America’s 4 year rebuilding plan

In Uncategorized by myles249 Comments

Electoral College has hired Donald Trump, 70, as the new general manager of the United States Americans.

Terms of the deal are not finalized, but they look to be 4/59,611,678, with a 4 year team option.

Trump said “I’ve spent my entire life in business, looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world.”

“That is now what I want to do for our country. Tremendous potential. I’ve gotten to know our country so well. Tremendous potential. It is going to be a beautiful thing. Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential.”

Americans have no doubt looked into the masterwork that Theo Epstein has done with the Cubs, and emulated the same strategy of getting way worse before you get better.

“If you look at the Cubs, they were just kind of mediocre for a while. It took 2 or 3 years of awful baseball before they finally took that giant leap forward. We think that Trump is just the manager to shepherd us through that first part,” said Cletus Barnwell Jr., his confederate flag fanny pack overflowing with coupons to the local St. Louis-style pizza joint.

Missouri voted for Donald Trump by a 57-38 margin.

“I’ve had successes and I’ve had setbacks. Sometimes, really painful ones. Many of you are at the beginning of your professional, public, and political careers—you will have successes and setbacks too,” Hillary Clinton said.

“This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it.”

This was Clinton’s second high-profile loss in the latter stages of the interviewing process. Many will remember her loss for the ’08 vacancy, when she was passed over for the first black manager in our history. Clinton now has the honor of being passed over for the first child president in our history as well.

America has never hired a woman manager for some fucking reason.

America’s newest manager is going to have a lot of tough decisions, with a spot in the Supreme Court left to fill and a vast pool of free agents with which to fill it. The Civil Rights Act is also set to expire soon – earliest indications are that Trump is not looking to re-sign that one. Generally, a new manager wants to bring in his own staff as well, and we’ve already heard that he plans to bring on living bag of sweat Chris Christie as his Attorney General, though perhaps generic 90’s villain Rudolph Giuliani will get the call. The only certain move is that Secretary of State will be Newt Gingrich, who is exactly what you imagine someone named Newt Gingrich is.

The Electoral College’s plan seems clear. They expect to get bad in the next 4 years. Really bad. Like, how on Earth could it be this bad? That will probably weed out the voters who just wanted a “real talker” and the demographic of people who want presidents that lose 916 million dollars in a single year for some reason. Then, some strong minority development should in turn make the farm system of not insane candidates much more robust, and we’ll start to see them rise through the ranks of mayoral positions, state reps, and eventually even governorships, national representatives, and senators. If they get this right, they can emerge from the next few years stronger than they ever were before.

Or, they could complain ineffectually on the internet and think that changes something.

One thing is clear. The United States Americans are about to see some very bad inside baseball.

 

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  1. Edwin

    It’ll be interesting to see how Republicans respond to the Trump Tax cuts and how they’re basically going to explode the national debt, which Republicans suddenly became interested with in 2008.

    It’s also interesting that even though he’s supposed to help the manufacturing sector, he’s said pretty much nothing about addressing workers losing jobs to automation, which is one of the key factors which caused the shift in manufacturing jobs to begin with.

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  2. Perkins

    Edwin,

    This is the big one. For all his bluster about offshoring, and all the working class whites’ anxiety about losing their jobs to brown people, it’s robots that have taken many of the former manufacturing jobs. And it’s robots that will continue to take jobs that require little to no skill. Neither candidate had anything realistic to address this, but there are large swaths of the electorate that might not be smart enough or young enough to have a viable way of making money as automation continues to replace human labor.

    What’s depressing to me is that in four years, I’m not confident this same segment of the electorate will be able to pinpoint that, but I’m hoping they’ll be smart enough to see they’re no better off under the demagogue who sold them a bill of goods and white identity politics.

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  3. Perkins

    I’m also somewhat amused at the people already calling for unity and “rallying behind our president” as most of them have been in favor of obstructing President Obama at every turn for the past 8 years. I’m hoping the Senate Democrats filibuster the shit out of basically everything, just for shits and giggles.

    I normally lean conservative, but fuck Trump and everyone who likes Trump.

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  4. Edwin

    Perkins,

    It’s fairly amusing that the people asking everyone else to “rally behind our president” just elected someone who essentially launched and established his political career by refusing to rally around the president, and instead questioned the President’s citizenship.

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  5. cerulean

    Edwin:
    It’ll be interesting to see how Republicans respond to the Trump Tax cuts and how they’re basically going to explode the national debt, which Republicans suddenly became interested with in 2008.

    It’s also interesting that even though he’s supposed to help the manufacturing sector, he’s said pretty much nothing about addressing workers losing jobs to automation, which is one of the key factors which caused the shift in manufacturing jobs to begin with.

    Universal Basic Income.

    (I have no idea how we can get there from here though.)

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  6. Perkins

    Edwin:
    Perkins,

    It’s fairly amusing that the people asking everyone else to “rally behind our president” just elected someone who essentially launched and established his political career by refusing to rally around the president, and instead questioned the President’s citizenship.

    Exactly. But I’ve come to realize that logical consistency and basic decency aren’t things to expect out of people who support Trump.

    It’s been painful to realize that I can’t ever respect any of the people I know who voted for him. Like, I can’t ever respect them again for the rest of my life (barring some manner of epiphany and atonement on their part).

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  7. cerulean

    I feel so much worse than I ever would have had the Cubs lost game seven in the bottom of the ninth.

    I have traveled to the razor’s edge of existential plight as a person. Now I feel like our whole country has an autoimmune disease that is stupidly and inexplicably trying to destroy the parts that give it life.

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  8. Urk

    It’s also gonna be weird to see how Trump’s potential collision with Republicans on trade plays out. He made protectionism a huge part of his stump appeal to voters, but Republican (and most Democratic) politicians, and the people that bankroll them, oppose this pretty strongly. Then again, there’s absolutely zero evidence that this ever meant anything to him previously, or even well into his run when he saw that Clinton was vulnerable to it, so maybe he’ll just drop it entirely.

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  9. Perkins

    I’m still trying to process my thoughts on all of this, but it’s been a depressing couple of days. On an immediate level, I recognize that I don’t have to expect much in the way of harassment. I’m a clean cut straight white man over 6 feet tall. I’m probably fine regardless of who is president. My wife is Jewish, but she took my name and there’s nothing else that would signal her as obviously so. She’s also probably okay. We certainly hope so.

