southsider2k5

Let me catch my breath here before we start going... Fields Vs Crede JR is cheap Ozzie is a terrible in game manager Kenny Williams is a terrible GM The farm system sucks Juan Uribe Ozzie needs to be quiet The Cubs are good The Tigers will be back The Indians will win the division Orlando Cabrera Don't bring back Jim Thome Bringing up the prospect of the day Ozzie hates Brian Anderson Hillary vs Obama vs McCain MBINAA 2007 vs 2008 offense the status of players who were on the 2005 team affecting their status today Bobby Jenks velocity vs breaking stuff Mike MacDougal Chris Young vs Javy Vazquez other traded off prospects Why didn't we trade [insertplayer] (in hindsite) Cheap in the draft Scott Boras Jay Mariotti random baseball team rankings Newsreporters bias against the Sox/for the Cubs I am sure I missed some good ones...

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 13, 2008 -> 07:40 AM) I think so too. I'm going to give it another couple of weeks before I give up on him though and start calling for Broadway (who I want to see up here). I really didn't expect him to amount to anything last year and I was kind of surprised he did anything at all. I expected him to be more like Day and Sukvich. I'm not ready to overreact and give up on the kid yet or anything like that. Heck he could have a mechanical glitch too that is easily fixable, it happens. Its just so far, he doesn't look like he is fooling anyone, where as last year no one could touch him.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 13, 2008 -> 07:18 AM) The pitching this year has been so good, and yet, last night we got a showcase of two rare exceptions - Buehrle and Wassermann. And what's really odd is, those two were among the most reliable pitchers in 2007 (a year when there was very little reliable about the pitching). Its like the staff has flipped. So what's wrong with these two? In Buehrle's case, he has indeed lost some velocity, but is that it? He walked some guys last night, but it seemed like his breaking stuff was just to loopy and soft. They were keying on those breakers, it seemed, and hitting them around. Anyone else have any theories? In Wassermann's case, I haven't gotten to watch his two recent appearances. Can anyone say what's going on with him? They guy was nails in 2007 at AAA and Chicago, then again in ST this year, and again in AAA this season. Why the sudden bomb-out? I think in Wass's case, he was a gimic pitcher who got figured out. Anyone with a quirk seems to be the more times you see them, the easier that quirk becomes to figure out. Hell Dontrelle Willis is the perfect example of this.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ May 13, 2008 -> 07:15 AM) So retail sales rally the futures mkt. 9 points. Pathetic. But you have to respect the mkt. It seems like "they" want to take the mkt higher. But the retail sales number was fueled by credit growth in installment debt.It accelerated from $5 billion week over week, to $13 billion recently. Very unsustainable. It ended up being more like 70 points by the time the buying was done. Even after a little profit taking the futures are up about 50 over where they were before the number came out.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ May 12, 2008 -> 08:12 PM) The goal for completion is 2010, correct? I can't wait. The best skyline in the world gets that much better. Aren't there other building in the process of construction right now? And what's up with the Trump Tower? Has that been completed? Trump Tower is not completed, though the hotel has been opened at the lower floors.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ May 12, 2008 -> 07:36 PM) No, I am saying he is a political coward, like many others on both sides, for not believing in his convictions and voting 'present'. He used that option sometimes as a show of 'solidarity' with his party, sometimes to avoid taking a stand on an issue to avoid it being used against him in later elections. If he is firm in his convictions, why hide behind a 'present' vote? And most of those involved guns and/or crime in some form or another. I fear for my wallet if Obama is ever elected. Being a small business owner, I am the type of person who is going to get royally screwed by all the Democratic proposals, and I don't look forward to it. (Actually, i fear for my wallet whichever one of these 3 gets elected, just fear for it a little less with McCain) Which goes back to my original question many posts ago... If this is the candidate for change, why is he doing the same things as all the rest of the candidates? A leader should exhibit leadership, not just on the easy stuff, but the tuff stuff as well. It pisses me off that politicians count votes and then hide when it is politically cold outside to get cover from something that could upset people. Well that is why we elect people in the first place, to make tough choices on the direction of the country. Minimizing certian votes is a sad attempt to cover up the bigger problem of politicians more worried about politics than doing their damned jobs. Hell if I tried to hide from tough choices at my job, I would be out on the street by the end of the week, and my job has a whole lot less impact on the world than John McCain or Barack Obama's does. Man up.

QUOTE (lostfan @ May 12, 2008 -> 11:55 AM) I thought I knew where every country in the world was but I probably can't even point to it on a map. I'm guessing from looking at how the people look that it's somewhere near Cambodia or Thailand? IIRC, it is directly to the east of Bangledash.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 12, 2008 -> 11:54 AM) But here's the counterpoint. Wage growth in China is almost certain to drive more consumption of energy, not less. While fewer factories may be shipped over there from the U.S. as the dollar continues its collapse, if the income of the average Chinese citizen goes up by some percentage, then that allows them to demand more automobiles and more energy and better housing. They're in that enviable position where their economy can sustain itself to some extent as it grows, so as the people earn more money, they're able to buy more things, and who's the country manufacturing everything right now? China. This "recession" is going to hit China harder than anywhere else on the planet. They depend on the rest of the world to buy their cheap crap. Their incomes are based mostly in devaluing US dollars, which they are using to buy record-level priced energy and food products more and more. I really expect China to get hit hard economically, and they are going to be way less resiliant than our economy.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 12, 2008 -> 11:29 AM) Naturally, the anti Obama person chimes in with "Oh, it's always black or white, either you voted with something or against it". You know as well as I do that in some legislatures, voting "Present" is a standard tactic. A significant chunk of those present votes (50+) were actually instructed from the party leadership in the state senate. Yes, even I'll admit, some of them were for political cover, because you have 2 groups pointing at different parts of an issue as good or bad, and you have to do something about that. So, if you have a problem with a specific vote, then point to it. If you want me to care about him voting "Present", then please, point to a bill that either won or lost specifically because Sen. Obama voted Present and thus the bill lost by 1 vote, so that we can analyze how much his present voting mattered. I couldn't care less about a candidate voting present because he had a specific issue with a small part of a bill in a vote where the margin of victory was already there without him. For example, I can do exactly that with John McCain. If you have a problem with Senator Obama voting present on bills where his vote was not the deciding margin, then you also have to have a much bigger problem with John McCain flying back to Washington with Sen. Graham and Sen Lieberman on the same plane to vote on the cloture of the bill that would have banned the CIA from torturing people, having the other 2 vote, and having Sen. McCain not vote, despite the fact that the cloture motion failed by 1 vote, 59-40. So the "they all do it" excuse for the candidate for "Change". Do you really wonder why there is a growing group that doesn't believe the hype?

