Bark's Lounge

I believe Love to be a great thing. I think a commitment between two people who love each other deeply is fantastic - It stabilizes their lives, it is the ground zero for being a fulfilled person... for the majority of us. When we start bringing in superstition and 1,400 - 3,000 year old religious ideas into the equation, we seem to be taking a humongous leap backwards. No matter what your convictions are, if you search deep inside yourself, the common sense and truth is revealed - even if you want to deny that logic. I live in the real world, there is a lot of nasty stuff happening globally, gay marriage and homosexuality is not one of those things. I respect that people have religious beliefs and all the power to you, but when you start denying people of their right to be what they want to be and 100% expressively true to themselves, while making their lives more difficult than the average John and Jane - that is awful. Off the top of my head, I think Indianapolis has one of the larger gay populations in the United States. What a slap in their faces. Shame on you Indiana Politicians.

Certainly the U.S.A. hopefully does not get into a conflict where our troops are put on the ground in Syria or Iraq. It's not worth it anymore if it ever was worth it and I was a part of the opposition to the Irag Invasion military intervention. I'm a realist, and things look pretty bleak in those areas of the world. (understated) I have great concerns about the foreign fighters who have left their countries to join the atrocity we call ISIS. They should never, ever, ever be let back into their country of origin... never. This whole thing is a mess and it will take a good amount of time to eradicate this group of Islamists. This whole topic makes me feel sort of down troddened, but I have listened to people who can maybe have a long term impact... not immediate. I am a big fan of Maajid Nawaz. This guy is a rising star. I want every effort to be out there to keep this guy alive. Extreme Islam is by far the #1 threat - and let it be clear that I do not subscribe to any religion... not even close, and I am not a Nationalist... barf! Islam needs to be reformed from the inside out. The Western World cannot attack this and have a favorable outcome. We need people inside this religion to question, teach and execute a favorable end outcome to stifle the Muslim Young Adults who what to become Islamists. An Intelligent mind like Maajid Nawaz and his coherts at the Quilliam Foundation is a great start. There is not much to feel optimistic about on this front but with people like Nawaz - anything is possible. Maybe this is what our charities and energies should be put in to. Extreme Islam is politicized and fascist. If I am a janitor of the world, this is the **** I need to sweep up and throw in the trash, throw some bleach on the problem spot, and make sure everything is clean for the duration.

Agreed. The situation is pretty bleak.

Yeah, as everyone knows - Superman sucks. But he is the unbelievable character that could extinguish the flame of ISIS. Maybe I should have said the Silver Surfer? Yuck, Yuck!

I think I may have figured out a way to rid the Earth of ISIS... http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/229/files/2013/05/super.png

Man, I so wish the US could wash their hands of the Middle East and walk away, find a new energy initiative, make some sacrifices, etc., etc... But, I have made the mistake of watching the Short Film of these pieces of crap burning the Jordanian pilot alive and I have seen other not so nice things that I had no business digging up. I have my regrets. I agree with Leviathan, I don't think any nation can turn their back on that kind of shiznit. These human beings have ceased to be that, they are rabid and diseased animals that need to be disposed of... expediantly. They have taken a deuce on the Muslim population of the world and have most uneducated people of the Western world freaked out towards Islam to an extent that is quite frightening. I certainly do not want the US to be the ones who execute it, but a coalition of many nations, especially muslim majority nations. Burn these MFer's down.

Arizona Diamondbacks - 71.5 - under Atlanta Braves - 73.5 - under Baltimore Orioles - 82.5 - over Boston Red Sox - 86.5 - under Chicago Cubs - 82.5 - over Chicago White Sox - 81.5 - over Cincinnati Reds - 77.5 - over Cleveland Indians - 84.5 - under Colorado Rockies - 71.5 - under Detroit Tigers - 84.5 - over Houston Astros - 75.5 - over Kansas City Royals - 81.5 - over Los Angeles Angels - 88.5 - under Los Angeles Dodgers - 92.5 - under Miami Marlins - 81.5 - over Milwaukee Brewers - 78.5 - under Minnesota Twins - 71.5 - over New York Mets - 81.5 - under New York Yankees - 81.5 - over Oakland Athletics - 81.5 - under Philadelphia Phillies - 68.5 - under Pittsburgh Pirates - 84.5 - over San Diego Padres - 84.5 - over San Francisco Giants - 84.5 - under Seattle Mariners - 86.5 - over St. Louis Cardinals - 88.5 - over Tampa Bay Rays - 78.5 - under Texas Rangers - 78.5 - over Toronto Blue Jays - 83.5 - over Washington Nationals - 93.5 - over Tie breaker 1: The two AL WC teams will be: White Sox and Angels Tie breaker 2: The two NL WC teams will be: Pirates and Cubs

