Obstructed View Introduces Unobstructed Views

im going to wait until Berselius posts a massive research piece detailing how Soto’s BABIP will regress his VORP 2.0 , let it stand for 30 seconds and then bury it under 5 posts of Alien Porn

I signed in via Twitter and Facebook and am wondering if every single comment will now post there. I’m trying to annoy everyone I know in as little time as possible. Here goes nothing.

Damn. I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

[quote name=Suburban Kid]Wait. There was a user named Fuck Fagets?

I call bullshit. (dying laughing)[/quote]
I needed to fill some space.

No homo.

[quote name=WaLi2]Well I have a profile but I still can’t comment using it (dying laughing)[/quote]Is this a problem you only have at work? Can you login with facebook or twitter and post using that?

[quote name=AndCounting]Damn. I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.[/quote](dying laughing) there may be some component to do that, but those are usually with the comment systems like Disqus and Livefyre.

The members online module is now active if you’re a nosy bastard

[quote name=AndCounting]Yeah, my guess is it would probably share stuff if you post a UV entry.[/quote]Maybe. I know there’s a FB extension that will post things to Facebook, but it’s too expensive.

[quote name=WaLi2]I think it’s my side that is messed up at work. I haven’t tried yet at home. You think I would waste my time on this blog at home? (dying laughing)[/quote]I logged in with your account with no problem so it has to be something on your end, but I’m curious nonetheless.

[quote name=mb21]I logged in with your account with no problem so it has to be something on your end, but I’m curious nonetheless.[/quote]
If I remember I’ll check when I get home. I’ve been meaning to but just haven’t had the chance.

Oswalt left the Phillies to check on family in tornado-ravaged Mississippi. Doesn’t James Russell have family somewhere he’s concerned about?

[quote name=Aisle424]Oswalt left the Phillies to check on family in tornado-ravaged Mississippi. Doesn’t James Russell have family somewhere he’s concerned about?[/quote]
IDK, but tell me where his family is and I’ll give him reason to be concerned (or more importantly, reason to never pitch again).

[quote name=Aisle424]Oswalt left the Phillies to check on family in tornado-ravaged Mississippi. Doesn’t James Russell have family somewhere he’s concerned about?[/quote]Can’t he just be equally concerned about Oswalt’s family?

[quote name=Mish]Can you back this up?[/quote]
Yes, because of posture. Exactly.

(dying laughing) I love the wall pic.

[quote name=fight2win]Russell’s from Texas, hopefully the tornado will make a pitstop there[/quote]
They usually do.

[quote name=mb21]Then OV would have to take a personal leave to help the families of Ryno, Berselius and GW.[/quote]
A 200-mile pitstop?!

[quote name=Jame Gumb]A 200-mile pitstop?![/quote]You don’t all live together?

[quote name=mb21]You don’t all live together?[/quote]
Only on weekends.

[quote name=dylanj]tornado damage only improves the state of Mississippi[/quote](dying laughing)

Make a community blog…let’s see what happens.

I assume there’s an editor process at some point to ensure that your front page isn’t littered with forestgifs.

[quote name=Rice Cube]I assume there’s an editor process at some point to ensure that your front page isn’t littered with forestgifs.[/quote]
We wield supreme executive power, thanks to some watery tart.

[quote name=Rice Cube]I assume there’s an editor process at some point to ensure that your front page isn’t littered with forestgifs.[/quote]The posts won’t appear on the front page. It’s kind of like a separate blog. We will bring some over to the front page of course, but hopefully it becomes something people use a lot.

[quote name=Jame Gumb]Just in case I’m right:

The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.

Sports Science guy makes me want to slam my face in a car door.

Drew Stubbs with the go ahead home run in the 10th

[quote name=mb21]It would be kind of stupid to slam your own face in a car door when you could slam his face in it.[/quote]
Especially when he is a 160-pound faget.

Maybe they were worried their flights out of town would be canceled later today or something.

For all you iPhone users: Go into Safari and in the Google search ‘askew’

[quote name=Suburban Kid]For all you iPhone users: Go into Safari and in the Google search ‘askew’[/quote]Say please.

I can’t understand why they canceled today’s game. It’s nicer today than it’s been for 99% of the games played so far. Cancel games for no reason, Let’s see what happens.

http://www.suntimes.com/5053412-417/empire-carpet-man-elmer-lynn-hauldren-dead-at-age-89.html

I propose 588 seconds of silence today at 2300 hours.

Honestly, I thought he’d been dead for like 10 years. Especially once they started going with the digital version of him in the commercials.

[quote name=Mish]You’re probably thinking of the Menard’s guy.[/quote]No, but I do think about him a lot.

[quote name=GBTS]No, but I do think about him a lot.[/quote]
Amusing, but wrong.

[quote name=melissa]Heard Gordo Twittenmyer on the radio this morning saying that the Cubs are forced to use Russell because they claim to have no minor league options at present. According to him the Cubs don’t think anyone is “ready.” Well, Russell, isn’t “ready” either so what makes the difference? Call up pitcher who’s not ready, Let’s see what happens. Wells was a spot starter call up who stuck, why not give someone a chance? It couldn’t be any worse than Russell.[/quote]
I get that McNutt, Jackson, Cashner, and Wells getting hurt at the same time is just insanely bad luck, but is there really no better option than a loogy?

[quote name=WaLi]mb… It works from home. I guess I must have some weird work firewall[/quote]That’s the only thing it can be. I think what’s happening is that you’re logging in just fine, but your computer isn’t accepting cookies, which is necessary to remember the login. It’s a setting you could probably change yourself.

[quote name=mb21]That’s the only thing it can be. I think what’s happening is that you’re logging in just fine, but your computer isn’t accepting cookies, which is necessary to remember the login. It’s a setting you could probably change yourself.[/quote]
It’s remembering I’m logged in, and says “hello WaLi” or whatever, but when I go to “Add Comment” I have the option to put in my username and e-mail, like I am not logged in. I can send a screenshot to you tomorrow if you care. It doesn’t really affect me too much though since I can still comment.

Are there any special settings for tablet type of computers on this site?

The unobstructed view thing is kind of cool how it pops up on the sidebar there. I’m glad to know that Cashner and Wells are doing okay.

[quote name=mb21]Like a misting station? I don’t think so. [/quote]
/obligatory

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]This should have been a FanPost about FanPosts.[/quote]I seriously thought about quoting all of Al’s Posts About Posts for the directions on how to post here. I was very close to doing it. I had the BCB pages loaded and everything.

