TaylorStSox

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 10, 2011 -> 12:40 AM) I don't think people are giving enough credit to Shawn Marion. He's draped on LeBron like brothas be draped on fat white women (not me, obviously). I know AI2 plays LeBron pretty well. But Marion has done the best job of any individual defender on him I've seen this year. In the 4th quarter last night, Lebron was being guarded by a 38 year old who was giving up about 5 inches.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 23, 2011 -> 07:43 PM) So I see you haven't bothered to keep up with Viciedo this year at all. I know he's showing improved discipline. My point, which I didn't explain well, was that he's a free swinger because he can be. He has the ability to drive balls out of the zone. Thus the Vlad comparison. However, generally, that approach doesn't bode well for long term success. I never said he couldn't address this issue. I'm a huge fan and think he has tremendous upside. The comparison's to Frank I find strange. The only things they have in common are being big and black. He's much more like Vlad IMO.

I don't like Ramirez or Beckham to have specific jobs to do at the plate. Both guys are at their best when they can relax and focus on driving the ball. Both are more suited to bat towards the bottom of the order. Oh, and as far as Viciedo, his problem is that he's never seen a ball he thinks he can't hit. It's partially true, like a poor man's Vlad, but that approach doesn't bode well for long term success.

QUOTE (Marty34 @ May 7, 2011 -> 02:34 PM) Much of Ramirez' value was the production he gave at the salary he was being paid. After the extension, a lot of the luster has gone off him. GG caliber SS's who hit .270 with 15-20 HR's a year don't grow on trees in the post steroid era.

Ramirez probably has the most "fair" deal in terms of value to the team and compensation. He's a good hitter and excellent defensively and is compensated at market value. It's good for him and the Sox. He's the last player I'd complain about having a bad contract. Look at AJ. If he's making anything over league minimum to be awful on both sides of the ball, it should be a crime.

"Don't stop now boys" is the real culprit. Go to hell Hawkaroo!

My buddy and I were given tickets to Rios' walk off against the Mariners last year. We had a great time. Honestly, the only time I had more fun at a game was for Ventura's walk off GS off of Gossage back in the day. Anyway, we got there about 2 hours before the game, had a few drinks and ate. The food was good. The service wasn't great, but whatever. I think the face value of the tickets was $180 and it would have been well worth it. The seats are great. The experience is great. You eat like a king and drink like a fish. Plus, we got to say "Hi" to Griffey Jr. as we walked to our seats. Be prepared though. IIRC, they do make you pay for drinks after 7th down in the bar. Also, I know it's preference, but the majority of fans weren't tipping the servers. Don't be that guy.

He was a fantastic player and is a better human being. Dye's just a great guy. Let us not forget that he took less money to come here because he made a handshake agreement. He's a rare breed in today's sporting world. Thanks JD!

QUOTE (Tex @ Feb 24, 2011 -> 09:21 AM) Yet the Cubs draw great crowds year after year. How are they any different than KC or Baltimore? There is even another team in the Cubs' market that does field a challenger almost every year. Even since free agency got started decades ago people have been predicting this. Eventually, maybe it will happen. Obviously the Cubs are an anomaly. A Cubs game is more about entertainment than baseball. They play to a packed house daily, but baseball isn't really the draw. It's more like an outdoor party of day drinking where a baseball game breaks out. If the Fire played at Wrigley, soccer would be huge in the city.

The issue isn't the amount of money as it's relative. The issue is competitive balance. Eventually, MLB is going to lose major fan bases. There's no incentive for kids in over half of the markets to follow their team. People in Pittsburgh, KC, Baltimore, Cleveland etc. won't continue to follow teams that have no chance. That will hurt MLB overall.

QUOTE (ScottyDo @ Feb 19, 2011 -> 09:44 AM) I don't think you know what dog fighting really entails. Actually, I do. I've been an American Pit Bull Terrier owner for years. I've done a ton of research on the breed.

