hogan873

Finally caught up the latest episode of The Walking Dead. This season continues to be much stronger than last. Interesting ending with the phone call. And what a f***ed up episode of American Horror Story last night.

QUOTE (JackTalkThai @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 12:57 PM) Do you really think a billionaire owner who's damn near on his death bed gives two $#!!$ about an overpaid 2 year deal? I doubt it. I was merely stating that it seems like an overpay for Hunter, regardless of who is paying. You're right that an owner as such probably doesn't care about overpaying for two years. I doubt he would have gotten that much from many other teams.

Seems a bit of an overpay.

Not to defend the Cubs, either, but what they are doing is nothing like what Miami has done. Most Cub fans (those that actually watch the games and don't just go to Wrigley because it's cool) realize that they are rebuilding. Miami is not rebuilding. They are becoming irrelevant.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 09:49 AM) The Sox didn't even offer him a contract last year. True, but there were reports that the Sox (I don't know if it was JR or KW) told Mark to take Miami deal because they wouldn't come close to offering that. And, yes, before anyone screams, I realize what I typed there. The Sox told him to take the deal, so obviously everyone was fooled. However, how many on here called a Miami meltdown? I seem to remember many of us predicting a less than stellar year for them. There were others (looks to the west-southwest) that predicted a Miami World Series...but not many.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 09:31 AM) I'm sure he can wipe his tears with piles of cash. Maybe Toronto is more lenient on pit bulls. Buehrle will live, let's all cut the s***. QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Nov 14, 2012 -> 09:36 AM) Seriously, people, let Buehrle be Buehrle elsewhere. He might be back after this deal is up, but that contract is bad and you shouldn't want him. If you read the rest of my post, I said I thought he made a bad decision signing in Miami. No doubt he will live fine with the money (too much) he will earn. I know that Miami offered him the most money, and I'm not sure Ozzie being the manager played a part in his decision, but one might imagine he's playing the what-if game in his head. I think he, their other big signees, and the fans were duped. I wouldn't want Buehrle on this team for that contract. However, one might think that Mark might've been happier staying in Chicago for less money. Too bad for him.

I feel bad for Buehrle, but I thought his following Ozzie and signing in Miami was a bad idea from the start. I'd also feel bad for the Marlins fans if there were any. What Loria did with that team is a disgrace.

We'll be heading up to Bolingbrook this Saturday for dinner and the light show at the Promenade. And since there's a Binny's there... I'd like to find some good porters or stouts I haven't tried before. The trouble is, I could spend hours and hundreds of dollars in Binny's. A very good app I use is Beer Buddy. It's linked to ratebeer.com, and I've been reviewing beer over there for about four years. The app is nice, as you can check out a beer's info (including fellow drinkers' ratings) right on your phone.

I had a Ska Autumnal Mole Stout this weekend. Very interesting and exceptionally tasty beer. It is brewed with chocolate and three types of chiles, as the name mole would suggest. The chocolate is noticeable in the aroma, and it's a bit sweet up front. Finishes fairly spicy. The craziest thing is after drinking it you can feel the heat of the peppers...like you just ate a mildly spicy mole enchilada. I also picked up the Sam Adams Winter Sampler. The Old Fezziwig is one of my favorites, and the Chocolate Bock is outstanding. The White Christmas tastes to me like the White Ale they discontinued a couple years back. Oh, how I love this time of year for beer.

Well, if this is indeed true, one of Rios, De Aza, or Viciedo would be going somewhere...unless there's any truth to the Sox considering moving Tank back to 3B. I wonder how much Pagan is looking to get and for how long.

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Nov 12, 2012 -> 10:56 AM) Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS #tigers, #rangers among teams eying @toriihunter, who said he'll sign quick What kind of money is he looking for, and what might he get?

QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 12, 2012 -> 11:07 AM) When I hear that Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Seattle are top suitors for Hamilton...I have to think we ought to jump into the mix. I would imagine all clubs interested in Hamilton will be taking his history into account. I would be surprised if he gets a deal for more than 4-5 years, and he may not get the money per year he wants. That could be why we are seeing those team being his top suitors. I'm not sure about whether the Sox would or even should make an offer. My guess is that they are not interested, but even if they were I couldn't see an offer for more than 3/$60 million. I personally would like his production, but his history scares me, and he's not very young.

I'd be okay with Youk back for a year or two. Hopefully that would allow the Sox to look for a long-term replacement for 3B. If You could be signed for about half of his option, I think he'd be worth it.

Abortion is such a touchy subject. I personally think the government needs to keep their nose out of it, but that doesn't mean I think it's right. There are situations where it could be the right choice (rape, clear indication of something wrong). I don't know how some people can make that decision so easily. My wife had a molar pregnancy (similar to a miscarriage), and we were both beyond upset about it, mainly because up until the time when the doctor found it to be molar we thought of it as our baby. So, I guess you could say that there in always the assumption of life beyond the fact that you can hear a heartbeat as early as 6-8 weeks.

