caulfield12

1. TOR +11 (7 straight wins) 2. BOS +9 3. HOU +6 1 1/2 GB 4. DET +3 3 GB 5. CHW/KCR +2 3 1/2 GB (both teams currently losing, KC by 2 late) 7. SEA +1 4 GB 8. NYY -2 5 1/2 GB Getting close to being able to stick a fork in the Yankees. The Mets are REALLY in desperate need of starting pitchers with Syndergaard struggling with the bone spur issue in his elbow. Cespedes also hurt his quad. Harvey out for the year with thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. Trade partner? Semien hit his 19th homer, homers in two consecutive games now.

Not that it's much of any consolation, but, in terms of racial relations...it's PROBABLY better that it was a lone gunman rather than a country-wide social media-driven conspiracy to attack police forces across the country with multiple "spotters" and co-conspirators in every large city.

Realistically, who's the next man in to replace Beck? Kahnle again? Purke? Carroll? Turner? The pickings are pretty slim. Of all those names, would like to see Kahnle get a chance to find some footing pitching in mop-up/blowout situations with no pressure. Can just relax and throw the ball in the general direction of the plate.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 05:27 PM) I suppose you are referring to my crazy talk about Lawrie or Saladino plus Trey M, and C. Hawkins to which I quickly admitted Fulmer would have to most likely be in any deal for Lucroy. So I beat you to the punch on discounting my own idea though it never was Saladino as a centerpiece since Lawrie was the original choice. I just have a hard time figuring out what 1.5 years of a guy is worth. Always seems like too much to me like with Samardzija. 1 year for all those years and players given up seems so very very wasteful. Or even the 2 years of Frazier and Lawrie . I'm not quite a hero worshipper nor a prospect guy. Just try to find the fine line on when exactly is the right time to give up many years for a year or 2 of a decent player. Prospects run the greater risk of flopping than the veteran which is balanced out by the prospect(s) having time to improve . I tend to think organizations give up too much for rentals but that's me. Winning instantly has its own reward to those who have a chance to do it. I then changed it to Fulmer , Saladino + or ++ for Lucroy and Tyler Thornburg in subsequent posts. Actually responding to Southsider2k5's list of remaining "young core" guys, but good response! And yeah, also the idea of Saladino as a centerpiece of anything. He can be a piece, with Fulmer. That said, you leave yourself having to go out once again and find another 2B unless you're a huge Carlos Sanchez fan.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 08:05 PM) If the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Astros all win tonight, it kinda sucks. Don't think the Astros lose two in a row to Oakland at home. 6-3 Houston now in the middle innings.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 11:31 AM) A lot of us are high on the first five picks, Curbelo, and Hickman. The Univ of Iowa pitcher from the CPL that had TJ?

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 08:01 PM) Beck is literally your garbage man. Albers or even Jennings makes more sense. Or Ynoa...

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 07:59 PM) Have chance to get to second place....and this happens Technically, it would have been a tie with the Tigers. At this point, 2nd-4th are meaningless in the division...it's all about wild card positioning.

QUOTE (StrykerSox @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 07:57 PM) Chris Sale isn't going to win the CY this year, or any other year. He'll perennially finish in the top five or so, but never first. He's just missing something from really being on level with Kershaw, Felix and even a guy like Bumgarner. Felix Hernandez barely throws in the low 90's anymore. And they never advanced to the playoffs with him on their team. That said, he's been one of the best pitchers of his generation, overall.

If Beck was EVER going to be motivated to pitch, it was tonight. He attended Georgia Southern. The Braves are the only game in town down there...24/7. Next...

QUOTE (chisoxfan310 @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 07:55 PM) #bringbackbuehrle GREG?

QUOTE (TitoMB @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 07:53 PM) What the hell are the Cy Young voters going to do? Pitcher wins make them drool. I can see Salazar winning if the Indians end up winning the division by like 10 games...because his ERA's going to end up significantly lower. Doesn't have the name recognition, but it didn't stop Kluber and Keuchel from winning. Wright on the Red Sox would be the other primary contender at the moment.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 07:51 PM) Not sure why they bring in the worst pitcher on the roster Maybe Ventura received a "secret" contract extension during this last hot streak...

I'd even say, regardless of what Sale has done or not done, if you can't rally from a two-run deficit at home against the Braves with 4+ innings of at-bats remaining, you aren't that great of a team in the first place.

QUOTE (StrykerSox @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 07:44 PM) He's given up four or more runs in five of his last nine starts. Not very ace like. He's allowed a bad game, but this isn't one bad game. This is a bad stretch. Edit- Also, this team is s***. Beyond Freeman, they have nothing. Arrieta's going through a similar stretch, albeit his ERA is lower due to pitching in the NL. 6 ER in 6+ innings. In fact, I'm sure there will be 10X more panic in Chicago over Arrieta than anything you hear about Chris Sale. Pirates sweep the Cubs and there will be a LONG LONG All-Star break for the Cubs to think about how much all that hype and all those All-Stars are actually worth in the 2nd half.

Vizcaino has been pretty human recently, fwiw. That said, Sale's definitely gassed. Getting to the post-season>>>1-2 IP in the All-Star game, even though he is the lone Sox representative (for now, unless Q's been named to join Kluber).

