NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Jul 3, 2011 -> 01:57 AM) Chipotle can keep it. If a Chipotle was right next door and the closest Taco Bell was 15 minutes away, I would go to the Taco Bell 100% of the time and not think twice about it. My lord, really? Taco Bell is marginally suitable for human consumption. I can see not being a big fan of Chiptole, but to go out of your way to choose disgusting, grade C beef on purpose? Yikes. QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 4, 2011 -> 05:06 PM) NSS believes, iirc. lol wut? Uh, no. I'd suggest there is a basically zero percent chance that a large primate species has existed in the Pacific Northwest alongside humans for this long without a single one being believably documented, ever.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 5, 2011 -> 01:39 PM) I think FlySox should quote some comedians instead of survey's that way it holds more weight. When have you ever seen me quote a comedian for weight? Or for any reason in this forum?

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jul 4, 2011 -> 06:26 PM) As I predicted, Obama's stimulus spending was a total failure. http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-...job_576014.html Well of course, as you illustrate here, it was not a total failure. Total failure would mean no jobs. What it was, was an inefficient, hacked-together hodge podge that created less value than it cost to create. Basically, it was a typical government operation. Of course, I should point out, this argument also illustrates the danger of people who think tax cuts will miraculously result in growth - remember, a significant portion of the stimulus bill was in fact tax cuts.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 5, 2011 -> 08:02 AM) It is people like this that end up putting victims everywhere on trial when they report an incident. It is also the reason that we can't convict someone instantly off of an accusation. That first sentence is key here. The great majority of the time, someone bringing an accusation of criminal conduct is not making it up. But because a small percentage do, it makes life hell for real victims. I agree that this woman, if this story was made up (which it appears is the case), needs to be heavily prosecuted. Get her with everything they can. You ruin someone's life, you get the same treatment.

LOL, yes, the GOP is the party of patriots. They are also the party of racism and bigotry. Any other laughable, empty stereotypes we want to throw out there? And seriously FlySox, take a look at the "survey" that they are citing. Do you really not see the obvious polluting factors in there? Also, wait until Y2HH tells you what he thinks of surveys.

Since Dunn and Rios really can't be benched... and since I do believe Beckham is showing some positive signs... the only starting position players who I'd be interested in upgrading are Pierre or Morel. And then, yes, one more RH bullpen arm could be good, depending on who it is. But trading away Quentin seems like a silly way to accomplish any of this. I'd rather bench Pierre and bring up Viciedo for RF (TCQ to LF), and then look at what can be done for 3B and/or RH Relief. Trading for a starting pitcher just seems stupid to me, I'd rather trade one AWAY at this point then trade FOR one.

Eduardo Escobar: hitting .343 in his last 10 games. Maybe finally adjusting with the bat. De Aza en fuego. Remenowsky has given up 1 hit and no runs in his 3.2 IP so far at AAA, but his peripherals are atypical for him: walked 3, struck out 3. Small sample size though. And why is Shoemaker still in Kanny?

I agree with Ozzie that Dunn needs to keep playing... but he sure doesn't need to hit third.

Best way to get a multiplier on the Paulie vote... anyone who posts here do any posting on any boards for any of the national league teams with players on the ballot? If so, we should do a swap type of thing. They vote for Paulie in the AL, we vote for theirs in the NL.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Jul 1, 2011 -> 07:46 PM) They have to hoard and capitalize because they know what garbage they have on their book. The accounting atrocities they are allowed to get away with are baffling. Mark this s*** to market for crying out loud. You marked to market while riding the coaster to the top of the hill. Pfft, what? How are you going to mark the kind of stuff they are still muzzling amongst their credit books? There is no M to M against. Contingent won't work, you have to consider it like a pre-auction asset to go at a steep discount. But no one can say which is at that level. So no, MTM isn't some great fix. Yes, part of the hoarding of capital is real, internal risk abatement. But that doesn't explain the lego-peg-like jump in capital reserve numbers after the QE waves. Its fear and uncertainty, more than anything.

