It was bound to happen. Cuba gets offended at WBC

[UpTooLate]

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First they are offended that they can't play.  Now they can play and they get offended.

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The image of the man holding the sign behind home plate was beamed live Thursday night to millions of TV viewers _ including those in Cuba. The top Cuban official at the game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan rushed to confront the man.  

Puerto Rican police quickly intervened and took the Cuban official _ Angel Iglesias, vice president of Cuba's National Institute of Sports _ to a nearby police station where they lectured him about free speech.

This is great.  I imagine cuban officials at the game with the headpieces on saying: "dissident at G-13. take him to interrogation and break his kneecaps".  Not that there is humor in the fact that this probably really happens in Cuba (or worse).  But c'mon, YOU ARE IN THE USA (or Puerto Rico...close enough).  Sit the fuck down and deal with it.

[otterj]

Shit like this makes me grin at mankind's advancements.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

I like this quote:

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The brouhaha gathered steam Friday when Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, Granma, called the sign-waving "a cowardly incident."

Those macho commies, their reaction to any snub is to call it an act of cowardice. Remember, it was cowardly when Castro's team was orignally not going to be allowed to participate.

[Arky Vaughan]

At the 1996 Summer Olympics, two students in the audience at a table tennis match between Taiwan and China unfurled a Taiwanese flag. Thanks to China, Taiwan has to compete under the utterly ridiculous name "Chinese Taipei" and use a neutral flag. The Chinese officials complained, and two Georgia state troopers were directed by Olympic officials to remove the offending flag.  It was so refreshing to see the apolitical Olympic officials use U.S. law enforcement to serve as jackboot stooges of the Chinese Communist Party on U.S. soil.

I'm glad to hear that MLB officials didn't do the same in Puerto Rico.

[Greg M]

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I like this quote:

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The brouhaha gathered steam Friday when Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, Granma, called the sign-waving "a cowardly incident."

Those macho commies, their reaction to any snub is to call it an act of cowardice. Remember, it was cowardly when Castro's team was orignally not going to be allowed to participate.

And macho Americans haven't used the coward card in the past couple of years?  Political name calling can be very effective.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

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I like this quote:

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The brouhaha gathered steam Friday when Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, Granma, called the sign-waving "a cowardly incident."

Those macho commies, their reaction to any snub is to call it an act of cowardice. Remember, it was cowardly when Castro's team was orignally not going to be allowed to participate.

And macho Americans haven't used the coward card in the past couple of years?  Political name calling can be very effective.

I don't know why you got to drag politics into this... baseball topic.

I'm talking about a dictator's own personal newspaper's comment about a guy with a poster at a baseball game in Puerto Rico. Now I'm confused. Do you think the thing in San Juan was the same as an act terrorism? Or you think that an act of terrorism is as innocuous as a guy holding up a poster up at a ballgame? Or are we talking about two different things that you lumped together for the hell of it?

[Greg M]

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I like this quote:

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The brouhaha gathered steam Friday when Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, Granma, called the sign-waving "a cowardly incident."

Those macho commies, their reaction to any snub is to call it an act of cowardice. Remember, it was cowardly when Castro's team was orignally not going to be allowed to participate.

And macho Americans haven't used the coward card in the past couple of years?  Political name calling can be very effective.

I don't know why you got to drag politics into this... baseball topic.

I'm talking about a dictator's own personal newspaper's comment about a guy with a poster at a baseball game in Puerto Rico. Now I'm confused. Do you think the thing in San Juan was the same as an act terrorism? Or you think that an act of terrorism is as innocuous as a guy holding up a poster up at a ballgame? Or are we talking about two different things that you lumped together for the hell of it?

Terrorism?  I never said a thing about terrorism.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

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I like this quote:

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The brouhaha gathered steam Friday when Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, Granma, called the sign-waving "a cowardly incident."

Those macho commies, their reaction to any snub is to call it an act of cowardice. Remember, it was cowardly when Castro's team was orignally not going to be allowed to participate.

And macho Americans haven't used the coward card in the past couple of years?  Political name calling can be very effective.

I don't know why you got to drag politics into this... baseball topic.

I'm talking about a dictator's own personal newspaper's comment about a guy with a poster at a baseball game in Puerto Rico. Now I'm confused. Do you think the thing in San Juan was the same as an act terrorism? Or you think that an act of terrorism is as innocuous as a guy holding up a poster up at a ballgame? Or are we talking about two different things that you lumped together for the hell of it?

Terrorism?  I never said a thing about terrorism.

And yet, no allusion to baseball.

If you weren't implying anything by lumping two different things together for the hell of it, forgive me.

