My favorite car manufacturer. I'd love to have an Elise/Exige/Evora at some point. My concern about British electrical gremlins is offset by the fact that they use Toyota-based engines.
A guy who works down the road from my office daily drives (or did pre-covid) an orange Elise.
Loved the cars in the 80s, like the Esprit Turbo in the Bond movie. There was an orthodontist in Lafayette that drove one. Would love to have one of the new ones.
A buddy of mine bought an XJ with the 6.0 v12. The wiring promptly melted. It sat for a long time, and then a guy who had bid on some work called b/c he was short due to COVID and offered to swap in a rebuilt 5.3 v12 for the less than his original price to deal with the wiring on the 6.0. Still waiting to hear if the car is back on the road.
20 years ago, maybe even 10, I would have wanted a car like that. Now I’d be more interested in some kind of restomod that I could use at real world speeds.
I had a cream (well a little half & half) based soup last night: Roasted squash with bacon & sage, side of cheesy bread, pair with a disappointing half bottle of Willamette vyl Pinot Noir.
And with halloween approaching, which means halloween parties on and off campus for students, followed by Thanksgiving with students going home, plus cold weather all means the Big Ten is in trouble.
Vandy is the same way. Which makes me happy be cause now I don't have to spend 600+ to do a round trip of the Sat after thanksgiving and a Fri or Sat a week or two before Christmas. Basically they go back for like 1 week of class and then a week+ of finals. Always seemed like a waste to me. When we lived in Louisville is was fine because it was 2.5 hours drive.
That was from the college. They’ve been very serious about managing contagion risk from the jump. They decided better to just finish the semester remotely than tempt fate with kids traveling back and forth.
Wisconsin cancels their game against Nebraska. Wasn’t trump just telling people in Wisconsin we are rounding the curve? What happened! I suppose he meant we are rounding the curve before we go up a big hill, not down a hill.
My Head Election Judge just sent out an email to us other volunteers and notified us that 60% of our district has already voted as of Monday.
This is just 10 percentage points away from the all-time record. We are going to smash voting records, which is will be needed due to the active voter roll purging by the GOP state senate.
Anyone else in LA County? Trying to confirm that if my wife and I drop off our mail in ballots at a polling center Sunday (before election day obviously) that it will be counted on election day (not after election day).
In CA, absentee ballots can begin being processed the night before election day. If yours is in by then, it will be in the first batch counted. If you turn it in on election day, it gets counted days later.
Like I can’t even muster outrage any more. Trump suggests that the FBI and the Michigan police faked the threat against Governor Whitman? Well that’s about what you’d expect from that shitbag, take a deep breath and move on I guess
He is becoming completely unhinged from reality in these final weeks. I know he has always been unhinged from reality but it is getting really bad and ridiculous at this point.
I am interested to see what a lame duck trump presidency looks like.
If you think he's over the ledge edge now, wait until after the election. At that point, win or lose, he won't be standing for re-election, and will have nothing to lose.
The eighth time was the charm for the Dodgers, who finally reached their ultimate goal. They beat the Rays 3-1 in Game 6 on Thursday night, winning their first World Series in 32 years, simultaneously shedding the weight of coming up short so many times.
For years at Dodger Stadium, clips of Kirk Gibson’s home run and Orel Hershiser’s pitching brilliance have been played, a reminder of the glory of the past but also a grim reminder of how increasingly long it’s been. After Tuesday night, the weight of that burden is no more.
“We’ve heard it a lot. We’ve seen the highlights, and it’s fantastic,” manager Dave Roberts said on Monday. “But I think that we want to make our own mark on Dodgers history.”
Different does not necessarily equate to wrong, OR lesser. Unique and changing circumstances are really the new norm (not just this year), and they were different for everyone. The ability to best adjust to the circumstances (in some manner) is usually what wins. There are some noteworthy footnotes to this, but no * is needed.
Cool, so if the regular season matters so much, I guess the 2014 Giants didn't win a real championship since they were just a wild card team and didn't win the division. Very interesting opinion!
lol this is such transparently ridiculous trolling, Scootie. Surely you can come up with something better than this. There were more playoff games this year than any other season, so this WS title was actually the hardest to win of any in history.
And don't forget no off days in the NLDS and NLCS. Pitching depth is a necessity to get out of the NLCS. 7 straight days means ideally you have 4 starters. Or do multiple bullpen games.
Superstition. I didn't wear any Dodgers gear on game day so since the playoffs started I only wore my hat once and my sweatshirt on Monday morning when the power was out and I had to go to a coffee shop to get some internet.
Going to wear my shirt today and load up on some championship stuff. No 1 is getting a Seager WS jersey and No 3 is probably getting a Betts. No 2 is getting a Switch and he doesn't wear jerseys anyways. No 1 and 3 may try to find a Will Smith tshirt jersey for him. So far I don't really like the generic stuff that they've put out there. Hopefulyl there will be more stuff soon.
So, about those Dodgers... I was rooting for them, mainly because they they got screwed by those cheating Asstricts, but as my son points out they're a big market team, with tons of $$$$ like the Yankees, so I'm going to revert to not caring about them any more.
