Balta1701

QUOTE (tonyho7476 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 01:51 PM) I assumed Swisher I figured it was probably Anderson.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 01:30 PM) Tea Party doesn't necessarily cater to "moderates" - they cater to people who actually want protection of individual freedoms. Not just the kinds the GOP harps on, or just the kinds that the Dems harp on - but instead siding with individual freedom on all 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights. Now, unfortunately, because that movement will tend to oppose Obama and attract those angry with the present state of things, the party will ALSO attract some crazies, mostly of the right wing variety. That is the real problem that Tea Partiers will have to contend with. Really? All 10 amendments? Like, for example, you think they'd have no problem with freedom of religion for non-Christians? That's the kind of belief that I think needs to be refudiated.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 01:02 PM) Balta, I don't know much (if anything) about the tea party, but you just posting "lol" twice to 2k5 saying it appeals to moderates rather than pointing out actual reasons why what he says is false kind of makes me wonder if he has a point. In the early 90's, one Republican counterpoint to the Clinton proposal for an employer-mandate universal healthcare plan was an individual mandate. If Bill Clinton had flipflopped and supported an individual mandate and put out a draft of the evil Obamacare bill then and there, he probably would have gotten 70-80% of the Congress to vote for it. If Barack Obama right now pushed hard for exactly the same sort of immigration reform bill that George W. Bush was negotiating for in 2007, he'd be lucky to get 50 votes in the Senate. George W. could have passed an immigration reform bill with 60-70 Senate votes if he'd wanted, but they didn't want to go ahead without unity amongst the Republicans. That was barely a couple years ago. Now, even guys who wrote bills allowing for comprehensive immigration reform (i.e. McCain) have to vehemently denounce their own bills otherwise they're tossed out by a tea party primary. The tea party caters to moderates? The only way that's true is if a moderate right now was a 1990's era Pat Buchanan.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 11:13 AM) I was more or less talking about what would happen if you took him out of the closer's role. Not if he was still in it. I have a feeling Bobby wouldn't be very good as a middle reliever or a setup man given his history in the 8th inning. There's 2 things that could happen. It could either break him and he'd go off and be nearly worthless, putting up horrible stats like a 1.50+ WHIP and ERA's above 5 and have occasional outings where he's flat out unable to get a single out and makes Randy Williams look like a decent option, or it might finally be the thing that tells him to get his tail in gear because his career is breaking down. I'll give him a little bit more rope because of his good June. I just think we all feel like he's going to hang himself with it.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 11:08 AM) WTF is James Jones? I'm not familiar with him that much either...but the Spurs are one of, IMO, the best scouting teams out there, and they're willing to offer him their full MLE.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 11:05 AM) And you'd be f***ing with Jenks' mind if you took him out of the closer's role. He'd be like dead weight on this team if you start pitching him as a middle reliever or a setup man. It might well be that we need to F*** with his mind a little bit. Every time he gets comfortable in his role, we get a game like yesterday. When he was on the verge of having his job taken away from him in late May/early June, he genuinely stepped up.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 11:01 AM) And you have to look no further than the "radicalization" by the left to understand it. At least it's our fault.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 10:49 AM) Bobby Jenks had a bad game. It happens. I am not sure at this point in time you would make a switch and have Putz close or not, but he sure can do that for certain. I would stick with Jenks, but I don't see the Sox paying the money some writers claim he can expect to sign for 2011. If he doesn't stay then the Sox shoud be looking at Putz as closer for next year and make a move to sign him to an extension. Frankly, I don't see anyone giving Bobby good money next season. He might well make less than we're paying Putz right now, based on his performance this year. Relievers with WHIP over 1.5 who can't pitch outside the closer's role aren't exactly going to be in huge demand. I don't think Putz would have any interest in signing an extension right now, and I can't imagine the Sox would be able to do so. If he keeps up this performance the whole season, I could easily see someone going out and signing him for 3/$30 to be their closer.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 10:23 AM) Something tells me that he wouldn't be too happy. Good. I like angry Carlos.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 10:26 AM) Which is why the Tea Party movement scares the s*** out of the Democrats as it caters to those exact middle GOPers who don't want the government in their wallet or in their bedroom. The tea party caters to moderates.

QUOTE (docsox24 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 10:01 AM) It never makes any sense when people say we "should have" won. Could have won? Yes but not should have. What 3 games exactly should we have won? Game 4 in this series. You shouldn't lose a game up 3 in the ninth with a $7 million closer. Losing that is a killer. That is a "Should have won" game. Game 3 I'll count as a "could have won" game, game 2 as well. Game 3 would have taken either a clutch hit or two or a better approach against Pavano's outside breaking pitch by a couple hitters. Game 2 would have taken some blasted defense.

QUOTE (tonyho7476 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 09:46 AM) It really wasn't all that riveting...within one hour we went from January 22nd to Draft Day. It made spring training look like it was nothing. If this was another team, I wouldn't watch again. I'll grant, a lot of the actual decision making/discussions that I'd have been interested to see, particularly regarding the DH slot, were glossed over, in favor of cutesy things like Selig having a lunch with JR and JR going down the lineup. The last 3 cuts/makes were excellent TV, and I enjoyed the stuff about the Williams in the draft. Hopefully they hit more in-depth on the draft discussions. Oh, and it really annoyed me that the meeting where they decided they didn't need a DH was done on my birthday. Sigh.