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]This should have been a FanPost about FanPosts.[/quote]
MB also forgot to include this vital information

Last November I put up this post about FanPosts and FanShots, to try to explain the difference between them, and give some hints about what makes for a good post of each type, and what they are for. Recently, though, I’ve noticed a spate of duplicate posts (last night, we had the third post about Nomar Garciaparra in the last three weeks), and so I thought it was time for a longer post giving much more detail about this site, how to post here, what constitutes good formatting, etc., especially with the first spring training game tomorrow, which will once again ramp up participation here. Thanks to my colleagues at South Side Sox, Lookout Landing and Red Reporter, from whose outstanding guides I have borrowed much of what you see here and adapted to our community and what have become the norms here. Many of you have been around since BCB was created in February 2005 and went through The Great Migration to the new platform last March. For those of you who are new, or still not quite acclimated to the system, this post is meant to be a guide to new members and a refresher course for power users. First, for new BCB’ers, take a look at the basic SB*Nation Welcome Guide. After that, read below for a more in-depth guide and specific expectations for Bleed Cubbie Blue. BCB is NOT a message board. It isn’t a talk radio call-in show. The headline at the top of the page reads “A Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005″, and that’s the most concise way I can describe this site. BCB itself is a blog, one which has built a community feel to it over the last 4 years. And unlike some blogs that talk at you, BCB offers FanPosts and FanShots where you can drive the conversation. Follow me after the jump for an extended guide into FanPosts, FanShots and commenting. Star-divide FanShots FanShots are quick posts, links, images or videos from around the internet — it’s not just for photos, as at least one person here mentioned to me; there are several different types of things you can put in a FanShot. When Should You Post a FanShot? * Whenever you find a link, a quote, a video, a photo, around the internet that you think your fellow BCB’ers will enjoy. * When you don’t have any commentary to add other than your link, video, photo or quote. * When you can’t meet the 75 word minimum for a FanPost How Do You Post a FanShot? 1. Click “New FanShot” — Seems simple, right? While logged in, visit any page of BCB and click the handy “New FanShot” button. Enter the link or pic URL in the proper place. 2. Use the FanShot Bookmarklet — Clicking and dragging the “Share on SB*Nation” button (which you can find here at the top of the FanShot section, right underneath the top ad bar; just click “FANSHOTS” on the front page to get there) to your bookmarks bar (the area under your address bar in your browser) will allow you to post to BCB quickly and easily while browsing the internet. Once you have a “Share on SB*Nation” button in your browser, you have one-click posting of FanShots at your fingertips. Clicking the button will bring up a dialog box that looks like this: FanShot dialogue box Just select the type of FanShot you wish to post, apply the proper tags (more later) and hit publish (that “Front Page” check box is for me as the site admin, to put it on the front page if I choose — you’ve seen the blue box posts on the front page; those are FanShots that I’ve posted). FanPosts FanPosts are just like front page stories, except they’re written by you, the BCB reader. You can help keep the best FanPosts on the list longer by recommending them using the “Rec” link at the bottom of the post. Four recommendations puts a FanPost on the rec list. What makes a good FanPost? * Make It Substantial. When I say “substantial”, I don’t mean it has to be a dissertation or manifesto. But if you see the dreaded 75 word warning, it’s either time to put some more thought into your FanPost or start over. If your post contains something like this: words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words … then it’s probably better as a FanShot. * Make It Relevant. Your FanPost should relate to the Cubs or baseball in some way. If you want to talk about the Bulls or the Bears or the Blackhawks there are sites on SB*Nation for that. If you want to do nothing more than post a link to your site, you’re probably a spammer, and should expect your FanPost to be swiftly removed. If all you want to do is post a link to a news story or other online article or page, try a FanShot. I don’t want to completely discourage Off-Topic FanPosting, particularly during the offseason when many of us are thinking football or hockey. But if you’re new and if you haven’t made a FanPost before, your FanPost on tennis probably isn’t going to be received very well. If you do make an Off-Topic post (meaning, specifically, that it is not related to the Cubs or baseball), please put OT: in front of your post. Off-topic conversations happen all the time at BCB. In some threads, half the comments wind up being off-topic. Some other SB*Nation sites have a Daily Link Dump FanPost or some other form of daily off-topic conversation. I’m not against starting something like that on BCB, but nobody has taken the lead. If anyone would like to do that — it would involve finding 10 or 15 relevant links each morning and making a FanPost — feel free to do so. * Make It Timely. This is something I feel very strongly about. If the link you’re posting is a day or two old, chances are it’s been posted once or twice before either in the comments or FanShots (more later). Check to see if it’s been posted before. Please use the search function (located at the upper right of the front page) to see if your topic has been covered in the last few days. If it has, your thoughts on that topic can and should be posted as a comment on the original post. If you do have some breaking news, post away. Even though I try, there’s no way I can be the first to hear/read/see every piece of breaking Cubs news. That’s where you can help. See above, though; if there’s a Cubs trade or signing and you think that you are absolutely, positively the first one to hear about it, please take a look at the post list first; someone else may have beat you to it. * Make It Coherent. You are much more likely to get someone to read your post if you follow some very simple rules: • Use proper spelling. You’re not sending a text message. There’s no need 4 U 2 use “time saving” abbreviations which only lessen the value of your post. It’s like writing a position paper in crayon. • Use punctuation. You wouldn’t stand up and attempt to give a speech in one breath, and you shouldn’t try to make your FanPost one big sentence that never ends. • Use multiple paragraphs. There is something about reading text on the internet that makes reading a large block of text unpleasant and occasionally difficult. The ENTER key can be your friend in comments. In posts, use the “P” button to make paragraphs; highlight the text you want in a paragraph and hit “P”; it will put the proper opening and closing tags there. • Use proper formatting. You’d be amazed how much better your piece will be received if it’s formatted properly. If I’m greeted by a wall of text in your FanPost, I’m probably not going to make it all the way through. Break it up. Make it more than one paragraph. Use the ‘B’ and ‘I’ buttons for bold and italic text, respectively. The tech team at SB*Nation has built a powerful WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, which I can’t tell you much about because I usually use the HTML editor (which is the default box you get if you’re making a FanPost). However, if you know how to format using Microsoft Word, you can make a perfectly formatted FanPost here at BCB. • Start by opening Word. • Write your post completely in Word, making all your formatting adjustments there. • Highlight and Copy your work. • Click New
FanPost • Click the “Paste From Word” icon (upper right icon in the WYSIWYG editor) • Paste your content into the dialog box. Give it a Descriptive Headline — “Question” may, in fact, be what you are posting, a question you want us to consider; but that doesn’t exactly inform us what the topic is about. Your headline should be informative, above all else, with bonus points for creativity. Examples: Poor Headline: Orlando Hudson (this is an actual FanPost headline from last weekend) Good Headline: Should The Cubs Have Gone After Orlando Hudson? Poor Headline: Nomar Garciaparra (this is an actual FanPost headline from yesterday) Good Headline: Bringing Nomar Back: Pros & Cons Poor Headline: What Do You Guys Make of This? (this is an actual FanPost headline from last week) Good Headline: Brian Roberts And Jake Peavy: I Want ‘Em. Do You? Stylistically, I have chosen to have all my headlines begin each word with a capital letter. You don’t have to do that, but if you do, you’ll match the site style and — well, it’d make me happier. Tagging Tagging dialogue box To the right of the text area in both FanPosts and FanShots you’ll find the area for tagging your posts, as shown in the illustration above. Tagging is important because it helps your content show up in searches and in dynamically-rendered content areas, such as on a player page or in the new “More from Bleed Cubbie Blue” box at the bottom of each post. It helps increase your post’s exposure. Tagging is simple. Just type the topics of your post into the area cleverly labeled “tags.” Use commas to separate tags, as shown above. If you type a tag that’s already been used