Balta1701

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 9, 2013 -> 03:55 PM) So if the Syria destroys their weapons and the US doesnt attack your mad, and if the US attacks your mad? It's a great example of the kind of diplomacy we should be trying and aren't. Worldwide, I might add, not just here.

So today, Secretary Kerry made what appears to be an offhand remark about how the only way Syria could avoid reprisals is if they give up their chemical weapons. Russia and Syria both immediately pounced on that as a serious proposal they would be willing to consider. But thankfully the U.S. has clearly exhausted all diplomatic options and more death is the only solution, of course.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 9, 2013 -> 03:13 PM) There will be some lefties I want the Sox to consider, because I want nothing to do with Veal or Purcey as a significant piece. I've been wondering what they will do with the bullpen lefties also. They could definitely go with Veal and Leesman as bullpen lefties if they're going to be conservative and they think they can get Veal straightend out, but just like the catcher's spot, who knows.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Sep 9, 2013 -> 02:34 PM) Bet that's a word that the Sox or whoever else sign him for eleventy years (and whatever ass dollar amount to go with it) will be hearing often before the deal runs it's course. Ouch.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 9, 2013 -> 01:33 PM) They will need to be resigned to new contracts in the next couple years here too. Quintana has 2 years left before arbitration and 5 years left before free agency. Santiago has 1 year left before arbitration and 4 before free agency. Sale's already extended. Rienzo and Johnson each have 3 years left before arbitration and 6 years left before free agency. Reed and Jones also have 1 year left pre-arb and 4 years before free agency. This pitching staff is under control for a long, long time. The first one hits free agency the same year Alex Rodriguez does.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 9, 2013 -> 01:20 PM) How many teams have benefitted over the years from losing games basically on purpose? I'd say very few. The place where it gets highlighted the most is the NBA because teams will bench players and play rookies down the stretch, and it seems very rare for the teams which do that to actually get the #1 pick. In the NFL, teams may bench a starter, but since contracts aren't guaranteed, every single player out on the field is playing for a contract the next year, so they'll play as hard as they possibly can. In MLB, I don't even think "tanking" makes sense. Half the time when rosters expand in September, losing teams put young guys out on the field and suddenly find that they're winning more games because the young, non-ready guys actually are trying to earn roster spots and perform while the veterans they replaced stopped caring.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 9, 2013 -> 12:31 PM) That's pretty much exactly it. I'd love Abreu, but he's about the only guy I really want the Sox to bring in. McCann would be OK, but he's very risky, especially for like 5 years. I feel the same way about Granderson, though I do actually like him more than most on here so long as a lefty masher were brought in as a platoon partner. However, I think Cano would be about the worst. He'll likely have to move to 1B halfway through the contract, and I get the feeling that his power is going to begin to fade in about 3 years. The last thing I'd want is a $25 million player hitting 10-15 homers and NOT hitting .330 like Mauer does. I agree with you on Cano. He's a guy for a team that tries to win every year and doesn't care if it has dead money at the end. Here's another way to say my position. With the White Sox current roster, they have 1 incredibly gigantic hole that needs filled at 1b. They have a player at every position otherwise who pencils in as the starter next season. The Sox may not like every player and they may be interested in upgrades at those slots, but every other position has a body with some potential. If the Sox can land Abreu, they can go into next season saying "if a few things go our way we're a competitive team right now". If they don't believe in one or two guys, like either Phegley or Viciedo, that doesn't change it. They have more than enough money to fill the gaping hole at 1b and replace one of those guys as well. When the team has money to spend and a highly above average pitching staff, there really is zero reason to bite the bullet and plan to lose for 2-3 years. They're not waiting out bad contracts like the Angels might be, they're not waiting on guys in the low minors to show up like the Cubs/Astros are, they have a roster they can run with right now.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 9, 2013 -> 01:12 PM) So you think the Bears have a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl this season? Yes. Don't you?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 9, 2013 -> 10:05 AM) (the Orioles are not in the playoffs right now...you're looking Red Sox, Tigers, Athletics, Rangers, Rays) The Cubs offense is also 19th in the league with 16 WAR and the Sox are 29th with 2.3, with only the incompetence of the Miami Marlins worse at -1.1 WAR. The lowest ranked playoff team is the Rangers with the 15th ranked offense at 18.6 WAR. On top of that, the Cubs, as a team, have 4.7 UZR/150, while the Sox are at -2.3 Add it all up and it's 17.4 for the White Sox and 30 for the Cubs. Plus the Cubs have the prospects to acquire some top flight pitching too. Some of those numbers were also due to DeJesus and Soriano, who they obviously will not have, but I just think, in general, the Cubs have more talent, specifically young talent, offensively. Wow, ok, so there's not a single team in the bottom 15 in the playoffs then, and 66% of the top 15 are in the playoffs. Ergo, I conclude it's somewhat easy to build a contending team when you have pitching and darn near impossible when you don't. My next question is...which is easier to fix, lineup and defensive deficiencies or pitching deficiencies? The Cubs actually signed a free agent pitcher last year, Jackson, and that didn't help them, and they basically have no pitching on the way up. The White Sox have money to spend at positions where there are lineup contributors available as free agents. I judge it's much easier to fix a lineup through free agency than it is to fix a rotation. Furthermore, the White Sox in 2012, with many of these same players, were a positive fielding team, with a 1.3 UZR/150. Thus the numbers show that there's little reason to think the White Sox should be nearly as bad of a fielding team as seen this year. The Cubs will need to add >10 WAR to their pitching staff to be competitive. The White Sox need to add something like 15 WAR to their offense to be competitive while getting their defense back to 2012 levels. I clearly think the latter is much, much easier.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 9, 2013 -> 09:09 AM) This is not White Sox related, but why do you assume the Cubs are 3-5 years away and the Sox are not? I think the Sox spending big to try and be competitive right away again is a bad idea. The White Sox pitching staff is 5th in MLB with 17.4 WAR on the season. The Cubs pitching staff is 23rd in MLB with 9.3 WAR on the season. There is only 1 team in the bottom 15 in MLB in pitching WAR currently in the playoffs (Baltimore). That means 9 of the top 15 teams in pitching WAR are likely in the playoffs this year and a number of others are just on the outside.

