NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 09:51 AM) He's backup 1B who can also play LF or RF when needed. He's also the best pinch hitter we have. He can also be used as a pinch runner once in a while as he still has some speed. He's played CF the last couple seasons as well - I don't think managers would have run him out there if couldn't play there as a backup. He makes Wise useless, basically. You don't keep a guy on the roster just to pinch-run, except maybe in September with the 40 man roster.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:03 AM) I have no issues with Wise on defense. My main point was that Guillen never seemed to care about defense before, so I don't see why it should be an issue now with Kotsay; whom atleast can provide enough offense to be labeled mediocre. Wise isn't horrible, and he has also improved over last year. But he isn't some GG winner either, he can make some great catches, but also misreads some plays and isn't consistent. I'd bet Kotsay, who was a very, very good defender out there just a few years ago, even in decline is probably on par overall with Wise. That remains to be seen of course, but, they should be close. And with the bat there is no contest.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 10:01 AM) I'll say one thing for sure.... you gotta be f***ing crazy to ride around on a bike in the streets of Chicago. You got idiots, people without licenses, people driving cars that should not be on the streets, etc. It's a death trap. You'd think so, and certainly there is danger. But not as much as you'd suspect. If you look at the 10 or so bike fatalities a year in Chicago, they are almost always at night, in some crappy neighborhood, and the rider doesn't have night equipment or even a helmet. If you ride in daylight, with the right equipment, its pretty safe. Not 100% safe, but then, neither is driving.

QUOTE (Lemon_44 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 09:36 AM) Here's a guys opinion on another Sox prospect that has failed miserably and joins the cast of BA,Reed, Borchard, Sweeney, etc. There are moments in this world, they don’t come around often, but there are moments when, and I’m not exaggerating here, there are moments when you are forced to look in the mirror and tell yourself, “There ain’t no one in the world who can do what I do worse than I do it.” There’s a pride in that sort of honesty. A certain amount of realization that could possibly create some sort of cathartsis. Some sort of monumental change that will transform that person from their current, lousy self into something better. Arizona’s Chris Young desperately needs that moment. Now. As it currently stands, Chris Young is easily the worst everyday player in all of baseball. As of yesterday, in 49 games played totalling 175 PA, Young had a league worst .220 OBP. That’s a full 21 points lower than the next worst. Part of the reason for that low OBP (in addition to his astounding BA of .174)? How about the fact that he has only walked 8 times all year. Eight! That’s 4.7% for a guy who used to be the leadoff hitter. Combine that with the fact that he strikes out 28.7% of the time and you see a guy with the 6th lowest BB/K in the entire sport (.17). Now Hef. Sure he’s not doing anything to get on base. But he’s probably hitting the ball hard every now and again right? No, dummy. Weren’t you listening? This guy has almost no value with his bat. His slugging percentage is an impressive .313 which puts him behind such sluggers as David Eckstein (.322), Willy Tavaras (.335), and Yuniesky Betancourt (.344). He has 11 doubles, 1 triple, and three home runs (along with his 14 singles for a grand total of 29 hits all season). But at least he’s stealing bases, right Hef? Right? Totally. Of the 23 times he’s sat on first base this season (not counting fielder’s choice outs–14 singles, 8 walks and a HBP), he’s swiped 4 bags. But he’s also been caught twice for a SB rate of .667 which is below the magic number of 75% which is supposedly the break even point. So…he’s costing the team runs in the few times he’s actually getting on base. Which is bad. I think. But certainly, certainly, oh dear god, certainly he has to be a good defender? Right? He can’t be utterly worthless, can he? Finally. You finally got me. Chris Young has been pretty good with a glove this year. He’s fast, has a decent eye for running routes to the ball and has made 2 or 3 great jumping catches to end the game and save the (few) wins for the team. He isn’t utterly worthless. Is this yours, or someone else's? If it is someone else, please cite your source.

QUOTE (Tex @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 09:04 AM) And how about cars staying the hell out of the bike lanes? As a cyclist, I've come close to being hit when someone jumps in the bike lane to make a right hand turn. In a car I got in an argument with a jackass that cut me off on the right when I was making a right turn. I wish a cop was there to set him straight. I think there is an echo in here.