QUOTE (Reddy @ May 12, 2008 -> 10:46 AM) i have a feeling we're gonna see the return of the comedy central this year... will any of these teams have 90 wins? I bet someone about a week ago that the winner of the ALC would have 90 wins... It was an interesting discussion. I have a feeling that one of these teams is going to emerge as we all play more games against each other.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ May 12, 2008 -> 10:41 AM) I didn't know they were adding so many on to the Blue Cross/Blue Shield building. As of now, they have the framing for about 6 or 7 floors up. Here's the rendering of the final product (taller than 340 on the Park): They have been framing a floor to two each week since the winter broke.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ May 12, 2008 -> 10:26 AM) Fernando Tatis' 2 GS in one inning will never be beaten either. Forget the guy's name but 2 straigh no-hitters is probably safe as well. Johnny Vander Meer

This is from my hometown newspaper, from a guy who is a pretty solid writer. I thought this would make for interesting discussion here. http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=42736.28

QUOTE (RME JICO @ May 12, 2008 -> 09:05 AM) Coop will fix em. His ever-increasing WHIP (and waistline) is alarming though. He won't get anywhere close enough to Chicago to even shake Don Cooper's hand.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1210294208...in_commentaries

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 12, 2008 -> 07:57 AM) I am sure the price will plummet a few times over the next few years, but let's put this in perspective - it would have to lose 60 to 75% of its value to get to that 30-50 range. That's not a plummet, that's a collapse, and I think you'd have a hard time finding any commodity that has ever lost that much value. Now, if they are projecting that in 50 years, alternative energies have taken a huge bite out of demand, then maybe that's not a horrible assumption. But even then, the supply side would have gotten much tighter as well. Its not probable, but its not impossible either. I think we would need economic problems in either China or India to make that happen. China would be the most likely target, seeing as they are the most likely to have a political or social upheaval.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 12, 2008 -> 07:46 AM) On the idea that they are having a tough time investing, that shows clearly just how against alternative energies this company's culture is. One other thing that stuck out in the article, to me, is that projection of $30-$50/bbl oil price assumption. Given the increasing demand pressures overseas, the continuing flow of big equity money into the commodities markets, the apparent near-term peaking of many main oil reserves, instability in the middle east and other oil producing areas, and on and on and on... I just don't see their assumption as remotely realistic. I forgot to mention that line... For my money, you can always count on a company or two in each industry making the right decesions, and it is supported by history. Think of banking, think of JP Morgan. They have been bailing out the US during three different centuries now. During the internet bubble, some pundits were dumb enough to laugh at Warren Buffett. I wonder what they are doing now? For me, XOM is that company in the energy field. I have a hard time believing this will happen, but it really piques my interest at the sametime.

The next five games are all at 9pm CDT. That sucks for someone who has to get up for work at 4:30am.

Wow. for everyone involved.

QUOTE (Texsox @ May 12, 2008 -> 06:51 AM) An architectural tour of Chicago, with a knowledgable guide is a great way to spend a couple days. The buildings we often walk past are some of the most interesting. Amazingly innovative for their day. Many moons ago, FlaSoxxJim mentioned the Chicago style, it is sad in a way we've moved away from that and some of the new towers would fit in almost anywhere. But that is also Chicago style. The willingness to to take risks. /homesick The really interesting thing is that without the great Chicago fire, the skyline and city design would look completely different. That event gave Chicago the chance to start over.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ May 12, 2008 -> 07:11 AM) I've been long waiting for the day that XOM goes private. People, you need to realize that privatization is becoming a huge thing. And I can tell you from some "inside" perspective, it's not a bad thing... for the COMPANY. But, the shareholder - now that's a different story. This is the direct result of two things... Sarbines Oxley and Windfall profits tax.

Interesting write up on XOM. Two things really stand out in here. #1 is that these companies are having a really hard time finding places to spend their profits, because of the privatization of oil industries in nations, and #2 the thought that XOM could become a private company, and pretty much be hidden away from the government after that. At that point they would be under zero obligation to report anything in the way of accounting or profits publically or to the government. http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Inves...Dry.aspx?page=2

Great start to the road trip. 2/3 in Seattle, and even the game we lost the pen pitched really well, and the offense showed signs of life by getting tons of baserunners. Keep it going boys!

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ May 10, 2008 -> 02:45 PM) Believe it or not I'm walking on air...

Hey yo, happy muthaf***ing birthday