NorthSideSox72

While I don't think its time yet to make final decisions, I do think I'd make these two: --give Poreda one more start, and then send him to minor league camp, and to AAA, to start there and work on those breakers --Send Russell to minor league camp - its not just his numbers, his delivery is all over the place. He needs more seasoning in AAA. That reduces the list from 8 to 6, and they can get more innings.

I am going to assume that Richard is a lock to make the pen at least, if not the rotation possibly. Here are the rest of the candidates (including a couple who are in rotation consideration), for the 2 to 3 open bullpen slots (in order of IP), through today’s game… Carrasco (7 games): 11 IP, 8.18 ERA, 1.82 WHIP, 8/3 K/BB Egbert (6 games): 11 IP, 1.64 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 10/3 K/BB Poreda (3 games): 9 IP, 2.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 6/1 K/BB Marquez (3 games): 8.1 IP, 4.32 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 7/2 K/BB Broadway (5 games): 7.2 IP, 5.87 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 7/5 K/BB MacDougal (7 games): 7 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 11/5 K/BB Russell (6 games): 6.1 IP, 11.37 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, 7/3 K/BB German (6 games): 6 IP, 6.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 4/1 K/BB Wassermann (6 games): 5 IP, 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 5/1 K/BB One thing that sticks out to me about the whole group – they are throwing strikes. Very solid K/BB ratio for most (except Broadway and MacDougal). So who should stay, who should go, when should they go? Discuss. EDIT: Added F German

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 03:41 PM) Labor is not the problem. Our smartest Treasury Secretary EVA needs to get off his ass and get the markets set up for these assets. He's too busy avoiding his taxes. Jeez, I'm turning into Kap.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 03:19 PM) Barack Obama has selected a leftist, David Hamilton, to be his first nominee for the federal bench. Hamilton is Obama's nominee for a spot on the Seventh CIrcuit Court of Appeals. Appropriately enough, Hamilton reportedly was once a former fund-raiser for the radical activist outfit ACORN, a key Obama ally. He is also a former leader of the Indiana chapter of the ACLU. Hamilton's record as a federal district judge confirms his ultra-liberalism. Recently, he invalidated a law requiring the registration of sex offenders. He also prevented enforcement of an Indiana law that required information and a waiting period before an abortion. The Seventh Circuit (the court to which Hamilton now has been nominated) found that the law in question was materially identical to a law upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Casey decision. It noted that no judge in the land, other than Hamilton, has found such a law invalid since Casey was decided. Apparently, Hamilton did not consider himself bound by decisions of the Supreme Court with which he strongly disagreed. In addition, Ed Whelan points out that Hamilton somehow managed to invoke the doctrine of substantive due process to suppress evidence of a criminal defendant's possession of cocaine. The Seventh Circuit unanimously reversed that ruling. Not to worry, though, the New York Times calls Hamilton a "moderate Is this from an article? Please link or cite your sources.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 03:09 PM) It's Ks. His K/9 is over 14 in his 7 outings. He's also leading all pitchers in walks. He's a wild and crazy guy.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 02:25 PM) He's been 28 for about a month now. I stand corrected on the detail, but, my point is still the same.

I want to see Lucy get a start at catcher. The guy has answered the question of health at this point, and if healthy, he is by far my top choice for the backup job.

QUOTE (qwerty @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 02:59 PM) Macdougal is tied for the second in a certain category this spring... what is it? He's had a good spring, surprisingly. Strikeouts maybe? (I am guessing without looking it up)

