Balta1701

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ May 20, 2008 -> 06:22 PM) There are obvious holes in Ben's game, but the fact remains that he can shoot the lights out, get hotter than hell, and carry a team offensively when he does. I'm not sure what Pax wants to do, and maybe bridges with Ben have been burned, but the guy is still young and valuable. It certainly doesn't seem like the bridges have been burned with him...I just think he's the obvious odd man out. Rose should be a solid defender, but I think a Rose/Gordon backcourt is even worse defensively than a Hinrich/Gordon backcourt. Imagine the games against the 'Stons and Hamilton and Billups, or games against the Heat where Rose gets worn down guarding Wade. The Bulls have 3 shooting guards, 1 of them is hard to move because of a bad contract and a couple rough years (although his contract does come up in the LEbron/Wade/Melo year which means its an excellent trade asset next offseason), 1 of them is an excellent stand up defender who's offensive game is showing improvement and who is under the team's control a couple more years, and 1 is an excellent shooter who doesn't create his own shot much, is poor on defense, and is a RFA this offseason and needs to be signed or moved so we don't lose him for nothing. Honestly, if we could extend Gordon and find some way to move Hughes, I'd be happier about that because Thabo + Gordon is probably a better backcourt than Thabo + Hughes. But because we'd have to take another contract back to move Hughes, and on top of that sign Gordon and Deng, it looks like Gordon just has to be the odd man out.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 20, 2008 -> 05:23 PM) Does Swisher have any power from the right side? Typically, in the last 3 years, Swish has slugged about 40 points lower from the right hand side, but has also had about 55 more points of OBP from that side.

QUOTE (Brian @ May 20, 2008 -> 06:07 PM) Question, if it were the other way around, with Hillary in front and Obama trailing with a slim chance to win, would Barack have conceded by now? I find that scenario almost impossible to realize...but I think Obama probably would have conceded by now if he was in that spot somehow.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 20, 2008 -> 05:13 PM) And a certain poster on TalkBulls named eddog2. I think Gordon could be deadly effective playing in the right situation. Just not in a half court, defense first, slowed down offense with no key post player and no #1 option, like he's been in the last few years. Hell, if D'Antoni and Rose had both come to the Bulls, he might well have been dynamite. Because his liabilities on defense might have just been hidden.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 20, 2008 -> 06:06 PM) are Brand / Knight on the block? Also, isnt this the last year for Gordon? We could just let him walk after this year. Brand has an opt-out clause in his contract and is an ideal candidate for some team to do a sign and trade if they have the right deal. Gordon is a RFA this offseason, and therefore, the Bulls would be smart to use him as a valuable tradeable asset if they think they can get something for him, otherwise they need to sign him.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 20, 2008 -> 06:03 PM) Kirk Hinrich + Drew Gooden + Tyrus Thomas for Elton Brand + Brevin Knight Rose - Thabo - Deng - Brand - Noah w/ Gordon off the bench = sickness. http://realgm.com/src_checktrade.php?tradeid=4605077 The one thing I don't like about that idea is that it leaves the front court dangerously thin. Brand, Noah, and Gray are your 3 big guys, which means that Noc will spend an awful lot of time at PF just because we don't have any other choice. The other thing I kinda half dislike about it is that it doesn't solve our back court log jam, because we still have 3 shooting guards.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ May 20, 2008 -> 05:55 PM) Now you jerks are going to take Derrick Rose, aren't you? :-P. I'm dying to see Rose in a Heat uniform. Wade, Marion, Haslem, Beasley, blank. That's pretty darn good on its own.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 20, 2008 -> 05:55 PM) I honestly think the position that is most tradable is who we draft. The problem with Kirk is he is WAY over payed and might be hard to find a taker for him. If you can find a taker for Ben Wallace's contract, you can find someone who will give you something for Kirk. You might have to be open to packaging him with Gordon, which I am if we're drafting Rose. And you don't necessarily have to make the move before the draft.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 20, 2008 -> 05:43 PM) As i just posted, i think i have swung. Yea, Rose. Beasley is too "log jammed" with Noah and Tyrus. Not that he isnt better. that is just a lot people in one area with no consistent players at the guard position. IMO, if the Bulls thought Beasley was THAT much better...then the move they have to make is to try to move some combination of Deng, Tyrus, and Hinrich for someone to fill their PG slot.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ May 20, 2008 -> 04:38 PM) Can he drop 25-30 on a regularly in a few years? If so, I am sold. Especailly if he can dish it out to players like Deng. How much has CP3 improved people like David West, Tyson Chandler? How much has Nash improve Amare, Marion, etc.? What kind of impact has Deron Williams had on Boozer? Raw talent, the Bulls front line is as loaded or more so than any of those teams. 3 top 10 picks sitting there in Tyrus, Noah, Deng. The reason you go for Rose is that you make all of them better.

Hey, and the Sox got a run. Sweet!

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ May 20, 2008 -> 04:27 PM) To be fair, I'd prefer Beasley. I could see going either way...the question is, how much can you get for Deng/Tyrus versus how much can you get for Hinrich if you do a trade?

