Balta1701

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 09:46 PM) Ok, so let's just throw out all the discussion of transactions and see where we end up at the end of the year. I have a feeling it's going to be better than it is now... I'm in full agreement with that. Its either the central or the manager et al.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 09:30 PM) I'm not justifying the performance of the team thus far. But we're starting to see what we have here and I think in the end we're going to like it. Every GM makes some bad decisions. I have no problem with everyone discussing those bad decisions. All I ask is that you put those in context of the good decisions. It seems like we want to ignore every good deal Kenny makes and just rail on him for the ones that haven't worked out. Take Lillibridge, for instance. Say he turns into the player he is starting to look like, for instance, as chw42 compares him to, Ben Zobrist. How does that Javy Vazquez deal look then? Only fair way to evaluate those deals in aggregate is wins and losses.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 09:11 PM) You guys never cease to amaze me...you really and truly do not. You want to pick and pick and pick at anything you possibly can...but you're not going to give the guy credit for finding Humber off the scrap heap and turning him into the best pitcher in our rotation through the first third of the season! Problem so far shack is that a team shouldn't find one of the best steals of the offseason but still be well below .500. Or at least they shouldnt demand credit for the one thing they did right if everything else went wrong. That's like destroying the world economy by wrecking your entire bank but then taking home a billion dollar bonus because you also managed to convince the government to bail you out, and that'd just be nuts.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 08:12 PM) They had the gov't push them through a focused bankruptcy. Negotiations with creditors was essentially "rigged" since GM had the federal government as their surety. Which tells you how available bridge financing was.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 06:01 PM) You are seriously underestimating how much NBA players make. Mike Bibby's career salary is over $100 million dollars. Marginal players like Darko are making $4 or 5 million a year. Good veterans that want a ring will see Miami as an incredibly desirable place to go. Especially if said veteran is a PG or big man. Also, if you have a good 10 minutes per game in the playoffs on a championship team, that can earn you a new contract. See Tim Thomas, Gortat, Hedo, etc.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 07:33 PM) Rongey tried to compare Lillibridge to Pablo Ozuna on the postgame show today. Call me when Ozuna hits 6 HRs with a slugging of .600+ Ranger. I think Lillibridge is past the point of being exploited when he gets more playing time. He really looks like he's turned things around. The power and turnaround he's showing reminds me a lot of what happened to Ben Zobrist in 09. You don't hit the ball as hard as he has because you're getting lucky. Rongey is alleging the Stealth Elf is dirty?

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 05:43 PM) Even this isn´t going to be easy.They will certainly be in the mix for the next few years but to think they´ll rattle off 5 or 6 championships in a row is just too damn hard to do. The Heat are the top dog in the East, the Bulls need to add some pieces and grow as a team and they´ll really challenge Miami.I´m looking foward to some great Heat Bulls battles this upcoming years, I don´t buy the Heat will be unbeatable nonsense. If the CBA stays as-is, I have no doubt that's exactly what would happen. Their bench would fill out happily with the MLE and veterans exemptions every year, they'd be the deepest team in the NBA next year from guys who are free agents and want a ring, and they'll be in a position to have lots of expiring deals every year. They couldn't do it this year prior to the season because they had to actually sign the little 3, but they were able to wrap things up once the season got underway and other teams started making cuts. Mike Bibby turned down $5 million in exchange for a ring and he's going to get it.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 05:25 PM) I truly think most people would be stunned at how athletes on a college campus behave, and the illegal stuff they get away with. I'm not even talking about improper financial benefits. Academic fraud is even a bigger issue, in my opinion. I've actually, at least so far, been impressed by the efforts that UT puts into making sure their athletes are actually taking the classes and passing them legitimately. Although, I can't say that I'm yet at the top level of teaching where I'm the one entering the grades, so I can't tell you that nothing underhanded ever happens, but I haven't hit it yet.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 05:16 PM) Wow. You haven't been paying much attention to the injuries of the Giants and to the awful performances of most of the Rockies, eh? Is an awful performance by the Rockies early in the season all that surprising?

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 05:15 PM) Yet, but it will. They have 14 billion in extra cash they didn't have at the start of this. What, you think they're going to lower the cost of the vehicles as a thank you to their customers? Even if they wait 2-3 years before bumping up their executive pay, that's absolutely what that money will go towards. GM Maybe, but probably not Chrysler. Europe has rules about that sort of thing.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 05:13 PM) I would have been happy letting the s***ty company fail, just like the other companies that got us in this mess. I don't buy that allowing those companies to fail would have thrown us into the great depression 2. I think they would have gone through bankruptcy, fixed their issues, reorganized and continued working. Or, they would have been bought by a competitor. Either way, it would have worked out, and the US government wouldn't be out 14 billion+. They did go into bankruptcy, get reorganized, and resume working.

For once, the end of an Onion article is better than the title.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 04:38 PM) I actually am falling in love with the 6 man rotation. Must not be a fan of Danks.

A nice comeback win also.

We needed that.

The Kaptain Kills another.

Shaq officially retired.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 04:04 PM) When was he unavailable? I would have liked to see him facing Youkilis here. Yesterday Ozzie said he didn't want to use him after he was hit in the hip by that liner on Monday.

Gameday thinks all 3 of those pitches were strikes.

Is Jesse still unavailable?

Flyers making fun of other flyers.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 03:53 PM) Yes I am complaining. I don't think his 4 HRs and 8 RBIs are worth the huge contract he received. I want to occasionally see him knock a run in or two. I wanted to challenge you with the same point...but frankly, yeah, you're right, at some point he needs to do something.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 03:52 PM) We'll see what each of them learned from last night. Gonzalez learned to swing early.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jun 1, 2011 -> 03:43 PM) I'd say 90 mph with no or little movement is below average in the MLB, but that's just me. How are you quantifying "Little movement"? You're correct on his average velocity, however, I'm not sure how I can quantify movement. For example, I just picked Roy Halladay as a guy who I think has a lot of movement on his standard pitches, and checked the standard fastball movement (not his 2 seamer). For the standard fastball, Halladay's pitch breaks 4.4 inches left and 5.8 inches down. Humber's fastball breaks 6 inches left and 8.8 inches down, so if nothing else, relative to his release point, Humber's fastball actually moves more than Doc's. I'm happy to concede that I'm not reading these numbers right and there's something else to relative release points that I'm not understanding, but please, quantify your little movement part for me.

Apparently Dunn was in so that Rich Hill would tear up his elbow and wind up with the Tommy John.