June, 2009

The BDBL Forum: Greatest Hits (and Misses)

Every year, the annual "Forum Flubs" article is always a crowd-pleaser (as is anything that makes me look like a fool) and it demonstrates just how unpredictable the game of baseball is.  So, for our big 10th anniversary celebration, I decided to dig up some old quotes from the past ten years that either make us look like geniuses or (in most cases) like morons.  Enjoy!

"I don't believe that the current salary structure and format you have laid out will work in the long run."

-- Chuck Shaeffer, 4/28/99

Poor Chuck.  He never did quite "get it," did he?  For a self-proclaimed "rocket scientist," he wasn't the brightest guy I've ever met.

"I'll take all wagers that [Angel Berroa] has a better career than [Mark] Ellis.  Any takers?"

-- Chris Luhning, 11/19/02

"I'll take that bet.  Berroa seems like the Second Coming of Rey Ordonez.  Ellis seems like the Second Coming of Randy Velarde.  I'd take Velarde over Ordonez any day."

-- Mike Glander, 11/19/02

Time for an update:

Angel Berroa, career: .260/.304/.377, 276 EQR, 5.5 WARP3
Mark Ellis, career: .264/.335/.404, 397 EQR, 23.0 WARP3

So now the only question is: what did I win?

By the way, my comps were pretty damn close:

Berroa: .260/.304/.377
Perez: .267/.297/.375

Ellis: .264/.335/.404
Velarde: .276/.352/.408

Frightening, eh?  My predictive powers are so astonishing, I frighten even myself sometimes.

"...[Aaron] Heilman will be a #1 starter in the big leagues within the next five years.  That's my official 'Kreskin Glander' prediction."

-- Mike Glander, 4/21/03

Err...hold on a sec...

"Oh, and [Bobby] Hill will be an all-star second baseman within that same timeframe.  And [Tim] Hummel will be a useful, Catalanotto-like utility man."

-- Mike Glander, 4/21/03

Yeah...remember what I said about my predictive powers?  Scratch that.

"I actually pity those who are incapable (or perhaps just unwilling) to question what they are told about any issue because they fear being called names. That, my friend, is not what this country is about -- whether you are liberal or conservative."

No, that wasn't the current Miss America talking about the gay marriage issue.  That was our own Paul Marazita talking about the Iraq war.  Difficult to tell the difference, eh?

"Oh boy I can't wait for (Felix) Diaz to get to the Big's. To all you guys who've been cutting on him, I'm going to save him for you!"

- Tom DiStefano, 11/11/02

"The only skinny Dominican around that has a chance to be the 'next Pedro' is probably Felix Diaz. Man are you guys going to be pissed when he busts out this year."

- Tom DiStefano, 11/25/02

"Now if (Felix) Diaz has a good year, will I receive any kind of apology? Or will you bring up some wacky stat ('Diaz posted a 4.75 Tide Independent ERA! He actually SUCKED this year!!!') to show that he still sucks?"

- Tom DiStefano, 4/1/03

Remember Tom's obsession with Felix Diaz?  That was SO cute!

"Thanks for stealing my husband. Now he sits at dinner calculating stats and talking about 14 year old high school prospects."

- Kerry Clemm, 1/6/03

Still one of my all-time favorite BDBL forum posts.

"So I was just looking around for a couple things online and I found this website... WOW.. where did this idea and NAME come from???"

- Beth Reuschel, 12/29/03

Another one of my all-time favorite posts.  I wonder whatever happened to Beth?  (And if Beth really was who she said she was.)

"It's amazing to me how you guys think (the A-Rod trade to the Yankees) is a good thing. This is not a good thing for baseball. As a Yankee fan, I don't see how this helps the team."

- Billy Baseball, 2/15/04

Well...given that the Red Sox have won two World Series since that day, I guess Billy was right.  A-Rod signing with the Yankees was the worst thing that ever happened to baseball.

"I was searching for something in one of our old threads and I came across this beauty from Glander:

I also gave Grady Sizemore, Michael Aubrey, Kelly Shoppach, Rob Quinlan, Aaron Heilman and Seung Song to the Lightning franchise. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am the Johnny Appleseed of the BDBL.

So what are you planting there Johnny?"

