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There is an old saying that with two left feet, it is tough to walk a straight path. And if there is a man in baseball with two left feet, it is Commissioner Bud Selig.
That said, the path in front of Selig is certainly not a straight one. With the monster trade agreed upon by the Marlins and the Blue Jays, there is certainly going to be a blowback. That much has been made certain by the fact that Selig has to review the deal.
However, none of this is of concern over what the Blue Jays are acquiring or what Marlins are acquiring in return. Both teams actually did extremely well in the deal, with the Blue Jays becoming not just contenders in the American League East, but in all of baseball, and the Marlins picking up some of the best prospects in the game and some cogs that can immediately be inserted into the line-up. Justin Nicolino, Adeiny Hechavarria, and Jake Marisnick are superb prospects that the Blue Jays were reluctant to give up for any trade, yet you don’t get the chance to acquire Jose Reyes, Mark Buerhle, and Josh Johnson in the same deal every day.
No, this blowback is about the perpetuation of a lie. The Marlins and Major League Baseball somehow convinced the city of Miami and the state of Florida that things had changed, that a new ballpark was going to mark a new period of ownership under Jeffery Loria. Instead, the charlatan simply went back behind the curtain and pretended to be the wizard again.
This trade simply pulls that curtain back and shows that despite the shiny new surroundings, the wizard is indeed still a con man.
So this review by Selig will likely not rescind the trade. If he let the deal between Boston and Los Angeles go through, he’ll allow this one to pass. The difference there being that the Boston Red Sox found a taker to help them out of a mistake, one that they will probably make again as they reload this winter, now unencumbered by albatross contracts.
The Marlins have shown time and again that they are not the Boston Red Sox.
Selig’s review is completely about what the Marlins, specifically Loria, are doing with the team. Taking his payroll down to $32.5 million in 2013, Loria is doing one thing and one thing only; watching his bottom line. He can stump all day about his desire to field a winner and escape a last place finish from the season before, but it is nothing more than a dog and pony show. He had the components to field a winner, the Marlins just needed to see what would happen with one season out from under the thumb of Ozzie Guillen.
If Loria is convinced that he has to do what is in the best interest of the Marlins, then Bud Selig needs to do what he feels is in the best interest of Florida baseball. Selig needs to storm into Loria’s office and demand to know what the Marlins plan to do in order to put a competitive team on the field, what free agents they will chase, and what they will do to fix the perception that this ownership group has Major League Baseball and the city of Miami in its best interests.
Short of a good answer to those questions, Selig needs to force Loria out in the same manor that he forced Frank McCourt out in Los Angeles. There is no room in the game for an owner that has no interest in earning fan loyalty.
It will be a tough decision for Selig to make, but it one he will have to make nonetheless. It is a path made for men with two left feet, one where you need to stray from the straight line and think of how the decision impacts everything surrounding it.
Let’s just hope that Selig’s ass-kicking foot is his left!
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Buck Private Joe Baseball Fan reporting for duty, General Selig...
Yes, SIR...
I understand that, SIR...
Yes, I know I was AWOL for Game 1 of the World Series, SIR...
Yes, I know that means a possible court martial, SIR...
What’s that, SIR???
Did I bring I bring a note from Mommy, SIR???
Yes, I do know you are the one who’s supposed to ask the questions, SIR...
No note from Mommy, SIR...
She passed away in June, SIR???
Yes, I know I didn’t show up until the eighth inning of Game 2, SIR...
I will give you my excuse, SIR...
You see, SIR...
With all due respect, SIR...
It’s your teams, SIR...
First, it’s San Francisco, SIR...
No sir, I am not a homophobe...
Not that there’s anything right with that, SIR...
I just don’t like the Giants, SIR...
No sir, it has nothing to do with height...
To be honest with you, sir, I’m from So Cal...
It’s that No Cal/So Cal thing, sir...
Just can’t do it, sir...
Yes, I know Detroit is not in No Cal, sir...
The Tigers, SIR???
They acted like a bunch of arrogant meanies against my Angels a while back, sir...
Still haven’t forgiven them, sir...
I know it’s good to forgive, sir...
Yes, I know Jesus forgave me, sir...
Okay, sir, I forgive them, sir...
But I still don’t want to watch them, sir...
Neither team does much for me, sir...
Yes, I know that Buster Posey guy, sir...
Yes, I like him, sir...
I guess I could root for him, sir...
Yes, I know that old guy manager of the Tigers, sir...
No, I don’t have anything against AARP, sir...
I guess I could root for him, too, sir...
I guess I could find something or somebody to root for, sir...
I know it’s not just the teams, sir...
It’s the spectacle of the World Series, sir...
Okay, sir, I will watch the Series from here on out...
Just one request if I may, General Selig...
Just one, please, sir...
Make it fast, sir???