Thorntons just had their kid, so Thornton is back to the team very soon. Thus less need for Richard in the pen, thus no need to run Colon out there. I think Oz and KW are both aware that Clayton is the better option. Expect Colon gone soon. Pretty simple, really.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 08:21 AM) I'm not really sure what that article was trying to say, but the commodities market has become a gamblers paradise...only in this paradise, with enough money, it's possible to actually gain some form of pricing control. The original intent of trading commodities was the end goal of actually using them. Speculators are people trading these commodities without ever intending to take possession, but just flipping it off for a profit to a person/company who actually needs/wants to take possession. For example, Hershey or Tootsie Roll will have traders in the cocoa pit -- their job is to buy cocoa contracts (and accept delivery) to use in their chocolate products. Their goal is to keep the cocoa affordable so their product costs don't spike, without allowing one of the many competitors to get too much of the current market, as that would spike prices. Remember all of these people intend on taking delivery of these contracts for the physical cocoa. Speculators came into this game realizing it'd be REALLY easy to make money without having to actually do anything in terms of creating a product. Their thought process went like so -- with enough money, they can go in and buy up a ton of contracts, and then resell them to people who need them since we are talking about a finite product. There is only so much cocoa to be harvested, so they have no choice but to buy it if they want to keep making their products...who cares if the price of chocolate rises and the consumer on the other end get f***ed over by really expensive chocolate bars...we got ours! For a while this worked, because it added liquidity to the markets -- but when the really big guys caught on it went haywire. As I see it, that's why they did in the oil market...because where people would probably stop buying chocolate bars if they cost 4$+ each -- they can't/won't just stop driving, as most of them HAVE TO DRIVE in order to work. It was perfect. Now I may be a little off on some of my thinking here, but not by much, IMO. Well, one thing that I think you (and many) are missing here, is that price speculators are not at all new. In fact, the market doesn't work well without them. They have been there from the beginning. The methods and instruments have changed, technology has changed, but the players in the market really have not.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 07:56 AM) Cortisone is an extremely powerful anti-inflammatory corticosteroid. It will decrease the inflammation in the area. If your lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) is being caused by inflammation, you should see a drastic improvement within 48 hours. It may very sore for a day or two as the other poster said. If it caused by other etiologies, it may come back within one to two weeks or not improve. Sometimes the injection acts as a diagnostic tool that way. In my case, the pain was multi-pronged, but the primary cause is a piece of bone in my foot that had apparently splintered off when I broke it years ago (Doc said something 'nuvicular bone" or the like, not sure what that is), and it slowly made its way back to the open area just interior from the achilles tendon, where it is apparently wreaking havoc. If the pain comes back bad again after 3-6 months, he said they need to remove it. I also have flat feet and some other issues, but the cortisone seems to have addressed nearly everything in one injection. Pretty amazing stuff.

Oh man, I think I jinxed Remenowsky with that interview. He relieved Sauer in the 8th with 2 out and 2 on in a 1-0 lead, walked a guy, then gave up a grand slam, before getting the 3rd out that inning. I think he got mad after that, because he then struck out the side in the 9th, all swinging. Also, somehow Sauer pitched 7.2 IP giving up 12 H, but hadn't allowed a run before that 8th inning debacle.

I had one in my ankle just a couple weeks ago. The injection hurt like an SOB, had some inflammation after, and some soreness. By the next day though, the inflammation was mostly gone, and the pain that I'd had was 95% gone with it. It worked like a charm. A couple weeks later, and my ankle is still 95% back to normal. Great stuff.

