southsider2k5

QUOTE (fathom @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 09:11 PM) I was told tonight we're confident we can sign Thompson, but Goodwin is about a 10% likely signee. LIke I said, we wouldn't have drafted a guy that early if we didn't have a real good hint about signing him.

Well Fields just got a whole lot more important with the injury to Pauly.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 05:18 PM) I had a hunch that the SOx were going to trade for Randy Johnson a few years ago. Hopefully your hunch is as wrong as mine was, lol. I also have a hunch that we'll see Jordan Danks by the end of August, more likely by July. They tried really hard, they just couldn't get Johnson to agree to come here.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 09:19 PM) Do you really and truly think that individuals are currently making health care decisions? That the decision is not being made by 1. the individual's doctor, 2. the individual's insurance company, and 3. at a long distance back, the individual? And frankly, do you really think individuals are qualified to be the ones making health care decisions? I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm not. Trying to scare me with the idea of a bureaucrat making decisions about health care doesn't work when it's already happening...just happens to be done by a person who's job is to do everything possible to make sure that his or her company doesn't have to pay the bill. Furthermore...saying "Everyone can get health care now if they want to make that choice" is a wonderful straw man...because that's not the issue. The issue is that the way people are being forced to get health care is vastly, VASTLY more inefficient than the alternatives. Not going through preventative care is vastly more expensive than having to deal with something major that could have been avoided. Going to an emergency room for care is vastly more expensive than being able to see a regular physician. So the brilliant solution is to add "50,000,000" people to the system for free, well at the riches expense, and that will fix things. We have a fixed number of care providers, facilities, and drug companies. If we are complaining that our system is bad now, how is adding 20% more load, while reducing the incentive to be better by the people providing the goods and services going to make it better? The answer is it won't. Wait times will explode. Quality of care will plummet, and the number of people willing to work in the sector is going to dry up because any monetary incentive will be destroyed by the government. We will kill more people with government health care, than we do with the evil private system we have now, mark my words.

QUOTE (tommy @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 04:33 PM) Quentin wants to be back before All-Star Break. Ozzie said very unlikely. There's also a chance Quentin could be shut down all year. If the Sox are out of it post All-Star, Guillen said why should they put Quentin out there. per Cowley Updated the thread title.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 03:38 PM) You really strongly believe in social utopia, don't you? From the cradle to the grave.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 03:20 PM) To answer your question of where you said it...it's a corollary of your view that people should be able to opt out. If you allow that, then you're rejecting the concept of a health insurance risk pool. There's no way around it. The argument I'm trying to make is that by living your economic life how you please...you're actually hurting others and hurting yourself at the same time. Not helping is different than hurting. There is a big difference. As Americans we have the right to not help.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 02:53 PM) So then in that case I have to ask the question the other way since you don't support health insurance...what happens to the person who is working a minimum wage job at Walmart and actually gets sick or hurt? Gets in to a car accident, develops cancer, etc.? Just let them die because their job doesn't pay them enough? Again, where did I say I didn't support health insurance? Quit putting words into my mouth. Believe it or not, economic freedom was probably THE primary motivation for the creation of this country. Sure freedoms of speech and religion get most of the talk, but in reality, the s*** hit the fan over money. I believe that my freedom to economically live my life how I please, without harming others, is just as important as any of the other rights in this country. In that right, I do not have the obligation to support the rest of the country. Could other people benefit if they took more of my income? Sure. But to me, just like in a right of privacy, there are people who could be harmed by my ability to do what I want in my privacy. I could be building a bomb, and without due cause, no one would ever be able to find out. That could harm people to. Does that mean we should get rid of the rights to privacy? People can be inflamed by hate speech. Should we not allow people to hate other races publicly? The country was founded on a different set of ideals. Sometimes people pay the price for them.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 02:30 PM) That's exactly the point. The entire concept behind health insurance, or any sort of insurance for that matter, is that the people who don't need the services are paying for the ones who do. If you allow the ones who have a very low probability of using the system, say the young and healthy, to opt-out and keep their money, then the only ones in the system are the sick ones. That drives the price of insurance towards infinity. I'm a perfect example; I've been to the doctor about 3 times in the past 6 years, 2 for knee injuries and one for a wrist injury, both times just having x-rays to make sure I didn't break them. But my employer has paid an enormous amount more in health insurance than I have used. It would be a huge benefit to me to keep the money they've spent on health coverage for the next few years until I'm older and my probability of disease goes up...but if that money hadn't gone in to the pool, the insurance rates for the people in it would be higher. More people would therefore have reason to opt out...and as more people opt out, the higher the costs go and the more people are forced out. Which still doesn't explain why someone should be forced to provide health care for someone else, such as citizens of other countries. I understand how the pyramid scheme works, God knows we have created enough multi-trillion ones of those in this country, I just don't support it.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 02:11 PM) I hope, for him, that as soon as his career is finished he's flown to Cleveland and given the royal treatment in a celebration that retires his number and mends the wounds brought on by that classless fanbase...otherwise known as the population of Cleveland. Jim and his wife did so much for that community and that organization. He deserves better than what he got there. They were lucky to have the guy.