Yes, I will make my request fast, sir...
About as fast as four games, sir...
Please, just four games, sir...
Please...
Four games only, please, sir...
dvt
http://www.kerrywaghorn.com/images/sports/bud_selig._08.08.07lrg.jpg
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The All-Star Game,
decides home field advantage
for one of the teams involved.
One of Bud's better ideas,
kind of like inter league play.
But if it is truly for the player's association,
then why don't they play?
Why do the stars picked by the fan's back out
of the game, is it a waste of their time?
Is it because they know their team does not have a chance
to play in October? So why should they care
who wins the game.......
I call for a one year ban from the ballot,
if you are voted in and decide not to play.
You will have to be a write in, lets see how many votes you get then.
Just speaking my mind, in the image of DVT, if it were Kaline,
Aaron or Yaz they would attend......
Have you forgotten who this game is for?
The FANS you Assholes, they voted you in....
I do not always watch the Derby, and the other generic events,
I sometimes even skip the game,
because Fox's coverage and Joe Buck is so lame.......
So have a great time for those of you who will be watching,
I will probably watch cartoons with Noah
or work in one of my classes,
This is one idea however Bud,
you should have thought through.
Kind of like moving the Astros to the AL,
instead of your Brewers.........
Thanks for those of you that stopped by,
feel free to leave comments good or bad.
I do not hate the All-Star game itself,
I just think Bud has turned something
I loved to watch, into a joke.
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"Joe has been an invaluable resource for me and all of us at Major League Baseball this year," Selig said in a statement. "I understand his desire to pursue an opportunity in Los Angeles. Joe has been a lifelong friend and I know that will continue in the future."
That’s what Commissioner Bud Selig had to say in regards to Joe Torre stepping down as MLB’s executive vice-president of baseball operations on Wednesday and joining a group attempting to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers. But if you read between the lines, it sounds more like:
“Joe Torre adds immediate legitimacy to the group headed by real estate developer Rick Caruso. He is my hand-picked choice to own the Los Angeles Dodgers.”
That’s right folks; I’m calling “Shenanigans” on the whole deal. If I am any of the other potential bidders, a list which currently includes Mark Cuban, Orel Hershisher and Steve Garvey, Peter O’Malley, Magic Johnson, et al, I’m crying foul as well.
It would seem to me that the field of potential buyers is already well-formed and financially backed. The addition of Torre to a group lead by a real estate developer (ahem, McCourt, ahem) doesn’t do anything to back-up the legitimacy of the process. All it does is signal that Bud Selig and the other cronies at the country club want another good-old-boy after watching McCourt tarnish the image.
To me, there are already two worthwhile groups here; the one lead by Magic Johnson and former Washington Nationals president Stan Kasten, and the one lead by Mark Cuban. Both Cuban and Johnson have strong business acumens, not to mention immeasurable competitiveness. Both groups would have the flash and drive to give the Dodgers the visible ownership that it truly needs. Both would do what it takes to make the team and the baseball culture viable again, especially with Arte Moreno setting up Anaheim like Ellis Island and taking on all the poor, tired, and huddled masses of Dodgers fans wanting to see the best show in town.
All Cuban has done is make one of the sorriest franchises in NBA history into a perennial contender and defending NBA champion. All Johnson has done was captivated the city of Los Angeles and the mass market of fans outside of the area and turned the Lakers into a national phenomenon.
Yet, we stand here this week and hear how Bud’s special friend has decided to throw his hat in the ring. Sure, I understand that Torre has his L.A. ties, having managed the team from 2008-10, but three years with a team doesn’t make you a staple of the market. That alone would justify Manny Ramirez trying to buy the team and moving it to “Mannywood”.
No, Torre is here because Selig needed him here. They need to control the Los Angeles circus when bids are submitted on January 23rd. They cannot allow a free-thinker like Cuban to walk into the ring like Al Czervik and take over Bushwood. No, Bud needs an inside man to make sure they have the anti-McCourt in place, someone who will follow the book on ownership to the letter and will roll over like a good dog when Major League Baseball wants him to.
Shame on you Joe Torre. Shame on you Bud Selig. And shame on any of the sheep that don’t see the wool being pulled over their eyes because there is a wolf in the herd.
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Pacific Island Rant
Recently a lot has been made about 9/11 and rightfully so. I really didn't get the hostility towards Jane Fonda but I think I do now. I even saw her in a very old movie about the VA and Vietnam. It was called 'Coming Home' and showed the reality of war. At least at what Veterans endured when they did come home to the U.S.A. As time goes on, the contributions of the military become lost on us younger people. But thanks to the Military Channel and the History Channel, we can come to appreciate what these veterans sacrificed. Many their very lives. And then we have ass clowns like Jane Fonda, Fitty Cents and Soulja Boi. Chris Rock too. As a consequence of living in the Philippines, the USA and my native country are inextricably woven together. To hear this kind of criticism minimizes what we suffered collectively. I have here an email that I received. It is from a GI too, so I hope you like it.
