Balta1701

QUOTE(Texsox @ Mar 11, 2008 -> 04:10 PM) So what we need is to increase taxes on gas so they can't raise our prices too much. Perhaps slap a $1.00 per gallon tax on and what OPEC drop prices like a rock? What that would be likely to do is drive U.S. gas demand sharply downwards...so hypothetically, that would drive the price of a barrel of oil downwards...but the problem is, we're up against a monopoly, so they'd simply cut production to make up the difference, thus keeping the price of oil high. Of course, there may be other benefits to that sort of tax (i.e. significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions ) worth thinking about in the process as well.

Nelson Cruz wins it for the Rangers on a walk off. Matt Anderson takes the Loss.

Melheuse triples over the head of Quentin (playing very shallow in LF) and the tying run scores.

Couple runs score on groundouts. 5-4 Chicago.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 11, 2008 -> 03:34 PM) Good to see Quentin producing. What's his line for today? 1/3 with that double and a walk.

Adam Russell comes in, struggling, bases loaded, I don't think anyone's out.

Back to back doubles by Ramirez and Quentin. 5-2 Sox.

So...for those who thought Congress would be the ones who had to bail out the banks, I think it happened today without Congress getting involved at all. If I'm understanding things correctly, the Federal Reserve just gave about $200 billion in low interest loans to the big banks...and in exchange for those loans, they're accepting mortgage-based securities as collateral. In other words, the Fed is basically buying up the garbage paper that the banks have been writing for the last few years. So, either the securities continue to be worthless, and they wind up in the hands of the fed instead of the banks who currently own them, or they wind up temporarily being worth something, and are sold off to other investors allowing the Fed to be paid back...and the new investors are the ones who wind up holding the bag for the mortgage mess. Either way, the Fed has pretty much bailed out the banks from their bad investments to the tune of $200 billion today.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 11, 2008 -> 03:05 PM) Starting to look like the pen will include Masset. It looked like that from the moment they traded for him. They weren't going to lose a potentially solid reliever who can at least throw 93 or so for nothing. Not when he could still be coachable. With a reliever you always have the chance that he'll just have a solid season (Cliff Politte, Neal Cotts, etc.) totally out of the blue and suddenly his value will shoot upwards.

Nick clocking 94 on the gun. Gets the strikeout for out 3 but the runner reaches 1b on a WP.

Masset picks up his first out on a pickoff move, then strikes out Ellis looking for out 2.

Masset on. Starts off immediately pitching from the stretch.

QUOTE(BFirebird @ Mar 11, 2008 -> 02:53 PM) Does Ramirez have any real chance of making this club? Or are we going to be stuck with Uribe at 2nd? I think it's pretty unlikely. There's just been too many repetitions of the "he's too raw", especially on the defensive side, for me to think that they aren't planning him for AAA at least to start the season.

Ramirez singles to RF, Fields scores, 4-2 Sox, Ramirez to 2nd on the throw, Quentin up.

Fields steals 2nd, Saltalamacchia throwing error ball goes in to CF, Konerko Scores, Fields to 3rd. Sox take a 3-2 lead.

Fields singles to right, Konerko moves to 3rd.

Konerko doubles.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Mar 11, 2008 -> 02:43 PM) Hopefully someone who is radar gun crazy decides to trade for him. Maybe we can find something in the national league that could use a guy like MacDougal. He has an option left, and certainly has the ability to have a "recovery" season even if he starts off struggling in ST this year or even if he's sent down. There's very little reason to sell low on MMac right now.

MMac gives up a walk but retires the side without a run.

QUOTE(SoxFan562004 @ Mar 11, 2008 -> 02:21 PM) OK, let me rephrase this, I agree that BA is a no-brainer choice for CF at that point, I mean have the Sox discussed this at all publicly. I know you can't go off of what happens in ST, but BA was playing LF while Swisher was in CF. That was a head scratcher for me, even if it is ST If you're expecting Swisher to play CF in the regular season and Anderson to start the season in the minors, then it makes sense. Heck, it might make sense even to set up the regular season so that Swisher gets practice in CF if he's going to be the backup there, which he could well (treat it as a platoon between Anderson and Owens if Owens ever gets healthy?)

QUOTE(Jenks Heat @ Mar 11, 2008 -> 02:08 PM) I still think their best team is Swisher leading off and playing left and Anderson in center. Neither Quintin or Owens has produced enough in their professional careers to make me believe otherwise. Darin Erstad really f***ed this team up. I dunno, at least right now, I'm starting to think that having himself sent down to the minors in favor of a scrub, combined with struggling with injuries for a season, might not have been that bad of a thing for Anderson...if it forced him to refocus and start listening to the management... Defensively there's no question, any OF with Anderson in CF is better than any other OF we could put together. Hell, that might be better defensively than an OF of Quentin/Swisher/Owens/Dye (yes, 4 people). If he can give us a solid performance with the bat like what we saw from him in AAA...then that is a solid OF.

QUOTE(SoxFan562004 @ Mar 11, 2008 -> 02:09 PM) If Anderson continues on this roll and makes the team, do they put Swisher in LF and Anderson in CF? Would that be their best defensive option at that point? Unless something has drastically worsened since 2006, any OF with Anderson in CF is far better defensively than any other OF we could put together with the guys on our roster. (And if he has a chance to work at all on his throwing accuracy, he could well be even better than 06).

Link. As the blog I stole this item from notes...mass transit is hitting a record usage amount, while in the meantime the federal government is spending $40 on roads for every $1 spent on any sort of mass transit.

Somehow I doubt this will get the exposure I think it deserves.

Cardinals extend Larry Fitzgerald, 4 years, $40 million, $30 million guaranteed.