Balta1701

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 25, 2013 -> 10:26 AM) What's stopping a private institution from doing this research? Medical research isn't confined to government entities or government grants, they do it privately all the time (in fact i'd guess most is privately funded). What private institution has an economic benefit in doing that? No drug or medical research group is going to do that. That leaves charities...those aren't really reliable, they certainly don't fund a lot of basic research, and they have the NRA and their lobbyists to deal with if they try to put out such a study. When the CDC tried to do research on the subject in the 1990's, the government banned the CDC from doing so. When the NIH funded that study in Philadelphia that showed quite clearly that if you're carrying a gun, you're much more likely to die in a crime than if you're not carrying a gun, the Congress expanded that regulation to ban the NIH from doing more research. You seriously want to take on the NRA as a small charity?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 25, 2013 -> 10:24 AM) I think you may have the chicken-egg relationship backwards here. Part of the reason the bench bats did so poorly is that Robin didn't play them enough - that was, IMO, one of Ventura's biggest mistakes last year. I could have believed that when Escobar was the primary backup, but by the end of the season, who did you want in there? Jose Lopez or Roy "I can't run to first" Olmedo?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 25, 2013 -> 09:52 AM) Maybe as a guy who can put on a glove and stand in a number of different spots around the field - a guy like Kelly Johnson perhaps. Otherwise, I think Angel Sanchez has it locked down just fine. Serious Q, can you give me a good reason to have confidence that Angel Sanchez will be a solid addition? Basically, I'm thinking back to last year, how bad our bench wound up being (particularly after Escobar was traded), how it wound up with Robin having no confidence in it, and how that probably contributed to guys wearing down at the end of the season. I mean, .240 average, sub.600 OPS last year isn't a hard sell, so can you tell me he'll be any better than that?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 25, 2013 -> 09:35 AM) No, you just bring in an unbiased parties to research, who is going to look at the number of guns owned versus the number of intentional shootings in the United States. They'd likely come to the conclusion that the economical way to handle the situation would be to do nothing. For the record, I have no problem with additional steps being required for gun ownership, but there's simply no reason to take guns away, including automatic weapons. Which is why the NRA has worked so hard to prevent anyone from doing that research, because they don't want anyone doing research that supports their case?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 25, 2013 -> 09:36 AM) and other than at catcher have what looks to me like a better bench so far. Eh...we need bench help still, not just catcher, a utility guy would be really useful.

QUOTE (balfanman @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 04:06 PM) My guess is that Don Cooper sees something in Stewart that he really likes and wants another chance to try and develope this in him. Other thing to worth considering is that he was a free agent, so that means he also wants to come back and work with Cooper again. Considering how many warm bodies there are competing for the Sox rotation/bullpen, that's interesting also.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Jan 25, 2013 -> 01:30 AM) Actually you'd probably want to bring in doctors, researchers and pharmacists in who are familiar with the effects certain drugs have on the body. Or we could do what we do with guns and ban doctors, researchers, and pharmacists from doing that research.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 11:28 PM) For a guy like Prado (not flashy), you technically don't want to pay him WAR market value, IMO. I don't view market value as just using WAR dollars alone, you also have to take into consideration what the market itself thinks of a guy like Prado, whose value lies mostly in defense and not offense. If Prado's getting what Justin Upton got from the braves, yes, he's overpaid. If we're talking 4/$40 him, that's a good deal for him and I'd do that kind of money.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 11:16 PM) No way. They are the exact same size and Scottie defended 3 positions at an elite level. You don't remember Scottie accurately. More power? Really? basketball reference lists Scottie at 210, Carmelo at 230.

QUOTE (WilburWilhelm @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 11:16 PM) A discussion about what a pathetic baseball player Adam Dunn is can only begin with watching him fail in in so many game situations that only require a player to make contact to benefit the team. That's why batting him third really hurt the Sox last year. He came up in so many crucial situations and failed far more often than Rios would have. In addition to that, have you looked at K.C.'s roster? Better talent. Fewer holes. Have you looked at KC's roster? 3 of their starting pitchers had ERA's over 4.75 last year (Chen, Santana, Guthrie). That's some major, major rotation holes. Their 1b put up an OPS of .663, with an OBP that Adam Dunn would think was awful. Both their CF and C had injury problems last year, and their starting RF is Jeff Francoeur. Fewer Holes? Dunn put up an .809 OPS with 13 HR in innings 7-9. Yes, he wore down late, like a lot of guys on the team. he got on base a ton, scored a ton of runs.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 11:14 PM) They'd be overpaying him IMO. Prado's a 3 win player. A 3 win player's worth like $13 million a year. How much would they be "overpaying" him?

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 11:03 PM) ...goes the dynamite! I never understood the "players today are bigger, faster and stronger than in MJ's era" argument. As if Jordan played 50 years ago. Yeah, sports medicine and modern nutrition and sports science has helped modern players in those areas but humans don't evolve every generation, that's just crazy talk. If you look at the top 20 NBA players today and compare them to 1990's top 20, you ain't gonna see a difference in size, strength and speed. As if Carmelo Anthony is a way superior athlete to Scottie Pippen, for example. lol Scottie is a twig compared to Carmelo. Seriously. Scottie has some length but Carmelo has the same level of speed as scottie, maybe more, with vastly more power than Scottie had.

