Balta1701

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 20, 2007 -> 11:40 AM) Two questions for everyone... Will Contreras be on the White Sox roster come April 1, 2008? and Which Contreras will show up next year, the first half of 2007, or the September version? Yes, and I haven't a clue.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Sep 20, 2007 -> 11:26 AM) I would go with Willie McGinest, who moved to the Browns this year. As big as Ortiz is, I think 276 might be stretching it. 55 McGinest, Willie LB 6-5 270 12/11/1971 14 Southern California

From the Pats, guys who are even close: 52 Alexander, Eric LB 6'2" 240 2/8/1982 3 Louisiana State 88 Brady, Kyle TE 6'6" 280 1/14/1972 13 Penn State 12 Brady, Tom QB 6'4" 225 8/3/1977 8 Michigan 98 Brown, Chad LB 6'2" 245 7/12/1970 15 Colorado 66 Paxton, Lonie LS 6'2" 260 3/13/1978 8 Sacramento State 55 Seau, Junior ILB 6'3" 250 1/19/1969 18 USC 50 Vrabel, Mike OLB 6'4" 261 8/14/1975 11 Ohio State 86 Thomas, David TE 6'3" 248 7/5/1983 2 Texas 84 Watson, Benjamin TE 6'3" 255 12/18/1980 4 Georgia 58 Woods, Pierre LB 6'5" 250 1/6/1982 2 Michigan From the Red Sox: 38 Curt Schilling R/R 6-5 235 11/14/66 34 David Ortiz L/L 6-4 230 11/18/75

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 20, 2007 -> 11:05 AM) Yea, and that's not rhetoric at all - you know - the spirit of cooperation she promises and all. Does the U.S. have a policy about negotiating with Sith lords?

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Sep 20, 2007 -> 10:57 AM) Oh man, that'd be fantastic. What about Josh Beckett? I never heard that HGH could give you blisters. Anyway...suddenly i have this feeling that htis thread will wind up on SI.

Politico

QUOTE(SEALgep @ Sep 19, 2007 -> 08:32 PM) Because I want 34 homeruns - that's why. Well, I meant next year...and I think that helps him get to >34 home runs if that's the case.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Sep 19, 2007 -> 08:31 PM) Don't you agree? That depends an awful lot on whether we can afford that lineup and the extra $17 million or so in it without having to go to a rotation of Buehrle, Vazquez, Danks, Floyd, Haeger/Gio/Egbert/Broadway.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 19, 2007 -> 08:29 PM) That's the point, there is no reasoning. He's supposed to hit at least 40 homers every year or he sucks. Even when he was in a slump, and when he goes in one you can pretty much lob the ball up there and get him out, his AB per HR ratio for this season was almost exactly the same as Willie Mays' career ratio. The guy is a slugger. I hope his back holds up for more games in 2008. I've said it before and I'll say it again...it would be a very smart move to pick a day when there is a lefty starter on the mound once per week and decide that JD is going to DH and Terrero (if he's still here) is going to play RF. Why push your luck and wind up getting JT hurt?

Excellent Vanity Fair piece looking back at the treatment of the 2000 Gore campaign and the assault on it by the liberal media.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 19, 2007 -> 09:29 AM) And...in the past day, the Republicans have successfully filibustered 2 bills; the bill that would give D.C. an actual vote in the House and a bill that would restore the Habeas Corpus rights removed from detainees last year by the Military Commissions Act. Both have had support > 55 votes (57-42 and 56-43). But under the new standard where the filibuster is not a horrendous instrument only used as a last resort but is in fact a requirement for every single bill coming out of the Senate...neither one has passed. And Senator Jim Webb's bill to limit soldiers to an equal amount of time away from Iraq as they spend in Iraq also goes down to a defeat....56 yes to 44 nay. So that's 3 bills filibustered in less than 36 hours by my count. By my count, this Senate minority has broken in 9 months the record for most bills filibustered by a minority in an entire 2 year session of Congress, and until the media calls them on it, they won't be slowing donw.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Sep 19, 2007 -> 02:06 PM) it's just too bad the police didn't tazer the Senator when they had the chance. now look at him, he's totally out of control, filling appeals hanging out with the ACLU... There's a chance he might have liked that.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 19, 2007 -> 02:39 PM) Agreed 100%. ETA: Actually, he probably only has one start left. 2 at most. I would even say they shouldn't crown him starter #5 unless/until he also "shows up" in Spring Training. Unfortunately...that means to my eyes that you can't trade either Garland or Contreras until the end of spring training...which means we will have no FA money to spend and will get nothing back until that point. Which, to me, means that you absolutely have to pencil him in as that #5 starter this offseason, because you need to clear one of those salaries and you need to try to find a way to turn Garland into a SS.

