witesoxfan

Atleast you honestly gave it a chance by listening to their best albums. I can respect that. It's unreal how much of a polarizing band they are. You look at a band like Soundgarden and you have tons of "meh's" on either side of the fence (yeah, they're OK I guess; nah, but they're OK I guess). You don't see nearly as many "meh's" with Pearl Jam, and I've honestly never understood why. It's not politics (yes, conservative; no, Ted Nugent, f*** that guy), it's just taste in music. Some like them, some dont. I just think that's how it is.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Feb 9, 2012 -> 08:36 AM) Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what do those numbers represent? Eduardo Escobar is clearly not the #38 overall prospect, and Molina is definitely not the #63 player in our system. Are these ratings on a 100 point scale or something? Unless by choice (read: Randy Johnson, Barry Zito, Mark Buehrle, Ichiro, whoever else) those numbered below 50 are considered to be very strong Major League candidates with expectations of making some sort of contribution to the MLB team during the regular season. Anybody above 50 is, going into that season (and that season alone), an afterthought. Molina being #63 is just so he has a number for ST and in case he gets called up to the big leagues. His chances of making the Opening Day MLB roster are about the same as mine are. He has a better fastball, splitter, curve, change, slider spitball, slidestep, bunt, bat, and HBP stance than I do, but we could both use a little more work before contributing to the White Sox MLB team. Oh, and they'll have to pay him more too, but that's just pshhhhhhhhh

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 10, 2012 -> 06:20 AM) Sorry Wite, i had plenty of exposure to them at the radio station I worked at, I just never got into them. Wite's middle finger for me This isn't against you, Kyle, but this is really the thing that frustrates me. As a huge PJ fan, I like the songs that are played on the radio (in order of most to least played, it's generally Even Flow, Alive, Jeremy, Yellow Ledbetter (will never, ever, ever, never, ever, never stop being one of my favorite songs of all time...this is actually probably #1 when I think about it), Black, Daughter, Betterman, and then maybe Animal. I remember hearing Spin the Black Circle 1 time and I damn near s*** myself. But those songs are barely PJ at all. There are a ton of people that have Ten as a top 10 album, and I already said I feel that Yield is a top 25 album. In fact, I'd be lying if I said I hated the album. In fact, I love it. Moreso, tracks 4 (Why Go), and then 7-11 (without looking up I believe it goes Oceans, Porch, Garden, Deep, Release (which is also the only song I ever had a great trip to when I still smoked). But many people and 99.9% of radio stations are overexposed to their "super" hits that they are turned off to the band itself...those mentioned above. The same thing happens with The Beatles too. I have The Beatles' "#1" CD but I refuse to let anybody ever play it, because there is no value ever captured in that CD...it's snatching great lines from great poems and piecing them all together... "By Dylan Robert Thomas William Frost Williams a red wheel barrow Nothing gold can stay Rage, rage, into the night." Means nothing, but, looking at each individually, they all mean something. Obviously, an extreme example, but true all the same. Still, there are those that dislike or hate Pearl Jam. That's OK with me. Just another ticket I might get.

Creating a thread on The Beatles is too easy. Perhaps I have not lived long enough, or perhaps I have not done my research; from my experience. I am a super Pearl Jam fan. I get damn near anything I can Pearl Jam and listen to anything "Pearl Jam" does (this includes, but is not limited to, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eddie Vedder solo, and, unfortunately, Pearl Jam self-titled (meaning the one with the avocado on it...atleast it was better than Audioslave's Revelations??)). However, in my experience, 1 out of 5 friends love Pearl Jam, 1 out of 5 friends hates Pearl Jam, 1 out of 5 friends doesn't think they've ever heard a Pearl Jam song (these people also cheered for the Steelers when they lost to the Packers and couldn't have named a single linebacker on that team...I barely consider them friends, but vaginas are very persuasive), and 2 out of 5 don't care. Personally, I wish people knew more about Pearl Jam beyond Ten. Even beyond Vs or Vitalogy. They put out a ridiculous amount of good music, including, in my shallow, sheltered mind, a top 25 album of all time in Yield. And that is no disrespect at No Code either. Backspacer is pretty good too, though I wish the lead guitar and drums were heavier throughout. No qualms though...still a good album. Coming from a moderate conservative (speaking of an uber liberal band), I adore Pearl Jam, and especially Eddie Vedder. Yes, he's a Cubs fan...in the same sense that Obama is a White Sox fan (no discussion on that here...if it hasn't been discussed there, I will elaborate later). The most important part is that Eddie Vedder is a ridiculously awesome famous person - because there are levels of awesomeness when it comes to famous people - and that he is still making incredible music. I know I made an Obama reference earlier, and for that I apologize. All I want for this thread is to talk about, in my mind, the greatest and most influential band since The Beatles, both good and bad. I can't help but love their music. Oh, and if you really, really, really, really want, you can list your favorite song. That idea seems super n00bish to me, but the hell with it, that's how I'll end. Save You (followed closely by Light Years, simply because I realized that they did that song specifically for Andy Wood recently...oh, an obviously because it's f'ing good)

