southsider2k5

http://www.southtownstar.com/sports/143622...soxntbk.article

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 04:06 PM) We won the first game, by a lot. 2nd game was so under-manned and rained out, that the teams were all scrambled. Hopefully third year will be a charm and both teams will be full this year! In all seriousness, it is an awesome time, and a great way to get past the constraints of a message board and have a great time. I totally recommend this. If you go to any game this year, make it this one.

QUOTE (shipps @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 08:54 AM) Dude you should come just to watch me run,now thats comedy Mr. Funnypants. Not as funny as Northside's bat throwing contest...

QUOTE (tommy @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 01:59 PM) Tidbits from Cowley, mods feel free to move it if this isn't appropriate thread for it. "Flight to Phoenix is about to take off. And so the 2009 season begins." "Early reports of Camelback Ranch ... Pitchers and catchers at 9 am... Cement workers at 7 am. " "It would have been a good idea to have finished it before the start of spring, but I'm sure we'll all look tight in hard hats." "Hertz rented me a car that wasn't there. Off to a great start. Stay hot Hertz!" "Jose Contreras has lost 30 pounds and even Dotel is down 7 pounds. The old and fat rep has obviously hit home. " "Early reviews from the players are all extremely positive. " "First body in the training room ... Bartolo. Is that good? " "Carlos Quentin is looking for a new anger management technique ... other than pounding the bat on his wrist. " "Bartolo Colon said no go when asked to speak to the media on Monday. He's off to a great spring." "Jose Contreras is already playing long toss. No timetable on his return to the mound, however." "Gavin Floyd continues to impress. Enough so that Ken Williams said to Floyd: "Slow down. It's Feb. 17, not March 31." "Brent Lillibridge looks like he's 12 years old. Ozzie Guillen wasted no time pointing that out. " I think there was about one comment in that whole bunch that Cowley didn't turn cynical or negative. Maybe he should heed the advice Williams gave Floyd and dial it down a notch. You don't want to get into midseason form already!

QUOTE (4 points @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 02:03 AM) I think you have a good shot at being right on 1,3,& 4, It will take no less than an act of god for #2 to manifest. I could see Fields hitting 35 to 40 homers as an everyday starter. Graned I would also see about 180 strikeouts and a sub .240 averge, but I could see Anderson and Fields combining for 50 homers if they both were regular starters.

QUOTE (Hawkfan @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 12:56 PM) I'm definitely interested, and looking forward to more info. What is WSI? WSI is White Sox Interactive, which is the other large independant fan message board out there. They are are "rivals" in a sense, though mostly in a friendly sense anymore.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 10:59 AM) Punk A** B**ch. What a prick. The ONE GUY who has the ability to fix the problem is lecturing the public on what is possible? f*** him.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 09:16 AM) If Selig did that, he would be breaking the contract signed with the union. It would result in an instant strike and that is something MLB could not allow to happen so soon after 1994. Granted, Selig does have those 'best intertests of baseball' powers, but he cannot assume a K.M. Landis attitude in this day and age. The thing is, baseball would have been much better for it in the long run. The owners know/knew the extent of the drug problem in baseball. There is nothing that will convince me otherwise. They knew they were living a fraud. In the end, all Selig's "actions" did was to try to protect ownership and management, and instead of having a bad period of relations with labor, we are now into about a 10 year long period where every single player and team has been looked as suspiciously. Instead of getting this out into the open, we have had a lynch mob mentality, and it is taking the integrety of the game down with it. Besides, I don't believe that the labor union would have actually tried to publicly justify going out on strike so they could NOT be drug tested, with the swirl of accusations that have surrounded them for a decade now. They would have been cutting their own throats from a PR standpoint, and they would make themselves all look guilty by association.

QUOTE (shipps @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 10:26 AM) This generation of women Doctors are f***ing hot. I could not have such a gorgeous woman as my doctor I wouldnt be able to tell her the truth about anything. Nooooooo my testicles are fine...did I say I had a rash there? I say the darndest things sometimes... Maybe I would go more often if that were the case for me, but I always manage to get the Indian guy no one can understand.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 09:49 AM) I love honeycrisps. That and fuji depending on the mood. The orchard by us has the best Applecrisps in existance.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 06:51 AM) Actually,my original post was not directed at him, it was shock that Minnesota could remain the same because they have guys who were getting big bumps and their roster is almost identical. I think Young is getting about $300k less, but everyone else should be higher. Almost like Philadelphia who had a huge increase, but didn't change much personnel-wise except lost Burrell and added Ibanez. Then he got personal. I apologize for getting personal. After you did so Friday, I thought you had a little thicker skin, but obviously you can't handle what you sow. I'll keep in mind that you bruise easy next time that you are stalking my work.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 03:26 PM) Sorry to point out an error in your "research". I'll go to timeout for 15 minutes. lol. I didn't think you would.

QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 04:00 PM) Am I actualy hearing things right??? You guys play an annual softball game every year??? If so, then I'm interested in playing if I have that day off work. Where do you guys play at? Any other information I should know? Yes, we have played a game against WSI for the last two years. We play at the park directly to the south of the ballpark. Right now we are in the early stages of planning, but much more info will come together as we narrow the options. It has always been a Saturday, and we try to do it during the summer when everyone is home from college. We do an early afternoon came, followed by a tailgate and patio party.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 03:14 PM) If KW "raised" the payroll $3-4 million, you certainly wouldn't be calling it the "same". Your last sentence is really uncalled for. Like I said, you can call it whatever you want. Anymore nits to pick? That would require doing some of your own work though, instead of just picking apart what others say.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 03:06 PM) Their owner also said there is room to add, so I have it right now at $61 million. Its about 7% higher + they may add Crede or someone else. I'm sure if your boss told you that your would be getting an additional 7% added to your paycheck, you would call it a raise. Feel free to do your own research and make your own post anytime. I know I won't be holding my breath.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 02:44 PM) Minnesota's remaining the same seems impossible to me. Nathan got an extension. Mourneau and Mauer had to get raises, and they pretty much are bring the rest of the roster back in tact. If you did the research you would see they are sitting at about $60 million after being at $57 million last year. If you want to call that higher, that's fine with me. $2-3 million is hardly worth mentioning IMO.

