Donny Lucy's Avocado Farm

QUOTE (flavum @ Mar 22, 2013 -> 09:20 AM) Royals have announced their first starters. Looks like the first series will be: Sale vs Shields Peavy vs Santana Floyd vs Guthrie Chen still hasn't been named 5th starter, believe it or not. Looks like a sweep to me.

QUOTE (staxx @ Mar 13, 2013 -> 04:28 PM) Phegely is terrible. Was just thinking the same thing on that "Wild pitch" Ommogrosso has really good stuff. Never noticed last year. I wonder if Crain starts the season on the DL if they would go with him for the bullpen

QUOTE (southside_hitman @ Mar 13, 2013 -> 03:25 PM) Do you have 4G? I always wondered if 4G has enough bandwidth to stream stuff, play on-line vid games, etc. I have a Verizon 4G card for when I travel on the road. It works great, NetFlix, iTunes, MLB.tv - whatever I need to stream. Verizon has insane speeds in larger markets, sometimes 2x faster than hotel wifi.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 6, 2013 -> 01:06 PM) Just wanted to fix the mistakes for you Ha, thanks. I was running into a meeting and didnt proofread before I posted. I copied and pasted the stats and arguments I made straight from my facebook rant on my friend's wall.

I joking said to a friend of mine who is a Brewers fan - that with the latest news to come out - Braun should give his 2011 MVP award to Matt Kemp. This resulted in an epic debate about Braun's percieved guilt - and it got me thinking (and looking up stats)... Braun 2011: .332 / .397 / .597 / .994, 38 2B, 33 HR, 111 RBI, 33 SB ( fangraphs WAR 7.6 | BBref WAR 7.7 ) Kemp 2011: .324 / .399 / .586 / .986, 33 2B, 39 HR, 126 RBI, 40 SB ( fangraphs WAR 8.8 | BBref WAR 8.3 ) Braun's team won 94 games and won their division. Remove Braun's WAR form the team record and they win 89 games and still likely make the playoffs. Kemp's team won 83 games and finished third. Remove Matt Kemp's WAR from the team record and the Dodgers finish 74-88, well below 500. Braun hits in a offense-friendly park 82 times a year. Kemp hits in a pitcher-friendly park 82 times a year. Braun had a 5.2 oWAR guy hitting behind him all season. Kemp had a 1.6 oWAR guy hitting behind him all season. Matt Kemp was CLEARLY more deserving - juice or no juice. Being a knee-jerk reactionary baseball fan... and as a Dodgers fan, I feel the same way about the 2003 MVP voting with Frank Thomas getting the shaft.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 22, 2013 -> 10:44 AM) I am also surprised Chris Beck isn't on there. If the stories about his body changing back to where it was are accurate, he could be a Brandon McCarthy type of quick mover through the system. Chris Beck is listed at #8 *shrug*

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jan 18, 2013 -> 01:29 PM) Now Beckham can afford the wedding I hope Gordo's fiance's parents give him a golden bat as a part of the dowry.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 10:38 AM) I have no idea where you got those numbers. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/...=Career&t=b 2012 H: .368/.347/.609/1.046 R .234/.301/.405/.706 career H: .338/.394/.609/1.003 R: .258/.313/.422/.735 Apparently, Yahoo Sports sucks them ballz.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 9, 2013 -> 09:47 AM) Including his home/road splits? Because most people seem shocked at how bad those are. His home/road splits are nearly identical. Home: .263 .302 .445 .747 Road: .263 .313 .426 .739 *shrug*

QUOTE (danman31 @ Jan 8, 2013 -> 10:31 AM) When I saw this thread title in this forum I assumed it meant someone got hurt. This really isn't worth getting worked up about. C'mon... its not like we have anything else to talk about.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jan 8, 2013 -> 01:58 AM) Welcome to last week. You mean two weeks ago. And more specifically, last month.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/chw Check the transactions.

Apparently, the Sox released Tracy... since the Royals just signed him to a minor league contract. *shrug*

Mark Lowe and LaTroy Hawkins are both available. I can't imagine either would cost more than 2-3 million on a one year deal. Sox dont need a big name guy, just a 50 IP 6/7th inning guy to bridge the game to Thornton/Jones/Crain/Reed

I'll never forget in 2006 when the Sox scored like 23 runs off of the Cardinals.... every Sox player had at least 2 hits, except Uribe - who dug in the box and waved at 3 straight fastballs over his head.

Man, I love watching Hamilton play baseball... but as a closet Dodgers fan, this sucks. Whatever.

In case there's any doubt, Dodgers fans hate Juan Uribe http://emojuanuribe.com/

The good news is that if the Sox non-tender Beckham in the next few seasons, Keppinger can slide over to 2b. I agree with the other posts saying Sox should sign a lefthanded hitting 3B to platoon. Mark Teahen is available.