Yes they are a $$$$ team, but most of their players were drafted, or they identified underachievers and worked on getting them better. The only real highly paid free agents are Mookie, David Price, and Joe Kelly, and Pollack. And taking David Price's contract allowed them to only give up Verdugo and a couple of good minor leaguers (similar to the Nick Punto trade where they had to take on Carl Crawford's albatross contract to get Hanley and AGon). And even then, Mookie was only a 1 year rental until he decided to agree on an extension.
Most of the other money are extentions to players that have been with the team for quite a while; Kershaw, Turner ($16+M/year ), Kenley ($16+M/yr), Joc (around 8 I think), Bellinger ($10M ish arbitration), and dead money (Crawford maybe).
underachievers that got better include Muncy, Taylor, various pitchers like Treinan, McGee
Most other contributors came up through the farm system or via trade but they were not the major major piece. May, Gonsolin, Buehler, Will Smith, Urías, Gonzalez, Kenley, Seager, Rios, Barnes (trade from Marlins), Kiké (trade from Marlins), Lux, Caleb Ferguson, Joc, Bellinger, Beaty, etc. Hell the Dodgers tried to give Graterol to the Red Sox via a trade with the Twins and they didn't want him so they took him. It's almost like if the Dodgers want a player in a trade, perhaps the trading team should think about keeping them.
Yes they spend money but they didn't buy a team. They aren't the Yankees buying free agents. They're using their money to keep the players they want to keep.
They should give Seager the money he wants, then Bellinger and Buehler. Almost all the money is coming off the books after next year. Keep the 5 superstars and fill in with the farm system and other trades.
It's worth noting that in the early 2000s Yankees fans made the same arguments: that most of their team was homegrown. That's true, but having money also allows you to keep those guys as long as you want (in a way teams like the A's or the Rays can't) and also go out and get whatever extra pieces you need. It's still a big advantage over the small markets.
The A's owner is worth two and a half billion dollars. He could spend some money on free agents if he fucking wanted to. Maybe after the new stadium opens they'll open their pocketbooks a little.
It's time for Fisher to sell, he'll probably get at least a 4x return on his investment. In the meantime, he's unwilling to fund the team adequately and cashes checks from MLB profit-sharing, which is going away. Hope Lacob makes a bid. Or Larry Ellison.
I think you miss the point that it's a business - I don't think he wants to lose money on the deal, whereas the Dodgers can spend $$$$ and STILL make bank; it ain't the same.
Most owners can. If they wanted to. I bet many of them treat it as a novelty item that they own a pro tream. Not many want to put in the resources to develop their minor leaguers, to have good scouts to identify scrap heap players that actually can become good with good coaches, to do things like provide nutritious food to the minor leaguers so that they don't eat crappy fast food and get fat, like Joc.
Absolutely a significant advantage, though I have to point out there are far more stringent salary restrictions now that were not in place in the early 2000's. The implementation of those taxes came about around the same time the Yankees' dynasty ended, and since then there have been no repeat champions.
It's also worth noting that the principal shareholder of the Rays has a net worth of $800 million. Yes, it is small compared to other teams, but a significant factor in the low budgets of small-market teams is their owners' unwillingness to put money into the team.
I'll note that this phenomenon seems to happen more often in small-market teams than in big ones. Maybe because the big market teams just tend to print money off of their own brand.
I remember seeing something way back when that owning a football team was more a status symbol than anything else. They didn't want to spend money to make the team better. Just status to own one, don't care as much about making the playoffs and winning the super bowl, and then hopefully make money when selling. Probably similar to other sports.
They are a big market team, but they've also developed most of their roster. Kershaw, Gonsolin, Buehler, Urias, May, Jansen, Gonzalez, Seager, Bellinger, Smith, Barnes, Pederson, Rios, all home grown. Turner, Muncy, and Taylor were picked up off the scrap heap as replacement-level players. Even Mookie Betts was picked up via trade. Now, did they sign him to a gigantic extension, sure. But man, the Dodgers are essentially "What if the A's ALSO had a shit ton of money", and it's fucking beautiful.
The Red Sox were a great story when they won in 2004 but then quickly turned into the new Yankees.
May the Dodgers be more like the Cubs who somehow managed to regress quickly after they broke their curse. Also, the Dodgers only winning one championship in a shortened regular season do make my parallel of them being like the 90s Braves even better.
They did it with only 1 win by Walker Buehler, and 2 appearances by Clayton Kershaw without that resulting in a crash and burn event. Who saw that combination of circumstances coming?
I think Dave Roberts finally took Kershaw out in game 5 when he should've. Previous years he would've let him stay in the game and give up a dinger. I think one big difference this year is the bullpen was much much stronger. Didn't overuse Treinan like he did Morrow.
And Turner tested positive during the game and was removed and quarantined. I think they said his test from the day before came back positive around the 2nd inning and then the league expedited his test from the same day to rule out a false positive. Around the 6th (I think) it was confirmed and the Dodgers were notified and he was removed from the game and put in a room. He did bust out and go back on the field for the celebration, rightly or wrongly. But he had been on close contact with just about everyone on the team.
The close contact had already happened, so there may not have been much incremental risk. I can understand how this was a difficult situation; its not a moment in time and life that can be gotten back.
I also suspect the number of high profile false positives (or brief positives?) that retesting can't confirm was a factor in their decision, whether that is ever acknowledged or not.
It will be interesting to hear what the results of retesting of Turner are, and whether winning the World Series turned into a super spreader event.
