I have to imagine this will be among the toughest tickets to get in the world. Picturing what it will mean to the stars of both teams and the fans in Japan is mind blowing.
Probably don’t need another post for the schedule, but perhaps later on I’ll look at the remaining schedule for this season?
Home games vs. AL teams: Rangers, Mariners, Guardians, White Sox, Red Sox, Royals, Orioles, Rays Road games vs. AL teams: Yankees, A’s, Tigers, Astros, Twins, White Sox, Blue Jays, Angels
Cubs also play 2025 home games on Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day
Apparently Cubs need an interpreter who tells Seiya to hit better than he already is
The Chicago Cubs have dismissed Seiya Suzuki’s interpreter, a subtle but potentially significant change as they come out of the All-Star break hoping to make a second-half run. https://t.co/XMLXnNv1Pg
A subtle but potentially significant change, what the fuck do you even mean Mooney. Nice for Sahadev to have to travel less but I have no fucking clue why the athletic still has two Cubs beat writers when the best team in the AL has zero. Not to tempt the monkeys paw or anything.
Love Ueck, but I’m disappointed his answer to “what has kept you in the broadcast booth for 54 seasons” wasn’t “Usinger’s brats and sausage” (dying laughing)
> At a presentation to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on July 18, 2024, the Oakland A’s confirmed there is currently no financing in place for a proposed $1.5 billion ballpark in Las Vegas.
> Confirmed: While the Fisher family could contribute all the necessary equity ($850 million) to the project, there’s no real indication that’s happening. “Could” is a far cry from “will.” Wealthy people don’t get or stay wealthy by spending their own money on projects with questionable returns.
> The A’s even hired a high-powered firm (Galatioto Sports Partners) to find investors, but none have surfaced. Not one.
I don’t think they’re desperate because that suggests they’re actually doing stuff that might not suck, this stretch is just a lot of meh like they’re just phoning it in now
The timeline to change the narrative drastically is shrinking rapidly
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said “unless things change dramatically” in next week he doesn’t anticipate Cubs adding at trade deadline to help ‘24 team instead looking at moves to help in ‘25 and beyond.
Expectation again next year would be to compete for playoffs.
(dying laughing) at Gameday labeling Mastrobuoni’s chopper to 1st as grounding out sharply. Yes, it was 101.2 mph off the bat. But the -37° launch angle slowed it down juuuuust a bit.
I was blacked out of the Dbacks series, but I’ve liked Lester in the booth in this game. Gets his points in without rambling forever like Girardi or Sutcliffe, especially nice when it’s a three man booth.
Hopefully you don’t have it as bad as my summer intern did earlier this month – flew out of Santa Fe to visit home over the 4th long weekend, and had his flight back to SF from Dallas canceled due to a hurricane. He ended up staying in the airport, flying to PHX, then ABQ, then taking a train to SF and a taxi to get back to his car at the SF airport 😬
I know no one likes to see someone swing at the first pitch after a pitcher walks the bases loaded, but when the first pitch is a hanging sweeper in the very center of the strike zone, Nico’s GOT to hit that shit.
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
The first base ump swept his arms like he was going to call the runner safe while also pumping both fists for an out call.
I’m baffled by all the sudden smoke around Mark Kelly as a candidate, astronauts have never really been Exciting Public Figures since like 1970. I guess that probably answers my question as to who is thinking this though (dying laughing).
berselius:
I’m baffled by all the sudden smoke around Mark Kelly as a candidate, astronauts have never really been Exciting Public Figures since like 1970. I guess that probably answers my question as to who is thinking this though (dying laughing).
I think with Kelly the appeal is from several angles:
1. Popular in a swing state
2. Extensive career in public service
3. Wife, also a public servant, was a victim of political violence
4. White guy
He neutralizes several avenues of sympathy or appeal Trump might have had to the segment of the population that isn’t part of the cult but thought age was at least as serious a problem in a candidate as fascism.
