Jake

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Sep 15, 2013 -> 06:34 PM) A lot of money tied up in those 2 guys. Luckily, Melton isn't necessarily here next year and while we owe a lot to Peppers either way, we can send him away without really f***ing ourselves over as well after this year.

I had been feeling disappointed by the way Johnson finished his season, so this run in AA is encouraging

I can't recommend the book I've been reading enough - What Money Can't Buy by Michael Sandel. Talks about the rise in economic, free-market thinking and the effects that our whole-hearted embrace of that type of thought has done and could do. Not so much a polemic "this is always bad under all circumstances" type of read but rather a call for more complete consideration. Basically, in the interest of personal liberty and free markets, we have allowed the market to become part of activities that we wouldn't normally think of as economic - standing in line, hunting endangered species, free tickets to Shakespeare in NYC, for example. We can trace this to a expansion of economic theory, the idea that we do cost-benefit analyses in all aspects of our lives rather than just when buying and selling goods. Now, rather than these implicit costs and benefits (is it worth standing in this line?), we have taken to making these actual costs and benefits (I can pay a homeless person 10 bucks an hour to stay in line). Economists, who do think about these things and see them as efficient allocations of these things, claim to operate in a non-moral sphere. You'll hardly find a leading economist that says their studies involve morality. This book says that if we are to bring this free-market thinking into spheres that have previously been non-economic, then we need to also keep the moral considerations that previously governed them. Another example is one that we debate more often in the mainstream - cap and trade. Economists love this but there is a part of it that economists don't like to debate: the moral implications of buying and selling the right to pollute. Does creating a market for pollution harm the sense of shared sacrifice and collective action that may be necessary to make environmental policies possible? EDIT: another interesting (to me) implication of this argument is that it is fairly non-partisan. On one hand, we can thank progressives for this kind of thinking; we wanted religion out of government and this was the primary source of moral deliberation. We progressives like things that are measurable, like science and economics. Then, of course, conservatives have generally been full-throated backers of free markets. If progressives like myself want to bring moral thinking into governance, we should be less eager to put down our religious friends across the aisle. While the separation of church and state is a good thing, the state can't get away from making decisions that reflect a common sense of morality. We have to accept that religion shapes moral thinking and work with that in our policy. If we ask the religious right not to bring their religion with them to Washington while we use moral appeals against the other thing they like (completely free markets), I think we ask too much. Drop your religion and drop your free markets!

I love that Semien is competing up here, but I really think he is going to need more MiLB time. The strikeouts, lack of walks, and ~1.000 BABIP tells me his numbers would be due for a yucky regression. Maybe he can be ready mid-season next year. Weirder things have happened than a guy like him just figuring it out, though. Also, I thought I was on the wrong page when I looked at Phegley's wRC+. That'll make you beg and plead for Flowers

Micah with a HR after Jaye surrenders 2 in the first.

I fear that my vision would continue to get worse. Not sure if that is legitimate concern or not. What's the point of correcting my vision from -4.0 to perfect in both eyes if I'll gradually just start working back up to -.50, -1.0, etc?

It is worth noting that Marshall really should have played the ball better on the interception thrown his way. If he does so much as put his hand by the defender it is probably an innocent incompletion. I would expect him to more often make a pretty legitimate run at it.

I think I've gotta go with Vick over RG3 next week. There are only so many garbage time points for RG3 and he's still not outproducing Vick. I'll wait on Rivers since Cam will probably go off at some point, he's been pretty consistent as a top fantasy QB. Jones-Drew has me worried, though. Luckily he's my RB2, but I don't have anybody to replace him with. I passed on a true WR1 on one of my teams, but had two WR2 types in Jordy Nelson and DeSean Jackson. That's looking good so far as they're both acting like WR1's

And Newton is doing okay for me but s***, Rivers on my bench is tempting me. 42 fantasy points this week!

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Sep 15, 2013 -> 03:02 PM) Second week in a row I was ready to put a hit on RGIII only to be fairly happy with his performance after the game. He's becoming the king of garbage fantasy points. Yeah, I really don't know what I want to do with him when I have Vick on the bench.

CUTLER!!!

Holding

Time management not our thing

Can't get the play in for f***'s sake

f***ing umpire

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Sep 15, 2013 -> 02:53 PM) That and no pass rush. I'd say each one is making the other worse

Time of possession killing our defense.

Most disappointing thing for me is how vulnerable the D has looked.

Wow Forte. Blew it for us.

Terrible play by Peterson

Bad challenge my ass!!!

Still no luck

This looks like a loss in the making

Terrible f***ing call. Jesus

Forte = beast