NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (oldsox @ Dec 14, 2011 -> 09:32 AM) I don't get the Phil Rogers crucifixtion. I agree, Crowley is a poor man's Jay Marriotti. Rogers' work is pretty good. Phil Rogers is professional, and an adult, so he certainly has that over Cowley. And Rogers is a skilled writer. But Rogers just... doesn't know present-day baseball very well. That's always been the beef with him, he doesn't get the numbers or the dynamics of the modern game.

With the Sun Times still struggling to survive, and Sox fans flocking away from their paper (used to be reliably a Sox fans' paper) to the Trib, it is only a matter of time before they either fire Cowley or make him a columnist, and put in an inexpensive newbie (who will probably be a much better journalist) to be the beat writer.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 02:13 PM) Donald Trump has pulled out of moderating a GOP debate. LOL, I seriously wonder if he is actually that deluded to think that's why candidates were wary of him. Or that his words actually caused Romney to fall back. Either he actually does - in which case he is a sad, pathetic little man... or he doesn't and he's just trying to turn this election into a cesspool - in which case, he is a sad, pathetic little man.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 02:07 PM) So he's worth two times more than Saito? It was a terrible move by KW, in my opinion. Should have just let him go. Hell, he couldn't even be trusted for the Sox last year after a few weeks. I agree he should not have picked up the option, I even said beforehand there was little chance they would. And was wrong. Doesn't make sense to me, as I think the Sox still, even without Frasor, have a fair amount of depth in bullpen arms both in the majors and minors.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 01:50 PM) Saito getting 1.75 million on the open market pisses me off even more about Frasor's terrible option being picked up. I don't think Frasor's option is terrible, it is probably a decent value for his skills. I just think it wasn't the right move for this team this offseason.

I feel better about him being in the rotation than I would Stewart, that's for sure. And if Humber fades back, Axel might pass him too. I think he'll end up being a nice starter. Nothing spectacular, but at least put up consistently decent numbers and eat some innings.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 12:15 PM) For you fine people: Oh, that guy Bane (Tom Hardy)... ...used to be this guy here... (the smaller one) HA! I swear, when I saw Tom Hardy in Inception, I kept thinking, where have I seen this guy before? Never bothered to IMDB him to see, but now it makes sense. Man has he put on some bulk, but the facial expressions and what not are all so clear now.

QUOTE (DirtySox @ Dec 12, 2011 -> 12:09 PM) Anyone catch the shot at Peavy in Gonzales' recent Tribune piece discussing the marketing efforts? http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,1788782.story Awesome. Oh how I despise you Jake Peavy. Seems pretty obvious to me that was either referring to ALL the underachievers - Dunn, Rios, Peavy, Beckham... or possibly only the uninjured ones, meaning that group minus Peavy. Either way, I don't see how you can possibly see that as being a knock on Peavy specifically. Given your apparent hatred, I'd suspect it was just wishful thinking.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Dec 13, 2011 -> 09:30 AM) I dunno, that could be an abandoned building. With a waterfall in it?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 12, 2011 -> 02:49 PM) I'm going to dump another "lol Fox" screen cap here. Like I said, you can't really compare their level of ridiculousness to anyone else. I can see at least two LOL'eriffic things there, but I am not sure which you are referring to in this case.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Dec 12, 2011 -> 11:14 AM) I think this sums up the financial mess: I have a BS and MS in math, both from Top 50 universities, and I don't understand a damn thing you just wrote. So I'm guessing that well over 99% of Americans don't understand either. Assuming that everything you said is 100% correct, how do you convince the average American voter that it is more important to elect people who will implement these solutions than to elect people who will support/oppose abortion, raising taxes on the rich, gay marriage, cut wasteful spending, etc. This is an excellent point. You are right that it would be hard to explain to the voting public how these things work, why thwy would work, and why they would want them to work. I'll take a stab at each point, and try to frame it in a way that might make more sense to that crowd... 1. When you invest your money with a bank or brokerage, how safe is it? Of course there is always the chance your mutual funds, stocks, 401k's or the like can lose money if the market goes down. But what if I told you that, in some cases, your money in that account can be used by banks to make bets for themselves? What if those banks have special business units to take risky bets for their own benefit, and they have your money? Plain and simple, the best way to be safe is to keep the wolves out of the hen house. Your brokerage account should not be exposed to the risks taken by sophisticated investors which you have no control over. Implementing the Volcker Rule means that those private and proprietary trading and investment units not be part of your bank, your brokerage, or your credit union. 2. Do you want your money being used for foreign securities that you don't choose to invest in? How about over-the-counter derivatives? You should have a choice as to whether or not your money can be used this way. If you have a brokerage account in the US - for mutual funds, stocks, bonds, or any other equities - you should not have to worry that your money is being sent overseas (unless you choose for that to be the case), or being used on risky, uncleared instruments. OTC derivatives and foreign securities should be restricted to accounts that specifically authorize that use. 3. Bernie Madoff was able to perpetuate his fraud by sending out fraudulent statements to his clients. Since Madoff was not a bank, the actual money and securities his clients had were held at a real bank - the custodian - for safe keeping. That bank is the holder of the real information about what the account has in it. Therefore, you should always get a statement directly from the custodian, and be able to request such a statement at any time. This will help prevent another Bernie moment. 4. Dear futures traders... do you want your futures cash held in non-US debt? Didn't think so. 5. This one is easy... why do we have multiple government agencies and multiple clearing house and multiple exchange regulators, overlapping and leaving gaps and adding layers of inefficiency? Why is it necessary to create communication gaps and gaping holes in regulation? Why are we wasting both business and taxpayor dollars on inefficient process? In order to cut down overhead, promote more efficient technology, improve communications, close regulatory gaps and reduce compliance costs for business, there should be one, single US agency responsible for overseeing the financial markets. How's that?

