The Sir

I'm pretty sure my second story from the original post was an Amway couple. He never said it outright (bad reputation, I guess) but he talked about how he and his wife were mentored by a couple who were retiring in their early 30s, and Amway is big on that line. Honestly, I just feel sad for someone who is reduced to harassing random strangers from Craigslist into joining their marketing scheme.

Ha, this sounds almost identical to my experience. You called every morning and then before and after each individual appointment. There were also one or two days out of the week where you'd go into the office and make phone calls for an hour. I skipped those because I didn't give a shit, and even then I realized that they weren't going to fire me because I cost them nothing and brought in a decent amount of revenue (again, only because of my parents' SES). I had an appointment on NYE (girlfriend's dad, IIRC) that ended about 4 PM. I called my manager, told her I was going home to watch football and the ball drop, and she said, "No, not yet, try to schedule a 6 PM, an 8 PM, and a 10 PM." Yeah, I did not do, or even attempt, that.

Cutco's a weird one, to be honest. My definition of MLM is that there is that you pay to sell a product AND you recruit other people to sell as well. In my experience, Cutco never met that second requirement. And those knives are actually decent quality (unlike most MLM products). That being said, it's not sustainable at all. I made probably $900 in commissions in two weeks because my parents are well-off and I contacted all of their friends, but getting those other references was a bridge too far for me. If I had tried to stay on longer, I would have fizzled out fairly quickly.

I've had several run-ins with multi-level marketing schemes in my relatively short existence. I spent a winter break during college with Vector Marketing, which is the MLM that sells Cutco knives. It's kind of a strange one, since it doesn't focus so much on recruiting new salespeople but you do have to harass your "clients" for further references to sell your crap to. They prowl college campuses offering $17 per appointment, which is scammy because it's either the $17 "salary" or your sales commission. If you rely on the former for too long, you'll get axed. My bosses were super pushy, and even urged me to line up a 10 PM appointment on New Year's Eve, which I ignored. A girl I went to high school with was the assistant regional manager or some such shit- I always thought she was on the up and up when we were in school, but I guess that fizzled out. Fast forward to early this year, and a totally different scenario, but a guy from Craigslist came over to my house while I was away to pick up some free furniture that was clogging our garage. I have a jeep that's sitting in the driveway that I'd like to sell, and he made some comments about it. So when he texted my wife later and asked if he could contact me, I figured it had to do with the jeep so I approved. The next day, I get a call from this dude, and he starts talking about how I seemed like a cool guy (he'd never met me, mind you) and he just wanted to reach out. I actually went along with it and made the standard small talk as non-awkwardly as I could. Suddenly, he starts talking about this business opportunity he's involved in. I asked what his business is, and he says, "Before I tell you what I do, let me talk to you about our need to shed the employee mindset in this country." I cut him off and said, "I don't want to waste your time, so I have no interest in being involved an MLM, now or ever." My hunch was apparently dead on, because he said he appreciated it and hung up. I briefly considered calling him back and asking what happened to our blossoming friendship, but thought better of it. Then, a few months ago, I took my son to the neighborhood playground and met another dad who was there with his kids. We made small talk, including what we did career-wise. I mentioned my actual business ideas, and he started talking about his work in finance/insurance. He threw out some earnings numbers from his field that seemed cartoonish, but I'm a terrible listener (I prefer to read things) and I was watching my kid so I didn't put too much analysis into it. He texted me on and off over the next few months, usually about finance stuff, which I can appreciate. He even gave some bad advice, like that the stock market was about to collapse entirely, which almost made me pull my assets out until I did a bit of research and calmed down. Still didn't hold it against him. Then I made a mistake- he asked if I knew anyone who was interested in making some side money, and I jokingly said, "Me?" That was it. Now he texts me weekly or so. If I don't respond? He doesn't get offended, he just texts me the same thing again two days later! Fears were confirmed the other day when I responded by asking how he's doing, and he said, "Business is booming! I'm enjoying financial freedom, no boss, no quotas, no limits...priceless!" Well, fuck. I know what this means (and if you think I'm making assumptions, I did ask him what the company was called- it's People Helping People Agency). On top of all this, my wife got involved in one a few years ago. A coworker friend lured her in and she did it for a couple of months. We spent a non-crucial amount on essential oils (to be fair, some of them did make the house smell better after our Roomba plowed through a pile of dogshit while we were at work one day). She hosted something like two parties with limited attendance, made zero money, and then quit. I love my wife to pieces, and honestly, the strife caused in small part by our participation in that resulted in probably the darkest year of our marriage. And while our whole life made a pretty quick turn-around when we sold our house, moved to a nicer area, and she quit that crap all around the same time, it was disheartening to see how quickly her former friend ditched her. Went from BFFs and being at birthday parties for each other's kids to nothing in the blink of an eye. So that's how it is. Whatever. I am an unabashed capitalist pig. I'd like to swim through my mansion's living room in a pile of gold coins, like Scrooge McDuck. But man, MLMs really suck. First, you're never going to make any money, much less big money. Second, you're going to alienate every friend that you have. And third, I'd really like to go to the park, talk to other dads, and make friends just because we both like baseball and international travel, and not because I'm a possible mark for your crummy, overpriced product. Hint: I'm not. What are y'all's stories with these God-awful entities?

