Dick Allen

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Dec 10, 2012 -> 10:35 PM) I can't imagine Deb risking her life to get Dexter to break up with Hannah. I mean, she was hanging upside down in her car in a ditch for christsakes. Yeah, I get Deb setting up Hannah, that makes sense, but not in such a dangerous fashion. She could have drank the bottle right as she got to Dexters, collapsed, and then she'd be in the hospital either way, making a claim against Hannah. Doesn't make sense to risk your life for that. Also, why the hell wouldn't Dex just KILL Hannah? She knows everything about Dexter. She could easily get back at Dexter by telling everyone his methods, what he does, etc. Consider Deb is a by the book never miss a trick cop who wanted Hannah in jail. Why wouldn't she mention the water that Dexter found in her car? She knew Dexter would look for it and have it tested. I don't think he killed Hannah because he actually loves her. I do think the preview showing Dexter getting arrested is a dream sequence, but I have the feeling he will get arrested during the show but somehow the charges won't stick.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 05:22 PM) Or "hey see this gun? Let me in." If he wanted in, he'd get in, it's not a building made for security purposes. Heck, he could have killed the person protecting the buzzer and let himself in. He would have got in for sure, but perhaps the ruckus and delay that would have caused could have saved a few more lives. We will never know.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 02:32 PM) Trucks from Mexico and a guy on the corner that can sell you an illegal handgun? Are gangs going to start outdancing and outsinging the other? You guys are completely delusional if you think making gun ownership illegal would magically cure this problem or even put a dent into it. So you suggest everything remain the same or find a way to arm everyone? Something has to change. Again, no one really knows if it would have made a difference today, but you really have to be in denial if you think it wouldn't make a difference any day.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 02:12 PM) This would not uninvent guns. This is typical knee jerk reaction that doesn't solve the problem you're all attempting to solve. We tried this with prohibition. Didn't work. Drugs are illegal, but they're f***ing everywhere. How do you assume this would work any differently with guns? All you'd end up doing is creating an illegal and very dangerous black market for guns, and the problem remains unsolved. Oh, and this black market wouldn't give a s*** any laws or any kind of waiting period or gun law...if you had the money, they'd sell it to you. Reality people. Please live in it. You will never be able to get rid of guns, but right now there are more guns than people in the US. If you could somehow cut the number of people owning guns down, innocent people getting shot and possibly killed will go down as well. I don't know if it would have prevented what happened today. But getting a gun is too easy.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 12:49 PM) I understand the idea of owning guns to defend yourself against the government. I get the origins of the amendment. However... this was before the government developed flying aircraft and precision missiles. The idea that "I own guns to defend myself against the government" is out of date. Exactly. You should be able to own tanks and anti aircraft stuff, but those would be far too expensive or impractical for most criminals to have at their disposal.... The argument that everyone being armed is a deterrant to violence apparently has never heard of gangs. They are all armed. The more guns, the more danger.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 01:23 PM) That still leaves them something like $20 million in room under the tax to add pitching if they want. Thanks for the number. Can't the Dodgers go way over the threshold, and not get charged due to some agreement with their purchase?

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 01:10 PM) And there shouldn't be. Like I've said if he relapses into DRUGS then all that will happen is the Angels will be SOL for that year. They'll get their money back because Josh will be gone from the league. LAA is gonna be scary offensively. 3 legit MVP candidates, Morales should be healthier this coming up season and has the potential to put up MVP numbers, and Trumbo has dirty pop. If they add another pitcher they should be the favorites. BTW, Kaplan was on his show yesterday, and talked about the Hamilton story in AZ a few years ago. Apparently one of Kaplan's neighbors called him at 11:30 one night and asked him if his son could call him. His son calls him, the guy was in college at Arizona State, he said to Kaplan a guy started hanging out with them at a bar, was really muscular and heavily tatooed. Said the guy was trashed, and asked them if they knew where to get drugs. They told him they didn't partake, but he continued hanging out with them. They had no idea who he was until they googled him. Apparently Kaplan when he heard the story called Hamilton's agent. That was kind of cool, because he could have broken a huge story. Kaplan is supposed to be a really good guy, even if he is a Cubs fan. Kaplan said the only reason he would even mention it now is because Hamilton admitted to everything earlier. The panel was discussing whether they would sign Hamilton to a huge contract considering his past. They all said no.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 09:14 AM) I thought that about some of their late-2000's contracts and they still managed to trade for Miguel Cabrera then. The days of big money for Ordonez, Guillen, etc. The checks obviously aren't going to bounce, but according to Forbes, the Tigers don't make money, and they are spending more now than ever before. $80 million for Sanchez? That's just crazy, although I'm sure Scherzer is pretty thrilled, and they still have to extend Verlander, and you know the Dodgers will give him a blank check.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 09:07 AM) I am OK with Detroit paying him $16 million a year for the next 5 years. Yes. Eventually all these contracts will bite the Tigers.