OK, here is where the rubber meets the road. What would YOU do to "fix" the financial system, and help avert future disasters? I'll open with this volley... 1. Implement the Volcker Rule (aka modern-day Glass-Steagel). You either manage customer accounts and invest/trade on their behalf, or you (and/or your partnership) bet your own money, but never, ever both. This would have prevented MF Global, Lehman and some other issues. 2. Add new segregation account types for OTC derivatives of all types, and for foreign OTC instruments (not just derivatives, but also any other non-exchange-traded instruments) of all types. These accounts would then also be subject to the sophisticated investor rules. This would have prevented Lehman Bros, Bear Stearns and other issues, potentially. 3. All statements and balances must be directed to customers directly from the custodian, and be available on-demand from such at any time. This prevents a Madoff scenario, and a bunch of other smaller frauds over recent years, because it disallows investment companies from fabricating financials on customer balances and positions. 4. Futures seg rules go back to being exclusively for US treasuries, cash and cash-in-lieu. This would also have prevented the MF Global nightmare, potentially. 5. SEC and CFTC become one, single federal agency overseeing ALL investment vehicles in the US, for US customers and in US investments. All exchange and clearing house regulators become subject to those rules at a minimum. That new agency reduces management overhead, and needs to invest much more heavily in monitoring technology. These changes could help prevent or better react to the Flash Crash and the like. It also, ultimately, will cut down significantly on the costs associated with compliance for financial firms. That's a good start. Go...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 12, 2011 -> 10:10 AM) I really have no idea how to interpret most of what is written here, but a summary version seems to suggest that MF GLobal was legally allowed to use client funds as collateral on various bets, even if they're technically still keeping things "Segregated" in some sense. Someone please rewrite this if I've completely misread it. We discussed this shortly after it went down - the modified CFTC rule allowing segregated futures funds to be re-bet on foreign securities may indeed be at the heart of the matter. This gives me a thread idea...

QUOTE (heirdog @ Dec 12, 2011 -> 07:43 AM) Jon heyman tweeted a few mins ago that yanks considering Danks for one of banuelos/montero/betances...even though kw asked for 2 of them. Shows Danks value higher than Santos...as get none of those for him. Heh. I remember during the meetings, the Sox were asking for 2 of those, the Yankees said none, and I said Danks would go for 1 of them when it was all over. I was only half-serious, but it seems like maybe that will happen.

Happy B-Day Mike!

Here's a question... I wonder if any player contracts in baseball contain out-clauses for the guaranteed money, for illegal behavior or suspensions due to breaking league rules? And further, if any teams have pushed to have contracts that null out all future guaranteed monies if a player tests positive for a PED?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 9, 2011 -> 02:38 PM) They aren't just a commodities firm, but they had a very large commodities division in terms of the companies size. But Corzine took care of that. Exactly. If anything, this is yet another argument in favor of Glass-Steagel or the Volcker Rule. That MF Global should not be able to be both a futures brokerage and a private equity firm.

Are you waiting for the patent on your idea before posting it? What is it man, speak up!

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 9, 2011 -> 03:28 PM) Haha, no chance. People are still scared of that green line stop. The only people that go on it are going to oak park, i feel like. Back in the days of the old park, and when Robert Taylor homes were still there, there was very good reason to be scared of it. No way I would have gone there. But now? Works great, and I feel no less safe than at the Red Line stop.

Need to emphasize some of the ballpark experience that is so much better than Wrigley - better food, easy (if expensive) parking, great stuff for kids, better views, fireworks, etc. One thing the Sox have gotten so very right in the last decade, is catering to families and kids. That kids' stuff is an investment. It doesn't just bring more people to the ballpark now, it creates more fans for later. QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Dec 9, 2011 -> 02:17 PM) Have a Rockford night/Peoria night/Champaign night/Indianapolis night/South Bend night, where you have packages that include round-trip bus ride plus ticket plus food. That's actually a terrific idea. Seriously. You should email that to Brooks.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 9, 2011 -> 11:52 AM) http://screenrant.com/dark-knight-rises-pr...e-rothc-142894/ Can. Not. Wait. also, the campaign has gone viral http://screenrant.com/dark-knight-rises-vi...map-rob-142951/ Hopefully this 6 minute trailer thing comes out on the web too, because I don't know that I'll be able to get to a screening to see it in the theater.

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Dec 9, 2011 -> 12:21 PM) Doyle will be back with the Sox next season IF that is true, that means he was bad, so he's not particularly valuable. If he turns out to be pretty good, he won't be back. So how is this a good thing?

I'm in the camp that doesn't fault KW for Dunn, or Peavy. But he sure as heck took a big risk on Rios that had possible disaster written all over it, that's clearly on him. As for not having a direction, that is what it looks like. But there may very well be a new direction, we just haven't seen what it is yet. I'm not ready to assume he's not got a decent plan, until the offseason is over.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 01:16 PM) Less households and urban sprawl? Is the chair against the wall? Does John have a long mustache? What are you talking about?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 8, 2011 -> 12:56 PM) If you want to go left wing, it is much better for the enviornment. I like eggs.