iamshack

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 18, 2014 -> 07:50 AM) If you need a weapon to discipline your children, it means you are a failure as a parent. Well, I get what you are saying, but some children are just beyond parenting. There are some human beings that are just flat-out evil for no particular reason whatsoever.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 11:22 AM) Added together, trading away Sale for a package, even a top flight package, does two things; it dramatically decreases our near-term performance and it dramatically increases our long-term risk. That's a hard pair to stomach, hence why I can't come up with any conceivable package that works. Every time someone has said we should trade Sale I've responded "Mike Trout's available"? I think that's a fair point. 2 years ago Bryce Harper was on that list with Trout, but he isn't there yet either and there's an injury worry. Yeah, there is going to definitely be risk, but there has to be upside as well. The near-term performance is pretty meaningless to me since being more mediocre as a result of Sale doesn't really help matters much. This is why I would require some kind of budding mlb star, to at least limit your worst-case scenario if the prospects were to all fail to reach expectations. You're likely looking at a team that has a surplus at a position of need for us, and then a stable of prospects to choose from. Definitely not easy to do, but not something that should be dismissed on principle.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 11:12 AM) I keep coming back to that because a) that's the one I heard most, b) Oscar Tavares was key in a lot of those and he is at least looking like a guy who will need some time at the big league level before he breaks out, c) Michael Wacha might have fit your request for a guy who had already succeeded in the bigs but he's been injured this year. Matt Adams was on a number of people's lists, but we found a slightly better 1b and he's been less effective this year as a full time player than he was last year. Right now you'd look at a deal done last year where we'd fleeced the Cardinals for 4 top prospects and think we were better off in 2014-2015 with Chris Sale. That could change long term, but even in the setup you're asking for, with guys who in the high minors and have shown up in the bigs...Sale still looks like a better bet. Well, I am not the biggest fan of Adams, but it isn't like Sale has gotten us anything more this year than those guys would have, other than a worse draft pick.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 11:00 AM) What was the setup for the proposed Cardinals concept trade for all their top flight players that people thought about last year and how would that look for the white sox if it was done? I have no idea. I don't believe there are many packages out there of "pure" prospects that I would move him for. I'd likely need at least one guy who has shown he can get it done at the mlb level.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 10:50 AM) The problem is two fold. The biggest isn't the on the field product, is the off of the field perseption of the team. 20 years later, Sox fans STILL have the automatic reaction of WHITE FLAG to anything perceived as setting the franchise back in time. The other problem is that Chris Sale is not only an ace, but he is the cheapest Ace in baseball, and he is that way for a really long time. That has a lot of do with what the market price of Chris Sale would be in a trade. I don't buy into that white flag nonsense. These fans aren't coming out anyways. Get a team on the field that wins consistently, and the fans will show up. I understand Sale's value. My argument was premised on the idea of getting something close to full value for him. If that is simply impossible, than it makes no sense to move him. What I'm saying is that I don't believe there are players in baseball that are simply immovable, and Chris should not be considered as such.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 10:20 AM) You're good for that though if I ever end up in that situation, right? If you wire me the money, for a small fee, of course

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 10:14 AM) OK, then eat $500 of your profit and fly to Vegas. Or find someone in Vegas to do it for you. Seems like every message board has at least one person who lives in Vegas. For sure, but that is all harder to pull off in reality than it seems...

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 10:04 AM) http://espn.go.com/espn/chalk/story/_/id/1...last-second-win This guy is an idiot. All he had to do Monday was find a way to come up with as much money as he could (up to $50K) and bet it on the Eagles and he has guaranteed profit. He would have had to do that in Vegas or online though. Delaware does not accept single game wagers.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 09:00 AM) Chris Sale is making 1/5th of what he'd be worth in the open market between now and 2019. Right, so that is rolled into his value as an asset. A team trading for him would acquire that value, which they would not be able to capture on the open market.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 08:53 AM) I commend you for going against the popular believe. For the record, I start a thread on this last year and was bashed pretty bad as well. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=89048 Being where we are at now, I'd still do Taveras, Wacha, Martinez and Wong for Sale. You'll see I chimed in that I would trade basically anyone for the right package.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 08:39 AM) Highly doubt Cubs would do that. FWIW I think Rizzo has the more team friendly contract as he is signed through 2019 for $35 mil total, with $14.5 team options in 2020 and 2021. They wouldn't trade their 2 best position players for a pitcher when they have the money to go out and buy 1 if not 2 aces if needed. Ok, this is where I struggle to understand the outrage when the mere mention of trading Sale is raised. If we can go to market and buy 1 if not 2 aces, why is the idea met with such universal disdain?

