he gone.

agreed. personally i didn't think it would be a mod who would take it there. I brought none of those topics up and wanted nothing to do with taking it there ... To get it back on track - i think the election will actually go a bit smoother in almost all states than people are anticipating. I do think there will be the normal swing states that may have controversy (Michigan, Florida) and also think Wisconsin will be Red this time around even though it's trending blue by polls. My theory on that is more or less Covid cases.. the more there are, the more defiant the people are, the more cases there are, and the more it reflects where their heads are at in regards to things ... in this case i think wisconsin may actually be an upset to Trump. Just a hunch.

no that falls in line with what i said .... taking a 0.000001% story and acting like its happening everywhere in droves. Yes it sucks. Yes that's wrong. No I don't think it should be covered at nauseum when there are so many other issues that are really the core of the problem. You fix those problems and I'd bet you don't have people who are so afraid of what they don't know that they're arresting and projecting their own insecurities. But that seems to be your way of arguing ... You took something i didn't bring up, brought it up, then i responded in a well reasoned manner, and you find a fringe, one-off story. It doesn't actually move anything forward, stuck in neutral arguing that you won an argument that i am not even arguing against you in. around and around we go in a circle.

That's really projecting on pretty mild commentary from my end. You bolded my part where i said I don't get why politics evokes such raw emotion, and took it to a whole different conversation. I guess I'll address your take - but i'm not sure what it accomplishes. People can be gay, straight, bi, or act like they're a pet cat for all i care. people weren't going around arresting people on the streets for being gay ... so although this may be a sensitive topic, it's really being blown out of proportion on your take. Which is kind of politics in general ... we focus on the tangible stuff to dumb it down for the mass public to be able to latch on & then blast those issues everywhere in 20 second snippets and soundbites. its ADHD and lowest common denominator. We focus on "sensationalized" topics while ignoring the real problems, why they're problems, why did the pop up, and how did we get there. Health insurance for all as an example - I'm for it. I also think Americans, and how they take care of themselves is really sad. Think of America and our lives as a root. That root grows and grows and builds upward. EVerything continues to expand and branch out from our decisions at the root.. well that tree isn't going to be too healthy or grow if it doesn't get the right sunlight, water, nutrients, etc. Humans are the same. Healthcare doesn't have to be this crazy expensive solution. We should have schools really highlighting good diets, exercise, etc. Using the science classes to explain food, our bodies etc. instead of just using school to memorize stuff, we should be applying it to our own lives. You do that and you have a healthier, more active population, which cuts down on healthcare costs for things like heart disease, diabetes, mental health, etc. etc. where we are in America is a symptom of the disease we've created over time. And just giving UBI or giving free healthcare doesn't really fix the root of the problem. The root of the problem goes back to the issues previously mentioned. giving free _________ fill in the blank just encourages the same behavior which in then snowballs the issue until it completely rots out and the tree dies. Now don't take this as a response to your paragraph and whatever issue you have ... that's not the point of that paragraph ... not sure what you have and nor do i care. its not my business, nor is it my business if you're dressing up as a cat at home. I'm all for provided healthcare & think it truly is the responsiblity of the government to provide it, while at the same time going back to the root of the issue and fixing it for the next generation. They need to clean up the mess they created, but need to also create an atmosphere where it doesnt happen at the same volume go forward. I also think we need to be cognizant and admit what is driving A LARGE percentage of these issues, which is people's health, which leads to weight issues, back issues, knee issues, diabetes, heart, mental health, etc. etc. which leads to depression which leads to isolation, sometimes crime, etc. etc. etc. Again those aren't straight line correlations, just general correlations. So before people start nit picking specific lines to bold and quote to why my post is so bad, just remember this is in general. To me it all stems back to really three main things which i think all elections should be about - and what I think America needs to focus on: Education - needs a complete overhaul. We've raised a society of people who memorize for grades on a test rather than teaching critical thinking skills, how to apply those skills, every day life skills (cooking, trades (construction, heating, plumbing, mechanics), entrepreneurship, business planning, financial planning. Science should be tied to health, to our bodies, to our minds. Math should be tied to construction and financial planning and saving and business planning, computer sciences, etc. Memorizing for tests to get a letter grade so that you can get into an overpriced college to memorize more useless drab bullshit doesn't make us smarter, it makes us stiff, non flexible, robots. There's a reason a large percentage of entrepreneurs are from overseas. our system doesn't incentivize creativity or applying learning. it's all for grades, letters, designations, etc. The world needs less MBA yes men and more thinkers and doers and it stems for a broken schooling system. Health - basically what i said above. We are a sick society and i believe a lot stems from that. I think all schools should have dedicated time to sitting one on one with a counselor no matter what, working through home issues, how to deal with those, how to overcome. meditation, yoga, learning yourself, and establishing smart, healthy practice. Setting the precedent for a healthy, sound mind and body is instilling power in the individual to overcome. Money - stresses of life are primarily driven by money. The current system is a broke joke. Fix the money and you fix a lot of the above. Money drives people more than anything else in the world. Money is just a value of time expressed in dollars currently. You can read my thoughts on that in the financial thread, but the current system of zero percent interest rates creates a larger divide & puts will this society worse than ever before. So those are my thoughts. Paint me red or blue or purple. it 100% doesn't matter who's in power this next term or the 10 terms after that if we don't fix the root.

