Balta1701

QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 04:22 PM) I don't like the idea of getting pitchers with a.) health problems, b.) Cubs jerseys. I just don't like the guy in general. He was sure dominant in 2003 and he's fun to watch pitch (and I know how cheap he is), but I just don't want him anywhere near my team.

QUOTE(bulokis @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 04:09 PM) That is a bad deal for our SOX. If we get Prior then I'd be up for it. :puke

For anyone out there who believes I never give the Administration credit for doing things right...Here's one that it looks like they're doing very well. At least on the surface, these all seem to be very good reccomendations...in particular the buoys in the Atlantic. Aside from Chicago, some of the biggest cities in the U.S. are actually at huge risk from these things, and it's worth some regular funding just to make sure they're not destroyed. We have a major subduction zone off the west coast, which could produce a tsunami that could strike the U.S. within 30 minutes and do damage the whole way up and down the coast. The Pacific Ocean is surrounded by subduction zones, which can produce Tsunami that can strike either our coastline or Hawaii and do serious damage. The Caribbean is enigmatic, with both subduction and major volcanic centers which can produce major waves, which would swamp the lowlands along the coastline. The Atlantic is the U.S's major population center, and there are islands in the Atlantic which run a very high risk of undergoing major collapse and triggering tsunami at some point within the next few thousand years (and no one knows when). Right now people are actually thinking about Tsunami, for obvious reasons. Now's the time to use that to try to build up a better system, on the off chance that someday it will be needed. If it were to be needed, we'd be glad we had it. Make sure you keep your eye casually on this, just in case some budget-cutting Congressperson decides its not worth the funds.

QUOTE(NUKE_CLEVELAND @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 02:20 PM) Im not writing off any individual persons statements per-se. Im attacking the party line of class/race warfare that dominates the mainstream of Democratic thought. All I see when I watch the news or read the paper is some prominent Democrat going on and on about rich vs poor, black vs white. Pitting American vs American is wrong and destructive and is worth attacking at every opportunity. And yet it's somehow ok to direct the U.S. surveillance apparatus specifically at Islamic populations?

QUOTE(bmags @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 02:43 PM) loewen was their former 1st round pick from canada correct? Yes. I believe he's also had at least some limited health problems in the past, which is probably why he's still in their mid-level minor leagues.

82 on Sunday here.

Well, let's just say I'm less impressed by Byrd and Johnson than Millwood and Elarton.

QUOTE(maggsmaggs @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 10:48 AM) I have a 10 foot aluminum pole. Who wants to beat me in the feats of strength. "Now that you are here, what we have is great strength of feet."

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 11:29 AM) ...Brad...Renfro...??? Not familiar... He played the kid in the film version of John Grisham's "The Client". That picture of him was on the front page of my LAT this morning.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:37 PM) SS David Eckstein, 2B Junior Spivey, 1B Albert Pujols, CF Jim Edmonds, 3B Scott Rolen, RF Encarnacion, LF Larry Bigbie/So Taguchi and C Yadier Molina. That's still either the best or the 2nd best lineup in the NL depending on Rolen and Edmonds's health (the Mets being the other obvious competitor)

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:21 PM) Odd idea, but I love it. Sadly I really do. Reed would be a great fit for the Sox, but I think they are high on Anderson. I just keep coming back to this...in 2006-2007, we have Anderson, Dye, Podsednik, Owens, Borchard, and Sweeney all under our control. Dye is the most expensive of them, and he's seriously undervalued based on his performance last year. All of them are either ML ready or are nearly so (Sweeney being the only one who may need 2 years). That's 6 outfielders. We probably have room for 4 at any time, with 1 as a backup. Borchard may be lost if he doesn't make the team, but that still leaves us 5 guys. I just really dislike the idea of adding another outfielder when that's a position that we already have too many people at. We still have people who we need to move out of the way to allow the youth we do have to come in.

QUOTE(hi8is @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:19 PM) you can do it for lidge too now "lidge" it works. "I don't think that taste is there."

