Balta1701

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 03:40 PM) I believe they do. If Floyd went 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA this September, but had a 15.00 ERA in spring training next year, chances are he would have no chance to start out in the rotation. If he were 0-4 with an ERA of 11.00 this September, but had a 2.50 ERA in the spring, he would have a much better shot at a spot in the rotation. The problem is...you almost have to make your decision on Floyd before the spring...because making the decision on Floyd if it's a yes requires an open rotation spot. If you're considering Garland for Furcal...you're doing so with the expectation that Floyd has shown you enough to decide that he'll be at worst an adequate 5th starter next season. You can't just hold onto Garland until the end of ST...not when you have to decide whether or not to pick up the option on Uribe and figure out who's your SS if you don't.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 03:37 PM) Although his W-L record was pretty good, Garcia was awful in 2006 until the last month or so. I would be willing to bet if you went back and searched, that several people, maybe even yourself thought that Freddy had learned to pitch with his decreased velocity and should be good for 15+ wins in 2007. I am not of the opinion 1 or 2 starts in meaningless games makes up for the garbage that came out of his hand when the games had at least a little meaning. What would doing good or bad tonight mean for 2008 for Floyd? A poor outing tonight would certainly make it harder to justify opening up a rotation spot for Floyd next year. I would really, really like to see him finish the year without another disastrous outing. Just put up quality starts, that's what I'm sort of hoping for. If he can't hold his own against the Royals in Sept., then even I'd have to question whether we could expect anything better from him next season. These Sept. performances are all we're going to have to base probably our biggest offseason decision on; do we trade Mr. Garland or not? If Gavin Floyd can't cut it in the last couple trial outings, even if they are just september tryouts, then you can't trade Garland unless you have someone else lined up to fill that role.

QUOTE(Alpha Dog @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 09:40 AM) No (real) pictures yet? You mean you're not Fred Thompson?

Leftwich finally gets signed by the Falcons.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 01:29 PM) Maybe, but those types of items are not what generally fuels the economy - so with that said, it's going to be quite turbulent. I also think that you are right - they are trying to curb the inevitable (HUGE) downspend in consumer spending. I don't think that this rate cut is going to keep that from happening - AND you are putting more money back into the economy which will drive up prices even more. Ugly ugly ugly. So, if you're opposed to this rate cut...I'll fire back...what exactly is the alternative? You're agreeing that there is going to be a huge downturn in consumer spending in the near future due to the rapidly shifting credit environment, and you're agreeing that there is going to be a huge downturn in other key economic sectors like home construction...so is the Fed just supposed to sit by and let things see how far they can drop? What is the alternative here?

QUOTE(Jeremy @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 01:30 PM) It's important to remember though that walks and strikeouts don't have that close of a connection. For instance, Thome's strikeouts the most and walks the most of anyone on the team. If I had to choose between the two, I'd place more of an emphasis on walks right now. And in terms of walks...we are right around the MLB "Average" level. And that's still with a guy like Erstad and a guy like Uribe getting a bunch of at bats. And Gonzalez. And Cintron. Even if all we do is replace some of that grindy garbage...that alone could improve those #'s.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 01:19 PM) Get me a new ss and a new cf, but I honestly have no problem going into next season with most of this bullpen back. As crazy as that sounds, it wouldn't bother me one bit to have: Jenks, Thornton, Mac, Wasserman, and Logan all back. I agree with you on that bullpen...but 1 problem...that still leaves us wanting another righty. If MMac and Thor could put up 06 type performances and stay healthy, then maybe a Masset or Aardsma would be able to fill that role just throwing junk innings, but can anyone guarantee me that they won't wind up repeating their 07 performances?

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 01:14 PM) I'll see your sarcasm and raise you reality... We get the media we want. Guess what - the media is full of useless soundbites and shallow, silly stories because that is what many people choose to watch/hear/read. Its simple market economics. Networks show what sells. So really, the reality is, the media is dumbing down because more and more of the public is becoming lazy and they care less and less about real, in depth discussion of difficult topics. Let me fire this back...which network out there do you actually see even attempting any real, in depth discussion of difficult topics? At the very best you get the "2 talking heads" format where 2 people sit on screens and yell at each other. On a very rare occasion you'll get something like an Amanpour series on CNN that actually does exactly what you're talking about, but I find it surprisingly difficult to say that the media is just giving the public dumbed down stories because that's what the public wants when virtually no one is trying anything else. The other side of the token that you're missing is that it's vastly cheaper to put a camera following Paris Hilton than it is to actually send a reporter to Iraq for 3 months outside of the Green Zone, keep them alive, and actually see things like how the society is evolving. Or it's easier to report on what Al Sharpton said today in a press conference than it is to go to New Orleans and actually analyze what we could be doing to rebuild more effectively. Or it's a Hell of a lot easier to transcribe a Bush press conference than it is to actually bother reading a little bit to see whether or not there's an ounce of veracity in anything he said.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 01:09 PM) Well that is good news at least. But the team still would need to move some current salary in order to make big splashes at both CF and SS. Which of course is why I think that JO is our starting CF next year...and why I think Garland will be moved, at the worst to bring back a Furcal...but hopefully someone a little younger and cheaper.

