NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 10:59 AM) I think you guys are piling on a bit. I also think the point is well taken that it would be refreshing to see this team not have to play at least 1 (probably 2 and sometimes even 3) DH's in the field because in essence they are putting a guy at DH who essentially can no longer play the field. Pie in the sky with me for a minute and think about being able to use a guy like Fields at DH who actually has value defensively (albeit not a whole lot) and isn't a liability on the basepaths. Thome is still a very valuable baseball player in terms of getting on base, that's true. But how many times has him being on the basepaths cost us a subsequent out in an inning because he is slow as dirt? This is an unquantifiable statistic, but a very real aspect of the game. It applies to Konerko too. .362 OBP means less if essentially the man cannot score from second on a single. Thome isn't exactly a liability on the basepaths. He's pretty slow, but he is a smart baserunner, and he's faster on the paths than Konerko, Crede, AJ, and some others who have been on the team in recent years. I think he tends to get a worse rep than he deserves in that department.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 10:39 AM) "It will be avant garde, technically," he said of the new public relations team he's signing on. "It will come to the table with things that will surprise everyone - off the hook." He also added: "I don't do 'cutting-edge.' That's what Democrats are doing. We're going beyond cutting-edge." He sounds like the pointy-haired boss from Dilbert. Synergy! Out of the box! Bleeding Edge!!!!!

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 10:41 AM) By far the funniest post in the thread. "This pisses me off! Ipso Facto, I should be able to piss off blacks!" No, the funniest post in the thread is the one that started it. He gets the biggest laugh out of the debacle he created, and which is probably going exactly as he expected it would.

QUOTE (ballyb11 @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 09:57 AM) Off topic, any word on Yadel Marti and Yasser Gomez, the most recent Cuban defectors? There are multiple threads in the Diamond Club about these guys.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 09:43 AM) Why is it absurd? Can we not hold presidents responsible for their actions? What? I really don't see the point in getting into these extremist arguments. You say he is a monster, which is way over the top. I question it, and you ask why we can't hold presidents responsible for their actions, as if I'm saying he isn't. Seriously? Yes, we hold them responsible. Yes, Reagan did bad things. No, they don't rise to the level of "monster", like he was Hitler or something.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 09:35 AM) I think he was. I'll attack what he did every chance I get. Feel free. But its absurd to call him a monster.

He's made progress on the breaking pitches, and every indication is that he will continue to. If can get them good enough, he's got the potential to be a very good starter in the majors, in 2010. That is much more valuable than a very good reliever. Besides, if he's in the pen because we want a lefty who can throw 97 but he has only two pitches, we already HAVE that guy in the pen - Matt Thornton. Poreda starting in AAA makes a ton more sense.

QUOTE (mreye @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 09:32 AM) And the OP didn't just say "monster". He said, "History's greatest monster." Give me a break! mr genius is a right-wing guy, I think he was being sarcastic.

QUOTE (mreye @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 09:29 AM) Maybe I missed another post that this came from, but why is anyone calling either of them a "monster?" When I think monster, I think of Hitler, Stalin, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy. No matter what your political views you can't logically group Reagan or Carter (Or any US politician for that matter) in with these guys. Can you? I think that was the point. There was some particularly ludicrous hyperbole in some other polls, and people calling Reagan a monster. I think this thread is an illustration of the silliness of that. Though actually, even in this thread, someone has called Reagan a monster. Which is completely ridiculous.

QUOTE (mreye @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 09:12 AM) This poll is idiotic and only intended to piss off right wingers. Will I be allowed the same freedom to post a poll that's derogatory and intended to piss off African Americans? The poll is indeed idiotic. But I think the poster intended to piss off everyone, and make a point of how stupid it is to call either one a monster. At least, that's how I took it. The guy who posted it is a right-winger himself, more or less.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 08:20 AM) Ah come on, what the hell do you know . . . The conversations can be retarded, even with intelligent people because we are suppose to ignore the 800 pound gorilla, which is our differences. The differences like living in a country where you are welcome at 99% of the places, not 90%. The differences of being denied opportunity because of the differences we aren't suppose to talk about. The differences of driving through a neighborhood and having everyone stare because you must be a gang bamger or an illegal. Those things you describe, aren't differences between races. They are differences between people who are, or are not, stupid. I'm not saying we should ignore our differences. I'm saying we should ignore our classifications and stereotypes. Judge people individually, and on their behavior. You cannot "fix" a racist person by having them sit through a diversity class that highlights various cultural differences.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 07:46 AM) Lack of IQ put Burris in that spot? I'm not going to debate that with you, you have a much better vantage point. It just seemed to me that it wold not take that much intelligence to understand this situation. Are you suggesting then that Blago took advantage of some dumb guy who could not understand what was happening? I guess I'm wondering what Burris was too stupid to know/understand? From 1,500 miles away, it looked more like blind ambition, not just some stupid guy. I'm saying its both. Burris is ambitious to the point of being willing to do anything to get an elected position. So willing, that he didn't mind going in under a very dark cloud. Seperately, listen to the man talk. Watch how he handles things. I just don't think he's very bright. The combination of enormous ambition and relative lack of smarts (compared to his political peers) is a combination that results in exactly what you are seeing.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 18, 2009 -> 02:31 PM) I don't like the way he phrased that but I agree with the general idea behind it, that people go out of their way to avoid confronting racial matters. I usually do it, because I can't have a conversation about race with random people since the discussion is almost always retarded. To see what I mean just look at some of the comments on that article, f***ing christ. Also, I happen to believe that you cannot get rid of racism by constantly pointing out the difference between races. I feel that is counterproductive. I think some decades ago, you had to truly "combat" racism, because of how prevalent it was. Prevalent, not just in terms of being widespread, but in terms of how deep in the soul of most people it resided. At this point, I think we are making it linger more, and sink deeper, by the constant barrage of people pointing out our differences. The better approach right now, IMO, is to get rid of racism by forgetting about race. Choose not to give a s*** what color someone is, or what that means. Judge all people individually. I know it sounds so simple, its almost trite... but I really believe that is the best way to get where we all want to go.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 07:27 AM) Neither. But to take this seriously for a moment, Reagan did more. More good, and more bad. The "don't tax and spend, spend, spend" form of government started with Reagan. It empowered every person we sent to Washington to fund every dam program imaginable, and someone else will pay for it. That's exactly right. Reagan just plain did more, good and bad. Carter was kind of along for the ride.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 07:28 AM) Stemming from ambition and believing he can withstand anything. No... stemming from severe lacking in spine and IQ. Every politician has a line they are willing to walk up to, but not cross, to get elected. That line is way too far out for a lot of them, but its there. And the line is different for different people, as well as different over time for each one. Burris sets a new standard for having the line be so far out that he can't even see it anymore. He is 100% pure opportunist, much more so even than most of his political cohorts.