Its probably not too early to start the discussion on this stuff... This way we can get a good game again this year. It seems like between June and August is the best times, because the most people are around for it, so this is the Saturday games that are out there, which don't look to be instant sellouts. June 6th vs Cleveland July 18th vs Baltimore August 8th vs Cleveland August 22nd vs Baltimore The other two options are a Yankees game (Aug 1)and a Cubs game (Jun 27) which will probably be difficult, if not impossible to get group tickets for. Do people have feelings towards one day or another? We would like to get 15 to 20 people to commit to being there this year, that way we know even if there are last minute drop outs, we will be able to still play a game. I am also going to get ahold of WSI and see how they feel about the dates. We really would like to get a bunch of people out there for it this year. Hell if DBAH0 can make it in from NYC/Australia, and Gage can come from Cali, all of us people in the metro area should have no excuses! Come join the fun! Ask anyone who has played in this game the last two years, it is a great time.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 02:23 PM) And again...Tampa had nowhere to go, but up. Even the total dollar amount of about $20 million upwards in much more than just about anyone else has done, that I saw.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 02:20 PM) But teams like the Royals and Rays couldn't go much lower. And the Padres were being sold by an owner going through a divorce, so that explains that. But other than that, it is really amazing. I think what would be even more interesting to see is how much higher/lower these teams are going? For instance, are the teams that are cutting decreasing at a significantly higher rate than the adding teams are increasing? Either way, the economy is going to affect all sports for years to come...and if there was ever a time for the owners to push for a salary cap in baseball, now would be the time. Its no biggest surprise that the biggest increases are coming in Philly and Tampa, with the two teams that just played in the World Series. I didn't really get into the exact comparision of how much, and what percentage, but I would guess that the total payroll in MLB this year is down from 2008 levels.

I caught an article the other day that mentioned Anaheim's payroll dropping by $10 million from last year to this one, so I decided to check and see how much of that was going around baseball right now. I found an article that seven of the top nine payrolls of 2008 are going into 2009 with a lower payroll. I'm still trying to put together the list of who is in which group. This is as near as I can tell. Just doing some quick googling I found 13 teams going lower, 5 about the same, and 12 higher. This article is claiming 15 lower, and 11 higher, with 4 the same. In the end, it is interesting to know that we are definately not alone in our cutting. Does anyone remember the last time that more than half of baseball teams were either cutting, or at best, holding the fort? http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009...cting-payrolls/ AL Central White Sox-lower Kansas City-Higher Minnesota-Same Cleveland-Higher Detroit-Same AL East NYY-lower Boston-Lower Tampa Bay-Higher Baltimore-Higher Toronto-Lower AL West LAA-Lower Oakland-Higher Seattle-Lower Texas-same NL Central Cubs-HIgher Astros-Higher St Louis-Lower Pittsburgh-same Cincinnati-higher Milwaukee-lower NL East Mets-HIgher Atlanta-lower Washington-lower Florida-same Philidelphia-Higher NL West LAD-lower SD-lower SF-higher Arizona-lower

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123457303244386495.html

I'd love to see them come up with a way to institute a proper stimulus plan.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Feb 14, 2009 -> 02:44 PM) I have to say, I have a different opinion on Bud Selig than the majority. First of all, Selig seems to be getting the blame for the steroid era. Well just step back in time bit, say to 1994 ... and remember the season without a World Series. Then look at the backlash from the fans after that season and the one when they avoided a strike/lockout because the fans were so vocal. The union wouldn't let baseball implement the PED tests. Yes, it was known in the late 90's around the game that PED's were part of the equation and Selig let it continue. But his hands were tied. He could not force the issue and cause another work stoppage over it. At that point in time, his best recourse was to sweep it under the rug and that's what he did. In the mean time, baseball is as healthy and vibrant as it has been in a long time. More butts in seats now than there ever has been. I credit Bud Selig's leadership for a big part of that fact. I disagree totally with your statement YAS. Bud Selig alone had the power to do something about the drug problem in baseball. He has the ability to take a unilateral action if he deems it "for the good of baseball". It was a power that Landis insisted on when he took over after the Black Sox scandal. This power still exists to this day. He could have instituted any level of testing and penalties that he saw fit. Instead he negotiated it with the union, and besides how long it took to institute, it became so watered down, even to this day, that it is almost counterproductive. If Bud Selig wanted Olympic style testing, it could be done tomorrow, and there isn't a damned thing the union could do about it. They couldn't even sue because of the baseball anti-trust exemption.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 16, 2009 -> 09:40 AM) I got the impression that the Senate, and the Illinois Assembly, had their hands tied. I think the best they could do, legally, was stall in every way possible. They did that, part way maybe. The Illinois Assembly could have passed a law that changed the way the governor seats someone in an instance like that. The Senate could have stalled his seating for MUCH longer than it did.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 14, 2009 -> 11:50 AM) I watched Do The Right Thing for the first time yesterday. After watching it, I honestly can't see Spike Lee's anger at not being nominated for Best Picture. Also, Danny Aiello was great it in. That was an excellent, excellent movie. He should have ended his career with it.