-- Tom DiStefano, 5/20/04

"Must be a Flowering CRAPapple Tree!"

-- Gene Patterson, 5/20/04

"...making a LOT of trades with the prospects you mentioned doesn't necessarily make you 'Johnny Appleseed' but it does make you a farmer. That is, a guy who spends a lot of time spreading around a lot of crap."

-- Tom DiStefano

Ha!  I showed you guys!  And don't think I won't hesitate to trade away another perennial all-star to my division rivals just to prove a point!

"...a few days ago, I sent him one e-mail, offering B.J. Upton and Brandon Lyon for Millwood and J.C. Romero."

- Mike Glander, 6/13/03

"Yes, that would have been a VERY fair trade. How in the world do you sleep with yourself Michael? How you could post that THIS was your offer and still malign me (and others) is truly beyond all belief. I mean honestly, you truly have brass balls. Wow. I am truly amazed, though I will hand it to you that you admitted it. I guess I have to hand THAT to you...Upton and Lyon speaks for itself. No wonder no one wants to trade with you."

- Paul Marazita, 6/13/03

"Brass balls."  That's good stuff.  Just as a reminder, instead of accepting my offer of B.J. Upton (and taking Romero's salary off his hands), Billy chose Marazita's package, which was comprised of Horacio Ramirez and Zach Day.  Oh, plus the standard Marazita/DiStefano "throw-in" transaction fee (Randy Winn and Will Cordero thrown in by Billy "just to make things even.")  And you wonder how Billy lost nearly 1,000 games in ten years?

"Will this 'ridiculous effort to democratize a population' (as you so eloquently put it) work? Many people said it wouldn't work in Japan, but that effort turned out pretty well. In other places, granted, it hasn't worked so well. Will it work in Iraq? As you like to say, 'time will tell.' I certainly think it's in our best interests to at least give it a try, don't you? It's better than the alternative, which was proposed by all the people you vote for: do nothing and leave Saddam Hussein in power, to rape and murder his own people, increase his power over the region, thumb his nose at any attempts by the civilized world to put a stop to his madness, develop more weapons of mass destruction, and threaten the peace and prosperity of Western civilization."

-- Mike Glander, 4/8/03

There you have it.  A cautiously optimistic analysis of a fragile situation that has turned out to be mostly correct.  Iraq has now had several democratic elections and is well on its way to joining the Western world as a modern, freedom-loving, capitalist society.

"...you have proven your ignorance of even the slightest degree of complexity on so many occasions that I have neither the time nor the inclination to educate you further. You go on towing that party line dude like that white fluffy farm animal that you are. Its sad and pathetic and beneath you, but you seem to have made a life of it and if girth is any indication of happiness, you seem to have achieved nirvana, so who am I to disrupt your applecart of simplicity."

-- Paul Marazita, 4/8/03

...and Marazita responds to that thoughtful analysis by calling me a fat, stupid sheep.  God, I miss him.

"Now...is Matt Holliday a "stud prospect?" I don't think so, personally."

-- Mike Glander, 5/10/02

Swing and a miss!

"$5 says Mike Jones is in the majors before Michael Aubrey."

-- Mike Stein, 4/19/02

It only took seven years to collect, but Stein, you owe me $5.

"Who will have the best major league career?
A. Bobby Brownlie
B. Felix Diaz
C. Mike Jones

My guess - B, then C, then A."

-- Tom DiStefano, 4/21/02

Where's "D. None of the above?"

"[Mike] Jones used to be a Zoot. Based on this and the fact that he was drafted out of HS, Mike likes to say things like he is a 'future Tommy John victim' based on his normal 'pseudo-science' -- i.e., Part 1: I gave him up therefore he will suck. Part 2: Since HS pitchers are more 'risky' than College pitchers, Jones will, of course, suffer a career threatening injury.  I just let it go these days. I just don't have the energy to respond each and every time."

-- Paul Marazita, 4/29/02

Say...whatever happened to Mike Jones?  Didn't he suffer a career-threatening injury?  Who could've predicted that??

"[Referring to Clint Nageotte:] A 20-year old with 39k's in 26ip in High-A whose overall bad numbers (bb's and ERA) relate to two admittedly horrendous outings (versus his other outings which, in a word, have been outstanding? Conclusion? I'll suffer through. You do the same with Adam [Johnson.] We'll see where we end up. Deal?"

