[Jeff Samardjiza signs with SF Giants, 5/90.]

I really hope he does. That can only be good for the Sox if they decide to put Quintana on the market.

 

I get really nervous about trading Q for offense or MLB ready prospects. I love the idea of it, but if it doesn't work out then it is going to set us back for years.

[Jeff Samardjiza signs with SF Giants, 5/90.]

Guaranteed he's taking his @SS back to the NL

[Jeff Samardjiza signs with SF Giants, 5/90.]

 

Jayson Stark Verified account

‏@jaysonst

 

Forget the theory that Jeff Samardzija will be the bargain of the offseason. Teams talking with him say he's claiming to have $100M on table

[White Sox still deciding on what to do]

Do you really not sense his overwhelming sarcasm here?

 

Man with some of the posters on here with their crazy thoughts on what the team should do, you never know.

[White Sox still deciding on what to do]

The fact that they don't have their 2016 roster set before Thanksgiving has to be alarming to White Sox fans everywhere. All the other teams have made tons of trades, there are hardly any free agents available to sign...just a colossal fail again on the White Sox part. Thinking you could get something done at the Winter Meetings is silly. Everything should be finished weeks before.

 

And not sharing their offseason plan with the world? What are they thinking?

 

Lol what? There have been trades, but I wouldn't say "tons". Hardly any FA's have signed. It's just a slow start to the offseason transactions.

[Do you really know how your health insurance works?]

Kev...get an ACA quote and then call a variety of insurance brokers and get a variety of information. Also depending on your income situation, you may be in line for subsidies. I would be very skeptical of something that was non ACA. I'm also very skeptical of sales people in general though. I haven assumed biased that they will tell me whatever I want to get a sale and I test most sales people by asking select questions that I know the answer to and I want to see if they push me in the ethical way or not.

 

Also, since I am in sales I do the same thing as you. I am selling a product that has fixed pricing and benefits though. Since there's no negotiations it makes it a lot simpler and easier to get someone's trust, especially when it's all listed on the website. But when I am dealing with a sales rep I ask them a few questions I already know the answer to as well to feel them out.

[Do you really know how your health insurance works?]

Kev...get an ACA quote and then call a variety of insurance brokers and get a variety of information. Also depending on your income situation, you may be in line for subsidies. I would be very skeptical of something that was non ACA. I'm also very skeptical of sales people in general though. I haven assumed biased that they will tell me whatever I want to get a sale and I test most sales people by asking select questions that I know the answer to and I want to see if they push me in the ethical way or not.

 

I am waiting to see the insurance plan that the company I work for is providing for 2016. For some reason they never give it to us until around mid-December. I talked to a coworker who had a baby using our company's insurance this year and she said it was actually better than all of the ACA plans that they researched. Obviously I will still do my own research, but that was nice to hear. If it stays around the same as 2015 then it will cost about $405/month to have my wife and child covered. She made it sound like they didn't pay more than $6k in hospital bills when they had their child.

 

After talking to the insurance broker I'm even more skeptical than I was. I sent him an email with 6-7 questions and of course he called me to answer them instead of just answering my specific questions that I had in the email. Instead of answering them directly he was sidestepping them and would start talking about a different benefit that I didn't ask about. When I asked him about the fee for not having an ACA plan he said it is indeed 2.5% of household income, which would be a ridiculous amount. He then tried telling me if we can show that my wife is an independent contractor or something then there wouldn't be a fee...I was like yeah but she's not and he said it's easy to show that she is. I then started asking about deductibles because he said something about zero deductible and he assured me it's zero deductible. Then I brought up how he had already told me the deductible is $5k if we have a baby and he was like well yeah because that's something major...

 

Needless to say, I have pretty much already decided to go with an ACA plan.

[Do you really know how your health insurance works?]

https://www.healthcare.gov/fees/fee-for-not-being-covered/

 

2.5% of household income in 2016 or $695 per adult. Whatever is higher.

 

That is ridiculous that it is the household income and not the individual income if only one person in the family isn't covered in an ACA plan. That makes a massive difference as I make most of the money between the two of us, but she makes more than the minimum requirements.

[Do you really know how your health insurance works?]

