Balta1701

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 06:04 PM) per Rotoworld Vin Mazzaro will start for the Athletics Tuesday, according to manager Bob Geren. Mazzaro is 2-2 in the minors this season with a 2.38 ERA, 44 strikeouts and 1.04 WHIP through 56 2/3 innings. With no one from the rotation available to start Tuesday due to last Friday's doubleheader, the A's needed to recall someone, and being 10 games out of first, it seemed logical to give another youngster a shot. Oh great, a guy from the minors who we haven't seen before? Can we call up Beckham for 1 game?

Longest running elections thread ever! Oral arguments were made before the MN supreme court today. I'll outsource commentary to an election law blog who watched the proceedings. More at link. Basically, it's probably only a short time, matter of days to 2 weeks or so, before the MN supreme Court rules for Franken. Then the game really begins. Will the MN Supreme Court issue an edict requiring the governor to sign off on certification of the election? Will the governor risk his 2012 campaign and comply? Will the Coleman Camp attempt to hang things up by launching what will be essentially very unlikely to succeed challenges in Federal court?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 05:57 PM) People keep saying that, but it wasn't going to happen. Minus the ginormus debt and labor costs, GM is profitable, and the whole world knows it. Even if it got to liquidation (which it wouldn't) someone would have bought it, and reopened it without all of the burdens, just like many of the steel mills did during the 90's. There are plenty of historical references here. But could a "Brand name" really have survived having its doors closed for a few months the way a steel mill can? You don't exactly think "This is Republic Steel" when you go buy something made out of steel, you do think "This is a Chevy" when you buy a Chevy.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 05:30 PM) I think a lot of people (including myself) are trying to talk themselves into thinking he's not ready simply because he was drafted just last year, and he hasn't played a certain amount of minor league games. Even Joe Cowley had a Twitter earlier saying Ozzie said "if Beckham comes up, we're in trouble." Well Ozzie, I got news for you. He's ready. Here's my thinking. What I didn't want to see was Beckham brought up to the big leagues because the big league team needed him. If Fields hadn't picked it up, if Getz hadn't picked it up, there would have been a strong temptation to bring him up a couple weeks ago, regardless of what he was doing, even right after he had that DL stint and short slump. It's been pretty obvious through April/May that this team had too many people struggling with the bat, and pushing Beckham to the big leagues might have been a desperation solution to that. At the same time, if you rush Beckham up, you potentially stunt the development of one of the other 2 guys by sending them back down, and either of them could be useful pieces. On the other hand, if Beckham is coming up because there's simply no one in the minor leagues that can get him out, how can you keep him down there? We're past the point where we gain anything arbitration-wise to keep him down there unless he's down there through next May. If he's just ready to come up, then the only reason to keep him down there would be to give Getz/Fields more AB's, and frankly, Beckham's more valuable to us.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 05:46 PM) BTW, Wise is going to be DFA'd in 10 days. He'll get the majority of the playing time this home stand, and then when CQ returns, he gone. Presumably by "Wise is going to be DFA'd in 10 days" you mean "Anderson is going to AAA in 10 days".

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 03:00 PM) so i guess GM going into bankrupcy doesn't automatically put the US in another great depression. it seems some of us were right all along. Dude, there's a huge, huge difference between the government putting up $60 billion to finance the bankruptcy and GM shuttering its plants completely as was the option in December pre-bailout.

Just sat down, have about 2 minutes to check score, wanted to say "God damnit gavin stop that sh*t".

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 03:41 PM) Orlando Cabrera hit .293/.341/.386/.728 in nearly 600 PA in the leadoff spot last year and he ran the bases like a big leaguer. But you kow what? It certainly felt like less of an impact than what Pods has done these last few games.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 02:49 PM) Getz a late scratch. Nix will fill in. Sprained ankle. He did limp off the field after scoring yesterday. I was surprised to see him in there.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 02:28 PM) BA's job is surely safe (sox and Ozzie love him as a defensive replacement, and i'm sure as a platoon) It's really between Pods and Wise, and I'm sure as of now Wise will be the odd man out with Pods taking CF/platooning with BA when Quentin returns. Both Dye and Quentin are RH hitters. They could totally keep 2 lefties.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 01:19 PM) Lebron is also the biggest name in sports right now. Tiger Woods?

