Texsox

QUOTE (knightni @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 11:04 PM) Ha Ha Coach said he'd have my balls if I called for a fast ball here . . .

The bigger the difference, the more I'd be thinking of splitting. When I was running the Men's Golf Assiciation events at my club we would add up the number of places we were paying and divide by that number, so the drops were not that big. For example $1,000 paid 5 ways would be 1+2+3+4+5=15 $1000/15 =$66 So the prize money would be $333, 264, 198, 132, 66. Less of an incentive to split. The events that use a different formula create a situation where it becomes more of an issue. I've also seen in some rules where agreements like that are against the rules of the event. Chess was like that, and guys would have these 20 move draws, shake hands, and leave. Disappointing for those that were hoping for an exciting game.

QUOTE (AssHatSoxFan @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 02:34 PM) set up her homepage as soxtalk.com and give her a nice white sox wallpaper LOL. I forgot about her browser. I have until 9:00 pm to have this in her hands. She can't wait. Of course there is the obligatory two hours of Microsoft updates.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 01:30 PM) I was driving to go get my hair cut today, and had Murph on the radio(my first mistake). Some guy called in saying he has watching all 14 games of Chicago baseball, and hasn't seen any bunting, and it's a huge problem. It's just so funny people can't look past old philosophies, and are unable to look the big picture, and the makeup of this team. As is said, it isn't how it's how many. There have not been too many bunt situations IIRC.

Certain managers will work well with a certain mix of players. And the mix is on the field, in the clubhouse, and away from the club. So a guy that is perfect for this group at this time, is not perfect for a different group at a different time, even if they are wearing the same uniform. There are a lot of parallels to Dikta, perhaps too many to be comfortable. I think Dikta was perfect for that group, as was Buddy Ryan, but neither did much after that. Ozzie is crazy, and perhaps the best example of how managing in baseball today may be more locker room and cheerleader than anything else.

*cough* *cough* Look Doc, No Hernia!

QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 12:52 PM) If you get brushed back by Ryan you'd best to just step back. He owns/owned a restaurant and motel about 2 hours north of me and I was lucky to meet him one time I was in there for lunch. Very gracious, very nice.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 1:53 PM) Buy her a Mac. Took care of the post for ya Jim

My daughter's Dell just arrived and she wants me to set it up for her. So Update Windows Update Anti-virus Add Anti-Spyware Install Office Suite Install iTunes Add photos of dad Anything I'm forgetting?

I think Ryan hit some people just to keep everyone else off balance. I read once, somewhere that something like 80% of his hbp were with no one on base and 2 outs. Maybe he just got a little wild then.

QUOTE (soxfan3530 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 12:19 PM) I say we let fields hit in the minors for this season. Then sign crede long term, trade dye and bring in the crede 3b and fields and quentin corner outfielders era. Is that for Field's betterment, or the teams? It would be an interesting discussion on Fields as a OF, (if it doesn't mention Crede).

QUOTE (RME JICO @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 12:07 PM) You can't completely discount K's. They shouldn't be the first discriminator, but should be considered. Exactly what I was thinking when I said over rated.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 08:09 AM) This story brings up an interesting but little known fact about beer bottles in general. That row of little pimple bumps down by the bottom of most bottles serves exactly this purpose – they are a code indicating which production line a particular bottle comes from. If defects are found in bottles they use those codes to trace the potential problem back to the point of origin. Does that also explain all those bumps on yo head?

QUOTE (The Beast @ Apr 7, 2008 -> 09:42 PM) Junior year with my lovely girlfriend of whom I am dating for almost 3 years. After that pic, you're lucky to have had another three minutes

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:41 AM) I dunno, I'd say it depends on your team. And the ballpark you're playing in. Etc. Think about this example...which team is a strikeout more valuable to. The Rockies or the Tigers? The Rockies have a ridiculously good defense. The Tigers defense looks like a disaster area. If I'm pitching for the Rockies, I want to pitch to contact. If I'm pitching for the Tigers, I don't want Miguel Cabrera or Magglio Ordonez having to make a great play, because they wont' be able to do it. For another counterpoint, I think Bill James's followers would argue that the strikeout does correlate pretty strongly with pitching performance also, because if you accept that BABIP is not going to go through huge variations in-between people, and that if people put the ball in play a finite number of those will turn in to hits, if you strike out 10 guys per game, yes it drives up your pitch count, but that takes you from 27 balls your guys have to field to 17. If each guy gets a hit 1/3 of the time they put the ball in play, that takes them from getting 9 hits down to 6. Also, here's the final point. Do we think pitch counts are as important as they are treated today in MLB? Pitchers seem to get hurt just as often, there are still just a scant few who never have injury problems, and the numbers don't seem to have changed that much since I started watching baseball, despite the pitch count limit having gone down seemingly every year. All excellent points. I retract my earlier statement.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:39 AM) They do really come in handy when there's a guy on 3rd (or bases loaded) and less than 2 outs though. /end re-hijack And exciting. Who, besides then opposing team and fans, doesn't enjoy watching (Texans) Nolan Ryan or Roger Clemens strike out 18?

