hogan873

James Carville (sp?) basically called the election. He said it doesn't look like Romney can win Florida, and therefore can't win the election.

40,000 vote lead in Florida and most of the conservative areas have been counted. Almost time to call it I believe.

CNN just broke it down to where Romney must take Ohio, Florida, and Virginia to have a chance. Doesn't look good.

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Nov 6, 2012 -> 08:46 PM) Which way does the panhandle lean? They close later than the rest of the state. Panhandle leans Republican, but the population is much lower than the Miami area that still has a good chunk to go.

I think Ohio is going blue, at least from what I'm seeing on CNN.

Florida has been teetering back and forth, but I think the southern part of the state is going to push Obama over the edge. If Obama wins Florida and Ohio, I would say it's over.

QUOTE (bmags @ Nov 6, 2012 -> 08:32 PM) Pretty much, i think he'd have to sweep nevada, colorado, iowa, florida and virginia? THat might be off. Colorado is looking blue so far.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Nov 6, 2012 -> 08:30 PM) No. What if he takes Florida and Virginia?

Florida looks very tight, but CNN was saying that only about 15% of the Miami Dade area and other areas south have been counted. So, there's still a chance for Obama. But does the fact that Mitt is not looking good in Ohio make Florida less important?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 4, 2012 -> 01:02 AM) I swear I read a book once that said some candidate knew from advance polling he'd lost when he was on his way to vote and had to put on a happy face. He knew he had lost. Advance polling and all the polls we've seen over the past months don't mean a ton. They are very small sample sizes compared to the number of people that will actually vote. I could stand outside of a McDonald's and poll people.

I predict a very close popular vote with Obama barely leading there. But because I think he'll take Ohio and PA, the EC vote won't be as close. I think he wins with 290+ EC votes, and once PA and OH are called it'll be just about over.

QUOTE (CrimsonWeltall @ Nov 5, 2012 -> 11:41 AM) Yeah.

We rented the kids a couple movies and told them to leave us alone on Saturday. Caught up on Homeland. In my opinion, probably the best show on TV right now. I see more Emmys for Claire Danes and Damien Lewis. Walking Dead really brought it last night.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 2, 2012 -> 01:38 PM) I think the Sox would be doing handstands in joy if somebody would take Dunn and his contract off the Sox hands. Do you all at least agree on that? No. If the Sox could trade Dunn and get something worthwhile in return, that would be fine. But to just dump him? No.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 2, 2012 -> 01:27 PM) Sometimes there is no one to blame. A slow footed guy probably doesn't score much when they walk, no matter what team they play for. Unless Adam (or any runner) makes a mistake on the basepads and gets himself out, there's always someone to blame. Blame might be a strong word, but it's accurate. How many times did the Sox have the bases loaded or a runner in scoring position and not come away with a run? If Adam Dunn gets on base because the pitcher pitched around him, it is up to the guy(s) behind him to bring him home. If Konerko pops out to third and Rios strikes out to end the inning, that's not Dunn's fault. To say no one is to blame is shortsighted. If you say no one is to blame then there is no problem, right? There's always room for improvement, especially when the team can't advance the base runners.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 2, 2012 -> 10:22 AM) That's part of the point. A leadoff walk to Rickey Henderson is far more damaging than a leadoff walk to Paul Konerko despite what a couple people on this board think. I love home runs and believe the Sox have to hit home runs to be successful. But, I don't think Dunn should bat 3rd. I know the Sox will have him on the roster for 2 more years, and think they will be far more productive moving him down. His walks haven't translated to runs during his career and as he gets older chances of that changing are shrinking. Again, walks aren't a bad thing, but for Adam Dunn, they aren't as great as some make them out to be. I do realize they are better than outs. Using an example from our team, of course you'd rather see De Aza on base to lead off an inning than Dunn because De Aza can steal and at a minimum aggravate the pitcher. I suppose you would even want to see Beckham or Alexei on base purely because of the speed of the runner. So where would be a good spot for Dunn to hit? I'm not being sarcastic here, but if he's batting 5th or even 6th, you're relying on him and his low BA to drive in the guys who have gotten on base.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 2, 2012 -> 09:59 AM) Frank wouldn't have been the hitter he was if he didn't take as many walks. I doubt you could say the same about Dunn. Once again, I didn't say walks were useless, but it Adam Dunn's case, they aren't as valuable as guys who actually have the ability to score a lot of runs. Funny you mentioned front office. I actually read an article where someone in some teams' front office was discussing this very subject and had the same view I have a few years ago. The player they were talking about was different. It was Jim Thome. I see your argument, but once Adam Dunn gets on base via a walk what can he do to get home other than wait for the hitters behind him to drive him home? He's not a base stealer. Many power hitters are not base stealers. You could put Rios in the 3-spot, but he's not going to get on base as much via the walk as Dunn. He may get on more often by getting a base hit, but he and Konerko are the guys that are responsible for getting the guys on base home. You put Dunn at #5, and now you are relying on a guy with a .210 average to bring home the guys on base. Now if you're talking about taking Dunn out of the equation all together (trade), you're losing a ton of power from the lineup. And I may tend to agree that Dunn is not worth $15 million, but the Sox (or any team for that matter) would be hard pressed to find a guy who can hit 40+ HRs in a season for less than that. You want a guy who can hit .270+ and smack 40+ HRs? Be prepared to shell out a lot more than $15 million.