    That’s obviously not the reality for a large swath of American citizens. There are already anecdotes of harassment, violence, and destruction of property with the intent to intimidate minorities. The country just elected a guy who called for illegal religious tests and mass deportation. The people who voted for him aren’t smart, and I doubt they’ll be able to tell the difference between, say, a Mexican and an El Salvadorian. I doubt that they care, even if the target of their harassment is a citizen. That’s fucking awful. I can’t even imagine it. I can’t imagine having to decide not to wear a hijab for fear of harassment or assault. I’m afraid for my Sikh friends and coworkers; racist assholes always seem to target Sikhs for some reason. I can’t imagine being a woman in a country that just elected a guy who is proud of having committed serial sexual assault. It’s just baffling.

    For me, the deep personal wound comes as a veteran. I know plenty in the military and veteran community who went for Trump. There is no curse I can think of in English, German, or Latin for this treachery. People who swore the same oath to support and defend the Constitution have cast their vote for an authoritarian who routinely expresses contempt for that founding document. Some justified it through a second amendment lens (which doesn’t hold water since Trump has historically been pro-gun control and even in one of the debates supported “no fly, no buy”). This weighed against his open contempt for the first, fourth, fifth, eighth, tenth, and fourteenth amendments. Despite their having taken an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, they voted to elevate a domestic enemy of the Constitution. For that, there can be no forgiveness.

    My prevailing feeling right now is disgust. I have had two great loves in my life: my wife, and the republic. A large portion of the electorate just voted to risk destroying one of those. People can point to HRC’s narrow win in the popular vote, but this election exposed some of the fundamental flaws in making everything more democratic, or seeing democracy as a good in and of itself. Our Constitution provided for a number of safeguards to balance the will of the plebs with the wisdom of elites (though there was certainly room for corruption when these were more in place). The Electoral College wasn’t meant to be a rubber stamp for the popular vote in a given state. The balancing act was to ensure that the rights of minorities were protected from the hot temper of the masses. Making things more democratic is only a good idea if accompanied by a corresponding emphasis on and investment in education. To permit authority without corresponding responsibility is to sow the seeds of disaster.

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  10. Perkins

    cerulean: Universal Basic Income.

    (I have no idea how we can get there from here though.)

    It’s a very tough sell to Americans. It smacks of socialism, and nobody likes the idea of people’s getting something for nothing. Ironically, many of the people who are most strongly against the concept are likely to be the ones who get displaced by robots and won’t be smart enough to learn the skills to adapt to the currents of the economy.

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  11. cerulean

    Perkins: Exactly. But I’ve come to realize that logical consistency and basic decency aren’t things to expect out of people who support Trump.

    It’s been painful to realize that I can’t ever respect any of the people I know who voted for him. Like, I can’t ever respect them again for the rest of my life (barring some manner of epiphany and atonement on their part).

    Glenn Beck had this epiphany about Trump. Glenn. Fucking. Beck.

    (Now he’s traveling with body guards because the Alt Right thinks he’s a traitor and trying to extend an olive branch to Führer Trump and his Nationalist Xenophobic Party (that’s a mouthful, they should come up with something shorter like Nat-Xee or something) so that he can keep his livelihood and potentially his life.)

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  12. cerulean

    Perkins,

    They also hate wasteful spending as they waste their lives spent just trying to survive.

    Lives are worthless, in other words.

    What I mean is #NoLivesMatter

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  13. cerulean

    Perkins: I’m looking forward to the return of Rick and Morty, so I can once again be comfortable with this and laugh about it.

    Laughter will be disallowed under Führer Trump.

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  14. dmick89

    Perkins,

    I have a friend who is a veteran and he and his wife voted Trump. It makes no sense to me. He called me the other night and I’ve yet to call him back. I have no idea what to say to him.

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  15. Perkins

    dmick89,

    To see fellow military/vets voting for him feels like betrayal. And that’s even recognizing that Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server to house and transmit top secret information is the type of thing that would have gotten me locked up. There’s negligence, and then there’s naked opposition to everything the Constitution protects. There’s just no calculus in which Hillary Clinton comes out as bad as or worse than Trump.

    The Benghazi consulate attack is another thing that gets a lot of military/vets riled up, but I’m inclined to chalk that up to “sometimes bad shit happens when you have people afield in unstable countries,” especially if multiple GOP-led inquiries didn’t find anything damning.

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  16. Edwin

    So if this election is a Cubs style rebuild, does that mean we can try and trade away some of our current States for better prospects?

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  17. Perkins

    Edwin:
    So if this election is a Cubs style rebuild, does that mean we can try and trade away some of our current States for better prospects?

    I say we start with Florida. That state’s a dick, anyway.

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  18. mikeakaleroy

    dmick89,

    My parents both voted Trump, and I have been dodging texts from them all week. My wife and I both work in healthcare, and my brother’s wife is a teacher, but I’m sure none of Trump’s policies will fuck with any of that, right? Oh, they also have 4 grandchildren, but I’m sure putting a climate change denier in charge of the EPA won’t do anything to hasten the destruction of Earth.

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  19. Edwin

    Perkins,

    If we get rid of Florida, we’d need some kind of replacement to send all the old people. I’m thinking maybe we try and pry Guerrero away from Mexico. Comparable climate, and old people can go to Zihuatanejo like Andy and Red from Shawshank redemption. Everyone loves Morgan Freeman.

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  20. Edwin

    I think one of the key decisions of this offseason is going to be whether to pick up the option on California, or let it walk. I’ve heard some in the California camp may be in favor of walking and testing the market.

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  21. TheVan

    Edwin,

    If we got rid of California we could then get rid of the electoral college because it would eliminate the discrepancy between the popular vote and electoral vote.

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  22. Edwin

    dmick89,

    I say do it. Finally get rid of that terrible racist football team. Anything you want back from France? I’d guess Paris and most of the wine region is off the table.

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  23. Author
    myles

    Perkins: I say we start with Florida. That state’s a dick, anyway.

    We’ve have to send a lot of cash in any deal, and we aren’t likely getting any territories worth keeping. I could see perhaps getting Chad.

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  24. mambochicken

    I disowned half of my family earlier this morning. I will not miss them.

    http://www.averysmallpart.com

    I’ve only commented here a couple of times, but I’ve read every word for years. Thanks for being decent human beings. It’s nice to know there are some.

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  25. TheVan

    I may not comment a lot anymore, but I still read every word. As an infrequent contributor, but obvious political outlier here, I will offer up my couple pennies. This election was the first time in 5 elections that I didn’t vote Republican. I also didn’t vote Democrat. I don’t have the same doom and gloom outlook as many others. I didn’t even go into this elections with a glass half empty mentality, it was more of a glass completely empty mentality. For the first time in 20 years I just didn’t care who won. The most liberal person I know (my mother, who worked on the Obama campaign) refused to vote for Clinton. That was enough for me. I don’t care about the emails. Trump’s policies don’t scare me, but everything else about him does.