-- Paul Marazita, 5/6/02

Good lord.  In a battle between Clint Nageotte and Adam Johnson, there can be no winner.

"Oh yeah, Danny Wright? Two good starts and one bad start at age 24 in the ML's and you are going to put him on the scrap heap? Just goes to show you know NOTHING about pitching. Thanks for proving my point. He is one of the more exciting young arms in the AL thank you very much."

-- Paul Marazita, 4/15/02

Whatever happened to Danny Wright?  Seriously.

"Oh gosh. Look at that. Clint Nageotte (remember that guy you said sucked,) pitching in High A ball for San Bernardino, bounced back from his one subpar outing...and how:

C.Nageotte 5.0ip 2h 1er 1bb 9k

How old is this kid? The same kid that went: 152.1 141 50bb 187k's in low A last year...

All of 21.

Like I said buddy. I have been minding my own business. Trying to stay out of the debates. Trying to be less argumentative with you. Then, out of no where, you have to come and kick me in the ribs. Make fun of my guys. Give lame-ass, transparent "scouting reports" under the guise of being "objective." I know you are trying to "spark" the board a bit, but do me a favor and leave me out of it."

-- Paul Marazita, 4/15/02

I guess he told me.

Here I sit upon my ass
waiting for a stupid pass
I do wish guys would leave a list
Cuz then I�d sure be much less pissed.

-- Tom DiStefano, 1/11/02

Relevant in 2002, and still relevant today.  A timeless poem.

"Based on Mike's last post, I would like to call for a vote -- we seem to like
those in the BDBL. Who is the better 1b prospect:

Nick Johnson OR Adrian Gonzalez.

I will vote first -- DUH, Nick Johnson."

-- Paul Marazita, 12/12/01

I followed this post by commenting that Marazita had once told me that Johnson was his second-best first base prospect.  Marazita then proceeded to call me a liar, over and over again.  I responded by explaining that I remembered having the conversation, and that this is what I recalled hearing Marazita say.  Marazita responded by calling me a liar again, several more times.  I explained that perhaps I had misunderstood what Marazita had said, but reiterated that to the best of my recollection, Marazita preferred to keep Gonzalez over Johnson.  I then apologized if I misunderstood.  Marazita responded by implying that anyone who believed me must be stupid.  He then ended the debate by called me "El Diablo."

See what you new guys missed?

"Now, if you had traded Nick Johnson (who couldn't hold Burroughs' jockstrap by the way) for Edmonds straight-up, that would have been a fair deal. If you had traded Jiminez for those two draft picks you received, that would also have been fair. Hell, if you had traded that #2 Phoenix pick for Edmonds and those other two picks, I'd even let you slide on that.

But you traded two prospects, Phoenix's pick, and a #11 pick that is dead-last in that round, in exchange for a FULL SEASON of Clemens, a FULL SEASON of Edmonds and two draft picks."

-- Mike Glander, 12/12/01

The key statement here is that I suggested Nick Johnson couldn't hold Sean Burroughs' jockstrap.  Which, technically, turned out to be true.  Since Burroughs no longer wears a jockstrap, it would be impossible for Nick Johnson to hold it.

Mike Glander...right again!

You guys need to get a life. Who the hell has time to check stats and do all these comparisons?

Get a job .... give to charity .. wash the car ... get out of the house .... just get up and walk away .. just walk away!

-- Billy Baseball, 3/14/02

If only we had listened to him...

"Against my better judgment, I will give 5 seconds of my perspective. I think the trade made sense from my perspective as I needed some offense and Chipper can be used at 3B or LF. Jim is the best person to answer about his thinking, but from what I gathered it is pretty simple. Jones is $8.0M this coming season, $9.5M the following year and $10.0M in 2004, 2005 and 2006 -- an aggressive contract. Jim wanted to free up salary for next season's bumper crop of 2003 FA's and wanted to get a solid, cheap starter in return. Dempster will certainly be better than, let's say, Pedro Astacio at $3.0M next season (I saw an article on ESPN.com I think listing Astacio as one of the 5 WORST SP's in the NL last year -- but I digress). So Jim gets a #3/#4 starter with 211 IP and moves a difficult contract. Again, you have to talk to Jim for the details, but this is what I gathered."

