Balta1701

2k5 has significantly accelerated again since his new job.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 04:54 PM) I actually don't blame the Broncos for benching Orton. It's not like they are going anywhere. Might as well get the Tebow mess out of the way. Maybe Tebow will be awful and they will get the 1st overall draft pick. Seriously...they can't get a 5th rounder for Orton now, when Palmer somehow commands a first? You traded Lloyd for scraps, you're starting Tebow, but you still held onto Orton?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 03:40 PM) I understand that you want some sort of coaching experience at this level, but let's not act like he's never seen any of this before. He's going to have a bit of a feel for it right away, but there are going to be things that really make us question what's going on. I believe somewhere around 90-95% of managing can be done having never done anything in the major leagues. You're probably right that a majority of managing "Can" be done without ever having been a manager or even bench coach anywhere. The issue is...it clearly is much more likely that a person does those things effectively after other managing experience. Basically, picking a guy with no experience is to me taking the 1 in 100 bet, when maybe 1 in 2 bets were available. The only reason why you'd do the former is if the payout is much, much larger on the former bet...and it's not only hard for me to see how Robin is guaranteed to be a "much larger payout", it's impossible for me to say how you judge that without even interviewing the other guys (and seeing what their odds are).

QUOTE (WHITESOXRANDY @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 04:25 PM) You do realize that these are not All-Stars by any stretch ? The only one that MIGHT develop into anything special was an international signing. So, yeah, basically a piss poor system any way that you look at it. The Sox rate of success has to be compared against the other teams in baseball. This is where they pale by comparison. Saying that they have a few guys that might play a few years in the big leagues is nothing. Far far more is expected than that. Depends on how you define special. An average LH reliever is a very valuable commodity. An average middle of the rotation starter is a very valuable commodity. An above average RH setup man is a very valuable commodity. And hell...Reed has "all star closer" type stuff, or at least that's what he seemed to have last year.

Yay, an excuse to do this!

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 03:24 PM) I learned that peacocks make scary noises at the zoo, and it was definitely jarring. At the LA County Arboretum, I saw a peacock steal a person's grapes when they weren't looking. (No metaphor in this statement.)

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 03:10 PM) Come on now. The "you'll like this one ..." was a cheap shot at me! Actually I figured you would like that...it was a direct criticism of Kenny Williams, and you have repeatedly said that this site doesn't criticize Kenny enough.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 02:55 PM) Come on now you know Williams has been incompetent for the last three years. Even Southsider2K5 wouldn't be able to put together a defense for him. He would try though. Now look man, this isn't an argument, it's a cheap shot at 2 different people. I just made a case for why our drafting has been acceptable for a period of at least 3-4 years...which would reflect on Kenny Williams...and that's your response? I don't want to defend Kenny, especially for that Hudson trade. But cheap shots always get a response.

Oh, and losing our first round pick last year for a guy who put up one of the worst seasons in MLB history didn't help. Although that still was a remarkable collapse for the guy...that was guaranteed to ding the system.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 02:17 PM) articles like this are why I want Tebow to fail and to fail hard The one thing that bugs me about the fact that I agree with you is that except for the Super Bowl abortion ad, he's pretty much kept his mouth shut since finishing at Florida.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 02:34 PM) There was one in Batavia, IL, right up the street from me in high school The guy had a few tigers, lions, panthers, wolves and even a Liger, as well as many different types of deer species from around the world(Ibex, mule, miniature) and Bison and Buffalo as well. The place was called Land O'Lorin, and the owner is now in jail for solicitation of murder. I heard more than a few stories in HS that the big cats helped the guy dispose of a few problems And Kyyle goes with the hard sell on the "Man, this **** shouldn't be legal" part.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 02:16 PM) Fair enough. If you look at our recent drafts...excluding 2006 and before...the Sox have actually had a fairly good record to my eyes...but there are 3 issues currently hurting this org: 1. Injuries, and I mean freak injuries. That whole 2009 class seems snakebit. 2. Promotions. Sale, Reed, Beckham, Hudson, and Morel all raced up to the show. 3. One godawful trade with the D-Backs. (You'll like that one...you can take that as a direct shot at the person who pulled the trigger).

So...I must say...before this story, I had no idea that such thing as a "Privately owned zoo" could even exist in this country. And on top of that, we appear to have had a large, privately owned zoo where one guy could do an awful lot of damage. And a guy who has had "Animal cruelty issues" for years, with the animals living in "Filth" according to ABC. Seriously...why the Hell is any of this legal?

By the way, the world ends Friday, again.

Wow.

So...Reagan's nemesis from the Middle East...gone. W's nemesis from the Middle East...gone. Clinton have a leftover Middle Eastern nemesis that the Obama administration can remove?

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 01:23 PM) to me it does not pass the smell test Why Hoyer would leave to become theo's lackey says a-lot about him to me....why would the Padres let him leave is a bigger question. Probably because the Cubs are throwing $3 million or more a year at him. They're probably essentially signing their President/GM combo to 4 years and $30-$35 million.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Oct 19, 2011 -> 11:54 PM) He had 1 good year in a loaded lineup..............Nats overpaid. Seriously, go look at his stats in Philly. 4 straight years (part time a couple) of OPS's over .860, topping out at .921. That's not "1 good year". The Nats dramatically overpaid, but don't sell short his Philly numbers.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 01:57 PM) Is their any reason to have faith in the Sox amateur scouting staff? That needs to be improved before they open up the check book. The Sox scouts have done IMO a pretty fair job of evaluating MLB level talent in the past few years...although last year's draft isn't impressing yet. Getting MLB level players in rounds 1, 3, and 5 in 2008, a number of guys with promise in 2009 (I still count Mitchell since scouts can't predict an injury like that, Holmberg, Thompson, Phegley again with the injury bug there), Sale and Reed as your starting point for 2010 (2 MLB ready pitchers within a year and a half).

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 01:26 PM) Michael Bourn or Justin Upton, eh? Very comparable players... Yeah, and since neither of them are free agents...and I can't think of really anyone in the league I'd count as comparable to Justin Upton who is a free agent...I don't know how that one happens.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 01:01 PM) Well I think you're flat out wrong, there is correlation, it's not the only factor but it's a big one. The Angels was once a top spender in the draft and a perennial top system, now they spend some of the least amount and that's reflected in their middle of the road rankings. Just look at how many average to above average MLB teams are ranked highly in system ratings, it's not just draft position, it's buying the players. I see 5 out of the Top 10 systems as teams that aren't drafting within the top 10 slots, and most of those teams are playoff teams. So how do they do it? It's a combination of 3 main factors: Money in the draft/International Signings/Player Development. Gotta ask...where did that list come from? At least as an example...I don't think the Cubs's system is that far removed from ours.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Oct 20, 2011 -> 01:54 PM) You think the farm system will be much better by April. Teams are going to be lining up for Danks, huh? I think the return for Danks will be underwhelming, same for Quentin...but that would still substantially improve the system from its current state. As others have noted...basically everything down there that was close has been moved up. Simply adding bodies will imporve that problem.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Oct 19, 2011 -> 10:42 PM) This happens annually at pretty much every noteworthy prospecting site/publication. Expect the rankings relatively soon. A universal bottom 3 ranking is all but guaranteed. Most honest ones will tell you there's not much difference between say, 25 and 30, or between 1 and 5. This isn't a defense of us fwiw.

"I said strike was 5 letters, I'm told it's actually 6."

Seriously, the sound on that drive...eep