Balta1701

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Oct 31, 2006 -> 10:15 AM) Controlling sperm production without effecting testosterone levels AND avoiding 'unwanted' side effects? My ass. So many jokes...so many ways to get myself banned...so difficult to resist...

Thank Jesus. This is exactly what we needed. In another 10 years, we'll have abstinence-only education expanded to 65 year olds, and everyone everywhere will eschew sex in service of the lord.

Yahtzee!

Sadly, Mr. Kerry is wrong. Once they finally decide they need more troops, maybe after McCain is elected in 2008, there's going to be no choice but a draft, and then it won't matter how much education you've had.

"This was an act of terrorism committed against Barbara!"

QUOTE(fathom @ Oct 31, 2006 -> 07:57 AM) To me, Cintron is much more valuable. He can play 3 positions soundly enough that you don't cringe every time the ball is hit to him. It's a hell of a lot easier to find a back-up outfielder than it is someone who can play 2B/SS/3B. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Mackowiak fan. However, his salary is pretty high this upcoming season, and I'd rather try to open up some payroll to sign a legit back-up catcher with the money we can save by getting rid of him. I think the best argument for dumping Rob Mackowiak is also the most simple one. If Rob Mackowiak is not on the White Sox, Rob Mackowiak will never be put in Center Field for the White Sox, which, for example last year, might well have turned into 5-10 more wins for the team.

So, for the past 5 years or so, it's been official NASA policy that Hubble was at Death's door. The Telescope uses a system of Gyroscopes in order to actually know where it is and be able to orient itself. The whole telescope can contain 6 of them, but it only needs 3 to function. Problem is, those gyroscopes have a habit of failing, so every few years they need to be swapped out. After Columbia, it was judged that another Hubble repair mission might be too risky, because sending a shuttle to Hubble would leave the shuttle on a path that would be unable to rendezvous with the ISS in the event of another shuttle emergency, so Hubble was placed on a death watch. Not sure exactly what it was that changed the minds of the folks running NASA, but the ol' workhorse observatory will live on. NASA is scheduling one final Hubble Servicing mission in 2008, which will hopefully let the great telescope hold out until a replacement is built and launched some time about a decade from now. Save The Hubble.com

Nature, Science, Geology, G-Cubed, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Journal of Petrology, Geophysical Research Letters, American Mineralogist. What?

QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 31, 2006 -> 05:25 AM) They just lost a loved one, 99.99% of the time it wouldn't involve millions and millions of dollars. Hence the phrase "Cases like this" which Rex used. Because very few cases involve millions and millions of dollars, there should be some sort of built in system to deal with those cases so as to avoid depriving victims of tens of millions in damages.

Aramis filing for free agency ≠ Cubs Lose Aramis. Not yet anyway.

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 05:40 PM) unfortunately tellers don't have that much money. What I would do is get a teller on the inside to find the top 10 richest bank customers and then fill out transfer slips into a joint account.....Then die in a gun fight with the cops. you could easily land 2-3 millions just like that........for your wife. Of course all of that is for speculative purposes and nothing i would advocate. Wouldn't it be different if you hadn't been convicted before death?

QUOTE(Felix @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 04:30 PM) Hasn't Shaun Alexander taught you anything? Next question.

On a different note...here's how well finally getting Drudge to start running the "Webb's a pornographer!" story seems to have worked for George Allen. Here's the formula the Senate seems to be following. The Dems are going to pick up Ohio, Penn, and RI, barring any monstrous shifts in the next week. The Dems also look like they'll hold NJ, the only seat that they really should have been scared about. Then, there's Montana, VA, Missouri, and Tennessee, and for a simple Majority the Dems need 3 of those 4 (assuming Lieberman for Lieberman doesn't bolt).

QUOTE(Ohio_Fireman @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 02:42 PM) Hi fellas! Indians fan here! lol I know I know! Just wanting to ask you guys about hermanson, is he healthy now? Im sure you guys know about all of the problems the tribe had with their BP this year. Anyhow excellant site! Welcome to the site...and we have no problem with fans from other teams who are genuinely interested in learning stuff or talking baseball. Hermanson is not healthy now. After 2005, he was faced with 2 options, rehab his back or attempt a risky surgery that could end his career. He attempted the Rehab...and when he started in Spring Training, his back went right back out. He attempted to rehab the whole year, and finally got back to the big leagues at the end of the 2006 season, but didn't have much. He'd lost a lot of velocity and his back was still hurting him. Hermanson should not even be signed by the Royals to a major league deal, not with his back. He is a reasonable risk for a team looking for a veteran reliever to fill a hole in a bullpen, but he shouldn't be counted on to either be healthy the full year or to come anywhere near where he was during 2005. That said, someone really ought to pick him up on a minor league deal, just because Hermanson always points at the sky after every save, and it's entirely possible Jesus and another offseason could hold his back together enough to make something of a difference, but that's a big if.

