Jake

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 12:26 PM) Google confirms (well, earlier today), that they've purchased Waze, the social mapping app. I really hope this doesn't clutter up Google Maps with a bunch of social media s***. Of the Mapping apps, since Google re-released an up to date app on iOS, it's been untouchable. It's clean, it works, it has navigation features (unlike the version that existed prior to Apple Maps), and I really hope they don't clutter it up with all this Waze bulls***. For those of you who don't know what Waze is, it's essentially a social media based mapping application, which while it has some cool social featuers, such as designating a "speed trap" with a police icon, it tends to be a clusterf*** of shared information. It also encourages active engagement of your maps app while driving, which is another thing I don't like about it. I hope Google bought them just to kill them...I hope they don't integrate 90% of this s***. It seems like many folks suspect they bought it to keep it away from Apple and aren't eager to integrate too much from it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 12:30 PM) I certainly wouldn't bench him, but this might well be a situation where a platoon or two really would work well for the Sox. There already is one. Keppinger's been one of our best hitters over the past few weeks.

Morel is going to have to prove a lot to get another call-up if I'm in charge. He and Gillaspie probably do have similar ceilings, but Gillaspie hasn't had a ton of MLB ABs like Morel. Morel didn't look good in the MLB, short of part of one month. There isn't a spot for him for now and I just don't see one opening up.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 08:25 AM) You most certainly do pay to stream the media. You don't pay for access to the network. If PSN is anything like the original, the 13 cents you pay per day for Xbox Live will be well worth it. Xbox Live's interface is great looking and intuitive. PSN is a jumbled wasteland of bad design. I wouldn't be surprised to see Xbox drop the price and launch first. They appear to be far more ready for launch. The problem is that they're making you pay for Kinect and people don't understand it and are scared of change. You can spin the math however you want, but I'm required to pay a subscription to a device I already paid $500 up front for, and that's assuming I can afford to buy a year subscription as opposed to a month after forking over $500. If I'm going to have it 7 years like my old XBOX, I'm basically forced to pay for it it all over again via the XBL subscription. If I have PS4, I'll use the home entertainment features for free every day while probably not combining 12 months of multiplayer subscriptions over the life of the device. Oh, and I can buy used games. For the way I use it, which is casual gaming and all-in-one media, I see the PS4 as a relative equal functionally (apps are apps) and one that will cost me about half as much or better to own.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 11:47 PM) A victim of the shift? I don't think so, at least not entirely. His early season struggles seemed to be because he had a higher ground ball rate and those are almost always sucked up by the shift, but now his batted ball numbers are at career averages while his BABIP is .070-.100 lower than it has ever been, even at his worst. His batted ball numbers look pretty much exactly like all of his non-White Sox seasons, EXCEPT the BABIP is lower. Doesn't make sense to me.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 11:42 PM) Of course you should have to pay to stream media. It's not a crazy idea to pay a minimal fee to access a network either. Ideally, you'll have the option to access media through apps or integration with your cable provider. That's why I said its going to be interesting to see what type of arrangement Microsoft has with Sky. PS4 says I don't have to pay to stream media. Roku says I don't have to pay to stream media. Smart TVs say I don't have to pay to do this. Why is it that only XBOX thinks it is appropriate for me to pay to use services I'm already paying somebody else to use?

Dunn's BABIP has been unsustainably low. Looks like his luck is starting to turn, as none of his other batted ball statistics really could explain why his BABIP was so low. Good for him.

I'd like some more elaboration on how much better of a media center XBOX One is compared to PS4. I find it to be a slap in my f***ing face that I not only have to pay Netflix to watch Netflix on my XBOX, but also XBOX. Likewise with Hulu, HBO Go, etc. I shouldn't have to pay to access these services. I could understand paying for online gaming, but not paying for online streaming services. Sometimes I want to play games online, sometimes I want to play Madden franchise mode by myself for a month. I like having some choice about that.

What a bad call. That can change the outcome of a game. Not acceptable.

I cannot think of a good relief pitcher that is as inefficient as Jesse Crain.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 11:03 PM) Has Dunn fingered uit out? Looking darn good I don't know if I'll ever be able to give an affirmative to that question, but he's not horribad at this point. The first 25 days or so of the season are far behind him, even if he isn't back to old Dunn just yet.

Been a fun night so far. I love me some Dunn when he's hot.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 08:51 PM) Whoa Terrible move. Apparently was bumping heads w/ Hollinger and the FO. He said he was hardly even spoken to about an extension or even given clarity on whether he will be their coach.

