Balta1701

QUOTE(Texsox @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 02:21 PM) I gotta call a foul. Just because the Dems did not have a majority doesn't mean they were powerless. Just like I do not want the GOP to just sit back sucking their thumbs and allowing the Dems to do whatever they please. Bring forth legislation, investigate, continue to work for the people who elected you. I will continue to expect my Senators to work on behalf of the great state of Texas, even though they are the minority party. If they can't get documents and access and have no subpoena power, there's very, very little they can do. Henry Waxman is probably the best in the business at turning FOIA requests into reports on how corrupt the one-party system was, but without the ability to compel the turning over of documents, there was only so much investigation that was possible. It's a shame on all sides that conditions were allowed to worsen to the point where they are now. But at least to my eyes, the buck stops at the people in charge, and those weren't on my side of the aisle. 6 months from now, when things like this get uncovered, then I'll think it's appropriate to blame the leadership for not doing their job and uncovering it, but I think this is a direct result of the fact that the previous Congress was adamantly opposed to doing any oversight on any issue that could hurt the President.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 02:18 PM) Hm. What other lefties are in camp? BOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooone. Captain Sisco.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 02:02 PM) If you look at Haeger's time with the big club last year, his 1 start was pretty awful, but as a reliever, he had very solid numbers (in limited time of course). And think for a second about having to face, say, Garland-Haeger-Thornton-Jenks. How messed up would you be? I don't know how it will play out, but I kind of like the idea of Haeger in the 'pen in that 6th spot. Unfortunately, given Ozzie's habit of wanting 2 lefties in the pen (and the fact that we have 3), and the fact taht this team really doesn't have room or need to carry 12 pitchers, the only way Charlie makes it is as the 5th starter I think. Bullpen (6 guys): Jenks Thor MMac Masset Aardsma 2nd lefty

QUOTE(Alpha Dog @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 09:14 PM) I would respect the bill more if it wasn't a knee-jerk reaction to an article. Especially since Obama is running already, anything he does will be looked at as an attempt to win votes, whether it is or not. Still, if there are problems at the military hospitals that can be fixed, they should be fixed. So, here's the question though; how many people actually knew this was a problem before the WaPo stories hit over the weekend? It seemed like the authors basically had to sneak into the buildings to get around the Walter Reed media control people, Congress for the last few years has clearly had no urge to hold hearings or oversight on this sort of thing, the Dems have had power barely a month and a half and can only do so much so fast...at least they're attempting to act now that someone pointed out the problem.

So, the way I figure it...if things work out as well as humanly possible, in 2008, the White Sox will have Broadway, Floyd, Haeger, and Danks available as pitchers who have come up from the minors and are ready to play in the big leagues somewhere. Sisco and Phillips may also fit somewhere on those lists. 1 of those 4 will be used this year barring injuries, so that means that there will be at least 3 more ready next season. Mark Buehrle will probably be gone. This means we will have need for 2 of the 4 at the start of 2008. However, that still leaves the White Sox with an awful lot of strength at starting pitcher if they choose to deal another guy before he hits Free Agency after 2008...and a great year from Vazquez would certainly increase that value.

QUOTE(Y2HH @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 11:31 AM) But to answer your question for real...I think Pods can return to that level because he's done it before. He had a career rookie campaign with the Brewers and fell off harshly the year after. When we originally signed him, he rebounded huge for the 05 Sox. Pods has it in him, we've all seen it...and he's also has shown the ability to bounce back. He helped bring us a World Series title. I think the least we can do is give him a chance to proove the naysayers wrong before pulling the plug. I think he's earned that. I'm willing to give him 1 last chance...but all things considered, this must be his last chance. He has shown the ability to bounce back from a bad season...but not necessarily the ability to overcome gradually increasing numbers of injuries with age. Given the other options on the table last offseason, Pods at $2.9 mil this season is not the worst idea in history. But if Podsednik continues to struggle this season, and can not give us the kind of play we saw in the first half of 05, then it is time to take the money we're saving by letting Buehrle and Dye go and make a full scale run at Ichiro.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 06:10 PM) Why is that? He's facing a felony. Because it sure seems like he has very little possible chance of being found not guilty, which will strongly motivate his side to plea bargain this out and make it go away.

