greg775

My prediction still could come true but down 3-0 you have to wonder how the brilliant Cub brass, the miracle workers who know the game better than anybody else, would allow this meltdown to happen. Cubs had a chance to win two WS in a row. Will they wake up before it's too late?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 17, 2017 -> 10:12 PM) Cubs jacked up beer prices this round. &11 for a Budweiser. I mean even if you have disposable income, how can you fork over 11 dollars for a beer? I just wouldn't do it. Even at gunpoint I wouldn't do it. No wonder Flub fans are booing.

It's been pretty quiet of late regarding this issue. Does North Korea care about all the sanctions against them? Or is that no biggie since Jong Un doesn't care about the normal North Korean citizen anyway? I'm expecting Trump to do something historic/stupid any time now.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Oct 17, 2017 -> 09:21 PM) SAYS YOU!' ? I feel like my suggestions are so obvious. As far as expansion, why not Las Vegas? Hockey has gone there. The gambling argument is weak for obvious reasons. People are gambling as it is. Unfortunately they'd probably need a dome stadium cause of the heat unless they started all games 9 p.m. local time which actually wouldn't be a bad idea. It's a late night town anyway.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Oct 14, 2017 -> 05:44 PM) That simply isnt true. Its not "most" of America. Some people are "better" off, some people are "worse". You can look at this board as an example. There are a few people who have stated that when Obamacare was enacted things got worse for them. Most of the people on this board did not have a similar experience. In the same vein, I am "worse" off now that congress destabilized insurance this year. There may be some people who are "better". But the main issue that we have to decide is: "Does every American deserve good/affordable health insurance." Or do we believe "Health insurance is a luxury of the wealthy." I think health insurance should be for everyone. Health insurance MUST be for everyone because of the abuses in the system that has made it unaffordable for all but the rich. But it never will be socialized medicine. The rich won't go for it. Doctors won't go for it. Doctors need to make zillions of dollars and the only way they can is the way we pay now. That's why we had to elect Bernie. He was our only hope for a fair system.

Stupid. Here are my suggestions to fix baseball in the age of Millenials. a.) Speed up the game. A strike is called on any hitter who re-straps the velcro on his glove. One strike if you step out of the box more than once per at bat. Catcher allowed to visit the mound once every inning except for suspected injury to pitcher, then you can go more often. Two balls are called every time catcher goes out there after the first time in an inning. b.) Pitchers must deliver ball within a certain amount of time upon receiving it. Settle on the time; I don't care. Make it quick but reasonable. c.) Fire all umpires and re-hire only umps willing to call the old strike zone. Knees to letters. Very very boring/annoying to see belt high fastballs called balls. d.) Keep the divisions the way they are but return to a balanced schedule. It is f***ing horrible to see Sox play Detroit 19 times; Minnie 19; KC 19; Cleve 19. My god that sucks!!! That's about it. Do this and the game is fixed!!!!

