NorthSideSox72

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 5, 2007 -> 01:27 PM) What I dislike is whenever a Dem or Rep gets caught like this people believe it somehow sullies the entire party. Anyone who believes the validity of a group as large as the Dem or Rep parties is lost when one member falls, is either living in a fantasy land or so blindly partisan that they can no longer face reality. Craig's actions in that bathroom, and his last ditch efforts to savage any credibility, should not have any broader implications than his personal. Ideally, you are correct. In reality, this will indeed effect the GOP as a whole. The Republican Party's insistence on leveraging the hatred of their more conservative elements, as manifested in this case in anti-gay sentiment, just makes this situation that much worse. It may not be fair to indict the whole party for Craig's actions, I'd agree... but among the voting public, some people will happily do so.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Sep 5, 2007 -> 12:11 PM) Correct, but I was also assuming some sort of improvement over his rookie campaign, especially with his increase numbers with each month that he plays. He has increased his HR rate since he was brought up quite steadily. I would say 30 hr is a lock. 40 hr is realistic. A lock? I don't think any player is a lock for 30 HR, certainly not a rookie. Plus keep in mind that if he is going to work on shortening that stroke a bit next year to cut down on K's, that he may raise his average but lower his power numbers in the process. If he plays all year, I'd agree he has a good chance at 30. 40 is possible but not likely.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 5, 2007 -> 08:49 AM) According to baseball-almanac.com the White Sox payroll in 2004 was $76 million, significantly higher than anyone in the division. Anyone who says Boston and the Yankees have an advantage because of payroll should think the White Sox have the same advantage in their division. Also if the $5 million or $6 million in 2005 is not significant why was there all the fuss about the CLee trade how it allowed the White Sox to sign a few guys that totaled around $5 million or $6 million like Iguchi and AJ? And if its not so significant, why are people wanting Joe Crede to be non-tendered? He would cost $5.5 million tops. Wow, that number is way different than what I found. Your source looks a little more legit though, so its probably right.

Trib tried to find more, but so far, nothing more than Bruce's statement.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 5, 2007 -> 07:58 AM) The only thing I can think of is he is going to say that he pled under duress or something like that. The more this guy talks, the stupider he sounds. He just needs to go away now. pled under duress? I have seen arguments made about statements or confessions under duress, but we are talking here about pleading to a charge in front of a judge, some period of time after the arrest. I have never heard of someone challenging a plea agreement under those circumstances. Has anyone else?

QUOTE(drive like jehu @ Sep 5, 2007 -> 07:55 AM) I agree, the 2007 record has no effect on my opinion of Reinsdorf just as the 2005 record has no effect on my opinion of Reinsdorf. It's his contribution to the transformation of baseball from the common man's past time of yester year into the elitist sport of today. What are you talking about? Reinsdorf more than most owners has been pushing to try to keep salaries under control - its one of his mantras. Heck, the '94 strike was partially due to that. So af far as I can tell, he is one of the owners LEAST at fault for the higher salaries (and therefore higher ticket prices) that have made the game more "elitist". I am sure one could find plenty of faults in JR, but encouraging the game to become more elitist is not among them.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 11:21 PM) you think Gallagher might start next season in Birmingham? The guy just turned 22, he's in his first season of professional baseball, and this organization has been saying it wants to be more patient with younger players. Why would they have him skip not just one (A-) level, but two (A+)?

QUOTE(drive like jehu @ Sep 5, 2007 -> 07:48 AM) Really? That's funny because I didn't see MY post as whining either. Very strange. I hope you don't see yourself as one of those great dick-tators of the internets who has the power to discern what is and isn't whining over any and all other posters... I do think your post did help me see our difference of opinion on the park. I think you believe (at the least) the Mauve Monster + renovations = Comiskey. I disagree. You could gold plate that park but it will never rival the Baseball Palace of the World. Please don't misinterpet my view of the renovations. I think the Mauve Monster is better for it. At least they are trying to make it LOOK like Comiskey. I just believe that Comiskey Park was more then just a color scheme. Have you actually been to the new park in the last couple years? It doesn't seem you have, if you think that all they changed was the paint job. And I am fairly certain that they are not at all trying to make it Comiskey - they are trying to make it a solid ballpark for both younger and family crowds, and they've done an excellent job of it.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 10:56 PM) sleep deprivation. lol btw, he now is hinting he may withdraw his resignation if cleared of the charges he pled guilty to Here is my idea How on earth would he be cleared of the charges he already pled guilty to?

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 09:32 PM) If you use Ozzie's overall record as reason he deserves an extension, you must have been up in arms when Jerry Manuel was shown the door. His teams were pretty good, he won a division. He had a winning record. He never had the highest payroll in the division, Ozzie never has not had the highest payroll in the division. I just don't know why you have to extend him now. He has a contract for next season and an option for 2009. I wonder if its because Marriotti wrote he needed to be fired. It seems the White Sox pay a lot of attention to what's in print and on the airwaves. Maybe Sox fans should put some money together and pay Marriotti to write a column on how the Sox should build a team around Erstad and Pods and Gonzalez. They would be gone in a day. um... no. 2004: Sox payroll $51M, second to Minny's $55M, and CLE and DET were both around $49M, so they were pretty much on par with the Sox as well. The only team the Sox were way ahead of in payroll was KC. Also, in 2005, the Sox were first but DET was only about $5M below them. The gap wasn't significant until 2006, and even this year, DET is within $12M. So let's not make it seem like Ozzie has been constantly given the ALC title giftwrapped.

QUOTE(fathom @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 03:45 PM) Vazquez And maybe Fields.

