Balta1701

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 02:23 PM) I'm not watching any news reports with kids being interviewed. I'm saying the fact that they're doing it in the first place is media exploitation of kids...it's sick. I'm not going to disagree with you. I'd just say...turn it all off if it's getting to you. If you want an update go to their website, or wait for word of a press conference. They're all going to do that. If their national n etwork isn't doing it, the local affiliate will, and the national network will carry it. If it bothers you, turn it off and type here.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 02:21 PM) Yep. ~$160 million That still leaves them something like $20 million in room under the tax to add pitching if they want. Thanks for the number.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 02:20 PM) Seriously...this is exploitative IMO. Turn it off.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 02:19 PM) I fully agree with this. I know people want details, but this is not the way to do it. Get these kids home, and try to not have them think about it even more and go through it again. Honestly...a lot of them probably can't be allowed to go home right now. They're material witnesses in a major police investigation.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 02:17 PM) No. They are still around 20% short. Then they're still sub-luxury-tax too, if my brain is doing the math right.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 02:11 PM) Marc Carig ‏@MarcCarig "You don't get trophies for having the highest payroll." - Cashman Does this put them anywhere close to the Yankees?

QUOTE (IowanSoxFan @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 02:12 PM) Here's the f***er. http://www.facebook.com/rlanza You've made me curious but I'm not going to click on that.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 01:54 PM) 20 year old kid. WTF Have they said for sure if he had a kid in the school? That'd be a young parent.

I'm going to say this myself and I am going to hope any others might think about it. Anything I wrote right now would be swamped by emotion. I just watched a death toll jump from 3 to 27 while sitting on an exercise bike at the gym and found out that something like 20 of them were kids. This will be my last post in this thread for the day at least. I'll come back, but not today.

I was at the gym with TV's on when the number went from 3 to 27 on CBS. That is first time my skin has gone cold at a news report, that I can remember, since 2001.

QUOTE (flavum @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 10:22 AM) Watch the Tigers move Porcello to Pittsburgh in a Hanrahan deal. Smyly takes over the 5th starter spot in that case or do they have someone else behind him?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 10:13 AM) Yes. Eventually all these contracts will bite the Tigers. I thought that about some of their late-2000's contracts and they still managed to trade for Miguel Cabrera then. The days of big money for Ordonez, Guillen, etc.

If we really want to do a tally on this, here's the fWAR on some of the guys they lost last year: Torii Hunter: 5.3 (man he had a ridiculous season didn't he) Greinke ~1.3 (had him for 1/3 of the season) Dan Haren: 1.8 (was a 6 WAR guy the year before) Jordan Walden: 0.5 Maicer Izturis: 0.7 They've added: Tommy Hanson 1 WAR last year, >2 WAR in better previous years Ryan Madson: 1.7 Sean Burnett: 1.1 Joe Blanton: 2.4 Josh Hamilton: ~5 They're strengthened their bullpen, but in the fWAR world, Hamilton puts them pretty close to where they were last year, unless he can return to being an MVP type player despite getting older. Their rotation is pretty much where it was last year unless someone gets better. If we want to talk about them as the best team in the AL, they need to add to their rotation or have someone else on their roster step up. They definitely have guys who could do so (Pujols, Trumbo, Morales), but they also have guys who could step back with age or injury, and then that's all counting on Mike Trout repeating one of the best seasons in MLB history.

QUOTE (Brian @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 09:09 AM) Until they flip the switch, Knicks are the best in the East. Miami did just lose at home to Golden State. Hell, Miami lost to the Wizards just over a week ago. They're still a better team on paper than they were last year.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 09:03 AM) Lovie is going to be pissed that he didnt report this "the right way" ? He's listed properly on their injury report as having a knee injury.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 09:03 AM) I think we can forget about them, they won't even win 90 next year. I would have said the same thing about them last year. What has happened to make them worse? Losing Brandon McCarthy? Stephen Drew?

QUOTE (daggins @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 10:05 PM) I'll say the Rangers are still a little better. The Tigers and Yankees are probably better too. The Angels rotation is nothing special and they had to throw a fair amount of money at their pen to make it adequate. Let's not forget about the very young team that actually stood up and won 94 games and that division.

QUOTE (Brian @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 10:50 PM) More people should be saying the Knicks are the best in the East. 2-0 vs Miami and best record in conference. They match up with Miami pretty well in a 7 game series. Honestly...don't buy it at all. Miami's in "Flip the switch, we've done this twice now" mode.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 09:57 PM) I love urban legends. $10 trillion housing bubble that exploded = urban legend. Did I miss this part?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 07:26 PM) That might be the first time I have seen three trillion in buybacks referred to as "piecemeal". That's how big of a hole your guys blasted.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 07:18 PM) I'm talking about this year. God only knows how much free agents will be getting next year when the new TV money kicks in, plus who knows if any of those guys would sign with the Cubs, let alone two or three of them. All the Cubs know is that Sanchez was willing to sign this year and fill one of the several holes in their rotation. Sometimes you have to overpay, whether it be money or years, to fill your needs. I'm not saying this is a great move and it definitely has risk, but given the Cubs' lack of pitching and their inability to throw unlimited money at the draft and amateur international free agents, I do think it's a solid move. I have an idea for how they could have an extra $15 million next offseason...

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 06:37 PM) I think it's pretty clear by this deal that they are targeting 2014 to be competitive. And your comment about having less to spend in 2014 when they finally know their needs is ridiculous. They need starting pitching and lots of it. That won't change between now and next year, so there is no reason to wait until then. Do you really expect them to acquire 2-3 quality starters in one off-season in addition to other needs they might have to fill? The Cubs had to give Sanchez 5 years to make this deal happen, but the cost per year itself isn't that outrageous, at least not in this free agent market. Also, who are all these starters on the market that are as good as Sanchez? As of right now, some of the pitchers available on the free agent market next season who are or have been close to that level (High 3's ERA in the NL, low 4's ERA in the AL). Depending on how this year goes, some of these guys might well get paid near that level, maybe even for fewer years. Gavin Floyd RA Dickey Dan Haren Tim Hudson Phil Hughes Ubaldo Jiminez Josh Johnson Tim Lincecum Edinson Volquez And...Matt Garza.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 06:20 PM) It makes me wonder why the Royals didn't just sign Anibal Sanchez or Ryan Dempster instead of trading for Shields. It would have cost them no internal talent and the annual money is more or less the same as Shields. That's a good point. Sheilds has been a slightly better pitcher than Sanchez the last couple years, but not enormously.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 06:10 PM) Can I be the first to say ASINAA Danks got what, 5/$60, and signed his extension while 2 years younger?

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 06:01 PM) And it's not like they signed him to a below-market deal which will make him easier to trade. I don't get this at all, and it goes against everything Theo and company have done the last year. The only thing I've got is marketing. A "We did something" move. But hell, if you wanted to do that, Hamilton wasn't that much more pricey and would have worked better.