NorthSideSox72

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 02:23 PM) Interesting to note, Erstad in CF today, Gooch back in the 2 hole. Thus far this spring in the race for OF spots... TEAM POS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG B Anderson CWS OF 4 16 2 3 2 0 0 2 5 0 3 0 0 .188 .313 .188 D Erstad CWS OF 5 14 2 5 1 0 0 1 6 1 3 1 0 .400 .429 .357 R Sweeney CWS OF 6 13 2 3 0 0 0 2 3 1 2 0 0 .286 .231 .231 L Terrero CWS OF 7 12 2 4 0 0 0 2 4 0 2 1 1 .385 .333 .333 J Owens CWS OF 4 8 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 .300 .125 .125 P Ozuna CWS OF 4 14 3 6 0 1 0 1 8 0 1 1 0 .429 .571 .429

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I actually think that it was good that Fitzgerald went after Libby, AND I think it was good that Starr went after Clinton. Any time one of our higher government officials lies under oath, they need to be nailed to a wall.

QUOTE(Soxy @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 01:42 PM) Conservapedia As if Wikipedia wasn't already misleading enough... And, wait, some explain this one to me... Christianity inspired the Renaissance? I'm really asking, not being facetious. That just goes against what I thought was the case. This whole "with us or against us" mentality that this country has fallen into makes me ill. It reeks of the first stages of fascism.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 11:51 AM) x-factor-Bullpen. I think it will either be great or horrible. Its amazing how good a guy like Aardsma supposedly is when he could even stick with the Cubs for the entire 2006 season. I wonder if Thornton will continue to grow or go back to his struggles, if MacDougal can stay healthy, if Boone Logan can get out major league hitters, if Jenks can stay in decent enough shape and healthy, if the real Sisco is the 2005 or2006 version, and if these guys are capable of throwing enough strikes. I think the Bullpen will be great AND horrible. Loads of talent, some will flourish, others won't. But I think it will be a bit erratic when all is said and done. And any given time, 4 or 5 of the 6 will be virtually unhittable, but 1 or 2 will be out of control.

The GOP as a party seems to OK with massive funding and complete federalization of the military and all security apparatus', under the argument that they have to be handled at that level for national security and welfare. And yet, when it comes to problems with the environment (pollution, warming, etc.), which are frankly much more prescient and are having a much greater effect on our lives than either terror or Iraq, they are apparently unwilling to allow federal control. It seems to me that in both cases, due to their very nature, they need to be federal or even international concerns.

QUOTE(GreatScott82 @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 11:05 AM) 1. Most improved- Javy Vazquez. I expect him to finally have that 16 win season in 2007. 2. Biggest drop- I agree w/ RME JICO about Joe Crede. He had a monster year in 2006 and w/ his back problems i expect him to have a decent decline. 3. X-factor(s)- I have 3 X-factors. Look below: If Floyd can manage to some how win 10-11 games, if Anderson can somehow manage to hit at least .260 and have a decent obp, if Pods can stay healthy and steal at least 50 SBs and have a decent obp i say there is no way we miss out on the post season in 2007. Who is the fourth guy in that graphic? Is that Wolverine? Did we pick him up in the Rule 5 or something?

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 10:38 AM) A 91 MPH fastball in spring training was all I needed to see. I have full faith in Buehrle being the guy we all have known and loved as Sox fans and not the guy that was absolutely downright abysmal over the 2nd half of last season. Wow. 91? I saw him pitch Monday, but I didn't see the radar (no display anywhere I could find). He looked decent, but that is huge if his velocity is back up to that point. I may need to change my statement about MB being a disappointment next year...

So at the ST game Monday, we saw something you don't see every day. The people sitting in front of us were Amish. Yes, Amish (no, I don't know how they go to the game). One of them said he made a New Year's resolution to "have more fun". So that was pretty weird. But here was the interesting part for Sox fans. Apparently, they are all huge Jim Thome fans. Why, you might ask? Apparently, these Amish folk were from Ohio, outside Cleveland. When Jim had a new house built on the family land in Illinois, he hired a bunch of these people to build it for him. They couldn't stop raving about how nice Jim and his whole family were, and how they are really great people, treated them really nicely, etc. Which just further confirms what we all knew to be true. The Amish love Jim Thome.

