NorthSideSox72

Its been interesting to see this rivalry become much more heated in recent years. Time was, 20 years ago, that the rivalry was barely there. More amusement about each other than anything else. But with interleague play since '97, the Sox championship in 2005, and fan bases much more hungry for winning (and spoiled) than they were before, its gained a new level of intensity. For 24 years, from 1959 to 1983, the city of Chicago didn't know October baseball. Winning was an oddity. In the 24 years since, Chicago has seen 9 post-season berths. Expectations are higher. And you can see it in the fans.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Jun 10, 2008 -> 03:40 PM) I just saw some of Obama's recent press conferences in which he goes after McCain. He did well. I liked a lot of what he said. Obama 1 McCain 0 not sold on him yet, basically because his hard core supporters are so bats*** crazy. i wonder if he will think he owes them 'political capital'. I've been trying to make my decisions without acknowledging the crazies. I won't allow my view of McCain to be dictated by the far right Christian Coalition nutbags, since I don't think McCain will do much for them, and I won't allow my view of Obama to be skewed by the crazy Obamatons. I also liked Obama's speech on the economy, and he did in fact get into more specifics than McCain. That was good to see. Obama had some good ideas. He also has some bad ones though, like another round of rebates, for example.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jun 10, 2008 -> 03:01 PM) Second Amendment rights makes the list but not First Amendment rights, eh?? Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Not only is free speech apparently not important in this thread, it could even get you shot! I was going with issues hotly discussed nowadays. But now that you mention it, maybe an entry for individual rights (1st amendment and related) would have been a good addition, when you consider this administration's tendency to stomp all over them.

Remember, too, we are talking about this question as it relates to Presidential candidates. Not to other offices.

Below is the list from the draft. As each signs, let's have someone make a post in here stating the terms (if they are announced), the date, etc. And then I or some other mod/admin will bold the name on this list (and if they are definitely not signing, such as going to college, I'll use italics)... -Also, bonuses will be added when known. 8 Beckham, Gordon U Georgia SS ($2,600,000) 86 Morel, Brent Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 3B($440,000) 120 O'Neil, Andrew Penn St U RHP($260,000) 150 Hudson, Daniel Old Dominion U RHP($180,000) 180 Williams, Kenneth Wichita St U CF($150,000) 210 Danks, Jordan U Texas Austin CF ($525,000) 240 Dubler, Kevin Illinois St U C($105,000) 270 Strauss, Ryan Florida St U RHP($30,000) 300 Sauer, Stephen Arizona St U RHP($72,500) 330 Leesman, Charles Xavier U LHP 360 Upchurch, Steven Faith Academy (AL) RHP 390 Carter, Dexter Old Dominion U RHP 420 Merry, Jorden U Washington RHP 450 Kuhn, Tyler West Virginia U SS 480 Basham, Brett U Mississippi C - returning to school for senior year 510 Weaver, Jonathan East Leyden HS (IL) RHP 540 Billeaud, Joshua U Southern Mississippi RHP 570 Kuehn, Justin Santa Clara U RHP 600 Greene, Justin Francis Marion U CF 630 Garcia, Andrew UC Riverside 2B 660 Vargas, Jose Ventura Col 3B 690 Long, Kyle St Anne's-Belfield School (VA) LHP 720 Graffy, Brett U Notre Dame RHP 750 Thompson, Taylor Auburn U RHP 780 Castillo, Jorge Florida International U 1B 810 Thennis, Doug Texas Tech U 1B 840 Short, Brandon St John's River CC CF 870 Thorpe, Randall Heritage HS (TX) CF 900 Asselin, Kevin Sonoma St U RHP 930 McCann, James Dos Pueblos HS (CA) C 960 Marrero, Concepcion Reynoldsburg HS (OH) 2B 990 Young, Edward Christian HS (CA) SS 1020 Semien, Marcus St Mary's HS (CA) SS 1050 Riggins, Harold Normal West HS (IL) 1B 1080 Keegan, Jordan Silverado HS (NV) CF 1110 Doyle, John Boston Col RHP 1140 Domecus, Steve Moorpark Col C 1170 Shellhorn, Rusty Central Valley HS (WA) LHP 1200 Hawkenson, Mark Red Mountain HS (AZ) RHP 1230 Radeke, Mason Santa Barbara Sr HS (CA) RHP 1260 Sabatino, Steven Lockport Township HS (IL) LHP 1290 Farris, Cory Boone County HS (KY) C 1320 Cron, Christopher Mountain Pointe HS (AZ) C - will play baseball at University of Utah next season 1349 Kenner, Julian Whitney-Young HS (IL) SS 1377 Fischer, Lee U Missouri Columbia SS 1404 Hayden, Daniel Xavier U C 1431 Alvarez, Ricardo San Fernando HS (CA) 2B 1458 Otto, Travis Wheaton North HS (IL) 1B 1485 Florence, Steven Simeon Vocational School (IL) SS Updated 6/17 by NSS72

