Jake

I think most people respond to their circumstances. If good is near, they're good. If bad is near, they're bad. So are the only good people the ones who remain good in the face of the circumstances that usually produce bad? Or, are the only bad people those who remain bad in circumstances that usually produce good? I've always been fascinated by the Holocaust and what stays fresh in my mind is the concept of "the banality of evil." It came from Hannah Arendt's description of a Nazi middle-management figure who was put on trial for his crimes against Jews. He, and most other perpetrators, were not exceptionally evil. Not born to be evil. They could have been caught up in something for the greater good. In this context, banality means not "trivial" but rather commonplace. The idea is that, for the most part, people go with the flow. Be it evil, be it good. Nazi Germany, of course, isn't the only example and perhaps not even the worst (let's not get into the business of comparing human atrocities). Was every person that existed during slavery and Jim Crow America automatically evil unless they were actively fighting against those institutions? Are many of us or our loved ones evil due to the ways they enabled institutions (and more personal situations) to actively harm gay people? There are a million examples. So, as to the original question, I don't know. We are capable of a lot. There aren't many people who will be reliably "bad," but not many who will be reliably "good" either.

He's always been a guy whose ceiling was a solid major leaguer. Of course, guys with that kind of ceiling aren't usually very popular, especially at first base. He's had to produce at every level to get any recognition, and so far he has done that.

I'd be tickled s***less if the Cubs gutted their system to get an expensive, soon-to-be 29 year old starting pitcher whose velocity has dropped for three consecutive seasons

QUOTE (Tony82087 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 09:15 PM) Plus Thibs has shown an unwillingness to have a deep roster and 10-12 man rotation. That roster is built for the coach as well. I don't buy it, but if that trade is being considered, you pull the trigger in 30 days when you can do it. Bench mob?

Wilkins is a 2-run shot and a solo shot away from hitting the home run cycle

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 02:23 PM) And draw more walks, which are way down this season. Yeah, I don't have a clue how to feel about that at this point.

Oh, how I wish Wilkins could play a different position

I'm ambivalent about this deal. I think that's a fair trade that gives MIN a legit chance to win it without it obviously compromising the strength of the Bulls (depth).

Coop has had a few health issues. I hope he's okay.

If you did this with Sox fans, they'd be b****ing about how the fake players weren't any good

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 10:44 AM) The top 5 pick stuff for Mirotic is from France Franchilla who over rates every international prospect ever because, well, it's his job. It's like asking Hawk about Gordon Beckham. I'm sure it won't stop that from being repeated ad nauseum here, but no one was offering their top 5 pick for Mirotic. I do believe he could have been top 10, maybe. Right now he's a 3rd string power forward. Cleveland offers the better package as long as they include Wiggins. He's a potential locked up superstar. Thats what every team in the league craves. Gibson is nice but 30 and McDermott and Mirotic might be good too but you can't pass on Wiggins. Waiters is decent enough to add some value. Bennett is likely garbage, but they have the Heat number 1 too which should be worth more than a Bulls pick. Chad Ford said the same thing about Mirotic

Are we so sure about the extent to which Kyrie is a better HORSE player than Rubio?

I'm with J4L on this one. I'm not sure about how I feel re:Wiggins vs. Love because I'm not super high on Wiggins either, but Love is very much overrated IMO. As said, not useful on D and the type of guy on O that both relies on teammates yet doesn't create opportunities for them. I think you'd see a very Bosh-like drop in statistics if he goes to CLE

GWB is uniquely qualified to very publicly balance the interests of dozens of billionaires and millionaires. I think he's been away from the game long enough that, unlike other candidates, he shouldn't have too well-entrenched interests/friendships/personal conflicts with existing figures in baseball. Whoever is chosen, I'd like it to not be Bud's right-hand man.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jul 22, 2014 -> 04:24 PM) But we also have 10 times the number of gang members and gang violence accounts for like 80% of the violent crime. You can't just ignore that. Take away the gangs and we're a pretty non-violent bunch, especially in the last couple of decades. I can ignore it because that's not true. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-defilip..._b_5071639.html

Now I don't even want to watch!

Buying top-of-the-market starting pitchers is literally one of the worst ways to spend money. It not only is often not worth the money, it very often totally blows up in the team's face in short order, leaving them with a pitcher they'd just assume not have on the roster at all.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jul 22, 2014 -> 03:27 PM) Chicago has 'loose' gun laws? The United States does. The ease with which a person can buy a gun from someone with no questions asked is a huge problem here. The gang problem in Chicago predates the rather restrictive gun laws as well. I would be remiss to neglect the fact that while the ease of gun ownership enabled this problem, it probably would have been avoided if not for rampant and persistent housing discrimination that remains as bad today as it was 40 years ago. Proactive implementation of anti-housing discrimination legislation could very well have helped us avoid the problem, at least as severe as we know it today. People would have been able to enjoy greater freedom to own firearms as a result as well.

It's too bad that GWB is one of the least popular presidents of all time because he'd probably make an excellent commish.

Even Italy only has a fourth of the gun murders per capita that the USA does. You're literally more likely to die by gun homicide in the USA than you are in Palestine (we're a lot less likely to get killed by missiles, though, so there's always that). Twice as likely to die by gun homicide here than in the Congo. No two places are directly comparable, but we are a buttload more violent (particularly, violent w/ guns) than anywhere else that fancies itself as "developed" or "modern" in the world. Our loose gun laws are the very reason that people can say gangs are some strange, incomprehensible, not worth including in any estimate thing because they just always have guns.

If we gut the core to get Love, the team won't be any good. Rose-Love-Noah-Gasol does not a good team make

I'm glad our franchise was smart enough not to sell the farm to get Chase Headley. I never wanted any piece of the guy at the price he supposedly commanded

If it reeks of anything, it reeks of Minnesota making a last ditch effort at pressuring CLE

It seems at this point that Klay Thompson has never been formally offered to the TWolves.

If we're trading Jimmy, we really need to get Kevin Martin back (which the T'Wolves will like too). We're short on bodies, let alone talent at the 2.