B Squared = 755*

So this is it baseball fans. Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs is about to go up in smoke by a man who needs no introduction. We'll just call him Barry. Yes Barry, such a great baseball player. Such a wonderful human being. So many children look up to him, and HE Barry Bonds, is the REAL San Francisco treat.
Oh Barry Bonds is the greatest player in baseball. Check his stats and you will see. Aside from the 753 home runs, he has 1,973 RBIs along with a lifetime .298 average. Stole 514 bases, and his accomplishments. Oh my, 14 time All Star, 7 time MVP for NL, won 8 gold gloves, and 12 silver slugger awards. This man is the shit! Oh my oh my! Long live Barry Bonds, the greatest player in the history of the game. Let's embrace him.
It is a shame you will never see that written about him. Or is it?
We have talked about Bonds before here on the journal. We talked about how he treats his fans, those he loves, and how he looks down on everyone that isn't him. We discussed how Barry plays for Barry, and give two shits about the game. He respects the game sure. Yet, he is a complex human being. One I will not try to figure out for the life of me. And yes, there is that question. Did he roid or no? Will he be indicted for perjury? And will Bud Selig be in Milwaukee for what could possibly be the series where Bonds hits number 756?
OK, I am going to make the statement that no one has made. WHO FUCKING CARES?
Yeah I know, it is a monster record being broken. However, should we as fans care about it? Does it mean anything when a player has shot himself up with more hormones than KFC gives their so-called chickens? Yes, it takes a lot of skill to hit a baseball and be able to line it out there like Bonds has done so many times before, but as many books indicate, did the stuff he is alleged of doing help? And for all the people who say Bonds is the bad guy, where was baseball officials at? They looked away like they did when McGuire and Sosa were trading home runs. Why? The game was getting big once again. People were back into it and the strike of '94 didn't mean anything anymore. Revenue was improving. So what if some guys juice up? At least we have our base back. Does anyone want to call out baseball and the immortal Bud Selig?
My feeling is this, let the man have his record. Let him has his celebration. His kid will be waiting on the plate after 756, he will raise his hands to God and all that, and he'll be the all time home run king in baseball. And then let's all find the best candidate to break his record. The good news, we won't have to wait 25 years like the baseball community had to wait for Bonds to break Aarons's record. Alex Rodriguez is our best chance. He is 30 years old, and has only a couple of HRs to go before hitting 500. He is average 30-40 a year. We may only have to wait 8-9 years to see him break the record.
Alex Rodriguez may not be the most popular guy in baseball, largely in part of his ridiculous contract. However, he is a team player. He does his best, and I am 99% sure he isn't using performance enhancing drugs. Will I be excited to see him do it? Yes. Do I care right now? No. It would be nice to see ESPN turn their back on Bonds, and the rest of baseball. Thumbs up to Aaron for saying he will not be present.
Barry Bonds may be one the greats of the game, but he will not be remembered for his accomplishments on the field. He will be remembered for all the negativity. Yet many years from now, humanity will forgive him for all his misdeeds and give him a place in history or the hall.
The question is, can Bonds forgive himself? Wait a minute, he believes he doesn't do anything wrong. Silly question, my bad.
JAE

Vick the Dick

Anyone who knows me knows I am a vegetarian and I am for the simple reason that I am against all forms of animal cruelty. Call me a tree hugger, call me a nut job, call me what you will, but it is a decision that I made about 15 years ago and I am very happy with it.

So when I read some asshole like Michael Vick is running a dog-fighting ring for the last seven years or so, it made me very angry. You see, if people want to fight, it is by choice. The dogs didn’t have a choice in the matter.

What people don’t understand about the whole argument about not eating animals; the fact that you are eating something who didn’t have a choice. You are wearing something that did not have a choice. The difference between man and animal is choice. We can choose not to do the things we do, and the animals cannot choose not to be killed, eaten or in Vick’s case, trained to be a prized fighting dog.
Michael Vick, who’s an average quarterback at best, but would make an excellent running back, has a history of problems besides his “hobby.” Go back to 2003 and the innuendos surrounding Ron Mexico, the name Michael Vick allegedly used to get treatment for herpes. All brought to light by a woman named Sonya Elliot who claimed Vick gave her herpes. January 2007 we saw Vick let the fans of Atlanta know what he thought of them by giving the one-fingered salute. To his credit, he apologized, but he must have felt so bad he decided to take on horticulturalism. Well at least that is what security at Miami International Airport says. In April, he had a bottle confiscated and authorities thought marijuana was I in it. Turns out it was jewelry. So his history is definitely questionable.

But, never in a million years did anyone ever think that Michael Vick would be running a dog fighting operation called Bad Newz Kennels. His cousin gets nabbed for drug charges and a couple months later…presto. We see an indictment handed down to Michael Vick and four other people running this so called moneymaking machine. The part I found most disturbing in the indictment was the murder of the dogs and the ways in which it was done. If a dog did not do well in the fights, the dog would be hung, electrocuted, drowned, or shot. Yet, this shocks most of humanity, but guys why be shocked? This happens to the food you eat everyday.

