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March 23, 2009 The Week in QuotesMarch 16-22A CLASS OPERATION
"Maybe we do call Jim [Hendry]. But we feel like with the guys we have here right now, in trying to maybe evaluate and figure a couple other things out internally, we don't have to make that decision tonight."
"They started calling me. They needed a first baseman. But I couldn't go, not being 100 percent."
"Even if a guy has a hint of injury, we're not going to say, 'Hey, can we have that guy?' It would be totally disrespectful to the player and the club."
"I thought it was disrespectful, to be truthful. They knew I wasn't playing here [in camp]. How do they expect me to get off the trainer's table and start playing there?"
"At the same time, you understand they're trying to win, and I was the guy that was on the [provisional] roster, so I guess they figured they'd give it a shot. If I felt better, it'd be a different story, but I don't think it would be fair to miss a week here and go play for them. Obviously, everyone knows it's not a serious injury, but it was enough to keep me out of games."
"Once you had the opportunity to go out there and play and wear the uniform, represent your country and be around the guys, you realized what an honor it was. That's the reason I'm here this time. It's not to get out of spring training for two or three weeks." EVERY TIME DAVID WRIGHT'S TOE ACHES, HE'll THINK OF YOU
"I'm very happy about where we are. I think this is tremendous. Long after I'm gone this is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger, and you can count on that."
"Anything new continues to need to be adjusted. I just went out and sat in the crowd for a couple of innings, and the excitement was incredible. It was marvelous. I've read all the plusses and minuses, but this is doing exactly what we set out to do. This is the right thing to do."
"I'm going to be as kind here as I can. Look, the clubs hear this all the time, but I'm going to say this to you as directly as I can: This is a time in life where I know how important your individual club is-this is a time to put the best interests of the game ahead of your own provincial self-interest." BASICALLY, OUR WXRL SUCKED THIS YEAR
"We have to apply methods that are more technical and scientific when we develop our sports figures. Our country's excellent educational and sports base allows for that."
"Asians are not as physically strong as their western rivals. Nor are they as explosive. But strength sufficient is not enough to defeat the reflexes that their players have developed; and explosiveness in itself cannot compensate for the methodology and sangfroid of their athletes."
"Korea has tried to look for more heavily built men who are capable of hitting more forcefully."
"Our national team should be returning home in the next few hours. Let us receive them with all the honors their exemplary performance deserves. They are not the ones responsible for the errors that led them to the adverse outcome." HE WOULD ACTUALLY PREFER NOT TO PLAY
"I never came into camp expecting to be a regular everyday player or to play center field. That was not my goal. My goal was to work with [hitting coach] Rudy [Jaramillo], get my swing together, and be the player I once was. I never said I have to play."
"We let Andruw know last week that he's not in the mix as an everyday player. To his credit, he's willing to play any role on the club we see fit, or do what Ron sees fit."
"Can I be an everyday player? Yes. But I didn't come into camp for that, and I'm not expecting that. This is a great team and great guys. We have a chance to have a special team. It would be an honor to be a part of that." THE REST
"He's not going to punch the clock at work and tag out and say, 'See you all tomorrow.' He's on call 24/7 as a teammate. He exemplifies the definition of teammate. It's not just from when you show up at the ballpark until when you leave. Teammate means friend to him."
"I'm aware of what some people might think, and I can't worry about it. I think most players are more comfortable hitting in their own parks. They get used to the routine, to the hitting background, and so forth. That's all. Jason Giambi says Oakland can be a good hitters' park, especially during the daytime. But it is a chance for people to see that I'm not just a creature of Coors Field, which I know I'm not."
"They got one of those on my last contract. My performance outweighed my last contract. ... This is kind of my turn. They've had control [of my contract] for six years. Now they have to convince me."
"I come from a country divided by [those who] like [Chavez] or hate him. Me and Chavez? I don't know him. A lot of people think we're best friends. I wish we were best friends, I guarantee you that. I'd be working with him. More money, less a pain in the ass. I know we'd make more money; we'd steal that [expletive] somewhere, somehow."
"I've actually never had a drink before, tonight I might try it out. We'll see." --- Alex Carnevale is a contributor to Baseball Prospectus.
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Hugo Chavez was democratically elected.
Pretty much my reaction. Jimmy Carter's group, and a UN group certified the original election. There was a recall election, which Chavez won in a landslide, that was also certified as fair by two separate neutral watchdog organizations. Calling him a dictator is an unfair slur, and is disrespectful to the people of Venezuela.
yes, squashing opposition groups and shutting down media outlets that are unfriendly to you are all hallmarks of democracy. It might have started out as a democracy, but it's certainly not that anymore.
So was Saddam Hussein, technically...
Adolf Hitler was democratically elected.
True, but his entry into major politics was a bunch of appointments.
Comparing Hitler + Hussein to Chavez is at best misleading and at worst dishonest. He has been elected three times in fair elections, the most recent in 2006. His most egregious actions, in my eyes, were his proposed changes to the constitution back in late 2007, including a proposed end to presidential term limits. He proposed them through the proper channels, and then they were defeated in a national referendum. Despite the headlines that screamed "Chavez Declares Self President For Life," Chavez conceded defeat and says he will not pursue the matter anymore.
As for shutting down one news station, he allowed the station to continue its existence until the end of its contract and then elected not to renew the contract. If Fox News or CNN started publicly calling for the violent removal of the President of the United States, how much longer would CNN and Fox continue to exist? He didn't shut it down after the coup in which he was nearly killed, he allowed it to continue its existence until the agreement between it and the government expired.
Castro is a dictator (former dictator, actually) whereas Chavez is a democratically elected leader of one of the most progressive nations in Latin America who works within the bounds of his constitution. That's more than you can say about some other recent leaders I can think of.
[Castro is a dictator (former dictator, actually) whereas Chavez is a democratically elected leader of one of the most progressive nations in Latin America who works within the bounds of his constitution when it suits him; and changes it when it doesn't.]
Fixed.
Tried to change the constitution by working within the rules set by the constitution which involved a nation-wide vote that Chavez lost by a margin of 51%-49%. When he lost, he didn't change the constitution by decree, he didn't demand a recount, he accepted the loss and moved on. The facts are pretty clear; he has NOT changed the constitution, because he lost the vote to change the election.
Dictators don't lose elections, they fix elections or refuse to abide by the election results. Until Chavez refuses to abide by election results, or sets up an unfair election, I don't see how he is anything other than a democratically elected leader who doesn't like the United States' foreign policy.
Remember, FDR tried to change the constitution to expand the supreme court so that it was just large enough so that his appointees would be a majority. He lost, and he kept governing without overturning the constitution. That doesn't make him a dictator.
The lies people tell about Chavez are infuriating.
The incongruity of using FDR as a shining example of Democracy in action aside, FDR's court-packing plan wasn't an attempt to change the Constitution. The Constitution doesn't require a certain number of judges, and Article III of the Constitution gives Congress the power to decide how many judges sit on the Supreme Court. Congress, for once acting wisely, voted against giving Roosevelt complete control of the government.
The ignorance some people have about their own Constitution is infuriating.
No - Hitler wasn't. His party was actually losing popularity when he was asked to join the government by elements of right wing parties who thought they could control him and use his admittedly fanatical base to their own political advantage.
But the Nazis actually peaked electorally in April of 1932 I believe. I'm not looking at any elections after January, 1933 because the Reichstag Fire changed everything, not just from a political view, but significantly there as well.
Anyway, I'm hoping Clayton Kershaw stayed away from cheap vodka. It's done in many a man.