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Sep 17, 2014 -> 06:49 AM) You are getting bahsed pretty hard for this, but it's a situation even an outsider like myself can tell you the organization is well aware of. However, with multiple years of control, they will cross that bridge when they get there. If, in the next 3-4 years, Sale suffers a career altering injury, it was still the correct risk assessment of the situation and you are stuck. If not, and the team is not competing by 2018 or 2019, then you can still deal Sale for a premium, premium price to a contending team either in the offseason or prior to the trade deadline. Frankly, to fully capitalize on Sale's value right now getting a prospect in return, I think they'd need 2-3 premium, top 50 type prospects plus another 3-4 good to very good prospects getting a total of 5-7 very quality prospects. There will be better-cost alternatives out there for other teams to pursue. For example, from the Cubs, I'd need at least Soler/Bryant, Baez, Alcantara, Edwards, and then 1-3 other decent prospects on top of that. It's not a price teams will be willing to pay. Well, I admitted it would be unpopular, and I certainly don't mind getting bashed. As you alluded to, I think it is important to consider things like this, despite their unpopularity. One thing I will say is that the "bashers" don't usually come back and admit they were wrong when the minority opinion was correct. As for Sale, a trade would not necessarily have to be entirely for prospects, per se. Honestly, what if the deal was Sale for Rizzo/Bryant/High ceiling A-ball prospect? Doubtful the Cubs would consider that, but I don't think that is soooo incredibly out of the realm of possibilities if another team were to put together some pieces like that...

All I can say is I have a very large fear that we are throwing away a key asset's most productive years because the rest of the team isn't ready to compete, under a coaching staff that seems very lax on fundamentals. I know it's unpopular, but I just can't help thinking we should trade him to more adequately capitalize on his value now, if at all possible.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 16, 2014 -> 07:03 PM) I have not looked into it for animals, but there is absolutely no truth whatsoever to the claims that vaccines are driving increases in any other disease in humans. The end result of these sort of claims is already turning into outbreaks of things like the measles and whooping cough that we hadn't dealt with in this country for decades. If you'd like a good overview of this issue with regards to humans, there was a really solid show on it from NOVA last week. Hereis an article that Balta clearly read before opining

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 16, 2014 -> 07:03 PM) I have not looked into it for animals, but there is absolutely no truth whatsoever to the claims that vaccines are driving increases in any other disease in humans. The end result of these sort of claims is already turning into outbreaks of things like the measles and whooping cough that we hadn't dealt with in this country for decades. If you'd like a good overview of this issue with regards to humans, there was a really solid show on it from NOVA last week. Excellent, thanks!

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Sep 16, 2014 -> 06:49 PM) I think at this point all of the "we're over vaccinated" myths have been debunked. And it absolutely is a rich white person issue because any kid not vaccinated can't go to daycares, public school, etc. That's a lot of alternative stuff to pay for. Costly choice. Hah, it's the same for my dogs I have a hard time believing there is no truth to it, but like I said, I've not researched it. The argument in re: animals is a very strong one, with plenty of studies to back it. The rise in many diseases have correlated with the rise in vaccinations. Of course, that also correlates in the degradation of our food supply and a lack of exercise and an active lifestyle as well.

QUOTE (Jake @ Sep 16, 2014 -> 04:19 PM) If there is physical evidence of how you hit your kid about 10 minutes afterwards, that would be an indication that you went too far. As far as Cutler goes, the lack of vaccination is bad. There is a degree to which it is accepted because that is basically an upper-class white way to harm children. The main difference to me, though, is that Jay is leaving his kids open to potential harm. It is reckless. What Peterson did is actively harm his kids. What Jay Cutler is doing is more like choosing a babysitter by random draw and knowing that there is a 1 in 1000 chance that the babysitter is Adrian Peterson Have you researched this? I have not, but what I have researched is this same issue in dogs. There is widespread belief that we over-vaccinate our dogs and this causes far more harm than is appropriate given the relatively remote risks we are vaccinating against. As I said, I haven't researched it yet, but I'd guess the theory is along the same lines.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Sep 16, 2014 -> 01:13 PM) That's my point. These forms of punishment are still readily carried out and accepted as the norm. "Kid grabs something, he wasn't supposed to, put his hands in hot water and he''l learn." Yeah, I understand. And I think that is a valid point to understand. However, some folks seem to be saying what AP did is ok because of that, whereas others are saying it is not ok because of that, but that is a factor that should be taken into consideration when determining how to handle the situation.

