caulfield12

Well, it certainly would explain the deterioration in his physical skills at the end of his career. Wonder if they will have to start doing mandatory HIV/AIDS testing before trades are completed now? That certainly would have been a possible criteria for rejecting the trade, not unlike (but certainly different) from Rocco Baldelli's health situation. I wonder how (if at all) this will affect his HOF credentials...if it is proven he knowingly/intentionally gave AIDS to someone else? I mean, as if Alex Rodriguez didn't case enough problems..well, this is just totally weird, like the Michael Vick herpes thing. In April 2005, Alomar told Dall he was suffering from erectile dysfunction and confided "he was raped by two Mexican men after playing a ballgame in New Mexico or a Southwestern state when he was 17," the suit says.

Well, then at least you have to give them credit for that...at least. I mean, everyone can predict year after year after year the Royals are going to be an 80-85 win team, but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe this will be the year and they will actually get it right...I guess I look at it like trading programs meant to beat indexed mutual funds. 85% of the time, the computer programs are wrong, but when they're correct, they're spectacularly correct and everyone tends to defer TOO much to these predictive validity models. The problem is that these models overrate the Javier Vazquezes and Nick Swishers to the point where there is a disconnect from the reality of constructing a REAL baseball team.

Josh Fields is to 2B as Carlos Lee/Konerko were to 3B...except worse.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Feb 10, 2009 -> 05:37 PM) I imagine that means they've missed by 55 games over 5 years, so we are looking at a 14 game difference, which means the Sox would win 87-88 games. Not a good enough reason to conclude that they'll be contenders, but it's something to chew on all the same. Considering they were EXACTLY right (or close) only once, in 2007....this number would mean they've been incorrect by an average of 13.5 games per season. That's simply ridiculous as a predictive model. I wonder where they had the Rays coming into last season? BTW, what were their projections for 2004 and 2006 again? I can't imagine how they were so far off with those years. As the earlier post pointed out: 1) There's no consideration for what Viciedo, Marquez, Colon, etc., will contribute 2) Predicting Nix and Wise to be actual starters not only serves their model to give the lowest VORP numbers, it's also the most unlikely scenario 3) Beckham hasn't been considered at all as a factor 4) Contreras might not even pitch this year if he has another relapse...but I think he's like to be either really good or really terrible, but quite unpredictable Also, thinking the Alex Gordon or Billy Butler are anywhere near the class of Carlos Quentin based on their MLB results in 2008 is just grasping for straws...are they going by what the scouts projected when they were drafted or in the minors, or actual results? Yes, Butler's a good hitter....but he has yet to evolve into another more than a gap hitter with an occasional homer (long gone) and he has ZERO positions on the field, he's the definition of a DH. He's like a cross between Ross Gload and Shawn Abner/Matt Merullo.

That might be another candidate for post the of the new year so far! If KW wasn't a jerk...although I'm not sure where the eating part for the fans comes into it.

Isn't that a Mennonite school? Does it count if I dated a girl that went to school there 10 years ago...lol?

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 9, 2009 -> 12:56 PM) That makes so much sense. So then would it also make sense that payroll dollars that are spent on the lower level employees is more beneficial than payroll dollars spent on executives. And further, dollars saved at the executive level at banks, if not spent on lower level employees, could they be used as loan capital? I'm starting to like the executive cap more and more. http://www.newser.com/story/50001/skirting...ce-of-cake.html

But can you EVER imagine having an MLB team in Caracas or Venezuela while Chavez is the leader? I don't think so. It would be interesting to have that MLB South though.....Mexico City, Cuba/Havana, San Juan...Santo Domingo would be really, really pushing it. Could Mexico support/sustain two teams? It would have to be Guadalajara, Monterrey or Juarez/El Paso (which currently has a pretty successful AA Texas League franchise). On the Colombian north shore, you have Cartagena and Baranquilla...those cities are pretty baseball crazy. It would be a real challenge to come up with more than 4. Mexico City Cuba/Havana Caracas San Juan (maybe) Monterrey or Guadalajara (doubtful) Panama City (Mariano Rivera and Carlos Lee) Cartagena/Baranquilla (Renteria/Cabrera)

QUOTE (RibbieRubarb @ Feb 9, 2009 -> 12:36 PM) No, it's a real fan who understands economics and the reality of baseball. Then he should be working in DC or NYC right now because it doesn't seem that anyone understands economics fully these days. Or figuring out how to revive the dying RV production market in Elkhart/Goshen, Indiana. Talk about the wrong industry to be in now.

