Brock Beauchamp

*blank stare* Two groups - which contain 79% of the population - barely moved the needle and actually drifted backward for long periods of time. Meanwhile, 20% of the population - particularly just 1% - are seeing monstrous gains by the year. You know history has told us time and time again that kind of disparity leads to an unfortunate conclusion, right? If America wants to keep being America, this gap is going to have to close or things are going to turn very ugly. Nobody wins if that happens. We all lose.

One approach does not invalidate the other. Both can (and should) be applied to the problem. Today's minimum wage is roughly 30% lower than it was 50 years ago. How is that okay with so many of you? What do you think happens to all those people working with 30% fewer real dollars? It's not like they magically live on less money. No, they turn to the government for increased assistance. This isn't some radicalized idea... Most of the rest of the civilized world picked up on this idea years ago.

It infuriates me that Americans continue to look at the "class" below them and complain about any potential gains that "class" might receive, yet never seem to look up and see this happening... http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/cbpp%20income%20inequality%202011.png Stop punching down, people. It's what the power brokers of America want you to do so you remain distracted from the real issues. If the lower income brackets make a few gains here and there, that's a good thing. We should all be making gains because we've all been drifting backward for 40+ years.

Except that it has worked pretty well in places like Australia, a country with a high minimum wage ($16.88/hr), included benefits, and retains a relatively low unemployment rate (6.3%). That unemployment rate is just 0.8% higher than the US, which has some horrendous unemployment rate accounting practices. The real unemployment rates are probably similar. People still need things and need services and businesses will have to provide those services if they want to keep the doors open. The "raised prices" argument is a red herring. Yes, companies will raise prices. That's the point. But those prices will be distributed as a use tax to that company's customer base, not the entire taxpayer base through self-subsidies. I can't wrap my head around the argument "yes, it's okay for Wal-Mart to pay its employees so little they qualify for taxpayer assistance". Show of hands, please. Who here enjoys helping corporations they don't support by aiding their employees with taxpayer dollars?

Agreed. I also have to admit the kid is kinda winning me over.

I understand and agree with most of this post, which is why I'm concerned about Stewart. But, again, until we know his development status, it's a lot of conjecture. Stats are important but only if they tell something resembling a complete picture... We simply do not know if that's the case with Stewart. If he's not throwing his slider but the Twins intend to have him return to throwing the pitch, the stats are somewhat irrelevant. If he's throwing the slider but isn't missing bats, that's a huge problem.

Agreed. I find it a little surprising that so little is being said about a former first round pick and none of the big players have weighed in with a piece about Stewart. I really want to see someone break down his current situation and why he's not missing bats.

Boy, I disagree on this and again, it's a pragmatic standpoint. As much as anyone else, I go to a fast food restaurant and think "good lord, these people are working beyond their meager pay grade". I mean, it's kinda embarrassing how little some people are worth in the marketplace. I can't say I'm up in arms about unskilled people being "underpaid" to do menial work. But... Corporations like Wal-Mart have taken advantage of America's 40 year attempt to chisel away at the minimum wage and decided to self-subsidize themselves. Wal-Mart makes money. They're a profitable corporation, yet they think it's okay to pay their employees so little they still qualify for government assistance. At some locations, they've even had the gall to hand out instructions to new employees, explaining how to apply for assistance. That's wrong. If someone can work full-time (or something close to it) and qualify for taxpayer assistance, the minimum wage is too low. We should not assist corporations in paying their employees so little the taxpayers have to pick up the slack. Self-subsidy needs to stop and it needs to stop now. True fiscal responsibility means raising the minimum wage and forcing businesses/corporations to pass off that increased expense as a use tax to its customers, not the taxpayer base at large while the business keeps the increased profits. In the current system, we (the taxpayers) are getting screwed both coming and going. Bump the minimum wage to $12/hour (where it was in the 50s/60s) and fix it to inflation. That will fix this problem permanently. If states want to raise it past that point, more power to them. Bonus Points for implementing this plan: with an increased use tax on things Americans have become used to buying cheaply - food, simple services, etc - Americans will no longer be able to "improve" their lives by stepping on the backs of those below them, which might actually shake up this country. The middle class has been moving backward for 40 years now and we've hidden it from ourselves by creating a new underclass of people to keep the prices of services low in this country. Remove that underclass, raise prices, and we'll be forced to realize we're not as wealthy as our parents were and that we've been getting screwed by the super-rich for a very long time.

