Balta1701

ABC News released statement saying they received a 23 page fax last night from a person using the same name as the shooter (cannot confirm identity at present) and they have turned the document over to authorities.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 01:37 PM) I agree. We'd be sitting pretty right now if Davidson didn't pee his pants. My gut tells me Saladino is a way better shortstop moving forward than Tim Anderson. Anderson & Micah should be traded for a really solid Catcher or 3B. Call me optimistic (really? me?) but I really like the idea of Anderson at SS especially given that he's cut down the errors this year. He 100% still has work to do - defense, too many strikeouts, he definitely needs a full season at AAA, maybe even more if he doesn't tear up AAA next year, but Anderson at SS could be one of the strongest SS in baseball in a couple years if his development continues as it has been this season. We should be under no illusions that he will do anything but struggle in 2017 as a big league starter so that anything we get beyond that is gravy, but I really like him there - I'm dreaming of peak Jose Reyes manning SS for us during a much worse offensive period. So, how do we get to that point? If we're doing the silly "We must compete right now!!!!" thing we did this season then you probably bite the bullet and bring Alexei back. If you're instead actually trying to build a franchise, I think putting Saladino at SS for 2016 gives you more options. Maybe he's a failure with the bat and you don't mind replacing him with Timmy. Maybe he hits in-between and you decide he's becoming a utility guy when Anderson comes up in September 2016. Maybe you get lucky and you get a really great season out of Tyler and you have the problem of deciding which high value piece to trade. I like to hope for the latter, but the only way we find out if he can be a solid SS is to play him at SS.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 01:11 PM) What's so bad about having 4-5 lefty starters in a rotation? There's a case to be made that one of the reasons why lefties are effective in MLB is that they're somewhat rare. You can get away with good but not great stuff from the left hand side in a way that you can't from the right hand side because hitters are so much more used to seeing right handers and lineups are constructed expecting that 60-70% of the pitchers they'll face will be righties. Adam LaRoche can get a job because the last 2 seasons he destroyed right handed pitching while struggling against lefties because there are more righties than lefties. If you instead go into a 3-4 game series against a team with a lefty dominant rotation, suddenly the hitters get adapted to seeing the ball come from the left hand side and the novelty wears off, maybe suddenly they hit them better as the series goes along (could be especially important in playoffs?) That said, maybe that would matter for John Danks...but otherwise, you go up against Rodon, Q, and Sale, and you tell me that there's some way to get used to that.

Glad someone caught this. Here's Dave Grohl playing the guitar using his cast.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 12:48 PM) That guy got charged and is probably going to do a lot of time for what he did. If my statement is "things might not turn out as well if you're a member of a non-racial majority group and you're involved in a traffic stop regardless of what your rights are" and your reply is "bad things only happen to them because they grabbed for officers' guns", you probably should make sure it's not in a thread that started with a case where a guy was shot while not grabbing for an officer's gun during a traffic stop, regardless of who is going to prison for it.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 12:44 PM) Yeah, but they didn't try to take a cop's gun and then charge straight at him either. Dude, take a look at the first post in the thread.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 12:43 PM) Well then move Saladino to SS and get somebody at 3B to hit. Either way, the lineup is just to weak having Saladino at 3B and Sanchez at 2B. Gotta get a real bat at one of those two spots. I'm totally in favor of the first part and I think it's the right move. I don't see any obvious bat candidate in this organization who can fill that 3b role in the next few seasons though.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 12:35 PM) I know several white Christian males who have been stopped by cops and exercised their rights and the cops got pretty hostile with them. But they're alive?

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 12:38 PM) I'd rather see the Sox find someone else to play 2B who can hit a little and move Sanchez to SS where his bat is closer to average. Do you think Sanchez's glove plays as an above average glove at SS? Personally I don't think he has nearly the SS makeup that Tyler has but I am open to hearing why I'm wrong.