at BCB, it’ll begin to autocomplete. Players and Teams have their own dedicated area, which will help link your posts to the proper Player and Team Pages. These fields also auto complete, just begin typing the player’s name and it should fill in, as shown above; I typed “carlos marm” and Carlos Marmol’s name appeared. When this happens, just click on the name and it’ll stick with the post. If you want to have a poll with your post — click “Attach Poll”. The options that come up are self-explanatory; just remember to save your poll when you’re done. The “Attach Event” option allows you to tie your post to a specific game. Clicking the “Attach Event” button will bring up a box that lists the Cubs’ past and future games — click the drop-down box to select “completed”, “upcoming” or “in progress”. Clicking the Add button will make sure you post appears on the page for that specific game. Commenting The basic layout of BCB is pretty simple: three colums, with links to various items on the left and and right sides and the primary site content down the middle. In the middle will be news items, Game Threads, game recaps, and other fun stuff like, well, this post. One thing you may find in an article on the front page is a link that says “Continue reading this post” at the end. Be sure to click that to get to the remainder of the post (as you did with this one). If that link is not there, just click the “Comments” link to start reading the comments. Navigating Comments Right before the actual comments, you’ll see this: Comment options Display lets you change the view of the comments from Expanded (subjects and text) to Collapsed (just subjects are visible). Checking the Auto-refresh box will toggle on and off the auto-refresh feature in the comments section. When checked on, new comments added to the thread will magically appear with a little note popping up in the corner with the name of the poster who made the latest comment. Below those two boxes you’ll see keyboard commands for navigating a thread. They work as follows: * c – using the c key will take you to the first unread comment in the thread. This key does not mark a comment as read. Unread comments show up highlighted in light yellow. * x – using the x key will mark the current comment with focus as read. This is how I typically navigate the comments, using c and x in tandem. * z – the z key will combine the actions of c and x. One note of caution: often, if a new comment is added above the comment currently with focus (the one you’re on), using z or x will actually mark that comment as read before you’ve read it. I suggest that whenever you see a new comment box pop up in the corner, pushing the c-button before hitting z or x to make sure you don’t mark comments above your current point as read. * r – to reply to the current comment with focus, simply press the r key and a reply box will appear. Please try to use the r key (or click “reply”) when you are responding to a specific comment; this helps keep a conversation properly threaded. Reading Comments When you get into the comments section, you’ll see: The subject line – the bolded area is the subject line. Clicking the subject will collapse the text below it down; click a second time to bring the text back. Username/avatar – you can click the commenter’s username or their avatar on the far right of the screen and it will take you to that person’s SB*Nation profile page. Date/time – after the username is the date/time of the comment. This is also where you will find a link for that specific comment. If you want to refer to a comment in another place, copy the link from the date of the comment and use that URL for your reference. up – the up link only appears for comments that are a reply to another comment. Clicking up will take you to the “parent” comment to which the current comment is a reply. This is particularly useful in a long thread with many replies to a single comment. reply – use this link to reply to that comment. Your response will be indented one level and put below the comment you reply to in order based on when responses happened. actions – this is a special link that allows you to recommend or flag a post. When you click actions, two more links should become visible, labeled Flag and Rec: The Flag link should be used if you find something offensive or if the commenter is being a troll or posting spam. I hope it won’t be necessary to use this button too much. If you Flag a comment, nothing will be visible to you or others, but I will see it in red. The Rec link allows you to recognize a post that you find particularly informative, useful or that you think others would like to see. At the end of the commenter’s line, you’ll see a rec count (e.g. 2 Recs). If a comment gets three recommendations, it will turn green and get a big asterisk (not steroid-induced) in front of it. Posting Comments When it comes time for you to finally say something within a thread, you can do so via the comment box. This box is the bottom of every thread, or if you’d like to respond to a specific comment, it will magically appear when you click the reply link. As noted above, it would really help if you’d click the “reply” link if you are replying to a specific comment; this will help organize the comments in each post by thread and show each “conversation” as it develops. Posting Images, Videos And Links In Threads If you want to post a link in a thread, don’t just copy/paste the link into the posting box. Instead, first highlight the text you want to be linkable, and then click the icon at the top of the box that looks like a link. Doing that will call up a dialogue box that looks like this: Put links here! Then, copy/paste the URL into the box. If, say, you have highlighted text that says “Click here to go to cubs.com”, and then enter “http://www.cubs.com” into the dialogue box, you will get a clickable link that looks like this (don’t put the quote marks in the box or your highlighted text): Click here to go to cubs.com NOTE! Please check the “Open in new window” check box, so that your links don’t navigate away from your post. For videos, if you find a YouTube video that you want to post in a thread or post (as opposed to a FanShot, where you can post it directly, using the Video tab), find the EMBED code on the YouTube page. It should look something like this: Paste the above code into your post and you’ll get the following video: About posting images, I know that many of you already post images in posts and ga
me threads. Some of these are baseball-related, of players, and some aren’t. Images can greatly enhance your post and add to the information and/or enjoyment that others get. I ask only that you follow a few simple rules: • Keep images small. When I say “small” I don’t necessarily mean the physical size of the image (although smaller is generally better); I mean the file size of the image you are posting. Large file size images can slow down threads, especially game threads. I ask for people to keep images in game threads to a minimum. • Keep images clean. They need to be SFW. Just as I don’t want profanity on BCB, I don’t want images that you wouldn’t want to be seen viewing at work, or around your kids. Thanks for reading this long and detailed post. If you can put some of these suggestions into your own posts and comments, they’ll look better and you’re more likely to get many more people reading them. Now let’s play ball! While we await the start of the biggest series between the Cubs and a NL Central rival in five years, I wanted to say a few words about posting here; there are a lot of new BCB members and I think a few reminders are in order, just so we all get along and this site continues to be a great place for Cubs fans to congregate. First, here are the words you all agreed to when you signed up for your BCB account: When posting at this blog, please follow this one simple rule: Before hitting “post” to post your remarks, ask yourself: “Would I be embarrassed to say this in front of strangers who were physically present in the room with me and could respond to my face?” If the answer is “yes,” then don’t post. BCB encourages and welcomes all opinions, no matter how strong; however, personal attacks, vulgarity, and other uncivilized forms of expression are not welcome. Thanks. I don’t think this is too much to ask and virtually everyone here goes along. But I’ve been getting too many emails lately from concerned people who have been worried about the increasing amount of profanity and personal attacks. Let me make it clear: those things are not acceptable. I can understand a bit of profanity in a game thread — sometimes the heat of the moment makes all of us do that — but let’s try to keep it to a minimum. On the personal attacks: the acceptable level of those is zero. If you disagree with someone, say so. But saying “You’re an idiot”, or language like that, is just plain wrong. I refer everyone again to the quote box above. Every single post here is written by a real person with real feelings. You may disagree with that person’s opinion. But that does not give you the right to call that person names. Thanks for understanding. On a similar but related topic, I have also received a number of emails regarding the fast pace with which the FanPost list gets filled up. This is a double-edged sword. BCB is an active site and so, it’s going to get more posts than others with less traffic. And I don’t want to discourage anyone from participating. One simple thing that everyone can do is check the recent post list or do a site search to see if your topic has been covered within, say, the last couple of days. If it has, post your thoughts in a comment in the original