Southwest Sider

Appreciate the comments fellas. I'm not interested in getting into tournaments because I simply don't have 4-5 days a week to dedicate, but definitely looking to join some local league for competitive fun. I did buy a $200 ball, got it drilled at the pro shop I got it from. Everything feels great and I'm really enjoying my ball so far. This might be a really good thing, but I have been doing incredibly well at picking up my spares. I don't often string together strikes, but I did put together another mid-500's series this past Tuesday and another 500 this past Thursday. I felt pretty good on Thursday because in my final two games I left only one open frame and that was with few strikes. As you said, the games were like 185 and 195. As of now I'm inconsistent with my first ball. I've just recently started to actually get hook on my ball, but it's inconsistent yet. Sometimes it doesn't make it to the pocket, sometimes it gets too much of the head pin, and sometimes it drifts to the backdoor pocket. Sometimes it hits the pocket right on the money, though, and those feel nice. I'm just working on the repetition there and no doubt I'll make some progress soon enough. If I can get some more consistent strikes and keep up my propensity to pick up spares, I'll be really happy with the progress I've made in only a few months. As an aside, my buddy is an absolute freak of nature. Last time he seriously bowled was in high school (~10 years ago) and he started joining me twice a week and throws his dads old ball the same way he did in high school, which is thumbless. His accuracy is insane. He has had several 200+ games in only a couple of months, and just this past Thursday had a 277 which was part of a 700 series. Everything I read online says thumbless bowling can be very inconsistent but he's just got his style down and it works for him. He started worrying me with talk of learning how to bowl like everyone else, using the thumb and everything. I argue that it might be a tough transition for him, especially since we're bowling mostly for fun and maybe for competition some time this year. Furthermore, I argue that he is enjoying great success with his style of bowling and why fix what isn't broken? He did mention that he wants to be able to adjust to different lane conditions should he go to different bowling alleys since one time we went to a different bowling center and his ball had almost no hook at all despite the revolutions he puts on it.

Heh, I actually bought a ball in November and have been practicing twice a week with some friends in anticipation of eventually joining a league. I had my first 500 series last week (yay) and have been finally starting to get my ball hooking nicely. Any tips for beginners?

Since I have family in AZ, I go every year in March. My grandpa is a Cub fan, so we go to the Cubs @ Sox game and 1 or 2 others. It's never sold out unless the Cubs are there, or perhaps the Dodgers as well. One tip for me is try to get tickets in a shaded portion of the stadium. You will be so happy you did because that sun can get HOT, even in March. One of my usual deals was to kind of overbuy tickets for the Cubs @ Sox game, and resell on Stubhub since it always sells out. This year, however, the ticket brokers must have gone nuts because every single ticket to that game was sold out before individual game tickets even went on sale. They had to buy 3 game packages to get tickets to the Cubs. I don't blame them; demand should be higher than ever this year. They'll make some money. I'm just bummed out that I won't be making a few extra bucks this year.

I showed up with a bunch of friends to a Sunday Sox game and we're hanging out tailgating. Someone points out Kip Lewis in the parking lot and sure enough he was accompanied by the Beer Money crew. Empowered by the liquid courage of a few alcoholic beverages, almost my entire crew signs up to participate. 2 of my friends were Cubs fans, did Cubs trivia. They nailed it and took $130. My other buddy did solo Sox trivia and nailed it, won the $130. Myself and another friend did guess that Sox player and luckily he was with me: for the life of me I could not think of the player. That he played at Kent State should have been a dead giveaway for me. It was not for me, but it was for my friend and he nailed it and we split $80 between us. It was a really unexpected, really cool thing to happen that I'm sure we will all remember, even though the show is mostly filler for rain delays and late night TV.

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Jan 12, 2017 -> 10:40 AM) Can we just merge the 2 Quintana threads together to make one giant thread in order to pass the Cespedes thread in length? This thread is ending up the exact same way as the one that was closed a few days ago. I'm also not a big fan of catch all threads, but in cases like these I think exceptions can be made since it's catching all of one very narrow subject. Unless we're planning on having separate threads for Q rumors for Astros, Pirates, Braves etc. then it made little sense to shut down the other thread when it's essentially the same exact thing as this thread.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jan 9, 2017 -> 08:11 PM) 3 prospects, but no Meadows? Ehhhh. I could only imagine Glasnow, Bell and Newman would be the offer in that case. But if we're only taking three, I want Meadows. Yeah, it's pretty silly that there's not a package of 4 prospects on the table. 3 is too light unless it includes Meadows. Pittsburgh should understand this...

