Leaderboard

Twitter post of the day: If I wanted a check signed by Trump, I would have become a porn star.

Weird how it works when your post expands beyond stupid twitter talking points.

It's a cult. I swear it's a cult.

Most of the friends and family I know who are Trump supporters, even for them, they aren't into the idea of just dropping all the restrictions completely, today. Political belief only goes so far when it is up against their own safety. We can have a good discussion about what should be happening before things start to loosen, how to loosen and when, etc., even if we disagree. But, I do have at least one friend (former co-worker), who is an otherwise intelligent and knowledgeable guy, who has just gone batshit crazy about this. He wants to open everything right now, says all the orders from the states AND feds were illegal, the numbers are all faked and way higher than reality, so on and so on. Honestly I think it is just psychological denial. The reality is so unnerving that some people turn to whatever comforts them, including the rabbit hole of questionable to outright Alex Jones-level media, and put a death grip on it so hard they convince themselves it is true.

This whole “when will the government open the economy” is the wrong question. You can open restaurants all you want. A lot of people (most?) still won’t be going. The question we should be asking is how to we make it safe enough for people to be comfortable going out.

Crochet.

Yeah, we get it. You have the doom and gloom take about all of this. You can find all the articles you want that agree with this side of things. The fact is, the top health official in the country said today that this is possible. There are billions on the line for owners and millions on the line for players. They're going to try to make it work. Mark Cuban has been in conversations with health officials and the President and he thinks an NBA return is possible. It may not work but I just don't understand why you insist on shitting on any talk of it being possible. People are looking for hope and for sports to return. At this point in time, there are obstacles but a return is very much still in the works.

Why would not testing keep hospital admissions down?

The forum is admittedly more relaxed on this rule if you are hating on Trump

Got mine deposited directly so I don't get the fuhrer's sig.

Damn you! Damn you to hell!

That is an interesting question, and one I think requires more specifics. IF I AM THE 2020 WHITE SOX, no. Reason #1: We have a starting SS in Tim Anderson, a starting 3B in Yoan Moncada, and Nick Madrigal on the way. What do we have in CF? Adam Engel? Leury Garcia? The marginal gain of replacing a successful Franco versus Anderson or Moncada is WAY less, than Robert replacing our current CF's. Reason #2: We are trying to edge our way into competition, and Franco is probably a late 20 or 2021 addition. So not only do you lose your best CF prospect, and that output for 2020, but you don't gain Franco's output for some period of time that is still TBD. Reason #3: We already have a long term deal worked out with Robert that gives us cost and service security going forward. Franco could well end up being better than Robert in the long run, but that doesn't mean he is the best fit for the team and for today.

Lol Late edit: wait why are we assuming nearly everyone in Sweden is already infected that doesn't seem to match up to reality at all! For some reason this comes to mind: Well, everyone knows Custer died at Little Bighorn. What this book presupposes is... maybe he didn't.

And that’s why Sweden has the most deaths in the world. Wait... You did see the article I posted of a thousand antibody tests in Telluride and 8 positive results total right?

Like this guy?

No one here is saying baseball is 100% happening. It's an easy acknowledgement to say that there are a ton of obstacles. But health officials, government officials, business leaders, sports execs, and the athletes have all made some sort of comment that they are still trying to make it work/think it could work. Dumping cold water on everybody that is discussing this as a possibility is asinine. Baseball in 2020 is still a possibility. Saying otherwise is wrong. You said it yourself, no one knows for sure what's going to happen. So who is to say we are definitely not having baseball? Every scientist you claim to be listening to is just another one fitting your argument. There are also health officials saying it's possible. The negativity from so many people is exhausting.

They are doing all of that now, and will offer several different scenarios. They aren't just hoping and praying things will fall into place. They have may schedules and timing ready for baseball beginning every few weeks from mid may to August.

I'm certainly not handing out medals for our governments response, but people would absolutely not have accepted a stay at home two weeks prior.