One could make the argument that in the south, as well as Vick's circle, dog fighting is an accepted practice, the same as hunting. Also, culling dogs that don't fit the breeders standard happens in all breeds, from sled dogs to show dogs to hound dogs to protection dogs to herding dogs. However, dog fighting is illegal. I wonder if MB would shoot a lion if given the chance, despite it's illegality?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 29, 2009 -> 06:31 AM) Bikes aren't allowed on lower wacker for that very reason. And I'd never ride Wabash or Wells if I can avoid it, because its just a really bad setup for bikes with the train pilons there. I just wanted to point out that riding on lower wacker is necassary for bike messengers to complete their jobs. Lower Wacker wasn't designed to be an express way. It gives dock access to the buildings on upper wacker. In fact, I believe the speed limit is 30mph. I use it everyday. Cops pass me on it every day without incident. Bikes are traffic. People need to deal with it. The popularity of cycling will only continue to grow. People need to adjust. It's really that simple.

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Nov 17, 2006 -> 12:43 AM) Son, I like the way you're put together. Extracting this philosophy of holding our organization to high standards, which I often cite, is why I EXPECT Williams to orchestrate a trade which heavily favors us this offseason. Such a scenario centers around our starting pitching staff. If he's unable to sell any of our five starting pitchers above what an impartial observal may deem equal value, something is wrong. Especially in this market of outrageous demands where so few candidates are worthy of their contracts. Why should I expect so little in return when I know if the situation were flipped, and we were the ones acquiring a veteran pitcher, Williams would overpay for a starting pitcher. The entire purpose of shopping all five starters to the most generous bid during peek demand is making sure we don't have to "give something to get something." /time for my prozac now!111 Are you writing a corporate mission statement? You're a fan for christ sakes. You're not part of the organization. The internet can be beyond weird.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Oct 16, 2006 -> 08:00 PM) Those two players are still better than anything Weber has signed. Augustine was also a better recruit, he was somewhere in the 60's. Regardless of that, Weber has exactly 2 4-stars that he signed on this team which is still less than Self. Plus those 2 4-stars he signed were 78 and 77 (and McCamey pending), which isn't that close to what Self did, and he's already been at Illinois just as long. Even ignoring stars, the best Weber has come up with so far is a 8-point per game SG and a 6.2 point 5.1 rebound PF. Not exactly stellar results there. Weber has a good record, but how well do you think he'd have done if Self didn't leave him Brown, Williams, and Augustine? That'd be a totally different team if he were following a coach that couldn't recruit. Plus Smith isn't really a factor of the system, he's an obvious miss by the recruiting community. He's obviously a good athlete and a great shooter, he'd do well in a lot of places. I dig what you're saying but recruits don't make you elite. Results make you elite. It wasn't like Smith was an unknown. He committed early to Bruce Weber. There's not enough sex appeal for the "guru's" to raise him in the rankings. Rankings are subjective bulls*** that, outside of the top 20, are rarely accurate. IMO, the Illini have the potential to be a S16, or better, team right now. That's all I care about. Fifteen years ago, none of this bulls*** would have been said. Computer nerds weren't obsessing about player rankings. They were watching games, and Bruce Weber wins the majority of them.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Oct 16, 2006 -> 07:34 PM) Frank Williams, Cook, and Brown were McDonald's All-Americans, and Deron Williams was a top-50 recruit. How is that not elite talent? Those are your 4 most important players from the last 5 years. Brock was a 3-star, that's not higher than the rest of them. McBride and Randle were by far the best recruits during Weber's tenure, and Self actually did most of the work with that class. Smith was a good find, but you're not going to get too many 3-stars that play like that early in their career. Pruitt is the only other Weber recruit that has shown anything so far. Here's the thing though, Williams and Cook were not Self's recruits. Mcbride and Randle were Self's recruits. Dee is the exception. Deron wasn't too far off from McCamey. Wasn't Brock a 4 star on Scout? I thought he was. Anyway, Smith is a good example of what a good coach can do when he recruits for his system ie. Bo Ryan. After all is said and done, ratings don't mean s***. Results mean everything. Bruce Weber has done more for Illini basketball than Kruger, Self or Henson ever did.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Oct 16, 2006 -> 06:50 PM) Well, so far Illinois has been winning with Weber's coaching but Self's recruits. His own signees have been much less impressive. Recruits that were subpar when measured by your "elite" standards. Let's not act like Self was the be all/end all of recruiting. Most of his recruits were 4 star guys. Weber's recruiting hasn't been as good, but it certainly isn't off by much. I respect Weber's ability to evaluate talent. He took a chance on Jamar Smith who has proved that some "gurus" are absolutely clueless. Semrau and Carlwell weren't chumps in the rankings and from all reports seem to be pretty good players with alot of upside. Frazier can run a team, plays great defense and is tough as nails. Ironically, the one rated higher than the rest (aside from Carlwell) has been a disappointment (Brock). Cole and Tisdale might not be big names, but they seem to fit Weber's system well-bigs that see the floor well, shoot and block shots. On a side note, recruting reminds me prospect evaluating. The guys that seem to really be into recruiting/prospect evaluating always seem to think that the minor league guy is better than his major league counterpart. I prefer winners over those guys that look sexy on a stat sheet.

