caulfield12

Political tradition...although Nevada being added earlier in the schedule was a result of that, at least from the Democratic side, where they wanted a more "inclusive" state with an array of ethnic/minority (Hispanic as well instead of primarily African-American/white) groups that was more comparable with some of those more diverse swing states. And yes, you could make a legitimate argument that the primary season in 2008 stretching out for so long gave the Obama group a huge head start as they contested primaries in many of those later swing states in March/April against Clinton and already had their ground game well organized for the fall.

I think recurring fluid problems related to cartilage (and we have zero idea if 90 cubic centimeters of fluid drained two years ago is particularly significant or not) that are ongoing for two years now aren't completely minor because of 1) his size, 2) the fact that he's seen a decrease in velocity of roughly 1.5 MPH from his prime years with the Reds, although we'd have to look month by month last year at the fangraphs charts, as there were indications of velocity coming back a bit more the 2nd half, 3) the fact that his injury treatments/prognosis and readiness to pitch have caused issues in the past with at least one training staff.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 21, 2016 -> 07:54 AM) Haha no, benghazi has been a four year long partisan witch hunt. Let's just say there is some blame to spread around and also a series of contradictory statements about what it was and wasn't (cya)...that said, it's not a disqualifier. It's also much more subtle and nuanced than the Michael Bay movie would have you believe, obviously. Of course, the Clintons have turned every event into right wing conspiracy/partisan witch hunt for 32 years now. I guess you can't fault them completely, because it has been effective to a large extent. Even arguing recently Citizens United was targeted at stopping them, although that's more dubious.

Astrill is pretty good...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mat_Latos He's really struggled with that left knee for two full years now. 90 cubic centimeters of fluid drained early in 2014. Apparently it's cartilage and not ligament related, but it seems to have not healed 100% and perhaps has deteriorated over time. Also had to deal with bone chips in his elbow and an abdominal strain over the last two years.

QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 21, 2016 -> 05:44 AM) Rumor Trump is going to select that sheriff from AZ as his VP if he gets the nomination. That's political suicide. It would be like the Stockdale choice for Perot. He would be age 84 on election day. Every Democrat and independent in the country would be scared to death of him being a heartbeat from the presidency and nuclear codes. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio He would also be hammered over the head with paragraph 2.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/04/politics/hil...rice/index.html Greg, would it surprise you at all that Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell did the exact same thing? By and large, most people think it's a partisan witch hunt...whereas with Benghazi, there's more legit criticism based on how the State Department mishandled that situation.

Barring a major new finding with the e-mail scandal, it's back to normal again in the Democratic Party. Would have been a real test of her campaign staff if she managed to lose Nevada but more pragmatic voters won out in the end. She's also going to figure out why she's not doing very well with Hispanics going forward. Who wins between Trump and Rubio is basically the only compelling media storyline left to play out before the conventions.

Now the Republicans have to get Kasich to drop out (with the possibility of the VP spot dangled for being a good soldier) and try to push the GOP establishment money and macine 100% behind Rubio. Carson's votes will (eventually) mostly go to Cruz and Trump...but he'll stay in at least through Super Tuesday in all likelihood. Finally, just keep arguing Cruz is another Santorum/Huckabee, doesn't have anyone of significance who wants to endorse or work with him and that he's too divisive because of his religious fundamentalism to win a national election.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Feb 20, 2016 -> 06:55 PM) The O's can have Fowler. It makes more sense for the Sox to keep the pick and sign Austin Jackson or Yadiel Hernandez instead. The chances of Hernandez being able to make much of an impact this season for the Sox are very slim.

Who took Rongey's place?

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Feb 20, 2016 -> 12:43 PM) What does any of this have to do with 2nd tier free agents, the contracts they seek and the comp picks attached to those free agents? The situation for White Sox and Orioles fans is quite distinct. They can afford $150 million payrolls and contracts that are almost double the biggest in Sox history. How are the fan experiences and expectations similar when they're clearly all-in and willing to sacrifice the future for the present? I'm also quite sure there are not 400+ pages dedicated to Yoenis Cespedes on their boards even though they made a bigger offer. As far as compensation picks go, we've run that topic into the ground for weeks. There's not anything particularly new or insightful to add that hasn't already been covered at length.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Feb 20, 2016 -> 12:16 PM) http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles...0220-story.html I like what Duquette says in this article. Provides a bit of insight into what negotiations are like with players such as Desmond, Fowler and Gallardo that aren't to tier but have comp picks attached to them. Doesn't sound like Fowler to the Orioles is a done deal either. Sounds like Baltimore fans are going through what we Sox fans have already been through with the Fowler rumors. Minus the fact they have the best cumulative record in the AL over the last four seasons. Although I'm sure they are a bit concerned with too many all or nothing types when you add Trumbo and the uncertainty of a Korean hitter into the mix. Still can't believe Davis' deal is almost $100 million more than Abreu and Jose's much closer to his prime.

