ptatc

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 10:43 AM) Please don't call it Comiskey Park. I hated when they named it that to begin with. First, there already WAS a Comiskey Park, it was very different, and it drove me nuts they couldn't find a new name. Second, Comiskey was all sorts of bad things, he's not the guy I'd want to evoke anyway. If you want non-corporate, call it Veeck Park. But they'll likely find another sponsor, as US Cellular will undoubtedly want to bow out if they can. True, but without him there is no American League or Chicago White Sox organization. He did alot for the game of baseball both as an owner and a player.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 31, 2014 -> 10:05 AM) I have some experience with Sprint dealing with large contractual obligations. My guess from that experience is that Sprint has looked at every way possible to break that deal and can't. In my opinion, US Cellular Field will never be known as Sprint anything because Sprint doesn't want it. That Sprint can't wiggle out of this contract is a testament to what a skilled negotiator Chairman Reinsdorf is. I believe, Sprint is not part of the naming contract. Sprint bought the service in Chicago. US Cellular is still a viable company just not in the Chicago area. So while owning the naming rights to a stadium in an area you do not service is idiotic, that is what US Cellular does.

QUOTE (StRoostifer @ Mar 30, 2014 -> 04:40 PM) Come on Balta, you're better than this. This post is something I would expect from Marty. I clearly explained where I was coming from and why. However, it's not just about Beckham being out of chances. It's about Semien being ready. Even if he plays well early on, the coaching staff may decide there are thins he needs to work on before being ready for a full season in the MLB. I'd rather wait a little too long in making him the full time 2B than bring him up too early just because the current starter sucks.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 30, 2014 -> 12:54 AM) So he was born march 16th. Named him after my favorite sox talk poster. j4l. Jk Compromise, Jordan Thomas. Obviously easy to figure out which players. Congrats!!!! Jordan Danks and Tom Gordon?

QUOTE (chisoxfan310 @ Mar 29, 2014 -> 06:24 PM) Agree. The only downside to him being here is a thinner bench. As far as taking away time from young players, that isn't the case. This is the American League. The sox do not need to do alot of double-switches like the National League. One extra MI and OF is enough. PK will help the team by being their best hitter off the bench.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 11:09 PM) It's going to be really interesting to see if he can still maintain his bat speed and rhythm as a hitter playing only 2-3 times per week at age 38. I agree. He is a feel hitter. It may help at his age to play sparingly but he may also lose that touch.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 10:00 PM) Liddi would be the perfect Jeff Keppinger (with a bit more pop and the ability to play OF) if we didn't already have Keppinger. They probably prefer Garcia's defensive ability and baserunning skills. Yet another example of the effect of Paul Konerko on the roster possibilities. I think he is the best RH hitter the Sox have for a pinch hitter. He is alot better than any of the others.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 01:52 PM) I think that's backwards, at least for most of the major private schools. The Ivies, NW, Stanford, UofC, IIT, etc. are all not-for-profit. The for-profit privates are the DeVry, Phoenix, etc. of the world. Yeah, I went and looked up a few and most of the major private universities are not for profit, so that wouldn't factor into it.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 01:47 PM) Why would it change the NCAA's status? Other not-for-profit, tax exempt institutions have salaried employees (as does the NCAA). I don't think most of the private school are not-for profit. I know the public schools are. Could this be the difference?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 01:41 PM) That actually explains really easily why the NCAA forbids them from being able to sell their autographs or memorabilia, sign outside endorsement deals, etc. The NCAA, the conferences and all of the teams would lose their tax-exempt status over it. Which arguably a multi-billion dollar entertainment industry probably shouldn't be tax-exempt in the first place, but at least their position makes sense. Exactly. It shouldn't be allowed to work the way it does, but there is a reason they want it to. I'm not sure if this part of the reason that the ruling applies only to private schools at this point. Could a public tax-exempt entity be different than a private one?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 01:34 PM) I haven't really seen it discussed much, but does recognizing the players as compensated employees put the NCAA's and the individual programs' tax-exempt status at risk? It's based on the alleged amateurism of college sports. In the current system they are amateurs as they aren't on a formal payroll to play. However, you are right that this ruling will change that.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 12:58 PM) I think Clowney will demand double teams as well, making that line devastating. But again, glad it isn't my decision to make. I am a fan of Clowney We will only demand a double team if he shows he can perform against bigger, better and quicker players than he saw in college. He may but will he be motivated against players that will relentlessly beat on him.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 28, 2014 -> 10:35 AM) Ukrainian Navy cut down by Russian move into Crimea Without Crimea, the Ukraine really doesn't need much of a Navy. It's mostly land locked.