Ohhhhhhh Sriracha, you are so awes....AHHH TONGUE, BBQ NOW...flavorful, I love you to...BBQ! This continues for a while. Sriracha is quite possibly the greatest sauce on the planet, even if it is made of roosters. Roosters are much better mixed with other stuff. As I cook, I seal my M'Fing stamp of approval on that. Also, to the truest of Pearl Jam fans, trivia learned from watching PJ20 (greatest.documentary.ever.ever.ever): A) What is the first and only (as far as I'm aware) MLB Pearl Jam still continues to play? B) When did they sing it? C) How many drummers have they had? Oh, and being drunk that I am, I am totally starting a Pearl Jam thread. We'll see how well they are liked.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 11:32 AM) What would you compare them to? MLB Free Agents? When you start talking numbers like $50-60 million for players that are coming out of leagues that are that equivalent of A or AA ball, that is just bats*** crazy. You raise a fair point in regards to the restricted market, but if the market is truly THAT devoid of talent that teams are willing to pay $50-75 million for top international talent, than one would expect to see vast increases in spending on the draft, as well as more positioning done in regards to acquiring draft picks (have a lot of the FA compensation rules been removed in the new CBA?). I think this Cespedes deal sounds like it'll be ridiculous, but it is a hyper-competitive market right now and that type of situation makes people do really dumb things with their money. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Cespedes got a $50 million deal, especially from the Marlins who have been, as you are obviously well aware, extremely fiscally reasonable this offseason. To compare it to the first year player draft is absolutely wrong. If you want to compare it to anything else, then compare it to free agents coming over from Japan (or Asia in general). That's the closest you're going to get.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 8, 2012 -> 09:40 AM) If the Bears were to make a super bowl run next year, most people would still look at their roster and say it was largely built through the draft. Urlacher, Forte, Briggs, Tillman, hopefully Williams and Carimi, Conte, and frankly, Cutler (who was obtained via 2 first round picks). Built through the draft doesn't mean you can't find players through Free Agency. No one gives New England any less credit for Welker because he was a free agent, or the Giants last time when they signed Plax as a free agent and won a super bowl with him. The Patriots traded for Welker. They trade for quite a few of their players. That is still a market where you will find great value on great players, and so I think Belichick will continue to exploit that market while also continuing to exploit the extreme value of a 1st round pick.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 5, 2012 -> 09:28 AM) Delonte West and I think their center did as well QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Feb 5, 2012 -> 09:33 AM) I was going to say Delonte and I believe one other player but for the life of me I can't remember his name. Dwayne Jones

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Feb 4, 2012 -> 12:51 AM) "Bell: Saladino is a very good prospect, will start 2012 in Birmingham" Uh, no. He's not. I've seen him play and talking to scouts, he's barely an average prospect right now. Well, the numbers disagree. We'll see how he plays this year.

San Francisco 49ers of Santa Clara

QUOTE (sunofgold @ Feb 4, 2012 -> 04:15 PM) True. But who else do we have? Dallas Macpherson might be the only other guy. MacPherson can actually play 3B, and he's got a bit of pop in his bat. He might actually be a pretty good bench guy for the Sox.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Feb 4, 2012 -> 12:09 AM) I think it's funny that people defend how great their cat is, by telling us the "dog-like" things it does. lol. My cat is awesome because it gives massages. Dogs don't do that. Oh, and they are soft and cuddly, which dogs are not. They produce far less dander than dogs which feels much better on my hands when petting. You have to actually bathe cats less often (though if you have a long hair cat, you should brush or comb them 1-2 per week). Oh, and you don't have to take them outside to go to the bathroom. Cats are awesome.

