caulfield12

QUOTE (staxx @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 08:48 PM) if we're gonna spend that type of money on choo, i'd much rather we trade one of our pitchers for a bat then go sign someone like Garza And the White Sox have never been the type of organization to give someone like Garza more money than a Danks or Buehrle, their own homegrown players. That might change someday, but it's going to have to be for an ace pitcher, not a number 3 or at best 2 guy.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 10:55 AM) The Yankees could certainly use a backup plan in their IF, particularly for 3b, assuming ARoid's suspension holds. We might be able to get some value out of Gillaspie here. They have that guy, Eduardo Nunez....Ramirez, whatever his name is...for over there.

1) Choo is a bad CFer already, now, near the prime of his career....imagine in Years 3-4-5 of the deal, we'd still be looking for a CF 2) Granderson's contract tells you that Choo will probably get at least five years, which isn't tenable for the White Sox to be paying someone that kind of money at age 35/36 for such an athletic position (CF, for Choo) 3) Garcia and Choo are similar players defensively, and both natural RFers 4) You're buying Choo at his highest possible value, and those numbers came in the NL....for whatever reason, players who've had great years in the NL just haven't translated that success as well into the AL, although the talent gap is shrinking overall between the two leagues 5) In the most rosy or optimistic scenario you're paying $125 million over 5 years...JR's just not the kind of owner to shell out that kind of contract (over $100 million) for a player who's not part of the White Sox family

QUOTE (Tex @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 05:40 PM) As Duke has taught us. Nothing wrong with the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor. They wanted the land and tried to take it. The only difference between European settlers and the Japanese is the European settlers won. That and the fact that the Japanese felt threatened by the US trying to cut off their supply routes in the Pacific...especially for oil/gasoline. We can have another argument about FDR knowing in advance the Japanese were going to attack and needing a catalyzing event to precipitate support for a full out war in Asia...and the argument is always made that there were no carriers at Pearl Harbor that Sunday morning, so, while damage severely, the fleet was far from crippled under Nimitz.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 12:41 PM) Well the M.O. of the time was war. The natives did it to each other for stuff, the settlers back on their home continent were doing it for stuff. It was just the way things worked. Also, they arent all dead. Theyre still there, we eventually gave them chunks of land and stuck to the promise of letting them keep it. Is there a German reservation on the Alsace-Lorraine? Do we lament the loss of the Roman Empire? I mean, Northern Ireland still exists!! I dont condemn those European examples of brute force conquest and more than I do what happened in the New World. Its just the way things happened. Channel your inner Vonnegut and accept it without trying to do so much in the present to attempt righting an irreversible wrong of the past. Its a waste, there are bad things happening in places like South Africa that you can do something about now. Look at where the majority of Indian reservations are today. They're some of the most desolate territory in the entire United States. For example, the Oglala Sioux reservation in Boone County, SD, near Mount Rushmore. Also famous for Wounded Knee and the Badlands. It's the poorest, or was until very recently, county in the United States. Highest rate of unemployment. Highest rate of alcoholism and suicide, etc. If you drive through there sometime...and just observe what is actually going on in this country, there's just no way you would be blaming those people (and I know you'll try to throw out something like "the Native Americans are pretty much all rich and subsidized by the government with their casinos and gaming rights.")

QUOTE (TaylorStSox @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 10:34 AM) "Native Americans was a war of conquest that they lost. Back then wars for land happened, if they wanted it so bad they should have fought harder for it." Just like the Ethiopians throwing spears at German planes I suppose... But we did give them (Native Americans) diseases, religion (mostly Catholicism, after they were taught that they were essentially "heathens" or infidels by their paternalistic caretakers), alcohol and gambling.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 10:32 AM) A couple other Castro trades that I think we could try in order to keep Johnson, Q, Hector: Reed + Beckham/Semien + Beck + Snodgress Nate Jones + M. Johnson + Beck + Snodgress We'd have to trade starting pitching to get Castro for sure, but we can afford to deal a 2B or 2B prospect plus Snodgress who'd be blocked, and you can always trade a reliever for a starting position player of equal or better quality. We already gave them Harrel and Humber, haha.