Tank Johnson signs a 2 year deal with the Cowboys

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 12:52 PM) As much as people get on Greenspan about his responsibility for the housing bubble, I tend to agree with him that its a natural cycle that needs to play itself out. I don't think this rate cut is a good idea. The very small difference it would make for the average mortage or car loan holder won't overcome the problems those people are having - it will however cause greater speculative debt forays. It might ease the pain for housing development-related industries, but long run, it just introduces more risk. Blech. So, I've been one of the hawkish folks on the housing bubble for a couple years I'd say...but I'm not sure this isn't a bad gamble. 2k5's looking at the potential downside, which I'll agree is large if everything goes wrong, but here's the question; what is the likelihood of us getting stuck in a stag-flationary cycle that we can't get out of? Even with the current situation of inflation, I'm not sure it's that high. On the other hand, what is the potential downside of doing nothing or of a limited action for now...that'd basically be a complete yanking out of the bottom of the housing market, and probably a very long period of low growth/recession while 15% of the economy tanks...and what is the likelihood of that happening? If no action was taken, I'd say the likelihood of that was very high. Housing prices are going to tank here for the next few years, there's almost no way around it...but an action like this may result in softening the bottom and slowing the spread. It's a gamble...and it's a gamble that we could have easily avoided by more sound monetary and regulatory policies since the housing runup began in the late 90's...but a gamble is about all he can do right now.

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 11:35 AM) Well let's not lump him in the 100K category like I did, let's just say the 80k category. Let's also take a couple of the other guys and put them into the 120K per year category vs. the 100k per year level. Crede strikes out twice as much as he walks, his OBP is not great and who knows how he'll swing after basically a year off and rather serious back surgery. The point being, do they carry Fields with that large amount of K's when they have 5-6 other guys who also do their share of striking out. It is something they will talk about and analyze which is what I was trying to get across. Not sure how much it tells us, but here's the current numbers for Strikeouts (and walks) for teams in the AL (sorted by k's) 1 Tampa Bay 1219 501 2 Texas 1136 470 3 Cleveland 1120 546 4 Chicago Sox 1058 502 5 Oakland 1035 626 6 Detroit 989 454 7 Kansas City 985 406 8 Boston 961 644 9 Toronto 960 486 10 NY Yankees 900 575 11 Baltimore 866 462 12 LA Angels 804 471 13 Seattle 786 364 14 Minnesota 769 475 LEAGUE AVERAGES SO BB American League 971 499 National League 1001 496 Major League Baseball 987 497

Fred Thompson with another "Doesn't seem to know what he's talking about" slipup.

It takes about 10 seconds of looking at a map to realize that the statement about the straits of Hormuz being threatened by Saddam in the least is sheer and utter lunacy. Iraq does not border the Straits of Hormuz. In fact, Iraq is several hundred kilometers away from the Straits of Hormuz. Iraq had no air force after the Gulf War. It was destroyed. And the southern part of Iraq was blanketed by a No Fly Zone, and had any Iraqi aircraft, had they actually existed, tried to enter that area, they would have been turned around or shot down. Iraq had no Navy. The straits are guarded by the U.S. Navy, and even if you tried to do a USS Cole style attack on the straits, you'd literally have hours and hours of a journey across the entire gulf to get there. Iraq had no missiles capable of reaching the Straits. The longest range missile in Iraq's arsenal pre-war was the Al Samoud-2 Missile, which was actually banned by regulations, which was being destroyed by the UNMOVIC teams, and which has a maximum range of about 180 km; not even half way to the straits.

