Balta1701

Keep some pity in your hearts for the Buffalo franchise while you do so.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 06:55 PM) By keeping Sale the Sox plan better be to compete over the next three years. A Tanaka/Hoffman or Kolek plan is one that that could allow the Sox to deal Danks/Quintana to fill offensive holes. The message I got from their signings and trades so far is that they wanted guys who could break camp with the big league team this year. That might mean they need a year as rookies to adapt, but they absolutely were not looking for guys who were a year or two away. That's the only reason Tanaka could make sense to me. They may not have a roster that can win in 2014 even with him because it's hard to rely on that many rookies, but they picked up guys to fill out a 2015 roster. Tanaka would fit into that. Trading Sale would not.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 06:42 PM) I don't understand. If you're counting on a guy you're drafting in 2014 to be a major contributor to your next competitive team, you're circling 2017 on the calendar. That's a rush even for most college guys, they don't carry you as rookies and they need some time in the minors. So what's the point of spending the money on Tanaka's first 3 seasons if you're not putting a roster out there which can compete along with him those first few years? May as well wait until the next Japanese phenom comes along. The odds are there'll be another one in the next 3 years, we've had 3 in 8 years now.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 06:39 PM) I don't find either team particularly unlikable. The only part of Seattle I really don't like is Peter Carroll. I like Russell Wilson and their fans aren't terribly obnoxious. SF fans are obnoxious, but not to the extent of NE or GB fans. Also, I like Harbaugh. He's quite possibly the only person who has ever had an association with the University of Michigan that I like. I think S.F. put on quite the show of "obnoxious" on the field today. It worked incredibly well on the Panthers. Might well have won them the game.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 06:36 PM) The fastest path to the Sox contending is to leverage Sale's contract to put together a dominant starting rotation. Signing Tanaka and drafting Hoffman/Kolek is a plan that could do just that. that's a plan to compete in 2017. Why are we signing Tanaka in that case?

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 06:25 PM) How can I be a daring, brave individualist in this painfully weak, boring, terrified country? Its not even possible. Of course I'm none of those things and never advertise myself as them because your toxic ideology has poisoned everything. I just want to be left alone. Not told what to do or who to give my money to or "what's worth it"; I want to make those judgments myself. That's all I really ever ask for with very limited exceptions. Then stop using the roads.

As soon as you stop pretending you're this incredibly powerful, daring, brave individualist who is being tramped on by the government, I'll stop calling you out on it.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 05:58 PM) New England is just as if not more unlikeable...I still love hearing announcers casually note that teams they're playing told them they made sure to change up their snap counts/playcalls/hand signals and so on.

QUOTE (Paulstar @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 05:00 PM) Oh yeah, I'm sure the Sox like Quintana a lot. You could also add Erik Johnson as a similar guy who could be traded in that scenario. Chris Beck would almost certainly be on the list of "Guys we'd be looking to trade" at some point if that scenario went down also, but there's nothing wrong with that

QUOTE (Paulstar @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 04:55 PM) I could see the White Sox feeling that an added bonus of signing Tanaka would make it more flexible to trade Quintana for a young impact bat in the near future. That would certainly be one sensible thing to do if we signed the guy...but so far it definitely seems like the org really likes Quintana. They gave him the shot above other people when he had been at AA for a month, they pushed him hard and he keeps responding well, and they traded Santiago instead of him already

QUOTE (Lillian @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 04:47 PM) If the Sox end up drafting Jeff Hoffman, how would that figure into this equation? How long would it likely take for Hoffman to be able to contribute? Could they end up with a staff of Sale, Tanaka, Quintana, Hoffman and Johnson in a couple of years? It'd be a mistake to think about either scenario here. If you think he's going to be worth $125 million to this team, you offer him that and if you think that guy is worthy of the #3 pick you draft him. FIgure there's a finite chance that either guy gets hurt, there's a chance guys don't develop, there's a chance a really good looking trade comes along, there's a chance the draftee needs an extra year or two in the minors you don't expect, who knows.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 04:27 PM) 130+? I've seen several ESPN/MLBTR guys label him as a 200 K guy. If he is then yes, we seriously overrated and likely overspent on him.

Cespedes came over and hit .292/.861 OPS as a rookie. Struggled more last year but still hit .240 with his numbers really being knocked down by strikeouts. The consensus I saw was that Abreu had a much better approach and eye at the plate than Cespedes. If he hits .240 and strikes out 130+ times, yeah I'm probably going to be disappointed.

