Balta1701

QUOTE(YASNY @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 10:31 AM) So how do you incorporate Sweeney into the big leagues? Do you give him a starting position where he'll get 550 AB's in Chicago? Do you keep him in Charlotte so next year the same scenario is in place? Just how do you do this? I keep him in Charlotte for 1 more year, hopefully giving him time to grow up and maybe develop more of a power stroke. If someone were to go down with a serious injury in the OF at midseason, I would consider him my first backup option. I would pencil him into my outfield starting in 2008. The only scenario where I would start Sweeney off in the big leagues next year, barring an injury, would be if JD were traded for a big package which made the whole team better for many years (which I still wouldn't rule out).

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 10:02 AM) That right was removed in the new CBA. It's gone. Still the Dodgers have been talking about moving Penny since they signed Schmidt anyway. IIRC they can pencil in about 6 starters right now, and they're desperate for a bat with some power. I'm not sure Rios fits that role that well though, so they may just be trying to take what they can get without having to sacrifice Billingsly or Kemp.

QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 09:25 AM) would this guy REALLY have been a better president? let's just stop kidding ourselves Yes. The answer remains the same if you replace the words "This guy" with "This rock" or "this monkey" or "This paper clip".

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 09:03 PM) Great game for Indy when they really needed it. The defense stepped up big, and it was nice to see Harrison get to have a big night. If Peyton Manning goes into a playoff game with that same game plan, he can still beat any team out there no matter the defense they throw at him. He's so in sync with those receivers that they can just absolutely dominate in the short passing game if they go to it. They just usually end up having the long passing game fairly open as well, so they stick with that, but then they run into some team that blitzes the hell out of Manning and he still tries to throw the ball 20 yards.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Dec 19, 2006 -> 08:53 AM) I don't want Jerry Owens or Terrero to be the answers and I don't think a platoon of Sweeney/Anderson would be that bad, especially if Sweeney ocassionally got some AB's in LF as well. It would be a nice way for two young players to help each other develop. Personally, I think that at his age, giving Ryan Sweeney 250 at bats in the big leagues is a much, much, much worse idea than giving Ryan Sweeney 500 at bats in the minor leagues, not to mention the arbitration issues.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 10:18 PM) Do you all think Pods is capable of a strong comeback year, or is he finished? I think his 40 stolen bases and 19 caught stealing would indicate his days as an ultra productive leadoff man are over. His .261 batting average, 45 RBIs are pathetic numbers. He did, however, score 86 runs which isn't half bad. Do you agree with me the 86 runs scored is acceptable? My other question is ... the signs are we are getting an aging, slower Pods for this season. If he does suck, who do you think will replace him in lf? Our team is pathetically slow on the bases and Pods getting caught 19 times shows he may be another plodder this season. As pointed out earlier, the Runs scored thing is pretty much not a useful stat because it depends a lot on who is behind him. Here's the reality with Podsednik; we have no idea what we're going to get from him this year. Last year was a disaster for him, but it was a predictable disaster, because he was still recovering from health issues. In late 2005, he was really banged up, had a bad hamstring IIRC and wound up having a hernia surgery in the offseason. That slowed him down for the better part of 2 months in 05. Then, to start off 06, he went into Spring Training having had no real offseason to recover because of the surgery, then he wound up not having a Spring Training because of scar tissue, so he was basically inserted into the lineup on opening day with no time at all to get in baseball shape, and probably still with some nagging pain from those injuries. As far as I know, he hasn't had any major injuries lately that will interrupt his offseason, so he at least has some shot to both relax and to get his body back in playing shape. That could give us a significant improvement. On the other hand, with a guy who relies on speed to make a difference in a game, it's also entirely possible that this series of injuries will cost him a step on the basepaths, thus leaving him as a 60% stolen base guy for the rest of his career. If the only other option was giving Dave Roberts $20 million over 3 years, I understand going with Podsednik for 1 more year, but it's definately a big gamble.