I also predict this thread is locked by the time of election night. I never really understand why politics evoke such raw emotions and inability to compromise but that's life i guess. My theory on it is like when two people who are super alike hate each other, not realizing they are completely the same person. A good real world example is like a wife and a mother-in-law not liking each other even though the son basically marries a version of his mom. They're the same, but dont realize how alike they are. That's politics to me. There's no "conservative" approach when it comes to spending - the deficit is huge regardless of who's in charge - balanced budgets are of old. They both are about the same on war, spending, international relations, socially .. i mean ... there are some differences, but i think those are just echoed and amplified more than they're real. The only reason politics is interesting to me is the psychology of humans and how we fight so much about them, but in general fall in line everywhere else.

haha. for an official prediction - everything goes blue, ba dee da dum. we'll be living in a blue house with a blue window with a blue corvette and everything will be blue.

My prediction is everything sways back to other side of the pendulum. Generally we just switch of red/blue/red/blue or red/red/blue/blue/red/red/blue/blue. Never forward, just blaming the others. Human psychology is a weird, weird thing.

Devils advocate perspective - there has never been a Corona virus vaccine ... https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2020-04-17/coronavirus-vaccine-ian-frazer/12146616 Now, there also has never been so much money and man power poured into one, but let's just say it takes longer than expected (as we can attest thus far), or we never get a really successful, safe vaccine for mass rollout - then what is the best path? Is it herd immunity? As we're seeing overseas almost no matter what this thing is coming back in full force & from what I've read a lot of these European cities did what many would consider a good/safe job the first time around + subsequent months. Maybe we do this so wrong, that ultimately its right? Just food for thought. This of course the devils advocate point of view, the skip bayless of covid takes. (disclosure - i'm not saying this is my point of view)

