NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 02:42 AM) At least it's a firm, erect logo. What kind of message would it send if they went with a limp, flaccid symbol? A poor one, that's what. Personally, for what the logo lacks in length and girth I think it more than makes up for in vigor, intensity and I'm sure angry, explosive copulation if head's fiery expression is any indication. This should be nominated for both Post of the Year and Thread of the Year when we get around to that. Awesome.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 08:52 AM) We are heading in the right direction, there is no doubt in my mind. I would just hate to see JD leave on a personal level. I am a big fan of his, but can recognize when this makes the name on the front of the jersey better, and ultimately that is my #1 choice. Yeah, I have felt the same way about Crede the last year or two. Personally, I'm a big fan, but I realize its better for everyone involved for him to exit. It will be hard to see both of them go, at least for me.

Looking at MLBTR, there are about 5 sources in the media and with both clubs denying there is anything happening. I think this falls back into the "rumor" category, at best. I am going to un-pin for now, barring any updates.

QUOTE (scenario @ Dec 7, 2008 -> 10:06 PM) It's not that big of a deal actually. Chapter 11 Bankruptcy is a process that a lot of corporations use to help renegotiate debt. The Trib has some extremely large debt payments coming due. That's the motivation I believe. Typically firms in Chapter 11 continue normal operations. You should only be really concerned if they owe you money. Or if you work there. If they file, jobs will be lost (in addtion to those already laid off). Trib folks are angry. The company was headed for tough straights a while back anyway, but then Zell did a leveraged buyout and saddled the company with enormous debt. Probably not the smartest idea in the world, given the inevitable downturn in newspaper ad revenue that everyone knew was underway already. Anyway, TribCo would have to shrink even further to pay off the debt from Zell's purchase. I've been with a company that had to go through that - owners needing to service a leveraged buyout. Its no fun at all.

QUOTE (1399 @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 02:19 AM) Ummm guys. It's looking like the deal isnt a deal after all so why the hype? If it turns out to be true then I have no problem trading Dye for Bailey straight up. Dye and his whopping .210 average with RISP will not be missed. Besides, despite Dye having a decent 08 season he was one of the problems (Thome, Swisher, Paulie, Dye) that couldnt drive runs in so I dont see what we would be missing if Dye's over paid ass was traded. If this rumor is true then I say good f***ing riddence and see if Cinci would be interested in Paulie and Thome too. Im sick of seeing multi millionaires under achieving. If were going to have s***ty production then let it be from some younger kids that are eager to play. The middle of the order sucked to say the least and was flat. Change is needed and it's time for Kenny to take out the trash as he has already started to do with Swisher and Javy. I can only hope there are more trades to follow soon. good f***ing riddence to Dye? He's trash? I'm speechless.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 7, 2008 -> 11:14 AM) Say what you want for Santo’s skills as a broadcaster, but his love for the Cubs has no equal. I really hope he gets in this year, he has the numbers, and he’s gone through so much in his life that he deserves at least a little comfort though the Hall of Fame. I'm not really sure what's not to like about the guy, other than him being a Cub and a total homer, but these are just my thoughts. He's an irritating announcer. But I agree that he deserves a HoF bid for his playing time.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Dec 7, 2008 -> 11:55 AM) Interesting side note to the 2008 elections, Republican Anh Cao defeats indicted Democratic U.S. Rep. William Jefferson in New Orleans congressional district. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081207/D94TPC680.html Good.

QUOTE (mreye @ Dec 6, 2008 -> 04:26 PM) I haven't seen the movie, but it does look pretty bad and I can agree Moore is a better movie maker. My point was with Ebert anymore it seems if the movie fits his "agenda" it gets a good review. Take his 4 stars for "W," for instance, a film most thought was horrible, which was evident by ticket sales. By the way, he only gave Shawshank Redemption 3.5 stars. Hack! Yes, W was an awful film. How anyone could give it 4 stars, unless they are incredibly shallow and/or incredibly politically biased in their flim views, is beyond me. Inconvenient Truth was an OK film as documentaries go, at least. Haven't seen Expelled, or Farenheit 9/11, and frankly have zero desire to do so in either case. I wonder what Ebert gave The Day After Tomorrow, which deserves an award for one of the worst films made this decade. That film was laughable from the get-go, while helping destroy the environmental causes it sought to promote by making them wholly unbelievable.

