Balta1701

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 8, 2017 -> 08:50 PM) Are you actually suggesting that a material amount of those shootings deaths were unnecessary? If so, on what grounds are you basing this on? There are cities where the number of police shootings drops dramatically due to a change in administration and a change in training and tactics. Dallas, Salt Lake. 34 states don't require any deescalation training and then places like Chicago make sure to stress "only if it is judged safe to deescalate" while offering that training. And again, that doesn't count "what about the 1/2 of them where the person didn't need to have a gun but did".

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 8, 2017 -> 08:38 PM) Your confusing danger with deadly and ignoring the important fact that police officers are trained for dangerous types of situations which ultimately helps prevent fatalities. To even suggest being a police officer isn’t that dangerous is completely absurd & offensive, but I’m not surprised that you simply used the first article you found on google that had some stats and didn’t even think “does this make sense in terms of my argument”. There are no doubt bad cops and the systems in place do a horrible job of punishing those that deserve punishment, but there is absolutely no reason to discredit the dangers these guys face. Some guys should not be cops because they simply won’t respond correctly in intense situations and we have a find a better way to screen those guys out. Until then, focus on the issue at hand which is holding bad cops accountable for their illegal or unjust actions. I would say - being a police officer is dangerous, but it is not so dangerous as to justify gunning down 1000 people per year. If we cannot face up to that fact, then we are being dishonest. You may not like to hear it, but that doesn't change the reality. We lose way more loggers per year than police officers. We lose more taxi drivers. If we are going to talk about how dangerous being a police officer is every time someone guns down a person, then we should talk about how dangerous it actually is. Furthermore, being a police officer is dangerous, but it is 10x less dangerous in the United Kingdom because the police in the United Kingdom don't have to worry that if they approach someone they will pull a gun. The best thing we could do other than reducing driving/making driving safer, to save officers lives, is have them deal with fewer armed people. But we've made it abundantly clear - having more people armed more often is more important to us, even sometimes over the objections of police. So there's another thing we should talk about - we have other priorities beyond the lives of police, including our precious guns. So let's also talk about what we respect more, the lives of police or our precious guns.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Dec 8, 2017 -> 07:01 PM) ^This one is worse. I see nothing wrong with hating that post. The statement "Being a cop is not as dangerous as we make it sound" is an ugly statement. It makes it sound like you are discrediting the deaths of cops. I know how that sounds to me. If we're going to talk about a cop panicking and shooting someone inappropriately, we should say that as part of it too. Facing reality that isn't pleasant to say is the only way to get to the real problems.

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Dec 8, 2017 -> 04:52 PM) Israel launcher airstrikes on Gaza https://www.google.com/amp/www.independent....0311.html%3famp Hmm, where’s my “It’s happening” gif Israel launching airstrikes on Gaza and killing a bunch of civilians in the process isn't exactly unusual. I found a half dozen since 2014 on the first page of a Google News search and then gave up. This is just one of the things Israel does, they occasionally bomb a half dozen civilians to destroy a tunnel and get the couple guys digging it, or to hit a rocket launch site, or whatever. It's like a US mass shooting killing 20+ people, it happens often enough it's not a huge deal.

Just so someone points it out, police officer is the 15th deadliest occupation in the United States. Being a Taxi driver is more dangerous. And FWIW, I think removing any chance that the officer has to worry about a person having a gun is a great way to reduce the number of officers killed on duty. Let's get those kill machines off the streets too and that will save a ton more police lives. Final note: The person that cop murdered was a close friend of a colleague/co-author of mine. She's rather upset.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 8, 2017 -> 12:29 PM) I do that all the time. I count a total of 12 DOD press releases at that page since the start of December 7, 1 of which you shared. There seems to be about 6-7 a day.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 8, 2017 -> 11:21 AM) I don't remember whatever you're talking about and I have no idea how Roy Moore has anything to do with a DOD audit. I never stated any opinion on the article I posted. So I am not sure why you find opinions I didn't make "cute." Should I not post links to the DOD's press releases? Frankly, by posting it without commentary, when "posting links to DOD press releases" isn't exactly something you do on a regular basis, I see no reason why I shouldn't conclude you think "This is highly important to share with a group of people and its importance will be self evident". Are you laughing at the concept of the DOD passing an audit also? Do you think the auditor will turn out to be able to fly? If you are taking something other than "This is important work" out of that then tell me.

