Balta1701

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 07:27 PM) Ricketts is completely handcuffed by the horrible contracts and cub fans are agitated that he isn't pumping money into this Titanic of a baseball roster. He's getting the label of being a cheap-ass but there's really nothing he can do but wait it out. With the potential revenue of the cubs year in and out, Pujols is a very legit target for Ricketts. If cub fans really think Ricketts isn't going to try to win with the cubs they're delusional. He's a cub fan, but he's just laying low during this necessary purge. I expect Ricketts to make huge moves once he is able to... as his livelihood depends on putting butts in those seats. Pujols would be perfect and it scares the crap outa me that he could actually do that. We'd become completely meaningless if Pujols signed there. It's not just the handicapped by horrible contracts that hurts the Cubs. It's the ballpark. They get a big advantage out of their ballpark in 1 sense...they constantly have 35,000/game sold, guaranteed. They have a guaranteed revenue stream. But, unlike teams with more modern stadiums, they don't have huge numbers of skyboxes or big revenue sources that they can take advantage of if they have a great season. So, their revenue doesn't drop much, but they also can't count on a gigantic revenue boost if they are competitive for several years in a row.

QUOTE (ChrisLikesBaseball @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 06:04 PM) I think Oakland is going to come through and make the West competitive with Texas. The Orioles and Blue Jays improvements along with the Rays doing a good job of holding their ground will help pull the Yankees and Red Sox down to earth, and the White Sox and Twins will hold it down in the Central. This could be a great season for the Wild Card race in the AL. I could see a situation where teams from all 3 divisions are all in the thick of it. The Blue Jays did well setting themselves up for the long term in getting rid of Wells...but I gotta disagree with the concept of "Blue Jays improvements"...especially if Jose Bautista doesn't repeat his season.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 05:31 PM) that's taking a major leap that Pujols would be OK DH'ing for the rest of his career... I haven't seen any hint of that. But I do agree, if he is willing to be a DH then NYY and Bos are in play. He won't want to obviously, but if he's geniunely going for the biggest contract possible, a willingness to DH brings the big guys in to play and makes it even more sensible for him to wind up in the AL.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 05:09 PM) Honestly Balta, if all you have is a chart that does nothing to prove your point followed by a snide remark I'm just gonna consider this argument over. Keep on panicking though, the world is always on doom's doorstep no matter what. Proves nothing? Katrina caused a $10-$15 spike in the long-term oil price trend that decayed after capacity came back online and when the government sold off 11 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to cover the output loss. Katrina was a major blow, that required draw-down of 15% of the SPR, still caused a $10 price spike per barrel, and it hit at a time of economic expansion and spare capacity, neither of which is the case now.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 05:10 PM) market has to do with timing when you're a FA as well, not only what's already on the books. With the 2 NY teams and Bos not really in on him there has to be teams that are going to give that to him. At this point who will? Possibly the LAA, maybe the Cubs if they can dump Zambrano and get some of their cash flow situation straightened out. He can't sit on that and expect it if a there's 3 teams seriously in on him and highest they'll go is like 8 and 28 a year. I think the Yankees would be thrilled to spend 10/$300 on that DH. I'd do that if I were Cashman. I think the Angels would consider doing so, if they could move him to CF. Boston could also be in the game; David Ortiz's contract is up at the end of this year, although their resources are a little more limited.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 05:04 PM) I haven't read a thing about Scheppers being a rotation candidate. Everything points to him at least starting out in the 'pen. And yes, they've got the farm to land a starter. But they didn't land Greinke or Garza when both would've been obvious upgrades. Their system did take a hit between promtions and trades. Makes you wonder if they want to really further deplete their system depth. And you can't possible think I was talking about the Rangers offense? I was referring to Oakland's. Yes, you lost me on the offense part. I think the Rangers will be more than content to deplete their minor leagues...but they won't want to do it just yet, for the reasons you've already stated...it's hard to predict how their guys are going to hold together. They won 90 games last year basically with the rotation they currently have; Cliff Lee was only there for 1/2 a year and he struggled for a little portion of it (3.98 ERA with TX). Plus, the Rangers have a few wild cards that they have to figure out first...can Cruz and Hamilton stay healthy, can they get an extension done for Hamilton, will their rotation step back, what version of Adrian Beltre's bat will they get. They don't know what their needs are as much as a team like Milwaukee or the Cubs did at the time they made that trade. They aren't likely to be so far back in June that they can't make a deal to fill in.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 04:48 PM) Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to see Oakland win that division. Their pitching from top to bottom is as good, if not better, than any team in the AL. They can also catch the baseball. If they can get any kinda offense, and it should at least be better than last year, they'll be real tough. I'm not sold on that Texas rotation at all. I see some extreme regression from multiple guys. Texas also has some guys who are close to knocking on the door of that rotation though...Tanner Sheppers, Blake Beaven, Danny Gutierrez, and Martin Perez (although he's probably a little farther away). And even if those guys aren't fully ready, they've got the depth to make a big time move if a pitcher gets on the market again without even blinking. Oh, and the question "If Texas gets any kind of offense"....Yeah...when do they not? Even in a down year they'll have a top 5 offense in the AL.

