Balta1701

Consider it motivation. Jerry, tell KW to spend what it takes to get yourself another one of those baseballs next year. What happened to the ball Molina had tonight anyway?

Thanks Sir! We appreciate all you did for this team, and enjoy that ring! You certainly earned it!

QUOTE(Maverick0984 @ Oct 28, 2006 -> 12:28 AM) the entire world series was full of sloppy play from both sides...i wasn't able to actually watch any game in it's entirety, just ugly, ugly play. That I don't see. I saw a Tigers team that just didn't want it enough, or just wasn't good enough to overcome adversity. The Cards got next to nothing from the best player in baseball. The Tigers pitching staff let their defense down repeatedly. But the Cardinals offense picked up Pujols. The Tigers never picked up their pitchers; every time they made a mistake, it turned into a disaster. The Cardinals just fought harder...they just played better. The St. Louis Cardinals earned a set of rings. End of story.

I think that the most remarkable thing about this year was the fact that the Cardinals managed to act healthy at just the right time. Edmunds, Rolen, Eckstein, all of them were hurt late in the season, but they all found the balls to turn themselves on at the right time to push this team through the playoffs. In some ways, yes, this says something negative about the MLB, because by turning it on at the right time, you can make a disasterous season turn into a great one. But on the other hand, it also says something beautiful about baseball, and that is that baseball has a number of hurdles you must overcome. First, you must survive the 162 game regular season, but then you must find a way to survive 1 5 game series and 2 7 game series. The MLB season tests you in different ways, endurance, intelligence, skill, ability in a short timespan, etc. You want those rings? You have to find a way to win all of those groupings. The Cardinals were not the best team in the 162 game regular season. But combine all of the qualifications, and the Cards won. They got healthy enough at the right time. And there is no one who can take that away from them. Enjoy those Rings Cards. You may not have been the best over 162 games alone, but you were the best over what Major League Baseball asked you to do, and I think that is a totally fair way of evaluating teams.

QUOTE(The Ginger Kid @ Oct 27, 2006 -> 10:41 PM) Leyland should've pitched Rogers tonight. Worse, for him to say the reason he's not is because of the heat he would catch from Cardinal fans says a lot about the character (or lack thereof) of Kenny Rogers. But I have to say that Leyland is a terrific manager. What he did with this team this year is amazing. He damn near won it all. He got career years out of some guys and made them believe they could do it. But he couldn't overcome the sloppy play that has been their trademark all year. On paper, the 2007 Tigers will be better. But so were the 2006 White Sox, and they didn't wet their pants in the world series like the kitties just did. Detroit had their shot....and missed. In hindsight alone, yes Rogers should have pitched tonight, but only because Verlander couldnt' out-pitch 2 runs in 8 innings. Aside from the White Sox last year, that's a rough task to ask any pitcher to make, especially if no one else on that pitching staff knows how to throw the ball to a base. Verlander was not bad tonight. Weaver was just better. Do you not pitch your possible best pitcher just because some guy who was cut by the Angels might have pitched better? Do you pitch Verlander against Carpenter or Reyes in game 6? Rogers could have pitched tonight and lost just as easily, pitching without the crowd behind him. Fact is, during the regular season, Rogers had an ERA of 3.26 at home and 4.41 on the road. Verlander put up a 3.31 at Detroit and a 3.91 away. Those numbers favor Verlander. Rogers pitching doesn't have the crowd behind him, doesn't have emotion behind him, and doesn't have the umps helping him. You can debate Rogers Vs. Verlander ad nauseum, but the reality is both of them had to win, and Verlander was better on the road than Rogers this season, and Rogers was better in Detroit.

QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Oct 27, 2006 -> 09:52 PM) They could have turned Chicago into a hub if they used Gary. Even with airlines, everything doesn't happen instanteneously.

