Balta1701

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Aug 10, 2009 -> 09:28 AM) Now is a unique opportunity for acquiring CF stability, without losing major prospects or high draft picks. Get it done! If KW is able to do that he'll do it. It's going to be largely up to Riccardi and the Blue Jays Ownership to decide how desperate they are to shed salary though. If they actually want a substantial return, then KW can and should just sit on his hands.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Aug 10, 2009 -> 09:35 AM) lmao, thats actually really f***ing embarrassing. Oh the downside to the First Amendment, in full effect. You know what's really impressing me about this whole "Death panel" idiocy? It's how even the supposed legit-media outlets are still refusing to call a spade a spade. Not just Fox, they're doing exactly what they're supposed to do; pretending what Palin said is 100% true and telling their whole audience to be afraid of it. The AP, for example, is running these stories as "Republicans say Democrats are going to euthanize the elderly, Democrats and some experts disagree." They're just unwilling to come out and say "these statements are false" or any version of that. It's literally in "Republicans say the sun will rise in the west tomorrow, Democrats and scientists disagree" territory. Meanwhile, Fox News tells how horrible things would be if Obama made the sun rise in the West. It's remarkable how easily the media are played this way. "We promise, we learned our lessons from the Iraq war!".

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Aug 10, 2009 -> 09:04 AM) Yes it would. Except Fields would have to clear waivers to be part of a deal, and there's no reason to think he'd even make it to Toronto. The Padres or Orioles or Royals or someone like that would be happy to grab him for nothing.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Aug 10, 2009 -> 09:05 AM) I guess Riccardi is less helpless than I thought he would be. He's still guaranteeing his team losses if he holds Rios.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Aug 10, 2009 -> 08:51 AM) Kalapse mention that Beckham is under Sox control for another six years (if I read that right and understand the rules correctly). Why commit now when we can see what things bring in maybe 3 years and then sign the long term deal? Because you gain yourself significant cost certainty by committing now rather than gambling on where the arbitration process is going to go, you potentially buy out those arbitration years more cheaply than you could 3 years down the road, and you're much more likely to be able to buy out a year or two of FA at this point than 3 years down the road. You're trading the player increased financial security at a young age in exchange for 1 or 2 years of FA. It's a good deal for your team as long as the player doesn't get hurt.

QUOTE (G&T @ Aug 10, 2009 -> 06:29 AM) I remember in 2004 Boston freaked out because Manny was placed on waivers. In any event, I hope McCulloch is traded so I can see the inevitable "We are very excited and envision him in the starting rotation next season" non-sense from whoever picks him up. Then I will laugh and laugh. The difference with Manroid is that he was placed on irrevocable waivers.

QUOTE (G&T @ Aug 10, 2009 -> 08:40 AM) Looks like Ken Griffey Jr. was presenting a bad Mariners team. But, a lot of his managers threatened to start beanball wars.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 05:43 PM) yea, that sounds like a fairly unusual conclusion to reach. Seniors think that some of their government coverage will be reduced to pay for younger uninsured’s . Remarkably, the only real way that's going to happen is if there is no reform to cut the rate of cost increase. Most people have forgotten that, for example, the 1995 government shutdown was almost explicitly over cuts that the Republicans wanted to make in Medicare expenditures. We're spending a heckuva lot more than that on Medicare now, and in 5 years we'll be spending a heckuvalot more than this if there is no reform.

The Washington Nationals have won 8 games in a row.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 04:56 PM) Kyle "I'm Not Dead Yet" McCulloch had his second nice start in a row. Birmingham Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA McCulloch 6.0 6 2 2 0 3 0 4.49 Quick, send his last 2 stat lines to J.P. Riccardi!

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 04:45 PM) Figgins will undoubtedly be a Type A FA, correct? So that would mean two lost draft picks...depending on the team that signed him, other FA losses for the Angels (Vladdy, Abreu, etc.), the cost alone for the contract is a huge risk, then figuring in the loss of a couple of higher draft picks, it's just not worth it. That's not how it works. The signing team loses 1 draft pick. The team that lost the type A player gets that draft pick, and also gets a sandwich pick in-between the first and 2nd rounds.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:47 PM) I've stated repeatedly a bunch of the tea party guys are loud, disruptive, and annoying. But so far they've managed to refrain from attacking people. Except they haven't. Hell, I can even provide video of your guys beating up a guy in a union shirt. Happens to also show the guy without health insurance falling down. The first guy you see on the ground getting walked on here is in a union shirt. The guy you see trip at about :07 and then stand right back up seems to be the guy who's claiming he was piled on by union members and is asking for contributions to his health care fund. At least in this case, the guy in the SEIU shirt took more punishment than the Gladney guy. Naturally...doesn't mean that the union guys didn't start it. The video only starts at a certain point. But seriously, this is just a joke on your part.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:59 PM) With the 3rd hopefully being Figgins to round off our lineup. I think Rios makes Figgins no longer a good candidate to me.

