Thoughts

me | 082202 | me

[ASDFGHJK]

Well, I for find the thought of our military becoming adept at 'urban warfare' to be a mixed prospect. Sure, it's OK in Iraq, but I won't like it when it happens in my town.

Another thing: Baseball and socialism don't mix.

[Kenton]

Well, I for find the thought of our military becoming adept at 'urban warfare' to be a mixed prospect. Sure, it's OK in Iraq, but I won't like it when it happens in my town.

Funny that you mention that. I haven't worried about that since Clinton left office, but I must admit I worried about it then. But then my worries were mostly fueled by the "tin-hat" bunch with their postings about black helicopters taking over small American towns in the dead of night.

Another thing: Baseball and socialism don't mix.

Myabe that's why so many great Cuban players want to defect to the US.

[ASDFGHJK]

There was an article in today's Wall Street Journal about the Marines training for 'urban warfare.' I can just see such training deployed when/if Hillary Rodham Clinton is Commander in Chief.

I'd rather see salaries go to the moon than some 'revenue-sharing,' 'field-leveling,' socialistic-mediocrity-inducing brainstorm from the mind of some genius ruining the purest game there is. Thanks for bringing some life to my thread.

[ASDFGHJK]

deployed domestically, that is. Nooooo, Janet Reno would never do that! /sarcasm

[THX 1138]

Baseball and socialism don't mix.

Yankee fan?

[ASDFGHJK]

Yankee fan?

Have to admit, I'm partial to winners, quality, playing to win, and using every advantage that's morally sound. Yes. (I do have a soft spot for underdogs, but when I play, I play to win).

[ASDFGHJK]

And another thing: This guy Kopper from Enron (who 'copped' a plea -- can't believe the media didn't use this), it turns out, has a 'domestic partner' (puke). Wonder what the spin will be from under The Rainbow on this one?

[ASDFGHJK]

Oh, yeah, and another thing. Professional traders know that there are computer programs out there the screw around with orders and prices of stocks, distorting market action. The more computer-dependent the system is, the more wide open it is to this sort of thing. Why shouldn't I be worried about computerized ballot counting?

They'll do it for money, and they'll do it for power. The Tanya Harding generation goes high tech.

[SamAdams76]

I supposed you don't like capitalism either in which major corporations employ "revenue sharing" among their field offices to ensure maximum benefit to the company as a whole. Case in point, McDonalds will use revenues generated by existing restaurants to build restaurants in new areas, even though the restaurants are in many cases independently owned.

MLB baseball is not a collection of separate entities. Each team is a franchise and and the success of all franchises helps MLB as a whole. Realizing that has helped make the NFL - with their salary caps and revenue sharing - the richest sport of all. And that is what capitalism is all about.

[ASDFGHJK]

That's an interesting way to look at baseball, but, ultimately, the best team wins. That's good for the game, isn't it? When the invisible hand is allowed to work, when the marketplace adjusts salaries, ticket and hot dog rates? Players should play to win, according to the rules of the game. Managers should manage to win, according to the rules of the game. Shouldn't owners own to win, according to the rules of the game of ownership?

The unions seem to be obsessed with rewriting the rules that apply to ownership -- the rules of economics, that is. But, that's what unions do.

[ASDFGHJK]

Oh, and, if there is a type of 'capitalism' that thrives in an atmosphere of forced mediocrity, then, NO, I don't like it.

I am an advocate of Free Enterprise. Free Enterprise has rewards the best efforts of people.

[ASDFGHJK]

I mean, the more I think about it, the more it sickens me. How about a game where there is 'talent sharing,' so that all teams do equally well? (im wretching).

By extension, how about a batter that holds back so that the other team can 'excell' a little?

That would kill the game. And, considering how just about every other 'issue' in this new day winds up being handled -- in a way that noooooo one is offended -- I suppose that is what will happen.

As I stated above, baseball and socialism don't mix. But that won't stop people from trying to mix them, as they do everywhere else.

Is it me -- ribbet -- or is the water in this pot getting warm?

[SamAdams76]

That's not what the NFL does and that's not what MLB wants to do. The NFL's salary cap evens the playing field with respect to salary but it is still up to the coaches and talent scouts to put together and then develop a winning team. There are still plenty of invariables that make the NFL a very exciting game. Who ever would have thought that the New England Patriots would win the Super Bowl at this time last year? This is what makes the game interesting and exciting. Even "tiny" markets like Green Bay and Buffalo have a realistic shot at putting together a Super Bowl contender and what could be wrong with that?

Did you ever play Monopoly? Doesn't everybody start with the same amount of money? Yet it's how you play the game that determines who wins. Monopoly would not be a fun game if one player started with $800 while another started with only $200.