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Post by beasleyrockah on Sept 30, 2017 13:33:25 GMT -5
I think the most ironic part of all of this is the people who are upset about Kaepernick's unemployment are boycotting the NFL, while simultaneously there's a boycott organized by people who don't support Kaepernick or other players deciding to kneel. People who are literally on the opposite ends of the argument are doing the exact same thing. Trump supporters still haven't figured out that he's had a personal bias against the NFL for decades, so let me try using the type of rhetoric that works with his base: Trump's had a big bias, a very big bias, a huge bias, buh-lieve me.
Ultimately the backlash here is not surprising to me, this country has a history of criticizing any protest that is led by African Americans (and to be fair, for a country with all our freedoms, we really seem to hate ANY protest in the early stages dating back to colonial times).
Jimed nailed it with his comments on the anthem. Personally, I believe that if you truly believe in America you should only want people to stand if they want to stand, I can't understand the desire for faux patriotism. You'll never get 100% support for the anthem unless you're in a fascist state that requires participation, and I believe it's far less "American" to try to force people into obedience than to allow free expression. I think debate and discussion can only make the country better, and this desire for groupthink is scary but not surprising.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Sept 24, 2017 15:58:13 GMT -5
Patriots not looking good late 4th quarter. Well late, late in the 4th quarter they looked great.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Sept 7, 2017 23:19:40 GMT -5
The defense was worse, but I expected them to be a work in progress so I was more disappointed by the offense, they were terrible in the red zone and clutch situations. The defense really fell apart at the end, and they were very limited throughout the night, but the offense had many opportunities to take control of the game and failed every time. It was a bad game all around, poor coaching and in game decision making. The Super Bowl winning Patriots teams have tended to struggle early, so here's to that trend continuing.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Sept 7, 2017 10:44:45 GMT -5
I don't know what Otani will want. What I'm talking about is public perception and deserved or not, New England and Massachusetts in particular be it sports or other is perceived quite negatively by the general public. I'm pretty sure that the average baseball fan from the middle of nowhere, USA, has quite a different perception of how the Cardinals, for example, do business compared to their view of the Red Sox or Yankees for that matter. How do you think the average American views the Patriots ? Since there's pretty much no initial monetary incentives for Otani, other factors will weigh heavier that the usual highest bidder situation, Moncada for example. ADD: I personally don't think the Sox are dirtier than anyone else but I also don't think that's how they are perceived, particularly in the media. Read the comments left by the fans. If he's anti-sign stealing to the point that he wouldn't consider the Red Sox as a result, I'd assume he'd have a bigger problem with the Cardinals hacking proprietary information from another team. While the average American might view the Patriots negatively, the average NFL player still views it as a top destination in the league. I think the typical American sports fan judges teams entirely differently than a prospective player does, so these things don't correlate much if at all. For instance, Red Sox fans don't consider the quality of life in NYC when expressing their distain for the Yankees franchise...a player is considering how their life will be in that particular city. Most fans don't like opposing franchises who have beat them, and they don't really care about opposing franchises that haven't. I feel safe assuming that Otani will care more about his living situation, feeling comfortable with the FO/coaches, getting a chance to hit, and his chances to win than what the outside popular opinion is of a franchise.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Sept 6, 2017 11:44:50 GMT -5
I was at The House of Blues which is next to Fenway on Landsdowne ST for people not familiar with the area. The show ended just before midnight and we had no idea the game was still going on while we walked by. Usually you can clearly hear the crowd and PA system, and the big screen above CF is visible, but just walking by it felt like the game ended around 10 because there was no foot traffic or noise. I probably could've walked right into the stadium, I couldn't even see a security guard from the outside. There was just one guy playing bucket drums like Dale Doback at the Catalina Wine Mixer, and another guy playing the trumpet who kept doing the first 15 seconds or so of the Rocky theme song. Those two were enough to drown out whatever noise was coming out of Fenway by that point.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Aug 30, 2017 11:52:16 GMT -5
Stanton has an opt out after 2020, so if his deal is looking team friendly he's going to opt out.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Aug 28, 2017 10:54:15 GMT -5
If they're asking for Brown or Tatum, that feels like a negotiating strategy- ask for one of them figuring Danny would never agree and then be prepared to "settle" for the LA pick. That's more like panhandling than negotiating.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Aug 26, 2017 10:11:19 GMT -5
They won the SB without Gronk last year, and they had less depth/options. This injury hurts but it's hardly crippling. The biggest concern for me is now there's more pressure on Gronk, Amendola, Cooks, and Mitchell to stay healthy. Make no mistake though, there's still a gap between the Patriots and the rest of the AFC, Edelman doesn't move the needle THAT much.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Aug 24, 2017 10:37:12 GMT -5
I think Buxton is going to be a star (and he's been raking for a couple months, .324/.369/.532 since July 1) but the JBJ potential free agency thing confuses me...isn't JBJ controlled through 2020 while Buxton is controlled for only one additional season beyond that?