Also, the total mob payroll is around 4 billion, TV revenues around 10 billion. Whether they can afford it shouldn't even be a concern. These guys have been raking it in hand over fist and we have paid for it.

According to fangraphs, 90% of mlb TV revenue is from subscriber fees, only 10% from ad revenue. They pretty much owe it to us since we are paying for it either way. We've paid for it for a hundred plus years. If they have to take a hit, they take a hit. We the fans have made a ton of people richer than they should be. I think they know that. If the owners don't know that they're in the wrong business.

Living in Grand Rapids, yeah, a lot of people are pissed right now. I personally know someone who went to that and protested. A lot of people got pissed when Whitmer (they now affectionately call her Whitler) tightened the restrictions on the stay-at-home order. Here's my take on it: For the people protesting: Chill out. The government isn't taking our rights and freedoms away. This is literally to save lives. I believe the saying is: life. liberty, pursuit of happiness...and LIFE comes first. Stay at home. Oh and good job social distancing at that protest. It's obvious none of them are taking this virus seriously and are just risking more lives by protesting the way they did. For Whitmer: I don't think she needed to tighten her restrictions on the order. It was just fine how it was. Extend it, yes. That needed to happen. Not sure things really needed to be added to it though. The things she added to it were weird and she didn't explain herself well, with why she made the decisions she did to tighten the restrictions. However, I think she is acting very professionally in all of this, which is saying a lot compared to some of our other "leaders" in our country.

Hyperbole at its finest

I’m not very excited about that pick. Gives up a lot hits/contact and hasn’t been dominant in the college ranks. Also, has had issues with his back. Take a pass on him. Rather go with with a hitter in the 1st and high ceilings pitchers with 2nd -5th. Just like last year.

Mock 3.0 via BA.

The line between hating on and holding accountable has become blurred for many due to the fake news media's disdain for Trump, unfortunately.

The thing is, there is very little leverage. Higher ratings may not even turn into increased revenue because advertising sales have fallen off a cliff. https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/virus-cuts-linear-tv-ad-revenues-by-27-iab No team or owner is going to thrive in this. They will do what they can to keep the league afloat including supporting teams with sharing.

Hating on, holding accountable, whatever

NYC usually has about 25 at home deaths a day. That is up to 200 a day right now. I doubt they are all Covid 19 deaths, but probably the uptick is related. You probably don't want to go to a hospital right now. So you stay at home and die.

Are the Dodgers owners also taking a paycut?

So you think they'd rather play no games and not get paid at all than take a pay cut to play some games? I'm pretty sure the players union will vote to play. We'll see though I guess

You call it chirping, I call it expressing my opinion. And I'm not saying anything all that much different that most on this thread.

The season wasn't canceled as soon as this happened. Stop being ridiculous. There is absolutely a chance that there's no baseball this year. It's April 15th though and the owners and players are committed to playing. Like I've said, these guys aren't getting paid unless they play. I'm fairly certain they will play in some fashion. There won't be fans in the stands but that's obvious at this point. Canceling outright makes the least amount of sense of all these ideas and people are choosing to not read and pay attention to what's being talked about. They wouldn't lose as much as they'd lose by missing an entire season. Players will be taking a cut on top of prorated salaries. And they'll take it because it's better than not getting paid at all.

People who are getting stimulus checks will have a delay of a couple days as they put Trumps name on the check. This is not a joke.

Yay for Heads and a huge fat middle finger to OOTP 21.

Johnny Mostil, great fielder, real high OBP. 5 really strong years in the 1920's, 6 if you count 1921with only 378 plate appearances . Legend has it that he once caught a foul ball while playing CF in a ST game I think. An interesting character, had life difficulties.

