Balta1701

And I read somewhere today that the Sox have a higher payroll than the Cubs this year now that they're off the hook for Sosa.

QUOTE(Mplssoxfan @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 10:53 AM) Apparently, the Representative from Georgia wasn't in the habit of wearing the lapel pin which identifies her as a Representative. Stupid. Almost as stupid as some of the things she's said over the years. According to one of her statements, lots of representatives fail to weat that lapel pin. TIFWIW, since it's again coming from her.

Victor Conte is out of jail. Ryan Klesko may start the season on the DL with a sore shoulder. Adam Eaton left a start in the 2nd inning yesterday with pain in the same finger that put him on the DL last year.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 09:38 AM) But wait.....who's pitching? Nomo. Hideo Nomo.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 05:49 PM) If we told companies that were hiring illegal labor to do their jobs, that if we catch you, we'll fine you so hard that you'll shut down or cripple your business, and if you do it intentionally we'll put your ass in jail - within two years - the illegal immigration issue will solve itself. The LA Times spent a good deal of space this morning discussing why this isn't happening. A few samples: There is more in the article, including details about how programs have been established that would allow employers to check much more easily, but those programs haven't been funded at all.

So, not only will we have to pay all the interest on this monstrous debt this nation is holding...someone's gonna have to pay for a new clock.

The photographer has come forward with the original photo. (More at link which is worth your time before you comment). Oh, and I still care vastly more about the fact that he didn't recuse himself in a case he clearly spoke on before hearing it. Edit: Here's some more details about what exactly that translates as:

Gentlemen...your goal is now clear. Wire to wire. 2 seasons in a row. Get started Sunday.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 04:12 AM) Even with Hermie's injury and some drop off expected from CLiff and Neal, I think the sox bullpen will be stronger than last yrs. For one, BMac could be a Scot Shields--a one man bridge from the SP's to Jenks. I could also see him coming in for the 8th and closing games out. Secondly, Jenks as closer for the entire yr could keep the bullpen roles clear. Third, one of the two new lefties should take over Cott's 2005 role as lefty specialist. That pushes Neal into the 7th and 8th inning set up role, where he faces both lefties and righties. The only thing which will determine if our bullpen is as strong as last years will be the closer spot. 100% will be determined by that. When you have a 90%+ closer, your whole bullpen will look a lot better even if all you have around him is crap. Think about the Cubs last year...they didn't really have a solid bullpen, but when Dempster took over the closer job and did his job well, suddenly it became a lot better. Think about all the mediocre pens in NYY that have looked vastly better because of that hall of fame cut fastball they have at the end. If Jenks has a good season, or someone steps up to take Bobby's place (I'd prefer the former by a lot), then our bullpen will probably be better than last year, because Jenks hopefully won't have to put up with the things that Shingo & Hermanson did, so we'll have some continuity out there.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 06:44 AM) I'll agree. Owens is Pods Light. Still don't think he's ready, nor is there a place for him anytime soon. Sweeney may have leapfrogged him in some people's eyes this spring. Owens and Sweeney each have obvious guys who they're in position to replace if everything goes well for them. Owens = Pods and Sweeney = Dye. So IMO, it doesn't really matter who's leapfrogged over whom, if they both have success at AAA this year, then each of them would stand in line to replace the guy they're more like should there be injuries out there. But I do agree with you, I don't think Owens is ready yet, and if nothing else I'd much rather have him complete a season at AAA before we annoint him our new leadoff hitter.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 30, 2006 -> 03:55 AM) Still tell me if Boone Logan was to give up a 3.77 ERA in 2006 like Marte did in 2005, would you take that right now? Logan may give up less walks, but he could have a higher .BAA. Marte had a .223 .BAA over the last 3 seasons, which was an underrated part of his pitching (although because he was walking 1 guy every 2 games last season). And that could be dangerous for Logan, especially if he doesn't have the propensity to be a groundball pitcher. A metric f*ckton of runners put on base by Marte were stranded by Cotts, Politte, Hermanson, et al. last year. Hell, our most memorable 1/2 inning of the ALDS was another reliever getting out of a jam made by Marte.

QUOTE(jackie hayes @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 08:05 PM) It's over, just enforce the steroid policy now. It is not over. The impacts are still being felt. 6 more home runs and a historic number will be tied by Bonds. Giambi and Sheffield are still collecting massive paychecks they earned thanks to steroids. Guys like Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell have to face questions about whether they're hall-worthy when their numbers are compared to these juicers. It's not over until they're all out of the game.

B.A. had the #6 highlight on Sportscenter tonight with a diving catch in Center.

