Balta1701

QUOTE(sircaffey @ Oct 8, 2007 -> 10:10 AM) Shingo was all about deception. He didn't have great stuff. Saito, Sasaki, Hasegawa, etc. all have good stuff. Looking back, is it really a shocker that Shingo got lit up in the second year trying to deceive major league hitters with slow, slower, and slowest? Was I the only one who actually watched White Sox baseball in 2004-2005? This is like the 3rd time in the past 2 weeks I've had to write this exact same post. Shingo got lit up in the 2nd year after dominating in the first year because he couldn't throw his off speed stuff for a strike the 2nd year. The first year he was throwing strikes with his whole selection of pitches. The 2nd year, he couldn't get anything except his fastball over, so instead of people having to defend against a 40 mph difference, they could just sit on his upper 80's fastball. Heck, even his stats back me up. In 2005 he was walking people at nearly 2x the rate that he was doing in 2004. He did not stink because people figured him out or because his deception stopped working, he stank because he couldn't throw strikes.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Oct 8, 2007 -> 09:41 AM) Sure if you throw in movon.org, the labor unions, the network news, etc. So basically, you want every single organization in the U.S. who acts in any political way or who passes along any information to the public removed? So that an election would be basically 100 million people voting for 2 guys they know nothing about and choosing based on how they like the spelling of their names. Hmmm.....at least we know it couldn't turn out worse than the way things have gone with the media actually existing the last 8 years. I'm all in.

I found this headline piece from Sunday's LAT to be an interesting look at the other side of the immigration issue; businesses who are begging for workers.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Oct 8, 2007 -> 07:56 AM) That's exactly right. Media Matters, though, is hiding behind a 501©(3) designation. That's a joke in and of itself. I'm sure they "follow" those guidelines, but there's no way they are "independent". Just like ALL of the other 501©'s out there. I'll make you a deal. We'll give up Media Matters if you give up the NRA, the Heritage Foundation, the CATO institute, etc.

Damn, if only the White Sox would have added a veteran reliever last offseason. Like that Justin Speier dude from Toronto. I bet we'd have made the playoffs if we'd only spent some money on the bullpen. Why oh why do KW and JR have to be so cheap!

Anyone other than me think it was potentially quite wrong to use Joba yesterday for 2 full innings when you were already up 5 runs? I mean, yeah game 3 is an elimination game and you've got to make sure you win it, but he came in when it was 8-3. What happens today if it's a 1 run game in the 7th?

In all seriousness, he would fill what is to my eyes an important role next year. He's averaged an .800+ OPS with a .295 BA against lefties the last 4 years. If we were to pick up a guy like him, it lets us give important rest to 2 of our key guys: Dye and Thome. Sometimes, say every 5-10 days or so, when you see a lefty on the mound, you take JD, put him at DH, and put a guy like Clark in the OF. You thus rest Thome's whole body against guys he'd struggle against, and you give JD's legs some extra time sitting on the bench so they hopefully don't wear down like they did this year. And when either Owens or Fields needs a day off, he can cover those slots for you in a limited role.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 04:13 PM) Rafael Furcal is not a Boras client and will only be 30 years of age for the majority of the 2008 season. And...if Mr. Furcal were to walk, we still get the 2 draft picks we'd get if Garland walked. And we have a LOT more depth at starting pitcher than we have at SS. I'd much rather find out whether or not Floyd, Haeger, or Broadway can cut it next year for $400k than find out if Uribe can finally prove he's worth $5 million.

QUOTE(fathom @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 08:38 PM) If the Dodgers trade their marquee prospects, they'll get back a starting pitcher that isn't a year away from free agency (like Blanton). If all you had to give up was Hu, would you rather take Garland for 1 year or give up several players or a top guy like Kemp/Loney for Blanton?

WTF?

You know one thing I can never figure out about teams like the Pirates, Royals, etc. Do they really think the manager is the problem? And that simply changing the manager every 2 years is going to turn things around? I really wonder if there isn't something to be said in stability of a system. Even if you don't have the Yankee roster, at least your guys know what to expect when they come into a season, and your rookies and so on don't have to learn from an entirely new set of coaches every 2 years.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 03:24 PM) BTW, that is expensive, but great tasting, popcorn. My favorite is the chocolate covered caramel corn And for those of you that don't know, PA lives in a tree. Speaking of Boy Scouts, Tex, what's up with y'all deciding to poison everyone?

Link.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 11:54 AM) Basically Jerry's only real negative is that he lacks SLG and his OBP could be higher. With that said I think alot of people in this thread are really exaggerating how bad his arm is. Its certainly better than PODS and is manageable with the two cannons in LF and RF. If he can hover around a .350+OBP I would say that he would be my lead off hitter for sure. He could steal over 50 bases next year with a full season under his belt. He makes the league min which helps us address other areas of the team like the pen and SS. His OBP could have been higher than it was this season, but part of that is that his numbers were terrible during his first callup. His numbers were significantly improved in his 2nd callup, and despite the lack of any meaningful games in September, it's also worth noting that he did put up even better numbers in August and September w/regards to taking walks (roughly 1/10 at bats, which is just about where he was in the minors this year).

