June Thread Mojo ← FREE KRAUT!

June Thread Mojo 243

That May thread was clearly cursed. Let’s try a new one. Six civil rights and democracy runs please.

243 thoughts on “June Thread Mojo

  1. FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 2,2020 11:46 am

    I am concerned about trusting our closer with the civil rights and democracy lead.

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
    • colin Jun 2,2020 12:08 pm || Up

      My closer:

      • ptbnl Jun 2,2020 12:18 pm || Up

        O Closer! my Closer! our fearful ninth is done,
        The team has weather’d every hit, the prize we sought is won,
        The locker is near, the drums I hear, the people all exulting,
        While follow eyes the steady field, the catcher grim and daring;
        But O heart! heart! heart!
        O the drops of green and gold,
        Where on the mound my Closer lies,
        Fallen dead and cold.

        If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
        • 5Aces Jun 2,2020 12:51 pm || Up

          I teared up a little..not gonna lie.

          Camelot sure fell apart, didn't it? -Steve McCatty
  2. ptbnl Jun 2,2020 1:26 pm

    So what’s the deal on bringing military forces into DC given that it isn’t a state?

    If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
    • Glorious Mundy Jun 2,2020 2:43 pm || Up

      Not sure what the legal answer is here, but the regime appears to be treating the District like occupied territory.

      WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ordered military aircraft to fly above the nation’s capital Monday night as a “show of force” against demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd, according to two Department of Defense officials.

      Show-of-force missions are designed to intimidate and, in combat zones, warn opposing forces of potential military action if provoked. The officials, who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss ongoing operations publicly, did not say how many or what type of aircraft had been mobilized.

      Videos and photographs posted on social media showed helicopters flying low over buildings and hovering just above groups who were on the street despite a district-wide curfew.

      On Tuesday, roughly 700 members of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division had arrived at two military bases near Washington. Another 1,400 soldiers are ready to be mobilized within an hour, the two Pentagon officials said. The soldiers are armed and have riot gear as well as bayonets.

      The officials said the mission has been named “Operation Themis.” In Greek mythology, Themis was a titaness of divine law and order, whose symbols are the scales of justice.

      • ptbnl Jun 2,2020 4:57 pm || Up

        Aaaand lets throw the DEA into the mix.

        If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
      • Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 6:34 pm || Up

        Oh

        Along with the troops, National Guard units from other states brought weapons and ammunition. Tens of thousands of rifle and pistol rounds were stored in the D.C. Armory and partitioned in pallets, labeled by their state of origin, to be used on American citizens in case of emergency.

  3. Future Ed Jun 2,2020 2:12 pm
    I have $5. No I don\'t.
    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 2,2020 4:03 pm || Up

      “Dear sir,

      Thank you for representing me in my case. I have heard good things about you from your peers and I appreciate your needed help in this possibly life threatening matter.”

      He has a lot to say.

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
      • Future Ed Jun 2,2020 9:34 pm || Up

        He sure does. If we ever have a tailgate, you will hear his defense to a DUI

        I have $5. No I don\'t.
  4. Glorious Mundy Jun 2,2020 5:36 pm

    Trying to decide which corporate BLM statement is funnier, the 23andMe one saying the company is “based on the foundation…that we are genetically 99.5% the same” but also that “I am ashamed to say I do not have a single black employee who is at Director level or above” or the Grindr one slipping in that “we have decided to remove the ethnicity filter from our next release.”

    Probably still the NextDoor one, actually….

  5. Glorious Mundy Jun 2,2020 7:17 pm

    LoL

    • AV Jun 2,2020 7:21 pm || Up

      yeah, she had the bible in that white handbag.

      *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
      • ptbnl Jun 2,2020 8:23 pm || Up

        They looted the bible from the church.

        If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
    • Future Ed Jun 2,2020 9:37 pm || Up

      makes sense, he would walk 10,000 miles to chase that tail

      I have $5. No I don\'t.
  6. Glorious Mundy Jun 3,2020 11:26 am

  7. Glorious Mundy Jun 3,2020 11:30 am

    Sounds like Operation Photo went over really well and they are all really proud of their actions.

    • Glorious Mundy Jun 3,2020 11:42 am || Up

      • AV Jun 3,2020 1:31 pm || Up

        guy can’t make up his mind.

        now he’s *comparing* himself to an antifa.

        *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 3,2020 1:01 pm || Up

      Well so far today he’s lost Esper, Ben Sasse, and Pat Robertson.

      Can you imagine three people walkin’ in, singin’ a bar of “Posse Comitatus” and walkin’ out? They may think it’s an Organization!

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
      • Glorious Mundy Jun 3,2020 1:10 pm || Up

        I call B.S. There is no way Pat Robertson is still alive.

        • Glorious Mundy Jun 3,2020 3:12 pm || Up

          But James Mattis is!

          Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.

          We can come through this trying time stronger, and with a renewed sense of purpose and respect for one another. The pandemic has shown us that it is not only our troops who are willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the community. Americans in hospitals, grocery stores, post offices, and elsewhere have put their lives on the line in order to serve their fellow citizens and their country. We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Park. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite.

  8. Glorious Mundy Jun 3,2020 1:21 pm

    Um….

    • ptbnl Jun 3,2020 3:00 pm || Up

      Ooooh … there’s a trick question in Trump’s Amerikkka: “Are you for or against fascism?”

      If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
      • ptbnl Jun 3,2020 5:05 pm || Up
        If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
        • Glorious Mundy Jun 3,2020 5:13 pm || Up

          The reasonable Republicans of Arkansas like Bed need to speak out against this.

          • doctorK Jun 5,2020 10:18 am || Up

            Rs like this guy are why:
            1. I feel completely disenfranchised – I rarely find any candidate from any party that I can stand or even put up with.
            2. The party of Lincoln is on its way out.

        • Glorious Mundy Jun 4,2020 3:27 pm || Up

          Wow

          • Glorious Mundy Jun 5,2020 9:59 am || Up

            How embarrassing can this episode get?

            • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 5,2020 6:42 pm || Up

              "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
              • Soaker Jun 5,2020 8:19 pm || Up

                In the video clip the reporter says “Historically there has been a disconnect between what investors focus on and what happens across the rest of the country” and those numbers are used to illustrate the point. The reporter emphasizes the word “disconnect” and while the graphic looks terrible out of the context of the audio, the suggestion that it implies that these events are good for stock investors is pretty misleading.

                Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
                • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 5,2020 9:51 pm || Up

                  The graphic doesn’t imply causality at all. It’s just horribly insensitive to the moment.

                  "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
                • ptbnl Jun 5,2020 10:59 pm || Up

                  And/or deliberately sensitive.

                  If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
                • AV Jun 7,2020 11:04 am || Up

                  you know who else matches up with big gains in the market?

