Two-Gun Pete

Lenders only sell MBS when the market is not actively buying them, so as to keep the lending market relatively healthy. Your rate depends on the day you applied, your lender, AND the individual borrowers' characteristics. Without knowing all of that, one can't call it a sham. Your buddies might have gotten a better deal (relatively speaking) than others. Insofar as redfin being a lender, there are a fair amount of regs that can keep realtors from being lenders at the same time. (IOW, why wouldnt realtors avoid "outsourcing" any aspect of the transaction to outside lenders right now?) I get that you like Redfin. And, their future value lies in being a cheaper, virtual realtor than a live person, which is very promising. But, becoming a mortgage lender at the same time as being a real estate agency, even a virtual one, is harder to do.

Well, two things: 1. AFAIK, redfin isn't a lender. So, they won't be controlling the whole process from lending anytime soon. There are plenty of banks that will see to it that they wont be in that market. That said, their future value is in making the realtor experience virtual, and cheaper; to that extent, I agree with you. 2. Your rate to buy a $200k house will not be the same as for a $500k or $800k house, if you use conventional or VA lending. The $200k house conforms to conventional lending standards in all markets. The $500k house is a conforming loan in all markets. The $800k house is a jumbo loan in ALL markets, and a VA loan is not available for a loan this size, unless you want to put down a few hundred K on (snicker) residential real estate. 2a. FHA lending standards make all $200k houses available to their lending limits. In some so-called "high-cost counties, a $500k house is within their limits, whereas an $800k house is generally too large for FHA lending standards, unless you put more than the minimum down. Lenders price in the variance in the risks between the three, and rates can vary, depending on the size of the loan. Investors that backs loans can encourage/discourage different types of loans, loan sizes, property types, and geographic areas to fit their mix of loans they back.

Meh, I dunno if Naylor is any good, but based on his fangraphs page, he'd be a MAJOR upgrade over Mazara if the SOX had acquired him.

What, like that awesome trade to acquire Big Game James? That turned out great for the SOX!

And I think that's a fair view as well. Overall, I lean more towards not trading assets at this point; in a short season like this one, the acclimation curve would have to be short, whether a FA or a traded player. Going into 2021, Mazara simply can't be the primary RFer while we're trying to compete in earnest, IMO. Mazara is what he is: a replacement-level offense-first player. Were there more glove-first types in the roster, or if this team were more offensively deficient, there might be a fit for him in the 25/26 man roster. I still think Puig could be gotten at a reasonable cost, and for a more favorable contract length than other options at the position. I think this is true, whether its for the rest of this season, or going into next season.

Love the idea of Cespedes or Colas or both. Love the idea of a stopgap RFer, and Mazara in Charlotte next year in the Delmonico role. (AAAA type serving as corner OF depth, while waiting to be packaged as part of a deal for something else.) That said, why, exactly, would a 28 year old Pederson want to sign a 1 year deal this offseason? Wouldn't he want to cash in on FA, at the peak of his value? OTOH, if the market will be suppressed, and he'd want to sign a 1 year deal, why wouldn't he just stay in LA?

This is wholly overrated. Once again, the two players that know Puig best, Abreu and Grandal, have BOTH vouched for him as a team mate. More importantly, Winning creates Chemistry; Chemistry does not necessarily create Winning. That aside, he's flat-out better than the current RFer, full stop. What with the blossoming stars in CF, SS, & 3B, he doesn't really have to be "a solution," so much as not actively harm the team, as Mazara does in the field. Just provide cromulent defense, and don't embarrass himself at the dish. That aside, I wouldn't trade much of anything this season, when we still don't know if there will even be a playoffs this year. It would be a B!TCH if they stupidly traded away a piece, and then COVID shuts MLB down. Offering Puig a contract to NOT be bad at fielding wouldnt mortgage much of the future, IMO.