QUOTE (Tex @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 09:06 AM) There is a great lesson in board posting here. If someone who is better respected around here, a level headed moderate perhaps like NSS had posted: Instead Duke wrote a slightly more inflammatory post, then in trying to justify his mostly correct post, went deeper and deeper into ugliness. I do hope in his frenzied attempts at defending his earlier posts Duke distorted his own opinions on humans that share all the same characteristics as himself except for skin pigment. So if we could, let's take a huge step back. Mandela was part of acts that while we can debate if they were justified or not, where illegal and of questionable morals. In fact if whites in the country began today doing the same acts that Mandela's groups did, the world would soundly denounce them. But what Mandela was fighting for most of the world applauds. And whether or not SA is a better country for it, we should simply look at the US south. The economy of the United States south was much better prior to the Civil War and the end of slavery. It took decades to repair and rebuild. But I would rather see free people struggling to build an economy based on equal opportunity for all than a thriving economy where only a portion of the public has opportunity. So while I really do not want to be seen as a defender of Duke's writings, we should consider, as Duke started, all of Mandela's life. I believe it is an amazing journey that shows the potential of change in all humans. I applaud, not attack, Mandela's path and find it inspiring. Sure, you can do the same thing with Malcolm X, for example, only looking at the past 2-3 years of his life (after he was denounced by Elijah Muhammad)....or the time period after he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, etc., compared to his much more violent earlier years. The most important point is still going to be not who he was, but what he eventually became/evolved into, because the ugly past and leadership "mistakes" often lead to wisdom and greater understanding.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 08:44 AM) Ha. WTF does Beckham's girlfriend need to be on the team plane for? Was there some dire situation where that was the only way she could get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible? Beckham can use all that draft bonus money and arb salary he hasn't lived up to and buy her a first class ticket. AJ knows how this game is played. AJ knows how a team is supposed to be run, how a clubhouse is supposed to work, he knows both the rule book and all the rules that aren't written in there but should be. Beckham's girlfriend scenario, IF true, would be what you call an error of omission, not an error of commission, by Robin. Robin doesn't necessarily get nicked for it in the media because no one is scoring on it, but AJ is right in taking corrective action because it is the type of error that can lead to a whole host of greater mistakes later on. It's also laziness & lack of leadership to allow an unestablished and overall a fairly unimportant player such privileges. In fact, not having AJ around to help Robin along may have contributed to last team's horrible season. And IF there is truth to this, then I also believe that Beckham's girlfriend may have cursed this team in which case the plane should be thoroughly washed and blessed by several priests and Minnie Minoso and Steve Stone too just to cover all the bases. Beckham's g/f as far as I know back then was Scotty Fletcher's daughter...who's smoking hot, and has a history with the White Sox as a player. Not only that, but Beckham was/is close with Greg Walker, and of course Fletcher is now Walker's assistant hitting coach with the Braves. Hawk Harrelson, Walker, Beckham and I'm pretty sure Fletcher all have Georgia ties.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Dec 7, 2013 -> 12:26 AM) I would think they would gladly trade Gardner and make Ichiro their 1 or 2 man in exchange for a starter and/or reliever. So Santiago/Quintana, Jones/Lindstrom/Reed would be the biggest trade pieces. But at Ichiro's age, I'm pretty sure they would prefer to limit him to only 250-300 AB's.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Dec 6, 2013 -> 11:26 PM) I've been wanting Brett Gardner for years now. I think I was pining for a Floyd for Gardner + prospect swap for a couple years there. Obviously in hindsight that would have been an awesome trade. Gardner has only played in 3 full seasons. 6.0, 4.9, and 3.2 WAR in those 3 years. Last year he trended the opposite way in almost everything, so I wouldn't want to give up too much for him, and he is a little older than we'd want on this team, but if he can be had for a lower price, I'd totally make a move on that. If he is right, he will play tremendous defense, swipe 40 bags, and walk at least 10% of the time. He could be a very prototypical lead off hitter. They'll want that 1-2 punch of Ellsbury/Gardner or Gardner/Ellsbury at the top of the line-up. That leaves Ichiro and Vernon Wells for the bench. Beltran/Tex/McCann for the heart of the order. Soriano would theoretically hit 6th and DH. Then you have Jeter/Johnson/Brendan Ryan for the bottom of the order. Yankees still need to address the back end of their rotation and bullpen....but 1-6, and, assuming healthy Jeter and Johnson, that's a VERY strong line-up offensively.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Dec 6, 2013 -> 02:19 PM) Duke: Because Mandela didn't create a model utopia in South Africa 20 years after peacefully bringing down an oppressive regime, he is undeserving of the praise and adoration he's receiving as one of the greatest and most influential powers for good of our time. Does that about sum it all up? Mother Teresa must be undeserving too, since overpopulation and the prevalence of diseases worsened during the time period in India while she was running Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta/Kolkata.