QUOTE (GREEDY @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 07:32 AM) The reason Thome didn't miss any time in '08 was because he needed his option for '09 to vest. $100 says he doesn't get 450 at-bats this year. He'll take a break in June or July. Take a break? I really think a lot of people on this board seriously underestimate how much work it is to play major league baseball. Its hard to be sympathetic when they make millions to play a game, sure. But that doesn't change the reality that Jim Thome, at 37 and after playing 18 years of major league baseball, has to put in a lot of hard physical work, a lot of time, and a lot of travel on little sleep. Its not like he gets to the park at 7pm, has his 4 at-bats, and then goes home. No one does that, they wouldn't make it in the majors if they did. I actually agree that Thome, due to age, frame, build and time in service, will probably fall back a bit in his hitting this year, and probably miss more games with nagging stuff. But I am quite sure he isn't "taking a break".

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 07:23 AM) You have to be ambitious to run for state wide office with a very thick skin. I guess we should not be surprised by this, but terribly disappointed. Ambition and thick skin are fine. Those are not the issues with Burris. The issues with Burris are about corruption, and frankly, cluelessness.

Reading Cowley's articles is like nails on a chalkboard. Could his writing possibly be more grating?

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Feb 18, 2009 -> 06:57 PM) Truth. I cannot believe someone would try so hard and ruin his legacy/integrity, just to be a lameduck senator for two years. Henry Burris is a Retard. Burris' entire political career has been losing elections, or finding a way to bumble into an office because others around him fall apart.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 18, 2009 -> 02:31 PM) I don't like the way he phrased that but I agree with the general idea behind it, that people go out of their way to avoid confronting racial matters. I usually do it, because I can't have a conversation about race with random people since the discussion is almost always retarded. To see what I mean just look at some of the comments on that article, f***ing christ. Of course there are retarded people. That's different from saying its a nation of cowards. I just don't agree with that, and further, it falls under the category of things the US AG should be more careful in stating. Some of his other quotes in there say a similar thing, but are much more cogently stated.

Eric Holder, further confirming he was a lousy choice for US AG, tells us that on matters of race, the US is a nation of cowards.

Sarah Palin will now have to pay back taxes on her home-use per diems.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 18, 2009 -> 01:10 PM) That website is based on: "Congress and the President are getting ready to spend billions of dollars to try to stimulate the economy. As a result, the U.S. Conference of Mayors has responded by releasing a list of "shovel-ready" projects in cities around the country that the mayors would like to see funded. President Obama, however, has promised to spend stimulus dollars only on critical projects." Daley must not have been a part of that. I heard yesterday that two of Chicago's districts (can't remember which ones) are some of the biggest takers in the bill, along with Judy Biggert's district. Chicago will see plenty of money. I figured that Chicago would get a lot, which is why I was surprised. Must just not be releasing that list (yet), or are still hacking it out. Please please please, have the Fullerton/Damen/Elston nightmare be on the list.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Feb 18, 2009 -> 12:37 PM) Wasn't that because DICK Daley wasn't going to disclose his list? Besides, Chicago will get its very own stimulus package when the olympics are announced. Think I'm kidding? I think not. I was thinking something like that - the city money for Chicago is still being worked out. Regardless of what you think of Daley, I'm sure it will take time to sift through the city's priorities to see where any money should go. And I don't think you are kidding, I am sure you are right. If Chicago gets the Olympics, there will suddenly be a bunch more money available for transit and other projects.

1031 projects in Illinois, for $3.1B.... and according to the stim site, not a SINGLE one in the city of Chicago? That can't be right.