NorthSideSox72

If he brings something good in trade that is fine, but, I think at this point his value is pretty low. I'd suggest its better to keep him, send him to AFL, and then see what he can do in Charlotte in 2008. I think there is a better chance that he does well there next year, then there is that he'll bring much of anything in trade.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Sep 12, 2007 -> 10:02 AM) Victor Zubkov, head of the federal financial monitoring service, is a relative unknown in Russian politics has been nominated for PM. Right up Putin's alley. One thing Putin was trying to do (one of the positives in this case) was get some of the rampant rampant financial crimes in the business sector (tax evasion, corrupt practices, etc.) under control. He made sure that a couple of the energy giants got the hammer. Given the direction Russia needs to go with their business sector, and how important that is for that country, I'd say this is a solid-looking choice so far.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 12, 2007 -> 09:51 AM) Well good. Hopefully both of those things happen, because they need it. All you have to do is take a CTA bus or El to know that. Well, that bill passed, but not with a super-majority to get past Blago's veto. So things are still stuck. The Illinois House doesn't reconvene until this Monday (9/17) I believe, which is the same day that CTA enacts the Doomsday plan, as they call it. So even if they can craft a new bill that Blago will actually sign (or that they can get through with a super-majority), you will undoubtedly still have at least a week of CTA nightmares.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Sep 12, 2007 -> 09:42 AM) If I recall, the way that Metra/PACE has been funded in comparison to CTA over the last several years has been a much higher dollar amount per rider for Metra/PACE rather than CTA, despite the fact that the infrastructure for their needs is considerably newer. The CTA system is an old system, with many of the tunnels and elevated bridges rapidly approaching 100 years old. They need more money to be maintained. And they haven't been getting it. That was part of the bill as well - more money to CTA. But, the CTA would have a smaller percentage of control over the RTA board.

Today's edition is now available at that link. BUT BE AWARE, its a 37 MB file.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 12, 2007 -> 09:39 AM) Well Rich Daley does have a significant say in what the CTA does. The RTA board which runs the CTA, as well as Metra and Pace, has 4 people being appointed directly by the Mayor, and 4 more by Cook County, of the 13 total members. Pretty much that is eight out of the 13 people being in Rich Daley's pocket. With the way this city works, that means that Rich Daley is the one who is pulling the strings here, and no one else. Actually, part of that bill was going to change that RTA board mix. More suburban reps.

while we're discussing Russia... Putin dissolved the current government today, 3 months prior to an upcoming election. Likely will set the stage for the next in line.

Greeeeeeeat. By the way, gotta love Fox News. Not a single sourced quote in the entire article, all unnamed sources, and nothing the slightest bit verifiable. I'd take this with a BIG grain of salt. That said, what doesn't need a grain of salt is that Iran is I am sure still trying to acquire nukes. Question is, if they are on the verge of producing a weapon, and you know where that is happening... do you take military action? One person already answered in here. I've theorized before that Israel will probably do it before anyone else gets the chance anyway, and I still think that's a possbility.

QUOTE(Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 07:31 PM) Agree completely. This isn't Daley's bluff - its the CTA's. And in any case, no one at the state or federal level is going to take on Hizzoner in a pissing contest. There would be no contest. I do agree with you, though, that the CTA is (and has been) a clearly, badly managed agency. So let me add this to my earlier proposal - the CTA only gets their share of the money if all upper management is changed over, and then any periodic funding in the future must be earned via efficiency and production measures. Have a consulting firm dig into their practices, and make sure the new management team is actually doing something positive. But even with better management, CTA and the other transit agencies need more money. SS2K5 is right, we need a real push for viable, safe and reliable mass transit if we want to get people out of their cars.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 08:09 PM) The highways are federally funded, they will not be affected. Parking is actually a source of income for the city; ranging from meters, to paid parking to tickets issued. So parking isn't costing money. Also, a claim that 70% of people who use CTA are from the suburbs doesn't sound accurate to me. I live in Chicago and use CTA, I'd say the vast majority of people on the trains and buses live in Chicago. A lot of the supposed "collar counties", which could potentially be taxed for Chicago, have a majority of residents who don't use CTA at all... so why should they pay for Chicago corruption with higher sales tax? Honestly, it would work out great for me to have everyone else pay for this mess, because I sure don't want to... but don't think it is reasonable to expect all other counties to pay for Cook's mess. Also, A lot of people travel from Chicago to the burbs for work, so should we have to start paying for DuPage county stuff if the the mayor of Naperville screws up the cities budget? The idea in the last decade was to try to think in terms of regional transit - CTA, Pace and Metra all being part of the RTA's planning. That was recommended by federal and state agencies, and so you have to think of it as a regional service grid. I haven't a clue what percentage of suburbanites use CTA services, but they sure use most of Pace and Metra's services. Something else noted in these articles - even Metra, which seems to be a pretty well-run agency, will start to have major budget problems in 2008 without some help.