If candidates have to make themselves popular with the GOP base by hammering away at increasingly-unpopular social issues and tilting at windmills, the GOP is going to lose presidential elections for a long time. Rick Santorum was more popular than Jon Huntsman in 2012. That is literally all you need to know about the current GOP to understand the huge problem that has been brewing in the party for the past two decades. The GOP "base" has radicalized to the point they're no longer a viable choice for much of America. Again, 20 years ago I voted pure red. 11 years ago, I turned purple. Seven years ago, I turned blue. It wasn't me that changed. It was the Republican Party and its increasingly radical agenda that continually pushed me away from their candidates. Hell, I don't even like the Democrats but I'll gladly put a vote out there to stop the GOP from achieving their goals because I so vehemently disagree with their agenda.

I'm really glad so many people have so many answers about a pitcher they've never seen pitch. I'm as concerned about Stewart as anyone but until we actually find out some real information about his current status (fastball velocity, pitch selection), we're just shouting in the dark.

Oh, sure. I'm not trying to imply the Twins ignore service time entirely, I'm just skeptical it's the driving force behind a decision.

Yeah, they could do that but I remained unconvinced the Twins put much thought into service time. They certainly didn't care with Hicks.

There is absolutely no reason to protect Berrios' service time. It's mid August. For it to matter, the Twins would have to keep Berrios in the minors for roughly 40% of next season, too.

That's a little bad luck for everyone involved in the play.

The smartest thing the bottom of the lineup can do against a pitcher like Gonzalez is put the bat on their shoulder and leave it there.

Ervin, please roll the ball to the plate from here on out.

Argh. Argh.

I'm a natural lefty and I do a lot of things right-handed... Swing a golf club, swing a baseball bat, use scissors, use a knife, etc. It's pretty natural for a lefty to do a lot of things right-handed because we're forced to learn to work within a right-handed society. But forcibly making a kid change their natural hand can cause some pretty significant issues. The brain is wired in a particular way for a reason... Trying to change that can disrupt all sorts of things.

Oh my.

Really? Ugh, that was such a bad practice, I can't believe it's still a part of our recent history.

Uh, Dick, Joe Mauer is not left-handed.

Only 24 more outs to go.

Yes, all of this. What I would give for a real, in-depth scouting report of 2015 Kohl Stewart. Until we get that report from somebody who has watched him pitch multiple times, we're just guessing and the statistics may be meaningless.

I don't necessarily disagree with Stewart being downgraded as a prospect but he's a peculiar case. He didn't focus on baseball during his prep years, though he played it. He was/is rough around the edges and everybody knew that on draft day. Until I actually see hard numbers on his pitch selection, I will not get too down on the kid. If he's throwing all fastballs and still working on development, there's a lot of upside in that arm and banging away at his K/9 rate is premature and more than a little irrational. If he's throwing his entire repertoire and still not missing bats, that's a big problem. The minor leagues are for development and not all players develop at the same rate. Like I've said in the past, Kohl Stewart could spend four more years in the minor leagues and still debut as a 24 year old. And comparing him to Blackburn is just... ugh. Nick Blackburn was a 90-91 mph guy who played in A+ ball as a 22 year old after being drafted out of college. Stewart, when healthy, is a 93-95 mph guy playing in A+ ball as a 20 year old. They could end up at the same point but that still makes the comp a bad one.

It's not going to break my heart if Berrios doesn't get a call but I'd like to see him. At least it appears they're finally moving May back into the rotation. I'm calling today a win for Twins fans.