I don’t think the VP moves the needle that much, tbh, I just want someone who can be a good surrogate. Who votes for a vice president? They just have to cross a vague, very low qualification bar which is more or less set at Sarah Palin. Kelly seems pretty boring/unknown. It would never happen for multiple good reasons, but someone like AOC is more of the kind of personality I’d rather see.
Eh who cares at this point. Of Cubs teams meant to contend, this one is the least fun of my lifetime. At least the 2004 and 2018-19 teams had some highs.
I’m not so sure. In 2016, a whole lot of evangelicals used Pence as moral cover for voting for Trump, but that was before they leaned into their idolatry and amorality en masse.
I don’t think people vote for a VP but they do acknowledge there’s a chance they’ll be elevated to POTUS. I think most Americans would feel better about Kelly than Vance, and Trump’s a much bigger risk than Harris to die in office.
Not gonna deny that my own preferences bias my views here (dying laughing). I also despise almost all campaign fundraising and ad spending reporting, as 99% of political ads I see make me slightly less likely to vote for whoever they supposedly support no matter the flavor. Candidates could set that money on fire and it would have just as much of an effect, at least on the national/statewide level. Reasonable people may differ (dying laughing)
I think a lot of dumb things move more voters than we’d expect because so many Americans are dumb and simple. There were apparently a nontrivial amount of people who (at least briefly) viewed Trump more favorably because he got grazed and held up a fist.
I’ve come to accept that a lot of things about the modal voter don’t make sense to me because I’m much smarter than them. Everyone here is. The American electorate bears far greater resemblance to BN’s comments section than OV’s. (dying laughing)
I’m not the most informed voter but I’m pretty dedicated to making sure the orange idiot doesn’t get elected again, that would seem very very bad for anyone with a brain
That’s the main thing. Throughout history people like him bring ruin to their countries (and often many others if their nation is powerful enough). Admittedly I have a history degree from a very good university and studied this exact thing, but I’ve been calling out since 2015 how closely his movement resembles the early stages of right-authoritarian movements like Nazism and Fascism. I do not make the comparison lightly.
Independent of what anyone thinks of the rest of his administration (an abject failure rife with creeping authoritarianism), the fact that he attempted a coup rather than admit defeat in an election and hindered the peaceful transfer of power should make him intolerable to anyone claiming to be a decent American.
But a lot of Americans are stupid, ignorant, terrible people.
True, the right-leaning SCOTUS justices contorted themselves into a ruling that would help Trump evade accountability for many of his crimes, knowing Biden (and most Democrats) wouldn’t abuse the office in the same way.
If it wouldn’t permanently destabilize the republic, I’d say it would be semi-hilarious for Biden to do a Night of the Long Knives just to illustrate how completely baseless and absurd that all is. “When the president does it, it’s not illegal” used to be a punchline.
I do have to say that I’m pretty impressed at how quickly the party as a whole has managed to get behind Harris. The party needed A Decision more than they needed a protracted multi-sided civil war that tears everyone down with time so short. To butcher a quote from the great Gina Linetti, sometimes you have to pretend to really care about napkin folding so you don’t spend the next six hours talking about napkins.
I’m playing the tiniest violin for the DC talking heads and concern trolling op-ed writers who are disappointed that they won’t get to cover a Convention Thunderdome.
…which is why I was glad to see that Biden talked about America is an idea, an idea based on the principles set out in the founding docs. People can’t be reminded of that enough these days. If you don’t support the basic tenets of democracy, you get Putin. Sometimes your party picks a bad candidate (or gets co-opted) and so you have to make an individual choice. Sometimes your party abandons the principles it says it cares about completely.
The Dems seem to put way more thought into VP picks than the GOP, at least in the last 30 years or so.
Palin, Vance, Quayle, Pence, Ryan, Cheney. I guess 50%ish seemed qualified and serious. Have to wonder if Quayle was a sign of things to come.
vs
Biden, Gore, Bentson, Leiberman, Kaine, Harris, Edwards. In hindsight John Edwards turned out to be rather scummy but he did have governing experience.
Imagine if something health-wise happens to Trump before November and Vance ends up the standard-bearer for the GOP. Harris-Vance contest. Was no one considering scenarios?