But once in a lifetime, a strikeout, swinging, can lead to a World Series championship As mentioned above, OBP and BA first, then look at outs. If the OBP is satisfactory, then I don't worry as much about the outs. In play is better, but meh, an out is an out.

Anyone hear from Steff? How is she and the baby? Amazing how priorities change and posting on a message board takes a back seat after having a baby.

/hijack Strikeouts are also, IMHO overrated for pitchers. I'd rather a guy have a 1-2-3 inning with all ground outs and 7 pitches than 1-2-3 with strikeouts and 18 pitches. /back

QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 09:51 AM) I've given students failing grades on papers a few years ago for inaccurate information with wikipedia as sources. I now tell them if it's referenced as a source they will fail. The best source of information is primary research anyway not research cited in another report. I agree, but I see a future where that will change. I've read a couple of studies that wiki was as accurate as most other encyclopedias. Basically the difference is in having many volunteers versus paying someone to write and article. The bigger the subject, the more accurate it becomes. But today, not credible enough.

New bet. New Decision. Provided the other player would want to split the pot, I would weigh my new odds and make a decision accordingly. The object is to make money and if I thought I could make more with the split, I would, I would also reject the split if I felt I had the better position. But I certainly would not reject splitting in all situations.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 11:04 AM) The problem with that many strikeouts, and my whole problem with the "strikeouts really aren't that bad" argument in general, is that when you combine it with a low BA/OBP it means someone just can't hit the ball. They can't put the ball safely in play, they can't connect on big swings more than they already can, they can't even foul pitches off to work the count and wait out a walk - they just can't raise their stats that way. For an example of a player like that who's never going to change, see: Uribe, Juan. For an example of a player who did, see: Granderson, Curtis. Which is why I stated I was more interested in BA and OBP. It starts with BA and OBP. If that is unsatisfactory, then look to the outs and work to get better. Don't look at the outs first. Make sense?

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 11:02 AM) That's part of it, but the other part is that although he's healthy now, Joe is still going to turn 30 in three weeks and has a history of back problems, and thus I think his defensive skills are going to start to wane in due time. I have more faith in the surgery. But your prediction certainly is very valid and why, if I was Joe, I'd be looking to make this my meat and potatoes for life contract. Which is why I'm convinced Fields is our starter in 2009. I think Fields has shown his potential to be as good if not better than Crede. But I think a bigger yardstick should be used before annointing him the job for the next 4 or 5 years.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:56 AM) Indeed, and a prime example of that is Crede. He overdoes the making contact with 2 strikes thing and it leads to his legendarily high number of weak pop ups. I'd rather as a whole see Joe swing harder with 2 strikes. He'd strikeout more, but he'd also make more authoritative contact when he did hit the ball. yep, swing hard, you might hit something. He is old school in the contact department with 2 strikes. That's how baseball was played. Protect the plate with two strikes. But that was also when pitchers would be throwing fast balls only with 3 balls. Now anything can be coming at you.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Apr 8, 2008 -> 10:53 AM) My reason for bias against Joe actually isn't Josh Fields as much as it's I don't like having a 3rd basemen with a .306 career on base and .754 career OPS. I know he's clutch and a great fielder, but you have to overcompensate at other positions offensively to make up for a typical Joe Crede season. Then again, maybe we've done that this year when you look at our lineup, assuming Quentin and Swisher play everyday all year. That certainly is a valid observation. My first thought is a team needs balance, there are dozens of variables, and if they only looked at those, or any two offensive stats, the team more than likely would fail. I think what you are also hinting at, and I would agree, it is easier to buy off on weaker offensive in exchange for defense "up the middle". That's kind of classic baseball thinking. Hide a bad glove, but great "O" in a corner. But I guess we've been so goofy in that regard, with power hitting SSs that I'm just not as worried about it anymore.