caulfield12

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 20, 2015 -> 02:34 PM) By "hard to believe" I meant I find it amazing or impossible to believe Republicans are against affordable health care for people. I mean it's not their fricking money. Do something for people, Mr. Brownback. It's easier for them to scare everyone that there will be government "death panels" deciding whether you live to die...whether to approve or deny some type of service...than to actually come up with a better solution. The irony, of course, is that Romney's Massachusetts plan (which he tried to disavow later) was even more liberal than the one that we eventually ended up with. All alone, the basic premise was to make people believe that millions of poor and homeless people would be descending on their local doctor's office or clinic, making it nearly impossible for them to get an appointment...that medical insurance would double or triple in price, etc. I'll give Ryan some credit there, at least he presented some ideas....albeit bad ones. For most Republicans, their only tome is lower taxes, free markets, supply-side economics, just oppose Obama/Clinton etc. on every single issue. That's an electoral strategy, but it's far from a successful governing one.

Any criticism about walking Morales was based on how he hit in 2013-14 and not being adjusted for his significant improvement with a normal spring training and timing back, injuries largely overcome, etc.

Reports out of San Francisco that the A's are considering bringing in Ron Washington as a special consultant to work specifically with Marcus Semien on his defense. On a pace for 61 errors, which would break the modern record of Robin Yount's 44 and Jose Valentin, lol. A's are 1-12 in day games, 2-13 in one and two run games. 1-8 in games started against LHPers. Team curfew, Mr. Beane?

There are other options, which aren't suitable to a father who wants to spend more time with his children and watch them grow up first-hand. Japan or Korea, for example. The independent leagues. Let's not pretend those millions of kids around the world dreaming of NBA careers have it any easier. What's the salary in the NBDL or was the salary before in the CBA for the average player? Basketball players, by and large, can make more money overseas than baseball players, but that's comparing apples and oranges again because there are literally half as many job openings. How many college football players can have an 8-10 year paid career after graduating (without going down to injury)?

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:53 AM) I would call that an apples to oranges comparison, but it's really more of an apples to hippopotamuses comparison. 53% of NBA teams make the playoffs. Until two years ago, 27% of MLB teams made the playoffs. Even if we doubled it from 9 to 18 (your 2:1 ratio above), then that still wouldn't come anywhere close to what the Bulls have done since 1985, or the Blackhawks in terms of level of success over the last decade. No matter how many ways we spin it (the record between 1990-2013 was the 4th or 5th in MLB, trailing only the Yankees, Red Sox, Braves and Cardinals, etc.), there's still the predominant perception that we're a "losing" rather than winning franchise, and that's going to take a LOT more than 2nd and 3rd place finishes to change.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:27 AM) 4-0 is "getting their brains beaten in"? Have you looked at the Kanny game? Yes and no on Danish. Velocity is one thing, but every scout who's watched him refers to the movement on all his pitches as some form of filthy. What that does mean though is, I'd bet he's a guy who has a few really good games, then one really bad one if his stuff flattens out. There won't be any in-between. I think 7-0 in the first 3-4 innings qualifies.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:45 AM) MLB Daily Dish ‏@mlbdailydish 1h1 hour ago Rays rumors: Decimated by injuries, Rays could deal from strength http://sbnation.com/e/8393240?utm_campaign..._source=twitter … Unless you're convinced McGee is set to be the next "in his prime" Matt Thorton or Andrew Miller, there's no way in hell you're going to trade a "good" starter for him...especially at that salary level.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:45 AM) He hasnt been a coach since high school. How the hell does he have a gut feeling. He is one step up from the fans having gut feelings at this point. Coaches are allowed to trust their gut based on the bevy of their experience. This experiment will end in a comedic way. Yeah, that's going to be laughed out of the water by the rest of the league. No matter how true or cliched, he's going to be expected to bring a different level of analysis or insight as to why he goes with a certain move...not something that 85% of the SoxTalk posters would question before it even happened in a gamethread. To win that way, you better have Joe Maddon level of success in your counter-intuitiveness.

