chw42

I watched the condensed game this morning. Boy we had a lot of hits dropping for us. That was definitely new and refreshing. I hope this is part of a new team approach, but it could be just a one game thing where we ran into a lot of good luck.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 08:58 AM) Pretty much. Many organizations are JUST starting the switch. It's especially hard for big corporations to do it. Not only because they have tens or hundreds of thousands of computers to deal with, but they also outsource all of their IT people. I'm interning at Philips right now and they have one guy running all of IT in an office building with at least 300 people in it. All the computers are on XP, which is a huge bummer. I interned at another company last year and they're only about 250 strong. But I think they've been on Windows 7 since the platform came out. It all depends on the company size and how easily they can do the upgrade.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 15, 2011 -> 04:08 PM) Technically, a Mac is a PC, same hardware. Using Windows vs OSX is merely a difference in operating systems. I've been thinking about putting OS X on my netbook. The WiFi not working is kind of a buzz kill though.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jul 16, 2011 -> 08:21 AM) This is always the burning question with Android devices, since there are so many. If you can, you want to wait on the Samsung Galaxy S II, but who knows when/if they'll release it in the US. There are a lot of questions when it comes to Android phones, from carrier support (I know Google thinks they'll be able to "force" carriers into supporting their devices for 18 months, but they have no legal means to enforce this), and since it's carriers that have to upgrade the software for any non-Google branded devices, it could literally be 18 months between updates. Hacking? Do you plan on basically jailbreaking it and installing a custom rom on it? If so, you can ignore carrier support, but you'll be supporting the device on your own at that point. Screen size...how big do you want it? Some Android devices are obscenely big unless you're a Sasquatch like BigSqwert. Battery life...this is a major concern for most factory Androids -- people hack these devices because the roms available will literally double your effective battery life. Last but not least, the big 4G question. And I'm not talking about fake 4G, which is what T-Mobile borderline illegally advertises...since T-Mobile has NO such 4G network. At the moment, I tell people avoid 4G. The chipsets powering 4G LTE networks are in their first generation/infancy, they're power hungry and big, forcing handsets to be larger than necessary. I say wait until the next generation of 4G chips gets released, they're 1/2 the size and about 80% better in terms of power consumption. Also, with carriers advertising their huge 4g networks, but bandwidth capping people at arbitrary levels such as 2 gigs...it really renders any speed advantages of 4g almost null and void since you can literally burn through 2 gigs of cap in a day. Also, in terms of data speed, if you are anything like me you'll find yourself connected to vastly faster WiFi networks 99% of the time anyway, which consume about 99% less battery life, and are far more stable. Last but not least, BigSqwert is a good person to ask about Androids around here, since I'm devoutly in the Apple camp. I'll be rooting it. I hack all my devices. Part of the reason I want an Android is so I can play around with the OS. All the phones I'm looking at have 3 - 3.2 inch screens. I'm personally not a fan of 4 inch screens since they have a hard time fitting in your pocket, although they do look nice. I don't even have a data plan at the moment, so I'm just thinking of going WiFi.

I'm currently on a contract with T-Mobile and I'm a year away from any kind of upgrade, so unlocked or no-contract phone are my only options right now. I'm also on a $200 budget and I'm looking strictly for Android phones. So I'm looking at three phones right now. HTC myTouch 3G - $180. Kind of old (this is the revised version from a year and a half ago). LG Optimus 540GT - $120 (from Amazon). A bit newer, has good reviews. LG Optimus T - $160 (from T-Mobile), won't be unlocked, newer version of the GT540. I'm leaning heavily towards either the Optimus T or the myTouch, as both are similarly priced. I would like to get the Optimus 540GT since it's a nice bang for the buck, but that thing has a resistive screen and I've had some terrible experiences with those. I have never owned an Android phone and I would love to get some advice from those that have owned Android phones. It would be especially awesome if you've owned any of the above phones before, especially the Optimus GT540. Because the resistive screen is the only thing keeping me from buying that right now and I'd like to know if it's an issue.

This team is such a tease.

I definitely wouldn't oppose selling hard. As long as there's a direction. I really don't want to go through what the Cubs are going through right now, i.e., not totally rebuilding and not really contending. There's little hope for the future and you have a decent size payroll full of suck.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 11:22 AM) Brett Anderson had Tommy John surgery. Out 'till midway through the 2012 season. That A's rotation is kind of something with their injuries. The Blue Jays from a few years back also had guys who got injured left and right. A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum, etc. Nearly all their bullpen guys were side-armers or dropped down really low 3/4 and a lot of them got hurt a lot.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 11:47 AM) Eh, the starting rotation was pretty damn good actually. Garcia was a very good pitcher up until that point and Contreras had clearly turned the proverbial corner. If he had not got injured in 06, he was proving to be just as dominant. The only pitcher that imo pitched in the rotation who was better than he probably should have been was Jon Garland. I agree on Freddy. But before the season, I don't think anybody expected much out of Contreras and I remember a point in the year where I wanted him gone. He was frustrating as hell to watch before he turned the corner in June or July. IMO, that rotation was two good pitchers with two mediocre pitchers and a question mark in el Duque.

