The basic idea is that a process is changed when we are able to see it. This comes into play next year when the secret balloting by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America for the Hall of Fame becomes public. On the next ballot, every voter's choices will be revealed and open to scrutiny. Out of 442 votes and with 332 (75 percent) needed, Clemens got 239 (54.1 percent) and Bonds got 238 (53.8 percent). Each, in his fifth year, is up almost 10 percent. Of 14 new voters we know about, 13 picked both.
Limping to the finish line in 1996, Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens compiled a 10 win 13 loss record. This was the fourth consecutive year that Clemens did not win more than 11 games. This followed seven years where he had averaged 19 wins per season. It was time to go see the doctor about that Vitamin B12 deficiency.
After seven years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, outfielder Barry Bonds joined the San Francisco Giants at age 29. With the Pirates, he had slugged 25 home runs per season. In the next 11 years with the Giants, Bonds hit 527 homers for an average of 48. In 2004, he received 232 bases on balls. "If they'd've pitched to him, he'd've hit a 100." - New York Yankees slugger, Reggie Jackson. A visit to Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative(BALCO) for: human growth hormone and testosterone cream was all it took.
Bernie Madoff managed to fly under the radar for so long because Madoff was a well-versed and active member of the financial industry. He started his own market maker firm in 1960 and helped launch the Nasdaq stock market. He sat on the board of National Association of Securities Dealers and advised the Securities and Exchange Commission on trading securities. It was easy to believe this 70-year-old industry veteran knew exactly what he was doing.
Madoff used a so-called Ponzi scheme, which lures investors in by guaranteeing unusually high returns. The name originated with Charles Ponzi, who promised 50% returns on investments in only 90 days.
Calia Kane did it for love and money, a former bank teller told a federal judge Monday before he sentenced her to seven years in prison for her role as the inside woman in a pair of Philadelphia-area bank robberies. She advised the robbers on the best ways to enter and exit the bank, and texted from her work station to let them know when the coast was clear. In their second robbery, she cased Wells Fargo branches and helped them pick their target. "I knew it was wrong," she told U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis at her sentencing hearing. "There's no amount of times I can apologize."
The two employees were model citizens before venturing to the dark side. The two ballplayers were Hall of Fame candidates before going to where "the grass is always greener."
The twelve-acre rocky island, one and a half miles from San Francisco, featured the most advanced security of the time. Some of the first metal detectors were used at Alcatraz. Strict rules were enforced against the unfortunate inmates who had to do their stretch. Nearly complete silence was mandated at all times. Bonds and Clemens have five more years on the ballot. Let us allow them the scenic view of the Bay Area.
Paul Murphy
Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy
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