biggentleben
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Everything posted by biggentleben
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I would hope your scenario would give some leeway to a genuine seeker in any topic versus someone looking to create conflict, but it is so difficult to know which is which in many cases. A scenario for you to consider: You're very intrigued by a particular lecture topic and considering making a trip specifically to hear this lecture delivered based on the reputation of the speaker. Does your enthusiasm change when you find out that the Joe Johnson, PhD that is delivering the lecture is actually Jolene Johnson? Does it change when you find out Joe Johnson is black/Asian/Native? when you find out that PhD is from Podunk University - Rural Campus, and not from Harvard/Yale/Berkley/etc.? Is gay/trans? All of those aspects that can change that opinion are things that should all be protected with the same veracity as race, and I really don't believe that we are conscious of the issues going on in those other realms, or we've at least moved them to a back burner in our own minds and seemingly ignore real things going on in those areas while we get triggered in the one other area, right or wrong. That's what bugs me. That's what brought my comment about people who make a stand about race on either side with such passion yet don't address the very real issues going on in so many other areas that are attacked online. Perhaps the person getting their opinion quickly judged on race has already worn out their leeway in other areas, but when some are so focused on one area, the racial offense seems to be the only thing mentioned.
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Nick Anderson- just what our bullpen needed
biggentleben replied to darin617's topic in Other Baseball
And even then, you only can protect so many guys. Nick Burdi goes elsewhere, Dereck Rodriguez is allowed to sign as a minor league free agent elsewhere, and the 40 is still packed full of pitchers. Who do you expose? Perhaps it'd be Jake Reed or Gabriel Moya or Andrew Vasquez instead blowing up if they had protected Nick or Luke, and most likely the bullpen would still be full, and those two would be struggling to get out of AAA... -
It's the issue with what we're "allowed" to chastise or attack or whatever line you want to use on social media. Why does discourse on certain topics become an issue whether bad behavior was attacked or not, but other horrendous behavior is left unchecked? The discourse has been going on for multiple pages on whether we should or should not attack someone for racism due to the potential that we could be wrong. However, on vitally important issues, no one is taking even a stand, let alone attacking, and it leads to many feeling like they have absolutely no protection and even no value within the larger society based on the lack of attention that poor behavior in that realm seems to warrant. I probably don't put it into the best words either, as I'm a dad getting it reported to me. I'm not someone experiencing it on a day to day basis. That end of things is where we truly need to consider our privilege and stepping out from behind it. Not just race, not just sexual orientation, not just any one of them, but each and all of them.
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I did mention Twitter, thinking more along the lines of the ovation given to Josh Hader after his posts were revealed last summer, but it's really any social platform. Recently, defenses have gone up for those who are vilified for not thinking before posting by some...but all responsibility for what someone may do with an innocent picture of my daughter is on her, no matter what photo editing software may be added or other such things. Unbelievably, the same people often that defend someone like Hader will put out the line, "if she didn't want that sort of attention, then she shouldn't post that picture." Mind you, I've seen this same comment made on a woman wearing a sweater and jeans in the photo in question. Not on Twitter. By someone who made a long, drawn out post about how wrong it was to judge Hader. So "making that leap" likely doesn't occur when 1. you're male, 2. you're white, 3. you're not in that age where all men seem to think you're a sex object when female. In the realm of privilege, it's one we seldom discuss. In my house, it's an every day thing, and it will be for the next 20 years (at least).
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....and when my teenage daughter is told that anything she posts on the Internet that includes her body (fully clothed, mind you) can be used against her while anyone who makes vitriolic Twitter posts or poses for pictures such as these without thinking of the implications is defended ad nauseam, I'll simply ignore those defending those posting potential vitriolic and racist material and hope that someday they get the double standard.
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Endgame. Beware, here be spoilers.
biggentleben replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in The Sports Bar
Yeah, that scene was not for story line. It was 100% for a fan base - one that is so seldom represented in movies like this. -
I'm actually drawing one up. I do a piece every Sunday/Monday called "starting 9" where I cover a topic around the game. This is what I'm intending to cover in this week's piece, hoping to get more info, if I can.
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Nick immediately filed a discrimination complaint with MLB regarding Kapler pushing him out the door due to his military background. That investigation took significant time, and after MLB cleared the Dodgers and Kapler, they did leave the window open for Francona to pursue legal action. That's when the Dodgers pursued a financial settlement, but Nick (technically his lawyer, but still) negotiated a very narrow settlement rather than his entire employment. MLB waited until after that initial investigation was complete to even open the investigation on the assault, which is horrific. His big issue while he was with the Mets was how MLB was using military to make money and really not being transparent about how they used that money. He was outspoken enough that he lost his job with the Mets.
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The conservative slant is one thing. Sinclair is known for slashing down to bare bones in staffing, pushing to maximize profits in all aspects while also presenting a common, unified message. Cutting corners on coverage of the game could absolutely kill the game. Will there actually be discourse on the game or when a player flips a bat, will he universally be panned across all Sinclair-owned stations in pregame highlights?
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There is more there, but the Dodgers settled with Francona on the grounds that he not release any of it, and he has held to that, though he's open to discuss other portions of his employment with the team. Kapler, on the other hand, will go after Nick on all subjects, including ones that he knows (or should know) that Nick can't respond to... Kapler has a reputation around the game as a "baseball bro", which has its positives, but it definitely has its negatives, including this cover-up.