QUOTE(fathom @ Oct 15, 2006 -> 09:56 PM) Kansas, with a bunch of freshman, was clearly a better team after December than Illinois was last season (a team with a lot of experience). Kansas returns everyone from that same team, and Illinois lost their two stable forces. I'm not a big fan of either team, but Illinois fans might want to think twice before trash talking Kansas fans about what's going to happen this year. Better in the second half? They play in a garbage conference and lost in the first round of the tourney. Try again. btw... this all started when the KU fan started antagonizing Illini fans at a time when we're obviously pissed. So the "trash talking" is somewhat justified.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Oct 15, 2006 -> 09:37 PM) Wow, you got me.....i have to quit now. This is the same person who called Kansas a boring team. Wait til you see Collins, Chalmers, Robinson, Rush and Wright run the break.....I don't think you watch must college bball. I never said they were boring. I said they're frustrating to watch because they have so much talent but suck so bad. Face it. All those burger boys and you're getting beat by mid majors in the only games that really count.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Oct 15, 2006 -> 09:31 PM) I see no one on the roster who scares me....all jokes aside, it will be a tough year, similiar to the Jayhawks last year, lots of young kids learning to gel. ESPN ranks them 31 preseason. Maybe that's because rankings don't win games. I doubt anybody on Bradley scared you either.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Oct 15, 2006 -> 09:22 PM) Illinois will have a tough time just making the tourney. Now, this is golden!!!

QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Oct 15, 2006 -> 09:06 PM) LOL. Hopefully your recruits can win you more than, oh, zero games in the tournament this year. I'll take actual wins over recruiting 'wins' any day of the week. End of thread!

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Oct 15, 2006 -> 07:23 PM) Brewer: 5 star prospect Horford: 4 star Richard: 4 star Noah: 4 star Hodge: 4 star Blue Chipper and 4 other really great players around him. Care to retract? Retract what? So they had 1 blue chipper and some 4 stars. Minus 1 player, that doesn't look much different than the Illini's roster right now, in a down year.

QUOTE(Jimbo @ Oct 15, 2006 -> 05:13 PM) You seem real intelligent with your knowledge of sports...haha. Yes, insult me. The facts speak for themselves. Weber wins basketball games. Recruiting may win some internet kudos for fans that act like it's an Xbox game, but there's more to winning than having the best talent i.e. Kansas. I'll take the McCamey's of the world over the Collins any day. Maybe you'd rather masturbate over your burger boys while being embarrassed in the first round. That's your problem.

Illinois basketball will survive without Eric Gordon. The 05 team had 0 five star recruits. I believe in Coach Weber's ability to win games. Recruiting doesn't win games. How many blue chippers were on LSU and Florida? Thomas was a 3 star for christ sakes. The internet has overblown recruiting in the worst way. Take KU, for example. That team's loaded with talent but, they're absolutely garbage. They're so bad, it's frustrating to watch.