QUOTE (GreatScott82 @ Mar 27, 2014 -> 09:27 PM) I wouldn't go higher than 150M for 7 years for sure. If teams start bidding out of control than forget about it. I just don't think he will get as much money as people anticipate. I do think Hahn will be in the running for Max... at least until the bidding gets out of control. And if it does, than you were all right- he will not sign with us. I do think we will draft a starting pitcher with the 3rd overall pick- however, it may take 2 to 3 years for him to develop. With that said, other than Max- who will Hahn go after? The Sox would never give a pitcher that age that many years. It's not a good move regardless of how good they are. The money is fine but 7 years to a 30 year old pitcher? No way.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Mar 26, 2014 -> 01:41 PM) We don't care at all how much money that JR has, it's just we're looking past that and dealing in reality. None of us know how much the Sox make, how much they have saved, ownership's ability or willingness to expand budget, balh blah etc. The reality is that there is a limit to how much the team is going to spend on payroll, and we have some frame of reference that tells us that our team is willing and able to be in the upper quarter when they feel it's necessary. This is PLENTY of information for us to like or not like deals based on financials. You can wish JR would spend endlessly if you like, but it isn't going to happen. There IS a ceiling, it's a reasonable ceiling, and therefore we don't like s***ty deals that waste money because we know there's a limit. The morality of that is completely separate from the analysis and interpretation of the deals that happen to the team. Marty's kindergarten logic dictates that we should sign overpriced players because JR should have enough money to continue throwing money at problems anyway DESPITE the fact that there is no precedent for this type of behavior. But we know that he WON'T continue to throw money at problems anyway, and therefore we should NOT sign overpriced players. Marty deals in Martyland, the rest of us are dealing in reality. ^^^^ We all know that there is a limit. You can complain about the limit, throw rocks at it or disregard it in your plans, that will not change the fact that the White Sox will have it. You can make your plans for the team in your ideal world but if you are realistic you know about where the limit is and discuss team options within that limitation.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 02:02 PM) According to something I read a few minutes ago the confirmation came not due to discovery of debris but instead due to a strong satellite lock on the plane showing its position in that ocean. Did you see the way they determined where the plane was? Talk about serious math geeks. The signal didn't actual show where the plane was. The signal was just a mechanical transmission stated the engines were running fine. There was no positional data. The "experts" Used the doppler effect for how long it took the signals to reach a few different satellites and used the triangulation of time for each one to determine where it had to be. Talk about the reason why it took a week to determine where it was. All that being said, I still think the Malaysian military shot it by accident and is covering it's rear.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 10:02 PM) And popular opinion was wrong. (Fangraphs too.) I was against the move as I stated I don't like the "all or nothing" type of hitter. However, I also said that it was probably a needed move as the Sox primary weakness was a left handed power hitter and he was the best available. We see how it worked out. This is the same move you are currently advocating where you want the best available starter based on what you believe are is the team's greatest need. It's the same type of move and could easily turn out just as bad. With his track record no one thought Dunn would be this bad, even me, one of the few who were hesitant about the move. Any deal has the potential to go bad.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 04:14 PM) I want to point this out too - Smith has only 3, or really 2.5, years in the minors to get to what he did last year. Nieto took 6, or really more like 4.5 or 5 with missed time, to get to that level and put up slightly lesser numbers offensively and defensively. Challenging a player level-wise, like they are doing with Nieto in a big way, requires the ability to adapt quickly. Smith has shown better performance at doing that than Nieto has - so far. All of this may be true. However, you are over looking one major factor: The White Sox organization evaluations. If the Sox thought the two were equal they would have brought up Smith or at least not taken Nieto in the Rule V. There must be something the Sox saw that convinced them that at this point they do not have anyone as ready as Nieto is. It may just be the defensive abilities right now and that Smith may be the better overall player later. However, as of this point the Sox believe that Nieto has something that Smith doesn't. Again, I'm not saying I agree or disagree as I don't know the situation well but at least the Sox believe Nieto has something that the catchers in our organization currently do not.