caulfield12

QUOTE (SCCWS @ May 15, 2016 -> 07:04 AM) Too late. I posted several times last winter that we should move Q for Bradley Jr, Swihart or vazquez and Owens. Obviously at the time Bradley jr was coming off an off-season and Vazquez off Tommy John. I knew they had 5 outfielders and they desperately needed pitching. Now Bradley Jr is probably an untouchable for them. I thought Vazquez would be available rather than Swihart. But Vazquez won the starting spot and now Boston thinks Swihart is better as a left-fielder and have moved him there. I would be worried just trading for Swihart unless White Sox think he still is an ML catcher. I think you mean the 2014-2015 offseason in terms of targeting Bradley, Jr. It was clear this year that they needed his defense and Betts' in the outfield, and that Hanley Ramirez and probably Rusney Castillo would be the odd men out (Ramirez was moved to 1B.) So they would have offered Castillo/catcher/Owens instead...or we would have gone after the same targets that were traded for Craig Kimbrel (or maybe not, since they were too far off in their development to impact the White Sox until 2017 at the earliest, but probably 2018).

Of course, that's also true of about 85% of Latin American hitters (swinging at sliders off the outside of the plate with 2 strikes/down in the count)...and a large majority of US born players as well. Guys like Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez or Abreu when he's going well will foul all those off until they get a pitch they can square up and drive.

"The next president (Clinton) is going to inherit a recession that this president has largely been able to avoid due to the timings of things. Regardless of the party politics, out of a recession you are faced with a political opportunity to redirect the message," Bahnsen told CNN. In his article, which is making the rounds with social conservatives, Bahnsen added: "We simply must prepare ourselves for the fight ahead, which is in diminishing the power of Hillary Clinton by preserving divided government, and then in replacing Hillary in 2020 with a pro-growth candidate of character and seriousness." http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/14/politics/202...race/index.html This all sounds sort of vaguely familiar...where have we heard this before? Obstructionism, so good for the country.

Trump, $1.5 million per speech...Bill Clinton $750,000 Nobody wants to hear Hillary Clinton speeches, that's why they're remarkably cheaper compared to the big guns. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-do...one-else-2015-8 Although I'm not 100% sure you're going to get accurate numbers. In all likelihood, his accountants write them off as donations to The Trump Foundation or other charities.

http://www.amazon.com/Clinton-Cash-Foreign...s/dp/0062369288 Writing books attacking the Clintons is an industry that has earned publishing houses millions and millions of dollars over the years...that's not to mention right wing radio and tv hosts like Ann Coulter, Matt Drudge or Rush Limbaugh whose careers have basically been made off them. Fox News owes the Clintons and Obamas half of their advertising revenues. There's even a book UNLIKEABLE: THE PROBLEM WITH HILLARY Amazing, right?

How many examples are there in American where middle and high school football players are "openly identifying as gay/transgender" in order to gain access to the woman's bathroom? Should the members of my girls' JV basketball and volleyball teams have refused to change in front of their lesbian coach...or asked her to use the men's room instead? She didn't have a penis but made them feel uncomfortable that she was watching them change, not even taking a shower, because they all knew she was a lesbian and had a g/f or "partner." Here's the problem Greg...if you substitute Native American for "transgender," you have about the same exact number percentage-wise of the US population. Imagine the reaction you would get openly campaigning about giving any benefits or "special programs" or scholarships or whatever to that "tiny percentage of the US." You would be crucified, even in Kansas. Well, maybe not in KS but in many parts of the country, a lot of people would be rightfully outraged by that kind of talk. It's not about numbers or cost...or we wouldn't have passed the Americans With Disabilities Act and retrofitted lots of school buildings with ramps/elevators/disabled accessibility, new public stadiums and theatres, etc. Many countries around the world don't have them because they're inconvenient or more expensive or those countries believe it's the responsibility of handicapped people to figure out the solution for themselves.

