The 2005 Chicago White Sox is the best team in at least 22 years

I've been a baseball fan since 1984. The kid who lived next door to me when I was a kid was a big White Sox fan and told me all about the 1983 White Sox AL West champion team that lost to the Orioles in the playoffs. Ever since that time I've been a baseball fan. (However, I must admit that I was a bit turned off after the players went on strike in 1994, ending a season where the White Sox were in first place and poised to make the playoffs and finally win a World Series title.)

I've seen some great championship teams during that time period such as, e.g., the 1984 Tigers, the 1986 Mets, the 1989 A's, the 1998 Yankees, and the 2001 Diamondbacks. All were great teams but none were as good throughout the season and during the playoffs as the 2005 White Sox. While some of those teams had a couple awesome pitchers (such as the 2001 Diamondbacks led by the great Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling), none had an entire pitching staff of starters and relievers as good as this year's White Sox. The "Four Horsemen" of Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, and Freddy Garcia were awesome starters and the bullpen of Cliff Polite, Neal Cotts, and big Bobby Jenkes, to name a few, was unbelievable.

The scary thing is that they'll be even better next year when 2005 rookie Brandon McCarthy is pitching every 5th day. I predict they'll win at least 105 games in 2006 and capture another World Series title. As annoucer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson would say, "You can put it on the board ... YES!!!"

Al Franken needs a muzzle!

Al Franken needs a good kick to the nuts. I'm sick of reading news articles about this "blame America first" blowhard. He's the type of tax-and-spend liberal who thinks America deserved to be attacked on 9/11. Like many liberals, he complains about the state of the country yet offers no viable alternatives of his own.

Instead of esposing left-wing tripe, shouldn't be acting as his trademark flaming-homosexual character Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live? Maybe he can work on a sequel to his 1995 Oscar-worthy cinematic masterpiece "Stuart Saves His Family." After the uproar over its snub in 1995, the Academy can't possibly overlook another Stuart Smally movie for Best Picture!

Al is the type of guy who was a wise-ass punk kid back in grade school. I'll bet he lipped off to his teachers and other students without any repurcussions because they were a bunch of pussies just like him. If he'd been in my grade school and lipped off to the wrong kid, someone would have broken his "Coke bottle" glasses and booted him in the ass to keep him in line.

The Cubs suck

I'm so sick of hearing yuppies drone on and on about the Cubs. Those people need a reality check - the Cubs SUCK and will continue to suck into the future. They haven't won a World Series since 1908 or even been to the World Series since 1945! And the only reason they even made it to the World Series in 1945 is probably because the team was comprised of a bunch of draft dodgers.

Wrigley Field is nothing more than a giant gay bar. Come on, have you seen that field? It's so small - your mother could probably hit a home run when the wind is blowing out. And what's the deal with the stupid ivy-covered brick fence in the outfield? Can't they afford to install padding?

A good number of the fans just go to Wrigley because it's a social event. It doesn't really matter who wins or loses because they just go there to drink with friends. If you were to randomly poll "fans" exiting from Wrigley after a game, half probably wouldn't know the score or even the name of the opponent.

Dustin Diamond is an idiot

Remember the character Screech from Saved By The Bell??? Remember how annoying he was when he would always screw up Zack's crazy scams or annoy AC Slater? He was by far the most retarded character on that show. After Zack, AC Slater, Kelly, Lisa, and Jessie graduated with him in 1993 when the original Saved By The Bell run ended, he came back a year later to star in the dreadful Saved By The Bell: The New Class where he was apparently Mr. Belding's mentally deficient assistant.

Anyhow, Diamond has laid low for the past few years and is now trying to strike it big in the entertainment industry again. He is the bass player in Salty the Pocketknife which, as I understand it, is a horrible, horrible band. Apparently one of their biggest "hits" is called "Rim Goblin." That's sad. Check out some of the reviews for their crappy album.

