Balta1701

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 04:49 PM) The end game is to do our best to stop chemical weapons from ever being used in war, civil or otherwise. Otherwise why not just let Iran nuke Israel, because our involvement could cause things to be potentially be worse. Why have any rules I guess? Slippery slope arguments are usually terrible arguments and this one is no better. If Iran used nuclear weapons on Israel, or Syria used Chemical weapons on Israel, they're actually launching a war against an ally of the United States. The United States should respond in kind. This is not complicated. The big difference? In that case you've changed the game. You're no longer pretending that somehow this is a great humanitarian cause, you've made it an actual military cause. No one is going to give a crap about the number of people killed in a war that one of those countries starts, nor should they. It's war. That's very different from launching a war to save lives. Launching a war to fight and win a war has a history of working and the U.S. is pretty good at it. Launching a war to save lives by selectively killing the right people does not have a good history of success.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 04:43 PM) I do agree that Obama pretty much outlining what we are going to do kind of ruins the initiative. We're doing everything but telling them the exact moment we will bomb and the exact places we will bomb. They've probably already spread the chemical weapons all over the map as we debate the issue. Do you at least agree with me the world IS GOING TO END within 100 years if this keeps up?? We have to make a stand. If we bomb chemical weapons plants and that causes the emission of chemical weapons into the community, obviously that's not a desired result of the attacks. No, I think that idea is silly. The world is not going to end.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 04:35 PM) Greg, Balta has no answer for you. He just simply wants to paralyze us into in action by reminding us that there will be negative consequences for our actions. The difference between him and I, is that I know there will be very bad consequences, I concede this fact and I still argue that something needs to be done because of reasons I can articulate. On the other hand, Balta simply keeps saying people will die, and we should solve the solution by giving them aid. Who cares that chemical weapons are being used, who cares about the Geneva Convention or any other ant-chemical weapon treaty. Who cares about nukes or biological weapons being used. They can have bread, and bread simply will solve all of these problems. Sometimes you have to make hard decisions, sometimes there will be innocent blood spilled due to that decision... But the hope is, that you make the decisions that will make sure that in the future the least amount of blood will be spilled. Because I cant go back and stop all of this, but I can try and prevent it from ever happening again. And maybe its impossible, but I wont quit like Balta. People mean more to me than that. But take a look at your own reasons. In one paragraph you complain about "who cares about chemical weapons being used, who cares about the geneva convention". That literally follows a paragraph where you say "who cares if people die". You haven't illustrated a single positive thing that can come from this action and then you accuse me of glossing over the very bad things that happened when you simultaneously gloss over the very bad things we're going to do. Tell me an endgame where U.S. bombing makes this better. Tell me an endgame where the Syrian regime is actually somehow deterred from using those weapons again without the U.S. having to launch a Libyan-level bombing campaign that breaks the country apart and lets the surviving weapons into the hands of whoever grabs them. If the weapons worked and all it provokes is a light response from the U.S., why not use them again? If the weapons worked and it provokes the U.S. to breaking up the country but we're unwilling to put 200,000 men there to secure the place, hey, open season on chemical weapons stockpiles, Goodie.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 04:31 PM) What is the solution then, Balta? Please answer. We can't keep ignoring this atrocity and that atrocity or all of a sudden chemical weapons may be used on our soil. The world indeed is f***ed. I would say it will DEFINITELY end w/in 100 years because of man bombing man and poisoning man. But doesn't Obama have to try to stave this off by bombing the s*** out of those who use chemical weapons? It is pretty damn horrible to see those little kids die. Gutwrenching. We could continue to ignore this stuff, but it adds up. What's the solution if we attack? How on Earth will bombing a few places in Syria prevent someone from using chemical weapons on U.S. soil? Based on the example of what happened in Libya, the more you fracture the Syrian regime the more likely it seems that control of those weapons will be lost. If the humanitarian bombs turn the tide of the war, as the Senate resolution calls for, it's entirely possible that Syrian chemical weapons will make their way into the hands of people who would use them against the United States. The only way that bombing Syria would somehow prevent that is if we were to successfully bomb all of their chemical weapons...but if you hit the weapons with conventional bombs, you effectively start a chemical weapons attack because you send large quantities of Sarin into the air. Our bombs can literally cause little kids to die while gasping for air.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 04:31 PM) But I guess well just all stick our heads in the sand and pretend its not happening. We were more than happy to do so in the 1980's when a state we were aiding in their war against Iran used them extensively. So yeah, barring a better option appearing, sticking head in the sand seems like the right path.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 04:25 PM) So its not that I dont know about Libya. Its just simply if we want Africa to be truly free, they are going to have to figure it out themselves, and that likely means there are going to be body counts. Its unfortunate, but they need to find their own end.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 04:11 PM) No actually it isnt. In every single post I concede that there will be consequences to any type of military intervention. You just keep hammering on it, when every reasonable person already has accounted for this. Yet you dont ever seem to concede that inaction will lead to more deaths as well. Like I said, Id rather try than juts sit on the sidelines afraid. You're right I keep hammering on it because as soon as the excitement of the missiles is off the front page the disasters we've unleashed get ignored. Libya, for example, the great triumph of this type of intervention, is a complete clusterf*** right now. The country is being torn apart, ruled by warlords, and arms from the Libyan army are going to supply an entire generation of wars and terrorist attacks throughout North Africa because they've gone completely out of control. There are civil wars brewing all over North Africa supplied by those weapons. The last time we did this, the air war killed a ton of people, not just the combatants but a lot of other people, and the result has been thousands of small massacres replacing the one big massacre we tried to avoid. And the consequences on the ground, the piles of dead bodies from the air campaign, are literally ignored because there's no one there to cover them.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 04:08 PM) If he's our starting third baseman next year ... that is a bad bad sign of what the 2014 season entails. Connor Gillaspie is not nearly as much of a problem as Paul Konerko right now. Connor Gillaspie is not going to carry the White Sox to a pennant by any stretch of the imagination, but he hasn't been a bad player over there and that's in his rookie season where you expect a guy to take some lumps. Connor Gillaspie next year could be the 3b on a contending team if the other holes are filled in. I'm not going to be mad if Gillaspie is replaced, but if he's replaced it needs to be with something really good and I don't know that there are such guys in baseball. Semien might be an option but it would sure be nice if he could find a way to be a long-term shortstop.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 04:01 PM) He might not have swung at it either. Or he may have thrown the fastball down the middle and Soriano could have hit that into the left field stands. He's still got some of the quickest hands in the game. The only thing you say for sure is that he shouldn't have thrown the pitch down the middle. Even if he didn't swing at it, it might well have changed his timing enough for him to miss the slider down the middle if that was the following pitch

