ettin

And not an idoit.

If you could please cite and provide the links to all of the scientifically, peer-reviewed data that shows what you just said, regarding COVID death counts/tolls, lab confirmations is actually true, and the veracity, or lack thereof, of quarantining, I will buy it. You sound skeptical of the shutdown (quarantine) but don't provide any facts to back up the claim. This also includes your last two sentences which have no grounding or basis in fact because those studies most likely haven't been done yet and even if they have I'd personally check the accuracy, sample size, and reputation and experience of those who performed the study to ensure it was professionally performed by experts in the pandemic field, as most scientific, peer-based studies take months, if not years, to complete.

I am more curious why the post was put in this thread, TBH....

So we all understand that the point of the quarantine was to help stop the spread of the virus and help flatten the curve of how many cases swarmed our medical system at one time, resulting in less deaths and lesser demand for medical equipment for our healthcare system, right? Do we all also understand that if our healthcare system gets flooded, doctors and nurses, who are at the front line of this fight, will be more likely to contract COVID-19 themselves and, in fact, many have died already helping others who are sick? What happens when you finally have that stroke that has been building up and you go to the hospital looking for your regular doctor who has been taking care of you for years and you find out he/she passed away a month ago helping a flood of COVID-19 patients because they all went to the Angels game and spread the virus among themselves? I'll tell you the answer: You get the doctor who actually isn't a stroke specialist performing brain surgery to help resupply oxygen to your body. You say you want sports back? That's fine, just expect the medical team to run out their second and third string MD's. We have a real problem with privilege in this country and disrespect for establishments and experts. It got worse the moment President Shithead, who thinks injecting disinfectant into your body, took office and started dismantling the foundations of our Democracy and shutting down the response teams stood-up to directly combat specific dangers, such as pandemics. Brian instead of presenting a logical argument, you use derision and name-calling (Newscum) instead. Move to a different state if you don't like how the Governor of CA is addressing a pandemic and at least trying to save lives, unlike the Federal response, which is missing in action (and designed that way so that blame can be placed on others instead of POTUS). Did you know the average age of a baseball fan is 57 years old? Did you know that non-Hispanic whites have the highest probability of contracting COVID-19 and dying? (Nearly 12% above the weighted average among all races) Did you know that age 45 people or older experience a noticeable jump in death rate due to COVID-19 related symptoms? So Brian, keep fighting for your Angels games. "Yeah let's go to a ballgame, f*ck Newscum! Live free or die! Liberty! *cough* *cough* Pursuit of Happiness! *cough*"

And they wonder why they call white people "crackers".

Brings a whole new meaning to Shohei "Show Time" Ohtani.

Careful you might get Black-listed.

No one is even close to Simmons defensively. Only person who sniffs him right now is Mondesi. Then it falls off to guys like Lindor, Story, et al after that. Even if he age-declines he's just coming down to Mondesi's level basically. If air-tight defense is the goal, they should keep Andrelton.

Thankfully I am still employed (at least through the end of the month, haven't been told if it will go beyond that but I think it might, we'll see). Actually enjoying being at home with the wife and dog (maybe I have Coronavirus and it has effected my mind? ). Been drinking a bit more, mostly on the weekends, mostly Amaretto-Whiskey sours with an occasional beer or margarita. Enjoying the birds and baby bunny rabbits visiting our fountain and grass in the backyard (the baby bunny is funny AF, spazzing out running around everywhere like a baby kitten or puppy). Gained weight, unfortunately, as I have not been able to go to the gym (doing some walking but it is not putting a dent in it) and my wife, despite the words that come out of her mouth, loves to cook and feed everyone around her (this is actually partly why the birds come because she throws food out for them and they love the water in the fountain). Cannot complain, I am still employed and have my health. I hope things are going well or will get better for everyone here. Oh and I have been playing OOTP f'ing non-stop for a couple of weeks now. Season 1 got into the Division Series via Wildcard and lost. Season 2 won the West but sadly lost in 5 games in the Division Series. Season 3 seems to be progressing well over the first half as I am in 1st place. Started up a 2nd game where I am rebuilding the Tigers which is a challenge in terms of position players (they have solid f'ing pitching coming up their system.... Mize, Manning, Turnbull, Skubal, Faedo, et. al). I am just acting as the GM (for now) in that game which is interesting because I love the back office stuff. Started the season and first month I am in last place because I am holding all the good prospects back until I get them closer to my window of contention in the 2022-2023 time frame. In the meantime I signed a bunch of lottery ticket relievers/players on Minor League deals (Danny Salazar blew his rotator cuff out after first two weeks so sad) like Addison Reed, Tony Cingrani, Andrew Cashner, Luke Gregerson, et. al. and I combing the waiver wire for League-minimum drops (my owner is super f'ing cheap) to improve the team incrementally. Fun stuff!

