Jack Parkman

Still doesn't mean it isn't. I just don't think a RHP can get hitters out at the MLB level without averaging 93 on the fastball anymore. You can't even set up hitters because they'll lay off of the breaking stuff and tee off on the fastball, and if you can get 3 breaking balls over the plate then they'll just grab some bench. Watch Giolito pitch and you'll see. He still has awesome breaking stuff but it doesn't matter because he throws 91.

You legalize pot and decriminalize hard drugs in this country you've essentially neutered the cartels. Drugs being illegal is what drives up the profit margins on their sale and distribution. Illicit drug use is a public health issue, not a criminal one and until it is treated as such we can't really advance on the issue. Furthermore, rehab is a joke and they need to do more research into how to treat drug addiction as a medical issue. As long as it is treated as a criminal issue they can't really do clinical trials on the most effective treatments for hard drug addiction.

He knew what he was doing. He's often quoted after he signed that bill as saying "We've lost the South for a generation" It turns out that was an understatement. I do think he knew he wasn't going to run in 1968, as soon as he signed that bill in 1964. He had zero chance whether Vietnam went as poorly as it did or not. He wasn't getting re-elected. It still doesn't change that he could have run in 1968 and probably wanted to, but took one for the team so to speak.

I've done a bit of research on him. RFK would have been a hell of a president. Truly in the mold of FDR and socially progressive to boot. It is a real shame that he was murdered. Who knows how that would have changed history. I personally use the Supreme Court decision Brown v. BOE as the cutoff for when politicians had to take sides, which was 1953. After that point, I don't cut politicians slack for being racist anymore. Not enough people realize the amount of guts and cajones it took LBJ to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He knew it was political suicide for him and he did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. I long for the days when politicians had that kind of integrity, even if it was before my lifetime.

I'm with you 100%. I guess it depends on how quickly the Sox move toward trying to win games in relation to how patient they can be with him after this point. I don't think they're going to punt on him after ST next year, but it wouldn't surprise me if it took him a long time to figure it out. He reminds me of Tiger Woods(not to say he's anywhere as good at his sport as Tiger was) when he was struggling through his swing change. He broke something that didn't need to be fixed, and now he has to re-learn everything from scratch. He can't go out there and just pitch, he's thinking about mechanics constantly. Similar to a golfer, if you're thinking about mechanics you've already lost.

It's real life WWE.

People have to take history in context. You can praise someone for what they did right, and put their bad/terrible decisions in historical context. Those were different times, even if less than a century ago. The country has come a long way in race relations since then, but we still have a looong way to go. Not everyone is 100% bad just because of their worst moments. If we demonize presidents who were womanizers we're batting under .100. Imagine if your boss saw you at your worst moments? Do you think you'd ever get a job again? Probably not, nobody would.

I don't think Trump will be impeached because no matter what Mueller finds the GOP won't have the gonads to stand up to him and remove him from office. GOP congresspeople/senators are a bunch of spineless slimeballs with no conscience or soul. They're only in it for the money, and when they lose an election they are given a job as a corporate lobbyist as payback for all of the favors they did while in office. They aren't afraid to lose an election because they have that cushy lobbyist job as a backup. It also makes them very dangerous. They get to push the economic royalist agenda with virtually zero consequences. They win either way. The people of the country lose. The GOP has their patron saint-Ronald Reagan. Dems don't have one, but they should. His name was Franklin D. Roosevelt. I feel like they distance themselves from FDR way too much for his decision on the Japanese internment camps. While a stain on his legacy, and absolutely the wrong decision, he did so many other things so damn well. He got re-elected three times. He was super popular, brought the country out of near financial oblivion and presided as commander in chief during the great majority of the most important war in modern human history. Dems should learn from that.