QUOTE (Capn12 @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:55 PM) But then Scotty 2 Hotty Pods might not be here next year!!!!!11 Even if you grab Rios, you still only have 2 obvious starting OF's.

QUOTE (Capn12 @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:51 PM) I'll certainly agree that we need an upgrade of SOME sorts in CF, and Rios could fill the part. Also, to not have to get into a bidding war would behoove us. I guess, IF Rios does make it to the Southside, I'll have the wait and see approach. Not sure where Rosenthal gets his "30 HR and 30 SB" ideas from though. Last year he was 32/40 on stolen bases (80%clip) and the year before that he hit 24 HR in a pitcher's park. This year he's on pace for 30+ steals and 20+ HR again. 30/30 is not out of the realm of possibility for him.

QUOTE (Capn12 @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:42 PM) I've certainly not read the entire thread, but I don't get the interest in Rios. Rather pedestrian player for the money he is going to be paid over the next years to come... He's put up rough numbers this year, but if you accept that; we've had a gaping hole in CF the last few years, we're going to have to spend money on an OF this offseason, and the only one who would give obviously more performance than Rios would be Holliday, grabbing Rios for scraps and gambling on him getting back to his form for the last 3 years isn't a bad move at all, especially if you consider the salary we have coming off the books next offseason. We get younger, better on defense, and better on the basepaths, and hopefully only lose a little bit in the power department if we can work out the kinks he's run in to this year. If you saw him on the FA market, you'd probably expect him to get around 3/$30 right now, give or take, given his age. You're paying a little more than that, but you also don't risk getting outbid.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:40 PM) You're in total denial. The evidence is overwhelming. You just can't admit that the ‘tea party' activists are merely being loud and annoying. The SEIU have been captured on tape repeatedly using violence to silence dissent. And so have your folks. (Seriously...I usually don't like the "They Said/We said variety of the "Who started it first" game that we're playing here. But seriously, I'm more than willing to say that people from both sides have gone over the line. Your response is "our side is completely innocent and it's all those evil union-doers!". It's just so ridiculous I can't help firing back).

Link (Bonus obscure nerd points for anyone who can call where the thread title is adapted from).

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:18 PM) Retherford, Shelby and Ely or Shirek. I don't want to part with Morel, but he'd be the limit as far as I would go in giving up quality. Several others are untouchable in this instance, clearly. I'm not sure I give up any of those guys without Toronto chipping in a little money.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:08 PM) the SEIU are the only ones using violence to get what they want. And I'm sure that smiley is using more violence than the teabaggers too.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:10 PM) He had bad starts early at high A and AA, IIRC, before a quick turnaround to studliness. But I'd like to see another AAA start from him before consideration for pitching on the 18th. Exactly. And even if his next start rules, the more time we give him the happier I'll be. I'd rather not see us bringing him up mid-pennant-race unless we have absolutely no choice.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:04 PM) I think the real question is, do we believe Hudson can regularly go 6-7 innings giving up 5ER or less? If so, bring him on because he's better than Contreras. Based on his first AAA start...not yet.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 03:02 PM) I support some type of public option. I condemn the SEIU. And like we've said repeatedly, thinking that it's only those evil unioners driving violence here is just a joke.

QUOTE (hammerhead johnson @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 02:56 PM) Let me recover by getting bombed out of my mind and then having a bunch of skanks lick whip cream off my chest. Better yet, let's take pictures of it. Don't apologize for this imbecile. He's a complete and utter embarrassment to himself and his family. I hope that his wife has sense enough to jet the f*ck outta there. Probably not, though, seeing as how she chooses to spend quality time with someone that has the IQ of a grapefruit. Some of the smartest people you'll ever meet can still wind up succumbing to addiction.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Aug 9, 2009 -> 02:59 PM) The thing is, do we really believe someone like Hudson has the ability/talent to go on a Brandon McCarthy-esque 2005 roll down the stretch? Hudson right now is closer to where McCarthy was in 2004. He hasn't had nearly the time in the minors yet.