Dam8610

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 31, 2018 -> 10:05 AM) This “hate” narrative around here is beyond absurd. The dude was a career negative WAR player up until last year. People can keep ignoring that and the .392 BABIP he had last year all they like, but let’s not act like this guy is a proven superstar or something. There are legitimate red flags with him that have been pointed repeatedly. I have no idea why that offends so many people but it’s getting ridiculous. I’m all for optimism, but there’s nothing wrong with being objective at the same time. Projection systems are not objective. They are conservative and prone to missing talent breakouts by nature because they use past data on a weighted basis to predict future results. It is objective to say that there are a wide range of possible outcomes for Avi's 2018 and the rest of his career, and that based on last year's data, some of the more positive possible outcomes have become much more likely than we would've expected even a year ago. I don't think anyone here is saying anything more than that.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 31, 2018 -> 09:02 AM) Which of those metrics are predictive based on a one year sample? There’s a reason projection systems are predicting a huge fall-off for him in 2018. And by no means am I suggesting these systems are the end all be all (cause they’re not), but I’m not sure any of what you posted changes my mind much other than his plate discipline might be a bit better than I originally anticipated. I’m simply not going to expect power improvement until his adds more loft and I am not sure anything you provided here suggests a massive change in loft is coming. I wasn't arguing that his power numbers are certain to go up, but the numbers suggest sustainability at a bare minimum, which is 25 HR power if he doesn't get the arm injury in early July. I'm arguing potential, which I think is there based on the drastic change in his contact profile that led to a much higher level of success than he's had at any point in his career, and his average exit velocity and average launch angle are comparable to Robinson Cano and Ryan Zimmerman, so it's not like he can't make what he has work to the tune of 30 HR power.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 31, 2018 -> 07:25 AM) It’s more than just BABIP, although it’s obviously the big one. I’ve read multiple articles that suggest regression is coming for a multitude of reasons and I’m pretty sure one of them had a metric that suggested even his 2017 power numbers were a bit flukey. If I can find it, I’ll make sure to post it. What metrics suggest positive regression for power and plate discipline? His BB% increased and K% declined throughout the year, his BB% last year was below his career average, O-swing% was below career average, Z-swing% was well above career average, Z-contact% was well above career average, contact% was the highest it's been since his partial seasons, swstr% was career low. All of those things point to improved plate discipline or the potential for it. His pull rate was well above career average, hard contact rate was well above career average, soft contact rate was well below career average, FB% above career average, IFFB% below career average, he had one of the highest average exit velocities in MLB, and he had some sort of arm injury in July, after which he didn't hit a HR for a month and a half. All of those things point to improved power numbers or the potential for it.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 30, 2018 -> 07:08 PM) The advanced stats scream “regression”. He most definitely got better last season, but he also got really lucky. You can continue to ignore all those indicators all you like (and you will), but I think the majority of people here simply want to see more power from him before truly believing that he’s an above average player. The good news is he young enough to see further improvement and maybe just maybe he finds a way to loft the ball consistently in 2018. Explain how the advanced stats scream regression without using the acronym "BABIP". That's the only one that is strongly favoring negative regression, and other advanced metrics point to the possibility of positive regression in both power and plate discipline. If he puts up a .290/.360/.540 line, is he any less valuable? Because I could see that based on his 2017 numbers factoring negative BABIP regression with positive regression in the power and plate discipline categories.

QUOTE (Real @ Jan 30, 2018 -> 07:41 PM) Really? Progressive policies would lose on the national stage? You obviously don't read any polls. Medicare is insanely popular for those who have it, saying Medicare for all would be unpopular is flat out incorrect. People overwhelmingly support it. People also overwhelmingly support a minimum wage tied to inflation, tuition free public college, and legalizing marijuana. The reason people stayed home, or voted for Trump was because they knew the difference between Trump and Hillary is negligible when you're talking about POLICY. Also, please don't try pretending as if Hillary won fair and square. The entire mainstream media showed superdelegate tallies before they even cast a vote. Unaware voters saw this as her having a lead that she didn't already have. SANDERS closed a 60 point lead in less than 10 months. He didn't have the name recognition nor had the corporate media behind him. We also know that Clinton literally funded the DNC herself and had all of the strings of power. Yeah, the idea that progressive policies would lose on the national stage is pretty absurd when you consider that almost every progressive policy position polls at over 60% nationally.

