CHRIS

Well yes, that part as well. I was an advocate of him winning the last two seasons as well. I just worry that if he doesn't win it this season, the fact that he hasn't won will take on a life of its own.

This isn't terrible if don't also have Gose in CF and Pillar in LF, and you have a non-useless middle infielder on the bench. I could probably also handle Goins at short and a Gose/Pillar platoon in CF. Just don't think you can punt any more spots in the batting order than that though.

No, not all these guys; just the guys that knock their fiancées unconscious in an elevator and DGAF, and the guys who beat their children with tree branches after stuffing their mouths full of leaves.

Trout needs to win so that the Mike-Trout-Snub-Watch doesn't become a thing.

A run-in? This wasn't a case of jaywalking while intoxicated. He stuffed leaves in his four-year-old's mouth to muffle the cries while he beat him 15+ times with a tree branch.

This thread is still going strong: http://www.bluejaysmessageboard.com/threads/3793-Offseason-roster-thread-2014 It hasn't even been hijacked by a Moogy vs "I'm-smarter-than-you" drama!

Way to stick to the message, NFL.

This is exactly right; choosing a punishment and sticking to it is very effective. The problem is that many parents make the threat and then don't follow through. Kids are smart enough to figure this out.

Hopefully that's not retroactive to when the ban /lock should have happened.

I can concede that in some cases, based on the age of the child, and how the spanking is administered, that it might not be classified as abuse...but I was under the impression that this was a very young kid, maybe 4 years old? I have a 5 year old, and there's no way he'd be able to comprehend physical discipline, or be able to learn from it. The worst part for me is that I've heard my kids yells when they've been hurt, and I've heard what it sounds like when they are legitimately afraid like when they have nightmares. I can just imagine the sound his child made the first time he got hit with the switch. For AP to hear that sound, and then be able to continue to hit him some more turns my stomach. He should at least get what Ray Rice got, if not more.

There are many things "accepted" in places that are clearly reprehensible. Even a single hit that doesn't leave a lasting bruise is still abuse. Personally as a parent, I can't imagine a more serious breach of trust between two human beings. In my mind, this is worse than the Ray Rice ordeal. At least Janay Rice is a grown up capable of making the decision to leave a bad situation. Children are pretty much completely dependant on their parents, and have no mechanism of removing themselves from the situation. Surely we don't need a video of Adrian Peterson beating his kid to get a full appreciation of how terrible this is.

It is possible to establish the idea of facing consequences for actions without resorting to physical means. Timeouts are pretty useless, if that's the extent of the punishment. A grown man hitting a child is indefensible in my opinion.

I'm not sure what the criteria is for having threads locked, but I've got to think this one has turned into a pretty solid candidate.

A nice little week for my Eagles; a storm back win and a loss from everyone else.

Personally I don't see a problem having Lind on this roster at that amount. Strong bat against RHP; legit pinch hitting option off the bench when a LHP starts; passable at 1B. If he gets his physical activity level up to 25-28 minutes a day, he could be a real threat.

I'm not sure why everyone is giving Wilner a hard time with this. Obviously what he wrote can and has been better articulated by those with a stronger numerical background, but he posted his article knowing exactly who his audience is. I think the intent of his article was to get people thinking about a concept rather than arriving at a fact-based conclusion about said concept. Compared to his let's-multiply-everyone's-numbers-by-four piece at the quarter mark of the season, this article is pure gold.

I was at the game tonight. Saw some guy with a Corey Patterson jersey. How does that happen?

It's not wrong, it's just unlikely to happen. Making the "right moves" isn't a matter of being patient and waiting for our turn to have things go well. It's also not akin to a light switch where one day they just flip a switch and stop making bad decisions. It's ultimately a matter of competency, and this organization, from the top-down just does a lot of things wrong. That's not to say that they do everything wrong, but rather that they do enough wrong to keep this team consistently not good.

In theory, I don't disagree, but this past offseason was the time for these smart decisions and non-half-assery. It didn't happen. We started the season with McGowan in the rotation and Goins at 2B. What does next year look like? All of the guys on the wrong side of 30 are another year older and more expensive. "Smart decisions" are a relative term. In the recent past, this organization's "smart decisions" were to forgo free agency spending in favour of trading away assets to acquire guys making free agency money. The "smart decisions" included spending millions on Francisco Cordero because saves. The "smart decisions" included not trading away top prospects for guys like Latos and Gio Gonzalez, in favour of trading away top prospects for R.A. Dickey. I'm not sure what track record you're looking at that indicates that this organization has the acumen for making the actual "smart decisions" that will improve this team. Certainly, there are some nice pieces here, both veteran-wise and youth-wise, but I have yet to see any indication that this organization has the wherewithal to bring it all together.

Blow it up.

While it would have been nice to win this year, I guess we'll just win next year. #TheBeest

All part of the plan.

LET'S GO RANGERS! CLAP CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP LET'S GO RANGERS! CLAP CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP LET'S GO RANGERS! CLAP CLAP, CLAP CLAP CLAP ...etc.

Anyone remember from the Clemens era when the Jays as a team decided to bleach blond their hair in an act of solidarity and then immediately went into the toilet? Good times.

It's not really surprising, the Jays just seem really defeated. Good luck!