Chisoxfn

Ya, I just heard a ton of companies have evacuated in the area. Most are located in the El Toro/Foothill Ranch area (headquarters to companies such as Oakley, Toshiba, etc).

Well there goes my fantasy team. Fantastic.

The firefighters in my area have done a good job. The fire is 30% contained and I no longer saw it in the hills behind my house. It has moved the other direction a bit and it is still big in Irvine. However, San Diego now has been hit with fires and resources are stretched insanely thin with 15 fires blazing in the Southern California region. The one in my area was discovered to be arson. I hope they catch the MFer and he rots in jail. Weather is still nasty and with the resources spread thin (usually Orange County would have sent its forces to LA/San Diego but instead has had to keep them in there own county). The same can be said for LA/San Diego county as they are both handling their own blazes. I don't know if you guys remember 2003, where 10% of San Diego was declared to be burning but on the news one of the chief's said that based on the current weather predictions as well as the forecast (including the thin resources) that this could be worse. So far the most important thing is that very few fatalities so far (i think it is

It sounds a bit better. In the morning they will be able to fly more planes in the area and they are now saying the winds will die down around 6PM tomorrow night. The fire is currently 3800 acres large and so far most of the stuff that has burned down are housing developments that are still under construction (most of the construction was still in the grading phase). Still it is crazy when you look out your window and the whole sky has an orange tint to it as there is a fire within a couple miles. That and your entire house reaks of smoke (even with windows/doors completely shut).

The Winds are supposed to stay until at least Tuesday morning with gusts as high as 80-90 MPH in this area.

QUOTE(Brian @ Oct 21, 2007 -> 09:03 PM) I'm sending this guy for help.. Do you think you may have to evacuate? Hope everything is cool. I thought it was going to be a picture of fire marshall bill.

QUOTE(Brian @ Oct 21, 2007 -> 09:03 PM) I'm sending this guy for help.. Do you think you may have to evacuate? Hope everything is cool. So far so good here. 2 houses burned down so far (from what I heard on the tv). I'm thinking we will be okay but the winds are horrible and blowing straight for all the homes in our area (at high speeds). Still, it would have to burn through about 1000 homes to get to where we are (maybe even more than that). Apparently the fire is coming down to another set of houses in another area of Irvine (about 5 miles the other direction from me). This is gonna make for an interesting night though and I'm sure I'm gonna feel like crap tomorrow based on how much smoke I ingested on my walk through a fire access road.

OH s***....unless I heard wrong, the fire chief that was just on said they are preparing to protect Newport Beach (unless a new fire started out on the other side of the city) as well and if the fire went that far you'd be talking about the entire city of Irvine being burned to the ground.

Damn it...stupid phone is not letting me email the pictures to my computer. Apparently the firefighters are making there stand at Portola Road (which is literally a mile from my house).

So I drove about a mile and a half up the road and pulled off onto this access road. Parked the car and went hiking and found the fire. Here's some pics from my camera phone (the fire is only like 3-3.5 miles away and wind speed according to the news is as high as 75MPH). This is without zoom. I was probably about half a mile from the fire, maybe less.

Power is going on and off, road about 2 miles from me is closed....flames about 5 miles away (just drove to see the flames and you can barely see on the roads) and winds (I have no idea how hard the winds are, but they have to easily be at least 70MPH right now) are blowing the thing closer to all the homes (planes are everywhere in the sky dropping the water as well as the fire retardent stuff they blow). Crazy stuff.

Personally I thought the poem was great. Good rhymes and everything.

http://ustream.tv/channel/the-southside-report AND ITS A GO!!!!!!!!!!

Getting ready to rock.

And he's from these here boards. Next week we will have a special guest as well to talk Blackhawks hockey. Show to start in 40 minutes!!!!

QUOTE(Chombi and the Fungi @ Oct 16, 2007 -> 03:19 PM) Definately true. We have a lot of decent guys but no one at the top. Masterson is a guy I really like. Keeps it on the ground. Was it him though or Bowden we wanted though? Also, let's not forget that just because we add more arms that we can't subtract some in other deals. It's not like once you have them, you're stuck with them. Adding a higher quality arm benefits us and teams are more willing to deal more for arms. So trading away a C or low B level arm after acquiring a B-B+ arm wouldn't be a bad idea. Trading away a couple of our guys to get a decent hitting prospects seems logical. The quality over quantity thing is so true, especially for us. The media reports indicated that it was going to be Masterson or that other reliever (whose got an awesome arm) + Willy Mo Pena. Bowden's name came up a bit, but I think Masterson was the guy they wanted.

I wish the Bears would have considered making that sort of deal. Chambers is a darn good WR.