Tyrus/Gooden Noah/Gray Deng/Nocioni Rose/Hinrich Hughes/Thabo/Gordon

Poll, Rose Vs. Beasley.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 20, 2008 -> 04:24 PM) You'd have to think they'll take D. Rose. It's totally the right call for their roster. Now they just need a coach. Hey D'Antoni...HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ May 20, 2008 -> 04:51 PM) GW Bush is politically radioactive and should be avoided. Trying not to derail the thread but trying to open up discussion...do people think that George W. Bush will allow himself to be avoided and pushed aside? And similarly, do people think that circumstances will allow that to happen? To argue for those points, first, on the latter, the McCain camp has already realized it's going to have a major money disadvantage against Obama, and their plans slowly keep trickling out. One plan that has already come out is to use the RNC as a method of obtaining more funds from its biggest donors, since they can give more to the party committees than they can to a single candidate. And in the process, they're talking about using one of the Republicans best fundraising tools...George W. Bush. In 00, I don't recall Al Gore making heavy use of Bill Clinton as a fundraiser, am I wrong on that? Secondly, and this is more of a personal call...is it your guys' impression that George W. Bush is the kind of guy who will step aside gracefully? This is the Decider. This is the guy who couldn't come up with a single mistake he'd made while in office. This is the guy who "uses his veto so that he can stay relevant". I've been wrong before, and I'll be wrong again, but I really, really don't see George taking on just a minor role at the convention or in politics this fall. I get the feeling that the RNC may well find itself having no choice but to go all out for Mr. 25% this fall, because that's what they've been doing the last 8 years. Does someone get an opposite feeling?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox15 @ May 20, 2008 -> 03:51 PM) Don't get me wrong, Lofton is a great player; a lefty with a .299 career avg who hit .296 last year. But is he really what this team needs? We have plenty of outfielders as it is. Some on this site have given up on Anderson, and some are all too ready to christen Jerry Owens as the speedy lefty outfielder to hit at the top of the order. Personally I'd like to see more of Owens at the big league level. There are pros and cons to both Owens and Lofton. As I said earlier, both are speedy lefty outfielders who can hit at the top of the order. Owens has yet to truly prove himself, but I'd like to think that he has the potential to be a solid contributor and everyday player. Lofton does have the resume working for him, but he will be 41 next week and maybe there is a reason why he is currently unemployed. In my opinion, everything I said about Owens above, I would apply to Danny Richar as well. I am hopeful that he will adjust and I have faith that he will and become a productive everyday player. So far everything that everyone has said on this thread I have mostly agreed with. We're in wait and see mode, as we really don't know where we're at right now. The next 13 games will hopefully shed some more light on what this team is really made of. Before we spend more money on brining in someone from the outside, lets see what we've got in-house. I'd like to see Danny Richar called up. He played a solid 2B last season. His stats last season in 187 AB most closely resemble OC's this season in 14 fewer ABs: G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Richar '07: 56 187 30 43 9 3 6 15 16 33 1 3 .230 .289 .406 .696 Cabrera '08: 43 173 27 39 4 0 3 11 14 21 5 1 .225 .284 .301 .585 Calling up Richar would mean we'd have to drop someone. With Alexei possibly heating up and adapting to big league pitching, maybe its time we cut our losses with Pablo. Though if Alexei continues to struggle, then I'd drop him to AAA in order to play regularly. Thoughts? Unfortunately, a bench of Alexei, Danny, Anderson, and Hall might look better with the bats, it also leaves us without any reasonable backup at 3rd base, since Lexi and Danny are both SS/2b players. Maybe Lexi could play 3rd some, no idea, but Danny hasn't played it at all as far as I know. Sticking Uribe at 3rd winds up being your only play when Crede's back acts up. If Danny comes back and performs well in his rehab stint, then I think he ought to be called up and you ought to treat it as a Uribe/Richar platoon with Alexei getting more AB's down at Charlotte. That works a fair amount better because it gives us another lefty bat against righties and makes our bench go from 4 righties to a 3 and 1 mix on an average day.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ May 20, 2008 -> 03:37 PM) Moose and the Yankees are down 7-0 to the O's in the 1st... Welcome back, ARod.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ May 20, 2008 -> 04:10 PM) Yep. And Quentin and Dye are in again at three and four. Let's hope it stays that way for the rest of the season. Actually...I hope it doesn't stay that way for the season...because that would mean that Thome and Konerko never picked it up. Q @ 3 I can understand, but Thome on a hot streak would fit very well at 4.

The Senate vote for the Farm Bill was 81-15. Had all 3 shown up, it would have been 81-18. Presumably the 100th Senator not voting was Kennedy. I really couldn't care less if they miss a vote like that. Anywho, the Farm bills are, every time they come through, amongst the worst bills that the Congress passes. They directly impact the obesity epidemic, in reducing the cost of some products relative to healthier ones. They waste a lot of money. They hurt the rest of the world. They hurt the U.S. by stressing its farmland and water supplies. It is the lobbying community working at its finest.

Danny Richar.

62nd round.

QUOTE (Gene Honda Civic @ May 20, 2008 -> 01:47 PM) And the common theme (the one reinforced by the media) from the 2000 presedential debates/campaign was that there wasn't much difference between Gore and Bush as the two desperately dove towards the center. And we all saw how that turned out.

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 20, 2008 -> 01:58 PM) Russia is mostly self-sufficient on energy if I'm not mistaken. It's more China and India. But that doesn't really mean anything. If they're self-sufficient on energy, it means that they're not exporting energy like they were a few years ago as their demand has gone up.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ May 20, 2008 -> 11:41 AM) It's too bad the Rangers suck...and I honestly mean that too. The last guy to win MVP for a last place team...hmm...what team did he play for...