Balta1701

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 12:02 AM) Agreed at 100% Good hitters are good hitter. Kind of a bad example considering two of these guys are awesome, but do you think anyone in the twins org or any twin fans care about having three lefties (Mauer, Morneau, Kubel) bat in a row, considering they get the job done? Besides, if I was gonna have it heavy to either side, I'd prefer it right handed to help avoid left handed specialists, and righties generally dont have as much trouble against lefties. From 2007-2009, Jermaine Dye has put up a .801 OPS against righties and a .913 OPS against lefties. His OPS against LHP was at least 50 points higher than against RHP every one of those single seasons. You can say good hitters are good hitters, and Jermaine Dye is a good hitter. However, he's an average to even below average hitter against RHP (esp. if he's less than 100%) and an above average hitter against LHP. The numbers don't lie. JD just doesn't fit in this lineup right now as constructed.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 07:16 AM) pretty much an automatic out- calls a good game and has a nice arm. For the most part he's the typical backup catcher. He also caught Buerhle's perfect game if you cant recall. I think this is a good move- it gives Flowers another year to work on his game calling and defense down in triple-a. Frankly, he's also usually been better with the bat than what we got. I'm guessing moving to a new league with new pitchers played into that. From 2005 on as a backup with the Mets, he put up OPS number of .756, .711, .887, .753, and .752 in 2009 with the Mets. he put up a .644 OPS with us. It's possible he's getting old and slowing down, but it seems like a .725-.750 OPS as a backup C is more normal for him than what we got.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 11:01 PM) Williams has stated that Teahen is the starting 3Bman. As he should be, even if a Tejada or a Blalock is brought in. I kinda like the idea of Blalock more and more with time because he can be a backup IF in addition to being a regular DH, but unless a deal is conducted that brings us another, better 3b, Teahen should start there.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 09:01 AM) As opposed to governments who give sweetheart deals in exchange for cash? I think there is actually more accountability in the corporate sectors, because at least they have to answer to shareholders. Judging by re-election rates, the government doesn't seem to have that problem. Really, it doesn't strike you at all that corporate sweetheart deals happen all the time?

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 11:15 PM) Yea, because it's true. You CANNOT calculate it. But they kept spreading it around like some glorified meaningful number, and you all want to spout off how the stimulus is doing its job, when it's not. The Democrats constantly create this strawman argument about how they are going to "fix jobs" and present some BS number to say, "see, we're fixing it" or "it would have been SOOOOOOOO much worse"... when they admit that it's all BS... where's the retraction? Where's the jobs? "Our side" has called BS on this from day one and now the White House "quietly" rejects the whole notion. Yea... ok.First of all, it's a fun game your side gets to play. Water down the stimulus to be less effective by getting 60% of it as tax cuts, and then express how appalled you are that it wasn't as effective as it could have been. Then at the same time, the economy at least stops its free-fall and settles into a hover, the pace of job loss slows dramatically, interest rates DO NOT rise like they would if the government was doing too much borrowing, and yet you insist that the stimulus somehow is doing nothing. You may not like them, and there's certainly going to be debate about which model is correct, but to bury your head in the sand and shout "LALALA I can't hear you" every time someone shows math that has been done by economists for years is just embarrassing. But I guess that's how your side can come up with the idea that the correct response to this collapse is some combination of tax cuts and a balanced budget amendment.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 06:30 AM) How could anyone actually think this legislation goes too far in controlling costs... lol... its biggest weakness is it really doesn't do anything at all. It doesn't make prices worse but it doesn't make them better either. I can totally see why anyone who is on a plan that would actually hit the Senate's Excise Tax would think that it goes too far. It does actually take serious steps towards cost control, FWIW, but it's missing perhaps the most effective option; any sort of public competition.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 08:19 AM) The danger I see is when connected corporations wind up with sweetheart deals. You say this like it's an unusual occurrence. In general, my impression is it's much more the norm of how these contracts are given out.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 08:24 PM) He's doing a Late Night show at 10:30 and making buckets of money. He needs to get over it if he is bitter. Not too mention NBC made the right decision since Leno consistently beat Letterman ratings wise. It's worth noting why Leno consistently beat Letterman in the ratings. For pretty much the full decade after they each started their new shows...Leno had VASTLY better lead-ins. He was on the number 1 network with Seinfeld, Friends, ER, Frasier, etc., leading into him. CBS was a disaster area in the 90's. Letterman was actually one of their most valuable pieces. Plus, Leno already had a built-in advantage; he was taking over the Tonight Show, a well-known and historic brand, while Letterman was an upstart with a new show. Leno was able to build a long-term audience because of these advantages and held onto it while CBS took over. The difference now though is that Leno's audience has aged with him; the only thing older and whiter is the Fox News audience.