I won a 2Gb Ipod in a contest about 3 weeks ago. Thus far, the only things I've used it on are field trips and at the Gym. I have a portable CD player which also provides a much larger variety of MP3 play capability, and my car's CD player plays Mp3's, so even without the Ipod I'd be fine everywhere except for those 2 spots. I would not have paid more than like $30 for an Ipod of this size had I not won one, just because I don't think they're worth the cost.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Oct 27, 2006 -> 06:43 PM) Why the hell would the Royals trade DeJesus? He's one of the few bright spots they have on offense and defense as well. They're not going to hurt their team just to help the Sox. Right now the Royals have a ton of bright spots on offense. Shealy, Sweeney, Teahen, Dejesus, and a few others I'm forgetting. Their problem is their pitching staff...they look to have assembled some real talent on offense, and that may well cost us some wins next year.

Note to Ozzie.. Next year...when facing the Tigers...BUNT. I don't care who's hitting. Have Thome bunt. Make their pitchers field. Their starters will be out by inning 2.

Katie Couric interviews Michael J. Fox. She pushes him repeatedly on the whole Limbaugh issue. He sits there shuddering the whole time. Amongst many noteworthy lines..."At this point, if I didn't take my medication, I wouldn't be able to speak".

A few days ago, one of the liberal geniuses at ABC did a report on how the political ads were "getting ugly" because of that RNC ad with all the pictures of the terrorists they haven't caught threatening America. When asked to name a similarly negative ad from the other side, all that the guy could come up with was it was only a matter of time before the left would "unleash its garbage as well" (without, of course, being able to give any supporting evidence). Finally, someone actually writes the story on how much more vicious the ads from the Republican side have been. Not talking about Fox or anything like that, at least that sort of focuses on substance. Here's some of the WaPo's selections (from both sides). I like how the most vicious things they had they could hit the Dems with were ads attacking a Congressman for choking his mistress.

IOWA (Governor, open) Rasmussen. 10/19. Likely voters. MoE 4.5% (10/5 results) Culver (D) 47 (42) Nussle ® 44 (42)

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Oct 27, 2006 -> 03:13 PM) Barring some big moves their season is going to hinge on Liriano being healthy, and that's not going to happen. Honestly, I don't think it does. It'd be a big bonus to them if it happened, but I think they can get by without it. I think their performance will wind up hanging on Garza & Bonser, & Silva to some extent if he's still there. Garza & Bonser are the 2 question marks though...we know what Santana will give them, we know what their bullpen will give them, we know their offense is just going to keep getting better as long as Mauer and Morneau stay healthy and they don't start the season with Tony Batista...the question is going to be those middle-of-the-rotation starters. If those guys put up average numbers, then the Twins can be really good. If they struggle in their 2nd years, then the Twins basically have Santana.

By the way, I'd like to add that I don't have a problem at all with MB winding up at a Cardinals world series game wearing a Cards hat, no matter who he's under contract with. I know that's only a part of the story, but I figured someone ought to say that.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Oct 27, 2006 -> 11:10 AM) he slipped. you can't fault him for slipping. The one thing you don't want to do if you slip though is the flip-over that Granderson did. It took his eye off the ball, and held him on the ground for longer than he should have. If he fell straight down, he might have had a chance to get back up and get moving again, but that flip threw him all out of whack.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Oct 26, 2006 -> 01:07 PM) However, take a look at Detroit. Yes they have some young arms but Robertson and Rogers both pitched over there heads (Rogers gets another year older and Robertson is not near as good as he showed during the season). Yes, they have Rodney and Zumaya and both are rock solid but Todd Jones isn't going to keep being sucessful. The Twins lose Liriano and played ridiculously over there heads (so many career years out of guys like Tyner). The Tribe should be improved (surprised Wedge is still the mgr) and depending on the moves they make, they may become the 2nd best team in the division. The Sox still are bar none in the best shape of any team in the division and I wouldn't trade our roster with any other team in our division. Yes, there are still some reasons to think that Detroit and Minny could take steps back next year. Yes, Rogers will regress now that every manager will be watching his hands, and yes it will hurt the Twins to not have Liriano. But the reason this division is so tough is the other parts of those teams...the things that could make them even better. Detroit...Rogers & Robertson take steps back. Ok, so what happens then? Well, they have Andrew Miller and Zach Miner who both already got big-league experience this year waiting in the winds, and they were without Mike Maroth for 2/3 of the season. There's 2 lefties and another righty who can fill in for any pitcher who does struggle. Offensively, Granderson gets another year to grow up as well, as does Shelton if he can ever find his bat again, and they have this offseason to try to address their need for a high OPS type guy, which they may well do with their playoff green. Minny, Yes, they lost Liriano. But Mauer and Morneau get another year under their belts, and may just keep getting better (Esp. if Mauer hits a few more HR). They won't start the season with Tony Batista, which has to be worth a few wins right there. And their other pitchers, Bonser and Garza, already have big-league experience under their belts as well. And they still have that bullpen. And Cleveland looks like they may have a better lineup than any other team in baseball next year if the kids develop. Martinez, Garko, Hafner, Sizemore, Marte, Choo..ouch. The only thing they're missing is a bullpen, which who knows how long before they fix that. This whole division is on the way up. It's just going to be a question of which team gets its act together the best...all 4 of them can win it with ease. I'm not sure I'd trade our roster for any other teams, but I'm not sure I wouldn't either.

