Balta1701

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 07:00 PM) And fangraphs WAR is the end all. Instead of standings, they should just add up all WARs and pass out trophies. The fact is if AJ hit .215 with a .275 OBP but threw out runners just like Karkovice used to, you would say he sucked. AJ was a good player for the Sox and had an impact far beyond numbers. The fact that he kept some of his back ups off the field alone should be appreciated. Of course that raises the question...how much of that was AJ being stubborn and insisting he needed to be in the lineup even on days when he shouldn't have been? Could the Sox have benefited by his backups playing some extra games some of those years, particularly when he had good backups like Castro or the Widge? Again, must qualify that I liked AJ. But that doesn't mean every defense of him makes sense.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 05:38 PM) I'm unsure what you're saying here. You think they should keep it free? Or are you against the advertising model? Of course having something free will attract interest and use. But they have to make money, and as the article said, you basically have 2 options. If a product is that good, people will pay for it. You think if Facebook started charging per month, people wouldn't use it? I think if Facebook started charging a small amount per month, they'd immediately lose 90% of their users. Maybe more. There is a well established psychological response to something being free versus having to pay a very small amount for it. The financial difference can be almost negligible, but people respond differently to free. They will take things they don't need because they don't have to pay for them.

Link

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 05:29 PM) Fact is, unless you have a payroll of $200m +, than you'll have to fill out wholes with younger players. And that means taking risks with them. The Sox just need to make sure they have more depth at key positions next year. With how the OF and the bullpen are developing, I think we have plenty of depth at most key positions. I don't think our problem is lack of depth. I think our problem is lack of plausible stars.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 05:10 PM) The same thing can be said about every eligible player. There's no proof that any of them were clean. It's not like baseball cared to test them. But I can say..."Once a cheater...always a cheater". And that not really that unreasonable.

QUOTE (Lamar Johnson 23 @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 05:10 PM) Hasn't he struck out pretty often for the Sox (albeit in a small sample size) already? Yes and he should. The difference for a guy like him might be pretty small though. If he strikes out >200 times a year, he might well just be a guy you can't afford to have in the lineup. If he strikes out 150 times per year, he might well be hitting 30 home runs a year and giving Adam Dunn type production out of the catcher's spot. His strikeout rates in the minors would put him in that range...where he winds up and whether he can learn to make just a bit more contact with time could be the difference between a backup and an all star.

QUOTE (Lamar Johnson 23 @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 04:57 PM) Flowers never put up great numbers as a full time player in the minors, did he? How do you define great numbers? From the catcher's spot, consecutive years with OPS of .921 and .939 moving from high A ball up to AAA is pretty close. The underlying problem beneath those numbers has been strikeouts, which makes you wonder whether he'll project or not. But those are pretty great numbers over a 2 year stretch.

QUOTE (Lamar Johnson 23 @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 04:49 PM) I said "if"! I don't know who they could get; I don't know who they'd want. Again, the point of my postings is, that I believe an owner of a sports franchise owes it to his fan base to field the absolute best team possible, (present) and/or to put his team in position to do so (future). By not re-signing AJ when the "jury is still out" on Flowers does not do this, IMO. With re. Konerko, his (trade) value may never be higher than it is right now. If you don't think the Sox can contend with the Tigers, Jays, Yankees, Angels, Rangers, A's, etc., in 2013 (as the roster stands on 12/26/2012, I do not think they can!), it's most probable that Konerko won't be around when the Sox will be able to contend. Does this make any sense? Here's my problem. When you say "they should consider trading player x for prospects", it's a game you can play with every single good player on the roster. Every team, every player, you could say "they should trade player x for prospects". The real problem is in actually finding a match. You can't fail to do the hard work and then pretend you've suggested anything useful. Paul Konerko is a 37 year old, RH batter, who benefits from the DH position, with power, under contract for 1 year, with a >$10 million salary. For a team to take him on, they need to be: ready to compete this year, have a weakness at 1b, have money to spend, need RH power, have no young guy they'd be willing to risk at 1b, and have a solid prospect to give up. Oh, and throw in the fact that Konerko has 10/5 rights and can veto a trade, so it has to be a city where Konerko would be willing to go. I'm not sure I can think of a single team that's a match for most of those. I can give you a couple "Maybe's", but that's about it. The hard work in suggesting trading a guy is coming up with a match that makes sense on all those issues. Otherwise, there's no reason to even offer the suggestion. As you said, it's the GM's job to put the best team on the field, and if you can't find that trading partner, then you're asking the team to give the guy up for nothing, which we don't need to do.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 09:50 AM) Bonds was probably on a HOF track before he started bulking up. I could understand his election, plus his numbers, even when giving the juice some credit were beyond amazing. The thing I'll always say...how do we know he wasn't on something to help him with recovery/workouts, maybe even just in the offseason, all the way back to the 1980's? His body might have exploded when he got on "The really hard stuff", but no one can prove to me that he was clean when he was on that HOF path from college on.