There are so many ways to play IG today. Go for all players with Cub connections? Minimize rarity? Maximize rarity (try it–it’s harder than you think)? Pick all players whose names are John/Juan/Jean? Seems like a lot of ways to get a full-Brat grid.
I think the problem with a lot of GOP voters is that it doesn’t matter who their candidate it, they’ll vote for them anyway because it’s not a Black woman. The goal should be to convince the middle voters to not also vote for the GOP person.
The Cubs are another potential Yankees trade partner. Nico Hoerner and Mike Tauchman lead the Cubs in starts at the leadoff spot. Either would upgrade the Yankees' lineup. Tauchman played for NYY in '19, '20 and '21.
Rice Cube:
Now why we trying to trade Nico to the Yankees?
So Morel can play second?
Speaking of Morel, I think they should send him to Iowa for awhile. I think he’s a major leaguer, but just like Rizzo and some others, some time back at Iowa working at third and at improving his approach at the plate would be worth it.
berselius:
I do have to say that I’m pretty impressed at how quickly the party as a whole has managed to get behind Harris. The party needed A Decision more than they needed a protracted multi-sided civil war that tears everyone down with time so short. To butcher a quote from the great Gina Linetti, sometimes you have to pretend to really care about napkin folding so you don’t spend the next six hours talking about napkins.
I’m playing the tiniest violin for the DC talking heads and concern trolling op-ed writers who are disappointed that they won’t get to cover a Convention Thunderdome.
Planned or not, the forces in the Democratic Party generated a ton of emotional interest, tension, and anticipation around what would happen with Biden, and then they harnessed all that attention and emotion into a single moment that was naturally very easy for them to control completely with hardly any opposition or interference. It was like they launched a freight train at max velocity and there was simply no stopping it.
It’s so extremely difficult to do that anymore. Very few movies are able to generate that much anticipation and viral excitement. Apple releases can’t really do it anymore. Taylor Swift can do it, but even the novelty of her momentous announcements is wearing off.
A unique opportunity presented itself to the Democrats (one that for once wasn’t driven by conservative messaging) and they took full advantage. Now we’ll just see if the timing was right or if the campaign will lose steam in the next three months.
North Carolina head coach Mack Brown said the son of passing game coordinator Lonnie Galloway, the son of a trustee, and sons of several former Tar Heels players are all among the walk-ons in Chapel Hill, and if the situation isn’t addressed, he’ll have to cut all of them loose.
The fact that this particular outcome is being spun as a bad thing is hilarious (dying laughing).
I used Chavez as well for that square. I always remember him because he’s like the one player Billy Beane thought was special enough to give long term money, and then he couldn’t stay healthy.
In an ideal world I’d rather have seen more from him but it’s a business on both sides of the table. Mostly I’m just relieved this resolved so quickly after all the contract feuding over the last few years with Rodgers and others.
Good trade. Pinango is rule 5 and has no defensive position, though his attempts to field at Myrtle Beach were entertaining. A for effort. I’d be surprised if he got more than 50 ab in the bigs. Other guy. 🤷🏻♂️
Apropos of nothing, last night is the first time I can remember Hendricks choosing the road grey jersey over the blue alternate. For his career, he’s been Zambrano-esque about the blue alts when he’s had the option.
But to be serious, I think the goal was always to compete in 2025 and beyond with a shot to make a turnaround this season, and these trades seemed to address that.
Comments
You and I don’t always agree etc
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
I have to imagine this will be among the toughest tickets to get in the world. Picturing what it will mean to the stars of both teams and the fans in Japan is mind blowing.
andcountingQuote Reply
Rice CubeQuote Reply
andcounting,
MLB gonna make a lot of money off this for sure
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Probably don’t need another post for the schedule, but perhaps later on I’ll look at the remaining schedule for this season?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Sounds like barring injury, Shota would be the ideal choice for opening day starter.