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 03:56 PM) You keep acting as if people arent dying right now, but they are. You cant just wave your hand and pretend that doesnt exist, so to turn a phrase. However...this is exactly what you continually do with the consequences of bombing. Wave your hand and pretend they don't exist.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 03:42 PM) Maybe his knee is f***ed? He got it drained in the first week of preseason, and hasnt gotten on the field yet. That is more than a red flag. I also read that if they cut him now, they dont guarantee his salary for the season and save money Ooh, so that move is craftier than the initial article made it seem. Good work Ky.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 03:34 PM) And maybe there are people there who want to kill me for stupid reasons. That doesnt mean I sink to their level, it means I try and lift them to mine. Your level is "collateral damage"?

(Alert citing a blog post): a couple reads about what a clusterf*** the Libyan war was and what a mess the country is today.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 12:05 PM) Then it was a problem of being reptitive and missing a spot, not necessarily in pitch selection itself. Also worth mentioning is that Soriano, throughout his career, has always been a fastball hitter and, other than really just this year, has never had any success hitting the slider. Criticizing Jones for that pitch is probably wrong, but criticizing location is justifiable. A high fastball after 2 straight sliders would have seemed like a smart pitch. Speed his bat up again and then set up to come back with the slider again if he lays off the fastball.

Bulls promote Adrian Griffin to assistant coach.

McCain will oppose the Senate War resolution because it's not murdery enough.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 11:47 AM) Because Nate Jones's best pitch is his slider. So, if he went up 0-2, threw his slider, and the batter got a hit, then I have no problem wit it. The problem with that pitch call was it was the 3rd slider in a row, IIRC. It drifted back over the middle of the plate and Soriano didn't miss it.

When does the AZL play?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 4, 2013 -> 09:07 AM) I'm sure he is going to want to start the rest of the way. It's just not smart to cater to what players want though. He threw 85 innings last year, and while that is fewer than the 127.1 he threw in 2011 (by a lot), it's just smarter to limit him if you can. Get him, say, 3 or maybe 4 more starts the rest of the way and he should end up around 150-155 on the year, which is a perfect stepping stone into next year. In the meantime, you let him know that he can spend time with family and friends this weekend and not to worry about starting a game, just to be at the stadium at 11 or 1 or whenever. He'll have plenty of starts in the New York area over the next 10 years or so. Hector was also pretty wild last time out, a few extra days off makes sense and he's scheduled for later this week iirc.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Sep 3, 2013 -> 11:34 PM) Adam Dunn told FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal Tuesday that he could retire after the season. Dunn is just 33, is guaranteed $15 million next season and is within shouting distance of 500 homers, but he indicated that a lack of enjoyment for the game could lead him to walking away. "I’m not coming back just to come back for money or because I have one year left (on his contract)," Dunn said. "I’m not coming back to chase home-run numbers or whatever. If I end up with 499 and I’m not having fun, see ya — 499 it is." It's certainly something to file away, but it's hard to see Dunn giving up a guaranteed $15 million. Per Rotoworld That doesn't sound like "Dunn says he'd consider retiring", that sounds like "Dunn asked about retirement, says its unlikely".

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Sep 3, 2013 -> 10:16 PM) Robin looks PISSED. Why? He hasn't cared the rest of the year.

Yes Robin send in the rookie pinch hitter against Rivera in the 9th but don't send in the rookie pitcher with the three run lead.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 3, 2013 -> 10:09 PM) Hopefully Johnson gets destroyed tomorrow. #2draftpick. Reading this made me feel ill.

Coulda given the rookie a chance with a 3 run lead, but no, gotta use the guys with experience.

5 run 8th