Subject: FW: Barbara Walters comments on Jane Fonda
Barbara Walters said:
Thank you all. Many died in Vietnam for our freedoms. I did not like Jane Fonda then and I don't like her now.
She can lead her present life the way she wants and perhaps SHE can forget the past, but we DO NOT have to stand by without comment and see her "honored" as a "Woman of the Century."
(I remember this well)
For those who served and/or died.. . .
NEVER FORGIVE A TRAITOR. SHE REALLY WAS A TRAITOR!!
and now President OBAMA wants to honor her......!!!!
In Memory of LT. C..Thomsen Wieland who spent 100 days at the Hanoi Hilton [Famous North Vietnam Prison]
IF YOU NEVER FORWARDED ANYTHING IN YOUR LIFE FORWARD THIS SO THAT EVERYONE WILL KNOW!!!!!!
A TRAITOR IS ABOUT TO BE HONORED. KEEP THIS MOVING ACROSS AMERICA
This is for all the kids born in the 70's and after who do not remember, and didn't have to bear the burden that our fathers, mothers and older brothers and sisters had to bear.
Jane Fonda is being honored as one of the '100 Women of the Century..'
BARBARA WALTERS WRITES:
Unfortunately, many have forgotten and still countless others have never known how Ms. Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our country, but specific men who served and sacrificed during the Vietnam War.
The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot. The pilot's name is Jerry Driscoll, a River Rat. In 1968, the former Commandant of the USAF Survival School was a POW in Ho Lo Prison the ' Hanoi Hilton.'
Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and dressed in clean PJ's, he was ordered to describe for a visiting American 'Peace Activist' the 'lenient and humane treatment' he'd received.
He spat at Ms. Fonda, was clubbed, and was dragged away. During the subsequent beating, he fell forward on to the camp Commandant 's feet, which sent that officer berserk.
In 1978, the Air Force Colonel still suffered from double vision (which permanently ended his flying career) from the Commandant's frenzied application of a wooden baton.
From 1963-65, Col. Larry Carrigan was in the 47FW/DO (F-4E's). He spent 6 years in the ' Hanoi Hilton',,, the first three of which his family only knew he was 'missing in action'. His wife lived on faith that he was still alive. His group, too, got the cleaned-up, fed and clothed routine in preparation for a 'peace delegation' visit.
They, however, had time and devised a plan to get word to the world that they were alive and still survived. Each man secreted a tiny piece of paper, with his Social Security Number on it, in the palm of his hand. When paraded before Ms. Fonda and a cameraman, she walked the line, shaking each man's hand and asking little encouraging snippets like: 'Aren't you sorry you bombed babies?' and 'Are you grateful for the humane treatment from your benevolent captors?' Believing this HAD to be an act, they each palmed her their sliver of paper.
She took them all without missing a beat.. At the end of the line and once the camera stopped rolling, to the shocked disbelief of the POWs, she turned to the officer in charge and handed him all the little pieces of paper...
Three men died from the subsequent beatings. Colonel Carrigan was almost number four but he survived, which is the only reason we know of her actions that day.
I was a civilian economic development advisor in Vietnam , and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam in 1968, and held prisoner for over 5 years.
I spent 27 months in solitary confinement; one year in a cage in Cambodia ; and one year in a 'black box' in Hanoi . My North Vietnamese captors deliberately poisoned and murdered a female missionary, a nurse in a leprosarium in Banme Thuot , South Vietnam , whom I buried in the jungle near the Cambodian border. At one time, I weighed only about 90 lbs. (My normal weight is 170 lbs)
We were Jane Fonda's 'war criminals....'
When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi , I was asked by the camp communist political officer if I would be willing to meet with her. I said yes, for I wanted to tell her about the real
treatment we POWs received... and how different it was from the treatment purported by the North Vietnamese, and parroted by her as 'humane and lenient.'
Because of this, I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees, with my arms outstretched with a large steel weight placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane.
I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda soon after I was released.. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV. She never did answer me.
These first-hand experiences do not exemplify someone who should be honored as part of '100 Years of Great Women.' Lest we forget....' 100 Years of Great Women' should never include a traitor whose hands are covered with the blood of so many patriots.
There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but Hanoi Jane's participation in blatant treason, is one of them. Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can.. It will eventually end up on her computer and she needs to know that we will never forget.
RONALD D. SAMPSON, CMSgt,
USAF 716 Maintenance Squadron,
Chief of Maintenance DSN: 875-6431 COMM: 883-6343
PLEASE HELP BY SENDING THIS TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK.
IF ENOUGH PEOPLE SEE THIS MAYBE HER STATUS WILL CHANGE.
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