NorthSideSox72

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 30, 2007 -> 10:23 AM) Think they'd give up Hu + a reliever instead? (I'd rather take the kiddie than the elder at this point, just for payroll reasons) Oh heck, I didn't even think that was a remote possibility (acquiring Hu). I'm rooting for Sergio Miranda to be that guy for the Sox in a couple years.

WHY ARE WE SHOUTING?

QUOTE(danman31 @ Aug 30, 2007 -> 12:40 PM) Not to mention it's impossible to find a AA, high A, or rookie ball team close to the Chicago area. Hm... well, Kane County is Low A Athletics, right? What are the Schaumburg Flyers? And doesn't Waukegan or one of the far north burbs have a team? ETA: Peoria Cubs are high A, yes?

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Aug 30, 2007 -> 12:50 PM) what makes a homosexual have more of a right to get married than two first cousins? um... homosexuals won't bring mentally disabled children into the world?

Oh man, I would so love to see Pudge back in some way. Too bad its not happening. Thing is, I'd bet it isn't JUST the way things ended. If he wanted back in pretty badly, he'd be somewhere in the Red Sox organization by now. I think maybe what Steff said makes sense - he like staying out of the limelight. Well, except for those horrible gray hair commercials, which I like to pretend don't exist.

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Aug 30, 2007 -> 11:57 AM) Greg could have been talking about some random asshole in Idaho talking to his wife and kids at the dinner table. That's what I mean by "general terms". There will undoubtedly be some percentage of the public that backs this guy's story. So his post was a preemptive fire-and-brimstone derision? Still makes no sense. I have a new post for some thread in PHT: This Roger Clemens crap is getting annoying. Is Roger a good baseball player? Yes. Would I trade for him? No. Would John Schuerholz trade for him? Heck no. Do I have John's home phone number? Maybe. Clemens sucks at pitching, and he is too old.

QUOTE(Markbilliards @ Aug 30, 2007 -> 11:44 AM) Too bad we don't have minor league team near chicago. There is a school of thought that that is good. The Sox are a team who wants to try to establish fan bases away from home. Other teams (Cubs, Red Sox) prefer to have them closer to home. I can see it either way.

QUOTE(hammerhead johnson @ Aug 30, 2007 -> 11:16 AM) This is stated in general terms, y'all. It was a nonsequitor. What level of detail it was at doesn't much matter when its incongruous to the thread. Seemed like he posted without reading the thread. I think thats why people reacted the way they did.

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Aug 30, 2007 -> 11:10 AM) Lots of very raw players on the Bristol squad, several imports from the Dominican and teenagers just out of high school getting their first taste of pro ball. Many of these guys will go to instructional league mid Sept. and that's good, they need instruction. Bobby Thigpen was manager and they never really got rolling there. I wonder if they will stay in Bristol next year, the Appalachian League is a bit wobbly and the White Sox may want to try something different. If they do move the club, I'd like to see them move to somewhere other than the southeast. If you look at the Sox' affiliates: Charlotte Birmingham Winston-Salem Kannapolis Bristol Great Falls Other than GF, do you see a pattern? They are ALL in the southeast. I'd like to see the Sox try for more exposure in other regions of the country. For marketing purposes, I think that could be a positive.

QUOTE(29andPoplar @ Aug 30, 2007 -> 11:27 AM) Agree. He is not the guy that fills the need. Pierzynski is intense but his extreme level of sarcasm doesn't play well. Not that he isn't an intense competitor. It's hard to put into words but he isn't the right fit for that role. It needs to be a veteran and the right kind of veteran. This team needs Ross Gload back. Kidding. Sort of.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 04:44 PM) Esteban Loaiza claimed off of waivers by the Dodgers. The Dodgers will assume over $1 million of his salary this year and $6.5 million of his salary next year. They need Garland, and we need Furcal. Plus Garland would be ecstatic to play on the left coast. I am so hoping for that deal this offseason.

QUOTE(Alpha Dog @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 04:44 PM) If the Grand Exhaulted Wizard of the KKK (or whatever title they have) came out and said that he thought a Rudy/McCain ticket would be unbeatable and he would vote for it, the talk would be non-stop. Oh sure, most sane people realize that it wouldn't mean beans, but still, can you imagine this board not having a 20 page post about it? And I wasn't stirring, I gently laid a nugget of information, from CNN no less, out there for all to see, like a sprig of parsley on your dinner plate. Ignore it, or chew on it if you wish, your choice. That 20 page thread would contain probably 1 post from someone on the far left snickering about it, followed by 19 pages of Republicans screaming bloody murder. Sort of like what just happened over this topic, on the flipside.

QUOTE(vandy125 @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 09:18 PM) Actually, I would say that I am a Republican, but even if Edwards doesn't have his crap in order, I would love to see SUVs off of the road for the most part (or at least a much more efficient version out there). If we actually do believe in global warming, saving the environment, and reducing our dependency on foreign energy, we need to take some steps to do this. If that involves taking over-sized, under-utilized, oil chugging vehicles off the road, I am all for it. We already have regulations in place for how much crap your car can spew out. This would be the same sort of thing except that we are regulating how much it can take in, and it would be for similar reasons. I don't think that the size of vehicles should be the focus of the larger thrust. We need moves forward in technology. We need more hybrid cars on the road, we need renewable fuel to be something other than corn (something more energy-efficient), and then we need to really push on electric cars. Then, while larger vehicles will still use more energy, the overall fleet of cars will use far less than currently. Policy-wise, there are numerous ways to get there. Raised economy standards, research into alternative fuels, restructuring the current economic incentives given to energy companies, etc. But no matter the method, that is the way to go. By the way vandy, I do agree with you about SUV's on a personal basis - it drives me nuts how many driver-only, 2 ton monster SUV's I see driving down the road. But I don't think you can legislate that out of people. Its selfishness - they don't care that their giant cars make other cars less safe, or that they are putting us at more jeopardy in the Middle East. Doesn't matter to them. Unfortunately, selfishness is more and more a hallmark of this country. Its kid of sad.