This also makes it a bit more likely that Tanaka goes to the Cubs. There was a lot of talk before the off-season that Seattle wanted to make a huge splash in the free agent market. Obviously they've chosen to go the "offense" route...but the Mariners had those pre-existing ties to Japan, so there was a lot of talk.

QUOTE (TheFutureIsNear @ Dec 6, 2013 -> 11:55 AM) The Marinres OF/DH spot is a mess, especially after Morales rejected their qualifying offer. Viciedo/De Aza could be of interest to them, maybe even both. They have Saunders/Ackley/Almonte/Montero to fill 4 spots. I'd do Franklin for Viciedo straight up. Why? We don't need another middle infielder. We need someone who can hit 30+ homers.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Dec 6, 2013 -> 01:01 AM) You asked what America did in its first 20 years. I said it passed maybe the most important founding document in world history. I am using the exact same standard for both. I dont know why I'm bothering with this. End point : South Africa has turned into one of the most miserable places on the planet under the ANC and can really only be charged with the "accomplishment" of f***ing the country up worse than when it was under Apartheid. And yet I'm guessing you've never actually been to South Africa, right?

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Dec 6, 2013 -> 12:23 AM) Native Americans was a war of conquest that they lost. Back then wars for land happened, if they wanted it so bad they should have fought harder for it. Japanese Camps was stupid and I beleive we've admitted that one and paid the people interred. Women's rights in America moved at about the same pace as history. Gays are discriminated against on one f***ing issue that nobody shuts up about. Blacks is more complicated, but eventually righting those wrongs was an ultimately bloodless affair comparatively. School shootings are meaningless. Infinitesimal amount of deaths wildly overhyped by our blood drunk media. More kids died of Leukemkia on the day of Sandy Hook than by guns, but we dont hear about them because its not dramatic enough. As for suicides, if people want to kill themselves thats up to them. I dont give two s***s about gang members slaughtering each other either, I actually wish theyd get better at it. So yea, America isnt really that violent a place. You are told it is to scare you and vote in these fascists who want to steal your rights "for your safety". OTOH, South Africa is arguably the most violent country in the world. Highest rapes, tons of murder, assault, burglary... the president before this one said something to the effect of "if you dont like it, leave" regarding the rampant violent crime. Why do I feel like I'm in 1933-34 Germany when I'm reading this? Interesting you even quoted "and vote in these facists who want to steal your rights "for your safety". Didn't that already start with The Patriot Act?