post, or in the game recap — I will always have a recap up quickly, usually within an hour or two after the end of day games and by 9 am CT on the morning following night games. That will avoid things such as having three or four FanPosts about Jeff Samardzija within a few hours. One thing that also might help is more use of the FanShot section. Perhaps I haven’t done a good enough job of explaining what FanShots can be used for. Most of you have used them primarily for photos and/or video, which is fine — but you can and should also use them for quick links or quotes or lists or things that you don’t really have anything more to write about than to say, “Hey, here’s a link I found, it’s interesting.” In that regard, please check out this FanShot Tutorial posted last week on the SBN Padres site Gaslamp Ball, which explains in more detail how it’s supposed to work. Finally, there have been a number of people who have signed up for an account here for, apparently, the express purpose of making a post to promote their site selling merchandise. Such spam posts will be deleted without notice. Thanks for reading this — as this pennant race heats up in August and September, I’d expect even more people to stop by and check out BCB, and I’d like it to be a welcoming place for every Cubs fan as our team goes runnin’ down a dream. Now let’s go get those Brewers tonight. Go Cubs! A FEW MORE WORDS ABOUT POSTING Since the SB Nation/Yahoo partnership was announced in February and BCB posts began to appear on the Cubs’ Yahoo page, we have had quite a number of new members sign up for the site through that page. I want all of the new people to feel welcome here; also, there are a few things I want to remind previous users about, so that this site, which is among the largest SB Nation sites, can have both active and meaningful discussion about the Cubs. That’s why we’re all here, right? First, a reminder: BCB is not a message board. While you can post comments like a message board, that does not mean that every thought that pops into your head should suddenly become a new post in the FanPost section. FanPosts should require some thought, some organization, and some formatting on your part — they’re supposed to be a “blog within the blog”. FanPosts have to be a minimum of 75 words. Really, that’s not that much of a requirement; there are more than 75 words in this paragraph up to the end of this sentence. If your FanPost contains something like this: 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words 75 Words … as one recent FanPost did, then it’s not really a FanPost — it should be a FanShot. FanShots are for short little bites of Cubs baseball or related topics (if you do post off-topic things, please headline them with OT for off-topic). They can be written by you, or be links, photos or videos. What FanShots should not be are several posts in a row pimping your own site, no matter what it is. If your post is simply to say, “Hey, I’ll be at Thursday’s game!”, maybe your post would be better off as a comment under the previous day’s game thread or recap. And if you are looking for tickets or have extras, please post them in the appropriate post in the BCB Ticket Exchange section; you can find a link to the entire section on the left sidebar, and the latest posts in this section on the right sidebar. There’s one post for the entire season and there will be separate ones for each homestand. Individual ticket request posts will be deleted without notice. Reminder, face value only for ticket sales on this site. Thanks. The next thing I’d like to mention about both FanPosts and FanShots is that, since this site is so active, I’d like to reduce the amount of duplication in posts. If you think you’re going to be the first one to post a major baseball or Cubs related news story (such as yesterday’s passing of Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych), please check BOTH the FanPost and FanShot lists before you post. Or, search the site using the search function, which is located at the top of the right sidebar. Once you go into the search function, you can power search by phrases, words, user name, or date, or all of the above. If your topic has been covered in the last couple of days, your post might be better as a comment under the previous post. You can set the number of FanShots and FanPosts to show on the sidebar in your user settings. Next, I’d like to address the various parody/satire posts that have appeared here in the last week. Parody or satire done well is funny. The first couple of these posts were funny. Parody or satire overdone or repetitive is annoying. I think the current run of such posts has run its course; let’s back off for a while on these. And while this is true, I also don’t need overdoing on the “fanpost police” posts. While I understand you are just trying to help, some people take offense at this. That’s one reaso
n I made this post this morning, to clarify a number of things that perhaps weren’t clear. Thanks for understanding. Finally, for old and new posters, checking out the following posts regarding formatting and content wouldn’t hurt, either if you’re new, or as a refresher course: * A Few Words About FanPosts And FanShots (posted last November) * BCB 101: An Overview Of Posting And Commenting (posted in February) These posts and other useful information about this site can be found on the right sidebar under “BCB Specials And Site Info”. One final note, which is from the BCB Community Guidelines and which each new member agrees to when he or she signs up for this site: When posting at this blog, please follow this one simple rule: Before hitting “post” to post your remarks, ask yourself: “Would I be embarrassed to say this in front of strangers who were physically present in the room with me and could respond to my face?” If the answer is “yes,” then don’t post. BCB encourages and welcomes all opinions, no matter how strong; however, personal attacks, vulgarity, and other uncivilized forms of expression are not welcome. Also, to avoid trolling and spam posts, there is a 48-hour waiting period before you can make your first post after signing up. Thanks for understanding. All of this is so that we can, old and new members, get along better and everyone’s on the same page. If you’re new, one suggestion: read posts and comments for a few days before diving in; you’ll get a better idea of what this community is about if you do. WELCOME YAHOO USERS It’s been about two weeks since the SBN/Yahoo partnership was announced, and I know there have been some new users here who have signed up through the Yahoo portal. To make new readers feel comfortable here and in the hope that many will join in the discussion, I thought I’d make this post this morning which has links to various features which will explain to people who are new here what BCB is all about. Start with BCB’s Community Guidelines. Please read them over carefully (even longtime readers might want to check them out, as I have made changes within the last few months), but particularly this paragraph, which everyone who signs up has to agree to when first creating a username: When posting at this blog, please follow this one simple rule: Before hitting “post” to post your remarks, ask yourself: “Would I be embarrassed to say this in front of strangers who were physically present in the room with me and could respond to my face?” If the answer is “yes,” then don’t post. BCB encourages and welcomes all opinions, no matter how strong; however, personal attacks, vulgarity, and other uncivilized forms of expression are not welcome. Also, to avoid trolling and spam posts, there is a 48-hour waiting period before you can make your first post after signing up. Thanks for understanding. Basically, just be nice to each other. We can have different opinions without being nasty. That’s all I ask. As noted in the quote box above, there is a 48-hour waiting period before your first post or comment if you are a new reader — that’s to give you a chance to check out the site, see how things are done, etc. before you dive in. Now, on to a bit of “how to”. A couple of weeks ago — just before the Yahoo deal was announced — I posted this summary of how to post comments, FanPosts and FanShots. That’s also worth a review even if you’ve been here a while. Another thing about posting that I’d like to remind everyone about: it is a copyright violation to copy/paste the entire text of an article from another site here. You are, of course, welcome and encouraged to post links to relevant articles from other sites — it’s how we get information to discuss here. But please don’t post more than a couple of the most important sentences or paragraphs from another site. You can do that by highlighting the text you want to copy and hitting the quote mark at the top of the posting box. Thanks. Finally, for new people, there are some things sometimes expressed in shorthand or by acronyms here that you might not understand. Some BCB readers have helpfully created a “BCB Dictionary” — you can find the two parts of that here and here. These can be found under “BCB Specials” on the right sidebar, along with “Why Are We Here?”, a post where people tell their stories about how they became a Cubs fan; “What Do You Do For A Living”, self-explanatory, and BCB Reader Guides to Arizona spring training and being a tourist in Chicago. I have reopened comments on all of these posts for 21 days — so anyone who’d like to add their thoughts to any of them, feel free. Anyway, welcome, whether you’re new here or have been around for a while. Today’s game preview/thread will be posted at 1 pm CDT — remember, spring day game times are now 3 pm CDT.