I get it now. It's because it doesn't meet the minimum requirements. So you'd be one of the few that actually has insurance, but still have to pay the yearly fee (that will continue to go up every year) on top of it.

 

Correct. I have heard that the fee is 1% of your income. Does anyone know if that is true? Also, if I have my own insurance plan through work, would the 1% fee be our combined household income or only her income since she is the only one on it?

[Do you really know how your health insurance works?]

You need to know the Maternity benefits

What is the deductible?

What is the Co-insurance?

What is the Out of pocket max?

Office visit co-pays?

Is the hospital you are interested in having services In Network with the plan?

Are there any riders written in the plan? (These are services that are excluding coverage for a certain type of care)

 

You're the man shipps. Thanks for the help. I am going to email him those questions right now.

[Do you really know how your health insurance works?]

Just like these main points?

 

1. What is the exact name of my policy and where can I go that is considered In-Network with my plan?

 

2. What is my deductible?

 

3. What is my Out of pocket Max?

[Do you really know how your health insurance works?]

IMO that is purposely presented as complete f***ing jibberish because they have a lot to hide of what the benefits of that plan actually are. Do not sign up for that plan until you can see some stuff as we have talked about written in plain English.

 

What questions should I specifically ask him?

[Do you really know how your health insurance works?]

Wow, how the hell is anyone supposed to evaluate a plan that is presented like that?

 

That's why I am lost. I wasn't involved in the conference call, only my wife. She is easily sold on things so she is ready to sign up. I'm skeptical of everything so I'm trying to get more information.

[Do you really know how your health insurance works?]

I don't know of any fee. I get my insurance through my work and they have a plan that was grandfathered in so it isn't an ACA plan and I don't pay any extra fees.

 

Yeah he told me by not going with an ACA plan then I will get penalized just like anyone that doesn't have health insurance. What he presented was only like $204/month though. I attached the power point presentation that he emailed us.

US_Health_Advisors.pdf

[Do you really know how your health insurance works?]

Very thankful that this thread was started shipps! My wife will be coming off of her parents insurance in January so we are looking for plans for her. I am covered through work, but it doesn't cover anyone in my family. It doesn't seem like the best plan so I don't think it is worth the money to pay for her to be on that same plan. We are more than likely going to be starting a family in 2016 so I am focused on finding a plan that will allow us to spend as little as possible for all of the Dr's visits and the actual cost of having the baby at the hospital. I don't mind paying a higher than average monthly rate as long as it saves us money on those two things.

 

I am in sales for a living and one of my prospective clients is in health insurance sales and he started asking about my situation so I told him my wife needs coverage for 2016. We end up scheduling a conference call with him, come to find out what he is selling is not a part of the ACA. Does anyone have any knowledge about health insurance that isn't part of the Affordable Care Act? Specifically US Health Advisors is who he is with. I know by not going with an ACA plan there is a fee, but have any of you decided to go this route for your insurance? Other pros/cons?

 

It seems a little suspect to me, but I can't really pinpoint what about it that I don't trust. For those of you with knowledge on the subject, do you have any recommendations?

[2015 Catch-All thread]

I just read about Grantland being shut down by ESPN...pretty disappointing. I very much enjoyed their articles. I'm guessing it didn't bring in enough revenue for ESPN's liking?

[Arizona Fall League]

oops

thanks for catching my mistake .... wrong plaer. it was

 

No worries. Wasn't sure if I missed something.

[Arizona Fall League]

i really like the update. many thanks for your hard work ...

 

now, i don't know, but for me, it appears as this yr group of AFL players the sox sent are not a good group.

 

now i am surprise in a couple of players....

 

Engel is really coming into his own, esp since June and July.... however being moved to 3b..... i hope he develops more power.

 

Delmonico - i have or starting to loose faith in him. i really had high hopes.

 

Pete - i like to see more of him next yr. he may be somebody to watch.

 

pitching beside Brennan and Leyer, i just don't know.

 

again many thanks to all who assemble this info.

 

What are you talking about Engel being moved to 3rd base?

[The Republican Thread]

Yeah...I was aware of the banking issue and I would presume you'll have some state savings & loans pop up, but problem is you are out of luck having any form of FDIC protection, I believe. Not an expert but interesting and I presume someone is going to jump in and tackle the banking issue. The fact that 1 in 11 commercial buildings rae being used for marijuana is yet another reason I wouldn't vote. I wouldn't want 1 in 11 commercial buildings being used for booze or strip clubs either.

