The Sir

I honestly can't explain it, but I know Manny is significantly better in terms of overall and consistent results, I know his defense is way better and at a position where there is much less hope of an in-house savior any time soon, and I've spent maybe ten days in Chicago in the last twenty years so I could care less whether they're the Chicago White Sox or the Ulaan Baataar White Sox, and yet...I want Harper so much more.

The seatbelt part is sad, but let’s not overlook that somebody essentially murdered them for a few dollars worth of junk. They should all hang.

I thought you weren't posting anymore.

Some of you are setting yourselves up for serious emotional distress. Harper, maaaybe. Machado, maaaaaaaaaybe. But both? I'll win the mega millions first.

Are we really taking this seriously?!? Also, if we are, jumping waaaaaay ahead here, who else do we sign? Sorry, but we're not signing Harper to put Engel in CF, Sanchez at 3B, and some filler in two rotation spots, are we?

I like the overall idea, but Alabama would murder UCF. It wouldn't create interest- it'd just be a waste of a quarterfinal.

I can't quite tell if you're in support of that, or mocking it, but that's absolutely how it should be. The most impressive wins for UCF were Cincinnati, Memphis and Pitt. My Nittany Lions were ultimately a second-tier team in the B1G but they'd have gone undefeated with that schedule, too. Honestly, I don't think non-Power 5 teams (excusing ND) should really ever break #15 in the rankings, tops. Better yet, the non-Power 5 conferences should be severed from D1 and constitute their own division. No more of this annual thumping of nobodies by ranked teams in the first weeks of the season. Power 5 vs Power 5 only.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25427784/college-football-playoff-picks-espn-experts Benetti thinks UCF deserves the #4 CFP slot.

Albert's dominance was slightly better (8 years of 1.000+ OPs vs. 6 such years for Frank) but his decline was a hell of lot worse (excusing his shortened retirement season at age 39 and his 20-game 2001, Frank bottomed out at an .834 OPS in 2002, and exceeded .850 in three other complete seasons, .900 in two, and 1.000 in one, while Albert has six consecutive years of a sub-.800 OPS, including his .672 effort in 2017 and a .700 effort this year). I'll take Frank, no questions asked.

If you were 26 and your primary talent could get you hired for $400 million, paid out until you were 36, would you take less than that in favor of some other intangibles? It’s not like he’s choosing between Paris or Kabul- the city should be irrelevant. Personally, I think Philly is lame as hell, but it’s got plenty of places to buy or build an estate, some fancy restaurants, etc. So Philly vs. Chicago vs. New York, who cares? Bryce Harper is going to maximize his skill so that, if he wanted to, he’d never have to work again. His children will have the option to never work at all. I don’t blame him a bit.

Ok, on one hand, I REALLY want Harper. I won't even lie about it. Do it, spend the money, yada yada yada. But when I step back and think about it logically, I see how it could become regrettable. In seven years, the guy has exceeded a .900 OPS twice. Do we really want to spend $40 million a year on a guy who's OPS will probably be in the .800s? That's good for us, but is it $40 million dollars a year good? I don't know. Look at the albatrosses that are the Pujols and Cabrera contracts. While they were older, when they signed their megamillions contracts, they were each undoubtedly the best hitters in baseball. Yet, in three years, the Angels will give $30 million to a 41 year old who had an OPS of .684 the last two seasons. In five years, the Tigers will pay $32 million to a 40 year old who played 38 games last year, and had an OPS of .728 the year before. Do we want to put that chain around our own necks with a guy who will be 36 by the time his likely contract ends, and who is not nearly as indisputable the talent as the two I just mentioned? Think about our prospects. What if Eloy, Cease, Robert, Moncada, Kopech or anyone else turns out to be a monster? Are we going to have any chance to resign them? Harper would possibly be here after all of those guys leave. If we want to build a lasting force in the AL Central, is this really the path to get there? Even after all that, I've gotta say I'm still checking this thread daily to root for us signing him, but I've got some weird feelings in the back of my head.

