caulfield12

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 13, 2013 -> 08:24 AM) Seriously? If you took the blinders off and looked past the Fox narrative, and looked at policy stances, you'd see it. Fiscal policy? Reagan wanted to cut taxes, and did, but he also increased spending pretty dramatically. Furthermore, he was basically the pioneer of block grants to the states. Huntsman's tax plans called for far deeper cuts in taxes AND government spending than Reagan even ever hinted at. Immigration policy? Reagan was in favor of amnesty, and basically starting over. Huntsman wanted, to a limited extent, to remove lots of people (he was never in on the send-them-all-back train though). Foreign Policy? Huntsman was close to libertarian in his views on this, wanted the US to significantly roll back the war machine. Reagan loved the idea of making the military bigger, to intimidate the Soviets and push them off the map economically through competition (and to Reagan's credit, this actually worked, as part of what caused the USSR's collapse). In the current GOP world, it is hard to say which of those are more "conservative", since the Tea Party has this unspoken alamgam of the Rand Paul's and the Neo-Cons. So draw whatever you'd like here. On social issues they were basically the same on abortion, affirmative action. Huntsman did break ranks on gay marriage, but really, there is nothing to compare with Reagan on that because the issue was never large enough to be on the radar during his Presidency. Regulation? Reagan talked about making things better for small businesses, but that was primarily about tax structures. The amount of new business regulations that went in during the Reagan administration is huge. Huntsman made an emphasis of trying to focus on regulating fewer things, better. The environment? This is a tough one to compare. Huntsman did break ranks again by acknowledging anthropogenic climate change... but his way of addressing it was heavily market-based. Reagan also was more into environmental protection than his cohorts at the time, and he oversaw large amounts of new protected lands being added to the system and more regulation of pollution - both of which are now the more "liberal" methods. Need I go on? http://www.salon.com/2011/02/05/ronald_rea...d_south_africa/ Reagan did some mystifying things, like linking himself closely with the apartheid South African government and being one of the last in the world to resist using sanctions. The 1980 grain embargo describes the policy enacted by the United States that banned the export of grain and technology to the Soviet Union in response to the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Initiated by the Carter administration in January 1980, the embargo was lifted by Ronald Reagan in April 1981. Tangible effects of the embargo were negligible, with the Soviet Union simply acquiring grain from alternative sources in South America and Europe.[1] Commodity prices dropped following the embargo, contributing to a severe farm crisis. wikipedia.com Here's another example, where he sided with helping out American farmers in the heartland rather than adhering to Carter's political decision. For what it's worth, Scarborough was on with Charlie Rose and asserts that Christie is the best GOP candidate for president in 2016. He pointed out the example of Obama not being 100% due to his brief time in the Senate and his lack of managerial/executive experience. Pointed out the examples of Eisenhower (of course, due to his military experience, perhaps the most well-prepared since Andrew Jackson and U.S. Grant) and Reagan, who was of course governor/chief executive of California. Pooh-poohed the focus on Cruz, Rand Paul and Rubio...kind of putting them all in that same "media superstar" box as Obama.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Nov 14, 2013 -> 09:05 AM) Victorino's contract is at 2/$26M. I would take him as he is a great clubhouse guy, plays good defense, and gets on base. Not sure why the Red Sox would move him though, at least until they get some replacements in house. I expect that they will sign Choo, but they still need a LF'er to play with Bradley in CF, unless they want the Gomes/Carp/Nava platoon out there. I just don't know how the two teams match up for a deal. The Red Sox need upgrades at the corner IF positions and C and the Sox don't really have anything to offer there. Their rotation is over filled and they are looking to move pitching, so I just dont see how a deal gets done. They're obviously not going to trade for Gillaspie/Keppinger. Middlebrooks will get one final year to prove himself at 3B or 1B, whichever position is easier for them to fill, and dependent on whether they still view Wil as the long-term solution at 3B. They could also put Bogaerts at 3B, Middlebrooks at 1B and look for a SS (hint, Alexei Ramirez)...if they're unsure about Bogaerts playing SS.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/boras-bashes...-122953166.html Seems the pressure is getting to Boras a bit, he's feeling the need to be more entertaining...

QUOTE (raBBit @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 11:05 AM) Jeremy Guthrie? I assume it's Jeremy Guthrie since Mark Guthrie retied after '03. Yeah. Someone said that he traded DeAza (in the simulation).... Where was that? Didn't see it. It doesn't make sense to carry Alejandro on the roster at $4+ million as a back-up unless they're going to bench/trade Viciedo. A L/R straight platoon would only leave Viciedo with about 150-200 at-bats on the season...pretty much wiping out completely any trade value that he might have had. Of course, keeping Viciedo and trading DeAza would force Garcia or more likely Puig into CF.