And, sure enough, the major equity indexes have gained back almost all that 2% again today.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 03:00 PM) Let's just have the government control everything we do. You can have only 1 child per household. You cannot drive SUV's. You cannot make more then $100K per household, everything else gets redistributed. Let's get rid of profit motives and create a totally socialistic society. All cars must be brown. Your home must not exceed 1,500 square feet (since you only are allowed one child, this is plenty of room). You cannot express your opinions on baseball message boards. Now, we have utopia! OK so, I read the quote, and I agreed with it. However... I just now read the OTHER part, where he said he'd ask them to give up their SUV's. So let me rescind my earlier statement. I do NOT agree with that. The quote that is in this thread, though, I am fine with.

Slimeball though he is, I don't disagree with him here.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 01:55 PM) Well over .300? He's hit .305 in 82 AAA at-bats. Prior to that he hit .257 in Birmingham. And .217 there in '06. And .264 in W-S in '05. Collaro isn't exactly a .300 hitter. He's simply masquerading as one right now thanks to a .411 batting average on balls in play. Oh, I am not saying he's likely to hit .300 in the majors. Probably won't. Also, I am not talking about starting the guy. A poster was looking for a backup OF with pop in his bat - I think Collaro could be that guy, potentially. And I was very specific about his strikeout totals as well. This team, in 2008, will not be able to afford a bunch of multi-million dollar players riding the bench. There will have to be some kids in there. I suppose another possibility is Anderson.

I would like to know why Tex, who has been out of college since like 1938, is the one who starts all these college threads.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 12:48 PM) So how did Gavin actually look last night? At least pulled off a quality start according to the stats. I actually watched (first time a bit). He looked mostly pretty good. The throwing mistake was annoying to see, but he got past it, which is big for him. Overall, he did OK. I'd take that start every day of the week from our 5th starter.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 10:45 AM) Furcal's .351 OBP and 35 SB per season would fill 2 holes and would be the smallest monetary investment of the bunch. And just as important, Furcal is a better defender than Young (or Renteria for that matter). As bad as Uribe is at the plate, he is still a very good defensive SS, and if they went with someone like Young, the Sox pitching staff would suffer.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 10:29 AM) He has a .766 OPS, his AVG doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot when his IsoD is only 53 and he's slugging in the low .400's. His OPS+ is 99, 100 is league average. From 2009-2013 (age 32-36 seasons) he'll be guaranteed $16M a year, that's not "a bit expensive" that's possibly the most overpaid player in the league. There really isn't anything in the numbers that makes me want Michael Young for even $10M a year let alone $16M. I'll take David Eckstein at say 3 years, $15M over Michael Young even though I truly dislike David Eckstein as a ballplayer. Furcal and Renteria may be available in trade, for something like Garland-plus. And they are $10M and $13M for 2008 respectively (or maybe its the other way around, I can't recall). I think I'd rather have Furcal, if we can make it happen.

Charlotte has a few players worth noting. I think the system is stronger than its given credit for in the pitching department. And there seem to be some exciting players at the lower levels this season - Great Falls and Kanny. But the middle is weak (High A, AA), the DSL don't seem too great, and the whole system is really barren for position player talent. Not completely empty, but pretty close. Overall, the system is hurting. But there are some positives building up as the year goes on, and the Sox managed to do well with getting draft picks signed. So I wouldn't call it the worst or even among the few worst. But definitely below average.

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 09:48 AM) says who? remember you're an admin. try to keep SOME level of objectivity. Oh come on now. I think even an Admin can see and admit that at times, this forum goes over the top. Its just that in our case, it can happen to either political extreme.

QUOTE(Alpha Dog @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 09:09 AM) And why not? Over the last month they have even called for Bush to be arrested by the military and to have all his possessions siezed as war profits. While Koz himself may be somewhat sane, he sure has his share of crazies around. Well, by "they", if that includes various posters... then this forum right here is a bit nutso as well.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Aug 29, 2007 -> 08:32 AM) Those numbers are misleading. Except for 2005 which nobody can take away from him, he's about right there despite having 38 games a year against DET and KC from 2001-2004, arguably the worst teams in the majors. How does KW's rank in payroll in the AL central compare to the result? I'm sure it will be a little different. So far, I've provided W-L in baseball as a measure... putting competitive teams on the fields as a measure... and world championships as a measure. In all three areas, KW does better than the majority of GM's. And what responses have there been? "Those numbers are misleading." Why? "You are as wrong as can be." Any reason why? Seriously. This season is a disaster, and KW should take a significant chunk of the responsibility for it. Also, he is NOT the best in the game. But if you think KW is somehow a substandard GM (which the majority here seem to), then you are simply choosing to be in denial of the facts, and of the nature of the game. Can anyone provide any actual information other than this one lousy season, that shows that KW is worse than the majority of GM's?