NorthSideSox72

Gingrich now saying maybe he will.

In basketball, the players are supposed to care about who wins, and the refs are not. in the NBA, the players don't care who wins the game, but apparently the refs do. Yet another reason to not follow the NBA. B>W, I think its probably the opposite - this sort of thing is a lot more common in the NBA than the NCAA, for the very reasons I stated above.

QUOTE(jasonxctf @ Jul 20, 2007 -> 02:01 PM) http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=07...;show_article=1 Already posted.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Jul 20, 2007 -> 01:42 PM) Blech. Assuming Hillary gets the nomination (again... for the third time), then I have to make a choice just like this time between two people I can't stand, but I can't stand Romney less then I can't stand Mrs. Bill Clinton. That makes me sick just thinking about it. Eh, I still don't think Hillary will win the Dem nomination.

QUOTE(VAfan @ Jul 20, 2007 -> 01:29 PM) So, let me see if I get this straight. Crede -- you want to non-tender him and let him go for nothing. Dye -- you want to non-tender him and let him go for nothing. Contreras -- you want to deal him just to get rid of him, i.e., get nothing in return. Garland -- trade him for something. I presume, as well, that Iguchi walks for nothing, and Uribe's $5 million option is not exercised. Is that about right? How is that "rebuilding, dude"?? Chuck half the team for nothing and hope a Jon Garland trade solves all that ails the Sox? Maybe you aren't familiar with how this works... If Dye leaves in free agency, the Sox get draft picks - which is not nothing (and may be better than what is available in trade). Contreras being traded for a salary dump isn't the same as saying get nothing in return - its getting something, maybe not a lot, but something better value-wise than Jose. Maybe. Gooch, the team already has a replacement in AAA that looks quite good - so they can afford to negotiate from a strong position. Uribe? The one who is hitting .217? Seriously, his defense is excellent, but no one with OBP's of .257 and .270 the last two years deserves $5M. Crede is a tough situation - what do you propose to do? If you can trade him and get something, great. Or if you think he is better than Fields for next year, or you want to have them both until sometime next year just to trade one of them... OK. but all those options are big risks. What do you propose?

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Jul 20, 2007 -> 01:14 PM) after people are praising two of them in this thread??? I think he is saying that those two are probably the only two position player prospects worth a darn at Charlotte. And he might be right. AA also has a severe lack - again, maybe one or two at most.

Wasn't sure where to put this, not worth its own thread, but something worth noting... President Bush will hand power over to Dick Cheney for a few hours on Saturday while Bush undergoes a semi-routine medical procedure which requires anesthesia. During that period, Mr. Cheney will be the acting President of the United States.

QUOTE(Beastly @ Jul 20, 2007 -> 12:35 PM) I really like what I see so far out of Haeger, perhaps a relief role would be better for him because then people don't see him all that much and know how to hit against him like the last few spot starts he has had with the White Sox. As for Wassermann, are we looking at a Wunsch/Bradford arm? What have scouts said about him? I don't know much about him so if you could fill me in on him I'd appreciate it. See his AAP page in the FutureSox forum.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jul 20, 2007 -> 11:06 AM) If everyone in that pen was actually coming out throwing at 96, then I think we'd have been a lot better off. Unfortunately, I didn't see much of 96 from anyone other than Bobby, and even then Bobby was supposed to be at 98+. Thornton is hitting 96, I've seen it at the park.

QUOTE(soxfan3530 @ Jul 20, 2007 -> 10:18 AM) What i think it will be: Rowand-Owens-Sweeney No way they'd put Owens in CF if Rowand is on the team. Those three would be Owens-Rowand-Sweeney.

As SS2K5 pointed out in another thread, one thing that may help this 'pen is the recent addition of two pitchers with styles entirely different than the fireballers - Haeger and Wassermann. Adding a knuckler and a submariner to the mix might help the other guys, kind of like a pitcher adding a good changeup to his repertoire (though to a less dramatic extent). I still think the pen needs more of a fix than that, but this may be a step in a positive direction for now.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Jul 19, 2007 -> 09:22 PM) I wanna reset this topic because I'm not sure if everyone understands what's happening here. The White House is claiming executive privilege on communications between White House staffers done on emails paid for by the Republican party. The White House used those emails so that the email communications between White House staffers for certain issues wouldn't actually be in the public record. Issues like political motivations for firing people in the Justice Department. Now this is what I don't understand. If they aren't in the public record because they were conversations between administration officials on private email, and the conversations are between administration officials and not with the President, how can the administration rightly claim executive privilege? Doesn't that automatically admit that the President was specifically, if not initmately involved in these specific firings? This is the same administration that has claimed that Dick Cheney has both executive AND legislative privilege. Like it or hate it, BushCo unabashedly flouts every ounce of power and privilege they can get their hands on, even if it seems improper or possibly unconstitutional. Other administrations have made similar attempts, but none have done it so brazenly, so ineptly or so far over the line.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Jul 19, 2007 -> 09:15 PM) If Fred Thompson runs - meet your new establishment candidate. ^^^^^^^^^^ And if he doesn't, I think the establishment is starting to warm to the idea of Romney.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Jul 19, 2007 -> 04:57 PM) na, trust me, the GOP 'powers that be' want Giulinani to get the nod. Are you friendly with those powers or something? Anyway, I just don't see that being the case. I think Giuliani may have been their initial pick, but as time goes on and they learn more about him, I think his stock is falling quickly among the GOP core. That's the indications I am seeing, but then, who knows what is going on behind closed doors.

