NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 11:07 AM) So, just to see if I get what you're saying, you're saying that the problem is not that these assets which are returning $.05 on the dollar are worthless, the problem is that people are under-valuing them? (Assuming you meant Markers nad not makers. I'd agree it's the Makers of the market, not the markers of the market). Who are you, Timothy Geithner? Ben Bernanke? The argument I'd make is that right now, no one wants anything to do with these assets. Given that we're actually seeing the returns people are getting on them and the AAA rated stuff is coming back with a return of $.05 on the dollar, no one is going to want anything to do with them, so they should be worthless. The only reason they're not worthless is that there's a crazy bearded man out there who's realized that if they're actually accounted for as worthless then there's nothing left to do but have the government seize the banks, and so he's used his considerable power to give somewhere over $2 trillion in loans to the same banks using those worthless securities as collateral, thus, they have value greater than zero only because the Federal Reserve has gotten in to the game. This is of course why every one of these Geithner/Paulson TARP type bailout proposals keeps failing to gain traction. They're all based on the idea that these assets are worth more than the market would pay for them right now and we only need to wait things out until the next housing bubble starts for everyone to realize it. But, no one except the people running the Fed and the Treasury think that's actually going to happen. They are not all worthless. In fact most have at least some value.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 9, 2009 -> 08:23 AM) Fields has totally out preformed Viciedo this point of spring training. Not only has he had a huge edge in the field, but he is out hitting him as well. Viciedo has the two impressive long balls, but not really much else. I know its a small sample size and all, but this really isn't a competition, in my mind, to this point. I don't think it ever was. I think that Viciedo and Flowers were both destined for the minors no matter what, so that they could work on their defense.

So here is an example of how the Obama administration is so much better than predecessors at being non-partisan, and simply more effective as an administration, when it comes to matters of science. The Bush Administration, just before leaving, elected to pull the Grey Wolf from the ESA in certain regions where they claimed it had recovered enough to be sustainable - MT, ID, WA, parts of UT, MN, WI and MI. Environmental groups complained. Well, Ken Salazar had his team analyze things, and made what appears to me to be a logical, science-based decision, to materially agree with the previous ruling. In those areas, the recovery is doing well, so they agree. In WY, where the state game commission is apparently run by buffoons, the ESA will still apply because the state laws are not strong enough (they want to make 90% of WY a "predator zone" where they can be shot on sight without cause), and because the population isn't as well established yet. The ESA will still also apply to wolves in other states where they are, or may be, present, such as CO, OR and ND. And the Mexican Wolf (aka Lobo) in NM and AZ will remain under ESA protection as well. And by the way, for those unaware, there are grey wolf packs well south in WI now, and approaching the IL border. This is what these agencies are supposed to do - act on science and logic, not political motivation. Well done.

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Mar 8, 2009 -> 05:54 PM) Let's see. 1. He's a roider. 2. He, along with his agent, made the Tigers bid against themselves for his services because he put money ahead of winning. Then just a few months later he was already b****ing and pouting, demanding a trade because apparently he "just wanted to win." 3. He played like s*** last year. 4. He's old and near retirement. 5. Big ego. 6. Doesn't have experience working with Sox pitchers. 7. He's going to at least want incentives on top of a base MLB minimum deal. There's seven reasons why I'd rather have Chris Stewart backing up AJ. Sorry, but I couldn't give a f*** about that guy. We're not going to win or lose this season based on the hitting performance of our backup catcher. Maybe if you tried to make a case for a FA who is actually worth a damn someone would side with you. You actually forgot Ivan's biggest weakness... he doesn't have enough baseball smarts to call a game. Now, every catcher gets some degree of guidance of course. but I-Roid has to have everything sent in from the dugout, every pitch call.