    I have a lot of friends who voted Trump, and I unfriended none of them. Out of all of them, I think only one voted for reasons that half the country thinks all of them voted for. Lots voted simply because of the 2nd amendment. Most (and a lot of the remainder are military, active and inactive) voted on fiscal and foreign policy. Tight borders doesn’t have to mean kicking all the brown people out, though in Trump’s case it actually might mean that, but I’m not going to also pretend we don’t need to do something about that.

    Let’s be honest, politics isn’t the same as it was 20 years ago. Nobody cares about fiscal and foreign policy, and if they do care they don’t understand. People forget that of the two candidates, Hillary is the warmonger and Trump wants to pull troops back and for America to mind it’s own business for awhile. Politics now is making sure nobody gets their feelings hurt, which is fine, it’s just not what politics is to me.

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  26. berselius

    dmick89:
    Edwin,

    I’d be happy if they gave us a single grape from that region for D.C.Huge steal for us.

    Clearly none have you have driven through the Virginia Vinicultural Region right outside of D.C. There are signs every fifty feet to remind you of it (dying laughing). When I was growing up there was just one winery in the whole area and it only ever crossed people’s minds when they were looking for a wedding venue. The county even bankrolled a series of Virgina Wine Country mysteries to help promote the idea that this ever was a thing (dying laughing)

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  27. BVS

    TheVan: Lots voted simply because of the 2nd amendment. Most (and a lot of the remainder are military, active and inactive) voted on fiscal and foreign policy.

    So I live in SC. I’d say what you stated above described about half the Trump voters here…that and “GOP no matter what.” Having seen all the Confederate flags suddenly appear after the Charleston 9 shooting, I am certain that the other half were clearly alt right wackos. I’d just ask “Why Trump?” to see.

    But Trump’s 1st fiscal plan was going to cost $12B. The revised plan was going to cost $4-6B with big tax cuts to wealthy corporations and the rich. Hard to see how that is good fiscal policy for the working class.

    I also don’t get the 2nd amendment argument. Large majorities of the public support background checks and waiting periods. That doesn’t prevent gun ownership. Apparently voters in 3 states agreed.

    On foreign policy, I have been pretty happy with Obama’s reticence to commit troops to foreign lands where it is unclear what our national interests are or what success is. But Trump is going to eliminate ISIS and terrorists yesterday…how’s that? I think Hillary would have us in Syria, Libya, etc, so I didn’t see anyone to support based on foreign policy.

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  28. BVS

    mikeakaleroy:
    An Open Letter To My Friends Who Voted For Trump

    I think the 6th paragraph is part of the problem. It’s seriously condescending and expressing righteous disbelief that someone isn’t in favor of abortions or doesn’t understand climate change doesn’t help change attitudes, it only strengthens the other person’s resolve.

    Don’t get me wrong, I think this election will be a disaster, but I think healing the country requires more listening and explaining rather than outrage and disdain. So fight Trump and the GOP Congress, but not your neighbor.

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  29. SK

    Perkins:
    Edwin,

    This is the big one. For all his bluster about offshoring, and all the working class whites’ anxiety about losing their jobs to brown people, it’s robots that have taken many of the former manufacturing jobs. And it’s robots that will continue to take jobs that require little to no skill. Neither candidate had anything realistic to address this, but there are large swaths of the electorate that might not be smart enough or young enough to have a viable way of making money as automation continues to replace human labor.

    Like, what every happened to preparing for the knowledge-based economy? Offshoring isn’t new, it started in the 80s, and in the 90s there was a a lot of momentum for developing skills for the future non-manufacturing economy. Whatever happened to that? What happened to education in the last 20 years to see the population so under-educated for the current environment — which was plainly in view for decades? Great idea – encourage the decline of the old economy through free trade agreements, but fail to educate the workforce to compensate. It’s a global and national issue — not a local one — so I would blame first the national government administrations of the last 20 years.

    I guess.

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  30. SK

    For Perkins, from a friend on FB:

    This Veteran’s Day, I want to express heartfelt thanks to all those who put on a uniform to defend the freedoms we may be about to lose.

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  31. Perkins

    SK,

    That’s about where my head is at. I’m still at a loss thinking about the oath of office and the many people who wear or wore the uniform honorably and voted against everything the oath upholds. Who voted for a domestic enemy of the Constitution.

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  32. Perkins

    On a less somber note, I’m thinking about the Cubs’ rotation next year, and I’m wondering if it could be a good idea to try the method advocated in The Book, whereby the 4 and 5 starters alternately relieve each other on the third and fifth days when that day’s starter comes up to bat. It’d look like:

    Lester
    Hendricks
    Lackey/Montgomery
    Arrieta
    Montgomery/Lackey

    Lackey is really good the first time through the order, and it would limit the plate appearances by pitchers. The big knocks against it I can see are Lackey’s age and ego. He may break down having to pitch like that, as his shoulder seemed to respond poorly when he warmed up a few times in extra inning games. Also obviously, he’s not a fan of getting taken out early.

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  33. Perkins

    Also fun fact: the guy who started the chalk wall thing during the pennant clincher is a buddy of mine since high school. I think he’s only been credited in a couple of articles since the thing took on a life of its own, but still cool.

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  34. cerulean

    SK,

    Education is about learning, right? So what does it mean to learn?

    The assumptions underlying the answers to that question are the problem. Learning is a process that allows for the replication of actions and interactions—from pressing a lever to get food to performing Bach’s cello suites. But learning also creates the scaffolding we use to interpret and ask questions of the world. Our interpretations are consistent and complete enough to subsist, which is probably the extent of direct evolutionary pressure. Evolution is a blunt instrument.

    The validity of a belief—these learned structures—may only tenuously be tied to its practical effectiveness. Believing you can fly with just your arms can win you a Darwin award, but believing that God is protecting you and yours can really benefit the state of mind and society, at least for a narrow slice of time and experience.

    The difficult part is when the velocity of information and understanding moves too quickly for our cultures to adjust, leading to an entrenchment of obsolete ideas because the house of cards that was the collective understanding is not only upended by this novel thinking, but also because many of these new ideas are eventually rejected more quickly than ever before.

    The scientific method is often at odds with longstanding but effectively arbitrary beliefs making science and education seem like a tool to attack them by the kind of people who embrace the tool—aka liberals. And so the tool is rejected. We live in a nation of John Henrys, destroying our lives just to hold onto the myopic “truths” we learned when we created the pale imitations of the world in our mind.

    And so as we are destroyed by a hedgehog the color of a fox, at least we’ll know the answer to the Fermi Paradox.

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  35. berselius

    cerulean:
    SK,

    Education is about learning, right? So what does it mean to learn?

