Balta1701

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 22, 2011 -> 09:21 AM) There are a lot of good WR's that could possibly come out next year, so I am hoping we might have an elite WR fall to us. Safeties are usually fairly plentiful, so I see us using later picks on that position. CB is another option, as not only do we need a #2 CB, but Peanut is starting to grow a little long in the tooth. Also remember...the Bears don't need a guy who steps in and becomes Randy Moss immediately. They have a solid QB who can work with the WR over several years and let him develop too.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 22, 2011 -> 11:57 AM) Hey, I'm just trying to figure out what Marty is thinking... I believe you just wrote a post in a different thread advising why that is a mistake.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Oct 22, 2011 -> 08:52 AM) I saw Cameron Crowe's "Pearl Jam Twenty" documentary last night on Channel 11. Liked it. Learned stuff. Yes, very glad I spent the time to watch that.

QUOTE (dpd9189 @ Oct 22, 2011 -> 12:06 AM) I hate to say it but I love this move by the Cubs. Bringing in some young, hungry and proven baseball guys to try and turn around a whole organization....not just the current team. The more I read about how things were run there, the more I really see what a clusterf*** their FO was in the past. They won't be good overnight but I think they'll be a much improved organization as a whole in a couple years. "Hungry"? And I'll give you a choice...worse FO clusterf***...Boston and their $100 million in Adam Dunn quality contracts, or the Cubs'? Death is not an option.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 22, 2011 -> 11:44 AM) My guess is he is referring to Kenny saying he wasn't going to be shopping our players, and then later stated he won't know the direction we'll be going in until he sees what other teams want to offer us for our players at the Winter Meetings. The distinction Kenny would obviously make is that he isn't shopping anyone, but he is always willing to listen. That's not what he says though. He basically admits that he's going to be shopping people but for an MLB-ready return...but not everyone, unless he decides they don't have the talent to compete for a championship (a decision presumably based on the return in his first parts).

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 22, 2011 -> 11:29 AM) In the space of those two paragraphs, Kenny contradicted himself. Um...how?

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 08:08 PM) The laughing...it hurts. That's why the true version is done pantsless. Much less pain.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 07:28 PM) It really started to go downhill around May 3rd of that year. Yeah, maybe a bit before that.

I'd say the difficulty increases linearly with velocity.

Bud Selig hints that he may have to personally get involved to mediate the Theo Compensation Talks. Former Arizona GM Josh Byrnes would likely take over in S.D. Hoyer took the offer from the Cubs to San Diego's GM, asked for a comparable length extension of his contract, and did not get one.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 04:41 PM) I'm not a fan of picking up WRs in the first round. I've always preferred to spend later picks on them, because, aside from a few truly beastly guys like the unrelated Johnson boys, there isn't enough of a disparity between later round guys to me. Also, I think WRs, more than any other position, rely on the talent around them, which makes them a slightly less important draft pick in my eyes. Normally I'd agree with you. However, my logic right now is...the Bears have no one with the actual physical skills to be a #1 WR. I had more confidence in this group this season and they've let me down again...they're still playing like a set of #2-6 receivers. The Bears need someone who Cutler can try to turn into a dominator...if the trade market can do it I'd be content, but I don't see it happening on the FA market. Right now, the lack of a trusted WR is another thing hurting the Bears.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 04:32 PM) If you don't want them to spend a first on OL, Balta, what route do you think they should go? Depending on what's available...the Bears needs probably are, in order, WR, DB, DE, O-Line, with RB jumping up if they're really dumb.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 04:20 PM) I get the feeling Hoyer was going to be canned. After what, 1 year on the job?

Yeah...so Webb, Williams, Louis, Carimi. Louis is playing well. Williams is playing well. Webb is just a 7th round pick but yes, he's showing flashes of playing well, like last week. And no one is benching Carimi just yet. The Bears could blow a 3rd-4th rounder on their line or make a middling OT signing for depth. First round can go elsewhere barring career changing injuries.