Not sure where to put this, but, its a perfect example of what some of us have been harping on about the way Congress does business. Specifically, the fact that you can have a bill that gets screwed over because of an unrelated amendment. In this instance, there is a bill that appears to be ready to go, that will give DC a full voting member of Congress. But that bill has now stalled, because some moron in the Senate attached an amendment rolling back certain gun laws in DC. Mind you, I happen to actually agree with both pieces here. But they should be voted on individually. This amendment is nothing more than a big f*** you from this Senator.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 8, 2009 -> 06:11 PM) If any of the banks were actually accounting these mortgage-backed securities for the zero dollars they could get for them on the market right now, they'd already be insolvent. The only think keeping their books out of the red is that they're already doing that. You are getting at part of the issue here. These MBS's, CDW Swaps etc., are single-create OTC instruments. They are one time contracts, not like a fungible or exchange-traded security. Therefore, establishing what the "market" will pay for it is all a big game. How do you mark to a theo market like that? The answer is, the accountants can value it however they'd like, and they did that, and now look where we are. There are tools available out there for valuation of OTC contracts like swaps, but they all have a different way of doing things. MTM only works with liquid, venue-traded, repeatable securities.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 8, 2009 -> 09:12 PM) There was really no good reason for any of them to have an advantage over the other 3 going into camp so as you say it should be wide open right now. If Lucy outperforms the others for the rest of March why wouldn't he get the job? I haven't watched him play yet in ST, but, I suspect he needs to show something the others don't - his health. His knee, specifically. They will want to be sure it is fully healthy. Otherwise, I agree, the field is pretty much wide open. Though I think Flowers was going to the minors no matter what (needs innings at the position), and Armstrong is the one LH of the bunch.

A few weeks in to camp, a brief look at the contenders thus far... Flowers in 5 games: 10 AB, .200/.200/.200/.400... 10 innings, 1 error, 1 PB, 1/1 SB Against Miller in 4 games: 10 AB, .500/.500/1.000/1.500... 21 innings, 0 errors, 1 PB, 4/5 SB Against Stewart in 4 games: 9 AB, .222/.222/.566/.788... 18 innings, 1 error, 0 PB, 0/0 SB Against Lucy in 4 games: 7 AB, .286/.286/.714/1.000... 14.2 innings, 0 errors, 0 PB, 5/5 SB Against Armstrong in 3 games: 7 AB, .000/.000/.000/.000, 15 innings, 0 errors, 0 PB, 1.1 SB Against Thoughts so far?

So, is Donny Lucy really in the running for backup C? Still seems like a wide open field. Flowers is almost assuredly headed to the minors to work on the defense, but, the other four? Haven't seen much of Armstrong so far.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Mar 7, 2009 -> 07:35 PM) fields is doing good and he should be the 3b. but where do u put viciedo? In Birmingham or Charlotte, for now.

We watched Body of Lies last night. I usually like Ridley Scott films, and it had a couple good lead actors in it. It was a disappointment. Never really grabbed your attention. It was basically a less skillful and less interesting Syriana (which I liked).

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Mar 7, 2009 -> 01:17 PM) Andrew Sisco signed a minor league deal with you guessed it, the A's. Wow. Sweeney, Cunningham, Wing, Sisco, Gonzalez.... how many ex-Sox prospects are over there now?

He's 16, in some states for serious crimes (and this is serious battery), he can be charged as an adult. Especially given the previous record. Try him for battery, put him in jail. You can't fix someone like this most of the time, but at least you can take him out of circulation for a while.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 02:55 PM) Wow, that website is something else. Unfortunately, it shows that the Boeings Qantas flies from the US have ZERO power outlets in economy, so no luck for me. Its better to find out now though, then to be looking for a non-existent one on the plane. Thanks for that website, great stuff. I've flown Qantas between LAX and Auckland, and indeed, no power. Also, the seats in coach are really tight, especially for a long overseas flight (trans-ocean runs typically used to have a couple extra inches of leg room). If you are a tall guy, its bad. I'd use that seat map to try to select some good seats.

QUOTE (tommy @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 02:33 PM) Allen scores on Kroeger single, they get the forceout at 2nd, Becks pops out, inning over. Kroeger the RBI machine strikes again.

