witesoxfan

The UCONN/Notre Dame game last night was pretty thrilling, but I agree overall.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 12:42 PM) Truthfully its never all that cold when its snowing. I'm just glad you're speaking for yourself on this one. This is relatively true most of the time; it is not true all the time, nor is it enjoyable being outside when it's below 0 and blizzarding.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 02:04 PM) Heading back out to Cali (for work, this time). That'll be the six time I've flown there in about 10 months. Do you listen to Biggie every time you fly out there?

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 01:53 PM) Leaving for the airport to head to China in about 2 hours. Im glad the weather decided to cooperate. Hope you have something to kill time. It's a lot of time in airports and planes, and the flight from San Fran/LAX/wherever to Tokyo is about 11 hours. Makes the 4 hour flight from Tokyo to Beijing seem like a cakewalk

Fun site. As a credit conscious, fiscally conservative American, this is the the most alarming part of that data to me http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/debt_deficit_brief.php And again, this is not an indictment of the Obama administration but of the leadership in this country over the last 15 years or so in general (regarding total debt and percentage of debt vs GDP, not the deficit or interest payments). It's great that the US government sells bonds and borrows debt from other countries to pay for necessities now while paying out more in the future, but generally speaking, it needs to be a body of regulation with ultimate power and they need to take care of the amount of debt within the country itself. You see that public debt in 2011-12 dipped, but that was more to do with a lack of faith in the US' credit than it did in the US' ability to withdraw credit (though this is mere speculation on my part due to the degradation of the US bond score). That's my biggest problem. Spend and spend and spend but if this debt is not paid off, the US will struggle to be able to withdraw money in the future. I'm hoping we don't have to go to payday loans to pay our senators in the future.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 12:06 PM) he says as he posts on soxtalk boom goes the dynamite

What does each line refer to? I have an idea but just want to make sure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamate_bone Also, ptatc stated this right away http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?s=...t&p=1735788 QUOTE (ptatc @ Sep 5, 2008 -> 01:29 PM) This injury sounds like a scaphoid fracture. The scaphoid is a small bone in the wrist at the base of the thumb. The reason they need to immobilize a small fracture is that the bone is peanut shaped and the blood vessel runs through the narrow protion. If it is not taken care of the lower part of the bone can die from a lack of blood. This will cause a decrease in the motion at the wrist which is what you DO NOT want to happen. These fracture are typically not seen on X-rays as they are too small. Usually MR or CT scans are needed. If this is the case, they will pin the bone to insure stability for 1-2 weeks then be in a cast or splint for 4-8 weeks to get a good callous for bone healing. i don't know if in fact this is the injury but by the description from reading here, that is the most logical injury Also, it was not from a HBP. This is his right wrist. He gets hit almost exclusively on the left arm, where his previous forearm injury was. It is very conceivable that he threw his bat and tried to catch it while the bat hit the wrist at the base of the thumb. This was the exact process the Sox went about with Quentin. Further, had it been the hamate and not the scaphoid, Quentin would have likely toughed it out and been back for either the end of the season or the postseason in 2008.

I don't think the Ruth comparison is fair. Ruth never robbed a homer to keep a perfect game in tact.

