Balta1701

Apparently Leury Garcia will be playing for the Dominican Republic team in the Caribbean World Series starting on Thursday.

QUOTE (brett05 @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 08:32 AM) The Republicans did what the Democrats refuse to and that is let the people decide. The people elected the President that made it perfectly clear he would replace the spot with an Originalist. If the people would have elected Hillary, we'd have the hearing on Garland. As such, if the Democrats really do try and filibuster this, it's going to turn off much of America and could be a crushing blow to the Democratic party. We can decide in 2020. Why is 11 1/2 months an ok amount of time to wait but not 4 years?

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Feb 1, 2017 -> 01:48 AM) And...? Are you really just programmed to react to anything that even slightly challenges your worldview with "beep boop white male beep bopp"? And if you dont like white males why in god's name are you in Seattle, WA? It really does not get any white male-ier than Seattle. Because he's not cowering in fear of them because of their ethnicity or based on a stereotype. Doing so would be exactly where you logic would lead, yet you only are scared by certain groups.

Remember this when they say a few people were inconvenienced. The ban killed this person per the statements of her son. She had a green card and was pulled out of line and sent back.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 01:20 PM) In that case, you might as well just know you won't enjoy any basketball because if you were a team in the Jordan era, you had no chance at beating peak Bulls and similarly, in the east, you pretty much need Lebron to get to a championship and in the west, right now, it is going through Golden State. Very hard for any team on paper to be better then Golden State. So in all reality, basically unless you are Golden State or Cleveland, you would not be happy cause no other team has a plausible chance right now. That said, you never know when people get injured, etc. One thing I'm trying to ponder is whether or not the next generation of "Superteam assembly" has hurt this. I definitely felt like I enjoyed the Bulls teams that finished 4th-5th in the conference back in the mid-2000s WAY more than I'm enjoying these teams right now. Yes, there were better teams, but you could count on watching good basketball when you put those games on. Now, if you're not watching Cleveland versus Golden State or Golden State vs San Antonio, it seems like you're watching a bunch of middling basketball. Maybe that changes if you have a team that's top 5 in its conference too, but ever since the Heat came together it seems to me like being 4th in the conference just gets a much bigger MEH from me.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 04:42 PM) Weren't the Republicans saying before the election if Hillary was elected the wouldn't let her get anyone on the Court? While his history is poor, here's Ted Cruz last October:

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 04:35 PM) One of the best ways to make the primaries less of a run-to-the-extreme race is for states to allow their voters to vote in primaries for ALL parties, not one or the other. Sure there will be a few jokers who intentionally vote extreme on the "other" side, but will vote for who they want to win. That will automatically draw out many more votes for moderate candidates. Another way to do it is to use the Iowa model for districting, creating more heterogeneous districts that will vote for more moderate candidates for house seats as well. There are procedural ways to improve things. But the biggest thing is still to get more people to vote in all elections and get involved. Nothing will work as well as that. FWIW, recently published research says that this claim did not hold up to field testing.

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 04:29 PM) No doubt. The Republicans absolutely stole a seat through unprecedented obstructionism. And that's garbage, but the Ds can't filibuster the seat for 4 years. Agreed on his position on Chevron. Also agreed that Trump is turning the announcement into a circus... Why is 10 months just fine but 4 years isn't?

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 01:23 PM) I have always felt like this was going to be at least a three year process to begin to become competitive again. Even if Moncada busts out next season, there is not going to be the supporting cast around him to help him out. I also think that Rodon is going to be traded as part of the rebuild process, possibly as early as next winter. There is little to no chance of an extension with him as a Boras client and with the way that I believe the window of contention is going to shape up, he will enter free agency right when the Sox are in the prime of the window of contention with the group they are assembling. I know people feel this team is going to be right in the thick of things as early as next year with the pitching core they are assembling, but the offense is going to be dreadful, probably worse than dreadful. This team is going to lose at least two of its three most productive offensive players after this season, and will be in firm contention for the #1 overall pick in 2019. I think 2020 is where this team starts being competitive again as Collins, Moncada, Basabe, and hopefully some of the acquisitions from the trades of Rodon and Q are ready to contribute in addition to top draft picks from 2017 and 2018. With hopefully an abundance of SP depth, Hahn can make some deals to fill in the holes in the roster that they aren't able to fill through the draft or in one of the rotation deals. I think it's a 3 year process if Moncada is a hit. If the White Sox were starting from scratch, without getting what they got back for Sale and with as talent barren as this organization was top to bottom, I'd have said it was a 5 year process. It might darn well be that for the Padres. If the White Sox miss on Moncada, that turns this into a 5 year process.