QUOTE (103 mph screwball @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 09:43 AM) If we are going to give up a ton of talent and pay a huge salary, then I want the Sox to get a proven AL pitcher. I'd love to Haren. What is up with Pedro? At least Pedro would not cost us Richard. He's available but either no one thinks he's worth anything or no one's been willing to meet his asking price yet.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 10:58 AM) How will the EFCA be like that at all? If violence was applied as a method of coercion, I could certainly see it meeting that standard. Of course...since right now the only ones who can use violence and intimidation and threats are the ownership of a business trying to prevent unionization, that's fine.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Jun 1, 2009 -> 07:54 AM) My heart is bleeding and I'm not even liberal. Save it for someone who cares. I didn't condone the murder, but what comes around goes around. His killer should be executed in my opinion. It was pre-meditated, no doubt. You mean manufactured domestic incident not terrorism, right? Killing a man for political reasons is the definition of terrorism.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ May 31, 2009 -> 06:09 PM) What is odd about that report is I cant see the Astros trading Oswalt to a NL Central team. Are you kidding? Everyone wants to play for the Cubs. That's the greatest place to play in the world!

QUOTE (mr_genius @ May 31, 2009 -> 05:45 PM) i thought it hit the bat or his wrist and was ruled a foul ball. i was writing a soxtalk post when it happened so i could be wrong. The noise you heard was it clipping Olivo's glove as it flew past him. On the Replay I was 95% sure it missed Alexei and his bat. I was a little surprised that Jenks didn't bean Guillen in the 9th after that though, I will admit.

More talk of Jameer Nelson trying to play in the finals.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ May 31, 2009 -> 05:39 PM) after the Sox scored 3 runs in the 9th KC pitcher decided to throw a high fast ball that hit Alexei Ramírez on the wrist / handle of the bat. It was Juan Cruz, it didn't look like it hit him to me, but it went straight at his head. Alexei barely got out of the way. I didn't think it was deliberate.

Make it 4-0 after a double by Loretta.

Final numbers for Viciedo in the month of may: AB 116 R 11 H 34 2B 6 3B 0 HR 2 RBI 20 BB 3 SO 23 SB 1 CS 1 AVG 0.293 OBP 0.314 SLG 0.397 OPS 0.711 Significantly better than his .234 BA and .543 OPS in April, but still a long way to go. Still needs to work with the strikeouts/walks. Patience may be the key for him. Worth noting is that he closes the month on a 7 game hitting streak, hitting .414 over that stretch.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ May 31, 2009 -> 05:03 PM) Deliver me a Diamondback. I don't even think of dealing for Webb until I can see him pitch.

A 5-1 road trip without the Quentin. This team is showing signs of clicking.

QUOTE (BearSox @ May 31, 2009 -> 04:38 PM) If so, they can go f*** themselves. Bedard is 30, a FA after the year, and is a health risk. Sucks for them that they got the worse end of the deal, but if they want to get anything for Bedard before the deadline, they should explore the idea of not asking for a ridiculous price. They have every right to ask for a ridiculous price at this point. Doesn't mean it won't come down. What you have to remember is...the Mariners still get 2 draft picks if they do nothing. You have to beat the price of a late first rounder and a sandwich pick, because that's what they get if a contender signs him.

QUOTE (santo=dorf @ May 30, 2009 -> 05:54 AM) I accidently typed in the address into the google workbar instead of the address bar and this was like the second result. Also, Dick Allen put in a lot of work into those great posts but some people just wouldn't take off the rose colored glasses. I think Marquez does a much better job of making people look bad than myself. What's his status anyways? He hasn't pitched since April. According to published reports, he's on the DL with bone spurs in his pitching elbow. Without knowing more it's hard to judge whether that relates to his crappy performance all year (certainly could) or how long he'll be out (that's one of those things that can require surgery in cases).

QUOTE (DBAHO @ May 31, 2009 -> 01:19 AM) Just how would the Bulls get enough cap space to sign Lebron anyways? They'd probably have to trade someone like Deng for an expiring contract right? It depends on exactly where the cap goes the next 2 offseasons. If the cap stays where it is or goes down slightly then the Bulls will need to clear about $1-3 million in salary depending on where exactly it sits. If it goes up by a small amount then if the Bulls don't resign Gordon, they can offer a max deal to Lebron right there. Cleveland could still offer more in total dollars in the contract because they're the team he's currently under contract with. If the cap does go down, the Bulls are also not without options. They could draft a foreign player with 1 or both of this year's first round draft picks and leave him overseas for a season, thus not having to give up cap room for one of this year's draft picks. Or they could make a deal that clears a little bit more cap room, i.e. moving Hinrich and then signing Gordon for slightly less in 2010. Or they could trade Deng and literally be able to offer 2 max deals. Or...and I'd advise this as a last-ditch option but if you think of it as a straight up trade 1 player for 1 player...if the Bulls need a couple million in 2010 they can simply renounce the rights to Tyrus Thomas and not offer him a contract for 2010-2011, making him a FA. I wouldn't want to give up Tyrus for nothing...but Hell, if it clears the cap room to bring me Lebron it'll be slightly difficult to complain.