Balta1701

QUOTE (greg775 @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 06:33 PM) That's why I hope Kenny is working the phones trying to get rid of him. I'll take this nice April and go with Fuko the rest of the way as the Sox use that money for other players I like better. QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 06:36 PM) I...would actually go with Greg there.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 05:39 PM) I liked Captain America. I actually liked it better than Thor. (if nothing else, the scientist-characters in Thor were really poorly done stereotypes, and I think I'm allowed to focus on disliking that).

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 04:06 PM) Then maybe the government should allow the free market cattle industry to crash and burn, as it should...instead of rescuing it...like it will. Maybe then they'll get the message that they should be more careful with their testing, etc. We point at the cattle industry for being sloppy...but what you need to point at is the government that rescues them when they make the same mistake over and over again. Of course, the other plausible result of letting that industry crash and burn is that they'll also wind up killing hundreds of unsuspecting people in the process.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 04:03 PM) 6-man rotation is an awful idea. It helped Buehrle last year, but it was more for Peavy who was still an unknown factor and Humber who never logged the innings before. You ride this 5-man as long as possible, and if Sale or Humber need a rest, you skip them and bring in somebody like Axelrod. If we're really worried about Sale's innings getting up there (and honestly, we should be), then the right move is to swap Sale out of the rotation for a week and use Axelrod to fill that slot. As long as we're not crazy about it, it woudln't be hard to move Stewart and Axelrod back and forth to Charlotte to make this happen.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 04:13 PM) Well, I'd imagine that's because you don't cut the buyout number in half simply because you had JFP for half a season. Correct, the buyout is paid entirely by the team holding him on the day they announce they're not picking up his option.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 03:52 PM) It's funny you say that on a MLB message board. The comparison here would be the NFL deciding that it wanted to adopt a more stringent testing program and then MLB stepping in and having the government say "no you can't, you have to keep this many loopholes or you'll make everyone else look bad". It really is that bad.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 03:40 PM) You need to read it then. "Evidence shows that our systems and safeguards to prevent BSE are working, as are similar actions taken by countries around the world. In 2011, there were only 29 worldwide cases of BSE, a dramatic decline and 99% reduction since the peak in 1992 of 37,311 cases." Yes, much to do about nothing. Oh, and the U.S. testing process for BSE is a horrific joke. It's the same entirely private, voluntary testing BS that gets used whenever an industry doesn't actually want to test for something, and they use the government to make sure that no producer can actually perform the more stringent tests required internationally. It's seriously jsut a matter of luck that BSE hasn't had a chance to really explode in the U.S., and someday it probably will do so if the US doesn't improve tis testing regime.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 03:40 PM) You need to read it then. "Evidence shows that our systems and safeguards to prevent BSE are working, as are similar actions taken by countries around the world. In 2011, there were only 29 worldwide cases of BSE, a dramatic decline and 99% reduction since the peak in 1992 of 37,311 cases." Yes, much to do about nothing. They of course said that the last time one was detected. Japan still hasn't re-accepted U.S. Beef. A number of other places were starting to become more open even just this year, including Taiwan. That will obviously go the opposite way, again, and just like the last time, the taxpayer will take care of it.

QUOTE (ewokpelts @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 03:33 PM) I heard the Sox and Cubs get 500K per game on CSN, the same terms as their old FSN/sportschannel deal. So the Sox, with 102 games on CSN, get roughly 50 million per season on cable. The cubs, with far fewer games on cable, get less. And I was told they each get roughly 125-150K per game on WGN/WCIU. I can see why the team would stay on WGN for Less money, but why on Earth would they stay on WCIU for less money?

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 03:29 PM) Where you getting your info? He missed like 2 games and hit a jack in his return. Yeah, so I missed that one. Thought he was gone a while.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 03:36 PM) Much to do about nothing. And we will, thanks for judging. Really, no it won't be. Actually detecting this in U.S. cattle will give every other country in the world an excuse to respond harshly with import protections on U.S. beef (which simultaneously will protect their domestic industries). The U.S. taxpayer will then step in and fill the gap in money lost by big agribusiness, to the tune of probably billions, maybe tens of billions of dollars. That's what happened the last time.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 03:17 PM) Those are fair points...I really think our pen is capable of picking up a bit of extra workload this season...I suppose we'll need them. So far, the Sox pen has thrown 39.2 innings, tying them with the Rays and 1/3 of an inning more than the Phillies for fewest bullpen innings in MLB (both of those teams have played more games than the Sox though). So if nothing else, the bullpen isn't being overused now.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 03:14 PM) Which is stupid. I'm sick of people getting away with stuff like this. Well, BP has already settled something like $8 billion in private claims against them, but no one knows what the government will do yet and that liability should be huge. Then again, Shell had a monstrous spill overseas about the same time and simply said nothing happened.