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 03:19 PM) Intangibles are key for any player, but catchers particularly. I've met and spoken with Kevan, but not Adrian. I think Kevan Smith has "it" as far as the personality goes - but I haven't seen him working with the pitchers. Would Kevan have the poise to come to the MLB and work through failure? Does he already have the defensive ability to be in the MLB? I don't know either one so those are serious questions. The Sox must be confident that Nieto can handle it at least defensively to be able to stick at the MLB level. They will shelter his hitting if flowers can play most of the time.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 25, 2014 -> 03:10 PM) Sure, we all know the reason he's there is primarily the Rule V thing. I said that in the article too. But that point has been beaten into submission, so I wanted to look at the two players as compared in a vacuum, just to make an illustration. Also yeah, hard for anyone not to do better than what was there last year. But Phegley may have beaten that this year too, and Gimenez probably would. My biggest concern though, is this reversed development curve idea the Sox are trying for with Nieto has a high likelihood of backfiring in terms of his development. If they think he's a real potential future starter, that is. I think there is a maturity factor as well. It make just be blowing smoke up the fans a$% but for this to work he has to be very poised. There is a personality besides the numbers that must be present. It sounds like the defense is there already. The Sox must be confident the flowers is healthy and Nieto will only play once a week or so.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 12:34 PM) The least serious I'm assuming. (correct me if I'm wrong ptatc) He should be well rested for the playoffs. Also I love Jeremy Morin. Kid really deserves to be up here. Yes, grade 1 is defined as pain with minimal laxity with the MCL (valgus) stress test.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 11:15 AM) How easy is it to predict a degenerative injury like that anyway? It depends on the injury. Certain ones like articular cartilage damage (konerko) it's almost certain degeneration will occur. The injury here is being reported as a stress fracture. These generally aren't degenerative.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:10 AM) I think most of us, me included, are expecting significantly more runs. The problem is, when you really look at it, as bad as it was last year, it really isn't a given. Hopefully, a couple guys get hot and it spreads, like the 1977 Hitmen. I wouldn't expect too much from a team with this many rookie/new/inexperienced hitters. They will probably score more, only because of how awful it was last year. But this is a re-tooling year and expectations should be treated as such.

QUOTE (Tex @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:07 AM) Finally a few articles pointing out how much crap humans dump in the oceans and how it makes searching difficult. Waterways have always been the first choice for waste. Back in the day it was factories dumping everything into rivers to wash it away. Now it's just progressed to the oceans because it is so difficult to find anything there.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 24, 2014 -> 10:04 AM) I am still really concerned about the White Sox offense this year. Considering the changes were Garcia for Rios, Eaton for De Aza and Abreu for Konerko, De Aza and Rios were 2 of the more productive hitters last season. The Sox are going to need a lot of guys to improve and Abreu is going to have a lot of pressure to put up big numbers. The schedule is tough early, when Abreu may need some adjustment time, especially if it's cold. I read the Sox scored 2 or less runs in over 50 home games last year. I agree they will have trouble scoring runs again. However, this is the "re-tooling" year. You have Eaton, Abreu, Garcia and Davidson (he will be up at some point) all getting thier first full time extended play in the MLB. Hopefully this is the learning year and they will hit it big next year.