Diamond is also a stand-up comedian. That's a shocker seeing as how he never said anything funny on Saved By The Bell. (Fans did laugh at him on that show, however, for being such a pathetic loser for playing Screech.) Check out these reviews of Diamond's stand-up act:
www.comedysoapbox.com review #1
www.comedysoapbox.com review #2
www.spacejunk.com

Apparently there are a lot of people who like to post fantasies about Diamond in this forum (some of these are pretty funny): "Dustin Diamond Love"

Check out Garrett Brown's anti-Screech website.

Nolan Ryan is ridiculously overrated!

I'm sick of hearing people tell me that Nolan Ryan is the best or even one of the best pitchers in baseball history! In my opinion he was good, but he wasn't even close to being the best pitcher in MLB history for the reasons set forth below.

Ryan was wild and had control problems his entire career. Yes, it is true that he's the all-time leader in strikeouts with (5714), no-hitters (7), and he did win 324 games. However, he's also the all-time leader in walks issued (2795 - more than 50% more than the #2 person!), lost a whopping 292 games (#3 all-time), and his winning percentage was a pedestrian 52.6%.

Ryan seemed to be more intent on blowing the ball by batters instead of simply getting them out. I have no doubt that many of his 292 career losses were due in large part to walked batters who later scored. In 1974 Ryan struck out 367 batters, but also walked 202 batters! That's just sloppy.

I realize that a number of Ryan's fans aruge that his lost so many games because he was on bad teams. Unfortunately, that's simply a shallow argument. For example, Steve Carlton was on a pathetic Philadelphia Phillies team in 1972 that only won 59 games! However, Carlton led the NL in wins that year with 27, 45.7% of his team's victories that season! Simply put, the great ones find ways to win games despite being on poor teams. Randy Johnson has also managed to win many games despite having been on some terrible Mariners and Diamondbacks teams.

Moreover, Ryan failed to win a single CY Young Award during his 27-year career! In fact, Ryan only finished 2nd in the Cy Young Award voting once (in 1973). If he truly were the greatest, he would have won multiple Cy Young Awards.

Finally, I can think of a number of pitchers currently playing who have had beeter careers than Ryan - Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, and Pedro Martinez, to name a few.

More funny Yahoo message board posts

This old exchange between judge_smailes8 and the regulars at the Milestone Scientific Yahoo message board is quite humorous. judge_smailes8 manages to piss off quite a few people!

Lets All VOTE on the top posters
by: scullyxxxmulder 03/02/03 10:52 am
Msg: 3045 of 4872

OK everyone. We can all agree that this stock is history..so lets get into something serious.

WHO HAVE THE TOP 5 POSTERS ON THIS BOARD BEEN OVER THE LAST 5 YEARS.

There are only 2 Rules:
1- You can NOT vote for yourself
2- If you live in Florida your vote will not count

Re: Lets All VOTE on the top posters
by: judge_smailes8 (75/M/Benton Harbor, MI)
Long-Term Sentiment: Sell 04/01/03 02:27 am
Msg: 3070 of 4872

Scully, regardless of your criteria, I still want to nominate myself.

You and I are among the handful of intelligent contributors to this board. I used to post quite frequently in 1999-2000, but my postings have been very infrequent lately. In fact, this is my first post to this board in over a year.

I used to own several thousand shares of MS, but I liquidated my position last year when I came to the realization that MS would eventually go under. I always thought that their great Wand product would sell like hotcakes. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

As I enter my golden years, I look back at some of the accomplishments in my life with renewed appreciated. Yes, I was a judge on the Court of Appeals in Chicago from 1962-1975, appointed by President Kennedy. After I retired from the Court of Appeals, I worked as a mediator until the early 90s. Now, I spend my spare time visiting my grandchildren and investing. MS will always hold a special place in my heart - I'll never forget the many times I flamed Pool (remember him?) for posting something moronic. I also frequently bashed the Chinese kid who post to post here - (Ping something was his name).

