Balta1701

QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 12:10 PM) come on, can't we just get a scoreless inning? IF WE GET A SCORELESS INNING, THE COMMUNISTS WIN!

So...How about those playoff bound Bulls?

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 12:04 PM) Massett's velocity is nowhere near advertised. I don't see someone as a "tick" below Jenks., It's not like Jenks has been throwing 99+ this season.

QUOTE(NUKE @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 11:25 AM) Simplistic view of things? Perhaps. But I don't hear people howl nearly as much about player salaries as I do about CEO salaries. Dude, you really don't pay much attention to sports media, do you? (Actually...the way today is going, you probably should avoid it for a day or so)

QUOTE(jphat007 @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 11:55 AM) Haha. WTF is going on. Exactly what has been going on for the last month. The pitching on this team is just not there. Hopefully it's just them not being ready...but none of them have been there.

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 11:51 AM) What's ESPN clocking Masset at? His fastball looks slower than I expected (shocking in our organization, I know). MLB Gameday gun has him at 94-95 on the fastball. Jose Contreras's ERA jumped to 72.

QUOTE(Frankensteiner @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 11:47 AM) To all the amatuer scouts out here, is Contreras sucking today something that's easily correctable or is it a preview of things to come? Is it his location or velocity that sucks? Seems that the comcast gun may be a few mph slow so it's difficult to be completely certain (gameday has him up around 95) but velocity does seem almost normal. Masset should be able to tell you whether the guns are working well. Anyway, welcome to the team Nick. Throw some freaking strikes.

And that's it for Jose. H. Christ. Cleveland batters are 8/11 this season with a walk.

Hey, Joe is hitting after Dye instead of AJ. This is a positive development!

QUOTE(longshot7 @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 11:35 AM) Right here. Actually, though, not a hater, just a disbeliever. Here's another one. And just because I don't think Erstad is the best CF option in the history of baseball doesn't mean I can't cheer for him to do well.

Thus far, 66% of Indians batters got hits, while 75% of White sox batters have gotten hits. I like our odds!

Well, Ozzie's decisions 1, Balta's decisions 0. I'll take it.

Wow, something to cheer about. Thanks AJ.

2 run triple. 5-0 in the first. And the Boo's deservedly come out. I thought spring training didn't carry over.

Maybe Buehrle should have started opening day again...

Balta no likey this.

Ouch. Horrid way to start the year.

(Thunder) (x10) It was cold In the middle of a railroad track (Thunder) [...of a lightning attack] I looked round And I knew there was no turning back (Thunder) My mind raced And I thought what could I do (Thunder) And I knew There was no help, no help from you (Thunder) Sound in the drums Beatin' in my heart The thunder of guns (it) Tore me apart You've been - thunderstruck [Rode | Went] down the highway Broke the limit, we hit the town Went through to Texas, yeah Texas And we had some fun We met some girls Some dancers who gave a good time Broke all the rules, played all the fools Yeah, yeah, they, they, they blew our minds I was shakin' at the knees Could I come again please? Yeah the ladies were too kind You've been - thunderstruck, thunderstruck Yeah yeah yeah, thunderstruck Yeah Oh, thunderstruck, yeah Now we're shaking at the knees Could I come again please? Thunderstruck, thunderstruck Yeah yeah yeah, thunderstruck Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah Said yeah, it's alright We're doing fine Yeah, it's alright We're doing fine (So fine) Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah, Tunderstruck, thunderstruck, thunderstruck Whoa baby, baby, thunderstruck You've been thunderstruck, thunderstruck Thunderstruck, thunderstruck, thunderstruck You've been thunderstruck

MORE PIE!!

QUOTE(fathom @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 10:01 AM) 80 pct chance of audio problems today? It's opening day, of course. Obvious signs that opening day is here: 1. Prior, Wood not on the Cubs. 2. MLB audio problems 3. MLB Gameday frozen