-- Paul Marazita, 12/3/01

This was Marazita's defense of his infamous Chipper-for-Dempster deal.  Notice how he deftly attempts to deflect the conversation away from himself by invoking the name of Pedro Astacio?  See how he mentions Dempster's 211 innings pitched, but not his salary, contract status or any other stats?  Marazita missed his true calling.  He should have worked in politics.

"If you look at the numbers, [Curt] Schilling is not that huge of an upgrade over [Russ] Ortiz. The only reason I moved Russ Ortiz is that teams in the BDBL load up with platoons and Ortiz was getting smacked around by lefties. Schilling�s splits are much more even.

Ortiz is much younger and has a longer, cheaper contract than Schilling. [Erubiel] Durazo should get at least 300 at bats this year (probably more) and is a bargain. [Ronnie] Belliard is getting screwed over in Milwaukee and I�m betting that he�ll get his 400 at bats as well. Jimmy Anderson was a throw-in because Arizona needed innings.

On the other hand, I�m taking a pretty big chance on Schilling with his $10
million contract. The guy IS pushing 36 and has thrown a ton of innings the past few years. And Gagne only has 1 year left on his contract and is looking like Darren Dreifort part II."

-- Tom DiStefano, 3/6/02

And this was Tom's defense of his Schilling trade.  In case you forgot, Schilling was a little bit of a "huge upgrade" over Russ Ortiz in 2002, as he went 17-4 for Allentown, with a 3.64 ERA in 215 innings (with 241 K's.)  And in '03, that "risky 36-year-old" went 17-16 with a 2.85 CERA in 282+ innings (with 27 BB and 330 K's) for Allentown.  Belliard was released at a penalty of $2 million.  Jimmy Anderson tossed 26 innings in '03 at a salary of $2.1 million.  Durazao had 194 at-bats in '03 at a salary of $2.1 million.  And Gagne (the "throw-in" in this deal) posted a 2.41 ERA in 67+ innings, with 32 saves and a 10/95 BB/K ratio for Allentown in 2003.

If only Tom had learned from the master and deflected the debate toward Pedro Astacio...

-------------
NEWSFLASH
-------------

Semi-truck careens into Zooterfield, destroying all of right field (including the bullpen) and 16 concession stands, one of which was the popular BEERS OF THE WORLD.

-------------

Mike Glander's take: "What a lucky break for the Zoots! Not only do they get to rebuild half their stadium and turn it into luxury boxes, but now they get to redesign their RF wall around their hitters and pitchers. Plus, the city of Stamford will be giving the Zoots $35 million in interest-free loans to get this done.

"Of course, this all couldn't have happened to a nicer guy than Paul. Except for me! Could you imagine the damage that would have been done if instead of a semi-truck it was a double-decker bus that crashed into Zooterfield?

"Vehicle A: 35 mph x 17 tons x 13 feet high = 1 million tons of pressure on impact

"Vehicle B: 40 mph x 13 tons x 20 feet high = 2.2 million tons of pressure on impact

"Who wants to guess which vehicle A and B represents and which one actually DID hit Zooterfield?"

--------

Paul Marazita's take: "Though I'm sure somewhere in that cold heart of his, our esteemed Commissioner feels sorrow for the Zoots' tragedy, I must say that he is all wet. It doesn't matter how big the vehicle was that destroyed our right field and BEERS OF THE WORLD concession stand, the fact is that it was destroyed.

"Yes, maybe a larger vehicle would have caused center field to go under as well, but it's quite enough to be hit by a semi-truck.

"You can bet those loans would have served the Zoots in other areas if it weren't for the destruction of right field, so now we'll be hard-pressed to find ways of addressing those needs.

"All I can say is that if it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy I wish there were some nicer guys somewhere."

-----------

Scott Zook's take: "I wish it happend to the Yankees!"

-----------

The Shark's take: "Ichiro will look nice in that revamped Zoots right field. And he can tell you which Japanese beers should be included in the new BEERS OF THE WORLD!"

-- Mike Stein, 12/6/01

Bravo, Mike!

