TaylorStSox

I've been an American Pit Bull Terrier owner for years. As MexSoxFan said, most people don't even know what a Pit Bull really is. They aren't a large breed. They usually range between 20-60 lbs. Most people confuse the dogs with American Bullies and they all get lumped under the "pit bull" umbrella. People need to understand there is a difference between dog aggression and human aggression. American Pit Bull Terriers are pre-disposed to dog aggression. That doesn't mean every ABPT wants to kill other dogs, but they were specifically bred for 200 years for dog on dog combat. As a responsible pit bull owner, I understand this trait and don't set my dogs up to fail by allowing them to "play" with other dogs. Pit bulls don't need to doggie friends. They crave human interaction. Collies want to herd. Labs want to swim. Dobies want to guard. Pit bulls want to fight. The number one problem for pit bull advocates is the "fur mommies" who believe "it's all how you raise them." This sets the dog up for failure. Somebody gets a pit bull. It's the sweetest dog ever, because it loves humans. They allow it to play with their other dog. They leave the house and come home to a mess. Or, they take it to the dog park and they have a mess. Again, not every pit bull is dog aggressive. However, one should treat their dog as if it is, because 200 years of selective breeding is a powerful thing. Human aggression is not/has never/will never be a desirable trait in American Pit Bull Terriers. In the past, dogs that displayed this trait were culled. It only makes sense. When dog fighting was legal, 2 "handlers" stood in the pit with the dog. Nobody in their right mind is going to stand in a ring with 2 dogs that want to kill them. Human aggression is rare in APBT's. The problem is that other breeds are lumped under the umbrella. Dogo's and Presa's were bred for protection. They are naturally disposed to some level of human aggression. It's a desirable trait. People don't know the difference and assume they're "pit bulls." Another major issue is the American Bully. American Bullies have fallen victim to poor breeding practices. People breed unsound dogs because they make them money. The dog looks good, is bat s*** crazy and is a cash cow. So, you have all these mutts running around, confused with pit bulls that have major issues. These dogs are the "blue dogs." Blue is an extremely rare color in American Pit Bull Terriers. I've been around these dogs for years and have seen only a few. Blue is the most desirable color in American Bullies. Why would I want a dog that I know is hard to manage, that I have to be aware of the likelihood that it may display dog aggression? They're absolutely terrific with people. They're loving, loyal, healthy and versatile. They excel in all sports. They're extremely smart. They love children. Also, MB's dog is an American Straffordshire Terrier. This is the "show" version of the American Pitbull Terrier. They're different dogs with different temperments. AST's are also tremendous dogs that are great with people. I wish there weren't so many people that owned American Pit Bull Terriers. I wish more people understood the dog's history and temperment. I wish the "it's how you raise them" myth wasn't so popular. BSL is a joke. I might be in favor of licensing though. I'd hate it, but if it produced better and fewer owners of the wonderful breed, I'd be in favor. Pit Bull chat. com is a good resource is anybody would like to learn more about the breed.

The problem with Rockstar games is that the actual gameplay is clunky. The characters just don't move with fluidity. I've been playing Borderlands 2. I turned it on yesterday, and the disk had laser burn. My GF must have bumped the XBOX. Anyway, I threw in Red Dead to play it again, and it was laughably bad. I'm pretty far into Borderlands 2, I think. I do all side missions before the story missions and I'm a LVL 32 Zero right now. I'll probably just pick up another copy at Game Stop, power through the story mode and return it within the week. Then, it's either Dishonored or ACIII. Is ACIII different than the others? I picked up Revelations at launch, played about 5 hours and returned it. I just stopped caring about the story. 4 games of basically the same thing was too much for me. Is it even worth it for me to pick up 3?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Nov 16, 2012 -> 01:23 PM) What other options are there? It is November.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Nov 16, 2012 -> 12:37 PM) This kind of insight from Flowers, along with what I have heard that the pitching staff on his pitch calling and the organization on his overall catching skills have been saying is why I believe Flowers is ready for the full time job behind the plate. I'll take what offense I can get from him if he can handle that staff and infield leadership position a catcher needs. Peavy preferring Flowers behind the plate is all the endorsement I need.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 16, 2012 -> 11:46 AM) Overall 2012 OPS+ was 99, but it was 106 after the trade so you can't discount the impact of the trade/injury on his 2012 season. He figures to be an above average player and there certainly aren't better FA options. Only if you believe he can stay healthy, which I don't. Getting old, fat and injury prone is not a good combo.