The perfect guy would be Fisk for bench coach, who Ozzie already likes. Too bad it ain't happening.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 03:26 PM) Ditto...he would benefit greatly from a wise baseball mind that he respects and will listen to. Key, right there - gotta be someone he respects. In fact, I'd bet he'd be willing to help in the process. Generate a list of names that have the right knowledge set, and let him be involved in the interviewing and choosing, from that list.

Any confirmation beyond someone hearing it from Bruuuuuuuce? Not a slight on the thread, I am glad it came up, but I am just curious. I see nothing elsewhere, yet.

QUOTE(drive like jehu @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 03:04 PM) Well, don't let your subjective position get in the way of recognizing a double standard. Which double standard might that be?

Well, I think its good to have Ozzie managing, but now is not the time to do this. Looks really bad. And I agree with whomever said BENCH COACH. He needs someone who can really tutor him on the in-game aspects of offensive management, in particular. Surprisingly, his handling of pitcher has been mostly good. But he has a lot of trouble with the lineup.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 02:01 PM) I understand that ignorance of the law is not a valid defense, but as noted here, no one knew that was a "signal" so you would not know it is illegal to tap youir foot and reach under a stall. Remember, he did not engage in a sex act, nor did he make a verbal offer. His crime was tapping his foot and reaching under the stall. I believe the officer should have made the suspect clearly solicate, just like on COPS with prostitution stings. Just having a prostitute walk up to your car doesn't get you busted. The parallel I would draw is stopping near a hooker would get you busted. Let's be clear here. He tapped his foot multiple times, reached his foot under the stall, touched the officers foot, waved under the stall multiple times, and stared through the crack if the door. There is nothing accidental or provoked in that litany of actions. This wasn't just needing TP, or just having a "wide stance".

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 01:23 PM) Not that errors are directly indicative of poor defense, but Miranda managed to accumulate 20 of them in about half a season of play. That gives me some pause, and puts his defensive abilities in question until we get a solid scouting report. That being said, the steal of the draft for the Sox. He looks like their second best pick from the '07 draft, and they got him in the 13th round. Yeah, I noticed that too (errors), which seems weird given he came in with a strong defensive rep. Like you said, I'd like to see a scouting report that could put it in some perspective. If you do find one, I'd be appreciative if you added it to this thread. Even if it turns out his defense is not as spectacular as scouted, as a 13th round pick, I agree he looks like a great pickup.

End of year update, 2007... Sergio improved yet again in August/September. His average in that period (.304) was 34 points higher than July (which was over 100 points higher than June), and he finished on a big tear: in his last 8 games, he was 16-for-35 (.457) plus 4 walks (.513 OBP). Here is Sergio's final line from Kannapolis: _AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS .282 61 238 45 67 9 2 1 30 83 37 27 5 3 .384 .349 .732 Put this in perspective. The guy is 20 years old, and he was just drafted this spring. He spent his first couple weeks at Great Falls where he destroyed rookie pitching (.464 AVG, .516 OBP), and Kannapolis was his second assignment in the same year he was still playing college ball. Add to that his defensive skills (won his college conference's defensive player of the year award) and some speed, and you have the makings of a real shortstop prospect. Something the Sox organization desperately needs. The only apparent weak area with Sergio is a nearly complete lack of power numbers. But then, if he can keep putting up a .384 OBP, that maybe isn't a huge problem. Plus as he progresses through the system, he is likely to get stronger, and with that the power numbers may start to appear. Looking at the SS depth chart in the Sox organization, I think Miranda will probably start the 2008 season in Winston-Salem (High A). It would be tempting to catapult him to AA given his performance (and the lack of talent ahead of him), but it seems the Sox organization is commited to be more patient than that with its younger players.

While everyone is catching on that the Sox' farm system isn't very healthy, its interesting to note that it already looks like some things are improving at the lower end. The team's Rookie and Low A affiliates both had solid second half records - Great Falls was 24-9, and Kannapolis was 37-32. As some of those younger folks fill in the middle and higher levels (High A and AA particularly), I think we may start to see a few of those guys rise to the top, and we'll see if we really do have some better prospects.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 10:18 AM) She has a message. Its the same message that GWB had before her. The message is that "I can take you back to a different time". That's true, I should have added to the two themes I mentioned - harkening back to the days of Slick Willy.

QUOTE(BigSqwert @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 09:49 AM) That's probably why his poll numbers and cash raised are lower than Clinton and Obama's. Seems like America isn't buying his message. I don't think that Hillary HAS a message. She's banking on who she is - a woman, who knows how the White House works.

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Sep 4, 2007 -> 09:35 AM) Ah-Ha. See, It's my personal choice that points me towards an X-Terra, based on the above attributes, Clearance and Torque are more important to me than braking distance, not to mention pricing and maintainence. Northside was saying that SUVs universally are worse than the example of a Subaru. I was simply contending that there are many fine choices of SUVs, especially with hybrid crossovers becoming popular. Interesting stuff here: SUV Owners of America Let's be clear. I said SUV's had not particular advantage over other cars, and that is true. That is not however the same as saying that they are universally worse - it depends somewhat on what features they have, as I noted. Certainly an AWD XTerra would do better than a Suburban in almost any adverse weather scenario, and would undoubtedly do better than many sedans. But, as I said, its not the fact that its an SUV that is relevant. Anyway, this is an aside. Sorry for the hijack. Point is, Edwards is a doofus.

Lucy was added to the 40-man roster, and will be joining the big club for September. He is due to catch Gavin Floyd on Wednesday, 9/6 for his first major league start. Congrats to Donny! Also, he is among 6 Sox products being sent to the Arizona Fall League, starting in October. I'll update Lucy's end of year minor league numbers in a few days.

90 Shilling, by O'Dell's in Fort Collins, CO Nectar of the Gods.