Jake

I disagree with the idea that Micah has a high floor. He's a guy with a questionable bat, bad defense, and constant injury concerns. He isn't exactly stuffed to the gills with MLB skills, at least as far as we can tell. I think Sanchez is the higher floor player for sure, which may be why he wins the job.

I love Thibs, but if I have to pick between them I'm keeping Gar/Pax. I don't trust a different front office to put this much talent on the court, but I do think we can get someone to utilize the talent similarly well.

QUOTE (raBBit @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 03:45 PM) I doubt anyone could help, but it's worth a try. So my university has a strong stance against violating copyright laws, torrents, etc. Anyways, I was watching a movie last Monday night and I passed out. Tuesday morning I grabbed my laptop and brought to school and when I opened it up I still had the torrent host (Popcorn-Time) open. All of a sudden I wasn't able to get onto the wifi and realized my account has probably been barred as a result of using Popcorn-Time. So I called the IT department, they confirmed that was the issue and I set up an appointment with the assistant dean. She says I have to remove all torrenting programs from my computer or else I could receive a penalty. The thing is, I've had Popcorn-Time on my computer all year I just haven't opened it up while using the school wifi. Am I safe to keep the program on my computer or could the outsourced internet security agency pick it up when the application is inactive? I don't see how they could see the software on your PC w/o you accessing the Internet with it. With that said, get yourself a VPN. They won't know what you're doing.

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 12:27 PM) Agree, this injury isn't significant enough to end Derrick's career. However, I don't think we're going to see Derrick play at the levels we're hoping could/would. I think this will be the final nail in Thibs tenure as HC. I don't think Derrick will be on the roster after his contract expires. I think the Bulls will be mired in mediocrity for the foreseeable future. I think lots of things. My opinion is that the biggest battle for Derrick now is getting good at basketball. In the NBA, especially as a guard, you can only do so much with athleticism (and it's making a bold assumption to say he'll continue to stand out in that regard). It takes sustained work at your craft to be good in every aspect of the game, from your ballhandling to your shooting and most importantly your brain. The constant and very long lulls in his ability to play are going to make it extremely difficult for him to come back and be great just for the sole fact of it keeping him from playing basketball. He may well lose all the progress he gained in terms of getting his skills and awareness of the games back by losing ~6 weeks. And if we assume he's just going to continue having health troubles, this will continue cropping up. Start finding a rhythm, then lose it because of some pain, then totally lose it because you have to sit out for a month or more. QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 12:31 PM) I agree with most everything you said, however, I've long pointed to 2016 as the year Rose regains his all star status (and that is still in reach if he can come back and play this season, imo). I think the worst thing for him would be not getting back this season and having a long off-season. If he comes back and plays this season, he can have a normal off-season, played in at least a decent chunk of this season, playoffs, etc, and be in a position to move forward in 16. The piece I don't understand is how is Rose's injury a nail in Thibbs tenure? What did Tom do to drive or lead to this injury. The Bulls and Rose couldn't have been more conservative with Rose (since his initial injury) and this is what has happened. How can a finger for any of these more recent injuries be put in Thibbs direction? Rose isn't playing heavy minutes. In fact, he's largely been babied since his first injury. I'd argue he might have been better off had they pushed things more (look at Westbrook). All this said, lets not forget that the reinjury of the meniscus is relatively common and not overly serious (look at Westbrook). If you want hope, you at least have Westbrook to look at. He's better than ever. I think Thibs is facing what several other fairly successful coaches have. For instance, George Karl. Well, it's not really your fault by any objective measure that we haven't succeeded, but we have to change something eventually. Also, we won't be firing ourselves. So, coach, you've gotta go. QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 01:11 PM) That's what grinds my gears. It was the right surgery then. He was so young and it was seemingly unrelated to his one other major injury. There was much to be gained from him doing the repair, though I have to say it shouldn't have been out of the question for him to return by the end of the year. Not that big of a deal though. Now, things are different. He needs to play just to keep sharp and it is unlikely that a meniscus repair will actually do all that much good for his long-term future. There's no good option for his long-term future, he (we) just has to hope everything holds together. QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 25, 2015 -> 04:01 PM) The teams inherited couldn't be more different, come on now Look at this pile of garbage http://m.bkref.com/m?p=XXteamsXXCHIXX1999....mp;t=all_roster Floyd was also given some say in personnel that no coach would be given now. We have a ton of talent and it is thanks in large part to our front office. With that said, I honestly don't have a clue if there's anything special about Fred Hoiberg. The ghost of Tim Floyd wouldn't scare me away though.