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Post by beasleyrockah on Aug 23, 2017 16:01:41 GMT -5
If it wasn't clear, I now HATE that Bagley reclassified This is pretty much where I'm at. I know a lot can change between now and the draft, but this class is absolutely loaded at the top, and with guys that would theoretically fill long term needs for the Celtics. If this trade was made with a weak or average draft class I'd love it. I'd also support this trade if it was the LAL/SAC/PHI pick instead of the BK pick, but as is this trade feels like a clear overpay in terms of value. It might be worth it, and with a little luck it could be a big win, but it certainly has a good amount of downside risk. This is such a fascinating/video game type trade, but it was a no brainer for Cleveland given their alternatives.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Aug 13, 2017 10:58:06 GMT -5
I don't think there's much value in assigning blame here. The conversation should be: 1.) is Xander injured? 2.) Will rest allow him to heal/recover for Sept/October? 3.) If he'll be physically affected by the injury for the rest of the season and continues to be this type of limited hitter, how long do you give him regular playing time? He has been terrible for a while now, but the internal options are pretty weak too. I'd certainly give him more off days than he's been receiving, but I expect that to happen once Pedroia is back anyway.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jul 29, 2017 12:10:28 GMT -5
I like Mookie too but the fact is he's hitting .272. He's under-performing in a way very similar to the way Ramirez is performing. It's really ridiculous the way fan pick on players who are making a lot of money. There is no doubt in my mind that if Betts had signed a 20 million dollar a year contract after last season quite a large number of fans would be ripping him to pieces for the year he is having. Mookie is hitting better than Hanley (aka more power, better obp/avg, more walks, less K's, etc.), while playing an elite RF and adding value as an elite baserunner. Hanley plays DH and can't run anymore. If Hanley was producing the same type of value Mookie produces this offense would be looking significantly better, because he'd have to mash to even come close to Mookie's value.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jul 16, 2017 14:02:12 GMT -5
There's a real possibility that Devers and Frazier could be the two regular corner infielders in September. Moreland was great to start the year so perhaps everyone hasn't noticed he's been killing this team for a month now (rocking a .165/.240/.282 line since 6/15). Frazier isn't ideal at 1B, but even if you're sold on Devers being a contributor this year it's hard to believe Hanley can or will handle 1B defensively every day, and I'm not comfortable banking on Devers/Lin/Marrero/Holt PLUS Moreland/Travis at the other corner. No one wants to overpay for Frazier, but it's not as simple as Devers vs. Frazier, they could really use both players.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jul 15, 2017 18:53:35 GMT -5
One more reason to hate the Yankees.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jul 10, 2017 13:45:54 GMT -5
Is this the thread where we discuss Kopech's 55 walks in 78 innings? Is you-know-who still around or was he finally banned? Before he had the Kopech infatuation I remember a few of his crazy Julio Teheran hot takes. Those aren't looking too hot either.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jul 8, 2017 21:46:25 GMT -5
Honest question 'cause this is something I'm having difficulties to understand: Why is Eloy Jimenez ranked ahead of Devers in every single ranking? They have the same age (Rafa is 20 y and 8 m while Eloy is 20 y and 7 m) Devers is putting better numbers (154 wRC+) than Jimenez (131 wRC+) while playing at a higher level (A Advanced Vs Double A) Devers is playing a way more valuable defensive position (3rd Base Vs Corner OF) I just don't get it. Baseball Prospectus has Devers three spots ahead of Jimenez and Baseball America put Jimenez only one spot ahead of him.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jul 2, 2017 11:47:56 GMT -5