QUOTE (Real @ Jan 30, 2018 -> 03:46 PM) Victim blaming, nice. Instead of s***ting on progressives for not supporting neoliberal corporatists who are essentially moderate republicans, how about you come at this from the correct angle and blame the politician for not EARNING their votes. Nobody owes anybody their vote. Our voting system itself needs major reform. Voting should be mandatory as it is in many countries, and it should be a ranking system. This would allow for the proliferation of minor parties and force the major parties to consider positions they otherwise wouldn't in order to be able to govern, which would give more of the country more of a voice in politics.

Trump is actively committing treason. 18 USC 2381: "Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States." That is the definition of treason per US code. Public Law 115-44, signed into law by President Trump, imposed sanctions on Russia. The Trump administration now refuses to impose these sanctions, "giving...aid or comfort within the United States or elsewhere" to Russia, who can be said to be our enemy by the fact that Public Law 115-44 passed nearly unanimously and required the United States government to impose sanctions on Russia as a punishment.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 27, 2018 -> 02:48 AM) Joe Kennedy III going to give Dem response to State of the Union address. Can’t be any worse than Beshear last year. January 26, 2018 Centrist Democrats Are Undermining Progressive Candidates According to a major new report, the Democratic Party leadership is undermining progressive candidates and backing wealthier, centrist hopefuls that are following a failed strategy...with the main litmus test being able to get out your phone or Rolodex and raise $100-250,000 instantly. http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option...style=%27color: So they're not only not learning, they're doubling down on cutting their nose off to spite their face. Centrist democrats don't have the policy positions to differentiate themselves enough from Republicans for the electorate. The grassroots, progressive movement in the party is where the energized base is, and the policy positions are different enough from Republicans as to be distinguishable to the average voter.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 28, 2018 -> 08:21 PM) The same reason all pitchers aren't using Trevor Bauer's offseason training regimen of trying to throw 120-130 mph. I didn't mean intentionally putting hitches into their swing, I meant working with kinesologists with backgrounds in biomechanics to build their swings, or for teams, hiring them as hitting coaches. I can believe the line of thinking that most hitting coaches are awful, but if some players and teams have found the right people that can help them work with their swing mechanics and make their swing effective, why aren't players and teams flocking to these people?

QUOTE (GermanSock @ Jan 28, 2018 -> 04:59 PM) I don't really have a problem with a hitch. Many great hitters had a hitch, josh Donaldson and Barry bonds among them (If you mean a pre swing hands drop). Issue with the hitch is the timing, a hand drop and bat tip can be a great loading mechanism. You just need to do it early enough to give the hands time to work back and up. Donaldson explains the hitch thing here at 6:45 he says the hands need to go down at the foot is lifted so the hands go back as the foot goes down. A hitch is bad when it is so late that you still move the hands back up when you should start. Donaldson (who is a great hitting expert by the way) is a big opponent of quieting things down. Is is an easy fix done by many mlb orgs and it can improve some things but it can also kill athleticsm and power. So if I hear batting coaches want to simplify things , eliminate movement and such stuff I'm very scared.great hitters don't eliminate movement but control it. Most of the time those simplified swings kill the upside of players. Sure a hitch is not for anyone and many are great without it and maybe no hitch is really better for Collins but I'm always wary if teams talk about quieting things down and simplify stuff. Some it can help but many are ruined. Problem is that most pro hitting coaches suck. Donaldson literally said he told them to GTFO and did his own thing (he worked with my loose internet friend Bobby tewksbary), in fact many good players have now private coaches who intensively studied kinesiology and biomechanics while most team batting coaches are still ex players with little biomechanics understanding. The Astros have actually hired such an expert (Jeff Albert) and more teams will do so, but most still give away their hitting coach jobs based on merit as a player and clubhouse connections. Why isn't everyone doing this, then?

QUOTE (wrathofhahn @ Jan 27, 2018 -> 01:01 AM) .323 BABIP with a .220 AVG thats pretty hard to do Much easier when you have a 37.8% K rate as a 26 year old. That's a hard pass.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 27, 2018 -> 10:00 AM) Awesome and thanks for sharing. I’m actually pretty excited about this kid. Cordell mentioned in an Athletic article that he feels most comfortable in CF and if he can actually stick there then we might just have something here. Great, hopefully he can develop into a 2+ WAR CF so that that's the White Sox worst case scenario when it's time to complete, with an upside of a 5+ WAR Robert.

