NorthSideSox72

I still think Thome is likely. And I also think that the Royals would be willing to part with Kila Ka'ahuie for not a ton of talent, and he'd be a beautiful fit for cheap salary.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 23, 2009 -> 04:52 PM) Tough = it's against the rules for him to sign with us now. Used to be like June, but they moved it way back - not sure how far, but I thought you could pretty much do it any time now.

Even in trying to remove the fan boy in me from the decision, I still see the Sox as the best team this decade, maybe even a few decades. Only team other than than the '27 Yankees to go wire-to-wire, AND lose 1 or fewer games in the postseason? 2005 Sox, without a doubt.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Dec 23, 2009 -> 03:31 PM) Dotel is getting a 3 million offer from the Pirates...I now kinda feel we could have matched that and had four good arms in the pen (Dotel, Thornton, Putz, Bobby) Our pen right now is pretty damn good. Dotel would have gotten far more than that in arbitration, and since we didn't offer, it might be tough to get him to come back anyway.

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Dec 23, 2009 -> 03:04 PM) Angels Reach Agreement With Fernando Rodney By Tim Dierkes [December 23 at 2:57pm CST] 2:57pm: The Angels have agreed to terms with Fernando Rodney, according to ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas (Jorge Arangure of ESPN passes on the translated news via Twitter). Rodney will sign a two-year deal worth $11MM. Wow the Tigers are losing good players left and right... I guess that's good for us. Tigers have major financial trouble.

Just to add even more oddity to the current economic picture... consumer spending rose .5%, and personal income rose .4%, both unexpectedly.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 23, 2009 -> 01:05 PM) Javy's averages over 200 innings, 34 starts and 187 k's in the AL. His main detriment is the gopher ball, there's nothing other then an inflated ERA that says he's been anything but an above-average pitcher in the AL. I don't think a propensity to suck in some big spots proves that he's lacking in anything but cajones. He's a good pitcher, the numbers back that up. Other than ERA? So basically, you are saying that other than the most key statistic for starting pitchers, and in the most key pressure situations, he's a good pitcher. OK, I'll give you that. But that means very little. He's a decent pitcher, but he's not a good candidate for that ballpark or that atmosphere, and everything in his career (by your own accounting) says he's not likely to be very good for NYY.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Dec 23, 2009 -> 12:48 PM) That's not that uncommon with controversial legislation. I'm sure he's gotten more than a few pieces of mail containing dog or human s*** too. That's also surprisingly common. I once sent a letter to my house rep when I was living in Tennessee. I was writing in support of a decision by SCOTUS - I believe it was the decision that children should not have to be forced to say "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance (I am fine with the pledge generally, but dislike the idea of forcing the later-added religious part on kids). Of course, living in Tennessee, my letter was in the minority opinion, but I saw that this particular rep was trying to pass legislation against the decision. I got a letter back - saying that he agreed with me... except he was saying that he too was disgusted by the SCOTUS decision. Basically, some lacky in his office just saw "pledge of allegiance", and assumed I was against the decision, and spit out a form letter to that end. That was annoying.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 23, 2009 -> 12:01 PM) The best part of it, is that they have built themselves a house of cards based on the value of the US dollar. They are the ultimate bubble economy on this planet right now. It is not a matter of if, but when. Throw in the ginormous public dependancy on their government, and the incredible amount of ineffeciency they get out of it, and you are primed for something worse than the Soviet collapse when all of the juggling balls fall. Right now they are keeping afloat on the hard currency that comes in from the US, but IMO if these recession is anything but quick, China as we know it disappears into chaos. Massive growth continues in manufacturing outsourced to China, as well as tech areas, and their population is still booming. Those things will assure that any fall won't be nearly as bad as the USSR one you describe. I agree they are in for a fall though.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 10:36 AM) http://finance.yahoo.com/news/November-hom...set=&ccode= WASHINGTON (AP) -- Home resales surged last month to the highest level in nearly three years, reflecting an extraordinary level of federal support that has pulled the housing market back from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Buyers were racing to complete their sales before the original expiration date of a tax credit for first-time buyers that was scheduled to expire Nov. 30. Last month, Congress decided to extend and expand the credit to ensure the housing market could sustain its recovery. The Realtors estimated that about 2 million homebuyers have taken advantage of the credit so far and forecasts that another 2.4 million will use it by the middle of next year. First-time buyers made up about half of all transactions last month, driving sales up 44 percent above last year's levels, a record jump. Sales are now up 46 percent from the bottom in January, but down 10 percent from the peak more than four years ago. The median sales price was $172,600, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier, and up 0.2 percent from October. "Things are stabilizing," said Pete Flint, chief executive of real estate Web site Trulia.com. "There is a significant amount of buyer interest out there." November sales rose 7.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million, from a downwardly revised pace of 6.09 million in October. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 6.25 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The inventory of unsold homes on the market fell about 1 percent to 3.5 million. That's a healthy 6.5 month supply at the current sales pace, the lowest level in three years. Besides the existing tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers, homeowners who have lived in their current properties for at least five years can now claim a tax credit of up to $6,500 if they relocate. To qualify, buyers must sign a purchase agreement by April 30. Postponing the deadline could mean sales will drop during the winter months and recover in the spring. "Buyers have no sense of urgency now," said Gary DeRosa, an agent with ZipRealty Inc. in Seattle. Meanwhile NEW home sales went down 11% in the same period, lowest since April. But before anyone panics, two things to note. One, existing homes are a much bigger number. Two, this divergence is, IMO, exactly what the market needs. Increased buying, decreased new supply (as builders continue to downshift). So together, this is a great sign.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 11:24 PM) Well it's more a switch than a splitter, if there is some decline in quality somehow you'd really have to be a hard-core geek to notice. With HDMI there is either a connection or there's not. This is key - what Jas is really talking about isn't a splitter, its a switch. I have only one, because my TV has only one HDMI input (but the cable box and the blu-ray have HDMI outputs I wanted to use). I bought a simple 4 channel switch, has a remote, and it even switches source automatically based on what is sending a signal. Got it on Amazon for like $30. Works great, no quality loss I can see. You aren't diminishing the signal, so, any interference of degredation should be miniscule.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 09:21 PM) Sigh 1. From a political point of view, and a legal one, I have no problem with this at all. Cigna is a successful company, they aren't being stilited up by the government. If they want to pay the guy that kind of money, fine. 2. From a purely personal point of view - one which I would not expect the government to build laws around - that is an obscene amount of money for a guy LEAVING a company, especially one that has complained so loudly about health care legislation. Its hypocritical in the extreme, and a little disgusting to me. But again, that's only my feeling, and since this is a healthy, private, legally operated business, they can go right ahead. 3. One thing this does highlight is, the problem of health care and profitability often (but not always) being diametrically opposed. This is why I have said I'd be ecstatic of the government could find ways to encourage more non-profit businesses in that field, in any way possible.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Dec 23, 2009 -> 06:45 AM) China is a joke. Their economic #'s may be a bigger farse than ours. Can you say "bubble brewing". Look to short the Chinese mkt in the coming year. I've seen you post in here for years, providing your advice on the markets. I've seen you suggesting shorting everything under the sun, but I don't think I've ever seen you suggest going long in anything, ever. Just thought that was interesting.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 03:49 PM) Exactly. Having a brilliant financial mind doesn't mean you are never wrong. pssssh, whatever.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 02:57 PM) David Cook has signed with the Astros, Lance Broadway has signed with the Blue Jays. Glad to see Cook go somewhere else, where he might get a shot.