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 10:31 AM) Agree on this too. I am not seeing a consistent ability to draw walks and he never did it that well in the minor leagues either. Yes he is improving incrementally but is this the guy for CF on a contender. I am not so sure. Are you and I looking at the same stat sheet? I did a simple calculation for JO of walks per plate appearance in his years in the minors. Here's what they look like: 2003 A- 0 2004 A 0.099137931 2005 AA 0.090592334 2006 AAA 0.092975207 MLB 0 2007 AAA 0.111111111 MLB 0.072555205 Post All Star 0.9542 Sept. Only 0.145161 He has been consistently just under a walk every 10 plate appearances in the minors, and was well above that this year before being called up. His numbers since the All Star Break have been quite consistent with his performance in the minors with regards to patience as well, and they are clearly improving also. For reference, I performed the same analysis on Kenny Lofton. His career number for that same metric, walks per plate appearance, is .104. In most of his seasons, he's been right around .1. In only about 3 seasons did that number go up beyond .1, and in recent years it has been significantly down from there, below what Owens has put up since the AS break.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 09:59 AM) I don't see how the Sox don't offer Garland for Furcal, and how the Dodgers don't accept... it's a perfect match. The Sox could very well be looking for more than that in exchange for a reliable starting pitcher, given Furcal's contract...and I wouldn't blame them for trying.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 09:04 AM) This is why I actually think he is an ideal #9 hitter. But lets say Jerry keeps developing like he is and puts up a .276 .370 with 40+ sb's and I will take that in the leadoff spot everyday If he puts up a .370 he damn well better steal more than 40 bases. In a full season, I'd expect no less than 60 with that .350 OBP I'm hoping for.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 17, 2007 -> 05:11 PM) While OJ is in the big house, will anyone be searching every golf course in America for the real robbers? Fixed that for ya.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 07:37 AM) it can't get any hotter. i dont know how these women still think its a good idea to video ta[pe it. Because clearly, it has ruined Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson's careers.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 18, 2007 -> 07:06 AM) I guess thats a big deal, but for a leadoff hitter its not as bad. Since he can steal so many bases, each one of those is basically a double. But I understand where the worry is coming from. If Owens could put up a .350 OBP or better...and hold that >75% SB %age, I really am not sure I care about the lack of slugging. We have enough 40 home run guys on this team to make up for him not hitting that many. His OBP post all star is .340 right now, it's .500 in September...and despite him having a few more CS's in the past few games, he's still 28/35 on the season for a 80% clip. Depending on what we do about that black hole in the 2 spot next year...I'll take a decent OBP in front of Jim and Paul and be very happy with it.

If Omar Vizquel is our SS...no. For this team to compete next year...a lot of things are going to need to go right. First of all...Buehrle and Vazquez will have to have years equal to or better than this one. Second...Contreras will need to not suck, because he's still untradeable to my eyes. Danks will have to have a much better year, which is entirely possible, but who knows how likely. And Floyd, who I'm already writing in as the 5th starter and I think KW is also...will have to at least be average (i.e. sub 5 ERA) and eat innings. All of those could happen...you can judge the likelihood yourself. In the bullpen...Jenks needs to continue to develop and stay healthy. Logan and Wasserman need to continue to develop as specialist guys. Thornton and MMac, who I think we have to hold onto based on contracts, past performance, and a lack of replacements, need to be VASTLY better, and MMac needs to stay healthy. The failure of those 2 guys cost us more games this year than anyone outside of Erstad/Podsednik. And we still need 1 more guy who can throw with his right arm. It could well be a guy we already have, I'm not ruling out Aardsma, Masset, or Haeger just yet...but if we keep throwing out relievers who put up ERA's over 6, then the season is over before it starts. In the lineup...I think Jerry Owens has probably convinced management to give him a shot next year as a starter, and I'm really not sure it's a mistake. He's actually developing better than I thought. Fields and Richar are similarly developing faster than I expected. We need Crede back and performing well. We need JD to not struggle with a half season of injuries that kill his performance at the plate. And we need to find a bloody shortstop not named Vizquel or Eckstein. A lot of things need to go right for it to happen. But as one of this page's optimists, I'm cautiously optimistic about the future...esp. with what we've seen from Owens and Richar recently.

QUOTE(Whitewashed in '05 @ Sep 17, 2007 -> 08:16 PM) I still love the "one player failed, therefore all players can be compared to him and are guaranteed to fail" logic. Here, let me turn that around...I certainly hope this young Pujols we have proves you guys wrong! Just about as fair.

QUOTE(Whitewashed in '05 @ Sep 17, 2007 -> 08:07 PM) We need to platoon him with someone next year. Well, hopefully Pablo will be around...but I think Danny is going to make you guys regret doubting him.

I love walking the pinch hitter to get to the guy who's 4/4 on the day. He's bound to make an out sometime, right?

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 17, 2007 -> 07:59 PM) f***ing unreal....Hopper should have easily caught that ball. The Cubs are the luckiest team ever. How in the hell are you not playing "no doubles" there? There were no doubles given up.