Flowers" quote is interesting. Maybe it's just me, and I'm not sure if there are stats to back this up, but Tyler seems a lot more creative in his pitch calling. He seems to call a lot more breaking balls in hitter's counts and 3/2 counts. He also seems to call for more balls in the dirt. Are there stats to back this up?

I'm starting to think Breaking Bad should have ended after season 4.

QUOTE (MAX @ Nov 11, 2012 -> 04:03 PM) You aren't hiring him to watch your kids. He hit baseball. LOL. This is true.

Old, alcoholic, drug addict, Jesus freak. Sign me up!

I'd be open to moving Floyd and Konerko for a CF and another prospect. Moving ADA to LF, Dunn and Viciedo 1st/DH. You can still win with that team and you capitalize on Floyd and PK's value while getting younger.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Nov 9, 2012 -> 12:00 PM) All of this "let's use Sanchez" talk is crazy to me. If you people are right then that means he's a potential HoFer given his age. I'll admit it is exciting seeing his contact rates and walk rates, but do we all need to chill the heck out? Are we really supposed to expect him to push Beckham this year? 3B seems ridiculous considering his size and approach at the plate. Offensively, Beckham is a really bad fit for this team. I'd trade his power for patience and contact.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Nov 9, 2012 -> 10:34 AM) Who cares if he's not 23, he's right in the prime of his career right now and he's cost controlled for a while. He's a very solid player and it's not going to be easy to replace him at a relatively low cost. It makes 0 sense to trade him unless you're getting a good haul back in return. That's not a whole lot different than what I said. You don't move him unless you have an impact player to replace him.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 9, 2012 -> 09:44 AM) Why we're not also shopping Thornton, Crain or both is beyond me. With the emergence of Veal...you just can't have Matt being paid like a quasi-closer and still afford guys like Youkilis, Peavy and AJ at the same time on the roster. Thornton can go, and should. I'd hold on to Crain. He's way better than given credit and we need some veteran presence in the pen.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Nov 9, 2012 -> 09:05 AM) Wait... is this post about De Aza? Seriously? He's 28, just entering his peak years... he's got a number of Arb years left... he played a good (not great) CF, which is something hard to find, especially for the Sox... he put up a .349 OBP despite having some back issues near the end of the season... he's got speed... and he showed a little power, almost reaching double digits in HR. What else do you want from your CF? The injuries are a concern, I don't disagree there. Other than that, I don't see anything that makes sense in your post. Seriously? He's average to below average in CF. He's 28. That's not young. I'm not sure what's wrong with any of those statements. I was responding to a post stating, "I don't know why you'd move De Aza." I like De Aza, but I'd move him in a second if we had an impact player to replace him.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Nov 9, 2012 -> 07:28 AM) Why trade De Aza? It isn't like he is making a a lot of money. Tekotte is a long shot at best to be on the roster. He couldn't stick with the Padres. Considering him as a leadoff possibility for the White Sox isn't realistic. If you notice, except for Floyd, none of the guys the Sox supposedly have thrown out there make much money. I don't know why trading guys who make no money opens the door for guys making more money than anyone in franchise history. He's not a very good fielder, he's fragile and he's not young. Obviously you don't move him without a replacement, but he's not very good either, to be honest.

QUOTE (rowand's rowdies @ Nov 5, 2012 -> 07:34 PM) I always thought it would be cool if you could use your ticket to enter a raffle for memorabilia or future tickets. Each game you go to enters you into a raffle where some memorabilia and tickets or suites are raffled off. What if you went to a game, used your ticket to enter a raffle with these prizes being raffled off for each game: - 30 Autographed Balls (one by each white sox player and coach there that game) - Cost - $240 ($8/ball) - 5 Autugraphed Bats used in batting practice - Cost - $250 ($50/bat) - 10 4 Packs of tickets to be used for future weekday games - Cost - $0 - 1 Suite for a weekday game (no food/drink) - Cost - $0 I think that would be an incentive for me to go to a game if I was wavering. What do you guys think? I don't think that would get me to the park. I do think it's a great idea to recruit a ton of kids to be future Sox fans.

