Harry Chappas

Can I ask a question and I pointed this out in an other thread... Why did the White Sox sign Joe Crede to a $5M contract when they could have waited and possibly have gone to arbitration and force his hand? I assume they have seen hium work-out and he would have had to have passed aphysical before the contract could be signed correct? At some point there would have had to have been a medical evaluation, no?

They should rerun every episode using hte format they had last night. It was awesome to see the things that really get missed.

Racism is still very alive and kicking in this country due to the socio-economic situation of the inner city. Many of the fears and hatred as result of crime and poverty are a direct result of race thus resulting an inert dislike for a race whether intentional or not. Jesse and Al do nothing to assist in disfusing this situation because it keeps them in the spotlight. There is no definitive voice for the minority race. Obama can be looked at a face for this cause. I find sexism funny. Sexism is an emotional process related to instinctual feelings that need to be repressed by the human mind which I feel is not even possible. Hillary being a women is not why I would not vote for her. If women really wanted sexism to go away and the objectivity of women to cease they would evaluate their status. I really think that at least average looking women geta pretty good shake. I am not advocating sexual harassment and am not tying it to this response as that is a different opinion. The black senator v. female senator is all you need to know. I like Obama and hope he wins. I loath Hillary. I also planned to vote for Giuliani............

QUOTE(almagest @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 11:43 AM) Now you're going in the exact opposite direction, and evaluating defense as more important than offense. Swisher would have to be absolutely terrible defensively in CF to make up for the offensive difference between him and Anderson, unless Anderson miraculously turns it all around. I believe defense is more important than offense because of the impact on pitching. The comparison of players is Anderson v. Owens/Quintin and the result of Cabrerra leading off v. Owens. Swisher moves to left with Anderson in center. In the day and age of finite pitch counts for a game, hits that are not taken away and errors that are made create stress on pitchers and more importantyl reduce the length with which they are in game. One error and two plays that are not made are an extra inning of work and possibly 15 pitches.

7 of 10 I think I am up on Lost but what is the deal with the 4 toed statue. I do not reacall seeing it anywhere and I have watched Season 1 on DVD and am through 5 discs of season 2 without seeing anything...... It is amazing what you pick up by rewatching them. I missed the Hurley (Dave Season 2) episode and did not know Libby was in the mental ward with him.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jan 30, 2008 -> 11:27 AM) Perhaps I should explain myself. Though I used a finite example, I was doing so to make a broader point. There seems to be an overwhelming emphasis on offense when evaluating a player's value on this board. Defense is just as important, if not more so. For over 100 years, the saying "Pitching and defense wins championships" has been a constant in baseball. Casey Stengel once said about Aparicio that he steals a hit game with his glove. That can have quite an impact over the course of a season. I'm not saying that offense is not important, because Casey's Yankees would always just beat out the pitching-defense-no hit Sox of those days, but the Yanks also had some pretty damn good pitchers and glovemen too, in addition to the thumpers. But a guy who can "go get 'em" in the field can be a pretty damn valuable piece of a championship ballclub. Brian Anderson did not produce at the plate, but in a big game I wanted him in CF over Mackowiak, for example. In 2006 Brian Anderson saved at least one game that really mattered against the Indians with this glove. If he is in center and Swisher in left we will be a good team. If Owens or Swisher are in center we will be average. The affect on pitching as a result of bad defense is never really discussed. Aaron Rowand and Scott Podsednik cost Bobby Jenks a save in the World Series thus allowing a walk-off that never should happened.

QUOTE(Vance Law @ Jan 29, 2008 -> 03:31 PM) A couple of these are huge strikes against Inge- Already signed to an extension....for so much more money than he's worth, that nobody is even willing to take the salary off Detroit's hands. Taking into account the positions they play, it would be like us trying to get someone to take Uribe if we had him signed for 3 years and $8 million a year. In fact, it would be smarter for the Giants to take Uribe to play 3rd base rather than Inge, if Crede's back were a concern. Contact hitting?- Maybe that was a typo. Inge struck out 150 times last year and has averaged about 140 for the past 3 years. Crede strikes out about half as often. Inge is basically exactly a very poor man's Joe Crede. Very good defensively, has some power but not as much as Crede, doesn't hit for average, doesn't get on base, strikes out a lot. Sounds like Uribe without the ability to play short.

