Rocky

I guess it's a good thing he wasn't as good a "closer" as, say Gagne was that one year! Urbina gets 14 years in prison Former Major League Pitcher Urbina Sentenced To 14 Years In Venezuelan Prison For Attempted Murder March 28, 2007 2:51 p.m. EST Eric Williams - All Headline News Sports ReporterCaracas, Venezuela (AHN) - Former Major League Baseball pitcher Ugueth Urbina found out Wednesday that he is being sentenced to 14 years in prison for being found guilty of attempted murder in his homeland of Venezuela. The Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday that Urbina was sentenced to nearly a decade and a half in jail for attempting to murder five workers on his family's ranch. Urbina, who last pitched in the majors for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2005, was also found guilty of illegal deprivation of liberty and violating a prohibition against taking justice into his own hands. "I am very disappointed and upset," his agent, Peter Greenberg, said. "We're hopeful that the judicial process will exonerate Uggie. I firmly believe he's innocent." Urbina, 33, was accused of joining a group of men in attacking and injuring workers with machetes and pouring gasoline on them at his family's ranch, which lies approximately 25 miles south of Caracas. The former reliever claimed that he was sleeping at the time of the alleged attack. Both, Urbina's former attorney and his present one, agreed that Urbina is getting the short end of a slippery stick. "The ruling was too severe," said Jose Antonio Baez, a former attorney who represented Urbina. Jose Luis Tamayo, Urbina's present lawyer, explained Urbina's side of the story, saying Urbina surprised workers at the ranch by showing up that night while they were bathing in the pool without permission. Urbina allegedly spoke sharply to the workers, but later left and went to sleep, according to Tamayo. Urbina pitched for the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers in his MLB career. Urbina ranks 30th on the career saves list with 237 with two of those two saves coming in the 2003 World Series for the victorious Marlins. In 11 major league seasons, Urbina posted a 44-49 record with a 3.45 ERA. He also led the National League with 41 saves in 1999 for the then Montreal Expos and was third in the AL with 40 saves for the Boston Red Sox in 2002. </FONT>

He still is... especially when he posts here at the ol' cafe ...! :)

It's RAD! (or... grooooovy?) Less than 5 days, 14 hours to First Pitch on Opening Day! (for the D'backs).

Well praise BE! (whoever BE is?) Simon our brother has returned! We have hungered for the wisdom of your indepth spurtchle insight! Welcome Son of the Master! Indeed, if Simon is loaded with anything, it's his overflowing knowledge of America's pastime! Less than 5 days, 14 Hours to First Pitch on Opening Day!

The pics work... I was able to download them and look at them... :) As to the Cubs... I understand that Wood is injured again...? Is that right?

Dead as a doornail? I dunno... However, THIS I know... very windy in the Cactus League today. Apparently, in Tucson, the wind was blowing out. Good for batters, bad for pitchers. Arizona 13, Colorado 9. You'd think they were playing at Coors Field, or on a windy day at Wrigley. Scott Hairston (from a baseball family), who's been with the D'backs off and on for the last 3-4 years, found out today he's made the team for opening day. Hairston celebrated by hitting 3 HRs! Can you just hear the first umpire of the new season yell, "PLAY BALL!"?

Hey Karie... I don't know about ManyFeathers... but I do know that Fellowshipper visits occasionally (not as often as some of us), and that he is living in the future... down under... so, his clock is way different than ours... but I'm sure he'll show up in a few days, if not sooner...

Hey Sir G... hope you're having a real happenin day!

Hey Happy Birthday Homie! Hope yur able to thaw out pretty soon up there in Minnie-soda! :)

Hey Karie... Wow... you HAVE done a bunch of living. I looked at your blog... very nice. My daughter's name is the same as your daughter's, but spelled differently. And... before going in res for the 9th, I actually lived in Westwood for about 6months.... Hope you enjoy the coffee here at the cafe.

Hi Karie, Glad you could join us. You pretty much answered your question (highlighted). Though you would want to refrain from using others' real names without their permission. :) A lot of life has happened in the last 25 years or so, eh? Several 9th corpse folks are regulars here, as you've probably figured by now. Wish there were more. Many of us have kids... I have a 17 yo daughter. Say hey to Chuck for us. It's also nice to hear you're still happily married... not enough of that these days (anywhere). Rocky (meep)

It does look cool. It also LOOKS like fun. But there's not a snowball's chance in Scottsdale in July that I'll ever try it!

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Happy Happy! Hope you have many more!

You don't REALLY believe a professional speechwriter would come up with all the things Bush has said while tripping over the words coming out of his mouth, do you? And the speechwriters don't necessarily prepare text for every time he gets before a microphone or behind a podium... but they DO write the major speeches, radio messages, etc.

Oh?

Did I ever tell you that ONIONS are my favorite fruit? It's true! So, here's to a big harvest of Vidalias this year for all of us to enjoy! :D ... and have a great year my friend.

You are far more ambitious as a baseball fan than I am... though I DID have season tickets to the Dbacks games in 1998 (inaugural year) that I shared with coworkers. The most exciting things I've done as a fan is go to game one at the BOB for WS 2001... oh, and I went to the victory parade in downtown Phx. But I'm right there with you on Vin Scully. :)

How can you be in two places at once, when your not anywhere at all?

I've heard of 18 year olds RUNNING for school board before... not getting elected however. Similar, but not quite as much of a long shot, I've seen 20somethings win small town mayoral races. A former mayor of Nogales, AZ was just out of college, definitely under 30 when he got elected. He had been in a unique program while at the University of AZ specializing in international studies. Nogales is on the AZ/Mexico border. He did a good job. Most people, rightfully so, would be reluctant to elect an 18 year old to a school board position. It sounds like the community perception of the third candidate as a loose cannon may have put the 18 yo over the top. But since he's been to all the board meetings, if he's paid attention, and if he can intelligently discuss relevant issues, it could be that he's a natural for political involvement. Still, he'll need a (at least one) wise mentor, or he's going to still have a hard time keeping himself above water.

Indeed... and on the Food Channel, just about every use of oil in cooking, except for deep frying, they (practically all of the chefs/cooks) all use EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)... and nutritionists looooooovve EVOO for it being high in monounsaturated fats. My recipe for meatballs -- buy them frozen at Trader Joe's... they have some nice turkey meatballs that heat up quickly in the m/w. But, if I were to actually make them, I'd go with the Progresso (seasoned) Bread Crumbs (my mom used those when I was a kid, I loved 'em) and indeed need to use eggs. :)

We're ba-ack! :blink:

Indeed, stRangers' 9-8 victory over the Dbacks must have been an exciting game for Spring Training. Don't forget, as Tom Strange has noted several times, this is the stRangers' year, since Showalter got fired at the end of the 2006 season. Should make for a good year for fans in the D-FW area.