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 11:52 AM) It would be great if Moncada turns into a star, but even if he doesn't the Sox approach is going to make them a competitive team. Collins may turn into a LH Paul Goldsmit, heck Joel Booker could develop into an all star player, there are so many variables out there to put so much pressure on one player to be the organizations savior. RH just needs to continue down the path of selling his assets for outstanding returns and not cave on his asking prices. From the Sale trade, he received four guys that have the potential to be above average contributors, and two that could project as all-stars. The Sox need to focus on quantity of quality prospects regardless of positions. When there is a problem with too many really good guys on the 40 man roster, some of that depth can be moved to find the guy that you want Moncada to be. Paul Goldschmidt couldn't turn the DBacks into contenders on his own. I think the setup with Moncada is this: if he were to bust or get injured, it is a 2 year setback in rebuilding at the very least. You name guys like Collins, Joel Booker - those are guys who are 2 or more years behind Moncada, who should be tearing up AAA this year and hopefully ready for a brief stint at the end of the season. The other guys will be in A-ball and AA, and if they're up in 2019 that means they were pushed rapidly through levels and you probably expect them to need more big league development time. Hopefully we'll add some more big league ready pieces when Quintana goes, but if Moncada does not become a top of the league player, we will be unlikely to have the ability to find equivalent talent out of our system any time soon. How will we come up with that? 2 ways - wait 2-3 years longer so that other draft picks can work their way through, or....move Rodon and start this again.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 12:53 PM) Ryen Russillo said it on a podcast...so anything else coming from this comes from one report from Ryan Russillo. Actions speak louder then words though and the reality is Butler never got benched / kicked to the curb. I'll be honest, I kind of assume this happens often when teams negotiate with other guys. When I think of the Bulls, I kind of think of the Lakers with Kobe (not comparing Butler to Kobe) and think about how close the Lakers were to moving Kobe and going full on rebuild. Instead, they hovered around and eventually got Pau and went on to win a couple more championships. Kobe is/was far more elite than Butler can ever dream (although I think Kobe's leadership style and Butlers are very similar...meaning they are tough love guys who expect everyone to work their tails off and do everything for win). In fact, I'd argue that Taj is the "good cop" to Butler's "bad cop" ala Fisher / Kobe. Lakers clearly had more talent, but that was a team that didn't give up when it could have and eventually got the pieces and won titles. Not saying Bulls are winning a title if we landed another superstar, but we'd be a hell of a lot closer and I'd rather be a piece away then 3 pieces away. Of course, I've also said, if we could get both nets picks plus Crowder & Smart (and maybe even one more 1st round pick), I'd do it. I'd want an absolute haul to move Jimmy Buckets. If this is the logic, then we need to no longer see complaints about finishing 7-8 in the East, because that's where the Lakers were during the years they sat there waiting for someone to bail them out.

QUOTE (JenksIsMyHero @ Jan 31, 2017 -> 10:43 AM) Totally agree. I'd rather get pick 14 with Jimmy on the team than draft 6-7 without Jimmy. The better avenue for the Bulls is to add players in FA, not the draft. Even if we ignore the Bulls' history in landing FAs, this still doesn't deal with that huge change in the CBA from this year. Are you ok adding players in FA if anyone at Cousins's level and above never leaves their team again because they opened up the floodgates for those top players?