Article from Phil Rogers at the Trib discussing (among other things) Wassermann's potential with the team.

New poll out of New Hampshire shows Romney with a commanding lead over the other GOP candidates, with 34% versus Giuliani's 20%. Thompson is in 3rd, and McCain has fallen to 4th. CNN review of poll.

New poll from New Hampshire showing for the first time a change among the top 3 candidates - Richardson pulls ahead of Edwards. Clinton still in first over Obama, but the gap appears to be closing. CNN review of poll.

QUOTE(fathom @ Jul 18, 2007 -> 03:34 PM) The only way he was going to recover to get back to where he was two years ago was if he found the Fountain of Youth. I'm just mad we didn't trade him for Adam Dunn. And KW did an atrocious job this offseason improving our bullpen. There's no reason to worry about it for this year, and we just have to hope that massive changes are made to this team's personnel over this offseason. Except, the thing is, some of these bullpen arms that have been so atrocious struggled because they were rushed or not yet ready. Aardsma, Day, Sisco, et al really should have been in AAA to start the season. So yeah, KW messed that up. But getting rid of them now doesn't necessarily make sense. Better to keep some and get rid of some, but don't clean them all out. Some of them are still likely to turn into solid relievers, in the next couple years.

He'll be convicted. He'll spend a few months in jail. He'll be suspended for the season or most of it. He'll come back for the 2008 season, and we'll have to endure all manner of "character" stories on the sports news outlets of Vick's comeback, how he is remorseful and ashamed and just trying to put it back together, blah blah blah. He'll be mediocre at best on his return, get frustrated within a season or two, and find some new way to be an asshole again. Then he will slowly, kicking and screaming along the way, fade out of the NFL. In 10 years we'll start to hear Gooden-esque stories of his troubles with the law, as he struggles to live outside the world of sports.

I am looking forward to seeing Sweeney in the OF next year, where I think he is very likely to be. Dye is likely gone, but not 100% just yet. If Dye is available for a below market offer (at or below his current 6M), and nothing else is easily available, don't be surprised if he is back. Not likely, but still possible. The big question is CF. Please, please, please... no Erstad. At least not as a starter. Rowand would be great, to a point - $10M is too much though. Mack, Ozuna and even Erstad are fine as backups. But nothing more. I am hoping for something like Jackson(Conor)-Rowand-Sweeney, where that LF spot could be Jackson or someone else we get via trade or FA with a significant bat. Sweeney-Rowand-Dye would maybe be acceptable, if Dye improves and is willing to sign for something similar to his current salary (leaving money for a big splash middle infielder perhaps). I am assuming Ichiro is off the market now, and he was a stretch anyway. The one thing I'll say on Sweeney though, is that if he is on one corner, the other corner OF needs to be a power bat.

QUOTE(chimpy2121 @ Jul 18, 2007 -> 02:04 PM) I can't believe the poll on ESPN that says only 58% of the people who voted believe he should be suspended now. I thought for sure it would have been 80%/20%. I also can't fathom how someone could treat a living thing like that. There's the one report that he was there when a dog was soaked with a hose and then electrocuted. That's so sick and twisted, I don't know how anyone could even do it. Acording to the article I linked, he wasn't there when that happened, but instead was the one who told someone over the phone to do those things. Which to me, is maybe worse.

The more and more I watch the games, the more I think - I wish Richar could play some decent shortstop. Because I am thinking that Gooch can be had for a reasonable price, and he might be a pretty good value. Better to replace Uribe.

So, I thought there was a Vick thread already, but I don't see it. I am surprised no one has updated or created one, since he has been indicted. Details of the indictment are coming out now. I am soooooo glad this loser is going to go to jail. The whole dog fighting thing is just disgusting.

QUOTE(mr_genius @ Jul 18, 2007 -> 12:18 PM) They definitely don't like McCain. A lot of republicans like Giuliani, some of the far right might not totally accept him, but they realize they can't get their candidate every time. All Giuliani needs to do is convince the Republican base that he will support pro-life judges and legislation. Giuliani is still the "GOP establishment's" choice, and that is a big deal in the primary. But that's just it, I do not think Rudy is the establishment's choice at all. I think they'd rather see Romney or Thompson. Rudy is too far off the reservation in too many areas.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jul 18, 2007 -> 11:28 AM) It wasn't meant to be green. He says some very stupid things, and I think he's an idiot based on everything he's ever said, but he says what he wants to say and he doesn't let anyone censor him. I appreciate that he doesn't let anyone shut him up -- not the PC crowd, not management, not people who simply disagree with him or the people who think he's an idiot. He speaks his mind without fear. He's straightforward, and for that I say God bless Gary Sheffield. More people should be like Gary Sheffield. Except smarter. So you like the idea of a world full of insulting, ignorant assholes? Because god bless 'em, they speak their minds? There is a difference between not allowing yourself to be censored by the PC crowd in some noble way, and just being an asshole. Sheffield is just an asshole.