PerkinsQuote Reply
A+, no notes on the announcement video
berseliusQuote Reply
Perkins,
The possibility of it being Shota vs. Shohei is just too delicious.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
Exactly where my head went. I’d stay up super late or wake up very early to watch that game.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Apparently Cubs need an interpreter who tells Seiya to hit better than he already is
Rice CubeQuote Reply
RIP Bob Newhart 🙁
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/18/entertainment/bob-newhart-death/index.html
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
A subtle but potentially significant change, what the fuck do you even mean Mooney. Nice for Sahadev to have to travel less but I have no fucking clue why the athletic still has two Cubs beat writers when the best team in the AL has zero. Not to tempt the monkeys paw or anything.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
This is the kind of 7d chess, Xanatos gambit nonsense I would expect out of BN’s Bears coverage (dying laughing).
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
It really was a strange line and he never explained how it could have the slightest significance to anything. So bizarre.
andcountingQuote Reply
https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/bob-uecker-brewers-announcer-54-years.html
Love Ueck, but I’m disappointed his answer to “what has kept you in the broadcast booth for 54 seasons” wasn’t “Usinger’s brats and sausage” (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
200 K for some teams be slim pickings
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
Bah, Dave Stewart
⚾️ Immaculate Grid 474 9/9:
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PerkinsQuote Reply
DMV took all my money so the Cubs need to win to make me feel better (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
oops forgot to download Audacy like AC told me to, guess I’ll try that next time if I even remember anything anymore
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Let’s go cubs love da cubbies
berseliusQuote Reply
Death by a thousand singles
berseliusQuote Reply
The Cubs should try to score
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Sounds like a poor game for the Cubs thus far, which is no fun
Rice CubeQuote Reply
The Cubs are going to have to do their scoring before the late innings but that umpire is no help whatsoever
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Thank you, Jesus.
andcountingQuote Reply
What a clown show (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
Because Vegas is a stupid idea
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Feels like I could have done better today.
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PerkinsQuote Reply
Evergreen
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Guess more people think fondly of Soriano than I expected
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
Now Wesneski –> IL
This team may or may not have desecrated a native burial ground
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Maybe the Triangle Building is accidentally a pentagram
berseliusQuote Reply
Love too be blacked out of a National game that isn’t showing in my market
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Being in the large rectangular state next to the immediate market is annoying
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Not sure you wanted to watch tonight anyway, the offense is a trash fire again but 12 outs remain for them to stop sucking
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Getting pantsed by the Dbacks in the back half of the season, a new tradition is formed.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
It’s not even the final month!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
True but the desperation level feels about the same (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I don’t think they’re desperate because that suggests they’re actually doing stuff that might not suck, this stretch is just a lot of meh like they’re just phoning it in now
Rice CubeQuote Reply
All Cubs today with some deep cuts.
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PerkinsQuote Reply
D’oh!
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
I swear I don’t think Nick Castellanos hit a homer yet today
https://x.com/JoeBiden/status/1815080881981190320?t=HDqKYd8k78cbJYW7Sxptyw&s=19
Rice CubeQuote Reply
In retrospect the Cubs probably should have signed JD Martinez in the offseason.
PerkinsQuote Reply
The Cubs are back.
andcountingQuote Reply
Well at least Shota won’t get hung with a loss, whatever happens.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Holy shit Castellanos hit a HR (dying laughing)
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
Oh that was delayed
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Shrimp!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Shrampie!
berseliusQuote Reply
Not many options for Mets 20 game winners.
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PerkinsQuote Reply
I chose Koosman
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
I didn’t know Koosman and used RA Dickey. I figured Seaver and Gooden would be the most common.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Cardinals gonna cardinal huh https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2024/07/22/new-cardinals-home-run-celebration-raises-questions/
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
The Cardinals are such an easy team to hate.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
How long until they start drawing crosses in the dirt on the back of the mound again?