    The assumptions underlying the answers to that question are the problem. Learning is a process that allows for the replication of actions and interactions—from pressing a lever to get food to performing Bach’s cello suites. But learning also creates the scaffolding we use to interpret and ask questions of the world. Our interpretations are consistent and complete enough to subsist, which is probably the extent of direct evolutionary pressure. Evolution is a blunt instrument.

    The validity of a belief—these learned structures—may only tenuously be tied to its practical effectiveness. Believing you can fly with just your arms can win you a Darwin award, but believing that God is protecting you and yours can really benefit the state of mind and society, at least for a narrow slice of time and experience.

    The difficult part is when the velocity of information and understanding moves too quickly for our cultures to adjust, leading to an entrenchment of obsolete ideas because the house of cards that was the collective understanding is not only upended by this novel thinking, but also because many of these new ideas are eventually rejected more quickly than ever before.

    The scientific method is often at odds with longstanding but effectively arbitrary beliefs making science and education seem like a tool to attack them by the kind of people who embrace the tool—aka liberals. And so the tool is rejected. We live in a nation of John Henrys, destroying our lives just to hold onto the myopic “truths” we learned when we created the pale imitations of the world in our mind.

    And so as we are destroyed by a hedgehog the color of a fox, at least we’ll know the answer to the Fermi Paradox.

    Maybe

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  36. Perkins

    Rizzo the Rat,

    I’d think the additional revenue from this year’s World Series run, anticipated future postseason runs, and the increased demand for regular season tickets should give them some financial flexibility for a few mistakes.

    That said, I know one of the big reasons Theo left Boston was because ownership wanted him to sign players for marketing/optics or to avoid any “blip” years, and that was extremely stressful for him. So I assume Theo gonna Theo.

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  37. cerulean

    My rotation/bullpen wishlist:

    • Start with Lester, Hendricks, Arrieta, and Lackey.
    • Move Montgomery to the rotation.
    • Sign Rich Hill for 4 years at $48M. Use him in the multi-inning Miller role (120 IP).
    • Sign a Jerry Blevins for 3 years at $20M for another lefty in the pen (60 IP).
    • Keep Zastryzny for a longman/LOOGY role (40 IP).
    • Have Edwards Jr also do the multi-inning Miller role (100 IP).
    • Use Grimm, Strop, and Rondon in the more traditional manner (60 IP each).
    • Trade Strop at the deadline.
    • Give some young arm like Rosario an opportunity in the bullpen.
    • If feasible without sacrificing too much depth, trade for the likes of Archer.

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  38. cerulean

    Edwin,

    I am sold enough to give him a shot at the last spot in the pen. He does have a lot of deception to lefties which makes his chances of being at least a serviceable LOOGY pretty high. He has three good pitches, gets a lot of ground balls, and can miss bats. There is reason to believe that he may quite good in relief.

    I am more unsure about Montgomery in the rotation.

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  39. cerulean

    Rizzo the Rat,

    I can’t think of any. Though Clemens and Johnson played on consecutive Yankees teams, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the last time was before integration. Having two pitchers in their forties is pretty rare in general, especially in the rotation. Former Cy Young winners? A lot more rare.

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  40. Dick McCheesedoodle

    Hi TheVan:

    I looked at this thread today and I would like to say I can’t make sense of a ton of what you wrote.

    1)

    For the first time in 20 years I just didn’t care who won

    and then

    Trump’s policies don’t scare me, but everything else about him does

    But yet, you didn’t care? Can you explain how these 2 statements can co-exist?

    2)

    Tight borders doesn’t have to mean kicking all the brown people out, though in Trump’s case it actually might mean that, but I’m not going to also pretend we don’t need to do something about that.

    We need to do something about what? I’m just assuming you’re talking about illegal immigration but please correct me if that’s wrong. If that is what you’re talking about, the number of estimated illegal immigrants has fallen every year since 2008. Does the US not proactively try to control illegal immigration and also try to minimize risk of danger concerning those immigrating legally? Help me understand please. I feel what we do today does a good job of balancing national security with the spirit of Americanism.

    3)

    Most (and a lot of the remainder are military, active and inactive) voted on fiscal and foreign policy

    …and then 2 paragraphs later!!!

    “Nobody cares about fiscal and foreign policy”

    4)

    Hillary is the warmonger and Trump wants to pull troops back and for America to mind it’s own business for awhile

    Dude – you don’t have to Google too hard to find Trump’s Deep Thoughts regarding ISIS and their families. I think I get where you’re trying to go in how he says he wants other countries to foot the bill and he thinks we shouldn’t play the very thankless job of being the world’s dad. However that doesn’t mean one is a ‘warmonger’ and the other is not. Surely you can see that.

    5)

    An article similar to that Huff Post, but from Mike Rowe

    Eva Longoria is a big liberal supporter and activist. Have you posted of any of her political thoughts anywhere for people to consume? If not then how come Mike Rowe gets a more sympathetic ear? Should the opinions of celebrities that espouse our political views be given more value than people who have jobs that don’t put them in front of a camera?

    6)

    I have a lot of friends who voted Trump

    There’s a favorite quote out there after the 1972 election to illustrate how liberals don’t understand non-elites. “I live in a rather special world. I only know one person who voted for Nixon. Where they are I don’t know. They’re outside my ken. But sometimes when I’m in a theater I can feel them.” – Pauline Kael.

    If your mom is the most liberal person you know, maybe that says something about the company you keep and why your world view is what it is. Similarly, for millions of liberals this week, they’re living something close to Pauline Kael’s world 40 years later, which speaks to the company they keep.

    I guess my point is to ask you to stop acting like you understand people and actually try to understand people.

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  41. Nate the old recalcitrant one from a long time ago

    Youtube has these awesome world series games condensed to 30 minutes, I’ve been watching them to block out the election results when I’ve got down time. I’ve really come around to wanting to keep Fowler, he’s a really good player.

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  42. cerulean

    BVS,

    His career platoon splits do not inspire confidence. I know last year’s were augmented by bad luck on balls in play and homers to fly balls versus righties, but that is still a .347 wOBA for several years in the league. His 2015 splits were really nice, but that is the exception.

    As a LOOGY with possible upside? Sure.

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  43. cerulean

    Not that it will make a difference, but I signed this out of legitimate concern that we will not survive four to eight years of Cinnamon Hitler’s foreign policy. (I wouldn’t be surprised if he thought everyone should have a nuclear weapon because it would make the world a safer place.)

    Sure, Hillary is more hawkish, but Trump is dumb enough to wake the dragon.

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  44. Smokestack Lightning

    cerulean,

    Pretty sure a petition originating from a left-leaning outfit that helped twice elect the most hated Democrat president by the Republican Party since the last one isn’t going to move the needle for Republican-chosen electors to break ranks and pick the most hated Democrat (by Repubs) perhaps ever.

