Balta1701

So wait, Ted Stevens was a believer in anthropogenic climate change?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 10:22 AM) You think Pudges knees are in much better shape? Balta's knees turn 60 this month.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 11:10 AM) That stat really has no relevance unless you are comparing it to other spots in the Sox order. Not against other teams orders... Fewest fastballs out of anywhere in the Sox order as well.

So, in terms of the Rays as AL competition, they give up a guy from their rotation and they get a couple guys who were old for AA last year but might fill holes on their MLB roster this year...and 2 solid prospects...one of whom is a pitcher who just arrived at AA last year, the other is a SS who was in single A last year...so the Rays essentially get no real strong help for this year's roster (Yeah they have other pitchers who can step in I know, just looking at their MLB roster from this trade).

QUOTE (DOWNTOWN PANTHER @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 11:43 AM) I would tell you that the Reds were better off with the young team they had this year. Which included Gomes. Gomes from a chemistry viewpoint fits better with this team than Dunn would have. So yes, I would rather have Gomes than the logjam on the basepads. Guys. Dont get me wrong. Im not here to rain on the Sox. I hope the Sox do well. Im just saying that Adam Dunn hits Home Runs and thats it. He is a liability on the bases, and will limit your lineup from a "get em on, get em over, and get em in" point of view. He hits alot of his home runs in meaningless times. It seems his power numbers are inflated by a pitchers concessions when the game is out of reach, or just all together meaningless. I would agree the Reds were better off with the young team they had this year...but that's because they had better pitching and some serious offensive firepower in Votto, and a developing version of Dunn in Jay Bruce. In 2007, the Reds last full year with Dunn, they scored 783 Runs (7th in the NL) 2008, 1/2 year with Dunn: 704 Runs, 12th in the NL 2009, Dunn is in Washington, 673 runs, 11th in the NL. In 2008, the Nats scored 641 runs, 14th in the NL In 2009 with Dunn, the Nats scored 710 runs, 9th in the NL.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 11:17 AM) Cubs gave up their first and fourth best prospects for Garza. Rays did well IMO. Can I ask which prospect is the #1 and which is their #4?

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 09:26 AM) That was always one of the queries regarding Boozer and whether he was worth a max contract or not (that and his injury history and his poor playoff performances against the Lakers). Don't think there's any doubt he's better defensively with Noah alongside him. I know the defensive issues were there. I think it's interesting to see Thibs cracking the whip on this one. I hated it when VDN would bench his rookies when they made mistakes but would never bench his veterans when they did. There's not a whole lot of benchable rookies on the Bulls right now...but I'm cautiously hoping this approach actually works.

Thibs sending message talk. Here's version 2.0.

Netropolitans tried a 3 way with the Cavs to see if they could land Carmelo that way.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 10:11 AM) Is that the BB, Briefing, or some other concensus? I saw 100k, but keep in mind these things vary, depending on who compiles said concensus numbers. NSS72 FTW! Still not enough to match population growth.

I think the best sign that the Sox are being realistic about what they need out of Dunn is the fact that they have him set up to be their DH.

QUOTE (NIUSox @ Jan 6, 2011 -> 07:24 PM) Star Wars on Blu-ray Does Greedo still shoot first?

We're underestimating Fisk again. The last time I swung a bat, my knee blew out.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 08:51 AM) That sounds like Jim Edmonds to me too. He obviously didnt make the athletic plays Hunter did,

QUOTE (Ranger @ Jan 5, 2011 -> 08:21 PM) I look at the overall offense and what it produced over the season, I don't focus on one spot in the order. The Sox were a Top 7 offense in June, Top 5 in July, and the best offense in baseball in August. They lost games they should have won because of the pitching and the failure to hold leads. Of course having Dunn's ability in the lineup makes them a better offense, but that doesn't mean that Kotsay's presence cost them the playoffs last year. If they have Dunn last season, I still don't believe they make the playoffs, because I don't think he alone makes up the 6 games they would've needed. But, I do want people to keep in mind that Konerko benefited greatly by getting days off from the field and the team benefit by him being in the lineup on those days. The idea of being able to rotate somebody into his spot play is a very good idea. I just hope that he stays as healthy this year as he was last year. Just keep an eye out for that in 2011. Ranger...I will agree with you on one point here...Kotsay's presence alone was not enough to cost the Sox the season. The stats say that; the difference in wins between Kotsay and Dunn was at best 3-4 wins if you buy the advanced stats. Other things piled in there; Quentin struggling, Jenks being constantly bad, Peavy getting hurt, etc. However, that's a really poor excuse for one simple reason; it was an obvious mistake going into the season. It was as obvious of a mistake as having Dewayne Wise leading off in 2009. It was obvious from the day the decision was made that it was wrong. Saying "He alone doesn't make up the 6 games they would have needed" is like going through a test, getting about 75% of the first few problems right, then deciding that instead of solving the last problem that you know how to do, you're going to draw a picture of a pony. After all, you didn't get an A on the test, so what's the big deal right? If getting Konerko extra rest and having extra flexibility on the roster was that important, there were other, more intelligent options. Adam LaRoche was available. Aubrey Huff was available (and he would give you the added benefit of being able to occasionally handle RF as well). That's why we come back to this one. It probably didn't cost us the division on its own, but that doesn't mean it was ok.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jan 7, 2011 -> 01:18 AM) Yeah, I believe defensive metrics also point to Torii Hunter during his prime days in Minnesota as being a below average defender, which I don't get. But the Roberto Alomar defensive stats are truly baffling. Hunter was great at some things (diving catches, clearing the wall) but I recall hearing Twins fans say that he was overrated; he didn't set up the position well or get good jumps. He made up for the lack of good jumps with spectacular finishes.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 6, 2011 -> 06:50 PM) Everyone seems to be assuming that there is a football season that happens this year. It hasn't sounded too optimistic so far. Everyone? Huh?

Unless I'm mistaken, are you insinuating something about Carlton Fisk?

Someone who's work I read wrote today "apologies to any actual borehole specialists".

Quit making me do all the work

Obviously, each man's definition of "Nice" is a personal decision.

Model year doesn't matter, only lack of windows.

Kids, you can trust me, i have a clown suit in my van.

Here, have some.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Jan 6, 2011 -> 05:28 PM) He must be ecstatic about the Dunn signing, not only it brings another 1B, a bag of doughnuts, protection in the lineup, but an ON-BASE plus SLUGGING north of .900. They put doughnuts in bags now?