Snake Diggity

I grew up in south Texas without AC until age 9, both at home and at school. I know I’ve gone soft since then, but it wasn’t like this. I try to run 3 miles a couple of times a week, and the way my schedule is with work (from home) and my kids, usually the only free time I have is between 2pm and 4pm. The last 6 weeks I just can’t fucking do it. I get about 1/3 of the way in and the last 2 miles is me just walking, getting sunburned, and cursing greenhouse gases and my own dumb ass.

I am very skeptical that the Walker Warnock debate will actually happen but if it does that shit is gonna be like watching me fuck: sad and hilarious.

1B: Gurriel is hitting well the last 2 months; he is the 2021 batting champion and a clubhouse leader; I wouldn’t call that “glaring” but regardless they went out and got Mancini and Vazquez to upgrade the position. LF: Brantley has a 128 wRC+ on the year; McCormick has been well above average at 111. Again, wouldn’t call that glaring but they addressed it with Mancini. Catcher: it is clear the Astros have a totally different value on defense, gamecalling, and pitcher management than fans (and most other teams). But again, they addressed with Vazquez. CF: With Meyers being hurt this is the only reasonable spot you can say they have a “glaring” hole. But McCormick has been well above average here. And even with a gimpy arm and obvious rust Meyers grades very well on defense and merely bad (not horrible) on offense. If you assume he just needs a couple of weeks to get healthy and into a groove then this wouldn’t be viewed as a glaring hole. But even if it is, what would you have had Click do? Give up Luis Garcia for Harrison fuckin Bader? No star CF got moved. To beat out SD for Soto it would have taken something suicidal like Garcia, Javier, Brown, Leon, Whitley, and Diaz, and even that probably would not have beaten out the haul Washington got. Who knows what the asking prices for Mullins and Reynolds and Happ were but they were high enough that no other team pulled the trigger. So I guess it’s something to whine about but it doesn’t appear there was any realistic alternative to standing pat other than getting raped.

Prices on CF must’ve been brutal; Yankees had to give up their #3 SP for Bader and none of Happ, Reynolds, or Mullins were moved. Houston had an average deadline. Low risk low reward moves. Only 3 teams (Padres, Twins, Yankees) clearly improved more. But luckily they went into the deadline not having any glaring holes. They should get a boost from McCullers coming back and calling up Brown, and it’s possible Meyers and Brantley both get fully healthy and perform really well. I am also thinking there’s a small chance of Pedro Leon getting a shot if Meyers flounders or gets hurt; Leon has cut his k rate the last 2 months which is an extremely encouraging sign given he’s already proven he has elite speed, arm, OF glove, and power.

Meyers getting hurt sure did fuck shit up. Price might be prohibitive but Reynolds would be my target, followed by Mullins then Happ. I’d be willing to part with a lot for Reynolds; he’s on par with Springer. I’d also check on Yaz and Varsho. Michael Taylor is not an upgrade over Meyers/McCormick, and Laureano is an asshole.

Not questioning your source but if Crane is threatening Click’s job at this point he is not as savvy of an owner as I thought he was. Click has been excellent. On the whole, the trades, free agency signings, and player development in his short tenure have been easily on par with what Luhnow did. He hasn’t made a blockbuster move yet, but he’s gotten this team to the ALCS and World Series so his performance has met/exceeded any reasonable bar.

Vazquez would be an excellent pickup at the right price.

I liked some of Yangs ideas but he’s a bad headliner for a 3rd party because he’s already cemented himself as a political loser. A legit moderate 3rd party in todays political world would have the following: Some super rich people with high Q scores who can fund it off the ground. Maybe somebody like Mark Cuban (maybe). Target lower level positions in purple areas. City council and mayoral spots in 2nd and 3rd tier cities. State congressional spots and House elections in purple areas. Take advantage of gerrymandering that leaves some districts vulnerable to well funded independent moderates. The 6 year goal would be to win 5 House seats, 5 recognizable mayoral spots, and a smattering of impactful state spots. Do that, hope your candidates are good and that the movement catches fire. Don’t run anyone for president until you are sure you’ve got a shot to actually win. This Forward deal ain’t that.

