caulfield12

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/if-trump-win...2603880502.html How Christie might have inadvertently cost the GOP both the 2012 and 2016 elections...

QUOTE (ChiSoxFanMike @ Feb 18, 2016 -> 07:29 AM) The only silver lining I can find with this is that he isn't going back to the Cubs, thus making them weaker. Unless Soler puts it all together with a one year reprieve...or Baez steps into Soler's spot and lights it up. On paper, Fowler's the more reliable/predictable option but Soler hitting 7th with little or no pressure might help him to relax. Not to mention the Cubs would have more financial flexibility at the trade deadline. Just depends on Heyward and how well he can handle CF with two defensive liabilities flanking him.

There are going to be lots of roster moves the final two weeks of spring training...and Desmond and Jackson are still out there unsigned, to name two. Austin Jackson being the most obvious choice.

As the Angels already learned...

The other thing that sucks is while Baltimore's not in the Central, a lot of experts were picking them 4th or 5th in the AL East even with Chris Davis. Basically, the competition just got even more fierce for the wild card spots. Other than Oakland, Minnesota (maybe), the Rays (maybe), Angels and Mariners, it's quite difficult to find the bottom team in the AL. It's amazing that it very could well be LA despite having the best player in baseball and only being $20-25 million away from the luxury tax threshold.

Sure, if we went all out like the Braves or brought in a player with the upside of Moncada...

I really can't believe the Rockies are adding veterans with the main goal being to compete this year? (Didn't work so well for the Padres, for example.) Just accumulating assets to trade them off doesn't make sense if they have legit prospects in the high minors. I get McGee, but Parra and potentially Desmond are a bit riskier unless the price is just too much of a bargain to pass up.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Feb 17, 2016 -> 01:50 PM) Divert some of that bloated military budget to this. How many times over has the US outspent the world in military spending and for how many years? What Republican other than Rand Paul would sign off on that after all the Obama criticism for softness and not projecting power around the globe effectively? Not enough bombing runs in Syria, etc. I suppose Trump will make some proclamation our enemies will pay for the increases, or we'll use the seized oil assets. Still, more likely to see military budget increases, if anything.

How many schools offer Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese, etc.? I learned Spanish, and that's quite practical inside the US and abroad, but there needs to be a serious rethinking of what languages will be the most important in the future...not the world of 1945. As far as getting rid of liberal arts courses, being able to communicate effectively verbally (and written) is still a critical tool for future success. Where will that foundation come from, especially with courses like history and debate also fading?

And then you have the Fulmer is a reliever, Adams' velocity was down camps. I guess there are also Guerrero and Stephens, but you would hardly say the system is loaded with future MLB-caliber starters. Let's just hope we can get one breakout performance to add another guy into the mix at high A or Birmingham.

QUOTE (BlackSox13 @ Feb 17, 2016 -> 11:17 AM) I think Latos ends up the Sox #3 starter to break up the lefties. I'm thinking we'll see an opening day rotation of Sale, Q, Latos, Rodon, Danks. I admit that I'm optimistic Latos will be healthy to start the season and Cooper will be helpful to Latos. Latos has some nasty stuff and I think a pitching coach like Cooper is the kind of coach a guy like Latos needs to get back on track. Plus, the Sox are good at keeping players healthy. As for Jackson, his CF defense would be a huge improvement. Even if the Sox stuck with Eaton in CF, Jackson's glove in RF is light years better than Avi's. Samardzija? Liriano? Paulino? Let's not be too optimistic until we see where he's at physically. Fwiw, pretty sad we're arguing about guys like Shuck, Sands and Raburn after all the excitement beginning in December.

QUOTE (LDF @ Feb 17, 2016 -> 09:48 AM) good question, i say no, i think they have one eye on the golden ring, but the other eye on the salary and team salary. Not with the way they also spent on Zobrist, Lackey and carrying Hammel on the roster as well. They did succeed in shedding Castro's salary at least.

