Balta1701

You know, I'm still annoyed at the fact that people in this thread ridiculed how we couldn't get an accurate, public estimate of the leak rate, while ignoring the fact that one side had something of a strong, multi-billion dollar motivation to making sure that there was no accurate estimate, and then said argued that I had no basis to believe that BP would fight tooth and nail to cut back the fines and payouts as soon as the press heat was off.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 01:11 PM) [the mainstream media is owned, run and reported on by millionaires] The other problem is...you can say the same thing about the majority of the 53 votes in favor as well.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 01:06 PM) Hooray for our broken system of government! Hell, I'm not sure that the failure of all of these would be a hugely bad thing, given the weak multiplier effect of tax increases, especially if they're directed upwards. It's just about as damaging over the next 6 months as failing to extend unemployment benefits. And I'm still annoyed at the fact that "The Republicans are willing to have everyone's taxes go up if it means wall street millionaires don't get a tax cut" hasn't become a talking point.

As usual, this is 53 votes in favor and 37 votes against. Which is a loss. You know what's really getting annying? Even the Liberal sites that I steal things from can't get the text right here. People making $25 million a year would still get a tax cut under the Democratic plan. The correct way to phrase it is "extended the Bush tax cuts on the first $250k of everyone's income".

The Padres started last season with a total payroll of $37.8 million. Here's the moves they've made this offseason:

QUOTE (scenario @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 12:51 PM) People generally think about these deals as 'trading for a player'. Gotta remember... you're not trading a player... you're trading a player's contract. What the RedSox acquired is 1 year of AG's services at $5.5M + two draft picks if he left in free agency. What they offered the Pads had to provide fair value for that, plus some premium to make their offer more attractive than other teams. Well, one thing you're missing is that the Red Sox have reportedly obtained a 72 hour window to negotiate an extension with Gonzalez or veto the trade, so you've got the calculation wrong. Even if that was the calculation though, I think the feeling expressed so far is that 1 year of AG at that price plus the 2 picks should have brought back more than the Padres got. They should have gotten a serious MLB ready guy.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 12:17 PM) I don't think Quentin will be going anywhere. If Reinsdorf authorized more money to be spent then free agency will be the way the Sox go to fill needs. I am hopeful Konerko is back. It makes no sense to sign a bat (Dunn) to off set the loss of one (PK). You add power to the line up so PK's signing is a must. Like it or not...even if Konerko is not resigned, we've added a bat. Dunn + Viciedo >> Konerko + Kotsay. Konerko's defense may be slightly better than DV, but he's not exactly stellar on that.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 12:11 PM) Ur skillz are no match for my google-fu Very impressive.

QUOTE (Real @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 12:02 PM) I keep having this feeling that TCQ will be traded to Oakland They have so many OF/DH types though.

QUOTE (Lillian @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 07:19 AM) I believe that Jackson is short ML service time, with 4.07 years, and therefore will not be a free agent until after 2012. If the Sox offer him arbitration, he would still be theirs at the end of this coming season. That service time number is as of January of 2010 (see the brackets on B-R) and therefore doesn't count last year. He's a FA after 2011. If you scroll down to the bottom, you can see the contract status; it will tell you arb-eligible years.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 10:33 AM) Bonds vs KRod in the World Series Yeah, but he hit that with a needle instead of a bat.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 11:49 AM) I was saying Ramirez over Rios. No way Ozzie bats Rios below Quentin in the order. As a matter of fact, I'll be shocked if Rios isn't batting 3rd again next season with Beckham batting 8th. That's exactly how I'd start the season. If Becksy starts off on fire and Alexei starts off slowly, I wouldn't be stubborn with it.

I really haven't heard anything about teams being interested in Werth, have you guys?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 10:58 AM) Heath Bell has to be available right now. I wonder if the Sox have anything SD would want. If Konerko is signed, Dayan Viciedo.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 02:53 AM) Is there even such a thing as midget porn? I'll bet that if you google the phrase midget porn...