QUOTE (WilburWilhelm @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 11:00 PM) Yeah, really. Adam Dunn is nothing more than a platoon DH and not a good one at that. Jeff Keppinger wouldn't start at third base for any other team. I'm not sure there is another team in baseball with worse back up outfielders than Jordan Danks and Dewayne Wise with no one in the minors close to ready for 2013. The backup catcher and infielder are no better. I've never seen a team with less depth. With a few injuries they could be a disaster. There are 3 starting pitchers to count on then question marks. K.C. definitely has much more depth and fewer holes and better hitters. I will grant you they need a better backup C and an extra utility player. There's no excuse if they don't address those 2 positions, they can be done so cheaply. Jeff Keppinger's career OPS would have had him be an average 3b. His career .733 OPS would have been 15th out of 30 teams in 3b OPS last year. For comparison, the White Sox last year got a .600 OPS overall out of 3b, good for 30th out of 30 teams. Keppinger's average season, therefore (not his good year last year) would have been a starter for ~1/2 of MLB. Adam Dunn could be better, but the White Sox were still in the upper 1/2 of the AL in terms of OPS out of their DH spot, and despite Dunn's low average...were #2 in the AL in runs scored by their DH, so even if he wasn't getting hits, he was getting on base and scoring.

QUOTE (WilburWilhelm @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 10:44 PM) Because they don't. Really?

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 10:17 PM) At the worst I think it's an even trade. For the Braves...an even trade is fine. They fill a ton of needs with a corner OF, and they don't give up either of their top 2 pitching prospects or any of their real legit, close position prospects. At the worst for them, they have a very solid, affordable OF, where the oldest guy is 29...with 2 guys who I could legitimately call "MVP caliber talents". With their bullpen, and rotation...they needed a RH bat this offseason. They lost Bourn and Prado, and walk away with both Uptons. That's a team that can compete with the Nats next year.

There's gotta be 20 of these. I think he enjoyed this.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 09:21 PM) 3B is a really shallow position... and a 5 WAR is a huge number. Just look at our 3B situation and tell me Prado isn't an awesome player. Prado+Delgado is not a bad haul for an underachieving outfielder, especially when they've got Eaton rarin' to go. I like it for the Dbacks. It's not that simple though. Prado is a guy who put up a 1.6 WAR in 590 PA as a 28 year old and then 5 WAR as a 29 year old. Calling him a 5 WAR player isn't fair, just like calling Justin Upton a 2.5 WAR player like he was last year as a 24-25 year old is a joke. Dude was a 6.4 WAR player as a 23-24 year old and his 22 year old season was 4.9 WAR. Prado's a guy 1 year from free agency who is inconsistent at the end of his prime years. Jupton is a guy 3 years from FA who had 1 down year, who has been an MVP caliber player before turning 25, who you have under affordable contract for his 25-28 year old seasons (and you have his brother until he's 30 in case you can convince him to extend for 2 years). This honestly makes the signing of his brother look a ton better to me. That was a lot of money for a 29 year old BJ. You get Justin to extend for another year or two, or just maximize his performance a bit more from the emotional comfort, and that could be a huge move.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 09:19 PM) can you believe that's coming up on 8 years ago? crazytown. Yes. That was a long time ago in my life. But I can still remember the chair I was sitting in when it happened. I'm cool with that. It happened. I had a Chicago native grandfather who never got to see that, in his lifetime. And I have a LOT of Cub fan friends.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 09:04 PM) (we live in a democratic republic where anyone can run, and be elected to, office!) Hell, the people on Wall Street bought tens of trillions in mortgage-backed securities while having no clue what they were buying, and they get paid tens of millions of dollars to supposedly know financial instruments.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 07:48 AM) I have only had a thousand or so posts in the past 5 years roughly. Posted a bunch when the going was great. We always seem to refer to a golden time... is this a case of mass hysteria going on... or did such actually happen? I will always remember coming to this website on a night in 2005...I was hanging out at a bar in West Yellowstone, drunk off my tail, the Sox went to extra innings against the Mariners, I wasn't quitting until sportscenter updated with the results of that game, and the Sox won on an Iguchi HR in the 11th inning IIRC. Basically just screaming "I love this team!!!". On someone else's wireless card, which I'd never used before. That and just typing "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" on October 26, 2005. Golden age.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 08:02 PM) Much love to my law. That explains why the regulations totally fail.

In terms of Star Trek, I'm wondering if this isn't a hopeful thing. My recollection is that everyone signed a 2 movie deal. Most of the cast, save Uhura, won't be hugely more expensive than they were in 2008. Zoe Saldana's gone up a lot, Pine a little, the rest are sorta the same...but Abrams's profile seems like it has exploded since 08 when those deals were signed, all things considered. Bringing in a new director might allow them to sign additional film contracts without having it be prohibitively expensive.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 07:45 PM) I concur. f*** West Lafayette. And the one time I went there, I got a flat tire too. I was driving on I-65 on the overpass above the main Lafayette exit and had a semi tire explode literally right next to my car. Managed to avoid death by probably less than a foot. They also won't give me a job interview.

He's right. There's that level of talent. Braves level of talent. Odds of them reaching it? We shall see.

QUOTE (earthshiner @ Jan 24, 2013 -> 05:02 PM) he was Pablo Ozuna before he was cool Paco was juicing?