NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 02:10 PM) No Dunn, Gordo back in. Good. I'll be there to get the series win.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 01:26 PM) Sorry, I ignore his posts. I'm sure he's heart-broken.

Two seperate notes... 1. Phil Rogers mentioned today in the Trib that before Beckham was in the cage with Walk, he first took a bunch of swings... left-handed. And apparently had a nice stroke, hitting line drives solidly. 2. There is being disappointed and expecting Walker to be fired, which I can see a good argument for... and then there's outright hating the guy and being an asshole. Its really sad to see the pettiness come out here on SoxTalk when people fall into the latter category. The guy does work with his hitters constantly, and does everything he can, so it seems to me he deserves the respect to stick with professional critique, not laughably stupid screaming and swearing at him.

SOU League all star, finished the game for them with 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Axelrod transitioning to AAA pretty well in his 2 starts so far. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear more about him as the year goes on.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 22, 2011 -> 10:09 AM) More depressing news if you live in Illinois/the Chicago area: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/section/blo...mentId=blogDest Unfunded pension obligationss at $25B? Holy crap, I didn't know it was that big. So not good.

QUOTE (prospectguy @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 05:10 PM) For sure I will check it out, I love this stuff. Haha. Thanks for the comments. One thing that is difficult in doing a list for the Sox is when a system isnt all that deep (same for my Tigers), I felt I wanted to reward a couple guys for production (Leesman and Short), if I was doing pure ceiling, yeah Escobar and Thompson probably would've made it. I try to balance those two things on my list, which is why I have Mitchell. I just think Leesman and Short have a better chance at reaching their ceilings, which admittedly aren't as high. I've learned as a Tigers and baseball fan in general to respect my opponents. We have lost to the Twins too many times for me not to, but I think it comes down to the Tigs and Sox this year. I agree on the balancing act, you can't go just on ceiling, as most of the highest ceiling guys don't live up to it, and there are always guys who do well who weren't as highly considered at draft time. And I like Short, I just think there are a few guys I'd put higher right now, even in a weak Sox system.

LOL @ ROI being a reason to keep playing Pierre. For one, its a sunk cost at this point. But more importantly, let's look at two investment instruments... 1. Juan Pierre 2. Dayan Viciedo One is an asset that peaked long ago and shows no signs of improvement. In fact is a depreciating asset at this point, given his age. The other has loads of potential, but is somewhat unproven. You never, ever, make investment decisions today based on currently inaccurate assumptions you made yesterday. You look at the expectations you had when you bought - a Juan Pierre who plays average D, steals a lot of bases at a 75%+ rate, and gets on base around .340 or so - and see if they are still valid TODAY. Evidence says, they are not. Therefore, you look at the NEW landscape. TODAY's Pierre vs TODAY's Viciedo, and you pick the one most likely to make you money from here on out. ROI my ass. Ranger often provides a much-needed dose of sanity to the panic and extremism we see here, but in this case, this argument has zero logic behind it.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 04:42 PM) The head of PIMCO is out publicly arguing that anyone who thinks the U.S. ought to be focused on deficit reduction right now needs to come back out of "left field". He recommends a swift and substantial investment in infrastructure. He's right that people arguing a reduction in deficit and debt will magically creatr stimulus or other direct investment results is bats***. But that's not the legitimate argument for doing so either. The legitimate argument for reducing the deficit and debt is lowering economic risk, broadening the ability to make discretionary spending decisions by giving the budget more breathing room, and enhancing the value of US dollars and debt (which has many positive effects). Feel free to ignore the legitimate reasons and focus on the loons, but you are then just missing the bigger picture.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 04:21 PM) BTW I still haven't seen anyone address Breyer's contention that restricting class action will essentially eliminate many legitimate claims because they're too small for individuals to file suit over. I responded to that idea, which I disagree with. And class actions are not being removed, they are being narrowed.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 03:58 PM) Of course...the amount of paperwork required for a few million people to file individual lawsuits for small claims, for either of these cases, is prohibitive. First, that's not the case. If its actually literally "small claims" court, they cost is zero if they win and they don't need legal representation. Second, there are groupings that fall between "1 guy suing for $20" and "a million people suing for billions in a wide impact area".

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 08:19 AM) So in my home search I have been trying to be as thorough as I can possibly be...part of me wants a fixer upper...part of me wants something older, but already fixed up for me....part of me wants to stay near the Strip...part of me wants to go live in the mountains (yes, there are mountains within 40 minutes or so of the Strip, where you can experience all 4 seasons). I have found options for each desire, and am following through on them... And then last night at work, while just searching through available lots, I found some land out in the middle of nowhere...where there are wild horses roaming about, no utility hookups, and just miles and miles of clean air, sunlight, and stars to drink a beer and smoke a cigar underneath....and I got to thinking... How amazing would it be to live off the grid in a place like that? To either buy an existing home outfitted with solar panels and backup generators (yes, there are some affordable ones)...or to actually buy a prefab home and outfit it with everything necessary to live off the grid? The thought of it is making me dream of the possibilities...the hardest part would be getting the financing...although there are companies that specialize in these types of loans...and then of course getting the septic tank put in and dealing with all the permitting...but I think it could be done...a very small space mind you...but it could be done for $200k or so.... Anyways, sorry for wasting your time...just a dream I am having right now... Funny you should mention this, I actually bought some land years ago that's BFE - 24 acres in the mountains, fantastic views, mostly forested, cheap as hell to buy, really low taxes... but right now we're just sitting on it. Schools there are pretty bad and very few other kids nearby, so raising kids on it would be a disadvantage. But it has great solar potential to be pretty off-grid if we wanted to, and we might build a part time cabin someday, or retire out there or something. Land is dirt cheap right now. I've explored what financing exists for building on land like that, though we're not doing anything right now. PM me if you want to talk shop about doing that sort of thing.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 03:45 PM) Yeah, it's a very unwieldy suit they were bringing, and if it were successful, could open a whole host of other problems. The flip side to that is Walmart gets away with what appears to be systematic discrimination. I hope some of the plaintiffs still go for it, if they have reason to... just in a more reasonable scale. Then multiple others could follow suit (ha!), especially if there is some success there. So Walmart can still be made to pay, if they in fact should.