Has anyone addressed the other side of this, why exactly anyone should care about Alan Dershowitz's social life? Seriously, Alan Dershowitz has never lost a friend over an argument before and the fact that it happened once is national news worth showing up on a message board for a Chicagoan based baseball team?

QUOTE (raBBit @ Dec 8, 2017 -> 12:15 PM) https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Articl...dget-certainty/ First DOD audit put into place. Remember how 2k5 posted that the Republicans totally were going to stop supporting Roy Moore and I keep bringing up the post? I'm gonna try to remember this one because it's so cute you actually believe it.

QUOTE (Quin @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 07:39 PM) Sadly, the RNC pledged theirs. So Flake, Sasse, and Romney are in the clear. Here is conscientious objector Jeff Flake who totally announced a month ago "I will not be complicit!" proudly on the Senate floor photographed 2 days ago sitting next to accused sexual assaulter Donald Trump while Donald Trump defended Roy Moore. Complicitly.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 08:41 PM) Anyone else worried about Machados lack of proven ability as a middle of the order vs the amount he's going to seemingly get? Over the last 3 seasons, .840 OPS, 35 HR/year, 35 2b/year, 92 RBI/year. What's the issue?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 05:41 PM) You overblow his injuries every season. He has never been significantly injured outside of an ankle injury in the first season. The last 3 years he has played 154, 159, and 156 games and has emphasized his health every offseason. They are nothing alike Until this year he looked like he was in a steady decline. This year he suddenly turned back around, prior to that he looked like he'd be finished as a hitter before this contract. 2016 wasn't just bad luck, he was a seriously worse hitter. I'm ok blaming that on injury and saying he hits when he's healthy, but that means he had a first half long nagging injury.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 05:35 PM) Miggy has been overweight and hurt pretty much every year he has been with Detroit. I wouldn’t compare him to Abreu at all Abreu's had a number of nagging injuries, especially if you include whatever slowed him in the first half of 2016. I worry about him staying healthy too. (That's also why I think he'd be smart to come to an extension now).

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 06:18 PM) Actually it is funny...Trout was never billed as this overly athletic/toolsy guy. He just flat out wasn't. I remember at the time of the draft, Trout was just more of a guy who was likely to be solid but probably not a "star". Here's a pre-draft "He can run and he can throw but he's going to have to learn to hit" article from his local NJ.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 06:25 PM) Eh. Again, Abreu has the type of skill set that isn't going to die in a players early 30's. He isn't really going to lose any speed or defense because he has none of that ability anyway. His power might sap at the end of that deal, but if you look around, guys who have power plus a solid hit tool don't really age as quickly versus guys whose primary skills revolve around their legs. Guys like JD Martinez, Cabrera, Nelson Cruz, and Ed Encarnacion are doing just fine with very similar skill sets as Jose Abreu at about the same ages we are talking about during this contract. Dude, Age 33-34 Miguel Cabrera had his OPS decline by .228. That name should scare you as much as Encarnacion gives you hope. Cruz, I will not count him as being on a normal aging curve since we know he juiced for some time. JD Martinez is younger than Abreu I believe.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 05:11 PM) Don’t really want to do anything that makes the best team in baseball stronger. In 2020 there will be 3 or 4 teams we have to worry about. The Dodgers will probably be one of them, but we shouldn't base decisions on that. Put the best roster out for 2020 that we can. If we send them to the 2018 and 2019 world series, I don't care as long as we are ready to win 100 games in 2020.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 04:37 PM) While Anderson was very raw...I think Mitchell and Walker were primarily speed guys and still think that Achilles injury f***ed Mitchell...Hawkins just never came along...too raw Keenyn Walker was also a sandwich pick, equivalent to the mid 2nd round. So he shouldn't be quite lumped in with "Hawkins" as a flop. Mitchell might well have been a MLB player without injury, but ask it this way - the 25th pick in that draft was some speedy high school kid who had room to add muscle named Mike Trout. If you're avoiding athletes - that's what Trout started as.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 06:02 PM) Hoiberg's job is to get guys to play hard and hopefully develop. We have a talent issue that I'm not going to blame on the coach. That said, culturally, we need Hoiberg to instill a positive energy and to hopefully get them ready to develop into winning habits. What we don't want is losing habits to infiltrate our young players and the organization. Losing ways are like a plague that can overcome an organization quickly and be very very hard to get rid of. I tend to think of Hoiberg as being that up beat guy that is good for a rebuild and to be honest I've thought they are legitimatley playing hard. There were moments yesterday where the team was fun to watch and other moments where we weren't fun to watch (i.e., good ball movement, etc). Talent is bad though but I'm actually pretty optimistic all things considered. Like say, teams that collapse at the end of games with no plan, or teams where one guy breaks another guy's face?