.

[quote name=Berselius](dying laughing), what timing. It’s ironic that I would not have done that in 1998.[/quote]False.

[quote name=Berselius]I have a source.[/quote]Deep Sheep?

[quote name=mb21]I have a source (dying laughing)

I wish someone would have said no you don’t. I’ll bet a hundred bucks Al would have replied with Yes I do.[/quote]
nuh-uh.

[quote name=Berselius]nuh-uh.[/quote]Knock it off.

[quote name=mb21]Knock it off.[/quote]Amusing…but wrong.

[quote name=Berselius]Shut me right up[/quote]Correct.

Last November I put up this post about FanPosts and FanShots, to try to explain the difference between them, and give some hints about what makes for a good post of each type, and what they are for. Recently, though, I’ve noticed a spate of duplicate posts (last night, we had the third post about Nomar Garciaparra in the last three weeks), and so I thought it was time for a longer post giving much more detail about this site, how to post here, what constitutes good formatting, etc., especially with the first spring training game tomorrow, which will once again ramp up participation here. Thanks to my colleagues at South Side Sox, Lookout Landing and Red Reporter, from whose outstanding guides I have borrowed much of what you see here and adapted to our community and what have become the norms here. Many of you have been around since BCB was created in February 2005 and went through The Great Migration to the new platform last March. For those of you who are new, or still not quite acclimated to the system, this post is meant to be a guide to new members and a refresher course for power users. First, for new BCB’ers, take a look at the basic SB*Nation Welcome Guide. After that, read below for a more in-depth guide and specific expectations for Bleed Cubbie Blue. BCB is NOT a message board. It isn’t a talk radio call-in show. The headline at the top of the page reads “A Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005″, and that’s the most concise way I can describe this site. BCB itself is a blog, one which has built a community feel to it over the last 4 years. And unlike some blogs that talk at you, BCB offers FanPosts and FanShots where you can drive the conversation. Follow me after the jump for an extended guide into FanPosts, FanShots and commenting. Star-divide FanShots FanShots are quick posts, links, images or videos from around the internet — it’s not just for photos, as at least one person here mentioned to me; there are several different types of things you can put in a FanShot. When Should You Post a FanShot? * Whenever you find a link, a quote, a video, a photo, around the internet that you think your fellow BCB’ers will enjoy. * When you don’t have any commentary to add other than your link, video, photo or quote. * When you can’t meet the 75 word minimum for a FanPost How Do You Post a FanShot? 1. Click “New FanShot” — Seems simple, right? While logged in, visit any page of BCB and click the handy “New FanShot” button. Enter the link or pic URL in the proper place. 2. Use the FanShot Bookmarklet — Clicking and dragging the “Share on SB*Nation” button (which you can find here at the top of the FanShot section, right underneath the top ad bar; just click “FANSHOTS” on the front page to get there) to your bookmarks bar (the area under your address bar in your browser) will allow you to post to BCB quickly and easily while browsing the internet. Once you have a “Share on SB*Nation” button in your browser, you have one-click posting of FanShots at your fingertips. Clicking the button will bring up a dialog box that looks like this: FanShot dialogue box Just select the type of FanShot you wish to post, apply the proper tags (more later) and hit publish (that “Front Page” check box is for me as the site admin, to put it on the front page if I choose — you’ve seen the blue box posts on the front page; those are FanShots that I’ve posted). FanPosts FanPosts are just like front page stories, except they’re written by you, the BCB reader. You can help keep the best FanPosts on the list longer by recommending them using the “Rec” link at the bottom of the post. Four recommendations puts a FanPost on the rec list. What makes a good FanPost? * Make It Substantial. When I say “substantial”, I don’t mean it has to be a dissertation or manifesto. But if you see the dreaded 75 word warning, it’s either time to put some more thought into your FanPost or start over. If your post contains something like this: words words words words words words words words wortraining and being a tourist in Chicago. I have reopened comments on all of these posts for 21 days — so anyone who’d like to add their thoughts to any of them, feel free. Anyway, welcome, whether you’re new here or have been around for a while. Today’s game preview/thread will be posted at 1 pm CDT — remember, spring day game times are now 3 pm CDT.

Holy. Shit. That is over 5000 words, over 29000 characters, over 7 pages. No one has ever read that whole thing. Did Alvin really think someone/multiple people would read that? Economy of words mother fucker.
(dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing) I had to cut out part of Alvin’s post b/c this post was too long to submit!