I truly hope that Molitor's take on Mauer is correct (making adjustments) and I am glad that Joe has been able to work out this off season at full speed. Having a .320BA and .850OPS hitting Joe Mauer is something I hope we have not seen the last of. I am going to be optimistic and say we haven't seen the last of that.

I believe this to be a necessary rule. I don't want to sound like a crotchety old man, but come on, enough is enough - keep the dangnabit phones in your locker. I understand that social media has its benefits, but this is Major League Baseball, let's keep it organic. Instead of tweeting or whatever, get to know your teammates, understand where they are coming from, try to find out what makes them tick or not tick. It's these kinds of actions that can really form a cohesive group of guys ready to go to greatest reaches for each other.

Certainly it is not good for the game of baseball. But, if African American Athletes choose other sports over baseball, it should come as no surprise to the fan base of baseball. Maybe it is not their best/preferred sport... maybe they want the glitz and glamour of the NFL or even the NBA. Maybe they are playing the sport they love the most? It is MLB's job to make more individuals excited about the game, maybe they are doing a bad job at it, but it is what it is is. I do not think Major League Baseball is boring, but I bet some of the top high school athletes believe it to be boring. They are invested in another sport. How do you recruit that individual?

I believe that Hamilton will struggle with this his whole life and he will have his relapses. I do not like the "drug of abuse" policy in MLB. He is not cheating. He is destroying his physical prowess. The guy needs help, not a punishment. Help the guy out, give him the resources necessary. Help him to be healthy mind wise and physically on the field. Rational Recovery is the healthy way to go about things. The last thing anyone needs is to be locked up in a cult type organization. Do not suspend Hamilton and provide him with the resources he needs to move on from this. He will probably need maintenance from time to time and it should work out if he is not hell bent on self Destruction.

Although I do appreciate Comeback Bunny... so adorable.

Exit: Rally Rhino and Comeback Bunny Enter: Rally Roger, Comeback Cockroach and bored today

My prediction is not too exciting. Phil Hughes and Joe Mauer. Phil will have 220IP and a around a K per inning. His ERA will end up around 3.15-3.05. He builds off his breakout season and finishes in the top 5 in the AL in Cy Young Voting. Mauer bounces back and hits .328 with 51 Doubles in 630PA's. Oddly, he bats in over a 100 runners and scores over 100 runs. I get that does not mean too much metrically, but it happens and Twins Fans are A-Okay with it. Who would have thought?

It's Alabama, what can you expect? I have been there, it's like going back in a time machine 35+ years. The weather is nice for the most part... everything else - not so much.

In remembrance of Moaz al-Kasasbeh. I usually hate the martyr concept, but for this brave young man, a martyr he will be forever. I hope his death is avenged and this is the starting gun to the real undertaking of eradicating ISIS, executed by a unilateral Arab army.

That is correct. Hunter first debuted in 1997, his 21-22 aged season. Hunter broke threw in 2001, his 25-26 year old season. These are facts that should be put into play about how all of us as a collective need to cool our jets and let things play out. And as everyone knows, there will be more failure than success, historically, league wide, that is how it breaks.

