CJ Wilson thread: Signed by Angels 5/$77.5 million pg 10

[Yeti]

My beef is with the idea of a millionaire athlete turning down becoming even more of a millionaire primarily because of a state or city's gun laws (if he's actually serious). If the guy wants to own guns, hey, great, go right ahead.

 

thing about that is, he'll get the money no matter where he goes, why not have everything he wants in a home?

 

gun ownership in Il. is a serious pain in the ass, hell, you need a card just to look at a gun in a gun shop, there are many types of weapons that are illegal in Il but not in other states, the restrictions are arbitrary...screw all that. you may be willing to roll over and put a bow on your rights as you hand them over, but many ppl, myself included, just wont.

[Sammy Sofa]

But again, he's a millionaire; he doesn't even have to live here year round, and he's certainly not going to be here for the rest of his life. It's not like it's impossible for him to have guns here for self-protection if that's what he wants them for. It's not like his collection would be lost by him playing here for a few years.

 

Look, I'm not saying he has to deal with this, but if the Cubs have the best offer and he actually turns it down because of the gun laws here, well, I guess I just don't understand that at all. "Pain in the ass" they may be, let's not start pretending like Illinois is some kind of gun-free police state. If he wants to have guns here he'd be able to do so.

[Sammy Sofa]

And I don't know what mbc was talking about before, but this...

 

you may be willing to roll over and put a bow on your rights as you hand them over

 

...is a dumb thing to say to me.

[Sammy Sofa]

Man, this site is running like [expletive] these days.

[Yeti]

But again, he's a millionaire; he doesn't even have to live here year round, and he's certainly not going to be here for the rest of his life. It's not like it's impossible for him to have guns here for self-protection if that's what he wants them for. It's not like his collection would be lost by him playing here for a few years.

 

Look, I'm not saying he has to deal with this, but if the Cubs have the best offer and he actually turns it down because of the gun laws here, well, I guess I just don't understand that at all.

many gun owners sort of hold a grudge against anti-gun policies and it manifests itself more often than not, as an economic boycott, that could be at play here, maybe he see's this as a chance to try to open a debate on gun control...just spit ballin' here. i can't say i wouldn't do the same

[TruffleShuffle]

But again, he's a millionaire; he doesn't even have to live here year round, and he's certainly not going to be here for the rest of his life. It's not like it's impossible for him to have guns here for self-protection if that's what he wants them for. It's not like his collection would be lost by him playing here for a few years.

 

Look, I'm not saying he has to deal with this, but if the Cubs have the best offer and he actually turns it down because of the gun laws here, well, I guess I just don't understand that at all.

many gun owners sort of hold a grudge against anti-gun policies and it manifests itself more often than not, as an economic boycott, that could be at play here, maybe he see's this as a chance to try to open a debate on gun control...just spit ballin' here. i can't say i wouldn't do the same

 

there's a 99% chance you're giving him way too much credit. and america's gun policies are not anti-gun compared with basically anywhere else in the world.

[javy knows my name]

Googling for the Sun-Times article, I found out that CJ Wilson is, oddly enough, apparently liberal and voted Obama in '08.

are you saying that liberals dont own guns? i own several and am quite liberal. i also would never move to chicago permanently, partly because of the strict gun control laws

BeertownCubbie and Nuts&Gum think you are a moron.

 

No, I think the professional baseball player who sounds like a moron is a moron.

[Magnetic Curses]

Is it surprising to find out he's liberal because he likes guns?

 

He also doesn't drink, smoke, or do drugs...one of those straightedgers. Also, he's a really good pitcher who compiles K's, doesn't give up HRs, and does it all throwing left handed.

 

if you don't drink, smoke, or do drugs there's definitely something very wrong with you.

[javy knows my name]

Is it surprising to find out he's liberal because he likes guns?

 

He also doesn't drink, smoke, or do drugs...one of those straightedgers. Also, he's a really good pitcher who compiles K's, doesn't give up HRs, and does it all throwing left handed.

 

if you don't drink, smoke, or do drugs there's definitely something very wrong with you.