[quote name=melissa]This should have been a fanshot.[/quote]You only come here to start fights. You’ve been warned.

SJ, if you register there’s no character limit. I just put a very large character limit for unregistered users just in case. Still, that’s hilarious you couldn’t post it because it was too many words.

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]You only come here to start fights. You’ve been warned.[/quote]
Nice Snark.

[quote name=Rice Cube]Figured I’d give it a try…this is a silly thing we’re doing on our facebook page:

http://www.obstructedview.net/unobstructed-views/cubs/want-some-free-crap-from-the-cubs.html/quote
I hadn’t seen that Reed Johnson photo of him coming up short on the slide into 3rd. That was Theriotesque.

[quote name=GBTS]FWIW, the Constitution is like 7000 words.

The fact that Alvin actually thought people would both read and abide by those rules before posting on his blog tells you all you need to know about him.[/quote]Great. Now we’ll get another of Al’s sockpuppets over here defending him. (dying laughing)

[quote name=Rice Cube]Sam Fuld = OBP machine[/quote]Get cape. Wear cape. Fly.

[quote name=Rice Cube](dying laughing)

Sam Fuld is worth 1.2 WAR according to FanGraphs. Unreal. When’s he supposed to come back down to earth again?[/quote]
Never. The earth rises up to him.

[quote name=Rice Cube]Well played, sir.[/quote]I don’t think you’re allowed to say that to anyone but Sam Fuld.

[quote name=Rice Cube]My mistake. I will flag myself, unless Sam Fuld already did it for me.[/quote]Sam Fuld doesn’t do anyone’s flagging for them.

[quote name=Berselius].[/quote]

(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)

Someday Sam Fuld and Lindsey Lohan will be duking it out on celebrity rehab boxing II

[quote name=Horny Goat]Someday Sam Fuld and Lindsey Lohan will be duking it out on celebrity rehab boxing II[/quote]As the undercard for Silva-Millar III: This Time It’s Personal (Because Lou Never Told Me When I Was Playing)

[quote name=Horny Goat]Millar’s comments about Lou still piss me off[/quote]A fucking NRI has the balls to say that shit about a guy that could well end up in the HOF. Unreal. I still can’t believe he said it.

[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]A fucking NRI has the balls to say that shit about a guy that could well end up in the HOF. Unreal. I still can’t believe he said it.[/quote]
Lou could take the silly runt out with 1 good punch if he wanted (dying laughing)

[quote name=Rice Cube]What’d he say? Something about not knowing whether he’d play or not a month ahead of time?[/quote]
something like that. He’s just pissed he didn’t qualify for the “wrigley experience”

Lou probably has better things to do.

Check this out…#1 actually made me (dying laughing):

The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.

not now, MO, (dying laughing)

So I assume this is the main convo thread for now? I don’t want to go post-hunting to talk to you fagets.

[quote name=Rice Cube]Lou probably has better things to do.

Check this out…#1 actually made me (dying laughing):

The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.

#4 makes me lose faith in humanity. Seriously, you’re fucking 30 years old, what are you going to do with a baseball?

[quote name=mb21]Ryno making fun of A Post About Posts is one of my all-time favorites: http://www.anothercubsblog.net/classics/acb/a-post-about-posts.html/quote
Alvin’s provided us with enough material to make fun of him for years now.

[quote name=mb21]and 424 had a ridiculously funny comment in another one.[/quote]
Is this a rumor?

http://minors.mlblogs.com/2011/04/27/draft-update-matt-purke-and-other-injury-news/

Good news for him.

It would be nice if an mlb.com blogger could get the facts right, though. Purke didn’t “choose to go to college” instead of signing with TEX. MLB wouldn’t approve the contract the two parties had agreed upon.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/10879

[quote name=Suburban Kid]But amusing.[/quote]
Because I imagine Alvin interrupting the meteorologists to ask them what it means. The popular meteorologist spots an opportunity, so he tells him that the last 100 time conditions were exactly like this, it rained so many times. He watched Alvins eyes light up and dash over to his computer to tell his minions. The meteorologists waited until he was out of earshot and died laughing.

Fangraphs added a Rookie filter to its leaderboards.

[quote name=Mish]Fangraphs added a Rookie filter to its leaderboards.[/quote]

For you draftfags, Rick Gosselin’s final mock draft is:

#1 – Panthers – Newton – QB
#2 – Broncos – Miller – LB
#3 – Bills – Dareus – DE
#4 – Bengals – Green – WR
#5 – Cardinals – Peterson – CB
#6 – Browns – Jones – WR
#7 – 49ers – Gabbert – QB
#8 – Titans – Locker – QB
#9 – Cowboys – Tyron Smith – OT
#10 – Redskins – Ponder – QB
#11 – Texans – Aldon Smith – OLB
#12 – Vikings – Dalton – QB
#13 – Lions – Fairley – DT
#14 – Rams – Ingram – RB
#15 – Dolphins – Pouncey – OG/C
#16 – Jags – Kerrigan – DE
#17 – Pats – Jordan – DE
#18 – Chargers – Liuget – DT
#19 – Giants – Solder – OT
#20 – Bucs – Quinn – OLB/DE
#21 – Chiefs – Carimi – OT
#22 – Colts – Castonzo – OT
#23 – Eagles – J. Smith – CB
#24 – Saints – Clayborn – DE
#25 – Seahawks – Amukamara – CB
#26 – Ravens – Watt – DE
#27 – Falcons – Taylor – NT
#28 – Patriots – Watkins – G
#29 – Bears – Austin – DT
#30 – Jets – Sherrod – OT
#31 – Steelers – Heyward – DE
#32 – Packers – Williams – CB

I will not be surprised if SF takes Locker or Ponder in the first now. Gosselin knows his shit.

I would too, but Harbaugh knows better than all of us PLUS ALVIN combined. If he thinks Ponder is THE guy, I have no problem with him being the pick at No. 7.

There’s no way Andy Dalton is worth a first-round pick, though.

i read a pretty interesting article last night that said with the lockout being ended by the judge the NFL should postpone the draft. The reason being is that in the 1970′s during a stoppage a federal judge ruled that in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement the NFL draft violates anti trust laws. So if the draft goes on tonight a player who is picked could legally sue the NFL to allow themselves to negotiate with all teams instead of the team that picked them AND have a legal precedence to back it up.

[quote name=dylanj]i read a pretty interesting article last night that said with the lockout being ended by the judge the NFL should postpone the draft.[/quote]
I stopped here.