The one thing they lab did do was test 2 days of samples, Mon and Tues. Apparently the Monday one was inconclusive and rather than rerun that test they were told to run the Tues test, which took a couple of hours. By then it was the 7th I think and he was removed when the lab notified the league and the league notified the Dodgers.
The real MVP was Kevin Cash. I don't care what the analytics say, how can you take Snell out of the game right there. I mean he absolutely owned everyone, especially Betts, Seager, Turner, Muncy. And then why go with the guy they brought in? He may have been your best reliever during the regular season, but he had given up runs in 6 straight postseason games (became 7 on the 2nd batter). His managing became too analytic.
Which is funny because Dave Roberts has been accused of being too analytic at times. When he stuck with Urías to close out game 7 in the NLCS for 3 innings and then even last night, it seemed like he managed more with his gut.
I can see the logic of wanting to get Snell out of there as soon as possible on his third time through the order, but:
1. He didn't appear to be in trouble yet.
2. The guy they brought in had allowed inherited runners to score in like 6 straight appearances. He did it again.
It's good to have a plan and a "book" you go by in making decisions, but at some point doesn't recent performance have to overrule the book? Just a little bit?
Agreed Sy...having a plan is all good, but you also have to factor in what is happening on the field. It's the eye test...Snell was dealing, and the pitch count was low...his pitch count was rarely as low when he was getting smacked around 3rd time through the lineup during the season...this is where the strictly-analytics approach loses me. Granted, this is what Tampa has been doing all year, but at the same time, Cash needn't even be in the stadium, then...he could manage via ZOOM from his living room.
If I were Cash I would've let Snell face Betts, with the way Snell was throwing and how utterly lost Betts looked against him the first two times.
That said, Snell hasn't been going deep into games and has been getting smacked around the 3rd time through the order, so I get it. But I would've let him face Betts and only taken him out if any other batter that inning reached.
Hell, I would've let him face Seager as well. He looked lost chasing the sliders and the high FB. Same with Turner (weaker against the 97 FBs above the zone this year). Seager, Turner, and Muncy all are susceptible to the 96+ MPH 3 inches above the zone.
I can see the need to avoid a 3rd time through the lineup; the stats on that are dramatic, But there were other (left handed) options to go with that would avoid a righty throwing fastballs to Mookie (not a good idea).
I watched more MLB baseball this year than I have in more than 20 years, mostly because I wasn't umpiring nearly as much, and the whole season boiled down to the Rays not capitalizing on scoring opportunities in the first 2 innings (poor hitting that hit even more poorly with runners in scoring position, a baseball tradition), and then a pitching change mistake.
I can't recall, much less count, all the times, at every level, I've watched a manager not base their decision on how the pitcher is actually doing, and pull someone who is dealing for someone who they have no idea if they can even throw strikes, much less get outs, only to quickly, but already too late, find out they can't do either, blowing up a game in the process. (Close second baseball pitching tradition, most frequently exemplified recently by the current Giants, is to not pull a pitcher who obviously should not be in the game any longer, letting them get obliterated.)
Not capitalizing is similar to what the Braves didn't do in game 6 against Buehler. 3 straight singles, then 2 Ks and a groundout to SS.
Also in game 7 the bad running play on 2nd and 3rd no outs and the grounder to Turner. Rundown going home on the contact play, which isn't a bad play by Dansby provided Riley the rookie on 2nd runs to 3rd as soon as the runner on 3rd breaks for home during the rundown instead of being indecisive and also getting thrown out at 3rd for a momentum busting double play.
That was bad baserunning all around. Running into an unforced out in scoring position is inexcusable ~99% of the time. To run into 2 unforced outs in one play is something that almost never happens (and shouldn't!) even in Little League.
I think the initial out is fine provided the other runners get to 2nd and 3rd like you usually see. They're trying to make the fielder have to make a perfect throw. Although that hit by Markakis was a hard hit ball, unlike Seager's last night.
And the first 3 game series could've been the toughest if you had to play a team with 2 lights out starters. If the Padres had Clevinger and Lamat healthy then that would've been a tough series. Sometimes you get lucky.
7 Days out from the Election and its looking like we have a 12 round prizefight on our hands, let me know who you guys have winning the election and why without bashing your predicted losing candidate (whoever that may be its not my job to pass judgment on your beliefs).
I think the chances of a Biden rout (winning the popular vote by 10+) are greater than Trump pulling off a win. That's not to say Trump couldn't win, but it just doesn't seem to be going that way. Polls are not tightening late like in 2016.
Overall, it doesn't matter one iota either way. What matters to both sides are the swing states, and making sure a state leaning their way that isn't prohibitively out of reach doesn't slip and flip.
I mean, a popular vote win by 5 or more makes it very unlikely to lose the electoral college. So on that level the margin matters.
But I also think the margin matters in terms of what kind of "mandate" the the incoming President has, and also for coattails and what kind of Congressional majority you get.
The other important thing this time around (compared to 2016) is the gatekeepers are back. The Trump team pinned their hopes on the Hunter BS, but the mainstream press said, "nah, not falling for it this time, Lucy", and without the legitimacy bestowed upon this narrative, it stays isolated in the Fox News ecosphere, unable to infect nationally.
Also, what do you see in Texas? I get that you are in a bluer area, so it might not be representative, but you have a better perspective than the rest of us.