QUOTE (SI1020 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 02:04 PM) You're right. That's part of it. But only part of it. John Hoerr's book The Wolf Finally Came is a good comprehensive look at what happend to the steel industry in the 80s. It doesn't absolve labor. At the same time to make the sweeping generalization you did is not accurate either. The Fed has much more economic clout and power than any President. When you control the money supply and interest rates then you have life and death power over the economy. It doesn't take a big leap of faith to understand that either. Look, I think you're a great long time Sox fan with a positive outlook on life and the Sox. You're not going to shake me off of over thirty years of research and observation. I never argued the power of the Fed, nor did I say that a quick explanation was the end all be all of the economic history of northwest Indiana. I am also smart enough to realize that they do not have anywhere near the complete control of the economy that the conspiratilists would have you believe. Especially in this day and age, it had become less and less, that is until the Obama administration showed up and gave the government absolute power over just about everything. I don't think you are going to shake me off of thirty years of research and observation either, especially with an economics degree to back up my understanding of how the economic sector actually works.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 02:14 PM) Public schools are funded with property tax money usually. You don't have to go to school, but if you own land - you pay for it. It is not one of my favorite things really, but it is what it is. I really don't like it as a justification for taking more money from people.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 02:00 PM) Or public schools, free to use roads, etc. People can opt out of public schools. They also are primarily funding roads with gasoline taxes, which means people have a way out of that as well.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 01:59 PM) Basically then your argument is that there should be no such thing as health insurance. Not at all. I am saying the system shouldn't be something required for all, and it shouldn't be something that is government owned and operated.

QUOTE (SI1020 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 01:54 PM) Sigh. What can I say in a hopeless cause. If you don't know all the damage the Fed has caused, with it's malovelent hand in almost every economic downturn since it's inception, then pass me the kool ade I guess. I'm with Ron Paul. Audit it and then get rid of it. Yeah I know old Andy Jackson was a cantankerous fighter. I like Geronimo, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull too. Can I at least make it to purgatory? If you want I could outline in brief detail the dirty deeds of the Fed since the 74-75 recession. I don't really believe people come to this forum to learn, but rather to flame each other. Oh wait. You live in NW Indiana right? You should definitely know better then. Wait, you want to try to tell me that the Fed was responsible for the crash of the economy in NW IN? I know exactly what the problem is here. I grew up in it, and it had nothing to do with a bank. It was a group of labor that overpriced itself in a world-wide market place, and then refused to shop the same sorts of products and services. It doesn't take a big leap of faith to understand it.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 01:48 PM) I must be reading this wrong, Jackson hated the idea of a national bank. Actually to the point he kinda single-handedly caused an economic crisis. Yeah, I need to get some sleep.

QUOTE (SI1020 @ Jun 9, 2009 -> 01:29 PM) I never view history or historical figures totally from the moral prism of today. If more Presidents had been like Andrew Jackson there we be no Federal Reserve Bank and with it the incessant boom and bus cycles in the economy. This one having pushed the world to the brink of a financial catastrophe. Because the world didn't have boom or bust cycles before the National Bank was set up by Jackson?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 9, 2009 -> 07:06 PM) Don't you realize that having people actually opt out is a big part of killing the system? You call it opting out, I call it exercising economic freedom. Believe it or not, the top half of this country was not put here with the obligation to support the other half in every single way, shape, and form.

