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To: Clappy who wrote (55643)	10/17/2002 10:16:19 PM
From: Cactus Jack	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 65232

Clap, Interesting points. I bet greats like Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Drysdale, and others would make him think twice about staying so close to the plate. Most pitchers don't even think of brushing him back or aiming in the areas that the armor doesn't cover. They don't try to get inside Bond's head. Most pitchers are afraid of him because he takes their best pitch and crushes it; did you see the ball he hit into the Bay last Saturday off of Chuck Finley on a fastball up and in (off the plate)? No one else even hits that ball hard; Bonds hit it a mile. Greats like Gibson, Drysdale, Seaver and Ryan would have thrown inside against Bonds because that's one of the traits that made them great. He still would have gotten his share of hits off of them, just like other great hitters did. He's got a great eye and don't seem to let the walks pith him off too much. Patience has made him into a prolific slugger AND a .370 hitter. I heard someone on TV point out that even if they pitch to Bonds you have to figure he's gonna be out 7 times out of 10. Why not take a chance and pitch to the dude in the late innings if no one is one base. Otherwise he ends up scoring usually. On the other hand, Bonds seems to have a flair for the dramatic, plus his on-base percentage was actually over .500 (i.e. less than a 50/50 chance of getting him out). I think I agree with you on this one, though. By walking him in a tie game with 2 out and no one on in the 8th, the manager tells his pitcher that the manager lacks faith in the pitcher's ability to handle the most basic of situations. This Series is gonna be a real battle. I can hardly wait. Me too. jpg

To: Clappy who wrote (55643)	10/18/2002 10:01:39 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Corporate scandals cost more than $200 billion, report says By MARCY GORDON, AP Business Writer Thu Oct 17, 6:32 PM ET story.news.yahoo.com WASHINGTON - Recent corporate scandals have cost Americans more than $200 billion in lost investment savings, jobs, pension losses and tax revenue, according to a report released Thursday. The report issued by the "No More Enrons" coalition, partially funded by consumer groups and labor unions, said losses from 401(k) investment accounts alone totaled $175 billion and public pension funds nationwide lost at least $6.4 billion as the stock market plummeted amid a crisis of investor confidence. It estimated that more than a million workers lost their jobs at the affected companies, while company executives cashed out billions of dollars of their stock. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., seized on the report to decry the scandals' impact and blame President Bush (news - web sites) and Republican lawmakers for what he said was failure to take strong action. "Tens of thousands of jobs, lost. Billions of dollars in personal and public retirement savings, gone. Confidence in our companies and our markets, badly damaged," Daschle said. "The lesson ought to be clear: When corporate fraud leads to corporate failure, we all get hurt. Unfortunately, this administration and many of our Republican colleagues continue to deny that obvious fact." Daschle renewed his call for Bush to remove Securities and Exchange Commission (news - web sites) Chairman Harvey Pitt, accused by Democrats of heeding the accounting industry and blocking a tough candidate to head a new accounting oversight board. "It appears that the administration is undermining the new board the law created to hold the accountants accountable," Daschle said. "Replace Harvey Pitt with someone who will enforce the law." Republicans said the Democrats were simply playing politics. "With the elections almost two weeks away, the Senate Democratic leadership seems to be more interested in scoring political points than in helping solve people's problems," said Ron Bonjean, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss. Bush and administration officials have pointed to the growing number of executives who have been taken away in handcuffs in recent months for corporate malfeasance. When Andrew Fastow, Enron's former chief financial officer, was charged with fraud and conspiracy earlier this month, Bush told a White House audience: "You might have noticed ... that people are being brought to justice." In late September, he cited "broad and dramatic progress." "Our law enforcement agencies are after 'em," Bush said. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill suggested Thursday that the high-flying 1990s, in which the stock market soared, allowed some corporate leaders to stray from their values. "By the time they realized how far they had strayed, ... it was too late," O'Neill said in a speech at Harvard Business School. "Like frogs in boiling water, they didn't feel the heat until they were cooked." The new report put together data from government and other public sources to detail the impact of accounting failures at Enron, Arthur Andersen, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Adelphia Communications, Xerox, Tyco International, Qwest Communications and others. The $200 billion total is "an extremely conservative estimate," said Mike Lux, president of American Family Voices, part of the "No More Enrons" coalition. The report identified nearly $13 billion in lost federal tax revenue from companies with questionable accounting practices underreporting their profits to the IRS. But Lux said the amount likely was higher. ___ On the Net: The report is available at http:www.americanfamilyvoices.org