids will be colorblind, his daughter's male children have a good chance to be.

I noticed how you put your own name in there. And how you're presuming Jon is dying soon, since you call it a "Memorial". Don't think I'm not wise to your ways, Andrew. I will be placing extra charms in my comments to ward off the evil spirits you're bringing here. Jon Weisman - That's generally how it goes, though I don't know if those rules are rigid.

My brother's colorblind too. This will give L. I can definitely see Meloan, at least, coming up within a few months. As alex notes, there's more potential positives with the other young guys they have in stock. But don't bet on your own team for God'sakes! Talk about jinxing things I learned long ago, the hard way, never to do that.

And the best advice is always to bet against the Yankees -- there are so many Yankee fans betting that they tend to skew the odds to where the number is unrealistic. I mean, that's a ridiculous number -- expecting a team to get wins? Betting on one's own team can set in motion a very dark outcome. Gen3Blue Thanks Reg--that helps a bit. I'm pretty used to that by now.

Go for broke! Xeifrank Other possible negatives: -Haren to the DBacks. Johnson can only get healthier. Other possible positives: -Giants lose Bonds -Edmonds is old -DBacks possible downgrade at closer -Bob racks up frequent flier mileage. I was very in-tune with Grady's weird lineup rhythms. I knew that when he was going to be benching a number of players at the same time like Martin and Kent, etc.

A fan ought to know his team better than any bookmaker. I root with my heart, but I bet with my head. I've made three pre-season bets in Vegas on teams to win the championship. They were And yes, Mitch Williams is on my list. Baltimore Ravens the year they won the Super Bowl If Martin asks for six million we could end up paying him 18 million by the time he reaches his fourth year of arbitration.

Atlanta at Holman Stadium. I am 1st row on the 3rd base side so we should get good autographs. Email me at LVproduction yahoo. How much did you put on them and what were their odds? Andrew Shimmin So, 4 years, 45 million dollars. I bet Colletti's spurned offer didn't look like that. Bob Timmermann How am I getting the frequent flyer mileage? I will make it happen! I was just telling my extended family to bet on them because they are into gambling on sports.

Oh a child prodigy sports gambler. Seems like you've been flying all over the world and country of late. Eric Enders sounds like the next Wes Anderson movie.

Bob Timmermann If I'm in a Wes Anderson film, you can be sure that he had compromising photos of me to force me to do it. Bob Timmermann Like me selling enriched plutonium to the North Koreans. Sigh, my fingers are not getting along with my brain today. Eric Enders Or building houses for Saddam. Place your bets. I'm going to wait til Jon places his bet.

MC Safety Any of you guys see that Eduardo injury over the weekend? The Russell Baze approach to baseball betting. MC Safety Ok, lets try this. Get well soon Jerry, but I think Juan Pierre might be able to teach you a thing or two about not getting a tweaked groin. Make it happen, Ken! Bob Timmermann Why the Internet is a bad thing sometimes. Eric Enders And yet if you click on "view complete results," they're 2.

Which Dodger drove in Juan Pierre the most last year? And it wasn't Juan Pierre, but you knew that. Answer to come later on. I guess no one objects to UCLA being ranked 21st.

Dodgers49 Young Dodgers look up to Andruw Jones. Dodgers49 Torre gives Delwyn Young an infield look. Omar Little. You took it to the streets and the streets got you. Andrew Shimmin Too bad Vin won't be calling the Friday game. How long will we have to wait before getting the definitive word on whether Jones has "Cow Man" tattooed on his arm? Dodgers49 Tony Jackson on Jason Schmidt:. But Jason remains right on track in his rehab, and if he doesn't suffer any kind of setback which he hasn't come close to suffering yet , it's tough to imagine he won't be ready to join the rotation by the start of the season.

Andrew Shimmin Let's just all thank Ch-i that "formal press conferences" are exempt from the new restrictions. Because that's what baseball is really about.

Eric Enders The people at Salon. Gen3Blue That picture of Jeff Murad won't cause me to avoid any similar content--though its close Dodgers49 Dodgers Notes: Sweeney introduces Idol idea. The younger Piazza is now 39, unsigned, rehabbing three tears of his rotator cuff while playing the role of father to 1-year-old daughter Nicoletta.

He had only eight home runs last year while battling injuries as a designated hitter for Oakland after 15 consecutive seasons of double-figure homers for a career total of I don't know whether he'll play again. He had an opportunity in Japan, but didn't go. I was hoping he'd come back to the Dodgers and go into the Hall of Fame as a Dodger. Sorry folks. I honestly figured the only people who knew the name were those who watch religiously and therefore couldn't have gone to sleep without watching last night.

Eric Enders I tend to save up Wire episodes so I can watch multiple episodes at once. Fortunately, I'd already seen this one a week ago. Gen3Blue Some of the things that may not be so bad about being a small market or even a moderate pay-roll team. In this case we probably would have been forced to use Houlton, Stults and Hull instead of Tomdrickson and Loiasa. Dodgers49 Kershaw is fitting in at Dodgers camp.

Andrew Shimmin It's like they don't want anybody to go to their games. MC Safety Torre's outlook on bringing up young pitching was encouraging. Jon Weisman - And in doing so, do they consider other characters in TV history? Or is it just, The Wire is so great, this must be the greatest character in TV history? Sorry if this has already been mentioned Jon Weisman Standards of parenthood:. Tony Jackson just discovered it, so it's making the rounds again.

Eric Enders The latter. It was a couple of people making asides; they didn't have a comprehensive discussion of the issue.

Bob Timmermann It's pretty much an offhand comment I think. It's not a thorough look at TV history. Eric Enders I think the reason Tony Jackson just discovered it is because it was shown to the players during the Dodgers' most recent team meeting, according to Gurnick. Jon Weisman - Yes, Tony Jackson says as much.

Eric Enders Oh, the over won, obviously. You could probably make a lot of money on this by bribing Jon to shave posts. MollyKnight Can someone please remind me why we traded Mike Piazza?

I don't seem to recall. I wonder where they are going to start Morris off this year. Benjamin Miracord Let's hope he shares some of his newly learned bunting tips.

I thought when I heard him on the Sunday morning show on Angry Liberal radio it was the end for him. The Colbert Report doesn't have friends, just a couple of acquaintances. Stephen Colbert believes it's time we acknowledge the war waged by Israelite chief Judah Maccabee against the armies of Antiochus. Rajiv Chandrasekaran explains some of the mistakes made by the American civilians living in a bubble in the Green Zone of Iraq. If this year's Christmas video is any indication, even Barney the dog is starting to wake up and smell the Snausages.

Jason Jones believes all we need to do is reduce the sectarian conflict in Iraq to iconic pop culture moments from mob movies.