NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (b-Rye @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 03:30 PM) Cowley says Ozzie to talk to media in a little while... might be a 'No' on Thome. If its Ozzie talking, I'd say its a "no". If it were KW, I'd say it was "yes".

The only thing that really bothers me here is the network's seeming double standard on what ads it runs. As for Tim Tebow's ad being useful... smart women will think for themselves, talk to experts, talk to family and friends, etc. Women not so smart will make the decision lightly, and probably not care about Tim Tebow either. I have no idea the percentage of each. But either way, I don't see Tim Tebow making any difference whatsoever.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 03:21 PM) Unless, for example, you're 95% certain that you can get the deal done and the other team (SD?) is waiting on something else, like seeing how guys start off this season in the minors or the point that they can get Mitchell without him being a PTBNL or something along those lines. OK, if its like 99% a done deal, then maybe. But that seems really odd to me - because you'd just use PTBNL if that's all that's holding things up. I just doubt its anything that solid.

Also, I'll admit, the anticipation is killing me. I shouldn't care this much, but I do. I am checking websites incessantly.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 03:17 PM) I think you might just be one of those kids that thinks everything is always terrible. 23 is a little too young to already hate everything, isn't it? Everything is not either "great" or "terrible"...there is such a thing as a middle ground. And there is also such a thing as not having to have everything be ideal in order for the whole to be successful. That said, I disagree with "gigantic" but that spot in the order is currently not a strength and is a concern. However, maintaining some midseason payroll flexibility is actually kind of smart. Teams rarely exhaust themselves financially before a season begins, unless they're presented with a can't-miss opportunity during the offseason. Having an OPS of about .730, which is what Kotsay/Jones is likely to produce, is a pretty big weak spot - especially when there are guys out there who would sign for cheap that could give you .850 or better. Its not the end of the world, as the team is pretty good otherwise, but its a pretty big glaring hole. You don't leave that kind of hole, when you can do better, on the hopes that MAYBE you get something later in the season.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 02:41 PM) Nice work... http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/25/po...ry6139730.shtml Obama on Magic Johnson... That has to be a typo - who says "infections enthusiasm"? Although even correctly stated, its a pretty bad choice of words.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 02:16 PM) Just to change topics a bit, I get the feeling, between this attack, the general sense of things overseas, and the Brits raising their terror alert level without discussing why, that there's at least a belief that something big is in the works for the near future. The Pentagon has literally said that is the case. Not really a secret.

Today was a good day for Chicago news, financially... --Home sales went up for the 6th straight month for the metro, with large year-over-year and even month-over-month gains. --Chicago sales particularly went up big, 40%. --December sales were expected to disappoint, but actually surprised up. --Ford plans to add 1200 new jobs at the Torrance Avenue plant.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 01:26 PM) Kotsay is on the team no matter what, he can still give Konerko the occasional day off or play some poor outfield in a pinch but there's likely to be a tremendous difference in production between Thome and Kotsay. It's not like we're talking about a 28 year old Mark Kotsay either, he's not very good in the outfield anymore and really can't play CF. Just how much is that "flexibility" worth when the "versatile" 34 year old is likely to be a liability both at the plate and in the field (sans 1B)? That's what I am thinking - Kotsay is a given, so really, this is Thome vs Nix vs another reliever. And none of those three are playing any significant time at 1B. I'll take Thome.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 10:36 AM) Wow, thats a way different story then presented in the first article. Disclaimer: Don't look at page 2 unless you enjoy seeing gruesome pictues... Yeah, I'm not sure how seriously I'd take a blog named "Hair Balls", but if any of that is true, it is FAR different than the original story, in regards to Broadway.

I think its more interesting to focus on players who are the biggest question marks - those who could be all over the board in terms of performance. How THEY do, is the key to the season. That list, for me, is: Rios Teahen Quentin (health, mostly) Jenks How those guys do, makes or breaks the season, in my mind. But the guy who's butt is most on the hot seat, especially if we do this absurd DH committee thing, is Ozzie.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 09:08 AM) Please, dont bring him back. I know he's a great guy and all, but it is time to move forward. QUOTE (flavum @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 09:10 AM) Agreed, and Ozzie knows this. He keeps saying that he wishes he hated Thome, so the decision would be easier. There's your answer, Ozzie. You know you don't want him back. Don't do it. The only reason I've seen anyone give for why we don't bring Thome back is something like "its time to move on". No one has given a real reason why you'd want LESS productive hitters (by a long shot) over Thome. The only thing Ozzie can come up with is "flexibility". No one has a real reason.

NABE 75-member board says, unanimously, expecting slow but steady growth and recovery in the economy in the first half of 2010. Let's hope they're right.