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 16, 2017 -> 11:28 PM) Alrighty then: “The country wasn’t based on executive orders,” said Trump at a town hall in South Carolina in February 2016. “Right now, Obama goes around signing executive orders. He can’t even get along with the Democrats, and he goes around signing all these executive orders. It’s a basic disaster. You can’t do it.” I wonder what happened to the greatest deal maker who ever lived. I hate to keep repeating myself but this is a classic example of a rich guy who has faced no opposing viewpoints with the yes men and women he's surrounded himself with the last 25 years maybe longer. He says whatever he wants and lies at will, like dare I say most exceedingly rich people do as well. Do a personality profile on him and it comes out rich bastard who cares only about himself (and his family members of course, but a notch below how much he cares for himself). He doesn't even remember what he says years ago because he says so much and gets so many nods, "yes sir you are correct sir" that he cant keep anything straight. He's not a good guy, folks. Now you know why I didn't vote for the conventional candidates. I knew Trump was a phony but ... well I won't go there again.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Oct 16, 2017 -> 08:58 PM) It's obvious what type of people he's trying to distract by bringing up crap like this. Shows me something that this is the first thing you bring up in this thread, in quite some time, even though millions of Puerto Ricans are without power and clean water, 600 people were shot in the middle of a major American city, and he's boastfully destroying health care. Not trying to defend Greg extensively, but remember I did see it on SNL as an effective joke and you all know I do like SNL and tend to remember stuff on there like "David S. Pumpkins." You know my brain works differently and I did laugh at Chen's joke on SNL ripping Trump hence it's on my mind. QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Oct 16, 2017 -> 09:04 PM) Serious question: Why do you think its okay for the President to do this? Would you be okay if the President tried to force companies to follow Sharia law? These are businesses, they should be able to do whatever they want. Its their money. Tell you the truth, I didn't know what he said he was gonna do, just saw the clip where he said he will blast people who don't allow "Merry Christmas." I actually only saw the SNL skit clip of Trump so far, nothing else. I did hear about it though before SNL. QUOTE (Tony @ Oct 16, 2017 -> 09:04 PM) 1. The closest thing I can find to that is American Airlines actually kicking someone off the plane because the passenger was wished a "Merry Christmas" BY American Airlines, and he took offense to it. http://nypost.com/2014/12/25/plane-passeng...erry-christmas/ Then, you go on to say "I assume" when talking about Wal Mart, Target. No facts included. SHOCKINGLY, someone at the forefront of the made up Merry Christmas debate? Our old pal Newt. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/st...al-allowed-say/ This is EXACTLY the purpose of why Trump is bringing all this up. You are legitimately the perfect example. It's something that resonates with you, even though it's not really happening, you're spending time thinking about it and discussing it, instead of the 19 other things Trump and Co. don't want you focusing on. Not a bad post. I admit wild things intrigue me. I am sad about Puerto Rico of course. Very sad.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Oct 16, 2017 -> 08:47 PM) Who exactly is preventing people from saying Merry Christmas? I'll have to do a google but remember when airlines wouldn't allow their employees to say it, just Happy Holidays? Plus some stores, I'm assuming Wal Mart, Target types. Some media companies could only put "Happy Holidays" on their Websites as company policy. Who else? Pretty much any employee could not wish a customer a Merry Christmas. I think we discussed this on here years ago where I was in the minority position getting fried for getting upset about the issue.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Oct 16, 2017 -> 09:01 PM) If Maddon has a nice roster, he wins. The other stuff, like petting zoos during spring training, as long as he wins, is considered genius. If he had a 76 win roster, he would get killed for it. If Lackey came in last night and got the job done, and he was able to use Wade Davis to close, and the Cubs won, they would have been kissing his ass all day today, just like they did when Ozzie brought in El Duque in Boston. If what probably 99% of people thought would happen when El Duque entered and the Sox lost, Ozzie would have been an idiot. They are different but they are the same. Both guys are/were gold for the media, and things get a little slanted to where they get/got even more credit than they deserved when their teams won. Joe amaddon seems like a pretty cool guy. I just doubt he is so much smarter about baseball than everyone else. He has been in good situations. When he started in Tampa, they were awful and lost, and they got awful again and lost so he fled. This is a very good post. I do agree with this post almost 100 percent. I think talent wins in the long run, but I've said on here before that if a manager is really really bad, that manager could screw up a team that has WS talent. By that bad, I mean Bevington and Robin. Clown is the right word for Bevington, maybe a little too harsh for Robin, but Robin was close to buffoon-like status. Like Dusty. I don't think Dusty is a buffoon and he could easily be a WS manager as well. s*** happens when your team is not quite good enough.

Even though I'm all for free speech, I do think Al Michaels erred in his comment last night that the Giants have had a worse week than Harvey Weinstein. This is because that begs the question, "What happened with Weinstein this week?" And the answer to that is sickening and sad and gross and pathetic. Harvey allegedly committed some serious crimes. Not a fireable offense considering SNL had a whole skit about women in Hollywood getting victimized and also went there during Weekend update. I think Al should have not gone there just because what Harvey did is very rotten to the core. Do you think it was OK for SNL to lampoon it twice and Al to mention Harvey?

Feel free to pile on greg, but at least I'm honest. I kind of like the fact Trump is standing up for "Merry Christmas." Now I do think there was no reason to say it this early. I mean typical motormouth Trump as it's not even Halloween or Thanksgiving yet, but yes I hate parts of the PC culture. Now I do recognize there are other religions and I applaud and also wish them well on their celebration days, though Hanukkah doesn't receive much mainstream publicity so sometimes it's here without me realizing it. My bad I know. I also laughed at SNL ripping Trump for his Merry Christmas proclamation saying they didn't see it as much of a problem as many people who are not Christian do wish Christians a Merry Christmas oftentimes. My point is, though the timing was weird, I do like the fact Trump said there would be a verbal assault on those organizations who prevent employees from saying Merry Christmas. Like I said, flame away on Greg. I've been blasted to my face before for my position on this. I am not intolerant of other religions. Far from it. I love all religions that do not endorse violence or satanic ritual, etc.

