Balta1701

Live long and prosper.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 06:40 PM) If you want a platoon in RF, we'd be better off finding a platoon partner for Jones. His fWAR was nearly 2 in a limited role. Better defense and wOBA than Quentin for a fraction of the cost. There remains a key flaw here...the only way it works is if Jones can actually take more playing time than he received this year. I think it's entirely possible that his numbers were so good because he got a lot of much needed time off to stay healthy. Both in 2009 with the Rangers and in early 2010 with the Sox, he got on a hot streak that necessitated more playing time, and almost immediately got hurt. In 09 I think it was a hamstring that nagged at him the whole year, and in 2010 he played a lot in late April and immediately had back spasms and a neck injury that cost him a lot of games in May and probably helped put him back in his slump.

QUOTE (justBLAZE @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 06:26 PM) I like this Morel kid but I bet many here wondered if Kenny will try to explore the FA/Trade market at third base. Bottom line is Morel is huge question mark and while I wish him the best we have no idea how he is going to perform, what if he tanks? Then what do we have, Teahen? Vizquel? Viciedo? Actually, that's a fairly long list of options. None of them are spectacular...but all of them could at least cover the position.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 06:04 PM) No way he does. I only think there's 1 place he'd accept a trade to. He's our boy and he does amazing things sometimes. If I'm KW, there is always a rotation spot for MB; he's an above average #4-#5. Do you have any idea how bad the average numbers are for a #4 starter? Your typical #4 starter gives you something like 125 innings, 21 starts, and an ERA close to 5.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 06:02 PM) We also call it Obamacare, when what ended up happening was a Frankenbill that didn't really resemble Obama's original proposals. Al Franken wrote the bill? Gosh, I'd have figured he'd have included a public option.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:42 PM) I could see Buehrle being sent to the Mets in a deal for Beltran. That's two overprcied contracts and the Mets would actually save money.I'm assuming Beltran is healthy again. I also could see Konerko being gone and being replaced with Dunn at 1b. Why would Mark approve that type of deal?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:48 PM) I thought you guys already knew it was 3,000 people? That is why I was talking about the ridiculously large entourage. I wasn't making that up guys. I thought you all had read a couple of the articles talking about how many people and planes he was taking? As far as I can tell, the 3000 people line comes from the same source in Mumbai as the $200 million/day number. (Again, not that I don't believe it...but I don't see any commenter by googling who isn't citing the same person in India who put out the dollar amount).

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:33 PM) 1 billion could go a longway in this country. That's closing the budget gap in a LOT of cities scrapping for every last dollar. The concept of the Federal Government giving more aid to the states and local governments to help keep local governments from cutting jobs has proven to be incredibly controversial. It was one of the most useful parts of the stimulus package and it was one of the main things that the "Centrists" took chunks out of.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:28 PM) Seems like guys fall off from their highs in the NFL faster than anywhere else. Well, with him, we do have the Giambi excuse.

QUOTE (Tex @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:17 PM) How many people can match her job for job? 50? 100? 500? 1,000? Small numbers compared to our total population. I'll agree she is an example of making mistakes at the top, but she sold people within those organizations and their boards on some of this stuff. For that she is an excellent salesperson. I also base that on my belief that she thought she was doing the right thing. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Let me note how happy it makes me to see others repeatedly out of order.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:14 PM) No way. A GOP President would likely take a Southwest Airline flight over there with one bodyguard. Probably bring much more of your national security and economic staff with you as well, because all of them can find beneficial things to do while in India that they probably couldn't do if they just sat in the U.S. and used video phones.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:11 PM) 200-500 is more the scale I was assuming here. So now the question shifts a bit... why do they need 10 times as many for India? This angle isn't Obama versus Bush, its UK vs India. Did Bush take a lot more people to India than he did other places too? I really don't know, and I am not sure why it would be that way. It sure seems self-evident to me that you're going to need a much larger security contingent in Mumbai than in the UK.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:06 PM) How much additional cost is his family, three people, going to bring? When you say his "entourage", who do you mean? Frankly, that's probably a whole additional plane full of security and equipment, since they won't be following the President around everywhere he goes.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 05:00 PM) Wow, I will say that 3,000 people is about 10 times more than I thought it would be. That is definitely an enormous number. And its one that is much easier to substantiate - I could actually see how some people would be able to easily determine a round figure for the number of people. Now, what is typical? Bush travelled to India, if I remember correctly. Did he take 200? 1,000? 2,000? I'd be very curious to see the difference, if its significant. Here's a Guardian piece summarizing the amount of stuff Obama took with him while making his first visit to the UK. 200 security, 500-ish total.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 04:46 PM) I would totally trade Escobar if some GM asked about him. It's like a reverse Flowers. If Escobar's bad bat gets exposed even more next season his value becomes toast. I see your point that he could develop even further with the bat and increase his value, but I wouldn't gamble that way, especially if another GM now covets him. There's absolutely no right or wrong opinion on that. It's a gamble either way. If any GM comes and offers you a major league caliber player for Escobar, of course you move him. That's not the issue here. The issue is more with trading guys from lower levels the second they show promise, if you're not getting a substantial return. For example, if you're trading for a big name guy, and they ask for Escobar as a throw-in/deal sweetener...what do you do then? Do you make the deal rapidly and think you've fleeced them, or do you respond by offering up a pitcher that you think you're never going to need? Lots of deal structures with A-ball guys can work out, but lots can bite you big time. Carlos Santana for Casey Blake was the Dodgers not wanting to give up one of their higher level prospects, so they traded a guy having a good season in high-A ball at age 22 after 2 bad seasons in A ball, got to the playoffs, and then a few years later realized they'd given up one of the top prospects in baseball for him. Then again, the Sox gave up several A-ball guys in the Peavy deal and the Swisher deal, and they're not really missing those guys.

