Balta1701

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 09:54 AM) It blows my mind that VDN has been put in charge of molding first Derrick Rose in his first two years and now Blake Griffin. It's insane. And now Chris Paul.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 09:55 AM) The information is out there all over the place. He traded enrichment info for missile technology. And that information was completely useless to North Korea in building a plutonium bomb. The whole genius of the NPT is the understanding that it is perfectly reasonable for countries to possess the capability to highly enrich uranium, since you can do that with the same facilities you use to build a nuclear power plant or a system to produce radio isotopes for medical purposes. The only way you can possibly tell that a weapons system is being constructed is to have inspectors in the area and on the ground capable of taking samples. So the NPT says "We'll actually even give you the technology to build a nuclear weapon, willingly, and help you with it, as long as you let the IAEA put inspectors in, since those inspections are shockingly difficult to fool". And it works.

QUOTE (Felix @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 09:40 AM) Since I normally rag on Rose for his shot selection, I guess it's time to pick out someone else. What the f*** was Blake Griffin thinking last night? He took 9 shots from 16+ feet. If you're Blake Griffin and you are as athletic/strong as anyone in the league, why would you move your game to the perimeter? There were a number of times where he'd catch the ball just inside the three-point line and instead of actually trying to get a better look, he'd just take the jumper because no one was guarding him closely. Here's a hint, Blake. No one was guarding you because you suck at shooting from that distance. I mean, the long two is a bad shot in the first place, but when your 4 is starting to take that shot as often as he is, it's even worse. He's averaging five and a half shots per game from 16-23 feet and is shooting just 33% on those jumpers. Comparatively, he's shooting 75% at the rim (on seven attempts per game) and 49% from 3-9 feet. He's one of the better finishers in the painted area in the league and draws a s***load of fouls when he's in there. Why would he EVER take over 30% of his shots from a spot where no one will defend him and where he can't make a shot consistently? Gosh...it might be nice if there was a person who's job it was to teach players not to do things like that and to craft an offense that put them in positions where they were more likely to be effective. One could even call it a "Coach".

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 09:37 AM) only if they're in unions. working class people who aren't in unions are much more likely to be republican. (that damn religion/social issues thing, even they're voting AGAINST themselves economically) but the point you're making is generally correct Working class was me being more polite than saying "Poor as sin".

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 09:29 AM) Except that they spent the whole time bringing AQ Khan in as a consultant... Yup. They learned a ton about how to build a uranium bomb from Khan. Then they built and tested a pair of plutonium bombs.

QUOTE (Felix @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 09:14 AM) 17 teams are holding opponents to 95 points or less in a game (four under 90), compared to just seven teams last season (and three the season before that). Some of that is the small number of games that have been played, but it's also lockout basketball. Actually, that is a record for the Bulls though...fewest points given up through 4 home games.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 09:20 AM) Iran has been trying to build a nuclear weapons program for something like 50 years now. That hasn't changed. Believing it has is the same wishful thinking that got us nuclear Pakistan and NK. Pakistan was never a signatory of the nonproliferation treaty. The U.S. had no legal standing by which it could prevent them from development of nuclear weapons. North Korea is the clearest story you can imagine of a country taking advantage of the U.S.'s invasion of Iraq. North Korea basically did all of their reprocessing work and withdrew from the NPT while the U.S. was preoccupied. They were very likely nuclear disarmed until that point. The NPT is the most important, useful framework you could possibly imagine here.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 09:09 AM) Cespedes is a much better player/prospect than Alexei ever was. To assume he'll require minor league seasoning when Alexei didn't, although entirely possible, would definitely not be my guess at this time. Furthermore, if we sign this guy, my guess is that KW and the marketing department will hype him up a ton. If you want to sell some tickets in April and May, considering our moves so far, you'll want your big attraction in Chicago and not Charlotte. It would really, really suck to make baseball decisions based on marketing.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 09:05 AM) There is the key in your statement. I don't believe for a micro-second that this program is for peaceful purposes, and the steps they are taking in it agree with me. The enrichment steps they are taking, and the hiding of the program in mountain sides and military bases speaks directly to that. The problem with that logic is that the facilities they just opened in a mountainside, for example, are under IAEA inspection. They are fully legal for Iran to possess. The NPT doesn't regulate where they are put. Iran was caught red handed with enrichment facilities that weren't disclosed to the IAEA when they were about to be put into use in 2003. This is the entire basis for the international community being able to place sanctions on Iran's nuclear program, they failed to disclose these facilities. These could have been a reason to actually act against Iran's nuclear program at the time, but I guess we were a little busy then.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 08:58 AM) L O L Seriously? That is an exact description of international law and of everything currently publicly admitted about Iran's nuclear program. There is nothing in there you get to laugh at.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 11, 2012 -> 08:32 PM) There seemed to be a decent amount of cross-over of dems and independents. Did that hold true in 2004 as well? It's very possible that both bases are unmotivated right now. There's probably also a big demographic difference muddying the waters. If Democratic voters are more typically working class (true) while Republican voters are more upper class or retired (also true), then it's easier for Republican voters to turn out to vote in elections that really don't matter than it is for people who are working. Really hard to draw a trend line from that number, but worth keeping track of.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 08:37 AM) We declared we wouldn't allow Iran to build a nuclear weapons program. Fixed that for you. Under the terms of the Non-proliferation treaty, there is a huge, monstrous, gargantuan difference. Iran is legally allowed to possess a nuclear energy program and can receive assistance in building it internationally in exchange for inspections. They are not allowed to possess secret, uninspected facilities or to enrich uranium beyond the amounts that could be useful for medical and energy applications. Iran has not done the latter of these to the best of our knowledge. It did build facilities that it tried to keep secret.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 08:50 AM) I wouldn't touch that contract, even for Dunn or Rios. That's why I asked. I figured the first answer would be "OBviously yes, since you get him out of Target Field".

