Chisoxfn

Wohooo.

I was pretty anti Avi most of the year, but when you change the role / expectations for him, I think he becomes a far more serviceable player who still does possess some upside. He'll provide nice depth and flexibility and get plenty of at bats during the season. I really like LaRoche / Avi sharing at bats (as long as we get a legit 2+ WAR outfielder as a starter).

At the very least, Avi would be in a platoon spot getting plenty of at bats (and probably doing a pretty good job in that role).

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 22, 2016 -> 06:20 AM) Nate Silver's new premise....GOP establishment is even more concerned with Cruz winning http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/one-bi...tical-of-trump/ I think Cruz has a better shot so I can see why and I can't stand him.

Last 10 games Rose is PER is just under 18 and last 5 games it is over 20.

Welp...should be picking up the car on Saturday (pending some surprise...which in the car business is always possible). Love the online method of gathering quotes, than finding lower prices and than making up lowest prices and circling the wagon until finally figuring out who will move lower and lower until you get the lowest process. Thanks to online, you can do it all pretty quick as well. Ended up getting it about 1K lower than the lowest TrueCar offer (after going through the full exercise). Plus got some free services thrown in. A little more than 7K under MSRP ain't too shabby for a 2016 (thank you low gas prices for helping in those efforts).

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 09:02 AM) Their owner is about as wealthy as anyone, and their payroll is well down from last season. I just don't see the fit. I am probably wrong, but I think if they really are engaged, they may be trying to get the Sox or another team to offer more years and keep him off the Mets. This could very well be true, I just think with what happened with Upton, the reality is Cespedes is getting at least 4 years @ 20M+/year and I'd be surprised if the Sox were willing to go there. I think the Sox effort is likely to be creative and put more options / incentives to try and hedge themselves (which is smart) but the reality is, someone else is going to make the bigger offer (given who else is out there).

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 09:02 AM) Oh no they didnt do that did they? One of the only things that annoys me about my jeep tech is the heated/cooled seats and steering wheel are two taps into the touch screen. I would rather have buttons for that. They did. Whole thing is a gigantic touch screen. Obviously steering wheel has volume controls (so that helps), but I'm really not a big fan of touch screens in cars. Buttons are just so much easier and less distracting (cause you can use feel and thus not take your eyes off the road).

QUOTE (shipps @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 09:02 AM) I got Pants one time back in grammar school. Well Ricky, I hope you learned your lesson. Now close the deal with Fowler before the Big 3 market officially closes and Fowler ends up being the primary target (might already be too late and Fowler's agent is already knowing he isn't going to dance until the Cespedes saga plays out).

After seeing the Upton deal, I have been saying there is zero chance the Sox get Cespedes. Realistically, there is no way, given there current motive of operatis, that they are prepared to pay the money Cespedes is going to get. My personal opinion is the only shot the Sox had was to aggressively play him when multiple other options were out there (vs. the slow play). Also, when it comes to the Nats, they have a track record of giving big money and signing big free agents, so when I put two and two together, I find it very unlikely the Sox are going to win this whole deal. The reality is the org needs to stop pretending and be proactive on the alternative options before they get caught with there pants down. Hopefully they are doing just that. PS: I had to create a new thread cause I hate mega threads. That is all

