Balta1701

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Dec 20, 2011 -> 03:43 PM) Maybe we can sign him as Cutler's backup? I'd imagine he'd be available for something >> what the Bears gave up for Cutler. Pair of first, pair of seconds, and some filler.

QUOTE (Real @ Dec 20, 2011 -> 03:33 PM) how many more PA does Beckham get before we can say he is what he is? At least 600 more (ish, unless he gets hurt). He's still pre-arb, there's no reason to do anything with him just yet. Next year is his first arbitration year, which will mean a bump up in salary...that's when you start to question whether he's earning the money.

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Dec 20, 2011 -> 02:55 PM) Adam Jones is a much better player than anyone the Sox have.. DeAza to me is a 4th OF. Jones is already a 2nd year arb-eligible player, which means we'd be paying him $5-$6 million this season, and he regualrly puts up an OPS in the high 700's. Personally I think De Aza will give similar OPS numbers over a full season, but even if De Aza was in the low .700's, he's cheap, under team control for a lot longer, and it takes 0 talent to acquire him. Play the guy we already have.

Quit trying already I see, eh?

And I'm sure it's just a coincidence that this happened right after they failed to get the budgetary boost they requested to be able to pay for their expansion.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Dec 20, 2011 -> 11:33 AM) In the case of Kevan Smith. I still see him as a prospect because his baseball age is relatively young. People often confuse actual age vs baseball age and doesn't take into account how long the player has been playing the game for. Since Kevan Smith didn't start playing baseball full time until not too long ago, he still has the chance to learn and improve at age 24, which frankly, is the definition of a prospect. If a player who has been playing pro baseball since they are 17, and is still at Smith's level at 24, then they are non prospect. For the same very reason, I still consider Jared Mitchell a good prospect. Smith is projected as a very good contact hitter with above average power if he pans out, the only question is whether he can stick at the catcher position. You wouldn't rule out Sergio Santos' prospect as a pitcher after he just converted from SS to pitcher and can throw a 99 MPH fastball right? I think Kevan Smith is flying under the radar in this organization, which could be a good thing, and he could turn out to be a better player than most players on this list. The other issue though is physical development. By the time people are approaching 25, they're nearing their physical athletic peak. Plus or minus a couple years, it is around 27-28. Even if a guy is "baseball young", by being 25, he's likely physically more developed than 22 year olds he's facing, and he doesn't have a whole lot of time left to do things like add muscle or train muscles to respond in certain ways before things start heading downhill.

Conte to IR.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 20, 2011 -> 10:03 AM) No if the bulls bid more money they could have had him. Did a team have to be under the cap in order to actually bid money?

Bill Polian's response to whether or not Peyton will be back with the Colts next season.

Peja Stojakovic to retire.

Link

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Dec 20, 2011 -> 08:42 AM) As I long hopped would happen, the AT&T / T-Mobile merger is DEAD!!! While it's a good thing that this merger died, it remains to be seen what happens with TMobile now, since the company that owns it doesn't want to run it.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Dec 20, 2011 -> 08:40 AM) These people did something good for someone -- and that's great -- but I see little to no connection to any of these "Occupy" camps. I think calling this "Occupy anything" is disingenuous and attempts to credit an entire movement that deserves no such credit. This was a fringe group of people that did something nice for a small area. Now, if stuff like this became a common occurrence amongst these groups, maybe then we can credit 'Occupy'...and hell, maybe then people would actually get on board with them, because they'd actually be accomplishing something. A small group of the protesters does something that looks bad on camera...why that indicts the entire movement. A small group of the protesters does something that looks good on camera, why it's disingenuous to credit the movement for that.

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Dec 20, 2011 -> 01:08 AM) There is a rumor on Twitter that the Sox target might be Adam Jones. I'd love to see him in a Sox uniform. Just what we need, another OF.

$51.7 million is the posting fee. Stupid, stupid money.

Link

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 19, 2011 -> 06:58 PM) I have no problem admitting the Bears are easily a playoff team with Cutler. They could very well be the second best team in the conference with Cutler. That's not my argument. They don't have the requisite pieces on offense to get to and win the SB. And that's all that really matters. If management goes into next season with the thinking that, "Hey, if we don't lose Cutler, we're right there with the Packers - we don't need to make any major upgrades," then next season is already over before it begins. This team could have given the Packers a run for their money this year if their team had stayed healthy. They need to look to upgrade in a few spots, but IMO there is only 1 spot that can fit a major upgrade and that's WR. There are a number of places where upgrades could be a benefit, but WR is the gaping hole to my eyes.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 19, 2011 -> 06:48 PM) Wait a minute? What point are you trying to make? MY point was that EVEN if Cutler doesn't go down, the Bears are still not in the class of the GB Packers. Yeah, they had a nice 4 game run before he got hurt. Fact is their offense, even with Cutler, is nowhere near as explosive as teams such as the Packers, Patriots and Saints. s***, maybe even throw the Giants in there. They don't have the weapons and never have. None of those teams would throw the defensive quality out that the Bears can throw out though. The 49ers, Steelers, and Ravens also don't have offenses that are anywhere near as explosive as the Packers, Patriots, and Saints, but those teams are going to be in the playoffs and may well be dangerous because they can (most of the time, Ravens) play some darn solid D.

The Packers response would be that they lost tons of guys last year and still won the Super Bowl. So it's definitely worth noting...the Bears didn't just lose their QB. They lost their QB, their RB, and 40% of their starting offensive line. They actually played pretty well and overcame some injuries early in the season (Barber, Wooten, Carimi, Bennett), but even last year's Packers didn't have to deal with what the Bears offense has lost this year.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 19, 2011 -> 04:52 PM) What sense would it make for the Dbacks to dip into their prospect stash for a guy a year away from FA? Their current 5 is more than good enough to win that division. Even though they re-upped with Overbay, the guy from our roster they could use more than any other is Konerko. Weak position for them, and they need bats.

#OccupyGotham.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 19, 2011 -> 05:29 PM) And you know Bears management will probably roll with that same loser-style attitude. "Well, we were playing so well before Cutler got hurt, we don't need to make any real changes." You're not winning anything in today's NFL with such mediocre WR/OL corps. The best they could've hoped for was an NFC rematch with the Packers in which the ass-whooping would've taken place in Lambeau instead of Soldier Field. Personally I still think the Bears are set up pretty well long term on the O-Line, they have literally lost 2 first round picks this year and that would hurt any line a lot. They need to sign additional depth at the tackle position and cut Omiyale loose so that he stops being the worst O-Lineman in the league, but then just get the 2 high picks back, healthy, and into their spots. The difference before and after Williams went out, for example, is pretty big...they were incredibly effective using him to get out front of Forte. But I do agree that they absolutely need help at the WR position. The other "Night and day" moment for the offense on the Bears thsi year was when Bennett came back...they went from having 0 competent receivers to 1, and suddenly Cutler was immensely more effective. Give him a legit actual WR threat he's comfortable with, put Bennett on the other side, and whatever else the Bears can put together in the slot, and this offense suddenly would be able to do real damage.

Googling the phrase "Let it snow".

"Occupy Atlanta" helps prevent Iraq war veteran from being foreclosed on.