[Greg M]

I didn't bring politics into this thread.  I did introduce a parallel with the US.  Mocking the Cubans for challenging a man's masculinity for domestic political gains is nothing novel.  It's pretty lame from our perspective but I bet it riles up plenty of Cubans.  You're right.  We don't do it on something as silly as a national baseball game.  I guess we should get back to the baseball aspect of this thread.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

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I didn't bring politics into this thread.  I did introduce a parallel with the US.  Mocking the Cubans for challenging a man's masculinity for domestic political gains is nothing novel.  It's pretty lame from our perspective but I bet it riles up plenty of Cubans.  You're right.  We don't do it on something as silly as a national baseball game.  I guess we should get back to the baseball aspect of this thread.

I appreciate that. I just didn't see the parallel. Did Bush execise his contol over the press and have those protesters in India week before last declared cowards or something? Did I miss that? I remember terrorists being called cowards though. That's why I inferred you were talking about terrorist when you introduced your parallel. Again, sorry. I wont bug you about it anymore.

[homer]

Security just removed a politically motivated sign from the Cuba v. Dominican game in Puerto Rico.

WBC code of conduct apparently prohibits signs that are 'political in nature'.

[Taras Bulba]

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Security just removed a politically motivated sign from the Cuba v. Dominican game in Puerto Rico.

WBC code of conduct apparently prohibits signs that are 'political in nature'.

I have no love for Castro or his regime, but I would just as soon not see politics in baseball.  Play ball.

[pravata]

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Security just removed a politically motivated sign from the Cuba v. Dominican game in Puerto Rico.

WBC code of conduct apparently prohibits signs that are 'political in nature'.

Standard procedure.  Imagine a "Down with Drayton" sign at the Ballpark.

[homer]

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Security just removed a politically motivated sign from the Cuba v. Dominican game in Puerto Rico.

WBC code of conduct apparently prohibits signs that are 'political in nature'.

Standard procedure.  Imagine a "Down with Drayton" sign at the Ballpark.

Not completely standard. As mentioned above, the last incident was allowed and the Cuban official was removed and given a crash course on free speech. Todays reaction is some type of compromise after negotiating with the Cubans.

[pravata]

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Security just removed a politically motivated sign from the Cuba v. Dominican game in Puerto Rico.

WBC code of conduct apparently prohibits signs that are 'political in nature'.

Standard procedure.  Imagine a "Down with Drayton" sign at the Ballpark.

Not completely standard. As mentioned above, the last incident was allowed and the Cuban official was removed and given a crash course on free speech. Todays reaction is some type of compromise after negotiating with the Cubans.

From the Astros website

Banners: The Astros welcome banners that support teams and their players, so long as they are in good taste. The Houston Astros Baseball Club does not permit signs, posters or banners which are obscene, slanderous or in bad taste. Management reserves the right to remove any sign deemed inappropriate. Banners may not obstruct the view of other patrons or interfere with the game in any way.

Did they remove the sign in the first incident?

[homer]

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Did they remove the sign in the first incident?

From the reports that I have seen, no, they did not. In fact, the same person flashed another sign later.

[pravata]

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Did they remove the sign in the first incident?

From the reports that I have seen, no, they did not. In fact, the same person flashed another sign later.

MLB doesn't fool around with signage,

March 6, 2006 -- SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Commissioner Bud Selig gave George Steinbrenner and the Yankees a clear "sign" yesterday: Enough with the complaining about the World Baseball Classic.
...on Saturday a sign appeared at Legends Field in Tampa,...
The sign in part read: The New York Yankess did not vote to support this event. Any comments you have regarding The World Baseball Classic should be directed to The Commissioner of Major League Baseball or The Major League Baseball Players Assoc.
...
"The sign is gone, as you know," Selig said. "I will just say to you that any comment I have will be for the club."

Did MLB tell the Yankees to remove the sign? "Well, it didn't disappear by itself," Selig said.
The Link

[homer]

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Did they remove the sign in the first incident?

From the reports that I have seen, no, they did not. In fact, the same person flashed another sign later.

MLB doesn't fool around with signage,

March 6, 2006 -- SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Commissioner Bud Selig gave George Steinbrenner and the Yankees a clear "sign" yesterday: Enough with the complaining about the World Baseball Classic.
...on Saturday a sign appeared at Legends Field in Tampa,...
The sign in part read: The New York Yankess did not vote to support this event. Any comments you have regarding The World Baseball Classic should be directed to The Commissioner of Major League Baseball or The Major League Baseball Players Assoc.
...
"The sign is gone, as you know," Selig said. "I will just say to you that any comment I have will be for the club."

Did MLB tell the Yankees to remove the sign? "Well, it didn't disappear by itself," Selig said.
The Link

That doesn't prove anything about what happened in Puerto Rico last Thursday. It is clear from the original article that the person was allowed to show his sign(s), the police were unwilling to intervene to stop him, and the Cuban official who confronted the man was removed from the stadium. Do you have some evidence that this was not what happened?

[UpTooLate]

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That doesn't prove anything about what happened in Puerto Rico last Thursday. It is clear from the original article that the person was allowed to show his sign(s), the police were unwilling to intervene to stop him, and the Cuban official who confronted the man was removed from the stadium. Do you have some evidence that this was not what happened?