I thought Texas was 1-2 election cycles away from turning blue. Because of the demographic shifts here, it is absolutely inevitable. Republicans have done a brilliant job at voter suppression over the last few decades and I think I saw that Texas has the most restrictive voter laws in the US? Anyways, I think the combination of Trump's assholery (rural Republicans like him but the suburban Republicans have always disliked him even though they reluctantly voted for him over Hillary whom they hate even more) and the incredible work done by Beto O'Rourke to get people registered and then follow up by text and phone to get them to the polls means that I honestly think Texas is going blue this time around. Polling in Texas is notoriously hard because Democrats here traditionally dont represent in those. So Dems typically are 3-4 points better than what polls show... and the most recent polls show it even or Biden up 3-4 points. With 8.15 million votes already cast (I think there were 8.9 million votes cast in 2016 total), turnout is going to be massive and that spells doom for Donald.
Thanks for the link to that Politico article yesterday! It was fantastic and a great read. It is funny that he mentioned Peter King because that’s exactly who I thought of while reading the article.
i agree it might be unsavory .. but so was the judicial process to get ACB confirmed. i don't think the winning party (on either side) will have any qualms about how they win given the polarized climate.
I bet they already have the arguments written. And I bet they've already notified the right leaning justices of their intentions. It won't be a surprise when they file.
I already have leftover cooked rice and cooked fish from yesterday, so I just have to fry the rice and make the bechamel. I hope! My lunch is already delayed because I'm listening to a seminar, but I think I should be able to eat soon...
Lotus
My favorite car manufacturer. I'd love to have an Elise/Exige/Evora at some point. My concern about British electrical gremlins is offset by the fact that they use Toyota-based engines.
A guy who works down the road from my office daily drives (or did pre-covid) an orange Elise.
Also Colin Chapman had a quote about what should be a key consideration for car design (but plainly is not these days): Just add lightness.
My wife has a cousin whose long term girlfriend has an Elise. She doesn’t put a lot of miles on it, hasn’t had any trouble.
Loved the cars in the 80s, like the Esprit Turbo in the Bond movie. There was an orthodontist in Lafayette that drove one. Would love to have one of the new ones.
i luckily inherited a '87 Jaguar xj6 for a while until i crashed it and set it on fire.
it was amazing to drive.
most cars have a sweet spot in the 30-40 mph range where it takes off if you need the extra power and speed.
the xj6 had a sweet spot around 70 mph. you hit the gas and it would be up at 90 mph seemingly instantaneously.
😃 As an M5 driver I can relate.
A buddy of mine bought an XJ with the 6.0 v12. The wiring promptly melted. It sat for a long time, and then a guy who had bid on some work called b/c he was short due to COVID and offered to swap in a rebuilt 5.3 v12 for the less than his original price to deal with the wiring on the 6.0. Still waiting to hear if the car is back on the road.
McLaren
I seem several around the area now and again, they don’t have the visual drama of Ferraris but they do *look* fast.
Ferraris have an element of art to go with the engineering that some others lack a bit in comparison.
20 years ago, maybe even 10, I would have wanted a car like that. Now I’d be more interested in some kind of restomod that I could use at real world speeds.
Tweet of the year?
https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/1321151217482014726
Trump and Kim tweets, when taken together show why our society, country and values are terrible.
Who is that?
error message
Rank 'em: cream-based soup, tomato-based soup, a drinking straw poked into your eye
Can the straw deliver beer? Asking for a large, furry friend.
It's usually a broth based soup, vs cream.
Also a good option!
I had a cream (well a little half & half) based soup last night: Roasted squash with bacon & sage, side of cheesy bread, pair with a disappointing half bottle of Willamette vyl Pinot Noir.
Cream based soup, more cream based soup, tomato based soup, still more cream based soup, discard the straw and drink directly from the vessel.
Drinking straw to the eye
Tomato based soup
Cream based soup (if the straw makes my eyes water, the aftermath of the cream soup makes everyone else’s eyes water)
1.Tomato based soup
2. Cream based soup
3. Drinking straw poked into eye
Elsewhere in college
Were meals in the form of Amazon gift cards?
https://twitter.com/SportsPac12/status/1321201386084773889?s=19
That's a lot of Diddy Riese and In n Out
Chip Belly ate it all.
UCLA is really doing its part to keep the LA restaurant scene alive during the pandemic.
Wisconsin at Nebraska this week has been cancelled. No gaps in B1G schedule to reschedule into, even if the situation improves in Wisconsin.
And with halloween approaching, which means halloween parties on and off campus for students, followed by Thanksgiving with students going home, plus cold weather all means the Big Ten is in trouble.
@Nobody could have seen this coming@
I think DC Trojan did. DC Trojan, what is the inside scoop on your daughters bestie at UW? Give us an update.
Bored shitless and still in the plague dorm, but feeling much better. She was very much out and about before this
Hopefully she gets out in time to attend some sweet Wisconsin Halloween parties!
My older daughter is coming home for thanksgiving and that’s that, she’s not to return to campus until the spring semester starts.
Vandy is the same way. Which makes me happy be cause now I don't have to spend 600+ to do a round trip of the Sat after thanksgiving and a Fri or Sat a week or two before Christmas. Basically they go back for like 1 week of class and then a week+ of finals. Always seemed like a waste to me. When we lived in Louisville is was fine because it was 2.5 hours drive.
I hope this keep this one more year.