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Nov 8, 2012 -> 12:28 PM) Fox News and the Daily Kos. I'm sure Hillary is leaving because of her 2016 Presidential run. I read a couple articles yesterday that mentioned a few people leaving, including Hillary.

This has actually been a pretty pleasant thread to read. There are many different opinions, but everyone has been very civil and for the most part been making good arguments. Compare what's going on here to what's going on in social media such as Facebook. I have friends on Facebook that I'm not sure I can look at the same way due to some of their posts. I have plenty of friends with different political views than me, and we can sit around and discuss such topics over a few beers with no hard feelings afterwards. But I've seen too many people posting stuff saying anyone who voted for Obama is a moron or an idiot. One person went on a long-winded rant saying all the idiots re-elected a Muslim, socialist terrorist. Then after a string of comments to them said, "Hey, I have a right to express my opinion, and you should respect that." Not when you call people idiots and say completely inaccurate things about the President. It's been very hard to bite my tongue and not respond to these types of posts, but I won't stoop to their level. I'm just very disappointed in some people, and it's hard to look at them the same way. It's a shame that politics have come to this. Or maybe it's just that Facebook and the like is one of the worst things to happen when it comes to topics like politics and religion.

There are a couple states that award electoral votes by congessional district. So, instead of a candidate receiving all electoral votes from the state, they would receive the votes for each congressional district won within the state. If every state were to do this, could it truly change the outcome at times? Is this a better way of doing the electoral college?

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 7, 2012 -> 11:13 AM) Well, I disagree. I think both parties have legitimate platforms with real policies. That may be, but to the average voter many of those policies either don't matter or they're not aware of them. We're all aware of the highly publicized issues (abortion, immigration, healthcare, etc.) and where the candidates stand. But there so many other issues that make up these parties. Oftentimes it comes down to those highly publicized issues and/or whether the candidate has a D or an R next to their name.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 7, 2012 -> 10:03 AM) I doubt Christie's handling of Sandy in 2012 will play prominently in 2016. Not prominently, no. But it won't be forgotten. And it's not going to hurt him.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 7, 2012 -> 09:56 AM) But why not? These men leading are just leaders of policy. If they disagree with the policy, why would you want that person in charge? Overall who these men are mean a lot less than the institutions they run. Those people seem like they have a pretty good handle on how to vote to better their policy interests. I see your point, and that's the problem with the two party system. It's gotten to the point that it doesn't matter who the person is. It's what party they are aligned with.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 7, 2012 -> 09:52 AM) The main issue with that was the timing. It was a week before the election. If that was 6 months ago, fine, no problem. But as O'Reilly correctly pointed out last night, Sandy was a big blow (ba-doom-ching) to Romney's campaign. He was off the front page for 4-5 days, and in his place was the President talking on the phone or wearing a jacket with the Presidential seal or walking with Christie. I think the GOP has to go with Rubio or at least Rubio as a VP. I'm kind of surprised they didn't do that this year but I guess the thought was to try and catch one last tea party wave. This was such a winnable election. I agree. In my opinion, for two straight elections the GOP put up weak candidates. McCain was a heart attack away from leaving the office to Sarah Palin. And Romney had the Tea Party and Mormon tags. I don't think Paul Ryan helped Romney much at all, either. When he was first picked, there was some talk of him being a great pick and that it was looking bad for Obama. But it just seemed like he faded from view after the debate. I think that if Christie is the GOP candidate in 2016, the Democrats will need to have a very strong candidate to beat him. The general public, no matter their political alliance, was impressed with his handling of the disaster.

Is Chris Christie still highly thought of in the GOP as a candidate for 2016? I wonder how much damage was done when he praised the President. It's a shame that even in a time of crisis politics still rule.

It's so disappointing to see some of the posts on Facebook and the like after the election. And as some of you have mentioned about those saying they are goijng to move to Canada or Europe...they just don't get it. There were many I know whose position was "anyone but Obama". So to them it didn't matter who the GOP rolled up there, that's who was going to get their vote. That's the problem with the two party system. For so many voters it didn't matter what Obama was promising or what Romney said he's do different. It was Democrat and Republican. Obama or the other guy. I've taken those tests online that ask a bunch of questions to see where you are in regards to political alliance. For the most part I end up leaning towards Democrat, but there are things that I believe that are opposite the Democratic way. If there wasn't a two party system, we as voters would probably pay a lot more attention to what the candidates believe in and say they will do. Obviously the party system will never go away, but it's a shame that so many voters are uninformed and for the most part don't want to be informed.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Nov 6, 2012 -> 09:37 PM) Romney campaign has clammed up for the last 60-90 minutes. Romney knows its probably over. Polishing up his concession speech maybe.

Wow. It suddenly got much closer in NC and VA.