Balta1701

QUOTE (Brian @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 08:00 AM) I'm sensitive towards other peoples beliefs and feelings, but I don't get why it's an issue now when the Redskins name has been around for over 50 years. If there was an MLB team named the Atlanta N*****s, it might well have existed until the 1970's.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jun 4, 2014 -> 09:25 AM) Seriously. Even if Hawkins is in high A again next year he'll be totally fine. If he can keep up his 26% k rate this year, keep hitting HRs at a good rate, improve his BA and BB the rest of the year then it's a win. Then next year you hope for the big jump that would justify a push into AA. And he'd still be just 21 years old. Hell, if it takes him 4 more years to reach Chicago he'll still be under 25. It's ridiculous how young he is and to have so many people acting like chicken little about him So wait, I just noticed this by reading 2 threads back to back. Hawkins's K rate this year is almost identical to Kris Bryant?

QUOTE (Charlie Haeger's Knuckles @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 07:01 PM) Did Buehrle and Quintana have any roster overlap? Would be interested to see what Jose could have gleaned from Buehrle in regards to TWTW and all that non-statistical bulls***. Any idea that Quintana could somehow have had a better learning curve than what we've seen from him isn't one I'll agree with.

QUOTE (Charlie Haeger's Knuckles @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 06:56 PM) Gordon Beckham has settled nicely into the defense-first category, and we Soxtalkers can't wait to ride his ass out of town. That's in no small part because he's not by any means an excellent 2b, he's been about average for most of his career and was even a tick below average last yera.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 05:17 PM) There's also legitimate concern that Verlander is breaking/has broken down. I think I'd be content if we drafted this kid out of high school and got 10 years in the bigs like what Verlander has given th em.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 05:14 PM) I just think it's kind of sad that all that money that's gone to Dunn could have gone to Mark. Arguably having a stud like him in the rotation would have kept the Sox in contention during this "rebuilding." All Dunn has provided is ... well, I won't go into that again. I'll grant you that Dunn has been way overpaid, but having Mark in the rotation wouldn't have helped keep the Sox in contention. Last year's pitching staff was decently solid as it was and there wasn't room for him; they lost 2 starters during the year with Peavy and Floyd and still put together decent numbers. In 2012 he'd have been useful but Jose Quintana did a pretty good job of filling in the rotation spot that opened when Danks got hurt. You'd have a better case if you said the Sox should have traded away Danks or Floyd and kept Mark instead.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 04:51 PM) It just scares me how all the talk, all the time, is about his big fastball. Makes me think he is going to blow his arm out trying to hit 100+ every time. I wonder if a team grabs him if they will tell him they want him to sit at 95-96 instead, and just use the 100 laser if he really needs it. 100+ for a reliever is fine, but for a starter that worries me. Think about the way Verlander has learned how to pitch if you need an example of where it works. He still has the big fastball but doesn't break it out unless he's in trouble. Take a look at that 2013 velocity chart; he's got games where he has >10 mph spread in his fastball. That's ridiculous.

QUOTE (MAX @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 05:01 PM) In what world is an unkempt beard offensive? In a world where TV cameras focus on these guys faces.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 04:29 PM) He plays 1B in a league with Kris Bryant. Which matters why? Bryant plays 3b?

QUOTE (MAX @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 04:09 PM) I was too, but if I had one thing to communicate, it is that it actually reinforces the idea, wrong or right, that the owners of this franchise are not primarily focused on winning. They are distracted by the most irrelevant details. I cant get behind it at all. I miss chicago blackhawks hockey already. The NBA a few years ago made a point of requiring their players to appear at arenas in dress gear in order to make a more professional presentation to the world. These type of "distractions" are also, to some degree, marketing an image, and thus could motivate a team to make such rules. That said, Mattingly still needs to get rid of those D*mn sideburns.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 02:23 PM) NHL playoffs a showcase for bad goalie contracts: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hock...rticle18949384/ If 2 of the final 4 teams and the teams that have won the last 2 stanley cups have these contracts...then maybe they're a long-term issue, but that's not selling me hard on them being a bad short-term idea.