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Hey as long as they don’t also light them on fire
Rice CubeQuote Reply
To-day’s base ball squadron
2B Hoerner
1B Busch
RF Suzuki
LF Happ
DH Tauchman
SS Swanson
3B Mastrobuoni
C Amaya
CF PCA
SP Assad
Also
Merryweather —-> Cubs
Bigge —-> AAA
Little —-> 60-day
berseliusQuote Reply
The timeline to change the narrative drastically is shrinking rapidly
Rice CubeQuote Reply
The rooftop overhaul seems to have gotten the attention of Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/sports/baseball/wrigley-field-view-set-undergo-major-change-2024-07-22/?taid=669ee0f45c36d70001652a5e&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
Rice CubeQuote Reply
(dying laughing) at Gameday labeling Mastrobuoni’s chopper to 1st as grounding out sharply. Yes, it was 101.2 mph off the bat. But the -37° launch angle slowed it down juuuuust a bit.
andcountingQuote Reply
Nice to see the Brewers impersonating the Cubs with RISP today.
andcountingQuote Reply
Lots of game left but the Beers are out-Cubsing the cubs so far
berseliusQuote Reply
PCA is hitting like shit.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
He really needed the all-star break to not happen.
andcountingQuote Reply
Happ.
berseliusQuote Reply
Some insurance runs would be nice here.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Screw the closer. Or don’t, I can’t tell you who to love.
berseliusQuote Reply
M ——-> inverted
berseliusQuote Reply
I was blacked out of the Dbacks series, but I’ve liked Lester in the booth in this game. Gets his points in without rambling forever like Girardi or Sutcliffe, especially nice when it’s a three man booth.
berseliusQuote Reply
Hell of a bullpen game
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
And a tightrope act by Assad and the defense to not give up any runs in his innings
berseliusQuote Reply
300 save row was not good for rarity.
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PerkinsQuote Reply
I used Billy Wagner, Francisco Cordero, and Isringhausen
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Lee Smith at 10% was the killer for me. I also used Cordero and Isringhausen.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
Wasn’t sure about Papelbon but definitely wanted to avoid Kimbrel there
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Bah
Rain
Plus flight delayed
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Hopefully you don’t have it as bad as my summer intern did earlier this month – flew out of Santa Fe to visit home over the 4th long weekend, and had his flight back to SF from Dallas canceled due to a hurricane. He ended up staying in the airport, flying to PHX, then ABQ, then taking a train to SF and a taxi to get back to his car at the SF airport 😬
berseliusQuote Reply
Counsell must feel so conflicted.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
I understood that reference dot gif
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Let’s go cubbies love da cubs
berseliusQuote Reply
I know no one likes to see someone swing at the first pitch after a pitcher walks the bases loaded, but when the first pitch is a hanging sweeper in the very center of the strike zone, Nico’s GOT to hit that shit.
andcountingQuote Reply
andcounting,
See ball, hit ball
Rice CubeQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
The first base ump swept his arms like he was going to call the runner safe while also pumping both fists for an out call.
andcountingQuote Reply
Methinks the Cubs are making some curious swing decisions
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Man fuck this umpire
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Holy shit morel
berseliusQuote Reply
He might have brought his defensive numbers back to positive in a single inning (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
On plane
Good luck Cubs
Rice CubeQuote Reply
PCA wielding the TOOTBLAN hammer.
andcountingQuote Reply
Merryweather’s stuff looked pretty good, you’d never guess that he hasn’t been in a game for three months.
berseliusQuote Reply
I forgot that Wisdom was even still on the roster
berseliusQuote Reply
Let’s go 🍄
berseliusQuote Reply
That was a rough same thing that always happens.
andcountingQuote Reply
Impressive for Bote to pull off the Rizzo special, especially given how rarely he plays 1B
berseliusQuote Reply
This strike zone is effectively wild
berseliusQuote Reply
Just another game from the 2024 Cubs
berseliusQuote Reply
So United sucks
I’ll be in Chicago but definitely not tonight (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Alas, the most positive of all of us has given up
https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2024/07/24/so-thatll-probably-be-that/
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I’m baffled by all the sudden smoke around Mark Kelly as a candidate, astronauts have never really been Exciting Public Figures since like 1970. I guess that probably answers my question as to who is thinking this though (dying laughing).
berseliusQuote Reply
Whoa, Yelich may be done for the season.
berseliusQuote Reply
I’m gonna need a minute okay I’ve recovered.
andcountingQuote Reply
giga (dying laughing) at the organist playing Bring Him Home (dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
The Cubs organist gets those musical burns, puns, and trolls almost incessantly. (dying laughing)
andcountingQuote Reply
Seiya, woo hoo.
andcountingQuote Reply
It is what it is.