Sounds like reasonable deals might be starting to hit the table. Rick's asking if Huntington would be willing to counteroffer. I'm probably going to read too much into it, but that might mean that RH expects a strong offer from another team (Houston?) soon. He wants to see if the Pirates want a phone call with an opportunity to counter when the offer is presented. Hopefully they said yes. bmags may be right, a deal could be done this week. Perhaps even tomorrow. I wonder if we see the Quintanatwitterverse explode tomorrow with rumors flying again.

No doubt, if Melky does what Melky usually does and puts up a .300 average, some team might need him or love to have him as a rental. I think the fact that his contract finishes after 2017 will make him more attractive to teams this year. I could see the Sox getting at least 1 decent prospect for him at or near the trade deadline.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 6, 2017 -> 07:10 AM) With guys like Trumbo and Joey Bats available on the FA market, Abreu's trade value is pretty limited now. But at the deadline, there could be unexpected contenders, a team with an injury, etc., and his value could skyrocket. This is what I'm hoping for. I love Abreu, but if a great market for him ever appears, such as a situation like a trade deadline with no solid 1B-DH types available except Abreu and Abreu has put up All Star numbers, then you definitely let him go because that desperate team will pay to insert his bat into the lineup. Keeping Abreu during a rebuild isn't a horrible thing either. If he's average, it's okay because you're not expecting to win anything and as others have said, he would be a great role model. But if he can finally figure out his batting eye he can be a formidable offensive weapon that any team would love to have. That's what I wish for, even though he's 30 years old I'm hoping he has been going through a MLB learning process that younger players usually go through when it comes to hitting. Alternatively, perhaps the guy has just had nagging injuries that harm his batting, though it's tough to see why an injury would cause him to flail away at offspeed junk time and time again as he did in the first half of 2016.

If anyone likes those Winter Classic hats the Hawks were wearing, they are on sale for $15 here: https://www.lids.com/chicago-blackhawks-ree...&cadevice=c I think it's because even though they say one size fits all, they are quite tight around those with larger heads. I have a small head so it's a complete win for me and it fits comfortably.

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Jan 5, 2017 -> 09:59 AM) Wow the thread title made me think he was out for another year with another surgery. Glad he's progressing well. Yeah the thread necro scared me for a minute. Maybe that tidbit should go in Sox news & tweets thread.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 4, 2017 -> 09:50 AM) Interesting thoughts from Buster Olney on ESPN today. It's Insider so need a subscription but here's the Quintana portion: http://www.espn.com/blog/buster-olney/insider/post?id=15688 The Chicago White Sox could wait until after the start of spring training or even into next season to trade Jose Quintana, the best available starting pitcher. But evaluators with knowledge of the Quintana discussions say the White Sox seem intent on finishing a deal before camps open. The Pittsburgh Pirates could be the frontrunners for the left-hander, whose modest salary through the 2020 season make him perfect for Pittsburgh's budget. Makes sense that the Sox are intent on finishing a deal due to how much harder it might be to trade Quintana going forward. I highly doubt that if the Sox would get more from another team at the deadline or next offseason. The time to trade Quintana is now. This definitely hurts the Sox position in negotiations as teams can just decide to wait the Sox out until they accept their offers.

It's really too bad Pittsburgh is depending on Meadows to be their next big outfielder. They need him, and sadly he isn't as expendable to them as Moncada or Benitendi were to the Red Sox. Although all reports seemed that Boston was not giving up Benitendi anyway, but we will never know if that's true or not. Bell and Meadows sure are interesting prospects, but from the opinions I've seen on here, neither are 1A or 1B type of prospects like Boston had with Moncada and Benitendi. That's just not enough to push a deal over the finish line for the White Sox. The only way I see a Pirates trade working is a 3 team deal in which the Pirates are somehow able to acquire a big time prospect for McCutchen, and the likelihood of that is very slim. There's slim pickings for Q suitors, it seems. Houston doesn't like him enough, Yankees want to keep all their new prospects, Pirates simply don't have enough, Rockies... who knows with them. I really hope a deal is made, but the more time that goes on the less likely it seems. Getting a few great prospects for Q is very important for the rebuild, in my humble opinion. Trading him during the season is a possibility, yes, but don't teams normally seek players with less term on their contracts during the season? There will be more pitchers available, with less term, for a cheaper price than Quintana will cost, no doubt. And while a Q trade is also possible next offseason, there is also a better class of free agent starting pitchers to contend with. If you are not confident about the Sox's chances of moving Q for a better package after this offseason is over, do you eventually settle for the best offer, provided it is reasonable and is something like Bell, Glasnow ++, or do you risk the possibility of injury and potentially lessened market for Q after this offseason in hopes of getting that blue chip headliner in a trade? Or do you just keep him if a solid deal never materializes?