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 10, 2008 -> 02:40 PM) It's hard to pick five because some go hand in hand IMO. I'd lump trade policy and national debt (and maybe even tax rates and government spending) all under economic policy. I'd also put Mid-East policy and border control under homeland/ national security policy. Sure. No matter what was picked, there will be some overlap. Just try to pick as best as you can. This is not a scientific poll.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 10, 2008 -> 01:30 PM) That is like rule 1 of journalism. Controversy sells papers/gets ratings, manufactured or otherwise. Just about everybody hates Mariotti, but everybody sho'nuff still reads his articles and talks about them and how much they hate him. Personally whenever somebody posts some trash he writes I scroll over it or avoid the thread unless it's a thread ripping on him. He is basically the media's equivalent of a troll, and he's good at what he does. I think that is true, up to a limit point. A good parallel example is Scott Boras and sports agents. Ideally, as an athlete, you want the best agent possible, and don't care if he's a jerk. Similarly, the Sun Times just wants to sell papers, and if Mariotti does, that great. BUT, in both cases, if the agent or writer is SO over the top obnoxious that it repels clients (or readers), then the utility goes down quickly. I think Mariotti may be reaching that point - the point where readers start defecting to other papers, and start turning off Around the Horn, because of his presence. At that point, he'll be shown the door.

I'm curious what peoples' hot button issues are. So, choose FIVE of the issues in the poll that are your top 5 most important when choosing who to vote for for President. I cannot limit the poll to 5 responses, so, its the honor system here. I had to split the choices into 2 questions, as there is a limit of 10 choices per question - but ITS ACTUALLY JUST ONE QUESTION. Try to choose just five, please.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 10, 2008 -> 11:39 AM) Clayton Richard is also being promoted to Charlotte, so that means Poreda will be taking his place in the Barons rotation. The moves should become official today or tomorrow. I imagine Poreda was waiting to meet up with the Barons when they came up to North Carolina. I assume this means the end of Tomo Ohka in the Charlotte rotation, then? You've got Broadway, Egbert, Haeger and Whisler already in the rotation, with Bell having been sent to the pen. So, other than sending Ohka packing (or to the pen as well), the only alternative would be a 6 man rotation, which I doubt they will do.

With the Sox organization having so little depth of talent at most positions, its nice to see some exceptions to that rule. One of the exceptions appears to be closers. Charlotte has people going up and down from the big club (Wassermann, MacDougal), so let's look at the rest of the system, where there appear to be some real relief prospects... Birmingham (AA): Jon Link (acquired for Rob Mackowiak, 2007, from San Diego Padres) 3-1 17 saves 1.80 ERA 1.32 WHIP 24 K in 25 IP GO/AO: 1.45 Winston-Salem (A+): Kanekoa Texeira (26th round pick, 2006 draft) 2-0 10 saves 1.64 ERA 1.27 WHIP 21 K in 22 IP 1.53 GO/AO Kannapolis (A-): Henry Mabee (19th round pick in the 2007 draft) 0-0 14 Saves 1.30 ERA 1.18 WHIP 37 K in 34.2 IP GO/AO: 2.72 And here is a fun stat. Those three have pitched a combined 81.2 IP, and have not given up a single HR. The really interesting part, to me, is that Mabee and Texeira were both late round picks. Nice pickups.

Looks to me like the Sox may have gotten a nice bonus in drafting Mabee in the 19th round last year. Dude is just dominant. Too bad Winston-Salem (Texeira), B-Ham (Link), and Charlotte (Wassermann) have such solid closers. There's nowhere for him to go!