QUOTE (Lillian @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:39 AM) Ok. For all of you Smart Alecks, I would be satisfied if Adam La Roche could hit .260, with an OBP of close to .375. If he hits 20 homers and 25 doubles, and doesn't strike out 35% of the time, which is what he is doing now, I'll stop complaining. Oh, and Robin has to find a way to be sure that he doesn't start against any lefties. Does anyone disagree that the Sox would have been better off with K. Morales, Adam Lind or Andre Ethier? Well, we definitely would have been better off with Nelson Cruz (at his salary) versus Melky (and both are PEDs guys, so no moral high ground with Melky either)...because what's our biggest issue offensively, at least right now? Not stolen base percentages or team speed or even defense, it's a lack of consistent power in a stadium that cries out for 3 run homers. Clearly, since around July of last year, opposing teams have learned to limit the damage Abreu can do, pitching him much more carefully.

In all fairness, some of our greatest leaders have been older. Truman. Eisenhower (well, that was a pretty pedestrian presidency after the Korean War round down). Reagan, love him or hate him...Thatcher, on the side of the pond, was no spring chicken. The irony is that the Clintons/Gores and Blairs represented a "youth movement" and new generation of leadership when they defeated the older Bush back in 1992. As a Democrat, I see a lot of Obama in the Rubio ascendancy. Really, we need someone with leadership ABILITY and decisiveness, not someone who is inspirational/aspirational. Of course, ideally, someone would possess all the characteristics, but that seems to be asking too much these days out of politicians. If you go back to the Kennedy ascendancy in the 60's, the model of "youth/brightest of their generation"...or even Teddy Roosevelt back in his day, they were HATED by much of the country. Jefferson would be another one. More experienced leaders like Lincoln, Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, Adams, Reagan, Truman...have been among the best presidents because of all that they learned from previous life failures. And the GOP hasn't done a great job of turning the reigns over to the youngsters....guys like Bush, Romney, Dole and McCain came across as terribly out of touch, just plain old, they're the very symbols of everything that is turning against the GOP demographically....too white, too old, MALE, WASPy, outdated or outmoded in their thinking on immigration when the Hispanic voting block is the one growing at the fastest rate in the US at present. For example, is there any way Scott Walker's going to last for very long as frontrunner before he destroys himself or is destroyed? I would rather have a Clinton than someone whose main claim to fame is tearing down public unions...without having any solutions for all of the problems other than further privatization (which works out ALL so well with prisons, health care, investing advice, road systems, bridges, tunnels, etc.)

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ May 20, 2015 -> 10:50 AM) the outcry was much lower when Jamie basically raped Cersei next to their dead son, i thought that was much worse than Sansa. Perception. Because there's no behavior out of bounds for the Lannister, and Tyrion, for example....at least most of the time. Of course, that's evolving for Jamie and his brother. (For example, we understand and even sympathize with him when he kills his whore and father because it follows the plot logically...) On the other hand, you have the beloved Stark family characters, anytime something horrible befalls them...especially when it's not following the direction of the book, and after Tyrion was a "gentleman" with her, it's going to ruffle feathers. Obviously, the Bolton clan (along with the Freys) is off the charts in the "hate index" and nothing they do should be considered surprising, but to see it happen on screen is more jarring, perhaps. To be forced to visualize something that's only an imaginary thing for a book reader. When characters suffer over and over again and there seems to be no redemption for them, people become frustrated, perhaps. It's hard to explain.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ May 20, 2015 -> 11:19 AM) at least 50%. The main reason isn't our minor league SS, it's the relief pitchers for the Tigers and the Cubs.

Birmingham getting their brains beaten in. Anyone starting to become at least mildly concerned that Danish isn't going to get away with 89-93 MPH stuff in AA, compared to A ball?

