Desipio Message Board

Quote from: Dave B on August 20, 2009, 12:50:56 PM

Quote from: ChuckD on August 20, 2009, 12:01:21 PM
That's it. DaveB must be behind "Steve Stone's" Twitter account. Or, maybe Steve Stone is behind this DaveB account and this is all an act. Either way, whoever is behind this "DaveB" character is making my brain hurt from the  unabashed ignorance.

"Unabashed ignorance"? Because I think that Milton Bradley's failure to come close to his offensive performance of 2008 (or many of his other years where he actually played 100 games) is a contributing factor in the Cubs' dismal 2009 season? Because I think that someone who got paid what he did should put some better offensive numbers other than OBP or draw walks? I wasn't a Bradley-basher to start with, but it's pretty obvious that he hasn't had close to the year they were expecting when they signed him. His injuries and offensive slump at mid-season forced the Cubs to play some lesser player in the OF in his absence/benching.

Chuck D, I'll put up my baseball experience/knowledge against yours, any day, anywhere. I don't come on this site to bash other commenters with some knee-jerk heckling just for the sake of riling somebody up. But if you call me ignorant, then I'm going to yap back.

DaveB is Jim Tocco?

Quote from: MikeC on August 20, 2009, 11:11:50 AM
Have some of you noticed that the Government is taking its sweet ass time reimbursing autodealers for the CARS program?

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/business/business_krqe_albuquerque_dealers_stiffed_as_clunkers_pile_up_200908200033

QuoteDealers across the state are owed more than $3.6 million, according to a dealers' group which says that so far Uncle Sam has only written three checks totaling about $14,000.

Alot of dealerships may even go out of business because of this. And Health Care is going to be run by the Government? They can't even manage a simple 1 or 2 billion dollar program. And word is the program is out of money again.

So now that one of your talking points has been shot down, you just move on to the next one instead of attempting to respond?

Shocking.

QuoteRidge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings; was "blindsided" by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him; found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored; and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.

I'm not discounting the 'sell books with provocative stuff' angle here, but if the last part is true, wow. And Ridge is a shmuck for keeping that to himself until now.

Quote from: MikeC on August 20, 2009, 12:02:45 AMWhere does the truth rest? The only real accountability in the VA system is the VA itself.

How would that explain this?

QuoteIn the latest independent survey, 81 percent of VHA hospital patients express satisfaction with the care they receive, compared to 77 percent of Medicare and Medicaid patients.

Quote from: Dave B on August 19, 2009, 04:27:05 PM

Quote from: Slak on August 19, 2009, 03:45:01 PM

Quote from: R-V on August 19, 2009, 03:25:27 PM

Quote from: Chuck to Chuck on August 19, 2009, 03:01:37 PM

Quote from: R-V on August 19, 2009, 02:53:19 PM
Unless Marmol flips a switch and reverts to his 2007/2008 walk rates now that he's closer, I wouldn't mind signing Rafael Soriano or Mike Gonzalez to close next year. I'm assuming they won't command giant Francisco Cordero-esque contracts since they don't have the gaudy save numbers that give boners to a large number of GMs, and they've both had some injury issues.

That could cut my Soriano hate by 50%.

Great, Chuck.

While I've got my GM beanie on, are the Brewers intent on dumping Hardy this offseason? The guy had an awful year, but he still plays very good defense, and was a top 5-ish shortstop in 2007 and 2008. I'd take a flyer on him.

Edited to add statfaggotry: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/hardy-and-service-time

I would absolutely take a flyer on JJ Hardy. But the Theriot love is too strong. For Hardy to come here, Hendry probably has to go.

Since Theriot is the root of all that is wrong with this team, replacing him with a guy who's been sent to the minors by a third-place team is BRILLIANT!!!

Of course, moving The Riot to 2B and playing Hardy at SS would be an interesting thought, but even the evil Theriot couldn't supplant the Baker/Fontenot/Miles/Blanco quartet!!!

Are you related to Theriot?

A couple things, Mike.

First of all:

QuoteWalter Reed is an army hospital, not a veteran's hospital. The two systems have nothing to do with one another. That's why the problems at Walter Reed led to the resignation of the Secretary of the Army and not the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Second, there are anecdotal instances of bad care in any system. It's a lot more useful to look at the system as a whole.

