mmmmmbeeer

I thought Poreda's velocity was supposed to be 98ish on his fastball... MIL broadcast had him at 92 mostly topping out at 94? Is their gun off?

My question is why was Pods playing so deep with Suppan at bat?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 3, 2009 -> 10:39 PM) The only strange thing was it really was Betemit's inability to field at all that pretty much cost Josh Fields his every day job, although Josh could have done more to keep it, but they aren't going to call up Beckham to ride pine. It's funny you bring that up. I wasn't 100% behind bringing Beckham up until after watching last night's game....a game in which Josh Fields didn't play.

How does Kids Day work? The fam and I are going to be in town to catch the game Sunday and I see it's a "Kids Day". Isn't this the deal where they let the kids go on the field as a group and run around the perimeter? Anyone know how you go about getting your kids involved in this?

Not one mention in that entire article about the $22M elephant in the room. Pretty irresponsible journalism.

QUOTE (shipps @ May 24, 2009 -> 07:48 AM) No that is really bad in my book. Unless he is dominating down there he doesnt come back up. Only 2BB, which is pretty much the only thing I care about with JC's ml lines.

2 quality starts for Richard in a row.....good to see and very important for him to gain some confidence and get in a rhythm.

oddest thing I've seen on gamecenter

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 11, 2009 -> 10:31 AM) The good news is the Sox apparently have no use for a closer at the present time. Ozzie's comments in that ESPN article piss me off. I mean really, what happened to the old Oz?

QUOTE (South Side Fireworks Man @ May 8, 2009 -> 05:12 PM) I don't think anyone is advocating a "bean ball war". Let's see what KW actually said: "You can't allow other teams to pitch inside and knock your players down and not reciprocate," Williams said Thursday, mindful that Sox batters have been drilled 14 times, compared to their opponents getting nailed four times. "You can't do it. You have to establish the inside part of the plate and move hitters off the plate to open it up more. If you don't do that and allow the other team to do it to your hitters, then you're losing at both ends." Nowhere does KW advocate throwing a bean ball nor even hitting anyone. He mentions pitching inside. If you don't believe hitters are more comfortable when they know the opposing pitcher will never move them off of the plate with an inside pitch, you must have never played baseball and haven't watched much baseball for too long either. Again, your "bean ball argument" is a red herring. And now you contradict your previous statements by saying "Brushbacks? fine with me." Just a hunch, but I'll bet you get most of your opinions from listening to Boers and Bernstein. Anyway, the point is that you can't let the opposing batters get too comfortable in leaning out over the plate. Keeping them honest with a few pitches off the inside corner every now and then and making them move around a little bit is an effective tactic for any pitcher. And allowing the opposition to continually move your batters off the plate and actually drilling a good number of them while your pitchers fail to even establish the inside of the plate and make their hitters move a little is just bad baseball. The one thing that bothers me about all this is why did it get to the point where the GM had to say it? The White Sox under Ozzie have never handled this well. Ozzie always would talk about retaliation publicly resulting in the league and the umpires scrutinizing the Sox pitchers too closely, putting them at a disadvantage. Sox hitters would get drilled, and then the first time A Sox pitcher would hit an opposing batter, it would be the Sox who would get the warning. The best way to handle this is to say nothing, let your pitcher do what needs to be done, and if questioned afterward say that it was just an unfortunate pitch that got away. Ozzie's demeanor on the field has changed quite a bit since his sensitivity training. I wonder if someone in a position of power sent him a message that if he doesn't cool it he'll be gone. He doesn't argue. He doesn't insist his pitchers protect his hitters. He doesn't talk near as much trash about the opposition or his own players for that matter as he did a couple years ago. I think it's very telling that this had to come from KW.

The last 2 times Ozzie has put out these ridiculously bad lineups, they have scored well and won. We'll see if his luck continues.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Apr 30, 2009 -> 08:00 AM) Can't know without more data. What does your current mortgage look like? How much on it, how much equity (%), rate, period, type... 2 points is potentially a lot of money to put up front - the more front-loaded you go like that, the longer you need to be willing to stay in the mortgage to make it worthwhile. Is the 4.5% locked completely? How likely are you to move or sell the house, and have to re-do the mortgage again, any time soon? Could be other factors too, like, how much cash you have available, what rates might appear at different equity levels, etc. I'm currently a little over 2 years into a 30 year fixed VA loan at 6.5% We plan on staying in this home for several years. The 4.5% isn't locked in yet, but it can be locked in as soon as I give her the go-ahead. We have very little equity in the house, negative equity actually with how short a time we've been there. The market here in the ATL area has taken a hit like most other places. I don't feel that the refi amount, 100% thanks to VA (also will roll in points and closing costs), is well beyond the value of the home (still within the Zillow estimate). I'm stuck going VA because their streamlines don't require appraisals and will finance 100%. Having only been in this house 2 years with dropping values, we'd have to come a TON out of pocket to go with a conventional refi to take advantage of the rates available these days(if only I was a deadbeat mortgage holder, I'd be in better shape). I guess my main question is about the points, if it's worth it. From what I read, points are tax deductible. They'll empty my current escrow account and give me that money directly, as well as a 2 month payment lapse before the new loan kicks in. These 2 things will easily take care of the cost of the 2 points. I'm hesitant because I've heard in the past the same thing, that points are typically a bad thing. Problem is that I'm worried that theory doesn't necessarily hold true when dealing with an opportunity to get a 4.5% fixed rate on a home you plan in staying in for a long time.

