caulfield12

So let’s hear the examples of those taking from society...knowing the answer will come back in nothing but code words, allusions, intimations, etc. Identity politics can unite a political base...can even win an election, but nobody has ever seriously considered it as being a long-term force to bring America together, rather than dividing us against each other. It’s merely a distraction to allow politicians cover from dealing with the most pressing, solvable issues and fill up airtime on Fox News, Info Wars, Limbaugh. The fact of the matter is that states voting for Hillary Clinton contribute something like 2-3rd’s of the GDP. Trump states soak up a disproportionate share of government funds, on the other hand. Yet those states cant afford to pay for health insurance (many opted out of ObamaCare/Medicaid expansion and now want back in), fully fund schools or deal adequately with the opioid crisis. They are good at building for-profit prisons, though.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/iowa-ground-...-150700807.html Iowa is ground zero for Republican health care

Do they really need to push Jimenez that quickly...? Just not seeing the reason for it, unless he's just tearing AA completely apart.

Greg, they have tickers/turnstile counts...so, unless they ALSO counted the staff/security/vendors (highly unlikely, they have separate entrances), that's probably deadly accurate. Just because they were not in the seats doesn't mean they weren't on concourses, restaurant, suites, etc.

4/26, 7 strikeouts, one triple...no walks 7/32 9 strikeouts...no walks, .219 AVG (4 RBI's) First homer, 618 ops http://www.milb.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?con...83&sid=milb Video of home run TEX AA 11 48 6 10 17 2 1 1 5 0 0 14 0 0 .208 .204 .354 .558 0.93

In all fairness, Hahn was ham-stringed in terms of the approach of the organization until last offseason. We can re-litigate moves like Dunn (KW), Robertson, Cabrera, LaRoche...but so far he's done well with the exception of the Shields deal (after that 23-10 start was starting to go south and they were desperate to stay competitive) and the uncertainty surrounding Rutherford as a prospect. Of course, the other big question marks are their record in terms of drafting (Burger, Collins and Fulmer immediately come to mind)...but the jury's far from out on that one (drafting under Hahn and now, specifically, Hostetler), especially pitchers like Hansen, Burdi and of course, Rodon. Anderson looks like a keeper, but we've had more busts than the majority of the other MLB organizations, particularly in the position player department. The really difficult thing to ever completely insure against is catastrophic injuries to prospects...with the only solution there being to cover up with a boatload of quality/depth (see Astros) to serve as insurance policies for topline guys like Jimenez, Kopech, Hansen and Luis Robert.

See Atlanta Braves' fans after their championship in the middle of that playoff run...there's just not that fascinating angle of how many years they can go without winning it all, Lovable Losers, the Curse of the Goat, 1969, Brant Brown, Bartman, etc.

Between "Cubs' Way" by Tom Verducci and this fascinating insight into how many Sox season/split ticket packages are being purchased...and the five losses in a row against two of the worst teams in the AL, not a great look for Hahn/Renteria, no matter how rosy the long-term picture looks. Kopech/Jimenez theoretically are the light at the end of the dark tunnel that will be the first half of this season.

Didn't realize he was already that old...scratch that idea, unless he's the VERY last guy off the bench like Saladino, Cordell, Palka, May, etc. The one thing he did well was hit in the spring, hit consistently...and he wasn't afraid to be up there with RISP.

And it might have been even fewer for Tuesday's game...based on the lower announced attendance. Analyzing the profit/loss on opening the gates those two afternoon games would be fascinating for a sports management/facilities management course. Getting quite a bit of national media attention, and not in a good way (like the Astros' 0.0 tv ratings in 2012 or 13).

