Balta1701

Thread...made.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ Feb 23, 2013 -> 01:09 AM) Nice wishful thinking article. The Sox have trouble beating the Royals. The Tiger have decent pitching too and probably a better pitching coach. I think they are still the team to beat in the AL.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 05:23 PM) I dunno, the fact that Hahn described Gillaspie's 3b defense as "solid-average" makes me think he's probably worse than Morel defensively. To be fair, Morel's only been about average with the glove according to UZR in his time in the bigs as well.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 05:19 PM) You'll see Morel at different positions this spring . 2nd base surely, SS maybe just so u can't auto put Angel Sanchez on the 25 . And I'd bet we'll see the exact same thing with Gillaspie.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 05:00 PM) Hedging their bets because they want competition. Morel is more versatile. Plays more positions but has history or back problems. Keppinger coming off broken leg now has sore shoulder. If neither able to play Sox have at least a AAAA replacement. I wouldn't say Morel plays more positions any more than I'd say this guy has. Neither one has done so in a number of y ears.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 04:35 PM) I'm not entirely convinced that our DL numbers aren't low because we have a baddish farm system and our starters like to play injured for some reason. If that was the case...then either the Sox should have a couple years of below-average DL appearances and a couple years of above-average DL appearances as injuries pile up...or the Sox should wind up underperforming their projections because they're playing too many guys who are hurt. Neither of these are the case so far. If they're over-playing hurt guys, they're still over-producing their expected wins almost every year, which means to me that they're getting better production out of the hurt guys they're playing than they would out of a replacement player.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 04:29 PM) Furthermore, with that said, wouldn't using the backs in the passing game and an upgrade at TE really force the LBs to respect that aspect and thus take some heat off the line. Without utilizing those 2 elements in the pass game near enough it allows more LBs to rush. If they put safties out on these guys it's gonna mean a lot of single coverage and with our 2 big physical WRs I'll take that all day. Heck, doing everything they said they'd do last summer (quicker throws, not looking down the field on every play, regularly using a TE or RB to take a chip on the team's best pass rusher, occasionally rolling out the QB, designed screens just over the head of that rusher) would too. The Bears said they were going to do things to help out the O-Line last year, and I believed them. Instead, game 2, Cutler's getting killed because they're determined he can hang in the pocket looking down the field. Augh! Right there was why the coaches were replaced.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 04:14 PM) It's just hedging their bets is all. You just can't count on a back being stable though Morel feels good now. How he holds up is key. If they were just "Hedging their bets" they wouldn't have traded something useful for a guy out of options. He's on the roster and Morel is in AAA until further notice.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 03:56 PM) I've said i'm ok with some restrictions on gun use/ownership, just not outright bans. My opinion on abortion is basically the same. You will of course find very few people here who oppose entirely any restrictions on abortion. I for example have zero issue with back alley/coat hanger procedures being banned.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 03:51 PM) Fine, the act I want to control is "murder" and abortion control is one mean of obtaining that end. There are other ways as well, including poverty, education and the like. Awesome, so you're on board with repealing the 2nd amendment!

