Balta1701

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 07:44 AM) You missed out big time if you watched something else other than the tourney on Saturday. The other days weren't exactly things of beauty, but yea, Saturday there were some kickarse games being played.

QUOTE(Reddy @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 08:50 AM) BUT erstad hasnt been very productive for the last few years... why would he bounce back now? He's well-ground.

QUOTE(tealeafreaderii @ Mar 19, 2007 -> 08:47 AM) I'd like to see Haeger make it. I think Charlie has the inside track to wind up as the long man in the bullpen, given Aardsma's struggles.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 08:57 PM) http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines See ya Brian. Considering Ozzie said he'd only make the roster if he's a full-time starter, I hope Anderson is looking for an apartment in Charlotte. OBP's the last few years. Erstad .331 .313 .309 .346 .325 .279 Iguchi .342 .352 Just what we need. Fewer runners on base for Thome, Dye, and Konerko.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Mar 18, 2007 -> 08:28 AM) And Balta, do you think Brian Anderson is a better CF than a healthy Darin Erstad? Do you also think he'll perform better at the plate than a healthy Darin Erstad? Yes. I think Brian Anderson is a MUCH better defensive CF than even a healthy Darin Erstad. It's the same argument you make between Aaron Rowand and Anderson...all 3 of them presumably get quite good jumps on the ball (otherwise Erstad never would have won those GG's), but after that first step...Anderson is pretty much a track star, and the other guys don't have nearly the closing speed he has. And I haven't seen many people get jumps on a ball as good as Anderson, either. Offensively...excluding 2000 (6 years ago and Erstad's career year, numbers he's never come close to matching) and 2006 (erstad's worst year, last year, where he missed most of the year injured)...Darin Erstad has been an .277 average hitter and has averaged a .695 OPS or so. Post All-Star break last year...Brian Anderson hit .257 with a .694 OPS. I think that at the very worst, Anderson would put up numbers offensively equal to what Erstad would give you, and depending on his development, could and should be significantly better.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Mar 17, 2007 -> 10:59 PM) Guillen has been pretty good at preventing Pods from seeing LHP by using Pablo, but if its Pods/Erstad, Thome is going to have a ton of walks and a lot less RBI's Ozzie does an ok job of preventing Pods from seeing Left handed starting pitching using Pablo...(although there's still that whole defense thing)...but in the 7th innings and later of games, if you stick Pods, Erstad, and Thome anywhere within the first 4 guys hitting, you're simply asking for the opposition to stick in a LTOGY, and thus have Pods, Erstad, and Thome hitting against guys that they all hit .240 or worse against. In other words, it's basically just giving away 3 outs.

QUOTE(StatManDu @ Mar 17, 2007 -> 06:10 PM) To add on to my own entry , Frank really took a few steps up in respect in my book on this one. I only wish he could have been there or had been asked questions. I disagree. Even Schilling, the guy who was there as the "outsider" who wasn't under the Canseco-accused steroid cloud, came out sounding like he was schilling for Bud Selig. "Oh, we've got the problem totally under control. Yes, this new policy is great. It'll take care of the problem. Oh, that clause they inserted letting Mr. Selig decide to not suspend some people at his discretion doesn't really matter". He didn't come out like Palmeiro or Sosa...but I don't think even the "clean" player there looked good.

QUOTE(South Side Fireworks Man @ Mar 17, 2007 -> 07:27 PM) I'd probably take Masset over Floyd and let Floyd work things out starting in AAA. Masset has looked 100% better than Floyd this spring. And it's not like Ozzie uses his long men very often. Haeger, Masset, Thor, Logan, MMac, and Jenks is my Bullpen as it stands now.

It will be Pods, Erstad, Thome, Pierzynski, Konerko, Dye, Crede, Iguchi, Uribe. Why will it end up like this? It's the natural extension of our lineup last year. The only way to improve on our lineup is clearly to make the top of our order even more vulnerable to left handers.

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Mar 17, 2007 -> 07:37 PM) That, right there, gives us one of the worst defensive outfields that I can remember in years. Mercy! Well...at least the good news is we don't have Soriano in CF. Or Mackowiak. QUOTE(South Side Fireworks Man @ Mar 17, 2007 -> 07:53 PM) Looks like good news: Anderson will still start the season on the DL. Just watch. That way, we can be sure to get Terrero AB's at AAA.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Mar 17, 2007 -> 10:57 AM) Ozzie Guillen would do wonders for Alex Rodriguez career. Yup. He'd send him back to AAA so that he'd finally learn how to work hard. Uribe and Cintron are Grinders!

