DBAHO

Glad to hear they cut Samsonov loose. They might as well give another young kid such as Skille a chance to establish himself. Yeah we want to make the playoffs, but this is a young team that should still be building for the future.

Well after tonight, I think it shows that New England can certainly be beaten. Defensively, they certainly have some issues they need to address.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 28, 2007 -> 12:49 PM) The White Sox won 90 games in the AL Central in 2006 based almost solely on a big 3 of Thome, Konerko, and Dye. Podsednik and Iguchi in front of them were bad and average in that order and their pitching staff was an abject disaster. Obviously Dye had a career year, and Crede also, so that certainly helped. That to me shows how dissappointing 2006 was. If we had a decent pitching staff that season, we could have won another world series.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Dec 28, 2007 -> 12:13 PM) Based on the last 2 years, I wouldn't rule anything out in the NL Central. If nothing else, their lineup has at its heart Hunter Pence, Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee, and Vitamin B12 Tejada. In the NL Central, that's arguably as potent as any set of 4 guys. And they still have a legitimate ace on the mound in Oswalt, and have seemingly on paper improved their Closer's spot. They've certainly made some questionable moves and wasted some money in the process, but as far as I can tell, the Cubs made a bunch of deals I thought were pretty silly last year, tossed around a lot of money, and wound up the beneficiary of everyone else in that division sucking. I wouldn't count anyone out of that division except Pittsburgh right now. In 2008 I think they'll be a little improved from 2007 (which will be pretty easy), but they haven't exactly set themselves up for long - term success. Tejada has been average the past couple of seasons (in 2007 certainly). Who knows how much he has left. Defensively, he's certainly a drop-off from Everitt, and that will hurt the pitching staff which only really has Oswalt as an ace and not all that much behind him. As Tony said, Bourne and Matsui will probably be below league average production for their spots. Matsui was a terrible signing (numbers away from Colorado were terrible), while Bourne will be having his 1st full season as a starter. Valverde can be very up and down and wild also (although based on 2007, he's an upgrade). That core of 3-4-5-6 hitters is nice, but that pitching really worries me. They do have some decent young hitters in Pence and Towles though.

I think Sharp was Tallon's 1st acquisition as a GM as well wasn't it? Something like Matt Ellison + a 3rd rounder IIRC.

QUOTE(Felix @ Dec 28, 2007 -> 12:01 PM) Ed Wade, as dumb as we all remember. Yep. I don't know if there's a team in a worse position than Houston right now. Both in the short - term and majorly in the long - term. They now have pretty much no farm system. Wade has traded away their best reliever (although he acquired Valverde, giving up more prospects in the process), and made some very weird signings (and overpaid as well). He was hired to do a quick fix, but unless Clemens comes back to join that rotation, I don't know if they can win more than 75 games next season. That team is going to be mediocre for quite a while yet.

Just terrible. It's just such a dangerous place over there right now, and I think something like this is really going to drag the focus away from Iraq a bit over there. And NATO's already having enough problems in Azerbaijan with the Taliban starting to regroup a bit over there.

And I think after the World Series win, even if we have another 70 win season or 2, our attendances will still be decent, better than they were before 2005. But obviously the best way to put fans in seats is to win. Just look at the Blackhawks for example (although there are other factors in play too).

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Dec 28, 2007 -> 12:16 AM) One of the best (disappearing) posters on this site. Happy B-day Qwerty Indeed. But Happy Birthday qwerty!!!

Congrats Ribbie!!

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Dec 27, 2007 -> 03:53 PM) Vandermer? Ha. Funny that Eaves is on the IR now as well with a concussion. Just a shame with all of these injuries, but we've fought through them before. Good win tonight as well. Offensively things clicked pretty well.

Seems as if we're starting to get back into a little bit of form, and at a pretty good time as well. Hopefully I didn't jinx them by saying that.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 27, 2007 -> 01:50 AM) Even though I tend to be a little more positive about KW than most... I do have to agree that the awful state of the farm system is his fault (almost entirely), and so was the LF and CF situation heading into 2007. Yeah this would be my main fault of him as a GM also, although at least now I think he's taken steps to correct this with new scouts, starting to sign players out of Latin America etc.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Dec 25, 2007 -> 05:52 AM) Thanks for the encouragement and advice, guys. This isn't exactly a topic I'd run by my friends, :lol I gave her the gift earlier today with a card. She talked to me about half an hour ago and sounded very appreciative. I was nervous as hell leading up to this moment, because -- function wise -- all she can really do with a damn ornament is hang it up on a tree or perhaps a wall. This is exactly why shopping for women is so difficult -- they attach emotional status to presents. Atleast more often than men. A simple IPOD (another option of mine) probably would have been fine, but it's not original; or personal. Almost a lazy Christmas present for a girlfriend. I have to admit, I did chuckle a bit when I read that part above. It shows how much pressure you can be put under at XMas, with situations such as the one above. But getting something thoughtful and nice like that sounded like a good idea, and it sounds like it worked out. Did she get you a "Where's my Liriano" present?

QUOTE(Mr. Showtime @ Dec 26, 2007 -> 04:03 AM) Santa brought me a new GF, just 1 week early though! You want me to help ya out, Gager? Both with the show and with the ladies... How'd Santa hook ya up so early this year?

I wish I had gotten phone insurance. I lost mine last Friday night (stolen or fell out when I running out of a rainstorm, I was probably too drunk to remember). Now I've got to get a new one.

They could always move Thabo into the lineup as well. Make him the PG e.g handling the ball, but make him defend against SG's, taking the pressure of Hinrich a bit. And Navarro could be quite the 6th man as well for the Bulls. I think it makes a lot of sense for them, and having a good scoring big who can draw double's, should make it easier for the likes of Deng and Hinrich to penetrate or shoot open jumpers.

1 year for 1M I thought I heard. For that price, you figure we would of had to be interested, but obviously he wanted to go home and pitch in a park that would increase his value.

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Dec 25, 2007 -> 07:13 PM) I would think a trade will come, question is, who's it for? Gasol would be my guess still. He doesn't fit in Memphis's up-tempo system, and isn't giving 100% right now playing for a losing team. A change of scenery would probably benefit him. Gasol + Navarro for Gordon, Thomas and Nocioni (and maybe work some draft picks in there?)

Is it possible that other teams in the East got better as well, while the Bulls went down? Obviously Gordon, Hinrich, Deng and Wallace aren't playing on the same level as last season. And you've got teams such as Orlando (well not lately, Jameer Nelson for Hinrich please), Atlanta, Charlotte, Boston who have been playing better than they did last season.

Mike Fratello maybe? Skiles has a history of his players being worn out from his demanding methods so I could see this coming. Paxson is to blame too obviously as well though.

My total bill would have been close to that as well. That's the thing when you're in a group of 5 or 6 or so, and you're up buying rounds of Jaeger Bombs and pints etc. It really does just add up by the end of the night.

I went downtown last night, and ended up losing my mobile. I think I would have rathered your night Tony.

I think there's a decent chance that Ramirez COULD end up having more power than Infante, if he reaches the majors, just because he'll be hitting in a good power ballpark for hitters, compared to Infante spending the majority of his time at Comerica. But I mean they're only projections that are being given out here. I don't think anyone would have projected Josh Fields to have a .480 SLG % after his 100 games this season. Yuniesky Betnacourt might be a decent comparison maybe for Ramirez. Here's what he's done in the majors so far; 05 - .256/.296/.370 06 - .289/.310/.403 07 - .289/.308/.418 So he's been steadily improving a little season by season.