"In the end though, I�ve gotten to a happier place � a place where I can honestly say that, in many ways, this is a great league and I hope it continues for a long, long time without me � perhaps even improves now that the source of so much apparent controversy over the years has moved on."

-- Paul Marazita, 6/9/04

Oddly prophetic words.  Not that the BDBL is controversy-free since 2004, but I do think we've improved in many ways.

"When you guys finally get sick and tired of seeing Marazita and DiStefano win every year, please let me know."

-- Mike Glander, 12/14/03

I'm still waiting.  To be fair, I had three chances to take out Tom myself, but it was three-up/three-down.

"Peralta looks to be Cleveland's SS of the future. He got rushed last year after Vizquel's injury, and didn't embarrass himself.  From watching him all the time, you could see the improvement as the year went on. He'll be useful this year with a 768 OPS against LH's. He doesn't turn 22 until next May, and had a .281/.343/.457 line in AA at 20. There's a lot to like there. Plus, with Tejada signing with the O's, maybe those Vizquel to Seattle rumors start heating up again. Again, Garcia isn't a big loss. Peralta has some upside."

-- DJ Shepard, 12/14/03

"Didn't embarrass himself."  "Useful."  "A lot to like."  "Some upside."  High praise, indeed.

"So when [Assdrubal] Cabrera starts putting up solid major league numbers, are you going to go on and on about how 'lucky' DJ was? About how you, me, and everyone in between knew Cabrera sucked and his success was a bizarre fluke?"

-- Tom DiStefano, 6/30/06

I have to admit, when it comes to making trades with the Ridgebacks for unimpressive-looking minor league middle infielders from the Cleveland Indians organization, no one has done better than D.J. Shepard!

"Walker has been decent for me but landing someone like [Hee-Seop] Choi who is an option year is a nice pickup for me. Getting a 25-year old guaranteed starter for next year is a no-brainer."

-- Greg Newgard, 3/12/04

If, by "no-brainer," you mean you'd have to have no brain to make such a deal...

(Sorry, Greg.)

"I'd normally agree with Mike (about questioning how legit [Guillermo Quiroz's] season was) but I think Quiroz is going to be a solid player. I don't see 35 homers in his future, but I think he could be a .268 hitter with 16 to 20 homers a year. He's not your typical minor league catcher (5'10" 200 lbs.) Instead, he's pretty big (about 6'2") and athletic looking...I'm willing to buy into Quiroz's success a little more quickly than a guy like Dioner Navarro.

I think he'll come up, play a lot, and be a nice cheap player for a BDBL team for a few years...Prediction - at his peak he'll hit .283 with 21 homers...I think he'll turn out to be MUCH more valuable than Gabe Gross who I think is way overrated."

-- Tom DiStefano, 3/9/04

Well, Tom was half right.  Gabe Gross was way overrated.

"I might get mocked for this but...according the the system I use to evaluate minor league players, [Howie] Kendrick is a grade 'C+' prospect.

...The system I use gives players "scores" ranging (roughly) from 1 to 100 (with 50 being average, obviously). Here is how Kendrick and [Ronny] Cedeno fared the last 2 years:

Kendrick 2004 = 52
Cedeno 2004 = 50

Kendrick 2005 = 59
Cedeno 2005 = 58 "

-- Tom DiStefano, 12/6/06

You have to hand it to him.  Tom was right.  He did get mocked for that.

"I don't think [Kevin] Youkilis will ever be much of a major league player...I work with numbers every day but I still use my own methods for trying to find minor leaguers. And I don't start with BB/PA."

-- Tom DiStefano, 3/10/04

Oh, Tom.  You and your methods.

"Edwin Jackson
Adam Miller
Jared Weaver
David Bush
Kyle Sleeth
Jeremy Sowers
Brad Sullivan
Wade Townsend
Mike Pelfrey
Aaron Heilman

If even three of those guys pan out the way people think they will, the OL is in big trouble."

-- Mike Glander, 11/25/04

"I certainly hope 3 of those guys do pan out....otherwise my farm system philosophy is complete garbage. Only time will tell."

-- Jeff Paulson, 11/25/04

For a while, this wasn't looking too good for Jeff.  But today, I'd say Jackson, Weaver, Bush and Pelfrey turned out reasonably well (though none of them could be called an "ace.")  Of course, none of them are Undertakers anymore, so it's all a moot point.