Not sure it gives much in the way of an opinion as to who's taken the smarter route this offseason, but this ESPN Phil Rogers piece on the diverging paths of the Cubs (throw money at the problem) and the Sox (Build for the long term) is at least an interesting read.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 04:24 PM) I agree that the internet can be used as a nifty tool that way. Tell me some things Reid has done "already" that are darn good. Seriously, I want to know. Off the top of my head (yes, I know this is the GOP only thread), first holding together the Senate Dems in the face of Bush's Social Security assault last year which was very impressive, the move to the "closed session" to focus attention on the failure of the Senate to complete the WMD investigation, preventing the "Nuclear option" on Bush's judicial nominees, the agreement to keep the government running sans earmarks for the next year as a way of overcoming the Republicans failure to pass their budget bills, telling the Senate it's actually going to have to work more than 3 days a week next term (the horror!). He's also made some important Dem infrastructure improvements, such as setting up a rapid-response system of the type the Republicans have had over the last few years, which has worked fairly well thus far. And of course, he won a damn election. He's done just about as good of a job as I could have expected him to do given the total-minority position the Dems were in. 2 items of disappointment also come quickly to mind - the lack of a fight on the detainee bill the Republicans rushed through Congress before taking office, and the lack of an organized fight on Alito, were pretty big disappointments.

Ok, here's a question on Jimmy Carter...was he only the victim of circumstance, or were the problems of his administration his own doing? Could a southern outsider have come in other than Jimmy Carter (purely a hypothetical person at this point) and done any better by making better decisions, or was he totally betrayed by the fact that he was a southern outsider who had to deal with a revolution in Iran and an economy battered by years of war and overspending? Don't have an answer, but figured it would be an interesting question for debate.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 03:44 PM) Everytime these deals are announced I become upset because I don't think the White Sox will extend Mark Buehrle because "more than three years is too long!" Buehrle will probably be in the 5-6 year range when he hits the open market.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 03:44 PM) Nice way to start, jacka**. I really do think there are some in the democratic party who want to do positive things, but Reid is one who has never impressed me. He is not the guy I'd want leading the Senate. I think Harry Reid's done some darn good things already, but he's also got a bit of a dark streak in him where he's willing to compromise in areas he shouldn't. Certianly has a record thus far a ways in front of his predecessor, but he really needs to stop doing this sh*t. Say what you want about the internet, the blogosphere, etc., but the one thing it's really good at is catching and publicising this sort of crap.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 03:16 PM) This is 2 years at close to what he would get at arbitration plus 2 years of what he would have gotten were he a free agent this year. I think Bonderman would have gotten quite a bit more than $12.5 million a year if he was a Free Agent this year. He'd push $14-$15, if not beyond that. There's a small discount in there in exchange for getting the contract signed before he becomes a FA.

Linkity.

Bloomberg.

Oh God, when I read the title of this thread, it made me think of that awful hampsterdance.com web site.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 01:09 PM) If Sweeney's with the major league team, why not just use him as the backup cf? Because it would be a terrible idea for him to be with the major league team this year.

QUOTE(Damen @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 12:33 PM) I hope you'll soon be enlisting in this war you still believe so much in so my friends don't have to go back for their third and fourth tours. Small note...you should make sure the person you're saying that to isn't in the military himself when you say that.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 12:15 PM) Oh, does anyone realize the constant defense of these people, who IMO gave up their rights when they started hanging around people (or are those people) who want to blow us all up, is absurd? Going to Iraq as a security contractor = giving up all your rights and working with terrorists?

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 11:52 AM) Can Owens even play CF? I know almost nothing about him, except that he still needs time in the minors. He would probably be a pretty poor solution at CF, but probalby better than Mackowiak, IMO.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 11:09 AM) Terrero is already on the 40-man. EDIT: So is Owens. Exactly my point. So in other words, someone has to go if there were to be another outside solution.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 11:01 AM) Yep Isaiah should have had atleast a fine, and I find it kind of weird that the player that apparently carried out Isaiah's orders came from playing under Cheney. Just wait until he shoots someone in the face.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 10:58 AM) I think we'll see Terrero or Owens brought to the club for that purpose. Not saying that's great, but I think that's what we'll get. After dropping Gload, we do have room on the 25 man roster for 1 more backup that we didn't carry last year. However, we don't have room on the 40-man for any other signings without someone clearing waivers or being traded.

QUOTE(Palehosefan @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 10:53 AM) Kind of funny that the guy that started the whole thing Didn't get a suspension. Fixed that for you.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 10:45 AM) I can't access the audio. Would you mind giving an overview? Chitrib, scroll down a little for the Obama blurb.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Dec 18, 2006 -> 10:29 AM) 15 games, that's just ridiculous. Stern has lost it. I can totally understand the 15 games/10 games guys. I just can't figure out how Isiah gets nothing.