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/08/us/nra-polic...ings/index.html LOL. NRA will reserve comment (on the Minnesota case) until after the results of the investigation come out. Just like they didn't do at Ruby Ridge or the more recent situation in Oregon. For that matter, has the NRA commented EVER when "minority/non-white" victims were involved in these situations the NRA has spent hundreds of millions of dollars over decades to defend (right to carry)? Is the NRA going to defend the rights of African-American protesters in Dallas to carry assault rifles in the streets, too (Texas law/statute)? Why not? Seems they have boxed themselves into a corner. And just calling for more "law and order," that's really going to "demilitarize" this entire struggle...sure!!! http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/07/08/ne...ack-in-america/ Newt Gingrich, on the plus side, finally said something most everyone can agree with...

The "we shall overcome" hashtag was way over the top...any time you throw MLK's legacy into current times, it's not going to end well for a police group. The irony is that the non-violent protest strategy pioneered by Gandhi and MLK against police and military forces was exactly what allowed the Civil Rights struggle to reach a tipping point where the majority of white/silent America became appalled at the lack of humanity shown by those who were supposed to be protecting ALL Americans, equally. Bull Conner, George Wallace, fire hoses, police dogs, etc. Not in good taste at all, and borderline incendiary in today's politically-charged climate.

Traitor!!!

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 8, 2016 -> 02:07 PM) They haven't been moving "their better prospects". They have been moving second and third tier guys. Tim Anderson is here. Carlos Rodon is here. Tyler Saladino is here. Carson Fulmer is still in the system. Steven Adams is still in the system. Were you including Tyler to be facetious, or you're really more confident in him this year, compared to last? Capable of putting up a better season than, let's say, Marcus Semien's 2016 so far? As to earlier posts about Saladino being a centerpiece for Lucroy, that's borderline crazy talk.

Dickerson's have a terrible season, so far. They're better off waiting for him to rebound second half, selling high on Pearce. They could also get a ton for Kiermaier or Forsythe, or dump Longoria's contract on the highest bidder.

By Jacquielynn Floyd Follow @jfloyd_dmn jfloyd@dallasnews.com Metro columnist Published: 08 July 2016 12:25 AM Updated: 08 July 2016 04:30 AM This is terrorism. This is what terrorists do. It isn't a war -- not black against blue, or us against them. When a reported two gunmen opened fire Thursday night on police officers, on our police officers, they attacked us all. Stunned witnesses described a peaceful march with about 800 protesters gathered in downtown Dallas to register sorrow and concern over police-involved shootings this week in Baton Rouge and suburban Minneapolis. They were escorted by about 100 police officers, our officers, there to act as protectors. "The cops were peaceful. They were taking pictures with us and everything," one marcher told KXAS-TV Channel 5. "It was a lovely, peaceful march," said another. The peace was shattered by terrorism, a well planned and barbaric attack on that peace. In purposely murdering police officers, these gunmen did not further any cause or make any kind of statement that civilized people can understand. They opened fire, literally, on human decency. In the days ahead, some apologists -- not many, but a few -- will take the line that these murdered officers are casualties of war. They'll say this act was the culmination of countless provocations and frustrations; they'll try to frame some kind of context around this chaos. They'll say, "It's terrible, but ..." No. It's just terrible. It's sickening, cowardly. It furthers no cause; it accomplishes nothing but misery and grief. It's violence for the deranged love of violence itself, disguised beneath a political veneer. To employ a Texas colloquialism, it's chickens**t with a gun. City officials and police departments train and drill and try to anticipate disaster, but how can you anticipate determined inhumanity? You can't, not if you're human. Mayor Mike Rawlings looked frazzled and stunned during a brief television appearance late Thursday. "At 8:58, our worst nightmare happened," he said wearily. The cliche is justified because it's factual. This is a nightmare: The nightmare of a terrorist attack at a peaceful, familiar street intersection where we have all been a thousand times. This is one of those moments that is going to test all of us. Dallas, our home, is about to become famous again for all the wrong reasons. It's going to be a shorthand for chaos. We've been there before. Today, we have a choice. We can let somebody else write the script, tell us that some of us are victims, and some are perpetrators; tell us which camps we're in and whose side we're supposed to be on. Or we can unite in our shared shock and sorrow. We can all choose the side of decency and humanity. We can reject home-grown terrorism, mourn our fallen and support our wounded. We can wrap our arms around the community we share, and make our message clear: Terrorism can hurt us. On Thursday night, it did. But it doesn't win. This is our city, and we won't let it.

To top it all off, the Cubs are going to arrive in Pittsburgh around 4-5 a.m.

Tyler Flowers finally comes up with huge RISP hit to take the lead 4-3...for the Braves. Better late than never. Looks like the Braves' non-closer is going to give it back to the Cubs somehow, sigh. Huge double play ball there. 2 outs, Contreras on 3rd. Candelario up. Man, this Braves' pitcher is throwing some serious cheese. Cabrera. Cubs lose! Cubs lose! LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL flag. 7 losses in their last 8, get to go face the white-hot Pirates at PNC as their reward. Only 19 games over .500 now.

There's not even anything to say, besides prayers for the families involved. All the political ramifications will surely play out in the days and weeks to come. You just wonder how many shootings like this the country can absorb without SOMETHING changing OR people just giving up completely and becoming apathetic and numb.