                  *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
  9. elcroata Jun 4,2020 2:51 am
    Because survival is insufficient
    • Glorious Mundy Jun 5,2020 9:26 am || Up

      Money graf:

      In other words, the owners’ proposed salary-reduction scheme looks like a clever sleight-of-hand designed to cause a shortened season — in the midst of a life-changing pandemic for millions of Americans — to essentially give them the same profit as they made during a full season in the midst of a baseball boom. Unless we think baseball teams were just barely breaking even last year (despite record revenues and even the small-market Kansas City Royals selling for $1 billion), it’s hard to believe the owners aren’t trying to live by the words of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.”

      Sounds about right.

  10. Glorious Mundy Jun 4,2020 11:09 am

    Did I miss an announcement, or is Fisher the only owner who is stiffing his minor leaguers?

    • Glorious Mundy Jun 5,2020 4:09 pm || Up

      Fisher, after realizing that no one followed him out into this manure pasture….”HEY, WHA’ HAPPENED?”

      • Future Ed Jun 5,2020 5:05 pm || Up

        did you see space force?

        Fed willard is in it

        I have $5. No I don\'t.
  11. FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 4,2020 11:10 am

    Oh, poor Lisa Murkowski and her struggles. Fucking enabler.

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
    • Glorious Mundy Jun 4,2020 12:30 pm || Up

      Is this the royal we, or what exactly is happening in her brain here?

      • andeux Jun 4,2020 12:37 pm || Up

        Hey, don’t be mean to her, she’s thinking about pondering whether to deeply consider maybe not supporting Trump, and any criticism might push her the other way.

        TINSTAAFK
        • Glorious Mundy Jun 4,2020 5:09 pm || Up

          Well, Trump just went nuclear on her on Twitter, so, we’ll see whether you are right.

      • lenscrafters Jun 4,2020 1:04 pm || Up

        Isn’t she basically admitting that they’ve been dishonest and cowardly up to this point?

  12. Glorious Mundy Jun 4,2020 11:52 am

    No one can be this stupid. This has to be a Fred Willard bit from beyond the grave.

    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 4,2020 1:28 pm || Up

      Ed’s new client observes that underneath that tweet referencing John Lennon, the top suggested person to follow is Stephen King.

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
      • Future Ed Jun 5,2020 11:22 am || Up

        on the phone with him now!

        He hasn’t seen this

        I have $5. No I don\'t.
  13. lenscrafters Jun 4,2020 1:10 pm

    Can’t pay your employees, can’t pay your rent. Sell the team, asswipe.

  14. andeux Jun 4,2020 10:55 pm


    At this point, sure, why not.

    TINSTAAFK
  15. ptbnl Jun 5,2020 10:26 am

    Just when you think he can’t get any dumber, crueler, more self-absorbed … “This is a great day” for George Floyd.

    If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
  16. Glorious Mundy Jun 5,2020 10:58 am
    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 5,2020 2:19 pm || Up

      So they won’t be driving all local newspapers out of business, then?

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
  17. AV Jun 5,2020 1:33 pm

    short for… lady gag order?

    *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
    • Glorious Mundy Jun 5,2020 2:07 pm || Up

      Damn, there’s a gay internet? I bet it’s way better than this one.

      • ptbnl Jun 5,2020 2:15 pm || Up

        And how much does Lindsey Graham pay to have it explode over him?

        If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 5,2020 2:27 pm || Up

      The Lindsey is gay rumors have been rampant for years, largely because it “feels” believable. But in all this time no scorned lover or rival has ever dropped dime on him. No blackmail attempts? No vengeful politician, no enraged partisan? Out of the many many times Graham has said outrageous things which might have been the last straw

      Also, how strange is South Carolina to have both a black and a gay conservative Republican senator?

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
      • AV Jun 5,2020 2:40 pm || Up

        you didn’t mention extortion.

        i mean, i always thought it was weird how he went 100% toward trump after that golf game.

        “He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot,” Graham told CNN in 2015.
        However, the two appeared to bury the hatchet and swap digits in March when Graham visited the White House to meet with Trump.
        “How good was the meeting with @POTUS?” Graham tweeted after the lunch. “I gave him my NEW cell phone number.”
        But things took a turn again when Trump and Graham clashed in August after the President’s response to racially motivated protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. Graham accused Trump of stoking tensions, a claim Trump called “a disgusting lie.”

        then golf game

        https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/09/politics/donald-trump-property-lindsey-graham-golf/index.html

        *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
  18. Glorious Mundy Jun 5,2020 4:15 pm

    Fisher, Goodell….any other sports oligarchs want to call for a do-over on an embarrassing position this afternoon?

    • 5Aces Jun 5,2020 4:22 pm || Up

      Would be nice if MLB owners would do a my bad on this and start moving towards a workable proposal.

      Camelot sure fell apart, didn't it? -Steve McCatty
    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 5,2020 5:23 pm || Up

      As bad as the imperious oligarchs who comprise baseball ownership are, no sports league anywhere holds a candle to the NFL in shamelessly sucking up to power. They’ve just never had to treat their employees as powerful before.

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
  19. Future Ed Jun 5,2020 5:16 pm

    via monkeyball on twitter:

    I have $5. No I don\'t.
    • andeux Jun 5,2020 7:04 pm || Up

      Did he claim Mar-A-Lago as his address?

      TINSTAAFK
  20. Glorious Mundy Jun 5,2020 7:56 pm

    This guy botches like 95% of the appearances that even a W-level president could sleep walk through. It’s uncanny.

  21. elcroata Jun 6,2020 10:54 am

    Because survival is insufficient
    • ptbnl Jun 6,2020 3:27 pm || Up

      All part of the reign of terroir

      If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
  22. FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 6,2020 5:28 pm

    Game 6 of the 1993 series is re-running. I’m reminded that Toronto had a LOT of Black and Latino stars, Rickey and Joe Carter and Stew and Alfredo G. and Tony Fernandez and R. Alomar. The Phillies look like…well, like the guys who beat the NPR reporter with bats in Philly this week.

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
    • Glorious Mundy Jun 8,2020 12:57 pm || Up

      Without looking up the roster, Dykstra, Kruk, Mitch Williams…yeah that checks out.

  23. AV Jun 7,2020 11:56 am

    ha! fisher made it onto le show’s apologies of the week.

    *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
  24. Glorious Mundy Jun 7,2020 3:21 pm

    OK Mitt. You win. I love you.

  25. Glorious Mundy Jun 8,2020 7:59 am

    Luckily this only resulted in an arrest for “resisting the police” (and a potential civil rights lawsuit against Alameda) and not another senseless death by cop.

    City officials are starting an independent investigation of the 7:45 a.m. May 23 incident that began after a woman called to report “an African American person in the middle of the street … dancing and turning all around — obviously something’s very wrong, and I’m just afraid.” Police posted a recording of the call online.