QUOTE (scenario @ Dec 6, 2008 -> 09:42 AM) One thing that KW said in the teleconference that is sticking with me... He said, "the infield is set... now I'm going to focus on the outfield". What I take out of that is that somebody is going to get acquired, very likely this week. And I don't think it's improbable at all that Dye is moved... both for salary and quality trade chip purposes. So... IMO... we're looking at one new outfielder (>75% likely) and possibly two (25% likely). I agree on the strong chance of acquiring an OF, and I also think there is a decent chance we pick up another SP.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Dec 6, 2008 -> 02:47 AM) He probably knew of you in a Biff/McFly kind of way. Which one was I?

True - 4 states (IL, IA, CO, TN) The person below me has a crooked nose.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 02:03 PM) I think the thing that annoys some people about these sorts of "Discoveries"! are the press release campaigns, where a small step that 30 or 40 years from now combined with dozens of other developments and fundamental shifts in human behavior are treated as the next big thing. You're not going to get a scientist to disagree with the idea of basic, seemingly useless research in a number of areas, because that can often produce big ideas. But the publicity, press campaigns, the use of those campaigns to grab funding that might be significantly better spent on other projects...those sorts of things can get on our nerves. The amount of money being spent on things like hydrogen and flex-fuel cars today that could go to much better uses is a classic example. Its the business side of science. It may be annoying to scientists, but its a necessary part of getting funding - marketing.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 01:16 PM) The thing is, in Kenny’s mind the team doesn’t have those holes. He seems to more than satisfied with the pool of Richard, Poreda, Marquez, Carrasco, Broadway, Egbert, and Van Benschoten for the 4 and 5 spots. He also seems to think that, Owens, Getz and Lillibridge will me more than enough depth for the leadoff spot. Frankly, I don’t blame him occasionally you have to throw a couple guys against the wall and see who sticks. Of course he says those things. And he may, or may not, believe them. But he has to say them regardless.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 01:20 PM) "We saw an opportunity to acquire one of the best shortstops in the game and one of the smartest shortstops in the game. Somebody who can fit into the No. 2 spot in our lineup for 155 games,'' Chicago general manager Ken Williams said, adding the trade frees up money that could help the White Sox pull off another deal. -KW after getting OC a year ago. He has done nothing since to make him a back-up to the likes of Getz, Lillibridge and Nix. Disagree. His play, offensively, was inconsistent. The majority of the season he was very subpar. he was not one of the best in the game in 2008. Note also the "smartest" comment - OC acted like a spoiled child, which is the opposite of what KW was looking for. Certaintly, OC wasn't some horrible player. But he didn't exactly live up to expectations either.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 01:09 PM) Here's the sarcastic/angry counterpoint to that work from a few months ago when it was originally announced. The simple reality is that compared to every other energy collection and storage system, hydrogen as an energy storage mechanism is still vastly more expensive than the other options currently available and there's little reason to expect those costs to decrease as rapidly in the near future as other methods. Its new tech. I still think its cool when new connections like this are made, and experimented with. Some succeed, some fail, some take time before succeeding... its still good to see.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 12:03 PM) And I wouldn't be so sure that the Big 3 would be able to continue to operate while bankrupt. With a government guarantee for financing, which they would get, the Big 3 would probably operate better and more efficiently shortly after going into it.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 11:54 AM) And if KW DIDN'T offer him arbitration, and he signed soemwhere else, there would be endless b****ing by the same people here about how KW should be fired for missing out on those 2 draft picks. Whatever. No one b****es on Soxtalk. Ever. You suck.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 11:55 AM) I think that's why people are hesitating to buy from the Big 3. They're scared their warranty will be useless if the company goes out of business 2 months after they purchase the car. I'm sure some people fear that. I'm also sure that the moment a Big 3 company goes bankrupt (assuming they intend to continue operating), they will immediately announce that all warranties are still honored.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 10:53 AM) I see a distinct difference between the auto companies and steel or airlines, though. Those items don't come with 5-10 year warranties like an automobile does. I think the fear (whether rational or not) that GM won't be around in 6 months will keep most people from choosing them when shopping for a new car. Flight tickets are a much smaller expenditure and, while it may be a huge inconvenience, your airline going bankrupt isn't going to effect you for years to come. With steel, you buy it, and you're done. You couldn't care less if they're around in a week because you have your material. There is a near-zero chance that an auto company will stop honoring warranties for existing owners. That would be suicide. If they plan to keep operating, you can bet they'd honor warranties.