How do we know it wasn't this "Eck" person who escalated things? Is it because he's the "Eck"? And was it Price who took the incident and made a big news story out of it? Bradford described it as a "rant", because it was supposedly just Price ranting at Eck rather than it being a two way argument. People heard the rant and talked about it because it was unusual. Also, Price ranted at Drelich recently too so it's not a leap to say he could've done it again. As far as it being "made a big news story", Price has now ranted in multiple settings with media members around to observe it, despite the fact that these conversations could've easily taken place at the ballpark in a more discreet setting. Ultimately I don't really care about this, but the one obvious thing here is Price wanted people to hear his thoughts, he clearly wasn't aiming for a private/closed doors setting. FWIW Eck is the only person keeping me from muting the NESN broadcast on a nightly basis.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jun 22, 2017 10:27:47 GMT -5
I'll try to sell high on Chavis and offer a package centred around him for Jed. You'd probably be selling high on Chavis, but you'd definitely be buying high on Lowrie.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jun 18, 2017 0:35:34 GMT -5
It would be hilarious if Philly gets Fultz this year and then gets the #1 overall pick from LA next season. If you ignore the prospects in this draft and look solely at the value in a vacuum it looks decent, but I don't see how philly wouldn't do this deal on draft night, and I don't get the urgency from the C's perspective. It feels like another deal is coming and maybe in tandem it'll help explain this move, but maybe Danny actually feels like the gap between Fultz and the #3 guy isn't substantial.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jun 15, 2017 20:36:21 GMT -5
I was rooting for JBJ to get picked off just to avoid having to watch the inevitable Pablo strikeout.
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Post by beasleyrockah on May 10, 2017 12:29:20 GMT -5
I'm not trying to claim this means anything, but LeBron had very complimentary comments towards Brown earlier this year. He told the media he talked to Brown privately, and while he wouldn't share his exact words he said he was a really good talent and specifically complimented the way he plays the game, so it wasn't just crediting his talent or athletic ability. Now, this doesn't have much value to me, and he didn't earn some type of nickname like Pierce did from Shaq, but it at least shows that he made the biggest star in the sport take notice for one night.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Mar 4, 2017 14:41:14 GMT -5
Tom will continue to accept extremely team friendly deals as long as the team gives him clear job security. I have a hard time believing Garoppolo doesn't want to cash in on his next deal. If the Patriots decide they want to give Jimmy the job next offseason and move on from Brady they'll be spending more, and that's definitely part of the consideration. I could see Jimmy taking a somewhat team friendly deal, but nothing like Brady would be willing to do. Jimmy can simply demand a monster deal or play the franchise tag game and earn a ton. Tom isn't going anywhere in the next few seasons barring significant injury.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Feb 9, 2017 22:55:48 GMT -5
I think a Garoppolo trade would be for a 2018 1st round pick plus a mid round pick in 2017. Bill has always been ok with waiting a year for the draft pick and some team with coaches/executives on the hot seat will see it as an opportunity to add the QB for 2017 without paying the cost until the following season (both in terms on the pick and salary). I wouldn't be shocked if they could get a first rounder + for this draft if two teams get into a bidding war.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Dec 6, 2016 13:19:07 GMT -5
So after the 2019 season when Bogaerts and Sale hit FA while Mookie and JBJ enter their walk years, this team will be in good shape, especially without Moncada and Kopech to provide cheap production for that transitional time.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Nov 7, 2016 15:41:52 GMT -5
It feels like a lot of people are really underestimating the type of money Chapman and Jansen will command this offseason. They are going to destroy Papelbon's record contract.
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