TheLeviathan

Satire about them isn't even able to match the actual silliness of these rules. Good try though.

Listen to CC preach. (Lots of language, but the point is there)

I would only quibble slightly - they invested in attracting more 18 year olds to take loans. The actual quality and value of a college degree seems to be declining at about the same rate tuition is increasing. Colleges are acting like corporations at this point. Their exploitation of young adults - from athletes to students - should be an affront to everyone. They deserve no protection.

A few things stand out to me: 1. The first affront to the game of baseball was putting Austidillo on the mound. I can't think of a more "defiling" act towards professional baseball than some catcher throwing 40 mph "heaters" in a professional game. Hockey teams don't put their wings in at goalie. Football teams don't play their third QB at safety. Basketball teams don't play their equipment guy at center. It seems odd to me that we're aghast that a professional hitter took a professional swing in a professional game and not what the Twins did on the mound. This kind of mind-numbing logic is the root of unwritten rules. 2. What do you want hitters facing guys like Austidillo to do? Stand there and get walked? Stand there and take strikes? I'm sure that will help the ol' pace of play. 3. I'm going to let Lisa Simpson handle the "but it stopz so much stuffz from happening" argument. 4. I've never understood why "old school" and "integrity" and other words are so tightly associated with a vague, randomly enforced set of rules designed to cover a bunch of butthurt cry baby professionals who complain mostly because they're getting beat. If you don't like things happening......stop them. What's more old school than that? 5. I commend the NHL and NBA for their steps to stop player policing. (The NFL is a sport that basically requires you to play people correctly or risk serious injury) They haven't fixed all their problems, but both their sports are better for it and continue to improve because of it. Don't worry, baseball will dinosaur itself long before you have to worry about whether some team who puts their third string infield in at pitcher can whine about being down 16-0 rather than 15-0 cuz some evil scumbag *gasp* swung his bat! I know I can't wait until we get that sweet, sweet inning of Kyle Garlick on the mound just so we can salivate at the chance to stomp our feet and be angry someone tried to swing on him!

I am not one to excuse Republicans but they arent the root problem here. Colleges have an unlimited, unregulated, massive pool of "free" money available to 18 year olds and they are exploiting it for gain. Essentially, the expansion of student loan lending created a situation where there was basically no cap for what could be charged where demand was ferocious. The result isnt surprising in that scenario: those that could profit (Colleges and banks) drove up the costs knowing their audience was desperate and wouldn't fully understand the consequences until much later. Even now they have so thoroughly won the "college is necessary" war that they STILL arent villainized for their incredibly selfish behavior and continue to raise prices even in a five alarm crisis. Oil companies have more shame. At least they diversify the age groups they rip off and dont just specialize in the "barely adults" subgroup. This is where progressives, who had true and noble intentions, really needed someone to help them craft a system where access was still achieved but without rolling out the red carpet for exploitation. They didn't and still seem insistent on ignoring their mistake.

Everyone who doesn't rhyme with Cheerios.

I don't think student loans are the rich conspiring against the poor, that's reserved for basically every major piece of Republican legislation. The student loan problem, IMO, is actually more of the fault of the left. In my experience, the left often has their heart in the right place but their policies aren't forward thinking enough to anticipate problems caused by overindulgence. The student loan problem started because we created a no-strings-attached trough of money for colleges. All colleges had to do was bang the drum of demand (using many of the same arguments you made) to create the perception that college was necessary. Once demand was high enough they rapidly escalated the prices, dumbed down the admissions, encouraged the process to take longer, invested in non-academic selling points at a much higher rate, ballooned their middle management to handle the student population, and became less an institution of higher learning and more like a Walmart for sheepskins. Now we pay more, for much less, and no one seems to have the problem pinned down: available student loans need to be completely reworked. Starting with demanding that the biggest of the bad actors - the colleges - are held account. Colleges have exploited young people for about 4 decades now and they continually walk away from these discussions without the proper blame. That's the part you won't hear from Bernie or others who are rightly targeting this issue, but with all the wrong solutions.

I can think of 3 trillion dollars for economic stimulus that could have been MUCH better spent for exactly this reason. It's crushing an entire generation of potential economic spenders.

