whitesoxfan99

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 07:40 PM) Did Hawk basically just call Griff washed up? If he is washed up what does that say about Konerko. Griffey has been better at the plate than Konerko each of the last two years. And the same goes for Swisher actually.

Jim Thome is good

Jamar Smith dismissed from the Illinois basketball team. http://fightingillini.cstv.com/sports/m-ba.../073108aaa.html I'm fine with this decision just as I was fine with the decision to give him a second chance. Too bad he didn't take advantage of it. At some point he is going to realize what a great opportunity he wasted at Illinois. And we officially will suck until Legion is eligible. We need the guys in my sig to get to campus. Thank god the future is bright.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 04:14 PM) I'm just wondering who is going to get replaced in this deal. All these veterans; some will see diminished PT and will probably brood. Sorry I don't worship Swish. Thanks for bashing my Swish trade comment and not answering my question. Konerko is probably going to see a significant drop in playing time

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 03:40 PM) I said maybe because you don't know if the Sox will offer him arbitration. If he does get offered arbitration I can see him being on less than a type B FA and I wouldn't be shocked to see him as a Type A (I expect a strong finish to the season for Griff). Agreed. I thought you may have been implying he may not even be a type B FA. As for Griffey, he is definitely past his prime, on the down side, etc. but he is also only a year removed from posting a .868 OPS and he has been swinging the bat extremely well as of late. He may not be able to play CF anymore but I do think he is still has ability with the bat. I will be interested to see how the Sox handle this. Griffey cannot play CF everyday at this point in his career. Will Dye and Griffey see some time at 1b? I know both have limited experience there but both are obviously great athletes and it is not like Konerko has been stellar there this year.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 02:02 PM) Wrong forum, but you need to add the white bigs to that sig. Get a Leonard and Griffey photo in there. LOL. I haven't updated it for a while.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 01:51 PM) I'm going to instead go with the top 3 rounds (you don't know who signs and whether you'll get 1st round picks or 2nd round picks depending on the order of the Type A/Type B FA's). Sox own: 1st 2nd 3rd OC - 2 picks Crede - 1 pick Uribe - Potentially 1 pick Griffey - Potentially 1 to 2 picks (higher probability on 1 and even that is an if). This would give the Sox between 6 & 9 picks within the 1st three rounds depending on how things work out. This assumes at the very least Crede/OC going elsewhere. Griffey was an all star, hit 30 HRs and posted a .868 OPS last year so the Sox should get some compensation for him.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 09:35 PM) Does anyone think the Brew Crew may make Sabathia or Sheets available? The Cubs are crushing them. No. There is still the wild card and you get to the postseason with those two going for you have a chance. And if Gallardo is able to come back that 1-2-3 would be amazing.

QUOTE (rangercal @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 10:43 AM) don't forget the 5,000+ voters/ morons who voted 1 for batman. The whole thing is just ridiculous. Who really gives a damn what the #1 movie is on IMDB. But I will say, is that while I loved the Dark Knight there can't be anyone that really believes that is the greatest movie of all time.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Jul 30, 2008 -> 09:25 AM) Cases are decided all the time on the testimony of witnesses and cops make excellent witnesses. A jury or judge would have to decide if, based on the testimony, he was drinking. Cop and other witnesses on one side and other witnesses and Smith on the other. The cop gets on the stand and describes what he saw, heard, and smelled, and I can easily see a conviction. Remember it was zero tolerance. They don't have to prove he was drunk, just that he had a sip. It actually is unclear if zero tolerance is the condition of his probation. It appears it may be that Smith has to abuse alcohol. Not sure yet as I can't find the actual order. I'm well aware that people are convicted based on testimony all the time. And after reading up on what you have to show for probation you have to show that it was more likely than not the fact Jamar was drinking rather than reasonable doubt. With that being the case it is probable a judge would decide that Jamar broke his probation. Lets remember that my earlier post assumed there was no other evidence or witnesses, so no one to corroborate that they saw Jamar actually drinking that night. However, there are some holes in the story if we ignore the fact that Jamar apparently admitted to the officer he had 3-4 beers. If I was a lawyer for Jamar I would bring up the fact that apparently the officer did not smell the alcohol till his 3rd encounter with Jamar. Or that there is no evidence he was acting in an impaired manner. That if he was with other people who were drinking beer easily could have been spilled on him. That the entire campustown area smells of alcohol. All really irrelevant at this point anyways. If he admitted to the officer he was drinking and it is zero tolerance in the probation he is screwed. If the state needs to show he abused alcohol, unless there are more facts than that he smelled of alcohol they have an extremely difficult case.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 11:38 PM) Jamar has been seen drinking on more than a few occasions down there by people I know. He is just a stupid person with a problem that obviously hasn't been treated properly. It really is pathetic that Bruce didn't kick him off the team originally, I can only hope he will FINALLY be gone now. However, Jamar is like a cat with 9 lives, so we'll see. Bond was 25K btw Badger, that is why he posted 2500. It sounds like a weak case, but you don't need much when all it takes for probation violation is drinking alcohol, even with Jamar being of age. You still have to show that he more likely that not was drinking. With the more recent allegation that he admitted to police that he had a couple of drinks he would be screwed. Otherwise just saying he smelled of alcohol would almost certainly not be enough to show he more likely than not was drinking.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 09:48 PM) My brother heard a rumor today that the Sox aren't interested in offering OC arbitration this offseason, as they don't want the compensation picks. That is quite possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Sort of OT but if Jamar is gone, the games between NW, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan and probably Penn State are all going to be comically bad. Wow is the conference going to suck.

