caulfield12

18:$10M, 19:$10.5M club option ($1M buyout), 20:$11.5M club option ($0.5M buyout) Josh Harrison's exactly the kind of winning player the White Sox need...but not sure about the asking price. Would much rather leverage assets at the minor league level for a relatively younger player than overpaying for vets in their 30's (unless you're talking Machado/Harper/Arenado as FA's, who are anomalies).

Might want to separate LUIS Robert and Rutherford...

Well, Sheets, Gonzalez, Adolfo, Stephens and Burdi are all in that vicinity as prospects...some higher, some lower. Pretty hard to make any conclusive statements because of the ast differences in the systems. The guys we got from the Royals for Cabrera were in the 10-20 range for them (Puckett and Davis) but might not even be Top 30 now for us. Or compare those two with Clarkin and Polo, who some have in our mid teens.

Trump apparently didn’t feel so discriminating about Haiti that he was unwilling to take money from the Haitian treasury through a money laundering scheme concocted by former dictator Baby Doc Duvalier. Note the financial ties to Russia beginning even in the 1980’s.. According to the Buzzfeed News report, the Haitian government complained in the 1980s that former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier laundered money stolen from the Caribbean nation’s treasury by purchasing an apartment in Trump Tower. Duvalier, nicknamed “Baby Doc,” was overthrown in 1986, but three years earlier used a Panamanian shell company called Lasa Trade and Finance to buy apartment 54-K in Trump’s Manhattan tower for $446,875 cash. Federal prosecutors charged a Russian native in 1984 with laundering the proceeds from a gasoline bootlegging operation through five Trump Tower condos purchased for $4.9 million. David Bogatin pleaded guilty in 1987 and served eight years in federal prison. http://www.nationalmemo.com/haiti-accuses-...y-doc-duvalier/

I think The Post just might win the Oscar ... not ordinarily, but because of the current political climate.

Dyson, arguably...

The diversity visa program has been around for more than 20 years, offering a limited number of visas to people from parts of the world that have relatively few immigrants in the United States. Schumer did play a key role in drawing up the program in 1990. His proposals eventually became part of a broader immigration package that was passed by Congress in a bipartisan vote and signed into law by a Republican president, George H.W Bush. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning...m=.1212ee22369c Sen. Jeff Flake (twitter) Actually, the Gang of 8, including @SenSchumer, did away with the Diversity Visa Program as part of broader reforms. I know, I was there...In fact, had the Senate Gang of 8 bill passed the House, it would have ended the Visa Lottery Program AND increased merit based visas. For DV-2017, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply, because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam. Please note that the term "50,000 immigrants" includes only those people who immigrated via the family-based (including immediate relatives of U.S. citizens) or employment-based immigration categories. It does not include other categories such as refugees, asylum seekers, NACARA beneficiaries, or previous diversity immigrants. Therefore, even though the countries like Cuba, Ukraine, Russia, Iran and Ethiopia sent more than 50,000 immigrants in previous five years, they are still in the list of eligible countries. https://www.immihelp.com/green-card-lottery...-countries.html

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Jan 15, 2018 -> 11:45 PM) I don't disagree strongly, but generally speaking, I do think we still need flippables to collect assets. BA and Razzball both summarized our system by saying "strong up top; sharp decline after 10 or 15," and I tend to agree. I think there's room for collection all the way up until the first "compete" year. Another good question is how much is "first half 2017" Leury Garcia actually worth? It's hard to imagine either 3B exploding because of their various limitations. Or Delmonico, Cordell and Tilson...? Will they try to flip Castillo or do they want him around for 2019 as well? The biggest wild card in every scenario (contending in 2019) right now is Carlos Rodon, then Tim Anderson...followed closely by Giolito/Lopez/Fulmer. Finally, final decisions on Abreu/Avi Garcia.

QUOTE (Tony @ Jan 15, 2018 -> 11:28 PM) This is the point that the "anti-rebuild" folks can't seem to grasp. Yes, we are rooting for losses in 2017 and 2018. Yes, spending money right now is foolish. Yes, acquiring as many prospects as possible is vital. But it's all for this. None of us are going to give the front office a pass if they miss out on some mega free agents, and don't spend big when the time comes. 72 wins will not be acceptable in 2020-2025. Yes, because it's going to be important to choose at least one collegiate player in 2018 or 2019 with those two higher first round picks that can reasonably be expected to contribute to the second half of the "competitive window." Right now, the Cubs, because they started at least one year early, have had 3 opportunities and would seem to have that wide open window through 2020, and likely 2021. That's 6-7 years, and then they could always add Bryce Harper, but their starting rotation, bullpen and Heyward contract would probably really get in the way at that point. The opposite (market-wise) would be the Royals, with a late charge in 2013, World Series in 2014/15 and "competitive" teams in 2016 (injuries wiped out any realistic opportunity) and 2017. So, at the very least, you're shooting for AT LEAST 4 years, if not 5-6. 2020-2024, with the possibility of that whole path being expedited to 2019 if Moncada, Jimenez, Kopech, Hansen and Robert explode on the scene earlier than projected and you sign all your free agent targets next offseason like we did with the Robertson/Cabrera/LaRoche class (obviously, you have to hit on them successfully this time).

