Balta1701

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 4, 2010 -> 08:50 AM) Shirek is just rolling now. He's got trade bait written all over him. He's what, 24 now, in AA? Bah, that's the kind of guy we do trade, and it's the kind of guy who seems to wind up coming back in a few years as a bullpen guy to hurt us.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ May 4, 2010 -> 03:57 AM) Is ESPN.com getting location sensitive? I felt weird going there and seeing 3 out of their 4 top stories were the Hawks, Jake Peavy and Del Negro. The other was the Celtics. I think they've gotten a lot better about covering the rest of the country ever since MLB network came out and every damn baseball fan outside of Boston/NY who got that channel switched instantly.

An illustrated guide to how Carlos Boozer's defense helped the Lakers down the stretch in game 1.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 3, 2010 -> 04:51 PM) Anyone else on AT&T DSL/U-Verse having issues reaching some Google sites? Apparently I am not the only one having issues... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24186278-...ing-issue-again Get used to it.

This is interesting...this is the first time I've seen an article published anywhere (even online) about people following controversial groups on twitter.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 3, 2010 -> 05:21 PM) Easily solved. Allow legal status to be in ths country, but with limited benefits. I'm trying to offer a compromise that the GOP has a chance in hell of supporting. "Limited benefits" doesn't solve the key issue of the fact that if there's no path to citizenship they're in corporate indentured servitude.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 3, 2010 -> 05:34 PM) lol. Seems like you've got a hate on for Alex Gordon. He's come up in 2 threads today, I think that was a good comparison.

QUOTE (WCSox @ May 3, 2010 -> 05:36 PM) Young never developed as a hitter Sure about that?

QUOTE (chw42 @ May 3, 2010 -> 04:55 PM) You have any idea how much face the organization would lose if we send Beckham back down? No way in hell is that happening. Then they need to get his mechanics straightened out before people start legitimately comparing him to Alex Gordon.

I'm not quite sure what exactly a "Justin Beiber" is, but apparently there's one throwing out the first pitch at the Cell tonight.

I'm not trying to introduce a conspiracy theory, but maybe this was deliberate. Video at link. That's former Bush Press Secretary Dana Perino.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 3, 2010 -> 04:16 PM) If GB has to be sent down to AAA then it might be time to re-evaluate. ? It depends on the person and on the issue, sometimes. Becksy's swing is clearly screwed all to hell right now.

Well, thank goodness they fully understood the housing market and didn't let things get out of control.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 3, 2010 -> 04:07 PM) So you want him to be in the lineup but lower? He's still in our godawful lineup. What the f*** difference does it make where he bats? We can't bat everybody ninth. Frankly, I think he needs either a few days off to do nothing but work with the pitching coach or a stint in AAA. Might snap out of it on his own with regular playing time, but it's not just in his head right now, it's fully mechanical.

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 3, 2010 -> 04:02 PM) Why in the world would you want Beckham lower? Beckham is our golden boy and the team is counting on him. Team will go nowhere without him. Leave him be and let him hit. Because his mechanics are so screwed up right now that based on your standards, this team is going no where because he's not going to start hitting.

The presence of those guys is directly related to the need to pay Pujols.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 3, 2010 -> 03:57 PM) I do agree with one aspect, the Cardinals have been much more budget-conscious and have gone with the "diamond in the rough" theory of acquiring starters since overspending from 1995-2005 in this area. Let's ad the qualifier that they're being budget-conscious in some ways (i.e. pitching) because they're about to hand out $50 million a year to the combination of Holliday and Pujols.

QUOTE (Tex @ May 3, 2010 -> 01:52 PM) My proposal will be an attempt to bridge both parties and give them both something to like. As far as the millions that are already here, I do not go as far as Balta. There needs to be a mechanism for them to be here legally with the rights, but not all the benefits, of citizenship. If they have broken laws outside of immigration, no path to citizenship. They must be self sufficient, so if they are on public aid, no citizenship. Benefits that I would not extend to these guest workers would include social security and voting. One path I would add is citizenship would automatically happen after four years of military service. Currently you have to die while serving to have that happen. Let's reward the successful soldiers as well. I would also add in a change to our citizenship to exclude children of foreign nationals who are born here. Too many "tourists" seem to go into labor and have kids. Ok Tex, here's my simple counterpoint to the no citizenship argument. Let's say, for example, that I'm an employer, let's call me WalPetroleumMassey, and I want to make as much money as possible doing whatever it is I do, running harvesting equipment or construction or whatever. So, I decide I want to pay a lot of migrant workers below minimum wage and I want to eliminate safety precautions to save money. Now, if you're an American worker, you have several options. You can quit, and try to find another job. Or, you can report them to the government for violating a ton of rules, and likely be considered a whistleblower. You could organize a union. With American workers, of course, sometimes this won't happen, but usually that's because you've got a very well paid worker who doesn't want to risk losing his or her job by being a malcontent. On the other hand...if you're here on a guest worker program and you have zero path to citizenship, if you lose your position, you're suddenly an illegal immigrant. You're deported. So, basically, as long as the conditions you're working here are better than the conditions you'd face in Mexico, you have a huge incentive to shut up and work in whatever conditions you're told to work in, because you have no negotiating power until you become a citizen. Oh yeah, you can imagine that the feds might inspect the place and issue a few fines once every decade or so, but really, come on, there aren't even enough Federal inspectors any more to find the current illegal immigrants, or to enforce mining/drilling regulations, whatever. A guest worker program without a path to citizenship is an indentured servitude plan. The people come here with no possibility of ever moving up beyond the position they start off in, and it's designed for corporate abuse.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 3, 2010 -> 01:56 PM) In 745 career PA in the minors his line is: .326/.439/.584/1.023 Suffice it to say there's not a damn thing left for him to prove or any confidence to be gained by obliterating minor league pitching when he's obviously shown that's not a problem. Gordon Beckham's career minor league numbers are .322/.375/.522/.894...and I think sending Beckham down is probably the right move if he can't get his mechanics together in the next couple days.

Y'all can say the Royals have screwed around with Gordon all you want, He's had nearly 1400 major league PA's and hasn't shown me flashes of being a top level talent. He looks like a fringe major leaguer.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 3, 2010 -> 02:36 PM) Balta, why would a team like the Nationals take the risk that he (Dunn) accepts and they end up with a contract they don't want on their hands? Take a look at why Dunn's name came up in this thread. Why? Because even at his current contract level, on a 1-2 year deal, he's easily movable if he accepts arbitration.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 3, 2010 -> 01:19 PM) BP Trying To Get Alabamians To Give Up Right To Sue Over Spill 3 posts up.

QUOTE (kitekrazy @ May 3, 2010 -> 01:17 PM) We need to replace Pierre with Pods when the Royals aren't looking. Over his last 10 games, Podsednik is hitting .175 with a .409 OPS. They're not looking.

QUOTE (jphat007 @ May 3, 2010 -> 12:57 PM) The Tigers have an incredible offense and really really good bullpen. The Twins ahve had great starting pitching and great offense. The Twins have actually scored more runs on the season than the Tigers. Tigers are 4th in the AL, just ahead of Toronto.

Podsednik. Whaddya mean I can't do that? Ok, Quentin.