caulfield12

QUOTE (Brian @ Feb 21, 2018 -> 05:12 PM) Then every student should have a gun! That will be the exact talking point from the NRA the first time anyone in a school snaps and kills a single student in America...self-defense/Second Amendment. Imagine it’s a white teacher killing a minority student...or a black teacher killing a white student!!! Civil war. On the plus side, teachers might get their $250 tax credit for buying supplies on their own reinstated, lol. And then we’ll have a boatload of discrimination lawsuits against school districts...so and so NRA admin won’t hire me because I refuse to carry a gun or am a female/young mother and don’t want to die in my own classroom. Or those darn liberal admins won’t hire me because I want to bring a gun into the school, etc.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 21, 2018 -> 05:09 PM) What happens when an overly-stressed teacher, barely making ends meet goes on a rampage with their government-issued gun? Good point. Trump can list pilots, but that’s not analogous. What about two teachers who are having a dispute...for example? There are lots of conflicts in that environment. Not just with students, but also teachers versus administrators in many schools. Or someone’s having an affair with a co-worker, and someone else decides they’re an easier target now in the parking lot before school. NOBODY would argue that postal service employees, for example, should all be armed. I can tell you from personal experience my blood pressure went from normal to 130 in my early 30’s after just one year in a rough inner city school environment. More pressure/stress...more bad outcomes are bound to occur when someone snaps. The students have drawn criticism from some conservatives who have accused them of being too young to understand the nuances of the gun-control debate or have suggested that they may have been coached — even going as far as to label the well-spoken survivors of the massacre “crisis actors.” “Should the media be promoting opinions by teenagers who are in an emotional state and facing extreme peer pressure in some cases?” former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly tweeted. “Their sorrow can very easily be hijacked by left-wing groups who have an agenda,” former GOP Rep. Jack Kingston said on CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday. “Do we really think 17-year-olds on their own are going to plan a nationwide rally?” “What, pray tell, did these students do to earn their claim to expertise?” Ben Shapiro wrote in the National Review. “They were present during a mass shooting, and they have the right point of view, according to the Left.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/parkland-student...-203145718.html

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 21, 2018 -> 04:57 PM) I have not heard anyone list turf as an injury factor since the newer astroplay replaced all of the old astroturf. Probably more for CFers and middle infielders...but that position still has more wear and tear than 1B or a corner outfield spot. There are probably some internal advanced metrics to analyze that as well. It also creates a lot more heat in the heart of the summertime (weekend games) when the Dome is open.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 21, 2018 -> 04:39 PM) via That’s exactly what concealed carry is... If they put them all in a safe in the coach’s or principal’s offfice, the odds of reacting efficiently enough under a huge amount of stress in less than 1-2 minutes isn’t that ideal. They can certainly run simulations, but you’re still talking about going up against even higher firepower (potential attackers will bring grenades or explosives) than AR-15’s armed only with handguns. Because nobody besides the NRA will be for having 4-5 automatic weapons already on school grounds, unless we want to become China, Russia or Colombia. Plus, the reaction time of former servicemen or police officers in their 40’s or 50’s isn’t nearly as good as at 18-24 years old.

Remember, many now want to give Abreu let’s say another $65 million to cover 2020-2022 his age 33-35 seasons. That’s an even bigger risk to be counting on two declining players like that and paying both $20+ million per season to boot.

QUOTE (Blackout Friday @ Feb 21, 2018 -> 04:06 PM) In what world is Donaldson in a “major decline”? His war numbers have gone down three consecutive years...remember the freak out about Abreu? Some health issues, he’s played quite a few games on turf now, as well as his age and the fact that he’ll be mid 30’s when 2020 hits. So if War is equated to $7 million per, that’s $30-35 million per year for let’s say, four years...because you probably can’t get him for just three, it’s his last big contract. So anyone willing to pay Donaldson $130 million for four years, 2019-2022? Would you rather pay Moustakas $65 million for four years, 2018-2021, with a reasonable option for a fifth year? Would you rather sign 4 Moustakas equivalents, 2 Donaldson’s or 1 Machado? Keeping in mind the risks on Donaldson/Machado/Arenado/Rendon “Adam Dunn-busting” are basically not franchise killers, but HUGE setbacks... The problem isn’t Donaldson’s production in 2015 and 2016. It’s what he has left in the tank...how much his production will decline...how much his defense will decline...by the time 2020 rolls around. Keeping in mind you’re paying him at a minimum of $25 million...if not $30-35 million, for mostly past production.