We already have a predictions thread, but I'm curious what people think on the three questions below. No matter how many stats we look at or how much scouting people do, there are always surprises when the season gets going. So what will those be? Regarding your 2007 White Sox... 1. Who will be the most improved or most surprising player(s)? 2. Who will have the biggest drop-off or most disappointing season(s)? 3. What is the X Factor on this team? In other words, what is the one dynamic, situation or player that will have the greatest single effect on the outcome of the season? My answers... 1. Juan Uribe. I think Juan settles down and decides to take more control of his swing, and has a season similar to 2004. Average in the 270's, 25+ HR, good situational hitting. And the usual excellent defense, maybe even better, due to his looking much more in shape. I'd even say he'll steal a few bases again, maybe 5 to 10. He's going to be thinking about the future, and I think he'll be motivated by his offseason troubles. 2. Joe Crede and Mark Buehrle. Much as I hate to say it because Crede is my favorite player on the team, but I think his average comes down to earth (maybe .260 or so), HR total is similar or maybe a little lower. I think last year was a career year for him. His defense will still be excellent, though, and he may actually draw a few more walks than last year, on the positive side. As for Buehrle, he won't be as bad as the 2nd half last year, but he won't recover to his former self either. I'd guess an ERA in the 4.25 to 4.50 range, and he'll basically look like a mid-rotation guy. I don't know why I think this, since its a contract year for him and history would seem to indicate he'll recover, but for some reason I have a bad feeling about his 2007 season. 3. Injuries will dictate the fortunes of the team. If this team is healthy, they will be competitive for a playoff spot. But the Sox have been extraordinarily fortunate with injuries the last few years, and that is unlikely to continue. And where those injuries occur will dictate their effect. The Sox have depth and can handle injuries semi-well at corner OF, 3B, the pen, and even starting pitching. 1B, kind of. But if the injuries hit SS, 2B or C, the team will suffer in a big way.

I've actually liked Owens' at bats, and I watched him play some OF (a couple games on TV, and one in person in ST last year). He looked a lot better out there than, say, Ozuna does. Not in the same league as Anderson, though. I'm on the believer side with Owens, I think he can turn into an MLB starting OF. But I'm in the minority. As for this year, if he has a good spring (and thus far, he hasn't), I think he deserves a shot as much as Anderson does. But Owens is still raw, and a year of playing at AAA will help him immensely. He'd be more ready in 2008.

QUOTE(shipps @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 12:37 AM) In 05' I bought a brand new Chrysler 300 for approx $28,000 with a 12 % interest rate.My payments are $530 a month, and while I can still afford it I realize Iam not able to save very much money at all.I would trade it in for a bust down car but people say I will loose alot of money and still be making big payments on a piece of crap car.Other than re-financing do you guys have any advice? 12% over what period? 5 years I would guess? Maybe 6? If its a 5 or 6 year loan, and you bought in '05, now is probably not the time to sell. You generally don't have much equity in a car until you are past halfway through the loan. The car value and loan value curves tend to be too close together until that point. Therefore, I'd refinance. And at 12%, unless your credit is poor, you will probably be able to go a lot lower. By the way, the typical car loan nowadays is probably more in the 6% to 8% range. So 12% is ridiculously high, and unlike a mortgage, you cannot deduct interest from taxes, and the linked asset is a declining one, instead of an appreciating one. Refinance. If you can't, then wait until the car value is above your loan balance with a little room to spare, and sell. Use the room to spare, as a down payment on another car. And make sure you shop around a lot more for your loan, because I'm sure you can get better than 12%.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 07:06 AM) Hey, hey the fun just keeps coming. The NEW and IMPROVED, least corrupt congress EVA is still taking their marching orders seemingly from the same things they b****ed about for the last 6 years or so. Remember the whole flap about the energy companies being involved in the writing of energy policy and the Dems being all pissed off because they weren't allowed access to know what they did, and how they did it? Well this one is a quick hitter, buried in a Lou Dobbs column, but it seems the Chamber of Commerce is actually writing our new immigration law, and the Repubs are shut out of the process. I am so glad that all of the promises of being bigger and better than the last six years have lasted until Daylight savings time... Oops. I do look forward to finding out exactly how this is different though. I'm not happy about amnesty, nor am I happy when the Dems pull some of the same B.S. the GOP did. But, I have to say, I am actually very happy that Commerce is involved in writing the bill. They should be. Immigration law should be a solid mix of economic needs and security needs, and I've been saying all along that the economic end had been ignored previously.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 06:44 PM) Senator Domenici lawyers up in the ethics/US Attorney firing case. And, here's the fun...one of the US attorneys casually removed last winter was Carol Lam, who ran the Duke Cunningham investigation. The lawyer Domenici hired...Duke Cunningham's attorney. Wheeeee! Domenici has made a political career of attacking other people (even more so than others ). He's pretty scummy. Good to see he's being called on it.