    But hey, yeah, I guess it’s worth a shot. (dying laughing)

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  45. cerulean

    Smokestack Lightning,
    As an optimist, I like to look on the bright side of things. So, looking on the bright side of a Trump presidency, I see many reasons to hope:

    Immigration, trade, taxes, and healthcare will no longer be a problem. And as a bonus, his decisions will stop global warming in its tracks—we will not have to worry about the impact of releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

    Sure, it’ll be because of nuclear holocaust and the winter that follows it, but it will certainly solve a whole host of problems.

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  46. cerulean

    Why call it the nuclear option if you never use it? This a AMERICA!—land of the free and home of the brave. Therefore, restricting the use of nukes and being too scared to use them is antithetical to this narrow definition.

    Our manifest destiny is nuclear holocaust! Rise up and take what’s our right!

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  47. Ryno

    Perkins:
    Rizzo the Rat,

    I’d think the additional revenue from this year’s World Series run, anticipated future postseason runs, and the increased demand for regular season tickets should give them some financial flexibility for a few mistakes.

    The markup alone from the T-shirt I bought should be enough to sign a new closer.

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  48. JonKneeV

    If you’re bored tonight and don’t want to watch the boring NFL, Myles & I’s alma mater Purdue is playing the defending National Champion Villanova Wildcats. It’s at Purdue and is predicting to be one of those crazy college atmospheres. Starts at 7 pm EST. #RollTrain

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  49. Edwin

    Villanova Wildcats just had a very open and successful championship season. Now Professional Boilermakers, incited by their fans, are opposing them. Very unfair!

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  50. cerulean

    GW:
    berselius,

    Surprising. Probably the second-best starter on the market. Given last year’s prices, I would think he could have cleared $50 million easily.

    Last year’s prices were last year’s prices in part because this year’s talent is so barren. I bet his people surveyed the market and think that he could get a better deal when the QO is eliminated. $50M is almost three times $17M, sure, but $17M is still a lot of dough, and looking at money from an order of magnitude perspective*, the difference between them is not as great as it seems. If he has another good year betting on himself, he may bank a $70M contract or better.

    *I don’t remember where I picked this up, but I like to think of monetary amounts in orders of magnitude going from 10 to 33 (really 31-and-a-half-ish) to 100 to 330 to 1000 and so on with each level representing a noticeable change in value and every two levels being significant. So a consumer guitar is around $330, a prosumer guitar is around $1000 and a professional guitar is around $3300. A mass-market car is around $33,000, a luxury car around $100,000, a supercar around $330,000. Close enough.

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  51. GW

    cerulean: Last year’s prices were last year’s prices in part because this year’s talent is so barren. I bet his people surveyed the market and think that he could get a better deal when the QO is eliminated. $50M is almost three times $17M, sure, but $17M is still a lot of dough, and looking at money from an order of magnitude perspective*, the difference between them is not as great as it seems. If he has another good year betting on himself, he may bank a $70M contract or better.

    *I don’t remember where I picked this up, but I like to think of monetary amounts in orders of magnitude going from 10 to 33 (really 31-and-a-half-ish) to 100 to 330 to 1000 and so on with each level representing a noticeable change in value and every two levels being significant. So a consumer guitar is around $330, a prosumer guitar is around $1000 and a professional guitar is around $3300. A mass-market car is around $33,000, a luxury car around $100,000, a supercar around $330,000. Close enough.

    false. “oh my god, we have to lock up mike leake for $80 million because 2017 sucks.”

    It’s just a natural progression. In 14-15, erv got $55 m. Three years ago, Ubaldo and Flipped Matt Cain were at $48m and $49m, respectively. Last year we just got a better idea of what the “younger” middle class of starters could command, since there happened to be several on the market (JefF7, Leake, Kennedy, Chen).

    Also, Jeremy Hellickson should never bet on himself.

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  52. SK

    Oh yeah, did anyone else think allowing Guyer to advance to second on defensive indifference in the bottom of the 10th was fucking ridiculous? They had a 2-run lead in a game where such a lead was proven to be very difficult to mainfuckingtain and they had already used up every last milliwatt of their lights-out closer and were on Plan D at that point.

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  53. dmick89

    GW,

    Agreed that Hellickson should never bet on himself. I’m glad he accepted the offer because Joe undoubtedly would have lobbied for him and I don’t want him on a multi-year deal.

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  54. Rizzo the Rat

    dmick89,

    Yeah, Fangraphs has the WPA on that play as .002. It’s best to focus on getting that last out. It would be different if there were less than 2 outs, since they would want to keep the double play in order.

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  55. TheVan

    Dick McCheesedoodle,

    I travelling for work, so I apologize that I’m responding 4 days later. In order not to bring this thread back to political talk I will just answer your bullet points without quoting each one to avoid burdening everyone else.

    1) I was turned off by one’s policies and the other’s personality. Both could mean bad things for the country so I voted 3rd party. No, I just didn’t care.

    2) Syrian refugees and potential danger. I specifically said tight borders does not mean kicking all the brown people out. I get the spirit of Americanism, but at what point does that become too much for our infrastructure to handle?

    3) When I say most, I’m still only talking about my friends. We’re talking probably less than 20 people that I’m referencing here. Politics is not the same now as it was in 2000. I don’t feel that is an opinion, but if you do then we should agree to disagree.

    4) War is a touchy subject. Honestly, I don’t think we fight wars to win wars. I think we fight wars so special interest groups can fill their pockets with folding money. If you think Trump wanting to stop our country from being the world’s dad while simultaneously waging war on Isis with drone strikes is just as much warmongering as the current situation. Well, I guess a case could be made for that, but that’s not how I see it.

    5) The article was a direct response to the Huff Post article right above it. Same topic, different view point. Why would I then post something from Eva Longoria? I feel like maybe you’re not reading every word.

    6) I know a lot more people that voted for Clinton than I do that voted Trump. My post was a response to what could have been going through someone’s head when they cast that vote for Trump. I didn’t vote for Trump. You really should read every word.

    In summary, when it comes to politics there is no right answer. If there was there wouldn’t be an election. We would have candidates take a Presidential Exam and whoever scored the highest would win. What’s good for the goose isn’t always what’s good for the gander. I appreciate you climbing atop your steed and making assumptions about my politics as you Leroy Jenkins’ed the points in my post. Good day.

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  56. dmick89

    Rizzo the Rat,

    Yeah, less than 2 outs the Cubs probably don’t give Guyer 2nd base. They certainly shouldn’t have anyway, but in that situation, that’s how every team would have played it. Guyer ended up scoring and the Cubs won. That’s how little that run meant.