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 15, 2018 -> 11:07 PM) The Chicago White sox have put themselves in a position where they 100% ought to be able to deal with the Garcia and Abreu situations AND add Machado, and frankly add Kimbrel, if that's what they want to do. That was the point of this. They should be very disappointed if they fail in this. They have 0 bad contracts. They should have >$130 million to spend. The White Sox have the most young talent in major league baseball, without any serious second place contender. The White Sox have 0 bad contracts after James Shields is gone. The White Sox have 10+ contenders for the 3-4 positions that aren't filled by a top 20 in MLB prospect. This team is F***ing loaded right now. It needs time for these guys to develop and to filter out some of the chaff. That's the point of this year. Filter it down, decide on 2-3 targets for this offseason, then go win 205 games in 2019 and 2020 combined. There's no reason why we can't do that other than cowardice. And old way of doing business would certainly be going after Donaldson or Beltre for 3B, and getting either of them 2-3 years too late for a much lower price than the first tier talent, then having them completely fall apart in 2020. We paid fair market value for Dunn, LaRoche, Cabrera and Robertson (at the time, it seemed a slight overpay, the market has come back to make it look more reasonable)...so something like Machado OR Harper AND a closer seems like the play, at least at the current moment. Getting Arenado for 2020 would be fine, too. Depending on what happens with Abreu, there's always a chance you go bargain shopping for a DH (like the Indians tried with Encarnacion) close to the downside of his career. Nelson Cruz would be the prime example, based on the numbers he's put up in that huge stadium (yet one feels he has to be close to that career cliff). And then hopefully Rodon picks a clear direction in his career so that we know what we have going into next year. Affording a Harper/Machado/Arenado, ace closer AND a frontline starter would be something that only the Cubs could pay for at one time. The Cubs really lucked out last year getting Wade Davis for a bargain deal (in retrospect) but now they're in a bit of a quandary.

For the millionth time in the last year, BREAK THE INTERNET would be used by sports editors around the world if Harper signed with the White Sox. I'm almost starting to think that would make a lot more sense from a PR/marketing standpoint, that extra $75-125 million that Harper will receive (as long as he stays healthy in 2018)...Machado really had a struggle for half of 2017, plus there's the issue of him playing SS over 3B. With the White Sox, he would have to play 3rd or that would mean they've given up on Tim Anderson, which carries the tiniest likelihood after they signed him to that long-term deal.

The Democrat Trumpworld fears most: In recent weeks, the president has been handicapping the prospective 2020 field and finding potential challengers wanting. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/15/t...election-340623 Looks like Biden (carving out the Rust Belt voters Trump lost), Booker (strategists are divided on his run), Oprah and Mark Cuban are perceived to be the 4 biggest threats at the moment. Trump wants Sanders, Warren, Gillibrand or Harris.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jan 15, 2018 -> 07:24 PM) The big danger that would come here for the Sox is if you have local cable systems that would elect to dump CSN for a Cubs network to be their RSN, especially if a Cubs RSN would pick up programming. There could be cable systems, on the fringes of CSN's area (say Iowa for example) where they'd much rather take a channel with just the Cubs than one with the Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks, etc. because those other three wouldn't have the pull combined of the Cubs. Here in central Iowa, we only have one RSN (Fox Sports Midwest) and they will not add CSN, despite Cubs AND Sox fans, as well as Bulls/Blackhawk fans. I couldn't imagine that would be enough of a threat (Cubs alone), unless the supplemental content was somehow combined with the Big10 network. After 2019, there SHOULD be a little bit of burnout with the Cubs only having a year or two left in their competitive window. That's another factor. Timing. Obviously Bryce Harper winning the 2019 NL MVP for the Cubs could change things, but it's hard to imagine anyone but either Harper or Kershaw moving the needle that much in terms of bumping UP Cubs' interest at that point. The Bears have their national rights deals, and there's simply not enough die-hard fans left until they can look like a playoff contender again. Plus, you have to split Iowa between the Chiefs, Vikings and Packers.