The Sandy Hook parent had a good point. They’ve developed an internal training program for students/admins to identify and pre-empt potential shooters before it ever reaches that point at a very low cost. Secondly, he mentioned his wife is a schoolteacher and the amount of stress that teachers already deal with doesn’t lend itself well to adding that responsibility of carrying loaded handguns to school. I could see an argument for coaches/PE teachers or admins...but not someone who is responsible already for classroom management for 5-6 stressful hours per day, plus many teachers are substituting in their planning hours due to school staffing issues...adding yet more stress. And basically having to serve as quasi-counselors to a lot of the students as well.

Trump wants 20% of teachers to have concealed carry... Compared to pilots having guns Or 3-4 former Marines/Army/Navy service members posted at every school in the country. Or former law enforcement officers. Costs?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 21, 2018 -> 02:16 PM) Do you know that if 2.0 is average, there are less than 7 players on average that are at least average on each team. How's that for averages? And if you round down like eminor, there are less than 5 above average players on average for each roster. 1) White Sox haven’t easily been able to come up with “average” 3b since Crede... 2) Only 3-4 of those high impact guys will be avail to 30 teams over the next two years with every team bidding 3) LH 4) Above average defender over his career 5) Still just 29 6) Lots Of playoff experience, plus super familiar with our own division 7) our best prospect for the position in Burger is 50/50 to remain there 8) Donaldson on major decline, expensive and will be in mid 30s by time of contention window 9) Nats much more likely to extend Rendon than Harper

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 21, 2018 -> 09:39 AM) 2.2 fWAR is an average player. He's coming off a year where his wRC+, the best statistic for measuring total offensive production (which is league, park, and era-adjusted) was 107th best in the MLB. Last year, in his age 29 season, he wasn't even a top 100 hitter. Now we're talking about needing him to be in the middle of our order in his age 31-33 seasons. Adam Dunn put up 16.9 career war and everyone was elated when he signed for his age 31-34 seasons at money Moustakas might even not get six years later...as a DH, compared to an above average 3b with a World Series resume. There has to be some middle ground. Heyward might have been the tipping point on overvaluing defense.

QUOTE (Tony @ Feb 21, 2018 -> 08:59 AM) Arming every teacher in America is just as crazy of a proposal as taking away everyones guns. Why do I have a sneaking suspicion that public sector “liberal teachers’ unions” and the NRA go together about as well as Fergie and jazzified versions of the National Anthem...?

In baseball, how many teams other than the Braves, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Cards have been able to continue sustained success for more than 5-6 years before recycling/rebuilding? Twins from 2002-2010 are about the only small or mid market example that comes to mind...or the Tigers due to Ilitch overspending. The Patriots’ run is nearly 20 years due to Brady’s anomalous health.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 21, 2018 -> 06:41 AM) So arm every teacher? Where do they keep it? Who pays for it? Who pays for the training and certification? Do we arm support staff as well? Who pays for that? Female and male teachers? Required? Voluntary? Age limits? Special ed teachers? Just coaches and administrators? What happens if he/she uses the gun to enforce classroom discipline or loses it when a student refuses to turn over a cell phone? Substitute teachers are more likely to shoot their classes out of frustration. What about the jobs of security guards/police officers? Increased cost for liability insurance when someone is accidentally shot or takes gun away from teacher to shoot others or commits suicide with a school-issued weapon? Why not every worker at a shopping mall, concert venue or university? Libraries? Amusement parks? Stadiums/arenas?

