NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Mar 31, 2009 -> 10:22 AM) While I sympathize, if they had never done some of the things they did, such as leveraging themselves 30 to 1, taking huge gambles on margin (money they didn't have), they wouldn't be in this situation. This is a lesson to future companies/businesses or otherwise. While I'm not happy with it, either, I love these draconian rules being put in place because it's sure as hell going to send the message to all future companies to not EVER repeat these mistakes or they may end up taking orders from people like Barney Frank and his ilk. What Kap is saying, which I know for a fact is true, is that some companies WERE running profitable and normal businesses, and we all but forced to take money. Now, as long as they can return it and be exempt, then I am OK with some of this sort of thing, because it leaves the effect with companies that did indeed screw up. But that exemption needs to be present.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Mar 31, 2009 -> 08:14 AM) I truly do not know who it will be to replace miller... but there is a very limited chance he sticks the entire season. Both miller and lucy are garbage, lucky to even be considered fodder at this point.. Lucy has a career .258 average to go along with a .683/.684 ops is 337 games. Lucy is also 26, has a bum knee, and he has played a grand total of 39 games above double a. Lucy is probably not starting material in the majors, though stranger things have happened. But as a backup C, he's a solid defender (was plus, but we'll be more conservative after the injury), is cheap, and hits RH which is a nice opposite for AJ. Also, even if he can't put up better than a 684 OPS against mostly lefties, he'd still hit better than Miller. Eventually, its Flowers. But Lucy works as a backup, IMO.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 11:41 PM) It's amazing how they can predict this stuff a week or more in advance. But I guess that's a different topic. Play ball! Anyone can predict the weather a week out. "It will be sunny and 72 on Opening Day" See? I just did. The hard part is getting it right, and I wouldn't put money on anyone's predictions of the weather a week out, especially in Chicago, and especially in early spring.

I've been a vocal critic of MacDougal's. His motion is such that he will always have control issues, and his makeup is just not mature or strong enough to be a late game reliever. But, there is no doubt he's got phenomenal "stuff", when he can at least sort of locate it. And he pitched very well this spring, and in fact did earn the job. I still think we see him gone, by trade or demotion, by June. But I hope I'm wrong.

Gonzales in the Trib said again the job is Miller's, and yet Ozzie said recently it was still a competition, and Lucy is still in major league camp. Not sure if this is just for coverage, or to get an extended look at Lucy, or what. But I am still clinging to that slim hope that they'll carry Lucy instead of Miller.

If his shirt said "Sheriff", then then he'd better the hell not be a bounty hunter/skip tracer, because that would be illegal. Can't impersonate a cop that way. The fact that you didn't see a vehicle may not be meaningul, if his car was elsewhere and he lost someone in a foot chase. Who knows though. Could be some nut job, could be a cop.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 31, 2009 -> 07:14 AM) You do realize that banking affects pretty much every single job in the entire country, right? Because if the banks don't exist, who exactly is going to support industries, like I don't know, the automotive industry? Who underwrites their bonds, who makes the loans for their customers to buy new cars? Who extends credit for meeting payroll? If you really want a nationwide depression, let the banks go under. Heck with just the lending freeze up that is happening now, projects are stopping all over the country because businesses can't get loans. I know right here in Chicago, the Spire is a one hundred foot hole in the ground, because no one will lend them money to pay workers to keep working. That is happening all over the place. The other major problem with your theory is that the auto industry isn't going to be saved by government loans. Their underlying problem is their cost structure, and their overwealming debt. Banks problems right now are undercapitalization caused by falling asset values, combined with laws that don't make any sense for banks. The only way to stop them from going under is by putting capital on the books. These are two completely different situations. It is disengenuous to pretend otherwise. Well, government backed loans at least will need to be part of the equation to save them. Ideally, after or with a controlled bankruptcy as they are proposing (and as people here have said for months).

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 31, 2009 -> 06:43 AM) It was my understanding that they couldn't survive long enough to restructure without the loans. GM and Chrysler were looking at weeks, not months. This is correct, as I understood it. Now, if you want to let the industry die, let GM and/or Chrysler just cease to exist, then fine. There is an argument to be made there, oddly enough. But if you want to avoid a very steep unemployment crash, you need to slow the fall of these guys a bit. You put GM and Chrysler on life support, for the time being. Now I don't know if the amount of life support they got was more than needed - maybe it was - but they needed something. Then, you analyze the situation, and take action. This is exactly what the Obama administration has done here, and I applaud their efforts. I've not like many things I've seen from Obama so far, but on this, so far, he's generally getting it right. Let's see how these companies look in about a year. Chrysler may still need to die, or be broken up or something, but that needs to be done in a controlled way. I think GM can survive with a clean slate. And by the way, here is an idea. The unions need these companies to survive, as much as that is possible. So how about they take a stake in the game? Let them be part of the investments and financing, and align their people's needs with the good fortunes of the company. The unions have a lot of reserves and the ability to finance. Use it.

Juan Silverio, age 21, was arrested yesterday in Santo Domingo while trying to leave the country to start the season for the Chicago White Sox Class A Affiliate Kannapolis Intimidators. Attempts to reach officials with the White Sox were unsuccessful. Not a real news item, just something like what we may read very soon.