QUOTE(SoxHawk1980 @ Oct 27, 2006 -> 08:29 AM) If he is as bad at that job as Cora was, then yes he will get a lot of richly deserved criticism. It's going to be really hard for that to happen. Seriously, all you have to do is realize that Konerko, AJ, and Thome are slow, and should not be rounding third as the outfielder picks up the ball. No matter how bad the throw is, they're still out. If the OF still has a few steps to go before he gets to the ball, or it's anyone else running, I don't mind it as much depending on the situation (i.e. don't get thrown out at home with JD on deck). Be a little more conservative with the slow guys, that's all we really want.

Podsednik wouldn't have even been close enough to that ball to dive and have it hit his glove.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Oct 26, 2006 -> 05:57 PM) 39>34>25 Edit: If you add the two you highlighted, then the point changes but that 39% is still too large of a number. Of course this sample size was just over a 1000 people, so I don't put too much stock in it. In regards to the patriot act, isn't that more of infringing on our current civil liberties opposed to "restricting" people's civil liberties? Maybe it's just the way I read it. 1000+ people is a pretty representative sample size if the sample is selected randomly.

QUOTE(Steff @ Oct 26, 2006 -> 05:33 PM) Too much medicine screws him up, not enough screws him up... wow. Some deck he ended up getting. Yea, that's how bad that disease is.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Oct 26, 2006 -> 04:41 PM) Razor is known for a very agressive style so don't think we aren't going to see plenty of guys get thrown out. I just hope we won't see Paulie sent during ridiculous circumstances. That said Joey is a pretty rock solid 3rd base coach, problem was he was too agressive with his slower runners. In 05 we were all applauding the guy for being top notch. That said I'd be the first to say he had a lot of serious faults last year, but he's still a solid coach and very well respected in all of baseball. Aggressive baserunning at 3rd is often not a bad thing. What Cora was doing with guys like Konerko and Thome was not just aggressive baserunning, ti was foolish.

QUOTE(Soxy @ Oct 26, 2006 -> 12:48 PM) And I don't disagree with your earlier point, it is sad that diseases need a famous name to get some cash thrown their way. Which is of course the whole reason for writing, and for posting, that Onion piece.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 26, 2006 -> 12:26 PM) Just out of curiosity, what did you think about Christopher Reeve showing up in front of Congress (on multiple occasions I think) trying to champion research? I think there is a grey area there, as to how far is OK to go. I personally am OK with Reeve, and also Fox's actions. Linkity.

QUOTE(Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 26, 2006 -> 12:21 PM) I'm not picking sides here, I'm very much pro-stem cell research. I'm against sh*tty ads that make us pick politicians for the wrong reasons (emotion versus intelligence). According to Balta's find above, the sh*tty ad worked. Instead of people looking at the issues surrounding stem cell research, they got moved by a guy shaking uncontrollably on the TV. Of course...if people actually looked at the issue in its entirety using only logic anyway...there wouldn't be any debate about Embryonic stem cell research...the only point for debate would be whether or not to ban fertility clinics.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Oct 26, 2006 -> 12:13 PM) I like Pinella as a manager, I just think that he needs to inherit a specific type of team to win. So you're saying we should have fired Ozzie and hired Pinella?