TOM YOUNG was seen kissing Large Marge and telling us:
 TY> photographer, use a corked bat and curse out a reporter for no reason
 TY> what so ever. Yeah, they have to go so far out of their way to get this
 TY> information.
Yeah and they sure took great pains to dig into the life of Mantle, didn't 
they? :-^
 TY> Regardless of Mantle's problems with alcohol, or when he admitted
 TY> these problems, he never threw a baseball at a fan or photographer, he
 TY> never tried to run over some teenagers and he never used a corked bat.
A few things that *I* would have done (except the corked bat) if I were in 
the same position. I have no sympathy for ANYONE who gets the business from 
Belle. They know the risks and if they're stupid enough to get close enough 
for him to take a shot at them -- good. You wouldn't provoke a pit-bull 
unless you like getting a reaction and most of it lately has been to get a 
reaction from Belle. They already know what he's going to do and yet, they go 
out of their way to provoke him.
 TY> What Mantle did has no bearing on what Belle does.  None of this
 TY> changes the fact that the Indians still offered to make him the
 TY> highest paid player in baseball.  How is this a slight of him?
You're the one that brought up his drinking and how it was a risk. If you 
can't dance the dance then don't put on the record. Belle deserved more than 
what the Indians gave him -- for past and future performance. They asked him 
to help save the franchise from being the screwups that they had been for 
decades and then when it was time to pay the piper, they turned out to be 
tone-deaf.
 TY> I tell you, I see the horrible old media destroying so many player's
 TY> careers.  Boy, they really cost Albert a lot of money don't you think.
Again, who in the hell is JUST TALKING ABOUT BELLE. You certainly are but I'm 
sure as hell not.
 TY> Maybe without their "unfair" portrayal of him, he could have got a
 TY> couple more million out of Reinsdorf.
If they had kept their distance, a lot of this wouldn't have happened. Belle 
owes NO ONE in the press an interview but most of them act as if he does. 
It's that pettiness that cost him the MVP to Mo Vaughn (Before you say it 
didn't, Belle won EVERY POY award NOT voted on by the press).
 TY> Their transgressions were against themselves.  They did not assault
 TY> others.  Not even Howe did that.
Oh, since they didn't harm anyone besides themselves, it's A LOT BETTER. I 
see -- you have to tell me these things. :-^
 TY> anybody.  And I'm sorry to see that you think sniffing cocaine is
 TY> worse than trying to run over a teenager.
I feel NO sympathy for those guys. I would have done the same thing and so 
would a lot of other people that I know. You may think it was a silly prank 
but I don't stand for that crap.
 TY> THEY OFFERED TO MAKE THE MAN THE HIGHEST PAYED PLAYER IN BASEBALL!!!!
Big Whoopie. He GAVE UP THE HONOR TO BE THE HIGHEST PAID PLAYER for the good 
of the team. He allowed them to have hugh profits for years while sacrificing 
a hell of a lot more than the team did.
 TY> How is that slighting him?  Why do you feel compelled to make asinine
 TY> comparisons?
I like that. Maybe I should get personal with you (Been taking lessons from 
Cross, I see).
 TY> There is a long history of Montreal losing players because they
 TY> cannot afford to keep them.
There's a long history of Montreal losing players because they're too damn 
stupid to realize that they keep driving away fans and lowering their profits 
when they get rid of players. San Diego stopped using the "Montreal" formula 
and look at where it got them. I have no sympathy for Montreal (Or 
Pittsburgh, for that matter).
 TY> you or I, so I yes, truthfully feel they did not think he would bring
 TY> them a title, and chose not to top the White Sox offer.
Baloney. They weren't that far away when they tried to get Belle to "take it 
or leave it." It's that kind of an attitude that destroys a franchise and 
Cleveland is acting like they're going to work their way back to their days 
of being the Yankees' farm club.
 TY> Personally I don't recall whether or not he tried to match the
 TY> offers for Jackson or Hunter, it is possible he did and they still
 TY> chose to go elsewhere.
Chuckles wouldn't match an offer, even if it was only a nickel above his 
"final" offer.
 TY> Loyalty cuts both ways. By refusing the offer and seeeking more money,
 TY> he was certainly not showing any loyalty to the Indians.
Belle DIDN'T seek more money, more money SOUGHT him.
 TY> Maybe I missed it somewhere along the way, but what is your belief of
 TY> why the Indians did not resign Belle?
They're idiots (Or would you rather that I come up with something more 
philosophical).
--- TrekEd 1.00
---------------