QUOTE (southside_hitman @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 11:05 AM) Yes, but wouldn't you agree that a starting catcher roster spot is entirely different than a fourth outfielder/pinch hitter/pinch runner/ 24th or 25th man? The Flowers for AJ decision is one that may have larger consequences, so let's see how that plays out. Yes, I would have brought AJ back for one year, but that was my opinion, and it was based on more than just numbers. Hopefully Flowers provides decent offensive numbers and remains healthy throughout the season and everyone is happy with how it all turns out. Unlike starting catcher, the 4th outfielder is a roster spot that could give be filled by a decent prospect who has some speed, can pinch run, play defense, etc. We have a few guys that could do that if need be. Wise is better than any of them right now and so, if the Yankees would not send a decent prospect back in return, I am quite happy having Wise back for one year. It makes the painting of "The Catch" in the outfield something that makes us smile when we remember his juggling act out there. I still think Wise was just trying to scare Mark and that he had it all the way. That's true but, given the amount of time Flowers had off, he essentially put up league average production at catcher while Tekotte was far below average against minor league pitching. That's a totally new level of incompetence. I also really only want about 1 dead bat on the roster (at the most) and that is for my backup middle infielder who I simply want to be able to field really well. Unless Tekotte is playing Bourjos like defense, he has no place on the roster. We'll just forget I brought that example up. No need to rehash. I also can't imagine a team that DFA'd Wise last year would suddenly send a decent prospect back now. You're more likely to get the prospect for Jordan Danks than you are Wise. I've been hoping the Danks bros can play a season together, but it's a business and if someone were to offer a good arm for Danks right now, I'd take it in a heartbeat. He really doesn't appear to have much of a future in Chicago and if someone else can find a good use for him, more power to them.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 10:26 AM) Which was significantly shorter than our current war(s) Yet Bush stayed generally around 18%, as Clinton did in his second term (after decreasing spending during his first term) while Obama has been around and above 20%.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 10:22 AM) Because you can't spin it to make Obama look bad. Greatest percentage of spending in non World War years. That wasn't hard. Or is that 2008? I can't tell, it's hard to see. It was a recessionary period and the US Govt didn't stop spending, thus you're going to see an increased percentage. I just spun it and flipped it by myself.

In 347 PAs in the PCL last year, Blake Tekotte hit .243/.284/.402/.686 with 92 strikeouts and 18 walks. If you are upset that Tyler Flowers put up a .708 OPS whe the average AL OPS was .731, then there's no possible way you can consider a guy like Blake Tekotte a legitimate contender for a roster spot when he put up a .686 OPS in a less talented league where the average OPS was .775. That roughly translates to about a .625 OPS at the MLB level.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 09:32 AM) Go ahead and ignore the absolute skyrocket under Bush... lol QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 09:35 AM) Who gives a crap how we got to this point, let's fix the problem. This, in a nutshell, is what's wrong with partisan politics. Rather than taking blame for what each side messed up, they want to do nothing but point fingers at the other side and say it's the other side's fault. Bush spent an exorbitant amount, and much of it was due to the war in the Middle East. That was not a completely lost cause, but some of that spending was unjustified and there was a large hole that was dug by his administration. But, up to this point, you are talking about the Obama administration having spent $15 trillion in his first 4 years in office and on pace to spend around another $4 trillion again this year. That is also a large hole. Rather than throwing money at the problems, serious change and reform need to take place before the deficit can be cut whatsoever. And rather than having sequestration come into play, more sides need to admit fault in the matter and take their own lumps rather than placing the blame on others. The fact of the matter is there is too much being spent right now, regardless of the President's political party.

