Balta1701

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 02:10 PM) That is a great point, and one that NEVER gets talked about when rebuilding it bandied about like this is OOTP13 we are talking about. Like I just said, the best part is, we have a beautiful example of what happens when it fails in Houston. 4th largest city in the country, drawing fewer than 20k per game, ballpark is empty, their tv ratings are a late-night punchline. They went from competing for the NL Central every year to literally being a small-market club. Their committed payroll next year is actually smaller than Miami's. All the new TV money the Rangers are getting? Teams like the Astros won't get that kind of deal...because nobody's watching!

Sigh

Clemens got more votes than Bonds?

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 02:02 PM) Your're right, there is no way to know for sure. Some guys its pretty easy to make an educated guess. A guy like Sosa who goes from 30-35 to all of the sudden hitting 60 while his body ballooned in proportion to his home run totals rising is easy to figure out. Same with Clemens. His career was over in the late 90's, then all of the sudden his head explodes and he's back to winning Cy Youngs. Just remember this...those body changes could have been caused by switching steroids just as easily as they could have been by starting steroids.

QUOTE (Cali @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 01:59 PM) They seem to keep setting up to finish just above .500 every time. That's cool with you? As I just said, take a look at the Astros. They've been 10 games or more under .500 for 5 of the last 6 years. They lost 106 and 107 games the last 2 seasons. They have ~1000 people watching their games on TV if you believe the ratings are accurate with numbers that low. They're probably on their way to another 100 loss season again this year. And they've done what people wanted, too. They've traded away their high priced veterans for whatever talent they could get. They even got an all star, Bourn, in one of those trades. Yes, I'd much rather be in the race much of the year and finish a few games above .500 than that. Of course, it would save me $200 a year on the DirectTV package.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 01:50 PM) I kinda go back and forth on whether ANY roiders should be in the HOF, but lately I've been leaning more towards letting guys like Bonds and Clemens in, but not guys like Sosa and Palmeiro. My rationale on it is that steroids did not make Bonds and Clemens HOFers, they just made them into the top tier of HOFers. Steroids did take guys like Sosa and Palmeiro who were better than average ballplayers and help them forge HOF careers. Don't know if that makes sense to anyone else or not, don't really care. I'll give you the same question I've given other people. How do you know when they started juicing? Mark McGwire was quite thin in the 1980's, and yet he had Canseco injecting him with all sorts of ass-shots to turn him into a 40 HR hitter. Until he tested positive, people kept believing Palmeiro, because his body hadn't exploded like tetrahydrogestrinone did, and then he tested positive for a steroid that helps but doesn't explode your head like THG. Why do they get a presumption of innocence for what they were doing in the 1980s, particularly when it's all but proven that they were cheating in the 90's?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 01:44 PM) NYT did report Sosa was on the Mitchell Report with a positive test. Sosa never fought that idea. The mitchell report list was made public. Sosa was not on that. I assume you're meaning the list of people who tested positive in 2003, when MLB did their initial survey tests that were supposed to be anonymous. That list has not been officially released.

QUOTE (Cali @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 01:49 PM) Well the White Sox, Astros, and Cubs all missed the playoffs so really comparisons being made start there... Maybe the Sox losing 100 turns into nothing, or maybe they turn into the Nats. It's a crap shoot to be sure, but if you're missing October, you're missing October. And yet you can miss october in ways that set you up for the next season or in ways that destroy your franchise's revenue base for a decade.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 01:35 PM) Or the Cubs... Their tickets are still 85% sold. Houston's at 48% and falling. (Chisox were at 60% last year0.

QUOTE (Cali @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 01:34 PM) If the Sox aren't going to make the playoffs (which they rarely do) I'd almost prefer they lose 100 for a few seasons, maybe luck into a Strasburg or Harper, than winning 83 or 85 and finishing in 2nd or 3rd every freakin' year like they mostly have been for the better part of the last decade plus... How's it going for the Astros?

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 01:16 PM) The difference is Hunter is not being counted on to be a primary part of the Tigers offense the way Konerko is for the Sox offense. If Konerko tanks, so does the Sox offense. Oh no, then they'd only be as good as the Tigers offense last year!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 10:53 AM) Between Griffin being majorly injured for the second time in the same place, and all of the draft picks they still owe for him, this could crush the Redskins for years. This team will happily spend money though...

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 10:03 AM) Those are often intermingled. Part of cold calling these people is hoping for more than their vote in the end run. They also will schedule meetings with lobbyists around these times. The lobbies are just as important, really. Most congressmen learn the most about issues of concern from the lobby groups. This is an indictment of our system, not a statment of fact or a compliment to it.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 12:59 PM) can I ask why folks aren't voting Piazza in the other thread? I know he's not going to make it, but it's a travesty for the best catcher in the history of the game not to be a 1st ballot HOF Presumably he's getting lumped in with the roiders based on suspicions but without the proof out there for the other guys.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 12:44 PM) Would you rather have Torii Hunter on the White Sox at this stage than Viciedo though? When the White Sox have a 1st baseman in his late 30's, any time he struggles, it's a sign he's getting old and doesn't even belong in the upper half of the order. When the Tigers sign an OF in his late 30's, he's going to dominate.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 09:39 AM) My personal (somewhat speculatively plausible) pipe dream lately has been thinking about the Rockies dumping CarGo on the Sox for every minor league pitcher they want and probably Viciedo. This is after I took a look at his numbers recently and was shocked at how much better his slash lines are than I thought, and how he is left-handed and all, and how he would be so much better defensively if he just played LF all the time. But this is more because it would be really fun than necessarily a good move for each team. Including his home/road splits? Because most people seem shocked at how bad those are.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 09:35 AM) Interesting. I wonder if they will be subject to the can't get a signal that is rampant in a lot of parks. That'd be great, pausing a game because a team can't get through to call the bullpen.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 09:23 AM) Time for a Congressman is very precious. Spending half the day fundraising and talking to constituents isn't uncommon at all, many do it more. I like how you lumped "taking phone calls from big money donors" and "Talking to constituents" together into the same item, when there's clearly a very big difference.

There are no teams in MLB who are a good matchup for the White Sox if they're not willing to move Sale. The White Sox have a rounded team, with someone to fill every position, but they have no obvious upcoming stars to trade out of their minors and no current positions where an average player or veteran would be a substantial upgrade. The Asset the Sox do have is pitching depth, but their depth is made up largely of guys worth more to the Sox than to other teams, because of contract reasons, etc. The White Sox's need right now is an impact player at some position where they have an average player...but impact players do not come cheap. You are not getting impact players right now by trading away 24-25 year olds who aren't dominating the minors. You can get quality players, but quality players aren't a significant upgrade right now.

Incoming House Freshmen given a typical suggested schedule during a powerpoint presentation (on the Dem incoming side): Call time? AKA fundraising. 1/2 the day for an incoming Congressperson is spent fundraising.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 8, 2013 -> 05:49 PM) That would be one dangerous combination... He also has Eric Berry, if he's healthy, covering that important safety position for him.

Either way, thank you for the update.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 8, 2013 -> 05:20 PM) I don't think teams are even allowed to withhold assistants from interviewing for promotions like HC. They can during the playoffs, I'm pretty sure.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 8, 2013 -> 04:12 PM) McConnell is the minority leader in the Senate, but, yes, exactly that. This wasn't a good-faith criticism of a program on the merits. One little mistake...d'oh.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 8, 2013 -> 04:11 PM) Will this surgery stop him from walking so many guys? IN 2011, Danks walked 46 guys, 1 more walk than control pitcher Mark Buehrle. He also had the best K/BB ratio on the Sox staff.