 

When you hear 1 in 11 commercial buildings I can understand how that sounds. It makes it sound like when you are walking around 1 out of every 11 buildings you see is either growing or selling marijuanna...since you spent time here recently you should know that's not how it seems or feels. The city, by no means, feels like it's being taken over by marijuana. In fact I've had family and friends come visit and they are shocked at how it's not what they thought it would be. They thought it would be in your face everywhere you go and most of them never even smelled or saw it once aside from the occasional dispensary that you pass while driving around.

[The Republican Thread]

I'm saying I wouldn't want a bunch of them in my neighborhood. I'm not equating any of them, just saying I wouldn't want my neighborhood to have 100 bars, or a bunch of marijuana shops or a bunch of strip clubs. And I am not anti-booze, by the way. And yes, I would vote against legalizing the drug because the taxes just ensure the black market will continue to exist and to me that is the only worthwhile reason to legalize marijuana in my eyes.

 

I have to disagree with you on the black market thing. Being a recreational user living in Denver I only know of one person that grows that doesn't sell to a dispensary. Yes his prices are slightly lower than a dispensary, but to me it is worth it to go to the dispensary to have the choice of 20-30 different strains, edibles, oil for vape pen, not having to wonder if what you are buying weighs what you are being told, and knowing that I am supporting the state's economy. I don't mind paying the $5 extra when I know it is going to support public schools. From what I have seen the black market here is minuscule and most people that use marijuana go to the dispensary.

 

"I was just in Denver and the people I was talking to their absolutely deplore the law. Then again it was a conference for bankers and finance people so might have just been you had a > percentage of conservatives their given the nature of the profession. That said, the bulk of these people indicated they had originally voted for the law. I had been in downtown denver numerous times and their were a lot more vagrants and homeless this time (going purely off of my eye test). "

 

Regarding that quote, of course you are going to get a negative response about legal marijuana at a conference for bankers and finance...what would you expect? That shouldn't tell you anything about how actual residents feel about the law. It does surprise me that you are saying the bulk of these people originally voted for the law. Why would they do that and what did they expect that their feelings have changed so drastically?

 

I also disagree about there being more homeless and vagrants since it was legalized. I moved here in 2010 and was shocked at the number of homeless people everywhere. That is not a new thing with the change in law.

 

 

[Ten Year Members]

What causes people to leave sites like these and never come back? I don't post often, but I have been on soxtalk almost everyday for the last 10 years or so. As a sox fan not in the Chicago area this is easily the best way for me to stay in touch with how other sox fans react to moves the team makes and how the season is going. I love the minor league aspect of the board as well. It's just very weird to me that some members that used to post daily just stop being a part of the message board completely.

[2015-16 NCAA Football Thread]

I'm not comfortable with Michigan being the favorite tomorrow.

 

For real, I'm not really happy with the line. As a U of M fan, I don't see how we can be favored by 7.5. Playing against a team that has been ranked higher than us all season, hasn't lost a game, and has dominated us in recent years.

[2015-2016 NFL Thread]

Has anyone heard any rumors about Forte to the Broncos? One of my coworkers here said his buddy just texted that he has been hearing that, but I haven't seen anything anywhere.

 

If you ask me, the Broncos already have the talent at RB. It's their offensive line that sucks. I don't think it would really change anything for them.

[9.3 Games]

No way, I can see them with the same path as Rodon next year. Rodon started the year in AAA and bypassed AA.

 

I agree with you. I would be surprised to see him not advance to AA or AAA to start next season.

[2015-16 NCAA Football Thread]

Isaac is too slow for this level of football, I just don't see it in him. He does have better vision than Smith. Morris is going to transfer IMO, he's so bad he couldn't even be put in last night after Ruddock s*** the bed. Morris has never produced at any level so it's not a shock or a big loss. I assume Harbaugh will start playing his recruits immediately next season.

 

That defense isn't going to get run on much but I think they will get torched against the throwing teams a few times. They are plenty good to steal games when the O isn't producing.

 

It was nice to see Peppers consistently involved. He looked very good at stuffing the run and is very good at getting around blockers.