Jake

Does Sale have a prayer at the Cy Young award?

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Aug 22, 2012 -> 06:11 PM) Yes, there is. It's a great system so long as there is a massive system out there innovating for it. That's what we do. Most medical innovations, and drug innovations come from here. If we also had a single payer system, things would change right along with it. Of course this is something people won't talk about, or they'll post thin evidence stating that a free market system is no more innovative...when it is. That and the other unsaid system in place that basically allows these governments to have a single payer system...since the US is 90% of the defense, they can run a skeleton military. I fully expect you to respond now as to how we haven't innovated the medical/drug system for the entire world...when we have. We've had this conversation already. I know, the us sucks balls, and everywhere else rules. But here you still are. I'm certainly interested in the idea of us "innovating for all" so to speak...but I'm not sure if we should all be penalized with an inferior healthcare system for it to happen. It is hard to say whether we come up with medical discoveries and such just because of our free market healthcare system or if it just happens to be true because our country has excellent researchers (perhaps because we have far and away the best higher education system). I'm sure there is a mix of both, but the question is how much of each is responsible. Would an innovative researcher do as much good if he was working at a university and receiving federal research grants rather than in a private lab for a pharmaceutical company? More good? Less good? I suppose that's a loaded question...how much can pharmaceutical companies spend on research, what do they want to research, how available can we make federal grants for medical research, etc. I like that you mention our massive defense budget because it sticks out like a sore thumb when you look at our federal budget and when you look at the rest of the world's defense spending. Maybe we should put some of the burden for all these things like defense, scientific research, etc back on the rest of the world. We don't have to mortgage our own country because we're insecure about the entire world turning on us or failing to do as good of a job with the same resources. I'm also now imagining a federal grant leading to the discovery of some kind of cancer cure/remedy...and some of the people involved in that allocation campaigning on the "I cured cancer" premise

Watch out Gordon.

Can't wait for him to blame tainted meat, or donuts, or something

If we're counting JuCo, we need to pull out HS numbers. 4 year starter in HS > 2 year if this is the kind of argument we're going to have.

Let's wait for his next 0-fer before we freak out again.

I laughed hysterically when I heard this

QUOTE (YASNY @ Aug 22, 2012 -> 11:20 AM) For some strange reason, all this talk about sample size as a backup compared to assuming a starting QB role makes me think of Caleb Haney. Of course, Caleb Hanie only had a few nice SERIES. We've seen Matt Flynn put together some pretty stellar games.

I'm just very surprised that they would give Flynn all of that money and not basically hand him the job, at least to start with.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Aug 22, 2012 -> 11:04 AM) No one who uses dWAR thinks it's a perfect metric. Sometimes outlier cases like Beckham highlight some internal flaw in the model. That flaw is probably sample size.

UZR is meant to have something like a 3 year sample size IIRC. Please stop lumping Alexei Ramirez in with Gordon Beckham. Alexei has been one of the all-around best SS in baseball since entering the league. Even this year in what is by far a career worst season, he's driven in runs at a pace similar to our 4 hitter. WAR by year with Alexei 1.1 2.4 4.3 4.9 0.7 (2012) Find me shortstops that can put a 5 year run like that. If Alexei wants to put together another 1 or fewer WAR season next year, we can start to think about ways to better utilize him.

He's baaaaaack.....

I would tell you about my experiences with BCBS, but it sucks so much that I can't afford any preventative care and I can't tend to any nagging ailments because I can't afford to deal with those either.

You thought you knew this team, now you don't

Coop didn't fix 'em yet it seems

I'm not going to get caught up in his recent slump just yet. He should get it and it should be next year.

Problem?

Regardless of what Hawk/Stoney say, that's a changeup he's throwing at 82.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Aug 20, 2012 -> 09:29 PM) I thought the exact opposite about that comment. Of course he referenced Nintendo, and not something in the last two decades. The problem is that I think he doesn't know a Nintendo from an XBOX from his elbow from his asshole

Hawk wouldn't know a Nintendo if it was shoved up his ass

This is not a bad time for an epic Tank hot streak

Tank you very much

COLLAPSE COLLAPSE

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Aug 20, 2012 -> 08:16 PM) Wait, Gavin kicked the bucket? When the hell did this happen? lol

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Aug 20, 2012 -> 08:14 PM) He is not hurt just no dam good. Can you offer an explanation as to why he went from a ~4 WAR pitcher to a ~2 WAR pitcher over this full season?