NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 15, 2011 -> 10:57 PM) Just looking at numbers, Shoemaker looks like the best bet to take a big step forward. He's shown the most power and the best plate discipline thus far and he doesn't have the worst strike out rate I've ever seen (though 25.3% is still quite high). Colligan looks like his ceiling is about that of a 4th OFer (and considering he played like 40 games in LF, 50 games in CF, and 15 games in RF, he looks the part too, though some of that was filling in for injured players). I think he's probably the safest pick out of any of these guys to take some sort of step forward due to his running ability, a bit of power, a solid eye, and the ability to fight off a K every now and then. I don't know how his defense is but he looks OK. Ciolli's peripherals are just scary bad. Doesn't walk, strikes out a ton, and he wasn't very good on the basepaths last year either. I'm going to guess that he is the most talented of that group, but he's got a long ways to go. He was mentioned briefly in the article, but the player I really want to see perform this year is Jose Martinez. He looked like he was going to be a pretty solid player until 2009 rolled around, and then he barely got back on the field last year. He's always showed a pretty good ability to hit the ball and he's had a bit of power in the past, but I'm hoping he takes that next step forward and gets a lot more of those to start falling. I disagree on Colligan - I think his ceiling is much higher than the others you mentioned. His problem has been work ethic and putting his talents to use, from everything I have read.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Mar 15, 2011 -> 09:09 AM) There isn't much you can do anymore. Companies do have to consider the future, however. Being shortsighted now for quick profit may end up costing [a company] dearly in the future. For example, all is well and good right now in China, the lack of basic civil and worker rights, low to no overhead on environmental cleanup, caring for workers, no pensions, no 401k's, etc...however, in 10-20 years when they're deep into their industrial revolution (we already went through it, they're going through it now), where workers begin to unionize (it will happen), and demand fair rights and fair wages/hours (again, it will happen), this "cheap labor" house of cards is going to fall apart at the seams. There won't be any rapid collapse. As India's cost of labor keeps rising at an astonishing rate, work is going to China. As China increases theirs, companies will go to some other Asian country. Then Africa. Sure, in some decades or centuries, the unfair and destitute cheap labor situation will dissipate, but it won't resolve itself in our lifetime. Meanwhile, the only way for the US to stay in front in terms of living conditions, is to also be in front with new tech of all kinds. That is the key.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 10:35 PM) Escobar has to be coming back to Birmingham. Gonzales says Charlotte.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 03:52 PM) Did anything in this law actually force Amazon to shut down its affiliates in the state, or is it just vindictively doing that in a way to force a pro-amazon policy change in that state? Its not vindictive, it was the smart business decision. They had two choices... 1. Charge sales tax on all purchases by IL customers or 2. Shut down all IL affiliates They chose two because it had a much smaller impact. And even though it bit me in the ass, and it annoys me personally, I can see why they did it.

QUOTE (SpainSOXfan09 @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 01:07 PM) Gotcha, but you would think this would be an absolute must as part of his rehab now. As much as I love for the farm to turn our more relievers I would really like to see if he could be a project for starter. Has Coop even mentioned him yet with the sucess he has had on the lower minors? He's too old and doesn't have enough college pedigree to be considered a high end prospect (in addition to the lack of velocity). He's on the Sox radar, but I'd say he's on the periphery. He did manage to get into a spring training game with the big kids late last spring, which for a guy who hadn't thrown about A- does say that they are at least interested in his development. But converting to starter, I have heard nothing along those lines. This is the year he either becomes a real prospect, or fades away, IMO. If he puts up numbers in AA like he's done at A- and A+, despite his age, you will start hearing him being talked about. And if he does indeed add a couple ticks to the fastball as well, converting to starter is always possible. I think that would be dictated by the team's needs at that point, in terms of starters vs relievers.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 12:30 PM) No. The driving force for a breakup of the North American continent ended over a billion years ago. At present, the core of North America is happily stable. There is at least one other active rift valley in the US, the Rio Grande Rift. Not sure if that counts as North American trying to "split apart" though.