The Giants are on really good terms with Boras so representation is not an issue there. I would put Inge's value a little above Juan Uribe. I just do not think he is that good. If Inge is really 31 years old he is not worth that contract.

The longer Crede is held the more desperate a team in need of him could become. The reason I disliked the Garland and Garcia trades so much was when they went down. They can play on the desperation of a team especially a team that losses a 3B in spring training. This is the same thing that could happen to Uribe and possibly even Nick Massett or Gavin Floyd. There is no need to take nothing prospects for them now as at worst they add depth of MLB players, not great players, but guys that you can count on for something. Lost in the Crede situation in my mind is the fact that the Sox signed him to a high contract when they still had time. I am not certain if he worked out, had a physical or what but they could have held out until it was time to go to arbitration to sign him.

I forgot about this part, He said first he could send down Danks, Fields, Quintin, and Floyd. The more interesting part is that he stated that Baseball America's resources for the most part are local writers, he pointed out Phil Rogers in particular. I found this very interesting and hoped someone with more knowledge could weigh in. He trashed Baseball America and kept stating that a competitive minor league system is not his goal MLB Championships are. The alarming part of this is the fact that he complains about rising salaries and how they need young players. I had asked my questions but my point was going to be that I could care less about the minor leagues but if you are not going ot spend on the draft and outbid in free agency, the result will be quite simple......your team is going to suck.

I was there Friday and was actually the dumb guy that was on CSN asking three questions. I usually do not ask questions as there is no real question I wanted to ask more like debateable points. That being said here were my specific questions Is Carlos Quintin healthy - KW stated that Quintin and Walker worked out last week and his shoulder is fine Would you sign Podsednik to a minor league deal and see if he can give them anything. Owens could be sent to AAA and brought back if Pods injures himself KW stated that Pods is close to signing a minor league deal elsewhere and he would not have a shot at makinnthe team. -------- I am not a Pods fan but here is low risk in giving him a minor league deal and going with Owens. Owens is being handed the lead-off spot and CF job arainst RHP in my mind. Would you draft Pedro Alvarez?[/b] KW stated that he would not discuss amateur players. I was hoping for a more specific ansers as to how that would approach the draft. I guess you get what you ask for. Some things that he spoke of that I did not see anywhere; Uribe was mentioned as a 3B option on more than one occassion. Players can not be judged on spring training as the high sky (can't judge outfielders) and rock hard ground (can't judge infielders) affect all aspects of defense and pitching (can't judge pitchers). I was hoping somebody would ask, "Then why in the hell did you move there?" If he wanted to build a top notch minor league system he could trade for one in three days. Again I wish I could have asked him more about this. I thought over-all Farmer was trying to bait people as he came out questioning the knowledge of fans for some reason and tried to piss people off right off of the bat. I thought it was pretty sad. He started by asking who would sign Hunter for $90M nobody raised their hand and then he said essentially that Rowand is not worth Konerko money. A fan called him out on this and nailed him by stating that you cna not compare contracts from two years ago to today. Farmer looked bad here but kept saying "you would pay Rowand as much as Konerko". The Rowand love was 50/50. The little kid that asked why they Uribe and then traded for Cabrerra was blown by a Cabrerra lovefest by Guillen. Unfortunatly that was not the question. Guillen and KW left the Bartolo option open. I think Cabrerra and Owens platoon at lead-off as Guillen kind of stated this when asked what his line-up would be. A few organizational folks believe Crede is gone. Roland Hemond is cool. The new marketing campaign seems blah. The Palmer House sucks and the event has really gone downhill. It is hard to get around and we missed the whole fundamentals section that was not even marked.

Felix and Bedard are arguably the best 1 & 2 in baseball. That could be enough. I really like the potential of Seattle better than the Angels. Sexson and Beltre behind Ichiro could be tough. The Angels need to look at getting some more pop I bleive.