[quote name=Jame Gumb]For you draftfags, Rick Gosselin’s final mock draft is:[/quote]
Best case scenario for the Colts, I would love for them to get Costonzo.

well it took most of april but I have almost lost interest in the 2011 cubs. besides watching Garza pitch or Starlin bat this team is fucking boring

[quote name=Jame Gumb]I think some team is going to get a steal in Williams. He had a down year, but he was a top-5 CB in college football as a true sophomore.

Some people are calling him a S, but I think he’s basically what Charles Woodson is for GB right now. He can play the slot, outside (best in press, imo) or over the top.

Just don’t let him return punts. (dying laughing)[/quote]Thanks for the info. The Bears have a pretty good punt returner so I think that won’t be necessary. Gosselin has the highest 5 year rating on his mocks. He definitely knows his stuff.

i cant understand how 200 people died in the south with those tornados. the town i grew up in was completley wiped out in 1990 by a fucking F5! and nobody died. Do these people not have shelters or basements?

[quote name=dylanj]the town i grew up in was completley wiped out in 1990 by a fucking F5![/quote]
What was it fucking?

[quote name=Jame Gumb]It’s not the teams as much as the placement. I laughed at the idea of Dalton going so high yesterday, but maybe it’s realistic.[/quote]
So did I. But every year, teams do things that make you scratch your head. I doubt this year is going to be the new 83′ draft for QBs but that seems to be the thinking for some of these teams when they pick QBs. That’s 5 QBs in the first 12 picks. That would be insane.

[quote name=Muck Muckintuck]But every year, teams do things that make you scratch your head.[/quote]
That’s true, but Dalton at No. 12 would be so far beyond a head scratcher.

There’s a good reason so many QBs went in the first in ’83. There are only 3 QBs that should go in the first this year.

[quote name=Jame Gumb]That’s true, but Dalton at No. 12 would be so far beyond a head scratcher.

There’s a good reason so many QBs went in the first in ’83. There are only 3 QBs that should go in the first this year.[/quote]Dalton at 12 would be a panic pick. Teams feel like they have to get their franchise QB and they reach or get a bust. QB is the hardest position to draft. If I were a GM, I’d put together the best OL I could. With a great OL, you can have a little wiggle room with your QB and not have to be so perfect with the pick.

Was that a safety, JG? I’m pretty sure he came out.

(dying laughing) at Colorado football

[quote name=Rice Cube]Wow. Did he forget where he was?[/quote]
What’s funny is that for the first time I’m wondering why Williams didn’t try to strip the ball.

Still, poke the ball once you wrap up. I guess that’s not a DB thing.

Regardless if that’s a safety or not, it’s good heads up football. He was coming out of the endzone and went back in. It didn’t look like the ball came out, which I think is the rule, but still, a play that close, you might get the call to go your way.

[quote name=Jame Gumb]Still, poke the ball once you wrap up. I guess that’s not a DB thing.[/quote]
Maybe that’s the help tackler’s job, but the help didn’t get there in time. I think the primary guy’s job is to secure the tackle…it’s possible he didn’t know whether he could 100% make the strip and also secure the tackle, but with the wave of white jerseys coming in, you’re probably right, he could’ve tried for the strip, still slowed the guy down, and then the help would’ve crushed him anyway.

Still, a very nice tackle.

[quote name=Rice Cube]Maybe that’s the help tackler’s job, but the help didn’t get there in time. I think the primary guy’s job is to secure the tackle…it’s possible he didn’t know whether he could 100% make the strip and also secure the tackle, but with the wave of white jerseys coming in, you’re probably right, he could’ve tried for the strip, still slowed the guy down, and then the help would’ve crushed him anyway.

Still, a very nice tackle.[/quote]
You only come here to argue with me.

Apparently CAR has the contract parameters in place with Cam Newton.

[quote name=Muck Muckintuck]I’d be breathing heavily if I saw a tornado that close.[/quote].

[quote name=Jame Gumb].[/quote]
(dying laughing) Yeah but that human was probably scared shitless.

[quote name=Jame Gumb]The world revolves around whichever franchise is on the clock.[/quote]So true. I understand using the time for trade possibilities and shit, but when you already have the guy signed, make the god damn pick already.

[quote name=Jame Gumb]I think we need an NFL Draft thread.[/quote]I’ll be around if you do.

To echo URK, when I moved to Nashville from the midwest, I was shocked at how much dynamite was used in road construction. Not exactly the great plains, so basements are a lot less common.

In case you haven’t heard yet, looks like they found the “flight recorder” from the Air France crash a couple years ago. They are still looking for the memory module which is part of the flight recorder if I understood the article. http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/04/28/air.france.447.airbus.recorder/index.html?hpt=T2

http://www.twitvid.com/4W6PU

except for Texas. Nothing can save Texas

[quote name=dylanj]except for Texas. Nothing can save Texas[/quote]
Except Texas.

[quote name=dylanj]i understand urk but the hesston tornado was literally one of the biggest in the history of the US. the entire town was gone and not a single person died. to see 200 people killed boggles the mind a bit but maybe we just have better warning here in KS[/quote]
Hesston population: 3012; Dead: 2 (according to wikipedia)

Birmingham and Tuscaloosa combined 2010 population:391,685; Dead: 162.

To summarize: .07% of the population died in the Kansas storm, .04% in the Alabama storm.

Maybe they just have a better early warning system in Alabama.

“Several general managers” are reportedly comparing TCU QB Andy Dalton to Drew Brees and believe Dalton’s arm strength will improve in the NFL.

Arm strength is Dalton’s biggest knock. The National Football Post confirms that Dalton is now widely viewed as a first-round pick, and renowned mock drafter Rick Gosselin went so far as to project Dalton 12th overall to the Vikings. A previous report suggested Dalton could go as high as No. 8 to the Titans, which makes Gosselin’s prediction seem more realistic.
– rotoworld

Brees is the typical comparison for a 6000-6020 QB with a fringe arm, decent mobility and above-average intelligance. But for every Drew Brees that gains arm strength, how many Drew Bresses don’t?

My dog would like your jokes, Tim.

This might be off-topic for a 49ers/NFL blog, but if anyone cares how the prospects we sent for Garza are doing, here:

http://theprocessreport.com/2011/04/28/a-late-april-update-on-the-matt-garza-return/

so a federal judge orders the lockout to end right now and they plan for Monday. I guess the the rules dont apply?

[quote name=dylanj]so a federal judge orders the lockout to end right now and they plan for Monday. I guess the the rules dont apply?[/quote]
They’re appealing, though the judge denied the owners’ request for a stay of judgment.

[quote name=dylanj]GW- nobody died in hesston. the two that died lived a in different towns[/quote]
missed the point. storms are capricious and random. you can’t take a burg in bfe and compare it to a metropolitan area and then pat yourself on the back.

