G&T

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Dec 24, 2007 -> 02:52 PM) Thanks for the encouragement and advice, guys. This isn't exactly a topic I'd run by my friends, :lol I gave her the gift earlier today with a card. She talked to me about half an hour ago and sounded very appreciative. I was nervous as hell leading up to this moment, because -- function wise -- all she can really do with a damn ornament is hang it up on a tree or perhaps a wall. This is exactly why shopping for women is so difficult -- they attach emotional status to presents. Atleast more often than men. A simple IPOD (another option of mine) probably would have been fine, but it's not original; or personal. Almost a lazy Christmas present for a girlfriend. Well good, I hope it worked out well for you.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 03:57 PM) I just don't see the Tigers letting him walk to a Division rival. At that point they would probably overpay to keep him. Well the rivalry thing is only one part of it in my mind. The fact that they gave up most of their farm system for him means they would be stupid not to beat any offer out there. The Tigers can't give up what they did for 2 years of a player. It makes no sense.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Dec 23, 2007 -> 01:13 AM) I honestly had no idea what a brooch was prior to reading your post and googling it. She hasn't mentioned anything as specific as brooches, unfortunately. It's sort of difficult to assign an item to represent her Irish heritage, and be appropriate as a gift for Christmas, without being too cheesy or expensive. I thought about buying a necklace but I never see her wearing one. And I made it an issue to stay away from personal items this early in our relationship. What did your girlfriend give you for the first Christmas? I spend time worrying about what she (or others) may find acceptable, but then again, if she's looking for me it has to be equally as difficult. And I didn't know what a brooch was until she told me. I remember being just as worried about it as you though. I actually have no idea what she got me. It was 3 years ago and it might have been a track jacket, but that might have been for my birthday (kinda close in proximity). She better not read this. At any rate, it wasn't anything that blew away what I got her price wise. And if she does blow away what you got her, then make a joke of it and take her out to a nice dinner. Oh, the best advice I can give is to write a nice card. That can make up for anything and it costs nothing.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Dec 23, 2007 -> 12:20 AM) Even though it doesn't concern me directly, I'd thought I pose a Christmas gift question here for fellow Soxtalkians. I've been officially dating this girl for about a week now, and prior to that have only known her since late October. The dilemma I have grappled with leading up to now is, what exactly should I give her? It's way too soon in our relationship to be spending a lot of money, or giving her personal items (such as perfume or clothing) yet I'm not going to give her nothing. We haven't discussed this topic; for obvious reasons on my end -- it doesn't exactly sound good if I were to ask, "what do you want for christmas?" So, today I'm walking through a store and came upon a gift -- a Christmas ornament/decal which mentions her Irish heritage. It cost roughly $25. She is rather proud of her Irish background, so I'd thought it'd be a thoughful selection. If you were a girl, or are a girl (I'm not forgetting our female members), what would this say about your boyfriend? He's cheap? Considerate? I'm more afraid of her opening it up in front of friends or family and just feeling underwhelmed. Or made fun of. Hell, it may be entirely possible she gives me nothing. It wouldn't bother me, to be honest. Prior to yesterday I was more concerned with the possibility she gives me something and I have nothing in return. I know I rather have something for her -- even if its an ornament -- then nothing. It's the though that counts, right? lol. Back when I was looking for the first Christmas present to give my gf I went with a brooch that was about $50, but I knew she would like it. She still wears it now. In reality, she liked it more because she told me she liked brooches and I remembered that, rather than the dollar amount (she told me that). Same deal here. The price shouldn't matter, but the fact that you knew something about her interests should be enough. If not, then punch her in the head...emotionally.

Right now I'm having a Schneider Aventinus. It is awesome.

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Dec 22, 2007 -> 11:06 AM) I was thinking maybe they informed him that moving him was a possibility or something along those lines. They might have, but he could have read that information in any newspaper. Remember, he had to know that he was included in any deal for Cabrera, so he realizes that he is a trading chip.

BTW, what are the chances that Quentin can lead off? I know he isn't a prototypical leadoff hitter, but if he can get on base and at least go from first to third and maybe steal a few bases that might be what they need. Is that too much pressure to put on him or could it work?

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Dec 22, 2007 -> 11:01 AM) What is with this comment by Fields: Still with the Sox? Does he know something, or is he just being realistic due to the Crede situation? I think he's being realistic. This isn't PK we're talking about. Fields isn't privy to the moves...at least not yet.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Dec 22, 2007 -> 01:50 AM) That's sort of the point if they weren't superstars in Japan then there's no reason to believe they'd suddenly find super stardom over here. Ichiro and Hideki were above average to great players over there and they've been above average to great over here as well. Iguchi was a pretty good player over there, was expected to be about an average offensive player over here and lived up to those expectations. Taguchi and Shinjo were ok starting players over there, expected to be nothing more than role players over here and what do know they lived up to those expectations. If you're going to go by how past Japanese position players have faired in the US when projecting Fukudome's transition to the American game then there's a damn good chance he's going to be a pretty good player over here similarly to how he was over there. Hell I think Shingo lived up to expectations just fine, he was never expected to be a star closer over here but for 1 season he was pretty damn close. He was older and approaching the end of his career, signed a short term, cheap deal with a US team and held his own for a whole season. Look no further than the Dodgers' closer, Saito for an example of a Japanese player who has long exceeded expectations and has become one of the best closers in American Baseball. Just going off the top of my head I can't think of many Japanese players (pitchers or otherwise) that have been busts in the United States. The Japan/US transition has actually worked out rather well. Well, here's a list from Wikipedia of Japanese Players in the major leagues. There's some bad ones in there. But I don't know what expectations they were signed under.

