Rex Hudler

I gotta figure Smith is headed for Charlotte. I don't think they would have added him to the 40-man if they thought they might be sending him back to Bham. Anything could happen, but my guess is he is headed to Charlotte.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jan 20, 2005 -> 03:42 PM) I haven't seen Brandon pitch personally, but those who have, and that includes his teammates on here, have never described his stuff as average. There are people on here who have seen him on almost a daily basis, and people who have seen him pitch once, and I have never heard that assessment FWIW. I've seen him pitch a few times. While I wouldn't call his stuff average, it isn't necessarily dominating either. He command and ability to pound the strike zone are dominating, however. The concerns I had were that I thought he pitched too much in a pattern, which some hitters picked up on. That is easy to fix and I have no doubt he would have fixed it with a longer stint in AA. His fastball can be hittable at times as well. He sits in the 89-91 range, getting up to 92-93 on occasion. When he spots it, it is very good. Sometimes he seemed to be content with just getting ahead, not locating the fastball as well early in the count. That could be a lack of concentration or just mistakes, I don't know. His changeup could also use some improvement, but there aren't many AA pitchers you wouldn't say that about. It wasn't bad, by any means and at times was very good. Either way, those "problems" are easily fixable. If Brandon can continue to locate and throw strikes, he'll be a succesful big league pitcher. I did find it funny that your friend knew his own tendencies. I know it is not as easy as just saying it, but if he knows his weaknesses, he better be able to change them or AA is as far as he will ever go.

Is Becker still in the Sox org? My guess is he is done. Biko has a nice stroke, but I doubt he will get the opportunity to play every day in Charlotte. He certainly didn't last year and that hurt him. I do think he could hit AAA pitching, but not with enough authority to move beyond that level. Martel is an organizational role player and that is it. He is generally a reserve OF. He got playing time last year in Bham due to injuries. He played well, but he'll get lost in the see of Anderson, Sweeney, Rogowski, Spidale and minor league free agents the Sox may sign (they have already signed Tony Alvarez, who will end up in Charlotte). Guys you COULD see back in Birmingham this year are Spidale, Heath Phillips, Corwin Malone (likely), even possibly Bullard, although I'd hope he will make it in Charlotte's bullpen. With the Sox rotation and bullpen pretty close to set, Charlotte's staff will be crowded.

The word I got recently is that the Sox will continue to play Rogo in LF, at least for now.

Was there ever any doubt??

QUOTE(winodj @ Jan 21, 2005 -> 12:07 AM) So why not change Title IX? When you consider what Michigan State got out of Mateen Cleaves in comparison to what Mateen got out of Michigan State? I'd say he came out ahead. I think it makes sense to have money making programs pay all their players evenly with a revenue sharing policy. If the school gets 4 million for a bowl, whatever the net profit is to the school oughta be shared by the students who got them to the bowl game. MSU is a great example to me of why players oughta get some payments for what they provide the program. In the last ten years, the Athletic Department has cashed in huge. And not just from gate receipts, sportsgear, ads and concessions. When Michigan State makes a bowl, the school gets a lot of cash from Alumni. When MSU makes the Final Four, donations go way up. The hockey team breaks even and the Womens basketball team is close. Its partially the fruit of the AD and Coaches labor. They get rewarded with better contracts and bonuses. Why shouldn't the players be rewarded as well? Title IX is a Supreme Court ruling. It can't be changed. They schools DO share revenue. They build better facilities. They hire or keep great coaches the best they can. They attract recruits with all of the glitz and glamour. The athletes at MSU have come out just fine. Only the dumbassed point guard who left early only to get cut from the NBA got hurt and that was his own fault. I can't even remember his name, which seems fitting. Again, the players are rewarded with conditions normal students do not have access to. They get a quality education for free, they get better opportunities once they graduate even if they are not able to play professionally. They get better treatment while they are in school. They get first class meals. Great living arrangements. Free tutoring. I could go on and on. So they don't get money. Big deal. If they want that, then skip right to the professional ranks. If they want to go to college, then get an education, play for the name on the front of their jersey, not the one on their back. They have an option.

