The Sir

Poor choice of words on my part. I did have loans. I joined the Army and had my undergrad paid off. I overstayed my contract and my grad school was paid for. If I didn't join, I would have owed $80,000 or whatever. Depends what mood I'm in whether I say it was basically free or that I worked my ass off.

Again, GMAFB. First off, you are assuming a lot about me. It's the dumbest part about the "privilege argument". You can hear that I'm a middle class white male. That doesn't tell you everything you need to know to understand my experiences in life. None of that should be relevant to making a persuasive argument, but who knows? Maybe your argument is just that dumb. Second, do you really think I have no idea how these kids' home lives work? I hear about it every day. I hear about how so-and-so couldn't do homework because when she got home, mom was walking out the door to job number two, and she had to focus on getting her baby sister fed and bathed and in bed. I'm a smart guy- I've figured out how quite a lot of their lives work. And yeah, some have genuinely shitty home lives. Third, some are failing at school and will fail at life because they're just not up to task. Harsh? Maybe. I don't care. I had a student last year. She was poor, but most of mine are. Still, mom put a roof over her head and food on the table, and from the sounds of it, was generally around when the student was at home. I called multiple times to find out how I could better get the kid to have the right attitude in class and to be more diligent, and mom was simply exasperated. Everything that happened in my classroom also happened at home. She mouthed off to me, she mouthed off to mom, she refused to do homework, she refused to do chores, etc. Mom had no idea how to fix it. Do you want to blame someone else when she fails to make anything of herself in life? I don't. She was given opportunities to learn, and she refused them (her other teachers reported the same). Classmates of hers, from similar situations, came to school, worked their butts off, and will see their adult lives be far better off than their childhoods. She probably won't. Who's fault is that? At what point would you finally say it's hers? An environment that tries to suppress their desire to learn? WTF is that? Do you want to describe what that looks like? I'd say the kid from the previous paragraph might have faced that, but it was her own creation. People around her learned just fine.

Give me a f’in break. I work at one of those high schools. I know all about that environment. Those kids still have the opportunity to do what I did. Some take it, some don’t. Their choice. I’m really over this contemporary idea that just because my parents didn’t work two jobs, and we got to go on cool vacations, my current success and security in life came from something other than my hard work. I graduated college with no savings and a bunch of student loans. I now have a ton in savings and no loan debt. Who did that? ME.

I disagree. With the exception of people with various disabilities, anyone, from any race, from any class, has the opportunity to do what I did and get two degrees from prestigious schools, essentially for free. The answer might be that they aren’t willing to seize the opportunity, but they are certainly physically and mentally capable of it.

With the exception of that one loan for my wife (and the monthly payment isn’t a burden at all), we have no education debt. Hell, I actually made a profit when I got my master’s from a private uni. There’s ways to ace it; people should find them.

I hear lots of people talking about student loan forgiveness. If they just want interest rates abolished, then there’s a communication issue. Also, my wife signed on at those rates. Who’s fault is that? We own it. My income is all over the place, so it’s hard to measure. Think wife and I both got about $80 more a month. So just shy of $2000 more a year. I haven’t filed yet but I’ve heard refunds have fallen by approximately 15%. I’m not going to say how much I’m expecting, but if that is indeed the decrease amount, I made money from the new tax law. Period.

Didn't know that first part. Interesting. I finally hit 750 late last year, after living in the 660-670 range for the longest time. Student loan interest is nuts. The only one we have belongs to my wife. It's not a huge burden, and neither of us demand that anyone bail us out of something she voluntarily received, but we pay about $190 a month. I got a mailer the other day that we paid $1900 in interest on it this year. WTF? I'm nuking that one ASAP. Also, freaking out about refunds is dumb. Did you pay less in taxes over the course of the year? Then your refund is going to be less. The idea that you'd get the same refund when you paid less in the first place is idiotic. I wish more Americans saved money in a responsible way, and were able to look at refunds like they were special gifts, rather than emergency transfusions to keep their families financially afloat.