And this sums up pretty well how the Republicans and the Democrats right now is comparable to Buster Posey versus a pitcher.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 18, 2010 -> 08:42 PM) Phil Cuzzi cost the Giants a win today on a blown call at the plate in the bottom of the 9th. That guy sucks. ..and another reason why they need to expand replay. I'm sure most people already know this, but it needs to be said anyway. Buster Posey in July: .481/.525/.981/1.506. 7 HR. 17 RBI. 25/52 with 5 bb. That is a 200 OPS+.

Google discontinues the Nexus one

QUOTE (OilCan @ Jul 18, 2010 -> 10:37 PM) Just wondering...why does Ozzie insist on giving Kotsay ABs, and Viciedo sit? Really, would we be losing more with Viciedo at DH than Kotsay? Once you're one of Ozzie's guys, it doesn't matter what you do, you keep your AB's.

Anyone else screaming "No, SIGN HIM!" when they were talking about Thome?

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 12:37 AM) In a way... we were the ones who got punked. Bah, he pitched well enough last year to break camp with the team this year. The problem was...once he proved he was awful, he still stayed there, even when we could have used Torres as long relief instead.

QUOTE (J.Reedfan8 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 01:27 AM) I will still never understand why Bobby (and the sox brass) felt he needed to be a "true pitcher." He is a closer. This dude has like 6 god damn pitches in his arsenal, that most of the time, aren't needed. Most closers in the game have 2, maybe 3 solid/good/great pitches to get guys out with. (unless your name is Mariano, but he is a freak) He would have been perfectly fine (probably one of the best in the game) if he was still throwing 98+ with that 12 to 6 curve. And if he really wanted to add a third pitch, a change-up would be been more than good enough. You don't need a cutter, slider, sinker, etc.. in your arsenal as a closer. Mariano Rivera throws 1 pitch 9.5 out of 10 times and gets hitters out even when they know it's comming. Billy Wagner had a 99+ mph fastball he threw 8 out of 10 times and a slider. Trevor Hoffman, in his prime, had a 96+ mph fastball and one of the best change-ups this game has ever seen, and when he got old, he had a 85-87 mph fastball and one of the best change-ups this game has ever seen. I think there are 2 main reasons. First of all, I don't think his arm could take throwing 100 and the big curve ball. I think he probably had no choice but to back off, especially given his lack of interest in keeping in shape in the offseason. Most of us I'm sure can remember how at the start of 2006/2007 everyone was concerned about whether his velocity would come back when he'd start the season throwing as hard as he did yesterday (93ish). Remember, this is a guy who already has a screw in his elbow holding it together. Second, I think that he never would have had the kind of control that Billy Wagner puts out there, especially as he kept being out of shape. If you walk the first 2 guys you face, it doesn't matter if you're throwing 99.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 12:09 AM) Could Dunn be had for Morel, Gartrell, and Rodriguez? Even if Washington wasn't asking for the moon for Dunn...No. First point...the most valuable guy in that deal is Morel, who is probably more valuable to us than to most teams...but who is flat out useless for Washington, because he plays 3b. Washington has Zimmerman locked up at 3b and they're not moving him. 2nd point, no, Gartrell and Rodriguez are not viewed by most people as major league talent. That could always change, but they'd be the 4th/5th guys in a deal and are essentially throw-ins. 3rd point...Washington is asking for the moon for Dunn so far. By that, I mean that their demands have started along the lines of Beckham + Hudson.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 19, 2010 -> 05:30 AM) This is Dayton Moore we're talking about so... Flowers-Morel-Torres-Holmberg-Santeliz The Royals need pitching, but I'd be hesitant to deal Huddy if we don't get a fifth starter. If it came down to it, I'd probably bite. Not that I'm saying I wouldn't do that...but you're sorta locking yourself into Mark Teahen as your starting 3b for the next 2+ years and forcing yourself to resign AJ Pierzynski probably for about $4-6 million per year, probably for at least 2 years, this offseason.

James Jones (F) was offered the MLE ($6 million) by the Spurs. He's turning it down and taking the veterans minimum ($1.5 million) to play for the Heat. The Heat are also expected to sign Carlos Arroyo and Jamaal Magloire. Yeah, backups are turning down $4.5 million to play for this team. It's going to be so hard for them to fill out their roster. What will they ever do.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 18, 2010 -> 08:04 PM) But isn't he just suspended cause LeBron went to MIA? No. We're not going to suspend someone for being wrong, even if they're not the nicest about it.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 18, 2010 -> 08:02 PM) Look, after he has dominated for the past month, I think it is pretty ignorant for us all to b**** and moan at one bad outing over a pretty good sample size. He did struggle in April, May, but the guy more often than not has been a pretty reliable closer. Overpaid, certainly, gone at the end of the year, probably. His fastball was 92-94 today with essentially no command.

QUOTE (Real @ Jul 18, 2010 -> 05:41 PM) Those opinions defending Rios' terrible throws from CF, which have been noted by Stone and Hawk, garbage. Fact Seriously, you're defending this? Haha, ok! I just don't think any of us cared, and I don't think Rios did either.