I don't want to be too nonchalant about it ("just hit like this HOFer and everything will be alright"), but I think it's a decent comparison. He'll steal more bags and maybe K a bit more (I think he could consistently K less than 30 times a season), but I envision around a .300 BA with a low to mid .700 OPS. Power won't be much so it's gonna center around his ability to get on base at the top of the lineup.

This thread caused me to look up Luis Aparicio's career stats, which in turn led me to believe that if only Yolmer had been born before World War II, he'd be a borderline HOF candidate. Flame away.

At this point, I have to assume he has pictures of Ricky participating in BDSM at Felipe Vazquez' house. It surely has nothing to do with his .656 OPS over 2,400 plate appearances.

I really want to know if a pitcher has ever had back-to-back appearances where he allowed bases loaded walks/HBPs to end the game. And Ruiz didn't even inherit these messes. He created them! Worst pitcher we have. Herrera and Detwiler are at least has-beens. Ruiz is a never-will-be. It's infuriating seeing this douchebag on our roster, but at least Timmy, Eloy, and Moncada had multiple hits. And a Collins bomb. And our shitbags are working on their soon-to-be unemployments. I'll accept that.

GET THE FUCK LOST, RUIZ!!!!!! Allowing a walk off walk and a walk off HBP in consecutive appearances? How many pitchers in MLB history have pulled that sorry ass shit? Ruiz is a fucking loser!

We might not get to hit again if Ruiz stays in. Dude is terrible. I wouldn't mind if he was DFAed when the game ends (can you DFA someone midgame?). I wouldn't even feel bad if he became a great reliever somewhere else. Go. Away.

Ruiz is dogshit.

Seriously, I know everyone saw so much potential with Ruiz, but he's super hittable and walks the world. Next.

I fucking hate Ruiz.

Fuck you, Leury. This is how players die to me. That's fucking bullshit. Didn't even try. Go play in Tijuana next year, you sissy.

OK, I really did like it at first, but Jason, STFU about Romo already. Joke's dead.

No, Jason, I don't want some high-powered rivalry with the Twins. I want the Sox to win the ALC for the entirety of the 2020s and I want the Twins to lose 1,000 games in that decade. Clear?

I don't either, but if he was doing it so rampantly before, you'd think he'd have carried on doing it. It's not like he hasn't been on base enough. I just hope nothing is lingering.

Ya know, he hasn't stolen a base since he came back, I think. I wonder if that means something is still awry with his ankle...

Man, I love that he did that so fucking much. Right in their faces. The fans are pissed. Enjoy being swept in the ALDS, losers.

LOVE THE SWAGGER, TIMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Suck our BALLS, Twins fans!

Do you at all wonder how many RBIs Acuna would have batting a few spots lower? I think it'd be nuts. And let me dream, man! I'm gonna have an aneurysm if Moncada and Eloy and Robert are turning into legit superstars and 33 year old Abreu with his reliable .800ish OPS is still hitting third. Useful, sure, but bump him down in the order!

Seriously though, if next year is my aforementioned top 6, followed by McCann>Collins>Garcia (with Vaughn and one of Steele/Basabe/Rutherford/Gonzalez waiting in the wings) and a rotation of Gio/Lopez/Cease/Kopech, almost every minute will at least be interesting. There's so much of this year's games where I just find myself doing anything else. I cannot bring myself to care about Ryan Cordell and Beef Castillo at-bats, or Ross Detwiler starts.

I hate Ricky, obviously, but I don't think Robert should bat lead off. Why are you gonna waste his power for 20+ solo home runs? Let him hit those shots with men on. I'd say...Anderson>Madrigal>Moncada>Robert>Eloy>Abreu.

Renteria sucks. The dude's so stupid he'd probably use me to pinch hit for Collins just because the pitcher was a lefty. Hint, numbnuts: THAT IDEA DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK. How does someone at the supposed pinnacle of baseball on this planet insist on such a non-thinking, one-size-fits-all approach???

Didn't see that coming! 🙄