This is why I hate the Drudge Report.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 08:20 AM) *encouraging. Unless you think he's a brave motherf***er! QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 10:56 AM) I believe he's a junior. Well other than that I was pretty accurate

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 10:04 AM) I've mentioned it before, Jaime Navarro. I don't get too emotional at games anyway, but even when things bother me, I can't bring myself to boo a guy I think is trying. I boo'd him too.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 09:24 AM) Chemistry is very important for a team to have, especially in such a long season as we have. A player-player or player-manager feud can really drain a team's energy or focus. Thus, a good manager can help the team stay focused, loose, yet aggresive while putting the right player in the right position, basically giving the team hte best chance to succeed. It is then up to the players to perform in those positions. A bad manager can lose his team's faith or focus, and instead of devoting their time to scouting or film the players may be spending their time arguing with who should be playing or some fued between the manager and player. The team can get tense, lackadaisical, etc. and really hurt the team's ability to win. Ozzie was great in 2005 because the player's performed in the positions given (atleast most of them, especially the starters and the bullpen). When the team got unfocused towards the end Ozzie was able to get them back on the right track and not have them combust like they were looking too. Ozzie now is setting himself up for failure by playing his favorites who are not performing and thus making his decisions look bad not only to fans, but to management and players alike. His team isnt just worried about winning now, they are worried about who is going to be in the lineup, who is going to get called down, who is coming up, who is losing playing time, what the other players are doing. The thing with Chemistry is that no one knows what is going on in the clubhouse. The guys who are playing could very well be the guys that their teammates want to see out there. We are just assuming based on statistics who they are.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jun 10, 2009 -> 09:22 AM) I would be more than surprised if Ozzie's "ridiculousness" was nothing more than him feeling Wise is being unfairly villified by the fans and the fans love affair with Beckham is unwarranted. Think about it. In the Wise thread a lot of people have the opinion it's not fair to boo Wise as he's being as to do more than he is capable of. Then you have Gordo, who has yet to prove anything on the major league level. Now Ozzie is not a dumbass fan. He knows that there has been many hyped prospects fall well short of being productive major leaguers. Think Joe Borchard. So Ozzie tries to take the heat off of Wise and reign in the undeserved adulation Gordo's receiving. In fact, that knob slobbing the fans are doing on Beckham may very well lead to him failing if he lets expectations turn into pressure. There are some dumbass fans that need to lighten up on both accounts, and Rowand44 I'm not pointing at you. It's a general expression of my opinion and not directed at any individual. Now if any you think the shoe happens to fit, then by all means, wear it. Great post. I am glad that others see the big picture behind Ozzie's madness. I swear that Oz is trying to prevent another Brian Anderson from happening with Beckham. I keep hearing lots of the same catch words about how cocky and confident Becks is. No one in the organization is going to come out and say he is an arrogant prick yet, so you kind of have to read their statements a little closer. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but it sure sounds the same to me. With Wise Ozzie is a guy who protects his team from the media and fans for the most part. It's like being the big brother who beats up his little brother. It is OK for you to do it, but if someone else takes a swing at him, you kick their ass. That is Ozzie for you.

Updated with all Day 1 and Day 2 selections: 1. Jared Mitchell, OF, LSU 1a. Josh Phegley, C, Indiana Univ. 2. Trayce Thompson, OF, Santa Margarita HS (CA) 2a. David Holmberg, LHP, Port Charlotte HS (FL) 3. Bryan Morgado, LHP, Univ. of Tennessee 4. Matthew Heidenreich - RHP - Temescal Canyon HS (CA) 5. Kyle Bellamy - RHP - Univ of Miami 6. Justin Collop - RHP - Univ of Toledo 7. Justin Jones - LHP - Oakdale Senior HS (CA) 8. Ryan Buch - RHP - Monmouth University 9. Matthew Hopps - RHP - Cal State Domiguez Hills 10. Nick Ciolli - OF - Indiana St University 11. Jimmy Ballinger - RHP - Southern Miss 12. Kyle Colligan - CF - Texas A&M 13. Cameron Bayne - RHP - Concordia University 14. Daniel Black - 1B - Purdue University 15. Dane Williams - RHP - Archbishop McCarthy HS (FL) 16. Daniel Wagner, 2B, Belmont 17. Brian Goodwin, CF, Rocky Mount HS (NC) 18. Philip Negus, RHP, Wake Forest 19. Brady Shoemaker, LF, Indiana St. 20. Nathan Reed, LHP, Pittsburgh 21. Jared McDonald, SS, Arizona St. Univ. 22. Zach Kayne, SS, Davidson College 23. Goldy Simmons, RHP, San Diego St. 24. Jeffery Tezak, 2B, Univ. of Nebraska 25. Michael Strong, LHP, Iowa Western CC 26. Matthew Harughty, 2B, Univ. of Oklahoma 27. Kyle Davis, 2B, Univ. of Delaware 28. Robert Cummings, 3B, UC Santa Barbara 29. Charles Delk, RHP, Clemson 30. Robert Vaughn, C, Kansas State

The couraging thing about Mitchell is that by his senior year his K/BB rate had gotten to almost one. The kid seems to be learning the strike zone.