Your fantasy team.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 04:31 PM) The wildcard may actually come out of the central this year. I'd still bet on the Yanks but I wouldn't be shocked if it's the Sox/Twins. No chance in hell it comes out of the west though. Oakland?

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 04:31 PM) idk but.... 1.Rios 2.Beckham 3.Dunn 4.Konerko 5.Quentin 6.AJP 7.Lexi 8.Morel 9.Pierre ...would be pretty bad ass itd go R-R-L-R-R-L-R-R-L Rios's career OBP is only 10 points better than Alexei's, .334 to .321, and the similarities grow outside of Rios's 2006-2007 seasons. Alexei's OBP in 2009 was .333, Rios in 2008 was .337 and 2010 was .334.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 11:10 AM) Ha, I remember that play, awesome (this link starts off showing Danks highlights BTW, you have to go to the Alexei highlight at the bottom). I think he did the same thing 2 nights in a row, went way out to get a ground ball and got the runner with an impossibly long throw all the way across the infield. Vizquel grinning because it reminds him of himself from 10 years ago. I just re-read this post and realized something. Vizquel grinning because it remings him of himself from 10 years ago... At the end of this contract, Alexei will be just about as old as Vizquel 10 years ago.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 04:18 PM) When that phone plugs into my iPod stereo, alarm clock, and car input let me know, otherwise it's not even close to useable for me. There's talk that this is eventually supposed to happen, but I think it's actually been mandated overseas.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 02:37 PM) It's a negotiation. There is no way Pujols doesn't re-sign with the Cardinals. I don't know why Pujols would come down off that price. Maybe like 10/$280 as a discount for signing today, but other than a small discount, I don't know why he'd have anything to negotiate. It's really the correct contract for him based on where the market has been for that level of player at that age.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 02:22 PM) They HAVE to go after one of the remaining FA starters like Bonderman, Millwood or even take a flyer on Sheets. Why? If you were that franchise, wouldn't you think you'd be better off in the long term putting the kids out there on the mound and trying to develop them, rather than running out Bonderman to take the loss every 5th day for 1/2 the season?

QUOTE (Pale Sox @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 01:44 PM) Since when does recognizing your team's minor league system is in rough shape equal not caring about he major league team? Well, since about 2005 with the White Sox, since we've heard the same thing about the minors every year since then.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 01:48 PM) As of right now, I might be willing to take that bet. Rotation = not good. Guthrie, Matusz, Bergesen, Tillman, Arrieta? It's not established, but that's at least a young and talented rotation.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 12:34 PM) You said the movement of crude through the Suez is about equal to the output of the United States. Alright, I'm guessing you remember when Hurricane Rita hit and shut down most of the refineries in Texas; nothing meaningful really came of it. Depends on your definition of meaningful.

No real comment on this, but thought it was interesting enough to share.

Link to data There was a 6% reduction in annual wheat production last year compared to previous years. There might be some bit of speculation going on in commodities price markets...but even without that, a 6% year over year production loss should produce an enormous price spike in that commodity. (Edit: FSU = Former Soviet Union)

Senate votes 81-17 in favor of preserving $22 billion in tax breaks for oil drilling.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Feb 4, 2011 -> 03:02 PM) But they are attributing this big drop in the unemployment rate to this 500K number and not to people falling off the rolls, at least as far as I can tell, and if it was a net number, then the unemployment rate should not have budged at all, no? Link

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 11:10 AM) Schilling had more dominant seasons during the regular seasons outside w/l and he had the crazy Arizona post season and obviously the Boston run. He will be an interesting case when he comes up. Schilling is a much more interesting and possibly viable candidate than Pettitte. There were times when you could say that Schilling was one of the top pitchers in baseball, you couldn't say that with Pettitte.

QUOTE (ChiTown @ Feb 5, 2011 -> 10:34 AM) Even if Pouncey did play how effective do you think he would be on a high ankle sprain? Wasn't that what Freeney was recovering from last year? He didn't dominate the game but he was certainly a factor.

The good people at Remote Area Medical are running a camp in downtown Knoxville this weekend. Every time we get into this debate, this is the thing that baffles me. There are hundreds of uninsured people lined up starting before sunset last night for a clinic that opened at 6 a.m. today, to see doctors who really ought to be setting up camps in Pakistan, for the most basic treatment possible (pulling half a dozen teeth because a woman hasn't seen a dentist in a decade, mammograms, heart checkups, eyeglasses, things that need long-term care, the whole list). In 5 years, these camps will not be necessary any more with this bill. The people can legitimately go to Pakistan, an actual war zone, and not "everyday United States", a war-zone by choice. Argue all you want about how evil the process was, how the waivers for certain businesses are inappropriate, how it could have been a better bill. But the fact that this type of camp happens in the U.S. is total and complete bulls***.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Feb 4, 2011 -> 06:38 PM) Is that oil just going to magically disappear because some outdated canal is closed for a couple of weeks or months? Boats are fine pieces of technology you know, they can traverse any type of water nowadays... not just canals! Actually...yes. If you were to hypothetically close the canal, then suddenly you'd have a period of time equal to the time for circumnavigating around Africa where there was no Saudi oil reaching the refineries in Europe. Effectively, for a period of a week or so, yes it would totally disappear. Then it would re-appear slowly as refineries had to restart. The disruptions would last for months.