Granderson Fractures Pinkie On HBP - RealGM Wiretap
Curtis Granderson is expected to miss at least a month after fracturing his left pinkie finger.

Granderson has already missed 38 games this season with a broken right arm.

He suffered the broken hand after being hit by a pitch from Cesar Ramos in the fifth inning Friday night against the Rays.

Granderson remained in the game and advanced around the bases Cheap Jerseys , scoring on a bases-loaded walk to Jayson Nix, but he did not come out to play the field for the Yankees in the bottom of the inning.

"I thought I was going to be OK," he said. "But once I got to third, it started hurting a little bit and I was thinking to myself, 'I'm going to have to make sure I can go ahead and squeeze a bat before I can go back out there.' And as the inning continued to prolong a little bit, it started to throb."

Ryan Talks With Rangers Ownership Continue - RealGM Wiretap

Nolan Ryan has released a statement regarding his future with the Rangers, saying only that discussions with ownership will continue going forward.

"Over the last week, Ray Davis, Bob Simpson and I have been in discussion and met in person," Ryan said. "The conversations have been productive and we have discussed my role as CEO of the organization. We agreed these discussions will continue as we go forward.

"I am very proud of what the Rangers have accomplished over the last several years and I believe our preparations for the upcoming season are what is important."

Uncertainty about Ryan's future first emerged on March 1 after the club announced promotions for general manager Jon Daniels and COO Rick George, who is now president of business operations.

锘? Who wants to be a president; the President of the United States? Social Security reform is the winning ticket. Research supports the thesis that Social Security reform would provide all the lubrication necessary to get our economic ball bearings rolling in the right direction. Economies do not grow, or increase employment, when job providers are taxed and regulated unmercifully, throttling their energy, creativity, and profitability. Consumer spending pushes the economy; we need to do more than hand out a few hundred bucks.

The objective of the exercise, Barack, is to permanently place more disposable income in consumers' wallets while providing incentives for employers to hire more workers. There are three areas where the impact of reforms would be beneficial to all, irrespective of political sentiment. Social Security reform would benefit the most people, most quickly. Next on the list, Hillary Cheap MLB Jerseys , would be elimination of income taxes (federal, state, and local) on: (a) all forms of retirement income, and then, (b) all forms of investment income. Third, and particularly important for job creation, John, would be the elimination of all income taxes and nuisance fees on businesses.

Who wants to be President?

Social Security will be the easiest to implement quickly while producing unprecedented increases in disposable income, business cost reductions, and job growth. Here's a rough outline of a brainstorming plan. Throw out the politics and focus on the program--- phase one deadline, January 1,2010.

Change Social Security funding to a mandatory, private program, for all employed persons, and add a voluntary program for those who are not employed. All employees would contribute to deferred fixed annuities, purchased from new divisions of qualified financial institutions. Existing Social Security credits would be the initial deposit to the contracts for all participants under age 60.

Employer matching contributions would be eliminated and participant contributions would be cut to a mandatory 3% of total compensation (including deferred comp, stock options, etc.). Both changes would be phased into the system by participant age group over a five-year period, youngest first. The five age groups would be 13-year periods starting at zero to thirteen (obviously for voluntary accounts) and ending with ages fifty-two through sixty-five.

Phase one would involve qualifying providers, assignment of workers, issuance of contracts Cheap NFL Jerseys China , elimination of employer matching contributions, and elimination of income taxes on social security payments. Employers would be required to appoint at least one person to coordinate the transition.

Contributions to the annuity contracts would begin upon issue; the Social Security Administration (SSA) would have five years to move credits to participants, starting with the youngest group, and would be responsible for shortfalls to retirees for five years.

Under the new system, there would be no penalties for early retirement, but tax free annuity payments would begin at age sixty-five whether or not the person continued to work. Participants could voluntarily establish retirement accounts for non-working spouses and children, and could elect to deduct an additional 1% of salary for each account. A new Federal Administration for Social Security (ASS) will select, qualify, and monitor provider companies and their investment portfolios to assure that only high quality, income-generating securities are used to fund benefits.

Companies showing a surplus would be able to invest up to 25% of the surplus in stocks that qualify for the Investment Grade Value Stock Index (IGVSI). Only fixed life annuities would be available, but there would be 50% of cash value, family-only, death benefits up until the time of retirement. After age 65, the death benefit would be reduced 10% per year for four years. There would be no loans, withdrawal privileges, etc.

The ASS would be represented on provider company boards, would monitor annual audits of firm financial statements, and would supervise the selection of all non-company directors (60% of the bo.