WCSox

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 31, 2006 -> 01:21 PM) Um, basically that's what you're arguing. You don't want the U.S. spending taxpayer dollars in the form of aid to those sorts of countries. You don't want U.S. taxpayer dollars going to try to improve the lives of the Palestinians. Why would you want U.S. taxpayer dollars in the 80's going to help improve the lives of those behind the Iron curtain? No, that's what Rex is saying. I'm saying that it's not our RESPONSIBILITY to do so, particularly when the rest of the developed world isn't willing doing a damn thing. I agree that it's in our interest to help other nations when feasible. And it's not like it hasn't been done already. I can cite examples from the Marshall Plan to the tsnumai relief efforts. However, it's NOT our "moral responsibility" to financially bail out every nation in the world with a weak economy.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 31, 2006 -> 01:19 PM) That's not what I was suggesting in Afghanistan. I was suggesting that the reason the Taliban was able to come to power in the first place was that after the Soviets withdrew, U.S. aid dried up, no rebuilding happened, and the government fell into civil war. Had the U.S. been proactive with aid in that case, the Afghans might have been able to better recover from the Soviet invasion, and the Taliban may never have shown up in the first place. Yes, it would still have been a religious government, but it sure as hell would have been better than the Taliban. Are you sure about that? Didn't we help set up a puppet government in Iran in 1953? How'd that work out?

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Mar 31, 2006 -> 01:14 PM) One could make the argument that isolating a people turning to democracy in a region of the world where Democracy is rare is a compromise to our national security goals. You're right. We should've kept our noses out of Eastern Europe in the '80s as well.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 31, 2006 -> 01:01 PM) What if it were to be judged as good for the country to basically use the U.S. government as a charity? For example, had the U.S. government given more dollars to rebuild Afghanistan in the mid-90's, this country might have avoided one of the worst days in its history. I seriously doubt that. Spending a ton of money to force out the Taliban didn't stop the Afghan government from nearly executing a person from converting to Christianity just recently. Throwing money at a problem doesn't always solve it. American companies have invested a TON of money in the Saudi oil industry (substantially helping their economy in the process), yet that didn't stop a few Saudis from flying planes into the WTC. Sure, as long as it's not at the expense of our own economy.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Mar 31, 2006 -> 11:51 AM) I do. My time, talents, and money. That's good. As long as the help doesn't come in the form of taxpayer revenue and it doesn't compromise national security, I agree.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Mar 31, 2006 -> 09:24 AM) Do we have a moral responsibility as the worlds only superpower and the wealthiest civilization the world has ever seen, to care for the poor, suppressed, victims, etc. around the globe? As a Christian, I feel a personal responsibility. Then feel free to donate to your charity of choice.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 31, 2006 -> 01:06 AM) Zambrano, Lee and Ramirez would have to miss significant time for them to finish below the Pirates. I'd love to see it happen, though. Yeah, I agree. They'll get 200 innings each out of Zambrano and Maddux, even if Wood and Prior only combine for 200.

One thing that seems to be getting lost in this discussion is that we had this same bullpen problem last year. Talent-wise, our 'pen wasn't very good last year. (Anyone remember Shingo?) The key was that a few of them had career years in '05... Hermanson - 2.04 ERA vs. career 4.21 + 34 SV Politte - 2.00 ERA vs. career 4.06 Cotts - 1.94 ERA vs. career 4.27 We got 180 innings out of those three. Not bad. However, I'm only really expecting Cotts to have another good year (although probably not THAT good). The other two are on the down-slopes of their careers. And, of course, it didn't hurt than Jenks came out of nowhere to save the day when Hermanson went down. I didn't mind losing Marte the headcase or 40-year-old El Duque who didn't want to pitch out of the 'pen anyway. Vizcaino is the only significant loss, IMO. And if somebody dangles Vazquez in front of you for a decent-but-not-great middle reliever, well, you have to make that deal. Unfortunately, we also had a hitting problem last year that was even more dire. KW's top priorities were re-signing Paulie and adding another power-hitter to the lineup to replace Carlos/Frank. That was Priority #1 and it was handled perfectly. Agreed that KW probably should've looked into acquiring another veteran long reliever (Tavarez and King were both free agents, IIRC). Maybe he did, but was outrageously out-bid. Nobody knows. However, it's going to take about three veteran relievers to really fix this problem. One could argue the money for Vazquez's contract should've been spent there. One could also argue that acquiring Vazquez gives the Sox the depth to deal a starting pitcher for a Scott Shields or a Brad Lidge in July.

QUOTE(bulokis @ Mar 31, 2006 -> 07:07 AM) Im pretty sure the Indians are upset from choking last year when they only needed 1 game to make the playoffs. Hell, they're probably still upset about choking away the '97 WS. Remember how the Indians used to dominate us back in the '90s? Funny how that doesn't matter anymore.