QUOTE (bulokis @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 04:05 PM) I dont quite get this trade. For which side/why?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 04:34 PM) He will. I just hope fans don't boo him like idiot Twins fans did, or even bigger idiot Indians fans did to Thome. I don't want to meet the Sox fan who would boo AJ. Ok...maybe I'd boo after he'd hit the 3rd HR off of our pitching that day...but aside from that...

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 03:13 PM) Zero reason this shouldn't happen, hopefully it's a great moment. I just hope he doesn't hit 2-3 HR against us that day.

QUOTE (Lamar Johnson 23 @ Dec 26, 2012 -> 04:25 PM) Maybe, maybe not! I only suggested trading PK IF the Sox could get good prospects for him. I like PK, but he can't play forever. I really hate how truly lazy it is to suggest trading people for "Good prospects!". Come on, if you can't do the work to tell me a team that could take the player on you're trying to trade, and what they'd be willing to give up...just stop. It's not an idea if you don't have an idea.

According to the police, he was armed with a revolver, a shotgun, and a Bushmaster AR-15 style semi automatic assault rifle.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 25, 2012 -> 07:29 PM) With out looking at the stats, I would guess that being the type of player he is that Safeco didn't hurt Figgins that much. He's just not good anymore. How does a guy go from being an all star to that useless that suddenly without an injury or positive PED test? I still can't figure that out.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 24, 2012 -> 06:42 PM) I look forward to a Christmas ham for longer than I want to admit. Jesus Christ. Smoked, baked, glazed animal rump should not taste that good. I think I ought to stop now. I don't think I can repeat that next year. F***.

Starting to see reports of Syria having used gas. Hard to confirm.

No one else will care, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the available volume of Star Trek on my TV the last couple days or so. Merry XMas to me!

QUOTE (PtownSoxfan @ Dec 24, 2012 -> 06:51 PM) I dont see the money being spent or even considered seriously but.. Soriano? Certainly wouldnt be the worst move in the world. I think the Cubs are at the point where they aren't giving him away for nothing. They'd happily pay a portion if they got something like Viciedo back, but they want talent back to do it.

I look forward to a Christmas ham for longer than I want to admit.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Dec 24, 2012 -> 06:12 PM) Thats immediately what I figured when I heard. Only thing that makes sense. In case you haven't seen the full version, he's a former felon, spent like 17 years in jail after killing his grandmother in ~1980. Nothing on a specific motive or reason for this attack yet.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Dec 24, 2012 -> 02:15 PM) It doesn't? But you tell me it does. You're so confused. I am confused. I can't figure how you could think spending on things like mental health care are so terrible because deficits and taxes are evil and there's no problem with getting rid of those wastes, and then at the same time defend the F-35.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Dec 24, 2012 -> 02:01 PM) Ya, I never understood why everyone hates Nate. He's the spark plug the bench needs. Actually, I get the hate for him. He's extremely inconsistent, which means you watch him and he'll make some incredibly boneheaded plays, plays that are bad enough you look back and say "Nate cost us the game there". But the benefit is...he also occasionally helps you win a game or two. This Bulls team, AFAIK, is basically trying to tread water until #1 can return, and an extremely inconsistent guy who can occasionally help you win a game isn't the worst fill-in I can imagine.

H. Christ. The story now is saying that the shooter probably set the fire to draw them in.

QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Dec 24, 2012 -> 01:41 PM) Every stat agrees with you. If you even watch 5 minutes(not you, anyone in general) of a game as a casual fan, you can tell Hinrich sucks and is living off of reputation from 5 years ago at this point. TY, they almost had me convinced to stop believing my own points.