QUOTE (Knackattack @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 12:27 PM) Melky had a horrible start but has an .814 OPS since the ASB, and his pre ASB line (.261/.304/.339) looks close to Avi's season line. Melky Cabrera's August numbers look quite similar to his early season numbers, a .619 OPS compared to his .620 OPS in April, for example. By saying "he has an .814 OPS since the AS Break" you're getting the fact that he had 1 great stretch and then avoiding including his early season stretch. You can play the same game with Avisail Garcia over 8 week periods early in the season. Through June 10 Avi was hitting .297 with an .805 OPS and that's in 200+ PAs as well. It's the same game - you selectively pick time slices that minimize the slump, while ignoring the fact that both have spent ~60% of the season as terrifically bad hitters and 40% as solid hitters. Avi had a good start, Melky had a bad start, they've both been overall very weak hitters throughout the season and totaling what they've done over the full season, Avi comes out a tiny sliver on top with the bat while Melky is an equally tiny sliver on top defensively and baserunning.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 11:28 AM) Thanks for posting Balta. FF covered David Bowie very well. Looking forward to seeing the pics when you post them. Hope you had a great time although it's probably safe to say you did. God the Apple photos app is so much worse than iPhoto. That was f***ing annoying. Anywho. Couple of them got retweeted last night by the local radio station host while I was waiting in traffic to get out. They were nice enough to play a full hour of Foo Fighters while we were leaving.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 01:00 AM) I enjoy watching those videos on youtube where people make cops mad at DUI stops and border stops. They won't answer any of the cops questions and sometimes the cops get pretty mad. My question to attorneys ... At a DUI stop, some of these youtubers act like they don't have to show their drivers license or registration. Isn't it a LAW that when stopped at a checkpoint we HAVE to cooperate with the law or we automatically lose driving "privileges?" Can we do what these people are doing when stopped? Basically say "I don't answer questions" and "what cause do you have to stop me?" One guy got arrested and there was no youtube followup. Normally on these videos the cops tire of the person reciting "I don't answer questions" and the cops finally wave them through and say, "OK have a nice day." There are several helpful guides out there. If you are stopped by police, you have to present your driver's license and your registration at the request of the police officer and they have the right to check your license plate. Anything beyond that is a search of your property that requires consent. You have the right to refuse such a search or to demand that it be conducted at a police station with your lawyer present. Here's a guide from the ACLU. of course, part of the problem is that if you know those rights and follow the rules but happen to, let's say, not be a member of a majority population in this country, the police may respond ina much more hostile manner.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 12:56 AM) I keep reading that Biden running is a real possibility. He probably won't hurt Hillary's momentum enough to make it matter. But what do those of you who support Hilly unconditionally think of this development? My guess is you don't like it because the Hilly supporters I've met in Kansas don't want her "challenged" in any way. They love Bill. They love Hillary. Hell, they'd seriously support Chelsea after Hillary's eight years. They want Hillary in and that's that. Please run, Mr. Biden! Don't let Hillary just walk into this without perverbial sweat. A real simple question with Joe Biden is "what role would he actually fill in this campaign?" Is he going to ideologically tap into a group that isn't well served by the current major candidates? No. We've actually got a good spectrum from "Confederate Flags aren't that bad" to "guy who calls himself a socialist" and a good set in-between already represented. Is he a better campaigner than any of the major candidates? No. Extremely gaffe prone, without the backing of outright racists like Trump has who overlook that stuff. Could he come out with a policy proposal set that is significantly better than the current candidates? Maybe, but he's several years behind the curve in developing such policy proposals. Is he going to outdo Hillary in fundraising or something else like that? Maybe could suck up some money, but certainly not going to outdo her when again she's got a 12 month+ head start. What's the point of a Biden run? It's basically to pacify people who for some reason can't personally stand Hillary Clinton, like you. I'm ok with him meeting with some people about things, it's always nice to have a "backup plan" in case the "here's the floor plan to the structure in Benghazi and the key is under a fake rock to the left" email Republicans have been dreaming existed for 4 years actually did exist, but other than that, he'd hurt himself by getting in unnecessarily and there's no reason to think he'd be an improvement except for people like you who are actively considering voting for Donald Trump. Not exactly a strong endorsement.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 06:51 PM) Balta. Please take some pics and post em. Wish I was catching them on the 29th at Wrigley. I'll have to be sure and catch them next time around. Working on pictures but youtube was easier. Here's the one I knew was coming so this got recorded.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Aug 26, 2015 -> 09:38 AM) Melky is a way better hitter than Avi. You can win with Melky in your line up. OPS on the season: Melky .697, Avi .704. OPS+ Melky 97, Avi 99. wRC+, Melky 89, Avi 93. Both are below average hitters on the whole season. Melky's been a small step below with the bat and an equally small step upwards on defense and baserunning.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Aug 25, 2015 -> 12:50 PM) In the long run this team will get more from finding out what they have in a few guys and having them succeed versus moving up a few slots in the draft. If we're talking about the difference between spots 11 and 13 you're right. If you're talking about the difference between slot 11 and slot 10, you're 100% wrong. That's the difference between being able to sign a top level free agent and not. Or the difference between a high first round pick and a 2nd round pick. That's the difference between having a Chris Sale/Carson Fulmer and giving him up.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Aug 25, 2015 -> 11:45 AM) Doesn't it seem like the NFL is #1 in "anonymous" sources in cases like this? They get the most press coverage and they generate the most money for media.

QUOTE (LDF @ Aug 25, 2015 -> 11:01 AM) i never knew that..... see i can learn new things at my old crusty age. There was a "ritual" that leaked during the 2008 season where the team supposedly offered up their bats to a blow-up sex doll to get them out of a slump and that wound up being reported by the press.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 25, 2015 -> 12:01 AM) He should get more credit for being one of the most upstanding individuals in the history of the world. He's never guest hosted for Rush Limbaugh. He's chopped liver.

Surprised that stayed in the park too.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 09:51 PM) Honestly, cause I figured my fellow Sox fans would have good conversations about it as most Sox fans despise them. 2003 vintage, drunken me would be totally agreeing with you. Post October 2005 me...I'll just wallow in the fact that my franchise is so rotten and keep my mouth shut.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 09:47 PM) It's literally just a drywall patch - $100? Hell hand them a couple $20s and call it even. They'll probably be painting most rooms anyway right?

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 10:03 PM) A team is nuts if they give him more than 12 or so a year. I'm still in with "He doesn't get signed until the June 15 deadline for the draft pick compensation expires".

Hey, at least that stayed in the park.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 08:47 PM) Did he do well against Boston in late July? Fine I looked myself. 8 IP, 4 ER, a measly 3 Ks, 1 BB, 1 HR in his late July outing, got the win.