The other thing to add to the equation is timing. Timing - opportunity - taking advantage. If we are confident we can mirror the success of a Rays or A's or Cardinals then we don't necessarily have to go out and get a Bauer or Stroman or make a trade -- however -- if you think our window is more along the lines of the Cubs, Royals, Indians, Padres model etc. then you almost have to make an aggressive move. I'd much rather be in the first basket and try and keep the window open for a decade plus .. but that takes a lot of confidence that Hahn can evaluate and make trades that are smart both for a current winning strategy as well as long term + corresponds with JR's pocketbook... so that means trades like Tommy Pham .... or Matthew Libratore for the Rays this past offseason. One was a trade to keep salary down, while the other was basically finding a replacement for him via a really nice prospect. It's a constant give and take battle that is tough to pull off. Based on JR past spending that probably is the right avenue, but who knows if that's the route we go. In that type of model you would actually be looking to trade Jose Abreu this offseason knowing you can slot in a cheaper Vaughn at 1b and find a decent DH internally in someone like Eloy, and then improve LF defense via FA at a lesser price. It's constant shuffling in terms of your assets to keep payroll down, maximizing return, and looking towards the future. Otherwise if the window is just 4-6 years you need to go out and sign a top guy. Because at the end of the day you have: Kopech - innings limit Crochet - innings limit and always the chance TJS pops up Cease - somewhat innings limit on a full season + playoffs + wild/ineffective bouts Dunning - innings limit Stiever - innings limit Some of your tier 2 SP guys who might make an impact -- also restricted All in all - you're going to need your new manager to play this thing perfectly next year constantly pushing the gas pedal down, then easing off, then pushing down again while trying to win through a whole season and be fresh/prepped/healthy for a postseason run. That's a lot to ask. Which is why guys like Rodon/Lopez could very well be very important pieces on a team next year even if we dont want them to be. Innings need to be eaten (assuming 162 games) and they'll need to come from somewhere. (Names that fit this mold too are Kluber/Rich Hill) We may need to do a model like the Rays of having someone like a Kopech start and go 2-3IP and then bring in a Rodon or Lopez to fill another 2-4ip. This keeps your main assets in Kopech/Dunning/Crochet (maybe Cease) fresh for when you need them the most down the stretch. Aka -- look at the Dodgers and Rays -- both deploy this strategy a lot. If you dont' go out and get a Bauer or a Stroman then the likelihood of the Sox grinding through the playoffs will be much like the Braves this year ... a team that has the offense, but all in all, a wasted year because a tired Cease/Kopech/Dunning isn't going to matchup against Julio Urias (or the equivalent if you get a good SP team) in a Game 4 very well.

This, but across all metrics. It's not like JR to make a splash like this ... but looking at both his time horizon in life (morbid), the Sox championship window that corresponds with that morbid nugget, the state of the economy + unsure outlook for baseball and fans in 2021 & you have a perfect shit storm to scoop up not only front office people, but players on the cheap too. I'd guess most will want 1-2 year deals based on what's going on, but im sure some will opt for longer deals. Now we don't need too much admittedly ... but this is when guys like (off the top of my head) JD Martinez, Chris Sale, Kris Bryant, Lindor, A number of guys on the Red Sox, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Brewers, Indians, Pirates, Rangers .. maybe Nationals .. all will be selling. Teams that have talent, but not enough to probably get over the top, looking to shed payroll during a time like this. Names that interest me again off the top of my head Nationals - Scherzer, Eaton (yikes) Pirates - JOE MUSGROVE, polanco (yikes), josh bell Brewers - Avi garcia (yikes) LORENZO CAIN Colorado - Jon Gray, German Marquez, Dahl, Hampson, Blackmon, Arenado, McMahon, Rodgers Cubs - Bryant, Darvish Boston - JD Martinez, Sale Obviously not all those guys are perfect fits ... some work better than ever and are more realistic than ever. But i think you'll see a wild offseason. I think you'll be surprised by a name or five this offseason. I really don't think there will be many untouchables on teams 15-30 in the power rankings. Someone like a scherzer might seem crazy, but hes getting older, the likelihood of nats really putting it all together, etc. make anything possible

This. It's basically Yolmer all over again. I'm completely fine with him being on this team next year. It's not my preference, but I'm okay with it because assuming we have another 16 team playoff (and based on Covid and vaccines, etc I think its more likely than not) then you really don't need to care too much about winning over the 162 game season. As long as you don't care about seeding, you should be able to make it with our talent on the roster -- so the upside/downside isn't that big to me. if you don't have a target you like this offseason, then dont rush it to rush it. Can always sit back and wait for the trade deadline. That allows you to see if Mazara has anything in the tank (unlikely) or if Engel has another step forward left in him (id guess unlikely too). With how stacked our offense is you're not losing a WS because of RF, teams can have a hole or two in a lineup ... usually it's at catcher, but since that's not an issue on our end, it comes in RF. Pitching should remain the focus. S Bauer, Stroman, Trade.