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 17, 2016 -> 04:56 PM) So Dick Allen and the Southside Hitmen didn't matter, the White Sox drew 1.5 million one time when Harry was announcing. That is when they won 90 games, not the opportunity to sing take me out to the ballgame. In fact, the attendance per game the next 4 years after Harry left, was higher than it ever was when he was there, and higher than it was at Wrigley with Harry there during those seasons The flipside of this argument is if the Sox keep Carray do the Cubs gain the exposure they got due to Harry? Maybe we don't look at this from the Sox angle but more of the Cubs angle. Was there another personality who could have kind of done the whole "loveable" loser concept and made the whole park experience and listening experience similar. Harry was tremendous for the game of baseball. I don't know that announcers actually help draw fans in any significant manner, but Harry might have been the exception and he definitely helped build the whole "Cubs" persona.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 08:18 AM) Couldn't agree more Echo your guys sentiments here.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 08:15 AM) That would be my disappointment, but if they move on to the next tier, I'm fine with that. Could end up as a blessing in disguise.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 08:19 AM) Like an all star game? Except they play good defense. Anyone that thinks the Warriors are bad for the game are still sour about the 3 point line and jumpshots. So, for the longest time, the problem with NBA was it was a selfish league and players were only out for their stats, now the most unselfish team in the league is dominating and they are bad for the league because ...no idea. Can't comprehend. They are incredibly exciting and wide open and the brand of basketball anyone would say they love to watch. I said if the whole league went the way of the Warriors. I think what the Warriors do is awesome and entertaining and I agree they do play defense. I enjoy watching the Warriors but if the whole league turned into a run and jump shooting league, it would be incredibly boring, imo. Either way, its nonsense, you can't mimic what their brand very easy (Steph is a unique talent).

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 05:24 AM) The pilot is the car that literally every family buys, I am not crazy about the redesign since it looks more like the absolutely s***ty CRV but people swear by it. My sis and my SIL both drive a pilot. My 2005 was awesome (stupid car that rear ended it). Styling wise I like the new Highlander more than the Pilot, but the features of the Pilot / tech are just fantastic. Although the whole touch screen everything would drive me up a f***ing wall. They are getting too cute...everyone knows nobs for volume work better than a touch screen for volume control.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 21, 2016 -> 06:51 AM) Again, I said nothing about social, cultural or economic impact. I'm talking pure basketball. On the court. 48 minutes. 94 feet. The way the Warriors constantly move, cut, pass and ultimately shoot, there's never been anyone like them. they put up a stat last night stating that the Warriors have 20 games this year with at least 30 assists as a team. there's still half the season to go. The next two highest, the spurs and hawks, have a combined 17. I have actually heard some NBA commentators say the Warriors are the worst thing to ever happen to basketball. Of course a lot of that was driven by a jealous Mark Jackson. I do agree if the whole league played like the Warriors it would actually be really bad for the game / brand. I wouldn't quite call it an all star game, but it would be close to that equivalent and the NBA all star game is absolutely horrific (outside of getting to view some stars joking with each other and some crazy plays). Warriors are fun because they are unique in there style and amazing at what they do. If the league moves to be more like them, I think it will be bad. Than again, Spurs don't play like them and they are fine. Reality is each team needs to play according to there talents and there are many ways you can win a title, most importantly, under almost any scenario, you have to have a superstar.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 12:16 PM) If you want fuel efficiency in an SUV, there is (or was anyway) a Highlander Hybrid, but the differential cost is huge. It was like 8k or something ridiculous. I've been salivating over the Lexus NX hybrid SUV, but it's not cheap either (comparable price to a Highlander, and more luxurious and more efficient, but much smaller). Hard to find an SUV with truly good fuel efficiency that is relatively inexpensive. I wish they still made the Escape Hybrids, was kind of mad Ford dropped those. Yeah...I was looking at Highlander or Pilot and those are about 35 (after negotiating) the way I'd like them equipped. Hybrid is low to mid 40's and at that point you lose the 2nd row bench and are forced with captain seats (which if my kids were older, I'd be all for, but at this point, my wife still likes to sit in the back with both kids on longer car rides + its convenient as we have extra seating capacity. But Hybrid Highlander's incremental fuel increase vs. cost is totally non-economic. Where as the Sonata Hybrid, total opposite, I pay like 1K more (thank you extra incentives) and get a pretty noticeable MPG increase (and Hyundai has lifetime battery warranty vs. Toyota's pretty s***ty battery warranty). I actually pushed for the minivan but my wife thinks we are too young for a minivan (I just think it is most functional). I was sold on the "cooler" box. Haha. Ultimately, we decided we'd rather take the difference in cost and dump it into the kids college fund. By the way, the current Pilot's and Highlanders, for there size, get pretty damn good mileage, imo (19 / 27 & 19/26, respectively).

Is that like a day later or something? I thought it was always scheduled for 2 years from now, with this years version being the ground war movie (forget the name).