Unignorable signs of inflation everywhere, but not many signs of recession that I have seen aside from a moderate cooling of housing prices; Zillow’s estimate of my home has gone down by $50k in the last month and several listed homes in my hood have cut their prices. But there’s still help wanted signs everywhere. I have been saying for 6 months that we could see a recession without ever seeing unemployment go above 5%. Unprecedented combo of demographic and geopolitical influences.

Tim Ryan, Mandela Barnes, and Evan McMullin are not bad candidates. I really believe those races will be within 5 points. And it’s a shame Val Demings is up against someone as established as Rubio in FL because she’s a pretty solid candidate as well.

Amazon guidance expecting 15% yoy sales growth in current quarter. RECESSION!!! OH, THE HUMANITY!

Kennedy and Brown to me complete the position player side. And if they got watts brown then the pitching staff looks pretty solid, especially if they think Witt will be back fully by the playoffs. Probably doesn’t look as strong as this past year but still a deep roster with CWS potential.

Only someone stupid as fuck would let a 6 year old kid handle anything more than a BB gun.

Overall I have been happy with the Biden admin considering the context. But this move to try to redefine the word “recession” is really fucking stupid. Not as bad as taking a sharpie and extending out the path of a hurricane on a map, but close. Just take the fucking medicine and try to provide context as much as possible: yes, we are in a recession, but unemployment is still very very low and inflation is leveling.

I think the state legislatures will have an impact on the House outcome.

The House is almost certainly going to be a Republican majority.

270towin consensus currently has it 47-49-4. The 4 tossups are NV, AZ, GA, and PA. Walker, Oz, and the AZ Q team seem to be shitting the bed so far with a little over 90 days to the election. I just don’t see how the GOP picks up the majority; if they do, it would be a really really really bad sign. To me it’s a lot easier to see the Dems getting to 51 before the Republicans. And I don’t see the door totally closed for the Dems on OH, WI, and UT (I have no hope for FL or NC, just like I don’t see much chance of NH going red).

This sounds about right to me, although I don’t think rates will drop that low until later in 23. Whatever influence the executive branch has will be used to try to time recovery to coincide with the ramping up of the 24 race. How Ukraine plays out over the next 4 months will have a big impact on the world economy. If there is a good outcome there then rates will probably have to stay high well into 23. If shit gets worse or looks like it won’t resolve without escalation then rates might come down faster.

Holy shit. The fact that you have been shot in the fucking face and still hold up maintaining everyone’s right to own/buy guns as one of your top priorities says it fucking all. Fucking fatty, picking buckshot out of his fucking face before heading to the polls to make sure that nothing is done to prevent people from getting shot in the face. What a fucking world.

The fact that you’re proud of that, or at least not ashamed enough to keep it to yourself, is fucking pitiful.

Damn dude. I remember reading some of your first posts in this forum months (years?) ago and thinking “this dude reminds me of myself 15 years ago, another reasonably smart guy raised to believe a crock of shit who is just now taking a look around. It’ll be fun to watch his eyes open.” Boy was I wrong. Instead you’ve taken to shitting in your hands and rubbing it on your face, in public. It’s depressing as fuck and I’m very embarrassed for you.

McMullin has the same odds as Beto, lol.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/utah-senate-hopeful-evan-mcmullin-is-striving-to-make-a-gop-state-competitive-again-11658584801 Utah is odd because they are deeply conservative but they do not seem to like Trumpism. I wouldn’t put money on McMullin but this race might actually be competitive.

Resetting where we project on the position player side, post-draft: Catchers (6): Galvan, Guillemette, Powell, Schuessler, Constantine, Hoffart Infielders (7): Daly, Thomas, Flores, O’Dowd, Carlson, Duplantier, O’Hara Outfielders (4): Campbell, Kennedy, Belyeu, Whitehead Isn’t obvious who will play 3B, and they look like they could use another OF, especially if Kennedy doesnt come back. But if Kennedy comes back the lineup looks like it’ll be plenty deep, even if it lacks the star power of this year’s lineup.

Verlander is so goddam good.