Balta1701

I have not yet worn the 10 year old Sox hat I was wearing last year on the night Uribe made 2 plays in a row with Bobby on the mound. No matter how desperate we look now, or looked before last night, or look if we lose 5 more in a row, I will not break that hat out again before an October.

QUOTE(Jake @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 10:59 PM) Of course 4 outings for a reliever can be in a week, meaning having a bad week, where with Buehrle thats an entire month of struggling. Not disagreeing with the fact that 3.72 is not great for a NL reliever, or any reliever, just saying that it's not really a fair comparison. (Oh yeah and I absolutely love this quick edit feature.) But the problem of course is, there's no reason to guarantee that the 3.72 is less representative of a reliever's performance in the NL than the 2.60 ERA or whatever it was a week ago. The 2 ERA could have been due to a guy on a hot streak, and he could have done a Vazquez and had a few bad innings to even his numbers out.

QUOTE(Jake @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 10:55 PM) Interesting thought, although there isn't much I'd want from Philly. Something about Abreu just doesn't make me feel right giving much up for him. Could definitely help though. Given his contract, and OBP and SB numbers, I would do Abreu for Fields and Podsednik, but not more on our side unless a lot of money was included.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 10:38 PM) How are they "far from flashy"? He's a top 5 righty setup man in baseball, period. He has dominated the National League for the past 3 seasons and has been about as consistent as they come. Take another look at those stats because they don't get much better than that. He's given up 7 runs over his past 4 outings so his numbers aren't going to look great for this season but a week ago he was sporting a 2.62 ERA. Mark Buehrle was sporting a top 5 in the AL ERA before his last 5 outings. Linebrink is currently sporting a 3.72 ERA. That's not great for a National League reliever.

So, what exactly will they be doing with Bell/Koskie? Do they just want a new draft pick for letting Bell walk?

I rank BMac in front of Neal. BMac has had 1 bad month this season. And that was the month he was a starter for 1 week, and went forever between outings.

Jon Garland...it's time. Some of us will remember a particular strikeout of yours' that defined 2005 for you in our minds. We will also remember who you K'd. And we want to see it again. You're better than everyone on this team. Don't forget it. You may not get to tip your hat, but if you earn it, this household's ready to give you another standing O. Kick some ass big man. Sink these bastards!!!!!

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 10:22 PM) Why cant we go after him? We wona ring with two of the most popular Cuban players in MLB history, and arguable have the biggest Cuban star heading our rotation. You better believe that has an effect on where these guys will go. If the money is there. And we do have it now, so it's at least worth a shot.

I have a love/hate relationship with that place, in that I love the taste, but it drives the fiancee crazy. The ice cream is damn good stuff, but it's so bloody rich, you can only take so much of it.

Tonight = wakeup call. Jon Garland tomorrow = winning streak (I'm really hoping for an 8th inning strikeout of Tejada with men on base by him just to remind everyone of what the White Sox can do). Make this a winning streak boys. You now have the one big hole in April filled; you have an incredible bullpen (which next year will be the best in the big leagues). You have an incredible offense, which will find its balls eventually. Now, we just need the starting pitching to remember what it can do. Garland already has. Contreras never forgot. For the others, it's time. Wake up everyone. Tonight is your Rally Gload night. Run with it. QUOTE(illinilaw08 @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 09:55 PM) The back of the bullpen is nasty right now. I can't remember any Sox team that had 3 guys at the back of the pen that throw as hard as Mike McD (really think that nickname could catch on), thornton and jenks. The pen looks very very solid. All in all, a nice win (especially when Bedard was on the hill), and hopefully this is the shot in the arm the team needs to get it going again. I have difficulty thinking of many teams in baseball right now, or even in the last few years, who can throw a bullpen at other teams like the Sox can throw at teams now. By September, teams will be scared to drive our starters out of the game, because then they'll have to face the pen. Especially if BMac keeps it up.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 07:11 PM) If you're the Yankees do you post a huge offer for Daisuke Matsuzuka instead, or do you go for a guy like Gourriel? I would love to go after Gourriel though. He seems more ready though than say a Kendry Morales was when he 1st came over, and getting him would give you options if you wanted to move a Iguchi (which will probably never happen), or if Gourriel wanted to play LF, even better. Either way, it's going to be a VERY interesting off-season. Why exaclty can't the Yankees go after Matsuzuka, Gourriel, and Zito all at the same time? Especially with Sheffield's contract up.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 10:00 PM) Actually I think the Dodgers did well here. Betemit projects to be a very good player, with 25-30 HR potential IIRC. Well, Betemit has never hit more than 13 home runs in a year, so that's still a projection. And, Betemit is already 25, so I just don't know if one can expect him to develop more power now. Aybar is 23, and honestly, I don't know why, but I really like that kid. In his best season, he hit 15 home runs, but that was a few years ago and he didn't have a good average that year. I could understand Aybar for Betemit straight up, but I really think by throwing in Baez, the Dodgers really helped the Braves beat them out for the wild card, no matter how bad Baez was in LA.

We need more than Linebrink for Fields. I'm willing to deal him, but we need more than that. That's all I have to say here.