"I basically see [Kendry Morales] as a switch-hitting Miguel Cabrera."

-- Mike Glander, 12/2/04

Hmm...I was a little off on that forecast...

"We're talking about a couple of 18 year old kids here, people. Anything can happen between A-ball and the Major Leagues. It was only about three or four years ago that Josh Hamilton was considered a 'top-five can't-miss prospect' and Albert Pujols was an unknown A-ball hitter. Things tend to change pretty quickly when you're talking about very young prospects."

-- Mike Glander, 12/6/04

Sadly, this is the only quote that remains from the absolute firestorm that resulted from my 2004 trade that nearly caused the league to collapse like a black hole.  Those two 18-year-olds kids I referenced above were Delmon Young and Ian Stewart.  Funny how neither one has become anything approaching an all-star, nearly five years later.

"(Nolan Reimold) is now batting 409/480/727 and also 3 SB. We all knew he had power, but the speed aspect now makes him the total package. Potential 40/40? I think 30/30 would be more realistic in the show."

-- Anthony Peburn, 4/14/06

Well, Reimold has finally slugged his way to the big leagues at age 25.  I'm looking forward to his first 30/30 (or 40/40!) season.

"What an embarrassing performance by the 'Survivor Prospects' expert panel of judges today. I am ashamed to be a member of any league where Andy Marte and Dallas McPherson are deemed unworthy of the top 25. I'm at a loss to explain this. This list is going to look very bad a year from now."

-- Mike Glander, 3/12/04

Well, it did look bad a year later.  But not so bad now.

"Bruce Chen is and will always be a better pitcher than Cliff Lee. I don't know what your actual job is, but you should be working for the Yankees with all of your expertise in baseball."

-- Chris Luhning, 3/11/05

Well, for a while, Chris was right.  But then Lee had to go and win a Cy Young award and ruin everything.

"After the implosions in the careers of Bobby Hill, Chris Burke and Tim Hummel, I'm beginning to believe in "TINSTAASBP" (There Is No Such Thing as a Second Base Prospect.)

But then, maybe this only affects second basemen with stellar college careers, first-round pedigrees and outstanding plate discipline.

(Bad news for Rickie Weeks, if that is true!)"

-- Mike Glander, 3/17/04

Bad news, indeed.

"Yes, [Travis Wood] is my guy, but that is why I drafted him. I was high on him from his HS scouting report and was happy when he wasn't taken in the first round of the draft last year because I know he would slip to us in a later pick. I know Pawelek and Volstatd would go early because they were first rounders.

So, yes, Travis Wood will be an All-Star in 2010."

-- Anthony Peburn, 2/16/06

Time's running out, Peburn.  Better hurry and pick him up off the free agent scrapheap before he blossoms into an all-star!

"[Trading Cory Lidle, Mike Lieberthal and Jason Frasor for Edinson Volquez, Chris Resop and Aki Otsuka is] not a good trade for Atlanta. 2 relief pitchers and a $1 million dollar pitching prospect?? How many years will you have to carry THAT cash before the guy is worth anything? In exchange for a solid starting catcher, a #3 starter, and a solid RP?

...'The world is round' - that's a fact.

'Volquez is a good prospect' - that's an opinion."

-- Tom DiStefano, 2/17/06

"Tom is an awful prognosticator of prospects."  That's also an opinion (though well-supported by evidence.)

"Volquez is a 23 year old pitcher putting up mediocre stats in AAA. 43 walks in 73 innings? He's 29th in WHIP for PCL SP's!

I wouldn't make this trade right now. A starting pitcher, a starting catcher and a solid RP in exchange for a mediocre prospect and a relief pitcher for next year (won't even mention Resop who's thrown 3 mlb innings and got waxed)? No thanks."

-- Tom DiStefano, 6/15/06

You have to give credit to Tom for sticking with it, even four months later.

"To be honest, I am not all that excited about Volquez anymore....we'll see where he is ranked for next year by the experts, but I'll probably be looking to unload him because for 2007, he's a liability."

-- Matt Clemm, 9/26/06

I could probably post old quotes about Edinson Volquez for the next week or so, but I'll stop here.

"Losing Braun has the potential to come back and bite me..."