QUOTE (ptatc @ Sep 16, 2014 -> 12:07 PM) The cultural aspect is correct though. My brother is a pt and at in mississippi. He routinely tells me about children with burns on their hands because the parents punish them by putting the kids hands in hot water. The parents make it too hot and the kids get burns. It's all too common. I'll wager that if Peterson hadn't sent the kid home to Minnesota until the wounds healed, this never would have come up. I think the distinction is that some have justified AP's actions based on it being accepted in some areas of the country, whereas others have merely listed that as a mitigating factor, more or less.

QUOTE (flavum @ Sep 16, 2014 -> 11:13 AM) How about the Sox make a splash this winter, go out and win 92 next season, and sweep the awards--Cy, MVP, ROY, Mgr, Exec? That would be fun. We are just so top heavy...we need to continue to add some depth and hopefully it comes primarily from the position player side...

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Sep 16, 2014 -> 08:46 AM) Golf season has really ruined my fitness routines. My game is a lot better but the 19th hole/outings etc has really softened me up. Isn't that kid of yours wearing you out yet?

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Sep 16, 2014 -> 08:18 AM) I'm reposting this for emphasis. I hope that everyone takes minute to get familiar with wRC+ because it's just so, so awesome. IMO, it's maybe the best stat in existence right now, in terms of answering an important more accurately than any others. To the poster named Jose Abreu, with regards to your inclination that BA/SLG should be weighted higher than OBP/baserunning: the beauty of wRC+/wOBA/other offensive inputs into WAR is that they are all linear weights-based statistics, which means that their single most tremendous advantage is that they objectively weigh run values across offensive events with incredible precision. One of the big advantages of these statistics is you don't have to wonder how many times a guy needs to get on base to make for his lack of homeruns, because it uses inputs that are based on exactly how many runs are produced through each of the events, and then scales it all to league average as a comparison point. Your question, actually, illustrates the great flaw with OPS -- it treats a point of OBP and SLG equally, when in reality, the values of both are not only significantly different, but they each fluctuate all the time based on the changing run environment. If you're citing OPS, you should really be citing wRC+. They answer the same question, wRC+ is just way more accurate. Seriously, anyone who wants to have an informed opinion on how sabermetrics likes to value offense -- whether that opinion is positive or negative -- should read up on linear weights in baseball stats because they represent what is, IMO, the biggest and most important breakthrough in public baseball analysis since 2000. I'd like to applaud you and Wite, among a few others, for taking the time to educate us all, and not being snarky or elitist in doing so.

As I mentioned last week, I just recently started my routine again. While I have been walking the golf course 2-3 times a week, I felt like I was starting to get a little too soft in my core and upper body, and I want to improve those things for my golf game, as well as just because I enjoy being fit. Have done 5 workouts now, as well as playing football for 2.5 hours on Saturday and 9 holes of walking the course. Diet has stayed stable, with the addition of a few healthy snacks here and there, but nothing major. I expected to drop about 5-10 pounds, as this is what usually happens when I first begin the routine again. Surprisingly, however, I have actually put on 3-5 pounds in the last 9 days. I am somewhat surprised....seems a bit fast to be adding muscle, but it sure as hell isn't fat. I think once your body builds muscle over a consistent period of time, even if you take a few months off, it tends to rebuild very quickly once you resume. At least I hope this is what is going on...

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 15, 2014 -> 06:44 PM) I would agree to a point. If you were in a park and saw some guy spank his kid, you probably wouldn't think twice about it, although some people would. If you saw him stuff his kid's mouth with leaves and hit him with a stick several times, you probably are dialing 911. If you read the article Balta linked to earlier though, you'd see that like guns, conservative Christians guard the right to punish their children as they see fit very closely.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 15, 2014 -> 06:37 PM) I do think they knew the Rice video was about to be released. It was only shortly before that The commissioner said he got it wrong. I think Goodell is an egomaniac, and he did misinterpret the reaction to Ray Rice (I do think the changing attitudes in regards to marijuana worked against him here), but he's getting a LOT of help now. There are a lot of eyes looking at the current situation.