FWIW, there's no reason to believe that Sanchez isn't ready. He's repeated AAA and did very well there last year. There's reason to believe he's not going to be a very good major leaguer, but I'd be shocked if he isn't at least competent and probably slightly more valuable than Beckham ever was over a full season. Micah has a much higher bust potential, because he really hasn't been any good in AAA yet. But, that's why he probably won't break camp with the team.

Dude on ESPN says it is usually difficult to repair an already-repaired meniscus, because there are already sutures in there in your way.

I have a feeling they try to get him back on the court as soon as possible. This team has had a habit of falling apart in response to Rose injuries. If Thibs does feel heat, that will be why. He will rightfully be expected to keep this team going and at a better clip than they have the past few weeks. They need to win a couple of playoff series, Rose or not. Also, while it's probably not his fault, might be worth trying a different surgeon this time around.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ Feb 23, 2015 -> 05:03 PM) K.C. Johnson @KCJHoop · 4h 4 hours ago Michael Carter-Williams will not make his Bucks debut vs. Bulls. Will dress but not play. What's the point of doing that? Make sure the uni fits?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 23, 2015 -> 02:25 PM) I don't like it in April. There are a couple of built in off days. The weather usually washes out another game or 2. Maybe later on in the season it makes some sense, but at the beginning, I would rather see at least some flexibility if you need pinch hitters and runners, especially when a couple of defensive players are pretty weak with the glove. Yeah and I've had the feeling that we've had some relievers over the years who struggled in large part due to how infrequently they were used. I felt that way about Dan Webb. Enough innings, but lots of days off in between appearances.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Feb 23, 2015 -> 01:52 PM) You're not TRULY a member of the board until you've gotten an official misconduct warning from a moderator based on a conversation you've had with greg. I've been waiting 11 years for official membership

I think Illinois isn't 100% sold on Lovett - and rightly so - and that very well could be why he doesn't come.

Let's not freak out about his "target" number. Do you walk into these negotiations with a super reasonable number? Probably not. You want the Sox to think that a $110M/5 year deal feels like a huge sacrifice to you. With that said, I'm not very confident in throwing anywhere in the stratosphere of that kind of money at him.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Feb 21, 2015 -> 01:50 PM) To put it in perspective, the difference from 2005 (and our overachieving bullpen) and 2006 (bullpen regression to the mean) was 9 wins. That's the kind of output we'd need this year to hit 90 wins based on our players' track records IMO. 2006 was more about terrible years from the rotation than it was about the bullpen, IMO. Of course, we had truly fabulous years from our offense in 2006, too.

Bayesian statistics disagree with some of the statistical assertions made in here!

If my job depended on this team making the playoffs, I'd feel pretty uncomfortable right now. With that said, I don't know if his job does depend on that, and I'd sure hope that he expects the team to make a run at the playoffs. No need to set a low bar any longer.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Feb 20, 2015 -> 12:51 PM) I think that Gar and Thibs simply dont like each other, and I think Pax likes both but would choose Gar. Just my take based on the little we have heard about what is going on I think Pax thinks the FO stability is more important than the coach if it comes down to it. He might be right, especially if he believes that our talent and tradition can attract whoever the next best coach is.

QUOTE (ChiSox59 @ Feb 20, 2015 -> 01:57 PM) Did Crain re-injure himself last year? My recollection was that he just never progressed to a point that he could play competitively, but that comment sort of makes it seem like he re-injured his shoulder while rehabbing with the Astros last year. I looked into this and it all seems like a mystery. He seemed to be on track for a June return, then that time came and passed, and there were only vague reports of experiencing setbacks given as explanation. Maybe he just wasn't important enough for more diligent reporting, but I can only gather that the medical staff couldn't figure out what exactly was wrong.

This study finds interesting racial disparities in tipping, which has been found in other ways in previous research. When service is rated "perfect" by a customer, white servers get 24% tips on average in the study (don't read into the exact number too much). Black servers got 16.6% when service was rated "perfect." Because of this finding and others like it, there is some murmurs that tipping violates federal discrimination law that requires businesses not to employ payment practices that result in systematically worse payment for demographic groups regardless of work performance - regardless of employer intent. Also, more relevant to this discussion, all indications are that - on average - black people tip less than white people, even when controlling for income. Other racial tipping differences have been documented at different times, but they are complicated by deciding on whether Hispanics can also be white and things like that. This study found that almost all of the differences in tip amounts can be explained by the fact that - again, on average - black people perceive the social norms about tipping differently than white people. When asked what the average person would tip, they state a lower amount than white people. That also holds true for what they think their best friend would tip and what they think the server would expect to be tipped. If you control for those perceptions, whites and blacks aren't any different. Only about a third of black folks surveyed were aware of the 15%-20% tipping norm.