QUOTE (CWSpalehoseCWS @ Feb 20, 2016 -> 12:14 PM) But he's our asshole! Anyone else slightly concerned about the Sox rotation depth? Beck is coming back from ulnar nerve transposition offseason surgery (I have no clue if that's serious or not) and now Latos is possibly going to miss opening day. Other than Johnson, the Sox rotation depth looks absolutely terrible. Are Carroll, Turley, Haviland, and Sherik really the options they are left with? You can't count on guys like Danish or Guerrero because they most likely not ready yet (especially Danish). I have no clue who those last three are....Charlie Shirek, Bob Turley and Olivia de Haviland? Well, they do have Aumont as well. For what that's worth, probably not much. Edit: forgot about Turner. And here all along the diminished velocity/stuff rumors seemed to be the biggest issues of the last couple of years, as he also had shoulder problems. One could surmise he hurt his knee by compensating trying to get more hop on his fastball. That and he's a pretty big guy, lots of additional stress on the knees/legs/ankles.

How did he pass his physical?

http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/team/depth_chart/?c_id=tb Jennings and Guyer are their obvious luxuries to carry on the roster, Jennings more from a salary and injury standpoint. Nick Franklin is another. Who is Pena? I hope not Carlos again. And you counted Desmond Jennings twice.

If Hawkins lived up to the hype we'd still be in the middle of the pack...but the bust rate just seems so much higher for hs and under 21 Latin American prospects compared to more polished college hitters.

Since CarGo's continued presence was used as leverage with Parra and they already dealt Dickerson to TB, not seeing the logic here.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 19, 2016 -> 06:36 PM) Maybe, but they wouldn't be trading for them. They would be trading for a 2 month rental. 2 years ago, Johnson was a prospect in the 60s. Yes, and so were Avi and Hawkins...but that doesn't provide much surplus value at the present moment.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix...ling-the-truth/ Please pass this onto the RNC. They should just make one ad with this video sequence and play it over for the general election in every state one million times.

Could you trade Erik Johnson for Manaea and Aaron Brooks today? At worst, as a prospect, Manaea is in that same 75-100 range as Montas...although a lot of scouts are more bullish on his long-term starting potential. Already, that's a higher cost than Adams.

I remember them saying the same about Andruw Jones before 2010...and Thome before 2006. He actually was the least of the White Sox problems, although he did fade in the second half.

Isn't the competition for Ethier likely to pick up between now and then based on spring training injuries? It doesn't feel like that deal comes closer to fruition the nearer they get to Opening Day. Let's put it this way...when is the last time that we can remember a core player being traded at that time by a contending team? Most importantly, we don't have a willingness to trade our top three prospects to shave Ethier's deal down to reasonable salary terms.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 19, 2016 -> 05:07 PM) I think we all get a little more worked up than we should, this team should be better and if the bullpen and rotation hold, should contend. Take the 2015 Royals. They were contending with one of the worst rotations in baseball, Rios in Rf, and Infante at 2nd most of the season. They upgraded for sure, and probably wouldn't have won without the upgrade, but there were some bums in that line up a good part of the season. I just think we see obvious available chances to make the team better, and so far they seem to have passed on all. It is easy to frustrate. The key difference is they had the minor league depth to go all-in and trade their equivalents of Anderson, Fulmer and Adams for Zobrist and Cueto. Is that the type of move that we (can or) should expect at the trade deadline this year when the Sox are bunched in the wild card pack with 7-8 other teams and no clear direction to go in again?

QUOTE (kevo880 @ Feb 19, 2016 -> 04:23 PM) I usually agree with the general consensus on this board, but apparently I'm in the minority that I'm overall happy with the off season. Would I like and upgrade at RF and/or SS? Of course that would be nice, but we have upgraded pretty massively at 2B, 3B, and C. Not to mention signing Latos for next to nothing and adding more depth to the bullpen. How much more can you realistically expect to happen in 1 off season? I personally love that Hahn is being smart and not giving in to the player demands. There are so many FA's still out there that I'm sure would like to be playing this season and earning a contract. There is no reason to give in to their demands and pay them what they want. I'm fine with running Saladino out there for 1 season. We have Anderson waiting in the wings and we will have him hopefully at SS for league minimum for years. When it comes to RF, I think it'd be dumb to give Fowler a 4 year deal or close to a $50 million dollar contract, while giving up the 28th overall pick in the draft at the same time. When it comes down to it, I'm not an Avi supporter, but I understand giving him 1 more season to see if he can put it together like the Sox thought he could when they acquired him. I think the way to build a winner is to find the bargains in FA and build from within. I do see that plan in place at the moment. Before anyone says it, I realize we have traded many prospects in our top 25 from last season, but let's be honest, who are we really going to miss? Montas maybe if he ever stays healthy. Other than that I'd be surprised if they amount to much in the majors. The problem is Hahn did the complete opposite of that with LaRoche, Cabrera, Duke, Robertson and Bonifacio (overpaying)...so now it feels like they're way overcorrecting in the other direction and becoming timid. (Not going to waste time arguing the Samardzija deal again.) In order to compete when there's so much parity, you need to be excellent in 2-3 areas, like pitching, speed, defense, bullpen, line-up balance, fundamentals, manager/coaches maximizing talent, etc. As it stands right now, our only real advantage is starting pitching and the bullpen. That and the historical record of staying healthier, which doesn't feel like it can hold up indefinitely. It's probably reasonable to argue this is about the best they could have done without the budget constraints. On the other hand, Hahn made a series of mostly terrible moves last offseason, so he's at least partially to blame for the financial predicament. The sad thing here is the boos will undoubtedly go to Avi and Ventura and not Hahn if it blows up again.