Jake

This is what we get for choosing "rule by rich lawyers"

Not getting the best players available is one thing. We've clearly done that. We have at least done it out of what seems to be a principled stance that we believe in deep squads a la Spurs. Unfortunately, our best player has been hurt since the plan seemed to start working. That doesn't mean that our fruitless plan to build a team that is impressive from top to bottom is the one we should stick to. What it does mean is that it would be dumb and make mockery of everything else that has been done to completely gut the franchise of all of its assets to bring in a star player. Imagine a deal of...this year's 2 first rounders, Mirotic, Butler, and Noah for Love. That's an awful deal because you're left with a team that has Rose, Love, and Taj only. Even if only Taj is the one to go, you've basically decided that your team will have 3 or 4 NBA playoff-caliber starters on it, at best. The whole point of the easy-does-it approach is that we should be able to make the big, bold move and bring a star player onto a team that is built to win. This is why I think we should ignore this Love business entirely if it is as it seems and focus completely on Carmelo, since we can likely get him to the team without moving nearly every positive asset the franchise has. I see no scenario in which we get Melo yet have a shallow team.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jun 21, 2014 -> 01:56 PM) ... give it up. Tyler Flowers is an awful hitter and there's not much chance he'll ever be anything else. Judging someone by two nights is silly, particularly when they went 1 for 7 with a single and 2 Ks. It's not that I think he's good, it's just the fact that someone's blind disdain for the player made them fail to realize that his last two games were far from something to b**** about, relatively speaking

As much as I wouldn't mind seeing more Nieto, Flowers has looked different the past two nights. Looks like he might have a little bit more of that line-drive oriented swing back. We'll see, that guy changes batting approaches like the wind blows.

We go by central time in these parts.

Long snappers are never, ever noticed unless they f*** up. Mannelley is one cool exception to the rule.

Given the supposed asking prices, I'd stay out of the Kevin Love bidding and focus on a tried and true method: woo a superstar in his prime so that he strong arms his way onto your team.

After speaking with the eminent Clinton biographer, I couldn't help but feel like the relationship between the Clintons is very much like the relationship between the Underwoods in House of Cards. Very unconventional, very utilitarian, but also fiercely loyal and loving

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jun 19, 2014 -> 03:37 PM) I am a conservative leaning, Republican voting American. I can't stand watching Fox, and I hate watching MSNBC even more than that. Both networks will say they have "fair coverage" because they bring in people from "both sides," but they will bring in strong speakers with good evidence from their spectrum's side and will bring in morons from the opposite side. MSNBC doesn't really try to hide the fact they are a progressive channel

Lobstein is a pretty awful name for a pitcher Also, strange that Heath is doing so well as a starter. I thought they threw him in there just on an emergency basis, but now it seems they want him to stick. And given Davidson's Dunn-esque K rate, I consider consecutive K-less games a meaningful trend

lol, have to ask - did ptatc okay this thread?

I'd rather get rid of Taj and make the cap space we need than dump Jimmy and still not really have enough for Melo. Also, why isn't anyone considering that we trade, say, Taj + 1 or 2 of this year's first rounders for a pretty damn high first rounder this year? As opposed to trading [Player X] for a second rounder.

I've only seen the humerus break. An old pal got TJS and his first competitive pitch went flying straight into the ground as we all heard an audible crack. He had a gruesome displaced fracture of the humerus

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jun 20, 2014 -> 12:00 PM) So the latest Love rumor is Thompson/Lee/1R pick for Love/Martin.....Still think giving up Noah is too much? Yes

