Balta1701

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 09:44 AM) If the Suns don't want to trade him, what else can the bulls do? I still want Kaman bad. The Bulls could offer Rose.

QUOTE (SoxFan101 @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 06:25 AM) They should just change the rule, teams shouldnt be penalized for improving their teams, if you lose a f/a and its type A should just get a supplemental pick after 1st round. If you were say, the Brewers or the Angels and the Yankees had just overwhelmed your offers for the top line FA's you had, you might change your tune.

Rodriguez's former teammate, Jamie Moyer, chimes in. (This is about 1/3 of the interview quotes. Looks like he really went off on him)

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 12:46 AM) Can we at least wait until we get a few more details before it's assumed that John Paxson is the sole reason the trade doesn't go down? No. Every trade that doesn't happen is Pax's fault.

So basically, this article is saying that since we'll have job growth starting in Feb., the President's claim that this is the worst economic event since the 30's is inaccurate? Yay, testable predictions.

Jerry Owens will have a .350+ OBP, steal 60+ bases, and will be considered a solid leadoff man. Jose Contreras will return midseason. Konerko will have a really big year. Not 40 HR any more, but 30+.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Feb 15, 2009 -> 09:10 PM) Oh, I know. But why even name your starting centerfielder under the guise of some lame-ass fictional "competition"? Having Owens "fight it out" in March isn't going to make him any better of a player in April. Actually, it might.

QUOTE (JohnCangelosi @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 04:07 AM) I can see us signing him to a very similar deal we did a few years ago in 2011, assuming he performs at the same level. He'll only be 33 when this contract is up, correct? I don't see him retiring. Don't count out the economy having a major impact through that time.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 07:50 AM) I think that Illinois tried something like that. AG Madigan tried the courts, that failed. I agree, the Senate could have stalled much longer, which I was hoping they'd do as well. But I am not sure the Illinois Assembly has the legal standing to change the way the executive fills a US Senate seat (anyone who knows anything about this, feel free to expound on it). The flip side, of course, was that IL wouldn't have a Senator in that seat, which is bad. But, since Quinn was elected not too long after Burris was seated, it seems like just a few more weeks would have been worth it. The courts can only do so much when the law is clear. Had the Illinois Assembly wanted to stop the ex-Gov from seating someone, it could have changed the law before the gov had the chance to make the appointment, or it could have picked up the pace on impeachment proceedings. They dragged their feet, figured it wasn't a big deal, he's not crazy enough to do something before the December Recess ends, right?

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 08:34 AM) Because economics is an inexact science, there is no way of truly knowing the outcome of any plan. Some have a better chance of succeeding than others. Harry Truman had a great quote "what I need is a one armed economist". Sending everyone a few hundred dollars didn't seem to do much except buy some votes. That may have been all that was hoped for. Actually, it produced a fairly prominent spike of GDP growth in the U.S. in the 2nd quarter 08. The U.S. probably should have been in a recession in the 3rd quarter. Instead, GDP grew by about 3.3%, after a stagnant first quarter. Altogether that's probably about a $100 billion increase in GDP, almost entirely due to the $150 billion tax credit pumped in. Sad part is, we'd be even further down the rabbit hole had that package not passed. The numbers are almost entirely consistent with the stimulus having worked, just not having been anywhere near the magnitude of the problem, and they show the typical lower-middle income tax multiplier of just under 1.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 14, 2009 -> 05:37 PM) Yeah, that's good stuff. I'm glad the new administration is embracing these concept car companies. Good graph.

If you've got 20 minutes of broadband time, I recommend this Moyers interview with Simon Johnson of MIT, former chief economist of the IMF, viewing the banks and their bailouts through his eyes. His basic theme is that these guys simply have too much power, they have moved everything to the point that they're immune from the consequences of them making mistakes, and they're just going to keep using the government to bail them out unless we fundamentally reform the system and actually break the lobbying power of these guys in particular.

QUOTE (Jimbo's Drinker @ Feb 15, 2009 -> 04:20 PM) Be nice if the Chicago papers ever did this for the Sox fans. We're a lot closer. If I manage to know that I have a job next year from a phone call/email in the next couple weeks, I'll suddenly be considering a drive to Glendale.

Senator Roland Burris seemingly does a complete 180 degree turn regarding his under-oath testimony about his relationship with Blago and how he got in to the seat. I wonder how much he paid for the seat. The Illinois House Republicans want him investigated for Perjury.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 15, 2009 -> 03:13 PM) Very true, so I guess we'll see what he does this year with the money. I'm not confident that that move will be made, though. Come July, I'd be shocked if any team other than the Yankees actually felt like they still had money to spend.

Hamid Karzai stated yesterday that he has yet to speak to President Obama despite the President being in office for nearly 4 weeks. He met with the new President's envoy, Richard Holbrooke, yesterday. This is a strong suggestion that the Obama administration does not trust Prime Minister Karzai and views him as an ineffective Bush Crony/holdover and that they're probably working on finding a replacement. Meanwhile, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) may have embarassed the U.S. and Pakistan earlier this week while this page was down by stating publicly that the U.S. was flying some of its highly unpopular unmanned predator bombing missions from airbases within Pakistan. A predator strike yesterday within Pakistan killed 28. These strikes have aroused anger throughout Pakistan because of the number of civilians they keep killing, even if they hit their target.

No idea if there's something similar in the Tribune, but frankly, we're a lot closer out here. Again, it's written from the Dodgers' perspective, but it's the same bloody field. Let's start off with the link to the cool online interactive map of the park. Followed by a good 4 pages of details about the park facilities. I've excerpted a lot, but there's a lot more. Details on food, parking, how to get there, ticket prices, etc. I thought the "Good/bad" seats seemed particularly useful if you wanted to go. Couple other features, "Where to stay and eat in Phoenix and Scottsdale", Planning your trip to Glendale and 10 restaurants to sample in Phoenix and Scottsdale

A couple billion in corporate tax cuts in the middle of a $40 billion budget hole is still not enough to bring even 3 California Republicans on board with a budget. My word these people just hate the state.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Feb 14, 2009 -> 09:12 PM) Well, it would be a rather bold move. I'm not sure of the economic impact, but sometimes situations call for bold action and in their eyes, the only way to save the company is basically to start from scratch in a sense. At least they are trying something. The problem is going to be surviving the chapter 11 process rather than winding up with the entire company closing its doors. That was the problem in December, it's still a problem now. Would you buy a car from a company in bankruptcy? If you were a bank, would you extend a bridge loan to an auto company in bankruptcy?

Didn't Nix get signed on a minor league deal, such that it doesn't matter that he's out of options?

It's written from the Dodgers point of view, but this clearly affects the other team in the complex as well, going 0/9 on major ad sales.

Blackwater USA changing their name to an unpronounceable symbol...Xe.

Pete Visclosky (D-NW IN) potentially caught up in the Murtha scandal?

Third secretary of commerce is a charm!