QUOTE (Tex @ May 20, 2015 -> 10:22 AM) ^^ I've been criticized in the past for my point of view, but at some point to be a fan of any team, you have to enjoy the games, win or lose. By this I mean if you only have fun watching the game when your team wins, you will be really unhappy for a lot of time. You'll be watching 70-90 games a year that you will hate, will make you really unhappy, mad, etc. Why? Like above, it's a young team that will struggle, will have a few streaks, and maybe win something. The process may get frustrating, maddening, but over all patience and a love for the process, really helps make the summer. Already for the 2000s the Sox have lost 1200+ games. Do you really want to be throwing s*** at your TV mad for thousands of games in your life time? Are Bulls fans "happy"? Look how many times they've qualified for the the playoffs recently, to the point where this season is considered a great underachievement? I'm sure if you go back to the beginning of the Jordan years in the mid 80's, they've qualified for the playoffs around 20-22 times, right? The White Sox have been around as a franchise since the turn of the century and have only made it NINE (9) times. When you are only looking to be entertained and have given up the idea that your team can realistically make the playoffs more than once a decade, it's a pretty bleak situation for fans. To earn the trust and respect of fans, you have to win sometimes. That's why the Blackhawks are so successful as a franchise. In summary, it would be much easier to enjoy the games if they didn't consistently sabotage themselves somehow defensively, on the basepaths, with the lack of fundamental execution (most players can't even be bothered to be called upon to sacrifice bunt...at least, in that situation, you should know OTHER ways to adjust and get the job done), etc. We can enjoy Abreu, Robertson and Sale...watching Eaton and Avi grow/develop/mature, but it has hardly been a "fun" season so far for most fans and that's notwithstanding all of our come from behind wins so far (which won't hold up, being a statistical anomaly/small sample size, etc.)

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ May 20, 2015 -> 06:43 AM) Yeah, they've really botched the Dorne storyline IMO. Too little character development and world building. Honestly, most of the storylines feel a bit rushed this season. I was all for condensing books 4 & 5, but I really think they've gone too far. Also, I find the Sansa storyline completely ridiculous and counter-productive for the character. I've never particularly enjoyed Arya's "apprenticeship" thing either...when I was reading the books, those were the sections I would always want to skip over the most. Although, granted, anything with Peter Baelish (when he's not involved in the King's Landing intrigue/brothel business) and the Eyrie and Robin was boring as hell, too. Never really bought them as a formidable entity, although the books make them out to be a historic stronghold.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2015 -> 08:52 AM) That is up to Rick Hahn and company. You're really not any fun today. thanks, douglas

