Pudge!

[BarryBobPosthole]

Right after I got out of the Air Force, like literally the next day, I was starting a new job in Dallas. I ended up living there for four years. The Texas Rangers were still a pretty sorry lot in 1979. But it was major league baseball and tickets were cheap and easy and Arlington stadium was a cool place to see a ball game. I pulled for the Rangers for a long time after I moved to Tulsa in '83. I listened to them through the static of WBAP AM radio all the way from Fort Worth. I guess four years of HF radio made me immune to static.

Pudge came through Tulsa in AA ball and we saw him play almost a season here. We used to get season tickets every year. There were a TON of good young players coming through here then. When Nolan Ryan was at the helm, he moved to AA Ranger club to Round Rock Texas where he owned the club. Fucker.

Pudge got selected for the Hall today. I know it ain't politic for a Cardinal fan to ever put anyone over Yadi, but I think Pudge might be the best catcher ever, including Johnny Bench and his two balls.

Its wierd to have followed a player all the way through his career to the Hall of Fame. That makes me feel REAL old.

Anyway, Pudge is a goodun.

By the way, Yadier Molina's dad coached pudge in little league and in the PR amateur leagues.
BKB

[LJ3]

Damn dude. How long did you stay there? I was in Arlington a few times for Danray CTSS switch training back in those days. Funny how life works, we coulda been sitting next to each other on bar stools.

One time I got hammered and drove myself over to the Cowboys HQ parking lot and pissed in the parking lot singing hail to the Redskins :)

[BarryBobPosthole]

We had five CTSS 1k in one office and a 4k 'tandem' across town in another. Those are venerable old switches. I wonder if you knew the 'comb' trick?

BKB

[LJ3]

I was too busy QA'ing the damn circuits at night and adjusting the levels. Every night. All the time. And rebooting those friggin things all the time.

[Chicken Dinner]

1st former National to make the Hall. (Even if it was just a pit stop near the end of his career.)


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[Thumper]

Small world. I used to live in Arlington. Had a job lined up at the G. M. assembly plant there. The railroad went on strike and the layoffs hit because the plant couldn't get the parts delivered to supply the line. I went to work for a pipeline company building the DFW Airport.

[DeputyDog]

Never been to Arlington, but agree Pudge is probably the best defensive catcher. Really enjoyed watching him play when he was with the Tigers.


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[BarryBobPosthole]

Len, I was with MCI there from 79-83. I worked in downtown Dallas at bryan Tower and One Main Place. Who the heck were you with that used Danray switches? We gotta know a lot of the same peoples.

BKB

[BarryBobPosthole]

And just to say this about the friggin HOF. I got no issue with Bagwell being in there, even though standing out in the Astros isn't really as hard as it is on other clubs. But we was a career 300 hitter, had a huge slugging pct , 455 hrs etc,. But he had suspiciousion hanging over him for PED use for a long time. Unlike others, he never admitted to using them. But the man got really BIG for most of his career at Houston. I mean jose Canseco big. He used them. No way he didn't.
Now take Mark McGwire. Why isn't he in there? Because he admitted taking them.

If the frigging self righteous sports writers are going to deny the hall over PEDs, then baseball needs to take away any and all league or world championships the teams got while those guys were playing. The owners, by denying what was openly happening all those years and reaping benefits from it are as culpable as the players. The drug McGwire used wasn't even banned by baseball when he took them, wasn't even classified as a steriod when he used it. Baseball, aka the owners, didn't even allow testing of their players until 2003. yet there are HOF players who deserve to be that aren't. Be ause the sportswriters don't think they deserve it.
Okay, then lets ban players who took greenies (amphetamines) in the 60s and 70s too then. Which would be about 90% of the active players then.

This is bulla shitta.

Rant over.

BKb

[LJ3]

Len, I was with MCI there from 79-83. I worked in downtown Dallas at bryan Tower and One Main Place. Who the heck were you with that used Danray switches? We gotta know a lot of the same peoples.

BKB

I was with Allnet communications. We didn't last too long. I think I made it till 85 or so. We had mostly Danray 1K and 4K and a few tandems at other offices but I never worked on those.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I worked with a lot of folks from Allnet, up in Detroit mainly. Ever know a guy there named Ben Lekowsky? I stole Ben away from Allnet but he went back to them after a while. Good guy.

BKB

[LJ3]

Never heard of him. My crew was Fred Ost, Carl somebody, Russ Ritchie, Bill Casoni, Floyd Warble was our manager. Russ somebody, Martha somebody and Donna the secretary who spent her day chasing me around! And beer. There was MUCH beet back in those days.

Russ, the guy who had to lay me off, was a good guy. I had some issues with our current Level3 Interwebs circuit and had a tech come out to repair. Turned out to be Russ! Sometimes I wish I had the sense to stay in the technical trenches.

[BarryBobPosthole]

In general, it was a really awesome business to be a part of in the 80's and 90's. People in the business really got to take part in building the foundation for what we have today. Unfortunately, since about 2000, people in the business are part of taking it all apart and moving it elsewhere.

Layer One can not be replaced. There will always be a physical layer. Its at that level we've seen the biggest degradation where people are concerned. there'll be a reckoning, just wait and see. Networks are a hodge podge, and hodgepodge is never a good idea in telecom.

BKB

[LJ3]

In general, it was a really awesome business to be a part of in the 80's and 90's. People in the business really got to take part in building the foundation for what we have today. Unfortunately, since about 2000, people in the business are part of taking it all apart and moving it elsewhere.

Layer One can not be replaced. There will always be a physical layer. Its at that level we've seen the biggest degradation where people are concerned. there'll be a reckoning, just wait and see. Networks are a hodge podge, and hodgepodge is never a good idea in telecom.

BKB

Agree on all counts!

[LJ3]

Most of my job these days is dealing with Layer 8 issues :)

[BarryBobPosthole]

Ha! talk about hodgepodge!

BKB