What in Franco's stat line this past season at 25 makes you think he's any better a hitter than Davidson? You'll give up a first and fifth rounder for a guy who hit .230, .281, .690? The grass is always greener. I'm thinking some just want to get rid of Davidson ASAP.

QUOTE (ron883 @ Oct 15, 2017 -> 12:37 AM) What intangibles does Avi bring? I don't value intangibles very much. I agree abreu is a great clubhouse leader. But I think you sell high on him and avi if you get the right offer. I'll back off on my opinion if we're told by somebody in the know that Avi is hated in the clubhouse and/or a jerk as I have no idea about his role in the clubhouse. As a fan I was thinking Avi busts his ass "trying" to get to balls and has improved his hitting a lot and apears to play with the zest that the Royals fan I was talking about was mentioning. In my opinion, Avi is a joyful player and busts his ass and that is a good trait for a team.

QUOTE (Tony @ Oct 14, 2017 -> 08:11 PM) Not many people are going to disagree with this greg, and if you actually read what people say and give it some thought instead of doing your typical "Oh gosh gee golly I can't believe the Sox would trade Jose freakin' Abreu" shtick, you'd at least understand that argument for a possible trade of Abreu and/or Garcia. Aside from ron and his own shtick, no one has undersold what Abreu and Avi accomplished in 2017. Did you read my post? I offered a story to back up my point and I said I understood why they might trade the two this winter. I also said I disagree with it because of their intangibles and tangibles. I consider that a good message board post. I feel honored so many of you rate all my posts. Hardly anybody else gets each post rated. Many on here don't respond at all to what I'm saying and they blast me for not responding to all points on other posts. Again I am honored so many of you comment on my posts but not what's in my posts. Just either say I'm a troll or live in my own little world. Very wild greg brings this out. Can't people just comment on what's IN my posts? I feel a lot of my points are worth discussion not just tossing aside saying "troll" or frankly worse. Are Abreu and Avi's intangibles worth anything or not?? I say yes and they'd be valuable on our next contender.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Oct 14, 2017 -> 08:22 PM) This really isn't how this works. All of these guys won't pan out. Ideally, your future outfield is Robert, Jimenez, and Rutherford with Collins, Sheets, Moncada, Anderson, and Burger on the infield. It won't work out that way though. The team is going to be below average again next year. It's a very important time though. I truly think that they have 2019 as their target year to "maybe" contend. They will be spending $$ on the 2018 free agent class. This next year will be about letting guys learn and grow and figuring out which young prospects will be on next good Sox team, which ones are bad, and which ones are potentially "blocked" or not in the plans and those guys can get traded for something that the Sox do need. I would expect the Sox to add multiple free agent relievers to flip at the deadline and also probably 2 starting pitchers. Rodon is a question mark. Shields will be in the rotation. Lopez, Giolito and Fulmer all could be as well with Kopech and Hansen coming at some point next season. They need to protect their young pitching though. Your position isn't odd. I disagree with it though and the Sox likely do too. They have decisions to make on Abreu and Avisail this offseason. A guy like Leury Garcia is about to get "expensive" too and they need to make a decision there as well. If I had to guess, the Sox trade Nate Jones, Avisail Garcia and Leury Garcia at some point in the next 12 months. Good post. Frankly I could see it go either way this offseason regarding trading Avi and Abreu. I personally would keep them for the rebuilt WS contenders but I definitely could see Hahn trading them for more prospects. I think the rebuild has been so popular they could be trade-happy so to speak. I will say this and this is something everybody on this board should consider. I had a big Royals fan/baseball sabes guy tell me the other day he thought the White Sox played "hard" and spirited (intangibles I know) the last six weeks and really seemed like they had great life. I'm telling you, Avi and Abreu play the game the right way and they would be PERFECT veterans for our WS contenders coming up. You need veterans and I know some of you will want the veterans to be from other teams cause the grass is always greener elsewhere. But Avi and Abreu provide intangibles, folks.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Oct 14, 2017 -> 07:56 PM) Greg. You are trolling and very badly I might add. Not only that but you are clearly showing you know nothing about the Sox prospects. But hey, keep ignoring the bolded to suit your victimized narrative so you can continue b****ing about nothing at all. Oh, just a guess but Ron trolled you pretty good and you fell for it. I thought Ron meant it so I responded in turn with my take.