    The body-cam footage shows police coming upon the man, identified in police reports as 44-year-old Mali Watkins, doing what one officer described as “jazzercise” to a Mary J. Blige song. He was standing in the roadway close to the curb on the 2000 block of Central Avenue.

    • Future Ed Jun 8,2020 9:26 am || Up

      Reminds me of the emo phillips joke “there was a black out in alameda. they police made him go away”

      I have $5. No I don\'t.
      • AV Jun 8,2020 9:59 am || Up

        we’ve all heard those stories about in the ole days and raising the bridges at night, right?

        *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
  26. andeux Jun 8,2020 2:24 pm

    TINSTAAFK
    • Glorious Mundy Jun 8,2020 2:40 pm || Up

      Is that Cleveland game the Rosales non-homer??

      The eavesdropping thing sounds pretty weak. They interviewed Angel and then he didn’t hang up before they interviewed his crewmate. They should have a had a separate dial in for the other ump or a way to check that Angel had disconnected if they wanted the conversations to remain confidential.

      • lenscrafters Jun 8,2020 3:04 pm || Up

        Honestly in the last decade of A’s baseball, for me nothing came close to be as rage inducing than the missed call/blown instant replay review of the Rosales non homer. And there have been a lot of rage inducing moments.

        • 5Aces Jun 8,2020 3:31 pm || Up

          Co-signed.

          Camelot sure fell apart, didn't it? -Steve McCatty
          • lenscrafters Jun 8,2020 3:42 pm || Up

            That blurb from Torre on how Hernandez still insists he was right about the call just confirms to me that the guy is an unredeemable, arrogant POS.

          • doctorK Jun 8,2020 7:13 pm || Up

            Double-ditto

      • 5Aces Jun 8,2020 3:33 pm || Up

        Angel during his interview:

        Camelot sure fell apart, didn't it? -Steve McCatty
      • andeux Jun 8,2020 3:42 pm || Up

        Yes. It looks like the quote continues

        Hernandez in his April motion explained: “the screen on which umpires reviewed replay at the time was small and was not in high definition.”

        which was pretty much the excuse given at the time

        TINSTAAFK
  27. Glorious Mundy Jun 9,2020 9:52 pm

  28. Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 9:32 am

    RIP to a local great.

    • Soaker Jun 10,2020 3:09 pm || Up

      I got to go to the Gaylord Perry game because the neighbors had an extra ticket on an unbelievably shitty rainy day in July. That has to be on the list of the top 10 regular season games ever at the Coliseum. I’d have to think a long time about the full list but “Jason Giambi is THE MAN” and “Hamilton DROPS THE BALL. HE DROPPED THE BASE BALL.” would be a couple of the others.

      Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
      • Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 4:05 pm || Up

        44.582 on a Monday night in July and Finley still couldn’t wait to sell his players off.

        • Soaker Jun 10,2020 4:17 pm || Up

          Gaylord’s streak was a big factor in the attendance but it was mostly that it was one of Charlie’s half-price Monday night Family Nights, far and away his most successful promotion ever. Click over to the Tuesday game in that series and notice that a Catfish Hunter start drew 6,655.

          Charlie was a great pure baseball man but financially the only way he could make it was in that brief period when we had both a draft and no free agency. The minute Marvin Miller forced free agency on the owners, he was toast.

          Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
          • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 10,2020 5:31 pm || Up

            And he saw it coming too, whatever his other flaws, Finley knew when to cut and run on an investment. I hear a career in the insurance biz can do that for a fella.

            "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
            • Soaker Jun 10,2020 5:51 pm || Up

              Finley knew when to cut and run on an investment.

              Umm, as I recall the sales price when Walter Haas bought the franchise in 1980 was $8 million. The return on that investment over the subsequent 40 years is a lot better than you and I have done in our retirement accounts.

              Charlie was one of the last small-time (financially) owners, along with Calvin Griffith in Minnesota. Mrs. Finley was smarter, she spent money to hire a better divorce lawyer than he did, and she cleaned him out. He didn’t have much chance anyway with the advent of free agency, but the divorce was The. End.

              Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
              • Glorious Mundy Jun 19,2020 8:03 am || Up

                Speaking of ol’ Calvin…

                • colin Jun 19,2020 10:24 am || Up

                  There is a current effort (not the first) to get University of Cincinnati to rename Marge Schott Stadium

                • Future Ed Jun 19,2020 4:08 pm || Up

                  there was a question in trivia last night about her saying in an interview that hitler was good at first, but I just remembered she called eric davis and someone else her million dollar n words

                  I have $5. No I don\'t.
                • colin Jun 19,2020 4:31 pm || Up

                  yeeepppp

                • colin Jun 23,2020 6:44 am || Up

                  Board of Trustees voted to rename the UC baseball stadium

      • doctorK Jun 10,2020 5:07 pm || Up

        I’ve gotta laugh at a 10-inning game lasting only 2:34.

        • Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 5:10 pm || Up

          Both pitchers going the distance and a different pitcher scoring the winning run is fun too.

          I also want to note Joe Brinkman on the umpiring crew. That guy must have been around forever.

          • doctorK Jun 10,2020 5:14 pm || Up

            Yeah – 35 years. I had forgotten he was the guy who had to hold back George Brett in the Pine Tar game.

          • Soaker Jun 10,2020 5:27 pm || Up

            Those same four umpires had worked 10-Cent Beer Night in Cleveland a few weeks earlier.

            Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
            • doctorK Jun 11,2020 4:06 pm || Up

              Ed Crosby and Tom Grieve both played that night. Also, gotta love this quote from Tim Russert.

              NBC newscaster Tim Russert, then a student at the Cleveland–Marshall College of Law, attended the game. “I went with $2 in my pocket,” recalled the Meet the Press host. “You do the math.”

    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 10,2020 11:30 pm || Up

      Berkeley High grad!

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
  29. Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 10:45 am
    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 10,2020 11:34 am || Up

      To be fair, the poll results would have been more favorable if it had excluded respondents living in states with active GOP voter suppression efforts.

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
      • Future Ed Jun 10,2020 12:00 pm || Up

        That’s the art of polling, yeah? Modeling who’s vote will be suppressed?

        I have $5. No I don\'t.
    • AV Jun 10,2020 1:20 pm || Up

      this is tidy.

      *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
      • andeux Jun 10,2020 2:02 pm || Up

        They do this shit on purpose though. The point is not, as CNN’s response says, “to muzzle speech it does not want voters to read or hear”; it is to provoke such a response, and then have more ammo to support their claim that CNN is biased against them.

        TINSTAAFK
        • Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 2:17 pm || Up

          Maybe, but I also think (a) they are genuinely panicking that if they look dead in the water poll-wise, some of their campaign donations will dry up, which will leave less money to steal and (b) Trump is a big baby who likes having people lash out for him when he feels hurt. Unfortunately for them, the Streisand Effect is real.