[quote name=GW]missed the point. storms are capricious and random. you can’t take a burg in bfe and compare it to a metropolitan area and then pat yourself on the back.[/quote]

[quote name=Jame Gumb][/quote]
.

[quote name=GW].[/quote]

From Phil Rogers (ya, I know)

Then the Cubs will probably call up Jay Jackson to move into the Cashner/James Russell rotation spot on Monday in Los Angeles. Jackson may have been the choice back on April 12 in Houston but came out of spring training with a sore elbow. He’s made two starts at Triple-A Iowa, and seems poised for his big-league debut. He’s not on the 40-man roster, which could be an issue, but the Cubs currently have one spot open.

[quote name=GW]missed the point. storms are capricious and random. you can’t take a burg in bfe and compare it to a metropolitan area and then pat yourself on the back.[/quote]
Disclaimer: I’m originally from Florida and have only been in central IL for 3 years (and unfortunately doesn’t have a basement in his house).

I thought tornados were random and what not, but two days ago they mentioned that this storm was going to be massive and there would be tornados. Isn’t that enough time to figure out how/where to hunker down?

In Florida we get pounded by hurricanes, the advantage being that you know a hurricane is coming way ahead of time. If you are caught in the middle of it you are a dumbass.

[quote name=WaLi2]I thought tornados were random and what not, but two days ago they mentioned that this storm was going to be massive and there would be tornados. Isn’t that enough time to figure out how/where to hunker down?
[/quote]
They’re still working on this:

[quote name=dylanj]http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/too-many-sliders/[/quote]
Uhhhh, they make them smaller so you can have more.

[quote name=WaLi2]Disclaimer: I’m originally from Florida and have only been in central IL for 3 years (and unfortunately doesn’t have a basement in his house).

I thought tornados were random and what not, but two days ago they mentioned that this storm was going to be massive and there would be tornados. Isn’t that enough time to figure out how/where to hunker down?

In Florida we get pounded by hurricanes, the advantage being that you know a hurricane is coming way ahead of time. If you are caught in the middle of it you are a dumbass.[/quote]
I think tornadoes still don’t scare people as much because they are so localized. I was in St. Louis when the tornado tore through their airport and flattened a couple of neighborhoods. We got a bit of rain and wind. We were about 5 miles away.

I think after seeing that people think the odds are with them that nothing will happen.

[quote name=Aisle424]I think tornadoes still don’t scare people as much because they are so localized. I was in St. Louis when the tornado tore through their airport and flattened a couple of neighborhoods. We got a bit of rain and wind. We were about 5 miles away.

I think after seeing that people think the odds are with them that nothing will happen.[/quote]
This.

That ddn’t stop me from staying up until 2 the other night when tornados were tearing through the part of Louisiana that my wife was staying in the other night (dying laughing)

[quote name=Mish]I just think this year’s tornadoes have heart. In previous years, they might kill 1-2 people and then give up. This year they are showing more fight.[/quote](dying laughing)

[quote name=mb21]Basically, in a mile stretch in that area you have a mall, a few gas stations, about 10 restaurants (like an Applebee’s) and many other fast food restaurants. There’s a Wal-Mart, a Best Buy, Kohl’s, Barne’s and Noble and a Sam’s Club, Home Depot and Lowe’s. Probably more.[/quote]

[quote name=Aisle424]I think tornadoes still don’t scare people as much because they are so localized. I was in St. Louis when the tornado tore through their airport and flattened a couple of neighborhoods. We got a bit of rain and wind. We were about 5 miles away.

I think after seeing that people think the odds are with them that nothing will happen.[/quote]Exactly. Before I was married I never went to the basement. Not in Iowa and not in Kansas. The odds of any tornado hitting me were so small that it just seemed a complete waste of time to get off my lazy ass and move. Not even that, I’d go outside. I’d go for a drive. One time I was in Utah with a couple friends. I was about 22 or 23. Several tornadoes had touched down near where we were. We did nothing.

Oh yeah, my friends and I were camping.

A hurricane is different because it’s not nearly as localized as you say. The tornado just isn’t likely to hit where you are at that moment. I’ve lived in Iowa and Kansas most of my life and I’ve still never seen a tornado in person. The time in Utah was the closest I had ever been to one where it hit and I was several miles away.

[quote name=mb21]Basically, in a mile stretch in that area you have a mall, a few gas stations, about 10 restaurants (like an Applebee’s) and many other fast food restaurants. There’s a Wal-Mart, a Best Buy, Kohl’s, Barne’s and Noble and a Sam’s Club, Home Depot and Lowe’s. Probably more.[/quote]

[quote name=Xoomwaffle]Out of curiosity, where in Florida were you from?[/quote]
Grew up in the Jacksonville Beach area, went to college in Orlando.

The warning system in Kansas isn’t any better. It’s just something they like to use. They figure if they use it so frequently that people will be too afraid to leave their basements. Next up for Kansas legislature: force families to remain in basement forever. Fewer deaths that way.

(dying laughing) dj, did he really say that?

[quote name=Jame Gumb]And just in case none of you got that…

[quote name=mb21]Basically, in a mile stretch in that area you have a mall, a few gas stations, about 10 restaurants (like an Applebee’s) and many other fast food restaurants. There’s a Wal-Mart, a Best Buy, Kohl’s, Barne’s and Noble and a Sam’s Club, Home Depot and Lowe’s. Probably more.[/quote]


If I could +faget point myself for this comment, I would.

he really did http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/5574

thats like saying marmol walks too few batters. if this is the instruction we are giving guys like Vitters is a fucking miracle we ever produce players

[quote name=dylanj]he really did http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/5574

thats like saying marmol walks too few batters. if this is the instruction we are giving guys like Vitters is a fucking miracle we ever produce players[/quote]
I think they’re frustrated with the taking of pitches within the strike zone, but there are also times when there’s a strike that you either foul off, or you can’t do anything with, so I have no issues with those. I do get annoyed with guys like Soto sometimes for not protecting the plate on borderline pitches that go as called third strikes. Sometimes the ump is just blind. However, given the context of what we know of the Cubs, telling a guy NOT to talk walks if they’re gift-wrapped is stupid.

[quote name=WaLi2]Is that like a replacement level restaurant?[/quote]Pretty much. I might give Applebee’s +.1 WAR. It’s an OK bench player for a team that is contending. (dying laughing)

At this point I can’t help but think any comments made by the organization about Vitters are only about building confidence. They know what they have with him. If he can’t hit .300 and hit 30 home runs he’s probably not going to have much of a career in baseball. The guy cannot get on base. At all. Even if he did hit .300 with 30 home runs his value will be limited.

[quote name=WaLi2]Is that a fact?[/quote]

KG –