These kinds of things give me nightmares. And yes, I see it.

QUOTE (bucket-of-suck @ Feb 3, 2012 -> 11:49 PM) I list 86-90mph, you dispute 90mph. I list "at least" one, you dispute one. Whatever. I have a ton of instructs-league level reports on my desk and if you think 90mph for an 18 year old pitcher is special. You're wrong. It's not. Thanks for dodging the counterpoints. You're a joke.

To add to the heated argument between shack and HoT fIRe, we constantly had a filled bowl for our dog (mostly Border Collie, but definitely some Labrador and German Shepherd characteristics about him), and he overate. When he tore his ACL (or whatever it is for a dog), he was about 15 pounds overweight. And, considering how active he was, it's a bad thing he was overweight for any number of reasons. Since that point in time, we have started feeding him twice a day, and he is much happier and healthier (though he's always going to have a sore knee). He may not eat his food at the time it's given to him, but being fed a certain amount at a time limits how much he will actually eat throughout the day as opposed to simply gorging himself at will.

That 3 run homer he hit off Matt Thornton gave the Rays their first lead in any game of the year, which was after they had already broken the record for longest string of innings to start a season having never held a lead.

As stated in the Cespedes thread, I have no problem with this deal whatsoever and, in fact, I like it. Nobody is completely topped out at 18 years old. People are saying he is a 4 or a 5, but on a sheer hunch, I don't think he will be. I think he will either flop miserably either due to injury or his arm simply breaking down (which you could say is injury but I won't) or he will pick up a bit of velocity and turn into a nice little pitcher. Either way, this is well worth the risk.

QUOTE (sunofgold @ Feb 3, 2012 -> 05:11 PM) Dan Johnson will make the roster as a surprise. Nobody else really available to backup at 3B and he provides a left-handed power bat. I think he would back up 3B about as well as Ryan Braun could back up 3B.

I want to make comparisons to Kei Igawa and Tsuyoshi Nishioka to Concepcion, but those aren't fair because those are two monstrous failures, Igawa especially ($26 mill posting fee, 5/$20 contract...lifetime ERA of 6.66). So, I'll propose this instead: Who would you rather have, Tsuyoshi Wada for a 2 year, $8.15 mill contract, or Gerardo Concepcion for up to, say, 8-10 years for $8 million? Seems pretty obvious to me.

I know nothing about Concepcion's secondary pitches, but I do know that a guy who is that successful against a competition level that is roughly equivalent to AA players at the age of 18 has a future worth monitoring. The better question is this...how many of these guys have actually seen Concepcion pitch more than once or on a Youtube video? I get that you follow those that are close, but Cuba and anything involving Cuba is, for the most part, blocked by both countries. Both Livan and Orlando Hernandez made healthy livings pitching in the high 80s, and that is from the right side of the mound, where soft tossers generally get destroyed. I don't think Epstein has done anything thus far to deserve the praise he's gotten with the Cubs and I've actually been quite critical of quite a few of their moves (or atleast willing to play Devil's Advocate), but this is a good signing.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 3, 2012 -> 10:54 AM) I don't think anyone is happy. These are demons he will battle his entire life. The fact he's not dead or homeless is itself impressive. He could have been one of the all-time greats if he'd stayed clean. Hopefully he will not miss much time the coming season due to this... his body is deteriorating quickly due to the damage he'd caused, but man, those first couple years in Texas were something. When I visited Dallas a few years ago, I attended a game in Arlington, and their playing "The Natural" music when homers are hit is awesome. Hamilton hit two bombs to the upper deck, and that music playing after was something. One aspect of his game that was underrated was his outfield range. That dude galloped like a horse in the outfield and got to EVERYTHING. The Rangers won that game (against the Astros) 16-8. Anyway, I doubt too many are rooting against Hamilton. It is, however, news. you sir get a +1 from me for this