QUOTE (lasttriptotulsa @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 11:34 AM) Not quite everything went right. We did play the majority of the season without our biggest star and future hall of famer. Can you imagine if they had The Big Hurt even at 75% for the whole year? They would have won 105 games easy. A healthy Frank would have definitely made that lineup dangerous. But the pitching staff overachieving was the main reason that team won 99 games and won the WS.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 11:34 AM) Every team that wins a championship has odd things go their way or a bad player have a good year. The entire White Sox pitching staff had a good year. How many of the guys in that bullpen are playing today? Jenks and Marte are the only guys still on ML rosters and neither is good. Jose Contreras had one good half after 05 and was mediocre to bad as a starter afterwards. Freddy Garcia struggled to throw 90 after that season and hasn't had a full season with an ERA under 4.5 since. Jon Garland has struggled to to have an ERA below 4.5 as well. Buehrle is the only guy that has been reliable and fairly consistent since that season. It was a roster of a lot of mediocre pitchers that all turned out great seasons.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 11:28 AM) This is the way of relievers. Sometimes they get really, really lucky. Which is why it's stupid to throw money at any reliever without a good history (like Benoit).

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 11:24 AM) I'm not saying Cotts got lucky with a lot of hard hit balls at defenders (that would have been Hermanson). Rather, I can't believe a lefty who throws 91 mph high fastballs nearly every pitch only allowed one homer all year. He had a deceptive delivery. But hitters will adjust to that, which is pretty much what they did after 05. xFIP thought Cotts would regress after 05 and of course...he did and ended up giving up a HR on 18% of his fly balls in 06. Hermanson was another lucky SOB. The Sox just had everything go right for them that year. Plus, remember when Buehrle appeared to have broken his foot in ST and was going to be out for like two months? He shutout the Indians on opening day. 2005 was a true gift from the baseball gods.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 11:22 AM) Brett Anderson had Tommy John surgery. Out 'till midway through the 2012 season. That sucks. He was a great up and coming pitcher.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 11:06 AM) Some great observations here hurt, especially the second point. That was a gigantic play by Uribe, even more important than the final out of the game. As for Cotts, I still say he had the luckiest season I can ever recall. Case in point, the strike out in game 1 against Ensberg. I'm still not sure how he missed that final pitch. Cotts was lucky that year, but he wasn't THAT lucky. He still had a 2.95 FIP, which is pretty damn good. Politte was lucky as hell. 3.75 FIP. Both had low as hell BABIPs and very high strand rates (especially Politte). Those two are the perfect example of relievers riding a luck streak for a whole season and then falling apart in later seasons. You can't outrun your true talent forever.

QUOTE (Iwritecode @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 10:58 AM) This guy is arguably getting more by just giving the ball back to Jeter than he would have if he'd have kept it and sold it. Suddenly companies are lining up to give him stuff and help pay off his debt and tons of TV and radio shows want to talk to him. The IRS also wants $13,000 for the tickets the Yankees gave him. Damn the IRS! He definitely made a smart move, which also turned out to be the right move.

I don't think I'll ever get a Mac as my main computer. I do too much gaming on my PC.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 10:10 AM) They were several years behind Firefox (and other I'm sure) with tabbed browsing. I'm on a temp computer at work and I'm stuck with IE. My god do I hate this piece of s*** browser. It "recovers" my tabs every hour from something crashing. That never happens in any other browsers. It's also slow as hell and it's just a mess.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Jul 13, 2011 -> 11:38 PM) Im in the camp who thinks some of these things should be said. I guess you'll get along great with James Harrison. But don't come back crying when he decides to share your deepest and darkest secrets with some big name publication.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 14, 2011 -> 09:04 AM) No one would mind him calling Gooddell a Dictator or a Puppet. The homophobic slur doesn't help. The gun photo is just creepy. The calling out his teammates in public is completely out of the bounds in pro sportsw. But he's hood certified MAYNE!

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 13, 2011 -> 10:46 PM) No Greg speech. I said I'm done commenting on this. I am sad though that a White Sox board has denegraded Ozzie to being a bad baseball player. I don't think he was bad at baseball, he just sucked at hitting. He had a couple of very good seasons with the Sox despite hitting worse than Juan Pierre.

Put him on sale.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Jul 13, 2011 -> 09:51 PM) He's the type of dumbass that would be in jail if he didn't have steroids raging through his veins. I had a nice laugh at him complaining about Cushing's steroid use. Pretty much. He got in a lot of trouble during his high school years. He's lucky to have made it to the NFL.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 13, 2011 -> 09:36 PM) The All Star Break in a bad season is hilarious. Everyone take a moment and realize what you are arguing about. I don't think anybody thinks Ozzie was a good offensive player. Nothing to really argue about. People might disagree on how much he really sucked, but I think the fact that he sucked is enough.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Jul 13, 2011 -> 08:43 PM) Except for the 4 or 5 times he did hit below .265 as a regular? For a regular .265 (his career AVG with the Sox) is bad it becomes terrible -- for a regular -- when that .265 is almost entirely singles and comes with a 3% walk rate. 81 players had at least 5000 PA between '85 and '97, Ozzie had the lowest OPS+ of the bunch by a good amount and that .265 AVG places him 60th out of the 81. Lower it to 4000 PA and he's last out of 151 players (Frank Thomas is #1). http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-ind...re.cgi?id=ugBTT - 5000 PA http://www.baseball-reference.com/play-ind...re.cgi?id=o32pC - 4000 PA Ozzie's bat was worth -271 runs during his entire career (65 wRC+), according to FanGraphs. That's like -28 wins, depending on the run environment.