QUOTE (JorgeFabregas @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 12:45 PM) Check your IL 2010 income tax forms. They ask specifically about such purchases. I will do no such thing.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 11:35 AM) I don't know if earthquake insurance there is any different than it is here, but it doesn't do much out in California. I was told by USAA that the rider would mean that existing coverages would be in place for any earthquake or any damage from it. That's why I had it.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 11:35 AM) I see that Chicago is in that earthquake zone for the New Madrid fault, although very far from the main area. Would the damage from a huge earthquake do much to Chicago? And is there any natural disaster that could really ravage this city? I know it's pretty hard for a tornado to touch down in a city, plus we can't be hit by hurricanes, etc. If a New Madrid quake was strong enough to do serious damage in Chicago, you might as well wipe St Louis and Memphis off the map. There are some faults in the Dixon area that occasionally produce decent quakes, like in the 4's on the Richter scale. And Chicago does have the threat of a seiche, but the damage from those is usually very small.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 09:40 AM) NSS72, thanx for the great update. I didn´t know what his bread and butter pitches were and had not really looked at his past performances in depth. How many ticks can he realistically put on his heater? 2-3? If he can do that and spot his fastball then what are the chances for him to be a starter in your opinion (Provided he gets into a steady conditioning program)? Well, he was a starter in college, but he's been exclusively a reliever in the minors. He's a big strong guy, and the scouting report on him is that he really hadn't been on any significant conditioning program. So adding a bit of speed would seem possible. He'd need to do that before he'd be considered as a starter (because if he's at 89-90 as a reliever, that likely goes down as a starter), or as a closer, at the major league level. I can tell you that given his success so far, if his FB was 92 instead of 89-90, and he was able to maintain the same control and breaking stuff, I think you have at least a decent major league middle reliever on your hands. And for an NDFA pickup, that's a big win as it is.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 07:54 AM) Who is Shane Lindsay? 26 year old Aussie, NDFA by the Rockies in 2003, bounced around the minors with high K totals but also some walks, along with usually decent core numbers... until 2010, when his K:BB dropped off and he gave up a lot more runs, in AAA. Project guy, seems like.

QUOTE (chisoxfan09 @ Mar 14, 2011 -> 07:10 AM) JPN, great job as always!! I notice in AA (Your back yard of course) you have Remenowsky as a relieiver and not closing. Is that by design? Have they made the decision to groom him as either a short or long reliever and take him away from closing duties where he was so lethal? I always had hope he could be our closer of the future with those K/BB splits per 9 innings. As the resident Remenowsky guy... for one thing, you have to remember that this guy missed two-thirds of last season because of his knee injury. He reports to be back to normal now, but still, he's only got a month and a half of A+ under his belt. AA is a pretty big jump in that situation as it is, closing would be bigger. I'd suspect if he comes in as a setup man in AA and does his usual thing, he'll be closing there soon enough. Remember too there are some other relievers that the org thinks more highly of that are likely also going to be in B-Ham, such as Nate Jones and Kyle Bellamy. And as much as I like him to be a future major league reliever, I wouldn't expect him to close at the major league level. He still needs a few more clicks on the heat to even be in that discussion. I know last season that was a big emphasis for him - conditioning and strength work to put on a bit more velocity. But before that time, he was typically 89-90 with the fastball. His strikeouts result from a combination of superb control and the ability to throw multiple breaking pitches for strikes, along with a deceptive delivery that makes the fastball seem quicker than it is. Dan says he's hoping for AA as well, but I think he needs to prove in camp that he's truly back to 100% health before they consider that.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 13, 2011 -> 01:00 PM) All 3 play into it...plus a couple of different points. Notably; the competence level of the Federal government response, which I'd say is somewhat questionable after this country's last disaster, and secondly, the relationship between the geology and the actual infrastructure, which Japan has thought a lot more about than we have. (although, I may have to exempt nuclear plants from that point) I can tell you from living in Memphis for a few years, they are sooooo not ready. Few of the large buildings are even up to the code level the city has asked for. Most of the local residents are sort of vaguely aware of New Madrid's existence, but none seem to know what to do if it happens, and NO one I asked down there had earthquake rider on their insurance (or, in many cases, insurance at all on their home). TDOT had been working to retrofit bridges, but they were only some small % of the way done in the area. Then there is the problem that Memphis sits on a soft bluff surrounded by silty soil that is part of a liquefaction zone. Things would be ugly in Memphis if New Madrid goes big.