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Nevermind that we're defunding (or drastically underfunding) community mental health and substance abuse centers, meaning that the police are now required to be trained in handling mental health emergencies as well as medical emergencies due to overdose as the typical first responder to a situation. Our local officers work well with me, and there have been times that people listening to my conversation with officers after an issue in my home or when I worked in mental health would question my words, but those officers and I had built up a rapport that we could talk freely about how an issue could be handled better. When I ran into issues that required police intervention as a foster parent, it took a single phone call to the right officer to get things moving and get the answers I needed after asking for months for Social Services to do the work to get intervention. That said, our own town's police force is, on average, around #20-25 in the state in average pay. The city ranges from the 7th to 10th largest city in the state in population with one of the largest populations of Karen refugees, a heavy meth and opioid issue, and a very strong mental health center that has led to significant population placed into the city of persons with SPMIs. That's where the rub truly is. The big difference with officers and teaching is that the local town approved significant arms for the underpaid officers to use. The state and local school board continues to cut resources for similarly underpaid teachers. Imagine if we did the opposite...
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The worst possible situation for baseball fans - Sinclair purchased the local team rights. This could be very, very bad for baseball.
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He has stated that he is upset by his own actions. He was fresh from the military and very ingrained mindset of respecting chain of authority, which he knows now he should have challenged.
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Lots and lots of problems there, but I'd want to consult my dad to get the wording better. Needless to say, way too much left vague for many farmers who have been tagged before by people who simply don't have a clue how farming is done in another part of the country. My own father's operation would be considered incredibly large basically anywhere but the Grain Belt, but significant advances in equipment have allowed him to do that on his own, even after my brothers and I left home and didn't return to the farm. Another major, major piece absent from direct mention by Bernie is livestock.
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Endgame. Beware, here be spoilers.
biggentleben replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in The Sports Bar
Finally saw it today. Times of tears, times of outright cheering in our theater, and plenty of moments where I was incredibly impressed with how things were handled. That funeral scene was handled brilliantly. So perfect. -
Interestingly, though, he was known to a lot of middle America by the time he truly became a candidate. "Dreams from My Father" was included in a modern American literature class I took in college. My mom had "Audacity of Hope" come up in her book club in 2007. That's something that people do forget about Obama...his ideas and persona was out there in print for many to read and interpret before he ever was a Presidential candidate. At this point, any of the current candidates releasing a book would be viewed entirely as a move toward the 2020 election.
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I never said "greatest home run hitter". I said career home run leader. That's wrong for at least 3 reasons, though there are more... 1. Never faced a black player. 2. at least 40 career home runs behind two other home run hitters, who happen to be black 3. would have been drastically different facing anything other than fastballs, change ups, and rare breaking pitches
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I cannot believe that MLB has skirted around this issue...and they've attempted to continue to rip on Nick in the process. I've been chatting actively with Nick for over a year, and his statements are consistent. It's the game, the Dodgers, and Kapler who change their story to make him the villain and/or reduce incidents that should be causing the dismissal of players and upper level personnel from the game: https://www.si.com/mlb/2019/02/05/nick-francona-gabe-kapler-controversy-los-angeles-dodgers-assault-allegations
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Due to ignorance only. There are plenty who still view Ruth as the career home run king. I suppose it's unbecoming to challenge that as well.
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Rich Hill and Pat Neshek discussing their families will quickly remind you that baseball is about way more than just a business. Obviously, in any business with as many employees as MLB (even just players), there will be stories like this, but it's still great to hear it.
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I put together a daily minor league thread for my site, highlighting top performances around the minors and previewing games of interest each day. The last full week of April, on each day of the week, there were at least 40 home runs hit across AAA (IL and PCL combined). On some of those days, there were not even 10 games played. On multiple days there was at least one game with multiple players from the same team who hit multiple home runs. In one particular game, two teammates each hit 3 home runs, while a player on the opposing team hit 2...and there were still 3-4 more home runs throughout the game from other players as well. It's incredibly skewed raw numbers in the minors this year because you really cannot look at a pitcher line in AAA the same as AA and below, which of course is the same with hitting.
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There was also a response from Barr that was made public that actually is quite reasonable. I cannot find the actual statement in the tweet storm of hearings today, but this thread does include the key quote of the statement: https://twitter.com/mitchellichtman/status/1123574991386230785
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I get the character finale of going now after Cersei, but I don't have to like it. Her character has just been too much to me throughout the show. Her survival and rise to power among a series of fantasy is the most unbelievable aspect to me, so having the ending now revolve around that bugs me, but I will say I enjoyed utilizing Arya rather than the token "Jon Snow saves the world" mantra.
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Removal of an orange from a white home. Pretty much the motivation for everyone running. I cannot fault her running as she's built some notoriety in DC, but it doesn't mean it changes my personal opinion of my ability to vote for her.
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I didn't really hit and run. I posted and was around for quite a while, but then I did have to serve my children supper and put them to bed, so I'm just getting back on here after doing that and getting some writing done and deciding who I'm having the Twins pick in my mock draft going up today...