The FBI had a close Blagojevic adviser wear a wiretap to record conversations, as part of an ongoing federal investigation. The feds are obviously quite serious here. I think the only question is, will he be indicted before, or after, the 2010 election?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 11:05 AM) There's a problem with that though, and that's where all of this comes from. If the auto industry went in to bankruptcy at any other time, they'd probably be able to weather it, because a business going through bankruptcy typically is able to take out some fairly large bridge loans using parts of itself as collateral. Right now though, it's virtually impossible for any of the auto companies to get the kind of financing they'd need to make it through bankruptcy because the banks destroyed the credit markets. Thus, they'd try to go in to chapter 13 bankruptcy, but they'd be unable to find the financing to do so, and hence would wind up in chapter 7 where they can do nothing but pretty much shut down and start selling off their remaining assets. I'd be interested in hearing your response to this, because before I did more reading I had the same opinion as you, that unless there was something wrong with our bankruptcy system then the automakers should be going through bankruptcy. But after reading the financing argument, I was forced to change my mind, because of the fact that they couldn't get the credit lines they needed and thus in this case because of the frozen, unattainable credit markets, they wouldn't be able to survive through to the end of a bankruptcy process. So hence, my understanding of this "Bailout" is that they're trying to use the only people still lending money; the government. If Congress elects not to do an auto bailout, or does only a very small one... then you can bet the long term plan is for them to wait until GM goes bankrupt, and then put guarantees on their exit financing. If GM goes bankrupt, they will get financed.

QUOTE (bschmaranz @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 11:09 AM) Cole Armstrong expendable? Flowers will never wear a catcher's mask in a White Sox uniform so what the hell is Stark talkin' about? And you think this why?

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 10:55 AM) I will give Ford some props though, I've had a Fusion for a few years and the car is awesome. I've never had a problem with it, it gets good gas mileage, and I drive ALOT, and it handles extremely well. Ford has done a lot of good things the last few years, and have really improved as a company. They are far better off than the other 2, though they are still struggling a bit. We have a Ford Escape Hybrid, and love it. Ford has catapulted to the top of many quality lists the last few years, right there with Toyota and the like. And I agree with SS2K5's theme - if GM goes bankrupt, they will continue to operate, and very likely come out the other end a stronger company. There is still a significant revenue stream and demand to work from in that marketplace. I will say this though - I think the Big 3 will become the Big 2 sometime in the next few years, with or without the bailout. Chrysler will not survive as it currently does. The core business will reduce, the specialty brands like Jeep will be bought by Japanese or American car companies, and it will either shrink into a small specialty car firm or just die off slowly over time. And the auto industry will probably be better for it.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Dec 5, 2008 -> 09:20 AM) More solar news! Summary: Sun + Water = Fuel. With catalysts created by an MIT chemist, sunlight can turn water into hydrogen. If the process can scale up, it could make solar power a dominant source of energy, with a cheap reliable way to store the energy created by solar power for use at any time. http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/21536/ Great stuff. Could be used to store energy for even-flow solar electricity, or to generate hydrogen compressed energy for, say, cars.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 4, 2008 -> 11:15 PM) hmm, and of what relation are you? Hahn is a native of Winnetka, Ill. and a graduate of New Trier High School, the University of Michigan, the Harvard Law School and Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He and his wife, Jean, have two children, Jake and Charlie. The family resides in Glencoe, Ill. http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/cws/team/e.../hahn_rick.html Weird. Turns out Hahn was at NTHS the same time I was. I wonder if I knew him.