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  57. Rizzo the Rat

    Is there a reason that Roberts was the favorite in the NL? The Dodgers just did what they do every year. The major personnel changes this year (losing Greinke, gaining Seager) more or less cancelled each other out. They had some serious injury issues, but so did other teams, e.g. the Mets.

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  58. Rizzo the Rat

    Not that I’m complaining. I just think MOY is easily the most arbitrary of the major awards. I don’t think we have a good handle on who the best managers are. I think in some years the best manager would be on a bad or disappointing team, just as Bryce Harper had a monster season for last year’s Nationals. I don’t think managers have even close to that much impact, otherwise their salaries would reflect that.

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  59. dmick89

    Rizzo the Rat: I don’t think managers have even close to that much impact, otherwise their salaries would reflect that.

    Right, they’re worth a win or so at the most. I just went with Roberts because of three candidates, I think he’s the best strategist, though I’m not basing that on a whole lot.

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  60. Rizzo the Rat

    I haven’t seen enough Dodgers games to have an opinion of him either way. (I thought starting Ruiz over Grandal against LHPs in the post-season was ridiculous, though, but not directly relevant to this award.)

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  61. berselius

    I think Scherzer ends up with the CYA tonight. I wouldn’t be super disappointed with any of the choices, though it’s not as razor thin as it was last year.

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  62. Smokestack Lightning

    berselius:
    I think Scherzer ends up with the CYA tonight. I wouldn’t be super disappointed with any of the choices, though it’s not as razor thin as it was last year.

    All I know is I’m having the time of my life waiting for these award announcements and hope they drag it out even longer next year.

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  63. berselius

    Smokestack Lightning: All I know is I’m having the time of my life waiting for these award announcements and hope they drag it out even longer next year.

    Next year they will release the top ten the week after the WS, then eliminate one player every week.

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  64. SK

    If the Cubs make the NLCS again next year, is this team a dynasty?

    Definition of dynasty:

    Multiple rings? Pennants? NLCS’s? Postseasons?

    Number/frequency/time period?

    GO

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  65. dmick89

    I also think it depends on what other teams do. I don’t think there can be more than one dynasty at a time so if the Royals hustle their way to a couple more championships over the next few years, I don’t think it matters what the Cubs do (even if they are undoubtedly the better team).

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  66. berselius

    dmick89:
    SK,

    Win two or more championships in the next three years and I’d consider them a dynasty.

    What do you think?

    If Theo Epstein’s son takes over the front office next year and leads the Cubs to another title, I think that’s what would make a dynasty.

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  67. dmick89

    Edwin,

    There has to be some limit, doesn’t there? It would be kind of weird if there were thirteen dynasties at the same time.

    I have a pretty narrow definition of a dynasty. They don’t happen often and it’s not likely to happen to the Cubs. I had a hard time understanding how people were talking about the Giants as if they were some dynasty because they’d won it three times in fives years.

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  68. Wenningtons Gorilla Cock

    SK: Definition of dynasty:

    Multiple rings? Pennants? NLCS’s? Postseasons?

    Number/frequency/time period?

    GO

    One of the quintessential 1980s prime-time soaps, “Dynasty” follows the gloriously over-the-top trials and tribulations of the fabulously wealthy and none-to-nice Carrington and Colby clans. Come for the catfights, stay for the shoulder pads and scenery chewing.

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  69. Wenningtons Gorilla Cock

    Edwin: Max Schereare is your Cy Young Wiener!

    Kate Upton isn’t happy about it (dying laughing)

    “@KateUpton

    Hey @MLB I thought I was the only person allowed to fuck @JustinVerlander ?! What 2 writers didn’t have him on their ballot?”

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  70. cerulean

    Were the nineties Braves a dynasty?

    I would say yes.

    Were the mid-to-late-naughties Red Sox a dynasty?

    I would say probably.

    Fuck the Cardinals.

    Are the teens Giants a dynasty?

    I would say no, but they come really close.

    The only unequivocal dynasty in my lifetime?

    The ’94 to ’12 Yankees.

    To me, a dynasty in baseball requires sustained dominance in the regular season over at least five years—no sub-.500 performances—making the playoffs at least 80% of the time over that span with deep runs and at least one championship.

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  71. cerulean

    Also, fuck the 21st century Cardinals.

    And since they don’t meet my arbitrary cutoff for postseason appearances—I can say not a dynasty.

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  72. SK

    Dynasty implies two things: supremacy and length thereof. So I would suggest you actually have to win the WS at least four times in a six year period, or win the pennant (for half-supremacy) at least 8 times in a six year period. It’s a high bar, but that’s why they call it a dynasty.


    wonders why i thought of using the word supremacy twice when it’s not a word i have historically used

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  73. JKV

    SK:
    win the pennant (for half-supremacy) at least 8 times in a six year period. It’s a high bar, but that’s why they call it a dynasty.

    That’s some Dodgers_in_5 math right there.

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  74. dmick89

    The Yankees dynasty for me is 1996-2000.

    The Giants have basically been a team with one great player and maybe a couple of very good ones. They’ve always struck me as very mediocre for the most part. The Cubs have the makings for the exact opposite of that (several great players potentially). That’s what the late 90s Yankees had. That’s the only dynasty in my life in my opinion.

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  75. BVS

    Wenningtons Gorilla Cock: Kate Upton isn’t happy about it (dying laughing)

    “@KateUpton

    Hey @MLB I thought I was the only person allowed to fuck @JustinVerlander ?! What 2 writers didn’t have him on their ballot?”

    If Kate did math she’d know that those 2 writers would have to either both vote Verlander 3rd or a 2+4 for Justin to win. Five other voters listed Verlander behind Kluber Britton and Porcello, so its not like that would have been a slam dunk anyway.

    Odd that both voters that left him off were from Tampa. Perhaps that’s because before his one start against Tampa this year on July 2 he was 7-6 with a 4.30 ERA. His 1st half was forgettable.

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  76. cerulean

    SK:
    Dynasty implies two things: supremacy and length thereof. So I would suggest you actually have to win the WS at least four times in a six year period, or win the pennant (for half-supremacy) at least 8 times in a six year period. It’s a high bar, but that’s why they call it a dynasty.


    wonders why i thought of using the word supremacy twice when it’s not a word i have historically used

    Supremacy in baseball is hard because of immigration. If we could keep players who grew up playing the game the way should it be played and send the others packing, supremacy would be easier. Supremacy is being the best. If we want our baseball to be the best, we want supremacy because it will make it the best.

