Tomj14

1.   Are you totally ignorant?  Have you heard of Article V of the US Constitution?  Probably not.
 
2.  Who runs the Minneapolis police department?  Hint:  It aint Donald Trump.   If there is a police officer who has 17 complaints ask the Democratic Mayors and City Councils, and in the end, the voters of the city of Minneapolis why this is the case?   
 
The real problem with the country is centered on the urban areas of the nation that have been completely dominated politically by the Democratic Party. The last Republican mayor of the City was elected in 1957 and served one term.  From 1945, when Hubert H. Humphrey was elected mayor of Minneapolis, the Democrats have been in office for 71 of those 75 years.  
The Democrats control who the Police Chief is. Who the senior commanders of the police force are.  They determine the policies and procedures of the agency.  
 
Likewise, they control the school systems of the city.  If there is a problem with education for inner city minorities, this is where you complain. 
 
Why these political actors get a free pass on this is totally amazing.  There is ZERO political opposition to them in the City.  They have treated the black community as their captive audience, dependent upon them like slaves to a master.  And this dependence has created continued power.  

and yet almost everybody in America is in the 1% of the world.

I've always believed that public sector unions should be gotten rid of. They're ridiculous. You're public employees negotiating against the taxpayer.

I have actually read Robert Reich. Sometimes his analysis can be a stretch and he tends to use a very one sided political lens. It's totally his right to do so but it does sometimes cause him issues in his conclusions.
You initially said "We have an obsolete Constitution that does not allow for modification", now you're saying "We will likely never see another amendment". Which one is it? Can you modify the Constitution or not?

You didn't respond to my pointing out that presidents do terrible crap all the time.
You also didn't respond to the point that the policeman still being on the force was due to inaction by voters in Minneapolis.

Those are all lovely countries. I've been to a few but not all and would enjoy finishing off the list. However, in all of those countries, if you were to say something that the majority disagreed with you could be tossed in jail. None of them have the right to free speech enshrined in their founding documents. Sorry, they're not better.
"I'm ashamed at the mess of a country I am leaving my children and grandchildren - a country that is financially, politically, racially and morally broken."
As for this statement, it is your opinion and you are welcome to it. I would just point out that nowhere on the planet do you have a better chance of making things better than you do in the US.

"We live in the greatest country on earth" is the laziest possible statement ever. The transfer of money and power to the top 1% has effectively destroyed our democracy and turned us into the equivalent of a banana republic."
 
Just because you believe this to be true doesn't mean it is. Funny how people in these various threads that are calling for systemic change seem really adverse to providing evidence to backup their statements.
 
"We have a president who dispels peaceful protesters with chemical irritants for a fake photo opp. We have an obsolete Constitution that does not allow for modification. We have a policeman with at least 17 complaints of misconduct who murders a handcuffed man in broad daylight, with three of his colleagues watching and doing nothing."
 
We had a President who threw critics in jail without habeas corpus. That was Abraham Lincoln.
 
We had a President who so strongly believed that white's were superior that he aired 'Birth of a Nation' in the White House. That was Woodrow Wilson.
 
We had a President who killed US citizens overseas without a trial. That was Barack Obama.
 
The Constitution is totally modifiable. It's been modified 27 times. They're called amendments.
 
If a policeman has 17 complaints and hasn't been fired, that's not a country problem, that's a problem with voters in that area. If they keep electing the same people to office over and over again who allow that to happen, that's on them.
 
Finally, our country isn't perfect. How could it be? It was created and it is maintained by people. That being said, I'd like to know what country/countries you think are better.

The thing that people keep forgetting about St. Louis was the second peak in the graph.
(I understand adding both peaks of St. Louis doesn't come close to Philly, but the second peak is just as real, and likely puts the country on hold until 2021)
 
Also if anybody can find how the rest of the country reacted and what there numbers were that would be great, but I really haven't found anything.

I have not seen anything that excites me about Thorpe and that is why we have been cluttering up the rubber with players like Chacin.  I would love to have Thorpe make the move, but I think he really lost his chance last year when Dobnak passed him.

Ted, a lot of these projections can differ widely depending on whether the author is talking about what "will" happen versus what the author predicts, or would like to see.    This is a perfect case in point.    I, too, like Thorpe's projectability, and feel he will show himself to be a strong rotation candidate.
 
OTOH, it sure appears that a rotation of Berrios, Odorizzi, Bailey, and Maeda is going to be hard to dislodge, barring injury.    I would also suggest that, given the roster opening(s), Chacin would be easy for management to slot into the remaining spot.    That would leave Thorpe, Smeltzer, and Dobnak (all with options) as 1-3, with Duran and Balazovic in the wings, as well as the return of Pineda and Hill at some point in the season.
 