QUOTE (ron883 @ Oct 14, 2017 -> 07:29 PM) Trade anybody with value. Abreu, anderson, avi, leury, yolmer. Ship them all out. Stockpile all the prospects you can. Some of you guys are nuts. Classic backup quarterback syndrome. Good luck ever winning in your scenario. So ideally ron wants a payroll of about 5 million dollars and all prospects. Literally all prospects. He doesn't even want TA on the team cause TA has been here a while and I guess in his mind is no longer a prospect but a proven player. Avi is still young enough to be considered a guy with 5 great years left, but he's got to go. With this strategy even if we acquired the best prospects ever we'd win about 50 games a year because there's no way we'd have enough success stories to make more than half of our roster playoff caliber. People call me a troll and insane. At least my way of building a team has been proven and actually gave the White Sox one WS title. And as much as people say the Cubs are the classic rebuild story they also added some expensive pieces to contribute to their success. Geez Ron.

QUOTE (ChiliIrishHammock24 @ Oct 14, 2017 -> 05:25 AM) How does someone who is so clearly just a casual baseball fan, find this forum? Saying you root for both teams, or "I just want Chicago to do well", is just code for "I'm not really a big baseball fan". Not saying you have to openly root against against the Cubs, but rooting for a rival does not make sense for hardcore fans. Not a bad post. Sometimes I think it's good for the city when a Chicago team of any kind wins it all, but I can't "approve" of a Cubs WS title. I do think now that they won one, it's not that big a deal any more. Of course if they win two in a row you are talking Hall of Fame status for Maddon and Theo immediately and immortality for anybody who played for both WS teams. QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Oct 14, 2017 -> 12:22 PM) Careful. The royals will get jealous if they hear you talking this way. Wouldn't want to upset your other favorite team. Cmon. I deserve credit for never jumping on that bandwagon. I survived their little run of greatness and went to 2 games in that span; both Sox games. I didn't jump on the bandwagon; was nowhere near their parade. Never once applauded their victories. I think they made a big mistake breaking up that bullpen. That bullpen wasn't finished. I think greg haters need to reassess. I told you before. I am not the enemy. I probably disagree with the board 70 percent of the time. The world is a better place when people disagree on issues. It teaches tolerance and respect. Sports are not life and death.

QUOTE (coco1997 @ Oct 14, 2017 -> 06:34 PM) No such thing. Do you at least agree with me that the trading has to stop at some point? When do you want to finally win?

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Oct 14, 2017 -> 02:11 PM) I’m not sure how anyone could read this statement and not confirm in their minds that Greg is a troll. And if somehow he’s not, my god is this world doomed if there are others like him. Sane/intelligent human beings simply don’t think this way. Why can't you just answer the question. I told you my brain could work differently but had a take.

Guys, we're in the midst of Cub dynasty. Cubs over the Dodgers to reach the WS. Book it. Don't know how many games yet.

Many of you despise religion but bear with me. I'm not trolling. My brain just can be weird. Is Trump the antichrist we read about in the Bible. Is he the one to end the world? Look, he singlehandedly is trying to punish the poor with Trumpcare. He is ready to bomb North Korea, the only person seemingly who wants to do so. Is he the predicted antichrist to bring about the end of the world?

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Oct 12, 2017 -> 03:19 PM) Please explain why you purposely ignored the bolded in your response to TheFutureIsNear. It's pretty clear you ignored that part and used the idea as an excuse to complain, again. The OP suggested NOT trading top pitching prospects to acquire the young 22 year old 3B in Franco. You do realize the Sox traded Gio Gonzalez not once but twice to bolster their hitting, right? Once for Thome and a second time for Swisher. Sometimes teams trade from a strength to bolster a weakness. Call the whaaaambulance. It seems to me we've acquired all the prospects we need.I may disagree with the rebuild but what's done is done. We have a projected team to win it all at some point. Trading is DONE. 3B - Burger/Davidson. SS-TA. 2B-Moncada. 1B-Abreu I hope or maybe Gillaspie or somebody. RF-Rutherford. CF-Robert. LF-Eloy C-Collins. Pitchers: We know the names. Get em ready and acquire some vets when it's time to win as well and get some arms for the pen and one veteran stud starter. Is my position that odd?

If Wade Davis closes this out Maddon is manager of the century.