QUOTE(Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 8, 2007 -> 09:21 AM) The over-hyped, over-sensationalized view of medical malpractice is hysterical. Personally I say let's blame the judges/jury's for handing out the ridiculous awards. I'm all for a cap, but let's not go crazy. We have to keep doctors in check or the standards would drop. Threatening them with a loss of their license and heavy fines/lawsuits is the most effective way of doing this, IMO. It sounds lame, but there are lots of people that get really messed up by the poor decisions of doctors and should be able to recover something for their loss. It's easy to say 'let's stop the needless med malpractice claims,' but try telling someone that their problem isn't severe enough to warrant a lawsuit. Let's not blame the doctors who don't do their job correctly. Let's blame the lawyers for exposing those problems and helping victims recover for their loss... I'd say its not even the lawyers that are the problem, since they are just filling a need. The problem is what is allowed to go to trial, and further, what awards are granted. Part of the cause there is that the jury trial system doesn't work (but I realize I'm going nowhere with that unpopular argument). A real solution would be to have small panels of judges review cases in brief format (perhaps a 5-page limit per side for evidence and argument), explore anything that needs exploring, and then reject the ones that are obviously frivilous. Then further, since we can't get rid of the juries entirely, you can take them out of the monetary end of it at least. Juries can decide guilt or not on specific acts or omissions, and then another, seperate panel of judges look at the plaintiff and defense claims and come up with a reasonable amount (like the jury is supposed to do).

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 05:32 PM) I'm shocked about the scouting report on his throwing. I saw him last year in spring training and he had by far the strongest arm amoungst the catchers in the drills I saw. Either he was having a real good day, or the other guys are just pathetic. I'd venture a guess that the scouting report is based on 2005, his first year above Rookie ball, and he was coming off a finger injury on his throwing hand. That might explain the report, and the less-than-stellar throw-out rate. I cannot find any reports on him more recent than that, regarding his arm. If you find anything, please add it to the thread! If his arm is better than written up, I'd say the only major tool he's missing at this point is power.

Donny Lucy, C, 24 Full Name: Donald John Lucy Born: August 8, 1982 Height: 6-3 Weight: 210 Bats: R Throws: R High School: Fallbrook (Fallbrook, CA) College: Stanford University (2004) OVERVIEW... Donny Lucy was drafted by the Sox in 2004 after 3 strong years at Stanford, and has been making his way up the line since. After playing 50 games with the Rookie League Great Falls team in 2004, he played a full year at A- Kannapolis, then spent most of last year at A+ Winston Salem, and finished the season at AA Birmingham. Lucy has a history of hitting for solid average and showed flashes of power in college, and brings some speed to the table as well. His defense has been described as solid overall and even excellent with the glove, but his arm is not great (threw out only 29% of runners in 2005) and needs improvement (Lucy was coming off a throwing hand injury that year as well, which may have been a factor). He has stolen double digits in bases both of the last two seasons, which is unusual for a catcher. His handling of pitchers has been described favorably as well. Given his lack of C-position play in college and still-young MILB career, along with the scouting reports out there on Lucy, there seems a good chance he will improve and could turn into a productive C at the MLB level. But he'll need to add some power and improve his arm if he wants to start at that level. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS... --Graduated from Fallbrook High School (CA) in 2001, where he played football and baseball --2001: Named San Diego County male athlete of the year, playing as both a catcher and infielder in baseball and running back and linebacker in football. --2002-2004: Played baseball for Stanford Cardinal --2004: Named All PAC-10 Catcher --2004: One of 15 finalists for Johnny Bench Award --2004: Selected in 2nd round (59th overall) by Chicago White Sox --2004: 50 games with Great Falls ® --2005: Invited to Spring Training with White Sox but suffered a fractured right (throwing) finger, didn't come off DL until 6/6 --2005: 54 games with Kannapolis (A-), after coming off DL --2006: 97 games with Winston-Salem (A+), then promoted and played 18 games with Birmingham (AA) --2007: Invited to Spring Training with White Sox NOTES... --Played his first 2 years at Stanford landlocked behind Ryan Garko, now of the Cleveland Indians, and played much of that time at 1B and DH STATS... Baseball Cube Spring Training 2007 Stats for all AL catchers CURRENTLY... --Lucy got his first Spring Training invite this year, and thus far (as of 3/6) he's 1 for 3 (.333 BA) plus a walk (.500 OBP) at the plate in three games of action. --He played most of 2006 at W-S, then 18 games at Birmingham. I'd guess he'll be at AA Birmingham in 2007, but its hard to say at this point. He is listed on Birmingham's roster at this point. OTHER SOURCES... http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/team/playe...layer_id=455113 http://gostanford.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl...cy_donny00.html