QUOTE(hi8is @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:21 PM) i wonder who they pay to FIND positive ratings. Well, I'd actually say that Rasmussen is a pretty good polling outfit, they've been very reliable over the last few elections, it's kind of hard to disagree with them if they say that's the number. Their trend line also looks fairly reliable since the start of this month.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:14 PM) You're the one that claimed the Bears were championship caliber. So is Seattle, and they'd have to play in Seattle. Well, let's ask this about Seattle....who has given them problems the most this year? The answer? Teams who are solid up front on Defense. I.e. the Giants, the Redskins. Teams that can get pressure using just their front guys and slow down the run without having to bring up extra people into the box. The Bears can do that. The Bears CAN be a threat to Seattle. Doesn't mean they will be, but Seattle should certainly not look at that defense and feel supremely confident that they'll be able to overcome it if their defense doesn't give them some help.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:05 PM) Normally a sentence has a subject AND a verb, but I will presume that you are suggesting that Pujols is the key to which I will a agree. Dude, did you see that bomb against Lidge? Pujols is now officially both a noun and a verb. All at once. You can't be just a noun and hit a ball like that.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 01:07 PM) Agreed. Hence, his not yet living up to expectations ... yet. Problem is, as a catcher, he may never...when you're a catcher and you start having knee, leg and groin problems early in your career...it's really damn hard for those things to heal all the way and never bother you, since you're taking such a beating behind the plate.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 12:50 PM) Bedard has been injured through out his career. While he puts up good numbers when he's been healthy [never throwing more than 150 innings], I'd want someone younger with more upside than him for Jon. unless there are other players we don't know about--which doesn't make sense for the O's. Well, the 1 nice thing about such a massive deal is that there's 3 different teams who could potentially toss in a prospect to the White Sox to make it a little more worth while.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 12:59 PM) He logged some DL time and was slowed by injuries. 489 is his 2005 total, but not at 100%. 489 AB's plus 61 walks, hence 550 plate appearances. For comparison, AJ Pierzynski had 483 plate appearances in 2005. Mauer did have some injury problems, but his biggest issue I still think for most of the year was recovering from his knee problems the year before.

They say time is the fire in which we burn....

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 12:25 PM) The Cards are quietly having a solid offseason. I see another division title in their future. Pujols.

QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 12:28 PM) I am still waiting to see what Mauer can do in a full season. Not that he is not good, but I would still venture to say that people are expecting bigger things than we have seen so far. His 550 plate appearances last year didn't constitute a full season?

So, 1 question...what exactly is the nature of the relationship between the Congressional Black Caucus and the " Congressional Black Caucus Foundation", the charity in question there? The only thing the article says is that "The Foundation is an offshoot of the Congressional Black Caucus and was founded in 1976." Does the CBC have any actual say over the CBCF? Are CBC members on the board of the CBCF or something? That's never spelled out in the article. I did a brief bit of looking at the CBCF homepage, and while there are several members of the CBC on their board of directors...none of the menbers quoted in that article actually sit on the board of the CBCF. I'm just unsure of how exactly the link works here.

QUOTE(Cknolls @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 11:47 AM) What's the problem? If there was a heightened level of radiation at one of these sites, it would be nice to know. I'm sure if you lived in an area showing elevated radiation levels you would want the gov't to investigate.The problem is that it also appears to be in defiance of established law. Once again, the issue would be that the Administration would have decided that they had the right to not follow the law, instead of attempting to actually have a debate or discussion about changing it...if everything is as seemed here. That would be the issue...instead of debating whether or not the law should be changed, it is just ignored.

US News:

QUOTE(WinninUgly @ Dec 23, 2005 -> 11:10 AM) I wonder is KW is trying to work any multi team deals using this as leverage. Give up Garland and get some top prospects from more than one team. That may very well be the best way to do it...unless the Dodgers are willing to part with one of their guys, Garland is a nice chip for a team to toss into a big deal. KW also has a history of doing it - i.e. the Nomar, Magglio, ARod mess.