Balance

My $0.02.... I don't know what to think. I was very excited about Brandon getting his shot in the Sox' rotation this year; he seemed to have a lot of promise. But we haven't seen him for a lot of starts in a row. I honestly don't know exactly what we're giving up and exactly what we're getting. I like the idea of being stocked with quality young pitching for the long term. And it seems to me that the main reason for the Sox not making the playoffs in '06 was the lack of quality pitching. It could be that KW isn't comfortable standing pat with the same rotation. I still want to trust KW, and I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I just wish I could see a definite reason for this particular trade. I'm not baseball-savvy enough to see it, I guess.

Sorry- I can't be of much help.

I'll be done here in about 45 minutes. I'll be back for about a half-day on Tuesday.

And in other news, the sun rose again this morning....

That was clearly from a satirical article on ESPN Page 2.

These guys have all this money and they can't afford a cab? Or a limo?

I use Netflix, and I generally like it. I only get one movie at a time (you can subscribe for having as many as three at a time, you just pay more per month). It's convenient and easy. The only complaint I have is the speed of delivery. Sometimes, the movie gets to me in a day. Other times, the movie takes a week to get there. This is probably more the fault of the post office as opposed to "throttling," but it's a small flaw inherent in the system. I think we average a movie a week with our one-at-a-time package.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Dec 21, 2006 -> 11:45 AM) Ah, so that's PA's "release date" then, eh? It's like Jimmy Kimmel's joke about Kevin Federline. Kimmel quipped that Federline's new album "was the first release from Kevin Federline that did not result in a pregnancy."

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Dec 20, 2006 -> 11:23 PM) If this doesn't win thread of the year, changes need to be made around this site.

I think the best tiebreaker involves the performance of each team that week, not a rematch. The league I'm in has the following tiebreaker which has worked very well: Tiebrea k er. If two teams finish a week with the same total of fantasy points, the following tiebreaker rules shall be used to break the tie, in order: 1) total points from touchdowns, safeties, extra points, and two-point conversions, plus three (3) points per field goal regardless of distance 2) total score from the team’s highest-scoring QB, RB, WR, plus score from the team’s TE and DEF, plus twice the points from the team’s K (exception - extra points are not doubled) 3) total score from yardage points alone

Here's one more vote for football. I think it's clear that while the Sox-Cubs rivalry is a wonderful part of Chicago's identity, we're all Bears fans.

I renewed my partial season tickets in Lower Reserved. If I could get Club Level (even if it's full season), I'd make the jump in a heartbeat. I have the weekends package as it now stands.

I'm going to join the worshippers at the Temple of Pitching. We need more quality pitching, not less.

I just wanted to say that, even with the increase you're talking about, you guys have been doing a very good job keeping the spammers out. I haven't run across too many of them here. Keep up the good work!

I thought it might be related to those flame tattoos....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/c...ll=chi-news-hed Uh-oh.

This is a welcome development. Additionally, Barack Obama is sponsoring a bill that would list the details of various spending bills on a website so that voters can instantly see who's trying to "emporken" a given bill. That should be supported as well. And I think I just coined a new word. I demand royalties!

QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 03:21 PM) Any poker games are great. I have Cingular's Texas Hold 'Em. And if you can find Snake, that's an old school phone game that is quite addictive. How much does the Texas Hold 'Em cost? And do you have to use minutes/data to play? Thanks!

QUOTE(jasonxctf @ Dec 14, 2006 -> 03:27 PM) i think people are frustrated by the lack of upgrades that have been made so far this year. going into the off season we needed 1) A Backup Catcher 2) Middle Relief 3) A new Centerfielder 4) A new leadoff person 5) A new shortstop and so far we've upgraded at 0 of these positions. Pitchers and catchers report in 3 months and the free agent market is dwindling. I think a lot of Sox fans feel that the "shot clock" is running out and we are going to be stuck with... 1) Chris Stewart or Sandy Alomar 2) No middle relief upgrades 3) Brian Anderson in CF 4) Scott Podsednik leading off 5) Juan Uribe starting at SS and what did we do to improve our team????? Good post, I think you hit the nail on the head. 1. I don't know much about Stewart, but I know I don't want Alomar. I think KW will make a move before Spring Training for backup backstop. 2. Our bullpen is solid for innings 7, 8, & 9 (MacDougal, Thornton, Jenks). I guess the real issue is whether our starters will consistently make it through 5 or 6 innings themselves. I tend to think they will, more ofteh than not. I don't think a lack of middle relief justifies spending what this current market would require, however. 3. Personally, I'm comfortable with Brian in CF. I love his defense, and I'm hoping that he's going to improve at the plate. Unless we can acquire a Vernon Wells, I don't know who else is out there worth breaking the bank over. 4. Can Pods go anywhere but up after last year? He'll have had a lot more time to let the ol' groin heal. I'm being optimistic, perhaps foolishly, but optimistic. 5. Here's where I'm the most worried. If we can get 2005/playoff Juan back, then we're fine. If not, I'd like to see a change, too. But I don't know what the best move would be. Who can we get without having to break the bank? Or, if we do break the bank, it had better be someone worth the money.

ESPN Article Ozzie called Jay Mariotti a derogatory slang term for homosexual, and the media covered it like it was the end of the world. Joey Porter calls Kellen Winslow, Jr. one, and we barely hear about it. Is Porter not controversial enough, or was there some piling-on Ozzie taking place?

Does anyone have any recommendations for some good, simple-yet-fun games for my cellphone or PDA? I'd like to get some recommendations before wasting money on downloads that aren't any good. I'm with Cingular Wireless and have a Razr. I also have a Palm TX. Any good games for those devices? Thanks!

QUOTE(Soxfest @ Dec 13, 2006 -> 05:32 PM) I also got a email! I, too, have received such an e-mail. No pins yet, though.

Why all the dismay about the Sox not spending wildly in this market? Spending for the sake of spending does not a championship team make. Is there a player currently out there in the FA market (or, for the sake of this discussion, who was signed in this FA period) who would be worth signing for the money we'd have to spend? I'm seeing a lot of complaining about the alleged reduction in payroll, but not many concrete suggestions about who the White Sox should pursue - and pay market price - in this FA market.

Here's one of the menu items-

We should sign him to a minor league contract just so we don't have to bat against him!