Did you and the family decide that or did the university make that decision?
That was from the college. They’ve been very serious about managing contagion risk from the jump. They decided better to just finish the semester remotely than tempt fate with kids traveling back and forth.
Wisconsin cancels their game against Nebraska. Wasn’t trump just telling people in Wisconsin we are rounding the curve? What happened! I suppose he meant we are rounding the curve before we go up a big hill, not down a hill.
we rounded the hair pin curve and slid off the cliff.
Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz diagnosed with Covid, out three weeks.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30202937/source-wisconsin-badgers-qb-graham-mertz-positive-covid-19-3-weeks
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
My Head Election Judge just sent out an email to us other volunteers and notified us that 60% of our district has already voted as of Monday.
This is just 10 percentage points away from the all-time record. We are going to smash voting records, which is will be needed due to the active voter roll purging by the GOP state senate.
Which state are you in again?
NC
Well, hopefully they is good news for the democrats.
Trump Lifts Protections on Tongass National Forest, opening up the old growth forest to logging and road building.
https://www.livescience.com/alaska-tongass-national-forest-trump-lifts-protections.htm
Anyone else in LA County? Trying to confirm that if my wife and I drop off our mail in ballots at a polling center Sunday (before election day obviously) that it will be counted on election day (not after election day).
In CA, absentee ballots can begin being processed the night before election day. If yours is in by then, it will be in the first batch counted. If you turn it in on election day, it gets counted days later.
I'm not, but yes that is the way it works, remember to sign the outside of the envelope.
Here's a story explaining and showing what I happened across yesterday.
https://www.washingtonian.com/2020/10/27/theres-living-statue-of-trump-peeing-on-rbgs-court-seat-in-front-of-the-lincoln-memorial/
I thought I could hang tight until next week but I’m losing faith
Like I can’t even muster outrage any more. Trump suggests that the FBI and the Michigan police faked the threat against Governor Whitman? Well that’s about what you’d expect from that shitbag, take a deep breath and move on I guess
He is becoming completely unhinged from reality in these final weeks. I know he has always been unhinged from reality but it is getting really bad and ridiculous at this point.
I am interested to see what a lame duck trump presidency looks like.
Upper deckers in all the White House toilets
He does seem obsessed with his own poo
well he does have diarrhea of the mouth
Selling all of our intelligence to Russia, almost certainly.
Dark, man, dark
But is it wrong?
If you think he's over the ledge edge now, wait until after the election. At that point, win or lose, he won't be standing for re-election, and will have nothing to lose.
PRO
110 days until pitchers and catchers report
The Dodgers are World Series champions
https://www.truebluela.com/2020/10/27/21536853/dodgers-world-series-champions
The eighth time was the charm for the Dodgers, who finally reached their ultimate goal. They beat the Rays 3-1 in Game 6 on Thursday night, winning their first World Series in 32 years, simultaneously shedding the weight of coming up short so many times.
For years at Dodger Stadium, clips of Kirk Gibson’s home run and Orel Hershiser’s pitching brilliance have been played, a reminder of the glory of the past but also a grim reminder of how increasingly long it’s been. After Tuesday night, the weight of that burden is no more.
“We’ve heard it a lot. We’ve seen the highlights, and it’s fantastic,” manager Dave Roberts said on Monday. “But I think that we want to make our own mark on Dodgers history.”
They did just that on Tuesday night.
*
Different does not necessarily equate to wrong, OR lesser. Unique and changing circumstances are really the new norm (not just this year), and they were different for everyone. The ability to best adjust to the circumstances (in some manner) is usually what wins. There are some noteworthy footnotes to this, but no * is needed.
Nice try, but anyone who actually watched the playoffs will strongly disagree - they were well played.
Find me the missing 100 games.
Cool, so if the regular season matters so much, I guess the 2014 Giants didn't win a real championship since they were just a wild card team and didn't win the division. Very interesting opinion!
Your argument will work well.... with the haters, but the haters only
That is to say, it's not an argument.
If their teams had won, you can bet they would say no asterisk.
I think we’re losing sight of the extent that Kershaw only needs one to blow things up.
Four rounds of multi-game series.
And coming back down 3-1: impressive.
lol this is such transparently ridiculous trolling, Scootie. Surely you can come up with something better than this. There were more playoff games this year than any other season, so this WS title was actually the hardest to win of any in history.
And don't forget no off days in the NLDS and NLCS. Pitching depth is a necessity to get out of the NLCS. 7 straight days means ideally you have 4 starters. Or do multiple bullpen games.
GBBR
GBBR
today i learned what GBBR meant ...
I always thought it was just a special Berzerkleyized form of growling. Is there more to it?
Go Bears Boo Rishi. Why be mysterious about it?
Go Blue Boo Rishi. Goes along with GPYAB Go Padres Yay AndBears (only when playing the Giants).
In fact, here is a DBD dictionary
https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2014/9/16/6282461/dbd-9-17-2014-dbd-dictionary-again
i tried looking in Urban Dictionary first. but eventually resorted to texting @heyalumnigo so as not to appear like a complete idiot.
That never stops me, fwiw
How does this only have one like?!?
GBBR!!!!!
It's me, you, clapdoc, GO when he's around. jlee isn't around as much. It's now just haters.
Superstition. I didn't wear any Dodgers gear on game day so since the playoffs started I only wore my hat once and my sweatshirt on Monday morning when the power was out and I had to go to a coffee shop to get some internet.