I have no problem with that deal for the Cubs. An 18 year old already throwing 86-90 who pitched well in a league that is supposedly equivalent to AA is extremely impressive. He may have room to grow and develop too. That's a worthwhile investment as far as I'm concerned.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 18, 2012 -> 03:25 PM) Well, there was the two-year, $10 million deal they gave outfielder David DeJesus. And signing veterans Andy Sonnanstine and Manny Corpas to minor league deals figuring they can fill out an up-for-grabs bullpen. Plus signing starter Paul Maholm for $4.25 million with a reasonable $6.5 million club option and re-signing reliever Kerry Wood for $3 million and outfielder Reed Johnson for $1.15 million. And there were four trades. Getting Anthony Rizzo, the team’s first baseman of the future, for a pitcher – Andrew Cashner – who could end up a reliever? Smart. Getting rid of Carlos Zambrano and receiving something even halfway decent, starter Chris Volstad, in return? Gravy. Turning an unneeded asset, reliever Sean Marshall, into five years of starter Travis Wood, plus prospects Dave Sappelt and Ronald Torreyes? Dynamite. And buying low on Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers for Tyler Colvin’s terrible plate discipline and D.J. LeMahieu’s iffy power? Worth a shot. Savior All hail King Theo Epstein, friar of the front office, deity of the draft room, sultan of the spreadsheet, giant of the gorilla suit. The Cult of Theo is in full effect because Epstein is good at what he does, and he can rescue this franchise with you-know-how-many consecutive years without a World Series title. That was part of the Cubs job’s allure, doing in Chicago what he did in Boston. Even if the rules are different than when he first accepted the job – the collective-bargaining agreement caps amateur spending, where Epstein and Hoyer planned to build heavily – his vigor is no less. Epstein is playing his very own game of “Inception,” trying to take an idea of what a ballclub should be and build a world around it. The foundation is steadying. The first bricks are going up. And if everything goes as it did in his head, Epstein will have a whole city – his city – in the palm of his hand. Passan yahoo.com/sports Jesus, I generally like Passan, but unless this was somehow done tongue in cheek, which I am not reading at all, this is awful. I like the DeJesus signing. Neither Sonnanstine nor Corpas are anything special, which is why they were inked to minor league deals. Best case scenario, Sonnanstine becomes a #4 or #5 in the NL and Corpas is a solid middle reliever. They're more likely to end up playing for the Iowa Cubs. Maholm's a decent signing, but he was pretty damn lucky on balls in play last year, compared to being unlucky the year before when he put up an ERA north of 5. I like Rizzo for Cashner, but it's very, very possible that Cashner actually ends up in the rotation. Getting rid of Zambrano was fine and dandy, but they paid for most of the contract and they got back a back of the rotation starter. That's a big who gives a flying fudge. The Sean Marshall trade was good, but that was also Cincinnati dealing from a position of strength. I like Travis Wood, but his upside seems to be that of about a #3 starting pitcher. Oh, and silly as the comparison will be because Colvin is not nearly as talented, but the last time the Rockies traded for an impatient but strong left handed hitter was when they traded Matt Holliday to Oakland. They got this guy named Carlos Gonzalez back. How about we talk about the Rockies doing well buying low on Tyler Colvin, considering he can be a plus defender and has more service time available to him before he hits free agency? Really, I don't think Epstein has done anything that Williams hasn't done this offseason. In fact, you could fill in a whole lot of these trades with players the White Sox traded away and for and come to the same exact conclusion. Williams is building the future White Sox on pitching, and when the time and place arises, he will trade that pitching for offensive pieces. In the meantime, the Sox have the ability to field a very talented but raw pitching staff this year while also having the best defensive infield and, hopefully, an improved defensive outfield.

They've already said that Cabrera is going to play 3B this year. We'll see how long it lasts.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jan 30, 2012 -> 02:44 PM) Eh, I guess, but it's not exactly like being in the Patriots front office/facilities. I dunno, i'd take anyone from the Packers, Steelers or Patriots organizations. They compete every year. In Drew Magary's latest Jambaroo (other than this last one about killing bats and whatever other assorted's he has for the one during dead week) he brought up a point about how the reason that the Patriots' Way can work is because they have the best coach in the game and he can make it work. Thus far, he has been the only coach that has been able to do so, and the Patriots have had a ton of guys between college and the pros take over teams and have seen them fail pretty miserably. Now, I know that Drew Magary isn't exactly the most credible of sources for NFL football, but it's a generally good point. The Patriots have been good about finding guys that fit their system and can do what they need them to do. The Patriots have made guys like David Givens, Deion Branch, and Wes Welker look extremely good. Do you think those guys could do something similar elsewhere? I honestly think the only way I'd want the Bills to bring in someone from the Patriots would be if they could bring in Belichick. That simply won't happen.