NorthSideSox72

I'd be good with it, but honestly, Ramirez is doing fine there, so I don't care much either way right now.

QUOTE (kwolf68 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:45 PM) They dfa'd Kotsay...Kotsay is now waiver wire fodder. Anderson will be there one day, but not yet. I would have thought he would have still had value. Again, don't care so much either way, it's just perplexing. If Kotsay could provide credible play in CF, then I'd be cool with this trade assuming he can take his starts. If you put Kotsay in for Wise, then it's a grand improvement, but can you? Defensive measures for Kotsay won't say much the last two years because he didn't get enough tries out there. So I'd like to see him in the OF live to know if he can play acceptable D out there still. He certainly was very, very good as recently as 3 years ago, and 33 isn't exactly ancient. I guess we'll find out. Something else to consider - it is not outside the realm of possibility that Wise gets traded. He won't net much, probably less than Anderson, but it is possible.

QUOTE (aboz56 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:40 PM) Way to get good value for a 1st rounder, Kenny. At this point, his value was near-zero. Getting anything for him at all is a plus.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:19 PM) Tell me how Ramirez Loafed on the play? Did you even see the play? Fact is, AJ has a noodle arm; teams are stealing at will on us because of it. If you watch the play, the throw was accurate, but got there a couple seconds too late; resulting in the runner clashing into Alexei. This makes no sense. If the throw was accurate and hit the runner, that means Alexei wasn't positioned properly. AJ doesn't have a noodle arm, he has a below average arm made much worse by the pitchers he catches.

Heh - I had pushed the idea of getting Kotsay on here both last offseason and the one before, as a backup OF. Now its come true. Best of luck Brian - you kinda got screwed here, but you also failed to capitalize when you had the chance, so I hope you get it figured out elsewhere. Kotsay is a good add - decent lefty bat who hits righties well, can play OF and 1B. Still gets playing time in all OF positions and 1B, he's declined, but he's still probably an improvement defensively on any of our starters. Nothing earth-shattering, but a good move for all involved I think. Sort of sucks if this means the end of Fields, who I still think has serious potential with the bat, but he'll probably be traded soon anyway. If it means Wise, I feel a little badly, but still think that Kotsay is a big improvement in value over Wise.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:26 PM) The cop's story doesn't match reality unless the 911 operator lied to him. Seems to match to me - what am I missing here?

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:28 PM) But I also recognize that this 1300+ page behemoth of a bill isn't the answer no matter what polls say. And we all seem to agree that this 1300 page behemoth is probably a bad idea, but then you still somehow have to throw in a jab at a poll, which by the way isn't even addressing the bill itself.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:23 PM) Yes, because of my anecdotal first hand experience with the VA, I think it sucks. I don't need a poll to know what I saw, to know how things were handled. I'd actually love to hear more details of your personal story. That would be valuable. Dismissing anything other than that story - not so valuable.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:20 PM) Crazy, I could've swore I found some sort of...transcript... and posted it... Which we have all now read. What is your point?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:21 PM) And the cop was presented with ID. And arrested the guy anyway. That's sort of the point. That is not what happened, from everything they both have said. Cop asked for ID, person refuses at first, then gives ID. Cop checks out ID and story, decides to leave. Person decides to follow the cop out and make a bigger issue of it. Cop arrests guy. Charges dropped later, for such a penne-ante matter, as makes sense. This by the way is a pretty typical police encounter. Happens all the time in a similar way. Both sides could have acted more maturely, to be sure.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:20 PM) I didn't say that, either. I did say that VA/Medicare system is not very good -- regardless of what that poll showed. Feel free to attack me on that -- I stand firm on it...without poll evidence. The only evidence so far is your one familial story. Which is not invalid, by the way, it does carry water. But for you to take that one story as gospel, and 100% fully dismiss not only this very large-scale poll but ALL polls, is just silly. You have made it impossible to have a discussion with you on this topic, since you have laid waste the very idea of any data other than your family being valid.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:11 PM) one thing though, what's worse. Being rude to a cop coming into your home and claiming you broke in, even being disrespectful and crude... or arresting someone. The former. And your description doesn't match what I've read. The cops didn't claim he broke in, the cops were CALLED by someone thinking they were breaking in, and asked for ID, which he has to do.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 02:01 PM) I don't actually think this was a case of racial profiling at all. Gates lost his keys and was trying to force his door open, one of his neighbors thought it looked like a burglary. Crowley responded and Gates said "WTF, this is my house" and wouldn't show ID at first. Crowley can't exactly accept that at face value. However, once Gates was identified as legit, Crowley should've dropped it, but Gates was pissed off and wouldn't let it go. So Crowley took him in for disorderly conduct. Wrong answer. That's pretty much my interperetation as well. Gates acted stupidly for not showing ID, for claiming racism, and for trying to continue the confrontation (never a good idea with pretty much any cop). The cop was too impatient and should have been man enough to walk away anyway. The idea that this situation boils down to "the police acted stupidly" is in itself stupid.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 01:39 PM) I'm sure once Obama accuses us traders of acting stupidly, he can get us in for a beer... I think between CKnolls, Kap, you and I, we could probably help teach Obama a thing or two. We could also teach him about good beer.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 01:38 PM) Last I knew the federal government was the largest single land owner in the entire country. Well of course they are. Who said otherwise? When I say the own a small % of the land, that alone is a HUGE number in gross size. No one person or business is anywhere in that territory.