QUOTE(shoota @ Mar 17, 2007 -> 09:55 AM) Why do you believe grinder-type play has no value? I agree with you that the superior baseball player--Brian Anderson--should be starting over the inferior--Darrin Erstad--but Erstad does have value as a bench player. I don't think anyone here is going to say that having a guy like an Erstad, the "Grinder" who does go all out on every play and inspires other people to work harder, is a bad thing. I think what a lot of people here are getting sick of though is having the fact that a player is a "Grinder" treated like it's the only thing in the world that matters by the team and some of its fans...to the point of sacrificing what we feel is the good of the team in the process. That's what's pissing some of us off...this team seems poised to ignore some of its best talent to put a constantly injured, poor offensive guy in the OF because he's a grinder over a guy who's in his mid-20's, has shown improvement with the bat, has done everything we could hav easked of him this offseason, and who is stunningly good on defense. The logic being followed here suggests that the best OF we could possibly put together is Podsednik, Erstad, Rowand. They'll grind us to a world series! We'd clearly be better off if we just gave JD his outright release, because he's not a grinder.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Mar 16, 2007 -> 07:41 PM) I dont think RPI is the be all end all, just that you could argue that each big 10 seed could have gotten atleast 1 seed higher for the most part (except for Purdue). If the Big 10 had the "prestige" of the ACC I think that would have happened. Bottom line, 5 out of 6 in the first round for 1 conference strongly suggests that the conference was underrated to my eyes.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Mar 16, 2007 -> 08:03 PM) Except I ain't a "Republican". Closer than me! (does happy dance)

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Mar 16, 2007 -> 07:50 PM) If AG goes, Karl Rove will too. And then, even Cheney... and I'm almost serious. Honestly, in this case, I disagree. Rove and Cheney and even Bush 2 did absolutely nothing illegal. Even with everything that has leaked so far...no matter how bad it looks to remove people because they're investigating Republicans or because they're not "True Bushies" (to use an actual Rove quote I believe) the Administration did nothing that is outside the law. The only things that are actually "Wrong" in a legal sense that were done were the Republicans in Congress who tried to pressure the Attorneys into acting on more Dems and AG Gonzalez and any of his underlings who lied to Congress in Feb. I think there's really few options other than having the AG resign. Otherwise, the Dems have plenty right now to say he perjured himself before the Congress. But no one else has testified under oath, and even though it seems pretty bad on the surface, there is nothing illegal about having the President remove a U.S. attorney for any reason he wants, even insufficient partisanship. It suggests something Congress should fix (gave my suggestions a few posts ago), but no one above the AG seems to have broken the law. If anything was going to take down Rove or Cheney, I think their behavior in the Plame matter was more deserving of scorn than in this case. Or in anything they did dealing with Iraq of course.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Mar 16, 2007 -> 07:54 PM) Well, the software did something weird, but here's the split topic. Actually this is a pretty interesting topic. Woo-Hoo! One of the Republicans called one of my topics "Interesting"! Yayayayayayayayay!

Floyd's "Beard" looks so awful...

I just walked back to my computer...there was a 1 seed, 4, 5, and an 8 playing...and every game was within 2 points. That's something.

QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Mar 16, 2007 -> 07:19 PM) I started wondering about this connection when the New Century story broke last week. Scary. This is probably worthy of it's own non-Buster thread - it would make a good discussion. Well, for some reason they don't let me moderate in here...almost as if I'm too partisan ...So I'll leave it to someone else to break that one out if they want it.

QUOTE(South Side Fireworks Man @ Mar 16, 2007 -> 07:09 PM) I could live with that. Anderson could be starting every day in AAA and he's only a phone call away if the Sox need him. IMO, that's still a significant downgrade from the best lineup the Sox could put out, which is why it annoys the Hell out of me

5 to 1 someone starts a thread on this after I post it without seeing it here first... Gustavo Chacin is this year's Liriano...in that he picked up a Spring Training DUI.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Mar 16, 2007 -> 06:48 PM) My biggest fear by large is that the OF plan is Pods-Erstad-Dye with Mackowiak and Ozuna as the backups with Perez making the roster. Replace the currently-injured Perez with Terrero and I think you're looking at your opening day lineup.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Mar 16, 2007 -> 06:55 PM) By all accounts, it seems as though Anderson hasn't been lazy at all this year. How can anybody still use that argument? Because we need some excuse to put our best CF in AAA this year, and that's the only one left.

Adding the Illini to my "Dead to me" list.

F***ing Illini...screwing up a perfect round for the Big Ten. If USC wins, this will be the first year in like a decade without a 12>5.