QUOTE(SoxFan562004 @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 02:22 PM) What are the other teams expected to bid high for him? I imagine the Dodgers and Angels would like a power surge. Cubs may catch a small break in the fact that NYY won't be interested if they're really keeping A-Rod, and Boston may be happy enough with Lowell not to be too interested. Also Mets won't need him. So some of the big spenders won't be a factor. With that said, he likely wouldn't do this if he and his agent thought they could get a pay bump. They'll have a lot of pressure from their fan base to not lose him. Houston and LAA are the top 2 in both money and need as far as I can tell. The Dodgers may be in the game, but they may be more happy with Betemit for a full season. The Tigers could use another bat. The Padres could use a bat, but who knows how much they'll be willing to spend. The Phillies could have some interest. Ramirez's agent has said that there are 7-10 teams interested.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 02:26 PM) well, i have a feeling you'll change your mind on the ID issue once fanatic evangelicals start voting 50 times each to ensure their minority opinions are what drives the political landscape. No, because they'll wind up in jail, because as the study shows, the folks who try to do that have a real nasty-habit of being caught.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 02:14 PM) how do you know this? you know exactly how many faudulent absentee votes are cast as compared to other types of voter fraud? you are guessing. but anyways, i'm also fine with making sure absentee votes are legit. just because there is an abuse in voting in a certain area does not mean that other areas should be ignored (obviously). of course. Actually I posted on this last week. As part of the Help America Vote Act, the government undertook an outside study into what types of voting irregularities and voter fraud actually is discovered. The preliminary results are out, and the study is going to conclude that while examples like what people use to justify those ID laws, that there are huge blocks of people who vote who shouldn't be voting, is actually simply untrue. Current levels of enforcment of the laws have been more than effective in preventing those types of voting abuse, and in fact, they've been on the decline in the past several years. However, Absentee ballots are a much bigger problem, with much more widespread reports of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and double-voting due to them. Link. Quite literally, if you're interested in preventing voting fraud, you forget this voter-ID idea which there simply isn't evidence of a problem it is needed to solve, and you start pushing to reform or eliminate absentee voting.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 01:41 PM) no. the ones they catch are small number of the total cases of voter fraud. In KC they have already caught around 20,000 bs registration cards. This is a big problem. And yet somehow, absentee voters showing up at polling places and voting twice or absentee voters being coerced are much more likely to happen than someone voting who is not actually eligible.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 01:07 PM) Garcia also has value, and will almost assuredly be lost in FA following the 2007 season, whereas they'll lose Vazquez following 2008. The White Sox do not necessarily have to pick up Vazquez's option in 2008 if I recall correctly, and I believe it was rather expensive given his past performance. If Buehrle can't be signed to an extension, Buehrle must be the first one traded. But then after that...it comes down to Vazquez and Garcia and whichever one of them will bring the most back in a trade.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 01:42 PM) So what happens with Iguchi? Because from everything I've ever heard or read, Michael Young is an average to slightly below average defensive SS, so he shouldn't be playing it with a pitching staff so dependent upon defense. Iguchi is a Free Agent at the end of 2007.

QUOTE(ptatc @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 11:01 AM) That being said I'm a huge Thomas fan and can't wait to see that 500th HR no matter what uniform it's in (as long as it's not against the Sox) I'd even tolerate it happeneing against the Sox as long as it happened in the Cell.

The White Sox exercise the options on Dye, Buehrle, Iguchi ≠ Dye, Buehrle, Iguchi will be back.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 10:11 AM) Your sample size is 16 batters, or about 5 innings of work At least according to ESPN, it's 50 batters last season not 16.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Oct 30, 2006 -> 10:03 AM) Why do we have to have so many guys making the league min in our bullpen? Is there some kind of rule I'm missing? Because every single guy on your roster making the league minimum helps you spend money somewhere else. And even if we trade 1 starter, we're still spending $40 million on the starting rotation, 12 m on Konerko, 5 m on Dye, Pierzynski, etc. We're already close to having $100 million committed to people already. And guys like Buehrle, Dye, Crede, Iguchi are going to be due raises, especially if we want Buehrle and Dye to not walk at the end of 07 for nothing. One of the reasons we need to have cheap guys in our bullpen is that we have spent money somewhere else. We can probably afford to fit in 1 guy making a couple million next year if we have to, but it's going to be a much bigger improvement if we spend that money on someone who puts up better numbers than Riske out there.

I see the potential attractiveness of Chisoxfn's plans, but I'm going to give the reasons why I don't like it as constructed. 1. Matthews Jr.'s season last year is going to earn him a contract beyond what I think he's worth, and almost certainly beyond what we'd be willing to pay. To cover the contracts combined of Matthews Jr. and Roberts would almost certainly require trading 2 starters if there is not another significant total salary increase. 2. Adding in a lot of salary in the OF dramatically reduces our salary flexibility if we wish to make an effort to hold on to Crede, Dye, and Buehrle, who between them could look to make something like an additional $10-$20 milliion in the next few years. 3. Matthews Jr. had a career year last year in a contract year playing in Texas. Players who have career years in contract years are inherently dangerous, if you expect them to be anywhere close to similar production the next years. 4. Anderson is, IMO, key to this team, just because he is so cheap. We're talkign about exchanging a $400k a year player for a $10 million a year + player. Subtracting Anderson hurts this team in the long run even if it adds in performance unless we are willing and able to make a run at paying the luxury tax. I just think a lot of these ideas are being constructed based on money the team won't have to spend. THey didn't get a postseason boost last year, they already committed a lot of salary the year before, and they have a number of guys who will be looking for big raises if they're going to stay even until 2008.