Geez, man. I am absolutely on the business side of things, and think it's silly that either party (owners or players) do anything but act ruthlessly in their own financial interest, and I also reject the occasional pleading about why a guy can't just sign for something like love of a city and not just money, but it's not worth getting mad about. The sentimental "for love of the game" angle is an understandable, if misguided, thought process for a fan and his kid who don't have to decide whether they want 10 extra megayachts or 50.

He didn’t discuss genocide of Muslims. The only thing that comes close to that is the joke about why aren’t there any Iranians on Star Trek, and the punchline is because it’s in the future. That’s a long way off from a discussion of genocide.

Wait, so people who have goofy, offensive THOUGHTS should die? I bet you congratulate yourself constantly on how tolerant you are.

They’re simple thoughts from an old man. Whatever. How many people were murdered in Chicago this weekend? Where’s the outrage about that?

Fuck this thought criminal, amirite?

I don’t think that’s relevant. Everybody in the baseball world knows how good our farm system is, that we have a ton of up and coming talent, and that our contention window is about to open in a weak division where even the reigning champ is known to be on its way down. Remember that it was revealed that Bryce was very interested in our prospects during our meeting. These guys are looking at our pretty bright future, not our gloomy recent past.

I’d rather wait. I think we can get three solid MLB OF starters out of our prospect batch. Sign Machado, wait til our OF prospects pan out, and then trade the extras for whatever we need then, like an SP.

Bingo. 15 more BA points for Frank, 39 more OBP, 3 more SLG, 42 more OPS. Frank's OPS+ was 15 points higher. I don't need to go on.

Pretty sure that was sarcasm, buddy.

I do, all the time. I grew up listening to Hawk. With him, part of my childhood is gone. I can’t stand Benetti. I’ve never been the type to mute the broadcast, but I really might now.

He's gonna have an awful time here because he sucks. He's a freaking first baseman whose career high in home runs until two years ago was nine. He had a good half-season to start 2017 in Oakland, and the rest of his career has been terrible. He had a .738 OPS last year. At first freaking base. If we don't sign Manny, I hope we DFA him. Of course, we won't do that, and we'll all sit around wondering why we continue to blow.

Big announcements? Did I miss something?

The glove is great...if he hits. If he strikes out like Moncada and fails to put up an OPS of .700, then the glove won’t make up for it. Gonzalez and Rutherford might not be as amazing on defense, but stronger bats will make the defensive gap insignificant.

He gets hurt constantly, he strikes out a ton at low MiLB, and he has shown zero power thus far. I’ll be happy to eat crow, but I don’t think he makes it. I want at least three above average MLB OFers. In Eloy, we get a superstar, and in Gonzo and Blake we get two borderline all-stars. OF in 2021-2022 becomes capable of putting up 13 WAR per season, consistently. I won’t be disappointed at all.

I think our OF in a few years ends up being Eloy, Gonzalez and Rutherford. The others (Basabe, Adolfo, and Robert) all have way too much swing and miss to be successful, IMO. I’m not even considering Walker.