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2015 -> 08:49 AM) I see his name listed on the Houston top prospects, but his minor league numbers look like a powerless 3B ala Connor Gillaspie. What is the big attraction to him, as I know nothing about him. He was a former (relatively) high draft pick, so there's the pedigree...but you could say the same thing for Conor, too.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2015 -> 08:46 AM) IF it gets to the point where the Sox are out of it, you have to listen to offers on Samardjiza. If the offers are worse than a comp pick, you turn them down. If you get something that is better, you take it. I am sure Rick Hahn has a hit list of prospects he would like from each team, that his scouts are looking at on a daily basis. If the right combination of those guys where to come up, and the Sox were way out of contention, I am sure you would see Jeff moved. So what's that magic number? 8 games back around July 1st? 5 games out of the fifth wild card spot, and maybe 7-8 teams all ahead of the White Sox? Would it matter if they were 5-6 games back in the WC, but were trailing all four AL Central teams in the standings? This team, for all its flaws, it should play within 5 games of .500 at least for the rest of the season, barring a major injury. That said, there wasn't ever a feeling that last year's team was competitive/in the playoff hunt and they were in the same position for most of the first 3-4 months of 2014...stuck between 2 and 7 or 8 games under.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 20, 2015 -> 08:39 AM) Colin Moran is not any prospect I am going to get excited about. I'd much prefer Derek Fisher. As much as I hate watching the team lose, I hope they are either very much in the picture, or far enough out where the FO can rationalize looking towards next year and making moves. While the run has been nice, I am still tepid about this team overcoming its weaknesses. I am sure the team is operating under a contingency like "If the team is X games out of a playoff spot on July 2X, then we will be sellers." The Samardzija situation is really the only intriguing one to see through. The team has a few options: 1.) Hold Samardzija and try to sign him long term. 2.) Hold Samardzija for the compensation pick. 3.) Trade Samardzija too top bidder. I think it's important to propose that some people are starting to overvalue the the value of the compensation pick. Yes, I understand it's the slot value and the potential for financial flexibility in the draft that is the true value but given the the team's window of contention, I think the team would be better served trying to adding to the young core instead of picking up the 32nd (guessing) pick of the draft. Except for the fact a majority will be constantly confusing him with the former Lakers PG, I'll agree... I'd go after Santana first though. At least try. They're in playoff mode already this season, and they can acquire a solid 2/3 guy for their rotation (he'd slot in between Keuchel and McHugh probably)...and they don't have to give up Correa or Appel to compete this season, not to mention their two first rounders looming (with the possibility of a collegiate pitcher bolstering their playoff run ala Sale in 2010). The Angels are big-time vulnerable. They have the pitching, but that offense is in shambles after Trout. The Mariners, despite adding Cruz and Cano the last two off-seasons, are at least a player short on offense and on the pitching staff (what the hell happened to T.Walker?)

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ May 20, 2015 -> 08:08 AM) He's a hell of a lot better than Micah Johnson. Just watching a game or 2 will tell you that. Just watching an inning and seeing their footwork will tell you that. I know that's not what this thread was about, but my god, that was a stupid trade. If Semien's legitimately an 800+ OPS guy at even 2B (compared to SS), it's going to hurt, because Johnson and Sanchez are unlikely to come remotely close to that. If he's more of a 675-725ish guy (typical for that position now, unless you're Altuve/Cano/Kinsler/Kipnis), it won't quite be the end of the world because his defensive shortcomings will largely erode his positive value. Of course, it also is dependent on what we eventually get in return for Samardzija.

Harper was supposedly available, haha. Now they're writing articles asserting there's a decent chance he ends up having an even better career than Trout largely because of the way he's started the 2015 season.

QUOTE (raBBit @ May 20, 2015 -> 07:45 AM) Nice probables today too. Chatlote - Johnson @ 09:35 Birmingham - Danish @ 11:05 Winston-Salem - Fry @ 9:35 Kannapolis - Lowry @ 10:05 Is that a rival of Chipotle?

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ May 20, 2015 -> 06:56 AM) Not Castro, but maybe that other kid they have (can't remember if he was called up). Max Stassi?

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/miam...le21442941.html First Dan Jennings "gut" bullpen move goes terribly wrong. “We did not see the 3-11 coming,” Marlins President David Samson said. “So once it was in front of us we were not fooled necessarily by what happened after that, which was a 9-1 [run]. We saw things that were not the way we needed them to be for sustained winning. So we started talking. And like we do, we came to a conclusion which is a change has to be made and only if you have the right person. And there was only one right person.” Samson said Redmond, who was fired less than nine months after receiving a contract extension through 2017, wasn’t necessarily let go because he lacked leadership. Samson said it was simply time for a different voice. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/miam...l#storylink=cpy

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ May 20, 2015 -> 01:02 AM) Good, scout him. You never know when the season could turn sour again, may as well start making some connections. I'd like 3B Colin Moran and OF Derek Fisher are two realistic guys I'd love to get back. Why not just go for Domingo Santana or Tucker (one of them) while you're at it...? Tucker and Moran seems not too far off. Or Singleton (with 75-85% of his salary subsidized) and Moran OR Tucker.