Singapore's not a great example because it's only around 5 million people, and roughly 3.5 million locals and the remainder are imported laborers from poorer countries who'll do the work that nobody else wants to do (sounds familiar)? We always have these same debates...saying that Norway/Sweden/Finland aren't relevant/applicable to the US due to their lack of geographic diversity and small/er sizes, so that's basically a deflection that ends up with NOTHING changing. For example, in Finland...they have a very simple philosophy. Only if you are in the Top 10% in your content or subject area can you become a teacher. If you do qualify, you're paid significantly more (in terms of purchasing power) than teachers are in the United States, especially in the "flyover territory" between the coasts. Why can't we do THAT? Making teaching salaries MORE attractive...control the supply of teachers by limiting it to the very best students, and then you wouldn't have nearly so many issues with tenure and teachers' unions because the quality of the teaching corps would rise quite significantly. Obviously, one barrier to that is the unions...the charter schools (they probably pay even less, certainly in terms of benefits, but admins pilfer/embezzle more)..."the system" because that's the way it has been and always will be, and of course there will be arguments that many minorities will be limited in terms of teaching opportunities (Asians, on the other hand, would be disproportionately selected with salary incentives, especially STEM subjects). The arguments will go around and around with no resolution because of the entrenched interests on both sides of the education debate.

What's the scouting report on Skole...in terms of positional versatility? 1B/DH/LF? Can he play RF or potentially 3rd? Did anyone watch him carefully this spring?

AL has just seven legit teams now, and eight lousy or garbage ones...

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 11:20 AM) Bankruptcy attorney here. Since the ACA, a lot fewer people are going bankrupt because of medical bills (bankruptcy filings generally are down 50% since the ACA -http://time.com/money/4765443/obamacare-bankruptcy-decline/ - that's not all traceable to the ACA - some of it is that people with majority student loan debt don't get a benefit from a bankruptcy)! That's a good thing! On college debt, disagreed. Student loans are an issue because (a) the cost of college has skyrocketed; (b) student loans are not subject to discharge in bankruptcy; and © a college degree is a requirement for an extremely expanded category of jobs. In my parents' generation, you could be a secretary without a college degree. Now, those jobs require a degree. Making college free doesn't ruin the value of the degree. Making college free doesn't all of a sudden mean that colleges have to accept anyone that wants in. Making college free does, however, reduce crippling debt burdens on students - debts that are unique in that you can never, ever get rid of them - regardless of their ability to pay 10 years after college. In a consumption based economy, people leaving school without massive student loan debt is good! They have more money to pump back into the economy! https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5567...ort+-+FINAL.pdf Can we all agree that the majority of online and for profit universities, who target veterans...the poor...and non-traditional students (like working single mothers,) have been financial disasters for many Americans? And that the exorbidant tuition fees often arent backed up by reasonable employment opportunities in this ever-changing economy?

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 11:21 AM) You said, "Most people in this country know whether they are going to be someone who gives to society or takes from society." Please explain the nuance in that statement... In that argument, Trump has “given” a lot more to society than he has taken. That’s where the two political sides would beg to differ. It’s the blah people who are taking and taking and taking...and, in this zero sum game, the losses are coming directly off the backs of white (mostly males) people. Benefits are accruing unfairly to illegal immigrants, women (promoted over men in the workplace), lgbtq, pretty much all minorities except for most Asians (Chinese, Indian, etc.). Muslims. Affirmative action instead of merit-based scholarships. Etc.

True or false, corporations are more or less likely to fund pensions/401k’s and health insurance today...compared to, let’s say, 1982? And why is that the case...we now live in a country where corporations are treated as “people” whose profitability is put over and above what’s good for the greatest number of Americans. It doesn’t take a Michael Moore documentary to understand other countries have far better prison/reform/rehab systems, health care, workers’ rights and benefits (compare USA to the rest of the world on vacation time allotted or maternity leave), infrastructure, public education/nutrition...systems. For 80% of Americans, and their children...the American Dream is failing, or at the very least fading. Bernie Sanders and Trump are actually more alike on many areas than most would like to admit, but neither vision is financially feasible with the amount of overhanging Federal debt we are leaving future generations saddled with. For nearly 40 years, everyone has lived beyond their means because of cheaper global wages temporarily providing more affordable consumer goods (see Wal-Mart/Amazon) and McMansions they couldn’t afford. But the bill is coming due soon. Whether it’s health care or retirement affordability, the profitability of the banks and insurance/Big Pharma is more important than Rust Belt factory workers, Heartland-based small farmers or Appalachian coal miners. Of course, simply blaming women/immigrants/minorities, though, isn’t a positive step towards realistically solving the problem...but it was enough to win one election through the quirkiest or curcumstances.

