Dam8610

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 27, 2018 -> 02:48 AM) Joe Kennedy III going to give Dem response to State of the Union address. Can’t be any worse than Beshear last year. January 26, 2018 Centrist Democrats Are Undermining Progressive Candidates According to a major new report, the Democratic Party leadership is undermining progressive candidates and backing wealthier, centrist hopefuls that are following a failed strategy...with the main litmus test being able to get out your phone or Rolodex and raise $100-250,000 instantly. http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option...style=%27color: So they're not only not learning, they're doubling down on cutting their nose off to spite their face. Centrist democrats don't have the policy positions to differentiate themselves enough from Republicans for the electorate. The grassroots, progressive movement in the party is where the energized base is, and the policy positions are different enough from Republicans as to be distinguishable to the average voter.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 28, 2018 -> 08:21 PM) The same reason all pitchers aren't using Trevor Bauer's offseason training regimen of trying to throw 120-130 mph. I didn't mean intentionally putting hitches into their swing, I meant working with kinesologists with backgrounds in biomechanics to build their swings, or for teams, hiring them as hitting coaches. I can believe the line of thinking that most hitting coaches are awful, but if some players and teams have found the right people that can help them work with their swing mechanics and make their swing effective, why aren't players and teams flocking to these people?

QUOTE (GermanSock @ Jan 28, 2018 -> 04:59 PM) I don't really have a problem with a hitch. Many great hitters had a hitch, josh Donaldson and Barry bonds among them (If you mean a pre swing hands drop). Issue with the hitch is the timing, a hand drop and bat tip can be a great loading mechanism. You just need to do it early enough to give the hands time to work back and up. Donaldson explains the hitch thing here at 6:45 he says the hands need to go down at the foot is lifted so the hands go back as the foot goes down. A hitch is bad when it is so late that you still move the hands back up when you should start. Donaldson (who is a great hitting expert by the way) is a big opponent of quieting things down. Is is an easy fix done by many mlb orgs and it can improve some things but it can also kill athleticsm and power. So if I hear batting coaches want to simplify things , eliminate movement and such stuff I'm very scared.great hitters don't eliminate movement but control it. Most of the time those simplified swings kill the upside of players. Sure a hitch is not for anyone and many are great without it and maybe no hitch is really better for Collins but I'm always wary if teams talk about quieting things down and simplify stuff. Some it can help but many are ruined. Problem is that most pro hitting coaches suck. Donaldson literally said he told them to GTFO and did his own thing (he worked with my loose internet friend Bobby tewksbary), in fact many good players have now private coaches who intensively studied kinesiology and biomechanics while most team batting coaches are still ex players with little biomechanics understanding. The Astros have actually hired such an expert (Jeff Albert) and more teams will do so, but most still give away their hitting coach jobs based on merit as a player and clubhouse connections. Why isn't everyone doing this, then?

