lostfan

LBJ was quoted as saying something to the effect of "this b**** of a war" is going to distract people from the other stuff he did during his presidency.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 12:37 PM) Not NEARLY what Palin's daughter has received. Yesterday pretty much every news story was either Gustav or Palin. I think all the coverage is bulls***, but it will die down and go away pretty soon (barring something else coming out) and in the end this won't matter.

What are you talking about, the Ayers thing got tons of attention...?

QUOTE (Disco72 @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 11:31 AM) I have no interest in defending the guy in charge of the vetting who is looking like an idiot right now. My point is that I do not really see the "holy crap!...I can't believe she did that!" attitude in the things that have been "found out" about her. I guess I'm just cynical, but if this is the worst that can be said about her, how bad could the vetting have been? I appear to be in an obvious minority in that these things do not seem like a big deal to me. Unless something more serious arises, I will vote for McCain/Palin or not based on issues, not anything "found out" about her in the last week. I don't see that a lot of this stuff is a big deal either, especially the pregnancy thing. Now, I'm withholding judgment on the trooper deal, because if it's true, it's a big deal... but there's not enough facts for me to flip out.

QUOTE (NCsoxfan @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 12:31 PM) I agree. You don't think Ramirez has hitting versatility? While he never walks, he hits a good amount of line drives and hits the opposite way... I would feel better about it if he would draw more walks, his OBP is driven by batting average. He's like AJ with more contact ability, but I feel like his OBP will be too volatile without the walks. I just would rather see him driving in runs with his big hits than trying to set the table.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 12:17 PM) LINK I didn't know that either.

QUOTE (NCsoxfan @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 11:57 AM) Its not that I want to throw away HR's for the sake of it. I think b/c we have so many HR hitters, we are prone to the very things we are talking about... In a way (and to a point), the things we are discussing are mutually exclusive. Am I wrong? Good offensive players are going to hit home runs, so there is no way to avoid it unless you want to decrease the quality of players in the second half of your lineup. If you want a Granderson/Sizemore type of player that's a lot easier said than done (and even they hit a fair # of homers). I think it has to do more with the plate approach than anything. Only CQ and Dye seem to have any hitting versatility IMO.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 10:55 AM) What does China's military have to do with this conversation? Bah I was going to post this, but not nearly as cleverly.

QUOTE (NCsoxfan @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 11:29 AM) We are not 8th in the AL in Hits and OBP because of our #1 and #2 hitters. If you added the incremental hits and OBP between our #1 & #2 hitters and the best 1-2 pair, it would NOT boost us up that far. It is MORE than just 1 and 2. I think we do need to alter the offense... You're kind of selectively citing stats here. The offense is still one of the more productive in the AL and is at or near the top in a lot of other significant categories. It's not broken, it's just inconsistent because: -It has trouble scoring runs any other way than HRs -There are certain players ridiculously underperforming for long stretches -They get owned against soft-tossing lefties The lineup needs balance, discipline, and a proper top of the order, it does NOT need to just throw away HRs for the sake of doint it. There is nothing wrong with having an ability to mash out HRs if the lineup is balanced.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 11:07 AM) DailyKos has started a pool to guess when she will drop out or be removed. I'm just wondering why he thinks that happening would hurt McCain so much.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 10:00 AM) If they do that, Obama wins by 20+ points. What do you base this on?

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 09:54 AM) You can argue where he ranks based on merit in terms of all time presidents, but I would think he has to easily be the most hated two term president ever, if not president in general. When the opposing party is saying that the current candidate is just like you as a big part of it's campaign, people accurately claim it will help a certain campaign that you aren't there at it's convention, and so on, it says a lot about your popularity. Truman and LBJ were both hated pretty bad during their presidencies because of wars (moreso LBJ). History looks back more or less favorably on Truman, but people still think "Vietnam" when they think of LBJ. Time will tell with Bush 43 though.

Although I must say the title of "General Secretary" is cooler-sounding than "President."

Certainly, comrade deputy.