Despite MS' certain demise, I have had a good time posting on the MS board. As a former judge, I've always felt the need to try to educate some of the less intelligent posters here. Hopefully, we'll all find another board on which to post our thoughts. I've perused the ANF board in the past, but that board has entirely too many morons who post. If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself. In my younger days I could stomach reading what morons had to say about stocks. However, I am now 75 years old, and I do not have the time for such idoits. Accordingly, I'll have to find another board on which to spend my time.

Good luck to everyone else who has ever posted here.

Sincerely,

Judge T. Smailes, Esq., Retired
U.S. Court of Appeals, Chicago (1962-75)



Posted as a reply to: Msg 3045 by scullyxxxmulder

Re: Lets All VOTE on the top posters
by: kima1957 04/02/03 10:01 am
Msg: 3072 of 4872

Dear Judge Smailes,

You sound like many lawyers I know, and more than a few judges. That is: Arrogant.

Now that you've nominated yourself (thank you for that), please tell us more about your background -- and how wonderful and smart you are. We are so fortunate to have learned from a man of your stature.

It's painfully obvious that you use boards like this for self-promotion. Get a grip on reality, man; nobody cares.

And some of us have more financial smarts than you'll ever have.



Posted as a reply to: Msg 3070 by judge_smailes8

Re: Lets All VOTE on the top posters
by: judge_smailes8 (75/M/Benton Harbor, MI)
Long-Term Sentiment: Sell 04/03/03 02:45 am
Msg: 3075 of 4872

Dear kima1957,

You are a complete idiot. I'm so sick of reading all the messages written by morons who post on the Yahoo message boards! People like are the reason why so few intelligent investors post here.

By the way, your login and your writing are vaguely familiar. Didn't I send you to the Joliet state prison for a couple years during the early 70s for armed robbery?

In any event, Kima1957, I am a former federal judge for the Court of Appeals in Chicago, appointed by President Kennedy. Did you ever meet President Kennedy? No you say? I didn't think so. I had lunch with President Kennedy and the former Mayor Richard M. Daley back on a warm spring day in '62. Both were quite affable, yet they would be appalled by the complete lack of respect and manner that you have shown me.

To the cordial MS posters over the previous 4 years, I bid you adieu! To the rude, obnoxious posters, I am not sorry to see you guys go. Your negativity is probably responsible for bringing MS down to the ground – you should be ashamed of yourselves!!!

Good night.

Judge T. Smailes, Esq., Retired
U.S. Court of Appeals, Chicago (1962-75)

>>Dear Judge Smailes,
>>
>>You sound like many lawyers I know, and more than a few judges. That is: Arrogant.
>>
>>Now that you've nominated yourself (thank you for that), please tell us more about your background -- and how wonderful and smart you are. We are so fortunate to have learned from a man of your stature.
>>
>>It's painfully obvious that you use boards like this for self-promotion. Get a grip on reality, man; nobody cares.
>>
>>And some of us have more financial smarts than you'll ever have.



Posted as a reply to: Msg 3072 by kima1957

Re: Lets All VOTE on the top posters
by: kima1957 04/03/03 12:52 pm
Msg: 3078 of 4872

Dear Judge Smailes,

We are all very impressed with you! Happy now?

Oh, and by the way, contrary to your assertion that I am "a complete idiot," in fact I have an IQ of 150 and have been a member of MENSA for years. Of course, I realize that your IQ is certainly much higher than mine ... and that you are eminently more knowledgeable than I as an investor (despite my graduate degrees in finance and economics).

The essential difference between us is simply this: Although I have posted here before, I do not feel the psychological need to engage in egomaniacal self-promotion. In fact, I am no better than anyone else.

And by the way: The ratio of "intelligent" to "moronic" posts on THIS board is approximately proportional to ANY OTHER Yahoo stock board.

