Jake

Just give us JR Murphy and I'll be pretty happy.

This is a good trade. Both teams have a decent chance of walking away from it as the "winner." Cespedes being a big name is kind of a red herring

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:23 AM) I wonder if it's a given that Rienzo will start if Danks goes. Maybe we go to Rienzo for 4, Thompson for 2, mentally check out somewhere in the 3rd inning and head out to lunch, leave Leury back in case there are more innings needed later, etc. There could also be a MiLB player standing by

I scrub with brush, rinse with aid of a rag and running water.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:08 AM) I'm not sure how arbitration works for international free agents, but B-R says he's Arb eligible in 2016 and won't be a FA till 2018. Perhaps I'm wrong in thinking that's true. There is a clause in his contract that makes him ineligible for arbitration. It's why he chose OAK over more lucrative offers

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:04 AM) s***'s going to get really busy in the next two hours, I'll post if I get another text but it appears the lawyers and finance are huddling. Is that standard operating procedure or indicative of something serious being considered?

FWIW, I consider it impossible that Semien would not obviously out-produce Beckham in the MLB if he was called up today

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:02 AM) Wow! If A's don't resign Lester that's an awful deal for them IMO. Cespedes is a UFA in 2015. Very reasonable to think that Lester gives as much value in the next couple months as Cespedes does in the next couple months plus season. OAK sheds a big salary too.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 08:59 AM) Red Sox get a competitive balance draft pick too That's not insignificant

Remember that Cespedes is a UFA after next season.

I'm shocked that they would part with Cespedes. Overrated, yes, but still the fourth highest WAR among position players on their team this year. Are they going to play Gomes every day in OAK?

The arm rating is based on whether baserunners get the expected amount of bases. So not running on Parra would prop up his arm rating just like throwing them out would.

Remember how religious non-profits get an exemption from the ACA contraception mandate? Due to society's interest in providing contraception, the government instead subsidizes these services if needed by an employee of an exempted organization. Until groups like Notre Dame sue the federal government saying they shouldn't have to sign the form that claims the exemption because that will ultimately lead to their employees getting contraception from someone else. Now the beef is that they get it at all. I suppose the next step will be freezing their paychecks because they could be used to purchase these services outright http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/the-next-hobby-lobby

I still give benefit of the doubt to the teacher to decide when difficult subjects should be taken on by students. One of literature's primary functions is as a means to grapple with the world, which unsurprisingly often means trying to reflect upon and understand the ugliness of the world. I haven't read Prince of Tides, but from what I know about its content I don't see anything overtly problematic outside of the fact it has never struck me as an especially "good" book. The "objectionable" portions of the content don't seem outside the realm of what can and should be encountered in a high school literature course. Rape, in particular, should be something that teenagers are exposed to in settings like this. Many women (estimates range from 1 in 6 to 1 in 4) will be raped in their lifetime. Young men should be exposed to discussions of it and depictions of it to understand what it really is before they might develop warped perceptions about what that means. Aside from specific subject matter, I think one of the valuable pedagogical moments for students of literature is to deal with works they don't like. Teach them to argue texts and, more specifically, to build arguments that go beyond simple evaluative judgments. Even better, get them to build compelling arguments in writing. I would expect the same from a parent as well. I'm not going to give them the Dikembe and just say "I'm the teacher nanana boo boo" but I'm going to expect a substantive argument about why I shouldn't teach [book]. If they haven't read it and haven't a single legitimate idea for an alternative that might achieve similar pedagogical goals, please come back when you have that information. An example in a non-literary setting from my time in college. I had a political philosophy of the economy course in which we read Atlas Shrugged. Does it mean the prof endorsed it? No. Does it mean the Koch brothers were underwriting the class? No. It's a text that you have to read and consider, then argue with soberly. While we may want to consider it beneath consideration, it clearly matters to a lot of people and therefore cannot be ignored. I'd make the same argument for the Bible, a translated Qu'ran, and various literary and other cultural texts. That they are widely consumed means they are worthy of study.

I hope we don't respond to Mitchell's first strong run of play ever by once again moving him up too fast

The absolute maximum I could imagine us giving up money-wise is $5M per future season owed to Danks...and that would be an unprecedented amount for us. Of course, we've very rarely had payroll commitments so far underneath our ability before

Hey man, I love some Crazy Bread and/or Italian Cheese Bread from Little Caesar's

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 30, 2014 -> 07:42 PM) Davidson now at least 3 for his last 38 with no homers. Hard to get excited about a prospect that has hit under .200 in 3 out of 4 months this year. Luckily, our current third baseman is hitting like a superstar and we have several MIF prospects doing very well. Lots of time (like, years) for Davidson to get things worked out without any noticeable damage to the big league club.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 30, 2014 -> 07:00 PM) Noesi is not afraid of a big inning. He's been a pleasant surprise, but I will be disappointed if he is in the rotation next year I hope he pitches well enough to be in it. He's been very solid this year and overall has been remarkably good for a guy who hadn't worked out as a starter in a very long time before he got here. Will be interesting to see what Sox think of him considering that big factor - that he's without the proper physical prep for a season-long workload as a starter. As far as today goes, the delay of the game is probably related to the outcome. He's had several times where it seems like he has reached the mound ill-prepared for the game. It only figures that he'd get mindf***ed by the rain delay. Hopefully he bounces back strongly for the next one.

People are trying their best to say things that make it sound like more than fluff. Not just "he looks good," but he looks amazing and better than before and his game is going to the next level yada yada

There's no way the Indians would have made him a QO anyway.

How many tools do you want a first baseman to have? 2 will cut it for me and I'm interested in which one the respondent thinks Wilkins has. The book used to be that he had a very good hit tool but lacked power, but suddenly that power looks very much present (and the standards for power around MLB have dropped).

Whenever a decision made by Robin backfires, it's wrong. When a decision that goes right may have defied logic...still wrong! Boom. Robin = always wrong, no matter what

I find it doubtful that the Marlins would want any portion of Danks's contract

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 30, 2014 -> 01:54 AM) LOL. Why "please no?" He's not a bad righty. Probably cost 13 mill a year though for 3-4 years. Free agent contracts to in-demand starting pitchers are among the worst investments one can make