chasfh

Another $8 million for buying out the option next year.

Yes and yes, plus they all know he can get away with it because he has always gotten away with it.

They will report that in the mainstream media which they know the red hats never read, so Trump can cover his ass with the feds while still maintaining his stone cold killer cred with the MAGAs.

The $64 question is whether by setting up a system by which they go after reportage and opinion based on falsehood, how they are going to determine that? Just because Trump says something is false doesn’t make it so, yet once he’s president and gets to make that decision, we would all be living under his version of truth across all media, and Alarmist Non-Sense Alert, that includes here, among us. Finding and punishing ordinary people committing thoughtcrimes has been impossible, but rapid advances in artificial intelligence will make it so much easier to drill down and find every last apostate in the public media square, no matter how small and insignificant, and sooner than we may be ready for. I might caution to watch what we say, but it’s way, way too late for a lot of us, or at least for me.

What, they couldn’t get him on Burisma, either?

I would guess that even if Biden had not given the Venezuelans permits to work, there would still be millions of them wanting to escape that hellhole to come to the biggest, most beautiful country with the best economy and the brightest future for their children on the planet.

I don't know ... I never really thought of Carpenter as a linchpin for the next playoff team, although I admit to getting swept up in his performance earlier this season. Odd as this might sound, I think I'd have more actual concern if he were a high 1st round draft pick, for whom the expectation would be perennial everyday regularity and probably a few All-Star nods at some point in his career, as it is for Tork. Instead, Carpenter was a 19th-rounder who was expected to be an organizational soldier, but who happened to fix himself to enough of a degree to get a decent look-see in the bigs. Even if he were to retire right now, his 3.0 WAR renders his career the best of any 19th-round position player since Seth Brown, drafted in 2015 (4.3). Before that you've got Adam Engel 2013 (3.1), and you have to go back to the 2010 draft to see a really good career from a 19th-rounder (Adam Eaton, 18.3). They are really rare birds. So I kind of look at Kerry Carpenter as like playing with house money in a way, and if he were to flop into oblivion at this point, I would be sad for the guy and for us as fans, but I couldn't be particularly disappointed, because he's already done more than anyone could have expected him to.

At this point I'd be fine trading anybody in the system provided the return was favorable. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Skubal is the one untouchable on the roster, and that Tork is also "untouchable" not because we want to keep him so badly, can't be moved because of his limitations. Even all the top guys in the system are also tradable for the right return, I think, with the possible exception of Max Clark.

It wouldn’t surprise if their payroll were less next year than this, since $50 million or so is a lot to come off the books all at once, but I can also envision them signing more free agents this winter than last winter. I agree that this winter is a litmus test for Harris and expectations are higher.

Our savvy new front office improved us this season from offseason moves. I like our chances of them improving us next season same way.

It is not my hope that we keep all our prospects. I don’t care if we do or if we don’t. It’s perfectly fine by me to deal from the top of the system when it’s the right time to do so. What I’m saying is I would be very surprised if we do so this winter, and I don’t think we will. I believe we will deal top prospects when it’s time to obtain star established major leaguers who will put us over the top to win the division or go deep into October. I don’t think this franchise is in that position yet.

I’m unemployed for a reason. 😁

Maybe we have the basis of an 81-to-85-win team in house today, and we’re just a year early on them at the moment. We’re not going to get top position players off the market, and unless he is a total wizard, I don’t see Harris being able to trade for one without giving up serious capital in return. Maybe Max Clark would have to be part of that, who knows? I’m sure he’ll get some position players in, possibly a distressed underachieving asset. Or maybe he can swing a Jimienez-type deal involving Lange or Foley and pick up a JHM-type guy in return, the kind of guy more likely to help in 2025 than 2024. Or maybe we’ll be looking at his acquisition at the end of March wondering what the heck was he thinking picking that guy up, but we might think differently about it once June or July come around. The one thing I truly doubt will happen is that we offer a package like Skubal and Jobe and Jung and Keith for an established Padre.

Those sideburns are freaking amazing, aren’t they?

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Harris is out of time. Win a ring now or hit the bricks, buddy.

In terms of actual players to get an established six-win guy like Kim, it might take something like Skubal (establishing) and Malloy (untested) and Keith (untested) plus something else, possibly cash. To get a Soto or equivalent, it might take at least two of the above plus absorb 100% of remaining salary.

Dealing from the top of the system.

I think they will honestly try to win the division next year while sticking to their plan of focusing on cleaning the rot out of the system. The key might end up being big steps forward from young guys already in the system, versus getting top tier free agents or dealing from the top of the system for established major league regulars.

Joey Wentz had a really good outing. A decent offense would have gotten him the win.

Yeah, the Angels are also 2-8 in their last ten.

He’ll end up with 31.

He’s still basically a minor leaguer. That’s gonna happen for a while before he fixes it, if he can.

Bases loaded, one out, and our two putative biggest threats each strike out swinging on pitches a foot above the zone. They gotta work on that this winter.

I would bet a lot of those biggest deals were owner mandates.