Watched the Eaton play a couple of times. Pretty clear that he simply thought that a ball Aaron Hicks hit to almost straightaway RF wouldn't carry that well. Not sure I'd call it a misplay, more of a misjudgment based on the lack of familiarity with the wind tunnels in Yankee Stadium. Abreu's defense has been dissected too many times to cover again. It would a tough play, but one that some of better 1B make. Very thin line between winning and losing...a couple of plays that get made there, Quintana is 6-1 instead of 5-2. The walk to Headley was really the key to the inning, but you'd like to have a little more confidence out of a pitcher who entered the game as the AL ERA leader facing the bottom of the Yankees' line-up. That said, Jose, as usual, recovered and kept his team in the ballgame. We really didn't have much of a chance after Nova was pulled. I actually started to go back and forth and follow the Tigers and Royals at that point. Just a boring/fast game from the Frazier homer on, unless you enjoy strikeouts and ground balls.

How in God's name would they enforce that? Guards at all public restrooms? The police are going to deal with 911 calls on this issue? Citations/fines? Would you support camera/monitors in the public restroom? Wouldn't that be even MORE invasive towards all those people who don't care about the issue one way or the other? 3D sensors/body scanners when you go into a bathroom that would give an electric shock to someone who didn't belong there OR notify the nearest law enforcement personnel? Are you going to have individuals feeling empowered by laws that aren't really meant to be enforced seeking out confrontations with people going into the bathroom...then you're going to end up with even more shooting deaths in the US as self-righteous individuals took it upon themselves to "evict" people from the restrooms. I don't know the answer on this one, but escalating the problem or increasing conflict might not be the answer.

Yeah, but he also hit around .200 and didn't have a ton of XB power for someone with his frame...he was more of a singles hitter. http://www.baseball-reference.com/register...id=jordan001mic Thrown out 18 times (30 steals)...556 OPS wouldn't get a regular minor league a sniff of the majors. Only a .266 SLG percentage, to his credit, he had 51 walks and struck out 114 times, which isn't too bad considering how rusty he was not playing baseball since the early 1980's.

I blame this loss on God Loves the Infantry starting the game thread too quickly. Actually, Gonzalez has pretty decent numbers against most of the current Yankees career-wise, but Tanaka's not an easy pitcher to beat, even with his stuff not quite what it was when he first joined NY. That said, I'm sure the betting line is hugely in favor of them.

Lebron to the Warriors...haha...that will help repair his legacy. Trying to see him co-exist with Green and Curry would be fascinating. But it will never happen in a million years. What's the latest conjecture about where Durant will end up? 50% return to OKC? Or less? Or depends entirely on how this season ends for Oklahoma City?

Losing 11 of 12 or 12 of 13 or whatever it is right now...there might be no choice left for Avila but to can Ausmus and see if they can salvage the season somehow. He's not the reason for the recent bullpen struggles, Miguel Cabrera and JD Martinez to be shades of their former selves (Cabrera actually pulled a 93 MPH fastball to left for his first "typical" homer in weeks), for Justin Verlander's fastball to be 90-92, for Anibal Sanchez to blow up every other start, for a talented rookie in Michael Fulmer to go through growing pains...the scapegoat more than anyone though seems to be Ausmus/Justin Upton and Anthony Gose to a lesser extent. It's pretty remarkable with Castellanos, Zimmerman, Kinsler and Victor Martinez playing so well that they could lose that many games across a stretch of almost two weeks.

Pitching in San Diego in meaningless games in one of the friendliest parks for pitchers isn't the same as pitching in the American League. (The likes of Clayton Richard and Eric Stults were made to look good out there). Look at Shields' 2014 stats with the Royals, particularly the 2nd half of the year and the post-season. Giving away Anderson and Fulmer AND paying his terrible contract would be insane. Now, if they were willing to pay for half of it or 40% and take two prospects (maybe Adams would be the one dealt, along with Hawkins), it might at least be plausible. Keep in mind, Hahn has ridden Miguel Gonzalez and Latos to just one loss the entire season in their starts, at a cost of under $5 million total. At least for the present, there is not any desperation to overpay on a starter. Of course, that could change in one month.