QUOTE (Jenksy Cat @ Jan 26, 2018 -> 01:15 PM) I just don't understand it when you have similar production in Santana for peanuts. Unless they have a deal locked up to trade Santana for pitching I don't really understand what they're doing. They probably don't believe in Santana. I wouldn't blame them for that.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 11:20 PM) The White Sox would definitely have interest in Domingo Santana, as well as Keon Broxton, who has no place to play now unless someone gets injured, same with Phillips. Corey Ray would be another possibility, with his Chicago ties, along with Erceg. That's at least 5 players (I'm assuming we're not going to trade for MORE pitching). I think most of SoxTalk would be elated to acquire Keston Hiura for Abreu, although where he would play (DH/2B, possibly 3B or LF) is another question altogether. Lewis Brinson, OF XXX Brandon Woodruff, RHP Corbin Burnes, RHP Keston Hiura, 2B Monte Harrison, OF XXX Luis Ortiz, RHP Brett Phillips, OF Lucas Erceg, 3B Isan Diaz, 2B/SS XXX Corey Ray, OF BA Top 10 list for 2018 No interest in Santana or Broxton personally, and I was probably Hiura's biggest fan pre-draft, but he's not a good enough centerpiece for Abreu. I'd've wanted Brinson, Hiura, and a lottery ticket at least for Abreu, and they just don't have that value in their system now.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 10:27 PM) These moves also validate Crasnick’s tweet, which means we’ve been talking with the Brewers about something. Sanchez still makes the most sense for them IMO, but Brewers fans seem enamored with Abreu anchoring their lineup. I still think there may be some smoke here. Maybe something happens this weekend and it gets announced during SoxFest. They traded Brinson. Their farm isn't deep enough for them to get Abreu now.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Jan 25, 2018 -> 12:25 PM) And New England paid for the crime...now over a decade later what's the excuse for success? First it was "deflated" balls, what's next? These ridiculous suspensions and penalties are the NFL's way of further balancing the competition I suppose and they haven't been very successful Still the cameras, still the illegal signal stealing (yes, there is legal signal stealing, and yes, the difference between doing it legally and doing it illegally is huge), still Ernie Adams. These things never changed, and anyone who thinks they did based on the Spygate cover-up and subsequent "punishment" (laughable to call it that, who wouldn't trade a couple first round picks and a couple million dollars of fines split between 4 people for five world championships officially recognized and sanctioned by the league as legitimate?) is naive or willfully ignorant.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Jan 24, 2018 -> 06:15 PM) Good one http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/cowhe...wx11ugttnkmfx2s https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/10/04/tom-brady...e-ideal-gas-law How about when Elway's Broncos went over the Cap routinely? Or when Tomlin tripped up Jacoby Jones? Jerry Rice using illegal gloves? Falcons pumping in fake crowd noise? Everyone tries to get an edge, few are successful Whataboutism doesn't excuse that the Patriots cheated (and probably still do given that McDaniels got caught doing it with Denver and Ernie Adams is still on New England's payroll) by stealing other teams signals (and by extension, playcalls) by illegally filming them on the sidelines. If you can't understand the difference between attempting to steal signals on the sideline while live action happens, and filming those signals, sending them to someone (Ernie Adams) to be analyzed and deciphered, and having the person who analyzes and deciphers the signals have a direct line to the head coach on gamedays, then you don't really understand the point of competition or rules.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Jan 24, 2018 -> 03:08 PM) As a Pats fan, we won't have to worry about this The success of the Patriots starts at the top with top level ownership in Kraft (not JR), and goes down to the timeless philosophy designed by Belichick This is something we'll never see in sports again Appreciate it while you can I guess cheating is a timeless philosophy, isn't it?

