ptatc

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 31, 2015 -> 11:13 AM) One player he had was Soto. He pinch hit a grand total of 4 times. He DHd 3 games. Most managers will not use the backup catcher in that role. The sox would have the pitcher hitting in that scenario which is even a worse idea than not platooning.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 31, 2015 -> 11:10 AM) Looking back on this trade, I still think we got the best return, but I am growing concerned that Frazier may put up 2013-like numbers for us. Still better than what they had, if only for defense.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 30, 2015 -> 10:36 PM) Better...but "better enough"? They're seemingly close to being competitive...but do you honestly believe without adding any more players they have a better than 5-10% chance at making the playoffs? I'm of the school of thought, because of 2017 offering almost no free agent solutions (Carlos Gomez isn't even better the Eaton and is declining performance-wise)...that if there was ANY time to go for it, it's going to be right now. Otherwise, you're punting the football back to 2018, because you're going to need time for guys like Tim Anderson and Fulmer to acclimate in 2017. You don't have Montas, so that means Fulmer and eventually Adams/Guerrero need to make a big impact. And, it's also a little bit of the KW problem in the last half of his reign, the minor league system is no longer abundant enough that you can put enough secondary pieces together to pull off a huge trade...and/or you aren't willing to sacrifice one of your top 2-3 prospects. Better enough for what? Does it matter? The team doesn't have to "go for it" each year. As long as the team improves without damaging the future, it will have a consistently winning team. They may not make the playoffs with the team this year but with improvement this year and the next, they will start a pattern of consistency they need. I'm not saying they shouldn't add another piece this year. If they can add another piece without hurting the future, they should. However, if the cost to acquire that piece hurts outweighs the benefits for the future, they shouldn't. They don't have to take the attitude that they must make the playoffs this year and every year. If they need to wait a year to start to build a consistent winner, that's what they should do.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 30, 2015 -> 09:47 PM) 2017 was always going to be the key year after most of last season's acquisitions fizzled out or under-performed badly. They re-opened that window again and went all-in, so of course the thinking has changed (once again). Now, they THEORETICALLY can compete with the current roster, but you can also make an argument for every single team in the AL with that line of thinking (compared to the NL, where you can eliminate 5-6 teams instantly). And they do have a current two-year window to compete (again), simply because of the players who will be leaving after 2017. We also don't have the luxury of knowing how Semien would have performed if given more time (compared to what Lawrie will do, and the fact he will have to be replaced). They would also be a lot better off having Bassitt or Montas as insurance for a hole in the rotation than Jacob Turner or Beck, but we'll find out how long they can go without having to use another starting pitcher. Right now, it's not looking particularly optimistic in terms of our position prospects unless Trey M., Engel, May and Hawkins make a lot more progress. We still don't have a catching solution in sight. The best-case scenario is that Fulmer and Anderson are both Rookie of the Year candidates in 2017 and 100% experienced and even better in 2018, like we expect that same progression from Rodon to take place this year. Quite obviously, Upton/Cespedes (Gordon to a lesser extent) would ALSO be the bridge to a new reloading in 2018...if it happens. Again, why do they have to be all in? The team is better. They dont have a two year window, it became longer. They upgraded the team while creating a bridge to the players you mentioned are ready. These moves created a now without hurting the future. I don't see where any of these moves shorten any window.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Dec 30, 2015 -> 06:36 PM) I just have a really hard time believing that the Sox won't do anything else now considering that they've already acquired Frazier and Lawrie. Those trades are meaningless and pointless if the Sox don't add anyone else. Why upgrade two positions when at least one more substantial upgrade is necessary to turn the team from a "wildcard hopeful" into a "legit contender"? The bottom line, in my opinion, is that Hahn is not done making moves and something else will be done. I don't agree with the logic that upgrading two two positions is pointless. He made the team better without sacrificing the future. It looks like he is trying to add another piece at the right price. So far he hasn't hurt the team with any long term moves. Signing a free agent to a 5-6 year deal is something that could hurt the team in the long term by tying up a large salary number. If he does nothing else, he's made the team better at positions where the team has no prospects ready for a couple of years.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Dec 29, 2015 -> 02:03 PM) Ya, I think Kenny's butt still stings from that one. There is so much posturing going on between KC/Sox/Gordon, I have no idea what to believe. Yeah, it sounds like there is very little doubt that he is staying in KC. He is just using other teams to drive up offers and get KCs best offer. Growing up in that area, KC is the easiest MLB place to get to. This sounds like a case where money really isn't the most important factor, unless it's a significanr difference.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 29, 2015 -> 01:01 AM) Fans didn't love Todd Frazier because of his numbers, though his numbers were good enough. They loved him for his spirit. To fans, Frazier was not a line item on a balance sheet. He wasn't a clean set of digits all in a row, given meaning by odd acronyms such as WAR and OPS and the delightful-sounding BABIP. Fans here didn't quantify Frazier or study him like he was an equation or mine his statistics for undiscovered lodes of "value''. They just enjoyed him. On and off the field. He gave them a reason to smile. And go to the ballpark. ... Todd Frazier brought fans in, because they thought they knew him and they liked what they thought they knew. Ditto Brandon Phillips and Jay Bruce. Frazier wasn't numbers. Frazier was family. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/col...-fans/77627880/ This underlines the fact that baseball really does need a cap to have all teams remain competitive not just the most money wins. However there needs to be a floor as well to keep owners honest and not just grab for more profit at the expense of the team.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 01:14 PM) She can't be a random person. How else would she have the force innately? I can't remember if it was in the movie but in the book, Kylo Ren says " it iS you" when the saber flies into her hand instead of his. So she is an important part of his past or he knows of her.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Dec 28, 2015 -> 08:28 AM) There is a line in the trailer (which was NOT in the movie) where Luke says, "The force is strong in my family. My father had it. I have it. My sister has it. You have that power too." The only thing I can figure is that this is a line from the beginning of Episode 8 spoken by Luke to Rey. Either that or there's a new character we haven't seen yet. That's right. I forgot about that from the trailer, curiouser and curiouser.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 09:34 PM) PTATC! Definitely NOT a proctologist. However it's not healthy to suppress bodily functions, man.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 05:54 PM) ptatc , do you know if the test is random or not?? From the post by Balta earlier, it looks like they do a baseline test at the beginning of every year and then random tests during the year. If they find something abnormal they do more extensive testing.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 05:06 PM) Does anyone want a translation for what an IRMS measurement means in English? It's not common knowledge?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 04:44 PM) This is what I got with a quick googling and this is all I know about that you're able to do; baseline testing plus isotopic measurements. If you know of another technique or you know how a setup could fool the IRMS measurement I'd be interested to hear it. Excellent. I didn't think they were doing it. This is really all they can do at this point.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 04:09 PM) What additional things does MLB need to test for? Did they not start the blood testing/tracking a couple years ago that was the olympic standard? I didn't think that they started the blood baseline testing. I thought they just added blood testing for HGH. If they did add the blood baseline testing, then that's all they can do at this point with the current technology. If they just added the blood testing for HGH, they are still testing for specific PEDs and can get fooled by new designer PEDs they do know to look for.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 11:51 AM) but not in pro fights, how bout pro wrestling and now in the world of the ufc. Very true. This is why you expect them to have brain damage issues. Occupational hazzard.