QuoteYet here's a curious fact that few conservatives or liberals know. Who do you think receives higher-quality health care. Medicare patients who are free to pick their own doctors and specialists? Or aging veterans stuck in those presumably filthy VA hospitals with their antiquated equipment, uncaring administrators, and incompetent staff? An answer came in 2003, when the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine published a study that compared veterans health facilities on 11 measures of quality with fee-for-service Medicare. On all 11 measures, the quality of care in veterans facilities proved to be "significantly better."

Here's another curious fact. The Annals of Internal Medicine recently published a study that compared veterans health facilities with commercial managed-care systems in their treatment of diabetes patients. In seven out of seven measures of quality, the VA provided better care.

It gets stranger. Pushed by large employers who are eager to know what they are buying when they purchase health care for their employees, an outfit called the National Committee for Quality Assurance today ranks health-care plans on 17 different performance measures. These include how well the plans manage high blood pressure or how precisely they adhere to standard protocols of evidence-based medicine such as prescribing beta blockers for patients recovering from a heart attack. Winning NCQA's seal of approval is the gold standard in the health-care industry. And who do you suppose this year's winner is: Johns Hopkins? Mayo Clinic? Massachusetts General? Nope. In every single category, the VHA system outperforms the highest rated non-VHA hospitals.

QuoteVeterans groups tenaciously defend the VHA and applaud its turnaround. "The quality of care is outstanding," says Peter Gayton, deputy director for veterans affairs and rehabilitation at the American Legion. In the latest independent survey, 81 percent of VHA hospital patients express satisfaction with the care they receive, compared to 77 percent of Medicare and Medicaid patients.

I don't know anything about the Indian Tribal Health system, but on the whole, I don't see how the private healthcare market is markedly better or more efficient than the VA system.

Quote from: Slak on August 19, 2009, 03:45:01 PM

Quote from: R-V on August 19, 2009, 03:25:27 PM

Quote from: Chuck to Chuck on August 19, 2009, 03:01:37 PM

Quote from: R-V on August 19, 2009, 02:53:19 PM
Unless Marmol flips a switch and reverts to his 2007/2008 walk rates now that he's closer, I wouldn't mind signing Rafael Soriano or Mike Gonzalez to close next year. I'm assuming they won't command giant Francisco Cordero-esque contracts since they don't have the gaudy save numbers that give boners to a large number of GMs, and they've both had some injury issues.

That could cut my Soriano hate by 50%.

Great, Chuck.

While I've got my GM beanie on, are the Brewers intent on dumping Hardy this offseason? The guy had an awful year, but he still plays very good defense, and was a top 5-ish shortstop in 2007 and 2008. I'd take a flyer on him.

Edited to add statfaggotry: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/hardy-and-service-time

I'd would absolutely take a flyer on JJ Hardy. But the Theriot love is too strong. For Hardy to come here, Hendry probably has to go.

It looks like a trade is the only way to improve at SS, unless Starlin Castro and/or Hak-Ju Lee can age 4 years during the offseason. Just look at this collection of old/shitty shortstops:

QuoteOrlando Cabrera (35)
Alex Cora (34)
Craig Counsell (39)
Bobby Crosby (30)
Adam Everett (33)
Chris Gomez (39)
Alex Gonzalez (32)
Khalil Greene (30)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (34)
John McDonald (35)
Marco Scutaro (34)
Miguel Tejada (36)
Omar Vizquel (43)
Jack Wilson (32)

And second base is just as terrible.

Quote from: Chuck to Chuck on August 19, 2009, 03:01:37 PM

Quote from: R-V on August 19, 2009, 02:53:19 PM
Unless Marmol flips a switch and reverts to his 2007/2008 walk rates now that he's closer, I wouldn't mind signing Rafael Soriano or Mike Gonzalez to close next year. I'm assuming they won't command giant Francisco Cordero-esque contracts since they don't have the gaudy save numbers that give boners to a large number of GMs, and they've both had some injury issues.

That could cut my Soriano hate by 50%.

Great, Chuck.

While I've got my GM beanie on, are the Brewers intent on dumping Hardy this offseason? The guy had an awful year, but he still plays very good defense, and was a top 5-ish shortstop in 2007 and 2008. I'd take a flyer on him.

Edited to add statfaggotry: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/hardy-and-service-time

Unless Marmol flips a switch and reverts to his 2007/2008 walk rates now that he's closer, I wouldn't mind signing Rafael Soriano or Mike Gonzalez to close next year. I'm assuming they won't command giant Francisco Cordero-esque contracts since they don't have the gaudy save numbers that give boners to a large number of GMs, and they've both had some injury issues.