QUOTE (striker @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 01:35 PM) Sorry if this has already been posted. http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/article/20...otations-majors I'd take the Sox to be just as good as the #1 and #2. The Red Sox rotation is very close, but its assuming Dice-K is any good in 2010, and I don't think he will be (he's on the same curve that most Japanese pitchers end up on, being good for a year, give or take, then fading fast). Atlanta is better in some ways, but I think their younger guys are much bigger question marks with less experience. I think those top three are basically interchangeable, as of now.

QUOTE (Controlled Chaos @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 01:27 PM) For your edification http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSF...%20language.pdf page 1020 line 15 OK, so, it appears this is an adjunct to the section dealing with decisions by some created board of review, that establishes cost and pricing levels based on various consumer indices. So this particular phrase, is saying that you cannot alter the pricing model, for within this committee's jurisdiction with regards to that aspect of the health plan. Basically, they are saying, we're aligning these costs with some sort of index, and you can't change that periodic judgement, without dismantling the whole cost structure. On the whole, that would seem like good policy. But, I am still not sure I like the idea of putting that per se limitation in there. I think its contra to the spirit of how rules of legislation are supposed to work (meaning, not putting no-backsies provisions in them).

While the re-sales of homes jump was 40% or so nationally for November, it was way bigger in Chicago - 71%, according to Crain's. That's good for us here.

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 12:17 PM) noticed the part about how juan and ozzie were together in Florida. Hopefully ozzie gets em back to what he was doin in FLA, that .326/.374/.407 with 45 bags would look great a top this lineup 45 bags at what rate? His last three years look like this? 2007: 64/79 (81.0%) 2008: 40/52 (76.9%) 2009*: 30/42 (71.4%) 2009 he didn't play full time. But I'm concerned about the trend. If 2009 was just a lower year, since Juan isn't that old, and he can be more in that 77-81 range, then by all means, steal some bags. but if he keeps declining, and he's in the low 70's, or the 60's, then we should all hope he decides to not steal bases very often.