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 01:39 PM) Fundamentals are the same. Do you think that the government would EVER take bake their money? They can bake it or fry it or barbecue it for all I care, no different than wasting it on s*** that the federal government shouldn't be funding.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 01:32 PM) i've heard stories that Rowand usuallly wears a Sox's or a Bears T-shirt under his uniform and that Gload watches Sox games in his hotel room on road trips. Bit of a conflict of interest if true. And I always liked those two.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 12:35 PM) Here's the difference, NSS. The government is our money. We the people. These bonuses are individual people's... they earned it, right or wrong. Allow me to put it this way. I just got fired so that my old manager could get his fat ass bonus. That's wrong. But contractually, he got his because HE made the numbers. Look, I don't like the bonuses either. But it's a different issue, and it was known, and now they are using it to prove that the rich people can't get away with this! That makes it doubly wrong in my book. And I wouldn't say the government needs to target your fat ass boss either, because the taxpayers don't own that company. But for all useful purposes, AIG is now a government interest. So AIG wasting away my money, to me, is no different from earmarks wasting away my money. Now, legally, it seems there is little that can be done to undo the bonuses. But I am all for taxing them back to the government, just as I'd be in favor of taking back earmark money in any way that I could.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 12:19 PM) No, it's the message that is being sent. Obama complicitly authorized that the earmarks were ok - many Dems even said that it was so small that it didn't matter. But this AIG money, which is essentially "earmarks", if you think if it that way, WE GOT TO GET THAT MONEY BACK! OUTRAGE! You know what this is? Two things. #1 - it's class warfare. They are going to get those rich f***ers. Just for you little people! #2 - who are rich people? White men, by in large. This resonates really well with "minorities", who taken as a whole, are the "majority" of the voting block. The is brilliant, seriously. The Democrats are playing people like a fiddle, and right now it's working like a charm. There will always be some people who are falling into whatever B.S. the government may try shovelling. However, I really think its interesting that you are willing to look the other way on this piece of government waste, but are so upset about other pieces of it on a similar scale (many of the earmarks). If that means I am being played like a fiddle, then I suppose you are being played by the conservatives. Now, if Obama wants to go after this and use it politically, I have zero issue with that. He wants to use a good idea, to also generate him some politcal capital. Fine by me. But for me, its really simple. Government waste, either way, and its bad, either way. Not because Obama says so, but because its wrong.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 11:45 AM) Wasting $9 billion in taxpayer money=part of doing business. Wasting $165 or 450 million, outrageous and we aren't going to take it. Seriously? QUOTE (kapkomet @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 11:48 AM) You just beat me to it. I was JUST thinking the same thing. Back up the bus. I've seen you two agree with me that earmarks are a major problem, even though they are only 2% or whatever of the porkulus bill (tip of cap to Kap). And yet, you are saying we should ignore this $160M because of some other amount spent elsewhere being $9B? I call foul. Which is it? IMO, they are both bogus and should be dealt with.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 11:43 AM) I don't think it matters if they've been paid out. Once vested, the contractual entitlement to the bonuses is a property right in and of itself. If the bonuses was legal when the contract was entered and the bonuses were earned, that property right can't be taken away without due process. If Nevada outlaws gambling tomorrow, the casinos can still enforce and collect on all of Charles Barkley's past debts. That would be different because the illegal act (gambling) already occurred. But I see what you are saying, and I am sure you know more about the law than I do. I just think there are two conflicting legal pillars here - ex post facto laws, and contractual obligation in violation of law. I don't know which wins. Case law might tell you I suppose. In any case, it sounds like the bonuses are already paid out, so, it doesn't matter. Just go the tax route.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 11:33 AM) My 2 cents on how contract law applies to the AIG bonuses: If these bonuses have indeed been "earned" under the terms of the employment contracts, the government can't interfere through legislation. The constitution prohibits "ex post facto" laws (i.e., retroactive criminalization) as well as the deprivation of citizens' property rights, including contractual entitlements, without due process of law (hearings). Things can only be declared "illegal" going forward. If they're going to put the screws to the AIG executives, it will have to be through the tax code, as we're now hearing. I think you'd be right if the bonuses were actually paid out. Because they are then the property of the payee. But the haven't been (I think). So if a contravening law is passed now, the contract would then be promising something the law disallows, and that won't be valid. All told though, the tax route would probably be easier.