      • ptbnl Jun 10,2020 5:06 pm || Up

        CNN’s General Counsel is called Vigilante?!

        If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
        • Soaker Jun 10,2020 6:53 pm || Up

          I hate to think what the name of the fellow/lady for Fox News must be.

          I get a bit of amusement out of going to CNN.com and then immediately thereafter going to FoxNews.com. They are representing themselves as objective presenters of the news but it’s like they’re reporting from two different planets.

          Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
  30. Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 11:24 am

    Ratto is absolutely right.

  31. andeux Jun 10,2020 2:14 pm

    TINSTAAFK
    • Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 2:18 pm || Up

      A’s Ken Phelps. Very nice.

      • Soaker Jun 10,2020 2:24 pm || Up

        Brian Holman being the answer if that’s a clue to a question. I was thinking about that the other day when BANG re-ran their game story from the Shannon Stewart/Curt Schilling game.

        Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
        • Soaker Jun 10,2020 2:39 pm || Up

          Boning up on that subject:

          Armando Gallaraga: Jason Donald
          Yusmeiro Petit: (I think you knew this but) Eric Chavez

          Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
          • andeux Jun 10,2020 2:41 pm || Up

            I don’t remember Chavy as a DBack at all.

            TINSTAAFK
            • sslinger Jun 10,2020 4:12 pm || Up

              Neither do I. And I’m in for the QuadA quiz again.

    • Future Ed Jun 10,2020 4:41 pm || Up

      have we thought of a better name yet?

      I have $5. No I don\'t.
      • AV Jun 10,2020 7:33 pm || Up

        the swingin’ shelter-in-pl-A’s

        *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
  32. Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 2:26 pm

    Trump’s first CoronaRally will be on Juneteenth, in Tulsa of all places. He may not understand what an inflammatory choice that is, but someone on his team is absolutely trying to send an ugly message.

    • Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 2:35 pm || Up

      No points for predicting that he will bring this guy on stage.

  33. Glorious Mundy Jun 10,2020 3:04 pm

    We, meaning you and the owners?

    • Soaker Jun 10,2020 3:16 pm || Up

      At this point I do not believe they can put together a 2020 season that I can take seriously.

      Some half-assed “regular season” that sets up seeding for a hideously bloated postseason to grab the television money, that’s about how it’s going to end up.

      My attention will be scant. It has now been 3 months since my last Cactus League game; I figure it’s only about 8 more months until pitchers and catchers report in 2021, barring some really really bad news. I think I’ll mostly erase 2020 from my memory and start with a fresh, positive attitude next February.

      Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
  34. FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 11,2020 1:06 pm
    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
  35. Glorious Mundy Jun 11,2020 2:22 pm

    “Transition to Greatness” may be the worst political slogan I have ever encountered.

    • Soaker Jun 11,2020 2:33 pm || Up

      Sounds like something Mark Davis must have submitted in an online contest.

      Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
    • Glorious Mundy Jul 14,2020 10:04 am || Up

      Wait, they found a worse one.

      • AV Jul 14,2020 10:13 am || Up

        i have faith.

        there’s still time for them to find “eat cake.”

        *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
        • Future Ed Jul 14,2020 10:32 am || Up

          Unemployment was cake?

          I have $5. No I don\'t.
          • AV Jul 14,2020 11:18 am || Up

            they cut some jobs and we found out.

            *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
          • AV Jul 14,2020 11:19 am || Up

            while i have you: orange county!

            *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
            • Future Ed Jul 14,2020 11:29 am || Up

              If they kill my parents, I am knocking down their house and building an 8 story low income housing apartment

              I have $5. No I don\'t.
  36. Glorious Mundy Jun 12,2020 7:53 am

    Yay!

    …oh

    Want to support the Louisville police? How about a custom Louisville Slugger nightstick?

    A small online site on the Louisville Metro Police Foundation’s website offers a personalized nightstick for those looking to be “on the Louisville beat with Louisville’s legendary bat.”

  37. Glorious Mundy Jun 12,2020 3:08 pm

    Seems like by the time the owners get to a proposal the players would accept, there will be big enough case spikes in enough places that they won’t be able to start things up anyway.

    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 12,2020 5:27 pm || Up

      Yeah reading about this newly leaked CDC data left little doubt about badly the US has screwed this up.

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
      • Soaker Jun 13,2020 7:55 am || Up

        Through June 12:

        Douglas County:
        Population: 48,905 (7/1/2019 estimate)
        Total cases: 39 (0.08%) — 7 active (0 hospitalized), 32 have recovered, 0 deaths

        For the four counties covered by CCHHS:
        Population: 166,454
        Total cases: 246 (0.14%) — 61 active (8 hospitalized), 178 have recovered, 7 deaths

        It’s a big deal somewhere, apparently, but we’re still waiting.

        Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
        • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 13,2020 8:54 am || Up

          Build a wall to keep out those pesky CA tourists and you’ll be just fine.

          "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
          • Soaker Jun 13,2020 9:07 am || Up

            Believe me, some of our right-wingers think a wall on the CA/NV border would be a lot more useful than Trump’s wall on the US/Mexico border.

            Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
          • Soaker Jul 7,2020 5:13 pm || Up

            Pesky CA tourists you say. (El Dorado County is CA but the virus doesn’t care about a line on a map.)

            The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors will hold an emergency meeting Thursday to confront a troubling surge in coronavirus cases in the Tahoe region that officials have linked to businesses and tourists not following mask and social-distancing recommendations.

            The alarm comes after a spike in new COVID-19 cases after the three-day July 4 holiday weekend that puts Lake Tahoe at the epicenter for the coronavirus in El Dorado County.

            The dramatic increases in confirmed cases in Lake Tahoe have been linked primarily to large family get-togethers and to visitors “not taking proper precautions,” said Carla Hass, an El Dorado County spokeswoman.

            “The holiday weekend demonstrated that there are a lot of people following the rules, but there are a lot of people who are not,” Hass said. “When we see the cases going up, there aren’t many options for us in order to maintain the level of safety for our residents and our visitors and to make sure that our healthcare system isn’t overwhelmed in Tahoe.”

            I have an appointment in about an hour at the community college to have some possibly trained kid ram a cotton swab up my nose, through my eyeball and into my brain, or something like that. I don’t think there’s any chance I actually have the virus, but it’s a free test, next scheduled trip to Hawaii is just after Thanksgiving and I’ll probably have to show a clean test result upon landing over there, so I want an idea of what to expect from the test and the time frame for the results.

            Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
            • FreeSeatUpgrade Jul 7,2020 5:29 pm || Up

              Yeah the whole re-surge is all about three day holiday weekends and partiers in close quarters. And then their family members. The entire Southeast US is so infected now that contact tracing is pointless. Fucking SEC.