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 03:27 PM) Interesting. Would be a good reason for the Saints to let him walk. I've been saying for a couple years now that the Saints know how to make their guys look better. They give help on the corners, they are strong inside, their QB gets rid of the ball quickly, they run plays to keep the D-Line honest. They did everything they could to make a guy like Bushrod look good. The Bears didn't do any of that last year...Webb had some bad games, like when the Bears said he was matched up 1 on 1 against Clay Matthews, but he also had games where guys like Jared Allen shut down. He's sorta done what you'd expect so far, he's a 7th round pick thrust into a starting role. Started off terrible, has gradually moved up close to average. But...since he was terrible for 1+ years, most Bears fans still dislike him and he gets a ton of focus for the troubles of the rest of the O-line. On top of that, the Bears did everything they could to make him look bad...the LG next to him was cut in camp and replaced with a castaway (Rachal), and then the amount of help they gave him was ridiculously low. He's not going to wind up in the HOF, but he's exceptionally cheap next year, and the Bears might have bigger needs elsewhere on the O-line. I wouldn't be stunned or angry if Management dropped him into a swing tackle role, but I also won't be surprised if he's the starting LT next year.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 03:02 PM) Saints are not franchising Jermon Bushrod, he will be a FA. I know the Bears don't have much cap space, but that would be a big upgrade at LT. Actually...if you believe the Pro Football Focus numbers that Emery cited when talking about the O-line...it would be a significant downgrade from Webb last year.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 02:37 PM) Antibiotics? No, those require a prescription, at least in this country, to cut down on their use. The "morning after" pill requires a prescription as well under current HHS rules. Yeah, but I can get the prescription for that from the medical staff at Walgreens here. It would take an extra 10 minutes of waiting.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 02:30 PM) With this trade I see competition at 3B and that isn't a bad thing. Folks still ragging on Beckham and I just don't see it. Keppinger is a super utilityman that probably gets the nod at 3B with Morel and Gillaspie pushing for playing time, but to somehow suggest that this trade for a guy with just a few games in the majors somehow bodes as a possible replacement for Gordon Beckham is nonsensical. The sox are committed to Beckham and should be. This is insurance at 3B and nothing else plus he hits left handed. Morel is the one that probbaly should be worried and even there I think the Sox want to see what he can still deliver this season-by using spring training as the gauge. I'd assume this puts Morel right where he belongs, in AAA until someone gets hurt or he hits his way back to the big leagues.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 02:33 PM) I would never blame injuries on trainers. They most of the time just happen. Herm has been able to keep the games lost to a minimum, but it is ironic he is getting some pub a year after the Sox were about as banged up as they have been since Herm has been around. If there's any non-randomness to injuries...that means figuring out how to reduce your total number of injuries is a type of moneyball...finding an advantage other teams don't have.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 02:31 PM) You can't just go to Walgreens and ask for a bottle of anti-biotics because you've read an article on WebMD. Actually...I really think I could. (assuming of course I had some symptoms of having a cold).

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 02:22 PM) Abortion restrictions aren't about shaming, they're attempting to lessen the number of abortions. I love too how "waiting periods" and "doctor visits" is akin to a walk of shame where everyone in the world now knows you've just had an abortion. GMAB. They're attempting to lesson the number of abortions through shame. Forcing people to go through an unnecessary procedure and absorb a lecture. That's the difference you're ignoring in your previous post. If I require everyone buying a gun to undergo a colonoscopy, fewer people will have guns, and that will save lives. Of course, it would never stand up to any reasonable person's muster, because why the bleep are you sticking things into people's colon as a requirement for a gun? And I love how "performing an ultrasound at a point where only an internal ultrasound is an option" = a doctor's visit.

Anyone know if he had a background (High school or anything else) that included any time at 2b or short? His minor league career doesn't, but can't hurt to ask.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 02:06 PM) I've never argued otherwise. Criminals shouldn't have guns. What's your point? So then, can the state put a requirement on gun ownership solely for the purpose of shaming the owners? Not to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, but just to make everyone who wants a gun go through some embarrassing test to make sure they feel appropriately bad about making the decision to get one.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 01:57 PM) To have kids? No. To keep the kids? Yes. So then...can the state put limits on people's rights to keep guns for the same reason? That certain people shouldn't have them?

Can the state put limits on people's rights to have kids? I.e. require them to do things (get off drugs, clean up their life) or the kids will be taken away?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 09:41 AM) Mythbusters did this years ago did it work?

QUOTE (Jake @ Feb 21, 2013 -> 10:57 PM) And no...the right to guns is nothing like the right to have sex and control what comes in and out of your vagina. I for one agree. Anyone wanting to purchase a gun should have to go through the "Combined penis measurement and anal probe of shame" before they can do so.

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Feb 22, 2013 -> 12:30 AM) Has anybody ever really proved a correlation between body type and pitch selection to injury? I really think most of it's BS. Some guys have rubber arms and some don't. Even mechanics are overrated. No matter how, or what, you throw, it's an unnatural motion. Some humans have the ability to withstand physical stress, others don't. It's really a crapshoot. I'd have a hard time giving up a pitcher like Sale. He's young, smart and straight up nasty. Link

QUOTE (Jake @ Feb 21, 2013 -> 08:35 PM) I would not amnesty Boozer. You don't get enough room under the cap to do anything big. You amnesty Boozer as Deng's contract expires after next season. If they stay under the tax next year, it makes it easier on them to go over the tax in 2014-2015. And IIRC, that's when they may be needing the MLE to sign Mirotic as well as extending or trading Butler.