So one of Japan's Nuke reactors is not cooling as it should, and they fear it could melt down. That would be... really bad. Just want to point out, without snark or over the top words, that this should be a consideration when looking at future energy generation. Oil and gas driven power can have spills, which can be pretty bad. Nuclear plants are a lot less likely to have problems, BUT, if they do, the effect can be catastrophic. Meanwhile, what damage is done when solar panels, wind turbines, hydro engines and the like get broken? Nothing notable. This should not by any means be the deciding factor, but it should be considered on the list of reasons to use or not use certain technologies. Not just what is the pollution, but what happens when something goes wrong? Especially in places with significant risk of geological or oceanic risk.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 03:51 PM) Eh I'm going to blame the massive bubble generated and then inflated by terrible derivatives and insurance tools invented by people who still walked away much, much richer after the whole mess. Without Wall Street creating those, those 'stupid' home buyers wouldn't have been approved for loans in the first place. Either way it's naive to blame public workers unions for state budget shortfalls. I partially agree with your last sentence there. Pensions for state workers are a definite and significant problem in many states, and the Unions deserve some blame. Though honestly, I think the state governments are more to blame for agreeing to these things in their current form at all, and then worsening them via borrowing and other programs. This whole Union debate is silly to me. You've got state governments wanting to take away bargaining rights - which just tells me they have zero ability to face their own employees. You've got unions with a death grip on pension models that need to go away, because they refuse to adapt. You've got liberals screaming about taking away rights (which I sort of agree with) and that taking away pensions and paying reasonably for benefits is some awful idea (which I don't agree with). And you've got conservatives wanting to just get rid of unions or do the closest thing they can to it, again, because they are too afraid to actually have a discussion (and because the corporate narrative has penetrated the GOP more so than the Dems). Look, it should be real simple. Workers can organize however they want, in whatever way they want. Private businesses can choose to negotiate with them in any way the want, or not at all. Governments should line up their pay and benefits to look like private sector equivalence, and if unions want to talk about it, fine. Negotiate with them like a business leader might, give and take. We are way overcomplicating this. Let unions organize in any way they like, let workers be part or not be part as they'd like, let employers go about is as they like (within legal and ethical guidelines of course). The WI law trying to PREVENT specific negotiating rights is stupid, but so is the practice of requiring certain work to be done by union personnel.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 03:48 PM) I'd say get out and float with your feet pointing down-stream. At least that's how you go through rapids if you fall out of your boat/kayak. The floatsam complicates that a bit, but I'd just imagine it'd be way to easy for you to get trapped in the car as it became submerged or rolled. Honestly I don't think it matters. Chances of survival will be near-zero in either case with a wall of 50 mph water/mud/debris slamming into you, and churning you downstream for however long.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 03:40 PM) Unions have agreed plenty of times to defer compensation to help cover budget shortfalls. They've certainly done that in Wisconsin, but Walker wanted absolutely nothing to do with negotiating. He, like the new governor down in Florida, seems to think being governor means being King of the State and allows you to run the state like you'd run a business. The problems are governors and legislators never actually making long-term plans to pay for anything and, of course, the massive recession caused by Wall Street, not public employees' unions. Made worse by them, but they were only part of the problem. You can also blame stupid consumers and home buyers, government actions, and a number of market factors.

Jeff Marquez will put together a nice year in Charlotte as a starter, finally looking like what KW thought he was getting.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Mar 10, 2011 -> 04:01 PM) I'll do an update tonight with the additions of Wes Whisler and Kenny Gilbert. Whisler is back? To do what, be a lefty in the Charlotte pen?

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 01:33 PM) You aren't familiar with the standard insulting names used on other Midwestern states? As I recall... WI: Cheeseheads IL: FIB's LP MI: Trolls UP MI: Youppers (sp?) IA: Iweejans (and no, I don't know what that name comes from) MN: Puddle Jumpers I can't remember the Indiana one.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 01:28 PM) +1 in support of Wisconsin bill from me. Then again, I'm a known anti-union guy. You are also a FIB, not a Cheesehead, so I didn't ask.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 01:18 PM) Funny, I don't remember you claiming this when Obama passed the healthcare law despite the will of the people not supporting it. As I recall, the numbers on that bill were better than 50% in favor before it passed, then dropped to right around 50% around the time it passed. Not sure where its at now. Not great, but not exactly against the will of the people either. What are the numbers like supporting this WI bill? I'd love to see support for the benefit cost increases, and the collective bargaining issue, seperately.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 01:04 PM) Internet company AOL traded lower yesterday following news that it is laying off more than 900 employees, or about 20% of its workforce, in a cost-cutting effort. You've got inter-office Mail!!!

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 11, 2011 -> 12:35 PM) This is more "insane-old-manism" than anything to do with conservatism. Yeah, that's not conservative, that's 91-year-old-losing-his-mindism.

The argument that oil company subsidies should be kept to keep energy prices down for the poor makes no sense. It is abundantly clear that getting off fossil fuels in the long run is the best possible course for everyone, poor or rich. So the question is more simply, what do we do in the meantime to protect poor users of the energy? And the idea that passing the money through a corporation who may or may not trickle down some of the savings to some consumers indirectly is an efficient use of capital is laughable. States already all have energy assistance programs in place. If you put the money into those agencies in the same amount as the oil subsidies, you will lose some of it to overhead - just as you would with a corporation - but you have CONTROL over how much, and can force change. Give it to BP, and I guarantee little or none of it is causing any real savings to anyone, AND you have no control. Furthermore, it just feeds toe fossil fuel beast, slowing progress, and therefore slowing the process of getting poor people cheap, renewable energy. So basically, in looking at sending the money to BP/Shell/etc. vs a set of state energy assistance agencies, both are inefficient pass-throughs, but the latter is actually focused on helping people and would accelerate us towards the long term goal. Seems pretty clearly a better use of funds to me. And remember, most of the time, as you've seen me post, I tend to favor private business for efficienct use of money. Its just that there are some situations where the goal alignment doesn't work well for that, and this is one of them.