              We cancelled August Hawaii trip at the 60 day VRBO refund deadline. Too much risk it could fall apart. Ironically, now looking for Tahoe campsite cancellations.

              "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
        • Glorious Mundy Jun 13,2020 9:09 am || Up

          Coming to you live from the Carson City High School Athletic Complex, it’s the entire Major League Baseball season!

  38. AV Jun 12,2020 8:29 pm
    *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
  39. elcroata Jun 15,2020 6:14 am

    Fired Florida Data Scientist Launches A Coronavirus Dashboard Of Her Own

    “When I went to show them what the report card would say for each county, among other things, they asked me to delete the report card because it showed that no counties, pretty much, were ready for reopening,” she says. “And they didn’t want to draw attention to that.”

    Jones says a superior asked her to open up the data and alter the numbers so that the state’s coronavirus positivity rating would change from 18% to 10% — and the state would appear to meet its target to reopen.

    She says she refused to do that manipulation and others she was asked to, and she was fired on May 18.

    So basically what they do in Florida is they count each person tested positive as one person, no matter how often they were tested positive (as well they should). However, they count multiple negative tests of the same person as different people in order to inflate the base and have lower percentages.

    Because survival is insufficient
  40. lenscrafters Jun 15,2020 2:22 pm

    Quite a comedown from “100% chance of a season” 5 days ago.

    • Glorious Mundy Jun 15,2020 2:30 pm || Up

      It sure seems to me like the owners don’t actually want to pay for a season unless they can break the union in the process.

      • lenscrafters Jun 15,2020 2:52 pm || Up

        Based on your post below, sure seems like it.

    • Soaker Jun 15,2020 4:49 pm || Up

      Howard Terminal has always been a thin thread anyway. This is quite a confluence of factors, and my feeling is that we’re watching the death of baseball in Oakland, as the 1994-1995 work stoppage killed it off in Montreal.

      Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
      • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 15,2020 5:45 pm || Up

        That seems awfully dire, it’s not like other cities are now more emboldened to snatch a team than they were before. And Montreal was far more disaffected and unprofitable before MLB’s self-inflicted wound. Not comparable.

        Also, who would have thought 10 years ago that the Death of Baseball in Oakland wouldn’t even crack my top 10 list of things that suck?

        "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
        • andeux Jun 15,2020 6:43 pm || Up

          Let’s see … Trump, pandemic, killer cops, Profar …

          TINSTAAFK
      • Glorious Mundy Jun 16,2020 7:08 pm || Up

        For the yikes file.

        • Future Ed Jun 16,2020 7:18 pm || Up

          Barry has a negative report about bonds

          I have $5. No I don\'t.
  41. Glorious Mundy Jun 15,2020 2:27 pm

    Seems like it may be time to start describing this as a “lockout.”

  42. Glorious Mundy Jun 15,2020 2:40 pm

    The Court’s opinion is like a pirate ship. But not a cool pirate ship. A pirate ship that pretends to be Scalia.

    • Glorious Mundy Jun 15,2020 2:57 pm || Up

      Gotta fire all the Yankees fans, per Gorsuch’s opinion for the majority. This just gets better and better.

      Nor does it matter that, when an employer treats one employee worse because of that individual’s sex, other factors may contribute to the decision. Consider an employer with a policy of firing any woman he discovers to be a Yankees fan. Carrying out that rule because an employee is a woman and a fan of the Yankees is a firing “because of sex” if the employer would have tolerated the same allegiance in a male employee. Likewise here.

      • Future Ed Jun 15,2020 6:58 pm || Up

        So, you can’t fire Sotomayor without firing Alito?

        I have $5. No I don\'t.
  43. FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 15,2020 4:21 pm

    We’ve all seen it, but on the 50 year anniversary it deserves another look.

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
  44. lenscrafters Jun 15,2020 6:40 pm

    Trevor Bauer is…spot on?

    • Future Ed Jun 15,2020 6:59 pm || Up

      Bauer and bregman are polar opposites. I hate half of their personality and love the other.

      I have $5. No I don\'t.
  45. Future Ed Jun 15,2020 7:05 pm

    for the shelter in place, my court set up goto meeting sowe can conduct court business. Today we restarted “regular court” but with social distancing and stuff. that included allowing lawyers to appear in court by goto meeting.

    My judge this morning said we had to start using the video option when our cases were being discussed. Needless to say the blue of my cut offs clashed with the blue buttondown that was closest too me.

    The yellow bowtie goes with anything.

    I have $5. No I don\'t.
    • batgirl Jun 16,2020 12:05 pm || Up

      Do you have juries? What happens to them?

      • Future Ed Jun 16,2020 1:51 pm || Up

        august is our target. The supreme court of CA declared an emergency extending speedy trial deadlines through july.

        Jury panels are a minimum of 60 people coming in sitting shoulder to shoulder waiting to be put in the jury box for voir dire. that can’t happen even in august.

        My assumption is (i declined to be on the committee to figure jury service out) is hardships sorted out before hand, and questionnaires will be sent out first. then about 30 people willbe brought in to be qualified for the jury.

        Its going to be a shit show

        I have $5. No I don\'t.
        • batgirl Jun 18,2020 12:01 pm || Up

          I was scheduled for Jury duty the Monday after shelter in place started, so I’m curious to see if I’ll be called right away when they resume in Alameda County. This doesn’t sound fun.

          • sslinger Jun 18,2020 12:36 pm || Up

            Me too! I was supposed to go to the courthouse in Dublin.

  46. Glorious Mundy Jun 16,2020 12:32 pm

    So, what with right-wing terrorists, one of them active military, having killed two Bay Area cops to try to spark a Civil War reboot, maybe law enforcement will start recognizing where the real threat to their safety comes from? Too much to hope for?

    • Future Ed Jun 16,2020 1:53 pm || Up

      Damon was a good guy. This really sucked. I am so glad he hired private counsel.

      I have $5. No I don\'t.
    • andeux Jun 16,2020 2:10 pm || Up

      Way too much to hope for. Same deal with gun control too.

      TINSTAAFK
    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 16,2020 2:14 pm || Up

      It seems so obvious, and it’s been this way for at least 10 years now, premeditated attacks on cops are far more likely to come from rightist militia types than imagined antifa cells or criminal gangs.

      Then, I’ve also never understood how any city cop anywhere can be an NRA 2nd amendment type, yet it’s still commonplace.

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
  47. Soaker Jun 17,2020 12:51 pm

    That’s the best they’re going to do. With three 10-team “leagues”, it’s 20 three-game series, two per week for 10 weeks. A home-and-home with eight of the other nine teams (=48 games), and two home-and-homes between “natural rivals” (=12 games). Season ends as scheduled on Sept. 27. Eliminate the extra off days in the postseason and even with a 16-team postseason, 5-game series in the first two rounds and then 7-game semifinals and World Series can still be done by the end of October.

