Balta1701

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 11:32 AM) Mark Kotsay Omar Vizquel Kotsay has 6 HR on the year. Vizquel has markedly positive UZR numbers at 3b and SS, negative numbers at 2b but he's only getting time there because our starting 2b is sucking royally. Kotsay and Vizquel have been adequate at their job. Every time anyone blames this season on Kotsay or Vizquel, God Kills a Kitten.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 11:26 AM) So you're saying a manager has never been fired because his players underperformed for him? There's a difference in saying that Ozzie should be fired because its his job to get his players performing and he's failing at that job and saying Ozzie should be fired for this year's roster decisions, when it hasn't been the roster decisions that have hurt us this year.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 11:19 AM) Adding one game doesn't solve the problem. How do you determine which of the two BCS games are the two that will decide the champion? I'm guessing teams like Boise St. would still get screwed there. IMO you gotta extend it out far enough so that you eliminate people complaining that not enough of the worthy teams get in (at least 6, maybe 10 with the top 2 getting a bye) Some team will always get screwed. I think the ideal length would be the bowl weekend, followed by a 4 team playoff, but I think it's more realistic to start off with a 2 team, one game playoff to get people used to the concept.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 11:21 AM) I think KW and Ozzie put Oz in a position to succeed or be canned. Clearly his roster decisions were wrong and he should be gone. Out of these people, which one was an Ozzie roster decision? AJ Pierzynski Gordon Beckham Carlos Quentin Jake Peavy Gavin Floyd Mark Buehrle Bobby Jenks

If the crowd and the police were close enough that the rocks were actually potentially injurious, this is the actual type of situation the Taser is designed for; a case where deadly force might wind up being necessary but where a less-lethal weapon could be used instead.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 11:18 AM) How is it going to charge? Are you saying every alarm clock will have bluetooth? Wireless charging is already a reality.

Reality is, if they're throwing across the border, presumably they're at a distance that they're not throwing 50 lb bricks up there, they're throwing small handheld stuff. Of course, they could be throwing iron meteorites. Those things would hurt.

Konerko

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 10:30 AM) fair point... i think you under estimate the $$$ part though. The money's been there for years and they still haven't managed to push through a playoff system. The more radical the plan, the less likely it is to get through. If you think of this as a type of politics...what's the best way to get what you want? You buy off all of the entrenched interests and then offer people something new that also makes them money. Where are all the entrenched interests currently? They're associated with the conferences and bowl games. Anything you do that takes away the guys working for the Bowl games, the value of those sponsorships, the deals between the conferences, etc., hurts people with a lot of money invested in the current system. IMO, if you want to get a College football playoff system, you build it on top of what you already have; the bowl games, and you don't make it too radical, so that the Presidents out there won't reject it. The simple solution in my eyes is a 1 game playoff 1-2 weeks after the Bowl games, primetime TV, with the top 2 teams coming out of the bowl games, on a night when the NFL isn't playing. Keep all the bowls, so that all the current people have no reason to fight against it, only add one game, so that most college presidents won't freak out about the season extending, and you've got a possible negotiable path, at least until Lindsey Graham decides to filibuster it.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 10:24 AM) What if it were a 12 team playoff (top 4 teams get a 1st round bye) with 5 "BCS" conference champs and 7 "wild card" invites. You've now set up a 4 game playoff system at 12 teams. While that would make a crap load of money for college football, the AD's/Presidents just aren't going to approve having the college football season run through the Super Bowl.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 10:22 AM) I didn't even begin to think about that. Do you see this a response to him not signing his extension and an indication that he's going to be moved? Well, my instinct says no. But I'll agree at some level with what 2k5 says. There's right now no reason to expect that he's going to re-up with us, he's 2.5 years away from FA and so right now is probably his "Peak value", even low budget teams desperate for a pitcher could afford his salary for a year or two. I don't think they'd draft Sale because they thought they wanted to move D1. But it is possible that having drafted Sale will make them a little more willing to do so, if a team offers the right package.