Didn't know we were playing the 2015 Yankees today

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 09:06 AM) My predicition for regression may be a bit agressive, but that's what happens when you have arguably the luckiest season in the history of baseball. Their rotation has talent, but it's young and I don't trust them to be consistent over the course of a full season. And that bullpen is due for a hiccup or two. Oh no, I completely understand, and I think I'll be in the minority. I just can't help but think that team is going to be back again this year.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 08:46 AM) Yeah, I completely agree. I absolutely despised Wise when we tried to make him a starter a few years ago, but I really liked what he offered as a reserve outfielder last season. He can help in a variety of ways, which is great when you have a four man bench. IMO, he's a more well-rounded reserve than Jordan Danks and he deserves the 4th outfielder spot to open the season. I'm not sure anyone other than Ozzie and maybe Williams liked the idea of Wise starting in CF. It was set up for failure. It was the reason I hated the Erstad signing to begin with, even though the "idea" was to have him be a backup in the outfield and 1B...you just knew that was never going to happen. As a backup, he's great. He's got a nice, quick swing, some power, he's smart on the base paths, he can control the bat, he plays solid defense at all 3 spots, he can run a little bit, and he seems ultimately unphased by clutch situations (so as to not say he is "clutch" but that they don't really affect his overall performance). I think Jordan Danks can put up similar or even "better" numbers off the bench, but with a bench player like that, I am going to want to see WPA and I think Wise, all things being equal between the two, will have a better WPA this year than will Danks.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 08:43 AM) Unfortunately I don't see either of them finishing behind the Orioles this year. I do. That Orioles team reminded me a lot of the 2001 Twins. That was a great growing year for them. Whether the bullpen will be as good or not I'm not sure, but a lot of times in baseball you see that all it takes to get a team rolling is to get them winning. I see there Pyth W-L catching up this year and portraying a more accurate, 85-88 win team in Baltimore. They have a good offense, save 2B, and they have a pretty solid pitching staff too with the best pitching prospect in the game waiting in the wings. That bullpen is still incredibly talented. I don't see Baltimore going away for a while. I do see them finishing 3rd, but that's different.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Feb 26, 2013 -> 10:04 AM) That's fine, too...but religion is still involved, whether driven by greed or not. I'm sure getting sweet, sweet smokin' neighbor ass is too, but that's neither here nor there.

QUOTE (balfanman @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 07:36 AM) The term "last place Yankees" has a real nice ring to it! Well, it's going to be a dog fight between them and Boston anyways.

I'm one who really likes Wise as a backup outfielder right now. And, beyond that, you aren't going to get anything more than a future utility guy at best for Wise, which ultimately means you are essentially getting nothing. You don't ever want to close a door, but I don't see a match here.

QUOTE (everafan @ Mar 4, 2013 -> 07:30 PM) If you go back and look at their analysis in 07 they were completely wrong. They projected a slight decline in offense and a giant decline in pitching. The opposite happened. Pitching was decent and offense was horrible. So they got the record right, but only because the exact opposite of what they projected happened. I've made this point quite a bit. I could have predicted the Ravens winning the Superbowl this year based on their historically strong defenses, a great running game, and an effective game manager, and I'd have been right on exactly one point - that the Ravens won the Superbowl. If I did that, I'd eat my words and say "I was right in that they won, but I completely missed the boat on how they got there."

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Mar 4, 2013 -> 11:02 PM) As you can see, that's exactly what I said earlier. And that's really the key point of the article. The pitching was the strength of the team last year and will need to be again this year to have any real chance of winning the division. That means Sale & Peavy need to be healthy and dominant, Danks & Floyd need to be above-average mid-rotation starters and eat a lot of innings, and Quintana or someone else has to be a reasonably effective as our #5 starter. There is some room for error but not much, because I don't see how the offense can be that much better than it was last year. No, I agree completely. I think expecting about the same quality of offense - not necessarily the 4th best, but scoring quite a few runs - is certainly likely, but that it will probably come from slightly different sources. I expect Rios to regress a bit but I don't think he is going to flat out suck like he has in odd years in the past. I think you'll see some improvement from Viciedo and 3B in general, but it's hard to know exactly what the Sox will get at C, and it's hard to say anyone else will really get better or worse. As far as I'm concerned, the 3 biggest factors on this team are Peavy, Sale, and Danks. If Peavy and Sale rock like they did last year (with an increase in innings from Sale) and Danks can come back and be a sub 4 ERA pitcher, this team has an incredibly good shot at winning the division. If they don't, then it's going to be a .500ish team. The other factor that plays a role - especially in 1-run games - is Addison Reed, who I assume will be closing. If he can be effective, it's going to make a lot of those tight games a lot easier. He has great stuff and mechanics, so hopefully he can miss more the middle part of bats more often this year. There's really no reason why he isn't a sub 3 ERA reliever with his stuff.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Mar 4, 2013 -> 04:14 PM) This is gonna be a weird draft. Who do the Chiefs take #1 now? "With the 1st pick in the NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select GoSox05 out of the University of Soxtalk."

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 4, 2013 -> 03:50 PM) Easy inning for Simon. Thank you