Thanks for the explanation.

QUOTE(BureauEmployee171 @ Dec 22, 2007 -> 01:18 AM) Please everyone, lets not mistake a player who's MLB FOP Score (Future Overall Projection) matches Omar Infante with a player like Kosuke Fukudome. Fukudome may not hit like crazy in his first season (a transitional season), but to expect less than .300-.390-450 with extremely, extremely solid defense in RF from Fukudome for years 2-4 of the contract would be a mistake. Fukudome is a legitimate ballplayer. Ramirez does have some potential, he does. But he is not a 'young' 22 years old. His body is maxed out and his OFP matches Omar Infante. Can Ramirez be an integral part & nice utility player on a good AL team? Definitely. Is he Alfonso Soriano? Simply put: Not at all. Nice utility players are a good thing to have though. Don't put 'all of your eggs in one basket though' and expect perennial All-Star stuff. I simply work in Pro-Scouting in the new player development department and am not in the front office to hear decisions, etc. But, as a "fan" & helping to give some fans an "intelligent direction" - be happy that you have a nice utility-type - not a future All-Star. I'm not trying to 'sour' this, but corral expectations - I know you're thirsty for a nice move - but make sure to put all transactions into perspective. A player who can help spell at 2B/RF/CF is a nice thing to have. But to think that Ramirez is a player near the talent of Fukudome is a reckless baseball perspective. So how does this analysis square with the scouting report posted by scenario earlier in the thread? I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just wondering about where such, seemingly, drastic points of view are coming from.

QUOTE(bschmaranz @ Dec 21, 2007 -> 06:13 PM) How old is he? 26. If I recall.

I really don't know anything about the guy, but it's a move that fits with KW's MO.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 06:15 PM) Also, why do the Sox have to make this so f***ing difficult? Mike Cameron is there ripe for the picking -- he's a better player than Crisp, he's better than anybody else on the market and you could make the argument that he'll be better than at least one of Rowand/Jones/Hunter next year. And the Sox are basically competing with one team (Texas) for him. Honestly -- is this really that difficult? He's also going to miss, what, 25 games for amphetamines?

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 06:20 PM) Yeah, he wants to be the first pitcher in team history to do the towel drill. Cooper had a couple pitchers on it last year. Actually, it would appear that he wants to be the first player to begin playing for a team that no longer exists.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 06:10 PM) If by suck you mean I suck ice cream, redi whip, hersheys syrup, alcohol, and hookers then you would be correct. Actually when I read you post too quickly I thought you wrote what I wrote. Oh well though, you can suck those things.

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 06:08 PM) dude, you can't forget the hookers. You suck.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 06:06 PM) And hookers. In fact, forget the ice cream.

Old Picture: 2007:

QUOTE(southsideirish @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 02:58 PM) You are an idiot if you go after Roberts right now. He is a steroid freak and you don't know what else he was taking, even last year. I was all for Roberts, but not any longer. You can't trade for a guy like that. It would be like saying that you accept steroids or other performance enhancers and that there is nothing wrong with it. The fans won't care if he keeps putting up the numbers. The problem is that he might not be able to get a ball out of the infield now. There's too big a risk that he's been using for the last few years rather than that "one time" he talks about.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 02:37 PM) After I tried it a second time, I liked it. Once I decided it wasn't beer. That's that the only Leinys I can drink, but no, it is not true to any style of beer.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 11:06 AM) That makes too much sense to happen. I know. But even if it isn't San Diego I still doubt he would stay in Chicago.

QUOTE(SoxFan562004 @ Dec 20, 2007 -> 08:44 AM) I think the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox will bid each other up to keep him away from other teams, and he'll get a ton of cash to sit out at least until May Maybe, but if Prior is smart he won't go to a team that's in the national spot light like that. That will only add to the pressure. Of course, he probably wouldn't want to stay in Chicago because he might still be a lightening rod. He'll probably end up in a big park like San Diego where he might get some starts in important games down the stretch but won't have the scrutiny of other cities.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 19, 2007 -> 05:05 PM) uh oh. I wonder if they'll prosecute. Stupidly written law though. By that law, when they were 18 and 15, it was OK... but now at 19 and 16, its not. CNN Article This is about the legal side. The guy is 18 according to this article.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Dec 19, 2007 -> 05:24 PM) I think both Hawk and DJ are sounding worse because the team is so crappy. It's hard to be excited to talk about a bad team for 3 hours straight. We were spoiled by our magical season in 2005. It probably wouldn't have mattered who was in the booth that year and we would have liked them. Contrast that to today and we as fans are more annoyed as we watch this team and then become more critical of the play by play. Yeah, it's going to be a really hard season to deal with. Lots of long, awkward silences.