Balta1701

Survey USA hits up Oregon. Obama 52, HRC 42. The delegate math at this point says that HRC basically needs a solid to gargantuan win in every state to make up the 100 or so delegates she's back with only 20% of the voters left to go. If all that happens is Obama carries North Carolina and Oregon, that finishes it. PA would be nice because that finishes it even earlier.

GOD D*MN IT! We spent like the whole 3 years I was working with Union Board trying to get Dave Matthews to play a show at IU, he played at Purdue while I was at the school, we knew it would make a fortune but we just couldn't pull it off, and now, the Obama campaign manages to make it happen. BAH!

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 08:05 AM) I've never heard of tidal turbines before. I'm surprised they aren't used more widely since they aren't as big of an eyesore compared to wind turbines. The issue with those is that you need to have an area with strong enough tides for them to be practical. The North sea is a very good area to do that. Most of the U.S. coastlines aren't.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 07:51 AM) Why? Don't they have Tejada, Berkman, CLee, and Pence? Berkman was hurt that day, Pence is hitting 2nd. Not an explanation, just an answer.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 07:42 PM) It's all risk/reward. Young shatters his knee without a deal, he is f***ed. I love what Tulo and him have done. Lock yourself with some very nice cash, and when if they play like they should for the next few years, they are going to be up for a huge pay day right in their prime years. I think it's a totally logical move if you're a 2nd or 3rd year player years away from FA. You've got what, 4 years at least before you can cash in, at the most you'd be looking at $15-$20 million through the arbitration years if you could stay healthy. Instead, you give the team some cost certainty, and you guarantee yourself a big payday without the injury risk.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 04:53 PM) Yeah I have no idea how Young is a leadoff hitter... he has never hit for a high average at any level of professional baseball, ever, and his OBP in the majors is nearly Uribe-esque. He has quite a bit of power obviously, and he could be a 30-30 guy, but as a prototypical leadoff hitter he's useless. It'd be like putting Danny Richar up there. Well, looking at the stats, I think that the minor league numbers for both suggest that either could develop in to a guy who could easily hit in the leadoff spot. Young may not have pulled off a high BA last year, but he still took 43 walks as a rookie, which isn't bad...and if you look at his other yearly numbers, he's been good for 60-70 walks at each level on his way up. He also has a ridiculously high stolen base success rate, clocking in at 82% in the big leagues last year. His batting average in the minors has been in the .270 range. If his numbers hold, he could easily put up a .350 OBP, with a .270 average, 30 home runs, and an 80% stolen base clip. While he does strike out more than you'd like as a leadoff hitter, I think you'll get used to it for the rest of those numbers. The key is to cut down on the k's a little bit for him, and that'll turn him in to a much better leadoff hitter. Richar is similar in a couple ways...he takes a decent number of walks (52 and 55 his last couple years, including his time in the big leagues), has some pop, and has put up a better BA. The big difference is that while Richar doesn't have the Speed young has, he also doesn't strike out nearly as often, and that lets him get his BA higher and thus pushes up his OBP. Neither one of them are classical leadoff hitters, I kinda like Swisher there for our team, but if their minor league numbers carry over and show up in their big league performances, neither one of them would be a bad option at leadoff.

Despite being on one of the blogs I read (and hence, coming from the left), here's a look at how the even-more-shadowy-because-they-don't-disclose-their-donors-at-all 501©4 groups, which were seemingly opened up more by a recent court ruling, are starting to chime in on the election from both sides, to the point that they may well play a larger role than the 527 groups we saw in 04, as the courts and Congress cracked down some on the 527's and donors don't like to give them millions anyway because those contributions get disclosed (and hence, open up the organization to attack based on who's funding it.)

QUOTE (daa84 @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 04:11 PM) the bulls still havent won 3 in a row ...which is extremely pathetic After this Bulls season, and last year's Sox season...just opening 5-2 is a breath of fresh air.

QUOTE (BlackBetsy @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 04:09 PM) You cannot be right or wrong about a player in 7 games. Thank you for playing. Actually, yes you can. If you thought that Joe Crede's back would not recover from the surgery or would hamper him to the point that he wasn't going to be able to play ball again, or you thought Joe would take a significant amount of baseball action before being able to get back in to a groove with the bat, you've been proven wrong. We can't guarantee he won't fall in to an 05 like slump, we can't guarantee his back will hold up the whole year, but if we thought he wasn't going to be ready yet...he is.

QUOTE (sox-r-us @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 03:46 PM) Serious question - I have always been a Crede fan and fully expected him to revert to being a solid contributor this year. He is not going to be a 0.350 hitter of course over the course of the season; but what if he continues to be a 0.300 or so hitter with a steady glove and the Sox keep on winning? What do you do at the deadline then? If teams ask for Crede, how can you trade him if you are in a pennant race then??? Especially if it is an AL team that asks for him.... I have a feeling we will keep Crede all year and then make the decision (extend Crede and trade Fields or let him go and get draft picks) at the end of this season.....I know there will be people here crying about how we did not get any overhyped, over-rated spects instead .... but you cannot give up a player if your team is in a pennant race.....that would not sit well in the clubhouse or with the casual fans (White flag). A pennant is worth a hell of a lot more than a draft pick. If Joe acts like the Joe of 06, simple fact is, we can't move him. If the team stays in the hunt and Joe keeps hitting, then he'll wind up as a FA this offseason. Odds are, the Sox will make an offer on him, but reality is, unless Joe changes agents, if Joe keeps hitting, there will be teams that offer him more money than we will. Our salary is already what, 5th highest in baseball? When we have a guy who might be able to take that position for a lot less money, we just won't be in a position where there's much we can do.

Linebrink coming in.

Joe Crede just passed AJ Pierzynski for the team lead in RBI's and, at least for now, just passed Ben Broussard and this Frank Thomas dude for the league lead.

This. Team. Has. Some. Balls.

Ok, everyone knows what doll to break out now...

Link.

Booyeah! Fist pump! AJ, let's get Javy the win!

Press Release link. On the other side, here's an argument for why turning your back on China is the wrong move (note, Anti-Clinton argument, please forgive, just trying to fill in the blanks)

Come on JD...Just get it tied please. Just keep Nathan away.

Whether you're for the war or against, I think you have to admit that this is simply dishonest. In that Op-Ed piece, the 2 write: The problem? They stop in February, despite the fact that the March numbers are actually available. And why would they do that? Because the March numbers are significantly worse. The AP count went back up to over 1,000 last month, up from 700 in Feb. and 500 in January. In other words, everyone who ignores the success of the surge has, in their words, "a crisis of credibility – having confidently predicted the failure of the surge, and been proven decidedly wrong." And yet, in the process, they're spinning just as much to make their numbers look better.

Come on 2, 3, 4 hitters, you're getting paid a lot of money to do something this inning. And we're down to 2 innings left where we have a shot. We need to get 1 run before the 9th.

Javy has retired the last 11 people he's faced.

Boone warming. Probably for Span/Mauer/Morneau.

Come on Swish...not only do you get to make him pay for a 2 out walk, you get him to pay for a 2 out walk to Uribe.

8 in a row retired for Javy.

Blackburn has retired 6 in a row.