Chisoxfn

QUOTE (Tex @ May 13, 2011 -> 07:45 AM) You are correct. As noted a credit card is a tool, and if used properly, isn't a problem. But credit is just that, credit to be paid back later. The credit card companies and reporting companies have spent millions convincing you to buy into their customer rating program. Get yourself a high customer rating so they can sell you more products. Pay them interest regularly and you will be considered a better customer and they will sell you more stuff that you can pay them for. So yes, a credit card can be a great tool for some people, most people wind up becomming a tool for the credit card companies. I am certain there is a terrible problem with saving for something and paying cash. I am certain therwe is some problem with putting large down payments on major purchases, with having an emergency fund to pay for stuff. But I can't see how paying cash and not using credit is going to be so terrible. We want stuff now, not in three month when we can save for it. We have been sold on instant gratification and spend now and pay later. Tex, you are right. But if you use the tool wisely, I can actually make a float on my interest for 30 days (e.g., earn interest on my cash, even a small sum) plus get cash back on the deal. By paying card, I tend to save between 1 and 5% on all of my purchases, plus a little additional savings. On top of it, by paying credit, I have a hell of a lot more protection if something goes wrong. Say I lose a receipt, no problem, they can credit it back to my CC and verify my purchase using that. Plus, if its cash, say your wallet is stolen cause you buy everything in cash, well, cash is gone, I have no protection from that. Ya, those might not happen, but I feel safer using my card, which has a lot of built in protections (plus depending on the card you have, you can get extended warranties, price matching, etc) than cash. In fact, I only carry enough petty cash for minor emergencies or situations where places don't take card. And I never have to debate which card to use and I could care less if I had 1000 in available credit or 100K in it. I only spend what I can afford and if I couldn't afford it due to an emergency, I'd only buy what you need.

Was Ozz being serious? Sciosc is just the best manager, bar none, in all of baseball. I'm hoping he was being sarcastic about the whole scouting report thing and I have no idea why he'd make fun of Sciosc.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ May 12, 2011 -> 01:22 PM) I'd take Dirk for one game in a heartbeat. The guy is maybe the best player on the planet right now. Do you guys factor in defense, passing, etc?

I'd build my team with all of those guys over Kobe. But if it is game 7 of the finals, I want Lebron first, than Kobe, in that order. And No, I can't even make an argument that Dirk and Paul are better than Kobe. I can understand if you want to go with Rose, Dwight (depending on your needs) or Wade, but not the other guys. Especially since Westbrook is better than Paul too.

Call me crazy, but after LBJ, I still think Kobe is the 2nd best player in the NBA. Doesn't mean I'd build a team around him, but a lot of people underappreciate him cause he's been in the spotlight so long. Is he the same guy he was 5 years ago, no, but is he still one of the best, absolutely. I wouldn't complain if Wade got it over him and vice versa. They are similar in my rankings. In fact, I have all of them ahead of Durant, but that is because Durant is a one dimensional player at this point in his career (one of the very best in the NBA, but his lack of overall defensive ability is what I think prevents him from being #2 or so in the group).

QUOTE (Tex @ May 12, 2011 -> 11:30 AM) I believe I said 15%, do you consider that a s*** load? A very simple investment strategy is to have a positive net worth. Debt for the types of things that unsecured credit is used for is not productive. As an investment strategy, why have money on a credit card being charged 20% interest? People can claim all day long that they won't carry a balance, and a few will be right. But most people will start carrying a balance. The credit card and credit reporting agencies have spent millions convincing the public they need to borrow money to buy a new outfit, go on vacation, dinner, plants for the house, etc. They have to have a credit card to get more credit cards. They have to pay interest to one card to earn the right to pay interest on another card. Again, an investment strategy of zero debt, especially in debt for an item that is already worthless or on it's way to being worthless, isn't very good either. Just a small counter to the spend today and pay tomorrow and next week, and next month, and next year . . . I can't comment on other people, but I charge what I can afford and buy what I can afford. Never carried a balance in my life. Could that change. Sure, if an emergency happens and stuff comes up and I don't have enough in savings (I try to save quite a bit out of every one of my paychecks, both for current/rainy day savings + retirement) than I'll have to opt to the last resort and if I need that, I'll be sure as heck happy that I at least have access to that credit. And if you put down 20% and have zero credit, you will be paying a higher rate on your mortgage loan than someone else who puts down 20% and does the same. And if the 15% is an interest rate, than yes, that is a horrendous loan. Same reason why carrying a balance is a bad idea (unless it is a worse case scenario) because the rates are absolutely horrendous.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 12, 2011 -> 11:56 AM) Losing one of your best players and ball distributors is a sissy excuse? You are blaming Wade for the injury. That is a sissy excuse.

QUOTE (Pale Sox @ May 11, 2011 -> 06:31 PM) 7 HR's in his last 11 games...quite the power surge. He's already tied his 2010 total. Am I imagining things, or did I hear something about him changing his stance/approach not too long ago? He changed it in the off-season and has been working through those changes since.

Fantastic article and interesting premise. You'd think that if we were holding guys a little longer we'd see them more prepared to play but I think the real reason we see more guys at older ages is because we have very few elite prospects that can be moved up and a lot more organizational guys which we'll keep at various levels to help the win/loss of those teams. There are exceptions to that of course though.