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  77. cerulean

    EnricoPallazzo,

    dmick89,

    I do think the Braves make it because their regular season dominance was so great. The three short series of the playoffs really limits opportunities for pennants and championships, so much that a team has to get lucky. That five year run of the Yankees was otherworldly great, and also very lucky.

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  78. dmick89

    cerulean: That five year run of the Yankees was otherworldly great, and also very lucky.

    True, but they were also the best team in baseball by a wide margin at the time. The Cubs got a little lucky in winning the World Series this year, but nobody really cares that much about it since they were easily the best team in baseball. If the Marlins didn’t get luckier than any team in my life in 1997, the Yankees probably win 5 consecutive titles. I don’t know that I’ll see a team win four in five years again. Five consecutive? I highly doubt that.

    I’d leave out the Braves because I don’t think it makes sense to have more than one dynasty at a time. A dynasty, in my opinion, is pretty rare and even rarer these days.

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  79. BVS

    dmick89,

    I think you can have a dynasty in each league. Like the early-mid 70s A’s and Reds. Ask SK, he can tell you how great they were. Or just listen to FS1 baseball studio shows.

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  80. BVS

    In an interview with USA Today, Ricketts said the team may try to resolve the friction many fans feel toward Bartman, who was villified for trying to catch a foul ball during Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series between the Cubs and Marlins at Wrigley Field. …

    “I’m sure we’ll reach out to him at the right time,” Ricketts told USA Today, “and I’m sure we’ll figure something out that provides closure for everybody. Hopefully we can make it work.

    I’m for this

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  81. SK

    BVS,

    Ugh, why is this even being brought up? Who is the loser that thinks Bartman was and is relevant? Fuck Ricketts for feeding the media, who are the only ones who mention that name anymore.

    What about closure with S-|

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  82. cerulean

    Let’s say it’s a choice between Fowler and Jansen this offseason, which would be more important for the team?

    I am leaning Jansen, even though he has less value and will cost more. His postseason value is ridiculous.

    Though my real preference is re-signing Fowler and adding Rich Hill to relieve every two or three days for two or three innings.

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  83. BVS

    SK,

    I think it would be a nice gesture to do something for Bartman. He didn’t do anything wrong in the first place, but he’s taken a lot of shit since.

    Agree that there should be some rapprochement with Sosa too.

    But I’m always for resolution and not holding on to shit (figuratively and literally).

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  84. Smokestack Lightning

    Given all the good Cubs things that have happened lately, it’s probably poor form for me to be the supremely pissed off that I am right now at the Mets beat writer that didn’t vote KB, but I am.

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  85. SK

    Also, that Mets beat writer tweeted earlier yesterday that he believed Bryant would win MVP but he “predicted” it wouldn’t be unanimous. (dying laughing)

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  86. Rizzo the Rat

    SK:
    Also, that Mets beat writer tweeted earlier yesterday that he believed Bryant would win MVP but he “predicted” it wouldn’t be unanimous. (dying laughing)

    I linked to that earlier.

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  87. cerulean

    dmick89:
    I broke a couple ribs this morning when I fell down while walking the dog. Getting old sucks.

    Man that sucks.

    I feel your pain. But mine is Trump related. I have been in a state of bemused panic since the election trying to stave of inevitability and it finally all came crashing down last night in a full blown panic attack. Now I feel like I have the flu and it’s an improvement.

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  88. dmick89

    cerulean,

    (dying laughing) I remembered why they worked before. I had made some changes to some core wordpress files to allow various types of codes to be used by anyone who was registered on the site. When we moved over to the new place, that was no longer possible. It was a huge security risk at the time and something I didn’t really like doing, but did it anyway. I’ll look around for a plugin to see if it might be able to work.

    All links should open in a new tab now. It’s annoying clicking on a link and getting taken away from the site in my opinion.

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  89. cerulean

    cerulean: Man that sucks.

    I feel your pain. But mine is Trump related. I have been in a state of bemused panic since the election trying to stave of inevitability and it finally all came crashing down last night in a full blown panic attack. Now I feel like I have the flu and it’s an improvement.

    What I mean is, being crazy sucks too. I blame the supermoon that brought about an orange-gold parity of a banana republic dictator.

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  90. cerulean

    Edwin,

    Hopefully he can surround himself with introspective racists instead of aggressive, war-mongering ones.

    If anyone can surround himself with unicorns that vomit rainbows and racism, it’s Donald Trump.

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  91. cerulean

    dmick89:
    cerulean,

    Rich Hill and his blisters would not do well pitching that frequently.

    My understanding is that it is not the frequency of appearances, but the number of pitches, which is the point of offering the Sutter role. Limiting him to two or three innings may keep the blisters from “heating up”. And starters are already used to pitching twice every time through the rotation—they all have side days. I think this could actually work and he could be as effective as Miller possibly for more innings in that high leverage role.

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  92. Edwin

    Steve Bannon owns a % of Seinfeld. Probably was able to use some of that Seinfeld money to help fund Brietbart. The irony is crazy.

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  93. Rizzo the Rat

    Smokestack Lightning:
    Given all the good Cubs things that have happened lately, it’s probably poor form for me to be the supremely pissed off that I am right now at the Mets beat writer that didn’t vote KB, but I am.

    For the record, I prefer his line of reasoning–or any sane line of reasoning–to “I looked up the WAR leaderboards on some stats website and Bryant is in the lead!”

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  94. JonKneeV

    Rice in limbo:
    Cubs Convention tickets sold out within seconds.Not sure if I should blame the scalpers or not, but that’s kind of disappointing.Then again, I just saved $108+fees.

    I got in at 12:02 pm and got an error message. Wasn’t sure if there were still tickets left at that point, but it wasn’t a sold out error.

    I emailed some manager of ticket sales and submitted a contact form online to them. We’ll see if they do anything (dying laughing)

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  95. EnricoPallazzo

    Rice in limbo:
    Cubs Convention tickets sold out within seconds.Not sure if I should blame the scalpers or not, but that’s kind of disappointing.Then again, I just saved $108+fees.

    OVcon is a good alternative. they usually put out a pretty nice spread. last year it was tap water and willy wonka’s tart’n’tinys. room temperature old style was available for purchase at $1.25/can.

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  96. Smokestack Lightning

    Rizzo the Rat: For the record, I prefer his line of reasoning–or any sane line of reasoning–to “I looked up the WAR leaderboards on some stats website and Bryant is in the lead!”

    I’m curious as to what impressed you with his line of “reasoning.” I saw it as outdated, borderline-meatheaded nonsense myself.

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  97. cerulean

    dmick89,

    I don’t know if this is right to think, but I am more worried about losing Paulino than Underwood, even though Underwood is more likely to be taken. Paulino’s K/9 was good and BB/9 was excellent last year, even if in A-ball. I can imagine some rebuilding team hiding him on the roster all season, even helping secure a higher draft pick.

