ettin

He had the sweetest swing shifts.

He doesn't remember much about the encounter but the guy was a former Marine and gave great JarHead.

I truly think MLB is taking a shotgun and pointing it right at their own heads with these recent pushes to reduce the Minor Leagues in general and then questionable decisions like this where they will let Major League Baseball play but not the Minor Leagues. "Hey we are having trouble attracting young players to the game of baseball, so let's reduce the number of Minor League outlets to not only accommodate those shrinking numbers but to also decrease our visibility and footprint around the country! Hooray!" "Hey let's take our most valuable MLB assets and put them on the field while we let the undiscovered and underdeveloped future of our game wither away on the vine down on the farm! Hooray, we are saving money! Us owners are SO SMART!" These takes by MLB also make me wonder why the League is thinking about expansion too? I mean if teams are shifting to younger players (as evidenced by a lot of recent extensions to young players) and letting older players walk off into retirement in their mid-30's, rather than keeping them and their built-in reputations, leadership, and, albeit declining, skills in the game, aren't they burning the candle from both ends by hacking off large swaths of the Minor Leagues and the players that play in them? Won't this decrease the available players both young and old, thus making it harder to fill Major League rosters? Won't two more expansion teams require a large number of players to fill their 40-man rosters and Minor League systems? These moves by MLB will potentially damage the game moving forward in my opinion. I am not sure they are fully thinking this through for the long-run. As much as Claude hates him, Pujols and players like him (Yadier Molina, Matt Carpenter, et. al.) are good for the game and fans in a reasonable dose.

White financial advantage manifests itself in the ability to purchase all of the equipment necessary to play professional baseball (gloves, bats, balls, catching gear, etc.). Additionally, the ability to purchase land, develop a baseball field and all of the necessary fencing, plates/bases, field maintenance, etc. has to come from a donor and/or local city government that is willing to invest in that community. The ability of a poor minority community to raise the funds and/or acquire and develop the needed property is not only financially-challenging but logistically-challenging and takes the strong will of an individual or community to make happen. It also doesn't help that Major League Baseball doesn't seem to take a real, deep interest in minority communities overall. Certainly there are programs, owners and MLB players who champion various causes in the U.S. and abroad but is it enough? If you're a young black man and you have a few bucks in your pocket and you are picking a sport to invest that money in, it is easier to buy a single football and play catch with your friends in a field or even purchase a basketball and dribble it around the neighborhood. Buying a glove, ball, and bat and convincing your friends to do the same so you actually have someone to play with is more of a financial stretch. Finally, you are probably correct that baseball is not looked at culturally as a first-choice sport in black communities and that is all due to the financial threshold that must be met to participate in it.

Respectfully Chuck I think you have simplified your argument to much. Often, when we are young, our opinions, experiences, and thoughts are not fully developed. These racist, sexist, tropes/comments have existed since the founding of this country (and beyond that) yet there has been little progression in changing our culture in regard to them. It could easily be that Ian Desmond has finally found the courage to speak up? Just because he has now broken "bro code" shouldn't condemn him to some non-masculinity hellscape. This so-called "attack on masculinity" has come about because men have consistently been domineering shitheads, oh since the dawn of time? White men in particular wield so much power around the world and have dominated women and minorities so much that this move towards equality offends the sensibilities and power base of men (particularly white men, again) that they are lashing out like spoiled little babies (i.e. not real men). They don't want anyone else playing in their deluxe sandbox. Also "guessing" at Ian Desmond's thoughts or projecting how he may or may not have acted without hearing it from his own mouth, is a bit irresponsible Chuck. Let the man speak for himself and not put words in his mouth. Life is a series of constant learning opportunities and Ian Desmond may be learning something about himself that he has decided to share with the world. EDIT: Not jumping on you Chuck, but I have been playing OOTP so much this is the first time I've read threads here in days....

I'm glad you're reading! Just teasing you Vladdy, I like the Detmers pick too, there is still some upside and he could probably walk into a back-end starter role immediately if the Angels were so inclined.

Sure Beatles, I get it, sometimes my wife and I go walking and we suddenly realize we don't have our masks on (despite the fact no one is on the streets, we rarely run into people and everyone in my neighborhood is pretty conscious about physical distancing we feel stupid and usually turn around and go get them). I know it is a "habit" that we are not used to as a whole. My point is more to the fact that there are people out there who blatantly disregard the danger and by doing so they willfully put others in danger as well including family and friends or people they run into on the street. There was a lady who recently visited a Trader Joe's in Palos Verdes, that went viral on YouTube, who was screaming at the manager because she was told she needed a mask. There have been others that run up and actually cough on people because they think the whole thing is a "hoax". There is some segment of the population that does not take this seriously at all and it won't be funny once one of their family members or friends gets put on a ventilator and is at serious risk of death. Common sense should be ruling the day here (masks, physical distancing, hygiene, stressing the seriousness of how easy this virus transmits between humans) and the White House won't even acknowledge or mandate (or lead by example) those very basic preventative measures that can help save lives and possibly mitigate tragedies. It drives me nuts that science and facts are being ignored and lives are being lost because of ignorance and 'Merica! Appreciate your response, Beatle.

Except it is more contagious than the average flu. Honestly, the normalization of this is astounding to me. The fact that people refuse to wear a simple basic mask when they go out is deeply troubling, it shows a basic lack of caring for their fellow human beings. It is such a simple thing to do: Live your life, do the necessary things you need to do, but practice basic physical distancing, wear a simple mask (very easy to put on, everyone is saying it), and practice good hand cleaning and basic hygiene. Can't wait for an even more serious virus to be introduced and the immediate reaction is going to be, "Nah I don't need a mask, I'm good!".

Oh, then that makes it okay!

It would be perfect if it was a Woody drink cup instead.

Respect for our ancestors = Necrophilia with a take-home Gift Basket

This conclusively proves the theory that ALF is a fan of Homo Erectus.

I agree.

You heard it here first folks! Chuck wants more dicks on the mound when the period begins!

And for me too!!!! Dammit AO!