I think that the biggest problem in this whole matter is the fact that executive compensation seems to my eyes to have become completely divorced from either the economic situation or the performance of the company. It seems that almost every week, if not more often, there's another article out there about some company taking draconian steps to cut benefits or pay at the level where the middle-class used to sit. Last week's great example was Circuit City firing 3500 employees because they were too highly paid and allowing those same employees to re-apply for their former jobs at lower salaries. But meanwhile, the people at the top never, ever, ever seem to have to share in these hardships. At company after company, we see executives under who's management the situation of the company has become worse, not better. Employees at lower levels get hammered, stock values dip, the company outsources half its workforce, the company runs losses for a year or two, the economy dips into recession, etc., but what happens at the executive level? These same companies cut multi-million salaries, and tens-of-millions of value in options and severance packages regardless of performance. It is my belief that one of the key reasons why this has happened is that large corporations have these days moved into situations where they are just run by cronyism, rather than by people who earn the position. A CEO of one company or a well-connected individual gets put on the board of several companies, and he votes for all his friends to receive higher compensation packages so that a few years down the road, those same people will hire him as a CEO or vote him a higher salary package. Therefore, at the top levels in the corporate world, some significant amount of accountability seems to have been lost. My fixes? Well, naturally I don't have a perfect one, and half the people here are going to hate one of them...but first, I create a new tax bracket for people making something like $1-2 million a year, and raise the tax rate in that bracket. And beyond that, step back some of the other tax cuts that have been made that strongly favor the highest earning shareholder/option holding class. Make all stock options taxable and force them to be taxed at the time they are issued, instead of allowing execs to cash them in at the lowest prices to reduce the tax bill (as a ton of them did right after 911 when the market was hammered). Re-enstate the taxes on dividends. And come up with specific tax penalties for specific actions, such as reincorporating overseas to avoid U.S. tax laws. Beyond that, there is reform within the corporate system that might help. You'd hear screaming from executive boards, but I think the more democracy we force into these corporations, the better. Give shareholders more control over executive names and executive compensation packages. Allow shareholders to vote as to whether or not execs have earned their salary and compensation packages. Don't just have the voting forms be "Do you approve or disapprove of this whole group of people" as it currently often is now. Don't misunderstand me here...not all executives are a problem, and not all exec compensation is a bad thing. If a guy takes over as CEO of a company, triples the stock price, is a good corporate citizen, and does a fine job overall, there is nothing wrong with making him a rich man (to a point). But that is not the issue here, to my eyes. The issue is everyone else other than that guy, who are mucking up the system for the few actual good guys up there.

History textbooks in this country even have been centers of political debate for years. It all winds up being a matter of emphasis in the long run, because there's just not room for 20 volumes of history in a 1 year class. So you have trade-offs. How much time do you spend on the westward expansion, versus how much time do you spend on the slaughter of the Native Americans that accompanied it. How much time do you spend on WWII, and how much time do you spend talking about the segregated army and Japanese internment. And so on. Great example of this from a few years ago was the debate that exploded over the Smithsonian's attempt to create a display around the Enola Gay, the plane that bombed Hiroshima. The original display they created showed images of what the bomb did on the ground and the suffering the bomb caused and discussed some of the questions raised by historians about the necessity of using the bomb, etc. Then, a bunch of groups started chiming in saying this was outrageous, that the plane ended the war, that the bomb was used in response to Pearl, etc. They wanted a much more positive portrayal of what the plane did. In the end, any associated display along with the plane was scrapped and the plane was basically just put on display on its own. Because neither side wanted to give up its portrayal of the history involved.

QUOTE(Big Hurtin @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 09:05 AM) Who else do you think would be in the market for Iguchi? Could change with injuries, poor performing rookies, or guys stepping up this season: Toronto Oakland Atlanta (depending on Kelly Johnson's performance this season) St. Louis (how much do they like Adam Kennedy?) Colorado LA Dodgers, depending on what Jeff Kent does SF Giants (durham = getting old). San Diego (Marcus Giles is on a 1 year deal with an 08 option)

QUOTE(RME JICO @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 05:43 AM) Erstad is a lifetime .333 batter vs Sabathia, so it actually makes sense. Woot, my first post in the first gamethread of the year, and I get to fire away some stats. Yahtzee! No, Erstad is not a .333 batter vs. captain cheeseburger. According to ESPN, he's a .292 batter vs. CC. And...wait for it...wait for it...you know it's coming... He teams that non-terrible .292 batting average with a dominant....695 OPS!!! Schwing! Anyway, Go Sox, Jose, keep the ball out of the air, and let's do this thing.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Apr 2, 2007 -> 08:48 AM) This way if he does end up signing any of them it will be for more than they would have gotten with an in season contract extension, that's what tends to happen when you're bidding against other teams for the services of your former players. There's a reason why you get the exclusive negotiating window, I just wish KW would take advantage of it. So in other words, you're saying that there is no financial benefit for the team to not negotiating during the season.