UndertheHalo

I pretty much think AJ's assessment here is spot on....that said, I'm happy with what we did. We are better then we're were a few days ago and we still have our pitching depth. That said, I would like to see us pursue A more regular LF in the offseason. I like Cespedes personally. 2b and 3b are also positions that need to be addressed.

Royals got a lot better just now. Astros also got better with the Kazmir acquisition. Need stoneman and the gang to make something happen.

Fire Aramark

Seems to me the perfect trade would be simple. CJ Wilson straight up with the Doyers for Andre Ethier. Its strange to me that there isnt more smoke around that kind of deal. Would serve the needs of both clubs perfectly. In my mind Newcomb is untouchable. The deal that we would need to make it worth it is likely not out there. I would also love to get Cespedes if the intention was to retain him long term, but again only if it doesnt cost Newcomb.

And now news that Jason Vargas needs tommy john that's not good at all for the royals.

Agree that our line up depth is bad and we need another solid bat. Infact, ideally it would be nice to get a legit 5 type bat and the mythical unicorn lead off hitter not named mike trout (our long suffering at 3b is like a herd of unicorns but at least Freese could reasonably be described as mediocre) that all said, I don't think this season there is a real "power" team in the AL. If we get to the dance we should be in the mix imo. We do have the 2nd best record after all.

I don't think that's necessarily true, our starting pitching is much better then what they have. Plus we have the Trout.

I just really hope we get a decent bat, our offense ia going to go ice cold again at some point just like last year. We need to deepen the line up. If we can get Cespedes or Bruce w/o giving up Heaney or Newcomb i say do it ans try and get them signed. We have no even decent alternatives in house.

and was discussed, it was an option that was very much on the table (the use of nukes). My point was, sans the soviets getting their own bomb it was possible. The wording I used was "extremely likely". I admit, thats a bit dramatic and I probably should have just said possible. The cold war was not at its most dangerous during the years the Soviets didnt have a bomb. I dont think its absurd at all to speculate the possibility of our using a bomb during those hotter years IF the Soviets didn't have one. Also, I disagree that Iran is pursuing war "all over the world" Iran has proxy's in lebanon, syria, iraq and yemen that pursue results that are favorable to Iran. All of those countries have conflicts that predate Irans involvement, and they are all basically in Irans neighborhood. Yes, Iran acts to be the big player in its neighborhood. You can disagree with whether thats right or wrong (i think its not cool) but most countries on earth seek to manipulate their neighbors into being more favorable. Sometimes its just diplomacy. Sometimes its armed interventions, and sometimes its supporting proxies. Again, im not justifying it im just saying it doesnt make Iran into some crazy rogue that cant be dealt with. Finally, your just stating your opinion as I am, I am not insulted by your arguments/disputes.

HAHA ,this made my day. Thanks AngelsJunky.

I would love to get another decent LF, but I don't think we were beating KC last season no matter what. They were hot and we were not. As we were, we were good enough to beat them. Didnt happen, thats baseball.

yep. At least we got that cool quote. "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away" thats one for the ages.

we were pretty much about to nuke korea and there was no threat to the homeland. MacArthur fully intended to use them at his own discretion (fortunately Truman really hated Douglas MacArthur and thwarted him) In those days using nukes was very much an option on the table. IMO its pretty easy to see a scenario where we would have used the atom bomb to destroy the Soviet Union if we didn't have to fear the consequences of a nuke strike on us. It came off the table when the threat of our enemies using nukes against us became real / possible. As scary as they are, nukes are great peace makers.

This, Iran and all countries that have nukes want them primarily as a deterrent. Imo, if the soviets didn't get a bomb it is extremely likely that we would have used one on them. We didn't because by the time the Cold War escalated to that point the soviets had as many nukes or more then we did. Thus our battles played out in proxy. It's not dissimilar to the battle in the Middle East between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iran wants nukes in order to weaken Saudi Arabia's position. They also want nukes because the Israelis have nukes, just as Israel perceives Iran to be its enemy, Iran very much sees Israel as its enemy. Moreover the Israelis and the Saudis quietly cooperate on many regional issues. So from the Iranian perspective they will do what is necessary to blunt that alliance. Nukes.

Certainly we don't know but as I've said, Iran walking away from negotiations was going get a bomb within 12 months. Many think even less time. It is my opinion ( and I don't presume to be all knowing but it's what I believe) that military action against Iran is simply not an option. Israel has her own nukes, perhaps hundreds of them. Iran knows that it will lose in any nuclear exchange. Even if it's just israel vs. Iran. I don't agree that the world can't live with a nuclear armed Iran. I'm not suggesting that it doesn't matter, the idea of an nuke arms race in the Middle East is not a good one, but the alternative (war) is not worth stopping one. Again, in my opinion.

I don't think there's any evidence that suggests the Iranian government is "suicidal" in fact their actions are fairly predictable and rational. It's a mistake to think that Iran is a state like North Korea, and their desire to acquire nuclear weapons is not a crazy one. Just because they have them, it does not mean they will use them. In addition keep in mind that Iran no doubt has devastating chemical weapon capabilities. They also have the means to deliver such weapons to Saudi Arabia, our bases in the region and Israel. Just because they behave in a way that isn't suitable to our interests it doesn't mean they are crazy. Have no doubt that Iran knows what a war with west will cost them. They don't want it. Iran pursues policies that strengthen Iran( like any other nation), thus their efforts to exert influence over opportune parts of the Middle East. Particularly places where Shiites exist because it is easier for them to be influential in those areas. I say the deal is a "great one" because even if they don't intend on shutting down their program forever we have certainly made it so they will take longer then they would have. In addition, this gives Iran an opportunity to escape being isolated and hopefully make them value healthy relations with the west.

Then let Israel pay the price for that. No one is going to nuke anyone.

Love the player, and the Ducks didn't have much choice imo but it's not a great contract. Fortunately the Ducks have the money to spend. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/ducks-ink-ryan-kesler-to-six-year--41-25m-extension-163627470.html

The thing is, nothing was going to stop Iran from getting a weapon if it so chose. Not sanctions and not airstrikes. That ship sailed when Bush failed to get a deal. The only possible option to achieve that objective is a full on invasion to topple the Iranian government. Unless you advocate possibly starting world war 3, thats not really an option. Iran is not like Iraq, the entire middle east would burn and it would assuredly be a an absolute bloodbath for all parties involved. The price tag to make Netanyahou happy would be 10's of thousands of American lives. Its unspeakable to even think about starting a war with Iran. You guys are also not noting that the rest of the important world powers wanted a deal with Iran. China and Russia were not going to play ball against Iran forever. They certainly would never go to war against Iran. This deal isnt a good thing, its a GREAT thing.

sigh. calm down brah. The whole thread is firmly tongue in cheek. My post was especially.

I would take Jay Bruce, like some people have pointed out our organization has failed miserably and producing an analogous talent and our line up with him in it would be better immediately. Would I trade Newcomb or Heaney...No but Id think about moving Tropeano. I doubt that would get it done.

nice work Vlad.

I think pretty much anyone that talks like a person from Jersey (or boston or new york) is basically no matter what going to sound like a douche, another way that life is unfair. Aside from the horrific jersey vocal tones, there is no other evidence of douchedom, thus imo there is no reason to suspect actual doucheness in Trout. That all said, as long as he's not doing things illegal so he cant play baseball I have no shits to give about whether he's a cool dude or not (again, no reason to suspect he's not). He's awesome at the beisbol thats pretty much all that matters.

I'm happy about this, Santiago has been real good and certainly deserves to be on the team.

I cant really articulate how shitty roger lodge is at calling a baseball game.