It is far easier to admit you were wrong and eat crow about a guy who is good that you thought would suck(Collins) than a guy you thought was good that turns out to suck. (Giolito)

I'd give him one more start before sending him to Charlotte. See if he can have a decent start in terms of run prevention while not walking/HBP-ing the world. If he only has 1-2 walks and gets lit up like a cheap Christmas tree again, send him down. I'm super disappointed in Giolito this year. I really thought he had turned the corner in last September and in Spring Training, but I guess that is why you have to ignore September and Spring Training stats. If he goes down I'd imagine he stays there until September and gets a 2-3 month tryout in 2019 before they give up on him. I've never seen someone look so dominant in the spring and not carry anything over to the regular season as a pitcher. Looked like the fastball/curveball combo was back as he was sitting 93-94 and topping out at 96 and was throwing snapdragon curveballs. I don't know if you can find that video, but go look at that Cubs game that he pitched in during ST and that looked like an ace in the making. Cub hitters were late on the fastball and his curve was filthy. That game is what led me to write the glowing thread about him in April. I thought he was having trouble getting loose in the cold. It turns out he just didn't carry anything from spring over to the regular season. I wish he could be that guy again. Prospects fail, and I guess he may be one of them. It is a shame, I really liked him as a pitcher.

Even though it isn't the greatest return in the world, and the players would have less than the full 7 seasons of control, I wouldn't mind a return of something like Hoffman(who I know the Sox liked in 2014, but Rodon fell into their laps) and either Tapia or Dahl. These are both former T100 guys in a roster crunch in Colorado.

Honestly if the Sox get anything from Giolito or Fulmer it is gravy. It is highly unlikely either of them are going to be major league contributors. Before people say "It's too early to write them off" consider this: If you saw their stats in the minors over the last two seasons, would you think they are a prospect? Be honest with yourselves. Fulmer: 2016 minors stats 103 IP 4.63 ERA between AA/AAA and a 104/56 K/BB 2017 minors stats 126 IP 4.96 ERA in AAA and a 96/65 K/BB Giolito: (I admit he still looked like a prospect when the Sox traded for him) 2016: 115 IP 2.97 ERA between A+-AAA and a 116/44 K/BB 2017: 128 IP 4.48 ERA at AAA and a 134/59 K/BB Whatever he had in 2016 he lost. That is all I can say. If he's hurt he needs to tell someone.

Yes he does, but if he goes down it makes 2019 ST do or die for him staying with the Sox. For that reason, I don't think they're going to send him down. They really don't have a ton of time to let him grow or not. It's pretty much do or die now, tbh. And yeah, it is possible he sucks, because as DA said, he doesn't make hitters look silly when he gets it over the plate. I honestly don't think I've said "that's nasty" once while watching him pitch.

Honestly, even if I agreed with that persons policies more than their opposition, I wouldn't vote for someone with zero experience in government. Only in primaries though.

Great. He's gonna get killed in the bigs at that level. His command is usually on par with Giolito.

Rodon just took a liner off the melon and was removed after 2 IP.

Anyone have velo readings on Rodon?

Even if Bernie does run again, I voted for him last time but I won't again. He was 75 in 2016, I think he's too old. It is incredibly rare to stay as sharp as he is now forever as one ages.

That isn't mutually exclusive though, and Dems can get the message across to both suburbanites and rural blue collar people. They have forgotten how to campaign. When you go to urban areas, you talk about how your policies appeal to urban people, and when you go to rural areas, you talk about the things that benefit those people there. The huge issue is people who might vote Dem but are bigots. Those people are hard to win over and will lean GOP more often than not. I laugh at this, because you hear from GOP supporters all of the time that they don't play identity politics but they do. Their identity politics is I'm white and the riff raff is taking over the country. I don't want any riff raff! Also, there is a special place in hell for Libertarians. We should give them the area between San Bernadino, CA and Phoenix, AZ and bordered on the south by Mexico and the north by Lake Mead as their own little country and let them go play Hunger Games there. I'm sure they'll tell us how wonderful their independent state is and how everything works so perfectly and it is a utopia. FREE MARKET FTW!!!!

