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I think the main thing is to remove the stigma of NOT going to college and pursuing trades or anything else. And college doesn't have to be expensive if you choose to do that. What I resent too is this idea that a kid at the age of 17-18 has to "figure it out". I took longer than 4 years because I didn't know what I wanted to do and refused to get sucked into some trap. Yes, I did **** around my first year in college but I went to a strict HS and the freedom got the best of me... oh well. I was 17/18. I don't apologize for it. A few friends would mock me as a slacker (The Tommy Boy joke about a lot of people going to college for 7 years, they're called doctors, was a common one) but I knew I had the rest of my ilfe ahead of me and now I am blessed to have a good paying job. I took some risks and did some low level work early on in my career but made the connections and that got me to where I am. I know people I graduated with who weren't as fortunate and wasted a lot of money. But hey.... they graduated from college in 4 years! I also think there's a misconception that everybody who goes to college is getting some stupid degree that's not relevant to finding a job. No. A lot of the student loan forgiveness is for people who took noble but low paying jobs because we collectively as a society decided those don't pay as well, but they are just as important as yours or mine. Value isn't always what the bottom line rewards, especially service type jobs. Social Workers... teachers.... that kind of thing. And some of these recipients were victims of predatory practices, like racking up tens of thousands of debt from a for profit university when they could have gotten the same certification from a community college for little to nothing, only to get a job as a nurses aid or medical assistant making $20 an hour. I have no issues with helping those people out. If the government is giving handouts away I'd rather it go to them than some millionaire or corporation.

Whenever anyone brings up George Soros as part of a conspiracy, It's a sure sign I should not take them seriously.

I'm very sympathetic to the idea that you don't need to go to college to get ahead or get a good job - plenty of examples of it in my family. Having said that, there's a fine line between "not everyone wants to college" or "college is not for everyone" and "college is bad, kids shouldn't go there". I don't know about Kirk in particular, but a lot of conservative commentators tend to cross that line, and I don't think that's a good thing at all. Take it from someone who works in the engineering world, there's not enough domestic students in some industries who obtain a college degree. It shouldn't be an either / or proposition here.

Are we really debating on whether Charlie Kirk isn’t garbage or not?

I vote for YOUNGER DEMOCRAT!!!

Another issue is that he set the bar so high on trades that he never made them(Matthew Boyd, etc). The ability to gin up a trade market and get good value is part of the job. Avila could not do it.

I don't know how people can pretend Biden is not in trouble. He makes me nervous every time he talks now.

Always appreciate your knowledge and opinions Mark

I agree with you in general. We do need to make a move or moves for pitching, but was illustrating that the "logjam" isn't that backed up. It is cool to imagine all of these guys in the lineup but the odds are that something will go down at the deadline, and one or more of these bigger prospects could be a part of that. Yeah, I wasn't saying this year in regards to the defense. But rather beginning next season and on from there.

I think it would obviously take a lot but I don’t think it’ll only be the major league ready prospects. I just don’t think the Orioles would accept all major league or close ready prospects. Secondly I don’t think the Tigers really want to trade Skubal so the odds of getting a package good enough to trade him would be slim. My guess is at best it would be one of - Holliday, Basallo and Mayo. one of- Norby Cowser and Stowers one SP of- McDermott, Povich, Johnson one- young high ceiling low floor flyer.

He needs to earn his way back into the core. Until he does that you can't count him as part of it.

C.a.n.n.o.t..u.n.s.e.e.......😱😱😱

I do not really know Kirk except for his tweets which make it sound like a parody account. I am not in favor of forgiving student loan debts because education has value. I also think a lot of them have been legally scammed by schools and predatory lenders, so I think that part needs to fixed more than anything. As for the debts, I am not opposed to some relief for those not making much income

Michelle Obama would be the Dems best candidate, but she won't do it. I do think Michelle Obama would beat Trump though.

I honestly don't think we know what she would be like at this point.... we have gotten glimpses of her as VP, but largely people's views about her often revolve around the 2020 primaries, and candidates can grow and change during that timeframe.

I always though Kirk was just for fun.

They are both felons.

Libs of TikTok and now Babylon Bee? When did this forum become 4chan?

I liked the immediate few months after it started when we didn't have to go anywhere, then it got warm so we could go somewhere as long as it was outside.

I don't like the guy, but MyKevin really went after Matt Gaetz on CNN last night. He should have been this fiesty when he was Speaker and they went after him.

Maybe we all need a group hug here.

Forcing Biden out for Whitmer would be an unmitigated disaster and I like Whitmer. The base would collapse. Where does she get money? How does she put together a staff in four months? What about infrastructure? You think all of Biden’s volunteers will just happily join Whitmer? What about legal challenges from Trump? Who is the VP candidate? This isn’t fantasy football.

The far more logical answer is a kid who wanted to be famous and saw his opportunity.

To be fair I'd be trying to plug my ears there too.

