CWSGuy406

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 04:53 PM) Let's just say "inexperienced". Jerry turns 27 in 19 days. He's quite old for a prospect. Yep -- Owens is all of (~)4 months younger than Nick Swisher, to put things into perspective a bit. And no, it's completely unreasonable to think Owens is capable of a .370 or .380 OBP. His minor league OBP was .362, and that's despite the fact that he was old for his level every step of the way. That doesn't even mention his terrible slugging percentage. He's nothing more than a 4th outfielder, but for some reason Sox fans seem to equate 'speedy' and 'slap-hitty' with 'good'.

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 04:30 AM) Owens/Cabrera 1-2 would be one of the worst 1-2 combos in the majors. It's pathetic, embarrassing and (insert negative word) that Owens is being talked about as anything more than a 4th outfielder. I also have to laugh at the quotes that are something along the lines of, "It'll depend on how Jerry plays in spring." Because a one-month hot streak in a bloated offensive environment is going to give me a lot of confidence about a bad baseball player. Let's hope those quotes from Guillen and KW are the ones you're not supposed to take at face value.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 02:27 AM) Im seeing Clement as well. He's solid. Which is kind of odd, though -- the Orioles have Weiters (sp?) who (IIRC) was supposed to be a fast-track player who shouldn't have to spend a whole lot of time in the minors... Then again, if they do both pan out, that's kind of a 'good' problem to have.

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 28, 2008 -> 01:45 AM) There is no reason to think Seattle can't go head to head with the Halos. Sure there is: -Their offense looks to be terrible. ZiPS projects them to have one player to slug above .450 and that's Adrian Beltre, who sits at .450. They're also going to see regression from a couple of players (Vidro, Ibanez) with no real breakout candidates (probably some bounceback from Sexson, though). -Who's their RFer as of today? Or their DH, for that matter? -They're likely going to see big-time regression in the bullpen. Their rotation looks like it'll be good, though -- Miguel Batista will probably be the worst pitcher and he's still good for 190 innings of a 4.50 ERA. All told, though, it looks like another team who would probably be better suited to go younger (doesn't mean they can't or won't win the West -- just not likely). That seems oddly familiar... hmm...

I actually kind of like that last event "slam dunk"-like contest they do. I could do without the judges, but over the coming years you're going to see some real cool stuff -- Ovechkin pulled out some real neat stuff on his couple of attempts. I'm sure you'll also see someone do the Sidney Crosby "lift on the stick and 'lacrosse' it into the goal" move. There's just sooooo much creativity to be had. The announcer even made mention of the fact that the player can start off ANYWHERE he wants inside the offensive zone. Basically, it's a much better version of the slam-dunk contest. The only difference is that in the slam-dunk contest, just about everything has been done at this point -- there's not a whole lot the players can do differently. That will eventually happen to the NHL's version, too, but for now (and for the next decade or so, if they keep the event), there's going to be room for a LOT of creativity and I think you'll see some really nifty moves. On a separate note, let me also echo the sentiments about Duncan Keith getting f***ed in the fastest skater -- he clearly beat Brian Campbell and -- I don't know if anyone else noticed this -- they gave Campbell Keith's time and vice versa. I'm pretty sure DK is the fastest skater there.

Marquette beats DePaul in a very sloppy and unimpressive victory. DePaul probably wins that game if it's played in Rosemont. We're just not very good at the moment...

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jan 25, 2008 -> 03:27 AM) But they still need 1 top 2 line winger. Havlat and Kane can't do it all by themselves. Sharp is pretty good, but they still need 1 more guy IMHO. The rest (including now Ruutu which is quite sad) are basically 3rd/4th line scrappers ATM. RE: Ruutu -- it's tough to do anything worth a damn offensively when your partners are Adam Burish and Craig Adams. I have no idea why he's now been pushed to a mucker role -- your completely limiting him (and the team, IMO) by playing him with 'energy' types. Ruutu has the skill-set to score goals -- his hands are pretty good, he can win battles in the corners, he can hold his ground in front of the net and he can skate with the puck without losing it. He also has a pretty good shot. That's my biggest issue with Savard right now -- Ruutu's been pushed behind Rene Borque on the depth chart, and I'd say it's one of the reasons our power play is absolute s*** right now -- nobody on this team besides Ruutu can play competently in front of the net (besides Toews). Bourque certainly doesn't do that. When they were going with Ruutu - Toews - Kane early, Ruutu wasn't scoring goals -- and if you can't score with the two kids on the line, I understand that it's difficult to justify keeping him there. But the line was scoring goals and was, without a doubt, the best line we had going, and despite the lack of point production, I still think Ruutu was a pretty good part of it. I'd say it helped to have Ruutu there because he created space for the two just by hitting anything and everything. I see I've turned this into a rant of sorts, so I'll stop by saying I'm not blind to Ruutu's 'deficencies' -- he has a tendency to take bad penalties and there are definitely moments where he seems like he's trying to do waaay too much out there. He's not going to be the 'Finnish Forsberg', but I don't think him being a good second-line player (read: decent 15-20 goal scorer) is out of the question. ---------------- As far as the 300 Level, it's really not a whole lot different from Soxtalk -- you gotta dig through a lot of crap to get to the good stuff. There are a couple of guys there who really know their stuff and you have to know who those people are -- but otherwise, yes, I'd agree that enganging in arguments/debates is about as useful as banging your head against a brick wall.