Going to wear my shirt today and load up on some championship stuff. No 1 is getting a Seager WS jersey and No 3 is probably getting a Betts. No 2 is getting a Switch and he doesn't wear jerseys anyways. No 1 and 3 may try to find a Will Smith tshirt jersey for him. So far I don't really like the generic stuff that they've put out there. Hopefulyl there will be more stuff soon.
So, about those Dodgers... I was rooting for them, mainly because they they got screwed by those cheating Asstricts, but as my son points out they're a big market team, with tons of $$$$ like the Yankees, so I'm going to revert to not caring about them any more.
Yes they are a $$$$ team, but most of their players were drafted, or they identified underachievers and worked on getting them better. The only real highly paid free agents are Mookie, David Price, and Joe Kelly, and Pollack. And taking David Price's contract allowed them to only give up Verdugo and a couple of good minor leaguers (similar to the Nick Punto trade where they had to take on Carl Crawford's albatross contract to get Hanley and AGon). And even then, Mookie was only a 1 year rental until he decided to agree on an extension.
Most of the other money are extentions to players that have been with the team for quite a while; Kershaw, Turner ($16+M/year ), Kenley ($16+M/yr), Joc (around 8 I think), Bellinger ($10M ish arbitration), and dead money (Crawford maybe).
underachievers that got better include Muncy, Taylor, various pitchers like Treinan, McGee
Most other contributors came up through the farm system or via trade but they were not the major major piece. May, Gonsolin, Buehler, Will Smith, Urías, Gonzalez, Kenley, Seager, Rios, Barnes (trade from Marlins), Kiké (trade from Marlins), Lux, Caleb Ferguson, Joc, Bellinger, Beaty, etc. Hell the Dodgers tried to give Graterol to the Red Sox via a trade with the Twins and they didn't want him so they took him. It's almost like if the Dodgers want a player in a trade, perhaps the trading team should think about keeping them.
Yes they spend money but they didn't buy a team. They aren't the Yankees buying free agents. They're using their money to keep the players they want to keep.
They should give Seager the money he wants, then Bellinger and Buehler. Almost all the money is coming off the books after next year. Keep the 5 superstars and fill in with the farm system and other trades.
It's worth noting that in the early 2000s Yankees fans made the same arguments: that most of their team was homegrown. That's true, but having money also allows you to keep those guys as long as you want (in a way teams like the A's or the Rays can't) and also go out and get whatever extra pieces you need. It's still a big advantage over the small markets.
The A's owner is worth two and a half billion dollars. He could spend some money on free agents if he fucking wanted to. Maybe after the new stadium opens they'll open their pocketbooks a little.
It's time for Fisher to sell, he'll probably get at least a 4x return on his investment. In the meantime, he's unwilling to fund the team adequately and cashes checks from MLB profit-sharing, which is going away. Hope Lacob makes a bid. Or Larry Ellison.
I think you miss the point that it's a business - I don't think he wants to lose money on the deal, whereas the Dodgers can spend $$$$ and STILL make bank; it ain't the same.
Most owners can. If they wanted to. I bet many of them treat it as a novelty item that they own a pro tream. Not many want to put in the resources to develop their minor leaguers, to have good scouts to identify scrap heap players that actually can become good with good coaches, to do things like provide nutritious food to the minor leaguers so that they don't eat crappy fast food and get fat, like Joc.
Absolutely a significant advantage, though I have to point out there are far more stringent salary restrictions now that were not in place in the early 2000's. The implementation of those taxes came about around the same time the Yankees' dynasty ended, and since then there have been no repeat champions.
It's also worth noting that the principal shareholder of the Rays has a net worth of $800 million. Yes, it is small compared to other teams, but a significant factor in the low budgets of small-market teams is their owners' unwillingness to put money into the team.
I'll note that this phenomenon seems to happen more often in small-market teams than in big ones. Maybe because the big market teams just tend to print money off of their own brand.
I remember seeing something way back when that owning a football team was more a status symbol than anything else. They didn't want to spend money to make the team better. Just status to own one, don't care as much about making the playoffs and winning the super bowl, and then hopefully make money when selling. Probably similar to other sports.
Absolutely ^^this^^
i was about to say the same.
I see you're ahead of me.
Looks like Betts is the only one that has a contract past 2022 (not counting players under team control).
They are a big market team, but they've also developed most of their roster. Kershaw, Gonsolin, Buehler, Urias, May, Jansen, Gonzalez, Seager, Bellinger, Smith, Barnes, Pederson, Rios, all home grown. Turner, Muncy, and Taylor were picked up off the scrap heap as replacement-level players. Even Mookie Betts was picked up via trade. Now, did they sign him to a gigantic extension, sure. But man, the Dodgers are essentially "What if the A's ALSO had a shit ton of money", and it's fucking beautiful.
Maybe now that they've finally broken through people can start seeing the Dodgers as what they really are: the new Yankees.
The Red Sox were a great story when they won in 2004 but then quickly turned into the new Yankees.
May the Dodgers be more like the Cubs who somehow managed to regress quickly after they broke their curse. Also, the Dodgers only winning one championship in a shortened regular season do make my parallel of them being like the 90s Braves even better.