    Because 60/162 at pro-rated salary is the maximum guarantee they were willing to give.

    Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 17,2020 12:54 pm || Up

      Given the positive COVID tests of Cowboys and Texans players reported this week I am growing more skeptical of MLB’s plans, even if they get player-owner agreement. What happens if Altuve Bregmann and Verlander all test positive a week into the season? You know, other than the acknowledgment of karma.

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
      • Soaker Jun 17,2020 1:04 pm || Up

        I hope the A’s have a great “season” but there’s no way I can invest much interest in 60 games. I’ll watch some of it with casual interest but nowhere near the usual passion for every game, and if the whole thing implodes, blah.

        Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
        • 5Aces Jun 17,2020 1:10 pm || Up

          I’ll watch if for no other reason than the last few weeks have shown me I dont want to watch anything else on TV at this time.

          Camelot sure fell apart, didn't it? -Steve McCatty
      • andeux Jun 17,2020 1:26 pm || Up
        TINSTAAFK
        • andeux Jun 19,2020 10:36 am || Up

          Five Phillies, plus three staff members.

          TINSTAAFK
      • lenscrafters Jun 17,2020 3:17 pm || Up

        I’m not sure what the plans for spring training 2.0 are but if the idea is to get everyone down in Arizona again where COVID seems to be escalating, this could all get shut down again if/when players test positive a week into it.

        • sslinger Jun 17,2020 3:32 pm || Up

          Yeah, I’m with andeux and don’t see any way this is going to happen.

          • Future Ed Jun 17,2020 4:44 pm || Up

            Is it possible to have 30 light hitting 2b?

            I have $5. No I don\'t.
  48. FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 17,2020 12:58 pm

    I of course hope the John Bolton’s book does further damage to Trump’s reelection prospects. But first hand knowledge of multiple impeachable offenses would have been a lot more useful back in January. Man, fuck that warmonger and the mustache he rode in on.

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
    • Glorious Mundy Jun 17,2020 1:12 pm || Up

      Yeah, this. Especially fuck this business about “the Democrats should have impeached him for the stuff I refused to tell anyone about before my book came out.”

    • Soaker Jun 17,2020 5:54 pm || Up

      It sounds like censorship would be the best possible thing that could happen to this book. NYT Book Review

      “The Room Where It Happened,” an account of his 17 months as Trump’s national security adviser, has been written with so little discernible attention to style and narrative form that he apparently presumes an audience that is hanging on his every word.

      Known as a fastidious note taker, Bolton has filled this book’s nearly 500 pages with minute and often extraneous details, including the time and length of routine meetings and even, at one point, a nap….The book is bloated with self-importance, even though what it mostly recounts is Bolton not being able to accomplish very much. It toggles between two discordant registers: exceedingly tedious and slightly unhinged.

      Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
      • andeux Jun 17,2020 7:18 pm || Up

        exceedingly tedious and slightly unhinged

        Tagline!

        TINSTAAFK
  49. FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 17,2020 1:08 pm
    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
    • AV Jun 18,2020 1:54 pm || Up

      bold extra wide is the technical term.

      *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
  50. Glorious Mundy Jun 18,2020 12:47 pm

    ICIP air-raid siren in Shotgun Blasts into the Face

    • andeux Jun 18,2020 12:52 pm || Up

      Did you double on dog whistle?

      TINSTAAFK
      • AV Jun 18,2020 1:52 pm || Up

        i like the new distinction. republicans OR conservatives.

        *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
    • AV Jun 18,2020 1:53 pm || Up

      what’s ICIP? my first glance, i read ICYMI.

      *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
      • andeux Jun 18,2020 2:11 pm || Up

        “In college I played…”
        mb running gag.

        TINSTAAFK
        • AV Jun 18,2020 3:03 pm || Up

          riiiiiiiiight.

          [scrambles for golf clap in-joke] [doesn’t remember it]

          *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
          • sslinger Jun 18,2020 3:30 pm || Up

            ASVD (Annika Sorenstam…). I too had forgotten ICIP, and when I looked it up one version is I Come In Peace.

            • AV Jun 19,2020 9:19 pm || Up

              i get a lot of the int’l conference on image processing.

              *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
  51. ptbnl Jun 18,2020 1:29 pm

    Does anyone know Oakland’s rules on sidewalk repairs?

    Am I liable as the home-owner? If (as I think) so, am I supposed to just fix it myself, or call the city to fix it and get billed, or what?

    If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
    • Soaker Jun 18,2020 1:59 pm || Up

      I haven’t had occasion to look up anything in the Official Baseball Rules this year so let me keep my skills sharp by trying this one:

      1. Yes, this is the homeowner’s responsibility.

      12.04.380 – Sidewalk inspection, replacement, and compliance certificates.
      1.Responsibility. The property owner shall be responsible for inspecting sidewalks and curb ramps, obtaining all required permits, performing all necessary sidewalk and curb ramp repair or replacement, scheduling inspections, obtaining and filing with the City a compliance certificate for the entire sidewalk when one (1) or more of the following events occurs:

      C.Unsafe Condition Becomes Known. When the property owner becomes aware of an unsafe sidewalk condition, or when the property owner is notified by the City of an unsafe sidewalk condition.

      2. You’ll need to hire a contractor.

      The City will repair curb ramps and sidewalks to provide access to essential services for people with disabilities….These programs are not intended to address community concerns other than access for people with disabilities and do not make repairs that are the responsibility of private property owners.

      Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
      • Glorious Mundy Jun 18,2020 3:10 pm || Up

        Man I miss MLB Rulebook Analysis FK.

        • Soaker Jun 18,2020 3:41 pm || Up

          While ptbnl endeavored to solve the mysteries of the origins of the universe, Soaker plowed through the Oakland Municipal Code to determine the obligations of various parties in regard to sidewalk repair.

          I had better plans for today, but last night I noticed a pool of water on the kitchen floor. Upon getting down on hands and knees and exploring the area under the kitchen sink with a flashlight, considerable profanity was expelled. So I got to sit around for much of the day and eventually made a nice contribution to the Covid-19 impacted local economy.

          Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
      • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 18,2020 5:36 pm || Up

        In practice, subsection C (Unsafe Condition Becomes Known) is the key. If you haven’t been notified by the City, or by a neighbor in some formal way, or had an actual trip-and-fall incident, no one with the City will care.

        "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
        • ptbnl Jun 18,2020 7:46 pm || Up

          It’s been reported to the city, and we have a new crazy neighbor who has hinted that they plan to trip.

          What I don’t understand is what we actually do about it – can we just pull up the offending (root-lifted) slab so there isn’t a trip hazard?

          If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
          • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 18,2020 8:09 pm || Up

            Your only real question is whether you’re resolved to fix it. Now, as guard against litigiousness, or later if/when the City tells you to. After that take 2-3 bids and choose a contractor. You can’t possibly determine the cheap path to compliance without incurring more liability yourself.