I know the DH is a hot button topic, and I understand both sides of the argument. MLB has stripped us baseball enthusiasts of a lot of tradition the last 20 years and I do honor and appreciate the tradition MLB has bestowed upon us before those happenings. I really would like to see the pitcher keep hitting in the NL and I have been long a proponent of having a 2-way player. Rick Ankiel was a phemomenal pitching prospect with the Red Birds, his run was short because of head issues, but he did go back to the minors and turned himself into a position player, he had some very good success in the bigs at first, but after 1.5 years the league caught up to him. Too bad for Rick, but I do believe in the coming years, we will see more multi-dimensional players (pitching and hitting). There was a 19 year old (Shohei Otani) in the Nippon league who did it during the 2014 season. I think this is going to be the next big thing in modern professional baseball. http://www.baseball-reference.com/japan/player.cgi?id=otani-000sho

I'm not sure what too make out of Hicks. If I were to make a prediction, my guess is he will be the opening day CFer and he will hit .235 with 50BB's, 12HR's and 12SB's. That might bum some people out, but it is what it is and sometimes it takes a player drafted out of High School a good amount of time to develop. Hicks could definitely be a bust, but I look at Alex Gordon as the beacon of player development. Even though he was drafted out of college and was proclaimed the next coming of George Brett. It took him 4-5 years to get his groove on and a position change at that, which has worked out quite nicely. Maybe it is a crapshoot, maybe Hicks is a waste of time, but he just turned 25. I'm not ready to give up on him. And to note: Baltimore acquired former top prospect Travis Snider from the Pirates. I am predicting a major breakout from this soon to be 27 year old man. 25+ HR's and an OPS over .830.

Natron, I do think your league is awesome. If it were a different place and a different time, I could certainly see myself fielding a team of crusty old veteran wiffle ball players for your league. I know a good amount of them - me included. Good luck finding team 16 - I am sure it will happen.

It actually looks like you guys are having some fun. This a response to both Natron and Ashbury John. Natron having fun playing wiffleball. Ashbury John having fun tripping on acid, shrooms, or whatever you have ingested on this early Friday afternoon.

Don't worry about the drink, they are on me also because if my predictions come to fruition, I will probably have won the lottery also. For Mauer to OPS .995, with 12HR's, he'd probably have to bat close to .400, with his usual amount of BB's. Today optimism is the wind blowing against my back, propelling me to a state of Big Dreamin' and grandiose possibilities!

Here is my roll of the dice. Molitor gives the utmost motivating speech at the beginning of Spring Training and the players respond, with a 20-5 start to the season and this team is nicknamed "Molitor's Marauders" by the national media. There of course will be some ups and downs, but overall the Twins play strong baseball and win the Central Division with ease (99 victories). I'm not gonna get into the post season prediction machine, but they do win at least one post season series. Notable Performances: Mr. Mauer - very good defense at first and .995OPS, and only 12HR's, so that must mean his Avg. and BB's are pretty high, I also think he has over 50 doubles and 600PA's and another Batting Title. Mr. Plouffe - He hits 37HR's, with a .960OPS, and plays improved defense compared to last years pleasant surprise, he wins the Gold Glove Award, he probably doesn't deserve it, but by having an MVP type of season he gets the nod on that empty reward - and yes, Plouffe is voted the American League MVP. Mr. D. Santana - His Avg. is around .275-.280, but he hits 13HR's and scores over 100 Runs and Molitor's style of baseball brings his SB total to 45. His OBP is around .320, but he is a lightning rod for excitement! And by the way he plays SS most of the time with mixed results. Mr. Dozier: His HR numbers fall to 18, but he has a .288BA, with 105BB and leads the league with 117 Runs Scored. Mr. Hughes: 227IP, 215K's, 1.03WHIP Mr. E. Santana: 219IP, 190K's. 1.114WHIP Obviously, a handful of other players will need to have good seasons for this scenario to play out. This is my nightmare walking, psychopath talkin' prediction. Let it ride!

Thank you my friend. That means a lot to me.

Creativity is a very good thing and I commend you on that. I like how the DH works now and I am glad it is an American League only rule. I appreciate that it is a rule divide between the AL and NL. So many things have changed in MLB over the last 20 years. The wild card, inter-league play, instant-replay dealios, etc., etc. - as a fan it is good to have the differences between the leagues. The DH rule has been around for about 42-43 years? To me it has a historical quotient and is important. One of the greatest things about MLB is its history. It sort of has a mythological feeling to it. Think about it, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Walter Johnson, and many more have a Sasquatch or Roswell Alien Crash Aura around them, the difference is, Babe Ruth and the others I mentioned did those things and accomplished baseball feats of an almost unbelievable magnitude. They were real. I believe the history of this game is one of the great factors that make it an attractive sport to delve yourself into. No other sport has a greater historical story than MLB and it's not even close.