Balta1701

QUOTE (daa84 @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 02:23 PM) i agree....unfortunately we dont have the prospects to land him or the capspace.... Um...baseball isn't a capped league.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 02:11 PM) I like the fact that I am able to say this, but I think some of us underestimate the value of Danks. Could you imagine how hyped he'd be if he were on the Yankees/Red Sox/Cubs? You'd probably have heard his name more than Joba's. But Even then...you're not getting Ichiro straight up for him. If I'm the Mariners...we start talking at Joba + Hughes + someone else if we're talking to the Yankees. Ellsbury + Lester + a couple other guys if it's the Red Sox. Etc. Remember...from the position of the franchise out there...Ichiro isn't just their best, franchise player. He's also a huge economic draw. Yes his contract is big, but even if the team sucks he puts them on the map and puts people in their seats. To trade him they need to get a deal that makes them clearly better, whoever they're talking to.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 02:02 PM) It will almost be impossible for a team in contention to aqcuire Ichiru. The Mariners would want young big lead ready starters and we all know pitching wins. If you look at the teams in contention, not one of them can afford to give up a front end starter in their rotation. I can actually see a team like the Giants make a run at Ichiru, if not now, than in the offseason. The Giants have Lincecum and Cain, two of the youngest best pitchers in baseball, im sure they would be fine to offer one of them in a package for Ichiru. The Sox simply CANT trade Danks or Floyd let alone both. I still would love a true leadoff hitter in place of the sluggish Pauly, but im guessing (unless we aqcuire another SP, we are what we are and maybe thats a good thing) The M's would probably be happy to give you back Silva in that deal

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 01:39 PM) JC and BA won't do? Come on...BA is a king in Seattle. All he does it hit HRs over there. Honestly if I were the M's I'd think it was smart to ask for BA as a throw in/4th piece in that deal...but yeah, you're talking Danks + Floyd + probably Poreda/Fields + BA for someone like Ichiro, and even then if someone else really pushed hard for him it'd be hard for our offer to beat theirs.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 01:33 PM) Please Kenny. Make it happen! John Danks + Gavin Floyd + more.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 01:16 PM) I should point out that this isn't me saying this after the fact. I continually said that the Bears should have franchised Berrian regardless of whether they felt they would be able to come to terms with on an extension or not. I'm frankly of the opposite mind. I just think that even the franchise tag is too much cap space to blow on a receiver of Berrian's level for one season. If they thought they had a shot at extending him and then they could spread out the cap hit I'd have been game, but at no where near the numbers that Minnesota offered. The only way I'd have wanted him tagged was if they were planning to trade him. Looking at the way the Bears use cap room...it may hurt the team this year, but letting Berrian walk without tagging him makes the team better long term, because that cap space is money that goes directly to holding on to Harris and Hester. In the NFL, I'm willing to be weak at a position for one year if it is the right move for the long term cap situation...and IMO, the Bears are more likely to win a Super Bowl the next 3 years by having Harris and hopefully Hester extended and trying to find a fill in at the WR position (either through the draft or by finding someone who can step in and recover like they're hoping Lloyd can) than they would by holding on to Berrian for 1 more year and not being able to sign Harris or Hester or some other spot because of it

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 07:53 AM) Just on Getz vs. Richar, if there was an opening at 2nd base next season, who would you rather start b/w these 2? If Danny stays healthy and keeps hitting like he has been for the last month or so, then Richar.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 12:52 PM) I'd say so. Call me greedy 'cuz I want more of that. Then I'd say talk to me in a year or so when Poreda hits.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 12:49 PM) What's with all the pitching projects we keep acquiring all the time? How about a solid pitcher that doesn't need Coop's magic? Does John Danks count?

Hideo Nomo retires.

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 12:50 PM) Yeah I think so. I know he definitely did this season with the new stadium opening up and everything. I wonder if they'll get the new president to do it next season? But yeah, let's hope none of this goes to John's head or anything and he keeps pitching the way he has. We need him to, with others in the rotation faltering leading up to the ASB. The President has picked various different places to throw out the first pitch over the years. He threw out the first pitch in Cincinnati a few years ago and the owner in Cinci is a big supporter of his campaigns. In other words...you might well get an opening day first pitch from the President at the Cell if the person I'm voting for wins.

An excellent photo I found of the statue giving props to Big Jim...

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 11:26 AM) there was an article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press yesterday that had the Assistant General Manager say basically the Twins have to make room for Liriano because he had done all he can in Rochester http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_9899665?nclick_check=1 From the stuff I'm seeing, he's actually starting to get pissed off that he's still down there. According to news just out today, Liriano has contacted the union about pursuing a grievance against the Twins for keeping him in AAA, because he feels like they may be doing so just to delay the onset of his arb/FA years. He's 7-0 with a 2.73 ERA in his last 9 starts and his fastball is back.

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 11:51 AM) Are you happy with how the Bears have dealt with the QB/WR situation? Frankly I think they did just about as well as they possibly could have with both of those spots.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 11:17 AM) Dirty player/cheap shot artist. I knew that part, I just figured if you're going to compare him to harrison, we may as well note all of the issues there...