THere's nothing wrong with sending a card. However, whst is your relationship with the car dealer? Is he a good friend or just an aquaintance? For a friend I would definitely recommend buying him a few beers. I suppose the card would be adequate otherwise, but a few beers or a gift card for dinner would be even better...that could lead to even more free stuff in the future.

On my DVR: Shows we watch with the kids: The Simpsons Family Guy The Cleveland Show American Dad Shows my wife and I watch together: The Good Wife Homeland Copper The Walking Dead Revolution Last Resort (haven't started it yet) 666 Park (haven't started it yet) Vegas (haven't started it yet) American Horror Story The Mindy Project Modern Family The League Person of Interest Shows I watch Fringe Grimm Restaurant Impossible Restaurant Stakeout Needless to say, there's not enough time to watch everything. We need to have a weekend where we can get caught up on shows.

Outstanding. Great to have Peavy back for multiple years at that $. Let's hope Floyd is more good Gavin next year.

Ah, beer. I think fall and winter make up the best time of the year for beer. I try to sample as many Oktoberfests and Pumpkin beers I can find. One of the best was Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale, but I haven't been able to find it this year. Otherwise, Sam Adams' Octoberfest and Harvest Pumpkin are very good. Some winter beers are showing up now. Again, Sam Adams makes a good Winter Lager. Their 12-pack sampler always pleases with the Old Fezziwig, Holiday Porter, and the devilishly good Chocolate Bock.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 29, 2012 -> 11:47 AM) Am I the only one here who would pick up Youk's option? I like Youk, but the option is just too much for a guy who is aging, starting to fall apart, and is now a question mark. $5 or $6 million, I'd say it's a no brainer. But as it is, I think it's too much of a risk for a team with a limited payroll and a big chunk of it already committed.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 19, 2012 -> 02:48 PM) No asterisk, however unlike you I don't think it's good strategy to strive to be the 7th best team in the league going forward. I doubt anyone is saying let's shoot for 7th best every year. What Dick (and many others here) is saying is that the Tigers (the 7th best team in the AL) going to the World Series is proof that anything can happen in the playoffs. The fact of the matter is that the AL Central is not a strong division. Typically, there are couple teams better than the best team from the AL Central. Had the Sox been the 7th best team in the AL, they could have been in the position the Tigers are in right now. Harping on the fact that the Sox were the 8th best team in the AL is useless. That's not what mattered. What mattered was that the Sox couldn't hold the division at the end. But throughout the season, the Sox played some good baseball and beat some good teams. They ended up falling short because they had trouble beating teams within their own division. The goal for teams going into the season is to make it to the playoffs. What matters first is winning the division, and that's what teams strive for from day one. If the Sox win the division next year (or any year for that matter), being the best in the AL or the 3rd best or the 7th best is secondary.

I'm not sure the lower ticket prices point towards a significantly lower payroll. I still imagine a payroll similar to last year's, but I certainly don't expect them to add much. I could see Peavy and AJ returning on multi-year deals. I still doubt Youk's option will be picked up, and I don't expect him to sign for much less. As far as Rios and/or Dunn being traded? I doubt it, but if one were to be traded, I'd expect it to be Rios.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Oct 18, 2012 -> 01:20 PM) It's all good (news). Even dropping parking from 23 to 20 is smart. You flip them a 20 dollar bill; what's with the extra 3 bucks? Now the Sox should publicize all this A LOT. Forget marketing slogans; just talk about prices; even compare them to Cubs prices if they have to, but get the word out. Maybe even a mass mailing to anybody who has ever bought a ticket that they have on file. It should be all over their webpage as well all offseason. They should definitely start publicizing the lower prices now. Those couple of bucks here and there make a difference.