Same, then this: 24-7 score against the Braves of all teams, LOL. Trout, Ohtani, and Adell are carrying the offense. 35-24 so far this 2nd season. Spent an enormous amount of time today preparing for the Rule IV Draft, hope it was worth the time I spent, ha.

So I just went through my first off-season and began my 2nd regular season. Some notes on the off-season: * Acquired J.T. Realmuto at C on an $83M contract over six years (plus an option), primarily because he had a horrible hitting season in 2020. * I made a double mistake: Stassi had an incredible hitting year (for him anyway) in 2020 and his arbitration price was $5.2M and I accidentally kept him. Then I acquired Realmuto thinking I could stash McGuire down in the Minors as depth for 2021 and then realized McGuire was out of options to late. I am not trying to trade Stassi plus a lottery-type prospect to the Yankees for Adam Ottavino, so I can promote McGuire (who has a 70 DEF score, I knew he was a quality defender but not a nearly elite one, pleasant surprise in addition to the bat potential). * Acquired Nick Senzel from the Reds for Ryan McMahon who was not as versatile. Reds are in 'Win Now' mode which probably explains the trade since Senzel had a poor 2020 hitting line. Since arriving and playing so far he has been a MONSTER hitter in the first 17 games and I am using him as the super utility player plus inserting him in for tired players that need a break. * Speaking of being on fire, Adell has broken out after a piss-poor 2020 after I signed him to the 7-year contract. Fletcher and Simmons have lit up too, which is good because Rendon has been lackluster so far and Upton is falling off a cliff. * Re-built my bullpen and took flyers on Dillon Maples and Jacob Barnes. Both have been so-so and Hansel has fallen off the cliff too unfortunately. Still getting results out of the extended Kirby Yates (gave him a 4-year deal per Arte), Robles, Seth Lugo, and Parkel Markel. Bullpen isn't quite as strong as last season (so far it is only 17 games in) but I have a six-man rotation running of Ohtani, Heaney, Carlos Martinez, Dylan Bundy, Patrick Sandoval, and Jaime Barria (who was out of options but I didn't want to lose). So far it has been slightly above average but we'll see how it continues. * On the farm, Marsh has started off well. de Horta is on fire. Adams is progressing. Have a bunch of potential relievers that can come in from AAA and AA. Canning and Gohara are starter options in AAA along with another guy I picked up in trade. Arol Vera and Kyren Paris ended last season well. Some pitchers are taking strides forward. All that being said my farm system is ranked 30 out of 30, lol. * Dropped the first three games to the Astros. Been 9-5 since with some spectacular run-scoring with my stacked lineup. I am hooked on this goddamn game I hate all of you, lol.

It's funny, for about a 45-day stretch, Stassi was a monster in my lineup from both sides of the plate, it was mind-boggling (along with Arismendy Alcantara and Michael Hermosillo who also both popped off for periods of time before the former flamed out and the latter got injured).

So.... it did not translate. As the season wore on, I lost, at the same time, all three of Rendon, Upton, and Simmons for about 5-6 week period. That was enough to make me miss a good chance of winning the Division. However, at the trade deadline I did pick up, in lieu of the high price and availability of good starters (and I knew Carlos Martinez would be back eventually), multiple relievers including Kirby Yates, Cody Allen (who was having a good year in my OOTP universe), Tony Zych (also recovering from previous injuries and doing well), and Seth Lugo in the month leading up to the trade deadline. I also cut Pujols (which weirdly felt wrong after I did it) and Bedrosian and had to demote Middleton unfortunately due to performance. That bullpen helped carry my team into a Wild Card playoff (the Indians and Angels tied for the 2nd WC slot) with the Indians which I won with the ace of my staff Heaney. Then I went into a one-game Wild Card playoff game with the Twins, which I also managed to win on a short-rest game with Ohtani. However, once I hit the Division series against the White Sox I lost the series in 5 games (Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada can f*ck off) with a playoff rotation of Heaney, Ohtani, and Teheran (Bundy above tanked hard in the 2nd half). Just wasn't enough. I did please Arte overall though as I met his goals he set out in extending Simmons, upgrading at C, and acquiring a homegrown player so it is now the off-season and I am still employed. Farm system has some interesting names that made strides forward like Zack Kelly (whom I brought up for the bullpen), Arol Vera (looking really good down on the farm), Jared Walsh and Matt Thaiss (both took steps forward near the end of the season), Brandon Marsh, and Jordyn Adams. Denny Brady (personal favorite of mine) also took a step forward. I traded off names like Jerimiah Jackson, Jahmai Jones, and Jason Castro, plus a handful of lottery ticket types. Fun game! Addictive.

If they are the two best players that fit into the Angels International Bonus Pool cap, then I am perfectly fine with the choices. It is not about grabbing a specific position but grabbing the best overall player that maximizes the odds that the player will actually develop into a Major League asset. You can always trade extra SS's and OF's for a pitcher.

There is something right and wrong here: