iamshack

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 02:51 AM) That is... partially true. My best friend has this story about when he was still living at his parents' house...he came home from the bar hammered one night and went to rub one out...stripped down, took the lotion out, and fell asleep in the middle of his work...woke up in the morning, lotion all over him, and his door was wide open....forgot to close it....still doesn't know if his mother came in the room and saw the mess or not...

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 02:39 AM) I always have to close the door in my room to go to sleep. Even if it's open slightly, it gets to me. Probably because you're always masturbating...

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 20, 2009 -> 02:01 AM) All the dollar bills in my wallet are arranged with the largest ones in the back, all with the presidents front and up. Whenever I had a cash register all my bills would be in the register like this too. My buddy does this too. Whenever I am giving him money I purposefully give it to him all f***ed up. My only weird thing is when I cook I always try to wash the dishes before I actually start eating whatever it is I made...

I wouldn't be shocked to see them try and squeeze another $2 million out of the Sawks to get it done.

I also just saw Terminator Salvation yesterday. Was pleasantly surprised.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 19, 2009 -> 10:44 PM) Did you know that the Enterprise D has a giant hamster wheel on it? Balta, curious to hear what you thought about Star Trek, by the way. I know you tortured yourself and waited til you finished your dissertation to watch it. Was it worth the wait?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 19, 2009 -> 08:50 PM) Uhh, Chris Burke being driven in by Jose Vizcaino. Arm strength matters Ohh come on man, Scottie let him score so he could be the hero in the bottom of the inning. Jeesh.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 19, 2009 -> 08:47 PM) Yes, it could have...if they had more money to spend. The issue is not how they've spent, but how much they've been able to spend. Well, as I said, I tend to agree with you, but how can you say for sure that Vizquel and Kotsay and Putz really are going to give you more than a few league-minimum type guys? And even if they did, you can definitely argue that getting a fewer high-profile guys who would be getting most of the playing time would have a far greater impact than some lesser role players who would be getting very little playing time. I think the crux of the disapproval here is that many of the moves Kenny has made are moves a team like the Yankees or Red Sox make to shore up holes in their roster, after they have already addressed all their key needs. A lot of people think Kenny made these moves in lieu of actually addressing his key needs. I think KHP even stated that Kenny has approached things backwards, which is a pretty accurate way of looking at things.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 19, 2009 -> 08:28 PM) What were better ways to spend the money? What you're doing is trying to compare the signing of one big free agent to signing 4 players for the same amount of money. Sure, they could have done that, but that would still leave them with holes. So then what would you do about those vacancies? For roughly $12 million for next season, they've acquired a leadoff hitter/leftfielder, a thirdbaseman, two decent veteran bench players, and a pretty good reliever (if he remains healthy, which isn't a stretch, he'll be good). I'm not sure how you can say they could've spent the money any more wisely as they've filled 5 holes with a small amount of cash. The players they've picked up will collectively perform better than league-minimum talent level. You would've been severely unhappy with the types of players they could've signed for the minimum. Yeah, probably, which is why the overall tone of my post was very positive. However, I think an argument can definitely be made that they should have signed Matsui and Johnson and filled out the remaining spots with some league-minimum type guys. Believe it or not, there are some out there to be had. As I said though, I like the moves that have been made - I think we'll be the most well-rounded we've been since 2005 or 2006 - but there definitely is an argument that can be made that the team could have been improved in more key areas by taking a slightly different approach.

QUOTE (Ranger @ Dec 19, 2009 -> 08:32 PM) The tone would be different if Peavy had been acquired during the offseason. There would be a lot more buzz, I think. But since it happened in the middle of a season that turned out poorly, some of the excitement has worn off. Which is ridiculous, considering how well the guy pitched for us in his 3 starts...

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Dec 19, 2009 -> 08:13 PM) I think Williams is trying to recreate 2005. He wants the studly pitching staff (he didn't know he had 4 sub-4 ERAs before the season, considering neither Garland nor Contreras had ever done anything like it), a good bullpen (hasn't moved Jenks and brought in Putz while hoping for others to break out), and a very balanced lineup. Early in the season, the Sox had an absolutely dreadful lineup. He's trying to avoid having that. I still think Thome is going to wind up back here next year, but unless he absolutely starts tearing the cover off the ball against both righties and lefties (which is almost certainly not going to happen), he's going to have a reduced role and will probably only play 120 games. That still leaves Ozzie with a rotating DH, the ability of great pinch hitters, some flexibility off the bench. And another left handed hitter really doesn't hurt. Absolutely agree about 2005, as well as Thome. We'll see what happens I guess.

QUOTE (Voros @ Dec 19, 2009 -> 08:57 PM) Well I'm not really worried about the way they're splitting up the money they're getting from the two deals (time value of money is important but not that important). Money saved this year by that method is money spent next year, so if Johnson's deal was two years at $11.5 the White Sox would be paying significantly more for Pierre and Teahen still. IIRC it's two years and around $13 million total for the two after the cash back is factored in. My point is simply that the White Sox have spent money this offseason in a way that probably could have been spent a little more wisely. A million here and there on Kotsay and Vizquel, a few million on Teahen and four million on Pierre and you're now starting to talk about a fairly decent chunk of change on a group of players that aren't much of an upgrade from the Ryan Shealys that float about the league this time of year at league min. Throw in $3 million on a player like Putz with a good track record but recent concerns and it's actually quite a bit of money that's been spent. Any one of those moves in and of itself really isn't anything to worry about. But in total it seems like there were better ways to spend that money. Could the White Sox still win the division? Sure. But considering what else is going on in this division and the amount of money they're spending, the White Sox should be clear favorites in this division and they certainly aren't that right now. Absolutely. While no one player has really broken the bank, the combined total they have spent could have probably been spent on a more high-profile FA. And while I like the depth we now have, it is definitely debatable whether those bench or platoon players are really going to offer us more than some of the league-minimum type players floating around would have. Personally, I'm good with the moves. We have a fairly veteran club, and I think if we can get things moving in the right direction from the start, we might see something pretty special this year. Now I'm not floating the chemistry bs, I'm just saying that if we can get off on a winning track, I think there is a good chance the vets could settle into their roles while the younger players carry the team a bit on the offensive side of the ball. I really think this is going to be a fun team.

QUOTE (Voros @ Dec 19, 2009 -> 08:40 PM) I think the point people are trying to make is that Albert Pujols would be the best leadoff hitter in baseball. The problem of course is that his value is better served in the middle of a lineup. Not hitting for power is not a feature for a leadoff hitter, it's just that it's a weakness that doesn't cost as much if he bats a lot with no one on base (as leadoff hitters tend to do, especially in the NL). Pierre's problem is that not only does he not hit for power, he only has average-ish on base skills to go with it making him a very dubious hitter anywhere in the lineup. Now he's almost certainly a plus glove in left field despite his lousy arm, so that does help but this team really had huge offensive shortcomings last year and haven't replaced the biggest offensive producer (and another guy who was in the top third of their producers) with anything remotely comparable. At this point they really have two starters at the three outfield positions and DH, and have a bunch of guys who probably are good bench guys but not good enough to play every day. Way earlier in the offseason I suggested Nick Johnson as a good signing and he's now with the Yankees for significantly less money than the combined salaries of Pierre and Teahen. I hope the White Sox have their best starting pitching in 20 years next year, they'll need it (or monstrous breakouts from guys like Beckham, Ramirez and Quentin) to be a 90 win team. You can talk about the park making some hitters statistics look better, but then they're gonna make Jake Peavy's look a lot worse (considering Peavy played in the best pitcher's park in baseball). Good post. Pierre and Teahan will be paid about $6 million combined this year. Johnson will make $5.5 plus incentives. I wouldn't say they are paying the two "significantly" more than Johnson alone is making from the Yankees though.

QUOTE (KipWellsFan @ Dec 19, 2009 -> 12:40 AM) Only thing I'm worried about with LCD is that I'm hearing the picture gets fugged if you watch on an angle. Does the angle have to be extreme? Who watches tv straight on anyway? I think the angle would have to be pretty crazy extreme.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Dec 18, 2009 -> 11:37 PM) Indeed. Reminds me of Bradley with the A's and he was very liked there actually. (Bradley still says that was the best clubhouse he's ever been in) I remember Big Frank loved him. That's why I said he'll fit there nicely, especially in "Griffey's clubhouse." Great minds, my friend. Great minds.

I think he'll fit in fine there. It's a place with less media scrutiny, the fans are a bit more laid back, and they should be a playoff contender. I think it's a very nice risk for Seattle.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 18, 2009 -> 02:14 PM) His last name is an anagram for solid. That is all.. Ok, Robert Langdon.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 18, 2009 -> 07:13 AM) did you spot R2D2 floating around in space? No! What scene did that happen in?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 18, 2009 -> 12:03 PM) After doing the research, I ended up buying a 58Inch Samsung 1080P Plasma. I got it about 3 weeks ago for the place I'm moving too and will be mounting it up tomorrow. I can't comment on it yet, but based upon the reviews I saw online the big thing that did it for me with Plasma is that it is a better TV to watch sports in than an LCD and for movies it has darker blacks, which is nice, imo. I watched Star Trek on Blu Ray on my 50-inch Panasonic plasma last night and it was pretty incredible.

Wow, just saw Star Trek for the first time. I love Blu Ray...

Why don't you have another...

QUOTE (BurlyMan56 @ Dec 17, 2009 -> 09:24 PM) I still find it hard to believe Luis Terrero, Andy Gonzalez and Brent Lillibridge all were payed to play major league baseball. I remember Hawk saying something along the lines of this about Luis Terrero. "I talked to a scout the other day regarding Luis and he said there are 29 other ball clubs that would love to have a Luis Terrero. This guy has all the tools and potential to be a good ball player" Terrero actually had some pretty insane tools. Big power, speed, big arm...he just couldn't hit major league pitching with any kind of consistency.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 17, 2009 -> 09:53 PM) This isnt Oprah though. His background has nothing to do with the fact that his death should be a scrolling line on ESPN and nothing more. He was an idiot who just happened to play football when he died. That's easy for you to say, Rock. What's your background?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 17, 2009 -> 08:58 PM) lol @ Damon wanting a multi-year deal at $13mil per, or he might pout. Blasphemy! Don't you know he single-handedly resurrected the career of Derek Jeter?? On another note, I read something this afternoon about Damon telling people he was interested in the Seattle Mariners GM job when they fired Bill Bavasi. He insisted he was serious.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 17, 2009 -> 08:43 PM) I didn't say anyone was. But i don't think saying "asshole of the year" and whatnot is really an appropriate response, that's all. Edit: When I said "people" I meant in a general sense. Why is there sympathy for a loss of a wasted life? Is it sad for the family? Sure. But I don't think saying "he get got what was coming to him" says anything about the grief some people close to him might feel. It's a comment towards that specific individual. Again, most of us here are the product of normal, reasonably well-off childhoods and lifestyles. You can't argue that those things don't heavily contribute to being a successful person. I'm not condoning the kind of life that Chris Henry apparently lived, but I'm not going to pretend as if I haven't had it a hell of a lot easier either.