Balta1701

Brett Lawrie out for the rest of the year with a broken finger from batting practice.

So..M-56 against Cleveland and 1 hit given up...sorta the usual.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 06:13 PM) I was well aware he was being sarcastic. Thought that was clear. Yeah...but you seemed like you missed the "the government pays for roads" part in an odd way.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 05:56 PM) I'd like to see a 1 or 3 game "wild card playoff" I don't know how you could argue that a 1/3 game series between Boston and TB at the end of the regular season would be a bad thing. Then the wild card team actually has a disadvantage going into the playoffs like they should. Ditto for the Braves/Cardinals or Giants at this point. This season...a short WC series would look good.

I like the Skeptical tone Heyman strikes at the end here.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 05:36 PM) That I absolutely agree with. Another way to look at it then... If you want to judge a successful season...what were the (honest) expectations at the beginning of the season? If a team is expected to run away with the league and barely scrapes by to the wild card, that's not a success unless things turn in the playoffs. If a team is expected to fall back towards .500 and challenges for the wild card, that's a success. If a team is expected to have a good shot at the division and finishes below .500, that's a failure, whether its' because of a pitcher getting hurt or Adam Dunn. If a team is hoping to develop guys who can compete in 3-4 years, and they get those guys playing time in the bigs, none of them obviously bust, none of them get hurt, that can be a success but its hard to judge until you know for certain that the guys haven't busted.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 05:32 PM) I think there was a decent split on Cinci. I know I was expecting down years from them and Texas(whoops). Put it this way...even if there was some reason to doubt on both of those...both of those teams had the goal of being back where they were last year, or better. Texas has basically achieved that goal. Cinci has failed.

Metropolitans thinking about moving the fences in at Citi Field. This is of course crazy since its easier to build a WS winner in a pitchers park, based on the unsupported statements in another thread.

QUOTE (fathom @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 05:19 PM) I'd say Cleveland had a successful year, as they far exceeded their projected attendance numbers and saw significant development from Masterson, Santana and Kipnis while bringing in a possible ace. Good addition.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 05:07 PM) Milkman, based on your easy to understand criteria, how many teams in the majors had successful seasons in 2011? here's my count: successful: philly and NYY only if they win the series. boston or tampa if either makes the playoffs, the other is unsuccessful. detroit, cleveland, texas, milwaukee, arizona, atlanta. unsuccessful: the other 20 some teams Successful: Philly, NYY, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Arizona, Detroit, Texas, LAA, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Iffy: Boston, KC, Washington, Torotno (depends on if Boston can win the series or not and how the youth develops on the other franchises, which can only be judged a few years down the line).

Link

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 04:56 PM) She made a poor choice of words. But her underlying point is spot-on. Remember...she has to win a Democratic primary first as well.

Not sure if I should point out the sarcasm...

QUOTE (LVSoxFan @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 04:47 PM) Well okay but that's b.s. and unprofessional. Now he's insisting the Sox do favors for his family just because he's him. I remember this, and if Ozzie's kid was any good they would have PICKED him--why wouldn't they want to have a Guillen in their minors? On that count, I have to side with KW. I'd say its more complicated than that...Ozzie's kid was actually projected to go in the top 10 rounds or so, but what wound up happening 2 years in a row (I think) is that no franchise has wanted to deal with the "Ozzie problem" in their organization. So in 2010, he plummeted until after round 20 where the Sox finally gave up and picked him but didn't sign him, and I don't even think he was drafted this year.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 04:41 PM) And the fact that government doesn't exist if the rich didn't get there. Her chicken and her egg are backwards. Government exists off of taxes, and not vice versa. I think governments or some version thereof probably existed before currency and taxation, simply as a means of organizing security and armies. Would you disagree?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 04:38 PM) Eh it'll play easily into the conservative individualist, self-made man boot-straps rhetoric. "Warren doesn't believe the money you make is really yours, but the government's!" Too complicated to frame an ad around. Really, that's not a slogan, and if you try to run that ad, well then you're also feeding into yourself as being the candidate of only the rich, which is a bad thing for Scott Brown to be doing considering his Wall Street ties and fundraising.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 04:35 PM) Is this season a failure for them? That's the real question. I don't know. I'd be very iffy on that. I didn't think they were going to be in a position to challenge for the WC given all that they've lost, but they still have a lot of pieces with skill and have put together a much better run than I expected. You know who this season is an utter failure for? Boston. Even if they win the WC. Unless they snap together next week and somehow take care of the playoffs. And even if they did that, I think a lot of people would still be disappointed.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 04:32 PM) she's going to get pummeled for that quote that "nobody got rich on their own" I don't buy that. Too complex to frame an ad around, and if you try to bring that up to her in a debate, she does that.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 04:32 PM) I'm just saying over the last week. They've had their opportunities, but seem to be dropping them left and right. Maybe they're just a 90 win team and not a 93 win team?

This is why good professors make good candidates.

Apparently Rick Perry got his claws on the guy who was doing ads for the Pawlenty campaign.

Senate panel votes to strip all funding for high speed rail out of the U.S. federal budget, citing the need to reduce spending.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 03:49 PM) Perhaps. Or perhaps they actually win and people come out to support. That team is close as is...can you imagine them adding another 5-6 WAR player on top of that? All they'd need is for that pitching staff to improve just a bit more and they'd be there. But they also would need nothing else to go wrong. Fielder to remain a 5-6 WAR player instead of the 3.4 WAR player he was last year or the 1.7 WAR player he was in 2008. Bautista to continue to be one of, if not the, best players in MLB. Lawrie to not turn into Beckham.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 04:02 PM) The Sox have had a 1B the entire last decade, and people still constantly brought up his name. Last year...that was because the Captain was a FA at the end of the season and his signing was actually unexpected.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Sep 21, 2011 -> 04:00 PM) Because none of our guys do that. We need a guy we know will take the ball and stand up for his teammates, regardless of anything else. Why is that the case though? If our hitters are sick of being beaned, then why won't the pitchers stand up for them? Do the pitchers dislike the position players that much or are they under orders to never retaliate? Neither one of those is acceptable.