wopphil

I'm of the opinion that even if a person wants to keep the PED guys out, Bonds was HOF worthy based on the first half of his career.  You could seriously split his career into two and have two HOFers.

A Mid 3 ERA amounts to a career ERA+ of 123 for Mussina which is better than Bob Lemon, Eddie Plank, Don Drysdale, Tom Glavine, Gaylord Perry, Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton, Ron Guidry, Nolan Ryan, Warren Spahn and about 20 other HOFers.  
 
His Grey Ink, HOF Standard, HOF Monitor and JAWS, figures all exceed those of the average HOFer.   He ranks 57th in WAR all time (between Ken Griffey Jr and Nolan Ryan), 24th in WAR for a pitcher (Right behind Pedro), his 270 wins rank 33rd, He's 19th on the career K list.  It's not like he pitched for 24 years just to compile stats, Mussina walked away from the game of his own free will after a 20 win season and an ERA+ season of 131 at age 39. 
 
Mike Mussina is one of the more underrated pitchers of his era, his lack of praise likely stems from his having been very reserved and not much of an interview.  He was a boring guy.  Smoltz seems to be getting a lot of love for things that happened outside of the boxscores, I've seen a lot of people who argue he's a first ballot HOFer also make an argument that Mussina doesn't belong in the HOF at all.  I agree that Schilling's career is a bit dubious -- he really took off at right about the time Barry Bond's hat size started to change and for all his constant blathering about the rampant use of steroids when it came time for the rubber to meet the road and speak out to Congress he chose not to.

I think highly of the Bush family - I think they are good people, and I trust that Jeb has the right character and temperament for the job.I think Jeb, from what I know of his political positions, falls on the moderate spectrum of republican politics.
I think Jeb has the requisite executive experience and the pedigree to handle the position.
And then of course, as you stated, I believe he has the ability to win the general election.

I agree. I think 5/110 for Shields would be insane, and I honestly don't see any GM being that dumb.

The fact Shields hasn't signed yet tells me this offer doesn't exist.

Wopphil mentioned monetary policy. 
 
It is my firm belief that no past, present, or future President of the United States actually understands it.  Some minion in each administration is telling each President how to think and what position to take.  And I say this as someone with a degree in Economics.  Monetary policy is brutal subject matter.  There's no 101 course or a Cliff's Notes summary that tells you the essentials.  I have no hesitation admitting that monetary policy was not a strong subject for me. 

Gotcha.  I see where I misunderstood you. 

Ok ya'll I apologize for hijacking a thread to go over events from 24 years ago. But I didn't want to let pass what I felt was a misrepresentation of Bush 41. I also never addressed the topic of Jeb Bush. To be honest I don't know a great deal about him and his core beliefs. But knowing the family he comes from I will give him a listen if he decides to run.

Dude. All you had to do was say "Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit"
 
He would have asked when you can start.

Another thing that has to be considered is this: if signing Shields would buy you another season of Tropeano and Heaney by delaying their MLB clocks, the cost to get Shields goes down that much more.

Another thing that has to be considered is this: if signing Shields would buy you another season of Tropeano and Heaney by delaying their MLB clocks, the cost to get Shields goes down that much more.

Bush 41 fought for our country in WWII as a pilot and was shot down. He swam for three hours until rescued. This shows bravery and perseverance to me.
Bush 41 served as a Congressman from Texas and helped pushed through legislation to allow minorities equal and fair housing. A very unpopular side of the issue in Texas in the 50's and 60's. This shows leadership and a sense of right and wrong.
Bush 41 served as Ambassador to the UN. Among the highest levels for a diplomat in the world.
Bush 41 served as Chairman of the Republican National Commitee. He was recognized for his organizational skills and team building at the state level and tapped for the national Chairmanship.
Bush 41 served as Liaison Officer in China. This was during the times when we had no normalized relationship with China. This was during a very hostile time in our history with China and it is thought that his influence helped with the eventual recognition of China and a normalization of relations. Today this job would be Ambassador.
Bush 41 served as Director of the CIA. His contributions were so well thought of that Bill Clinton dedicated the CIA Headquarters at Langley the George H W Bush Building. This was while Clinton was still in office and before these two became such good friends. Again his team building skills and diplomacy had shown to be of great value.
Bush 41 spent eight years as Vice President to Reagan. He was sent to every hotspot in the world because of his skills at diplomacy and because the leaders of the world trusted him and took him at his word. He also represented our country at every high level state funeral during that time. Reagan sought his counsel on a weekly basis and he helped form policy.
Bush 41 served as President for four years. He built a coalition to go into the Middle East and drive Iraq out of Kuwait. This was a major undertaking as he aligned virtually every Arab country against Iraq and allowed the U.S. to go in and drive them out. Those of us that remember all of this recal Iraq launching dozens of SCUD missiles into Israel daily. Hussein was trying to draw Israel into the conflict which would have destroyed the coalition. No Arab country would take up arms on the same side as Israel. EVER. Bush 41 kept Israel calm and on the sidelines during this whole affair. Thus preserving the coalition.
Bush 41 watched over the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin wall. And he had the guts not to gloat. He used his diplomatic skills again to encourage Gorby and support him on the world stage. All of this without pissing off all of the Soviet hardliners which could have had dire consequences.
History will show that Bush 41 was on the right side of almost every major issue of the last 60 years. He has treated all of this with great humbleness and zero personal fanfare. President Obama honored Bush41 with the Presidential Medal Of Freedom. Bush 41 deserves a lot of credit for his work for the U.S. he is quick to share any credit with staff and everyone else.
Serving as a one term President does not make you a bad President. We were lucky to have a man and leader of his caliber take up a life of public service. And he really seems like a really nice guy.