Just when I write Boardwalk Empire off, they come with the strongest episode in a long, long time.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Nov 4, 2012 -> 09:34 PM) If we are still listing shows we watch, my list is quite short compared to most on here. Fringe Big Bang Theory Walking Dead Bones South Park Californication Fringe is ending in January so that may open up a slot for me to give something new a shot. I was about to bail on Walking Dead, but it's been pretty good so far this season. Meanwhile, Bones is way downhill from its first few seasons so I may bail on that eventually. I've been meaning to watch The Wire (I've barely started it) and thinking about giving Borgias a shot. The Walking Dead Boardwalk Empire Game of Thrones Dexter Breaking Bad I don't know why I watch Boardwalk Empire. It's like watching paint dry and I really don't care about the characters. Dexter jumped the shark, but I'll see it through. After I finish catching up on Breaking Bad, I'm going to start Homeland.

Almost caught up with Breaking Bad. Season 4 might be the some of the best television ever made. It's just a great blend of tension and humor. Mike is also one the best tv characters I've seen. The guy's hilarious, despite being a stone cold killer.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 1, 2012 -> 10:48 AM) If getting "one big out" is your number one criteria in a reliever, you'd better find a way to have a 10-man bullpen. You need guys who can pitch entire innings and get both lefties and righties out. Veal and Thornton aren't even comparable as pitchers. I'd rather have a lefty who can be relied on to get the big out, especially if we need a K or gb. We already have 2 set up men in Crain and Jones. If Veal does his job, we don't really need Thornton.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Nov 1, 2012 -> 06:59 AM) I know Matt Thornton makes a lot for a non-closer, but he's not easily replaceable. His ERA+ the last five seasons: 172, 172, 161, 131, 126. Also, his numbers against righty batters aren't much worse than against lefty batters, so he's that rare lefty reliever who isn't just a LOOGY. Someone said replace Thornton with Veal and that's just silly. Veal will never be anywhere near as valuable as Thornton. I'm not saying I wouldn't part with him for the right return, but I'm certainly going to be looking to unload him just to ditch his salary. Of the "big" salaries, the first two I'm looking to unload are Rios and Floyd. Rios because corner OF is one of the easier holes to fill via trade/free agency, and Floyd because there are internal options. Thornton's overall numbers always look good, but he's one of the worst candidates when you need a big out. He's a 1 pitch pitcher with a "show me" slider. Veal, on the other hand, is just nasty. I'd be confident replacing a lot of Thornton's workload with Veal.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Oct 31, 2012 -> 03:28 PM) Youkilis might not have liked it but he sure performed well. Did he? Without looking it up, it seemed like he had a couple good weeks, then tailed off sharply. Not to mention he's pretty awful defensively. He can work a count and hit some homers. I'd rather have a guy who puts the ball in play more and can really pick it though.

This is pretty shocking to me. I just didn't see him taking less money. Look's like Peavy is a man of his word. I wouldn't have made the deal. I think it's a little much for Peavy, but I don't give a s***. I don't pay the bills. I'm happy to have him. Obviously, we're not rebuilding. IMO, this says a lot about whether we're bringing AJ back or not. Please no Youk. The guy's just broken down. If anything, get a 3rd baseman who can pick it and be versatile offensively. I don't care if he doesn't hit homers as long as he's a good hitter that can run the bases. A lefty would be nice.

Does that mean there's still hope for Beckham to become mediocre?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 30, 2012 -> 02:09 PM) It is definitely a question mark, as all young players like him are. No such thing as a sure-fire prospect. But... he hasn't even had a chance to BE consistent in the majors yet, because he hasn't played regularly. His minor league track record shows a guy who hit .261/.390/.500 in AAA in 2011, his last year in the minors, for an .890 OPS. And even this season, with very limited playing time, he put up a .708 OPS that is only a smidge below what AJ typically gives you. I just think, assuming the team has some money restrictions, the $7M or so difference isn't worth the zero to 100 OPS points (probably on the lower end of that range, and with poorer defense) that AJ gives you, and could be better-used at 3B or on starting pitching. I completely agree. I'm also of the opinion that Flowers plays much better defense, calls a better game and may improve team chemistry. For me it's a no brainer. AJ is a more versatile hitter and obviously left handed, but that doesn't outweigh the advantages Flowers has the potential to provide.