Carolina let the 9ers get to them way too much today.

If you drive into the area on that day/morning, is there parking?

QUOTE (southside hitman @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 02:55 PM) I am not counting Abreu because there is a zero percent chance he starts in the minors. 1. E. Johnson 2. Anderson 3. Davidson 4. Hawkins 5. Semien 6. M. Johnson 7. Chris Beck 8. Thompson 9. May 10. Webb I get dropping Hawkins a couple spots due to the tough season, but he had no business at that level as a 19 year old. I've seen him outside of the top 5 A LOT. Still really young and really athletic. Also was very impressed with the way Anderson and May handled their short seasons. I think Semien will be a very fine 2B. Webb is going to be a closer, surprised he's not on many prospects lists when Reed was routinely top 5 as he came up. The nice thing is that we can legitimately say "we have a number of other potential starters at the high levels of the organization right now" so there's a reason why Hawkins or Webb might be a little low. There's simply more above them right now.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 03:00 PM) The % of the transportation budget I contribute exceeds the % of wear I put on the roads. Hence the initial claim "I don't get anything from the state I don't pay for 3 times over." Those are two quite different statements. You get a lot from the state you haven't paid for. You get hundreds of miles of roads that have been constructed using other people's tax dollars. Those roads cost billions of dollars and you have in no sense paid for all of them. You pay for a portion of the damage you do to the roads, but not nearly the full thing. The federal gas tax only brings in about $25 billion in revenue, while the annual highway bill spending is over $50 billion (and should be twice that just to do the deferred maintenance on most of the roads). Oh and you also get to dump garbage through your tailpipe into the air that all of us have to breathe and I get to cough as punishment.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 02:47 PM) Multiply that by 3 or so million. You're paying $600 million a year in taxes? I congratulate you sir.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 02:39 PM) The vast majority of transportation funds come from fuel taxes right? How big is your gas tank? 20 gal? You might fill it once every 3-4 days-ish? Sounds about normal. I have a 275 gal tank. I fill it every other day (this depends on so much I won't list it all). Tolls? If costs a car $5 to cross the Skyway now, I pay $25. The GW is over $100 now I think. I had a delivery in Orlando FL, cost me $50 to get through the city in tolls. It costs $80 a week for inspection, registration and permits (I'm not HazMat or oversized, I do haul beer). Then I still pay federal and state taxes on top of that. So tell me again I don't pay enough taxes for the roads, please. So tell me again how that covers THE ENTIRE U.S. HIGHWAY SYSTEM. Because I think that would cover a good 20 feet of it.

Steve Smith still impresses.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 11:46 AM) Which has been my point all along. I've been about the only one saying it and I will keep saying it. Even without Deng (when healthy), this is one of the 3-5 best teams in the East. It will be almost impossible for them to collect a lottery pick and I really am surprised the Bulls couldn't have gotten an unprotected 1st rounder for Deng (at some point in the future). If they want to rebuild, I almost think they should look to try and land a bunch of first rounders in the next 2 years (forget this years draft where the 1st rounder will be impossible). If you can move Noah for a bunch of 1st rounders from a team that might be in the lottery in the next few years, that wouldn't look so bad. However, I think the Bulls are probably lining things up to make a big trade or two this off-season. The Bulls might well have been able to get an unprotected 1st rounder for Deng based on what they did get for him...........but they would not have been able to do so while simultaneously getting underneath the luxury tax for this year and getting rid of the multi-year offender penalty.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Jan 12, 2014 -> 12:15 AM) I'm just going to say that I don't get anything from the government that I don't pay for 3 times over. BUY THE F***ING ROAD YOU USE OR STOP TALKING TO ME. THE BILL IS $20 MILLION.

Some of these throws by Luck have just been marvelous.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Jan 11, 2014 -> 10:11 PM) I do golf. That's a good idea. I've always heard Palm Springs is nice. I'm sure there would be some pretty good places to play. If you're there over the winter there's some good skiing in the San Bernadino Mtns at Big Bear Lake.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 11, 2014 -> 08:20 PM) Give me one piece of evidence from a player - or anyone else - on the record about Piazza's steroid use. Might take a while since it doesn't exist. He doesn't look like a user, and he's never been outed and never failed a drug test. the "suspicion" excuse is asinine. "Never failed a drug test" is literally a useless statement in this league. That's just how it is. Anyone could well have failed the 03 tests and we wouldn't know.