White Sox Bulls Indiana Basketball/Buffalo Bills football. The last 2 have bounced back and forth for the last decade or so as they've both gone through stretches of complete and utter irrelevance. This year IU is clearly in the #3 spot thanks to a shot against Kentucky. I'm still trying to figure out whether I hold a bigger grudge against Kelvin Sampson or Wade Phillips.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 01:43 AM) WTF is Battier b****ing about Edit: If I was an NBA ref, players like LeBron who complain to NO END about their fouls would get T'd up like motherf***ers. And if you dared to T up an NBA star a couple times, you wouldn't be an NBA ref for very long.

How about Dunn for Mauer?

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 03:19 AM) Does the new CBA come in effect as of now? If so, I think we need to credit the new CBA's requirement for international spending more than the Sox actively seeking a different philosophy. The CBA is in effect, but the international limits don't start until this summer I believe. I think this is just considered one "Offseason signing period" and the limits target next year's.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 11, 2012 -> 11:59 PM) Yeah, he was bad last year. But just so you know, his other blown saves mostly came as a setup man. That's not exactly fair to consider when evaluating him as a closer. And then theres the whole "Juan Pierre tried to destroy Matt Thornton's career" part.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 12, 2012 -> 08:20 AM) If he goes to the minors, my guess is that it would only be for a month or two, which wouldn't bother me too much. But considering that Alexei started in the majors, I don't think Cespedes will need time in the minors. Alexei also looked totally overmatched for about 6 weeks too. Really hard to predict how long that might last for a different guy, depends on what issues he might have. Heck, Alexei still never seems to live up to what he could really do with the bats to this day.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Jan 11, 2012 -> 09:50 PM) Remember when we were talking Buehrle for F-Mart? Is this the same Mets' F-Mart? It was the summer before he signed that last deal with us. We were talking about Seattle's 2 OFs, Balentien and was it Adam Jones? There was also Red Sox talk with I think Lowrie or Bucholz coming here. Who else were we looking at? Yes, this guy was a Mets top prospect OF who busted. He was more highly regarded than Milledge, and for about 2 years people were dying to get their hands on some of these Mets prospects like Pelfrey, Milledge, or Martinez.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 11, 2012 -> 06:59 PM) Or say Osama Bin Laden... The fact that he personally issued a declaration of war against the us probably counts there.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Jan 11, 2012 -> 05:45 PM) You're completely ignoring an entire dimension of evaluation. Is a farm system that produces 10 Nick Puntos better than a farm system that produces, say, 5 John Danks? Hell, I'd rather have 1 Albert Pujols than 10 Nick Puntos. The ideal farm system would produce a large quantity of high quality players, not just one or the other. But if the 10 Nick Puntos were as highly regarded coming up as our own Nick Punto (Beckham), they could be the basis of a really strong farm system.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 11, 2012 -> 04:05 PM) And I've shown you that your statistical interperatations are flawed. Do you disagree that the prime motivation of the GOP base right now is ousting Obama, versus finding their ideal candidate? And I've responded that your statistical interpretations are flawed. As have a number of other surveys. But hey, we can both play that game, so here's an answer to your other question. Yes, but a similar comparison works for John Kerry in 2004, and that was perhaps the best example I can give in the last 20 years of an election won entirely by effective base-turnout operations on one side and a less than motivated base on the other.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 11, 2012 -> 04:02 PM) The cap on international spending. Which doesn't start until this summer, unless I'm mistaken, so this doesn't count against anything?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 11, 2012 -> 04:00 PM) Not to mention $250,000 now, is very different than what it was 6 months ago. How so?