That’s not a passage describing someone responding well to thoughtful mentorship or even tough love. That’s the description of someone who thinks Norris is being a jackass but is smart enough not to give quotes to a reporter about it lest he catch even more flak. Teeth. Badgering. Merciless. Harshest way possible. All this in service of a veteran — a veteran who is on record with some pretty damn intemperate comments when it comes to respecting his fellow ballplayers — who seems to be making one of the organization’s brightest young stars miserable. https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2018/07/11/bud-norris-is-mercilessly-riding-and-badgering-cardinals-pitcher-jordan-hicks/ Geez. Each article you've cited pretty much encapsulates why journalists in this country are less popular than people who let their dogs shit in their neighbors' yards. First, one word in that choppy procession of scary sounding words about Norris' treatment of Hicks actually comes a participant in the events. "Teeth", and it's not even in context. Everything else is the panicky NBC guy quoting words put in (not quoted) by the Athletic writer. Calcaterra assumes that "I have no idea. No comment." shows Hicks thinks Norris "is being a jackass but is smart enough not to give quotes to a reporter about it lest he catch even more flak." Which is total speculation. I want reporters to tell me facts, not what they think, because, frankly, I don't think reporters are all that smart. Second, I don't really care if Hicks likes it or not. Don't want tough love? Be on time. The idea that mercilessly maintaining a certain standard among your employees is hazing is pathetic. By that measure, I haze my employees constantly. For example, I was talking to a large group of my subordinates the other day after some training, and one of them is sitting there playing on her phone, like I'm some nobody. I called her out by name and said, "Am I boring you?" I told her direct supervisor in privacy afterward that she was to be counseled in writing. Was that merciless? Was that badgering? Was that the harshest way possible? I don't know. I don't care. Hopefully, at this point, this particular employee knows that we aren't fucking around here. Maybe she'll learn; if not, I'll send her ass home. If she doesn't want this sort of attention, she should do the right thing. I'm sorry some people have this wimpy, soft conception of leadership in this country, but that's what it takes to maintain good order and discipline. Third, "pretty damn intemperate comments"? Give me a break. He points out that the globalization of baseball has brought different cultures into a sort of conflict. He sees baseball as an American game (breaking news: it is), and he wants to keep that American influence. He doesn't say this in an insulting way (unless, of course, you're the sort that's offended because someone tells you to be on time). He even says that he and the union welcome these outside influences! Only in 2019 America is the idea that cultures clash something controversial. Guess what? Cultures clash when they meet. If that wasn't the case, we wouldn't have phrases like "culture shock", we wouldn't find anything of interest in dozens upon dozens of movies, such as A Bronx Tale, Coming to America, and the, at this point, too many Crocodile Dundee movies, and I wouldn't have the label of war veteran, with several friends laying dead because of those wars. Is it silly to whine about this undeniable, never-ending conflict in the context of a game, which is supposed to be fun? Maybe so. But if that's the way Bud Norris feels, that's the way he feels. And it is actually acceptable to defend the American nature of things, and to want that nature maintained into the future. I've learned by this point that Craig Calcaterra is a moron, and the insidious racist undertones that he inserts in the paragraph after quoting Norris are his creation, not Norris'.

I missed the Jordan Hicks “hazing” incident because it consisted of an older player telling a younger player with punctuality issues to be on time. Oh, it’s humiliating? Then make it stop by being on fucking time. It’s ridiculous how soft we’re getting. I read your article thinking he beat this kid, or at least duct-taped him to something. But no, he chided him for tardiness. “Hazing” in 2019. Unbelievable. Today I learned that I haze my subordinates constantly by having standards and expecting them to meet those standards. What a sonuvab**** I am. So no, he still doesn’t compete with Brett “Headshot” Myers. Sorry. Toughen up, will ya? And from a baseball perspective, no, I don’t want him. Bullpens are the last thing to focus on, and so many relievers are flashes in the pan. Until our rotation and lineup are dynamite, the pen is an afterthought. Don’t waste money on old journeymen like Bud Norris. Has nothing to do with his viewpoints.

Are you fucking kidding me with this shit? Brett Myers punched his wife in the face. His wife didn’t press charges because she didn’t want to get him in trouble, but she never actually denied the whole, you know, getting punched in the face thing. Safe to say, that shit happened and actually hurt another human being. Bud Norris used some words to suggest that the globalization of baseball has changed the game in a way that he doesn’t seem to approve of. He didn’t, as far as I can see, use any derogatory or degrading language to describe this change or the people doing it. He simply pointed it out. Agree, disagree, I don’t give a shit. They’re words. Guess what? If I think up the most offensive, disgusting words in the English language and hurl them at you...you’re going to live. Isn’t that neat? They will do zero damage to your health and well-being. You’ll be OK! If I punch you in the head, you’re going to need to see a doctor. In fact, you might not need to see a doctor, because the stars might have aligned so terribly after my punch that you’ll find yourself straight up dead. No doctor needed, because your ride is fucking OVA!! In sum, if you find yourself siding with a dude who punches women in the head over a guy who says words you disagree with, you should probably rethink your priorities. Also, stop politicizing everything. This site killed the Filibuster for a reason; we don’t need you trying to resuscitate it in every other damn thread. Thanks!