This web page should give you 100% of the details you're wanting, including MLB Service time, options, bonii (Pablo gets $15,000 if he wins a silver slugger award? Huh?), money coming in from Philly/Az, etc. A few details might be wrong, but overall it looks accurate. http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/c...-white-sox.html

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 04:00 PM) I think that's a reference to the darkness of their hats. Personally, I want a Blue Jay jersey from the early 1990s. Personally, I want the jersey Joe Carter wore one day in 1994 that spelled "Torotno"

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 11:09 AM) If Edwards continues to show how little substance he actually has, and Clinton and Obama just keep pummeling each other... I like Richardson's chances. Well, on paper that's what you'd think, but I'm not really sure how the dynamics of this election are going to work out. Right now, Richardson is getting virtually no media attention; his campaign page I believe even ranks below his wikipedia page on Google. Right now, there is some thought that the media have become so totally willing to ignore substance in arguments that the only people who really will have a chance will be these "Rockstar" candidates, just because the media doesn't bother talking about anyone else.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 10:40 AM) Hopefully no one minds the visitor, but I was reading the samethings and just shaking my head. I know the two big kids on the block were destined to rumble, but I hate to see the fire back to the Clinton campaign go down the predictable road of their ethics. I'd really like to see the Obama camp stay above that, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. This is going to be a long, long 21 months, isn't it? Unless one of these 3-4 campaigns actually makes a concerted, 100% effort to stay above the fray...ungodly long. We barely knew who the candidates were at this point in the 04 race, in the 08 race now it seems like we're 6 months or more ahead of the pace last time through. And on top of that, eventually we're going to be dealing with this level of sniping from both sides, since for once there is no clear standard bearer for either party. Although, the Republicans have something of a niceity in that they can spend some of their time defending Mr. Bush from his disasters instead of attacking each other, but that will only last so long.

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Feb 21, 2007 -> 09:38 AM) Rickman was the main terrorist in Die Hard. And for you Harry Potter fans, He's also Professor Snape in those movies. (When the Fiancee forces me to watch them, usually I'm casually thinking "yippie kai-yay, mother f***er")

The Clinton and Obama campaigns are getting into a bit of a scuffle over some remarks by former Clinton funder and current Obama backer David Geffen which were printed in the NYT. While it's not all that surprising to see campaigns blasting each other, it's pretty darn surprising to see them doing so when we're still 2 baseball seasons from the next election. And it's also worth noting that this is exactly what Edwards would like to see; the Obama and Clinton campaigns hammering each other for months while he sits on the sidelines...that's exactly the strategy Kerry used to win Iowa in 04 (let Gephardt, Lieberman, and Dean batter each other for months with attack ads, have some of your friends fund a 527 or two going after Dean on top of that, and come out looking moderately clean compared to those guys)

There are quite a few websites out there which offer advice on exactly what the differences are between particular models and varieties of HDTv's, including comparisons between sizes, varieties, etc. One I've found useful is HDguru.com

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 20, 2007 -> 03:23 PM) "Loveable losers no more." = the slogan of what, the last 3, 4 Cub managers now?

QUOTE(KevHead0881 @ Feb 20, 2007 -> 01:33 PM) Hard to tell, but Joe looks bigger...at least in this photo. I think Joe has been our best example the last few years of a guy who builds a ton of muscle in the offseason then gradually loses it as he can't get weight room time during the season. All I'm worried about with Joe though is his back. He's finally learned how to hit...and I feel pretty confident he'll perform very well...if he's not in searing pain.

They will never get a cent. If the last decade hasn't convinced you of that, nothing will.

QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Feb 20, 2007 -> 04:31 PM) If you're buying, I'm in! /Britney Shears career I have a free ice cream coupon i've been saving for an appropriate occasion.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Feb 20, 2007 -> 02:51 PM) Keith Law and Olney both mentioned Haeger as the front runner for the 5th starter this year. No one, and I mean no pitcher in the organization right now other than Charlie Haeger and Gavin Floyd should see action in the #5 spot before July barring injuries.

Link.

QUOTE(DrunkBomber @ Feb 15, 2007 -> 03:31 PM) At what point do you you lie about your injury. If Im Wood I say I got attacked by a bear or something. When your injury occurs when you were doing something that is banned by your contract. When that happens, you make up some silly story that no one will ever question, like you fell down some stairs while carrying groceries, or hurt yourself in a hot tub, something like that.

We got the first glimpse of the booking lineup for Al Gore's "Turn fossil fuels into volume!" anti-global-warming concert this July. Link. Supposedly will get to 100 before the lineup is filled out.

Since we're still talking McCarthy, I'll bring up the point I brought up during the season repeatedly; McCarthy was pretty good out of the bullpen with the notable exception of the couple months when Ozzie gave him very inconsistent work. He had about 8-10 days off right after he made that start in May, then came out and got shelled afterwards. Had a good april, a good june, a good july, had another 8 day or so off stretch in August, and then was shelled for a good part of August and September. Every time he sat on the bench for a while, when he came back out, everything he threw was up in the zone and people were launching it; when he didn't get work, he couldn't drive the change and curve into the ground like he usually wants to.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 15, 2007 -> 02:48 PM) sucks for Boston. You'd think working 70 innings as opposed to 200 would be easier on the arm. Guess I'm not a doctor. Sometimes it's not a question of innings, sometimes its a question of days. For some guys, its easier to work in short spurts but work every other day, for some guys its easier to work in long spurts but do so every 5th or 6th day. Think about John Smoltz...when he first had his surgery, his doctors told him to go to the bullpen for 2 years or so, then after that, they told him it'd be better again if he went back to starting.