QUOTE(maggliopipe @ Jan 24, 2008 -> 03:35 AM) 2) Montreal-VERY cool, great city to walk in.. I've had nothing but great times every visit-LOVE the food. I hope you're talking about the poutine -- absolutely delicious. I also found it funny that they aren't hard at all about carding -- I know the drinking age is 18, but I think there are some high school kids who look older than me, and even though I had my ID out, they didn't even think about asking for it. Also, I'll add to the list of cities that suck hard: 1.) Cleveland 2.) Milwaukee

So I'd like to buy this poster: at our school poster sale. Problem is, I want to see the names that are on the poster and the poster they're selling at school doesn't have the names listed at the bottom like this one does (otherwise it's the exact same). And when I try to enlarge it myself, all the names go waaay too much out of focus. Can anyone with some photoshop skillz (or otherwise) get me the names on the bottom of the poster? BTW -- I'm seeing a red 'X' when I post it, so if you're seeing the same and actually want to help me out, here's the link to the site with the poster on it: http://www.popartuk.com/music/rap-gods/par...0737-poster.asp

QUOTE(SoxAce @ Jan 22, 2008 -> 07:24 AM) Gonna get the album next week myself. Hopefully I'll figure it out. Gotta be a fan of Lupe Fiasco. I've been hitting the best 90s hip-hop the past couple months -- Wutang, Old Dirty Bastard, GZA and Notorious, mainly. On a completely separate note, I think I'm going to buy an NWA poster at our annual poster sale today. My friend who went earlier told me they have one -- it best not be taken yet.

I had to LOL at the Sharks fans wanting a penalty called on Byfuglien for knocking Mitchell (?) on his ass. I absolutely love it when guys take runs at Byfuglien and promptly end up on the seat of their pants.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Jan 22, 2008 -> 05:36 AM) Freddy does not want a fire under his ass; he would prefer it be in his bowl. "Wite with the turnaround from the corner... and he BURIES IT!"

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Jan 22, 2008 -> 10:00 PM) MSNBC apparently reporting that he was found surrounded by pills. The "pills" part is on Wikipedia too, so...

Alexander O is my favorite player in hockey and I don't think it's particularly close -- he's a joy to watch.

This may be different from what everyone else thinks, but I'm actually starting to be 'okay' with how our defense is shaping up. We're finally starting to see the depth that Tallon built up pay off a bit. Maybe I'm wearing red-and-black shaded glasses, but I don't think Keith and Seabrook are really stretched anymore as a top pairing. Are they among the top five-ten defenders in the league? Probably not, but they're steadily improving into a top pairing. Similarly, Sopel and Wizniewski aren't at all stretched as a middle pairing, especially when Wiz is healthy. And even our back pairing is okay -- I know Byfuglien gets his share of tongue-lashing on his defensive play, but this is what, his second year in the NHL? The same goes for Barker -- they're obviously going to mistake their mistakes, just as Keith and Seabrook did, but I like the fact that the Hawks seem to be giving them both a long leash. That brings me to trying to trade for a defenseman like Campbell. He's going to be a free agent after this year, so I don't think it's necessarily smart to be trading Barker + others for him. Players are starting to see what's building up here in Chicago -- they'll want to come here. If Dale likes him that much, I see no reason why he can't snag him this summer. EJ99 mentioned that acquiring a top-six forward might be a better idea than a stud defenseman, and I'd tend to lean that way, although I'd honestly be okay if Dale just let the team heal up while keeping some of these young kids (Skille, namely) up here. When Toews gets back, this is how I hope we look up front (not trying to necessarily match lines here, BTW): Kane - Lang - Havlat Ruutu - Toews - Skille Bourque - Sharp - Bolland Burish - Dowell/Perrault - Eager/Adams I guess my main hope is that these newly acquired veterans don't steal time from some of the kids -- unfortunately, I think that very may well happen.