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PerkinsQuote Reply
I think with Kelly the appeal is from several angles:
1. Popular in a swing state
2. Extensive career in public service
3. Wife, also a public servant, was a victim of political violence
4. White guy
He neutralizes several avenues of sympathy or appeal Trump might have had to the segment of the population that isn’t part of the cult but thought age was at least as serious a problem in a candidate as fascism.
PerkinsQuote Reply
What are the odds that Neris would allow a run?
andcountingQuote Reply
Perkins,
I don’t think the VP moves the needle that much, tbh, I just want someone who can be a good surrogate. Who votes for a vice president? They just have to cross a vague, very low qualification bar which is more or less set at Sarah Palin. Kelly seems pretty boring/unknown. It would never happen for multiple good reasons, but someone like AOC is more of the kind of personality I’d rather see.
berseliusQuote Reply
bump
berseliusQuote Reply
I have arrived in Chicago just in time for the devastating 9th inning loss, fun
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Eh who cares at this point. Of Cubs teams meant to contend, this one is the least fun of my lifetime. At least the 2004 and 2018-19 teams had some highs.
PerkinsQuote Reply
berselius,
I’m not so sure. In 2016, a whole lot of evangelicals used Pence as moral cover for voting for Trump, but that was before they leaned into their idolatry and amorality en masse.
I don’t think people vote for a VP but they do acknowledge there’s a chance they’ll be elevated to POTUS. I think most Americans would feel better about Kelly than Vance, and Trump’s a much bigger risk than Harris to die in office.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
Not gonna deny that my own preferences bias my views here (dying laughing). I also despise almost all campaign fundraising and ad spending reporting, as 99% of political ads I see make me slightly less likely to vote for whoever they supposedly support no matter the flavor. Candidates could set that money on fire and it would have just as much of an effect, at least on the national/statewide level. Reasonable people may differ (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
I think a lot of dumb things move more voters than we’d expect because so many Americans are dumb and simple. There were apparently a nontrivial amount of people who (at least briefly) viewed Trump more favorably because he got grazed and held up a fist.
I’ve come to accept that a lot of things about the modal voter don’t make sense to me because I’m much smarter than them. Everyone here is. The American electorate bears far greater resemblance to BN’s comments section than OV’s. (dying laughing)
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
Ouch
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I’m not the most informed voter but I’m pretty dedicated to making sure the orange idiot doesn’t get elected again, that would seem very very bad for anyone with a brain
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
That’s the main thing. Throughout history people like him bring ruin to their countries (and often many others if their nation is powerful enough). Admittedly I have a history degree from a very good university and studied this exact thing, but I’ve been calling out since 2015 how closely his movement resembles the early stages of right-authoritarian movements like Nazism and Fascism. I do not make the comparison lightly.
Independent of what anyone thinks of the rest of his administration (an abject failure rife with creeping authoritarianism), the fact that he attempted a coup rather than admit defeat in an election and hindered the peaceful transfer of power should make him intolerable to anyone claiming to be a decent American.
But a lot of Americans are stupid, ignorant, terrible people.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
It doesn’t help that the government is not exercising checks and balances on that stupid abuse of power
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
True, the right-leaning SCOTUS justices contorted themselves into a ruling that would help Trump evade accountability for many of his crimes, knowing Biden (and most Democrats) wouldn’t abuse the office in the same way.