QUOTE (ozzfest @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 01:40 PM) I can see you are a gar pax believer. Using the word "core" and "hinrich" in the same sentence. Gross. Yes, cause Kirk Hinrich was not an extremely valuable point guard during his first run?

QUOTE (ozzfest @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 01:38 PM) Regular season record doesn't matter. Even according to the front office. They fired Thibs, not because of his regular season record, but because they were "worn out" by the time the playoffs came around. If you are going to convince yourself the this Bulls team is a contender go ahead though. Last time I checked a contender doesn't go double OT with the sixers. Last I looked the best team on the planet doesn't lose to the Bucks either (and when they lost to the Bucks ,they were I think one of the 5 worst teams in the NBA) oh wait, they did. And wasn't that a Bulls team playing without Pau & Rose (yes still pathetic, but whatever). This Bulls team is widely considered the 2nd / 3rd best team in the east...that makes them a contender in my book and they have consistently been in that position for a long time. Bottom line...this team has beaten all of the contenders. Not saying they'd be the favorites in a 5 game series, but I still believe that there are only 3 teams who would be material favorites over the Bulls in a 7 game set (Spurs / Warriors / Cavs). Outside of that, I think you have another few teams that are relatively on par with the Bulls (with those teams primarily being western conference foes).

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 01:34 PM) How about this: GarPax have drafted an MVP, a ROY (and a runner up), a DPOY, a sixth man of the year (and a runner up), four All-Stars, multiple All-NBA defensive players, and signed an All-NBA 1st Team center. Other than the Spurs, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better drafting team with the only blunders being Teague over Draymond and Snell. They've cleared space and tried to sign big tier free agents multiple times. But the Heatles happened and Melo decided money was better than winning. People like to call Snell a bust, but he's more serviceable than most guys picked where he was picked.

QUOTE (ozzfest @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 01:26 PM) Ryan Pace knows what he is doing. He's done a good job changing the roster and culture. Hired a good coach as well. Bears are on the up and up. That is great, only two of them have actually built perennial winners / contenders. Paxson & Bowman. Period. End of Story. Cubs are sexy and 5 years from now they might have won their championship and be consistently contending and passing up one or both of the Bulls / Hawks, but until that has happened, they do not get that credit. And Ryan Pace, lol. I love what the dude has done but they aren't contenders today and he hasn't proven jack s*** about being able to build a contender (I like him, don't get me wrong, but Paxson has built a core of Curry / Hinrich / Deng / Gordon / Ben Wallace and than a core around Noah / Rose / Deng and than a core around Noah / Pau / Butler / Rose and well we'll see where next, but there have been a variety of cores, some which contended better than others, but all which were consistent winners (and during that time he's also been able to take shots at superstars..yes he has failed, but so did everyone else).

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 01:16 PM) No theyre not Spurs Warriors Clippers OKC Cleveland Miami I just want to point out that outside of the Warriors, they have beaten all those teams on that list. The Bulls also have the highest winning percentage in the eastern conference vs. teams above .500 and the 2nd most wins vs. teams above .500 in the NBA (tied with the Spurs...whose winning percentage is significantly higher). Bulls winning percentage vs. .500 or better teams is 3rd in the NBA.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 12:16 PM) Classic oxymoron definition. The east f***ing sucks. And even assuming Rose never gets hurt, they lose to the Heat in '12, '13 and '14 and lose to the Cavs last year as well. Yes, but following your logic, LEbron would have won the past 5 championships or so. So unless you had Lebron, you would be the failure. Now the Warriors are here so they will win the next 5.

QUOTE (ozzfest @ Jan 20, 2016 -> 09:39 AM) Front office rankings in Chicago (in terms of which teams have the best chance to win it all). Which is how a front office should be judged. 1) Blackhawks 2) Cubs 3) Bears 4) White Sox 5) Bulls I don't even know how to analyze that list. But if I go back to Paxson's era I'd say it is Hawks and Bulls and than no one else is even close. Bears are probably 3rd (again, spanning Paxson's run...Cubs would probably rank last and Sox would rank 4th).