Other thing worth noting about why this is happening now...the U.S. agreement with Iraq to have troops there expires on December 31. Without a new forces present agreement...the U.S. would technically be declaring war on Iraq again to keep troops there. Despite the best efforts of a substantial fraction of the military leadership and others...the Iraqis have said "Absolutely not" to additional U.S. troop presence. That date was decided under Bush, I believe, when the government originally negotiated the forces agreement.

WTF, I typed Omifail instead of Carimi. I deserve scorn for this one.

QUOTE (Wedge @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 02:38 PM) I sort of don't get a couple of things 1) If Theo is going to be the Team President, why do the Cubs need to provide compensation? I thought compensation was only for lateral moves. 2) Why are the Cubs going through all this trouble to bring Theo in as Team President? You'd figure his talent is as a GM and that bringing in a GM under him only undermines the ability to use Theo's talents. 1. Because Theo is currently under contract with the Red Sox. The Red Sox have a right to demand compensation for releasing him from his contract. 2. PResumably bringing in Hoyer along with Theo is Theo and Hoyer's call and the Cubs are going along with it.

QUOTE (robinventura23 @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 03:15 PM) watch the Braves lead the league in hitting next year. LOL. That still has the makings of a very potent offense...but it depends on their kids a lot.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 03:04 PM) Also, I've been toying with this question recently: What's the bigger need in the draft this year -- OL or Safety? Or something else? Depending on how the Bears' line performs the rest of the year...Omiyale, Lewis, Webb, and Williams is 4 guys who appear to be closing in on starter-quality, all of whom have been drafted in the last 2-3 years. You're not drafting a C in the first round and if you want a first round pick on the line, you have to pick one of those guys who you would be better off with a rookie instead of them. Depth would help the Bears O line right now...but I still kinda like this set of guys. They need some health and to keep working. Their guards look solid, Webb is still a Q but he did dismantle Jared Allen last time out, and Omiyale we haven't seen in a while.

I think he'd be a better fit in San Diego.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 11:10 AM) I have the overwhelming desire to cut you. "I'd take pleasure in cutting you, boy."

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 10:27 AM) I think some of you just want to criticize the Cubs for whatever they do. They're building a stronger FO with these moves. It may not result in 2 titles like it did in Boston, but getting these two in the mix is definitely setting them up better for the future than having Jim Hendry there. I am not expecting Theo and Jed to transform the Cubs into a powerhouse overnight, but in my opinion, this is a definite solid first step to getting the product on the field back to respectability. See...I still will sit here and defend Jim Hendry on almost every deal/move he made other than the Milton Bradley one. Almost everything he did was, IMO, management directed...with a "Win now and maximize revenue so the team can be sold" mantra for the Tribune company, followed by the "make moves that keep butts in the seats" mantra the last year or two. The Cubs were guaranteed to have a fairly weak system. They've regularly been giving up draft picks to sign big time free agents, but they still are producing youngsters from their system. In 2006 they had no 2, 3, or 4th round picks, but still came up with Colvin and Samardzija. 2007, they have Vitters and Barney (probably 1/2 their starting IF next season). Cashner in 2008, LeMahieu in 2009, in addition to some big time international successes (Castro, Marmol). They have pretty much done what they're supposed to do. Successes internationally, supplemented by 1-2 guys already reaching the big leagues from each one of their drafts.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 08:34 PM) I dont agree with street justice, but from the videos its hard to determine what exactly happened. Its possible that Gaddafi died die to injuries suffered prior to capture, who knows. As for going down the road to Islam if thats what the people of Libya want, who am I to stop them. When people are free, they have the right to make their own decisions about their govt. The reason I withheld comment yesterday was that I was guessing there was a firefight involved at some point, rahter than him just being killed by a mob. The Post is running with a story saying Quadaffi was in fact killed in a firefight prior to where those videos of his bloody body were taken.

Great graph demonstrating why the "47% of Americans pay no income taxes" is such a misleading point...because that group still pays payroll taxes...and look what has happened with payroll taxes as a share of revenue.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 21, 2011 -> 10:09 AM) True. Poor wording on my part. On Kyyle's part too...he forgot to include all of Tex's other recent posts.