caulfield12

QUOTE (LDF @ Oct 29, 2015 -> 09:21 AM) and you make a good point on peoples POV. we are going to elect a leader for this country..... people should demand more from their leaders. And the media as well as the Presidential Debates Commission...

Yay, Moneyball and OPS. We finally won in a transaction involving Oakland. Maybe... http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Greg_Sparks Six years of minor league managerial experience...pretty much a lifer in the minors. The anti-Ventura, so to speak. Looks like the whole time with A's. Four years as minor league hitting coordinator. Minor league coach again most recently in Sacramento.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 29, 2015 -> 09:07 AM) Because that's boring and doesn't attract voters. It worked on House of Cards, haha. And wasn't the Ohio plan more private driven, but essentially a partnership or cooperation with the government? Not too familiar with what's going on there.

Same as Ozzie's deal, in terms of length. Does Dan Jennings go back to the GM/VP spot?

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/missing-from...-113304645.html Why are the Republican candidates even running? What are they proposing that's new or different? Why can't Kasich have a campaign about jobs growth like in Ohio? Maybe Rubio doesn't want to go with the "Rich are getting a 28.7% break with my plan vs. 15% for the average member of the middle class" slogan. At least Trump has one that's solid and memorable, albeit completely unrealistic in terms of his proposals colliding on the same theoretical plane of reality. Bush...4% growth is way better than 2-3%!!! This goes back to Greg's point. Why is Hillary running? To carry out the Obama and Bill Clinton legacy of moderate triangulating liberalism that protects the middle class. But she has much more of an issue explaining what she actually wants to change about the system than Bernie Sanders, for example. Part of the problem is you can't tack too hard against your own party's president and two terms worth of policies (although Gore ran away from Clinton because of scandal and not wanting to be elected on his coattails in essence). Why is Fiorina running? To be the anti-Hillary choice and pretend her legacy is job growth and not job cuts. At any rate, this was the death knell of the Bush Era in Republican politics, not unlike 1980 for the Kennedys. He's done. Rubio is the closest to a legitimate threat to win and presents the perfect opposition...young, bright, handsome, charismatic and Hispanic. That's why the Clintons will also likely go to one of the brothers from San Antonio for VP...despite no way of winning Texas in the general election.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/base...rticle26996693/ Article with the "inside scoop." Looks like Gibbons will be shown the door as well. Sad day for baseball in Toronto unless you're a huge Shapiro fan back from 2005 in Cleveland when he beat out KW for AL Exec of the Year.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Oct 29, 2015 -> 08:17 AM) An Ex-Met told you? Lol. From the Twitter feed last night from the game at EsPN...I didnt copy the whole name and source every single time because it would have been laborious and space-wasting. Obviously I'm not the one reporting, how could I from China?

Jordan4Life will surely hire him. First postseason in ages and the Goins missed popup goes against the Jays, Price and AA's fate were sealed that game in many ways. So close, and yet so far and not quite enough (the World Series appearance at least) to save his job. Estrada, Buehrle and Price have to replaced, as well as Bautista and Encarnacion after next year. Josh Donaldson the best move of the last offseason in retrospect.

QUOTE (OmarComing25 @ Oct 29, 2015 -> 05:58 AM) He got 3 swing and misses in his 94 pitches, not zero. Still very impressive by the Royals. Mets only had 3 swing and misses against Cueto too in his 122 pitches. In total, there was only 9 swing and misses in the entire game. Pretty crazy. Maybe they meant just on his fastball...