How do you feel about Tesla at this given time? Taking any profits? I was listening to a podcast with Rob Maurer who has been a Tesla bull for a long time & he makes a lot of good points. I believe in many of them too, I just can't ever seem to pull the trigger on their valuations. Its not that I dont believe in their strategy or that I don't believe they'll hit their goals, it's more that is too priced in already for me on a risk/reward basis. For me, now it's just tipping the cap that I missed most of the boat, and that I need to focus my capital allocation to something that still has healthy run up, but with more limited downside. If Tesla was ever to get back to the $850 range I think I'd be interested (aka $215 after split).

To me guys like Odorizzi (even outside of Statcast info) are just not worth it. If we do another 16 team playoffs I think the Sox are in again, almost no matter what. So if winning during the season isn't as important then giving start to guys like Gio Gonzalez or Odorizzi to me seems like a wasted opportunity to find out what you have in a lot of your younger arms. To me you have to make a deal that bring in a guy who you'd be CONFIDENT with on the mound in Game 6. To me the only real options who fill that are Bauer, Stroman and ... wait for it ... Rich Hill. Now Rich Hill may be 1,000 years old and only can pitch 43 innings a year, but there's no denying his talent when locked in. Plus he fits the Sox mentality for a short contract (1 year) and price (probably $2-5mm). Plus side, just have him on IL or pitching 1-2 innings as a "opener" for the whole season then come playoff time just ramp him up to 3-4 innings and hope for the best.

Man, what a great game last night, and overall series. Ultimately what I'm scared of is the Sox becoming the Braves over the next two years. Like you look at that Braves team and you say, it's solid, if not a great team right? But really did they have a chance at winning the WS last year, or even this year? The offense is Top 3-5 in the league, there's no denying that. And they almost took out the Dodgers pitching with those bats, but ultimately 7 games in 7 days + then another 7 games against a team like the Rays? It would have been a huge upset for them to win. Now, I know that is going to be a controversial statement, because in the past people have not liked this stance ... I'll continue to have it. Pitching and pitching depth wins championships. What I am afraid of is becoming the Braves ... having a top 3-5 offense and squandering away 2 very, very prime seasons in a 4-7 year window. The Braves were a bit unfortunate with Hamels and Soroka and w those two healthy, one can make a very prudent argument of them actually being the better team v. the dodgers. However, without it, they were stuck with Fried & a very young Ian Anderson as their anchors & the rest being a hope in a prayer. Now a hope and a prayer can get your the ALCS/NLCS, but to knock a WS caliber team out in 7 games will be tough. RF is a hole, we know that. But you can fill a RF with a Puig, Engel, Mazara, Markakis, etc. etc. (i purposely picked replacement level players) and get away with it. What you can't get away with is having Dylan Cease (as he was this year ... prospects don't grow linearly and still has a chance to be a stud) or the likes starting a pivotal game 4 or 5/coming in a big situation over and over. Giolito is the man. Keuchel .... should have enough in him until he shows otherwise, and should still be able to be a #3 for the next few years. Kopech has the stuff to be our Ian Anderson for sure. Cease? I dont know. Dunning has some Buehrle/Keuchel lite in him & with this offense behind him? Should be a very, very serviceable 3-4 guy for a long time IMO. Crochet? Seems like flexor injuries appear, and then re-appear, feel like I can't count on him being healthy in the next 2 years (complete hunch). All this to say ... we NEED a top of the rotation guy this year more than anything. We need depth. We need to emulate the dodgers where you can trade a Maeda, lose a kershaw for a game and still have a may, gonsolin, urias ready to step up and pitch. That will be the key to our success. Our offense is there. We need that Bauer, Stroman, or acquisition arm. Otherwise I fear we will be the Braves in 2021 and 2022 ... losing close series, being oh so close, but not getting over that hump, which when you look back on it, are going to be prime years to miss opportunities on.