FL Lawmaker's aide fired after claiming students are actors Benjamin Kelly, who worked as district secretary for Florida State Rep. Shawn Harrison, emailed a Tampa Bay Times journalist with a message that read: "Both kids in the picture are not students here but actors that travel to various crisis when they happen." http://www.kvia.com/news/politics/lawmaker...ctors/705151770

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Feb 21, 2018 -> 03:15 AM) There are a lot of sub topics that come up when talking about Moose. There's Donaldson 's age when he becomes a free agent. There's the potential cost and issue of a really big name free agent . Can the Sox really afford that kind of contract? Hell in the past we talked about an Adam Dunn type contract crippling them financially. There's does Moose really fit the window of contention and is he even a good enough player now and in the future even being one of the younger free agents. The saber guys don't like him and the more traditional of us see a pretty useful guy filling a glaring position of need There's those who look at lineup construction, handedness, brings World Series experience , HR's , batting average , OPS and slugging vs. OBP and defense , WAR. There's how to proceed in the market that MAY be throwing you some bones vs. the reality of actually getting free agents that will command great attention and dollars. As for me I anticipate some holes will be very difficult to fill and the money put to best use is NOT to sign someone to a mega deal. Love Yolmer's defense and versatility but he'd have to shock us all with a big uptick in power for me to like him at 3B. I've argued in the past about Moose in the other threads but it's not like I think he's a great fit just think he's pluggigng a few holes positionally and in the lineup where I anticipate problems going forward. If you think the competition will be fierce for Machado, Donaldson Arenado Harper etc just wait til you try to get top notch relief help where not only are you dealing with the super rich clubs but now have to deal with everyone in contention and the fast rising cost of elite relievers. See 2004-2006. Just because we have the money doesnt mean the best allocation is predominantly investing in 2-3 players. There are at least eight closers on the market next offseason, but they won’t come cheap. Finding one internally would be huge. It’s what the Sox have always done, up until Robertson. I would have added Moustakas on a 4-5 year deal and Dyson for two years at $7.5 million (his Arizona deal). Then I would decide which player is the best utility fit (probably Leury, being able to play infield and outfield) and trade Yolmer, keeping Davidson in the 3b/DH/1b rotation for at least one more year (not knowing what we are yet doing with Abreu and Avi). Dyson plays Gold Glove defense and teaches the rest of the team how to follow his lead on the basepaths, then gives way to Robert at the end of 2019. Saladino slots into Yolmer’s role. That gives you a ton of speed in L.Garcia/Saladino off the bench, with Anderson/Moncada/Dyson and then Robert/Avi. (Financially, it’s easier to keep Yolmer.) Somehow, Delmonico/Davidson/Burger/Rutherford/Micker Adolfo/Cordell/Willy Garcia can hopefully give you enough to cover two spots, with Collins at catcher. The core of the offense is obviously Anderson, Moncada, Jimenez, Robert and Moustakas, covering five spots. You also end up keeping one of Abreu and Avi...leaving you plenty of money for a veteran starting pitcher and closer. 2019 Rodon Free Agent Kopech Hansen Giolito/Dunning This allows you to throw Lopez, Fulmer, Cease and Burdi at the bullpen. Maybe you don’t need a closer and put the money into the catcher’s spot instead.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansa...e201140924.html This gives a lot of insight on how the Padres sold Hosmer and Boras...as it’s the exact same plan we have, with similar smaller market/revenue issues (media markets are different, obviously.) It’s the exact same strategy we laid out for Luis Robert. Hosmer being bilingual was another plus, with all the Latin American prospects in their system, just like the Sox have with the Cubans/Renteria/Santiago brothers. Hosmer’s decision, like most occupational choices, largely rested on the financials. The Padres guaranteed the most money and the most years. They offered an opt-out after five seasons, sweetening the deal. Yet Hosmer said he spent much of the offseason studying the Padres’ minor-league system and learning the tenets of their plan. He watched video of the prospects in their pipeline and discussed them with Padres general manager A.J. Preller and his agent, Scott Boras. Hosmer believed, in time, he could win in San Diego. “The very plan that San Diego has is one that he’s lived through,” said Boras, who earlier described the organization as a “volcano of hot talent lava.” Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansa...l#storylink=cpy With Royals on the sidelines, is anyone interested in Mike Moustakas? http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansa...e198736894.html

