Balta1701

QUOTE(White Sox Josh @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 10:40 AM) i would rather have Javy catch. He is MUCH BETTER at handling a pitching staff. I think you can credit some of the success of the Braves pitching staff to him being the catcher. I would say that the identity of the person behind the plate should probably depend on which one of them can stay healthy. Both have had severe injury issues in recent years. It might not be a bad idea to have each of them catch for 81 games, and DH for a significant portion of the other ones.

Here is the official link, now that it's working.

By the way, Here's a very interesting piece on Dean's remarks from the New Republic...and how almost every one of his other supposed "Gaffe's" on the Iraq war has turned out to have been almost exactly correct.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 09:51 AM) That's where I was going with that. There are millions upon millions upon millions (etc, etc) victims of genocide that we let die because the wars weren't good enough for us to fight. There are plenty of places in the last 60 years we should have stepped into, but didn't, including going on right now. The question of course is..."How much should we 'step in'"? Should we invade the Sudan and spend $400 billion dollars to rebuild the place because there is a genocide going on there? Or pick any other "Genocide"? Can you name any place where the benefits of "stepping in" would be such as to justify that huge expenditure?

This is supposedly posted @ ESPN.com somewhere but I can't get the link to work...the Orioles have signed former Padre catcher Ramon Hernandez to a 4 year deal worth $27.25 million. Great deal if the guy can stay healthy. Gigantic if. Lopez will presumably move to DH most of the time.

Is there any way that the Red Sox could put together an infield of Youkilis, Marte, and Loretta in some combination? I have no idea how versatile any of those 3 guys are.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 09:50 AM) Seems to me, as much as I like him, his stuff doesnt translate to the bigs. Can you give a reason why this seems to be the case? I'm just trying to guess what he'd do if he got real playing time. Is his fastball too slow? Too straight? Does he not have a large enough selection of pitches? Is there one that he just can't throw (like he hangs his curve ball every time)? Does he have problems throwing strikes? Is there something with him that can be worked on to adapt him to a big league bullpen, or is he just destined to go down with Billy Koch as a guy who's fastball is just not fast enough and too straight?

Do you guys think he will ever be able to put up decent big league numbers? Even in limited action last year, he gave up 2 home runs in 4 innings, and that still improved his career ERA.

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 09:08 AM) Come on Balta, its called a protest. This lady appeases one side, and aggravates the other. Extremists are sure to cause trouble, whether it be a liberal or conservative speaker. That doesn't mean I can't disagree with the concept of it. You want to protest, stand outside. Boo when other people clap. But don't interrupt the bloody talk.

A guy with a 4.76 ERA going to Coors field. Eek. At least the Rockies aren't losing the draft pick. They're not going to ressurect that franchise through FA.

QUOTE(kapkomet @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 08:55 AM) I see someone alluded to it... the BIG scuttlebutt here in Dallas is that the Rangers dumped Soriano to make a genuine run at Clemens. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they put an offer on the table and just let it sit there...but the reality is, dumping Soriano and getting at least 1 pitcher is something the Rangers have needed to do for well over a year. I'm not sure this deal qualifies, but it's at least a start.

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 08:54 AM) That would be Mike Lowell They have been high on this guy for years, and he hasnt been able to crack the show. Maybe this is the year for him, but I think this guy is the product of the Boston hype machine. They have been trying to unload him in trades for a while, and now they bring in Mike Lowell and Andy Marte. If they bring in two 3B immediately in the offseason, do you really think that Boston thinks highly of Youkilis? You shouldn't judge picking up Lowell as a swipe at anyone. Lowell was picked up because the Marlins were absolutely desperate to unload his contract...they wouldn't trade Burnett last year without unloading Lowell as well, and they weren't going to start their fire sale until they found someone to take on Lowell's deal. Taking Lowell's contract was a necesary part of getting Beckett. On the other hand, I'm not sure what picking up Marte says about Youkilis.