Buffalo grabbed Shawne Merriman off of waivers. Hell, that's a reasonable gamble. Worst thing that happens is he undermines the coach of a winless team and makes a fool of an organization in the toilet anyway.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 04:40 PM) You are actually missing the point here. Most of those costs you mention are fixed costs, that the government has to take on regardless of whether or not he makes 1 or 5 or 10 trips a year overseas. The incremental cost cannot possibly be on that scale. Really? None of those planes have a $50 million price tag. If you're including the actual, total costs of the equipment, then the pricetag is going to go through the roof. What the figures in the Air Force's n umbers probably refer to is some combination of the incremental costs and the depreciation of the equipment. Of course...if one wanted to, one could argue that usage of that equipment by policiticians requires the air force to have much more of it in their inventory than they otherwise would, since you don't want a presidential trip to affect actual military readiness. That said...I still couldn't care less.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 04:42 PM) So now the White House to address every single accusation thrown at it? That could be a 24/7 job on its own. Welcome to the post 2010 election world.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 04:34 PM) Well if we can't move him, then I'd deal Edwin. Mark is still a good pitcher to have on the Sox IMO, I'm just saying we need to trade a starter to improve our lineup. If the Sox lose Paulie and AJ and add a couple average bats in return like Buck and LaRoche, we're not going to contend with the postseason chokers (I prefer that name to the Twins), we just won't. I just don't see the Sox adding anything better than an average bat by trading Jackson.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 04:36 PM) Don't we have anybody in our organization that can fill that role? If not, we're pretty pathetic an organization. Jones is just another guy. Really, De Aza is probably already set in as one of our backup OF's for next year, and if he'd ever stay healthy he's talented enough to be a lower-level starter.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 04:33 PM) What did that 75 million per trip cover? Did that cover security and everything or was that just the airfare portion? I was googling this yesterday when y 'all first brought it up. I believe that was JUST the Air Force's portion; the planes, the people in the air force, etc. is The Secret Service part is probably a Presidential Secrets issue. It's not just air force one that goes on these, it's dozens of planes carrying equipment, security, additional personnel needed to operate the white house, trade personnel, economic personnel, probably corporate donors, people with economic interests in the trip, etc. I find the $200 million figure entirely reasonable. And I couldn't possibly care less.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 04:27 PM) Look at those three bullet points and tell me, with a straight face, how that could possibly cost $200M per day. Come on, some of you guys work in the real business world, you have some idea what things cost. The very idea that the number is accurate is ridiculous on its face. The Air Force was spending something like $75 million/trip at the end of the Clinton years. That came out in one of the many, many, many investigations of the Clintons.

BTW, I wonder how much Bernanke politics there is in the timing of this announcement. It's been clear for months that it was possible, even likely, and it comes the day after the election.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Nov 3, 2010 -> 03:50 PM) I'd love to see a kaizen-burst down on the government. I realize it is typically something done for manufacturing companies, but man, it would be interesting to see how much waste really exists. The problem is our government is the largest conglomerates in the world so fixing it over night is impossible. Actually, the bigger problem is that each side has its own waste that it's going to protect until the end of time because that side doesnt' believe it's waste. The DOD is sacred for one side, Social Security is sacred for the other side. (of course, Medicare is a whole nother issue...whichever side wants to cut waste out of that...welll....)