Balta1701

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 05:10 PM) Edwin Jackson is the best available starter out there. Derek Lowe would be a solid addition for them and probably wouldn't cost them many players.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 05:07 PM) It's very likely they acquire one of the better pitchers or a third baseman like Mark Reynolds. I can't see them trading Turner, but Oliver seems like a great trade chip to use. Mark Reynolds's defense this year has actually been historically bad.

The relevant discussion is in the other thread, but these links are blogs, so I may as well put them here where no one will complain. Krugman and DeLong have outlined, once again, the method by which, in a liquidity trap, budget cuts at the federal level actually make the deficit worse rather than better. (Remember, this only works in a depressed, high unemployment, low inflation economy where the inflation-adjusted interest rate on government debt is below 0%, which it is right now).

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 04:56 PM) Or half of the Braves system coming back to Chicago. Um, this is the Braves system we're talking about, not the Sox's system.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 04:54 PM) How would that trade make any sense from a Sox standpoint? Clearly there would have to be more to it. A Rios-like contract going to the Braves, or a player coming back in addition.

In the event that 2-3 starters are traded we now have another warm body to fill the spot

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 04:08 PM) Yeah, I see that average has climbed. But his power, not that he had much to begin with, has been sapped and he's so bad defensively that the average is practically meaningless. Maybe really bad was the wrong term. Give me Matt Wieters' .260 average and his ability to dominate the game defensively over AJ's punchless .300 and defensive liabilities. Somehow I doubt Matt Wieters is available on the trade market. But AJ also has a .721 OPS on the season which is pretty good for catchers (league average is .694), and .766 since May 1. If the Sox were willing to move AJ he'd probably be the best catcher available on the trade market.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 03:58 PM) To do it intentionally is illegal. Of course it would be hard to prove, but in this case this is exactly what Greg told us he would have done. Being the holdout who causes a hung jury though isn't illegal...if he genuinely believed that the person was guilty and would not vote to acquit, then that's not illegal.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 04:01 PM) Teahen starting at 3rd base instead of Morel Against Verlander, it's hard to complain. Teahen probably has a slightly better chance of a hit and an error.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 04:00 PM) I have no idea. I just believe nobody is taking AJ and the $6 million he's owed next year. Outside of a singles binge here and there, he's really bad now. Have you actually looked at his numbers for this year? He's actually hitting nearly .300 and his numbers, especially since May 1, have been stellar.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 03:49 PM) Why are you still following the team if you want them to lose? I'd be following them because I'd be excited to see Dayan Viciedo.

QUOTE (Cali @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 03:44 PM) I actually want 3-9, but 6-6 is more likely just to keep the status quo intact for KW and Ozzie to keep the same corpse-mix on the field.... Under no circumstances other than maybe a 10-2 run can I envision KW standing pat.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 03:45 PM) I remember hearing either Steve Stone or Ed Farmer say that you could go to the plate without a bat and most of the time count on him throwing 4 balls before he throws 3 strikes. The biggest problem is that the ump bails him out as much as anyone I've seen not named Greg Maddux.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 03:38 PM) Yeah and I would go out of my way to take my car and ram it into somebody and kill them. What mod can I contact to issue my complaint about your post? Who is in charge here? You are out of line. If you have a serious complaint about a mod/admin, spell it out to one of the other admins, and we will, likely in private, take action deemed appropriate by consensus of the remaining mods/admins.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 03:31 PM) I think he was asking whether Kaner may have went to rehab this summer as well as stepped up his workouts, which is entirely possible, although a completely made up rumor. If he was rehabbing from alcohol though, that would likely have totally interfered with stepped up workouts and really inhibited his body from responding to them. Again, he could be almost super-human in what his body can take, I can't rule that out, but the alcohol and rehab would have really impacted workouts. You're taking in a lot of calories, getting no protein, and dramatically affecting your body's overall balance when you drink, and if you're to the point you need rehab for the drinking, your body is struggling mightily to keep up with just the alcohol. Worst case scenario...you could hypothesize a person going to therapy for something like binge-drinking, but not a full detox.

QUOTE (The Critic @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 02:23 PM) Just for sake of conversation, and because I have no way of knowing, isn't it possible Kane could have done both this summer? While every person's body is different, the idea that he could be attacking his body with alcohol, sobering up, and then also adding a significant amount of good muscle mass is pretty farfetched. There are some who could probably do it...but that'd be rough.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 02:43 PM) I hope they turn it around but i've definitely begun looking forward to the NFL/NCAAF/NCAAB seasons much earlier than I normally do Then you might have some extra worries...

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 02:41 PM) They thought they could win in 2010, which is why they did the deal. I still struggle to believe that could possibly be the *only* reason.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 02:37 PM) Well all except for confidence numbers being in the toilet, and commodities prices not being appreciably different, i am going to go with no. Well, at least you admit that your commodity price/blame is wrong.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 02:36 PM) Pretty much yes. I hate both parts of this negotiation. Raise the ceiling because you have to, and don't do anything to make the economy worse. Wow, something I can fully agree with. Yay!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 02:33 PM) The job market was picking up pretty well, as you pointed out many times, on its own. The job market died when the Presidents policies exploded commodities prices. Then the fact that there was a huge burst in those prices in June to the point that the full CPI was negative in June means we're in the clear.

QUOTE (BaseballNick @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 02:13 PM) Wells was traded in the offseason following a very productive year (his third best in terms of OPS). Rios is nowhere near that, so trading him is going to be much more difficult, in my opinion. Wells also makes nearly 2x what Rios Makes. Yes, it'll take a miracle. But it's possible.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 02:22 PM) What we need to do right now is control spending. The cuts need to come when, however long that might be, the economy turns around. No more trillion dollar bombs that don't fix the real problems at hand. The economy needs to fix itself, and all we have been doing is a bunch of plans that just put off of the eventual reckoning date. Keep things steady right now. Keeping things steady right now and controlling spending is the path to the exact type of job market we've had for the last year. Public sector job cuts and anemic private sector growth. We have been controlling spending and cutting back in the public sector...it's just all happened at the state and local levels since they can't print money.