Talking Points.. once again

Sometimes.. most times I write articles and essays in my head, but they never get written down on paper or into the computer. This is probably because most times, I have these thoughts away from paper, or my computer. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna walk around like pretentious writers with little voice recorders, "idea for a movie: two guys walk into a bar, after three hours of having the bartender buy him drinks, he realizes it s a gay bar. hilarity ensues"... ech, can you imagine what people like that must be? anyhow here are some things that have been on my mind for awhile and just haven't gotten around to writing:

1. where the FUCK did summer go? these kids better realize what the hell they're missing out on if they staid inside this year. when you're an adult, summer lasts for 16 days. of the two months available, you only get weekends as an adult... that means two days each. 16 days long. daaaaaamn.. talk about use it or lose it.

2. What the hell California?? I mean, I know we're not known for our awesome public transportation, but how hard can it be??? the damn train is on a track! It's kinda like the Autopia at Disneyland. you get to drive a race car, you even get to steer... until much later in life you realize the damn thing is on a track... really, how hard can it be? is there that many buttons to push on the train to make it stop? red and green right? I seen dolphins push a green button for anchovies.
idea for trains transportation: turn engineer cars into large dolphin tanks. dolphin hits large green button when he sees a green light ahead of track, hits red button when he sees a red light on track. dolphin works for anchovies, and we can charge double for the up-front seats... just like Sea-World.

3. Bailing out wall street? really? these are the smart guys that went to college for MBAs and look down on me because I wasn't a smart kid with a wealthy family? and my tax dollars are keeping these fools in business? bullshit man. In the real world, where real Americans live, we get fired when we fuck up at our jobs. When I cant pay the bills, they shut off the phone. If I cant pay the rent, I become homeless.
btw, it kind of puts things into perspective when you think about it... a banker walking around in New York basically begging for billions to keep him in business standing next to homeless guy asking for some spare change to get a burger.
Who are you looking down on now?

4. Politics- I want change.. real actual change. and I'm not talking just change of policy. I'm talking about real actual change in how politics in America works. I think Obama started off right, by being the man for real change... but more and more he sounds like every politician that came before him.
"I'm not This guy, The guy running against me is alot LIKE This guy, so vote for me."
Obama had an opportunity to be for actual political change in America. McCain is playing the politics game as well, and its clear that i dont wan to vote for either.
I think its clear Americans are sick of how politics are conducted in this country, and I'm pretty sure EVERYONE in congress is out of touch because its pretty much business as usual in the alabaster city on the hill.

5. National baseball- i needed to end on a light note.Well, yea r four here in Dc and they have gotten worse. At the time of this article, our Natties are close to the dubious dishonor of 100 loss season. People say we were plagued by poor players and injuries. Hogwash. LA Dodgers just clinched their division. we swept them when they came to DC, and it was convincing wins as well. I was at the game where the NAtties scored 11 run and held the dodgers to just 2 runs. I think whats killing my natties, besides injuries is bad management. Jim Bowden traded away the best pitcher in Jon rauch for near next to nothing. We couldn't sign our 1st round draft pick. we seem to give away good players for peanuts and make useless deals. I will say That Guzman signing was good because he has finally turned into the player they thought they were getting from Minnesota. and our All-Star as well. I don't understand the prices at Nationals Ball park. I understand league average prices... but i also understand our team is the worst team in baseball. I KNOW people only go to the games to see the other team play most of the time. So if you have the most less than average team, should youre prices be the most less than average? seriously, 5 dollar tickets next year. you fuckers are making it hard to be a fan.
OH YEAAH??? whats this shit about you guys not wanting to pay youre rent??? Fuck you LERNER. The people of DC paid for that thing and you owe us big. It's not like youre an American institution like the Yanks, Red Sox, Dodgers, or Cubs. It's not youre stadium. It's mine. so pay the fucking rent and give me cheap seats ya dick, or we're taking the AMTRAK to Camden next year.

That is all. carry-on

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Major League Bargain or Major League Trouble?

The Washington Nationals have been busy so far this off season making already two trades that will bring some new players into DC and the new ballpark. Thats all a great idea considering the rather poor state of play from the Nats for the first few years and the need to add excitement to the opening of the new ballpark. There is only one potential landmine here, these guys they are bringing in all have lengthy and detailed problems of off the field indiscretions. In the past few years lets look at some of the acqusitions by Jim Bowden and what kind of baggage they bring to the Nats:

Dmitri Young, who was picked up by Bowden and the Nationals in 2006, has well documented off the field problems when he was with the Tigers. In 2006, Young went through a divorce, was treated for alcohol and substance abuse, and depression. He pleaded guilty to assaulting a young woman after an argument in Birmingham, MI. He also admitted to being an alcoholic and drug addict.

The good thing however is that appears that Dmitri has overcome his problems and put together a solid season both on and off the field for the Nationals in 2007. He has quickly become a fan favorite and is a great story.

Lastings Milledge, whome Bowden picked up in a trade for Ryan Church and Brain Schnedier, has also experienced some off the field issues:

"Prior to the 2003 amateur draft, he was expected to be among the top three selections, but as draft day approached, press reports from 2002 resurfaced regarding Milledge's expulsion from Northside Christian High School after his junior year for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old girl.He subsequently transferred to Lakewood Ranch High School where he finished his education and amateur baseball career.

As a result of the incident, Milledge was passed over in the 2003 amateur draft until the Mets selected him as the twelfth overall pick in the first round. The Mets began contract negotiations with Milledge, but the talks were interrupted in early August 2003, when the Mets learned of allegations of additional sexual misconduct against Milledge during his time at Northside. The Mets completed a private investigation of the matter and, satisified with the results, signed Milledge to a contract with a $1.9 million bonus."

Some other issues of clubhouse chemistry certainly had a big role in the Mets letting him go for peanuts considering Milledge is a highly thought of prospect, but again off the field issues and immaturity seems to dog him.

The most recent acquistion for the Nats is Elijah Dukes from Tampa Bay. Dukes as well has had a number of off the field issues:

"Since 1998, he has been arrested 6 times on charges including possession of marijuana, assault, and resisting an officer. On May 23, 2007 it was reported that his wife filed a restraining order after he threatened to kill her. On June 12, 2007, a 17 year-old foster child, who was living in the care of a relative of Dukes, accused him of impregnating her. Police say the sex was apparently consensual, and no crime was committed, but they are investigating. When the girl confronted Dukes, he allegedly got angry and threw a bottle of Gatorade at her"

Again, this is another promising player who has had a number of off the field issues. It would seem that Nationals management is hoping that these guys turn out like Dmitri Young and can overcome some of their problems and produce on the field as well as becoming good citizens.

There is no doubt that if these guys go the Dmitri Young route that these are major bargains for the young Nationals team who will become cornerstones of a franchise that already has some good young talent. However if they do not show the ability to mature and get over their off the field issues, this could turn into a major disaster for the Nats as having all these guys in the same clubhouse could make us the Bengals of the MLB.

I suppose only time will tell.

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