Dam8610

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 11, 2018 -> 10:17 AM) You're really misrepresenting my argument. If you make a million dollars a year you give more to the system than you take. If you make 10,000 a year and receive government aid you take more than you give. No wheedling mischaracterizations change that. Someone else brought up lazy. Not me. There are disabled people who take more than they give. That is fine by me and how it should be. You're the one who stated: QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 11:50 AM) Most people in this country know whether they are going to be someone who gives to society or takes from society. And that wording means that you think people make conscious choices to be in one category or the other (a thought which data proves to be incorrect). Perhaps you should've worded the statement differently if you didn't want it interpreted that way. Examples of people who make $1 million per year and take more from society than they give: 1) An injury attorney who takes needed money from families for contingency fees and clogs up courts with cases causing taxpayers to incur and pay more than $1 million in court costs. 2) A slumlord whose cheap, profit motivated policies cause his tenants and their children to get sick frequently, costing hospitals over $1 million in unpaid medical fees or burdening taxpayers with paying over $1 million in medical fees. Examples of people who make $10,000 per year, receive government assistance, and contribute more to society than they take: 1) A scientist on a research fellowship who makes an important scientific breakthrough. 2) An executive director of a charity that does one of the many needed social service functions our government fails to provide that can't afford to pay a good salary and provide the necessary services. Judging someone's worth or value to society by the amount of money they make misses so very much of a person's value (or cost) to society that it becomes unworkable as a measure. Also, I never said lazy. Don't try to attribute other people's arguments to me. What I said was that your statement above doesn't hold up to logical scrutiny.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 03:45 PM) Singapore has the population of Wisconsin roughly. How you think they could be the blueprint for a country of ~350 million people from all over the world in a country where demographics, culture and level of education vary from state-to-state, region-to-region and so forth - I don't know. Singapore isn't the only country that has improved their workforce in this manner. It's why US workers are having trouble competing in the global economy. Can "the rest of the industrialized world" be a blueprint for the US, in your opinion? If so, we can have things like free college, single payer healthcare, and reasonable gun control laws so that our workforce can compete in the global market rather than becoming frustrated, despondent, and homicidal with a gun being the easiest thing to acquire. QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 03:45 PM) No one here said anything about poor people's effort except those trying to put words in others' mouths. Do you actually know any poor people? It's remarkably easy to get aid from the government and you don't really need to be all that poor to get them. Poverty levels have been going down since the 60's but the amount of welfare spending per person keeps going up. You said: QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 11:50 AM) Most people in this country know whether they are going to be someone who gives to society or takes from society. For that statement to be logically true, so must the following premises: 1) There are people who only give to society. 2) There are people who only take from society. 3) A person makes a conscious choice to be in the group that only gives to society or the group that only takes from society. Putting aside the ridiculousness of the first two premises (all people contribute to and take from society in their own ways), all socioeconomic evidence soundly rejects your third premise. Therefore, the statement is false. Stated another way, "makers and takers" is a myth. Yay logic.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 11:50 AM) A.) Talking about "Europe" as a whole is kind of expansive. How many immigrants are going to Europe to study full time as opposed to the USA? Singapore is one of the most conservatively spending governments in the world and it's flourishing so not sure how that makes your point. I don't believe in stealing money from people who are successful. I aspire to be one of them one day but I have plenty of time before I pay off my student loans and everything else. B.) I don't tell people what to do. Even if I told them not to vote for ACA, I doubt it would have made a difference. Most people in this country know whether they are going to be someone who gives to society or takes from society. Those on the latter hear "free" or "universal" and their mind is made up. A) Singapore is flourishing because they were the first country in the world to make college education free. How does that make my point? B) The "makers and takers" myth is designed to get you to look away from the real problem of the wealthy hoarding wealth like Smaug the Defiler and instead blame poor people's problems on effort, when the reality is that no one achieves when they don't know where their next meal is coming from and can't stay warm or safe.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 11:14 AM) Yes it would be nice, but I'll take a well rounded club with a nice bullpen. The recent teams with "4 aces" had meh results in playoffs, and even when it works a la mets, pitching can fall apart quickly. Anything can fall apart, you have to hope it doesn't. At least for now, we need Moncada and Eloy to be star hitters, a few more develop into above average regulars around them, and a few of the pitchers to hit and become top of rotation guys. Otherwise, it's not going to work.