I turned my shower on, before getting in I had the need to poop so I popped a squat on my toilet. It's been 7 minutes and I'm still just chillen taking my dump with the shower running. Too lazy to reach 3ft to turn it off.

I have seen all manner of Hamilton trade proposals, all of which involve the Angels either potentially paying him to beat them, or taking on an equally distasteful contract - which begs the question of what would be the point (apart from preventing Scioscia from playing him every night).

I find the trade speculation about Hamilton to make no sense. He is owed an insane amount of money the next three years, making him essentially untradeble. And if he does revert to his old form, why would the Angels be inclined to trade him? He is ours for the next three seasons.

Raul Ibanez had great career numbers too.

Some morning inspiration
 

 

The Angels are saying they won't be in the market for him, but I'm calling BS. The ball club just freed up some space with the Kemdrick trade. Granted, signing Moncada won't effect the Angels with the cap, but there's money freed up.
The Angels have a future need at 3B and SS, have a minor leagues stacked with pitching talent, won't be able to sign any largely expensive Latin American prospects for 2 years, some of the biggest international spenders ineligible to sign the kid and the Angels have the financial ability to make this signing.
It's the perfect situation for the Angels, something that doesn't come by very frequently. There's no way the Angels aren't heavily in this.
It could also be beneficial to have both Moncada and Baldoquin to room and come up through the system together. It'd help to have someone you're familiar with to adjust to this new life together in the US, with money, in the minors.
I think the Angels sign him and pay big. Plus selfishly, it'd make our top prospect lists must-read material (they already are!). Moncada, Heaney, Newcomb, Baldoquin.

I was going to express my thoughts and feelings here, but decided to just keep it to myself.

The beauty is arms are always at a premium, so we could move arms for bats at any time.

I bought a nice Acura from a private seller once. It was definitely a lot more work than buying through a dealer, but I saved a ton of money. And since the seller had purchased the car certified, I got a good warranty. In hindsight, I would have gained nothing purchasing from a dealer (other than a higher payment).

Trainers hate him!

This is good advice. Several years ago I went mattress shopping and was shocked at the disparity in prices between Costco and the mattress stores. I found a mattress I liked at Costco. It cost $700. I then went to the mattress store and asked if they had a comparable mattress. The guy immediately responded "yes, right over there, that mattress is identical." My next question was "then why should I buy it from you for $1,300 when Costco sells it for $700." A quick break to speak to his manager, and the price of the mattress was quickly dropped to $650.I then went to the mattress store down the street, which promised to beat any competitor's price by 5%. The same mattress was reduced to about $600. Of course, since the first mattress place also claimed to beat it's competitors prices by 5%, I made a courtesy call to see if they could do even better. They did.
I walked out with a very good queen size Simmons mattress (far more comfortable than a Serta, IMO, with less movement), frame and box spring, mattress cover, delivery, and pickup of old mattress for $560. Including tax.
Bottom line: mattress stores are full of shit. They inflate the prices substantially to make you think you are getting a great deal when they knock off $200. Don't fall for it. Either buy from a reputable chain like Costco or Macey's, or negotiate like a champ.

This is good advice. Several years ago I went mattress shopping and was shocked at the disparity in prices between Costco and the mattress stores. I found a mattress I liked at Costco. It cost $700. I then went to the mattress store and asked if they had a comparable mattress. The guy immediately responded "yes, right over there, that mattress is identical." My next question was "then why should I buy it from you for $1,300 when Costco sells it for $700." A quick break to speak to his manager, and the price of the mattress was quickly dropped to $650.I then went to the mattress store down the street, which promised to beat any competitor's price by 5%. The same mattress was reduced to about $600. Of course, since the first mattress place also claimed to beat it's competitors prices by 5%, I made a courtesy call to see if they could do even better. They did.
I walked out with a very good queen size Simmons mattress (far more comfortable than a Serta, IMO, with less movement), frame and box spring, mattress cover, delivery, and pickup of old mattress for $560. Including tax.
Bottom line: mattress stores are full of shit. They inflate the prices substantially to make you think you are getting a great deal when they knock off $200. Don't fall for it. Either buy from a reputable chain like Costco or Macey's, or negotiate like a champ.

This is good advice. Several years ago I went mattress shopping and was shocked at the disparity in prices between Costco and the mattress stores. I found a mattress I liked at Costco. It cost $700. I then went to the mattress store and asked if they had a comparable mattress. The guy immediately responded "yes, right over there, that mattress is identical." My next question was "then why should I buy it from you for $1,300 when Costco sells it for $700." A quick break to speak to his manager, and the price of the mattress was quickly dropped to $650.I then went to the mattress store down the street, which promised to beat any competitor's price by 5%. The same mattress was reduced to about $600. Of course, since the first mattress place also claimed to beat it's competitors prices by 5%, I made a courtesy call to see if they could do even better. They did.
I walked out with a very good queen size Simmons mattress (far more comfortable than a Serta, IMO, with less movement), frame and box spring, mattress cover, delivery, and pickup of old mattress for $560. Including tax.
Bottom line: mattress stores are full of shit. They inflate the prices substantially to make you think you are getting a great deal when they knock off $200. Don't fall for it. Either buy from a reputable chain like Costco or Macey's, or negotiate like a champ.