Quote from: Slak on August 19, 2009, 01:22:44 PM

Quote from: Ghost of Dave Rosello on August 19, 2009, 01:19:04 PM

Quote from: Lance Dicksons Arm on August 19, 2009, 12:29:42 PM
This morning, I saw this disturbing nugget here http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/chicago-cubs_112114177768677294.html

2009 payroll obligations for former players:

    * $3,187,432 (Luis Vizcaino) (plus $0.5M 2010 buyout)
    * $4,000,000 (est.) (Ryan Freel)

Can someone talk me out of throat punching myself over this.  The Cubs for the season are on the hook for over $7M for those two guys???   

That just doesn't seem possible.  Someone please tell me this isn't true.

Jesus Fucking Christ

Very helpful.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2839346

Yeah, he's owed through this season. I didn't know the Cubs took that money on though. It's off the books after this year regardless.

You should throat punch yourself because you have to watch that offense.

Looks like they didn't. Not that I'd expect the Ghost of LoneStar to look it up before rending his britches.

QuoteThe deal is cash-neutral, according to one source. The Cubs will pay the balance of Gathright's $800,000 salary for 2009 with the O's paying the balance of Freel's — about $3.3 million.

Quote from: Ghost of Dave Rosello on August 19, 2009, 12:10:04 PM
I'd be interested to know how much supplemental coverage would cost an individual citizen and how necessary it would be.

If the government plan we'll be forced into covers less than a current employer health plan and you're forced to spend several thousands of dollars on supplemental coverage then it's not an improvement over what we have now.

Are you talking about a hypothetical single-payer plan? Because none of the current proposed legislation forces anyone onto a government plan, which we all know that would be truly, truly awful.

Quote"We're dramatically increasing funding for veterans health care," the president told a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.

This includes hundreds of millions of dollars to serve veterans in rural areas, as well as the unique needs of our growing number of women veterans. We're restoring access to V.A. health care for a half-million veterans who lost their eligibility in recent years—our Priority 8 veterans.

QuoteYou want to know what really burns my butt? The health care these veterans will receive has been certified by the New England Journal of Medicine, the Rand Corp., and the National Committee for Quality Assurance to exceed in quality the care available to paying customers in more authentically American private-sector fee-for-service hospitals. The VA hospital system's mere existence is an affront to everything true patriots hold dear. That it manages to offer an emphatically successful model for socialized medicine in the United States insults the very principles on which our republic was founded.

QuoteIn their report, Davis and coauthors find that elderly Medicare beneficiaries are more likely than enrollees in employer-sponsored plans to rate their health insurance as excellent (32% vs. 20%) and less likely to report negative experiences with their insurance plans (43% vs. 61%). Medicare beneficiaries are also less likely than those with private insurance to go without needed care owing to costs (18% vs. 22%). The survey also finds that elderly Medicare beneficiaries are more likely to report being very satisfied with the care they received compared with those with private insurance (62% vs. 51%).

Quote from: Fork on August 19, 2009, 09:57:36 AM

Quote from: Brownie on August 19, 2009, 09:29:08 AM

Quote from: R-V on August 19, 2009, 09:18:53 AM
I love me some Big Gay Barney.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlZiWK2Iy8

I can't defend an Obama-Hitler comparison, but I appreciate Frank confronting everyone who did the same the previous eight years.

Comparing a black Liberal to a Fascist who believed in White supremacy is a bit of a stretch.

Comparing Conservatives to Fascists and Liberals to Communists are at least keeping everything on the same side of center.

Fork, you ignorant slut.

Quote from: Dr. Nguyen Van Falk on August 19, 2009, 09:31:20 AM

Quote from: Brownie on August 19, 2009, 09:29:08 AM

Quote from: R-V on August 19, 2009, 09:18:53 AM
I love me some Big Gay Barney.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlZiWK2Iy8

I can't defend an Obama-Hitler comparison, but I appreciate Frank confronting everyone who did the same the previous eight years.

What do you think Barney is, the Hitler police?

Sorry TJ, I find your movie pitch of Barney Frank, Gay Internet Hitler Photoshop Detective to be totally unrealistic.

I love me some Big Gay Barney.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlZiWK2Iy8

Quote from: Fork on August 19, 2009, 08:43:07 AM

The fact that insurance companies are lobbying so hard to defeat this is reason enough to like it.

What I'd really like to know is how much guys like Kristol and Krauthammer are getting.

My guess is they're collecting their usual salary from the Weekly Standard, the Washington Post, and Fox News.