Balta1701

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 03:31 PM) This is where I stand...the whole situation would have been avoided had that meathead just stayed pat like the dispatcher told him to and wait for the cops to handle it. That simple Even if he made that mistake and didn't listen to the dispatcher...everyone would have lived if he hadn't been armed.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 03:25 PM) I don't think being tailed by someone leads to a fear of imminent deadly harm/death. 20 minutes of being followed by a guy in a car followed by him getting out and coming after you? Yeah this guy means to hurt me. Either he's going to try to rob me or he wants to kidnap me. That'd be my conclusion.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 03:21 PM) 7/14 or something like that, maybe 7/16 Ok, well that's definitely enough time for the big FA moves to happen and could certainly create situations where teams need to clear $3-4 million to make their impact signing.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 03:17 PM) If the facts show that Martin attacked Zimmerman just because Zimmerman was tailing him, and Zimmerman felt his life was in danger, then he has every right to defend himself, even if he made poor choices that led to the confrontation. And what drives me nuts is...if Martin felt that the guy tailing him was threatening him, doesn't he have every right to defend himself as well? Both of them have the right to do what they did and the end result is that a kid is dead who should never have been. That's why I keep coming back to the gun. If a guy is following me, it's not unreasonable to assume he's a threat to me and try to defend myself. If I get attacked physically by a guy I was following, it's not unreasonable to try and defend myself. The way you make this situation not happen is to get rid of the gun. That should be the message of this case...dead kids are the end result of armed, untrained, vigilante-wannabees.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 03:13 PM) Don't forget the trade exception. Problem is finding a partner willing to trade a big for nothing. Thomas Robinson makes sense if he or Taj were a little bigger. Not sure either can man the 5 if Noah goes down. When does that exemption expire?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 03:08 PM) And Martin could have hung up the phone with his friend and called 911 and reported Zimmerman. Or he could have told Zimmerman to f*** off and continued home. But he didn't. Personally if I thought someone was following me, I'd probably change direction a couple times to try to lose them, then pick up the pace first. If that person then got out of the vehicle and came at me, I don't think my response would be "F*** off", I think I'd expect that this person intends to do me harm. Either I'd be sprinting away and screaming or I'd attempt to get the drop on the person before they could do so to me.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 03:04 PM) Probably just a courtesy to the jetlagged Gillaspie and a chance to get Morel a couple more at bats. Given his strong AAA performance, I think everyone know he'd be up there getting a shot if not for Gillaspie's success. I wouldn't call Morel's performance at AAA "Strong" yet. Decent enough that he'd get a callup if the 3b spot became available probably, but strong?

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 02:42 PM) I was a fan of the signing, just couldn't get him any playing time. At 6'10" can he be the backup center? The scouting reports I've seen say he has underrated post defense but quicker players can give him problems. That sounds like he should be on centers as they are typically slower than power forwards. He could certainly find a way to earn himself minutes at center, but with Noah's injury history I can't imagine him filling the role in a permanent fashion. The Bulls still have the mini-MLE to use and 2 roster spots to fill, finding an actual backup C for about $3 million and then some minimum-salary guy (like Nate was last year) seems like a good use of that money.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 01:51 PM) Knowing the Sox, any big deal they make that returns 3-4 players is going to include at least one pitcher. We'll be adding to our organizational pitching depth after these moves, just getting better probably on the starting front if worse in the pen, and if Peavy goes, given all the salary we will be moving, we should be able to sign at least one more righty to go with Johnson. ***IF*** there actually is someone willing to take on Danks' contract, then we already have 3 lefties + Johnson, so if Peavy goes we sign a FA to slot in at the #2 with some of that cash and add the prospects we acquire to that picture, and we're sitting pretty. We're in the catbird seat. I have generally no problem trading for pitching this year, but I'd stress that if the Sox are taking pitchers back, I want them to target pitchers who are a couple years away from the big leagues. It seriously doesn't help the Sox to trade for MLB-ready pitching right now, not with the logjam they have of pitchers already; it'll just force them to have to trade more pitching to find innings for people or shove people into the bullpen where they don't belong (again).