QUOTE (wrathofhahn @ Jan 27, 2018 -> 01:01 AM) .323 BABIP with a .220 AVG thats pretty hard to do Much easier when you have a 37.8% K rate as a 26 year old. That's a hard pass.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 27, 2018 -> 10:00 AM) Awesome and thanks for sharing. I’m actually pretty excited about this kid. Cordell mentioned in an Athletic article that he feels most comfortable in CF and if he can actually stick there then we might just have something here. Great, hopefully he can develop into a 2+ WAR CF so that that's the White Sox worst case scenario when it's time to complete, with an upside of a 5+ WAR Robert.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Jan 26, 2018 -> 01:15 PM) I just don't understand it when you have similar production in Santana for peanuts. Unless they have a deal locked up to trade Santana for pitching I don't really understand what they're doing. They probably don't believe in Santana. I wouldn't blame them for that.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 11:20 PM) The White Sox would definitely have interest in Domingo Santana, as well as Keon Broxton, who has no place to play now unless someone gets injured, same with Phillips. Corey Ray would be another possibility, with his Chicago ties, along with Erceg. That's at least 5 players (I'm assuming we're not going to trade for MORE pitching). I think most of SoxTalk would be elated to acquire Keston Hiura for Abreu, although where he would play (DH/2B, possibly 3B or LF) is another question altogether. Lewis Brinson, OF XXX Brandon Woodruff, RHP Corbin Burnes, RHP Keston Hiura, 2B Monte Harrison, OF XXX Luis Ortiz, RHP Brett Phillips, OF Lucas Erceg, 3B Isan Diaz, 2B/SS XXX Corey Ray, OF BA Top 10 list for 2018 No interest in Santana or Broxton personally, and I was probably Hiura's biggest fan pre-draft, but he's not a good enough centerpiece for Abreu. I'd've wanted Brinson, Hiura, and a lottery ticket at least for Abreu, and they just don't have that value in their system now.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 10:27 PM) These moves also validate Crasnick’s tweet, which means we’ve been talking with the Brewers about something. Sanchez still makes the most sense for them IMO, but Brewers fans seem enamored with Abreu anchoring their lineup. I still think there may be some smoke here. Maybe something happens this weekend and it gets announced during SoxFest. They traded Brinson. Their farm isn't deep enough for them to get Abreu now.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 12:25 PM) And New England paid for the crime...now over a decade later what's the excuse for success? First it was "deflated" balls, what's next? These ridiculous suspensions and penalties are the NFL's way of further balancing the competition I suppose and they haven't been very successful Still the cameras, still the illegal signal stealing (yes, there is legal signal stealing, and yes, the difference between doing it legally and doing it illegally is huge), still Ernie Adams. These things never changed, and anyone who thinks they did based on the Spygate cover-up and subsequent "punishment" (laughable to call it that, who wouldn't trade a couple first round picks and a couple million dollars of fines split between 4 people for five world championships officially recognized and sanctioned by the league as legitimate?) is naive or willfully ignorant.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Jan 24, 2018 -> 06:15 PM) Good one http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/cowhe...wx11ugttnkmfx2s https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/10/04/tom-brady...e-ideal-gas-law How about when Elway's Broncos went over the Cap routinely? Or when Tomlin tripped up Jacoby Jones? Jerry Rice using illegal gloves? Falcons pumping in fake crowd noise? Everyone tries to get an edge, few are successful Whataboutism doesn't excuse that the Patriots cheated (and probably still do given that McDaniels got caught doing it with Denver and Ernie Adams is still on New England's payroll) by stealing other teams signals (and by extension, playcalls) by illegally filming them on the sidelines. If you can't understand the difference between attempting to steal signals on the sideline while live action happens, and filming those signals, sending them to someone (Ernie Adams) to be analyzed and deciphered, and having the person who analyzes and deciphers the signals have a direct line to the head coach on gamedays, then you don't really understand the point of competition or rules.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Jan 24, 2018 -> 03:08 PM) As a Pats fan, we won't have to worry about this The success of the Patriots starts at the top with top level ownership in Kraft (not JR), and goes down to the timeless philosophy designed by Belichick This is something we'll never see in sports again Appreciate it while you can I guess cheating is a timeless philosophy, isn't it?

Apparently, sons of former MLB players that are named after said player themselves become very good baseball players. At least that's what Guerrero Jr. and Tatis Jr. seem to be showing.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 18, 2018 -> 11:22 PM) disproportionately for the bottom 80% of the population, and financed it largely by taxing the top 20% at a higher rate? Would that be ANY different than the current reaction of Democrats/liberals to Trump's tax law, and why? Study after study have shown that by giving the poor and middle class more money (disposable income) in their pockets, they'll directly inject it back into the economy and also pay down debt to a much larger extent than the positive economic impact of gifting it to the rich/elites. The middle class and those living in poverty might also wisely invest it into their children's education/s, which sociologists point out is the only realistic way to break poverty cycles, for example...or into saving some of it for retirement (putting it back into the economy by buying shares). Yes, stocks are up (under Obama, 250%, Trump around 30%). But 80 percent of the value is held by the richest 10 percent. 84% of the tax cut benefits are going to the Top 1%. We can throw out any numbers we want, like 52% have "stock market investments/shareholder class" all the way up to 63% having some type of 401-k/pension/mutual funds/Roth/IRA/profit-sharing or stock option plan, but the fact is that almost all of the benefits of the new Republican tax bill are going to the richest Americans, leading to more and more inequality/unequal distribution of wealth. But why is this good for America, exactly? Studies of the 2004 tax cut confirm exactly what economists predicted is already happening: Repatriated earnings (think Apple here) were used largely to repurchase stock. The obvious problem is that stock buybacks aren't as productive as ordinary business investment, research and design/development, capital expenditures, improving technology/efficiency/productivity and 2) they inflate corporate earnings (misleadingly) per share by reducing overall share count, eventually leading to a recession. Rewarding existing shareholders for remaining loyal and faithful shareholders would certainly be argued by many to be a productive business investment, but, once again, almost all of the benefits are going to the wealthiest 10% of Americans. So if we argue that roughly 20% of the benefits are trickling down to middle class tax cuts AND employee bonuses/raises/minimum wage increases, we have a bigger question... Why wouldn't Democrats simply turn around and "victimize" the rich by doing the exact opposite somewhere down the line? To many, Trump's policies are, at their heart, about rewarding his family and his base of support...so, wouldn't doing the opposite pretty much ensure that the majority of Americans would vote for Democrats? That 80% of the benefits should flow to the middle class/poor and only 20% of the benefit to the rich/corporations? Since the corporate taxes are already locked in, wouldn't it be natural to turn around and continue this "class warfare" thing we've got going on going all the way back to the Clinton Administration in the 1990's and realistically even earlier. One COULD argue that this was exactly what Hillary Clinton was attempting to articulate in 2016, but it didn't come across as genuine or authentic because she and the Obama admin were too cozy with Goldman Sachs/Wall Street and the corporate elites to be believed or trusted in the same way that Bernie Sanders was... https://finance.media.yahoo.com/news/tax-cu...-185047405.html The title is misleading. I think this type of reform is exactly what most people want. In fact, with what Trump and his cronies did to taxes, you wouldn't even need a cut, just make the new credits permanent, make the standard deduction about two-thirds of what it is for 2018, put exemptions back in, eliminate the nonsense Republicans did with above the line and below the line deductions, and make massive increases for the wealthy and corporations. You'd probably end up with a revenue positive bill that way.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 23, 2018 -> 03:05 PM) https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/politics/202...frey/index.html Biden and Sanders polling better against Trump than Oprah Of course they are. We're seeing the downside of a celebrity president right now, why on Earth would anyone rational want another one?