Not sure where to put this, so... Chemical Ali, aka the Ace of Spades - He Gone.

What's with the Royals and creating position jam-ups? Last year it was 1B. This year its the outfield.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 25, 2010 -> 07:32 AM) And what exactly has the Haitian government been able to do when compared to what the US government did? I WROTE THAT? ARE YOU SURE? Either the grammar's incorrect and it should read "what the US government is doing" (present continuous) or it's a comparison of Katrina and Haiti, isn't it? Go back and read through the thread. You were the one who, repeatedly, kept bringing up comparisons with Katrina, until finally someone took the bait. You were the one who started with that stuff. You are talking in circles.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 22, 2010 -> 12:34 PM) Ok, am I missing something in that article or what? All it says is that "at some point, Lance Broadway became involved." Are you guys reading something different? Yeah, exactly. Lance Broadway is not being sued for assault, some other guy is, and Broadway appears to have been tangentially involved. I am changing the thread title.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 24, 2010 -> 09:00 PM) That part made my eyes pop. Definitely excited about Dayan's future. While I agree with his overall point, I think the idea that you can calculate what a player would have done at some other level is a little ridiculous. Its so full of guesswork that putting any sort of actual number to it is just pointless. I'm pscyhed about Viciedo as well, I think if you take the whole picture into account, he did pretty well. But let's not get too attached so some fictitious SWAG stat line.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 24, 2010 -> 11:18 PM) Either of the Long skeletons unearthed from their graves or even David Duke could have done a much better job. When you combine the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with a totally incapacitated/decapitated UN mission...the Louis Armstrong Airport with what the Haitians have to work with, the sunken port/cranes and an obliterated National Palace with many government officers/police/firefighters/doctors dead or missing, there's really no basis possible to make any "governmental" comparisons between the US and Haiti. Not to mention 150-250,000 corpses that have to be buried quickly...the final totals will be greater than the Tsunami. The poorest 10% of Americans have a comparable life of luxury when juxtaposed with the poorest 90% of Haitians. LOL, you were the one who started that!

As people here probably know, I'm usually an Ozzie defender. People come on here and say, in so many words, that Ozzie is stupid - when clearly that is not the case. Ozzie knows a hell of a lot about baseball. But this time, if he really does decide that a platoon of Kotsay and Jones is somehow better than Thome and Jones (which is what we are really debating here), then I'll say it: Ozzie, this is stupid. I actually decided to send an email to Ozzie, asking him (much more politely than I am here) to reconsider Thome. I've always had his email address around, but I don't think I've ever used it. That's how desperately I am hoping that Oz comes to his senses on this.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 24, 2010 -> 06:41 PM) Why can't we airdrop MREs and water like we did so many times? Would it cause riots? Are we doing this? I don't understand why the bottlenecking has to destroy all of this. Air dropping in an urban area doesn't work well. They'd have to find clear area somewhere outside town, off some lousy road, and you're in the same place again. Also, MRE's actually require that people in PAP know how to use them - its not obvious, believe it or not, and the instructions may not be in Creole. Then there's the problem where, if you don't control the supply of that food, then the gangs will.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 23, 2010 -> 05:40 PM) Really, there's a link y'all aren't looking at; Massachusetts. People are more angry at Wall Street than anywhere else right now. They'd rather have Lieberman and Nelson running those things than the people currently on Wall Street. The Pres and Congress looked the other way the last 12 months while Geithner, Summers, and Bernanke on got everything they wanted, and the end result is 10%+ unemployment, Wall Street Bonuses large enough to pay for the whole health care bill, a Federal Reserve that thinks it needs to fight inflation when unemployment is at 10%, and Republicans winning elections in Massachusetts. That last one...wake-up call for these guys. Mass was just one of the last straws, this shift was underway before that election.

Tempting to email Ozzie about this, but frankly, he'd probably be LESS likely to ask for Thome if all the emails wanted him. Dear Ozzie- You got your speedy leadoff guy, you got guys who can bunt and steal bases, and your defense is better. Now, please, do the right thing, and give the team the one more LH bat it needs. Platoon Thome with Jones - there's your flexibility. Sincerely, NSS

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 23, 2010 -> 06:36 AM) The timing of the "screw you banks, you suck ass" speech was interesting, and it was right at the same time that Bennie was told he was losing support. Hmmm. I think you have the causality backwards. Bernanke's school of thought is losing out with ObamaCo, and Volcker is coming into vogue. And obviously, Volcker's plan is less happy for Wall Street (but some of it is also probably necessary).

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Jan 22, 2010 -> 06:33 PM) i have to agree with you. although the teams hit for a lot of power, pitching was still number one. pitching 1, hrs 2 Except this guy is saying "pitching all, HR zero", which is not the same thing.