QUOTE(hitlesswonder @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 09:35 PM) Are there any decent position prospects at either GF or Bristol? Gallagher obviously had a good year, but he's 22. That's not to write him off, but it's not like a he dominated a league that was older than him... Sergio Miranda, SS, started at Great Falls but was promoted to Kannapolis (low A) after tearing up Pioneer League pitching (hit like .464 or something). He is 20, turns 21 very soon.

Sweeney's career at this point, if he stays with the Sox, hinges on two things: 1. What kind of year he has at Charlotte in 2008 2. What happens with the LF situation - Fields/Crede/Owens, etc. Those will dictate where he will be with the Sox in 2008 and 2009. IF he isn't traded before then.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 03:53 PM) Just get the man a competent bench coach, please. I can accept Ozzie being around for the next 5 years as long as he has an experienced baseball guy at his side helping him with his in-game managing. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ And I also still believe that Walker should be shown the door.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 03:46 PM) Well I know Iowa's biggest grossing non-conference game this year was the NIU game so I'm thinking they may think they can find another game like that. Personally I want to play ISU because its an in-state rivalry. NIU? They were on the road for that game. And they've only played 2 games thus far - ISU game is this Saturday. Just curious, what measure was used for "grossing"?

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 03:38 PM) Why does Iowa want out? I assume they want to schedule another game that would allow them to make more money. That seems unlikely - the intrastate games like that, the rivalry, they get sellout crowds, big TV money, and the host town gets a ton of business. Any other non-conference game they add is unlikely to draw as well. I honestly can't figure out their motivation, unless they think ISU won't be competitive. It was only a few years ago, though, that ISU had beaten Iowa a number of times in a row. So I really just don't get it.

My first game thread this year. Woo and Hoo. I do hope for a solid Danks outing.

Oh sorry, should have added... Blago has proposed removing some corporate tax "loopholes" to cover this funding. Sounds great, right? Well, not exactly. Some of those "loopholes" are tax reductions targetted specifically at keeping businesses in Chicago and in Illinois. For example, an exemption on sales tax on leased software (large scale stuff used by businesses) for companies in Illinois, selling to companies in Illinois. You remove those loopholes, you increase costs for businesses all over the state, and some of them might flee for other states with more favorable tax regimens. I do see what Blago is getting at there, but I think those indirect approaches aren't ideal, because you again just shift the cost elsewhere. Better to increase revenue within the world of transit, than outside of it, to fund it.

So as all of you Chicago folks have been seeing and reading, the State of Illinois failed to pass a bill to enhance funding for CTA, Metra and Pace (they actually passed the bill, but not by the super-majority needed to override Blago's veto). The last attempt was to be funded via a quarter-percent sales tax increase in the collar counties and Chicago, in addition to an increase in the real estate transfer tax. Blago says he would veto any plan that included any sort of tax increase. This all means that the CTA goes into their "Doomsday Plan" as of this coming Monday - eliminating many bus routes, cutting back schedules, stopping capital improvements to support operations, and raising fares. Then today, this comes out. The NTSB, while investigating the cause of the July, 2006 CTA derailment and fire, found that the CTA in general is rampant with problems of all sorts, many of which directly result in poor safety procedures and conditions. Part of the fault they say is with the CTA, part also with a failure to recognize the investment needed to maintain such a transit network. So, here is the dilemma. In order to properly and safely maintain Chicago's massive transit system, and in order to be able to actually expand it with growth in the area, a large investment is needed. Or, they can not invest in it, and services are cut dramatically, growth and updates of the systems stop, and the system begins to crumble. But, we already live in a metro area with fairly high taxes (not the highest, but high), so its tough to imagine even more taxes and fees being added on. What to do? Here is one aspect that I'd suggest people forget - by not investing in mass transit, its not like you actually save any money overall. Because what happens is, you put far more cars on the road, you bring in less new revenue because communities can't grow, and you increase maintenance costs of roads, bridges, etc. Not to mention the gajillion dollars you lose in productivity when everyone sits in traffic for an extra 20 minutes. And increases in pollution (health care costs?), and other side effects. So I think to simply say "we can't afford it" is missing the big picture. My suggestion - get the revenue from an increase in both the gasoline tax and the sales tax on vehicles, throughout the metro area, combined with small fare increases for all transit. This, essentially, becomes a use tax. You increase the direct fees, but also increase the cost for those using other transportation which ultimately costs the state even more money. Further, this encourages higher use levels of mass transit, which will benefit all of us. What would you do?