Thanks for the game review JPN, great stuff. Sounds like a fun game to have watched. Here is the box score for anyone interested. Other games... Potomac beat Winston-Salem, 5-3. Santeliz took the loss in his first start in a few years, but got some bad luck. 3 of the 4 runs he gave up were unearned, on an error by CJ Lang and 2 pass balls by Ricks. Details... Colina: 1-3, 2B, BB, RBI, R Paiml, Allen, Ricks: all 1 single each Retherford: 0-2, 2 BB Santeliz (L, 0-1): 2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K (not sure why he only went 2 innings) Zaleski: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K Kanny beat West Virginia, 8-5. Highlights... Gallagher: 3-5, 2B, 2 R, SB Fleischer: 2-4, BB, 2 R (bench player) L Johnson: 1-3, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB Miranda: 2-5, 2B, RBI (hitting .350 during a 5 game hitting streak, and walking more than striking out - looks like he may finally be getting his mojo back) Rice (W, 2-5): 5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Mabee (S, 14): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (ERA now 1.30, WHIP is 1.18, and he has 37 K in 34.2 IP)

QUOTE (scenario @ Jun 9, 2008 -> 10:51 PM) Forget Owens. If we replace Uribe on the roster with someone from our system, it better be Getz. Chris Getz can play 2B, SS, or outfield including CF. He's left-handed and can lead off if we need him too. And Getz is batting .313 with a .837 OPS; he has 6 homeruns and 14 doubles. Owens is batting .250 with a .635 OPS; he has 1 homeruns and 8 doubles. (They have almost the exact same number of at-bats - just over 200.) I'm all for bringing up Getz, but not to replace Uribe. I'd rather replace Pablo. Uribe is a plus defender at two infield positions, and at least adequate at 3B. Pablo is maybe average at 2B, slightly below at 3B, and awful everywhere else. Plus the team could use a lefty bat, and Getz can play everywhere Pablo does, but probably hit better.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Jun 9, 2008 -> 09:28 PM) im pretty sure he makes the most money there, therefore he gets to stomp his foot and do what he wants. and he abuses it Actually, the Sun Times (and most other major papers) are currently under huge pressure to cut costs. If the ST thinks they can bring in readers with the rest of their sports team just as well as with Mariotti, then his high salary makes it that much more likely that they can his ass.

Charlotte is off. Montgommery @ Birmingham, 7:05pm CT, Torres (6-3, 3.95) tries to clinch the first half title for the Barons Winston-Salem @ Potomac, 6:05pm CT, Clevelan Santeliz (just demoted from B-Ham bullpen) gets his first start since Great Falls in 2006 Kannapolis @ West Virginia, 6:05pm CT, no starter announced yet (best guess is Moreno)

Wow. If the team could sign Jordan Danks, after stealing him in a low round like that, that would be fantastic. That plus Beckham sure would make the draft result look nice.

So are we now officially going with the incorrectly worded Farmer/Rooney phrase for winner threads now? Is this a no jinx thing?

37-26, +6.5 7 straight wins First undefeated home stand of 7+ games since 1983 11 games over .500 Rock and f***ing roll.

Good start.

Thornton gets the next guy after a bad call. Very nice. Anyone miss Joe Borchard?

QUOTE (29andPoplar @ Jun 9, 2008 -> 01:58 PM) Desn't happen often, a hitter getting HR's from both sides of the plate in the same game. I remember watching Brian Simmons do it in KC. And last AB, he hit that HR on the next pitch after just missing one foul. Don't see that often either.

QUOTE (The Beast @ Jun 9, 2008 -> 01:57 PM) How about you put on the pads and helmet, go behind that plate and umpire? I have. And this umpire is still brutal. Since you haven't played major league baseball, should we just tell you to never criticize anything a player does?

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Jun 9, 2008 -> 01:56 PM) Swisher is heating up. He's been hitting the ball hard, even a week ago. Just wasn't getting stuff to fall. Now he is. Great to see.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jun 9, 2008 -> 12:35 PM) Just noticed Ramirez is batting 2nd. I like the move. They've been doing that when Hall is catching.

OK, 2 on for Joe Crede. Joe is hitting .295 now. Holy crap.