Guess we'll never know. Probably, because raiding Lackey and Heyward from the Cardinals was like a double-win at least in the present. Presumably they really would have been forced to trade Soler or Baez if they had both guys.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Feb 17, 2016 -> 07:20 AM) I agree that some form of financial planning/responsibility class as well as other real life prep classes should be offered (if not mandatory) in high school. I do disagree with cutting things like language. As someone who's lived and traveled through Europe, it's kind of embarrassing that Americans are so culturally ignorant and inept compared to most Europeans, who often speak 2, 3 or even more languages. As for the JSF program and any other military program, well I don't think people realize how many people these programs keep employed. My company will supply around $20M of product in support of this program this year. But we're not supplying it to Lockheed Martin. We're supplying it to an integrator, who will then go to another subcontractor who then supplies to Lockheed Martin. At the other end, we will need to buy a sizable amount of product to help us from our own contractors this year. The military budget funds so many jobs. I don't think people comprehend that. I know I didn't before I worked in the military aerospace industry. When even one large government contract gets cancelled or program gets de-funded, the result is thousands of lost jobs. And usually good paying jobs at that. Do you mean more than it is currently? College is already offered to veterans for free. I'd support something similar for Americorps type organizations, but I don't know what making these mandatory for any sort of financial at all would accomplish. Just the idea of doing some form of service for your country instead of expecting something to be given to you...building character and citizenship simultaneously. Another argument is practical experience in the real world before learning theory in college would be quite helpful for many.

Yep, at Nate Silver's site, where they were also debating the merits of the Angels trading Trout. As far as the Dodgers go, all that spending hasn't won them a World Series, nor the Mariners, Angels, Tigers, etc. The Red Sox, for three of four years now, have been a complete disaster. If the Cubs do win, hopefully the lesson won't be spending on Heyward, Lackey and Zobrist rather than a wide swath of trades breaking their way for 3-4 years.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Feb 17, 2016 -> 06:38 AM) Jackson doesn't cost a pick so idk what that has to do with the draft. The idea that improving the team's victory total from 59 to 61 or 62 wins and a pick outside of the Top 2-3 might not be worth the risk/return of signing Jackson with the principal idea of trading him again. And Boras won't give the Brewers any kind of discount.

Pittsburgh is likely to wait until after this season. They're still not 100% certain Polanco will be the special player he was projected to be.

I'm surprised nobody has suggested making financial aid for college (from the government) contingent on some form of either military or voluntary service (AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps, could be adjusted to include non-denominational religious charities or selected non-profits as well).

QUOTE (LDF @ Feb 17, 2016 -> 05:36 AM) well this is on me and me being extremely tired. this reminds me of a math term called coefficient of determination.... where a model is used and that it will remain constant. but using the advance metric, while it does help, does chg and it is not constant in performances on a yr in and yr out basis. the unknown factor, esp for me, is that one or several super talented that brings that little extra, that chemistry, that special leadership skill that can not be seen in stats. moneyball You've just found a new Moneyball niche, superstars with strong leadership skills and team-first oriented...we'll see how much that's worth when Andrew McCutcheon theoretically hits the trade market next year.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/whats-...-baseball-team/ Looks at the "balanced" vs. "stars and scrubs" approach and finds pretty much no difference. Also notes that it's much easier for a team like the White Sox (as currently comprised) to make an upgrade (trade deadline move, for example) at one terrible position compared to more balanced team struggling to find and pay for (money or prospects) an upgrade over a 2-3 war player.

Just can't see that happening as the younger brother can bide his time to secure more bidders and the older brother is desperate to play in the majors by the second half of this upcoming season...a bit contradictory.

Greg, that's pretty simple. Because in the 50's - 90's, there was at least a perception of a large amount fairness and equality in the system. CEO pay wasn't so extremely high, and almost everyone was paid a regular salary, not in stock options taxable at the capital gains rate, or less than Warren Buffet's secretary. Young people on the Democratic side at least want a system that works better for ALL. How to define that? When a majority of kids in their teens and twenties expect to have a better life than those led by their parents. Ever since 2008 amd maybe going back to 1998-2002, that American core belief has been disappearing. Obviously, utopianism/socialism won't work any more than a government based on Ayn Rand principles, but voters on both sides are fed up with crony capitalism. It's a natural progression. These ideas were already established by Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party over the last decade. http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/17/politics/ber...lism/index.html Greg, read this article and it will make more sense. However, the US is way too diverse to copy the model of Denmark.

QUOTE (knightni @ Feb 16, 2016 -> 09:37 AM) The school has 3,000 people in it with modern facilities. He's from Tuscaloosa too. If I know scouting, I'd say he was noticed in high school first. http://m.mlb.com/video/v540374383/top-pros...on-ss-white-sox Claims the regional scouts didn't even turn in reports on him after his first year at JC.

Gourriel has spent most of his life at second and third, with some SS but not his best position.

Especially coming from rural Mississippi where there's little scouting coverage for baseball...the scout who signed him deserves a lot of credit for fighting for his selection.