A decade ago, the same NRA endorsed background checks that is has now declared evil. In a few years they'll be telling me why carrying an assault rifle into starbucks is a vitally important right.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 10:36 AM) If Flowers looks more like this May version for the remainder of the season, and continues to struggle with passed balls/blocking pitches (erratic at best, but still better than AJ, which isn't saying a whole lot)...then I would rather see Kevan Smith or Phegley in 2015. Almost every position other than SS can get better defensively... By the way, what's his percentage of caught stealing/opportunities compared to 2013? League average? Right now he's at 27.9%. I can't easily find the league average but that puts him 11th out of 19 qualified catchers.

AND MATTINGLY GET RID OF THOSE SIDEBURNS

One other detail worth noting is that the Taliban negotiators the U.S. dealt with in this case are a group of actual recognized diplomatic personnel. The negotiating team is actually recognized as the Taliban delegation in Qatar and have diplomatic protection in that country. Also the President reportedly briefed several members of Congress on the status of these negotiations in 2012, so it's not like this was completely out of the blue for Congress. Link All that said, as this article points out, with the circumstances in this case, the press conference and "victory lap" on Sunday by Obama/Hagel does seem excessive.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 10:19 AM) He was referring to Obama, not Bergdahl. He was responding Brian's comment about the last 5 presidents. EDIT: I see the confusion now. In Alpha's post, the first "he" was for Obama, the second "he" was for Bergdahl. Ah. Pronouns (shakes fist)

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 10:16 AM) If he continues to hit like he did in May, then no. Tyler put up a .621 OPS in May while hitting .208. While I'll grant that's poor, there are 4 teams in baseball that would still have been an upgrade for on the whole season 3 of whom were thought to be playoff contenders coming into the season (Rangers, Dodgers, Rays).

Links that I couldn't help but share. Harry Caray diary tracked every drink, every bar in 1972 Harry Caray Went Out Drinking 288 Straight Days In 1972

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 09:06 AM) Donaldson was also a catcher at the time of that trade. One of the things that infuriated me about Kenny is he didn't seem to understand how valuable guys like that could be. He gave up David Holmberg as a throw-in and then a couple years later he turned into a fairly touted prospect for the D-Backs. Hasn't had big league success yet but could have been a great chip for the White Sox to use in a trade. Then there's the Molina trade; gave up Santos, got a single prospect back, that guy busted and so basically the return for Sergio was 0.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 06:51 AM) No, Brian, because HE is not held accountable for it. And yes, he wandered off after a guard shift. Would "being left in a Taliban prison" be being held accountable for it?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 09:03 AM) It's really a point of semantics, but you will typically see fWARs of 5 while 6 is saved for the truly elite. In the majors last year, only 6 guys had an fWAR of 6 and 10 had an fWAR of 5. I also like to take ERA into account for all of those cases too, and guys like Javier Vazquez were putting up fWARs of 5 too simply because he had really good peripherals, but he was never an ace quality pitcher with the Sox. Numbers were not picked at random.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 01:13 AM) Yet as the one person pointed out, he's lived up to his contract. I know you didn't bring up other bad contracts, but I shall invoke the name of Adam Dunn here. If only Buehrle had been given THAT chunk of money instead of the big fella. Then he still would have left because the Marlins offered a lot more than that.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 3, 2014 -> 03:12 AM) White Sox 3rd in the majors in errors and 5th in unearned runs surrendered. Still a big improvement from last eyar.

QUOTE (Señor Ding-Dong @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 10:05 PM) Bonehead move to not play Dunn. Not playing Adam Dunn in the OF is not a Bonehead move ever IMO. Maybe the ball wouldn't find him but at best its a gamble

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Jun 2, 2014 -> 10:03 PM) Kershaw 0-1 vs Sox career wise as Q is 0-1 against the Dodgers. I was at that!