QUOTE (bmags @ May 12, 2011 -> 10:54 AM) boston didn't also didn't have rondo b/c wade mauled him and dislocated his elbow. I think that is the sissy argument. Wade's tessle with Rondo wasn't that bad. Its just physical postseason play. And when you have guys like Neni Kristic getting significant minutes you have problems anyway. When him and Delonte struggle I'm not going to be surprised.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 12, 2011 -> 10:44 AM) They were horrible in the 4th quarter. They were completely outclassed and beaten down. And an outclassed team to me isn't a team that "choked". That is a team that wasn't as good as the team they played, which I thought was pretty evident the entire series. Miami was the superior team and it really wasn't that close, imo. If they had a healthy Rondo that could have changed things, but they didn't and they had no business extending this series any longer. I also fully believe the Bulls would have kicked Boston's ass too. Probably in 6 games.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 12, 2011 -> 10:48 AM) An .840 OPS last year in the majors and an .838 OPS in AAA this year (after a terrible start due to his hand) is pretty damn good for an OF. Plus he is young and will continue to get better. I still don't get how he is not a fit for this team. I'd actually put him in the 2 spot. His OBP might stink but we don't have any other option and he should get a ton of fastballs in front of Dunn and he's got solid speed.

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 12, 2011 -> 09:45 AM) Juan Pierre has always been a terrible outfielder. If anything, last year was the fluke stretch where he was actually good in the OF. That isn't true. Outside of his arm, Juan Pierre has been an above average left fielder. Last season might have been his best defensive season but he's always been above average in every area but arm strength for a LFer.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 12, 2011 -> 06:46 AM) What errors have I missed lately? Last nights game he turned a double into a triple with his weak arm (I'm probably being overly harsh on that) and on the Torri Hunter fly that was a catchable ball that a good outfielder makes 8 out of 10 times.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 12, 2011 -> 06:42 AM) No, just using that as an example. What positive did Jeff Green bring to the Celtics in this series? Or since he arrived? 8 points and 5 rebounds in 24 minutes (for this series) is worse than what the Bulls get from Taj Gibson. He doesn't shoot well, he doesn't get a lot of rebounds, and I've seen no one considering him a solid defender. Taj has been one of our best players this post-season.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 11, 2011 -> 07:50 PM) Gage did you watch the last 5 minutes? Epic Boston choke I watched the last 5 minutes and most of the 2nd half. You guys are acting like they blew a huge lead. I saw Lebron hit a couple huge, tough shots to help seal the deal. I didn't see Boston match that intensity and you know why, because they were out of gas and weren't the better team. You could point to them not making the necessary plays to win close games late or you could point to the fact that Miami did make the plays necessary to win the games. For example, Game 4 of the Bulls series....The Bulls didn't really choke...Atlanta just kicked the s*** out of us in that 4th quarter. What more is there to say.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 12, 2011 -> 07:15 AM) Walk into a car dealership with 20% down and you will drive off their lot. Walk into a mortgage company with a decent down payment and no credit cards and you will get a mortgage. Stable work history and a history of saving, including a positive net worth, actually has value. But yes, showing you can manage a negative net worth with lots of debt also works, and there are a lot more companies advocating for that. But actually saving money, putting away an emergency fund instead of relying on credit cards, saving for down payments instead of no money down instant gratification is very difficult for most people. Even if you don't go as far or as extreme as some financial advisors will tell you, being your own credit card increases your net worth and saves you money. And look at who is telling you that credit is essential. Credit monitoring companies, credit card companies, credit repair companies. And we want that stuff immediatly, it's something we like, so we believe them. The only time I can honestly say you absolutely need a credit card is to rent a car. If you manage to put aside an emergency fund, you can pay for those unexpected expenses like car repairs. If you can't afford to set aside the savings, how will you pay off the credit card without racking up interest payments? Americans want to spend 110% of their income. That might work for a car, but not for a house. If you are going to buy a house and have no credit, you better be prepared to put an absolute s***-ton down and that might not be a very smart investment. You might be better keeping an additional reserve in savings as opposed to everything into your house. Depends on your investment philosphy. I'd say the car thing would probably work, but that is because car dealers will do anything. Regardless, no matter what, you will suffer on your rate compared to someone with a good credit history.

And Ramirez has hit into 2 DP's. f***ing eh. What is that, 8 stranded so far?

Kendry Morales is going to have to have another surgery on his leg and will be out for the season. Tough loss for the Angels. Guy was an offensive force before his injury.

One of Peavy's runs came on a bad play by Pierre (ableit, Peavy hade made a bad pitch and it was hit hard). Peavy's velocity has been solid, his command has been off and on. Pierre just made up for it knocking Gbecks from 1st to 3rd. Now we need to come up with some big hits since the club has stranded a ton of runners.

Peavy has had bad command for each of Hunter's hits today. Bright side is, he's getting tons of ground balls.

2nd great play by Ramirez today.

Wow, how the f*** did Aybar get that. That pitch was down in the zone.

How the hell does that turn into a triple. Bourjos is so f***ing fast. And Pierre has my arm.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 11, 2011 -> 07:59 PM) I was half expecting Peavy throwing 80 mph and relying on a Moyer-like change-up. Considering some of us thought he was done with about 3 weeks ago, this is more than I could have ever expected. Angels announcers said that there advanced scouts had him as high as 94-95 in his last rehab start. Not sure the truth there, but his velocity looks fine. In fact, as I see him pitch, I think if his arm doesn't fall off, he'll be back to being an ace for us and could pan out. I'm an optimist but It looks like his stuff is there.