Yeah, that's an interesting one to ponder...or if Bo Jackson miraculously returned to his former athletic status after the hip surgery. Of course, the problem there is the strike KILLED the White Sox more than most teams, so the only way the Jordan theory makes sense is if he was good enough to help push the Sox back into the playoffs from 1995-97. And then he's leaving his legacy as the greatest player in the history of basketball behind to be, maybe, an All-Star...I guess the post said "awesome," sure...if he was an MVP-caliber outfielder, that would have made a huge difference. Same with the "what if Sammy Sosa became the same player (enhanced) for the White Sox he was for the Cubs?" Can go around and around forever with those thoughts.

Along with that: 1) The quaintness of "day baseball" and the fact that Wrigley Field was slowly moving towards historic park status while Comiskey was an aging and decrepit dinosaur. 2) Arnie Harris'/Caray's constant promotion of the "bikini babes in the bleachers" and Budweiser/party atmosphere, which has always been sorely lacking around 35th and Shields. If you were to name the top reasons to go to Sox games, "seeing pretty girls" was never one of them. 3) The 80's also saw more polarization/gentrification with the public housing....I remember as a 12-13 year old feeling a little bit scared in that area (at night), coming from my relatively protected environment in Iowa. All the favorable trends economically were moving to the Northside. 4) The excitement around Ryne Sandberg at that stage of his career...Baines was a great hitter in his own right, but, beginning with that Bruce Sutter/Cubs and Cardinals national Saturday game in 1984, there was just no much hype around Sandberg and also Andre Dawson compared to the quieter Sox players like Baines (I won't go there with Ozzie). Later on, you'd have a young Greg Maddux and then the Sammy Sosa Show. 5) Frank Thomas just had this aspect of his personality when he became a superstar that kept him from reaching that same "beloved" status as Jordan and eventually Sosa...you respected the hell out of Thomas and his hitting ability, it's a bit hard to explain, part of it being related to marketing, part of it to perception. Same thing with Carlton Fisk while he played for the Sox, greatly respected but far from beloved by everyone.

Even if Davidson went on the tear of the century, still not 100% convinced they would give him Avi's at-bats in the heat of a pennant race and really trust he could hold down the DH job at the big league level. But maybe it will restore a glimmer of trade value...one of those "down and out" NL franchises might be willing to provide him an opportunity like we sort of gave Mike Olt last year.

Even if Davidson went on the tear of the century, still not 100% convinced they would give him Avi's at-bats in the heat of a pennant race and really trust he could hold down the DH job at the big league level. But maybe it will restore a glimmer of trade value...one of those "down and out" NL franchises might be willing to provide him an opportunity like we sort of gave Mike Olt last year.

That's why we have the Constitution. To protect the rights of the minority from being infringed upon by the majority or even "factions" (feels like the perfect word for this election cycle.) I wondered when I read Greg's line what an internet message board would have looked like in say, 1935, "those pesky Jews, why should we, the Nazi Party be afraid to step on..." Of course, bathroom discrimination vs. holocaust atrocity isn't quite the same thing (nor is Trump Hitler), but the point remains that the system exists to protect individual rights from being trampled. The operative question, of course, is what are those individual rights and who defines them. During the Bush Era, we saw that the Patriot Act could supersede our rights, rightly or wrongly. What are Greg's rights (to be offended or to "protect" his daughter, even it's an imaginary need) vs. the rights of those wanting to utilize the bathroom where they feel most comfortable? What provides the greatest good for the greatest number of people? Are there millions and millions of fellow Greg's out there, a Nixonian silenty majority on this topic that are afraid to join Greg's crusade openly and publicly?

