Balta1701

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:42 PM) He'd be far superior to Morel offensively at 3b How do you know?

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:38 PM) What was the attendance today? 1 click from the ESPN.com homepage man.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:34 PM) Pitching. Do they need starting pitching, relief pitching, or both?

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:32 PM) And who would we trade to them...? What do the Brewers actually need?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:27 PM) 13 Ks total. Wow. Danks threw that many pitches in six innings? 116? WTF. He struck out 10. Lotsa foul balls? Lotta strikeouts, lotta movement on his pitches, inconsistent strikezone One inning he faced 5 guys, no one put the ball in play. 2 BB, 3 K's.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:24 PM) Given that a bill like the debt limit bill has to, if I am correct, originate in the House of Representatives. The person who sets the legislative agenda for the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House. I wonder how many Democratic led bills regarding the debt limit have actually been allowed to come to a vote. Of course, there is the trick for the Senate that still works...taking a budgetary bill that has been passed by the House, stripping out the entire text, and inserting totally new text. Can only be done so many times since the House only passes so many budgetary bills, but if you have a bill that can be passed that's the route.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:23 PM) I mentioned this the other day, but I'll say it again here. I LOVE the fact that Ozzie is finishing games with the matchups he deems best, instead of being a slave to the ridiculous statistical construct we know as a save. This is the advantage of having an un-established closer. All managers should do this, but don't, because established closers have save incentives all over their contracts. ???? It sure seems like he's been very insistent that his "Closer" is going to get the save, even if it's just a 1 out save.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:19 PM) Way to go ADA! The American Dental Association would like to say "you're welcome."

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:19 PM) See the below post about their ERAs in the NL. There have been numerous studies and comparisons that have shown most pitchers ERA drops when they enter the NL. (Edwin Jackson being a rare exception) I'm not saying at all that Hudson would be awful in the AL, but the difference between facing a DH or a pitcher does have an effect on a pitchers numbers over time. This has been quantified though. At the peak of the steroid era it was worth about 0.9 runs on ERA. It's declined to less than that as offense and DH production have declined and it's more like a 0.6 run difference on ERA today. He'd be a starter with an ERA in the low 4's in the AL with a normal transition. The advance stats also calculate things like what a pitcher's ERA would look like without these league adjustments, and that for Jackson is excellent. FIP = 2.87, suggesting he's had his ERA hurt by bad defense and a hitter's park, xFIP = 3.5.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:15 PM) "One player can't make much of a difference when your offense is this bad." "De Aza (or player ____) is not a savior." He doesn't need to make a huge difference or be a "savior", even a relatively small incremental help could put us over the top in this lousy division. He made the difference between a win and an infuriating 1-0 loss today, didn't he? Get it now, Ozzie?!? Technically I think it would have been a 2-0 loss or worse, as Rios wouldn't have caught the ball that ended the 6th.

See pinned thread.

QUOTE (Paulstar @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:10 PM) I wonder if it is at all possible to make a Rios and a prospect for Uggla. Uggla's power numbers haven't been terrible this year, but his average is only slightly better than Dunn. I don't know if the Braves are ready to give up on him yet considering the contract they gave him. However, I do know the Braves are looking for some speed in the OF. The Braves have no need for a below average defensive batless OF, they already have good OF defense. They need thunder. Uggla is also hitting .278 with a .924 OPS over the last month.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:04 PM) Not so sure about that. They are probably equally hard with Rios possibly being a little easier. I'd say the Cubs are a lot more likely to eat salary on Soriano than the Sox would be with Rios.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 05:02 PM) Q and Danks will each be around $8M next year, Thornton is signed for what the next two years? $12M? Then throw in the $10M in savings today. $16M + $12M + $10M = $28M. So, you're still eating $14M, but today showed, No Rios = Good. You can't count next year's cost savings there. Basically, cutting Rios would require this team pull back in Payroll to $90 million next year.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 04:47 PM) What do I get from the feds? Anything specific for ME? School money is money I paid to them just for the priviledge of having it go to Washington so some can get skimmed off before it gets sent back to the states. Road money? I already paid those in gas taxes just so the feds can hold my state hostage to do certain things just to get our money back. TSA? I'll pay a few bucks extra to fly for private security. How about I cut what part of my taxes pay for the county hospitals, or the local housing authority. I don't use those. I'll just stop payign those parts, and pay extra for airline screening. To go off on a tangent, every department can cut. But everytime you tell them that, they b**** and moan, then try and cut the person(s) that will generate the most bad pub so they can say 'see? We NEED the money1". That's why when faced with budget shortfalls, Dems always threaten to layoff teachers, firefighters and police first, instead of some of the streets and san workers, general mainenance or personal staff. Gas taxes come tens of billions of dollars short in paying for roads. Do you have employer provided health insurance? That's several hundred dollars in tax credits per year you're receiving. Do you have a mortgage on a home? On average, that tax credit is annually worth 2% of income to most homeowners. Do you rent? Your rent is impacted by that same effect. Do you have a bank account? The FDIC has been kind of useful over the last few years. Do you pay extra for unemployment insurance? Did you pay below market interest rates on student loans (if you had any, you did). Did you or your family use a 529 college savings plan? Do you have a 401k or an employee sponsored tax-advantaged retirement account? Did you go to private or public school? Have you been robbed lately? Or had an occupying army quarter itself in your residence?