With the Twins, the obvious problem is/has been starting pitching. Their defense has deteriorated considerably from when it was considered the best in the business. Hicks is a good, even great defender, but then you have a lot of these guys like Dozier and Plouffe that struggle in the field, Sano's projected to be a defensive problem at 3B, Willingham isn't much in LF...Florimon is a lot like Alexei Ramirez, where he can make some outstanding plays and then mess up the routine ones. Doumit's a mess, etc. They went away from those speed guys like Revere and Span that weren't going to put up more than 5-8 homers per season, but they lost something in the transition. I always feared Span about as much as anyone on the Twins because he was just pesky...not in the Lew Ford, Denny Hocking, Matthew LeCroy/Blanco way...he was actually a very good player (at least in the Dome) but not quite good enough that you could build around him and afford to pay him $8-10 million per season. That, and the lack of overall speed/athleticism (Buxton/Hicks notwithstanding) as well as the issues with the bullpen. I still remember when it was Hawkins/Romero/Guardado and then eventually others filled their place/s, like Rincon, Reyes and Nathan. 95% of the time, when the game got to the 7th-8th-9th, it was OVER for opposing teams. Then you've got a lot of guys that are serviceable, like Parmalee, but not quite good enough to be major league regulars. And you've lost all the leadership from Hunter, Morneau, Nathan, Cuddyer and Kubel. That's a LOT to replace. And, just like Paul Konerko, the rap against Mauer has always been that he was too laid back and easy going....that he was a great player (well, Paulie's not in the same class but the point stands) but that's not the same thing as a great team leader.

Fine, then 32 homers over 4 years. And you're assuming he won't ever get injured again playing an unfamiliar position in 1B. So if the White Sox announced that instead of Abreu, they'd signed Joe Mauer for the 2014-2018 seasons at a price tag of $115 million (plus bonuses/incentives for MVP, All-Star games, etc.), would you be happier with that than the Abreu deal? Paying for his age 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35 seasons.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 11:06 AM) With the number of teams with money and a need at catcher, I would be incredibly surprised if Saltalamacchia signed for less then $40 million I have no problem trading Santiago+ for Castro. I'm not sure what package you could even come up with. They don't need Beckham at all. DeAza could definitely be a starter for them, but it would be a little like the Cubs acquiring DeJesus, only to turn around and dump him...because they (Astros) need young/er players who will be part of their core going forward. I guess he could be a stopgap for a year or two for them, but then we would have a gaping hole in CF again. If they asked for Santiago, N. Jones and Rienzo, that's probably about the best package we could come up with at the moment. We're not going to include Santiago AND Johnson in the same deal.

We can't afford to give up Quintana/Santiago + Beckham/DeAza/N. Jones + prospect. Better to go with Dioner Navarro/Ruiz or someone of his ilk for two years...honestly, I would prefer to acquire Saltalamacchia and not give up a 2nd round draft pick than trade away 2 pieces of our core and and a tier B/C prospect. If they could keep the price at $32 million/4 years, then I would do it. Anything above $35 million, I would allow another team to outbid me for him.

http://www.southsidesox.com/2013/11/6/5071...tove-simulation Thought this was interesting... You have a controversial Sale for Puig trade (in the comments section, some idiots think the Puig contract is a better one than Sale's)....leading to the White Sox Cuban Defector Team with Ramirez, Viciedo, Abreu and Puig (someone had a funny hat combining the Chicago city logo with the Cuban cap for Sundays, also in the comments section). The White Sox trading away Gillaspie to open up time for Semien at 3B. Dioner Navarro finally coming in as at catcher after other options disappeared (Flowers non-tendered). The most intriguing trade, and one that's probably the most unrealistic. Keppinger and Kevin Vance for Mark Guthrie and top prospect Sam Selman. We'd all love to get rid of Keppinger, but I doubt the Royals are THAT desperate they trade him for Jeff Keppinger (then again, Dayton Moore fell in love with Willie Bloomquist) and throw in one of their top prospects to make up for the cash differential. That would leave the line-up as: DeAza/Viciedo (platoon) Ramirez Abreu Dunn Puig A.Garcia Viciedo/DeAza (platoon) Navarro Beckham Semien (Just to make it the most entertaining team of free swingers in history, you can sub Juan Uribe for Semien at 3B). Or you could trade DeAza just for fun and leave Puig playing CF, with Garcia and Viciedo around him...since Puig might be the greatest CFer in baseball history who has played there for less than 5 games. Now, the scary part. Quintana Danks Santiago Guthrie E. Johnson/Rienzo

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/print...ws&c_id=cws Flowers confident heading into 2014....