Forget the rumors, forget the tweets. The only thing that happens now is deals. It either happens or it doesn't. These days, my friends, are the dog days of the offseason. Sure, things will still happen, but it will be when you least expect them. I'm done feeding off of rumors. I've heard enough Q rumors. The next thing for me that will be even remotely interesting involving Q is a Q trade. If it happens, great it will mean the Sox felt that they got a fair price. If not, oh well that sucks I'd prefer if some team had offered enough for the Sox to deal him but they didn't, so consolation prize is having an awesome pitcher on your team.

And don't the "leakers" like rabbit and WSD need authorization to actually leak the info? Otherwise I'd bet the sources would stop giving them information. This was definitely a controlled leak, for some reason or another.

QUOTE (SoxAce @ Dec 23, 2016 -> 10:24 PM) I'm hoping raBBit's leak didn't screw up the deal in any way. Sometimes its best to not saying anything till they say. Similar to bucket not saying anything about the Shark deal until it was close to finalized. To be fair, none of this seemed to make any sense at all for the Yankees. Even if they're competing next year, it's unlikely they'd trade prospects for a rental. I think that maybe all this stuff today was to put some heat on another team to up the ante, ala the Nationals leaks during the Winter Meetings.

QUOTE (gosoxgo2005 @ Dec 23, 2016 -> 10:38 AM) "That's on me" is an inside joke for people who read Barstool Ahhh thanks for clarifying. I was a bit confused

QUOTE (WhiteSoxLifer @ Dec 23, 2016 -> 10:31 AM) I wanted to spill the beans on the Sox/Pitt/NYY deal so bad yesterday, but my scout source wouldn't let me, that's on me everyone https://twitter.com/barstoolWSD/status/812334206370062336 It's on him even though his source wouldn't let him? Uhhh? Ok...

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 23, 2016 -> 10:13 AM) I have to say, while pumped about package, totally flummoxed about whether the PIrates are giving up too much or know McCutchens value is that low, and also have ZERO clue why Yankees care about McCutchen this year. Like wtf. From White Sox perspective, getting glasnow is great, getting Rutherford back is amazing, getting back newman too I'm ripping my shirt off and letting my flabby 30 year old chest show proud, add keller and we are talkin pants at that point, men. I can only guess the Yankees either want to see how he does and re-sign him or see how he does and flip him at the deadline. They could get back a package similar or better than Rutherford/Andujar but I still don't see the motivation to play that risky game.

Rutherford and Andujar are probably in on this deal because they are the only 2 Yankees prospects in that list. Glasnow is obviously in as the headliner. Probably Diaz and 1 of Keller or Newman? I'm guessing it's gonna be Glasnow/Rutherford/Andujar/Keller OR Newman/Diaz

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 23, 2016 -> 09:51 AM) Wow, that seems complex as hell. And to me makes no sense for Yankees but to get Rutherford would be dope. Edit: Also congrats rabbit on getting that info. I figured they'd be more interested in Quintana.

QUOTE (Sleepy Harold @ Dec 23, 2016 -> 09:47 AM) Brian Bilek ‏@BrianBilek_ #WhiteSox are in trade talks on a "complex" deal they want to get done by Christmas. Nothing finalized but names & scope of deal are fluid. 7:45 AM - 23 Dec 2016 Brian Bilek ‏@BrianBilek_ 3 way trade would entail Quintana to #Pirates, McCucthen to #Yankees and a package of prospects that's headlined by Glasnow to #WhiteSox. Brian Bilek ‏@BrianBilek_ Outside of Glasnow, #WhiteSox would receive some combo of Mitch Keller, Blake Rutherford, Kevin Newman, Miguel Andujar & Elias Diaz. 7:46 AM - 23 Dec 2016 some raBBit bombs WOW. That's some serious info!!! Details of a 3 team trade being leaked

Cardinals and Cubs getting involved to drive up the price for Pittsburgh? If any of that is real, then that is fantastic news for the Sox.

There's a lot of smoke in the form of tweets about Quintana lately. The media leaks are on us and I'm hoping this also means a deal is reached fairly soon...

My guess is the Pirates "working hard" is working on a three team deal where they trade McCutchen and most of that package goes to the Sox for Q. Unfortunately for them, I don't know if McCutchen can acquire enough trade pieces to really move the needle for the Sox without adding significant pieces of their own. I don't even know if McCutchen could get that "headliner" to take Meadows' place in a hypothetical deal. It's kind of too bad that he didn't have a better season, he'd assuredly be a hotter commodity and maybe this trade would have happened. And that's where we are now: trade to the Pirates is a longshot because of these issues. They'd be better served trying to deal McCutchen midseason unless they're contending. There's a great chance he will rebuild value and with that the Pirates can probably get a better deal for him. I just don't see the Sox accepting a deal like that for Quintana, and that's why they're probably a longshot.