With Skubal or Flaherty - set the bar high. Ask the other teams about players you really want. Give them a list. If they don't counter with one of those players - just don't make the deal. Don't trade for Jose King, Sergio Alcantara and Dawel Lugo out of desperation. You do that and you'll never get a legit offer from another team again. So you might lose Flaherty for nothing, but I'd rather see that than picking up 2 or 3 stiffs. With Skubal it better be a Godfather offer. Al Avila was a sucker. Other GMs probably told their assistants "Hey, I don't care if I am in mid-surgery, if Al Avila calls, stop the surgery and wake me up.........."

Just gaming this out. Next year is a Comp A pick, and some bonus odds in the lottery due to Oakland and Chicago not being eligible. It could be a lucrative draft.

I don’t think Kamala can win. If it’s not Biden, I think Michelle is the only one that can save this thing.

That can all be washed away with a strong convention that’s unifying. And it will be. There can’t be floor fights. Biden will get a rousing ovation as he passes the baton. Then the age and congnitive issues shift to Trump and the media will ignore it.

I've watched a lot of Mayer. I think he's exceptionally overrated. He's a solid but not plus defender. He has a decent hit tool. He doesn't drive the baseball with any type authority. If the hit tool falters at all when he gets to the big leagues, he's barely an everyday player. I fail to see a carrying tool anywhere in the profile. I wouldn't push for him as a headliner in a deal.

I like the option of the last paragraph; "They are probably better off trying to build a proper offense and bullpen in free agency and making another run at the playoffs in 2025. And if it doesn’t work out next year, they can still trade him before 2026 and get a strong return."

This link works up a Skubal trade to 3 targets (using their logic): https://tigersmlreport.com/2024/07/08/what-a-tarik-skubal-trade-would-look-like/ To the Orioles for Basallo, Kjerstad, Jackson Baumeister, and Leandro Arias. Your thoughts?

My impression of your comment leads me to believe you’ve not attended a AAA game the last two years. To limit the challenges currently in AAA, the PCL is allowed three challenges and the IL is permitted two challenges. Charging a pitcher with a balk is not part of the conversation. I’m an old timer by most definitions and I am 100% for some rendition of an ABS/Challenge System.

Im hoping this was just you taking an opportunity to humble brag that you were at that game. Poor umpiring and the ump show that follows has gotten completely out of control. Way beyond just an accepted part of the game. These guys are TERRIBLE and miss multiple calls every game. It’s practically an EPIDEMIC. Make it stop please!!!!

Do you realize how rare a power throwing Cy young worthy lefty is with 4 years of control? Whens the last one? Randy Johnson? (And yes, Juan Soto is a generational talent). But Skubals on the path. Not to mention, he's going to make whichever team acquires him the front runner for the World Series for the next 2 years (at least). I say that because you pair him and Corbin Burnes as a 1-2 with BAL, who else can give you that good of a 1-2? Chances of you winning a 5 game series go up 10 fold.

Since we are playing the what if game… What would a return look like if they package Skubal and Flaherty together? If Baltimore could have Burnes, Skubal, Flaherty as their 1-2-3 and not give up a single player off their major league roster, wouldn’t they be stupid not consider Holliday, Mayo, and Bassalo. What’s the point is of collecting prospects when you are so close especially when you haven’t been to the Series in 41 years.

Skubal has been great but not as great as Soto was at the time of the trade.

They did it in the 50s, too. In fact, a ballot-stuffing scandal caused Baseball to take the vote away from the fans because it undermined the integrity of the All-Star game. Isn't that just precious? https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/13168334/1957-cincinnati-fans-stacked-all-star-team-too

I can't prove it, but I have the opposite reaction to Robs. I'm going to guess that that in the end it would just end up increasing the rich teams' already large advantages.

come on, 84's best posts are when he's amped up on dr pepper and telling us that the red wings/lions/tigers 6th round pick is a real sleeper and destined for the hall of fame. i'd rather have that than some sorry old man shaking his fist at a cloud and complaining about everything. 🙂 /s debbie downer.

The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Well, because that's the way they built them in England, and English engineers designed the first US railroads. Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the wagon tramways, and that's the gauge they used. So, why did 'they' use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that same wheel spacing. Why did the wagons have that particular odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break more often on some of the old, long distance roads in England. You see, that's the spacing of the wheel ruts. So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since. And what about the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match or run the risk of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore, the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. Bureaucracies live forever. So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder 'What horse's ass came up with this?', you may be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses' asses.) Now, the twist to the story: When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses' behinds. So, a major Space Shuttle design feature, of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system, was determined over two thousand years ago by the width of a horse's ass. And you thought being a horse's ass wasn't important? Ancient horse's asses control almost everything.

I forget if I have gripes about Stand Up To Cancer here, but it is a pet peeve and I feel like I am on an island there. It's just a giant ad for Mastercard and money being diverted from research to those stupid signs.