QUOTE(winodj @ Jan 20, 2005 -> 01:18 AM) I'm totally serious. Cap the profit sharing at 25% of net profits to the program, and have it distributed it to athletes who play in the sports that make money. It means most basketball players would get paid (which might help stem the tide of HS draftees) but most football players won't. Most football teams in NCAA Division 1-A break about even. There are serious flaws here..... First of all, Title IX makes it illegal to differentiate between the sports. If athletes are paid, all varsity athletes would have to be paid and paid the same. You cannot factor the "profitability of the football program" vs. that of another sport. Money goes to the athletic department as a whole. Secondly, much of the money schools make are not from "exploitation of athletes". Yes, they make money off of their licensing programs, but they make their money predominantly off of conference TV contracts, ticket sales and donations from boosters. If you make the players into "professionals" by paying them, I guarantee you the booster revenue would drop. College athletics are a big business. But they will thrive regardless of who the athletes are. Baseball in the SEC and Big 12 Conferences thrive even though many of the best HS players sign professional contracts. College basketball has continued to thrive despite players jumping to the NBA early. The players that got to major universities have it great. They have it much better than the general student population. College athletics will thrive regardless of which players are there. There is no real exploitation going on here. I don't agree with everything the NCAA says or does, but I just don't see any justification to pay players beyond what they are already getting. They have it pretty good while in school and they make a good enough name for themselves that even if they do not make it professionally, they have an advantage based on the their name and the booster contacts they have met in terms of getting a job.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Jan 19, 2005 -> 11:18 PM) Opening Pandora's Box. Would every varsity athlete receive the same pay? Regardless of sport, regardless of skill? QBs get $1,500 per semester, tennis players $150? Would colleges be allowed to set their own wage scale? Perhaps Oklahoma is offering $1,000 per semester and Michigan only $750. If a kid is injured does he lose his pay? If you think the system is messed up now, wait until this is implimented. The current rules are too strict and non sensical. If you are on a band scholarship and want to play in a wedding band for pay, no problem, keep the pay and the scholarship. If you are a varsity golfer and want to work at a golf course for spending money, you lose. There are problems, but it could be a lot worse. Actually a golfer can work at a golf course, as long as it is not during his college season. He just can't play in professional tournaments or win money playing.

QUOTE(winodj @ Jan 19, 2005 -> 07:31 PM) Here's a question for you. The Michigan State band goes to a bowl game (mostly in theory) with the football team. When they travel, they work less but miss the same amount of school, if there is school to be missed. They get a sometimes rather large per diem. Do college players get that for road trips? When I was in college and we traveled, we got daily meal money. If it was a long trip, they gave you an envelope with the cash in it for the whole trip.

QUOTE(AssHatSoxFan @ Jan 19, 2005 -> 05:15 AM) players get a stipend in addition to tuition so they are in a sense getting paid but its more along the lines to help them out nothing extravagent here but it is more at other schools i believe What stipend are you referring to?

QUOTE(Duke Of Chicago @ Jan 19, 2005 -> 04:18 AM) Im going to put this into perspective here: Is it fair that 100's of thousands of lets say , Dee Brown Jerseys have been sold and he has not made a penny. I think there is something morraly wrong with the system. I don't think it is that simple. Universities provide educational opportunities. They provide housing, books, meals, etc. If a player qualifies for a Pell Grant, he can get that money and use it. Universities also provide facilities for athletes that are unlike any other on campus. They have lounges with big screen tv's, posh locker room facilities, training table, access to tutors at no cost. Many have separate housing. There are many benefits to being an athlete that other students do not have. Some athletes get the opportunity for an education they would not get otherwise if they could not dribble a basketball. Many times they would not even get into a school without that ability. Athletes have a support system unlike any available to regular students. They get opportunities to compete at a high level and hone their skills to potentially get paid to play. You make it sound like athletes are so poor that they do nothing but go to class, to practice and immediately back to their dorm room because they have zero money to spend. In all my experiences and from every one I have ever known, I would say that would be a rare circumstance. If an athlete does things right and doesn't piss away his/her opportunity, they walk away as a better person and with an education. If they piss it away, that is their own fault because the opportunites are there. Very few athletes ever go on to play professionally. Very few when taking in all sports make the university money, much of what is needed to pay for non-revenue sports. I don't see, after looking at the big picture, it would make much sense to pay a swimmer or a golfer or a wrestler, which you would have to pay if you paid the others.

When you play the new game (or the old one for that matter), turn off the strike zone, hot/cold zones and pitch cursor..... it makes it more realistic. Harder, but better after you get used to it.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Jan 19, 2005 -> 12:12 AM) They need to have a system like they have in the NBA slotting amounts to be paid by the order in which guys are drafted. It would have to be something creative considering there are so many rounds, but make a maximum amount of bonus for anyone drafted in the 2nd round or later, less than the bonus given the last player in the first round. Also let teams trade their picks. This will end this ridiculousness of holding out. It will allow teams to budget their money. It will end the practice of teams having to draft by signability rather than ability. It will free up more money for players who have established themselves. MLB has given teams "guidelines" along the line of what you are talking about and teams try and stay within them. If they do not, then they have to explain to MLB why they went outside of them. I don't think there are any real penalties if they go outside the guidelines, but they are trying.......

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Jan 19, 2005 -> 12:23 AM) What part about "IF illinois gets there" don't you understand? I just found it ironic they are both on the same day. Nowhere have i EVER said that illinois would win the national championship, OR make the final four. Jesus. I understand IF very well. IF a pitcher gets 9 more outs after the sixth inning without allowing a hit, he'll get that no-hitter.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Jan 18, 2005 -> 11:23 PM) They fall on the same day, which sucks because i'll only be at one or the other. I hope it's the latter, but either way i'm going to be at one hell of a game (assuming i can get final four tix as well IF illinois gets there). Kinda odd how this "worked out" for me. Krush, are you the kind of guy that goes around telling all his friends that a pitcher has a no-hitter going in the 7th inning? I'm guessing so. lol