Bristol wins, 13-6. My new AAP Kinza so far for Bristol as a setup reliever: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K. And somehow despite the K total, his GO/AO is at 6.00. I'll take that from a 38th round pick.

QUOTE (Stan Bahnsen @ Jul 2, 2011 -> 06:35 PM) He looks like our #6 or #7 next year. He has Carlos Torres/Lucas Harrell similarities. I hope he can be a little better. I fail to see the Torres/Harrell comparison, and those two aren't even like each other. I don't recall Harrell ever putting up the numbers at the higher levels that Axelrod has done in the past couple years, peripheral-wise.

QUOTE (LayelBurton @ Jul 2, 2011 -> 01:41 PM) Dan Remenowsky's Future Sox Profile http://www.chicagonow.com/future-sox/dan-remenowsky/ Yeah I wrote that, needs updating. I doubt he's a closer, or at least not a prototypical one. His fastball barely scrapes 90. He's done well because, as Buddy Bell put it, he can "hit a gnat's ass on both sides of the plate", plus he can locate like that with 4 different pitches. He's also ballsy, doesn't walk guys, and has a funky delivery that makes the FB seem faster. If all goes well, he's a setup man: keeping guys off the base paths, stranding inherited runners with a high K total, and making the fireballing closer look like he's throwing that much faster.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 1, 2011 -> 12:25 PM) Offense has been down this year. The Sox have a .314 wOBA. The Cubs have a .318 wOBA. In any previous year in the past two decades (except maybe last year and 1992), those would be in the bottom 33% of the league. But this year, since offense is down, it's right about average. I guess that's sort of a bad comparison to make though. If the whole league is down, then the whole league is down, so the you can't take a team's numbers this year and compare to the league last year.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 1, 2011 -> 12:17 PM) Perhaps. But the Cubs only lead the Sox in wOBA by a mere 4 points. They also have the same wRC+ (park adjusted wOBA basically). These teams are both very mediocre at hitting and scoring this year. But if it were any other year, both would suck hard. No idea what the bolded means... but with similar offenses results-wise, it comes down to pitching (hugely in favor of the Sox) and defense (somewhat in favor of the Sox). So let's play like the better team and win at least two.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2011 -> 09:46 AM) Have you taken a look at Wall Street profits since 2009? A new record every quarter just about. And, again, not doing anything useful with those earnings because they are hoarding and capitalizing internally. Clarify the regulations, even if stringently, and you will see more money flow back into the markets and into loans. Guaranteed. They know how that's how they'll make more money later.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2011 -> 09:41 AM) There's a 2 way street problem here, and it comes out of the Congress. The best way for this to work would be simple regulations. Both 2k5 and I agree on that. It saves accounting work (his opinion), it makes things idiot/lobbyist-proof (my opinion). Works either way. Problem is...the big banks know that too. If the regulations were simple, there wouldn't be workarounds. So any time a simple regulation solution...like an across the board limit on leverage, or having banks hold onto some fraction of assets they issue, or the dividing line between commercial banks and investment firms comes along...it gets hammered by lobbyists, so that it becomes complex enough that either they can lobby effectively on obscure issues or so that there are enough loopholes that the regulations really won't matter. What we wind up with is a patchwork of things that are occasionally effective but become huge enemies of the financial industry (See: the CPFB) and enormously complicated, loophole-filled regulations sit on the books, keeping lawyers employed finding workarounds and lobbyists employed rewriting the rules to make things slightly better for Wall Street at every step. Patchwork is one problem, and that existed before 2007. But no, the banks to NOT want vagueries. And that's what they got. Sure they want exceptions and loopholes, they will work towards that, but you can't even HAVE those when the rules of the game haven't been set. This is not the happy go lucky times for banks you seem to think.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 1, 2011 -> 09:33 AM) That is, of course, what happens when we...um...listened to the banks (and you) and did exactly what they wanted. Remember your "Paying his neighbors mortgage" complaint? And the original Tea Party rant? That is exactly what that was about. If we took taxpayer money and did anything to really redeem those loans, it was bailing out people who screwed up unfairly. They had to learn their lesson. Not really. The banks are mostly not getting what they want. But certainly you are right that they were let off the hook after TARP to some degree, and that's why I am saying it would be smart to tighten the regs, but do so clearly and immediately so that we can clear that hurdle.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jun 30, 2011 -> 11:01 AM) a chipotle tortilla is almost 300 calories alone. QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 30, 2011 -> 12:48 PM) No s***. Burrito Bowl, son! Word. Bowls FTW.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 1, 2011 -> 09:17 AM) Is that the new explanation? Japan is sunk because they never moved their debts off of the books. Which coincidentally is what the Obama administration is trying really hard to do by stalling foreclosures, plus all of the ridiculous programs to go with it that haven't worked, but sure cost us a lot, and still keep debt and toxic assets on the banks books. Remember your mantra about what happens when you stop spending in a recession? The Obama administrations response has done the exact same thing in banking. Blaming banks for sitting on cash, while forcing banks to sit on cash out of fear of being closed, is what is the problem here. If you want money to flow, you don't tighten regulations and oversight. It doesn't work that way. Eh, I mostly agree, but I think you can tighten regulations while still promoting growth. Depends on how you do it, and the way NOT to do it is have this endless stream of vague generalities thrown around to put the whole sector in a waiting mode.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 1, 2011 -> 09:22 AM) Bumpadoodle. So I've got a few questions. I just set up an account with Vanguard and Im going to be investing in their Total Stock Market ETF and their Total International Stock ETF. Now, do I want to purchase into it now or do you guys see a dip coming and it would be worth holding off for a few months. Also, I got a credit card application that intrigued me, it's an American Express that offers up to 6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% at gas stations and department stores, and 1% on everything else. It also has a $75 annual fee, but that could pretty easily be made up by the supermarket cashback (average of $25 a week covers that), my biggest concern is that they say that balance transfers cost $5 or 3% each time, so does that mean each time I pay my statement online that I would get hit with a 3% charge? That would completely kill the extra cashback. Balance transfer means, if you move a credit card balance from another card to the Amex. You will not get charged for paying your bill. I will give you two answers to the questions about buying. One, if you are a long term investor (or even medium term), you need to avoid thinking like a day trader. Don't wait for the perfect dip, or jump on a bandwagon. Decide what you want to do long term, and do it. So if I were you, I'd buy whenever you are ready. Two, if you want to know what's going on out there, I've see some of the "experts" say we are oversold right now, and others saying the economy will further dip and the markets will go with it. So take your pick, one or both groups are wrong, maybe one is right.