I'm really disappointed in the Journal's article on this, purely from a perspective of having writers write about commodities who don't seem to know commodities. Look at these two paragraphs: First of all, this basically says... before, there were speculators, and now, there are SPECULATORS. LOL. Second, what indices are they talking about? Do they mean equitized commodity funds like Powershares? Do they mean actual exchange-traded index futures, which aren't commodities anyway? Do they mean true indicies of futures contracts - and if so, where are they seeing those listed?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 10:24 PM) It's clearly not illegal to drive the price of something up to ridiculous values (see: the housing market) whether or not its worth it. Correct - its not. If a buyer and seller will agree on a price, then by nature its not illegal. But I agree with SS, if these traders were actually able to manipulate prices over the long term (beyond single contract periods), which would be an impressive feat, then they should indeed be prosecuted. The article's vague description of the use of indices is sort of bizarre, though. Seems to have been written by someone without a good understanding of those markets. That description could mean all sorts of things.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 01:50 AM) I got into a physical altercation with a driver when he got out of his car and confronted me. Apparently I wasn't moving over enough and came storming out all in a huff about it. I mean, it's kind of a lose/lose... if I'm in the lane I'm a menace to the drivers and if I'm way the side I'm holding my breath as I pass every parked car. The Loop is not a bike friendly place, especially when I'm making remote location drops that dont allow me to take any paths. As a driver I hate it when there are bikes on lower Wacker, something about a 6 inch shoulder and blind turns everywhere however has made cyclists want to ride it more. This applies a little bit to Wabash as well, but at a much lesser extent. Bikes aren't allowed on lower wacker for that very reason. And I'd never ride Wabash or Wells if I can avoid it, because its just a really bad setup for bikes with the train pilons there.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:34 PM) Honestly, there are all kinds of baseball players that have massive power potential. All you have to do is go down to your local softball diamond and watch some of these guys hit a 12-inch softball. Power potential alone does not qualify you to be a successful major league ballplayer. The guy is a below-average fielder and he cannot hit mediocre fastballs. Those facts have a hell of a lot more to do with his current status than his power potential. You are seriously comparing a guy who hit 27 HR in his rookie season to a guy on the local softball diamond?

If he gets Punto here, that is 37, right?

QUOTE (beckham15 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 07:41 PM) dangit that kinda sucks full sound for me here Embarrassingly, it turns out my middle speaker was unplugged by the contractors working on something, so it was just me. Nevermind. But chat is still no-go.

Chat isn't working, and no sound on the TV, this kinda sucks.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 27, 2009 -> 07:10 PM) I'll probably be in the chat tonight and I best not be alone. I'd happily join you, but the link seems busted.

Anyone else having sound issues? I can't hear the announcers (which is 50% good), but oddly, I am hearing crowd noises, and what sounds like faint circus music.

I am in the very small camp with Balta on this one, that I think Fields has a good shot at being a good major league power bat in the next couple years, somewhere. Its too bad he was handled the way he was, although the result was Beckham, and you can't complain too much about that. Richard to the pen is a bad joke. Just a stupid move. And I know about Wise and The Catch, but really, he just shouldn't be on the major league club.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 06:13 PM) There have been very few studies on it, but the ones that have been done say that biking on a sidewalk is at least twice as dangerous as on the street. http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Library/riskfactors.htm Yes, bikes on a sidewalk is a bad idea. Now trails, where there aren't people coming in and out of doors, fancy trees and grates, and bad sightlines, is another story. If they put a trail along the river for example (which is partially there now), I'd take that downtown instead of Elston/Milwaukee in a heartbeat. Also, to the question of why we can't use bike lanes, I'd like to know why so many cars DO use the bike lanes. I use them whenever they are there, but, sometimes they are not, and other times some jackass is wandering into it so they can try to squeeze by traffic.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 04:25 PM) I was "doored" about a month ago for the 1st time. Very painful. Luckily the person getting out of the car was nice enough to completely walk away with complete disregard and didn't bother to ask if I was okay. My wife's cousin was hit bad enough it crushed his hip, among other injuries, on his bike in the city. As he was laying on the ground, the driver of the car, who was cited later because he caused the accident, came over and was yelling at him. Nice. They settled the lawsuit, the guy had to pay everything, including lost wage.