...but you *like* the Braves.
shortened regular season but the longest postseason
Now the Dodgers have won two championships in shortened seasons. They were the original asterisk playoff winner.
And I do not see those two as asterisks BTW.
They did it with only 1 win by Walker Buehler, and 2 appearances by Clayton Kershaw without that resulting in a crash and burn event. Who saw that combination of circumstances coming?
I think Dave Roberts finally took Kershaw out in game 5 when he should've. Previous years he would've let him stay in the game and give up a dinger. I think one big difference this year is the bullpen was much much stronger. Didn't overuse Treinan like he did Morrow.
Roberts' pitching management definitely has improved as its matured. Having a better bullpen certainly helps with that.
And Turner tested positive during the game and was removed and quarantined. I think they said his test from the day before came back positive around the 2nd inning and then the league expedited his test from the same day to rule out a false positive. Around the 6th (I think) it was confirmed and the Dodgers were notified and he was removed from the game and put in a room. He did bust out and go back on the field for the celebration, rightly or wrongly. But he had been on close contact with just about everyone on the team.
Saw this tweet in response to Ken Rosenthal's (broke the timeline on Turner's testing):
Turner tested positive and probably spread it to Kevin Cash who lost his sense of snell
“You know what I’m not a symptomatic for? Winning baby!”
https://twitter.com/brentterhune/status/1321500485753409536?s=21
hahaha
The close contact had already happened, so there may not have been much incremental risk. I can understand how this was a difficult situation; its not a moment in time and life that can be gotten back.
I also suspect the number of high profile false positives (or brief positives?) that retesting can't confirm was a factor in their decision, whether that is ever acknowledged or not.
It will be interesting to hear what the results of retesting of Turner are, and whether winning the World Series turned into a super spreader event.
The one thing they lab did do was test 2 days of samples, Mon and Tues. Apparently the Monday one was inconclusive and rather than rerun that test they were told to run the Tues test, which took a couple of hours. By then it was the 7th I think and he was removed when the lab notified the league and the league notified the Dodgers.
I think its been reported that that the Dodgers and their families will be quarantining in Arlington until it is resolved.
They shouldn’t have let him go back on the field, if only to at least try and look like they were serious about disease management
The real MVP was Kevin Cash. I don't care what the analytics say, how can you take Snell out of the game right there. I mean he absolutely owned everyone, especially Betts, Seager, Turner, Muncy. And then why go with the guy they brought in? He may have been your best reliever during the regular season, but he had given up runs in 6 straight postseason games (became 7 on the 2nd batter). His managing became too analytic.
Which is funny because Dave Roberts has been accused of being too analytic at times. When he stuck with Urías to close out game 7 in the NLCS for 3 innings and then even last night, it seemed like he managed more with his gut.
What an awful decision. They blew the game in the span of those first 7 pitches and lost it 3 pitches later.
I can see the logic of wanting to get Snell out of there as soon as possible on his third time through the order, but:
1. He didn't appear to be in trouble yet.
2. The guy they brought in had allowed inherited runners to score in like 6 straight appearances. He did it again.
It's good to have a plan and a "book" you go by in making decisions, but at some point doesn't recent performance have to overrule the book? Just a little bit?
Agreed Sy...having a plan is all good, but you also have to factor in what is happening on the field. It's the eye test...Snell was dealing, and the pitch count was low...his pitch count was rarely as low when he was getting smacked around 3rd time through the lineup during the season...this is where the strictly-analytics approach loses me. Granted, this is what Tampa has been doing all year, but at the same time, Cash needn't even be in the stadium, then...he could manage via ZOOM from his living room.
If I were Cash I would've let Snell face Betts, with the way Snell was throwing and how utterly lost Betts looked against him the first two times.
That said, Snell hasn't been going deep into games and has been getting smacked around the 3rd time through the order, so I get it. But I would've let him face Betts and only taken him out if any other batter that inning reached.
Hell, I would've let him face Seager as well. He looked lost chasing the sliders and the high FB. Same with Turner (weaker against the 97 FBs above the zone this year). Seager, Turner, and Muncy all are susceptible to the 96+ MPH 3 inches above the zone.
I can see the need to avoid a 3rd time through the lineup; the stats on that are dramatic, But there were other (left handed) options to go with that would avoid a righty throwing fastballs to Mookie (not a good idea).
Counter-point: people praised Roberts for pulling Kershaw after 5.2 innings in Game 5.
Kershaw didn't look nearly as dominant as Snell in that game though.
It certainly wasn't game 1 Kershaw. He did just enough to get through and keep them in the game given his control troubles. All you can ask.
Right, he was fine but not dominating, which is why there wasn't much second-guessing about taking him out.
But even then, it was the "plan". Get through the lefties and then I think the next batter was Margot.
I watched more MLB baseball this year than I have in more than 20 years, mostly because I wasn't umpiring nearly as much, and the whole season boiled down to the Rays not capitalizing on scoring opportunities in the first 2 innings (poor hitting that hit even more poorly with runners in scoring position, a baseball tradition), and then a pitching change mistake.
I can't recall, much less count, all the times, at every level, I've watched a manager not base their decision on how the pitcher is actually doing, and pull someone who is dealing for someone who they have no idea if they can even throw strikes, much less get outs, only to quickly, but already too late, find out they can't do either, blowing up a game in the process. (Close second baseball pitching tradition, most frequently exemplified recently by the current Giants, is to not pull a pitcher who obviously should not be in the game any longer, letting them get obliterated.)