            "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
            • Soaker Jun 19,2020 10:06 am || Up

              Chapter 12.22 is more specific than what I posted above as to the property owner’s obligations and liability. It sounds like something that has to be addressed sooner or later. I’d probably put up a cone or caution sign, spray paint the hazard area and get about looking for a qualified contractor to get the work done. The language about assessment for cost of repair appears to apply to the situations where the property owner refuses to make the repair within a reasonable time after the notice.

              For reference, here’s Chapter 22 of Division 7, Part 3 of the Streets and Highways Code as referred to in the Municipal Code, but the City code tells you what you need to know. I spent many hours poring through the Streets and Highways Code back in my title insurance days and I can’t say I miss that much.

              Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
              • ptbnl Jun 19,2020 10:56 am || Up

                Oooof … there’s a lot to digest in there.

                If I read it right, 12.04.110 says I can’t do any work without either getting a permit or (since it’s a small area) waiting for notice from the SoS/DPW, and 12.04.020 says I have 3 days after receiving such notice to start the repairs.

                If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
                • Soaker Jun 19,2020 11:19 am || Up

                  In practice I’d think you will have up to 90 days, under 12.22.020(D).

                  Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 5614 of the State Streets and Highways Code and Chapter 12.04 of this Code, the Director of Public Works, or such other City Official as may be designated by the City Administrator, may in his or her discretion, and for sufficient cause, extend the period within which required maintenance and repair of sidewalk areas must commence by a period of not to exceed ninety (90) days from the time the notice referred to in said Section 5614 is given.

                  Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
                • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 19,2020 1:43 pm || Up

                  I would wait until you get official notice from the City. One of the worst outcomes would be to try and be proactive, spend money on a fix, then get told you had to do it differently. This happens A LOT with municipal repairs.

                  You probably know this already, but you should also document every interaction with the neighbor with detailed notes. Each instance demonstrates his/her foreknowledge of the condition which could be helpful to a legal case down the line.

                  "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
                • Future Ed Jun 19,2020 4:11 pm || Up

                  we put metal tube bollards in front of gas meters in the garage so I can park. poured concrete in 8′ pipe.

                  when PG&E was out to do something or other, like smart meters or something, one guy quipped, “these even look like they may be to code!”

                  I have $5. No I don\'t.
  52. Soaker Jun 18,2020 4:34 pm

    The disagreement being about the three batter minimum rule, which Slusser despises.

    Treacherous chasms of half-truth and despair. -- Ken Korach
  53. sslinger Jun 18,2020 11:07 pm

    Watched this discussion on race in baseball tonight. Good, not great (yes, there is a lot of Harold Reynolds being Harold Reynolds). But it was good to hear from some of the young African American voices, and getting Sharon Robinson to participate was a big plus. I hope there are follow-ups, and it would be great if they included some latinx players too.

  54. Glorious Mundy Jun 19,2020 7:49 am

    @sslinger, not an IGer myself, but this could be interesting.

    • sslinger Jun 19,2020 10:50 am || Up

      Thanks, I saw this too. Likewise, I don’t use IG but I’m going to see if it’s possible to watch this without signing up.

  55. lenscrafters Jun 19,2020 11:23 am

    This is not looking good.

  56. Glorious Mundy Jun 19,2020 10:21 pm

    Dumbfucks apparently took down a statue of Ulysses Grant in Golden Gate Park. Absolute idiots.

  57. FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 19,2020 10:37 pm

    Gambling game theory question for the FKhorus. A promo my horse betting platform has tomorrow will put $500 in the accounts of four random players 20 minutes before each of the 12 races on the Belmont card. It’s only valid for the next race, you have to bet it all, any winnings are yours but the initial $500 goes away.

    I’m thinking the optimal bet is high probability, low reward. Like $500 on the favorite to Show (3rd or better) which might pay $550. As opposed, say, to a $4 trifecta box with 6 horses (120 possible combos) which could pay anywhere between $80 and $2,000. Any of you math-types bored enough to offer ideas? How much does the size of the field (6 horses versus 12 horses, say) influence the optimal strategy?

    The card starts at 8:45 AM our time. The Belmont Stakes is at 2:40 PM. I think the fave Tiz The Law wins easy and will be betting a trifecta with him over Sole Volante and a few others

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
    • andeux Jun 19,2020 11:45 pm || Up

      What you’re asking isn’t entirely a math question. Optimal depends on 1) what you’re trying to optimize, which depends on how risk-tolerant you are; and 2) how good your own handicapping is.

      The simplest answer is to try to maximize expected value. That basically means just making the bet where you think the true odds are better than what you’re getting by the biggest amount. But if you’re not a better-than-average handicapper, all bets have negative expectation. That’s kind of obvious, and probably not the answer you’re looking for.

      A more risk-averse strategy would be to try to maximize the expected value of the logarithm (as in the Kelly Criterion). For that, you would have to spread it across multiple bets, to make sure that you do not lose all of it. The absolute lowest-risk thing to do would be bet the whole field, in proportion to their odds, ensuring you walk away with around $420 ($500 minus the vig). That’s the right play if you’re risk averse and also don’t trust your handicapping, and so in practice would be unsatisfying to anyone who actually likes to play the horses.

      What you suggest (betting on the favorite to show) might be optimal if your goal is to maximize the chances of walking away with at least the $500. (Still conservative, but slightly higher-risk and higher-reward.)

      Psychologically, I would think some people would go to the other extreme: figure that they’re playing with house money, so bet on some high-risk high-reward bet and if (when) it loses, they’re no worse off than they were in the morning.

      Anyway, this was probably not very helpful. You might just ask Primera who she thinks will win.

      TINSTAAFK
      • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 20,2020 8:57 am || Up

        My main goal would be to turn the chance of money into actual money. I hadn’t considered betting the whole field proportionally to the odds. Might do that if it happens in a race I haven’t analyzed at all. But if it’s one I’ve looked at, you’re right that it’s more fun to take some risk/but some faith in my handicapping.

        Primera has gone vegan and is reluctant to make horse picks anymore, alas. Damn woke culture taking away my profit potential.

        "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
        • ptbnl Jun 20,2020 10:28 am || Up

          I understood the deal to be that you only got to keep the winnings *above* the free $500.

          If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
          • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 20,2020 10:40 am || Up

            Keep all the winnings, return the $500 seed capital.

            "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
            • Glorious Mundy Jun 20,2020 11:06 am || Up

              So this is like you are getting freerolled in a poker tournament. Seems to me your play is to make a high risk/high reward bet (or bets) that you wouldn’t make with your own money. Upside you walk away with several grand, downside you break even.

              If you take a risk-averse approach, maybe you can give yourself a highish chance of winning $100 or less, but when the risk of loss is zero either way, I’m going high variance.