Apparently, sons of former MLB players that are named after said player themselves become very good baseball players. At least that's what Guerrero Jr. and Tatis Jr. seem to be showing.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 18, 2018 -> 11:22 PM) disproportionately for the bottom 80% of the population, and financed it largely by taxing the top 20% at a higher rate? Would that be ANY different than the current reaction of Democrats/liberals to Trump's tax law, and why? Study after study have shown that by giving the poor and middle class more money (disposable income) in their pockets, they'll directly inject it back into the economy and also pay down debt to a much larger extent than the positive economic impact of gifting it to the rich/elites. The middle class and those living in poverty might also wisely invest it into their children's education/s, which sociologists point out is the only realistic way to break poverty cycles, for example...or into saving some of it for retirement (putting it back into the economy by buying shares). Yes, stocks are up (under Obama, 250%, Trump around 30%). But 80 percent of the value is held by the richest 10 percent. 84% of the tax cut benefits are going to the Top 1%. We can throw out any numbers we want, like 52% have "stock market investments/shareholder class" all the way up to 63% having some type of 401-k/pension/mutual funds/Roth/IRA/profit-sharing or stock option plan, but the fact is that almost all of the benefits of the new Republican tax bill are going to the richest Americans, leading to more and more inequality/unequal distribution of wealth. But why is this good for America, exactly? Studies of the 2004 tax cut confirm exactly what economists predicted is already happening: Repatriated earnings (think Apple here) were used largely to repurchase stock. The obvious problem is that stock buybacks aren't as productive as ordinary business investment, research and design/development, capital expenditures, improving technology/efficiency/productivity and 2) they inflate corporate earnings (misleadingly) per share by reducing overall share count, eventually leading to a recession. Rewarding existing shareholders for remaining loyal and faithful shareholders would certainly be argued by many to be a productive business investment, but, once again, almost all of the benefits are going to the wealthiest 10% of Americans. So if we argue that roughly 20% of the benefits are trickling down to middle class tax cuts AND employee bonuses/raises/minimum wage increases, we have a bigger question... Why wouldn't Democrats simply turn around and "victimize" the rich by doing the exact opposite somewhere down the line? To many, Trump's policies are, at their heart, about rewarding his family and his base of support...so, wouldn't doing the opposite pretty much ensure that the majority of Americans would vote for Democrats? That 80% of the benefits should flow to the middle class/poor and only 20% of the benefit to the rich/corporations? Since the corporate taxes are already locked in, wouldn't it be natural to turn around and continue this "class warfare" thing we've got going on going all the way back to the Clinton Administration in the 1990's and realistically even earlier. One COULD argue that this was exactly what Hillary Clinton was attempting to articulate in 2016, but it didn't come across as genuine or authentic because she and the Obama admin were too cozy with Goldman Sachs/Wall Street and the corporate elites to be believed or trusted in the same way that Bernie Sanders was... https://finance.media.yahoo.com/news/tax-cu...-185047405.html The title is misleading. I think this type of reform is exactly what most people want. In fact, with what Trump and his cronies did to taxes, you wouldn't even need a cut, just make the new credits permanent, make the standard deduction about two-thirds of what it is for 2018, put exemptions back in, eliminate the nonsense Republicans did with above the line and below the line deductions, and make massive increases for the wealthy and corporations. You'd probably end up with a revenue positive bill that way.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 23, 2018 -> 03:05 PM) https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/politics/202...frey/index.html Biden and Sanders polling better against Trump than Oprah Of course they are. We're seeing the downside of a celebrity president right now, why on Earth would anyone rational want another one?

I'd imagine guys like Cease, Burger, Rutherford and Collins are not that far from the list.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jan 17, 2018 -> 10:37 AM) As a matter of fact, here's my early guess for the Affiliates: Charlotte: Kopech, Adams, Guerrero, Stephens, Danish, Covey Birmingham: Hansen, Dunning, Banks, Puckett, Lambert Winston-Salem: Cease, Clarkin, Flores, Solorzano, Martinez, Andre Davis Kannapolis: Hickman, McClure, Henzman, Comito, Peralta That's some solid pitching depth, especially in the high minors.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 04:22 PM) Not at the federal level, but Daniel Biss. That's the mathematician running for Illinois governor, right? He'd have my vote if I lived in Illinois.

QUOTE (Chicago White Sox @ Jan 21, 2018 -> 07:31 PM) An alleged insider on a Brewers fan forum had this to say about an imminent trade: If that's the case and it's with the White Sox, I hope Brinson and Hiura are involved on their end.