QUOTE (FloydBannister1983 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 08:08 AM) I'm not sure about that. He's been on fewer all-star teams than Mark Buehrle. He excelled in the post-season but he only finished as high as fourth in Cy Young voting. He is not much more of a star than Mark Buehrle. According to Baseball Reference Hall of Fame Statistics Posey isn't Hall of Fame (yet). It's still towards the middle/end of his career and he's on the wrong side of 30. He's Paul Konerko. Is Mauer a HoF? Clearly, for now, no. But Molina probably makes it. Posey is the best of this generation, still needs another four or five productive seasons.

QUOTE (GermanSoxFan @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 06:47 AM) Yeah the Royals are the last team to win without a superstar. The only player that maybe passes as a star if you squint hard enough would be Cain but only because of his glove. Volquez,Ventura, Moustakas and Hosmer. were above average or even just average players. Posey Bumgarner

The Quiet Place is a really well-done directing (and Emily Blunt and child actors) performance...definitely worth checking out. It's one of those rare horror movies that succeeds with a minimum of dialogue (actually, it could be understood with no speaking and just sign language/gestures) and holds off "showing the monster" for a good portion of the filming, just glimpses...building suspense with the musical score until later on in the film.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 09:59 PM) I guess...Moose, Hosmer, Cain, Wade, Gordon, Volquez, Shields Sox had Buehrle, PK, Dye, and AJ Yordano Ventura definitely had the ability to be a star...someone is forgetting Frank Thomas on that roster. You have to count him, technically. A decade ago, you would have said that Hamels, Cliff Lee, Utley and Howard had decent to good chances at the HoF. Jimmy Rollins was a really excellent player for a decade as well. Also, a 39 year old Pedro Martinez was on that roster for part of the year.