Somehow this team won 2 of 3 at Colorado. 2 of 3 again here makes a 4-2 week and gets the team 1 game under .500 going into a week-long home stretch (3 vs a falling KC team, 4 vs an erratic MIN team). Same goal I was hoping for when this team was 11-22... .500 or better and 2nd place by the ASB. Second place might be pretty tough with a 3.5 game gap, but the .500 goal is very doable. Go beat up on the Flubbies.

Congrats, good to hear. But I think we'll move this to SLaM. In a few minutes.

Obama could show some real leadership here and dig into the regulation fuzziness. Agencies and Congress are fiddling, and its a major reason why the recovery has fallen into neutral. Obama could do a lot to get his agencies working on finalizing their end, and he could go to Congress with some allowances for what they want, in exchange for passing more complete, and more solid regulations. Make it a goal for the end of the year to be able to go to the financial sector and say, "OK, you guys are being watched, but you now know exactly what to watch for yourselves. Go to work." He can and should then follow up with consolidation of agencies and responsibilities to make the whole thing more efficient. Completeness and clarity first, efficiency next. He has to take leadership to make the first two things happen.

Shane Lindsay allowed 4 baserunners and threw 2 wild pitches in one inning, but somehow managed to allow just 1 run. Whisler's first game back at AAA wasn't pretty.