Here's my thoughts: Ricky: Fine manager, I do think he did an okay job. You can't really fault him for any of the previous years - he was given some AAAA players to work with. Now I didn't always agree with his bullpen management -- that being said find me a manager where you DO agree with it. I never liked his weird bunting stuff ... that was odd. Overall I also wish he was a little more flexible, but that's probably more of a me thing. i'd likely be much more like Joe Maddon as a manager - meaning I'd be moving guys all over the field a bit more ... try a Moncada in RF, Vaughn, McCann, etc. I understand if i was hte manager that would get shit on too. But I would've liked a bit more free thinking LaRussa: You don't win as much as him by mistake. He probably could be a fine manager and I don't think without the benefit of being behind the scenes and in the interviews that we really know enough about him. LIke all we're doing is sitting at home projecting that he won't be able to change with the times. Maybe, and maybe that's the part we dont like, that it's not proven. But he's done it in the past & i'd have to think Hahn and Co would have the ability to decipher if he can embrace change like we hope he will. If he gets hired and he's hawk with the TWTW, then i mean, it's a disaster. Hinch: We all know the positives and negatives. Same with Cora. Basically, to me, would these guys have had the same success without the cheating? we dont know and we cant really quantify that. So, to me, it's almost as big of a risk as can LaRussa adapt to todays culture? Probably less of a concern, but still a negative check mark Everybody else: AJ Pierzynksi - i'd personally love it, however I wonder how his personality may mesh.. plus first timer... i'd like to see him on the bench as a coach maybe earning his stripes. To me, why aren't there more qualified options? I don't want anybody with a preexisting negative coming into the process. Seems like w this talent we should be able to find a manager who checks all the boxes.

And kind of this too. I mean, Ill come off as an asshole, but I think there is a difference between " go kill yourself you fat piece of shit" and reality. We're like 2 decades into the internet and being able to instantly connect with billions of people in the world. I think we're just figuring the rules, norms, and how to handle it. I give 30% of the blame to Megan, 60% to the people responding like assholes, and 10% to Bauer.

First I agree like 50% with you - i agree with almost all of the last sentences/line. But I'd agree with you more if Bauer said anything even remotely bad. Also ask an Ashley Rodon or any of these players/players wives the shit they have to endure from Joe nobody on a couch whos fat, out of shape, and trying to find joy through a baseball GAME. I think we have to start giving people more credit in this world, let them make their own conclusions. Imagine if just because you were admin on this site that you had to censor what you said, or you know, every critical comment you made you had to watch beacuse the people of Sox Talk respected you/looked up to you so much, that we were out there giving death threats to Tony LaRussa or Nomar Mazara (just two disliked guys on the board). Would you think that's fair to you to have to censor yourself? Like, lets say someone posted, "Nomar Mazara is such a bum, he doesn't deserve to be on this team, just if there is any doubt in your mind Nomar WE DONT WANT YOU HERE!" And then you responded - hey Sox Talk, is Matt (me) your official sox talk spokesperson? Should Nomar not resign his Sox contract?? Please advise. And beacuse you have so much clout as an admin of the site people started coming after me giving me death threats... What I am saying, yes, that's a wild hypothetical becauase we're nobodies on a message board (and nobody wants Mazara back haha), but imagine walking in their shoes ... was the exchange really that bad? The tweet exchange: Just in case there is ANY doubt in your mind Trevor WE DONT WANT YOU HERE The response: Hey Dodgers fans is ________ your official spokesperson? Should I cancel my trip to LA or ...?? Please advise If Megan was Bob would this be a story? Do you really think that Bauer cared if it was Bob or Megan? Now he's got blue check marks calling him misogynistic over that above exchange.. just seems like this world has gone overboard with overreactions...

no winning is just an expression my man. A no-win set of conditions is one in which whatever happens there will be an unhappy and unsuccessful result: to be in a no-win situation. Aka, if you say let's shut down everything, let's stay inside, let's follow the rules and get healthy. Then everybody lives, but jobs crash. If you say let's go out there and work, try to be safe ... well, you see what happens, people don't follow rules and get sick. AKA no winning. I don't care about winning an argument ... who cares if i win an argument with a stranger on a white sox message board about a nuanced topic like covid? Like what i say here is going to change anybody's mind or have an influence in the world in the slightest.. ha. It's a topic like religion and politics nowadays ... people are dug in, trying to defend their "side" as much as possible when the topic has so many angles that in reality there is no right answer.