I know you are putting no timeline on any of this (nor am I); I'm just suggesting that Thorpe's opportunity arises primarily with an injury during spring training to one of the guys above him, occurring before Pineda's return.    My fear is that the leash on Chacin (even to exploit him as a showcase candidate for trade value) will be long enough that he alone will bridge the gap until 40 games in.    If TSD (Thorpe, Smeltzer, Dobnak) doesn't crack the top 5 in the first month, it is going to be increasingly difficult for them to find a place when Pineda and Hill push them to the 8-10 slots, with Balazovic and Duran behind.    Once Balazovic and Duran have half a season more under their respective belts at AA or higher, I would put them on an even playing field with TSD - those 5 will fight for their own pecking order in spots 8-12.
 
For the 2020 season, however, my guess is that Thorpe is #8 on that list based on in-season performance.    Just not sure he will be so much better than 5-7, quickly enough, for it to matter.

"Why all the questions about Twins pitching?"
 
To me the answer to that question is how does the first two months go, last year the Twins started out Hot and pretty much stayed that way, but if they don't start out Hot do they have the pitching to play catch up?
Last year at the end of May here is what their 5 starters looked like.
Gibson: 5 - 2 - 4.08
Perez: 7  -2 - 3.71
Odo: 7 - 2 - 2.16
Berrios: 7 - 2 - 3.27
Pineda: 4 - 3 - 5.34
 
Can the fans expect that from the current projected starting rotation?  No
Hope? Yes
 
That is the thing when looking at the 2019 season, things started out so well on the pitching side and they got out to such a big lead they were able to live with Perez and Gibson not being good in the second half. Odo comparing down closer to earth, Berrios struggling for a while and Pineda not being on the team.
If they don't start out hot again, do they have to the pitching to make a run at the end of the season?
 

Minnesota traded Graterol to LA for Maeda.  LA traded him to Boston.  If Boston wants more they need to get it from LA.

He definitely had a slow start last year, but even when he heats up, he doesn't have the offensive firepower to be an everyday first baseman.

I am not sure of that - when I look at prospect lists our guys are quite high and have been for a few years now.

Good post, but Soto and Acuna both came up to teams that were going for league championships.  They were considered missing pieces for good teams regardless of age. 

Nah, if you play the rookies you have to pay them sooner AND you can't sell the future anymore. By keeping them down there's always the hope that they will be the answer.

It’s actually pretty simple. If the Twins have a hypothetical budget of $135 million per season, and this year they are $35 million under budget, they can fit Ryu in for $25 million. In years three and four they will have presumably extended some guys and increased the payroll, so having Ryu at a reduced rate would help them with meeting their budget.
 
Am I missing something?

None of the FA contracts or trades are going to "make sense" you're either going to overpay and upgrade your rotation and your punting on 2020.

No matter which player anyone proposes to trade, there is an argument to be made to keep said "can't let him leave" guy. The question simply should be, can you get something you need more desperately for said player, and do you have a reasonable replacement. Without knowing the other end of a deal, that's an impossible calculation. But the fact is the Twins need SP. to get it someone will have to go. Thinking JP will spend the money to acquire a top end FA SP is an exercise in self deception. As it stands currently, next years team will greatly resemble this years in manner of construction. But will that formula garner another 100 wins? No one knows, but relying on the types of offensive seasons that so many players produced to replicate itself, is a questionable philosophy.

The only reason you would trade him is if the value received was more important to the team, like a number one or two rotation arm. Just like the talk about trading Rosario, the question is - what is either really worth on the open market.

He is not my first choice, but he is my first real viable choice to sign.
He is a guy even in down years averages more than 6 innings per start and he is what the Twins fans I know have been hoping every hot shot Twins prospect turns into and being 30 doesn't scare me and his worst years are almost better than Darvish's best years and everybody wanted him.

32 Hr's with a juiced ball is really not that impressive to be honest.
 
Funniest thing I heard earlier this year was Reggie Jackson asked how he would think he would do if he played in this era. He responded I would probably hit 20 hr's, asked why so low  he said you know i'm 73 years old.  I know i butchered it but i'm sure you get it.

I mean, he hit a meaningless solo shot in the 8th inning of game three. He was 1-9 in the first two games with 4 K

This is a common refrain from anyone scouting his stat line. He did those things and was STILL barely above league average. He doesn’t get on base, he drove in runs because he batted cleanup, and he’s a poor fielder. You aren’t a bad ball hitter just because you swing at balls. He’s a bad ball hitter because he can’t tell a strike nearly 50% of the time.

To me he seems a lot like Eric Davis, when he played 130 plus games he was an All Star and MVP candidate, but there just wasn't enough of those seasons.
Hope Byron's career ends up better on average than Davis.

To me he seems a lot like Eric Davis, when he played 130 plus games he was an All Star and MVP candidate, but there just wasn't enough of those seasons.
Hope Byron's career ends up better on average than Davis.

Always fun to read these lists.  If I had to pick a top 10 based off my own limited knowledge I'd probably go with 1-Lewis 2-Kirilloff 3-Graterol 4-Larnach 5-Balazovic 6-Cavaco 7-Javier 8-Duran 9-Rooker 10-Enlow.  Sad we'll have to delete a few guys soon due to the urgent need for relief pitchers.  The way its looking it's going to need to be more than one guy they have to acquire.