I wouldn't trade Robert for all the tea in China if I were the Sox.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/health/coronavirus-antibody-tests-scientists/index.html Shocking news. There are now widespread problems with the antibody tests (and one of the factors is that in rushing everything past normal processes and regulations meant to protect us, there’s going to be lots of FAKE results, especially from Chinese tests.) You couldn’t create a dystopian novel/movie with such a series of missteps if Michael Crichton tried his hardest. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3079879/chinas-initial-coronavirus-outbreak-wuhan-spread-twice-fast-we China’s initial coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan spread twice as fast as we thought, new study suggests Each carrier was infecting 5.7 people on average, according to US researchers, who say previous estimate had used incomplete data Latest data based on cases whose origin could be traced more clearly, in provinces that had test kits and ample health care capacity https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/15/politics/trump-coronavirus-crisis/index.html Public health experts say a prerequisite for a resumption of regular life will be a mass testing program to diagnose the sick and identify those who carry antibodies that make them immune from the disease. But the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Tuesday such a structure was nowhere near. In a fresh sign of discord with the President, Fauci told the Associated Press that "we have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we're not there yet." Trump reacted angrily when told of the remarks. "I don't know what he said. Nobody does," Trump said, before warning that the federal government -- responsible for the nation's health and well-being -- has nothing to do with building the testing infrastructure that will be needed. "The governors are supposed to do testing. It's up to them," Trump said.

It's official: COVID-19 has impacted the Forum

August 16: White Sox 5, Yankees 3 (10). A 12-hit outburst by the White Sox was backed up by a surprising strong start by Gio Gonzalez (4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K). The Sox first took the lead on an RBI double by Nomar Mazara in the bottom of the first, and they again took a 2-1 in the 7th on a Mazara home run (14). Naturally, Tyler Johnson would give up the lead on a Giancarlo Stanton home run in the eighth, and the game would go to extras. Thankfully, Luis Robert would prove to be the hero with a two run walk-off home run (10). In case you were curious, RoboHahn has kept sending Steve Cishek down through the minors, with Cishek now landing in Winston-Salem. Also, Zack Burdi was sent down for Matt Foster. 50-74 August 17: OFF DAY August 18: Twins 10, White Sox 5. Well, it was nice not losing for two days. Dallas Keuchel (3.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) and Matt Foster (0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R) would make sure that familiar feeling would come back. The Sox did hit three home runs - coming from Jose Abreu (22), Nomar Mazara (15), and Yasmani Grandal (12). The Sox walked twice and struck out 14 times. After the game, Matt Foster and Kyle Kubat were sent down, Zack Burdi was called up, and Dylan Cease was activated from the IL. Carlos Rodon should be back in a week as well. 50-75 August 19: White Sox 6, Twins 4 (10). Yoan Moncada's 29th home run of the season walked off the Twins in the ten inning tilt. Derek Fisher sent this one to extras with his 22nd home run in the top of the 9th. Lucas Giolito had another iffy start (4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K), but Moncada's three hit, three-RBI game helped to bail him out. The Sox still did strike out 12 times in this one without taking a walk - a common theme this year. 51-75 August 20: White Sox 2, Mariners 0. What a return from the injured list for Dylan Cease. It was an abbreviated, 75-pitch outing, but it was masterful (6 IP, H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K). Bennett Sousa, Ian Hamilton and Aaron Bummer covered the final three innings - allowing just three hits in relief. The Sox offense was paced by two-hit outings by Yasmani Grandal and Jose Abreu, while Nomar Mazara hit a solo shot (16) in the 9th to provide some insurance for the Sox. 52-75 August 21: Mariners 4, White Sox 3. It'd been a while since a strong pitching outing by a starter had been ruined by the bullpen, but we're back to business. Michael Kopech had one of his better starts of the year (5.1 IP, 3 H, R, 3 BB, 3 K), but Zack Burdi would blow the save and lose the game on the strength of three walks in just an inning pitched. Kelvin Herrera (1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 0 K) also still has a job, despite a 9.37 ERA on the season. The Sox got solo shots from Jose Abreu (23) and Danny Mendick (10) i n this one. 52-76 August 22: Mariners 3, White Sox 1. Another loss in relief, but with a different twist. Tyler Johnson started as the opener and gave up one run on a Dan Vogelbach home run, but that was it until the seventh. Gio Gonzalez came in in the second inning, and went 5.1 innings, but would eventually give up two runs after 93 pitches. This was all that was needed to overcome an impotent Sox offense that only scored one run on seven hits. 52-77 August 23: White Sox 5, Mariners 1. Dallas Keuchel picked up his ninth win (5.1 IP, 4 H, R, 3 BB, 5 K) in a strong performance, and Kelvin Herrera, Tyler Johnson and Aaron Bummer covered the final eleven outs with only one hit allowed to seal away the win. The Sox offense was paced with 12 hits, including a three hit outburst by Danny Mendick, which pushed his average up to .307. Jose Abreu hit his 24th home run. RoboHahn reward Johnson's strong performance by sending him down for Matt Foster after the game. 53-77 August 24: OFF DAY