Maybe because it had the same director? Sam Mendes wasn't sure about making basically another version...of course, Kate Winslet is his wife, and she pushed the project along and helped with bringing DiCaprio into the project as well.

QUOTE (WhiteSoxfan1986 @ Feb 8, 2009 -> 10:02 PM) I would be suprised if Pujols WASN'T a juicer. He was just a 13th round draft pick in 1999. Played in Low-A ball in 2000, had a good year (.314, 19, 96), but you don't go straight from Low-A to having an MVP caliber season in 2001. I also wouldn't be shocked at all if Thome was a roider. People say he's a nice guy, but they say the same about Luis Gonzalez, and he's one of the more obvious roiders. Two other guys from the era who i'm pretty sure were on the juice are Shawn Green and Jay Bell. Brady Anderson was another of those guys who just shot up one year to 49 home runs...Luis Gonzalez was a borderline 4th/5th outfielder and then his career really took off, mysteriously. Shawn Green was always pretty thin-framed, I don't remember him looking abnormal or huge compared to when he started with the Jays. In fact, he was a much better player when he was younger and then seriously regressed in his 30's, the opposite for most of those guys like McGwire, Bonds and Sosa who get better in their 30's, in terms of their power numbers. Thome and M. Ramirez have never had "chiseled" frames...that might be another reason they've escaped scrutiny. If they looked like Gabe Kapler (who has the frame/cut of a bodybuilder but was never a true power hitter), then there would be a lot more suspicion. You have to think that taking steroids really had an affect on Juan Gonzalez's physique as well.

The main argument out there is the assertion that the Sox made a profit of $70 million from 2005-2008. I think if people didn't have that in their heads, they wouldn't be so upset...and the prices for most franchises keep appreciating (even in this market), so the average fan always feels like the owners of their teams have to spend wildly like Steinbrenner or Cuban or they're not "good" owners who care the most about their team winning.

QUOTE (LosMediasBlancas @ Feb 8, 2009 -> 02:06 AM) Just got back from watching 'Doubt' and I think it's over rated. Streep is solid and the film overall is good. The woman who plays the boy's Mom completely stole the show in the 10 minutes that she's on screen. She is brilliant. Viola Davis...

His big area of vulnerability later in his career was "plus" stuff on the inside corner or just inside off the plate. Because he starting diving out so much to cover the outside half, he'd inevitably have to jump back and rung up quite a few K's that way...I think as he aged, he realized that he had to cheat a little to get an advantage (he never had Alexei Ramirez bat speed, his bat was always "slider" speed). He could just kill offspeed stuff...good guess hitter...and he could pulverize average or slightly above average FB's when he had the count in his favor, which was usually because of his incredible eye and mgmt of the strike zone.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Feb 8, 2009 -> 01:39 AM) Lol, I would bet everything I own that Alomar gets in... for sure and probably first ballot. And I believe there was an article linking Bags to HGH/clear (can't remember) if I'm not mistaken. B-G-O... yea I love him (probably not as much as Alex though)... he's getting in I doubt he took anything, but I could be wrong. Bags, Piazza, I-Rod etc.. I don't see it. EDIT: Oh.. forgot... Todd Helton? When you think of Todd Helton, do you think HOF? I don't...I think Coors Field. I think you're just going to have to put up OVERWHELMING numbers playing the majority of your career games there. I know Bichette and Larry Walker didn't come close to having the numbers (Walker maybe) to be in the HOF discussion, but I'm thinking Helton will have a very difficult time making it. It's hard with I-Rod...because for most of his career, he was favorably compared with every catcher in the history of the game, coming out behind ONLY Johnny Bench to most "subjective" baseball writers/reporters. But the taint could stop both him and Piazza as well, two sure-fire HOF players about five years ago.