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 12:08 PM) Masset had the same question. The party line was direct from Williams' mouth, he said he promoted only on merit and wasn't going to promote anyone, as in no one at all. Guillen then asked for a 3rd catcher which is why Lucy is here, and on merit Lucy should candidly not be here. Guillen then said he wanted two pitchers he hadn't seen who could give him innings in the case of a possible 15 inning game as you mentioned. Regier recommended Heath Phillips and Lance Broadway as the two most deserving, of those Guillen hadn't seen. Agree or otherwise, those are the reasons. Personally I think it goes one step deeper on both Masset and Aardsma. Both have some mental issues to work on and it is my opinion the Sox org. wanted to give both a mental break after bad seasons where neither came close to expectations. I think that's the key there in bold - Ozzie, the organization, and other organizations as well, hadn't yet seen Phillips or Broadway. They had already seen Aardsma and Masset. But that still doesn't answer the question of why Bourgeois isn't here, which to me is the most surprising part of the September call-ups.

QUOTE(Yossarian @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 01:41 PM) The Sox are 95-126 since 7-6-06. That's a stunning .430 winning percentage, or about 69.6 wins over the course of a season. They are 37-63 since May 27, which is a .370 winning percentage, and translates to slightly less than 60 wins in a season. That means a 100+ loss season. How about 9-26 in their last 35 games. Anyone see a trend here? This is a bad team getting worse. Posters such as yours truly may even be a tad optimistic, while being called to task for not having a sunny enough outlook. Not much question, this team has been going downhill for a while. Major changes are needed, and I'd bet you'll see them this offseason. If not, there will be some rightfully angry fans.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 01:39 PM) You shouldn't make the mistake of assuming that someone didn't or wouldn't do something just because you've seen a few nice things out of them first hand. Instead, you should assume that all cops are bad. Right GP?

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 01:24 PM) The problem is even when these guys put up great numbers, and I really don't know how you could expect bigger numbers collectively than what these guys provided in 2006, it wasn't nearly good enough. The pitching will be key. Somehow KW is going to have to fix the mess he has while peeling off a Garland or Vazquez. Its going to be difficult, because the Sox don't have an organization filled with innings eaters. They don't? I'd say the definitely have an organization filled with innings eaters. Heck, the Sox starters have pitched more innings than all but two other teams in baseball. How does that not indicate to you that they eat innings? The only mess in the pitching department is the half dozen crappy or inconsistent bullpen guys this team rolled out there from May through July (plus a couple guys out there now: Myers and Bukvich).

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 01:19 PM) When did I say that? I will add, consistent with that quote, that old man Thome, veteran(read:"old, worn and torn") catcher AJ Pierzynski, Konerko (the hipster whose power I see going down a tad and whose speed will remain the same...) and Dye (who might be electric, might be bad, might be middle -- won't be MVP-like ever again) is a terrible base to build from. It's just not a solid core of players anymore. It's one-dimensional, injury prone in two cases and not that good, overall. (Is Konerko a top ten first baseman? Sure. Bottom top ten. Dye top ten? Maybe. AJ? Bottom top ten.) And these are our stars? Not a good team to build off of. No youth, energy or versatility. Just the same old s***. Nowhere did I say that those players are bad players, though, but why would that matter? Do you not even remember what you said earlier in this thread? Here is your quote: So I called you on it. Your assessment that these players are bad, and that only the pitching is "maybe" worth building off of, says that Thome/PK/Dye/AJP/Crede are bad. I am saying they are not.

Is that the London Eye on the left?

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Sep 11, 2007 -> 01:15 PM) On a side note, shouldn't the filibuster have a catch all thread for news tidbits? It sort of does. There are the GOP and DEM only threads, which can be used for stories specific to a party. Then there are the candidate threads. I'd say this Hsu stuff could go in the DEM candidate thread. Or its own thread.