Of course...there’s the three obvious points Trump doesn’t want to acknowledge. 1) Nobody thought he had a chance of winning until the final ten days (Comey announcement) 2) Any extensive involvement would have been spun as helping Clinton and hurting Trump 3) Presidents always defer to successors to set new foreign policies when coming so close to a change of power...they can’t even name a SC member their final year https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-inexplicab...-153936234.html Trump inexplicably says he’s been much tougher on Russia than Obama Before the election, the Obama administration issued several warnings to Moscow about its activities, including one delivered by the President to Putin in September, the Post reported. Ultimately, Obama approved only modest punitive measures: the expulsion of a few dozen diplomats, the closure of two Russian compounds, and narrowly targeted economic sanctions that some who designed them described as largely symbolic, the Post said. Another measure, the planting of cyberweapons in Russia's infrastructure, was still in the planning stages when Obama left office. While some closest to Obama defend the response, saying that by late summer it was already too late to prevent troves of hacked emails from transferring to WikiLeaks and other groups, others expressed regret, the newspaper said. Tony Blinken, Obama's former deputy national security adviser, said Friday that the administration took significant action to prevent Russia from interfering with the electoral system itself. "We made massive efforts so they couldn't do that," Blinken, who is now a CNN global affairs analyst, told the network's Kate Bolduan on "At This Hour." "This led to two things: President Obama issued a very stark warning to President Putin in September at the G-20 conference in China. What we saw, or thought we saw, after that, it looked like the Russians stopped their efforts. But the damage was already done." https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/23/politics/vla...tion/index.html

Why best-selling author/columnist Thomas Friedman issued a 'code red' warning to America http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/20/media/thom...lumn/index.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/18/opinion/...setType=opinion Response from Fox News One, that the Obama administration refused to do anything but tell the Russians to stop their hacking endeavors. The Washington Post says the Russians have tried to influence American elections since 1960, so what they did here isn't news to anyone inside the Beltway,” Gainor told Fox News. The word “Obama” does not appear once in Friedman’s piece. Even MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said it’s a “very legitimate question to ask” why Obama didn’t do more on the Russian threat. The second thing that Friedman overlooked is that the U.S. just killed “dozens of Russians” in a battle in Syria. “That is according to The New York Times, where Friedman works. That's hardly the act of a president who is bowing to Russia's every wish,” Gainor said. The media elite has devoured the meat cooked up by Friedman, as CNN interviewed him about how the “column came about,” MSNBC told viewers the piece is "worth your time” and a variety of left-leaning pundits have tweeted out their favorite quotes from the op-ed. “It's #1 on the N.Y. Times' ‘Most Emailed,’ ‘Most Viewed’ and ‘Most Shared on Facebook,’” Axios touted. While the column has been widely shared and praised by liberals, not everyone agrees with the attack on the White House. Radio host Mark Simone called Friedman “completely insane” for writing a “hysterical column claiming Trump not just colluding, but is owned by the Russians.” Conservative Action News published a rebuttal to Friedman’s piece that disputed particular statements from the column and claimed “no intellectually honest person” can say Trump is compromised by Russia. “No, our ‘democracy’ is not in serious danger. But I’m pretty sure Thomas Friedman’s sanity is in serious danger,” the Conservative Action News wrote. Perhaps the column was on Trump’s mind when he took to Twitter on Tuesday morning. “I have been much tougher on Russia than Obama, just look at the facts,” Trump tweeted. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/...berals.amp.html