If there is any way to put Coco Crisp in our left field without giving up Anderson and McCarthy...absolutely make this f***ing deal, I don't care what Crisp's numbers are this year.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 07:24 PM) Would Miggy be willing to play 3rd base for the Angels, or would Cabrera move over to 3rd base for him? Don't forget they've got Brandon Wood and the likes of McPherson as well. If the Angels are smart, and they want Tejada, Brandon Wood can be expendable. That's about the only guy in the big leagues other than ARod who I'd give up on Wood for. A sure thing in exchange for a great prospect? I'd do it. QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 08:26 PM) I don't consider Lidge damaged goods. I do think he needs a cahnge of scenery but the stuff is still there. But in general I think the Astros need to pull the trigger on the proposed deal. Lidge plus Mazzone? Ouch. QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 07:41 PM) The only reason I'd be interested in Tejada is that he has 3 years left on his deal at a reasonable price. However, I haven't heard any rumors about the Sox being interested, so it's likely a long shot. I will say this...no rumors...that's the way KW likes to work. Who heard about MacDougal or Alomar or Thornton before they were dealt? Kurkjian had Macdougal like 2 hours before it happened, but that was it. And, last thing in this post I will say...Baltimore needs pitching, and veteran pitching might not be a bad thing at all given their staff. So, if I'm in KW's position, I call up and use the names Garcia/Vazquez, Uribe, and 2 minor leaguers of Baltimore's choosing (Broadway + Fields?) and see if I can win in the bidding. I don't give up more than that (maybe a 3rd prospect not named Sweeney), and I don't allow the names McCarthy or Anderson to be considered, but we could at least get in on the bidding. If other teams outbid us, there's not much we can do, and they'd be hurting themselves more than helping themselves in terms of lost talent. But we really should be in on this, even if we don't have enough to make it happen.

QUOTE(S720 @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 07:08 PM) And if Ozuna was thrown out, people will scream for Ozzie's ass - How stupid can you be to have Ozuna steal a base when Thome or Konerko is coming up? The question always is, how often do you have to succeed at stealing 2nd in order for the additional RISP to make up for the few throwouts? Because sometimes he will be thrown out before a home run, but IMO, a lot more times, the guy would either distract the pitcher and give Thome/Konerko a better pitch, or would set up an RISP chance for either guy. Sitting back and being passive ain't working. I like putting pressure on a defense to make a perfect throw/play. Yeah, when we're facing a guy throwing out 50% of his runners, we should hold back, but otherwise, I'll give up an out, and even an occasional game, for the additional RISP.

So, I'm fairly surprised by this deal, mainly because I think that for the first time in a long time, the Dodgers really overpaid for a player. I like that Aybar kid a lot, and I'm surprised the Dodgers parted with him for a guy who is basically Chipper's backup. And Baez on top of that. I guess the Dodgers are dumping him, but he's still going to be the 2nd best guy in the Atlanta Bullpen, especially if Bobby Cox has any of Mazzone's pixie dust left.

Back in March/April, I said repeatedly that if we wound up in the situation where it actually mattered whether Ross Gload or Joe Borchard were the 25th person on our roster, we'd really be in trouble. Well, I was right. We were really in trouble. And it turns out we made the right choice. Thanks Ross!

Must get runner to 2nd base...I wonder if AJ has been a part of the bunting practice, and no i'm not kidding.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 03:51 PM) The entire Middle East will be in ruins? I'm not so sure about that. Who is going to support Iran and go to war with Israel and America? The Saudis, who have already condemned Hezbollah and rely on American oil money? The moderate governments of Jordan, Qatar, and Turkey? The pro-American government in Iraq? The pro-American government in Afghanistan? The Israelis will not bomb Iran's oil fields. And it won't take long for the drilling to start again under new management after the bombing ceases. First of all, yes, the government in Iraq will support Iran if it was attacked by Israel. The main parties of that government are hugely pro-Iran. Significant parties were housed by Iran, supplied by Iran, and trained by Iran during Saddam's Regime. An Israeli attack on Iran would throw Iraq into even more flames than what we've already seen. Secondly, it's worth noting that the condemnation of Hezbollah upon which you're hanging so much has basically come and gone.

SONOFA....AJ's facing a left hander! The WORLD IS F***ING ENDING!!!!!

A great day for America.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 01:35 PM) Unfortunately, I agree about this as well. And it's going to cost tens of thousands of innocent lives out there. While the Israelis have tried to only bomb only areas populated heavily by Hezbollah in Beirut, I don't foresee them holding back when they decide to bomb Tehran. They're going to cripple Iran to the point where it resembles Afghanistan. It's not going to be pretty. And the entire middle east will wind up in ruins afterwards. As will the economies of the entire world.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 12:59 PM) OK this is bizarre... I tried to go to Padora.com today and stream myself some background music, but it wouldn't play for any more than 30 seconds at a time. I just figured that there was something wrong with the site, or possibly on my end, but wrote it off. So just now I tried to play an embedded video file at CBS2news, and I only got through the first 30 seconds before the sound cut out, with the video stopping seconds later. So I was curious as to what the problem was and went to Youtube.com. Sure enough, I can only watch the first 30 seconds of video at YouTube. Firefox updated itself yesterday, or the day before here, but I've been able to view flash files since then. Something is amiss today. Something is different I guess, but I have no clue what it is. So, I did the same Firefox update, and Youtube is working fine for me.

In 2003, a group of 4 Senators introduced a bill to create even more stringent regulation of campaign finance in this country. The 4 senators: Shays, Meehan, Feingold, McCain. The bill did not pass then. A nearly identical copy of that bill has been reintroduced. Care to guess which senator suddenly is less interested?