My Grand Prix with 100k miles needed to get tires, rack, pinions, and tire rod ends replaced in addition to looming changes recommended due to its mileage. Minus the recommended services, I was still looking at $2000 in repairs for a car that wasn't worth much more than $3000-$4000. Thus, I launched a new (used) car hunt. After looking for a nearly-new mid-size sedan at or below $15k and 25,000 or fewer miles, I finally settled on a 2014 Chevy Malibu 2LT. For one, this model year is the first that I've ever looked at these cars and thought "wow, I like how the Malibu looks." When I got my Grand Prix, I thought the GP looked kind of cool and sporty while the Malibus back then were very plain. The 2014-2015 Malibus now look really good to me. So, check off the first box that I look at it and really like how it looks. Also passing this test was the Nissan Altima and Mazda 6. Subaru Legacy, Ford Fusion, and Chrysler 200 wouldn't have been ruled out by this criteria either. The 2LT Malibu has the MyLink in-dash touchscreen radio which was fairly meaningful for me. It's not amazing software by any means, but it automatically connects with my phone, lets me stream via Bluetooth from any music app while still showing artist info, and I can control things with the steering wheel when I need to. Lack of (free) navigation is a minus. Hands-free calling is more useful than I thought it would be. Overall, the in-the-drivers-seat experience is very nice in this car. I don't do long drives that often, but I do spend 30-60 minutes commuting during the week and I want a good experience when I'm out longer. Listening to music and podcasts is my primary activity in the car so between that, the controls, and the seat comfort/adjustability, I was happy in this regard. Other aspects matched my prefs well. I don't need a big engine and I'd prefer fuel efficiency. This 'bu has a 4-cylinder engine with 196 HP, not much different in HP than the V6 in my old Grand Prix. 36 highway/24 city are the EPA ratings, which isn't mind-blowing in today's market but I'm happy with that. Has a nice feature where the engine shuts off when you're stopped at a stop light and things like that - the transition is seamless enough that I don't think I would have recognized that it's what is happening if I didn't know about it. The 2LT has 18" wheels which look a lot better than the 16s in lower models. Fog lights are a nice bonus. This model has been criticized for its small backseat, but I rarely if ever have rear passengers so this doesn't really apply to me. The trunk is huge, which is a tradeoff I'm happy to make. OnStar's complimentary remote start (via cell phone app) is a great extra for me as well, since I often walk 10-15 minutes to my car in the cold. Now I can make sure it's warm when I get there. I also got a hell of a deal to get the 2LT at the price I got it. $15k, 20k miles. That's below the average wholesale for an equivalent 2014 2LT right now. I let the dealer finance it since that was clearly the only way they'd make money on the deal. So far, the main disappointment since getting it a few days ago is that the mileage is falling way short. In a long trip on the interstate, I got 29mpg, far short of the EPA estimate. Might be wind-related and/or temperature-related, since I had a slight side wind the day I drove it on the highway and it was sub-10 degrees.

I've always felt that the only way you justify Rose's MVP is by saying that part of his value was/is unquantifiable. There was something special about those numbers, not that the numbers were special based on their raw values. Made his teammates better, did it better when it counted, etc.

In terms of urban planning (as opposed to the interests of the teams involved), it is basically agreed-upon by researchers that sports stadiums don't do cities any good. Expensive, big, don't do much for the surrounding area.

Even though I don't get too into the East vs. West thing, doing a fantasy draft would definitely lower my interest in the ASG

There's never been a legit Rose/Westbrook debate. Derrick was always obviously better than Westbrook, then Rose quit playing, now that Rose is back Westbrook has gotten so good that he's obviously better.

Bear in mind, if running CyanogenMod is part of the draw for you, One+ is likely to push their own non-CM OS to their devices soon due to their squabble w/ CM

We know news reporters will occasionally report inaccurate info, and sometimes it will be because of the judgment calls they make, but we don't expect them to make up stories about themselves. It's kind of like the question of politicians doing iffy things in their personal lives - we only get so much of a chance to know you...and if you're willing to do this, what else are you doing that we can't see?