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 11:41 AM) Something to keep in mind is who hits behind Dunn and Konerko. I worry about it being Quentin or Rios due to the double play issue. I actually wouldn't mind it being Ramirez, with Rios batting 6th and Quentin 7th. Oh come on fathom, if you put Dunn and Konerko together in the lineup, the DP is something you're going to have to deal with. The only difference between Quentin and Ramirez is which one of them would hit the ball on the ground more; the added speed might save you 1 DP a year. When you look at the GO/AO numbers, Alexei hits far more groundouts than Quentin (probably because he never strikes out). Alexei's GO/AO last year was 1.24, for Quentin it was 0.78, and Quentin consistently hits fewer GB's than Alexei. Even with Quentin's slowness, that's probably several fewer DP's with Quentin hitting behind them.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 11:36 AM) Mike Almy was discharged from the Air Force after his private emails were read. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/22/m...y_n_734726.html Thanks, I was having no luck finding that story last night.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 3, 2010 -> 11:31 PM) I had a chart somewhere I can't find, but there is basically no direct correlation between tax rates and GDP growth. The full explanation/rebuttal of the argument that says there is one is much more complicated but that's the basic underlying fact. Cutting spending actually hurts GDP directly. Whether it's the right move to take or not, the reasons why are pretty obvious (for examples of this see Iceland, Ireland, other European countries that drastically slash spending). One thing that the communist hippies who are wrong about everything except for the fact that housing was a bubble have been noting this week, now that Ireland is on to austerity plan 2: electric boogallooo, is that Iceland actually took a different path than Ireland. Iceland stubbornly refused to gut its public sector, and instead worked to cut its currency value and refinance its debt, actually in some cases hurting the banks, while Ireland gutted its public sector and guaranteed that none of its banks would lose a cent. The employment shock in Iceland wound up significantly smaller than the one in Ireland, and Iceland appears on a path back towards solid economic growth, while no one seems to think that the latest Irish bailout is anything other than a delaying tactic until the next crisis spiral.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 3, 2010 -> 11:46 PM) The homos are totally waiting to rape you in the shower, all they need is for DADT to be repealed I'm sorry Senator McCain, your time has expired.

QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Dec 4, 2010 -> 10:46 AM) IMHO Konerko seems a bit to proud to just collect a paycheck and not produce. I think he goes 2 years with a mutual option for a third and player only for a 4th. There's only so much he can do if his hip or hand or something else act up.

I would be really happy if Becksy was hitting 3rd soon...I think long term that's where i want him hitting...but I'm worried enough about his mental state that i wouldn't start the season with him there.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 3, 2010 -> 11:31 PM) Cutting spending actually hurts GDP directly. Whether it's the right move to take or not, the reasons why are pretty obvious (for examples of this see Iceland, Ireland, other European countries that drastically slash spending). Raising taxes will hurt GDP as well. The actual damage though comes through the multipliers...some things hit GDP harder than others. There's a reason though why I keep saying no one should care about the short term deficit and everyone should care about economic growth. Until you're out of the hole we're in, if your cutbacks push more people out of work and the private sector can't make it up, then those people who are now out of work are no longer paying taxes, and they're no longer buying stuff. You're quite good on the Ireland/Greece examples and how badly their economies have broken under the austerity plans, and how the austerity plans have failed; because they backfire when the private sector can't make up for it.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 3, 2010 -> 11:32 PM) Yeah pretty much. Not really worth the effort. No amount of effort is too much if it allows us to get rid of....those people...and their menace...

In other words, it's a clusterf***.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 3, 2010 -> 11:16 PM) I didn't see that one thankfully. But Roberts crushed it. Hopefully Putz running out of gas last season is because of his comeback from injury. But those that hated Bobby's implosions are not gonna like Putz either if he has 4-5 outings like that. That's all it takes to hate a closer, especially if two implosions come in a row. Putz also hurt his knees. That really screwed things up. Like it or not, it's not a good bet to think he'll stay 100% healthy the full season. But...that's also why he's in our price range.