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Dec 4, 2012 -> 03:33 PM) Agree. I'm just an antsy Nancy. Me too. As a Sox fan, I am bored out of my mind right now. There aren't even rumors about the Sox. Usually there's at least a "Sox want so-and-so" and maybe a "Team X called the Sox about so-and-so" Maybe Hahn is better at flying under the radar than KennyGM ever was. *shrug*

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Nov 30, 2012 -> 09:41 AM) If Tyler Flowers is the starting catcher, the Sox just have to find a LH hitting backup, I don't care how they do it. Brian Schnieder? http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/schnebr01.shtml He's a free agent, but was hinting at retirement. ANy available backup C that hits lefthanded likely wont be any better against RHP than Flowers, if they are any good at all. So might as well he a righthanded hitting C that can hit decently against RHP *shrug*

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 30, 2012 -> 08:43 AM) If the Dodgers are in, the Sox don't have a chance. I dont know about that. AJ Ellis is pretty good. I can't imagine he sits 140 games so AJ can start. If anything it would be a 50/50 split on playing time, and AJ's ego won't let that happen.

Maybe we can retitle the thread to "Catcher Catch-All Thread"

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Nov 16, 2012 -> 01:13 PM) How could he possibly know Melky would have gotten 4 yrs/$56M? He was on pace for an MVP-type season.... at a realtively young age at a premium position. Plus it doesnt hurt that Bowden is a former GM.

If AJ didn't file for Free Agency, what would happen? Would he remain Sox property and be subject to arbitration? If the Sox didn't want him, would they then just release him, since they have no contractual obligation?

Yes! So..... I'm 35 years old. I've smoked for seemingly my entire adult life. I started smoking when I was 13, a few here and a few there. Mortal Kombat with my fellow metalhead brethren at the local bowling alley. No big deal. Then came college and later, professional life. Stress. Bills. And a new coping system. I was never a heavy smoker, maybe a pack or two a day depending on where I was and what I was doing. But my habit still kept me from doing things I wanted to do - like play pickup basketball with friends, exercise outdoors and other generally physical things that "normal" people do. Living in the south affords me certain opportunities I did not have in Chicago. I could take advantage of a few, but not all. Because I smoked and couldn't... breathe. When my wife gave birth to our son, I decided to give it a shot. Part for him, part for me. I was going to quit smoking. The rising costs of such habits also contributed to my decision. So off I went. It sucked. First, I tried cold turkey. It was an invariable disaster. I was truly horrible to be around. I'd try for a few days and go right back. Just to feel normal. So my wife wouldn't want to kill me. Then the guilt would set in. I failed. So I would go back to square one and try again. Then fail again. I'd give up. Smoke for a few more months. Then quit (and fail) again. Second, I went to the doctor. Apparently, the way I smoked a cigarette caused such unbearble withdrawal symptoms, I wasn't going to be able to do it myself. I never took "smoke breaks" like most do. I'd light the cigarette and drag it down in 3 or 4 puffs. Even once on a dare I smoked an entire cigarette in one drag. My stoner friends used to tell me how jealous they were of my lung capacity. Too bad I didn't see it that way. When I was in college, I worked in a record store 3 days a week. I had the place to myself. But, could only use the bathroom or sneak a smoke if the store was empty. So, that meant doing either task on a moments' notice and before another customer would appear. What I didn't know was that smoking a cigarette as quickly as I did would release so much dopamine in my brain, it was the equivalent to shooting heroine. I wasn't necessarily addicted to the nicotine, I was addicted to the dopamine dump. So that became task one. Slow down. Maybe it would get easier. I was always a pretty good athlete but never took it seriously. I would run with a family friend on the Illinois Prairie Path from time to time. I set the mile record at my elementary school and Junior High School. But as soon as I started smoking my freshman year of High School, running was replaced with coughing. The outdoors were replaced with my basement couch. When my wife was pregnant, I gained sympathy weight. Fifty pounds of it. I was a fat tub of goo. I decided to start running again. Maybe that would help motivate me to stick with a plan and follow through with quitting, finally. I joined the local gym. Bought fancy, obnoxious shoes. I bought a sweet Affliction shirt so everyone could see how seriously I was taking this s***. Fo realz, yo. I walked out onto the track at the Bartlett Park District overlooking the basketball courts full of kids running a mock full court press - and took the first few steps. I felt great. Then ten more steps. My face got hot. Then cold. My strides quickly turned to steps. I had made it 50 feet and couldn't go any further. This wasn't going to work. While my wife was visiting family in South Carolina, she decided to buy me one of those electronic cigarettes. How tragic things had become for me. An electronic cigarette. Ugh. She might as well have given me a fleshlight to go long with it. But much to my surprise, it was a passible alternative to a real cigarette but without the burn and horrible aftertaste. Maybe this would work. And it did. That day was my last smoking a cigarette. As cravings came and went, I'd puff on my stupid little fake smoke. Then run. As my endurance increased by the week, my need for nicotine went in the opposite direction. Before I thought to keep track of any progress, I was running 2 miles without gassing out. Then 3. And less fake smoking. Needless to say, I think back to the battles along the way - and I am glad I fought all of them. I have been cigarette-free for close to a year now and can thank my wife and the poorly-made chinese-import "eCig" she bought me. I'm not quite to where I want to be endurance-wise, just yet. But after all, I've gotten plenty of time.