Maybe Carlos Sanchez ought to be in some of those top 100 discussions again

Iraq is a success story for the Obama administration. The only way we could have prevented this from happening is staying there and staying there was a terrible choice. The threat to the US from what is going on in Iraq/Syria is absolutely minute. Let them work out their differences while trying to wield diplomatic and economic influence to deter human rights abuses. The only way we can lower our international standing is getting into everyone else's business again. As far as approval ratings, etc. let's look at it this way. It's 2014 and POTUS has 42/54 approve/disapprove. 38/53 on foreign policy. At this time in Bush's presidency (Mid-2006), he was rocking a 35/60 approve/disapprove. Bush's approval on foreign policy was even worse than that. As far as our standing around the world, there are polls on this topic. In the Middle East, it's pretty mixed. There aren't many changes at all between Bush's presidency in the current one. Generally speaking, approval hasn't gone up with BO in office, but disapproval has gone down modestly. We've lost standing in Egypt (30% positive impression to 16% from 2007 to 2013 - hard to know what to make of that considering they've gone through multiple regimes in that time). We've gone up and down with Jordan who doesn't like us anyway (fluctuated between 15% and 25% approval, both high and low during BO regime). No change in Lebanon. Big boost in Turkey, but they still don't like us (9% to 21%). "Confidence in US president" has doubled or tripled in almost every single Middle Eastern country with adequate data. Huge increases in almost every single country in the world with the data to make comparisons. Canada jumped from 55% positive perception to 68% positive between 2007-2009. At 64 now. Argentina was 16% positive in 2007, 38% in 2009, 42% today. Chile was 55% in 2007, 68% today. Mexico was 56% in 2007 (47% in 2008) and 69% in 2009, 66% today. Britain was 51% in 2007, 69% in 2009, 58% today. Czechs 45% in 2007, 58% today. France 39% in 2007, 75% in 2009, 64% today. Germany 30% in 2007, 64% in 2009, 53% today. Italy 53% in 2007, 76% today. Poland 61% in 2007, 67% in 2009, 67% today. Russia 41% in 2007, 44% in 2009, 51% today. Spain 34% in 2007, 58% in 2009, 62% today. China 34% in 2007, 47% in 2009, 40% today. Indonesia 29% in 2007, 63% in 2009, 61% today. Pakistan - someone likes us less! From 15% to 16% to 11% (big drop after the whole OBL deal). South Korea 58% in 2007, 78% in 2009, 78% today. I just don't see the idea that Americans like the President or his foreign policy less than his predecessor or that foreigners look upon the USA or its president in a lesser light in any data. That seems like a belief you hold and it's false.

If I had to bet today, I'd say Tigers will be only >.500 team in the division come season's end

National Review is a typically conservative publication, but I actually don't mind them. I rarely read it, but everything that I have I've really enjoyed

I would give up Micah, Erik, and Chris Beck without batting an eye

So the girlfriend and I are moving in about 6 weeks and need to line up a place. We had both lived on a college campus because we were working in residence life so this is our first foray into "real" housing. Of course, we have no idea how to avoid being scammed/having a bad experience in this process. What kinds of things should we look for as we look at places - hidden utility costs? Certain features? Some way to figure whether there will be maintenance issues? We'll also be moving to a place that we'll have only spent a few days before we move in; any suggestions for how to evaluate neighborhoods from far away? And if anyone knows anything about Columbus, OH, feel free to let me know anything specific.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 18, 2014 -> 03:33 PM) This to me is a better argument for why censoring speech is dumb. Language changes. It doesn't mean the same thing over time. If stigma and connotation can be added over time, why can't it be lost too? Have you EVER heard of anyone refer to an american indian as a redskin? Nope, neither has anyone else still living. We all know it as a s***ty football team in Washington DC. This isn't a matter of censorship, it's a matter of financial insulation. We have no interest as a society to help someone use a racial slur to make money

Eaton has been killing it lately

Phegley's 8th passed ball of the season tonight. Can't believe he's still having these problems. Cannot be a MLB catcher with the passed ball rate he sports every season

Several scholars have been arguing for years that the USA and Iran have very good reason to be allies with one another, due in large part to their mutually strong interest in Iraq's stability

We don't want to be the Heat because we don't have LeBron. One non-LeBron superstar and no bench/depth does not a great team make