bmags

Caulfield, you don't need to write "From KC's standpoint", it is assumed.

Yeah I don't know what else to say except b****ing about how low a punishment a judge gave in a case and going to bat for the mandatory minimum is literally the argument that makes mandatory minimum.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 05:52 AM) That was a pretty terrible post bmags for essentially disagreeing on a 2 or 5 year sentence. You can't be against mandatory minimums and suddenly go to bat for them when its a constituency you don't like, that is literally why mandatory minimums exist and are so hard to get rid of. Looking at sentences for wild firefighters that set fires for work and caused significantly more damage their sentences were higher but time served appears to be marginal. Penalties were huge for damage.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 6, 2016 -> 06:40 AM) If you had a firefighter in your family that position might magically change. Oh, is that your justice standard? Should we allow family members to set all punishments now?

I have zero confidence now.

This made me look up Kenny Lofton's stats. Man, he was so good for so long.

I would trade Willie Young.

Prior to Munoz start was a classic Phil Rogers puff piece on his curveball.

QUOTE (knightni @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 01:21 PM) "Muñoz made his major league debut in 2004 for the Chicago White Sox in a start against the Montreal Expos. It was a disaster, as Muñoz allowed eleven runs in three innings (including nine in the second inning alone) tying for third all-time for most runs allowed in a major league debut. (Bill James' "Game Score" statistic, which measures pitcher starts — 50 is average, 90 is exceptional, below 20 is poor — scores Munoz' start at minus-7, the worst for a debut start since at least 1918.) Amazingly, Muñoz almost did not emerge as the losing pitcher, as the Sox mounted an incredible comeback, finally falling 17-14. Muñoz went back to the minors, then returned in September, pitching fairly well in relief." This was one of my favorite games ever. How many rbi's did Uribe have? 9?

If you have a 3 war player, you do not need to upgrade them. If you have three 1.5 WAR players...you have 3 players you'd be looking to upgrade to stars. You would have the worlds most deep 74 win team, though.

You are right, they should go to jail for life. Congratulations, you are now a tough on crime democrat that saved our cities.

So twitter really is allowing longer tweets.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 09:07 AM) I dunno, those ranchers are serial offenders who endangered the lives of volunteer firefighters after being explicitly told not to set fires because there were firefighters in the area. Mandatory minimums are dumb in general, but having a good ol' boy judge blatantly ignore the law isn't exactly a great solution either. So I read through the original indictment. Granted it's the prosecution's side of the story, but they did a lot more than just set two fires that accidentally encroached on BLM land. They were warned as far back as 1999 that they should have a proscribed burn plan in place with the BLM and that if they didn't, any future fires that encroached on BLM land would be considered trespass. They never put a plan in place, they continued to set fires that were either on BLM property or spread to it, some of their fires spread to neighboring private land, and they actively obstructed and endangered BLM firefighters. If even half of the quotes in the indictment are true, these guys deserve every bit of five years. eta: they also threatened firefighters to "make this go away" or they'd claim that the firefighters had really started all of the fires. edit2: they had run-ins with the law and obstructing federal workers going back over two decades. http://www.hcn.org/issues/20/582 Yeah, if I had seen that indictment, I'd expect 1=2 years of jail time and penalties for all damage to property.

QUOTE (Alexeihyeess @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 02:44 PM) If prices go down much the Sox will find themselves competing with new teams who suddenly will find Gordon/Cespedes worth it. Not saying it's a bad idea to get a good price, but there comes a point where the certainty of grabbing an OF at higher price than absolutely optimal is better than the increasing risk that someone else swoops in. It's likely the demand going downward is years. If that is the case, the sox bidding at a higher AAV for less years with teams is worth it.

Look at Colangelo. I do think they should have kept Lombardi. He deserved more time.

I don't want Hoffman in.

The most damning parts of Big Short (the book) were the stories of the trader who made the huge trade on CDS that made the really douchey trader rich, and then basically retired after it all blew up with a nice buyout. And the conversation in Las Vegas where they found the guy buying up all of the junkiest swaps. Flashboys was nonsense.

Good time to have Rose back, as teams were really starting to stick it to Brooks.

QUOTE (Frank_Thomas35 @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 11:00 AM) People keep saying this but I don't think a deal will be held because of the HOF. In fact if Raines gets in a big three signing coupled with him getting in would be pretty epic for our fanbase. I still doubt we see any movement till late next week or the week after. This will go on for as long as teams and players are willing to have a staring contest. Whenever someone blinks I'll bet you see multiple signings within days. As stated a lot here we just need the first person to sign for all the dominos to fall. The best thing we can hope for is that first signing is Davis back to Balt. Because it takes out the main competition for Cespedes. Agreed.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 5, 2016 -> 10:36 AM) Just plowed through this. The whole thing is really terrifying. Not sure where I stand - I think he did it when you add in the extraneous evidence not reported in the documentary. This type of s*** is annoying, why on Earth didn't the doc cover everything? Just as the cops had an agenda and very clearly planted evidence, the documentary film makers also had an agenda. I watched first episode. Production wise it is so 90s crime doc, and it's "having a bunch of authoritative voices telling you what's real" took me out of it. Obviously, crime stories like this are a thing now, but Serial was so much better at telling an unfolding story. SHame they couldn't get an ending.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 02:23 PM) I don't see not admitting an individual to the Hall of Fame as being the same as pretending they don't exist. I think putting them together is a non sequitor. I disagree, when you have to ask whether Bonds should get in the same breath as Trevor Hoffman.

There was a lot of interesting stuff on the Chris Ryan/Andy Greenwald podcast today on star wars. One, I learned that there really wasn't a script handed to JJ Abrams from Michael Arndt, he had general themes but that's it. So the entire script was written in the 3 months before they needed to shoot. That explains a lot, and certainly explains why they went with safer landscapes like desert/forest/snow vs. the swamp scenes discussed earlier.

I really like Gordon. I feel like he's the player we've really needed and have not targeted. But I'd be happy with any of them, but I don't really think about Upton anymore.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 4, 2016 -> 04:48 PM) Blah blah blah Fox News, who cares which outlets are covering this more? Fox New is covering it, I've seen it. CNN and everyone else is too. I really don't think this matters. What matters is how to handle the sedition. I think the Feds are right to wait it out a bit, then go in carefully to negotiate these guys out. They're scum who should be federally prosecuted, but that doesn't mean you want a gunfight. Now, if this drags on for weeks or months, and all peaceful efforts fail, at some point, you need to go in there and get them out. Preferably you use tear gas or something and do an HRT-style thing as opposed to a military action. But I sure as heck wouldn't want to do anything that puts federal officers or soldiers in danger, so if it comes to that, these idiots in the refuge can go screw themselves. I have little sympathy for the outcome for them. The worst part of this is, the locals don't want them there, nor does the state, nor do the people they are supposedly acting on behalf of. They aren't patriots, they're thugs. Here's what I think will happen. These dudes were so in their echo chamber of self-righteousness and thought they'd see this swell of support ala Bundy ranch. It's clearly not happening. I think soon they panic and try to work their best deal for jail time. As a second part, I think Obama should consider using the pardon on the actual ranchers, considering the mandatory minimum looks ridiculous and they have already served time.

He seems nice.