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Dec 6, 2013 -> 12:11 AM) Im sick of hearing about the goddamned World Cup like it mattered. Being better than Ukraine is pretty easy, take a look at the news now about whats going on there and the recent past with Kuchma and Yanukovych. Sadly, Id still rather live in Ukraine because at least they dont have an actual culture of rape combined with an AIDS epidemic. India and the Middle East have that label right now... And, trust me, Somalia, Sudan and Nigeria are 10X more violent and dangerous than S. Africa now. I could probably name another 10-15 countries, but those are the ones that stand out...without even getting into Libya/Egypt/Arab Spring. If you don't believe it, just plan your next trip/vacation there. There's a reason why S. Africa is the country that has had the highest increase in tourism among all the African countries over the last 20 years.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Dec 6, 2013 -> 12:06 AM) Today's South Africa is more corrupt than Rwanda and the President is comically stupid. Hes noted numerous times his beleif that HIV doesnt lead to AIDS and when he had sex with/raped (he got acquitted IIRC) an HIV+ girl he claimed a shower protected him from the disease. Plus the country is basically a smoldering pile of s*** with a rich-poor gap that defies imagination. Its a violent country, and that violence comes from a violent past. Apartheid was eventually doomed to our globalised world, the sanctions were piling up and old allies turned their back on the Apartheid Govt. The chance was there to do it without violence, and he passed it up and went out for blood. Once it was inevitable the ANC was taking control of course he preached reconciliation and peace. He won, he got what he needed out of violence and its not like he was going to need to get oppressive to force the guilted and vastly outnumbered whites to fund this massive reperations and welfare scheme thats clearly sinking the country. Haven't you just basically given a description of America? Do we not have more deaths by guns/murder/suicide/accident than countries #'s 2-20 combined? Do we not have senseless school shootings and mass killings about once every 2-3 months now? Treatment of the Native Americans? Of Japanese-Americans during WWII? Of women? Of gays? Of every single black person from 1608 until about 1965?

QUOTE (Reddy @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 11:57 PM) By who's standards? And who cares? Why do you expect South Africa to be a paradise 20 years after apartheid??? After the Revolution, remind me how many years it took the US to abolish slavery? Think for ONE SECOND people. I know that's tougher for some of you. Apparently we skipped from Reconstruction all the way to World War II and the Baby Boom...and missed Prohibition, the gangster years of Capone, widespread lynchings in the South, the rise and fall of the steamship, Industrial Revolution/Titanic/Great Gatsby/Great Depression...the battle for the rights of women's suffrage, etc. It reminds me of my Chinese students today who always tell me there was never a time without the internet or cell phones.

And yet South Africa is now frequently listed along with the other BRIC(S) countries as an additional S... Brazil Russia India China South Africa The country has made enough progress to the point where they could hold/host the World Cup before it made it to Brazil or Russia/Ukraine.

If what Greg said was actually true, I would immediately be rooting for a Chris Sale trade...because the only thing that would make Abreu not playing 150+ games worse would be a Sale injury and constantly wondering what we could have traded him for...along with the additional pain of ruminating about this for all of 2015, 2016 and 2017.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 09:04 AM) It pretty much handcuffs what the Sox can do in the rule V draft as they wont be able to use that spot to carry an extra player that could contribute to the roster long term. If there is no one the Sox think could help long term, it makes sense. But this signing does nothing to move the organization forward. If they take that minor league catcher, they simply park Phegley in AAA and Flowers shares the position with him for the first half of the season. It's not THAT significant.

What next Robert E. Lee was a terrorist, too? Nathan Bedford Forrest... Over the last 20-30 years, you would think his military career (mostly in the cavalry) was the equal of Jeb Stuart. Many of the atrocities he committed during the Civil War have been brushed away or covered over by revisionists. The South lost that particular war...and NBF eventually went on to found the KKK. So Duke, do you think Nathan Bedford Forrest is more of a hero than Mandela?

QUOTE (Jillian Michaels' Abs @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 08:19 PM) Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon both went on to have MVP-caliber seasons in Tampa. Those were last-ditch, desperation measures. I meant those "mid-tier" or under the radar acquisitions in the $2-8 million range, whether it's pitching or hitting. Ramirez and Damon were already done well before they got to Tampa.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 5, 2013 -> 07:58 PM) He will fit right in. You're not expecting "Captain" Konerko to police the clubhouse any better than he did last season, haha? What is it with all of our headcases? Konerko, Quentin, Beckham....Dunn's turned into one with us. DeAza and Ramirez, etc. It used to be primarily "weak" relievers or starters, like Damaso Marte at the end of his Sox career, or Javy. Or MacDougal.