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 01:26 PM) That is patently false. AJ is not afraid to call any particular pitch at any time, and he has been very good at blocking pitches in the dirt. You can't just use one pitch against Granderson or an occasional passed ball to judge his overall performance. AJ is a damn good catcher. AJ is a solid game-caller, he's usually decent in blocking balls and taking throws, and commands the field well. His arm is below average, but not as bad as it appears, because he's hurt by his pitchers so much. He does occasionally lose focus and get lazy on balls in the dirt. I'd not call that "damn good", but if you include his bat and his clubhouse presence, I'd say "good".

QUOTE (bmags @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 01:09 PM) huh. "Stupidly" eh. http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_...-call.html#more Obama waded into this issue when he had no real knowledge of it, which makes it ironic that he was the one accusing the police of acting "stupidly". They may have, BTW. I don't know. Most indications I have seen, including the reactions by Gates after the fact, lead me to believe it was him being stupid, not the cops. But I can't say for sure, it very well could be both sides, and I sure as heck wouldn't make a public statement like that if I was a public official.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 01:28 PM) I dismiss all polls, including ones that happen to take side with what I feel is right. Good enough? So you would prefer to take the evidence of one person's experience, over that of thousands? Don't get me wrong, I use personal experience stories in decisions too, but that is usually in the absence of scientific data.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 01:26 PM) Pork is another issue entirely. Exactly - and a big one too. But this bill at 1300 pages is a different problem (and it is indeed a problem, as there is no way it can be remotely understood to be voted on).

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 01:22 PM) Yea, read this for me: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...0401394_pf.html I've posted it, you ignored it. Read it, and then read it again. Then come back and tell me, who knows first hand how wonderful the VA system is since I have a father who was exposed to agent orange in Vietnam, how wonderful the system is. Oh, and lean on your skewed pool data, too. For the record, I'm not a republican, either...so you fail. 1. I think I have detected a disconnect here - the VA "system" that was being referred to by Balta and myself and others was not a reference to the hospital facilities and staff, but the way in which that care is managed. The hospitals are a mess, I think you will get no argument there. 2. "so you fail"? That's the best you can do?

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 12:54 PM) The VA system sucks, as does Medicare. I have nothing more to say about this, it's an obvious waste of time. Anyone that thinks the Medicare or VA system is working needs to stop reading propaganda and go talk to some actual veterans in the system or elderly caught up in the awesomeness that is Medicare. So, a poster presents actual evidence... you say the opposite, without any evidence, and that you will say nothing more, and that everyone else is reading propaganda. Did I miss anything?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 11:56 AM) Here's some actual numbers to back me up. The Forest service alone owns 8% of the land in this country. The share held by BLM is larger but I don't have time to calculate through it all. It's something like 1/4 of the country that's held publicly, at least. Maybe more. Throw in some national parks land while you're at it. Not sure how that proves your point of value. And as I said, some owned land should be transferred away.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 11:53 AM) Bingo...tax cuts get put directly in the pocket for a rainy day, mostly. That's not stimulus, that's piece of mind (a very small piece at that). Well, while I agree that tax cuts at this point in time were a mistake, I have to disagree with your idea of where tax cuts go. Most Americans, unfortunately, don't really save or invest much money. More money on the paycheck will likely be spent, somewhere. Your argument really only applies to the Top 5% of earners, more or less.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 11:13 AM) Let me be more specific...the types of land that the government would buy up that would benefit the nation in any way...either the government already owns, or by buying it, the government would be putting mining companies out of business (i.e. they'd be buying back tracts of land sold to mining/energy companies at other times). The only way the government would have made a dent in the collapse would have been to have the government step in and waste all its money buying up bad housing units to reinflate the bubble. The problem with that idea is...the amount of wealth that has evaporated in the housing market is on the order of $8 trillion, give or take where we currently are. Pumping in $1 trillion means that the government makes a handful of very "lucky" people happy when it buys up their failed housing tract, then the market continues to crater and the government's investment is completely lost. I think you are off on a few things here. First, the federal government only owns a small % of land in this country, so the idea that the gov't already owns anything valuable or puts mines out of business is patently false. And buying up bad housing units one-off is not what I am talking about - my plan was not meant to single-handedly fix the housing collapse, as nothing could possibly come close to doing that. Also, in terms of the economics, your numbers don't make any sense. First, money is not money, in the housing market - liquidity is a key factor here, and increasing liquidity in the market, itself, creates more equity and higher prices. And this idea that the housing market is continuing to crater is both an argument FOR doing what I suggested, and also missing the recent months' trends that all show otherwise.

QUOTE (scenario @ Jul 28, 2009 -> 11:06 AM) Not really. Because the concern seems to be focused on the performance of one guy... Phegley. Hopefully he doesn't end up like the highest catcher we drafted last year.