Auteur and Assassin's Creed in the same post? Things that make you go hmmm.... CRIMINAL with Kevin Costner was much better than the reviews give it credit for. Very nifty like CIA/global domination/action flick with Costner playing a baddie or ambiguous character much better than he does the hero. Reunited Tommie Lee Jones, Gary Oldman and Costner from nearly a quarter century ago when those three were all in their primes. Also supporting work from Ryan Reynolds (bit part), Michael Pitt and Gal Gadot wasn't bad to look at, either. Interesting to see her in "domestic drama" scenes compared to just action. Jones acted like he had just shown up for the paycheck, Oldman overracted the hell out of it in fine Nicholas Cage B movie fashion (Quaker Wells, London CIA Chief?) and Costner with his usual earnest approach (Jericho, another "movie" name) carried the film. Worth a watch. Not sure about Self/less, which is also now playing in China. That might be too much Ryan Reynolds for one weekend.

Game over, 6-3 Indians (Gomes hit a homer in the 9th off Jepsen). Still 5 GB. KC and DET still to play. If Baltimore wins tonight, they'll tie us for the best record in the AL again. Last week, they were something like 4 games over .500, and we should have been at +14 after Tuesday. (They beat up on the A's just like the Sox did, and took the first two against DET).

By my count, the Twins will now be up 3-2 against Minnesota on the season series. Even if they were to lose tmrw (Twins), that's a helpful 2 game swing between the Sox and Twins right there in the standings. It's also why "not who you play but when you play 'em" means so much. NY had won 5 of 7 coming into the weekend, and just got Chapman back to form the most intimidating bullpen since the Nasty Boys in the late 80's/early 90's and arguably a better iteration of that trio in terms of overall ability. We will also have the advantage of facing the Royals w/o Moustakas, Danny Duffy without having built up his arm strength after going to the bullpen the first six weeks and Dillon Gee. Finally, the KC pen is just not nearly as good as NY's, simply because Soria and the 7th inning have become such an adventure with Soria, and Hochevar hasn't been as sharp, either.

Anderson again? Or Hawkins? The most encouraging thing about this week (in terms of all levels, rookie ball through Chicago) is the play of Tim Anderson...with so many holes opening up in Chicago over the next couple of seasons, they have to develop at least one position player on their own or they'll run out of resources and end up bargain dumpster diving (which, largely has worked out pretty well this time around, but doesn't work as a sustainable philosophy).

Jose's running speed or the bat speed (slider speed right now)...? Not sure why Jose Abreu is the one trying to change Rodon's arm angles/motion...because Rodon is of Cuban-American heritage and therefore he should pitch like Jose or El Duque. Good thing they're not trying to turn him into Juan Marichal, Fernando Valenzuela or Luis Tiant if he was another nationality.

If you expected a comeback against Betances, Miller and Chapman to happen more than 3-5 times over the course of an entire season, good luck...

Yeah, they were playing that game like it was the last one of the season with either tee times or flights booked. Eaton probably should have made that play...that said, Q just got tentative out there for some reason. Headley didn't have any XB hits coming into this week, two homers in consecutive games and Jose had him down 1-2 and let him get away by pitching too much to avoid contact. Just kind of a weird situation how Jose got dinged up by the worst part of the Yankees' order. Just goes to show there is zero margin for error from the 6th inning on against the Yankees, and why they won't blow this whole thing up early because they want to keep working on fixes for the offensive and starting pitching in order to make a run at the division. Maybe Eaton just isn't completely adjusted to how well the ball flies there in the outfield, because he had that play and the one in the early going that he took 2-3 steps in, reversed his tracks and had to jump a couple of week in the air to snag and prevent a run scoring double/triple. And it's not like Nova is garbage. He was 16-4 in 2011. His stuff isn't as good as back then anymore, but he had his sinker going and almost nobody other than Frazier and then Lawrie could elevate it...unfortunately, Brett's hit midway on the wall and just didn't have enough elevation. Would have liked to stick with Avila one more game because his swing looked so good his first two at-bats yesterday...try to ride a hot streak there like we did with Navarro, but oh well. Twins SHOULD be at the end of finishing off the Indians,up 6-2 in the top of 9th and still hitting. Going into this series, I expected we might give up 1 game with CLE playing the Twins, and Tanaka going on SUN against Gonzalez (we'll see how the weather turns out on that prediction).