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 09:16 AM) It should be noted, it was specifically stated during the Abreu signing news that the Sox were able to do that in part because of the 2013 mid-year trades they made. That makes me think the signing bonus may have come from that budgeted money. So I am not sure that $10M is part of that $85M number, and in fact I'd say it is likely not. Here is what I show for the payroll right now: UNDER CONTRACT 2014: Dunn 15 Danks 14.25 Ramirez 9.5 Abreu 7 Keppinger 4 Lindstrom 4 (I believe they took his option, yes?) Sale 3.5 ...TOTAL: 57.25 ARB ELIGIBLE: Viciedo Beckham De Aza Flowers ...ESTIMATED TOTAL: 12 (if all are signed) ALL ELSE: Assuming all above are signed and kept, need to fill 14 slots at near league minimum, that makes about $8M ...ESTIMATED TOTAL: 8 --That makes the total payroll as it looks today to be 77.25M. That leaves 8M of headroom, and that is assuming they go for ALL those arb eligible guys, and don't trade anyone. Why are people panicking? What am I missing here? Accounting tricks. Because it sounds like the team is now claiming money is being spent in areas that were never counted before...can we get all the money back from the last 20-30 years of NOT spending it on the draft or international free agents? Of course, if the White Sox announced that payroll was down XX% to a number below $80 million, it would seem to the casual Sox fan that they weren't trying to compete at all. If they can announce a number like $85 million, it sounds a lot more reasonable. I mean....what next, they're going to include all the insurance clauses for each of the contracts to artificially inflate the numbers? It just sounds like an excuse not to spend any more money. If that's the plan, then they should just be honest and say we feel comfortable rolling into the season with a $75-80 million payroll because the free agents that would be capable of making an impact in 2016-17 are just too expensive at the present moment....and we need to let this season play out and let our minor league prospects develop for one more season (and perhaps two, as in the Cubs' example) before we pull the trigger on those "put you over the top" FA acquisitions. So we're just saving/reallocating money for the time being into more fruitful line items, like international free agents that don't cost draft picks and the June amateur draft.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 12, 2013 -> 09:28 AM) Boston isn't exactly a pitcher's paradise. Depends on how many of them are hit to RF down the line versus the area in RCF where it really juts back out...you have that Pesky Pole, what is it, like 308-309 or 314? Obviously, the Green Monster saves a lot of homers and doubles and turns them into singles...but, just like old Tiger Stadium, you can hit a fly ball/pop up over the wall and it would be an easy out at Safeco or in Minnesota, for example. I'd love to see the hit chart for where most of his doubles were hit....were they pulled down the line, to RCF or to the opposite gap or down the 3B line?

Scott Tobias @scott_tobias Follow It's actually pretty funny that the Braves are building at the I-75/I-285 interchange, because that's the very spot where all hope dies. 11:28 PM - 11 Nov 2013 29 Retweets 17 favorites

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 07:14 PM) Knocked up is something I would consider in the "depressing topic, makes you laugh" category along with its sort of sequel. Single motherhood due to a one night stand isn't exactly light hearted. And yea, Funny People for sure. Mostly it was because of the preposterous idea that a weeded out Rogen could ever end up with Katherine Heigl...at least at that time. It wasn't She's Out of My League style of comedy, where you have a lot more sympathy for Jay Baruchel's character, however. In the end, if you're going comedy/satire, I guess I personally prefer going "all in," a movie like Raising Arizona is one of my all-time favorites. Before he started doing movies for the paychecks, Nicholas Cage was capable of being a brilliant actor, even/especially in a comedy role. Still, it definitely had a dark or edgier side.

QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 08:15 PM) http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=...0&sort=17,d Players with a better wRC+ than Mauer since 2009: Cabrera, Trout, Votto, Braun, Pujols, Bautista, Fielder, Holliday. Since 2005, his rookie season, among players with 4500 PA or more: Pujols, Utley, Cabrera, Wright, Holliday And that statistic only includes offensive statistics? Because valuing him as a 1B but still using old defensive metrics which boost his value due to his defensive abilities as a catcher in his prime aren't very relevant.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 03:58 PM) Where else would it go to? Viciedo's signing bonus is in the payroll for 2009, and his original contract salary, right? I just never remember either the June draft pool numbers or the signing bonuses for free agents or international signings being in the official MLB payroll. If you look up the Rangers' payroll from a couple of seasons ago, is all of Darvish's posting fee allocated in the first year of his contract and against their total?

