mmmmmbeeer

QUOTE (JoshPR @ May 16, 2014 -> 05:44 PM) Sale K'd 11 in 4 innings for Charlotte. One hit day over I think he's feeling good again.

What happened to Bob Costas? Unless my memory is just way off, I thought he was largely considered the inevitable successor a few years ago.

QUOTE (fathom @ May 6, 2014 -> 09:19 PM) Insane strike zone It will be interesting to see PitchFX on this game.....that at bat alone the zone was from the letters to just below the knee and 2 inches wide of the plate.

Anyone else having issues with the mlb.tv feeds? Mine won't load due to "technical difficulties".

Dunn and Alexei should net us something decent but there are serious drawbacks to dealing both. With Dunn, you now have no one to protect Abreu in the order unless Dayan keeps hitting. If teams see Abreu as the only threat in the order, they won't pitch to him....while his obp will increase, I just worry that this could stunt his development. With Alexei, I really sense that the whole Cuban pride deal is pretty strong on this squad and don't think it's any coincidence that 3 of the 4 Cubans are playing head and shoulders above expectations. Do we want to mess with that chemistry this soon? If this is the new Alexei, do we really have anyone that can step in and provide what he does? Semien can't.

I found him not challenging that KC home run last week a greater mistake than managing his crap b.p. last night.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 17, 2014 -> 09:20 PM) I'd be concerned if the players didn't know it was a rebuilding year after the GM trades the previous season's closer for a minor league 3rd baseman. That makes perfect sense to you and I....but we aren't on the field nearly every day possessing the competitiveness of professional athletes. You don't think these guys are pissed that their truly impressive efforts are being thwarted by a b.s. pen? The front office and coaching staff need to be reinforcing to these guys that this is a rebuilding year if they don't plan on fixing the pen.

I understand the whole rebuilding thing...I do. But the young guys are producing and I'm VERY concerned that this crappy pen will kill their confidence. I'd like to think that as professionals they'd know better but I feel like they'll start to press, and lose confidence, all as a result of a crappy bullpen. If Rick and co. are in the young guys' ears and telling them that this is a rebuilding year then it's different, but if those players are under the impression that winning is their #1 priority, that bullpen is doing us a greater disservice than we think.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 13, 2014 -> 06:31 PM) Remember this post when we go to Cleveland. Wouldn't be surprised if Alexei takes one on the numbers. It was a walk-off....surely the unwritten rules don't expect a stoic trot to first base after hitting a game winning home run.

Jose straight golfed that nasty slider to the CF wall....dude is so exciting to watch.

I can't read enough about this guy.... on Opening Day he made a great impression on me when he pulled his hands in and absolutely ripped a pitch a few inches inside to left field with amazing top spin on it. That was about the only at-bat I needed to see to know this guy is legit. This is going to get interesting as teams become more fearful of him...like the taste we got from Minny when they walked him twice. If Abreu continues to perform, he's going to force the Sox to get him some protection in this line-up. If he's what we think he could be, the front office may feel it's in their interest to get another truly impact, expensive bat before the start of next season.

Isn't Paulie on our bench as our main RPH? So why was Dunn left in with the game in the balance against a lefty? NM, I stepped away and didn't see Paulie hit.

QUOTE (Whitewashed in '05 @ Jan 16, 2014 -> 12:45 AM) Thanks for the feedback guys. I ended up getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It gets good rewards on the things I spend my money on. If I don't like it in the first year, annual fee is waived the first year, I'll downgrade to the Freedom or might go Amex. I thought there was a finance thread in SLAM? This is what I have...I also went ahead and got a SWA Rapid Rewards Visa last year that came with 50k points....they run that promo a few times a year so you keep your eye out for it.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 18, 2014 -> 01:01 PM) Not real current but Grapes of Wrath was always one of my favorites. for biographies if you want a fun and a look behind the scenes of hollywood over the years, the new Tim Conway book is extremely funny. Was going to mention Grapes of Wrath...fantastic book and really fits the whole "classic American novel with a component of American History" that you're looking for, Caulfield.