Not capitalizing is similar to what the Braves didn't do in game 6 against Buehler. 3 straight singles, then 2 Ks and a groundout to SS.
Also in game 7 the bad running play on 2nd and 3rd no outs and the grounder to Turner. Rundown going home on the contact play, which isn't a bad play by Dansby provided Riley the rookie on 2nd runs to 3rd as soon as the runner on 3rd breaks for home during the rundown instead of being indecisive and also getting thrown out at 3rd for a momentum busting double play.
That was bad baserunning all around. Running into an unforced out in scoring position is inexcusable ~99% of the time. To run into 2 unforced outs in one play is something that almost never happens (and shouldn't!) even in Little League.
I think the initial out is fine provided the other runners get to 2nd and 3rd like you usually see. They're trying to make the fielder have to make a perfect throw. Although that hit by Markakis was a hard hit ball, unlike Seager's last night.
Really a shame the World Series was canceled this year.
First team to win four multi-game playoff series in the same year.
And the first 3 game series could've been the toughest if you had to play a team with 2 lights out starters. If the Padres had Clevinger and Lamat healthy then that would've been a tough series. Sometimes you get lucky.
That was definitely a lucky break for them. I think the Padres with a healthy pitching staff are a real threat to the Dodgers.
CAL
Go Bears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7 Days out from the Election and its looking like we have a 12 round prizefight on our hands, let me know who you guys have winning the election and why without bashing your predicted losing candidate (whoever that may be its not my job to pass judgment on your beliefs).
I think the chances of a Biden rout (winning the popular vote by 10+) are greater than Trump pulling off a win. That's not to say Trump couldn't win, but it just doesn't seem to be going that way. Polls are not tightening late like in 2016.
Overall, it doesn't matter one iota either way. What matters to both sides are the swing states, and making sure a state leaning their way that isn't prohibitively out of reach doesn't slip and flip.
Yeah, it's more about Biden winning the swing states by a safe margin, which is plausible.
I mean, a popular vote win by 5 or more makes it very unlikely to lose the electoral college. So on that level the margin matters.
But I also think the margin matters in terms of what kind of "mandate" the the incoming President has, and also for coattails and what kind of Congressional majority you get.
The other important thing this time around (compared to 2016) is the gatekeepers are back. The Trump team pinned their hopes on the Hunter BS, but the mainstream press said, "nah, not falling for it this time, Lucy", and without the legitimacy bestowed upon this narrative, it stays isolated in the Fox News ecosphere, unable to infect nationally.
I think its going to be a rout of historic proportions. Biden has a legit shot at 400+ electoral votes
The last time the Dodgers and Lakers won, a vice president won election with 400+ electoral votes.
Also, what do you see in Texas? I get that you are in a bluer area, so it might not be representative, but you have a better perspective than the rest of us.
I thought Texas was 1-2 election cycles away from turning blue. Because of the demographic shifts here, it is absolutely inevitable. Republicans have done a brilliant job at voter suppression over the last few decades and I think I saw that Texas has the most restrictive voter laws in the US? Anyways, I think the combination of Trump's assholery (rural Republicans like him but the suburban Republicans have always disliked him even though they reluctantly voted for him over Hillary whom they hate even more) and the incredible work done by Beto O'Rourke to get people registered and then follow up by text and phone to get them to the polls means that I honestly think Texas is going blue this time around. Polling in Texas is notoriously hard because Democrats here traditionally dont represent in those. So Dems typically are 3-4 points better than what polls show... and the most recent polls show it even or Biden up 3-4 points. With 8.15 million votes already cast (I think there were 8.9 million votes cast in 2016 total), turnout is going to be massive and that spells doom for Donald.
Be calm my blue beating heart.
I am growing cautiously optimistic for this scenario.
^^this^^
Thanks for the link to that Politico article yesterday! It was fantastic and a great read. It is funny that he mentioned Peter King because that’s exactly who I thought of while reading the article.
round 1 .. biden seems to win
rounds 2-11 .. recounts and lawsuits
round 12 .. supreme court decides
round 13: spectators burn down the arena
This here is why the victory margin needs to be big. No one will accept the court overturning a massive rout.
i agree it might be unsavory .. but so was the judicial process to get ACB confirmed. i don't think the winning party (on either side) will have any qualms about how they win given the polarized climate.
Overturning a massively clear election result would be several orders of magnitude bigger than the GOP's Supreme Court shenanigans of recent years.
And yet would be completely unsurprising.
No, I think that would be very surprising.
I bet they already have the arguments written. And I bet they've already notified the right leaning justices of their intentions. It won't be a surprise when they file.
my claim is that "GOP's Supreme Court shenanigans of recent years" was done precisely to "overturn a massively clear election result"
IMO that's a bit alarmist. But I guess we'll see.
This is so depressing. It could come down to ACB's vote.
I think I'll make this for lunch https://www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/9moc8f/recipe_cantowestern_seafood_baked_fried_rice_with/
sounds tasty .. but looks like a lot of work
a little late to start all this right now isn't it?
I already have leftover cooked rice and cooked fish from yesterday, so I just have to fry the rice and make the bechamel. I hope! My lunch is already delayed because I'm listening to a seminar, but I think I should be able to eat soon...
Ahh..yes makes it much easier