If you want to feel sympathy for the dogs, fine. However you should know that murder happens to animals on a daily basis. Last year, the US department of agriculture reported that 10.4 billion animals were slaughtered to fill the bellies of humanity. I am sure those who didn’t have the “prime cuts” were just killed and left to the wayside. I have seen videos of animals brutalized for fun. If America wants to condemn Vick and do the right thing, find ways to stop eating animals. Yeah, I know. Everyone can’t live without meat. Well, try. Try for one day. See how you feel. If you like it, try it again the next day, and so on.

The point is this. If you are a carnivore, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t say how much of a bastard Vick is for the senseless destruction of many dogs for profit, when billions of animals are exterminated for the same reason, along with our so called well being of course. While your sitting there eating your dinner watching the next update of CNN regarding Vick, know you are eating a harmless animal on you plate in the name of someone getting rich out there. I am not judging anyone for eating animals, I am just stating my opinion. As far as Vick goes, he is a douche bag for what he is accused of doing, and if found guilty, what comes around goes around.
JAE

The Cause for the Clause

So Sox fans, will we see the end of one the best pitchers ever to grace the south side? Mark Buehrle, who has been a face of this organization for the last few years, a mentor for many young players, and a funny guy may be leaving and it’s all your fault Kenny Williams.

Yeah that’s right. I threw a stone at Kenny, the man who many of you Sox fans say we can’t bash because he brought home a championship. This man has let many people go who have turned around and bit him in the ass and instead of saying he let them go for the good of the team, he vilified them. His ego is the size of the city, and he thinks he knows so well. Well Kenny me boy, your guy Gavin Floyd turned into a batting cage for the Twins on Friday night. Yeah you look the man because Freddy is injured, and McCarthy looks like crap, but you still rolled the dice.
Kenny has said he doesn’t want to give into a no trade clause with Buehrle because he is looking out for the future of the team. Well buddy, Buehrle is the future of the team. I have five very convincing reasons why you need to resign Buehrle right now!

1. He’s young and experienced. At 28, Mark Buehrle has another 5 to 6 years minimum to remain great, and knowing that, he’s the future. You build the team around him. You use Mark as number one, and Garland as number two, and Vasquez or Danks as your three. You can lose Contreras, and even dump Vazquez for all I care. You may even get something good for him. Yes I know, Buehrle will pay great dividends, but he’s the guy in your rotation.

2. He has proven himself to be reliable. One bad season this man has had, and I will admit, I will calling for his head. However, my better judgment took over in the off-season and I remembered, everyone has a bad year. Yet, take a look at his past. Over 7 seasons with the Sox, 102 career wins, which means he is averaging anywhere between 14-16 a season. He will eat innings like they were breakfast and spit out earned runs for lunch as his ERA has been consistently low for someone who gets hit a lot. The man knows how to win, and came through in a big way during the World Series as he came out of the pen to nail down a 14 inning game after starting a few days before. And not to mention, he had a no hitter earlier in the year.

3. He is giving you a chance to steal him away at a huge discount. We all know the Sox have been historically cheap over the years, and a pitcher like Buehrle doesn’t come this cheap that often. At 4 years 56 mill, you are getting the deal of the century. This no trade clause should have been given to him because you can always ask him to wave it if you need to. You also have given two other pitchers no trade clauses as well. And now, it appears the clause isn’t holding up the deal. What is the problem Kenny Williams? You’re a betting man. The odds are in your favor for keeping this man and the price he is charging is very fair. Who are you going trade him for? The Elk Grove High School team?

4. Who is going to be the ace on the team if Mark goes? You put your eggs in the Contreras basket this year, and he started off by giving up 9 earned runs in two innings. His ERA this year is 5.10 and he is 5-10 at this point. Hardly the stats of any number one pitcher. Vazquez is so streaky, and he is your stopper until the fifth or sixth inning. I believe Javy has done much better this season than last, but he doesn’t fill that void. Jon Garland is a very reliable 2 or 3, but he can’t lead your staff. He is still very much developing. Maybe in a few more years he is your number one, and Johnny Danks, although he is my guy and I love his stuff, it’s his first year. So why not sign Buehrle to help lead your starters to victory? He has proven himself to be a mentor to Danks, a welcome sign for many young players who take a liking him, and he is a leader in the clubhouse.

5. Us Sox fans want him back! Yeah, we know, this is a business and things happen. We have heard Kenny say so many times that the fans don’t understand what he goes through. Yeah he likes Mark, but business is business. OK businessman, I have heard from many Sox fans if Buehrle goes, they will stop coming. Is that good for business? And Sox fans are not like Cub fans. They will let management know when they screw up. You will see empty seats at the cell when the fans don’t like what is going on. Look at the games lately. Listen to the season ticket holders on the radio bitch about what’s happening. The White Sox as a product are not as attractive, but that’s why Kenny fired the marketing agency right? Giving Buehrle away will not help considering he is one of the most popular players on the team.

The bottom line, keeping him around means you deal with someone you know personally. Trading him means you are acquiring new people (which I assume knowing Kenny and his whole “building for the future BS”) and that comes with new problems, adjustments, and years going by where you look more like the Nats than a championship team. The Sox still have a window open to compete next year. I implore you Kenny Williams, don’t let the ace and face get away. Sign Buehrle and do it quickly. If not, we all suffer. Regardless whether or not the fans understand the business of baseball, and whether or not you remember what its like to be a fan.

JAE