QUOTE (Controlled Chaos @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 12:35 PM) http://www.floppingaces.net/2009/12/22/rei...he-monstrosity/ That means that subsection cannot be removed - which means you'd have to remove the whole bill, to remove that part. If its even Constitutional, which it may not be. I don't like it, but, I'd want to know what this section C is, and if there is a reason why it shouldn't be removed as a single part.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 12:17 PM) He didn't say it was meaningful. He just said there was a difference. If it isn't meaningful, then his entire point is moot. He's trying to say that .16 is materially less meaningful than .17, which is mathematically absurd in this usage. The author is playing both sides of the fence, and his argument is useless as a result. Either that scale of difference is useful, or it is not. If it is, his second point is moot. If it is not, his first point is moot. Either way, he's off base.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 12:03 PM) UE is going to stay "steady" as a s***ton of people fall off the radar. I was using the core UE number there as a point of trend - same can be said for the more collective and complete numbers. They need to stay within a short distance of where they are right now, or else growth is unsustainable. So 10% +/- .5%, or 18% +/- 1%, take your pick.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 10:32 AM) The Cranky Flier has a great post today about how horrible these mandates are. http://crankyflier.com/2009/12/22/dot-mand...d-im-not-happy/ Well of course you will have cases like that. But most of the time, it won't be right on the cusp like that. And further, because of the incredible length of some of these delays, and the unwillingness of the airlines to make changes, you really have no choice but to draw a line in the sand. If you don't, things will keep getting worse. This is like the airbag argument to me. When they first came into wide use, people pointed out that some people would actually be hurt or killed by them. Well yes, they will. You'll kill 100 people in a year, and save 1,000. Which is better?

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 10:36 AM) http://finance.yahoo.com/news/November-hom...set=&ccode= WASHINGTON (AP) -- Home resales surged last month to the highest level in nearly three years, reflecting an extraordinary level of federal support that has pulled the housing market back from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Buyers were racing to complete their sales before the original expiration date of a tax credit for first-time buyers that was scheduled to expire Nov. 30. Last month, Congress decided to extend and expand the credit to ensure the housing market could sustain its recovery. The Realtors estimated that about 2 million homebuyers have taken advantage of the credit so far and forecasts that another 2.4 million will use it by the middle of next year. First-time buyers made up about half of all transactions last month, driving sales up 44 percent above last year's levels, a record jump. Sales are now up 46 percent from the bottom in January, but down 10 percent from the peak more than four years ago. The median sales price was $172,600, down 4.3 percent from a year earlier, and up 0.2 percent from October. "Things are stabilizing," said Pete Flint, chief executive of real estate Web site Trulia.com. "There is a significant amount of buyer interest out there." November sales rose 7.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million, from a downwardly revised pace of 6.09 million in October. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 6.25 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The inventory of unsold homes on the market fell about 1 percent to 3.5 million. That's a healthy 6.5 month supply at the current sales pace, the lowest level in three years. Besides the existing tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers, homeowners who have lived in their current properties for at least five years can now claim a tax credit of up to $6,500 if they relocate. To qualify, buyers must sign a purchase agreement by April 30. Postponing the deadline could mean sales will drop during the winter months and recover in the spring. "Buyers have no sense of urgency now," said Gary DeRosa, an agent with ZipRealty Inc. in Seattle. What I'd love to know is, what the % of home sales (existing) are normally first time buyers, versus now. If you had those ratios, you could determine how much of the bump is because of the tax credit, versus overall health of the market. That would be a better indicator in this case. But in general, the continued rise in sales of existing homes, coupled with mostly declines in new home building and sales, and the fw months of pricing floor... are all positive signs for the market. Most people in the know seem to feel its stabilizing, and I'd tend to agree. The big question, still, is UE in 2010, and its effect on foreclosures. If UE stays pretty close to its current number (within say half a percent either way) for most of 2010, and (related) if the foreclosure spike that is on the horizon isn't monstrous, then I think we'll see a healthy, fairly stable housing market in 2010, and maybe even start seeing some solid growth late in the year. Now, if UE jumps to 11%, and/or the increase in foreclosures is dramatic, then we'll see another down leg, though I think it won't be huge.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 22, 2009 -> 09:50 AM) Yeah, but even that was done out of a desire to tell policymakers (i.e. Cheney) what they want to hear - which is a management/bureaucratic failure, not a failure because we lacked some capability or didn't connect the dots when we should have. Not sure how well I explained that That's still an intelligence failure in my eyes. You can break it down and say the gathering part was OK, and that the analysis was good and bad, but how you report the information, and how much you do to cast the correct doubts, is key to the full cycle of intelligence provision. And the people wanting to make people happy were at various levels, not just frat boy at the top. Those professionals, in that role, should doubt EVERYTHING, not try to make a mountain of a mole hill.