Balta1701

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 02:41 PM) Whether or not he guards the 5 is irrelevant to whether or not Lebron can play SG. But right now the Celtics have Perkins playing the 5, Id say Lebron could guard him if you really wanted it. Only because Perkins doesn't have a solid low-post scoring game.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 02:09 PM) He'll be tried out as a starter eventually, I wouldn't worry too much about that. The best thing for the team this year is for Sale to be in the bullpen so that's what the Sox are doing, next year is a different story. You gotta worry about it...because going from 70 innings this year to 150 next year could be murder on his arm.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 02:05 PM) whats your point lol? the link was obviously posted to show a different method. Because January/Feb is typically at the down-turn of a non-seasonally-adjusted employment number, since it's right after the X-mas layoffs. It really doesn't tell you anything more than the BLS number; they're pretty much telling you the exact same thing, and the BLS numbers sample a much large pool of employers/employees.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 02:08 PM) Eh, they'll just as likely completely lose a game or two that way. Like I said, I'd much rather play the Magic as they're just no where near as good as Boston or Miami. We'd beat Orlando in a 7 game series, Boston/Miami I'm not as confident about though I think we'd have a shot unlike most people. The Bulls, if they're at 100%, definitely have a shot against any of these teams...especially if the other teams have any injury or mental issues happening. What really needs to happen though, other than a healthy front court, is the Bulls need backcourt help.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 01:47 PM) Gallup has unemployment at 10.2 / Underemployment at 19.7

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 01:55 PM) The Magic just aren't that great. It'd be very nice to get them in the 2nd round but I'm sure it's going to be Miami or Boston. Even if they're not that great, they have the shooters to win 2 games just off of random chance. That's a tough series just on the odds.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 01:42 PM) He played 10 games in RF, 10 games at DH, and 3 games at 1B last year, and all of that was after he came back from injury. I don't think he played much 3B at all. Ozzie is more than willing to put him in the outfield. Now wait a second...he may have played "3 games" at 1b, but he only played 8 innings there. He may have played 10 games in RF, but only 77 innings. So those games at 1b were mostly short stints, probably in blowouts, when Ozzie moved him there or put him in to give Konerko a break. And when he was playing in the OF, Ozzie didn't give him a full game. And almost all of those games in RF were after September 12, when the season was effectively over.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 01:38 PM) Mark Teahen is more than capable of playing LF and RF off the bench. I've pointed this out to you. Lillibridge is more than capable in CF, which I think is a well understood point. Pointing it out to me is one thing...pointing it out to the guy making the lineups is another.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 01:28 PM) I agree. Plus in April, the pitchers are feeling strong, the weather might not be condusive to hitting, hitters might lose a little mental sharpness because of the name. If a mediocre minor leaguer is ever going to slide by other than meaningless September games, its then. Pitchers feel strong in April? I've heard lots more complaints about how they're just getting over their late-spring dead-arm periods in april.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 01:24 PM) I think you are wrong. They know he sucks and is a back up at best for his career. His star has lost a lot of shine. He fans way too much. I believe the only way Lillibridge makes the team is with a big spring and/or an injury to Vizquel, or Morel showing he needs to go back to AAA. That is barring any trades. He's basically fighting for his baseball life IMO. Guys like him are a dime a dozen and they really don't have to keep him to hope to show something fromt the Vazquez trade now that Javy has moved on to yet another team. The other side of it though...if Vizquel ever retires, he's a solid, cheap, 2-3 year option as a backup utility infielder who can cover all 3 positions and backup CF as well...and his competition is De Aza and Milledge, which means there's not exactly anything likely to look amazing that he's blocking.

This is awesome. Read the full thing.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 01:17 PM) Another worry with 4 man rotation is if Gavin gets off to his usual ugly start. One of these years, he's going to have a good april, and then by the end of June people are going to be comparing him and King Felix for who's winning the Cy Young race. (I hope).