I had the same joke in my head, but with cars. I’m serious about buying a Porsche or an Aston Martin, but a more realistic option would be a Camry.

I'm glad to hear that, and I hope that friendship reminds you of the benevolence of most people's motives. Very few people in history are/were politically motivated by anything other than the good of the world, which is absolutely subjective. You want what's best for the world, and so do I- just in different ways. Please keep that in mind.

I would like to talk to you, and I hope you respond to my PMs, but this is a depressingly parochial viewpoint. I'm trying to play by Quinarvy's rules, but it's actually possible for decent people to come to opposing solutions as to how to solve a problem and find justice. Suggesting that there is only one way and that everyone else is motivated by evil is both cynical and immature. And to boot, it probably won't solve any problems because people are rarely motivated to change their ways by being called assholes.

This is the sort of misinformed tripe I was talking about in my last post, and why the Filibuster is better off closed. Thanks for proving my point.

I got kicked out of the Buster years ago, but that aside, I think a place like it could be useful to clear up misunderstandings about what the other side believes. My beliefs are too complex to be summed up by nasty one-liners, and I'd reckon a lot of people on the other side feel the same way. For instance, the constant refrain that people on the right are racist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, etc. I'm on the right and I don't feel like I'm any of those things. If you want to scream in my face that I am, as if you know better what I believe than I do, we're just going to be at each other's throats and places like the Buster will make everyone involved feel like shit. Likewise, people on the left probably have stereotypes made about them that they feel are unfair. I've probably said some before, so I'm not innocent here. Again, the thread to say the Filibuster is dead likely isn't supposed to become the Filibuster, so I'll shut up now, but if you feel like any of this applies and is worth your while, I'm open to hash it out in PMs.

I recall having pretty reasonable discussions with you in the distant past (I went by God Loves The Infantry and FlySox at different points) even though we are on opposite sides. I’m genuinely curious why you think this is the most important election in history (I will be voting but there’s nothing special about it). I get it that the mods probably don’t want this thread to become the Filibuster in itself, but if you want to PM me, I’d love to talk about it.

I challenge anyone to find a player with more bizarre career stats than Terrance Gore. 1-16 with 19 runs and 27 steals over five years? He actually went his entire Royals career and never got a hit. Huh? And bye, Cubs.

Local viewing area for the Orioles, as weird as it sounds. Even though I’m in Dallas, I don’t get any of the games against Texas teams on MLBTV. Look for MASN on cable (grew up in Va Beach so I know that’s the Orioles channel).

Brantley, Escobar and Corbin? Or is that too much?

Yes, he did. The ball clearly shifts in an upward direction before coming to a full stop in the mitt. I will maintain this position until I die.

I make arguments against Moncada’s potential more than most, but it actually centers on a few pertinent points related to how he plays and where I think he needs to improve. Same with Lillian, who is understandably concerned about his approach. You just compare him unfavorably to David Bote, a guy who nobody will remember in four years. I think there’s a difference.

No, he was the most aggressively pessimistic person in the history of the planet. I don’t recall seeing him after mid-2000s, which leads me to believe he spontaneously combusted upon feeling a glimmer of joy in October 2005.

For all the folks who were around on the ESPN Sox forum in the early 2000s, does footlong remind you of Ken Blanks?

Going to be very quick because I’m home on leave for the weekend, but I really don’t share the pessimism for 2019. Next year was more about Moncada/Anderson/Rodon/Giolito/ Lopez making progress. Kopech was a hell of a nice topper, but if those other guys didn’t progress as expected, it was going to be meaningless. Let’s sign a few FAs, call up Eloy two weeks in, and win 86 games and shoot for the second WC. Be ready to dominate in 2020 when Kopech returns and Cease, Madrigal and others join us. Keep your heads up.