Jake

QUOTE (knightni @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 11:54 AM) Jeff Passan: Yankees looking for incremental upgrades, not big pieces. John Danks is the definition of an incremental upgrade, come on down New York!

I think both major trades today make sense for both sides and we'll need time to figure out who won. Buying low on Craig makes a lot of sense and I think Kelly could be a back-end starter for years to come.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 11:34 AM) IMO, if there was anything really close, Danks would not start today. It wouldn't be worth it. Something has to change significantly or John Danks will be a White Sox at the deadline. I love it as a hardball tactic, honestly. Also, if you scratch him, you make a very loud statement to your team and fanbase about your intentions. If you don't ultimately trade him, everyone feels like that was the sole strategy anyway. If we don't manage any trades and Danks goes out and starts, Hahn can act like he was trying to add to the team or something.

QUOTE (flavum @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 11:27 AM) So leave and come back at 3. Well, I suppose I should say you can believe a report when it comes, but it's probably unwise to read too many tea leaves #hugwatch

Just let the deadline come and don't come to any conclusions until the deadline has passed.

Too bad about Fuentes. Seemed like he might have been on the fast track to Chicago

With the amount of starters they have, OAK didn't see any need for Millone this year. They may not think highly of him in general. Fuld, as we've heard Wimpy say a million times, can contribute meaningfully in the right role for a good team. Beane must have wanted him at that strong defense/fast runner/LH bat role.

Just give us JR Murphy and I'll be pretty happy.

This is a good trade. Both teams have a decent chance of walking away from it as the "winner." Cespedes being a big name is kind of a red herring

QUOTE (The Ultimate Champion @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:23 AM) I wonder if it's a given that Rienzo will start if Danks goes. Maybe we go to Rienzo for 4, Thompson for 2, mentally check out somewhere in the 3rd inning and head out to lunch, leave Leury back in case there are more innings needed later, etc. There could also be a MiLB player standing by

I scrub with brush, rinse with aid of a rag and running water.

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:08 AM) I'm not sure how arbitration works for international free agents, but B-R says he's Arb eligible in 2016 and won't be a FA till 2018. Perhaps I'm wrong in thinking that's true. There is a clause in his contract that makes him ineligible for arbitration. It's why he chose OAK over more lucrative offers

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:04 AM) s***'s going to get really busy in the next two hours, I'll post if I get another text but it appears the lawyers and finance are huddling. Is that standard operating procedure or indicative of something serious being considered?

FWIW, I consider it impossible that Semien would not obviously out-produce Beckham in the MLB if he was called up today

QUOTE (scs787 @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 09:02 AM) Wow! If A's don't resign Lester that's an awful deal for them IMO. Cespedes is a UFA in 2015. Very reasonable to think that Lester gives as much value in the next couple months as Cespedes does in the next couple months plus season. OAK sheds a big salary too.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jul 31, 2014 -> 08:59 AM) Red Sox get a competitive balance draft pick too That's not insignificant

Remember that Cespedes is a UFA after next season.

I'm shocked that they would part with Cespedes. Overrated, yes, but still the fourth highest WAR among position players on their team this year. Are they going to play Gomes every day in OAK?

The arm rating is based on whether baserunners get the expected amount of bases. So not running on Parra would prop up his arm rating just like throwing them out would.

Remember how religious non-profits get an exemption from the ACA contraception mandate? Due to society's interest in providing contraception, the government instead subsidizes these services if needed by an employee of an exempted organization. Until groups like Notre Dame sue the federal government saying they shouldn't have to sign the form that claims the exemption because that will ultimately lead to their employees getting contraception from someone else. Now the beef is that they get it at all. I suppose the next step will be freezing their paychecks because they could be used to purchase these services outright http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/the-next-hobby-lobby

I still give benefit of the doubt to the teacher to decide when difficult subjects should be taken on by students. One of literature's primary functions is as a means to grapple with the world, which unsurprisingly often means trying to reflect upon and understand the ugliness of the world. I haven't read Prince of Tides, but from what I know about its content I don't see anything overtly problematic outside of the fact it has never struck me as an especially "good" book. The "objectionable" portions of the content don't seem outside the realm of what can and should be encountered in a high school literature course. Rape, in particular, should be something that teenagers are exposed to in settings like this. Many women (estimates range from 1 in 6 to 1 in 4) will be raped in their lifetime. Young men should be exposed to discussions of it and depictions of it to understand what it really is before they might develop warped perceptions about what that means. Aside from specific subject matter, I think one of the valuable pedagogical moments for students of literature is to deal with works they don't like. Teach them to argue texts and, more specifically, to build arguments that go beyond simple evaluative judgments. Even better, get them to build compelling arguments in writing. I would expect the same from a parent as well. I'm not going to give them the Dikembe and just say "I'm the teacher nanana boo boo" but I'm going to expect a substantive argument about why I shouldn't teach [book]. If they haven't read it and haven't a single legitimate idea for an alternative that might achieve similar pedagogical goals, please come back when you have that information. An example in a non-literary setting from my time in college. I had a political philosophy of the economy course in which we read Atlas Shrugged. Does it mean the prof endorsed it? No. Does it mean the Koch brothers were underwriting the class? No. It's a text that you have to read and consider, then argue with soberly. While we may want to consider it beneath consideration, it clearly matters to a lot of people and therefore cannot be ignored. I'd make the same argument for the Bible, a translated Qu'ran, and various literary and other cultural texts. That they are widely consumed means they are worthy of study.

I hope we don't respond to Mitchell's first strong run of play ever by once again moving him up too fast

The absolute maximum I could imagine us giving up money-wise is $5M per future season owed to Danks...and that would be an unprecedented amount for us. Of course, we've very rarely had payroll commitments so far underneath our ability before

Hey man, I love some Crazy Bread and/or Italian Cheese Bread from Little Caesar's

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 30, 2014 -> 07:42 PM) Davidson now at least 3 for his last 38 with no homers. Hard to get excited about a prospect that has hit under .200 in 3 out of 4 months this year. Luckily, our current third baseman is hitting like a superstar and we have several MIF prospects doing very well. Lots of time (like, years) for Davidson to get things worked out without any noticeable damage to the big league club.