QUOTE (Jake @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 06:42 PM) I'm not convinced that Mauer has been a good defensive catcher for a while now. He's being overpaid now, but there is no need to fret about him being at 1B. He's going to hit really well. The trick for the Twins is to find a supporting cast now. 838 OPS, 8 homers per year and 54 RBI's per season (average) over the last 3 years. That's not worth $23 million per year. If he hits closer to this season's numbers, sure, but then you'd have to cancel out 2011 and 2012 as if they didn't happen.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 03:47 PM) (1) Says who? Steroid era position paradigms are long-gone. Only 24 OFers in the entire Majors even reached 20 HR last year. There isn't even one 20+ HR outfielder available per team. (2) Viciedo hit 14 last year. The problem with power is that you have to make contact for it to matter. 2) He also hit 24 or 25 or whatever the number was his rookie season. He missed 3-4 weeks of time this season due to injury. It was a down season, and there's really no reason for a corner guy not to hit at least 20....but if you told Hahn right now Viciedo wasn't going to hit mid 20's in 2014, he'd probably give up on him. Rios and Viciedo are/were legit 20+ homer guys. Garcia's SUPPOSED to be, when he matures. Power isn't completely irrelevant.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 03:47 PM) The problem is power is down everywhere for every position, so trying to find the guys that are going to hit 30 homers a year is going to be really expensive, so you have to find other ways to compete. Hopefully you get enough guys on base so that when your big bats step up there are some runs there to be driven in. The approach of getting power hitters at all the corners isn't really viable anymore. Check out the two world series teams this year. Beltran and Holliday aren't power hitters?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1845737...-for-their-fans Seems that intersection (of the two ring interstates) is already a disaster. But it's also where the majority of their fans are coming from.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 03:28 PM) Perhaps of Viciedo is moved in another deal for a 3B. I would like Spann in CF and De Aza in LF, combined with Garcia in RF and the Sox will have one of the better defensive OF's in baseball. If this team is going to be built around pitching it is important to shore up the defense behind them. Plus the additional LH bat provides for better lineup parity. Then you don't have enough power. You can't have 2/3rd's for your outfield hitting 15-18 homers unless you're playing in a huge stadium. And trading Viciedo isn't going to get you a bonafide major league ready 3B prospect or 1st/2nd year player anyway...maybe you get someone like a Headley or Sandoval for one season, but then you're starting all over again trying to replace that player via trade or free agency. We've already gone through this list (3B trade possibilities), and couldn't even agree that we could get Lawrie for Santiago. You're certainly not going to get him for Viciedo.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 12:26 PM) Apatows movies are mostly depressing comedies that make light of real life scenarios. When you look at them, very few are "feel good". They just make you laugh Knocked Up or the 40 Year Old Virgin...Anchorman, etc., were a lot more light-hearted. That's the only movie I actually liked a Seth Rogen character. Funny People, Drillbit Taylor...THis is 40, not so much.

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 02:15 PM) Also worth noting that Joe Mauer saying moving to first was his decision and not the teams. Obviously, the Twins are going to accommodate this request. Would they have still given him that same contract if they could go back to that moment with the knowledge he was going to be a full-time 1B as early as 2014?

QUOTE (Benchwarmerjim @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 01:44 PM) I think the Twins will grab a FA veteran catcher until Pinto is ready. he has a lot of mechanical issue on defense but the bat seems legit. Its a silly thing to say, but the sounds of the ball coming off the bat sounds different from him. I guess that was the bonus od watching an awful team play meaningless September games. The Twins also have Chris Herrmann, who played back up C and some OF. Doumit has a concussion last year and I think the Twins will stick him at DH and OF. I wondered this last year, but is the MLB and the manufacturers of catcher gear working on a way to reduce the impact of a batted ball hitting a catchers head? When was the last time catchers gear had a change...the mid/late 90s with the hockey style mask? People have made the argument that Mauer doesnt hit enough HR so he will be an overpaid 1st baseman (he was 'overpaid' at catcher too ), but he is an elite hitter and his bat will play at first. the Twins just got to find players who can get on base in front of his on a consistent basis. It's just that he is an elite defensive catcher and the best hitter at that position. Sticking him at 1B, he's no longer elite...not $23 million worth. I guess it's all relative, there are lots of players like Carl Crawford who aren't "worth" what they're getting paid....but, objectively, I'd have a hard time agreeing with it. On the other hand, because of the length of the contract, they have no choice if they don't want him to break down and be a complete albatross on the back end of it. He would have been the 6th rated 1B OPS-wise in MLB, behind Davis, Goldschmidt, Votto, Encarnacion and Freeman. 5th in WAR, although that would have to be adjusted because Mauer was mostly catching in 2013. So the question is, would the Twins go out and sign the same contract with Chris Davis, Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto or Freddie Freeman to play 1B starting in 2014? How much MORE is he worth to the Twins because of his "hometown hero" status in the Twin Cities?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 11, 2013 -> 01:45 PM) That doesn't count Abreu. If you count Abreu and reasonable arb numbers, they're at ~$87 million. If that's the payroll, they are done. Wouldn't that still give you $10 million left to play around with? I think Abreu was $17 million this season...