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 09:08 AM) I like how the belief that people shouldn't die or go bankrupt from a lack of healthcare or that workers should be making more money is similar to giving people more root beer. Well, teachers in Oklahoma who don't want to live in poverty are like teenagers who want a better car, so...

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 10:23 AM) Whatever. I mean you're really jumping ships. I'd rather take one topic at a time than obfuscate and bring up tangents when your preferred person/idea has a flaw. I just don't know why that would apply to me. It's not like you can't have an opinion on one side of the aisle because the other side of the aisle has a different problem on another issue. I've never voted for a Republican in the house, so again, not sure of the relevance here. Seems like you're just pivoting and defending your "team." I was referring free college and health care. We live in a society that is changing and people just want everything free and provided for them. Bernie Sanders has some good ideas but his allure is mostly to people who either a.) aren't doing that great themselves or b.) don't believe others can provide for themselves. College debt is such an issue because government got involved. Making it free would ruin the value of the degree and rich people would still find away to have their children separate themselves through spending money. Making college free hasn't ruined the value of degrees in Canada, Europe, or even Singapore. All it's done in those places is make the workforce more competitive on a global level. And if you're concerned about the wealthy separating their children with money, tax then to the point that they can't, and use that money to pay for free college. Two birds, one stone. QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 10:23 AM) Who is going bankrupt through healthcare? The people who get screwed in healthcare isn't the rich or the poor it is the middle class. What do you think when someone ends up in the hospital and can't afford their bills? Do you have any industry experience or understanding of what happens in that case? Say Joe Blow is a 25-year-old, works at Taco Bell and has $300 dollars in the bank account. All of a sudden when walking down the street he gets shot and has to go to the hospital for emergency surgery that costs 10x his net worth. What do you think happens in that situation in America? You're right, the middle class needs single payer more than anyone else. Perhaps you should be the one to tell them to stop voting against their own interests?

QUOTE (cjgalloway @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 10:41 PM) What is ISO? I know its a newer stat but what does it take into account and what does it mean? It's short for isolated power and to calculate, it's SLG-BA (or (TB-H)/AB). This distinguishes your slap hitters (who will have low ISOs because they hit mostly singles) from your sluggers (who will have high ISOs because they're more likely to get XBHs when they make contact). Generally, a .200 ISO is considered to be slugger level, while most MLB players are above a .100 ISO.

QUOTE (StrykerSox @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 11:58 PM) I'm beating a dead horse here, but with his strikeout rate (which has been bonkers everywhere he's played) means his floor is TOTAL BUST. I cannot agree with assuming that, at worst, his floor is 4 WAR. He might cut down on the strikeouts, and he might succeed. That's totally possible. But we are setting ourselves up for disappointment if we look at him as a sure thing. He has a big flaw, and if you do the math, it's not hard to see how he fails. 700 PAs x30% K-rate=210 Ks (his MLB K-rate is 34.5%; I'm factoring in some improvement, but not much, because his MiLB rate is around 25%) x15% BB-rate=105 BBs (I'm improving this rate from 12% in MLB and 13% in MiLB) Give him 20 HRs, 4 3Bs and 30 2Bs, and assume a BABiP of .345 (considering the point about exit velocity and FanGraph's suggestion that .345 indicates "batter is above average in this aspect of the game and is probably making better contact on average than most"). This produces a BA of .245, an OBP of .357, an SLG of .413 and an OPS of .770. If you adjust his BABiP to .380, which FG describes as "virtually impossible", his OPS rises to .828. That's with a number of generous assumptions. And .770 may look nice enough, but like you mentioned, this is what we got for Chris freaking Sale. He needs to not just be an MLB starter; he needs to be a star or the FO has failed. People often suggest he's the next Robinson Cano (.849 career OPS). I've heard that he should be better than Ray-Ray (.788 career OPS). Sounds great- but he's not there yet. I do not want him to fail (that was suggested to me the other day- I've rooted for this team since 1992, when I was 5, thanks). I want him to be great. But there's a chance he won't be, and frankly, that is a big chance. He needs to stop striking out. It could happen. Kris Bryant dropped from 30% to 19% in three years (improving past his 26% in MiLB). But it may not- Miguel Sano has never budged from around 35%. If Moncada can pull a Bryant in the K category, he can absolutely be what we need him to be. But if he stays idle like Sano, we lost this trade. Period. His K rate will drop. He's 23, he has a lot of time for that to happen.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 10:02 AM) Seeing as he is here now, and seemingly mechanically fixed, I would hope for that as a floor versus a mid level. This. We should be looking at a solid 3 as a floor for Giolito, with ace still on the ceiling board. This would make mid-level outcome a solid 2.