If the contract is right I don't mind Westbrook. Mostly because if Thielen gets hurt again, our depth is a serious problem behind the top two. But of the available money, I much prefer it goes into the pass rush if possible.

Perhaps if hitters are better able to make regular contact the analytical emphasis might wane? I get the sense that part of this is different than basketball where it just makes sense to never shoot long 2s and only 3s, because in baseball your likelihood of getting K'd is so high right now that the best way to overcome that is to aim for the most direct route of scoring. If hitters have a better chance to make better contact, perhaps the emphasis on homeruns would peel back a bit because the chances of stringing hits together is significantly better. Just spitballing.

No Brocks Club.

One advantage I can think of is that it's a single shot. Perhaps the convenience of it is enough to push a few people across the line. At this point that seems to be the strategy: keep nudging any rational person willing to at least consider it.

There is not nearly enough hot taking going on.

I might point out - somewhat in jest - that the daily no-hitters might be yet another indication that pitchers have too much of an advantage right now. I really believe the root of a lot of baseball's problems start right there.

At this point I might just want to be done with the tease of his talent mixed with the brittle nature of his body.

Everything Dan said plus I would expand on this one part: a new contract is an investment. The team is taking their scarce resources and electing to allocate it to a player. As an investment what can we say about Buxton? Wonderful dude. He wants to be great. He plays the game with serious passion. From a personality standpoint he's everything you want. But the number one ability you need in a baseball investment is availability. Buxton, even this year as he is wowing us with his offense, has an injury list going that sounds more like what you'd find after a car accident than some 30 baseball games. He's getting these injuries when his body is at it's absolute best for dealing with recovery and resistance. He won't be any better at avoiding injury in his playing career than right now and he's still sat 20% of the season. And this is the LEAST hurt he's been for the team in his tenure! I've been arguing for years every time we see the "Buxton for MVP" spring training article that he's all projection until he actually stays in the lineup every day. Nothing about this year, as well as he's doing, dissuades that primary concern. On a day where a silly contract was finally put to bed out west, it's hard not to imagine a similar length for Byron Buxton would look much the same in about the same amount of time. I feel confident a Buxton extension would become an albatross all too easy in hindsight. Trade him now when you might get someone willing to gamble and forget his history in the name of his dynamic play so far. I will take no joy in seeing the young man move on, but this is a business investment and the risks are absurdly bad.

So the two biggest issues on this roster right now are doubts about the kicking game and pass rush correct? I actually like where the line is at for the first time in a long time. Or at least I have reason to have optimism.

Tight-End/Punter is a new one, but my god can the guy bomb kicks. He's probably a future nothing, but what a crazy skill set.

The Vikes are prioritizing speed and athletes over needs today. Cant say I disagree with that tactic

Yeah....what I read on the RB is not good for our scheme. Ridiculous testing numbers and high character though.

I've started to become a bit of a doubter on PFF, but even without that I think watching film of Dak and Mond should make people second guess their doubts. Those two guys are ridiculously similar in how they ran the ball, their mechanics, and the way the ball comes out with a bit of a high trajectory. Their stats are also ridiculously similar. I think this Aggies blogger does a nice job weeding through the criticisms. Mond is durable as hell and won some huge games last year as a QB. That game with Florida is a testament to his big game chops. He ran into more sacks than I'd like to see, but he even cleaned that up his last year. And he did all that with a decimated bunch of playmakers. You know how high I was on Hurts and I'm not there with Mond, but I like this kid a lot. It could utterly flop and he's never anything mroe than a backup, but it's about time we had real potential in the backup spot.

Checked the boxes tonight. Time to get a WR and a DB. Shaun Wade, Melifonwu,or Jamar Johnson would be nice. I dig the SDSU WR. Khalil Herbert at RB would be nice too.

Love that pick of Davis. Now....get the DL.

Yes...but I dont agree that Mond didnt improve. His stats over time show clear improvement in accuracy and turnovers.

I admit I know nothing about Surrant and I think it was a poor value choice....but watching him pursue and run down people I see what they see as a future Will backer.