I dislike Coulter as much as anyone here...but why the Hell do you go to a talk if you don't want to hear what the person has to say? I understand either keeping your mouth shut or booing when the rest of the crowd erupts into cheers too...but seriously booing to the point of disruption? Of course, this could always be a classic Coulter over-reaction, and she just stopped because there were more people booing her applause lines than cheering them, but if that's not the case...and people seriously weren't letting her talk, then I can't figure out why you'd even go.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 05:25 AM) Tell that to all the genocide victims from around the world of the last 60 years... Tell that to the few million people who die every year because there's not enough money being spent to provide clean drinking water (would take something like $30 billion per year to give everyone in the world clean drinking water. At this point, the money spent on Iraq could have saved enough lives to completely repopulate Iraq, had it all been spent instead on cleaning up people's drinking water.)

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 08:43 AM) If you were the D-Rays, wouldnt you just stick it to the Red Sox and keep Lugo? That would be hilarious, the Red Sox let Cabrera go, they sign Renteria, then they trade Hanley Ramirez, then trade Renteria because they think Lugo is in the mix. and now they have no shortstop, a used up 3B, and a prospect 3B, and probably have to hope that Graffanino wont hold them over a barrel for a starting position. No, I cannot tell that Boston doesnt have a GM. Not at all. Who is the "Used up 3b"? And isn't Graffy a FA? They do have Youkilis who I believe they've been wanting to start at 3b (very high on him, young guy, high OPS)

QUOTE(AnthraxFan93 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 08:42 AM) WOW, a proven SS for a maybe.. boston is taking a chance. Boston is not necessarily taking a chance...this could very well signal that the Manny-to-the-Angels deal is right on the cusp...Cabrera has been linked to that deal repeatedly.

QUOTE(SoxFan101 @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 08:07 PM) We have seen him for 12 games now why should we shutup? is 12 games not big enough to see what kind of player he is at least at this point in his career? Maybe we can compare him to the other rookie QB's like the 1 on the rams or how about the one on the Browns who have done more in just 1 game a piece...... I would fully agree with that under most normal circumstances...but the Bears right now are contending for home field in the NFC throughout the playoffs. That'd be a hell of a treat. Most normal quarterbacks (I.e. guys not named Tom Brady) take somewhere between 1 and 2 full seasons of playing time to really get adapted to the way the game is played - recognizing defenses, adapting to the speed of the game, etc. Brees took 2 years, Peyton took about a year, Eli is still adapting, Palmer took about a year, etc. You won't know how good Orton could be for at least this season, if not much of next. However, right now the Bears are not in a "Developmental" mode. They have a team which is almost a lock for the playoffs, and they need to do whatever they can to win RIGHT NOW. The odds are the Bears' defense will take a step backwards next year, because defenses this good almost always start backtracking after their best year (see, Baltimore, Buffalo, Tampa Bay in recent years). Orton could develop into the next Drew Brees if given time. The problem is, the Bears right now are too good to allow him time to simply develop. They have to play whichever QB gives them the best chance of winning now. Given Grossman's injury history and lack of playing time himself, that may still be Orton, but the decision cannot be made entirely on what Orton might do with experience...it has to be made based on what he's bringing to the table right now.

Toronto basketball...IT WILL COMB YOU OVER!

QUOTE(valponick @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 01:33 AM) Can the Blue Jays contend? Only if a lot of people on the Red Sox and Yankees get hurt. Which isn't out of the quesiton of course.

QUOTE(AnthraxFan93 @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 09:25 PM) Why do this deal? Both teams are in need of pitching in the worst way.. The nats aren't in need of pitching as much as they are in need of some sort of bat.

QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 07:23 PM) Assuming the Dodgers stay healthy, they will be vastly improved, imo. That's like saying assuming Rex Grossman stays healthy the Bears will have a great QB. Yeah, if guys like JD Drew, Izturis, their pitching staff, Gagne, Kent, Valetin, Werth all stay healthy, they'll have a good team...but there's absolutely no reason why we should expect those guys to all stay healthy, when either they're all getting up in age or they all have a long history of injury problems.

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Dec 8, 2005 -> 07:54 AM) Did you see the end of the article? Big Frank the Brave? When did the NL start using the DH? Well, maybe they figure if Franco can stay healthy....

Edgar Renteria is going to the Braves for Minor League Prospect 3B Andy Marte, according to ESPN.

QUOTE(ptatc @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 07:09 PM) Beachball? I didn't know those were edible. Especially inflated.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 07:08 PM) I'd like to see him and Colon in an eating contest. My money is on Fat boy Bob. He looks like he could easily put down a couple of boxes of donuts...for an appetizer. Wickman vs. Wells.