Apple will have to be more customizable if they want to keep their market share or start digging into Android's. There will always be people that will buy Apple, but right now they are still living on the reputation of the first gen iPhones. More and more people, myself included, have realized that the new iPhones are just by and by inferior. The nice thing about customizability...it is optional. Your custom can be just a list of apps if you like it that way. Android devices can be every bit as intuitive and simple while killing the current iPhones on hardware. The original iPhone was the most customizable, the most potentially confusing thing ever when it was released; there had never been anything like it. They have gone from the most customizable, most complex to the least customizable, least complex. That isn't "the Apple mindset," that is stagnation. And jailbreaking isn't a real solution for customization. I can do most of what I could do on a jailbroken phone on any maker's version of Android and not be on my own when it comes to getting service or software help. Like chw42 said, they actually have to be innovative. I remember watching a Steve Jobs keynote where he said "Apple isn't always the first to the party" but they always do it best when they get there. Now they are not the first and they do not do it best. They have to innovate or they'll be stuck with people like my parents that just want the simplest, most familiar device possible...and you can't build a business on people that are about to be on Social Security.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 06:01 PM) These guys are threats now. You have to respect it. You didn't have to respect 90's bigs in that way outside of like 3 of 'em. Fortunately, you no longer have to respect bigs when they are near the basket

There are some holes in his stats, but who cares? Like Caulfield says, at age 19 in A ball if you are the best at ONE thing, that is huge.

Yeah, there are no more players to buy. The savings at a certain point are kind of irrelevant.

Such bulls***, CSN shouldn't take on the game if they can't broadcast it where people can see it.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 03:41 PM) Why is Gillaspie out? One of the guys must have claimed to be a better knuckleball hitter.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 11:18 AM) Great deal by Tampa. Understand what the Bears are doing. Hurts though, I thought he was going to be really good prior to that injury. I hope the Bears are confident his failures last year weren't as a result of him not having his strength fully built up. He pretty much forced our hand by staying home for OTAs. We're lucky to get the 6th rounder because we were on the verge of releasing him IMO

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:17 PM) No it hasn't! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TEBOW UPDATES I'VE MISSED BECAUSE OF THAT MULLET MAN

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:14 PM) Damn, NHL just lost tons of future die-hard fans because they put TWO games on a channel that is IMPOSSIBLE to find and NO ONE has when those people wanted to watch their first games of the year. Probably not, it is more likely since they already alienated those people by making a huge portion of the other playoff games unwatchable for the same reasons. I think getting games on ESPN would be huge, as then ESPN would be forced to push the hell out of it and make people (maybe, you know, kids that don't have solidified sporting preferences) begin to care more about it. If NBCSN can get viewers from fans of all sports, that can help as well...even though I don't get real energized to watch the cycling and racing BS they're pushing.

iOS7 - implementing things Android users have been enjoying for years while changing the look to make it seem like we did more than we actually did.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 03:56 PM) If the whole series was on there, I'd agree. But, I get why they are doing this, what deal they have here, and that this has been the precedent for years. I think the assumed effect of 2 games on NBCSN is greatly exaggerated. People will watch these games if they want to find them. The ratings will still be through the roof, not absolutely plummet in 2 and 3. It's still hilarious that NOW this is an issue for some people. The past 2 rounds, outside a few games, have been NBCSN. It goes back to my last post, where it's for the sake of tuning into the championship series, that makes it an issue for those types of people. FWIW, I consider myself a pretty big fan of hockey (I was a ST holder for the B-N independent team) and a big fan of the Blackhawks (I know what "Dollar Bill" means and watched [away] games on TV since I was a little boy, etc.) and still have been irritated that they put these games on NBCSN. I am also happy for my dissatisfaction about this to result in the NBCSN being more affordable, more widely distributed, etc. If it turns into a hockey channel, I'm perfectly okay with that so long as it is easier to get. For now, I'm pissed that I get stuck with the fuzzy, SD version of games 2 and 3 despite unloading ungodly amounts of money for my cable package and having bought NHL's streaming services for the regular season when I'm away from home. I might have to HDMI my laptop into the TV and stream it in HD, but that's a whole lot of bulls*** to see something that I sincerely believe should be a big deal for everybody. I like how big hockey is to some Chicagoans, but I think the sport could get huge -- but for most folks it's something that has been taking up space on Sportscenter yet never appears on the TV channels they normally watch.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 03:02 PM) If we're "Exceedingly indifferent" about a guy making $3 million as a platoon player/part time starter, then we'll have run out of things to be indifferent about. In the long run, he'll be a guy that produces about $4M per year and it just won't be a determining important factor for the success of our franchise either way, just like most $4M per year deals. It'll be a fair deal.