I thought the important note about that story was that the 7% drop prediction was an updated one from like the 3% or so prediction they made less than a year ago.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Sep 19, 2007 -> 02:06 PM) 6 armed cops, 1 guy with a book. Sorry, I have a hard time seeing a scenario where tazing is appropriate. In this case, I'm not saying it's inappropriate. Even a single person can injure another person if they are truly resisting, and in that case, it could well be justified. One of the other little notes with the taser is that the deaths that occur with it have also been associated with drug use, especially stimulants. All I'm trying to say is that there needs to be a little discretion used with them. If a person is resisting and has the ability to injure someone else and therefore needs to be restrained, its usually fairly useable.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 19, 2007 -> 12:34 PM) Also... a taser is a non-deadly weapon that does not cause any permanent damage. If it was difficult to get him into the cuffs, would you rather they had used a baton? PR-24 maybe? How about OC Spray, so that everyone around could get sick too? Heck they were trying to use arm locks it looks like, but if you take those too far the wrong direction, you can break an arm. Or maybe they take his legs and drag him kicking and screaming along the floor - how would that have gone over? The use of the taser was probably the least harmful thing they could have done in that situation. And that is the standard to live up to - they should use that level of force necessary to affect arrest. I think they did that. Not wanting to get into whether or not the taser was appropriate in this circumstance...let me just say that stating a taser is a non deadly weapon is simply false. In a majority of cases it is non-deadly...but there are more than a few cases where it actually does wind up being deadly, especially in cases of pre-existing conditions. Sending that much voltage through a person's heart is not a healthy thing to do, and it can kill a person. Drudge even has a link up right below the Kerry story today of a person who died after being hit repeatedly by a taser.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 19, 2007 -> 11:26 AM) That's just it - he wouldn't leave. Go to CNN, they have a link to the actual, full video. Or ya know, just stay here.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 19, 2007 -> 10:52 AM) 65-70% of a rookie season. 340 at bats. If a full season is 550 to 600 AB's, then he's somewhere between 56 and 62% of a full season so far to get those 20 hr's.

Politico

And...in the past day, the Republicans have successfully filibustered 2 bills; the bill that would give D.C. an actual vote in the House and a bill that would restore the Habeas Corpus rights removed from detainees last year by the Military Commissions Act. Both have had support > 55 votes (57-42 and 56-43). But under the new standard where the filibuster is not a horrendous instrument only used as a last resort but is in fact a requirement for every single bill coming out of the Senate...neither one has passed.

Paul Krugman starts a blog as the TimesSelect wall comes down.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 08:08 PM) Sure because Jeff Jackson was the consensus overall number one pick a year before the draft. Dont worry if we are further down in the draft KW will pick Danks brother like he wants to anyways. So in other words, what you're saying is...the consensus number one pick doesn't always dominate?

QUOTE(StrangeSox @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 06:21 PM) If Obama, or any candidate for that matter, wants to figure out a way to fund new programs, they should figure out how to roll back the budget and bloated government spending. Get us out of Iraq and you pay for Hillary's entire Health Care plan.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 06:28 PM) The media was cheerleaders as long as the Democrat party supported the war, once the Dems turn so does the MSM. Quite a few more Democrats in both houses voted against the war than for it.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 07:54 PM) Richar has a .756 OPS that's pretty damn close to league average (and better than Iguchi). If you can get that from a 25 year old who's making league minimum and playing some good defense you should be happy. And in September, he's hitting .310 with a .948 OPS.