QUOTE (smalls2598 @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 09:59 AM) Some pretty good trivia from Stark on ESPN.com This one really stood out: "Then again, as the Elias Sports Bureau points out, the heck with debuts. Only five other pitchers since 1900 have had a 14-strikeout, zero-walk game in ANY game, at any point in their careers, in which they went seven innings or less. Those five: Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Javier Vazquez, Mike Mussina and Brad Penny. We're guessing you've heard of them." A steroid abuser, a guy who's arm went out, a HOFer, a near- HOFer, and Javy Vazquez. That doesn't sell me too hard on this kid.

The Roethlisberger investigation files and interviews are going to be released in full today.

Where is the "It depends on what type of rock they're throwing" option?

It's all just anecdotal at this point, but USA today is running the "legal and illegal hispanics leaving Arizona" article.

QUOTE (hogan873 @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 09:32 AM) Yes. If those three guys were having better years the offense would be in better shape. The team would still be having issues due to the lackluster pitching, however. Pierre is getting on base more often, and when he does he's usually swiping extra bags. But how many times does his 160 pound frame end up blowing away like a tumbleweed because no one can get him in? I'm comfortable with Pierre, Rios, and Konerko at the dish. The #5 spot is a joke behind Konerko, then things really go downhill with the inconsistent Alexei and the rest of the atrocious bottom part of the order. This team was built to win with great pitching and an adequate offense. The lackluster pitching is the main culprit here. We're actually outscoring last year's team, and offense is down throughout the league again this year. The big reason that the #5 spot in the order looks so terrible is that the guys who were supposed to be hitting 2 and 3 have fallen flat on their faces. Jones and Kotsay have 16 home runs between the 2 of them, for example. If you have that kind of production coming from your 7/8 spots, you really don't care about the low batting averages, not in a down season everywhere for offense. Really, we ought to have Konerko, Quentin, Rios, and Beckham forming the 2-5 of a formidable heart of the order, with AJ, Teahen, and Kotsay/Jones stuck in towards the end and able to go through some struggles. We ought to be middle of the AL in offense, the reason we're not continues to be Quentin and Beckham.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 01:51 AM) well, whoever the misguided hack who was working for blanche lincoln, congrats, you put another corporate schill into the senate. On the other hand, i'm actually supremely glad that harry reid is facing a retarded tea part candidate. The good news of the Lincoln victory? Again, it makes it that much harder to pull the derivatives legislation she introduced out of the FinReg bill.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 07:57 AM) So the decision to go with a flexible, speedy offense this year....success or failure? It's actually outperformed last year's offense. The problem continues to be Beckham, Quentin, Pierzynski.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jun 9, 2010 -> 01:56 AM) Has Buehrle shown you anything more then Floyd has that he'll still be a quality pitcher in the 2-3 years till Sale gets here? I think Peavy, Danks, Floyd, Hudson, Sale is the more likely option at this point. It strikes me that Sale is most likely the replacement for D1.

Aside from 1 laziness play, that was some impressive defense by the Celtics last night.

QUOTE (robinventura23 @ Jun 8, 2010 -> 11:02 PM) Well, considering the Sox are, if not, worse than the Pirates, tonight was just a mini-preview what Strasburg will do to them. The Pirates have the 16th offense in the NL out of 16 teams.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 8, 2010 -> 11:00 PM) Feint praise, unfortunately. It's not praise. It's pointing out where the blame should be going. This season isn't Vizquel's fault, or Kostay's fault, or Teahen's fault, or Pierre's fault. If you want to talk about the offense, talk about the people who are genuinely sucking, or go to the pitching staff. These whipping boys are doing exactly what they should be doing.

Hell of a play by Pierre again.

Oh you're kidding, the Tigers have a pitcher named "Ni"? Ni! Ni! Ni!

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 8, 2010 -> 10:54 PM) If only they could produce pitchers. Gallardo?