QUOTE (Cali @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 03:45 PM) I honestly can't remember anyone who signed a big/big-ish contract/contract extension ever getting traded in the first year of said contract. Is that even allowed by baseball? By baseball? Unless otherwise specified in the contract, yes. By PK? He can accept/reject any trade I believe.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 03:43 PM) The Sox have lost the first game in both of their previous IL series thus far. Of course, then won the next 2 in both of them. I hope the trend continues. If it does repeat itself, its kind of a perfect analogy for the way both these teams have done in the past few seasons... Cubs start hot and fade fast, Sox start slow then play catch-up.

QUOTE (prospectguy @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 02:33 PM) Hey guys. I know we are a rival, but we have been doing a series on the top 7 prospects, and I just recently did one for your system. Hope its alright to post here. Wanting to get legit opinions or info on some guys I might be missing. I realize I left Eduardo Escobar off, but watching him play I just don't see a guy that hits at the big league level at all. http://www.detroitbaseballpage.com/farm-re...icago-white-sox Thanks for posting, and this is all good. Thanks for posting, and we have always been open to other teams' fans here, as long as you are respectful of where you are. I tend to agree with danman mostly, I think you've got Short too high (I like him, but probably not Top 10 in the system yet), Mitchell too high as well with his struggles, and I'd even add Leesman as being too high. We're actually overdue for our own Top 25 list that we had been publishing about 3 times a year. We have a whole blog site devoted to this stuff - futuresox.com. You should check it out. And watch for a new list soon.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 03:35 PM) Not advocating any trade here, but you don't trade away your best player and give up when you are just 5 1/2 back Which is why the correct answer to this is... not yet. But maybe later.

Seems pretty logical to me... how do you prove a subjective, non-statistically-presentable act on such an enormous scale? The actors are all so fully different, unless you are trying to say that the highest executives are somehow promoting bad behavior. And you'd have to have evidence to prove direct actions like that. I tend to agree with SCOTUS' majority here. Individuals can bring suit and try their cases, but representing a class that large in this non-numbers scenario seems impractical.

Win the next two, and its still a successful series.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 18, 2011 -> 03:50 PM) Well, right now...employers aren't happy about any gaps in anyone's resume..."2 years off to play baseball" might really hurt a person's chances at a different career. Just the reality of 9% unemployment America. I don't know about that. I think a 25 year old who spent a few years trying to play ball, and a 22 year old with the same degree/school/grades, are either on a level field or maybe slightly favoring the ballplayer. The ballplayer has a few more years' adult experience, and in some cases, that ballplaying on the resume is actually an appeal. Heck, at the trading firm I worked at previously, there was a trader who was a former 4th rd pick of the Yankees. The only disadvantage, really, is that the person making that decision is essentially starting their "real" career a few years late, earnings gains and all, if they don't make it.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 21, 2011 -> 09:07 AM) Falling life expectancies in the US US Healthcare! Best in the world! :headbang You show that life expetancy continues to increase, but for a specific region and gender, and you manage to take that as a sign of failing health care. Quite a leap, no? Also, look at the region where this is primarily occurring - mid-south and appalachia. I lived in the mid-south. The primary problem isn't access to good health care, its lifestyle choices. Fried foods galore, lots of booze, high % of smokers, all of course linked with poverty. If anything, I think the map suggests its worth investing in a fight against poverty, more than a fight against health care.

Pangilinan repeating GF, opens the season with the golden sombrero.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jun 20, 2011 -> 04:18 PM) Because you don't know how to use the simple tool of Google? Really though, it was on ESPN TV yesterday. Now a few other places are reporting it today. QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 20, 2011 -> 04:33 PM) Somewhere in that discussion I did post where Heyman suggested Ozzie as a likely candidate. Perhaps I wasn't clear. Evidence, as in, any indication that the Marlins are interested. Not Rogers or Heyman pulling s*** out of their rear ends because it fits nicely on a piece of paper... but anything at all from the Marlins side, or anything other than someone's idle speculation. Yes I know it was discussed last year, and it wasn't pulled off. Just saying, this thread should be titled "what if the Marlins want Guillen", since there is no information that says they are interested. Nothing wrong with the topic as speculation, I just think its funny that the thread title and people's reactions act as if something is going on here, when there is zero evidence saying there is.

Trying to get back on track, I will ask this again... why is this thread called "Marlines interested in Ozzie Guillen" when I can find not a shred of evidence that this is the case today?

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 20, 2011 -> 02:49 PM) I think it was Leesman's turn in the rotation, and he was elected to the SL all star game. It might have been a spot start in place of Leesman. Though its two starts in a row now.