One version of that stat is to look at how the team's actual results compared with the projections (factoring in personnel changes of course). Generally, the firs t5 years or so, I believe Ozzie's team did outperform the expectations, and if memory serves, they didn't do so the last 2 years.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 11:44 AM) Yea, we also have should have quite a bit of pitching muscle trying to bust into the big leagues by the end of the year...well if KW's plan continues to manifest. Indiana...let it go. If Peavy wants to come back to the Sox for some reason and Molina has made it apparent that he's getting a rotation slot next year, then we might finally be in a position where we see the long discussed, dreamed about, rumored about deal of Gavin Floyd. Dude would actually be a free agent post 2013 if he's not moved, and moving him would clear a decent salary chunk.

QUOTE (Wedge @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 11:19 AM) Name a better White Sox manager. The only candidates after World War II (hilariously, apparently the White Sox had a manager named "Pants") with tenures to compete with Guillen would be LaRussa Lamont Jerry Manual Al Lopez So yeah, Guillen is definitely one of the best White Sox managers. If you consider the World Series and subsequent 2008 division win I think you can make a good argument that he's the best in history. At the least, he's the most accomplished. Depends on how you're defining "Best". Tony LaRussa, for example, was a White Sox manager before being fired by an unnamed GM, and then went on to a career that will almost certainly wind up with him in the hall of fame, thanks to multiple WS rings. Joe Torre missed the playoffs for 5 years as manager of the Cardinals, but he followed that up with a fairly historic stretch of winning with another team. Out of managers accomplishments with the Sox, Guillen is clearly at the top...but there's not a whole lot of competition. So how one judges "Best" depends on one's standards.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 10:56 AM) I think with an unproven kid on the mound you have to call for fastballs. Make the team hit it through gaps to beat you. I still hate the idea of a lefty closer though. That strikes me as a terrible concept. If you're just calling for fastballs, no matter how good the fastball is, you're going to get beat. You have to mix the pitches up, even if he can't throw all of them for strikes, so that the hitter can't just sit on everything.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 10:40 AM) They're all following the MTV model. Their reality shows are terrible but so are all of their conspiracy shows. Hey, if it's turning a profit, then it's not obviously a mistake.

#3

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 03:56 PM) Ivan Rodriguez had a press conference to announce his retirement, and he refused to take questions. Wonder why? He threw out the first pitch last night...and he swapped spots with Michael Young and made the throw from home to 2nd. Pretty accurate throw too.

In a nice contrast, the University of Florida boosted its athletic department budget by about $2 million, while cutting out its computer science department entirely to save $1.4 million.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 09:27 AM) Pretty much anyone connected to MLB says it. Because if you're connected to ownership...things like that only matter inasmuch as they influence revenues and franchise values...and franchise values and revenues are skyrocketing.

QUOTE (mmmmmbeeer @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 09:17 AM) I forgot all about that option. Are you allowed to buyout the option and re-sign someone or would that raise the ire of the MLBPA? They can do pretty much anything they want until the option is actually paid. They can rewrite the remainder of the contract, restructure the option/buyout, whatever, as long as the money involved isn't going down for nothing.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 09:15 AM) This would be a decision I would make hopefully late in the season where I could have some evaluation time with Peavy. Making that deal now would be foolish though, Peavy would have to show me he is back for more than 3 starts. If you get to the end of the season though, he's got a shot at a much bigger deal than that, he'd be sitting there looking at free agency (and a nice $4 million buyout).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 24, 2012 -> 09:08 AM) Not to mention with the attendance, we sure as hell aren't adding payroll. I'd bet that with the pre-season salary cuts, there's probably still "Some" room to add salary come July if we want to go that way...but I'm not going to guess how much. At least if we went by the Forbes numbers, there was still profitability last year, and with $20 million in salary cuts, some of that ought to be available if the team really stays in contention. Big if there though.