QUOTE (flavum @ Oct 28, 2015 -> 09:34 PM) The Royals are just the best team in baseball. They'll win two in NY. This series isn't coming back to KC. Maybe. I think a large part of it goes back to last year, knowing what it takes to compete on the ultimate stage, and their comfort level with close or tied games in the late innings (especially at home). When they had their WC comeback against Oakland last year, they rode that all the way into the World Series where they ran into Bumgarner, who was just better. This year, the huge comeback against the Astros' pen late in a critical game and then the comeback against David Price late in that game just confirmed the belief they already had in themselves. That philsophy of "keep the line moving" has really permeated the team ethos now in the post-season. Total team concept. You saw it with Cain trying to bunt in Game 1, for example. Every single player 1-9 is willing to sacrifice an at-bat for the good of the team. Honestly, as Greg noted often, the Royals looked incredibly shaky the last 4-6 weeks and actually ended up playing below .500 ball for most of that stretch until the final week or ten days when they caught Toronto for home field advantage. Cueto looked like a disaster, Ventura was becoming MORE reliable again but not his old self, Guthrie was on his way out and Duffy was also struggling. Volquez is really the one consistent pitcher, along with Chris Young and Medlen to a lesser extent, who kept the whole rotation from falling apart at the seams. Offensively, they are much better with Zobrist, although Rios is statistically a step down from Aoki, he's been very good in the playoffs. And Morales has been a looming threat all year long in the middle of that line-up, much more effective than Butler and also a leader along with Perez and Volquez of their Hispanic core of players like Escobar, Ventura and Herrera. And then you have this whole thing with Volquez, Young and Moustakas all losing their mothers and fathers within a 2 month period...that was the final factor bringing everyone together in the clubhouse.

That was either 1987 or 1991. I want to say 91, when the Twins came back to beat the Braves at home. Both of those series, they didn't lose a single home game.

If nothing else, he has ZERO connection to the White Sox in any way, shape or form (unlike Drabek's father, having pitched for the White Sox in the low minors and then again near the end of his career). PROGRESS.

The Mets, if they were smart and adjusted....should really think about trotting Colon or Niese out there instead of Snydegaard for Game 3. At this point, I'm pretty sure Collins wouldn't blink and admit failure (so far)...have to think they'll continue to believe that bringing the series back to NYC will shift the tide and momentum, and that by showing weakness (changing their rotation) they're kind of admitting defeat already. That their best pitchers just aren't good enough, so they will try to "trick" the Royals instead. Last team to rally from 0-2 in the World Series was the 1996 Yankees, who beat the Braves. The last nine teams at 0-2 have lost. Overall, it's 81% including NLCS/ALCS and World Series where home team has a 2-0 advantage.

Let's say the number was 15% more efficient, and that's possible if charter schools are paying lower teacher salaries and less benefits (medical/pension, etc.) You've got to basically bring the charter/private schools up TO scale quickly...that kind of transition doesn't happen overnight. Let's just say they turned over all the public schools (grounds/facilities) to private/charter schools. Maybe you're getting the savings from fewer administrators, hiring mostly younger (less expensive) teachers and a lot of times charter schools have relationships with Teach for America, for example. There's still the issue with a lot of the very best "inner city" teachers using those schools to gain experience and then leaving for the elite suburban schools and private academies when they've acquired more expertise and competency in their subjects. In Kansas City, the one charter school (other than KIPP) that works REALLY well, the two founding members are the former CEO of H&R Bloch (Thomas Bloch, who would make a better president than anyone running) and Barnett Helzberg, former CEO of Helzberg Diamonds. Those guys both got into education not to make a profit from it, but because of the belief that the children of the city deserved a better education and more opportunities in life. A lot of private and charter schools are just as, if not more, poorly run and those administrators and founders are often looking for ways (not always, of course) to enrich themselves at the cost of the students, ultimately. It's just like the prison systems being privatized. It CAN work, but not if PROFIT is the only motivation, because education doesn't have profitability as its first priority and never will (at least it shouldn't). Yes, we can look at the parents as consumers and the students as end products, but that's a rather dark way to think of the profession if you're idealistic about changing the lives of young people.

They are chanting Johnny Cueto's name at Kauffman Stadium. It is friendlier than the Canadian/Yinzer version...or the PNC (Pirates) version. Another ex-Met told me deGrom may speed up on fastball and slow on secondary pitches. Or, seriously, facial expression may change by pitch. It's not really about stealing signs here I don't think. And that's not illegal last time I checked (anyway), the best in the business supposedly were the White Sox coaches. I can't remember if it was Hard Art Kuysner/Kusyner but there was definitely a Sox coach back 15-20 years ago Harrelson always raved about how he could steal opposing team's signs MOST of the time because he was so good at that, and reading lips.