I haven't been able to figure out how to gain understanding and support through individuals, so I took it to the political arena. Politics isn't a spectator sport and there isn't a damn thing in the world that isn't political in some way or another. Unfortunately, I'm an outlier when it comes to autistic people as I am a natural extrovert, despite the disability pushing most who have it to introvertedness. I'm not shy about being autistic, and I want to be an activist to the best of my ability. I don't have a large group of supporters, because most don't care about fighting for their rights. The community likes to b**** about things, but they don't want to really do anything about it. I don't care. Even if I don't have the support of the community, I'm still going to fight on their behalf to make their lives better in any way I can.

Right now, I'm too busy trying to punt Roskam from IL-06. He won't meet his constituents and uses the Scalise shooting as an excuse. He won't hold a town hall with his constituents because he claims he fears for his life. I don't get to tell him that I fear for mine because police don't have the proper training to deal with Autistic people. BTW, Reddy, as an autistic white male, there is overlap on 80-90% of issues minorities face, including the following: Not being paid a fair wage or being given an opportunity to prove myself at a full time position(AKA workplace discrimination) having to decide practically whether to work or give up my government benefits and fearing for my life in an encounter with law enforcement, as well as not having most people, even people who care about me, understand what it is like to have a disability. I have been disenfranchised too, and I understand the struggle. I could go on. I unilaterally support movements that seek the civil rights of diverse groups, and hope that as more minority groups that have a larger percentage of the population win their civil rights, I will then have the platform to win mine. I have personally spoken with the Democratic nominee for Kane County Sheriff on a training program to help police officers better understand how to deal with an autistic person they may encounter when on the job, so I'm hoping to somewhat help that issue here in Kane county.

Read my addendum above. I have more of an insider's view in to what is actually happening, at the very least locally. Raising campaign funds and returning the favor are winning over principles and integrity. It is infuriating. Establishment Dems think they have to take money from special interests to win elections. Those dollars come with a favor. They don't realize that message>>>>money and people can outspend you but if you have a better message that resonates with more people, you'll still win.

16 is 16 too many that is my problem. Quit compromising principles. If you're against it, then don't vote for it. 33% is way too much for me. I'd have much more faith in the process if 33% of the senators in Washington failed to vote against a bill that goes against everything that Obama et al worked for in 2009. I don't know what these people think they're accomplishing by voting for this bill. Voting for this bill tells me you're not actually standing up for party platform principles. I used to be really active in my local municipal/county Democratic party since late 2015. I got a little disillusioned when progressive candidates got crushed in the state level elections. Again, It doesn't mean I'm not going to vote for Democrats. I haven't gone to a meeting since the state primaries which a group I was involved with was campaigning for Biss and other local candidates. I got disillusioned when Mike Madigan attacked people who I know personally that were running for office. I know these people are strong progressives and Madigan publically branded them as Republicans in disguise. That kind of disgusting behavior that I have seen taking part inthe process, is why I have a disdain for establishment Dems. I think they have zero integrity. I have more of an inside view into what is actually going on than most and it disgusts me. Campaign funding over constituents and party over people are the common themes here.

Fathom, are you willing to write him off completely? That is what you're doing if you send him down. He only has 1 option left, so it is make the team out of ST next season or DFA him. The Sox really don't have that luxury. He's still a young pitcher so if you're going to punt him it is better to swap him for a similar reclamation project via trade than just releasing him. You are admitting that you don't think he's a major leaguer now and never will be if you send him down. There is nothing to lose here, IMO. The Sox either have to leave him in the majors or punt him and accept he isn't a part of their future. He's going to run into a numbers game next year so there really isn't much time to figure out what they have in him. They aren't trying to win, so why waste the option?

May I ask why obstruction worked for the Republicans from 2008-2010, when the Dems had a supermajority in both houses? Why did acting like petulant children work for them? I understand the Dems have a minority in congress, but the GOP had even a bigger minority and they were still able to pull it off. They weren't able to stop all legislation but they were able to stop most.