Texsox

Just thinking in terms of organizations in general, not just baseball. Perhaps each of these guys accounts positive or negative to one game a season, that's a two game swing, three or four coaches and the manager could account for plus or minus 6 games, a 12 game swing if you will. That becomes significant. As a high school coach I tell my middle school coaches that the lower the level, the greater the importance of coaching is. By the time the guys become professionals, coaching shouldn't be as critical. But learning the basic, developing good work habits, gaining confidence, are all best coaches early in their careers.

Dick I agree with everything you wrote, then I look at the conclusion we could make, that coaching and managing doesn't matter at all. Which doesn't have much face validity. IIRC the discussion about Walker also centered around the system's approach to hitting. How the farm system was not growing many hitters. Maybe that is an area we should look at

I'm hoping it doesn't go that way. We have a lot of serious fans and students of the game. Many posters here now where posting here then. I can't remember any voice suggesting he should not have gone. A few, myself included, said not during the season, but overall there was very little support for keeping him on. His short stint in Atlanta I believe backs up that statement. Although the Braves have brought him back in a different capacity. I've always believed that coaches and managers received too much credit and too much blame for what athletes do on the field.

We are starting the fourth season since Greg Walker left to take the Braves' job as hitting coach, a move almost everyone here heralded as a giant step in the right direction. As a case study in when coaches needed to be changed, how has the organization changed since Walker left? Is this the time to reflect on the responsibility he had for those teams? Perhaps how important the coaches really are?

Bring back Walker!

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 5, 2015 -> 07:10 PM) As long as there's no perceived favoritism shown to the students that do that....and you might want to think about paying for gas/transport/"tip" if the student does it on a more regular basis. At international schools in China, it's even trickier, because you get invited out by students and their parents all the time. A lot of teachers accept these free lunches and dinners, and they also give a number of expensive gifts as well (usually to female teachers). Slippery slope. I always have them keep the change. My wife teaches at a very expensive private school. The gifts there are very nice. I did prove to her though that the $5 Starbucks card I was given one year was actually a bigger gift that the $50 Outback card she received. $5 from migrant parents living on the edge of poverty is a much more meaningful gift than $50 from a Doctor and Lawyer couple (at least to me).

QUOTE (LDF @ Apr 29, 2015 -> 11:53 AM) you will get answers to both side of this question. for me, it was a bad thing to do, unless requested by the city of Balt to reconsider and close down the game. for me, f*** it. play the game, get a second unit of police and military, make a public announcement of any rioters will be arrested and if necessary by force and take back the streets. let the peaceful protesters be in a area with the ministers and politicians with some meditation group and have the news there to record the whole peaceful talks. yeah it will be good tv to record the other rioters but make that a no fly zone and arrest any who goes there. f*** being the nice people. enuf is enuf. How did you see the players getting to the game? Heavily armed escorts? Have them just get there? I'm not certain the players wanted to be in that area. You are investing millions of dollars to have a baseball game played? I'm thinking the Baltimore PD where already spread pretty thin without adding a big gathering of people.

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ May 5, 2015 -> 11:07 AM) I really don't understand how anyone who has been watching the White Sox for a long time could think 22 games will decide this season. This is not a good enough team to survive a s l o o o o o o o o w start. Any realistic scenario of them making the playoff started with a .500 or better April. Digging a hole and letting the rest of the division build a league will be too much in the end. Better teams can do this, but not the 2015 edition.