QUOTE (Con te Giolito @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 10:25 PM) Here's where you're kind of wrong/kind of right. Somali refugees in Minneapolis/St Paul have had some serious difficulties assimilating and there was an attack by a Somali on a mall that was "claimed" by ISIS. About thirty Somalis from Minnesota, permanent residents the lot, left the country to join ISIS or similar organizations back in Somalia, and that's just who the intelligence community knows about or is willing admit. Then there have been the serious gang problems and sexual assaults, very similar to the issues the European countries are having assimilating their immigrants. How much of this has to do with willful refusal to assimilate by the Somalis or ghettoizing by native Minnesotans is impossible to pin down exactly, but its probably a little bit of both at least. To paint all refugees as angels is a delusional. To paint them all as terrorists is ignorant. But to deny that there is something about Islam that seems to prevent it from fully assimilating its people in western countries is just a blatant refusal to acknowledge facts. All of Western Europe is a case study in this regard, and its one I want our leaders to learn and understand before they act on the refugee issue. We have enough social unrest as it is, inviting more in isn't good for the people already here. So for reference, while any time you take a group of 20,000+ people you're likely to have a handful of crimes, the officials in those areas have noted that their crime rates are not unusual compared to other areas of their state and they have declined like most major urban areas since the Somali immigration began in the 1990s and really picked up around 2000, including in the spots where they have the largest populations (something like 10% of one city). IF you want, those numbers are available in the FBI reports.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 10:42 PM) Q is under control , including two option years, through the '20 season and will turn 32 before ST in '21. As much as I like Q, I see no point in trying to extend him beyond the '20 season. Q is 28 now so at this point in time how can we possibly know if we will want to keep him beyond the '20 season? IMHO, it's an unnecessary risk for a team that will likely develop his replacement long before that contract expires. I'm not against keeping Q, just the idea of extending him. Keeping him makes little sense to me if you're not going to extend him early, because his departure after 2020 is right at the start of the White Sox's window. They get him for 1 year out of the time this group should be potentially ready to contribute, in exchange for spending 3 years here. That said, the reason I started dropping dollar amounts is that I often get the feeling these suggestions happen because people don't realize what they're talking about monetarily. If Jose pitches out his contract, remains a 4-5 WAR a year pitcher, hits free agency at age 31, he's going to be on line for a $200 million contract given what pitchers are getting right now and contracts going up over 5% a year. He already has some monetary security, with his next deal he can knock it out of the park. There's a huge difference for him monetarily between him hitting FA at age 31 and 33 - like $50 million+. You'd have to make this worth it to him.

QUOTE (Big Hurtin @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 10:55 PM) Cybersecurity EO expected to be signed tomorrow https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/...raft-of-the.pdf Sigh, I remember being taught in school about the 3 branches of government. I realize that this is discussing policies implemented by the worst people on Earth, but on paper I'm not sure what the obvious issue is with this one. Looks like Bannon is part of the report I guess so that's annoying, what else am I missing?

QUOTE (steveno89 @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 09:19 PM) Why bother when we are likely to trade him anyways? Sox could always talk about an extension if they decide to keep him two seasons from now the trick then would be he'd be unlikely to add "Just 2 years" to his deal. If you want to extend him when he has 2 years left on his deal and he's still pitching like this, you're going to have to rip up the $20 million remaining on that deal and make it like 6/$150 or something like that. At the very least, you'd be paying a helluva lot for him when he's 35. You could do that too, but you've got to figure the price goes up the longer you wait.

What kind of discount are we talking? If you offered him a boost right now to 6 years and $90 million, that adds 2 years to his deal at $25 million per year - he gets a vastly inflated contract value, far more monetary security, and the White Sox get him for those 2 years at a discount compared to what he'd be worth if he kept this up. Honestly I'm not sure I can remember a team doing a contract like that with a guy, but I'd consider it. Might have to up the dollar value to make it worth it to keep signing things like that - maybe all the way to $100 m over those 6 years so that the 2 extra years are $30 million years.