And we thought OG and KW were dysfunctional. What a mess!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 14, 2013 -> 02:02 PM) Are the governing bodies connected? I live in the neighboring county to Cobb and no, the school board and county commission are in no way related. The taxes, set by the commissioners for fire/police/etc. and by the school board for education, are collected in one sum by the county but are distributed to the commission and school board. They're completely separate budgets. As was mentioned, Turner Field was built for the Olympics and not for the Braves...the Braves were offered to use the stadium with a pretty nice deal that included gentrification around the park as well as improved access to/from the park. There have been absolutely no improvements made to that area...it's awful. There is no MARTA stop at Turner and it's in the hood. Turner also is going to require extensive work to be done and the city said they weren't going to pick up a dime of the cost. Cobb is paying for their portion of the stadium using existing hotel taxes...property tax/sales tax rates will not increase to pay for it (despite a Tea Party robocall claiming the opposite). Congestion will be an issue....the Cumberland area where the park will be built (285/75 interchange) is already a mess and, as someone else mentioned, Cobb has absolutely no interest in bringing a MARTA line into their county. I'm not real sure how they're going to handle the congestion...this will be, by far, the biggest challenge to building out here. I think it'll be a great move for the Braves....they're moving to an area with more disposable income as well as an area people will feel safe walking to the park and parking their cars. Many folks in Cobb are against the move but that's not surprising because most people down here are reluctant to accept many changes.....I think once the park is built and hosting games, it will be a success and embraced by the community.

That scene with Walt and Skyler was awesome...loved it. Don't want to spoil anything so, to be extremely vague, I felt that one particular part was a bit unrealistic but, all things considered, appropriately unrealistic given the character. Aaron Paul's ride summarized the ride that this series gave us, the viewers. mrnn

There's absolutely no need for an all-out rebuild. If the Tigers weren't as loaded as they are, with many prognosticators declaring them the best team in MLB preseason, we wouldn't worry nearly as much about a sluggish start. While we obviously have a few holes, they surely aren't bad enough that we should just scrap it all except for Chris Sale.

It sounds like you're taking this pretty seriously, or maybe she's making you take this seriously, so perhaps my advice/experience isn't very helpful. I actually bought my wife's ring & band off of a private eBay seller....dude apparently was divorced or had a broken engagement and was stuck with the wedding set. My wife had the choice of buying retail/wholesale for a much lesser ring or getting a beautiful ring and band with a nice sized rock (I think it's something like 1.3ct main stone and over 2ct tw) with a little history on it. We had it appraised and the jeweler said it was a win-win deal....the ring appraised for $5k more than I paid for it but said that the seller did well getting what he got for a used set. The wife loves telling her friends what a cheap P.O.S. I am buying a used ring off of eBay but, considering most of her friends are jealous of her ring and she gets mad props for it, she can talk all the trash she wants. There is some safety buying through eBay if the ad says returns are acceptable...just get it appraised as soon as you get it. If it doesn't look as good in person, you can still return it. I don't know...I had a good experience and saved a lot of money.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 7, 2013 -> 10:59 PM) The 4 best teams in college football right now, IMO, are Alabama, Oregon, TAMU and Stanford. Replace Stanford with Georgia and I'd agree.

Fascinating stuff the last few days within the GOP. Boehner fails to even put "plan b" on the floor and kicks the cliff to the Senate. McConnell works with Biden and the Senate whips up solid bipartisan support compromise and move it onto the house. Cantor comes out against the Senate bill, Boehner tells his caucus that they should pass the bill but doesn't insist. Cantor says he's in synch with Boehner. Bill comes up for a vote and Cantor votes against it while Boehner votes for it. Paul Ryan votes for it. Boehner abandons his "majority of the majority" rule and the bill passes only thanks to the dems in the house. W. T. F. The GOP is in absolute disarray right now. Unbelievable...never seen anything quite like this. Will Boehner retain the speakership or did Cantor stab in the back just well enough to steal it? We have Rubio and Rand Paul voting against the compromise and Ryan voting for it...how's this play in 2016? What in the holy f*** is going to happen with the debt ceiling??? This debate was small potatoes compared to what's going to happen with the debt ceiling. Unreal.

It's pretty funny reading posts about having Flowers start because he's a good catcher and we'll take whatever he can muster on offense.....when we traded for him, it was the exact opposite....big bat but a horrible catcher. Really speaks volumes about how much work this kid has put into his game. Great read on Hector. Knowing that he appreciates and studies the "art" of pitching, as opposed to just going out there and throwing, makes me want to root for him even more.

He's the most dominant player we've drafted since Frank Thomas. It's going to be a lot of fun watching this kid as he mixes his natural talent with a developing understanding of how to pitch.

How is Valverde not the least liked player in baseball?