QUOTE (NCsoxfan @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 08:47 AM) My worry is that without trading players, there are limited positions on our team to change to more of a line-drive style. The only areas we could change would be 2B/SS (Cabrera out), 3B, and CF... While we might all want to see a different style offense, how likely is it that next year will be any different? We don't need a different style offense. We need a productive top of the order, and we can't have black holes like Crede has been lately, Konerko for most of the year until a month ago, or Uribe a lot of the time when he's not on one of his streaks. Our 3-4-5 is just as it should be and trading away the power production from there would be insanity. When the 6 and 7 are mashing too, there's nothing wrong with that either. Bottom line... have a true leadoff hitter who gets on base and can run, and a true #2 hitter who can handle the bat and has a decent OBP, instead of the stopgaps we have there now, and this offense is a juggernaut. It doesn't need a fundamental change.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 07:47 AM) The OBP is a wash, but his speed and the ability to bunt make him more valuable in the 2nd position than AJ. I agree its not a perfect solution. But this lineup needs a change. Personally I would rather see his slugging utilized in the lineup after guys like Thome and Konerko who get on base (when Paulie doesn't suck) Slugging + high OBP = reliable stream of runs

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 08:28 AM) Move Alexei to the 2nd hitter. Move AJ to 6th behind Paulie. People keep saying this, but I don't get the point of it. The main gripe people have with AJ being in the 2 spot is his low OBP. So why Alexei? AJ's OBP: .322 Alexei's OBP: .323 AJ's OPS: .757 Alexei's OPS: .810 So Alexei slugs higher and that's really it, if you're trying to improve OBP you do it, but by a whopping 1 point as of now. What's swapping them out going to accomplish? Maybe one day Alexei will start drawing more walks, but that's just not the kind of player he is.

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 12:42 AM) Every team is going to have holes going into the off-season, and I'm actually happy those are ours. In reality, those 3 are probably the easiest to fill. Especially 5th starter. They're a dime a dozen. The hard ones to find are the 1-2-3 spots.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 06:37 AM) Connecticut delegation attacked, and had a mix of Clorox and water thrown on them. An 80 year old woman delagate had to be treated for injuries when one tried to rip her credentials from her neck. http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages...mp;pageId=3.2.1 Anarchists thew bags of sand and cement off an overpass onto busses below. Now these bastrads should have been subjected to the police brutality claimed earlier. They should have been shot. And beaten. http://www.foundingbloggers.com/wordpress/...to-xcel-center/ Wacked out anarchists and extreme left loonies. They are barely any different in character from the Westboro Baptist Church.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Sep 2, 2008 -> 12:02 AM) I'll wait and see on it as well. But, I've read that local law enforcement broke out the pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades, and good old excessive force in carrying out their duties Monday. Toss in abrogating freedom of the press and journalistic First Amendment rights by arresting press members after they have identified themselves as such, including video footage of the DN producers getting bloodied up pretty good, and it will be difficult for the police department to come out looking very good. I had heard a lot of talk from authorities in Minnesota that they didn't want to be like the NYC police, or the Seattle police at the WTO demonstrations. Well. We'll see. There's a reason this stuff happens... these are the most aggressive kinds of protesters, and they're always pushing the envelope, if they're not flat out crossing the line.

In half-assed defense of the law enforcement officers, there are a LOT of crazy mofos protesting at the RNC. The DNC was relatively quiet.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Sep 1, 2008 -> 11:47 PM) However in stranger news, today - CNN analyst Donna Brazile pepper sprayed outside the Xcel Center http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail..._pepper_sp.html wtf?

QUOTE (KipWellsFan @ Sep 1, 2008 -> 11:25 PM) You really think the town she was mayor of was a special, entrenched interest? Sounds like she was doing her job well. That being said I couldn't in a million years see this person leading the free world and facing down the likes of Vladimir Putin. There had to be 50 people in the Republican Party more ready to be Vice President. I think the real focus is on how silly McCain's literal definition of "earmarks" would be.

Well he is a gaffe machine

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Sep 1, 2008 -> 11:39 PM) the whole... "Fox news parrots GOP talking points" thing Ah I see, I guess.