Great start to the game tonight. Alexei continues to look like he will be real special. Now if we could just get at least one of Konerko or Swish to get their head out of their ass.

http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8...p;nav=menu593_2 This article claims that Jamar told the cops he had been drinking. If that is the case then he could be in trouble.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 05:24 PM) Yes, but I was quoting the "he's never gotten on base his whole career" remark which was not correct. Agreed, although Kotchman's walks are down significantly this year.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 05:16 PM) HUh? This is his second full season, last season he had an OBP of .372 and almost a .900 OPS. He has gotten on base all through his career. Kotchman's OPS was .839 last year and he is at .775 this year. He is good but he isn't in the same stratosphere as Tex.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 04:58 PM) They basically traded Kotch for Tex. The good news is that the Angels are going to need a 1B next year. Good chance they sign Tex since they aren't exactly hurting for money.

QUOTE (thedoctor @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 04:06 PM) i agree. my question regarding pressing charges was more rhetorical. I also want to know what the hell Jamar was thinking returning to the scene? When a cop tells you to leave you do so. Initial reports were that it was by FUBAR (where there are apartments as well) so unless he was trying to get in there i just can't fathom why he would return to the scene. And the sad thing is I doubt he was trying to get in those apartments. The other potential reason was that maybe a friend of his was being held by the cops? Just doesn't make sense to me. Edit: Just reread the report and I now realize Jamar's incident wasn't at FUBAR. The cops first responded to the issue at FUBAR and then to an altercation a block away so the unlikely explanation definitely does not exist.

QUOTE (thedoctor @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 03:59 PM) all i can say is i thought there'd be more than that for a $25K bond to be issued. if they suspected smith of drinking (i don't doubt he was) why not pinch him for public intox or obstruction of justice or something? Because it is extremely unlikely that they would be prosecuting this if it was not Jamar Smith and he was not a recognizable face (based on the facts as stated in the report). If this is the full report, I'm kind of in the same boat I was after the DUI. I could see kicking him off the team and I could see letting him stay. I just know Jamar has a lot of issues and I am going to have a hard time really rooting for him. There doesn't appear to be any real cut and dry decision based on the allegations.

Jamar clearly was stupid to return when the police told him to leave, although if it was outside FUBAR there are apartments above the bar so he may have been trying to get in there (unlikely but possible). However no matter the circumstances, if that is all there is then the state has an incredibly weak case and that they are even pursuing this reeks of politics. Just to clarify my position, I don't doubt that Jamar was drinking but the evidence based on that report was pretty weak. Which puts the university in a bind because do you kick Jamar off the team for allegedly doing something the state might not be able to prove. I'm guessing there are still more facts to come out though.

QUOTE (thedoctor @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 02:38 PM) i don't think they are related. i think there's a decent chance that someone else (most likely named richard semrau) will move on after this year. My guess is Semrau stays 4 years, graduates and then just doesn't return on scholarship for a 5th season.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 01:42 PM) I don't think you could possibly know that. College kids drink. A lot. Doesn't make him different from the norm. If he was partaking a couple of times a week sure I would agree. But after the 1st incident he discussed his drinking habits which including polishing off bottles of tequila 3-4 times in a typical week. I don't know or have many friends or people I have known that drink to that level. And the couple I have known that have drank that much that often I would classify as borderline alcoholics. But you are right that I don't have any real way of knowing since I don't know Jamar personally. I just remember him basically admitting he had a problem after the 1st incident.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 29, 2008 -> 01:13 PM) I'm sure no drinking was a term of his probation whether he became of legal age or not. If its true he violated the terms, it shows what a true moron the guy is. He got a huge break, being able to continue his free education and play basketball. It will be interesting to see if the AD and Weber have grown the stones to tell him so long if he's not behind bars during the basketball season. Honestly, I think it is more than just being stupid when it comes to Jamar and drinking. I think he has a real substance abuse problem which it appears he has not overcome.

Illinois lands Meyers Leonard, PF/C to the 2010 class. He is a top 50 players on Scout top 100 on Rivals. Still, hard to be excited about this with the news about Jamar.