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 10:13 AM) James Posey is a piece of s***, the NBA's equivalent of Rodney Harrison. Are you alleging that Posey is a juicer?

QUOTE (tonyho7476 @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 10:01 AM) Gotta see this...didn't see it on YOuboob Well, it hasn't exactly been broadcast yet over ESPN has it?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 10:57 AM) What we'll actually get is offshore drilling, but no ANWR, and a lame excuse for alternative energy funding. The one potential silver lining is...even if Congress starts all the drilling you could ever ask for everywhere you want...it's not going to make any legit dent in oil prices as the mideast peak hits, so the price of fossil fuels is just going to keep going up, and that alone is going to continue forcing alternative energy development. It'd be nice if the government would realize that there's a huge public benefit in to adding several tens of billions of dollars early to force that system...but at this point, the geology says that even if they don't, within a few years prices are going to be so high that it's not going to matter.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 10:49 AM) Or, we better start putting up solar and wind arrays, and start putting better tax incentives on purchases of solar cells and hybrid or electric vehicles. Or all the above. I'd be more than happy, as would a lot of Dems btw, to drop opposition to drilling in a lot of areas (although the offshore stuff is still troublesome for other reasons, especially in tourism-rich areas...oil spills aren't that great for Miami beach) in exchange for a legit program to do exactly that along with a legit carbon price. Considering that all the drilling this country could possibly do can't disguise the fact that Saudi Arabia has 10x more oil than we do and their production is peaking and domestic U.S. production peaked 30 years ago...I'd be willing to sacrifice a bit of the environment to finally get a real program started. It really is something that you can think of like an addiction. Going cold turkey is hard. But your choices are cutting back starting right now or, well, death. You can have a little bit more, but if you dont' cut back you're screwed.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 05:17 AM) Obama hauls in $52M in June. Hmm, while I was gone, it seems the Wall Street Journal reported that they were hearing Obama's campaign raised $30 million in June. Oops.

Ah-Ha, found the ol' energy thread. Bumpage. Businessweek says they got their hands on some documents from the Kingdom, which they're claiming show projections for the Kingdom's production over the next few years. Basically, they have their own number showing their production going up slightly, but then sort of stagnating after about 1 more year, with their total gasoline production declining because their production of light crude will be dropping compared to the heavier, more energy intensive refining crude, starting within about 2 years. Basically...the math here is pretty simple. If Saudi Arabia can't sustain their current production levels...then any drilling around the U.S. is going to be a fly on the wall compared to what the world's production loses if they start declining.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 08:50 AM) 2) Gore has had a consistent position of purchasing carbon offsets to offset the family’s carbon footprint — a concept the right-wing fails to understand. Gore’s office explains:What Mr. Gore has asked is that every family calculate their carbon footprint and try to reduce it as much as possible. Once they have done so, he then advocates that they purchase offsets, as the Gore’s do, to bring their footprint down to zero. Unfortunately, after studying the issue, I'm pretty much convinced that virtually every carbon offset market out there right now is pretty much a failure because none of them have been designed well at all. Either they're just a money-laundering scheme (The private ones in this country) or they're only really set up to benefit polluters because it's the biggest polluters who are given the credits that they can sell off (This is so far either the European scheme and the McCain scheme).

QUOTE (DBAH0 @ Jul 17, 2008 -> 07:54 AM) I would have agreed with going after Cabrera a season or 2 ago. He's just been so incosistent, it just makes you think it doesn't matter where he is, he's never going to become that dominant starter that he should be with that stuff of his. Still Cooper has turned around many pitchers before, and ones who have good velocity but control issues e.g Matt Thornton. Here's my biggest problem with the "Maybe Coop will help him" line of thinking. Chicago 54 40 .574 - Minnesota 53 42 .558 1.5 Last year, we were a disgrace and we were out of it early. It didn't hurt us to give starts to guys like Danks and Floyd who were going to struggle for a while before hopefully figuring things out. Ditto even guys like Broadway. Or, if you go back to when we got Jose, we were out of it pretty quick in the 2nd half of 04 after Frank and Ordonez went down, so there was an opportunity there as well to give starts to Jose without costing us a season. Are we willing to finish behind the Twins this year so that we might be able to develop someone like Cabrera for next year?

QUOTE (SleepyWhiteSox @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 09:10 PM) They have CP3...hard not to like them... Just wait until Posey cheap-shots someone and starts a fight and CP3 winds up missing a couple playoff games for walking away from the bench.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 07:12 PM) Off-topic, but are there any big names with expiring contracts at the end of this year that could be looking at the tag? I think Tommie Harris was the one before he got re-signed (best news of the offseason btw). But yeah if the Bears wanted to they could tag Jones, but he'd need to have like a 1600 yard season for that. The only guys the Bears have to worry about losing next offseason are guys like their QB's and various people brought in on short tryout deals like Lloyd and Jones. Maybe Mike Brown also, I don't think anyone ever knows his status after all the injuries and contract shuffling with him. Hester is 2 years away IIRC.