The choice isn't 40-80k additional if we simply give up on quarantine measures and attempt a foolish notion of "just go back to normal." A solid if depressing article. This is really key imo: So much of the talk has been around flattening the curve, and then it's "whew, we flattened the curve. we won!" No. This won't be over until we can vaccinate our way out of it. We can't just do a one-time shelter in place and fix everything. And make no mistake, we're in such a terrible spot because of historically incompetent denial and inaction from the federal government. We had months to prepare that were not just wasted but were used to call the whole thing a hoax.

I probably would (then you can trade Anderson for a CF later on or see if TA can play CF adequately). I usually don't risk trading ML ready guys for A ball prospects but Franco is lone exception. Kid is that good. If Tatis Jr. were still here though, this wouldn't even be a question but alas...

Here's one more for you. If Luis Robert had stayed healthy in 2018...would this be a different question?

flat, 1222 new cases, more than the 1075 yesterday. Curve has been very slow to bend here. Tests? still at 5k ?

Trump endorsements aren't the gold they were a couple of years ago. I think people may finally be getting sick of the craziness. He likes to call some RINOs, but that seems to be more projection. He stole the republican party. He's not a republican. It wouldn't surprise me as we go on that many of his buddies start trying to distance themselves from him.

Honestly, the Articles of Confederation failed because they were too weak. Even the 1789 constitution has been added to and added to as each successive government expanded their power base. But for all of the strict consitutionalists out there freaking out about Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, seem to forget that LIFE comes first in that phrase.

Make America Great Again. Fake News. Lame Stream Media. All catchy but simple phrases that don't mean anything, and I am sick of hearing them constantly. They were never that clever to begin with. And saying them over and over doesn't help address the real problems that are still facing this country. Trump didn't even expect to be elected. When he met with Obama right after the election, he was shocked when Obama told him he had to staff the West Wing. Trump had said he was going to bring in the best people. Where were they? Who were they? Vacant faced Jared? Dumb as a brick Ivanka? Crazy Steve Bannon? BTW, where is Darth Vader Bannon now? He has disappeared and has taken his doomsday ideas with him. Thank God for small favors. The GOP has to step forward, even if it is for political reasons. If I was a GOP office holder, I wouldn't want to be connected to this disaster. It can follow the party for decades. Trump is finding it is easy to campaign. It is much more difficult to govern.

C - AJ Pierzynski 1B - Paul Konerko 2B - Tadahito Iguchi 3B - Joe Crede SS - Juan Uribe RF - Jermaine Dye CF - Aaron Rowand LF - Scott Podsednik SP - Mark Buehrle SP - Jose Contreras SP - Freddy Garcia SP - Jon Garland CL - Bobby Jenks

It may be frowned upon, but I wish announcers who grew up Sox fans (like Jason) would fold in Hawkisms and Farmerisms once they settle in. It'd be a nice way to see a vocabulary grow across generations of Sox announcers.

I saw that he was donating $1000 to each of the Rangers minor leaguers. Cool move. Tip of the cap to you sir.