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 10:15 AM) Could always see Garland and Uribe being shopped to the Pads for Kahlil Greene and others, unless I missed something and he was extended... No, but he is arb-eligible through 09 according to Roto. Right now, I think that Greene, Furcal, and Renteria, or even better, the young guys those last 2 are blocking (Escobar and Hu) would be ideal targets for the Sox this offseason if they were to deal Jon Garland. I think that, if those guys perform up to the levels where they should, any of those deals solve an awful lot of our problems for next year.

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 10:08 AM) He said people who remember a president other than a Bush or Clinton, not approval ratings. He was commenting on Tex's comment "I'm realizing that many high school teachers were not born when Carter was in office." He also commented on some hippy who said that Reagan was unpopular when he left office, and that data I added is the counter-point he didn't have.

QUOTE(ChiSox_Sonix @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 09:46 AM) You mention getting more offensive production at SS, but i think people often fail to realize that over the past few seasons Juan Uribe has consistently been around the 20HR/70 RBI range. I dont know if theres anyone out there we can upgrade with to significantly better those numbers. With the Boppers we already have in this lineup, I don't think we need a downgraded version of Rob Deer. I want OBP and some speed. When I look at this lineup, I could literally see us getting 160 home runs out of 4 guys next year if they stay healthy, and probably 130 on the low end if things go as badly as they did this year. And if you throw in a decent season from Crede, you're talking 180-190 from 5 guys. We're going to kill the ball whether we keep Uribe or not. It'd be really nice if we could have someone on base for those. Which is why that .350+ OBP from Owens (roughly league average for leadoff hitters) would be so important and such a huge upgrade from the Erstad/Pods/rookie Owens in June mess we saw this year.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 09:57 AM) It's about poll numbers and where they come from. What does "feeling old" and Clinton/Bush/a-crazy-40% number got to do with Carter? I'm just curious where that number comes from. Talk radio? A newspaper? what polling service? 'Cause I really doubt it's accurate. It's not accurate.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 09:58 PM) No way?? Nice wide stance on that elephant Yes, that is actually real. The image is hosted at http://www.gopconvention2008.com/media/logo/logo_600.jpg.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 09:18 AM) I really hope you're not singling me out for what just about everyone, especially on the Filibuster, does. This isn't the Filibuster, and the rules there are clearly marked as different.

"....Just a small town girl...."

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Oct 4, 2007 -> 05:56 PM) I still see Owens as the 4th outfielder next year. There are plenty of people around Chicago willing to shell out probably 5/$60 or more (Konerko money) for the last player this website labeled a "4th OF".

Let me put it this way. If Juan Uribe is our starting SS next April, then we better not have Jerry Owens hitting leadoff and playing CF for us. But, if Juan Uribe is not our starting SS...if we are actually able to upgrade there (And by upgrade, I don't mean a nearly lateral move like Eckstein or Vizquel), then I have no issues with JO playing CF and hitting at/near the top of our lineup. Kind of wierd logic I know, but I guess my thinking is that I'm willing to risk going with JO in the OF more and potentially lose some offense generation at that point more if I feel we've gained some run generation by upgrading at SS, and an upgrade at SS potentially gives us another leadoff option if Owens does wet the bed. The one thing I don't like the idea of though is blocking JO by spending $100 mil on Hunter or $80 mil on Rowand. Its entirely possible Owens could give us good production at a fraction of the cost (good is not equal to, of course) and that money would make much more of a difference if spent upgrading at SS. Without unlimited resources, the way I build my OF next year is thus; start with Fields, Owens, Dye. Now, I need at least one more thing; a backup, right handed hitting OF who is good enough to give me 300+ at bats. Why? Because I want to have the option of putting Dye at DH on days when we're facing a lefty, thus resting his legs and Thome's body and hopefully keeping everyone a little healthier. And on days when Fields or Owens need an off day, that guy could slide right in. Does anyone have any suggestions for this caliber of player?

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 05:53 AM) Pete Rose lives his baseball life in exile. Shoeless Joe Jackson was reduced to pretending Ty Cobb hadn't entered into his store and saying, "I thought you guys didn't want anything to do with me..." when he asked, "Don't you recognize me Joe?" It's the biggest rule in baseball: you don't bet on teams, let alone throw them. And so it always makes me a little sad to hear about people placing their bets on teams. Did we hear something about that?

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Oct 5, 2007 -> 08:50 AM) That's better. but really, last year's Tigers team wasn't all that good. And this year's NL teams aren't that bad, although that Rockies pitching staff, outside the pen, worries me a little. Make no mistake, the Rockies are here for one reason, and one reason only: defense. Their offense is quite good but Coors-aided, but their defense is absolutely stellar.