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 01:15 PM) Just because a guy is out of options doesn't mean he has to make the team. Lillibridge better have a good spring training, or he'll most likely be searching for another form of income very soon. With Omar and Teahen around, Lillibridge is on the outside looking in. I think it will take an awful lot for the Sox to let Lillibridge walk.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 01:11 PM) Thats not entirely true. If the Bulls could get the 1 seed and these two teams were 2/3. I just think that the Celtics are a better match up for the Bulls than the Heat. Id just rather not play Lebron. Yeah, that would be a nice place to be...except for the fact that Orlando might be the #4 seed, and the Bulls have had their issues with Orlando. Honestly, the Bulls are going to have to go through these 2 teams, most likely, if they want to make the finals. Conversely...if either of these teams wants to get to the finals, they have to get through Derrick Rose.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 01:07 PM) Today is always the realization that there is no football on tv until the draft. I dont care about the Celtics or Heat, but I think for the Bulls you want the Heat to have as many losses as possible. You can say the exact same thing about the Celtics. The Bulls are getting 1 of these 2 teams in the 2nd round (barring upsets that shouldn't happen). The Bulls are a Hell of a lot better off if they go into that round with home court.

I hate having to cheer for the Celtics.

Hmph, I have no idea how I missed this. Shin Soo Choo's military service requirements were fulfilled this offseason.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Feb 12, 2011 -> 06:02 PM) Well, then put Dunn and Konerko at 1-2, or 2-3. I mean, the reason you put your best hitters at 3-5 is so you can give them a better chance at RBI's with good speed in front of them. I am much more confident in Rios scoring from 1st on a 2B by Dunn or Konerko than I am of Dunn or Konerko scoring on a 2B by Rios. If it ends of being Dunn-Konerko-Rios on April 1st, I won't be disappointed. I think any combination of those 3 will work out pretty well anyway, I just would prefer the speed was in front of the slow power bats, not behind them. The problem with this logic is...Rios has one of our lower OBP's, even if he's hitting ok. So yeah, he can score from first on a 2b, but he's not on 1b as much as other guys.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 13, 2011 -> 11:50 AM) The whole purpose of the thread is that the article insinuates that they want extra bench or bullpen help. This actually kinda makes sense. Lilliputian is out of options, so he has to make the team. The bench with 4 looks like this: Castro Vizquel Teahen Lilliputian If you can add an extra guy, you get: Castro Vizquel Teahen Lilliputian De Aza/Milledge In the 2nd case, you have a legit backup OF.

IIRC, everyone in our rotation got better by somewhere between 0.2 and 1 run last year when they got 5 days rest, not just 4. Going on 3 days rest a lot early is just asking for our pitchers to get lit up.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Feb 12, 2011 -> 07:38 PM) Phil Rogers is just...ugh. Why would the Rangers want to take in more payroll in Soriano? He's getting paid $72 million for the next 4 years and he's declining just as fast as Michael Young is, if not even faster. In a world where Vernon Wells's deal somehow became moveable, I'm willing to believe almost anything is possible.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 12, 2011 -> 04:32 PM) Rios will probably be a better hitter with PK and Dunn behind him versus anyone else in this line up. Why? Rios was hitting in front of Konerko, in the #3 slot, for 2/3 of the year last year and put up a .748 OPS in the #3 spot.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 12, 2011 -> 04:37 PM) You don't see there being a difference between middle class and every member of the family having an I-phone spending? That's not maintaining a constant anything. That is spending more on luxury items. None of those graphs you put up really identify that category well enough for my liking. Or do you really think laptops for the whole family fits under "Home furnishings"? In this world? Absolutely. Here we are again with the idea that cell phones and internet access for families isn't completely necessary in the modern world, which I think is ludicrous. And anyway...as I pointed out but you brushed off...all those purchases have done is replace other purchases that have either gone down in price or been phased out. Otherwise, the income fractions spent on those items would have gone up, not stayed steady. That's why I keep saying every version of this argument you guys make, where you want to lecture people for buying things you judge to be unnecessary, is tantamount to saying that the Middle Class lifestyle needs to take a step back. The Middle Class needs to stop pretending that they can have a Middle Class lifestyle.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 12, 2011 -> 04:21 PM) No, it leads to the conclusion that people are responsible for their own messes by their own excesses. Relying on debt for unnecessary consumer spending isn't "improving middle class living standards". That's the mentality of "I can't be broke, I have more checks still!" that seems to be permeating down from our federal government and into our personal lives. The thing you explicitly criticize as "unnecessary consumer spending" is maintaining a constant standard of middle class living. You're rephrasing it here but it's the same exact point. Middle Class people today need to work harder and make due with less than middle class people in the last generation. If they attempt to get around that using any means that you don't approve of, then you criticize.