They still have to extend Verlander. Sanchez didn't publicly say he would go back to Detroit with any offer. It seems to me, and it is a player's right to do it, if they are planning on doing that, unless they are coming from a fiscally conservative team, you are basically doing all the work for them. Apparently Arte Moreno offers you a lot of money and says its take it or leave it. If Hamilton wanted to see if Texas would match, there would be nothing to match. Maybe Theo needs to adopt this style of negotiating. Sanchez is a nice pitcher, but $16 million a year for 5 years is probably going to be dead weight at some point.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 02:59 PM) What was wrong with Trumbo in the 2nd half of last season? To give you an idea of how bad he struggled, Alexei Ramirez had six more extra base hits than Trumbo did in that timespan. He was playing with what ultimately was diagnosed as a stress fracture in his foot. His first half numbers were impressive and he hit a ton of homers on the road. The ball doesn't carry well in California at night. He would be a good bet at 35-40 playing half the time in USCF.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 02:52 PM) Trumbo's awful at 3B. He's also awful in the OF. His bat's decent, but he's also really inconsistent. I wouldn't trade anything more than Floyd for him, but I think the Angels would want more than just Floyd. I think if the Angels would do Trumbo for Floyd, Rick Hahn would be running to a press conference right now before the Angels sobered up.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 10:52 PM) No, I mentioned improvement in wins. Win differential from year to year. (Badge, I b****ed that its been 33 years since OSU had a COTY, and Urban took a 6-7 team to 12-0 and didnt win it) The first few years of Alvarez were cleaning up dogs***, thats why his win % is a little harder to study. BB came into a good program with high expectations and followed a system already in place. Right, and I've mentioned that. Bielema still won a higher percentage of his games than Alvarez did if you don't count the games until the season Barry won the Big Ten for the first time..After Alvarez won back to back Rose Bowls and his 3rd overall, he went 13-19 his next 4 years in the Big Ten. Now it's embarrassing for one 4-4 season. I bet at least 80% of college football fans has some kind of problem with the coach at the school they root for, and 99 % have a problem with the coach no matter how successful he has been if he leaves for more money. Then all the same stuff comes out. Can't get along with anyone. Was probably on his way out anyway. Is a bad coach, doesn't beat the best teams. School is way better off without him....

QUOTE (Cali @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 01:47 PM) Will Hamilton's body hold up for 5 years? I honestly would be surprised... Pujols as well. They may be awesome for a few years, but it's going to get ugly eventually.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 01:32 PM) Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan RT @JeffWilson_FWST: Jon Daniels says #Rangers did not get call to match Angels' offer. Daniels is not pleased with how negotiations ended. Why don't I feel sorry for him?

This may be good news to AJP and his heirs.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 01:24 PM) Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN The Rangers have been told Hamilton is signing with the Angels, according to ESPNDallas. The taking it back to the Rangers to match must have been BS or circumstances changed. Wow. No Greinke, no Upton, no Hamilton...............the Rangers have a bunch of money the can't get rid of.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 01:19 PM) It can raise the price for your division rival. It can, but if they say no, you are paying someone more than their previous employer was willing to pay. I understand the whole concept, but for me, if he is willing to do that, and it's the Rangers not a team like the White Sox who actually operate on a budget, the only way you get the guy is with an overpay and even then, there's reason to believe Texas would match more offers than a team like the White Sox. If he's willing to give Texas the final say, he is admitting he would rather play for them than he would for you.