QUOTE (bschmaranz @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 01:58 AM) Pirates Talking To Dotel & Carrasco If they're able to snag DJ for a minor league deal, there's one hell of a signing. And Dotel is the kind of guy a team like the Padres should sign for a minimal deal, maybe $1 mil or so, put him in the Closer's role, and then deal him at the deadline to a contender.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 07:38 AM) Kiffins departure conference lasted 66 seconds and he didnt thank any UT personnel. What a classy guy. Lots of rumors going around that Orgeron is contacting UT recruits and encouraging them to jump ship as well It was classier than that. He came into the room originally and objected to the presence of cameras, told them to remove the cameras and left, came back and there were still a few cameras in the room, so he then made his statement and left without taking questions. He spent probably 3 minutes longer than that talking to the actual team.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jan 13, 2010 -> 12:09 AM) Kiffin and USC are putting together quite the coaching staff. Am I the only one who thinks this will work out good for both Carroll and Kiffin? I think this will wind up working out terrible for Kiffin, because he's going to face like a 5 year+ postseason ban to clean up for Carroll's dirty work.

Just to note one more time...the response I gave to that article was to give issues with the underlying math. Your side's response has not been to either defend the original math or to challenge the math I presented...it's just to cry about how evil those Democratic attacks are. Of course they are! When you decide that you don't have to defend your case at all because everyone's against you so you don't have to think things through....well, we've tried that last decade, and it didn't work too well.

Data from CBS Polling.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 10:50 PM) Whatever, Mr. Semantics. It means the same thing in regards to this, but that's fine, your post illustrates that the Democrats can't be wrong and the GOP is always wrong. We get it. Just like Tex's post in the other thread. Poor victims. I never said they were calculating it correctly. Your side continues to assert that it's impossible to gain any information about it, or that we should ignore any means of calculation based on whether or not you like it, not whether or not there's anything interesting or useful about the math.

Tomorrow appears to be the day that the Taco Bell Burrito Supreme Court will essentially eliminate all restrictions on corporate campaign contributions.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 07:49 PM) I don't think any special election holds any message for a regular election cycle. I don't think I could be any clearer about that. I think this one means a lot. It will determine whether or not we get to keep posting this photo. Probably not something you should click on at work.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 07:41 PM) Does anyone want to explain to me why the Bulls would deal Joakim Noah for Tracy McGrady. What sense is there in that? Bulls are going to get cap relief regardless so why deal someone like Noah. I could see if we are moving a Deng or Hinrich and including Noah as a way to put the Bulls in a position where they can offer two max contracts this off-season, but the rumored trade which would include Noah would not do that. Because the Rockets are going to get a better offer from the Wizards, who are looking to dump salary and would be happy to move Butler and more in exchange for that contract. The only way the Bulls can beat what other teams can offer is to give up a quasi-all-star in Noah. But then, Bulls fans will pretend that somehow the deal could have been done for the overpaid and inconsistent Hinrich and Tyrus "Go to the bench!" Thomas and then complain how cheap JR is and how much Gar Paxdorf sucks.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 08:01 PM) Bwwwwaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaaaaaa.... You can't count jobs created, Obama adminstration finally admits Republican Party platform item #47: from now on, the meaning of the word "Count" is considered identical to the word "Calculate".

Earthquake struck on a fault running very close to that nation's capital. This has the potential to have killed a lot of people. A tsunami warning was issued but this doesn't appear to be the kind of fault that would commonly generate one.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 06:22 PM) Uh, did you read the post? 197 PA vs. 195 PA. And I don't think that's much of a difference when you're talking about a .660 OPS vs. a .509 OPS. BTW, in 2008 Vizquel posted a .550 OPS in the NL in 300 PA. It should be more than obvious that both players are only valuable as defensive subs, and in the case of Lillibridge, as a pinch runner. Edit: Also, instead of using OPS you should have talked about batting average. Over the span I gave, they both have the smae number of XBH and Lillibridge has more walks. Vizquel has a few more hits, probably because he makes a lot more contact and played in a fast infield. That's really the only major difference between the 2 offensively. In both his 2008 and 2009 stints in the big leagues, Lillibridge put up UZR numbers between 0 and -1, while in the last 4 years, Vizquel has put up UZR numbers of 5.2, 20.2, 4.9, and 5.3. Even at his age, Vizquel also appears to be a better defender than Lillibridge.

If y'all are worried about cost and think that Flowers will be ready mid-season, it's always possible to trade backup catchers, there's always a few teams looking for them. We could grab someone else's Lance Broadway for him and bring Flowers up at that point.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 06:04 PM) My buddy told me that Letterman used his first 30 minutes to mock NBC and the drama going on. You think Dave isn't still bitter about getting screwed out of the Tonight Show in the first place? I would be.

Shatner and Simmons.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 04:01 PM) Last two slots open, I figure fall to two of: Nunez, Dolsi, Hudson, Williams, Santeliz. IMO, Hudson probably starts at AAA.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 12, 2010 -> 03:53 PM) Yes, that makes sense, and that's the likely scenario. Charlotte OF of Danks-De Aza-Gartrell (Kroeger DH and backup OF), for those who'd care. We're pretty sure of a 7 man pen, right? Jenks-Thornton-Putz-Linebrink-Pena-LOOGY/Williams-Nunez/???. Don't forget Freddy Dolsi. I'd say I'm pretty sure Ozzie sticks with a 7 man pen. If he was going with a 7 man pen in most of 2005, he'll keep that up.