https://sports.yahoo.com/cubs-know-waiting-...-155434272.html Cubs know waiting for Bryce Harper and next winter's insane free-agent class is affecting baseball's offseason Are the White Sox better off going after Donaldson next off-season or Arenado after 2019? Interesting decisions to be made, because it seems like it's going to be almost impossible to land Machado...as that would fly in the face of allocating a large chunk of money instead of 3-4 major improvements simultaneously. Abreu/Avi situations need to be sorted. Blackmon would be attractive, but a five year deal seems risky if you're waiting on Luis Robert. Still, he might be the best "fall-back" outfield target after Harper. Cruz and McCutcheon are too old, and Jimenez is supposed to be the next Cruz, right? A.Miller/Britton/Cody Allen/Kimbrel, they're probably going to be overpaying for a closer (see Robertson in 2014) in all likelihood, although there's always a possibility Burdi or Lopez ends up doing the job internally. Andrus might be in play if Tim Anderson doesn't fully rebound....Beltre on a two year deal, but there's that huge risk you overpay so late in his career.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 15, 2018 -> 07:47 PM) Trump who made fun of a disabled reporter, then denied he ever did. Who , when criticized for not paying taxes iby Hillary in a debate, who replied that make him smart, then said he never said that. Who bragged about grabbing women by the p****. Then said they were just words, lockeroom talk, and denied ever doing it despite multiple accusers, then said he thought the tape of him saying it was probably a fake, now, despite admitting to friends what he said, despite Lindsey Graham acknowledging he crossed a line, is now taunting During, calling him Dicky. and his misrepresentation was s***hole vs.s***house which I posted a few days ago. Durbin, just to be clear...the story's all over the news now. http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/15/politics/tru...ysis/index.html Why the specific word used (s***house vs. s***hole) doesn't matter http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/15/opinions/dac...nion/index.html Don't Let Trump's Bad Words Kill DACA Deal

They really need to recalibrate that Titans' offense...they have some decent pieces, but they're not exactly maximizing Mariota's skillset. That receiver from Western Michigan 9 (#5 in first round) looks like he could be a killer in the future.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 15, 2018 -> 04:30 PM) I am not a fan of the idea of McCutchen in that CF. He wasn't terrible last year in CF but he was awful in CF in 2016. I dunno what injury he played through that year, but this seems to play to his weaknesses. Apparently, they've decided to play Pence in LF, Austin Slater (?), one of their better prospects in CF and McCutcheon in RF. I don't know...maybe if Longoria can improve his offensive numbers outside of the AL, they can be in the race. It all comes down to Bumgarner, Cueto and that suspect bullpen. Btw, has any team made an offer on Matt Cain? I would think he MIGHT be a decent innings-eater candidate if we can sign him for $3-4 million + some reasonable incentives to flip him at the deadline to a contender, but that's probably a long shot he can ever recover his form of 5 years ago (see Lincecum).

Heard the same thing about The Chi... Just finished episode 3 of The Deuce, not a big Franco fan....moreso watching because Simon always does great work. Big Little Lies was very good, too.

The upside to Reed is not high enough to offset the risk. Go back to guys like Kahnle or Swarzak, dealt to the Brewers who was pretty pedestrian with Minnesota, etc. it’s not like when we paid through the teeth for Linebrink and Dotel, but it’s not really necessary either. Heck, I’d rather that we tried to fix Albuquerque, but Cooper passed on that one. Nunez doesn’t make sense with SANCHEZ, Davidson and Leury still around. Seems like he becomes another Bonifacio or Beckham on our roster and is dumped for a meh return. We still have to see Delmonico, Cordell, Tilson as well...plenty of young players to throw out there. Gillespie, maybe. I’m assuming they will try to trade Kevan Smith, that deal for Castillo was kind of the outlier, which probably has more to do with pitch framing and managing a young staff than anything else. Smith is limited by the lack of power for someone that size, no matter how much he overachieved compared to low expectations entering the year.

We did get a lovely tweet from “Senior Advisor” Lara Trump (one of his sons’ wives) on MLK and Trump at the golf course all day instead of doing a volunteer project...which would probably turn out about as well as his aid distribution in Puerto Rico. https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/5265576/j...-meghan-markle/ Auditioning to be Trump’s next wife?

Doncic will end up on the Bulls and bust...