QUOTE(EvilMonkey @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 11:34 AM) If a cop asks you to stop, stop. If you ignore them, of course they are going to stop you, even if it includes grabbing you by the arm. Any adult with more than two functioning brain cells knows this. Doesn't say much for our elected officials, does it? Where's Detective Fontana when you need him?

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 03:10 PM) Keep him away from George Clooney's academy award speech That episode was soooo freaking funny.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 06:30 AM) Nope...just a white racist cop harrassing her cause she's black. She clearly had every right to defend herself in this situation. You forgot to put that in green.

QUOTE(tonyho7476 @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 07:14 AM) That is ridiculous. Nothing lewd about that at all. I think most people have had enough of the Bush. Not all of us live by Howard Stern's standards of decency.

QUOTE(jasonxctf @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 12:39 PM) SEATTLE -- The Mariners continued their strong Japanese presence by signing Iron Chef Morimoto as their team cook and middle reliever.

QUOTE(Steff @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 01:47 PM) I don't even know where there is a Pizza Hut.. That's not surprising, considering that you probably have a Giordano's, Lou Malnati's, and/or Aurelio's nearby. Lucky bastards...

QUOTE(Texsox @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 02:27 PM) We are a nation of immigrants. We all owe our citizenship to a relative who immigrated. The vast majority of which came here legally. Most of our relatives didn't live in an age of armed street gangs and drug cartels, either. I'm all for immigration, as long as there's a method to control who comes in. QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 02:51 PM) How is that ideal? Following our nation's immigration laws certainly is ideal.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 01:23 PM) In fact I would imagine the number is WAY higher in reality. Considering that the estimate of 12 million undocumented people is just that, it probably is much higher.

QUOTE(Iwritecode @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 01:23 PM) I know Chucky Cheese does. I'm pretty sure that Pizza Hut sold beer in the past, but I'm not sure about now.

QUOTE(Cknolls @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 12:59 PM) 16.60 billion as of 2004. Not chump change. I stand corrected.

QUOTE(Cknolls @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 09:52 AM) Why can't we tax the money these illegals repatriate to Mexico? Unfortunately, it's such little money that it wouldn't be worth the administrative cost of doing so. QUOTE(Texsox @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 12:19 PM) BTW, there is a large number of Americans living in Mexico. They found their Social Security checks go a lot farther in Mexico. Thre are several towns that are almost 100% American. If they're not living there illegally, it's not an issue. Right, because it's our job as American taxpayers to pump money into foreign economies.

So, Maggs and Carlos are chopped liver? It'd be nice if the people at SI did their homework every once in a while. :rolly

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 06:41 AM) Its too bad that the moderate, reasonable idea on this has been destroyed by the extremist elements (racist nationalists on one hand, people trying to argue that illegal immigration is somehow OK on the other). Agreed on the latter point, but I'm getting really sick of the race card being used to demonize people who oppose illegal activity. Ideally, we'd be able to ship them all out and make them come back legally. But that's obviously not feasible. In general, the guest worker program is the best solution.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 28, 2006 -> 03:53 PM) Neither are Washburn or Byrd. Washburn wasn't that great in '03 and '04, but his '00-02 and '05 numbers are pretty impressive. He's been a little inconsistent, but I think he'd make a good #3 on most teams. Agreed that Byrd is closer to Weaver's level. Probably. But I don't like Weaver as a #3. Escobar's a solid back-of-the-rotation guy and Santana has promise, but it may take him another year or two to develop. Last year was the best they've been since '02 and their offense just blew it in the ALCS. Their odds of success are significantly lower now.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 10:00 PM) The Angels have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. They certainly did last year before Colon went down. One could argue that they were THE best. But losing Washburn and Byrd will hurt. Weaver is no better than a #4.

QUOTE(Winning Ugly @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 04:12 PM) http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview06/ne...e=06expertpicks This is unreal. Only Rogers has the Sox repeating, while several writers has the TWINS winning the Central. WTF ARE THEY SMOKING?!?!?!? Phil also picks Paulie and Mark for MVP and Cy Young of the AL, respectively. I like having his last name. :finger to all the other momos. Phil's apparently showing his Chi-town homerism. A Sox championship, Paulie MVP, and Buehrle Cy Young sounds more like wishful thinking than a thoughtful, objective analysis. While there are plenty of reasons to argue that the Sox could win another WS, there's no reason to believe that they absolutely should be the favorites, especially with the way that our bullpen looks right now. A lot needs to go right for a team to win a WS. While the Sox certainly earned their title last year, they had more than their share of good fortune along the way: Garland, Cotts, Politte, and Hermanson had career years. Contreras and Crede played exceptionally well down the stretch. They're going to need a lot of those players to step and and do it again. Agreed that predicting the Sox to completely miss the playoffs is a bit of a stretch, but automatically penciling them in for a WS title isn't very realistic either.