Balta1701

You don't need every stadium to have a dome, you don't need to chop 2 weeks off the regular season, you just need to spend the first week of every season with teams from the Central playing the West. Start Cleveland, Minny, and the Sox with a 1 week road trip every year and this isn't a problem.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 09:04 AM) The Royals gave up on him. What else do you need to know? C'mon Yas, sometimes that's a matter of coaching, you know that. Link

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 09:42 AM) I agree with this 100%, especially for a long term deal. His deal is going to go down as one of the worst in MLB history. That is my predicition. The one thing going against that prediction is the fact that the Yankees don't appear to be on the market for a DH type next year

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 09:18 AM) 3rd. But as others said, if Quentin is in 2008 form, I want Dunn hitting 4th. In other words, Dunn 3rd until someone else earns it.

The dirt composing your lawn is probably quite young,

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 05:10 PM) This is why I'm not buying the Philly hype. Too many questions with that lineup and bullpen. I really like the Braves and Marlins. I'm not sure I like the Marlins yet...but I gotta agree with you on that Braves team. Deep rotation, much more balanced lineup with Uggla in there, young powerful back of their bullpen.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 03:40 PM) In the grand scheme of things dirt isn't really that old... after all the planet took a while to cool and make some land. If you'd like, I can direct you to some several hundred million year old dirt.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 04:17 PM) I always get a kick out of stuff like this...I agree, yes, this sounds incredibly disgusting...but honestly, if you stop and think about it, how is eating a piece of meat from one cow really any less disgusting? You are eating an animal. An animal that has sat around in a stall (or if you are luck, a field somewhere), with the express purpose of eating so as to get fat, so you can eat it's flesh. It lays around in s***, has flies buzzing on it all day, every day, and then is unceremoniously shot in the head (or some other quick and dirty manner of murder), where it's hide is stripped and the carcass hangs on some hook for days until some guy in a white suit comes by in a saw and slices and dices it. I'm not sure I like the idea of eating a hoof, but if you didn't know any better, why would eating the loin or the shoulder or the ass really be any better or more appetizing? Sorry, just had to rant. Whether it's disgusting or not...it's a serious disease risk. Especially if you have a disease like mad cow which may not be effectively killed by treatments that kill normal bacteria like e-coli, or if you develop bacterial strains that are resistant to the treatment you're putting the product through. If you're mixing everything together then making 100000+ burgers that contain products from a single animal, that means that one contaminated animal can sicken every one of those people.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 05:06 PM) I finally got a job offer!!! Well that only took 23 months. I'll be starting in about three weeks. Yeah!!! Thank God that the stress of the hunt is over! Congrats

QUOTE (joeynach @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 04:54 PM) I have heard people say he strikes out too much and should not bat 3rd becuase he helps shorten the first inning. A strikeout is still an out, might even be a long one since it requires more pitches, and he makes fewer of them with that .380-ish OBP. I think this actually argues in favor of him hitting 3rd.

Brad Lidge is trying to scare Philly phans more than anything other than Brad Lidge coming into a game will do. Link

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 04:42 PM) If this team starts like that, it will be melted down. There is no gray area for them to screw up early this year. I'd imagine 10-17 in April could be tolerated if they're back to .500 by end of May...but that's pushing it.

Oh, Goodie.

Since Canadian Conservatives are to the left of U.S. Democrats I'll put this here...Canada's government falls in a no-confidence vote, elections coming in a few weeks.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 04:19 PM) I wouldn't say it's insane not to pick up a $15M option on a 37-year-old pitcher with history of injuries. Especially if it's in exchange for a 33-year-old pitcher who will cost millions less, and has been the most durable pitcher in baseball since his career started, AND grew up as a big fan and has publicly stated his desire to play there. It's far from a sure thing. Problem is, the Cardinals aren't going to want to pay M-56 something like $10-$12 million if they don't think they have a first place team next year, and I can't imagine M-56 wanting to go through another season for 1/2 that price.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 02:00 PM) While I'm in favor of tax BREAKS for companies, I dunno that I'd go THIS far. What a joke. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business...tml?_r=1&hp This is what we mean when we say that anyone who complains the U.S. corporate tax rate is too high is a bald-faced liar. The nominal rate is too high. The effective rate goes down correlated with your firm's size and lobbying power.

I don't have anything particularly intelligent to say here but I thought this was interesting.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 03:38 PM) Wow, posted three times in two threads. At least mine was first.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 03:35 PM) During the 10 year period 2000-2010 is when the first big wave started retiring. And recessions in 2001-2003 and 2008-> forced more to retire early. So yeah. Which is why that's a scary graph.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 01:18 PM) As to the second bolded part, you don't remember the part where he kicked out the inspectors? Despite being required to let them in whenever they wanted? I'd say that was a pretty blatant violation and since the UN didn't care to enforce the violation, the sanction didn't work. This actually never happened. I assume you mean 1998, correct? The inspectors left of their own accord, because the U.S. was about to launch a bombing campaign. It was 100% accurate that Saddam was refusing them access to some of his palaces in 1998, and that was in violation of resolutions requiring unfettered access for the inspectors. Because of that, the U.S. launched Operation Rommel Desert Fox in 1998. At no point did Iraq kick out the inspectors. Really though, in hindsight it's remarkable how, despite the occasional annoyance from Saddam's people, the UNSCOM team in the 1990's was able to quantitatively account for and destroy >95% of Saddam's banned weapons. The remainder...that's why they switched units when selling that war...they went to "Liters" instead of "Iraq has not been able to account for 2.3% of its anthrax" because, in a country that spent 2 decades at war and being bombed, that's a rounding error.

This alum would be upset if he didn't get at least 2-3 more years to put it together.

QUOTE (moochpuppy @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 12:53 PM) Obviously me since I asked the question. If the White Sox lose the division this year, they're going to be cutting back substantially on salary, they've made that clear. They need the revenue from a playoff win to make up for the salary increase. That means their big money FA's are likely to be let walk. Edwin Jackson and Mark Buehrle are their 2 biggest contracts that end after this season. It's possible they could agree to resign Buerhle anyway. I'd call that very likely if they win the division and marginal at best if they don't. If the Sox don't resign Buehrle, then it's going to be a question of whether STL wants to spend money next offseason. They have a $30 million free agent that they can't afford to lose but also can't afford to keep. If they keep him, then they might not have enough money to convince M-56 to pitch for another year. If they lose him, then it makes no sense for them to spend a lot of money on a #2 starter, especially with Wainright coming off of the Tommy John and likely not being back to 100% until 2013. It's a very difficult set of circumstances to see Buehrle walk as a FA happily...and it's even harder to see STL having a situation where they'd go after him. It could happen, just not likely.

Yankees have added Kevin Millwood to the rotation mix. Also sent Sergio Mitre to the Brewers for OF Chris Dickerson.

QUOTE (moochpuppy @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 12:32 PM) If the Sox don't resign Buehrle you don't think he'll go to St. Louis to finish out his career? St. Louis has bigger things to worry about next offseason.

The NYT has an excellent long article this morning on the use of tax shelters by General Electric and how it has pretty much keeps them from having to pay a dime in federal income taxes...and gets a few billion back as well. The fun part? President Obama has a "task force" right now tasked with overhauling the nation's corporate tax code, to cut the overall rate but also remove some of these deductions so that the tax base is widened. The leader of that task force?