QUOTE (bmags @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 09:59 AM) I'd amend this to saying if Giolito is Floyd, and that's the best turnout of all of our pitchign prospects, that's really bad. But context is everything. If Giolito is Floyd and Kopech is an Ace and someone becomes a really good #2, then it's fine. If we needed giolito to be the ace and he failed, no good. I want 4 aces. Best chance of that (pre 2018 draft where they might pick up McClanahan) is Rodon, Kopech, Giolito, Hansen, with Lopez having a decent shot as well. Maybe that's being greedy, but the Sox had to sell off three in their prime stars for this, I want the best payoff possible.

QUOTE (FloydBannister1983 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 07:34 AM) The Giants won three without a bona fide star. Buster Posey? Madison Bumgarner? Tim Lincecum won 2 Cy Youngs as well.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 09:11 PM) The Republicans' tax plan of permanent corporate tax cuts and 90% of the tax benefits accruing to the Top 10% of taxpayers is the equivalent of Sanders' giveaways. It's just another form of giveaway. At least focusing on education/training/infrastructure and evening out the benefits would create better future outcomes AND help to bridge the income/wealth gap that's threatening to tear apart American society. Instead, the Republicans just exacerbated the situation...which eventually will lead to every American (the ones that can least afford cuts) to have to plan for 20-30% lower Social Security benefits and "bare bones" insurance policies for their families because we prioritized defense spending and corporate giveaways that weren't even necessary to stimulate an economy that was doing just fine already (granted, 3-3.5% growth is BETTER, but not at the cost of inflation and destroying the social safety net.) Trump Tax Plan=Sanders Giveaways No difference. If you ignore the effect of income and wealth inequality, then sure. That's a pretty important thing to ignore, though, as is the fact that Sanders had economically viable plans to pay for his policies, whereas Trump's tax cut just blew a hole in the budget to give more money to the wealthy. QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 09:11 PM) There's no study of supply side economics policy that supports the idea of closing government revenue gaps...it only widens them, and puts the burden even more on future generations of taxpayers. Actually tax cuts that broaden the revenue base would work to increase total revenue under the right conditions, but our tax system has gone well past the point of marginal utility of tax cuts into territory where further tax cuts drastically reduce total revenue.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 08:16 PM) Bernie's policies are to defeat Nazis? Well I guess that's worth supporting these days. Pretty sure FDR had over 8 full years of governing and several policy decisions in place before the US was involved in WWII and that several of those policies massively improved conditions to set up the boom that happened during WWII. Things like regulating the banks heavily, creating job programs, and taxing the wealthy. Where else have I heard these crazy ideas?

QUOTE (GermanSoxFan @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 07:31 PM) I agree with you. Gavin was a really good pitcher until injuries derailed his career. If Moncada turns into the next Ray Durham I won't be complaining either. Some of these guys have to become stars for this to work. Rarely does a roster full of above average players win the whole thing. You need star players surrounded by average-above average players.