When talking about steroid "dens" how is Wrigley not mentioned? The greatest steroid fraud occurred there while he was covering the team.

McDougal is a-lot like Howry when he was here but with better stuff than Howry. With experience comes the ability to throw better strikes and better control

I love Julia Styles due to his role in 10 Things I Hate About You.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Jan 22, 2008 -> 03:32 PM) You'd seriously give up Booooooone for Jamie Walker? Not in a 1 for 1 deal but if it sweetened the pot of a bigger deal yes, they are essentially the same pitcher.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jan 22, 2008 -> 02:52 PM) Am I the only one who thinks Bobby Jenks + Uribe and maybe a Lance Broadway (or at most Gavin Floyd) could net Erik Bedard? With Dotel/Linebrink/MacDougal already don't we all think its worth it to get the type of talent Bedard is?? I think this would instantly make us contenders in the AL Central and the Orioles would be nuts to not bite on that package that gives them a young SP from the Baltimore area (if it was in fact Floyd), a SS they desperately need (even if he does like Krispy Kreme a bit too much), and a young closer in his arb years who just might be the best at what he does. Am I insane? I posted something similar in the cubs Roberts thread over in the Diamond Club. I think a Boone Logan/Jaime Walker discussion should be had as well. Cheap LOOGY for bad contract LOOGY....

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 22, 2008 -> 11:47 AM) Jenks would obviously be of interest to the O's, but the other four names you mentioned have no value to them. Baltimore will be looking for young players with upside. Uribe probably was the worst major league regular in baseball last season, Anderson has crushed his value, Masset is a dime a dozen pitcher, and Aardsma was just DFA'd. They have no value. If they did, I can assure you both Anderson and Uribe would have already been dealt. Who are the Orioles options for CF and SS currently? Neither would be the focal point of a deal but they both would be useful pieces to the Orioles and fill their needs.

I really think the Sox are putting a package together for Bedard and/or Roberts. If Jenks is part of the deal every other player could be fodder BUT VERY USEFUL TO THE ORIOLES (Uribe, Anderson, Massett, Aardesma).

The DVR is god but on an other point. Lalime was incredible all weekend. Not to point out the obvious but this team really needs to generate scoring opportunities on a more consistent basis. The third and fourth lines are non-existent and hardly generate anything. The defense was pretty solid. Gotta say Barker and Jordan have looked pretty good. I am not sure if it is Williams and Toews being out or Havlat looking like a shell of himself but the number 8 spot in the playoffs would not be pretty if we had to face Detroit. As for the future, why can't the Hawks handle Habby/Lalime like the Wings treat Hasek and Osgood? They were pointing on CSN last night but the rest for Habby could be a good thing in the long run. Take all of this with a grain of salt as I thought Kevyn Adams was a defenseman..........

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jan 17, 2008 -> 01:35 PM) The "big" move went down. link Watch out for this pointless move. The stocking of the 4th line commences. Does this mean Perrault or LaPointe are out the door? That'd be swell, especially the latter. This team loves forwards that can get you 20 points (usually the 8G / 12A) for a season.

I still think this move predicates a bigger move of either Floyd or Danks in a deal with the likes of Roberts or Figgins with the announcement delay being the trade in principal being agreed upon prior to signing Colon. I like Colon if they are intent on sending Danks to AAA or if they are looking to move Floyd or Danks..............

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Jan 16, 2008 -> 09:39 PM) Neither is going to be, you should know that -- three of Murton, Cedeno, Gallagher and Marshall is what it'll (likely) be. My hope is that Baltimore gets Murton and the two starters -- that would give the Cubs no depth behind their back of the rotation. If they are relying on Marshall and Gallahger their season is in trouble anyway. I believe they will include something to get back Mora to add depth to their bench and include Pie.

If you were the Brewers would you trade Ryan Braun for Tim Lincecum?

I am not as poitically savvy I suppose but what is the deal with the Michigan primary regarding Democrats?