After 2007, I was one of the few who was OK with the idea of Owens starting in 2008. I really felt he could get on base at a .350-ish clip, and steal 75-80% of bases, while playing OK defense in CF (other than his noodle arm). Not great, but, acceptable, if he was the weakest player in the lineup. I admit it. But I am starting to be even less happy now, looking at his 2008, his injuries, his 2009 spring, and oddly enough... his attitude. Not that I think he is a bad guy, but, I think his head is in the wrong place. His quotes always say that he has only one goal - to be healthy. WTF is that? No, your goal is to be a good centerfielder and a good hitter. That concerns me as well. I am no fan of BA, other than his defense, but I think he is the better option right now, no doubt.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 10:51 AM) Just remember, Nix compiled his numbers in Colorado Springs in his 3rd year of AAA. I think the team batting average was higher than his. I wouldn't expect much. I don't think he is a starter, but, I think he may be a better choice for the bench this year to cover middle infield, than Lillibridge. Lilli could benefit from another year at AAA putting it back together (or trying too), whereas I think Nix is more ready to be part of the big club. Nix to cover SS, 2B, PR, with Betemit for the corners and DH and corner OF here and there, plus a 4th OF who loses the CF job or platoons, and the backup C.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 09:56 AM) Like Jayson Nix. These are guys that will help the win totals in Charlotte, but if they are playing in Chicago, its garbage time. I'd put more faith in the potential of Nix than that, he may actually turn out to be of some value. But I agree on Raines 2, he's AAA filler.

Trib has it up now. Looks small, from an EMS perspective, fortunately. Just a very big initial response, since it was an actual structure fire.

QUOTE (shipps @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 10:29 AM) I warned people over here and they are freaking out telling me they dont see it anywhere on the news. Word has spread so quickly around here its amazing. They just want to know what they need to prepare for. I can't give you details - its an MCI, so CFD will use their co-op channels, if you want to scanner jockey. But I only personally saw two victims, and no telling if they were serious injuries. So it could turn out to be small for you, or big, I can't say. But that is a HUGE response from the city.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 09:55 AM) Really depends on where you are, apparently. http://www.city-data.com/forum/chicago-sub...ook-county.html Cheapest: South Barrington 5.227-7.151 Inverness 5.227-7.456 Northbrook 5.337-6.184 Northfield 5.442-6.252 Glenview 5.541-6.763 Burr Ridge 5.550-5.926 Hinsdale 5.551-5.936 Most expensive: Country Club Hills 12.420-12.760 Ford Heights 21.52 It's more than DuPage. http://addisonadvantage.org/Property%20Tax%20Rates.htm It seems like the wealthiest areas (ie, highest property values) have far lower tax rates. I'm in the city. Let's put it this way. I have a 2 BR condo, in Bucktown. My taxes there for a year are 30+ times as much as I pay for 24 acres of land in New Mexico.

QUOTE (shipps @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 10:19 AM) I know this is selfish but that means I am gonna be busy today. I hope this isnt as bad as it sounds. I don't know anything else yet, but I have a view down LaSalle from the BOT, and I have never seen that much CFD equipment in one place before. The streets are filled with gear, firefighters, water, hoses, stretchers, etc. Must be a fire, other than that, no idea. I let my guy at the Trib know about it when I saw the response, no word yet from him as to what is going on exactly.

At least 20 fire vehicles, people rolling out on stretchers, fire hoses in the bldg, Lasalle and Adams closed. Big crowd. Not sure what is going on. Building evacuated.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 09:17 AM) I'd cheer but theres no way I would be a "fan" of the Cubs and especially the Wolverines. Yeah, I don't like wolverines either. Mean little animals.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 17, 2009 -> 07:07 AM) BTW, these are retention bonuses, not performance bonuses. I'm really beginning to hate corporatism. These business models are proving just how bad they are for the economy as a whole (but great for the individuals getting $1M to stay at AIG!) If AIG wasn't throwing away taxpayer dollar, I could care less. Let them be stupid. But, since we now own a big chunk of AIG, they report to us. And us doesn't want these losers who caused a part of this mess getting paid millions as a result. I am 100% in favor of the near-100% tax on AIG trader bonuses idea.