If it wouldn’t permanently destabilize the republic, I’d say it would be semi-hilarious for Biden to do a Night of the Long Knives just to illustrate how completely baseless and absurd that all is. “When the president does it, it’s not illegal” used to be a punchline.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
There would be some checks and balances, SCOTUS would jump in to clarify “When the *Republican* president does it, it’s not illegal”
berseliusQuote Reply
I do have to say that I’m pretty impressed at how quickly the party as a whole has managed to get behind Harris. The party needed A Decision more than they needed a protracted multi-sided civil war that tears everyone down with time so short. To butcher a quote from the great Gina Linetti, sometimes you have to pretend to really care about napkin folding so you don’t spend the next six hours talking about napkins.
I’m playing the tiniest violin for the DC talking heads and concern trolling op-ed writers who are disappointed that they won’t get to cover a Convention Thunderdome.
berseliusQuote Reply
I’ll take it.
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PerkinsQuote Reply
I really want to help set up a new post for this here website but the Cubs are mostly the same ol’ same ol’ these days which is no fun
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Perkins,
berselius,
…which is why I was glad to see that Biden talked about America is an idea, an idea based on the principles set out in the founding docs. People can’t be reminded of that enough these days. If you don’t support the basic tenets of democracy, you get Putin. Sometimes your party picks a bad candidate (or gets co-opted) and so you have to make an individual choice. Sometimes your party abandons the principles it says it cares about completely.
The Dems seem to put way more thought into VP picks than the GOP, at least in the last 30 years or so.
Palin, Vance, Quayle, Pence, Ryan, Cheney. I guess 50%ish seemed qualified and serious. Have to wonder if Quayle was a sign of things to come.
vs
Biden, Gore, Bentson, Leiberman, Kaine, Harris, Edwards. In hindsight John Edwards turned out to be rather scummy but he did have governing experience.
Imagine if something health-wise happens to Trump before November and Vance ends up the standard-bearer for the GOP. Harris-Vance contest. Was no one considering scenarios?
BVSQuote Reply
Perkins,
There are so many ways to play IG today. Go for all players with Cub connections? Minimize rarity? Maximize rarity (try it–it’s harder than you think)? Pick all players whose names are John/Juan/Jean? Seems like a lot of ways to get a full-Brat grid.
BVSQuote Reply
BVS,
I think the problem with a lot of GOP voters is that it doesn’t matter who their candidate it, they’ll vote for them anyway because it’s not a Black woman. The goal should be to convince the middle voters to not also vote for the GOP person.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Now why we trying to trade Nico to the Yankees?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
So Morel can play second?
Speaking of Morel, I think they should send him to Iowa for awhile. I think he’s a major leaguer, but just like Rizzo and some others, some time back at Iowa working at third and at improving his approach at the plate would be worth it.
BVSQuote Reply
BVS,
That may come after the trade deadline if they’re really about to just pack it in.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Planned or not, the forces in the Democratic Party generated a ton of emotional interest, tension, and anticipation around what would happen with Biden, and then they harnessed all that attention and emotion into a single moment that was naturally very easy for them to control completely with hardly any opposition or interference. It was like they launched a freight train at max velocity and there was simply no stopping it.
It’s so extremely difficult to do that anymore. Very few movies are able to generate that much anticipation and viral excitement. Apple releases can’t really do it anymore. Taylor Swift can do it, but even the novelty of her momentous announcements is wearing off.
A unique opportunity presented itself to the Democrats (one that for once wasn’t driven by conservative messaging) and they took full advantage. Now we’ll just see if the timing was right or if the campaign will lose steam in the next three months.
andcountingQuote Reply
Dylan Cease just threw a no-hitter
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Quintana no-hitter when
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Just as Cease didn’t do his no-hitter for the Sox, Quintana probably won’t do his for the Cubs
Rice CubeQuote Reply
With Mason Millet going on the IL for being dumb, the Cubs should absolutely try to acquire him in a trade.
andcountingQuote Reply
At least they’re using their non-pitching hand more
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/40641381/dabo-swinney-irked-proposed-roster-changes-impact-walk-ons
The fact that this particular outcome is being spun as a bad thing is hilarious (dying laughing).