QUOTE (scenario @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 02:07 PM) I've read that they're going to have him start. Not necessarily because they project him as a starter. They just want him to get extra work to speed up his development. Ah, I hadn't read that.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 02:02 PM) I have seen on numerous airplanes that have signs stating DC power outlet under seat. I will be doing a lot of flying next month, and I was looking into purchasing an adapter/converter so I can plug in my DVD player/iPod so I can use them for flights across the ocean. Anybody have any recommendations on what kind of adapters may be good? It wont be for a laptop so it doesnt need to be too powerful. More importantly, where exactly are these outlets located on the seat? Is it under the seat or somewhere else? Thanks for the help. There are multiple types. But I have an airplane adapter for my laptop, its basically a cigarette lighter style thing, and it works on American and some others. Just bear in mind, few airlines have them on domestic flights, even fewer in coach, and even then only certain rows. So, I will give you the keys to one of the great tools for regular air travelers: www.seatguru.com. You can look at whatever plane on whatever airline you are flying, and it gives you all the info on each seat on the plane - which ones have power, which have more or less leg room, everything. Use it.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 01:55 PM) The problem with having him as a back up is if he's going to hit that poorly, AJ is eventually going to have to enter a lot of games when he's getting the day off. I think its best AJ gets some rest in 2009. He's getting to the age a lot of catchers hit a wall, and has had a pretty heavy workload the last several years. I think Miller would be a mistake. Stewart would be perfect if he continued to hit lefties like he did last year, but I don't know if that's reasonable. Stewart is my top choice as well. I would like to see Lucy get more time, since he is apparently healthy, since a healthy Lucy is ideal for the job IMO. Miller is on fire, but, history says it is highly unlikely (though not impossible) that he has actually improved that much. Anyone actually watched Lucy this year at all yet? Does he look like the same athletic player out there?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 01:38 PM) It will be interesting to see how all this changes in a couple of weeks when some of the guys really playing well struggle a little bit, and some of the guys who are struggling put it together. I really don't see how anyone can come to any conclusion based on what has happened so far. I'm sure nobody has been ruled out, but nobody with the positions in play, have been ruled in either. Corky Miller is on fire. The reality is, he hasn't hit better than a pitcher during the regular season in 6 years. Odds of him doing it in 2009 are slimmer than Jerry Owens hitting 20 homers. I was just taking a wild ass guess. Clearly there are a number of other things that could happen.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 01:08 PM) Based on his work last year I think Carrasco has the inside track for one of those bullpen spots and it'd be difficult to not keep him. The other IMO is wide open. I think the pen shakes out to be: Jenks Linebrink Dotel Thornton Richard Carrasco Marquez Wassermann, Russell and German to AAA.

I'll move the posts from the other thread in here too. I don't see this game on the MLB.com scoreboard, which is weird because some of these other games have been on there. I hope it goes up at some point.

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 12:43 PM) Not going to start a thread, but the game today against Australia is going to be a minor league game camp game for the pitchers. Whisler starts. Scheduled to pitch: Ely, Lujan, McCulloch, Omogrosso, and Torres. Yawn. I think that's great, get to see some of the guys we don't know as much of yet. Some of those guys are real prospects (others are not).

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 11:14 AM) You'd have to think Nunez and Link would be the two closers. I suppose it could end up being someone like German or MacDougal, but I would doubt it. Doesn't C. Santeliz probably have the best potential in terms of stuff and future projectability, certainly better than Long and Rasner? Are you going to have him starting in High A or relieving in Birmingham? I wonder if the Sox will start S. Rodriguez? I'm assuming they will, somewhere in A ball...at least until he proves he's better suited as a reliever. It's going to be the final passing of the Shaffer/Wilder Era when Owens (although that was a KW trade), Broadway, McCulloch, Valido, Gomes, Paulo Orlando, Rafael Rayes and Juan Silverio are gone (Andy Gonzalez, thankfully, was the first). If it weren't for the health of Contreras and the signing of Colon, I couldn't see any way they could waive or trade Broadway. That would be putting a lot of pressure on Marquez, Richard and Poreda, and Richard's the only one with any MLB experience. He's close to the end of the rope...and maybe they'll trade him or put him in the bullpen in Charlotte, but I can't see them waiving him quite yet. If anyone, McCulloch deserves to be released b4 Broadway. I think Santeliz will be in the pen, with whichever club.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Mar 6, 2009 -> 11:25 AM) then why dont they try to correct that? or is it too late; he is what he is ? Not everyone is coachable, and not everyone has the ability to make it work, even if they try.

I know it is an incredible long shot, but I sort of hope that Owens and Anderson continue to stink in ST, and Kroeger actually gets a shot at the job (at least in a platoon). And before anyone says it, I am not just saying this based on half of spring training season stats. From watching him a little, looking at this career numbers, reading scouting reports, and hearing from others who have seen him play... I really do think he could be a nice little find, and a potential starter.