IBC

Q: Dave from ibc.poweralleycircuit.com asks:
Is Brandon Jones the real deal? Can we expect .300 20 Hr's and 100 RBIs yearly?
A:

Bill Ballew: I believe he can be the real deal provided he makes the necessary adjustments at the major league level. His swing is as sweet as sugar and he has the raw power and athleticism to be a star. He might be more of a .285-20-85 guy.

Trying to get some info on my boy and give the league some pub.

IBC GMs all over that chat...

Q: Dan from Hartford asks:
Bill, how close did Diory Hernandez come to cracking the list? Would he have made it before the Renteria trade?

A: Bill Ballew: No, he would not have made it, but Diory made as much progress last year as anyone in the organization this side of Schafer. His attitude was 100 percent better, he hit with consistency and solid power, and looked comfortable playing second base for the first time as well as shortstop. Hernandez reestablished himself in the prospect world.

Hold the phone...Vacek, did you move to Hartford?

My condolences...

No, I just haven't moved to NY yet.

Ah, thank God, you scared the crap out of me...no offense Hartford-dwellers...

I think most of us have been residing in hartford at some point or another

Hartford... the Asshole of America... How else to explain the Shit that comes out of ESPN?

Curly-Haired Boyfriend once called it the "file cabinet of america." God I hate Shaughnessy. Kinda true though.

stop hating on Connecticut.

It's not CT, it's Hartford...you really can't defend Hartford...

it's ok.

Pirates wrote:it's ok.

It WAS ok until.... I dunno.... March/April 1997 or so. No Whale = empty streets

who cares about the whalers? i went to one whalers game and ive lived here my whole life

That's because you were 11 when they packed up.

I went to baseball games when I was four or five.

It's more likely because it's hockey and no one cares about hockey (except canadians).

and me

got to admit, Hockey is great. You don't even need an attention span to enjoy it like baseball.

RedSox wrote:It's more likely because it's hockey and no one cares about hockey (except canadians).

And Minnesotans.

Twins wrote:

RedSox wrote:It's more likely because it's hockey and no one cares about hockey (except canadians).

And Minnesotans.

People used to care about hockey in CT, before they shipped our squad to somewhere ice doesn't form naturally. My buddy had front row corner seats at The Mall, which was a blast twice a week. Hockey's a great sport to watch live, though I have watched zero NHL hockey (live or on TV) since I watched my last Whaler game. I'm pretty happy that Gary Bettman (that evil greedy little elf who was determined to kill all the old WHA franchises. Go Oilers!) is gonna go down with his embarrassment of a league since he managed to alienate a lot of true hockey fans - the ones that live in places where there's a winter, and people play hockey growing up (like Quebec, Winnipeg, Calgary, Hartford, Minny for a few years, etc.). The only sad thing is that there are some terrific young hockey players out there right now, and nobody's seeing them (Crosby + Ovechkin). Oh well. At least the Red Sox have adopted the Brass Bonanza as one of their theme songs.

RedSox wrote:It's more likely because it's hockey and no one cares about hockey (except canadians).

I - or rather my wife Patti and I - go to 15 to 25 ice hockey games per year. Some are HS games (kids we know), semi-pro (players who are playing because they love the game), college (UNH is always a top 10 program) or professional minor leagues (the Portland Pirates - has-beens and will-bes). Can't stand to watch it on TV - usually have a good time live.

Back in the day my HS had a pretty nasty team (I think 2 guys are or were in the NHL, and one of those, along w/ our backup G, won 2 national titles at Michigan). High school hockey was an absolute blast. Our rink didn't really have walls, but those open air games in the middle of the winter just felt like real hockey, and people went nuts for it. Too bad they suck now. They probably have a new indoor rink though, spoiled little brats.

i played 4 years of hockey before HS and hockey is my favorite sport....I usually try and catch 60-70 ranger games on tv each year. I honestly think hockey playoffs might be close to number 1 for best playoffs.

Brewers wrote:i played 4 years of hockey before HS and hockey is my favorite sport....I usually try and catch 60-70 ranger games on tv each year. I honestly think hockey playoffs might be close to number 1 for best playoffs.

it's too long and drawn out though. the intensity is neat though. maybe i'd care more if i had a team to root for. just can't seem to get into it.