Texsox

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/17/business/kroger-closing-grocery-workers-hazard-pay/index.html Record profits. Share buy back. But can't pay their employees hazard pay.

https://www.theringer.com/2021/2/16/22284786/gamestop-stock-wall-street-short-squeeze-beach-volleyball-referee I was thinking of this guy. And options was the main play, not owning the stock.

So why didn't they sign Ozuna? The who cares it's just money argument is spend the money and sign Ozuna instead of trading a top prospect to gain a player of that quality.

x2 I'd like to highlight it was only money. I really don't care how much they spend in cash, it's how they spend the talent to get more talent that get's be interested. They can make more money, they can't retrieve a blue chop prospect.

I must be getting the players confused without a scorecard. Isn't this the guy living in Tennessee and refereeing volleyball? He had one semester of college before dropping out.

Our nation's wealth was first build on slavery and tobaccos which were illegally smuggled into the country. We continued with cotton and again slave labor. We discovered gold in California after declaring war on Mexico and taking their land because it was our manifest destiny. (We also found oil on the land that was formerly Mexico). That laid the foundation for a big old bomb that killed on a scale never before contemplated. Now our most successful companies are the ones that offer the very least to their employees. Our system is great at funneling wealth to the top.

I suggested one catch all thread. The media blitz is on. Hall of Fame manager returns to dugout. It's a movie storyline but every actor I can think of to play Tony is already dead.

I haven't read too many posters denying he was a great manager. He had a Hall of Fame worthy career. I also appreciate how much that induction means to him. He's in a no win situation. If the team fails to win a WS it's clearly his fault. If they win, it's the players he inherited. No matter how many rings Phil Jackson put on his fingers critics still point to his rosters deep talent. The article you posted was the first that I saw that specifically addresses one of the key concerns fans have how will be related to modern players? Most posters here believe he can't.

Nuisance? That's either incredibly stupid, or a statement to focus on winning a world series and anything that detracts from that is a nuisance. It's a world wide crisis. Why are we even thinking about playing or winning baseball games? Or, we can focus on winning a world series. I think teams are screwed no matter what they say.

Quite possible they are handling this in house.

I believe the team has a strong marketing department and probably hired outside PR consultants to mitigate the fallout and sell tickets. I never underestimate profit motive.

Tony also managed Dennis Eckersley who was another character. But we have two hands, and on the other hand TLR is a bit older now. We'll see how patient he is. I know I have infinite patience with my grandson and my kids. I have a lot of patience with my players. I have slightly less with some of my students. As I get older the range gets smaller. I think we all agree (well as many ever agree here) for a number if years he was as great of a manager as there was in baseball. Players liked playing for him. Any team would have been happy to have him at the helm. The honest debate is should a DUI have eliminated his candidacy and can he be effective at 76 years old and not managing for a long time. Those are real concerns.

It's all in the timing. There aren't many of those jobs that come available.

Here's what doesn't make sense to me. All this talk that JR is afraid of his senior executives. Or is afraid of confrontation. I'm not fully buying it. It would be easier for me to believe he called them into his office and said TLR is our new manager and if you don't like it, there's the door. He's old and the owner. He doesn't care about the fans, his players, or DUI victims, but he does care about Kenny and Hahn?

The Angels knew of the arrest, TLR offered to quit, and they kept him on. Fortunately most teams aren't responsible, so there would have been jobs.

Hahn is in the best position possible. If they win, it's his players. If they don't, it's because of the manager he wasn't involved in hiring. Why would he leave until this plays out? JR and TLR took this on their shoulders. Players won't be responsible, the front office won't be responsible, it's all on the octogenarians.

So Jerry is afraid of his own people? That's interesting. Most owners in that situation would just fire the employees instead of paying them. I'm not certain if that means JR is really smart or really dumb.

And how he handles this will have an impact if or when he interviews with one of the other 29 people that controls those jobs.

Exactly. Has anyone asked him what he thinks about 7 inning games and runners on 2nd in extra innings? I'm guessing he's not a fan. I'm certain the team's PR folks have told him to stay clear of those topics.

I'm way more cynical than you guys. I don't believe anyone with a profit motive. For all I know over drinks and cigars. . . "Jerry, we all agree he's the guy, but this is the kind of move that if it backfires, it would destroy our careers. " "It's all on me. We'll tell everyone I was the only one that knew. I'm the owner, it won't hurt my career." Lol and back slaps. It's all a giant orchestrated PR game they are playing which has made them millionaires.

I do to, although I was near rock bottom so it doesn't take too much. Which means the PR campaign is starting to work. They just need us to sip the koolaid.

We were thinking of heading to our camper. Here at the sticks and bricks I have a generator, two propane stoves, a griddle, grill, sleeping bags, and enough food to last weeks. I feel sorry for folks that can't take care of themselves. Yesterday I heard three or four generators humming in my neighborhood. It goes back to my days in Illinois and seeing folks complaining when tornadoes caused power outages. Generators are cheap. Everyone should own one for emergencies. As they say country boy can survive.

I prefer Rush Limbaugh, 70, former Kansas City Royals Announcer . . . it's the only time I could listen to him.

I'm just watching the orchestrated publicity campaign that's getting started. I'm certain they have consulted top firms and devised this strategy.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2021/02/17/tony-la-russa-chicago-white-sox-manager-spring-training/6763758002/ Pujols is a fan. I'm assuming this is another in a series of PR opportunities for the team and Tony. I'm guessing it will be at a fever pitch by the time players report.