QUOTE (knightni @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 08:05 PM) Hard to believe that there was no spot for Kroeger. Harder to believe they never gave him a single look in CF, given how desperate the situation was.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 07:43 PM) No, it really isn't any more efficient to dump endless billions into the auto industry. This is faulty logic: that because the bank bailout was a bad idea, all other bad ideas are indeed good. Before the auto industry got any money they should have been restructured. It's completely unsustainable to feed trillions in deficit spending to prop up these failed corporations. It has now been proven that the auto bailouts were a failure and the wrong move. You really had to do both, if you want the industry to survive.

QUOTE (jamesdiego @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 07:06 PM) Most of your people's pain, is my joy:))...Of course I would prefer Wise at the bottom of the order and Getz leading off. And no matter how much you guys call Ozzie an idiot for not having Getz leadoff right away, there is always a risk in it being too much for a rookie. Small risk for Getz, yes, but NONE of you know how he will do leading off without getting his feet wet first. And it will be a platoon with Brian hitting against lefties, it's not like he's going to purgatory or anything. If he clearly out hits Wise, he will see more playing time. So it's gonna be a season battle between them for playing time. Mano y mano. To the death. And this time it's for real. And in my opinion Wise his gonna shove his bat up Brian's ass and turn him into a popsicle: Wow - a D-Wise fan. You may be alone here on SoxTalk. So, fill us in. What makes you think Wise will do well? He's not been successful, at really any level, for any full season. What makes you think he'll figure it out now?

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 06:19 PM) As far as I'm concerned this season is going to be an absolute clusterf*** regardless. And I'm one of the most optimistic posters on this entire board. LOL Check out the wins thread. Most of the board think this is a winning team, many think its contending for a division title.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 04:01 PM) Terrible news, although we all knew it was coming. I wish they would go with Getz at leadoff and stick BA in center. I put the over/under for that at around 2 months.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 03:47 PM) C: Average to below average defensively 1B: Average to below average 2B: Likely average 3B: Probably below average with the potential to be WELL below average SS: Who the f***ing knows? Could be well below average, could be well above. My guess: below average LF: Below average CF: Below average RF: Well below average HUZZAH! Luckily we have a high strikeout staff. What? We traded away the only real strikeout pitcher we had? f***. Defense will be a weakness. But, I think you overdoomed them a bit here. I think Fields can be an average 3B this year, and better in future years maybe. CF will be above average when Anderson takes over, which I am convinced he will. And I wouldn't call Dye "well below" average, but, thats just my opinion. I also have a feeling that Getz will be pretty good.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 03:08 PM) http://thebulletin.us/articles/2009/03/30/...8e547489394.txt What media bias? Double hearsay from a person who had something big at stake? I'm not saying it didn't happen, but, that is flimsy at best.

I've mostly liked the moves made this offseason and in ST by Oz, KW and crew. But this one exception is a BIG one. Just plain stupid, IMO.

So, the Obama administration, adding to the Waggoner departure, are basically pushing GM and Chrysler towards a controled bankruptcy or bankruptcy-like reorganization, in addition to executive changes. Good. Glad to see them going this direction.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 01:44 PM) Not if he only gets to bat against lefties because journeyman wise is the "clear" leadoff guy. Hopefully wise will do so bad that they have to go with BA full time and give him a(nother) legitimate shot. History says that the chances of Wise suddenly being good are extremely small. So as long as Anderson does well, there is a high probability that he takes over the job full time.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 12:59 PM) I was under the impression Lucy couldn't handle catching physically with his injury. If he's healthy, Corky Miller should be waived. He's hit .122 since 2003 or 2004. I think we all assumed he wouldn't be healthy enough, probably, given his injury. But he's played, what, a dozen or so games there this spring, plus B games and practice? If he wasn't healthy enough for it, he wouldn't have been playing.

QUOTE (RME JICO @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 01:13 PM) Gonzales also posted the 25-man roster: http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune....sox-roster.html So is the backup catcher decided? He is showing Miller. Catchers Pierzynski Miller Gonzales has said that for weeks, and yet, they are quoting Oz saying that the competition is still there for catcher. Not sure who to believe.

Surprisingly, the last round of cuts did not include Lucy. This leaves Backup C as, I believe, the only remaining open roster question.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 12:25 PM) Borderline? I'd say flat out dominant. I can't remember the last time I actually saw that in him though. He's always had 2 issues. Control, and that he pitches worse under pressure. We'll see how things go, but I'm about 60% sure that he'll fall apart again, and we'll see Wassermann or Nunez or Egbert or whomever.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 12:20 PM) I think Dwayne and Anderson can be a solid platoon in CF for us, but I hope KW is looking to strengthen CF around the deadline. I hope, and think maybe, Anderson slowly takes the job full time from DeWayne, who would fall to a true backup role.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 12:18 PM) Jerry Owens..............................................he gone http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune....-white-sox.html Wow. Who would have thought, at the beginning of ST, this would happen. Best for the team in any case. And now that I think of it, this seems like it sets the bullpen jobs too - MacDougal and Carrasco get jobs, Richard in the pen or starting (based on Colon). If Colon can't go, I assume we'll get one of Egbert, Williams or Wassermann in the interim. So really, just one open question left - backup C.