QUOTE (flavum @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 01:52 PM) Not sure what to believe when it comes to PEDs, but I hope with the CBA expiring next December they get even tougher with penalties. First offense, one year. Second offense, lifetime ban. Until they change the testing requirements, it really won't matter. I'm sure there are many players taking untestable PEDs. Unless someone rats them out, no one will know.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 22, 2015 -> 08:57 AM) Found the article I read on my phone. This makes so much more sense: http://www.vox.com/2015/12/21/10634568/sta...lic-first-order Thanks for this. Even reading the books leading up to this movie didn't give a clear description of this.

QUOTE (LDF @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 11:27 AM) interesting thing there. i have no medical background, but since my godson got hurt and was in the ucla medical center for a possible link of that, i been reading. i know, i am nothing but a snoop. but i think from a lame man term it also has a little thing to a control violence.... very much like what is called conditioning. this was done with animals to be conditions for violence.... but what ever happen to those creatures after the treatment / experiment was done?? how was the creature in later life??? an unknown element was talked about with the great joe lewis, but no one was able to distinguish it or call it or just said he broke down.... this is me and my disclaimer is i do not know crap. Boxing is a totally different scenario. They get hit with no protection. It has improved with mandatory headgear in amatuer bouts.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 12:56 AM) Peyton "allegedly" did it after that serious neck surgery though. Not gonna diminish his legacy whatsoever though. HGH in football is nothing like baseball. Plenty of guys are in the Football Hall of Fame who took PEDs. Hell, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl a couple of years ago with half their players roided up. I'd be more nervous if I were Ryan Howard and Ryan Zimmerman if it's true. Football and track are the two sports that really lend themselves to PEDs. They are always going to come up with new designer PEDs that no one knows to test for. The IOC has come up with a new baseline test that is the most promising. It tests for any changes, regardless of the source. i still think due to the PEDs in the NFL, the CTE and concussion issue has more to do with the combination with the PEDs than contact alone.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Dec 27, 2015 -> 12:11 AM) Verily. Why the lack of NBAers anytime something like this comes around? The sport of basketball doesn't really lend itself to needing the PEDs. They don't need the pure strength of an NFL linemean. They don't need the pure speed and distance of a 100, 200 meter runner. They don't need the endurance of a cyclist. They don't need the strength to hit a ball 400 feet for homeruns. It may help with some performance but nothing real specific in basketball.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 20, 2015 -> 03:50 PM) You say Finn isn't force sensitive and had no sword training yet you're cool with Rey handling a lightsaber like a pro because you assume Luke trained her when she was 6 years old? You're making an awful lot of assumptions here, we know next to nothing about these characters. Finn could easily be force sensitive or have sword training, we see him go toe to toe with another stormtrooper in melee combat, why assume that Finn, over the course of the past 15 years hasn't undergone any melee combat training? In the book, they imply Finn uses the force unintentionally in a few instances.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 18, 2015 -> 11:05 PM) I believe her mother is named Bey a pilot from red squadron. Dang it. I had it wrong. Bey the rebel pilot was Poe Dameron s mother. Never mind the theory..

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Dec 18, 2015 -> 08:05 AM) Yeah, but for all intents and purposes he's Jacen. I wonder if we'll get a flashback to Mara Jade as Rey's mother - it'd explain both why Luke vanished and why Rey is even more powerful. Also HAN WHY DID YOU GO ON THE f***ING BRIDGE. I believe her mother is named Bey a pilot from red squadron.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Dec 18, 2015 -> 07:09 AM) I thought we were getting the Solo twins, for all intents and purposes we got Jacen Solo. But Leia would have said something at that point, so I'm going with Luke's daughter. This is exactly what I thought. I was watching it thinking Jacen and Jaina. But by the end I thought more Luke daughter, especially with Kylo Ren being Ben and the fact that her mother was a pilot in red squadron during the battle for endor.

awesome awesome AWESOME It was a really good story that will lead to a good series. I agree the script was very well done.