I'm pretty much a complete rookie at this stuff. Good credit refi.... 2 pts and 1% origination for a 4.5% interest rate. Wouldja?

QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 19, 2009 -> 10:28 PM) It's refreshing to see Paulie hitting in April. Lately, it's been a depressing month for him. If we can get the 2005, 2006 version of Paulie, then we're set. With the risk of pissing off TCQ by diverting attention from his awesomeness, I saw a pre-season interview with Paulie where he stated that he started his offseason training/workouts a few weeks earlier this year than any other year....looks like it may be paying dividends.

QUOTE (kev211 @ Apr 11, 2009 -> 03:11 PM) For those that cant watch http://myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=35906&part=sports Download tvants then click one of those links Money, dude. Thanks. Screw Fox.

QUOTE (sweatpants @ Apr 7, 2009 -> 04:11 PM) Agree 100% and I still like Kenny, but people should be taking shots at Kenny, not Wise, for not finding a better option. Perhaps it's just because of my thoughts on what I would've done had I been in attendance, but I firmly believe that those "booos" were aimed as much at the front office as they were at Dewayne Wise.

QUOTE (TheBigHurt @ Mar 30, 2009 -> 06:17 PM) So Rowand wasn't decent? And before Pods, the last one I can THINK of was maybe Tim Raines. Other than that I can't think of a single person. Yes, he was. Thank you. I was getting more heated by the fact I couldn't think of anyone.

I'm sitting her racking my brain and, am I wrong to say that the last decent CF we had was 1-Dog? And before Pods, who the hell was our last decent leadoff hitter? I just don't understand how over a period of several years we've been unable to bring anyone in to leadoff and/or play a solid CF with a decent bat. I know we had Chris Young lined up to take that spot but he's no leadoff hitter either. It's very frustrating to look at this team with a whole lot of potential and to have one spot just completely ignored, no attempt made to fill the hole, just really irks me. With all that said, if it's a Wise/BA platoon, I can live with it. Leading off? Hell no, but I can live with those guys getting PT against the right matchups.

Who else is out there that is available via FA or possibly via trade? I just don't see how KW and Ozzie can be at all comfortable heading into this season with one of JO, BA, and DW manning centerfield. To me it just screams of thrift or an unwillingness to improve. I find it nearly impossible to believe that there isn't an affordable (either money or talent) alternative somewhere that can play defense and hit above .250. While I truly appreciate the fact that DW is the only guy who is stepping up and trying to cease this opportunity, and do believe he's earned a roster spot, he's NOT starting CF material. As irresponsible as I think it is to have Beckham go north this year with the team, I like the Getz/Beckham/Ramirez(cf) option better than anything else if we can't go out and make an acquisition.

Sorry...couldn't help it.. I just felt this wasn't spring training without a thread about it....it's become tradition it seems.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Feb 17, 2009 -> 10:16 AM) If Selig did that, he would be breaking the contract signed with the union. It would result in an instant strike and that is something MLB could not allow to happen so soon after 1994. Granted, Selig does have those 'best intertests of baseball' powers, but he cannot assume a K.M. Landis attitude in this day and age. This is an issue though, in my opinion, that the union will break shortly after a strike. How much public support do you think the union would get for refusing drug tests? Selig would only have to utter the words, "if they aren't cheating, then we shouldn't have a problem with testing...I'm looking out for the integrity of the game." Seriously, what the hell could the players' union possibly say in response that would justify a work stoppage in the public's eye? They say that the MLBPA is the most powerful union in the country, Selig had a chance to knock them down a notch. The players who weren't taking PEDs would have been pissed to be out of work to cover for the cheaters, the fans would've been behind Selig and against the union, leaving nothing but the hardcore union guys and PEDs users feeling strongly about the strike. I don't know, I firmly believe Selig could not have messed things up much worse.

QUOTE (joesaiditstrue @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 01:02 PM) The only asterisk that needs to be placed is next to Bud Selig's name, for allowing that entire era to exist without stepping in and nipping it in the bud before it became what it is today. He seriously needs to be canned and replaced. If ARod is suspended, they damn well better suspend the other 103 players whose names we don't know. Talk about getting a raw deal... an anonymous test that he didn't even have to take, and he's going to get suspended for someone illegally leaking his name 6 years later? Selig REALLY needs to go.

If every GM had the ability to have as many "sure things" as you seem to expect, the game of baseball would be pretty boring, imo.

I'll bet he gets a couple of ab's on June 7th when I'll be in the stands. Thanks, dude.

Anyone got the presale password for mlb.com users this morning? I registered again this morning but apparently I was too late to receive an email containing a password. Thanks