Kima



Posted as a reply to: Msg 3075 by judge_smailes8

Re: Lets All VOTE on the top posters
by: judge_smailes8 (75/M/Benton Harbor, MI)
Long-Term Sentiment: Sell 04/04/03 02:06 am
Msg: 3082 of 4872

Kima1957,

In your last post, you wrote "The essential difference between us is simply this: Although I have posted here before, I do not feel the psychological need to engage in egomaniacal self-promotion." However, you also wrote that your IQ is 150 and you are a member of MENSA.

Whew! I need to lie down! On the one hand, you mention that you don't engage in self-promotion, but on the other hand, you stress that your IQ is really high. Kima1957, all you do is engage in self-promotion!

You may have a 150 IQ, but did you graduate from Harvard Law School? I didn't think so. While you were discussing the latest Star Trek episodes at your Mensa meetings, I issued opinions that paved the way for the creation of the Federal Circuit!

This is my last post to this board. I can no longer tolerate the idiocy here.

Veritas!

Judge T. Smailes, Esq., Retired
U.S. Court of Appeals, Chicago (1962-75)



Posted as a reply to: Msg 3078 by kima1957

Dear Judge
by: kima1957 04/04/03 09:51 am
Msg: 3083 of 4872

Judge Smailes,

I have posted on this board a couple dozen times in the last few years, and I have NEVER "tooted my own horn" (prior to yesterday).

I indicated my IQ ONLY in response to your calling me an idiot. My high IQ doesn't make me better than anyone else -- and if it weren't for YOU, Judge, I would NEVER have disclosed it! My high IQ only makes me the antithesis of the idiot that you called me.

And you just can't resist, can you? You just can't help even MORE self-promoting, EVERY time you post! We continue to be sooooo impressed! Please, PLEASE, tell us more about yourself and your self-important life! You're so much better than the rest of us can ever hope to be!

And you know what, Judge? You have absolutely NO CLUE as to what I've done with my life, and I DO NOT feel the need to disclose to you (or anyone else) my own importance. But I will tell you this:

A. I have never been to a "MENSA Convention" (I'm afraid the majority of those folks would bore me to tears); and I have no interest in Star Trek.

B. I've accomplished a few things in my life, things that just might impress even such a magnificent specimen as yourself.

Have a nice day.

Kima

P.S. Seems like at least a few posters to this board (besides myself) have also noticed your blatant self-promotion.

Yahoo stock message board post

Check out this funny post by Judge_Smailes8 at the Yahoo message board for Milestone Scientific (symbol: MS):

Greetings
by: judge_smailes8 (74/M/Benton Harbor, MI)
Long-Term Sentiment: Buy 01/19/02 01:22 am
Msg: 2844 of 4872

Hello MS board,

I've held a long position in some 4,500 shares of MS since mid-1999. I've seen MS's share price go sharply up for no apparent reason, and also drop sharply for no apparent reason. It makes no sense to me - perhaps we are victims of stock manipulation.

I read some of the messages posted in this fine forum for the first time in nearly two years this afternoon. I'd like to share my conclusions with everyone who reads this board:
(1) Most of the people who post here don't know a damned thing about investing. In my younger days I could stomach reading what morons had to say about MS or any of my other holdings. However, I am now 74 years old, and I do not have the time for such idoits. Accordingly, if you don't know anything about investing, please post on the ANF board. You'll feel right at home with all of the other morons who post there.
(2)There are some big MS bulls who post here, as well as some big MS bears. It's time for the bulls and the bears to come together. As that tv theme goes, you take the good, you take the bad, you take them all and there you have, the facts of life, the facts of life. Ah, I digress. Anyway, in this time of national crisis I think that the bears should keep their negativity to themselves. Otherwise, MS will go down and the terrorists will have won this round.

Good luck to everyone else on the board. I look forward to my next post. Godspeed MS.

Sincerely,

Judge T. Smailes, Esq., Retired
U.S. Court of Appeals, Chicago (1962-75)