H. Christ, you're randomly throwing in that you don't like a 30-some year old woman who grew up in the public eye by no choice of her own?

Is Mitchell out of options or something like that? i.e. Where the team has to make a decision on releasing him by the end of training camp next year? If that's the case I could see them trying as many shots in the dark as possible to see if they can get something out of him.

Robinson Cano is not going to want to become a free agent again when he's 34-35. Even if he has 3-4 MVP caliber seasons the best he'd be hoping for then is a 3 year deal worth maybe $50-$60 million because of his age. If you want to make it worth it to him to sign a 3 year deal then you need to offer him 3/$150 or more.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Sep 8, 2013 -> 06:38 PM) Marshall with 100 yards and 3 others with 40+ is nice. I thought a big part of the reason Marshall was able to get open in the 2nd half, particularly on that 30 yard pass, was that the secondary had to respect the rest of the receiving corps. The safety couldn't just go after Marshall.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Sep 8, 2013 -> 04:57 PM) Evidently Bears fans are always going to b****. Don't understand good coaching. With Tice Martz they ask for short/quick develping plays and a nice mix and to protect our oline. We actually do it against one of the top defenses in the league and everywhere I look I see retarded fans b****ing (not taking this out on you Brian...just saw it where I watched the game and on bearstalk. its further proof we have the stupidest f***ing fan base on the planet). The offense was pretty rotten in the first half you've got to admit. If you're going to do those quick developing plays, you've actually got to catch them. Way too many quick times off the field with no gain. They really found a good groove in the 2nd half starting with that 11 yard completion to Jeffrey after a fake reverse. Cutler started hitting guys with laser beams and they started catching them, there were some great catches in there by Bennett and Marshall.

Reuters making a strong point/case that the Administration currently cannot prove that Assad gave the order for this chemical attack to happen. Yesterday Today

QUOTE (Brian @ Sep 8, 2013 -> 03:59 PM) How many will be eliminated from Survival Pool if Buffalo holds on? That's up to a field goal. I guess the Bills can be impressed that they weren't blown out

Let's see what the stat lines say. 6.2 IP, 4 K's, 4 hits, 2 walks, 1 ER, 99 pitches 59 strikes for Rienzo. Pretty good. Couple hits including an RBI double for Viciedo, he's been rolling ever since he came back from that hand injury. .344/.385/.574/.958 since that injury. Couple hits for Gillaspie, couple hits and a stolen base for Ramirez. Home run and 3 stirkeouts for Dunn.

And the Bengals lose it on a personal foul penalty combined with the blown timeouts. Big win for the Bears, that's a really good team they just beat.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Sep 8, 2013 -> 03:52 PM) I still can't believe Cincy used all of their timeouts with 8 minutes left in the game. That's worse than Lovie. And they'd be likely getting the ball back here if they hadn't.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 8, 2013 -> 03:47 PM) It went through my head at that time so I wrote it. If you are offended or upset I apologize. I don't care if you're apologizing, learn something. People said the same thing last time you pulled that post out. It happens all the time, there are more than a few hall of famers in the league you can say the same thing about, that no one would pick them up, you can even say exactly that about Paul Konerko, but when people point that out you ignore it and then a week or two later write the exact same thing like it's some sort of indictment of Dunn.

Nice hands Bennett, perfect spot Jay

"These timeouts today, both sides, are dreadful" - announcers

That will work against Hillary exactly as well as running around yelling that Obama is a n-word would have worked in the last 2 elections.