other subject - who was it here who repeatedly said that LGBTQ people had nothing to fear from Donald Trump and Mike Pence because he hadn't campaigned on hating them as hard as he did his hatred for Islam? That appears to have bought an extra 5-6 days, per press reports of what's coming.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 05:03 PM) What do people think of this whole "holocaust" controversy? I actually side with Trump on this. He didn't single out any group, but I didn't think there was anything horrible or malicious around his use of words. This is what I think is dangerous about how Trump's detractor's are taking things. If you complain about every little thing, including things, like this, which I generally believe to be small (of course I'd like to think I'm rationale and could be delusional instead) then you start to get people who maybe aren't as logical / rational who look at the media and say, if they are going to complain about every little thing, then it is the old "boy who cried" wolf and you basically are just hammering a person and people stop believing everything (which is the wrong answer). The problem I saw is that his language was right out of holocaust denial. The holocaust deniers loved it and jumped on it. Specifically the version I read praised Donald Trump for not falling in with the Jewish "Science Fiction" of gas chambers and ovens (that was from stormfront). They've adopted that coded language specifically to get that reaction from people like you - the "oh it's no big deal", so that they can build their setup behind the scenes without being challenged. That's why the ADL fights this every single time - they want to leave the door slammed shut. They want people to remember that systematically trying to kill a group of people on an industrial scale because of who they are is something that we had never seen. Edit: here's the specific statement by the ADL.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 01:14 PM) Looking for a little guidance here. My wife & I gathered the phone numbers of our US Senators & Representative and our state Senator & Representative. We have a list of issues that we are concerned about. The problem is, I've never made a call like this. Will somebody actually answer the phone or am I just going to leave a message? If somebody does answer, do I ask to speak to the Senator? Should I call the Washington DC phone number or the local one? How many issues should I bring up to them? Any help or info on this would be appreciated. 1. Generally you do expect that people will pick up, although for some reason over the last week their staffs have been overwhelmed. 2. Do not ask to speak to the Senator or Congressperson unless you also are writing them a $2000 check. 3. Focusing on 1 or 2 issues per call is best. 4. Be polite. These are low paid staffers or volunteers who take down people's comments and record them in sort of a "pooling" fashion. Don't yell, don't be angry even with them. 5. If you get sent to voice mail, leave a message stating your name, your zip code, and express your opinion on that issue. Someone will get to that eventually. 6. If the lines are completely jammed and voice mail is full, call back another time and feel free to complain about that when you call back as that's a failure to meet the needs of your district. 7. There is debate over whether calling the local office or national office is preferable, some people strongly advocate for both. I think you're good either way.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 11:49 AM) Yeah something is going to give soon with that. The priebus interview defending the removal of mentioning Jews from the holocaust is something that is so outside how we have treated things forever. After sucking it up and reading a denial website or two, they were praising Trump for adopting their language. The specific quote was that they were rejecting the "science fiction" of gas chambers and ovens aimed specifically at the Jews.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 12:44 PM) The midterm election is 2018 is going to be one of the most important in a long time for this country. It'll be a true test for how effective Jeff Sessions is at limiting who can vote.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 30, 2017 -> 11:33 AM) Trump signs another EO to implement his "repeal 2 regulations for every 1 new one" idea. Everyone realizes that this means when self-driving cars get on the road it'll require allowing rat poop in food or something like that, right?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 29, 2017 -> 06:22 PM) The ACLU is reporting that the CBP is still ignoring the court order and denying some of those detained access to legal counsel. Sen. Hollen of Maryland is claiming that a 5 year old US citizen has been detained as part of the immigration, as well. http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/01/29/s...ined-at-dulles/ In the last hour there are suddenly reports from several sources that the CBP is handcuffing and removing the detained travelers from Dulles to an off site location as a way to get around the court order requiring access to counsel if held at Dulles.

We are now up to about 20 Republicans who have actively said something in opposition to this, including McCain and Graham as noted above. 15 have released statements of support. Only 41 Democrats have yet to take a position. None have stated support. Senator Feinstein to introduce legislation tomorrow to overturn this EO and remove similar power from the President. At the least it'll force McConnell to take a position by either allowing it to come to a vote or blocking it from the floor.