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 05:59 PM) I get the feeling that Hahn and Co. do not want to be in the business of paying a mid 30's first baseman retail money like that. The only way I would sign him to an extension is if he takes a substantial discount to stay with the White Sox. 5/90 or 4/80 is not what I would consider to be a substantial discount by any means. Abreu is not getting any younger, and giving a 33 year old Abreu three more guaranteed years is not necessarily a wise decision. If you're not ready to pay a guy that kind of money for his age 33-36 seasons, then we need to trade Abreu now and work on finding a replacement out of Gillaspie or the draft or one of these guys on the FA market who changes their swing plane and breaks out. We're set to pay Abreu solid money for 2018 and 2019, and the chances of us being competitive in those years are zero and low, in order. That money is basically being spent on a coach those years - that's ok, but the money doesn't make us better in the years that matter. 2020 and 2021 are the years we need production. If we aren't willing to pay him until he's 35, then he's worth the most in trade right now.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 04:50 PM) I'd think he'd ask for at least 5 years 90 million. At least. If he wants that 5th year guaranteed I'm pushing him downwards a little bit (5/80?) but yes I'd do it. That's the tradeoff - he can have an extra year guaranteed but we're getting a better rate out of it. If he got Encarnacion's deal of 3/$60, he'd basically get 5/$90 over the next 5 years anyway, so there's no economic reason for me to do that. I get nothing for that extra year while he gets extra security.

One of Franken's victims rips the speech:

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 01:17 PM) Again this is purely based on allegations and is it fair? everyone around made it impossible for him to do his job. It has nothing to do his ability to do his job as his skills as a negotiator, deal maker or anything else. It's pure based on other people dealing with him. While all of it is accurate it doesn't mean it's right. I also know none of it will change. But it just irritates me that it's really more about maintaining the power base rather than truly convicting the people who deserve it. There's an old saying in politics - don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. While it would be perfect if anyone who violated a woman wasn't just removed from office but instead actually faced charges, as of right now violating women still gets you elected President and Senator. As of right now we're back to having, for example, a Department of Education rolling back protections for women who bring assault cases to their universities. Things are going in the wrong direction in a number of ways. This is a case where it is going in the right direction. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 01:18 PM) I will be shocked if there is not an available 30+ year old slugging player that can only play 1b in 2020. This, to me, is really not that risky. The 2 other worthy names on the market after 2019 are Justin Smoak and Paul Goldschmidt. You'll be talking about the age 32-33 seasons for either of them. Nonzero chance both could be extended before FA, and if that happens, Abreu is the only quality 1b available on the market.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 01:57 PM) Gonna be honest, I don't see the FA market for 33 year old right handed sluggers being unaffordable in two years especially with where the sox will likely be at payroll. We should be able to afford it but is that a game you really want to play? If we don't have an experienced backup and we make a strong bid for Abreu and someone outbids us...suddenly we are trying to win the world series with a scrap heap 1b. Saying "Oh we can extend this guy in 2 years" is, especially for Abreu, a low reward, high risk move. If we wait, are we going to either save money or somehow find better production? There's a good chance we can keep him and keep his production, but if he walks, it would dramatically damage what should be the top team in the league for 2020. If he won't extend now, then he's telling you he wants to play the FA market and him walking is a real risk. Give him a fair offer and find out. If he's insistent that he's going to play the FA market, that's his right, but we should assume there's a real chance of us trying to replace our cleanup hitter rather than trying to build a title contender.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Dec 7, 2017 -> 01:02 PM) This is where I'm skeptical. Did the others really lose confidence in his ability do his job? I doubt it. They knew he was making to party look bad and wanted to distance themselves from him. This has nothing to do with his ability as a Senator and everything to do with public perception and they fact that they might lose his seat in the next election if he wasn't replaced. It's the same thing that the Republicans are doing with Moore. It's all about maintaining power, instead of truly punishing the people who are gulity. Frankly, yes. The Minnesota Star Tribune had a piece on that in their op-ed page as sort of a "last straw" piece last week saying he was right on the verge of not being able to do his job in the Senate during the tax bill because he was off replying to allegations.