Definitely Vladimir Guerrero and Ichiro....and, as long as Jeter is clean (and he's not a power-based player, although his SLG shot up for awhile), he's first ballot. The question with Guerrero will be his health...if he at least puts up 2,500 hits, I think he'll be in for sure. Piazza is obviously under a huge cloud of suspicion...and there have always been doubts about I-Rod (not defensively, of course...but about his size and power/hitting). Billy Wagner? Don't think so....I think Smoltz is just a notch under Hall of Fame, too. I think Smoltz and/or Mussina will both get in eventually, but the cases are not clear-cut. Another player you don't hear much about is Bagwell (in terms of steroids rumors)...and Biggio will be there. It's hard to imagine, but Roberto Alomar might not make it (the spitting incident with Hirschbeck and the rapid fade to his career at the end), and ten years ago or so, you could argue that he was the best 2nd baseman ever...and have a legit case.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123360930255440715.html Very good article on lessons that can be culled from the Japanese "lost decade" and the spending stimulus plan they erected. Totally agree with the concerns about some of the recent cuts (by the Senate) having the most detrimental affect on the bill. I ALMOST wish they would just start over from scratch and dare the Republicans to come up with their bill that's not totally based on tax breaks. Tinkering around with the AMT....none of these things will get the economy going/consuming again, because the last tax refund ended up being applied to credit card debt, car loans, mortgages, home loans. It's GOOD, of course, that we (as individuals and as a country) start paying down our debts, but the stimulative effect of that is very minimal at best. How many Americans are going to rush out and invest in their businesses or buy stocks (how can you trust any segment of the economy right now?) Not very many...of course, the super-smart and richest always use these situations to their advantage, whether it's buying up foundering real estate for the future or running their competitors out of business, but the average/middle-class families are just hanging in there and fighting to get through the winter's heating bills and paying off Christmas purchases. But to summarize the WSJ article: 1) Don't build roads and bridges that are unnecessary, just to put people back to work...because there will be no long-term benefits 2) Do invest in education and health care, buildings, weatherizing/energy efficiency, "green jobs," technology, innovation, R&D, math and science In other words, invest in human capital...

Well...until anyone faces live pitching, I don't think we can make any determinations. I'd like to see how well he moves before we consign him to 1B/DH or possibly LF, but I'll continue to hold out hope he can play 3B or RF...although I imagine it might be more logical to move Quentin back to where he feels more comfortable. OTOH, have a nice/plus arm in LF and a better defender in RF might give our outfield defense (along with Anderson/Owens/Lillibridge in CF) something we haven't seen much of in recent years...an above-average defensive OF. I just don't get the sense yet (until we see him play) about his range/first-step quickness at 3B or about his ability to read fly balls. I'll remain hopeful that he can continue to turn baby fat into muscle and that we get something better than Miggy Cabrera defensively.

So who are the sure-fire Hall of Famers from this generation that are left? Thomas, Thome, Griffey and Manny Ramirez? Pujols, if he's clean. Randy Johnson, Maddux and Glavine, Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. Pedro Martinez. Mussina perhaps. So the next interesting question will be do Bonds and A-Rod ever get into the Hall of Fame?...Clemens, you could make a case he doesn't deserve it because of the career trajectory, but it will be interesting to see how things look with five or ten years' additional perspective.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Feb 7, 2009 -> 07:18 AM) Well he isnt. And he hasnt been for a few years now. Right now, its the Judd Apatow/Seth Rogen crew thats dominating the comedy "market" look at Vince Vaughns last "big" movie, Four Christmases, before that Fred Claus. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff. Look at everything Apatow has touched in the last 4 years, Superbad, 40 year old Virgin, Pineapple Express, Knocked Up, even Nick and Nora did pretty well. Those guys are the "hot" ones right now if anyone is. And you cannot count Will Ferrell out either, he is still a draw, Stepbrothers, Blades of Glory, Talladega Nights all did pretty well. Mike Myers must have had his funny bone removed Yeah, Michael Cera's career is really taking off after that movie and Juno. I think Drillbit Taylor and Dewey Cox/Walk Hard were reaching just a bit...but he's pretty much on top of Hollywood for the moment. With Will Ferrell (and I just saw Step Brothers), he just went once too often to the well with Jackie Moon: Semi-Pro. That same type of character can only be done so many times, although the Super Bowl beer commercials were still pretty much hilarious. And Reilly struggles if he has to carry a movie, he's much better as a sidekick, or a movie like Magnolia with some depth...I think he was pretty good in Chicago, too. Sometimes he overreaches, but not quite as much as Will Ferrell.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 7, 2009 -> 08:53 AM) No that I ever thought he was a great actor but what the heck happened to Brendan Fraser? If you want a "what happpened to?" thread, start one for Josh Harnett!!!! Brendan Fraser's making a ton of money....just this year, Inkheart (that's a flop) but also Journey to the Center of the Earth and the The Mummy series....which should never have been attempted without Rachel Weisz. That just ruined it for me. Still, despite the critical reviews, I think it ended up making money or basically not losing money either. I'm sure that will be the end of that particular role for him, though. At least for now...then he'll come back like Indiana Jones with a young son/sidekick. But they'll get Rachel Weisz to return and do a "reunion" movie of all the original cast, even Vosloo as Imhotep.