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Apr 8, 2018 -> 03:55 PM) Classic Ron jinx. Need him to make a thread on our bullpen woes or something. This is why he needed to start the Moncada thread.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 06:17 PM) Bernie's economic plan is so flawed it doesn't really deserve the time of day but since it's "let's have the government have the government supply a bunch of who huge expense categories" a lot of people got behind it. He's like the 5th grader in student council who says he'll give longer recess and more root beer. Yeah, those policies are so flawed they're right in line with the ones that pulled our country out of its greatest economic tailspin. Just utterly flawed to expect the wealthy to pay for the society from whence they reap all their benefits.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 05:27 PM) It’s actually not like that at all. Politics aren’t as black and white as you choose to look at them. Socially he has a few great ideas and conviction towards protecting liberties. Economically he’s like a 15 year old in their first government. No relevant experience and thinks everything should be free. The policies that Bernie wants to implement shouldn't be free by any means, not even Bernie thinks that. They should be paid for for society by those who have the means to pay for it. That's why taxes exist.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 03:17 PM) Michael Cohen's office has allegedly been raided by the FBI. https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/09/politics/mic...-fbi/index.html

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 04:05 PM) I agree with just about everything Bernie Sanders says as long as it is not economic policy. That's like saying "I like everything Jose Abreu has to offer as a football player". Bernie is entirely about economic policy.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 6, 2018 -> 10:54 AM) Every single time he's faced with responding to or dealing with black activists and/or responding about issues regarding race, he gaffes. He says something stupid. He's earned his reputation. He's absolutely not racist - he just prioritizes his economic policy over social justice because he believes the first will help with the latter. But having a rich old white guy tell black Americans that HE better knows what will help them than they do doesn't always come off so great, does it? Bernie literally let Black Lives Matter take over one of his campaign events in the interest of hearing what they had to say. He's also the person who forced many of the best policies for minorities on to the Democratic platform. Huge gaffes, there.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 12:29 PM) The fact that he can't appreciate context, and that he doesn't seem to understand that there's a time and place to say certain things and NOT to say certain things, is not going to do him any favors given his reputation with minority voters. It's just stupid, and it's part of the thing we hate about Trump. He can't not put his foot in his mouth, and it happens over and over because he thinks his opinion is more important than anyone else's all the time. Bernie doing foreign policy, for instance, would be f***ing awful. Yes, staying out of the Iraq war (and thus not creating ISIL) and not doing drone strikes and bombing and killing thousands of innocents would've been just absolutely terrible foreign policy decisions. I mean, who would want to pay for single payer healthcare for several years or free college and student loan forgiveness with the savings from not going to war with Iraq?

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 12:23 PM) Lol I've consistently said that I support Bernie's policies, just not him. But yes, throwing around the term neoliberal incorrectly makes you look very informed. That doesn't even make sense. If you don't want him implementing his policies, then who? Also, what do you mean by"throwing around the term neoliberal incorrectly"? The portion of the Democratic party that wants rid of him consists primarily of neoliberals.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 07:05 AM) Sanders/Kamala Harris shoot themselves in the foot https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/08/politics/ber...2020/index.html For Bernie, that wasn't shooting himself in the foot, that was conveying his core message, that we need to fight for economic equality first and foremost, and racial equality will naturally follow. Many of his policy proposals have that on full display. Abolishment of private prisons, single payer healthcare, tuition free college, and government funded job training and apprenticeship programs are all proposals that rest on a foundation of economic equality but that clearly have easy to see racial equality benefits to them as well. He maybe should avoid telling Democrats the truth about Obama because of the hero worship they have going on for him, but his policy is solid and he's right about economic equality being the priority, regardless of who does or doesn't want to hear it.

QUOTE (reiks12 @ Apr 7, 2018 -> 06:42 PM) 2 hits and a walk today, he's a bust Bustan Monbusta?

QUOTE (Richie @ Apr 7, 2018 -> 06:18 AM) I try not to. However, it's hard not to make the Konerko comparison with that new/shortened swing of his, isn't it? They even look a bit similar. Somewhat similar demeanor and mannerisms as well. I agree that it's impossible not to put him in the "long-term" conversation at this point. Could be short-lived... but we'll see. I've gotten my hopes up a bit as well. Let's see him slash .280/.360/.530, then we can talk Konerko comparisons.