My concerns would be how he relates and connects with young latin players. I understand he has his track record - and sometimes we act like managing is the hardest thing in the world, at the same time we sit on a message board and make our own lineups ... so the hypocrisy is rich, but LaRussa probably ain't it. I'd pass on him. Also the statcast angle -- if you managed 10 years ago v today ... wouldn't you be different. I thnk we can safely assume that he has changed with the times & sure the sox would make sure this true if they hire him. I don't think the Sox would hire someone who didn't have a detailed plan of how to approach this team.

Exactly. It's not like he looked at the tweet, saw it was a woman, and then was like I'm going to humiliate (aka respond to her in a joking matter). He responds the same way to everybody. Bring on as many personalities into baseball as you can and market them. Baseball is going to be hockey in a decade at this rate. You'll have your die hard fans, and then that's it. Also if you're offended by Bauer? Yikes. Then everything in the world must offend you.

To each their own. I try to stay off the Covid thread as much as possible since there is no winning. Religion, politics and Covid - the holy grail. My point is I 125% believe you can get 10k into Comiskey as safely as a Home Depot, Wal-Mart, little league baseball game, grocery store, etc. You just take measures like I laid out above... (all moot now anyways, but may be applicable next year). You open all gates, people naturally arrive spaced out, seats are calculated by an algorithm, food is ordered through Ballpark App, concourses are mask on, hell whole stadium can be masked if that makes you more comfortable, staggered exits based on rows, etc. Really not that hard to pull off. Now, if this was the Bulls? it'd be tougher based on indoors. But outdoors like Comiskey and Soldier Field can be managed. Also if the MLB doesn't want dead people on their watch, then why risk it for 12 or so games & 120k of ticket sales for NLCS and WS after being so careful for almost 1,000 regular season games? When you start asking common sense question and don't get common sense answers, that's where my interest is peaked.

Yes, in IL it was & that was Lori not allowing it in Chicago. I think the CUbs had a plan they presented to her and she declined it. But what about literally every other baseball stadium in the US? Particularly in Texas? I mean, all of a sudden they allow fans? But not during the regular season? Texas has allowed socially distanced outdoor concerts all summer, baseball wouldve been approved. You can go across a bunch of states which would have allowed it ... so just connecting the dots, the MLB shut it down. Not sure what was the driver behind that. Common sense shows that it can be done, and relatively easily. zero % political driven. 100% common sense driven.

We can ... thats the common sense part I hate about the public sometimes. Like, why couldn't the Sox come up with a plan where 10k fans could go to the game, socially distanced, utilizing ticketmaster maps/computers for spacing. Have assigned gates, have assigned row exiting at the end of the game, have concessions ordered through the MyBallpark app, picked up at a designated location like you do at any quick service restaurant nowadays, etc etc. Mask rules on concourse. Have the ushers enforce spacing and any behavior that may be deemed too much, etc.? It wouldn't be any worse or more dangerous than Home Depot ... it's just using common sense and keeping it outdoors. But for some reason baseball waited until the NLCS to allow it. It's all bizarre to me.

Because at the end of the day - both parties are tribalism at their finest. buzz words forced down each others throats until the people who identify as either actually believe them. Republicans and democrats are like 85% the same on topics. They just love to highlight the few they're not in agreement on. Spending? That's a government problem. Not repbulican or democrat.

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i said it wasn't worth giving McCann $5mm to be a backup catcher based on one half year. I still (actively) think Rodon will wear an all-star jersey one year. As long as you own your takes then have as many as you want! haha. I just get tired of people who shit on someone like Cora and then as soon as the Sox sign him, they'll go, "Awesome signing!, this shows we're in it to win it!" Or even to some degree the Keuchel signing. Like you either care about winning at all costs, or you don't. Just be man enough to admit it. Say I don't care that these guys made these poor decisions and I'm willing to give them a second chance since they're going to make me happy by winning ball games. But we don't need a bunch of Skip Bayless'