QUOTE (fathom @ Feb 7, 2009 -> 11:23 AM) I was thinking about this list of 100 players, and wasn't that when the Sox decided to not take the test? Thus, it would seem that anyone on the 2003 team likely won't show up on the list as testing positive. In all honesty, the only two players who would disappoint me if I saw them on any steroid list are Konerko and Buehrle. You wouldn't be upset if it turned out that Big Frank was using them? Looking back on that generation, I'd like to think that at least Griffey and Thomas weren't using. If they go down, what heroes do we have left? Ripken? Gwynn? Mattingly? Certainly not Puckett, with all the unfortunate things we've heard about his off-field issues.

The irony is that if you look at our expenditures over the last three years and compare that with 1) attendance and 2) wins, you'd have to agree we're getting a "so-so" return on our investment. However, if you factor in the fact that our average ticket prices, parking, concessions and souvenirs are close to the top in terms MLB rankings of cheap versus expensive...well, there's not much of a sensitivity to the plight of the fans, especially with the 11% increase for 2009. It's kind of strange, but you never hear KW say "our average payroll over the last three seasons was fifth in baseball..." You do see a few pretend-brave/courageous writers like Cowley bowing to JR, but that cheap label has been hard to get rid of since the White Flag trade, and because of the Bill Veeck Era before that. You have Albert Belle, David Wells, Navarro, keeping Buehrle/Konerko/Dye....spending a ton of money on Rodman, Pippen, Jordan, Hor. Grant, Kukoc and BJ Armstrong. But it's hard for fans to forget the way Fisk was treated, Black Jack McDowell, Ventura...Lance Johnson, Durham, Ordonez (of course KW never planned to keep him, regardless of the injuries), Carlos Lee, Rowand, Crede, etc. Then there was the nasty decade-long struggle with a diminishing Frank Thomas that lowered both sides in the process and was sad to watch. Yet our attendance was middle of the pack (mostly because of the nearly season-long disappointment of 2007) with all that money we spent, and the most successful year was the one in which we spent the least (05).

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 5, 2009 -> 07:28 PM) Again, you're basing his ability on the movies he's in. Once he can carry a boring movie, as Daniel Day-Lewis and Philip Seymour Hoffman did in There Will Be Blood and Doubt, respectively, then I might start thinking he's a very good actor. Disagree on PSH in Doubt. I think Meryl Streep and the scene with Viola Davis dominated that movie...I could even make an argument that Amy Adams was more interesting to me as the moral compass of the picture caught between the two poles. I kind of have a shifting opinion. I used to think Kevin Spacey was the best about 10 years ago. Maybe Denzel Washington. Now I'm not so sure who I'd pick. Russell Crowe is up there, but sometimes he's overrated, and more recently, it's impossible for him to satisfy anyone because people expect too much perhaps...like Tom Hanks about 5-7 years ago. I never liked Clint Eastwood for his politics, but I have a new appreciation after watching Gran Torino. It's interesting, there isn't really one big/huge Hollywood movie star left. Cruise and Pitt, and Will Smith...but Smith's last two movies have been critical disasters, Hancock and Seven Pounds. I guess it goes in stages...we had the mini-era of Ferrell, Sandler, Jim Carrey and Mike Myers on top. I do find it hard to accept Vince Vaughn as the new "go to" guy in comedy. Even actresses, hard to distinguish (Jessica Alba or Biel, etc.) Julie Roberts' absence changed the scene....Meg Ryan fell off the face of the earth, and Reese Witherspoon fell into a horrible slump of bad movie choices as well. Cameron Diaz has fallen off as well. That's why I am not surprised to Mall Cop do so well....that character, for an average, middle class/struggling American in flyover territory, seems relatable. Certainly better and more uplifting than subjecting yourself to Revolutionary Road or The Reader more than once. I showed Gran Torino to my Intercultural Issues class here in Thailand and almost everyone was crying and affected by the end of the story.

Nick Swisher and Blanton have to be in there somewhere. Grady Fuson has a pretty big part as well. And JP Ricciardi. I would pick Djimon Honsou for KW...just because!!! Although the comedian from SNL wouldn't be bad, either...