QUOTE(Texsox @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 05:58 PM) And if no one will take the jobs the company should fold. I don't understand why Americans won't spend 9 months a year following the crops. Living out of their cars, or in rooms that the farms supply. It is an adventure, you get to see the country, and at minimum wage or even a bit more, it's easy money. Piece work is great if you have any sort of work ethic. Or the farms could employ these people year round. Findsome busy work for them while the crops are growing.There is another option beyond this that isn't being talked about. Ok, so there are somewhere between 12 and 20 million jobs available that supposedly "Americans won't take". Ok, fine. So if these jobs need to be filled, why the Hell can't we adapt our immigration laws to allow us to find the people who can fill them? A lot of these people crossing the border pay hundreds, if not thousands to move across the border. Some even die while doing so. What do people think would happen if there was a legal way for those people to move across the border, tell the Americans they're here, and maybe pay money to the U.S. gov't instead of paying someone for trucking people across? Incorrect. These 12,000,000 workers have these jobs because if they can pay their workers less, they can sell their goods at a lower cost/higher profit than their competitors, both of which drive up the profits for the business. It's not a matter of them thinking we won't pay more for stuff...it's more simple economics; lower cost = higher sales.

So, I may be the only one, but I think this is certainly an interesting step. Damned if I know what it means, but I think it's worth following. A couple days ago, the U.S. ambassador in Iraq passed along a message from Mr. Bush to the Iraqi PM, Ibraham Jaafari. The message was pretty simple: Jaafari has become a very controversial name, both among the Kurds and the Sunni population in Iraq. As the current PM, he's overseen the development of the death squads which permeate the Iraqi army, watched security continue to worsen, and generally helped make things worse. But his party won the plurality of the votes in the last election, and they've nominated him again. So, Mr. Bush seems to have decided to personally attempt to intervene in the formation of the Iraqi government in a way which may further alienate the Shi'a population which is already angry over the mess of a raid last weekend and the golden Mosque bombing. And at least thus far, Mr. Jaafari is defying Bush's request to withdraw his nomination. 1 more interesting Jaafari note, he's apparantely a big fan of Noam Chomsky, and has asked if it's possible if he could come to Baghdad.

On my 18th birthday...went to the usual swimming 2-a-day practices, came home with a godawful splitting headache, wanted to just go to sleep, was forced by parents to accompany them to the nearest Ponderosa (the one, mind you, on Route 20 in Gary), spent the whole meal except for the chewing part with my head lying face down on the table trying to keep head from hurting. Went home, passed out. So yeah, yours will probably be a step up from mine.

Our projected starting 9 is hitting .294 this spring (including Pods)

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 02:54 PM) I think Thome's going to get on a lot more than Everett and Frank did in the 3rd spot last season. My comment wasn't meant to knock PK at all. If there's a guy on first, and he hits a grounder on the infield, it's likely going to be a DP. Oh on that I agree with you and I think his numbers will go up this season, I'm just saying I think there was more to the drop in Konerko's DP numbers than just who was hitting in front of him...and that changing who hits in front of him might not be enough on its own to bring him all the way back up to that 20 DP level. I would guess he's still learned a few things about how to avoid grounding in to those during those situations, and that helped lower his numbers each of the last 2 years as well.

Tavarez could be suspended over this, but MLB is having trouble finding video.

QUOTE(AbeFroman @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 02:45 PM) why would he agree to a six year deal? that seems absurdly long for a player who could very well have broken the bank at the end of this season for even a four year deal... Probably because he couldn't break the bank at the end of a 4 year deal, because he wouldn't have enough MLB service time to be a Free Agent; he'd only be arbitration eligibile.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 02:46 PM) I think the more we play not to only score "one" run, the better our offense will be. I'll say this though....PK is going to hit into a ton of double plays this year (that's a compliment to Thome). Interestingly, Konerko's DP's were WAY down last year, from 28 in his awful 03 season to 22 in 04 to only 9 last year. Different people in front of him? Maybe some of it, certainly easier to double up Thomas than Podsednik, but 22 to 9 is a pretty darn massive drop IMO.

AJ Burnett will start the season on the 15 day DL. I wonder if all those complete games the Marlins Pitchers were throwing at the start of last season did take their toll. Jeff Kent signed an $11.5 million extension through next season. Lenny "I do nothing except pinch hit" Harris was released by the Marlins. Guarantee someone will pick him up as their 25th man. Kevin Appier is headed to the Mariners' Minor League camp. Ben Sheets feels great after a simulated game.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 02:23 PM) Nothing. I think everyone realizes he's got a long way to go but it is nice to see some improvement from him. I mean there were people crucifying him after his first outing here, so there is nothing wrong with being happy with improvement. It's also not like we're trying to turn me into a lefty here. Thornton's already got the big part down...thanks to some quirk of genetics, he's a lefty that pops 97. Once you get that far, it's just a matter of getting the rest down. The rest is easy compared to that part; you just have to have someone teach you how to do it.

QUOTE(Felix @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 02:20 PM) Its one outing people. Lets see if he can do it for an entire season, then get giddy over how Coop is magic. Hey, if Thornton can just occasionally throw strikes and give us scoreless innings, I'll be more than happy.

QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Mar 29, 2006 -> 02:18 PM) rumor going around is Coop sold his soul to the devil to make him a kick ass pitching coach. "You trying to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?"