No doubt. I'd be happy with a ~90 -105-ish wrc+, if it came along with league-average defense/defensive range, no gaping handedness deficiency, and dependable health. In fWAR terms, a garden-variety ~1.2 to 2.0 fWAR type. Surely this can be gotten for a reasonable contract, without squandering resources [Cash or MiLB pieces] best used on a finishing trade for a future WS run, yes? And IF such a player could be gotten, it would rightly place Engel in his role as a Sunday Lineup CF, defensive sub, and pinch runner. If Leury returns, he gets pushed down a notch to IF/OF utility depth. Most importantly, it would rightly push Mazara down to the Delmonico/fungible AAAA OFer role, and help Delmonico get started on a Korean or Mexican career. In other words, everyone gets slotted where he belongs, in a winning team. For as much as I hated the Mazara pickup, I can understand trying to take a flier on him, given that perhaps this team was fringy in terms of competing in a hypothetical 162 game 2020 season. But, teams that are truly in the hunt for the postseason don't try to add two replacement-level players [Engel/Mazara], and hope that they'll miraculously add up to more than what they are. Since the competitive window has been thrust open in a 60 game sprint, this roster can ill afford several DHs trying to play defense.

On the bright side, he can look forward to his future career in Asia or Mexico.

Stoopid.

And here, you're wrong again. Everyone who is in business (except for the FAANGs companies) is hurting right now. But the overwhelming majority of us don't whine about it as much as JR did. Carry on, then.

So, you're either carrying JR'S water for him, or you think it was a good idea for him to b**** about purported monetary losses while other people lost their lives/businesses/jobs. Cool.

I understand what you're posting. But after we the taxpayers gave him a free stadium, and after his collision, and after his lockout, and after MLB's revenue-sharing schemes, and during a pandemic where people lost their jobs and their lives, JR decided to b**** about losing money. For once out of decades where hes pretty much printed it. Think about that. I hear your opinion, centered around "could," and "should." My opinion is based upon decades of his behavior. YMMV.

If you're worried about one guy out of 28 being a "cancer," then I submit that your leadership are incompetent. As an aside, both Abreu and Grandal have vouched for him. I'm not concerned about the offense, because it's been fine, even with Mazara in it. I'm concerned that the outfield defense has blundered its way into surrendering 2 inside the park HRs already. Pretty much all of the recent WS winning teams catch the ball in the OF. It doesn't matter, though. Mazara will be here, because of KW's/RH's egos. And speeding tickets.

Before the pandemic. And, before JR decided that b!tching about losing money while people lost their jobs or their lives was a good idea. There isn't a snowballs chance in hell that JR will spend to get Bauer, because the world OWES him a profit everyfvkcing year. Didnt you get the memo? I think theres a better chance that JR tries to cut payroll thisb offseason than Bauer is signed here.

They could have signed Puig to be a bridge to Basabe, Adolfo, or Cespedes, but speeding tickets or something. And again, I still believe that Puig could provide more fWAR and competence in the OF than any acquirable RFer then or now. (Not that I think he's great, but +1.0 to +2.0 fWAR >>> anything Mazara can bring to the table.) Hell, they could sign him right now, but that simply won't happen. I never liked the Mazara signing because he's a platoon hitter who sucks out loud at fielding, and can't run at all. Defensively, he's a DH who can't actually hit enough to justify his existence in a roster thats already loaded with DHs with gloves. Given that JR saw fit to b**** about (GASP!) losing money during a pandemic, I worry about them trimming payroll this offseason. Ya know, cuz the world owes them a profit everyfvkcing year or something. I worry less about them spending on McCann or any other FA player this offseason. We'll see...

EE: I'm not surprised; Father Time is undefeated. Cishek: I'm surprised that he's this bad. Mazara: Im not surprised; we got him for Steele Walker, and his career numbers have shown that he is what he is. Overall, I'm only disappointed in what Cishek has done, so I wouldn't call this a disappointed trio, all in all.