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 04:57 PM) If KW dumps Q/Danks/Thornton for cost controlled talent, Rios will be DFA'd. Q + Danks + Thornton = what, $14 million? Rios DFA = $42 million?

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 04:55 PM) What's the scoop on Stewart? Was he one of their top prospects? He was their #1 prospect coming into 2010 on most lists and between 3-5 on most lists this year. Conveniently, he already has an AAP page here summarizing how he's thought of.

This Sale kid seems really good and he can pitch several innings. Why don't we try him out as a starter?

QUOTE (WCSox @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 04:49 PM) That makes sense to me. But trading Edwin Jackson for WAY less than he's worth on the market doesn't. The only aspect of this trade that makes any sense for the Sox is that it allowed them to bundle Teahen into the deal and maximize the amount of salary that they were able to dump. And if that's their mentality right now, the next two seasons are going to be painful to watch. I'd actually say that the Sox got more value out of Jackson than I thought he was worth.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 04:47 PM) Plus one of these days Dunn will start hitting again it seems like (tentatively) he's started...i hope.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 04:41 PM) How do the Guillen apologists not see how awful his in-game managing is? That wasn't nearly the worst part of this day or week. It's his handling of the Starters.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 04:38 PM) And for years the top 5% of taxpayers have subsidized the lower 50%. You know, if you feel like you are not paying enough in taxes, you are free to pay more. Nobody is stopping you. And if you think the federal government needs to cut services, no one is stopping you from paying back the funds you get.

DJ thinks PIerre was safe. Edit: Post 70,000.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 04:33 PM) By the time they get thru with refunds and tax credits, they pay nothing in federal income tax. and I know not of what graph you speak of, but I am sure you will point me in the right direction. The idea that "Federal Income Tax" is having "Skin in the game" but "Medicare and Social Security taxes" are not is just lunacy. Hell, for the past 25 years the Social Security tax surplus has financed upper class federal income tax cuts.

QUOTE (RudyLawRules @ Jul 27, 2011 -> 04:34 PM) Draft notes on Stewart: Draft notes on Stewart: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/ev....jsp?mc=stewart Focus Area Comments Fastball: Stewart showed plus, plus velocity, throwing his fastball in the 95-97 mph range. Fastball movement: It had plus life as well. Slider: He showed a slider that was average-to-plus and threw it with good deception. Control: He had plus command, particularly of his fastball. Poise: He has a closer mentality, very aggressive and going right after hitters. Physical Description: Stewart isn't all that big, but he's strong-bodied and his stuff plays big as does his bulldog mentality. Medical Update: Healthy. Strengths: Two plus power pitches and command of both of them. He has the right demeanor to be a closer. Weaknesses: Having played at three colleges in three years, there's no real track record. Summary: College closers have become all the rage lately, with some getting drafted early every year. Stewart could be in that group in 2008. The Texas Tech reliever relies on a plus fastball and slider and commands both power offerings well. He's got the kind of makeup you want in a short reliever, a guy who is very aggressive and goes right after hitters. The stuff plus the mentality could push Stewart into early-round consideration. The draft notes are pretty out of date since he's been moved to being a starter.