"We f***in' suck." -Marquette (when on the road)

QUOTE(EvilJester99 @ Jan 20, 2008 -> 02:41 AM) I know I was laughing about that too... plus no Keith no Sopel.... Comcast has been pretty horrendous the past two nights. Apparently it's not important anymore to show how much time is left on the power play. I was also screaming at the TV when they zoomed to a closeup of Lalime as the Hawks had an odd man rush at some point last night.

Heh -- I had to LOL at Khabibulin being on the "team MVP" poll from Comcast. Good work, guys.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Jan 19, 2008 -> 11:51 PM) It is what it is. Illinois is no higher than 3rd in terms of importance to IU. Like it or not it is the truth. However, as you read it here, they seem to feel we are their most important rival. Hence the imbalance. If you don't like the truth I could care less. But I am not spouting any BS at all. It really is comparable to how Iowa State views Kansas. My apologies if I put words in your mouth -- I tried to avoid doing that. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any Illinois fans saying (or insinuating) that Indiana fans SHOULD feel UofI is their biggest rival, especially in a year where UofI is so (relatively) bad. My issues came when I thought you were insinuating that UofI/IU isn't a rivalry game at all, but your clarification makes it clear that you're just saying it's not *THE* rivalry game -- still a rivalry, just not the top one for Indiana. Thanks for the clarification -- that seems to make more sense.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Jan 19, 2008 -> 11:00 PM) You are reading it exactly right. Purdue and Kentucky are Indiana's rivalries. Michigan State at times is a bigger game than Illinois. Whether Illini fans like it or not - it is not our fault they don't have a real rivalry of their own - the Illini just aren't that important to the Hoosiers. If they want to fight for #3 status on our rivalry board and feel important about that, go right ahead. Beyond that, they are just another Big Ten team, albeit with a lound and annoying fan base. I'm calling BS. As an outside observer who, quite frankly, doesn't really care one way or another about the Big Ten, IU/UofI games always seem to have a little more 'juice' in the arena that night. If you're saying it's just another game to the mighty Indiana fans, I'd say you're completely oblivious. And please, Rex, stop with the 'holier than thou' fan-base bulls***. Comparing the 'intelligence' (or whatever you want to call it) is nothing more than a dick-measuring contest (if I may put it so bluntly). Indiana has a lot of idiot fans, too -- they're no different from any other state school (or otherwise) that has people who couldn't put 2-and-2 together yet act like they have a blood connection to the school. Every fan base has idiots, and you're getting quite ridiculous with the continual back-handed jabs at 'em. EDIT: I should also add that I'm not going to comment about where UofI would rank in Indiana's rivalry. Again -- speaking as an outside observer -- I'd say they're a top five rivalry for Indiana but again, I probably don't have much of a 'right' (for lack of a better word) to make that distinction.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Jan 19, 2008 -> 10:15 PM) K, that still doesn't explain why these are bad signings. And the point still remains that both Linebrink and Dotel are movable if the Sox feel inclined to trade them. Linebrink's a moveable contract? If he sucks hard this year -- which is probably as likely as him being a real stud. The likely scenario is that he's a slightly-better-than-average reliever, but not a great setup man by any means -- the Sox are going to be hard pressed to get anything of value for Linebrink. I like the Dotel deal much more than the Linebrink deal, just because the years (or lack there of). That being said, the Sox would be best served to handle Dotel with kid gloves and try not to overwork him, seeing that he's pitched all of ~55 innings the past three seasons.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Jan 19, 2008 -> 10:19 PM) see Indiana and Illinois Can you clarify what you're saying here? I take this as a real pot-stirring comment and, if you're saying that Indiana fans don't view Illinois as a rivalry, I'd find that laughable, although there's a decent chance I'm misreading it.

Also... the Illinois-Indiana 's***-slinging' (can I call it that?) is one of the best parts of this thread so, I'm'a just pull up a chair and grab some popcorn and enjoy the action.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Jan 18, 2008 -> 11:23 PM) Seems like Paul Hewitt might be starting to crumble at GT. http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bl...s_arent_fi.html Gosh damnit -- and Shumpert chose GT over Marquette and UNC for what reason, exactly? Can he please pull an Eric Gordon and back out?

QUOTE(Be Good @ Jan 18, 2008 -> 10:53 PM) Part time, as I work full time: Physical Sciences Macro Economics Marketing QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Jan 18, 2008 -> 05:58 PM) Principles of Accounting Intro to Macroeconomics Creative Writing English Grammar Survey of Bio (and Lab) Ooooh I'm taking macro too -- want to study together fellas? Macro Managerial Accounting Business Ethics (PHIL class) American Politics (PolySci) History of the Middle East (1500-to-present)