Balta1701

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Feb 23, 2007 -> 10:46 AM) Daschle endorses Obama Obama = screwed. On a serious note...how much do people think endorsements by other political figures count these days? I remember back in 03 there was a big hoopla when Gore endorsed Dean, and people who are big-name-local folks seem to be able to have big impacts in their districts, but there don't seem to be many national figures who could make a big splash with an endorsement. Dubya clearly could I'd figure, but beyond that, what's left? Ohhh boy, the former Senate Minority leader who couldn't even hold his own seat, let alone bring about a majority, endorsed Obama. I just don't see why this helps him.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Feb 23, 2007 -> 09:24 AM) Exactly. We have to suspend freedom of speech when we are fighting a war. Never criticize the government. Damn hippy commies The White Sox would have won the world series last year if the media would just have shut up and not reported their losses. CLAP LOUDER!!!

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 23, 2007 -> 08:52 AM) Apparently we did. We're figuring out that this thing is a pointless quagmire a lot faster than we did in Vietnam. My question to you is, what do you see in this war that has even the slightest indication that it can end well? There is no positive end game any longer. Unless the administration is willing to scale back and go the Kurdistan route, I see no path that leads to anything positive. Do you? Are you really sure we're figuring that out? We went heavy into Vietnam in 1965 with major combat troops, and by 1968, Nixon was already campaigning on "Peace with Honor". It took nearly 10 years to extricate ourselves from Johnson's mess, but within about 3 years of the beginning of what I would label as "Major U.S. combat operations", Johnson had already backed out, Nixon was pretending to be a peace candidate to get elected, and the American people were wanting an end. Yet in this case, we still have after 4 years, a significant fraction of the people running the country pretending that just by saying our goal is "victory" somehow that will magically become an option, and large chunks of the media waiting to pounce on the opposition as "Anti-troops" if they actually propose something that would scale back the conflict. If anything, we're faster by about 1 year, but that's it; it took until about 1970 for the majority of the American people to admit that sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake, we got there in the Iraq debacle in about 4 years.

Mini-Santo.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 23, 2007 -> 01:02 AM) Owens has about a 1% chance of making the team out of Spring Training. Even with good numbers, he's about the 29th or 30th man. As of right now, Eduardo Perez is 26, Sweeney's 27, Fields 28, and then Owens falls in somewhere between 29 and 30. That's great to hear about Brian also. A shorter swing (which is what he's trying to accomplish) will initially result in less power, but better contact rates and a quicker bat. That's nothing but good news, and I'd give him about an 80% chance at starting the year as the Sox CFer. I think there's 1 thing that could help Owens actually make the team: Scott Podsednik's balls. If Scott has to start the season off on the DL, that leaves Ozzie with nothing other than Ozuna that could provide him with speed at all, especially at the top of the order. Owens could well be a prime candidate to break camp with the team if Podsednik can't.

Kenny Williams will not sign a pitcher to a 6+ year, $125 million + deal. Kenny Williams is simply not that stupid. And I am thankful for that quite often.

QUOTE(TLAK @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 06:06 PM) You are crazy. He was a dog in Montreal for Felipe Alou, Jeff Torborg and Frank Robinson. He was a dog in New York for Joe Torre. He was a dog in Arizona for Bob Melvin and he was a dog last year for Ozzie Guillen -despite the divine intervention of Don Cooper. None of these fine baseball men could turn him around. Life time 100-105, 11-12 with the White Sox at a No 1 starter salary. He is a 12-1/2 million dollar Jason Grilli. Thanks to the work of a few teams such as Chicago N, K.C., etc., Javier Vazquez is no longer getting #1 starter salary. Maybe #3.

Anderson looks like he popped the ball up.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 02:32 PM) What type of contract would you give Jermaine Dye. A 3 year deal? A 4 year deal? And what do you think is fair money wise, when he talks about market value? And yes I would go all out to sign Ichiro if he became a Free Agent, and when you think about it, how many big market teams will be after him? Yankees - Already have Damon as their leadoff man. Mets - Already have Reyes as their leadoff man. Red Sox - Probably would be the main competition, especially if Coco Crisp struggles again. Dodgers - Have Pierre and Furcal. Giants - A team I'd be wary of, especially with dumping Bonds's contract if he retires after 07. Angels - Just signed Matthews Jr. to a big contract, so probably not. Rangers - Probably would chase him as well I'd imagine. So we'd be in with a decent shot I'd say. Don't forget...in the past few years, we've seen a totally new dynamic appearing in baseball - teams which shouldn't have the money to spend on guys showing up and figuring out that they do. Think Royals, Meche as your prime example; there's no way on this good earth that the Royals should have come up with or spent that money in that way, but none of that means they won't. From that list, I'd say the Red Sox Giants, Angels, Mets and Rangers could be the key guys, not because they need a leadoff man, but because they'll be in need of an OF quite soon or now. The Mets will need a LF if they still dont' trust Milledge, the Red Sox/Crisp Issue, the Angels will probably be unhappy with Matthews IMO and even on top of that still need someone for LF to replace Anderson, and as you point out, the Rangers and Giants. But...on top of that, there's always the likelihood of a sleeper getting in on the action. Baltimore could certainly use some help, the Cubs may be in the market again for an OF next year, the Cardinals and Astros both could get into the game, the Padres would be a good fit with their expansive OF and loss of Dave Roberts, hell, think about someone like Detroit or Cleveland; if they found the money, both of them could use a speedy leadoff hitter.

KC Royals Announcer Denny Matthews has won the Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick award, which the Hawk was in the running for. We'll get you in there soon Hawkster.

QUOTE(Frank the Tank 35 @ Feb 22, 2007 -> 02:46 PM) There was a recent article where he said that even if the M's offered him a billion dollar contract, he'd have to think it over. I'm pretty sure he wants to win. Linkity.

Wimbledon will finally begin giving equal value money rewards to women and men.

Newsweek.

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.