Dems have a very good shot at getting to 26 governors (including AK) after starting the year with a historic low of 15 https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/14/g...ublicans-340218 Oregon, Rhode Island, Maine (flip from LePage), PA, NM (flip from Martinez) and NY are solidly in the DEM column right now Arizona, Georgia, Connecticut and South Carolina are still likely GOP Dems have to pick up 7 of the the following 12: Florida, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, NH, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Wisconsin and Minnesota Still, Trump’s presence looms large. Republican campaign consultants have been working with candidates to find ways to avoid the awkward tip-toeing around Trump that many believe doomed Virginia Republican candidate Ed Gillespie. Those consultants recently circulated strategy memos explicitly warning that 2018 risks turning into an amplified version of 2006 — Democrats’ last big midterm victory year — according to copies seen by POLITICO. But amid talk of another 2006, Democrats have uncharacteristically stepped up their fundraising operation around these races, often pitching donors on their importance to the next round of redistricting. That push has brought in checks from party mega-donors, like Haim Saban and Mark Gallogly, who previously primarily gave to federal candidates, according to filings. So entering the year, the DGA had raised four times more from individual donors than it had at this point four years earlier — on top of quadrupling its number of contributors. “For far too long our party has focused on the presidential [election] every four years and hasn’t done what it needed to do on the state level,” said outgoing Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat who has pledged to spend the year campaigning for gubernatorial candidates across the country. That focus, he said, is finally starting to shift. “There’s a tsunami coming in 2018,” he predicted. “We saw it in Virginia with a record voter turnout. We saw it in Alabama."

https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2018/...es-trump-000617 Is the GOP tax plan working already? https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2018/...homeless-000611 City of Houston attempting a controversial plan to save money on health care by providing housing for the homeless Having the city pay someone's rent might seem like a costly way to address homelessness. But add health care to the mix and the equation starts to look different: Health care and housing experts have long known that keeping someone off the streets is often the most straightforward way to keep him or her out of the emergency room, one of the most expensive places to get health care. For just as long, however, they’ve struggled to figure out just what to do with that knowledge. The problem, in a nutshell, is who will pay? How do you persuade governments to spend money on housing when the biggest payoff comes from money saved somewhere else in the system? One reason health care in America is so expensive is that patients with some of the costliest cases require not only health care, but a roof over their heads and counseling to gain ordinary skills for living, like how to manage a bank account. But the agencies that manage health don't think much about housing, and vice versa — it's simply not their job. “The reason this is collectively hard is that you just have to pull resources from lots of different groups and think creatively about how you use these resources,” said Neal Rackleff, assistant secretary for community planning and development at HUD and formerly director of Houston’s housing and community development department. “Different groups have different ways of doing things.”

TCU is a crazy 1-4 in the B12, and all of those losses were to Oklahoma by a total of 6 points (2 losses, including an overtime thriller in Norman), by 4 to KU at home, by one on the road in Austin. They "only" beat Baylor at home by 3. Now they have Iowa State, at K-State, WV, at Vandy, at Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, at KU and Texas. That's a suicidal stretch. The Big 10 is looking pretty pathetic. MSU is slumping, Purdue is going to end up overrated, you've got Michigan and Ohio State making it as 7-10 seeds...and MAYBE, just MAYBE, Maryland. Minnesota was absolutely destroyed at home over the weekend. They were one of the surer picks coming into the year, but the loss of Lynch is obviously hurting them. NW has been a pretty disappointment as well after the way last season ended with the positive vibes.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jan 14, 2018 -> 10:39 PM) Is this merit based proposal public? I'd like to know what the criteria is. My family fled Germany during the war and I'm betting many people wouldnt have wanted to let them in. They were already treated very poorly, were forced to change their names and even were detained. Today I bet they would have been turned away since they were from an "evil" country at the time. This was the latest, from August. The proposed system, contained in a Senate bill, would replace one largely based on extended family ties with one that prioritizes education, English language proficiency, age, vocational skills and high-paying job offers as well as considering any criminal record and possible national security risks. ... The proposal resembles policies in Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Kingdom. But despite that, it didn't take long for the critics to weigh in. "Once again White Nationalists are pushing their ethnic cleansing agenda, scapegoating immigrants for their own inability to create a labor market that works for everyone," Sulma Arias, a spokesperson for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, said in a statement. Critics claim using merit to screen immigrants is wrong, but many other countries do it. (Associated Press) "Today's announcement ... is a direct attack on all immigrants, on our legal immigration system, and on one of the core principles that drives immigration — family reunification." http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/03...d-policies.html