I'd imagine guys like Cease, Burger, Rutherford and Collins are not that far from the list.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 17, 2018 -> 10:37 AM) As a matter of fact, here's my early guess for the Affiliates: Charlotte: Kopech, Adams, Guerrero, Stephens, Danish, Covey Birmingham: Hansen, Dunning, Banks, Puckett, Lambert Winston-Salem: Cease, Clarkin, Flores, Solorzano, Martinez, Andre Davis Kannapolis: Hickman, McClure, Henzman, Comito, Peralta That's some solid pitching depth, especially in the high minors.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 04:22 PM) Not at the federal level, but Daniel Biss. That's the mathematician running for Illinois governor, right? He'd have my vote if I lived in Illinois.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 07:31 PM) An alleged insider on a Brewers fan forum had this to say about an imminent trade: If that's the case and it's with the White Sox, I hope Brinson and Hiura are involved on their end.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 05:36 PM) Abreu Hopefully a big package, then.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jan 19, 2018 -> 02:55 PM) How could you say no? Rutherford is coming off of a horrible season and if he shows no improvement is barely a top 30 org prospect. Cease by all accounts is destined to be a closer. It would be selling high on Hansen who had a great year but is by no means a lock to be a top pitcher. Yelich gives you cost certainty and flexibility heading into 2019 free agency class. If you don't wasn't to lose two highly talented arms that each have ace potential with one being much closer to fulfilling it, that's how.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Jan 19, 2018 -> 01:55 PM) Baseball players make an exorbitant amount of money. I don't feel bad for them, and no one else should either. Why do we begrudge the worker gains, but not the owner?

QUOTE (ptatc @ Jan 19, 2018 -> 01:19 PM) Players salaries have increased at a dramatic rate. The players are not earning less. When expressed as a percentage of what the total profit is, yes, they are.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 18, 2018 -> 11:58 AM) I mean, that’s totally what’s causing this. It’s really the reason the MLB needs a salary floor. Loosing the luxury tax strings will further impact parity. A floor would bring a lot more one year deals, basically spending just to meet the floor. GMs who are rebuilding aren't going to be willing to offer a lot of multiyear deals to free agents, they're just going to spend what they have to that year to meet the floor. Though it might make things more interesting for players in their age 30-32 seasons. Do you take an inflated AAV 1 year deal to go to a rebuilding club hoping to flip you, or a multiyear lower AAV deal to secure the years and choose the team on which you plan to play?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 11, 2018 -> 07:09 PM) I totally get where you are coming from. I sort of feel similarly about Abreu. Dude sucks. Yet everyone seems to think he provides some kind of value. Guy strikes out in all the big time plate appearances that I can remember. A fine example of confirmation bias at work.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 11, 2018 -> 01:32 PM) Great article. I think you nailed it, though I'd probably lean toward putting Robert on the EST/Rookie Ball track Didn't Hahn say he was likely to open in Kanny or Winston?