Saw Wes pitch in ST a few days ago, and he looked pretty good out there, threw one inning giving up one hit. Here is a pic of him pitching... I can't find any batting stats for him after 2004. I wonder if he'd still be considered as a PH or utility guy if he reaches MLB as a pitcher.

Here are some pictures I took at the Monday game (3/5 vs MIL), at Maryvale Ballpark in Phoenix. Sox lost a tight game, but Buerhle looked good (3 IP, only one hard-hit ball, a HR), and its a smallish but nice ballpark. I am no professional photographer, so these aren't at the quality level of the others in the thread, but here we go... Here are the first six (other six in next post)… AJ and Crede talk before the game... Uribe, looking a little thinner this spring... AJ waves at my wife... Buehrle's stretch... Erstad makes contact... Crede fouls one off... And the other six… MacDougal warms up... Broadway does the same... Ozuna about to round third for home... Wes Whisler delivers... Ozuna: "Try to tag me, I dare ya"... And finally, its not a Brewers game without a Sausage Race...

Sausage race...

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 7, 2007 -> 11:05 AM) Well its good that things might get fixed now... Where were these people over the last few decades? This has been going on for a long time, and no one said a damned thing about it. That being said, hopefully they can get it right, but I am not holding my breath. I'm not saying it was good before... just pointing out that good came from a political machination.

1. Whatever this turns out to be health-wise for Cheney, I hope it gets better and this becomes a non-issue. I despise Cheney for a lot of things, but I don't believe him to be an evil person. I hope he gets better. 2. If this does happen, I doubt Bush picks a Prez candidate. For Bush, it looks like the beginning of another power play precedent. For the candidate, they get all their negatives exposed early and often, while not being able to achieve anything materially positive. I don't see the gain there, unless they were a marginal candidate to begin with (and therefore need the attention). 3. Condi Rice is not ready to be a President. Therefore, I dealy hope she doesn't get a job one heart beat away from the Presidency.

I've spoken with a couple people who are ex-military, and it does seem that conditions at VA hospitals have been bad for some time now. But I think its interesting, we all (myself included) complain about our politicians AND the press here a lot, and how things are politicized for someone's gain. In this case, though, the fact that the bill was brought up and the articles were written is an example of how the political system and the free press actually worked in a positive way. Politics resulted in good - what a concept.

Text blah blah blah... Picture 1... Picture 2...

This is a perfect example of a business going outside its core competency. Forbes is an excellent business rag, but just because they can figure out the labyrinthine financials of sports teams, that doesn't mean they understand the on-field aspects of sports franchises. Stick with what you know, Mr. Forbes.

QUOTE(watchtower41 @ Mar 6, 2007 -> 03:41 PM) Its not a website mistake...they probably are just trying to sell 27 game plans to "new" customers without Opening Day or the Cubs game included. This way they can still sell them after Opening Day, and sell whatever singles they have left for Opening Day, Cubs, ect. as singles on through sox.com As far as playoff tickets go, they announced this awhile ago... any 27 game packages that are new this year, will not have the option for post-season tickets. People that had the 27 game plan prior to this year are grandfathered in and will still have the chance to buy the limited number of playoff tickets options that we had in 2005. Confirmed. I'm a 27-game renewer, and we do still get out 27 and our playoff option (our rep confirmed this a while back). This 24-game thing with no options must be new buyers only.