QUOTE(Chombi and the Fungi @ Oct 16, 2007 -> 12:10 PM) ** I haven't heard or seen the rumor anywhere else so I wouldn't be surprised if Boers made it up. Or instead of made it up, he probably suggested it. I've looked and tried to find it through prosportsdaily's newspapers and other websites but just haven't seen anything. **Stoneman leaving I think will go 50/50 for what can happen. They can bring in a "Steve Phillips" like GM who will trade anything to win now, which I would assume any newly hired GM would try to do. Start out throwing all your chips in the pot and if it pans out, youre secure and crowned king of the respected city. Especially with the Angels having a few older vets and with that division gaining in respectability. They have the prospects to deal and could have deals pan out in their favor for immediate success. It could backfire and they could hire a statistics head, build through your organization type guy. Which if so, I wouldn't be surprised to see them deal nothing. **I did see today that the Dbacks are interested in potentially acquiring a SP. Garland and the Sox, I would assume have to be in on the talks if they are serious. There is no room for Carlos Quentin or Carlos Gonzalez with Byrnes, Upton and Young. I wouldn't think it's rocket science to try and work out a deal starting with Quentin and/or Gonzalez (I prefer Gonzalez) and maybe finishing with Max Scherzer. I can't see them doing it but with how close they got last season, why not? Callapso, a 2b prospect has been compared to Kendrick for his constant contact. May not be a bad guy to go after either. Scherzer is a Boras client so I highly highly doubt it, I just went to college with him so I know he is a stud and would love to have him in our organization. We seem to have a good relationship with the Dbacks for deals so I wouldn't be surprised if we are among the top on their list. http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/99698 Max may be a Boras client but he's also a guy that you won't even have to deal with Boras for a good number of years. The same could be said with John Danks who was acquired even though he is a Boras client. If you get 5 to 7 good years out of Scherzer before he becomes a UFA than who cares if he ends up walking (you'll take the draft picks or maximize his trade right near the end). Heck, for all you know he opts to change agents or something else happens. I to a point understand drafting away from Boras guys (if there are similar guys on the board that rate out as good tools wise) but once they have signed and they are still in the minors I'll take my chances because you don't even begin dealing with Boras until arbitration kicks in. And you are right about Max being a stud. The only major question with him is whether or not he will be able to stay healthy (I know his last season or so at Mizzu he had some arm issues and those concerns along with Boras had him fall a bit on many draft boards).

New Fifa = AWESOME

October 17 - MP3 DOWNLOAD

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Oct 15, 2007 -> 08:47 PM) Rockies fans are awesome. Especially with Tulo. With more people getting to realize how great Tulowitzki is (and he may end up being better than Reyes & Hanley Ramirez), I'm beginning to wonder when analysts start comparing this crop of 3 young stud ss's to the last crop of threes that came into the league (the past time it was in the AL and it was Jeter/Arod/Nomar).

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Oct 15, 2007 -> 10:05 PM) We're taking some time off until he's a free agent next winter. Then -- when he signs with the Sox to replace Thome -- I've promised him I'm going to buy two of his jerseys, one for me and a nice road-grey for you. If he were to replace Thome I'd support that. Just get him the hell out of the field and let him mash.

QUOTE(gosox41 @ Oct 15, 2007 -> 08:10 PM) What rumor is that? Bob Konerko & Garland for Figgins/Kochman/Shields

QUOTE(gosox41 @ Oct 15, 2007 -> 08:17 PM) That's funny. It's funny (in a sad way) because this regime hasn't shown the ability to develop pitching. IN fact it's just the opposite. I'm just curious, who are the top 5 arms in the Sox farm system right now and where do you project them? Bob Top 5 Arms: Faustino De Los Santos (Potential #1 starter, more likely his upside lies as a #2 as there are very few legit #1 type guys). Still a few years away though and with that it means there is a greater chance that things prevent him from reaching that level (ie injuries or some other issues that get in the way). He has the makings of two plus pitches and if he can improve that changeup he'll have the raw abilities to be an above average starter. Gio Gonzalez (Potential #3 Starter). I know some people may rate him a little higher as a starting prospect as he truly is one of the best left handed pitching prospects in baseball (But in no ways would I ever confuse him as the best one). Others would rate him a little lower. He has seen increased velocity on his fastball and a lot of improvement on his changeup to go along with an above average yacker (curve). He could see significant time in Chicago next season, but some in the org feel he still has a bit more to learn before moving to the next level. Egbert (Potential #3 starter, more likely a #4 or #5). Egbert doesn't have great stuff, but he has a bevvy of solid pitches and tremendous command. He gets great sink on his fastball, uses all parts of the plate well and is the most likely on this list to pitch 5 plus seasons at the major league level. However, it would take a lot to go right for him to ever emerge as a front line starter. I think he has the ability to be a solid #3 and I'm fairly confident at worse he will be a #5 (barring injuries). Broadway. See Egbert. I should note that i'm higher than Broadway than most and I could see him developing into a Garland-esque pitcher. He has awesome action on his pitches (ball moves everywhere) but is still working on improving the command on his pitches (they run all over him at times and in the majors that will get him in trouble). He throws a very nice curve with a ton of 12/6 bite when on. Worse case I see him turning into a valuable relief pitcher. Best case, he'll be an above average 3. Like Egbert/Gonzalez you could see him pitching in Chicago next year (and he would definitely pitch in a couple rotations). Aaron Poreda. He has a #1 type fastball but it is far too early to project him as that. Great raw stuff, throws from the left side, but was very raw for a collegiate pitcher out of college. Still, anytime you hit 99 and have seen your command continue to improve you have to like the guys stuff. Needs to really learn how to pitch though and definitely needs to improve his secondary stuff. In a years time he may be at the top of this list (and if I were factoring upside into this he'd move up to the #3 spot on the list of pitchers).

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Oct 15, 2007 -> 09:51 PM) Per usual, Phillips is always a dealbreaker. I believe Crede for Kendrick was on the table at one point but when Stoneman asked for Phillips, Kenny balked (and rightfully so). And Jason, you don't have to defend yourself. My comment wasn't meant as a jab at you, just that you saying Kendrick will win a batting title wasn't really an outlandish, 'fanboy' comment. As you said, you're certainly not the only one to make a statement like that, and, without thinking about it a whole lot, I can't think of another young second baseman who I'd rather have than Kendrick. So long as he stays healthy he has a chance to have a superb career. And I'm no longer Mrs. Dunn -- you can address me as Mrs. Toews or Mrs. Kane. Haha, no offense was taken. Did you at least get some good alimony from Dunn or does he not know you are cheating on him with hockey players of all people???