QUOTE (StrykerSox @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 10:58 PM) I'm beating a dead horse here, but with his strikeout rate (which has been bonkers everywhere he's played) means his floor is TOTAL BUST. I cannot agree with assuming that, at worst, his floor is 4 WAR. He might cut down on the strikeouts, and he might succeed. That's totally possible. But we are setting ourselves up for disappointment if we look at him as a sure thing. He has a big flaw, and if you do the math, it's not hard to see how he fails. 700 PAs x30% K-rate=210 Ks (his MLB K-rate is 34.5%; I'm factoring in some improvement, but not much, because his MiLB rate is around 25%) x15% BB-rate=105 BBs (I'm improving this rate from 12% in MLB and 13% in MiLB) Give him 20 HRs, 4 3Bs and 30 2Bs, and assume a BABiP of .345 (considering the point about exit velocity and FanGraph's suggestion that .345 indicates "batter is above average in this aspect of the game and is probably making better contact on average than most"). This produces a BA of .245, an OBP of .357, an SLG of .413 and an OPS of .770. If you adjust his BABiP to .380, which FG describes as "virtually impossible", his OPS rises to .828. That's with a number of generous assumptions. And .770 may look nice enough, but like you mentioned, this is what we got for Chris freaking Sale. He needs to not just be an MLB starter; he needs to be a star or the FO has failed. People often suggest he's the next Robinson Cano (.849 career OPS). I've heard that he should be better than Ray-Ray (.788 career OPS). Sounds great- but he's not there yet. I do not want him to fail (that was suggested to me the other day- I've rooted for this team since 1992, when I was 5, thanks). I want him to be great. But there's a chance he won't be, and frankly, that is a big chance. He needs to stop striking out. It could happen. Kris Bryant dropped from 30% to 19% in three years (improving past his 26% in MiLB). But it may not- Miguel Sano has never budged from around 35%. If Moncada can pull a Bryant in the K category, he can absolutely be what we need him to be. But if he stays idle like Sano, we lost this trade. Period. You're completely discounting Kopech and treating it like a one-for-one deal for Moncada... You're also probably understating the amount of triples he'll get in a typical season (should be 8-10, at least)...my one concern would be that his speed isn't converted into stolen bases (see Anderson so far this year), but running the basepaths with reckless abandon with a franchise bat isn't exactly the wisest approach, especially in a meaningless (from a record standpoint) season. Finally, you need to take into account the financials of having so many young/er players at near league minimum salaries...versus the contracts for guys like Eaton, Sale and Q (not "expensive," but there's still a significant difference.) Because of the plethora of younger players, you have the luxury to go out and get a catcher, veteran outfielder, closer/reliever and perhaps a veteran 2/3 starter. We weren't in a position to do that 2-3 years ago with all the expensive veterans like Cabrera, LaRoche, Dunn, Robertson, etc., on the roster. Now we have a LOT more flexibility in that area moving forward.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 10:21 PM) So when Kopech is up and Rodon is back do we go to the 6 man rotation that almost never works to save arms/innings of the future or DFA MiGo and put Shields in long relief? I don't think they'll want to go to a six man unless the innings for Lopez, Fulmer and Giolito are extremely elevated the first four months of the season...just too big a change for pitchers used to going with the normal four days of rest IMO. Most likely is DFA Gonzalez, and eventually doing the same with Shields around August 1st unless there's absolutely nobody else in the minors (see Hansen, Guerrero, Stephens) that they'd like to give some big league starts to.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-family-hot...--politics.html Trump asked Panamanian president to intervene in hotel dispute Can you say "emoluments clause" for $800, Alex? The irony in all of this is that President Carter was forced to surrender control of his peanut farm (because of ag subsidies)...to put that in context of what Trump is getting away with today, with the trademarks/licensing/outsourcing of Trump products (as well as Ivanka's shoes/clothing/handbags/jewelry) that were granted by the Chinese government, it's insane.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 07:59 PM) What does the bolded have to do with Bernie Saunders? The Republicans' tax plan of permanent corporate tax cuts and 90% of the tax benefits accruing to the Top 10% of taxpayers is the equivalent of Sanders' giveaways. It's just another form of giveaway. At least focusing on education/training/infrastructure and evening out the benefits would create better future outcomes AND help to bridge the income/wealth gap that's threatening to tear apart American society. Instead, the Republicans just exacerbated the situation...which eventually will lead to every American (the ones that can least afford cuts) to have to plan for 20-30% lower Social Security benefits and "bare bones" insurance policies for their families because we prioritized defense spending and corporate giveaways that weren't even necessary to stimulate an economy that was doing just fine already (granted, 3-3.5% growth is BETTER, but not at the cost of inflation and destroying the social safety net.) Trump Tax Plan=Sanders Giveaways No difference. They're just two different sides of the same coin...and Democrats will reverse everything (minus the corporation cuts) that the Republicans have enacted as soon as they get back into power. (I would love to believe both parties would finally get together on immigration policy and health care to come up with compromise solutions, but it's nearly impossible with the vitriol on both sides now.) There's no study of supply side economics policy that supports the idea of closing government revenue gaps...it only widens them, and puts the burden even more on future generations of taxpayers.

I don't know if Benintendi sells tickets like Betts/Ortiz/Pedroia, but he's a VERY solid player. Borderline All-Star, but he's never going to be more than an average-ish defender and that will suppress his WAR numbers. Most would pick Devers over Benintendi. At any rate, it will be interesting to see which player ends up with the better career when all is said and done.