Am I crazy to have students pick me up lunch and bring it back? Other teachers think I am crazy but I have a couple student I give them money as they leave 4th period (open campus for seniors) and they return at the end of 5th for my 6th period lunch. Today was tots and a hot dog from Sonic.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Apr 29, 2015 -> 11:07 AM) but there are other people who make similar and who are not as necessary. You may be more comfortable asking what do I need to do to earn $X? This moves the issue around to the other side of the table and you don't look demanding. "I would like to earn $125,000 next year, what would I need to do to earn that?" Then they have to provide a scenario and flushes out their high number.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Apr 28, 2015 -> 05:17 PM) So I kind of need to present my bosses with what I want for them to keep me (forever, to use their words). I can negotiate a lot of things, but Ive never asked for a raise in my life. I dont want to insult them but I definitely want to ask for enough that their first answer is a counter. Any suggestions? You can't insult them at this point. You already work there *and* they want to keep you long term. I would also look beyond current salary. Think about the benefits, your upcoming life events. I was able to negotiate a very favorable loan with one company based on my staying for a set number of years. In reality it functioned more like and advance. But it allowed me to use their money for three years and only paid a tiny amount for interest. The same company later paid my country club initiation fees and monthly dues as long as I used it for business entertaining (a win win). You would want to establish a review schedule, certain performance standards that will lead to increases and or bonuses. This is why Scott Boras earns so much money.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ May 5, 2015 -> 06:29 AM) Under Coach Q, the Hawks are 1-9 in game 3s on the road. That's almost as ridiculous as their nearly perfect game 6 record under him. Weird anomaly. My payoff philosophy 1. No worries until you lose at home 2. Odd number games are key

I've been using the games as part of my diet plan. I puke partway through each game.

You win a third, you lose a third, worry about the middle third. I assume they are working on that losing third. I'd rather be hot late than early.

That is one of the reasons I am trying this combination of contacts. If after a year I am comfortable with this adjustment, I will have the surgery.

I had to switch contact lenses because what I had been wearing is no longer being manufactured. I really think it is hurting my golf game. My right (dominate) eye is adjusted for distance, my left for reading. In theory my brain will eventually learn to adjust and life will be wonderful. Meanwhile I can't seem to read greens

Ugh. They stopped making multifocal torix contact lenses. My only option is having one eye adjusted for reading and the other for distance. It works great most of the time, but worse at the computer. I also think it is affecting my golf game and not for the good. The other alternatives are adjusting for distance and wearing reading glasses, which is a pain. Or skipping contacts and sticking to glasses. If I have surgery it's the same thing. They will either adjust one eye for reading and the other for distance or I will need reading glasses. Now I know what Daltrey was singing about . . . talking about my generation

If the front office is to blame then we knew from the beginning that there wasn't the talent on the field to compete. Obviously Robin wasn't given the talent he needs to be a playoff contending team. Only fools and people who drink the koolaid thought this team would be better than .500. So we keep Robin, because this can't be his fault without the talent, and replace the front office with guys that can actually put a talented team on the field.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 4, 2015 -> 09:13 AM) They aren't too comfy. They are way too uptight. This team could generate diamonds from coal right now. Comfy teams don't make as many over-aggressive mistakes as the Sox do. Agreed. And I would argue people perform their best when they are comfy and confident. Uptight, stressed, and confident just doesn't compute.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ May 3, 2015 -> 09:15 PM) A manager has many priorities and being loved isnt one of them. Guys are too comfy. You have to put guys in positions to be successful.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ May 4, 2015 -> 08:30 AM) If there are franchises that are able to regularly build and sustain competitive teams, and your franchise is unable to do that, you are both failing from the perspective of "winning baseball" *AND* you're also costing your franchise money compared to what they could earn if they were regularly building a competitive roster. Please see my edited post.

Chicago White Sox Philadelphia Phillies New York Yankees St. Louis Cardinals Boston Red Sox San Francisco Giants These are the last ten world series winners. These are the six franchises that if using ten years as a yard stick deserve their front office jobs. All of the other franchises should fire their front offices and start over. Unless one playoff win = a world series win. Then it would be a different list. Are we upset because there is no talent on the field or the talent on the field isn't performing? With all the fan excitement before the season and the high expectations we had for this team, the problem seems less with the front office than with the guys wearing uniforms on the field. (coaches and players, hell toss in the batboy).

While it is easy, and probably appropriate to explore the racial angles, you also have the frustration of all cops over the assembly line of crimes, arrests, back on the street, crimes, arrests, . . . So who do they vent their frustrations on? Poor people without access to lawyers that could really build cases.

QUOTE (LDF @ May 3, 2015 -> 10:04 PM) i always thought there was no bail on murder. Depends on the situation. Remember the guide is still innocent until proven guilty. SO if the person doesn't have any prior issues with the law, not a flight risk, etc.

One of my students just shared with me that after agreeing to a prom date the guy texted her and told her he wanted to lose his innocence with her on prom night because that is what happens. She told him to beat off with sand paper. She's not going.