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
What rhymes with nepotism
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Not many options for A’s Silver Slugger, and many I didn’t know for CLE 300 HR
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PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
Gotta avoid Thome and Manny haha
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Guess I missed Puk and Arozarena being traded while not paying attention to baseball at all, I really am the worst baseball blogger
Rice CubeQuote Reply
At least I saw this one
Guess the Phillies have enough pitching and just need extra bats?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I used Albert Belle, but he’s still at 11%.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Eric Chavez was the A’s guy that I think most people might not have picked ahead of Canseco, Giambi, and possibly Rickey
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
Perkins,
Believe it or not, Cecil Fielder
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Do not presume to tell me what to believe or not believe.
berseliusQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
I used Chavez as well for that square. I always remember him because he’s like the one player Billy Beane thought was special enough to give long term money, and then he couldn’t stay healthy.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Sutcliffe’s advice to the hitters is to put a few balls in the outfield gap. Fire Counsell right now if he hasn’t thought of this.
andcountingQuote Reply
Dumb send but I get it, given the state of the offense.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Kyle Hendricks looks like it’s taking every ounce of his professionalism not to shout at his teammates.
PerkinsQuote Reply
The announcing options are Sutcliffe and Zaidman and I’m drinking draino.
andcountingQuote Reply
I see everyone is having fun (dying laughing)
I’m putting some of my LEGO sets back together post move
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
I recently made the new Lego Notre Dame and it is awesome. Highly recommend.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Perkins,
I think that’s more my wife’s alley, I’m trying to hold out for the X-Mansion
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
I’m still finishing the last of my Lego triage from the move a year ago (dying laughing)
berseliusQuote Reply
Unimpressive
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PerkinsQuote Reply
Tough board today
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
Love —-> Packers for at least three more years.
In an ideal world I’d rather have seen more from him but it’s a business on both sides of the table. Mostly I’m just relieved this resolved so quickly after all the contract feuding over the last few years with Rodgers and others.
berseliusQuote Reply
berselius,
Finally some stability at the QB position.
andcountingQuote Reply
The season is saved
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/07/cubs-acquire-nate-pearson.html
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Rice Cube,
Good trade. Pinango is rule 5 and has no defensive position, though his attempts to field at Myrtle Beach were entertaining. A for effort. I’d be surprised if he got more than 50 ab in the bigs. Other guy. 🤷🏻♂️
BVSQuote Reply
Hug watch tonight anyone?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Some may question the Wisdom of chasing waterfalls, but I’ll allow it.
andcountingQuote Reply
Apropos of nothing, last night is the first time I can remember Hendricks choosing the road grey jersey over the blue alternate. For his career, he’s been Zambrano-esque about the blue alts when he’s had the option.
PerkinsQuote Reply
Wife and I are in process of building LEGO Quinjet and LEGO Bumblebee but it is nice to know the Cubs can in fact score
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I went to a Pecos League game tonight…made me feel a little better about our softball team’s defensive performances.
berseliusQuote Reply
Yo a trade
https://x.com/jeffpassan/status/1817632407266484552
Cubs got Isaac Parades
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Word on the street is Morel and a couple prospects
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Weird trade huh
berseliusQuote Reply
#hugwatch now
berseliusQuote Reply
Morel, Bigge, and Ty Johnson (?)
https://x.com/sahadevsharma/status/1817634579001250110
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Morel —–> AL mvp in 2 years I guess
berseliusQuote Reply
Should probably cancel the podcast. Nothing to discuss.
andcountingQuote Reply
I’m confused, are the Cubs buying or selling?
PerkinsQuote Reply
andcounting,
Just wait till they trade Nico
Rice CubeQuote Reply
As always
berseliusQuote Reply
Perkins,
Yes?
But to be serious, I think the goal was always to compete in 2025 and beyond with a shot to make a turnaround this season, and these trades seemed to address that.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Just part one of a multi-step trade to pick up Yu Darvish
/cope
berseliusQuote Reply
Meanwhile another wasted leadoff double
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Ah just have to find that 2-out magic
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Texas guys a bit tougher to think about without using the usual suspects
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Rice CubeQuote Reply
New Hoyer-adjacent shit –> https://www.obstructedview.net/trade-szn/
Rice CubeQuote Reply