QUOTE(False Alarm @ Jan 18, 2005 -> 07:14 PM) i wanna preface this by saying i hate boras as much as the next guy, and it tickles me that bobby hill (and guys like him) flopped. but the odds of making it to the majors, even for a guy like jared weaver, aren't that good. i think it's something like 30 to 40% of first-round picks who make it, and the percentage drops off steeply in future rounds. even if he does make it, jared weaver is no mark prior (they're not even sure he's jeff weaver), and there's no guarantee at all that he'll be the type of guy who has a huge payday when he finally hits free agency. and, of course, pitchers are known to flame out due to injury pretty often. so, considering all those things, it's understandable that boras and his client, knowing his stock may never be higher, would wanna get that financial security while they can. where i think boras is really f***ing these kids over is in the sense that they're baseball players--they wanna play ball. these types of negotiations hurt their development significantly and thus, as someone said earlier, their chances for success at the thing they presumably love. Actually, something like 85-90% of all first rounders make the big leagues. Not that many stick, but most make it. My problem is that agents have gotten involved and players now get huge dollars before they have proven s***. It seems as many fail to pan out as those that do.

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Jan 18, 2005 -> 11:23 PM) They fall on the same day, which sucks because i'll only be at one or the other. I hope it's the latter, but either way i'm going to be at one hell of a game (assuming i can get final four tix as well IF illinois gets there). Kinda odd how this "worked out" for me. Don't you think you are counting your chickens before they are hatched?? Illinois is very good and they may well be there, but I think it is a bit premature to be posting your Final Four plans.

I agree. I think it is one of the, if not the best show on TV right now. I feel like a big baby every week when my eyes start to well up. Haven't gotten to the point of tears yet, but seem to be on the brink every week. The only thing I would have done differently last week is not rebuild there. Get them some land somewhere else rather than build two nicely decorated homes in the middle of East Central LA. I mean the guy got shot less than a block away. Just wonder if they will have any problems with living in that area with a house full of plasmas and nice stuff.

QUOTE(Cali @ Jan 18, 2005 -> 06:13 AM) I never watch the show, because it's reality crap. But how bad can these peoples lives be? The OWN a home. That's not a easy accomplishment. How bout Extreme Makeover Apartment Edition. You take the $$$ you would have used to renovate a house, and give it to a family that's stuck in a s***ty apartment and they get to use it as a down payment for their own house. Sorry, but that may have been the dumbest post I have seen on here. Watch the show a few times and you will see how bad things can get.

Did anyone see this show tonight? They rebuilt the home of a former Cal State Fullerton Basketball player Rodney Anderson, who was shot in a case of mistaken identity. It was a pretty moving story.

QUOTE(winodj @ Jan 17, 2005 -> 01:51 AM) When the bigger goal is more of the same mistakes, someone oughta get fired. In my company - if the CEO were to get elected, would that mean that everyone who stayed on the job would get to keep theirs regardless of what mistakes they made? If so, I wanna work there. So a war is like your company? Give me a break. They could be making command changes or strategy changes that we don't even know about. I love it how people are so assumptive.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Jan 16, 2005 -> 06:09 PM) True, he was probably just thinking, "Geez, we already did the accounting on election day, and now they'll want a reaccounting in Florida again..." If you're saying this quote is being taken out of context, you should at least say how it's being misinterpreted. Here's the full Q&A. It seems pretty plain to me. I read it........ still have no problem with it. In a nutshell, he says the elections gave an accountability for the bigger picture, but that things happen in a war that cannot be expected. He isn't going to go "firing" people or blaming people for mistakes or unexpected results. You keep your eye on the bigger goal and adjust. So what!

I'm not much of an NFL guy, nor a draft guru so I won't embarass myself with aan attempt at rankings. But I will add that as much as I like Carnall Williams, I have a hunch that Ronnie Brown will be a better NFL back. Time will tell I guess, because both have good speed and power. Williams is more elusive, but Brown catches better. Maybe its a tossup, but its a hunch I have.

I think it is quite simple how someone can not be offended by those comments. Some people don't look at one simple quote and automatically assume its interpretation without seeing the whole interview and other comments that may or may not have been made around it. I read that and was not bothered at all. The article was not printed as a Q&A where you could get a better feel for the line of questioning and his answers. Words in print are way too easy to be taken out of context or even interpreted incorrectly. It is real easy to cherry pick a quote here or a quote there to satisfy one's agenda. It happens everyday on both sides of the political spectrum. I, as well as at least some others I assume, prefer to look at bigger pictures rather than isolating one comment here or one day there. Bush will eventually be judged on many fronts, including Iraq. Some can deal with that judgement coming later rather than having to judge him on a daily basis. I am not saying you are wrong in your views, just that there are other ways of looking at things as well, partisanship aside.

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Jan 16, 2005 -> 04:28 PM) We'll see. As Bilas and O'Brien were saying, the selection committee would really see us as an 8-6 team rather than a 7-7 team at the moment (the Charlotte game). If we make the tourney somehow, I think Davis will still be here. Greasy, I really think it will take more than that, but I still don't see us ending up with a good enough record to get there. IU's brass will have to decide at the end of the season whether to commit an additional $300,000 to Davis. I just can't see that helping him if they are on the fence at all.