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Feb 20, 2018 -> 10:13 PM) I can't post any more of the article but the argument (if you will) of the article was that there's more to successful pitching than just velocity and horizontal movement and it's something of course we always "guessed" (intuitively) but couldn't quite finger. Farquhar talks about how when he was in Seattle (before he looked into the analytics of it), then manager Lloyd McClendon pointed out how he was having success up in the zone even at 90-92 because his ball "stayed up" -- independent of the new data on spin, velocity etc via pitchfx (good looking out Lloyd!) . His fastball doesn't rise but in appears to because most pitchers' (regardless of velocity) falls more relatively. Gio's is apparently similar. So the question you asked, to finally get to it is -- it depends. Usually it's probably still better to throw harder. But if a guy can't, he can use this new data to target hitters in new ways. It could be something Gio uses in the future. Seems generally like up and down movement, good (as long as hitter can’t differentiate a change and FB in delivery)...side to side, bad...and then you have the 45 degree break like a Rivera cutter or Sale slider. For example, Contreras “rising” fastball at 95-97 and forkball at 88-90. Plus, opposite directions in movement. Or two seam sinking fastball, like Garland.

The crazy thing is imagining a contract 3x the biggest the Sox have ever offered before, and well over doubling the $100 million mark. I know, Abreu, Albert Belle, Luis Robert, Dunn, Robertson, etc. Guess it’s like Doubting Thomas here, we have to actually see it first to believe it. We usually give that money to our own guys, like Buehrle/Konerko/Danks/Ordonez. It really feels like the best route to signing one of the biggest names is them coming off an injury (see Dye, Thome, Quentin, Eaton) and signing at a discount (which probably means they won’t want the long term deal).

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 20, 2018 -> 10:09 PM) This is the post of the thread. Folks, it worked there. Why not do it here?? I agree. I feel for teachers in one respect. Somebody comes in with a gun and starts shooting and you are a sitting duck. Your life is going to end and your life would CONTINUE if you could shoot the bastard yourself. I think if I were a teacher I'd sneak a gun into school fully loaded. s***, if you ended up killing the gunman you'd be a hero, not thrown in jail for having a gun in a safe space in the first place. Think about it. We're all at a disadvantage. Our lives can end at church, all because we have no gun to shoot back. I'm more in favor of doing what Australia did, but I can see the other side. If we're going to do NOTHING because of ineffective politics, then at least it'd be nice to be able to stop the madman while he is in the act of killing kids. As it is now, it's armed gunman versus .... air. How often are you going to win with a small handgun against an AR-15? Especially when the gunman has the element of surprise on his side... What if you accidentally shot a student or co-worker?

QUOTE (greg775 @ Feb 20, 2018 -> 09:52 PM) Moustakas sounds like a good addition. You'd have an infield ready for contending status in Moustakas, Anderson, Moncada and Abreu. Then you can trade Burger/Davidson if you want. Or let Davidson DH. Folks, I really don't see why the Sox didn't target a good closer this offseason. Nate coulda been setup with Soria the third reliever. We're not that far from contention in a horrible division, folks. But nobody agrees with me. I'd say sign Mous. Davidson has limited value...trading Burger wouldn’t make any sense because he could eventually end up at 1b or DH. We still don’t know what’s going to happen with Abreu and Avi. There’s also no regular CFer, and the rotation has more question marks than answers with Rodon out. You can’t expect to win anything with Shields, Miguel Gonzalez, Giolito, Lopez and Fulmer in 2018.

With Drury to the Yanks, their infield is suddenly very crowded... Back to the Royals makes no sense. Pirates? Cards? West Coast?

Okay, that makes more sense. The question, then, is what carry he would have at 94-98 and whether he’s better off at 90-93?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Feb 20, 2018 -> 06:58 PM) Don’t you love alt right talking points? Now the kids are actors and it’s a conspiracy. Those same two students (girl who gave emphatic speech, boy who seems like an angry debate competitor) have been everywhere from the first couple of days. But surely those accusations will fly Wednesday night (town hall forum on CNN) as well as the march on the WH Saturday. If they let that mother speak so vehemently again, it will be interesting to see if Trump takes the bait and fires back at her or the FBI.