QUOTE (DanksFan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 03:44 PM) It's safer for cyclists to use sidewalks, especially if those sidewalks are bigger then normal. True, it is law for them not too. That I do not understand. What is more dangerous, a sidewalk of people walking with a few bicycles, or a road of people on bicycles with cars and trucks? I've ridden on the riverwalk in the Fox Valley area and it's so easy to tell pedestrians "comin' up behind you!" and they can accordingly give you space. Cyclists on the road are not so fortunate. The cars on the road might not necessarily be in a hurry, but the last thing those cars on the road want to see is a cyclists swerve and fall into or in front of them while driving. The fact that you have to pass the cyclists makes it that much more dangerous. Normally when I'm passing a cyclists I like to yield them plenty of room for error just in case. That's tough to do sometimes because then you must temporarily take up a portion of the left lane or the oncoming traffic lane... another situation most drivers want nothing to do with. Law is law and it should be followed, but I would not be opposed to changing the law so it's not illegal for cyclists to be on the sidewalks. There are a ton of cyclists here in Idaho Falls... most of them just use the sidewalk. We have nice sized sidewalks here, no one seems to get in trouble for using them (because everyone does), and most important no one gets stressed out or gets put into unnecessarily dangerous predicaments. Also, to clarify, rural areas like where you live are indeed different. Wide empty sidewalks have some advantages over roads with fast car traffic, no doubt. Still not enough to change the law, but, its a closer argument. In urban areas, bikes on sidewalks would never work.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 03:53 PM) I have taken to rush hour bike rides in NYC on busy streets, because it seems a safer time than most to ride believe it or not. I can't believe how many drivers will floor past a cyclist just to cut him off turning into a driveway or worse yet, to make a U turn. On an average Saturday, I get dangerously cut off four or five times in a 20 mile ride, and narrowly avoid getting car doored every weekend. (It's actually worse in the suburbs in my opinion.) I will say this, cyclists generally have no respect for traffic laws and I wish the NYPD would actively ticket idiot cyclists. It's one thing to turn right on red in a bike, or sometimes using the walk/don't walk lights for guidance when crossing a street, but its another to go the wrong way in a one way, to blow every red light, to not wear a helmet or use a headlight at night. Cyclists do have the same rights on the road as cars and are to be treated as such. I hate when I'm being passed in 5mph traffic so a car can go the same speed as me directly in front of me. I don't get road rage in cars, but I have gotten it on my bicycle in lower Manhattan. I think PD's in major cities need to ticket for biking violations more often - drivers AND riders. Heck, they have bike patrol units, USE THEM. And being in Chicago is a godsend for cyclists - better bike lanes and bike treatments here than in most cities.

QUOTE (DanksFan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 03:44 PM) It's safer for cyclists to use sidewalks, especially if those sidewalks are bigger then normal. True, it is law for them not too. That I do not understand. What is more dangerous, a sidewalk of people walking with a few bicycles, or a road of people on bicycles with cars and trucks? I've ridden on the riverwalk in the Fox Valley area and it's so easy to tell pedestrians "comin' up behind you!" and they can accordingly give you space. Cyclists on the road are not so fortunate. The cars on the road might not necessarily be in a hurry, but the last thing those cars on the road want to see is a cyclists swerve and fall into or in front of them while driving. The fact that you have to pass the cyclists makes it that much more dangerous. Normally when I'm passing a cyclists I like to yield them plenty of room for error just in case. That's tough to do sometimes because then you must temporarily take up a portion of the left lane or the oncoming traffic lane... another situation most drivers want nothing to do with. Law is law and it should be followed, but I would not be opposed to changing the law so it's not illegal for cyclists to be on the sidewalks. There are a ton of cyclists here in Idaho Falls... most of them just use the sidewalk. We have nice sized sidewalks here, no one seems to get in trouble for using them (because everyone does), and most important no one gets stressed out or gets put into unnecessarily dangerous predicaments. It is most definitely not safer for bikers to be on sidewalks. The law is not arbitrary, its that way because its the safest way. Vehicles on the road, peds on the sidewalks. Bikes on sidewalks is asking for trouble with peds, doors, all kinds of stuff. Now, if by sidewalks, you mean trails, that is different. But a bicycle is a vehicle, and it doesn't work well with pedestrians, and should be on the road. I ride to work every day, in downtown Chicago. I ride 6 miles or so each way, from Bucktown to south of the loop. I ride in traffic that is at times very heavy. Amazingly, most drivers handle things well, as do most cyclists. But there is a percentage of people on both sides that are just plain stupid. They weave into bike/car lanes, they don't look before turning, they think they own the road, etc. It applies to both. But they are the minority, thankfully. I do on rare occasion get yelled at or buzzed by cars, but it really is rare. And in turn, I follow the rules of the road - use the bike lanes, never do anything to cut off or slow down a car because I am breaking the law, and almost always wait for the light (when I ride in at 6am, some streets are still dead, so if there is no traffic, I'll go).