On the other hand, to me, it's a sign of the lack of repoire or relationship between the teacher and the student. If the students 100% respect their teacher, and believe he's fair with them, then 98% of the time they will put away their phone when asked or at least make an effort to hide it under their desk and not openly talk on a phone during class time, angering the teacher and exacerbating the situation by being openly defiant. The only way to really know the truth is to have been in that classroom over the last month everyday and watch the students and see how they get along with their teacher. A LOT of teachers just don't want to have a confrontation with a student, they're afraid they will be accused of assault if they physically try to take the phone away (especially a white male teacher from a black female student)...so their fear of a "false accusation," especially when they have a poor relationship with minority students, will lead to the calling of the security officer. I taught in an inner city high school for 4 years and basically saw everything. To call for a security officer, VP, etc., essentially means YOU as the adult have lost control of the classroom or the situation and can't resolve it yourself. Other than fights, I can't recall ever calling for security because it's the responsibility of the teacher to deal with the problem. The more you have to call for outside assistance, the more you're demonstrating weakness and the more the students will bait the teacher to see if they can waste class time by annoying the teacher and seeing if he will call for assistance. It becomes like a game, to test and see if the teacher will lose his cool. Once a teacher does that, as the adult, you've lost the situation and lowered yourself to their level.

Hansel....wonder if his parents are familiar with the children's fairy tale? My name is Hansel Robles, and I'm the new most interesting man in the world (at least according to Dos Equis). Michael Baron@michaelgbaron Jake had what? 3 swings and misses? He was throwing 95-98 mph. They fouled those pitches - out of the zone - off. #mets AdamRubinESPN Adam Rubin@AdamRubinESPN Ex-Met watching the game on TV texted me that he couldn't figure out what, but Royals clearly had something on deGrom tipping pitches in the stretch. Another example here. Gordon just fouled off 98 mph off the outside edge from Robles. That's a whiff with any other team. #mets

deGrom had allowed 4 runs in the playoffs & 5 runs total in last 5 starts dating to 9/27. He allows 4 in one inning. 4-1 Royals. In his three previous postseason starts, Jacob deGrom had allowed 6 hits or fewer in each OUTING. Surrendered 5 hits in that INNING. Marc Carig@MarcCarig @ctl131 @MarcCarig These aren't all mistakes. They're just in everything. Great at what they do. Elias Sports Bureau: Home teams that win the first two games of a best-of-7 postseason series go on to win the series 80.8 percent of the time (42-10). And the Cueto rollercoaster is back at a peak again, after the valley which followed the clinching game. Definitely think he has tons more confidence pitching at home and against an NL opponent...comfort level exponentially higher.

Everyone before the series began gave the advantage to the Mets' pitching (and they still might win this thing) but beating the Cubs' young hitters and beating a lot of veteran/experienced guys in KC who are the best in the league in general at making contact and specifically at hitting 95+ fastballs is another matter altogether. Not to mention the fact that the Mets' offense is basically dormant so far, and Ventura looming in Game 3 has the best stuff of any of that staff. And you're down to the Mets' third best young pitcher...who has the biggest fastball, which plays right into the Royals' hands.

Greg is smiling somewhere with how many times he criticized Dunn and LaRoche for not going to the opposite field or bunting with the pronounced shift arrayed against them.

Jirschele rewarded for not risking the out at the plate. On second glance, the throw wasn't as bad as thought, but it certainly wasn't the way Lagares used to throw a couple of seasons ago, either. The Wizard of Hos delivers!!! #Royals take a 3-1 lead! #TakeTheCrown REALLY stretching things with nicknames. Dark Knight? Wizard of Hos? Bring back Chris Berman (just not for play by play or any analysis, haha).

Guess the runner would have scored there because the throw from Lagares was too wild...

Escobar’s RBI single third hit in 23 ABs w/ RISP vs deGrom this postseason. #mets Niese quickly warming up. Royals haven't been executing well the first two games but still hanging in there. Mets' offense looks totally lost other than Murphy, Granderson and Duda.

Anti-Yost strategy foiled by Esky's inability to execute a bunt. Sabrematricians everywhere rejoice.

Interesting to see if Yost/Escobar bunt here or play for the big inning instead of the 2-1 lead. What's the situation with the rain/weather forecast?