gehringer_2

I think it's a pattern. When the deadline starts closing in and a team that made some kind of feint toward relevance realizes that the party is over because the FO is going to sell, the air goes out of the baloon in a very big way. I'm prepared for a collapse the rest of the way.

Why do you hold the CIA in partcular fault for the Iraq War - it was the Presidential administration that drove us there and it was White House "leadership" driving the aspects of CIA bad behavior. I don't claim to have a clue about Slotkin's CIA work, but in as general proposition, large institutions are generally bigger and greyer than their individual actions. The CIA was an arm of a basically outlaw administration, but as we saw with the Trump admin - it's sometimes a lot better in the long run if some good people stay and throw what sand they can in the gears of the bad actors than to just all flee and leave the field to the baddies. Like a lot of things - it's situational. A high profile resignation can be politically signficant. At the analyst level maybe all that happens is the replacement is a more ideologically driven flack less likely to generate reliable intelligence. Unless you are self employed you aren't likely to ever go very long in a career before you disagree with the ethics of your employer. What you do about it will often depend on how much freedom you happen to have to not participate in what you don't like and how much positive value you think you bring in spite of the company.

Drawn in IF saves one run, costs one run. Never really been a fan though. It's a lot like bunting - I'm surprised analytics haven't put an end to the strategy. In the long run getting outs always should take priority - it's the corrolary of not giving them away with the sacrifice. Of course with this one trending strongly toward shut-out, runs allowed won't matter.

the guys are pros - sure, but your emotions have to be in a strange state knowing you're about to bid farewell to your teammates of the last 4 months.

Andy Dirks is hilarious. Riffing on Moustakis admiring his hitting handiwork instead of legging it to 2nd.

that is about as out as a runner will ever be out on a contact play.

I suppose if someone is willing to break their piggy bank in return for Foley you have to listen, but the rest of the season would be really painful without him. No team can lose their best BP arm wthout it hurting. The book is out on Lange - just keep the bat on your shoulder and let him miss until you are ahead.

Trees and above ground utities are not particularly compatible. My peeve is that the storm did not knock out my power but then DTW disconnected me early this moring anyway when they apparently had to shut the area down completely. I have a gas range, and a generator just big enough to keep the fridge and Router going. It's all good.

the thing about mine fields is that once your enemy makes a path through, you then lose a lot of manuever space yourself lest you you get pinned in place by your own mines.

I assumed that tweet was satire, but maybe not.

I first learned what a clown show the NCAA was when they screwed Jamal Crawford* and it's only gotten worse since then. *Crawford landed on his feet and had a fine NBA career, but no thanks to the NCAA.

and Trout while still a great player when he plays, can't stay on the field - has only averaged 3.2 WAR/yr over the last 4 seasons.

And Giolito is a FA at the end of the season?

Keith finished 2/3 HR 2BB, Meadows 2/5 HR also Wenceel 2/5 2B

Syndergaard is ready/close to come off the DL

Not sure if this is the same guy - could be. If it is his Houston bio gives his actual birthday as 1/19/1999. https://uhcougars.com/sports/baseball/roster/cole-turney/6234

He's looking out for his SEC buddies that are probably a big chuck of his financial support and with whom he probably still has a lot of other profitable relationships as well. From what I can figure, the schools seem to be willing to live with whatever status the courts want to give the playrers. What they really want is Congress to protect them from the states. They want Congress to pre-empt state authority over college sports so they only have to deal with a single system. Otherwise state meddling will eventually make it impossible for conferences to exist across state lines.

With Harbaugh in the news, it's interesting to contrast his original take on the portal. Harbaugh was a big early supporter of the portal as a means for kids to get one chance *early* to correct a bad recruiting choice. This bill turns that part upside down and doesn't do anything for the kid who honestly finds himself somewhere he doesn't want to be. Another example of the best interests of the kids, particularly the non-star kids, getting short shrift.

Ahh - you mean in terms of Hinch trying to send Harris a message? Yeah, that is certainly one angle on it. But jeesh, he can't just pick up the phone and ask? But to follow on that aspect, you can go the other way too. The story would run: Hinch has a soft spot for catchers - Haase has worked hard to improve his defense, Hinch appreciates that, is pulling too hard for him and maybe got too soft-hearted giving him chances to pull out of his slump. Either take you think might apply - and maybe in some sense both - it wont go in my book as one of his best moves as a manager.

Well that was always Leland's argument. 'If a guy is on the team I'm going to use him until he isn't.' But OTOH, in our case here the counter would be that Haase's role on the team is to be the backup catcher - not a high leverage PH. OK - If Hinch had made some kind of argument about the match-up, you could argue the validity of his data but at least his logic would stand up. What frosted me was his argument that he was trying to save the extra substitution. If you weren't going to use Cabrera, you were wasting his roster spot anyway so you've given up a player there exactly like you would when you pinch ran for him - and in fact it would even have been the same player - Haase. The result of a Cabrera walk or single and a Haase PR would be *exactly* the same outcome as Haase having a successful AB but with a higher probability. So that was garbage logic and we can certainly call him out on that part.

Jake (2/4 HR) was the next batter, then the top of the order. You'd flat out send Nevin roses if he walked Cabrera to get to Jake. And the "2 for" made no sense anyway - if Cabrera gets on there happens to be a catcher that can't hit with good wheels available to PR. Hinch had a brain fart and then fed the post game crew some CYA BS, and being well trained in Detroit sports lap-dog journalism they happily slurped it up. Look, I get that the team should not be acting at the GM level with any illusions about the playoffs with respect to personnel. But that is a very different question then whether you still have an obligation to do you damndest to win every game on the field.

In Orange County one does NOT revolt. You might spill your bubble tea.

put on a yellow slicker with hood and a pair of 4 buckle galoshes and you are king of the rain!

so this isn't so much a peeve as "Well -- things change." Back in the day they did auto, or at least tire, service at every gas station i.e. the 'Service Station.' Every 'service' type gas station had a commercial air compressor for their tooling. And every commercial sized air compressor does a pretty good job of dropping the water out of the air in the holding tank so you get fairly dry air into your tires. The modern "convenience store with gas pumps" establishment likely does not have a commercial compressor - just some kind of gadget on a pole with no holding tank, so you get wet air into your tires. After a number of years of being filled with wet air, alloy wheels develop enough surface roughness under the bead that they will begin to seep air. PITA. You can buy a home compressor with a small tank, but tank compressors small enough to be portable, while better than tankless sources, don't do that good a job of dropping water either...

TBF - some gas stations have been charging for credit purchase for as long as there have been crdit cards.