I don't think that is the point that Pravata is making.  It would appear that one the first day the sign waver carried the day.  No doubt after that incident phone calls were made to WBC management types to put the kabosh on "political" signs.

I personally don't have a problem with that as long as rules are consistent.  I assume most fans go to a game for recreation and not political education.  There really isn't any problem if the proprieter of a business has a problem with somebody's free speech in his establishment and shuts it down.  It is a whole different ballgame (pardon the pun) when a foreign "dignitary" shuts down free expression in somebody else's establishment because he is a)offended and b)feels completely entitled and authorized to do so.

MLB can and should shut down speech that they feel detracts from the game.  If you happen to disagree with MLB, that is your problem not theirs.  As it should be.

Veering offtopic:
Does anyone that is a regular to this site take signs to Astros games?  Just curious.  If so, what clever wisdom do you place on said sign to gather the attention of the players on the field and motivate them to perform better?

[astro pete]

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Veering offtopic:
Does anyone that is a regular to this site take signs to Astros games?  Just curious.  If so, what clever wisdom do you place on said sign to gather the attention of the players on the field and motivate them to perform better?

Are you serious?

[Arky Vaughan]

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Veering offtopic:
Does anyone that is a regular to this site take signs to Astros games?  Just curious.  If so, what clever wisdom do you place on said sign to gather the attention of the players on the field and motivate them to perform better?

I would think that a player would try much harder than usual if you held up a sign that said, "Go [insert player's name here]!"

[UpTooLate]

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Veering offtopic:
Does anyone that is a regular to this site take signs to Astros games?  Just curious.  If so, what clever wisdom do you place on said sign to gather the attention of the players on the field and motivate them to perform better?

Are you serious?

Not really.  I've never taken a sign to a game.  I've always viewed it as a curiosity, much the same as face painting to show the home team spirit.

Every now and then I'll see a sign in the stands and think that it is funny or clever, but never so much so that I am jealous or angry that I didn't think of it first.

Several years ago while attending a game at minute maid, I was seated near a family of 5.  Each has a sign (I forget what they said) and the father is TOTALLY into the sign thing.  Wife is annoyed but tolerant.  Kids (age 8-13) are so embarassed, they want to climb under the seats.  Soooo...at the middle and bottom of the innings the father would make the whole family stand up and wave their signs like maniacs.  "Ok kids...the cameras are going to be panning the stands...stand up!...get excited!...hold up that sign...GOOOOOOOOAAAASSSSSTTTRRRROOOSSSS".  The kids are hiding their faces behind the signs hoping to hell that their friends don't see them on TV with Mega-Dork Dad.  Wife has the apperance of someone who thinks it a terrible idea but doesn't have the energy to fight about it.

FWIW, sign guy is not nearly as pathetic as "Hey everybody, lets do the wave" guy.  Sad to admit, but a friend of mine turned out being "lets start the wave" dude.  I had to straighten that shit out quick.  Problem now is that before ever attending a game with this guy, I have to dig up the past, remind him that friends don't let friends start the wave and that I pretty much have permission to punch him in the face if he gets tempted.

[pravata]

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Did they remove the sign in the first incident?

From the reports that I have seen, no, they did not. In fact, the same person flashed another sign later.

MLB doesn't fool around with signage,

March 6, 2006 -- SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Commissioner Bud Selig gave George Steinbrenner and the Yankees a clear "sign" yesterday: Enough with the complaining about the World Baseball Classic.
...on Saturday a sign appeared at Legends Field in Tampa,...
The sign in part read: The New York Yankess did not vote to support this event. Any comments you have regarding The World Baseball Classic should be directed to The Commissioner of Major League Baseball or The Major League Baseball Players Assoc.
...
"The sign is gone, as you know," Selig said. "I will just say to you that any comment I have will be for the club."

Did MLB tell the Yankees to remove the sign? "Well, it didn't disappear by itself," Selig said.
The Link

That doesn't prove anything about what happened in Puerto Rico last Thursday. It is clear from the original article that the person was allowed to show his sign(s), the police were unwilling to intervene to stop him, and the Cuban official who confronted the man was removed from the stadium. Do you have some evidence that this was not what happened?

I'm saying that the folks at Hiram Bithorn Stadium are far more lenient than you would find at any major league ballpark.  Flash a political sign of any kind at any ballpark ("Anise Parker pinches pennies") and see how fast your ass is staring at the outside.  I don't think they'd pause to listen to a speech about First Amendment rights. Which, as been stated, does not apply in this case.

[Andyzipp]

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Veering offtopic:
Does anyone that is a regular to this site take signs to Astros games?  Just curious.  If so, what clever wisdom do you place on said sign to gather the attention of the players on the field and motivate them to perform better?

That sign that says AstrosDaily.com is pretty motivational.