            • andeux Jun 20,2020 11:08 am || Up

              Oh, I missed that part. Duh.
              In that case, betting the whole field doesn’t make sense as it ensures a loss.
              I’m thinking about this some more, but GM may be right.

              TINSTAAFK
            • andeux Jun 20,2020 11:45 am || Up

              OK, I hope I get it right this time.

              Let’s consider a regular $500 parimutuel bet with a 1/n chance of winning.
              That means (n-1) out of n times, you lose your $500.
              If there were no takeout, then the 1/n time that you did win, the ticket would be worth 500*n, for a profit of 500*(n-1).
              Overall the expected value of the bet would be 0 (no matter what n is).

              But there is actually a 16% takeout. So when it wins the winning ticket actually is worth 420*n, for a profit of (420*n – 500).
              Overall the expected value of the bet is -80 (again, no matter what n is):
              1/n*[420*n – 500] + (n-1)/n * [-500] = -80

              But in this setup, where the seed money is given and we keep the profit above that seed money, we are interested only in the expected value of the profit, without worrying about the loss:
              This is
              1/n*[420*n – 500] = 420 – 500/n
              This increases as n increases. So if you are risk-tolerant and want to maximize expected value (and don’t think you have an edge in handicapping), you would bet on the longest shot on the board.
              [I’m just considering regular bets here. Exotics can have even longer odds, but I think they also have larger takeouts, so the cap on the expected value is lower.]

              But the increase in expected value also comes with a corresponding increase in variance, so considerations of risk tolerance still apply. If your goal is just to maximize the chance of walking away with some profit, then you would obviously do the opposite, and bet on the favorite.
              Also note that while that function increases with n, it does so more slowly as n gets large. That would suggest that even if you are risk-tolerant, you might still prefer an intermediate strategy.

              TINSTAAFK
              • ptbnl Jun 20,2020 1:02 pm || Up

                Can you address the variance by making a large number of small, high-risk bets (presumably exotics, to be able to fit enough of them in a single race)?

                If this is His will, He's a son of a bitch.
              • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 20,2020 1:38 pm || Up

                This is fascinating, thank you all. No opportunity so far through first 8 races.

                As I ponder as a hypothetical I’m still inclined wager conservatively to maximize chance of some profit. However, if the $500 was actually put in front of me I can imagine impulsively going for the big score.

                BTW Primera likes #1 Tap It To Win, turns out.

                "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
                • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 20,2020 2:14 pm || Up

                  Barring receipt of 500 magic beans, my more modest ticket will be $5 exacta 8/2,9 and $1 tri 8/1,2,4,9/1,2,4,9. $22.

                  "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
                • andeux Jun 20,2020 2:37 pm || Up

                  Should that be the 8 on top of your tri?

                  My $2 win bet is on #10 Pneumatic at 17:1

                  TINSTAAFK
                • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 20,2020 2:44 pm || Up

                  Fixed yes thanks. Man every other price on the board looks great if you see an angle you like. Tiz The Law just looks so much the best to me.

                  "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
                • andeux Jun 20,2020 2:48 pm || Up

                  Looks like your 8/9 paid but probably not great odds.

                  TINSTAAFK
                • andeux Jun 20,2020 2:58 pm || Up

                  $19.60 x 2.5 = $49. Nice.

                  TINSTAAFK
                • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 20,2020 3:09 pm || Up

                  Minus the trifecta still a nice win. Backing faves isn’t my preferred style but I’ll take it.

                  What I really like is to back a live longshot in a pace play. Also Nick Cave and Peaky Blinders. So I’ve got $5 on #4 Red Right Hand at 12-1 to go gate-to-wire to win the next race.

                  "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
  58. Future Ed Jun 19,2020 10:41 pm

    I still get mad about hamel

    I have $5. No I don\'t.
  59. FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 20,2020 1:46 pm

    Nothing says Law and Order President like firing prosecutors.

    "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
    • andeux Jun 20,2020 2:29 pm || Up

      That story is great: they fired Bharara and installed this guy Berman who was a Republican loyalist. But they also didn’t want him to have to go through confirmation hearings, so officially he was appointed “temporarily” (over two years ago) by the judges in that circuit.
      Now he has ended up prosecuting Michael Cohen, Parnas and Fruman, and is looking into Giuliani and some banking stuff that will further embarrass Trump, so they want to get rid of him. But he refused to resign, and Barr can’t fire him because of the way he was appointed. (Trump maybe can, but in his typical mix of corrupt and incompetent, is claiming he is not involved.)

      Tying the threads together, “Tiz the Law” seems like a bad name at this point in history.

      TINSTAAFK
      • Future Ed Jun 20,2020 3:13 pm || Up

        Not the worst thing by a long shot, but how is it that trump supporters love his tagline and associate him with it, but he is too much of a coward to actually fire someone?

        I have $5. No I don\'t.
      • andeux Jun 20,2020 6:47 pm || Up

        Apparently he has agreed to resign after all, after Barr pinkie-swore not to interfere in the ongoing investigations. That will work out great, I’m sure.

        TINSTAAFK
  60. Glorious Mundy Jun 20,2020 5:11 pm

    Setting up the outdoor stage for a big speech to the overflow crowd and then having to take it down because you only got an Early May Tuesday Night Coliseum Crowd to show up at all is phenomenal advance work.

    • FreeSeatUpgrade Jun 20,2020 5:51 pm || Up

      Old adage in political campaigns is to never book a room you can’t fill.

      "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."
      • Future Ed Jun 20,2020 8:29 pm || Up

        I don’t understand if the kpop fan getting tickets is true, how did the campaign not know they were the same ip addresses?

        Isn’t the database they are setting up the idea for allowing all people to get tickets? How were there not 20K in tulsa and environs that wanted to go?

        I have $5. No I don\'t.
        • Glorious Mundy Jun 20,2020 8:43 pm || Up

          Most of the people running the campaign are primarily focused on scamming as much money from it as they can before it is over or they get fired is my theory.

          • andeux Jun 20,2020 9:57 pm || Up

            Well, someone’s getting fired tomorrow.

            TINSTAAFK
            • andeux Jun 22,2020 10:37 am || Up
              TINSTAAFK
              • Glorious Mundy Jun 22,2020 10:48 am || Up

                Miller, the guy who was fired during the transition for his strip club outings and his intra-campaign staff affair resulting in a baby, is apparently back in the Trump saddle. Neat.

              • andeux Jul 15,2020 6:30 pm || Up
                TINSTAAFK
                • AV Jul 15,2020 6:44 pm || Up

                  and the how of it.

                  bluechecks locked out on twtr, so he had to go to FB.

                  *i’m* AV. alex vause. put this loon in psych before she hurts someone.
  61. Future Ed Jun 20,2020 8:26 pm

    Off topic, I love these gifs, makes me think about how much better baseball is now

    I have $5. No I don\'t.

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