Don't we have a mod who was/is employed as one?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 09:40 AM) Wouldn't Martin have been justified in drawing down on this weird man following him through the neighborhood and standing his ground? Personally I'd judge pulling a gun immediately to be excessive force, but I think a civilian pulling a gun is always excessive force.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jun 28, 2013 -> 01:00 AM) You being intentionally obtuse is so annoying. Opening fire on someone you think is tailing you is in no way similar to believing your life is in danger because someone is physically beating you. But responding physically to a person who tails you both in a car and then on foot is entirely reasonable. If I had a person following me down the block, who obviously was after me, stopped when I stopped, got out and tried to chase me, and I couldn't get to the police, I'm going into self protection mode and maybe attacking this person. If nothing else, in this country, I have to figure "This guy following me may have a gun and my life could be in danger". Challenging that person physically would be determined as self defense. Shooting blindly would be considered unjustified force, but once a confrontation started, whoever pulls the trigger first is justified in doing so. (Assume for a moment that the legal system would believe a black kid). If Martin had testified that he was being followed by the guy, the guy got out of the car, approached him, he tried to get away, a physical confrontation ensued, while the 2 of them were down on the ground he saw that the guy had a gun, grabbed it and pulled the trigger, wouldn't that be the exact same situation? Whoever shoots first was in the right.

Also, what 7-footers are available for about $3 million?

How is Snell outside the 3 point arc?

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 08:27 PM) if my speculative account of that nights events is accurate, what do you think Zimmerman's punishment should be? Based on the laws of te state of Florida, nothing.

“@CST_soxvan: White Sox reportedly to sign Dominican OF Micker Zapata, age 16, for $1.6 mil on July 2; sign 19th-round Louisville OF Adam Engel for $100k”

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 08:20 PM) Peavy is a much more valuable asset than Axelrod. For 1.5 years and at a cost of $20 million more.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 08:07 PM) If they sign some FA they may have an outside shot at a 2008 type of club where they back into the postseason & lose in the first round. They're a couple years from being a serious title contender IMO. And really there's nothing wrong with making a few veteran signings to put something respectable on the field, but the focus needs to be on finding more young pre-arb pieces. Of course that's easier said than done. In 1998 a 21-year-old Mike Caruso hit .306/.331/.390 as a SS, the following year... poop. They'll have a very good, very deep pitching staff and at least $30 million to spend just to get back to this years payroll (not counting the extra national tv money). They can readily e competitive if they can figure out how the f*** to catch the ball.

"A black kid in a hoodie" = "gangster rapper" outfits. Thankfully race has nothing to do with this.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 08:01 PM) What is Jordan doing? Trying to keep next years first round pick?

2 of the top 4 picks and we couldn't figure out how to score against a f***ing zone defense.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 07:33 PM) And I still can't believe you think we should move Peavy just to clear a rotation spot for Axelrod. Someone better pay a big price for him or you move him in the offseason. Axelrod should be a non-factor in our long-term decision-making. Every asset the team has should be made the most of.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 07:41 PM) I think a lot has to go right for 2015. I'm thinking 2016, and I'm okay with it. I'd like them to build something a bit more sustainable, and if it takes more time so be it. There's still a real good chance they try to field a competitive team for 2014.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 07:01 PM) We'd get nothing back but if we could clear the contract that would be great. For a rebuilding team you want your UT AB to go to someone who might have a future as a starter at some point. Same with Dunn, even if you have to eat a massive amount of the deal, if you can use his PA to try someone out, go for it. Depends on how you define "massive amount". Personally I shoot for saving just under 1/2 his contract next year; if the team can't save $6 million or so, then may as well hold onto him.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jun 27, 2013 -> 06:58 PM) We're going to be out of the race in April next year most likely. I still disagree with this wholeheartedly. The only reason why we'd willingly be out of it in April of next year is if we got great offers for guys like Reed, Rios, and Alexei. If teams surprise me an overpay for a number of our guys, it'll be worth it to punt on next season because we'll come away fat and happy and overloaded with talent. If, instead, we receive fair offers for guys or even low offers for guys, we take the best offers for guys we have to move like Crain, Thornton, and (IMO) Peavy. After that, we wind up in a position where this team has money to spend in the offseason, a loaded starting rotation, a deep bullpen in need of 1 or 2 extra arms. Basically, we have to find a way to turn $30 million or so into an upgraded offense in the offseason in order to be competitive (and get the team's head reattached on defense). IF teams give us fair offers for players, it makes sense to shoot for the division next year once again.