    I wonder if protecting Hannemann has any bearing on the FO’s willingness to trade Almora beyond the apparent nepotism.

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  98. Smokestack Lightning

    And ftr, give me the sportswriter voting the WAR leaderboard any day over the fucking derper voting based on “value to team,” batting average, who hits behind him, and “he did better against above .500 competition!”

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying MVP should be simply the highest WAR every year, but when the gap between KB and Murphy is this large, and it’s clear that Bryant excels at all facets of the game while Murphy does not, I don’t think there’s any excuse for what this writer did. He was the one dumbfuck who managed to get it wrong.

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  99. Rizzo the Rat

    Smokestack Lightning,

    It not that I was impressed by his reasoning, but that I annoyed by all the people citing WAR to “refute” him. I don’t like the idea of the MVP being reduced to a formula. There was also an arrogance to many of the people arguing with him that made me roll my eyes. (FWIW, I would have picked Bryant because he is a better fielder than Murphy and he missed less time to injury.)

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  100. cerulean

    I think some still interpret the MVP to be the best offensive player. From there it’s easy to understand how Murphy got a vote for most offensive player re his views on the alphabet soup community of non-standard relations.

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  101. Rizzo the Rat

    I also think it makes sense to give Murphy more credit for the damage he did to his chief division rival. That sort of thing is lost when just looking at raw numbers.

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  102. Smokestack Lightning

    Rizzo the Rat:
    Smokestack Lightning,

    It not that I was impressed by his reasoning, but that I annoyed by all the people citing WAR to “refute” him. I don’t like the idea of the MVP being reduced to a formula.There was also an arrogance to many of the people arguing with him that made me roll my eyes. (FWIW, I would have picked Bryant because he is a better fielder than Murphy and he missed less time to injury.)

    Fair enough. I think the writer in question brought it upon himself by making it a thing before the announcement and then pounding his chest after it was announced. He was obviously looking to stir up some shit. And he got as he gave. Imo, he deserved every bit of it.

    Rizzo the Rat:
    I also think it makes sense to give Murphy more credit for the damage he did to his chief division rival. That sort of thing is lost when just looking at raw numbers.

    I dunno. His chief division rival was done in by a catastrophic array of injuries more so than anything he did against them. And much of the damage he did was against the likes of Logan Verrett, Sean Gilmartin, a pitching-hurt Matt Harvey—replacement-level talent the Mets were forced to chuck out there due to aforesaid injury issues. It wasn’t like he was blasting Noah Syndergaard, Matz (both of whom were pitching hurt much of the year too) and deGrom into outer space. He did most of his damage against the sort of pitchers most hitters should hit. It isn’t more impressive because they pitched for an overall decent team. Bad pitching is bad pitching.

    Sure, not his fault either that that’s what the Mets gave him to work with, but that’s why I don’t put much stock in arguments like that in the first place. Simply glancing at splits against teams is just as bad as checking the WAR leaderboard.

    MVP imo should go to the best player having the best season in the league. And if that means the MVP goes to, say, Mike Trout for the next ten years, then so be it. He should get it every year so long as he continues to put up the numbers. Same with Bryant. His overall numbers were better than Murphy’s. If we were going to give first-place votes to any other player, it should have been Corey Seager, as his overall performance was much closer to Bryant’s than DM’s.

    As far as giving Murphy credit, sure, give him as many third place votes as you want, a silver slugger, the thanks of a grateful nation, but he wasn’t the best player in the NL, and he wasn’t even really close to being the best. He should be honored for having a great season, but giving him first-place votes makes about as much sense as giving Rizzo first-place votes.

    Final thought: I really don’t care this much. Not sure why I’m going on like this…

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  103. Smokestack Lightning

    Rice in limbo:
    Smokestack Lightning,

    + NTC

    I don’t think I can die any harder from laughing. But I’ll give it a go.

    (dying laughing)
    (dying laughing)

    How wonderful that it is the Cardinals desperately overpaying for anything and everything that will take their money. First Leake, now a RP coming off 36.2 IP. Nice K rate, but shit. I guess nobody really believes in reliever volatility anymore.

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  104. Smokestack Lightning

    dmick89:
    Smokestack Lightning,

    I’m actually surprised Seager didn’t get a couple first place votes. I didn’t think KB had a chance to get all 30 so I guess I couldn’t care less that he didn’t.

    Yep. If anyone should have cut into KB’s vote tally, it should have been Seager.

    And I guess it must be the slow part of the offseason if I’m bitching about this, so I’ll shut up now. I really don’t care that much. I guess the chest-pounding of the sportswriter is what got my blood up.

    I mean, it’s either this or joining Cerulean in his tiny boat of no hope. For now, I’m picking this. (dying laughing)

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  105. cerulean

    SK,

    But there is plenty of space in this tiny boat. It’s hyperbolic. You could in fact fit the whole world in it and still have room to spare.

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  106. Smokestack Lightning

    cerulean:
    SK,

    But there is plenty of space in this tiny boat. It’s hyperbolic. You could in fact fit the whole world in it and still have room to spare.

    Big, if true.

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  107. Perkins

    So the Cubs won the World Series and November was off to a great start. Then the country elected a fat racist cheeto as president. And then last week one of my cats started acting strange, and when we took her to the vet we found out she had late stage pancreatic cancer and we had to put her down on Friday.

    By the Phil Rogers +/- system, I’m at -1, but it’s so much more soul crushing than that. 2016 can eat dicks.

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  108. cerulean

    2015 was a pretty good year—the first year since 2006 I could say was definitely better than the last. Good to know it was just a blip in the downward trajectory of life—I was starting to question everything I had come to unknow.

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  109. cerulean

    Ian Happ straight up for Jose De Leon.

    The Dodgers need a 2B and could use some positional flexibility. The Cubs need a potential starter. Both are minimal risks, though De Leon is automatically riskier being a pitcher.

    I would be willing to bet that Happ will be more valuable in a vacuum, but vying for time in the Cubs’ lineup with both Zobrist and Baez plus the outfield jam will diminish his value to the Cubs.

    The Dodgers, meanwhile, have a lot of options to fill out their rotation next year behind Kershaw, Maeda, and Urias in addition to a lot of right-handers in the system for 2018 and beyond.

    It makes sense for both teams to deal from short-term strengths to address potential long-term weaknesses.

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  110. dmick89

    cerulean,

    I’d like to wait awhile to see what the Cubs have in Happ. I think it’s a fair trade, but I’d rather the Cubs hold off. I wouldn’t be upset if they traded him, but I have higher expectations for him than I do for Almora.

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