On #1, this is true. What's more, student loans are not tied to a borrower's ability to repay, and nor are they tied to an asset. [In this case, the student's future earnings potential.] For some stupid reason, someone who borrows a metric fvkcton of cash to stupidly get a degree in "recreation studies" can borrow as much as someone who studies electrical engineering, for example. This leads to overpricing in degrees that have little value, because the fed guarantees the cash will get to the schools. If the schools KNOW that the loans guarantee that they'll get their cash, they'll keep jacking up the prices, without any real regard to the quality of the product delivered. For #2, I often suggest to parents that they SERIOUSLY consider the JC route for their child for their 1st year or 2 years of their bachelor's degrees. English 101 is the same fvkcing thing, whether you pay $45K/year in tuition to Loyola, or take it at COD for less than $10K/year. So too are the rest of the 100-level courses, be it in Bio, the maths, or whatever. The "college experience" is an abject waste of time and money, unless you either have the means to pay for it, get a scholly of some sort, or have saved for it. [This is often hard for young Boomer/Gen X parents to reconcile, because those generations had a different experience than kids do today.] That said, if your child is truly gifted [READ: They get into a top school, like an Ivy, Stanford, U of C, etc...], AND want to pursue a path that requires a lot of networking and connections, then that is a different conversation. But, for the most part, if you haven't saved for the ENTIRETY of your kid's college, have them go to JC for a year or two, and bend the cost curve downward. When they finish, their degree won't make mention of their attendance at COD, or Moraine Valley, or Daley College. It'll only list where they finished their programs. Hell, with COVID being in place, I'd DEFINITELY have my kid go to JC if (s)he were entering college this year/next year. I'd then defer entry into their 4 year school whenever we're on the other side of COVID, for the simple fact that I wouldn't squander cash on remote learning. YMMV.

Dunno about AJP being a manager. Why would he want it? That aside, i think you may be right that this team needs discipline. I also think the lineup needs a shakeup. I get that Grandal's contract means that he should get first crack at starting. But then I look at his 80 OPS+ vs McCann's 176, and I wonder why 1/3 into the season why Grandal doesn't grab some bench, for example. I wonder why Abreu doesn't get a day off. And I wonder why EE's 37 OPS+ continues to get rolled out there. Or at a minimum, why these guys don't get moved down in the order, to get their attention. Or why Eloy doesnt get a day off after acting like a clown in LF. Who knows. But I'm right back where I usually am each season, wanting everyone fired.

I think what you're seeing are two things: 1. The downside of giving early extensions to young players. If Eloy doesn't give a shit, and he thinks he's already "made it," how can he be motivated to continue to improve? The man's got piles of talent, but how is it that he just sucks out loud at fielding? 2. Poor, weak, accommodating "leadership," both among the field players and the coaching staff. How or why do any of the coaches have their jobs? What do they add to the mix? Among the field players, we were led to believe that Abreu is a leader, but how has he shown that ability? With that, I think the only way forward is for RR to become more of a disciplinarian, and bench guys when they don't perform. OR, move guys down in the lineup when they continue to perform poorly, rather than letting them stay where they are. This season is starting to get out of hand. I simply refuse to believe that this team isn't more talented than their record shows. Even WITH the injuries. This team currently stands outside the playoffs. And given this team's composition, RR is the guy who has to figure this out.

Well stated. I saw OF defense as being a potential problem when your corner OFers are DHs with gloves. Add into it that Mazara is underwhelming with the bat, and here we are. I wanted Puig (warts and all), but speeding tickets or something. But, my view was that he'd at least not be laughably embarrassing with the glove.

Who gives a fvkc? Whoever is in charge should have lost his fvkcing job years ago. Just fire all those assholes, and get competent leadership in. Both in the FO, and on the field. Much of what we're seeing (again) is due to weak, stupid, accommodating, and incompetent "leadership" on the part of KW, RH, & RR.

Disagreed. If this team fails to make the postseason, I prefer to fire everyfvkcingbody from KW down to the clubbies, then doing a thorough search for the best possible team president to rebuild the entire organization from the ground up. I'd give these bozos this season to save their jobs. But should they fail to perform, I think they should pay with their jobs, full stop. All of them.

Anyone could have seen this coming. When he was acquired, the score had a writer from Dallas on who said he had zero range. If you read through Mazara's fangraphs page, you can see that he has the footspeed of Paul Konerko, only with a spained ankle and a refrigerator tied to his back. I didn't quite hate the move when he was acquired, but I sure do now. I worried about OF defense, and Im stunned that none of the "scouts" could have failed to see that a player acquired for Steele Walker could be so flawed. That aside, I'm back to my default setting of wanting everyone in this organization fired, outside of the grounds keeper.

Fair question. When you have threads like this: this season's "I REALLY think Engel's figured it out" thread, about a guy with a career 65 wrc+, you really want to see him carry this team to glory.