I don't know why anyone would negotiate with Hamilton as long as he was going to give Texas a chance to match the offer. It seems like you would be doing all the work for them.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 10:05 AM) I agree with you. This time, we actually have specific changes to point to which explain why his batting and fielding improved. Rios worked with Manto to completely change his batting stance. And he moved to right field for which he is better suited and more comfortable. As long as those things don't change, I don't see why they should, Rios will have another productive year. That seems more logical than expecting Rios to under-perform because the year ends in an odd number. This said, I understand why he would be the first outfielder to be traded and I would not be opposed to it. Rios was terrible in 2009. Came back in 2010 with good numbers. Was sensational in the first half, and then 2011 happened. I think you always have to question which Alex Rios is going to show up. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if any team wants to take Dunn's or Rios' contract for nothing, if it were my decision, there would be no hesitation. They would both be gone.

He is going to be released. Why pick up any money. I haven't seen him play the last couple of years, but if there is anything left, you could bring him in for a look. I doubt it though. He's probably Aaron Rowand done.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 07:39 PM) I did? Im not sure I commented on Big 10 Coach of the year. And wins arent a good reason because it doesnt take into account how many games you were supposed to win to start. If my team is favored by 20+ points in 90% of the games, an 80% success rate isnt good, right? It wasn't a response to your post. A coach is like a GM since they are ultimately going to get credit or criticism for their roster. Wins are what matters the most.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 05:43 PM) Eh, Alvarez turned the program around and made it legit, BB just followed his plan. Comparing winning percentage is a really terrible way to look at it. Alvarez inherited a program that hadnt won a conference title in almost 30 years. Wisconsin fans will remember the guy who resurrected the program and had 8 bowl wins over the guy who took over and and 2-4 including 2 BCS losses back to back. Also alot of people will always say Barry fell off a bit at the end. His talent level took awhile to rebound but he also ran into the buzzsaw that was Michigan, the resurgent Ohio State, and a good PSU program. I do n't understand why wins would be a terrible way to look at it. When they picked the Big Ten coach of the year, you complained and mentioned wins.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 05:38 PM) Its mere speculation. After winning the Rose Bowl Bielema paraded around Wisconsin with the trophy and told the Seniors on Monday to ignore the rumors as he wasnt leaving. The next morning he left for Arkansas, but asked Wisconsin if he could still coach in the Rose Bowl. The problem with your argument is that you are acting like people loved Bielema prior to his leaving and then changed when he left. He was not well liked by Wisconsin fans from day 1, even though he was Barry's hand picked successor he was considered an extremely underwhelming choice. Even worse, Bielema (an Iowa player) was selected over home town boy Paul Chryst. Last year Paul Chryst left Wisconsin for Pittsburgh and most assistants went with him. It wasnt about money, it was about the fact that Bielama is extremely arrogant and hard to work with. And you keep harping on winning percentage, but there needs to be context. The next Wisconsin HC will likely have a lower winning percentage because Big10 will likely increase in-conference games and thus he will have 1 less automatic victory every year. Does it prove that Bielema is a good coach because he can beat Wisconsin State Tech every year? I assume since you did not answer that you havent watched Wisconsin play at all. Sorry, this is more sour grapes .it wasn't about money, it was just coincidental they now get paid more. Everyone hates Biellema blah,blah, blah. Next time a coach leaves like Bielema did, go to one of thei message boards. You will hear the same thing.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 05:20 PM) How many minutes of Wisconsin football have you watched under Bielema? Because the first words out of my mouth after the Big10 championship were: "What the hell just happened, why did Wisconsin all of a sudden completely change their philosophy." The answer it seems is that Bielema thought Wisconsin was going to lose to Nebraska, so he just let his coordinators do whatever they wanted. Is that a fact you learned from someone with the team, or just more speculation? I really think the next coach that leaves a successful major college program for another and doesn't get slammed by his former team's fan base as being a bad coach, or an asshole or some guy who was about to get fired, will be the first. Coaches ultimately get judged by wins and losses. Bielema had a better win ing percentage than Alvarez and most likely will have a better one than his successor.