-- Ed McGowan, 1/16/07

Potential...realized!

"Okay, based on yesterday's landslide victory for the donkeys, what can we expect over the next two years?

-- Higher taxes.
-- Higher spending.
-- Amnesty for illegal aliens.
-- Full-scale surrender of Iraq to the insurgents.
-- Increased threat of terrorism.
-- Higher jobless rate, due to raising of minimum wage/illegal immigration.
-- Weaker economy, due to less spending money.
-- A U.S. Senator (from Vermont, of course) who is an avowed Socialist.
-- An increase in state-sponsored racism. Which is always a great thing. Really brings the country together."

-- Mike Glander, 11/8/06

Good lord!  I was right about nearly every one of those things!  If only I could predict baseball performance as well as I can predict politics!

"I would expect fewer scandals and less hypocrisy."

-- Mike Stein, 11/8/06

How's that working out for ya, Mikey?

left off the list:

*Reduction in corporate welfare programs that reward underperforming businesses and overcompensated, incompetent CEOs

*Lower spending on pork-barrel defense contracts to companies such as Haliburton

-- Brian Potrafka, 11/8/06

Unfortunately, instead of "corporate welfare," we now have a government that owns an auto company.  I'm not sure that's an improvement.  And instead of pork-barrel spending on defense, we now have pork-barrel spending on ACORN, new cars for government workers, contraceptives for teenagers, bridges and rails to nowhere, etc., etc..  Pork is pork, no matter who's in office.

"I'm of the belief that Republicans are the kings of pork and wasteful spending. I'd be very happy if we spent tax dollars on useful programs instead."

-- Jeff Paulson, 11/8/06

"The national debt and deficit spending has been of interest to me for more than a quarter of a century. I've never understood how the Republicans get away with being so fiscally irresponsible and yet making it seem like they aren't to blame...Now, we are in the worse financial mess and have the biggest debt ever, but it goes unacknowledged by the current administration. Personally, I prefer the Democratic philosophy, which seems much fairer."

-- John Duel, 11/9/06

"Our national debt is a bad thing...Not to mention, the administrations inability to effectively communicate with Iran and North Korea scares me."

-- Jeff Paulson, 11/9/06

Okay, enough about politics.  I could spend an entire day reading through all those old political threads.

"Cabrera, the 6'7 flamethrower signed thru 2009, has always been a player we have had an eye on and though he was on the wild side this past season, we feel that he will turn the corner this year and put up front of the rotation type numbers over the next few years based on his second half."

-- Sharky, 1/25/07

I miss Sharky.

"Colten Willems is a future #1 starter...Just remember, like Gallardo, you read it here first."

-- Anthony Peburn, 2/5/07

I long for the day when I can state, "I miss Peburn."  But he seems to want to stick around, unfortunately.

"I'm still sticking to my belief that (Kearns) will turn into a very solid player, but not worth 10 million dollars."

-- Jeff Paulson, 6/4/04

"Even if (all of my pitchers flop this year) it is not nearly as bad as having Austin Kearns wrapped up until 2011."

-- Bobby Sylvester, 6/4/04

"Austin Kearns is OVERATED!!!!!!!!!!!!"

-- Sharky, 4/19/04

"Ah, Kearns is bound to have at least ONE good year between now and 2011."

-- Mike Stein, 4/11/04

"I've said before I don't think Kearns will be the 'superstar' that the Cowtippers organization thinks."

-- Jeff Paulson, 2/1/04

"Austin Kearns Once had great potential, but his star has fallen and he looks to be a bust, who is under contract until 2011 (are you kidding me???) for a total of $42.1. OUCH, feels like I got kicked in the goodies!!!!"

-- Chris Luhning, 5/10/05

I've been saving these quotes for years, just waiting for the opportunity to throw them back in everyone's face.  I'm still waiting...

And finally, let's close with perhaps the dumbest thing I have ever written on our league forum (and boy, have there been a lot of those over a decade):

"The gushing over Hanley Ramirez is growing out of control - almost to Shark-like proportions:

...I'm going to go out on a limb and make my own prediction: Hanley Ramirez will not play more than two years at the Major League level and will be out of baseball by age 25."

-- Mike Glander, 10/4/02

I have nothing more to add to that.