 

HIGH FIVE

[wekse]

Is it surprising to find out he's liberal because he likes guns?

 

He also doesn't drink, smoke, or do drugs...one of those straightedgers. Also, he's a really good pitcher who compiles K's, doesn't give up HRs, and does it all throwing left handed.

 

if you don't drink, smoke, or do drugs there's definitely something very wrong with you.

 

HIGH FIVE

 

high high five!

Edited October 7, 2011 by wekse

[davearm2]

But again, he's a millionaire; he doesn't even have to live here year round, and he's certainly not going to be here for the rest of his life. It's not like it's impossible for him to have guns here for self-protection if that's what he wants them for. It's not like his collection would be lost by him playing here for a few years.

 

Look, I'm not saying he has to deal with this, but if the Cubs have the best offer and he actually turns it down because of the gun laws here, well, I guess I just don't understand that at all. "Pain in the ass" they may be, let's not start pretending like Illinois is some kind of gun-free police state. If he wants to have guns here he'd be able to do so.

It's very easy to understand, actually.

 

The guy's going to have way more money than he will ever need regardless, so he may as well go wherever he will be happiest with the lifestyle.

 

You've heard of the hometown discount, right? Well maybe now we have a gun-town discount.

[tfarks]

Guns are fun to shoot. He should stay in Texas and shoot at things all year round instead of coming up to Chicago to lose a lot.

[Sammy Sofa]

It's very easy to understand, actually.

 

The guy's going to have way more money than he will ever need regardless, so he may as well go wherever he will be happiest with the lifestyle.

 

You've heard of the hometown discount, right? Well maybe now we have a gun-town discount.

 

That's fantastic. If that's what he really wants and he's truly that concerned about any "real" restrictions (and I use that VERY loosely since this is America we're talking about) about owning a [expletive]-ton of guns then he's probably just going to stay in Texas because the only other major market that would be anywhere comparable would be DC (since he'd almost certainly be living in Virginia and not DC itself). If guns are that important to him that they so severely limit his options as to where he'll sign when he has the opportunity to make a huge market splash, well, that's his call. I just don't understand it. It's not like he'd be moving to some gun-free police state. It's all just along a relatively short scale of being able to own a [expletive] huge pile of guns.

[Magnetic Curses]

Is it surprising to find out he's liberal because he likes guns?

 

He also doesn't drink, smoke, or do drugs...one of those straightedgers. Also, he's a really good pitcher who compiles K's, doesn't give up HRs, and does it all throwing left handed.

 

if you don't drink, smoke, or do drugs there's definitely something very wrong with you.

 

HIGH FIVE

 

high high five!

 

i mean, why even be alive?

[davearm2]

It's very easy to understand, actually.

 

The guy's going to have way more money than he will ever need regardless, so he may as well go wherever he will be happiest with the lifestyle.

 

You've heard of the hometown discount, right? Well maybe now we have a gun-town discount.

 

That's fantastic. If that's what he really wants and he's truly that concerned about any "real" restrictions (and I use that VERY loosely since this is America we're talking about) about owning a [expletive] of guns then he's probably just going to stay in Texas because the only other major market that would be anywhere comparable would be DC (since he'd almost certainly be living in Virginia and not DC itself). If guns are that important to him that they so severely limit his options as to where he'll sign when he has the opportunity to make a huge market splash, well, that's his call. I just don't understand it. It's not like he'd be moving to some gun-free police state. It's all just along a relatively short scale of being able to own a [expletive] huge pile of guns.

And I don't understand what it is you don't understand. Sounds like the guy has some different priorities than you. Why is that confusing?

[Elrhino]

He's an idiosyncratic guy. He seems to be really happy and content in Texas (gun laws included). He's also a fan favorite. I would be surprised if he leaves Texas as long as he gets a fair market offer. The Rangers new deep pocket owners are still smarting after losing out on Cliff Lee, and don't want to go back to back offseasons of losing their staff ace in free agency, so I don't think that will be an issue. Edited October 7, 2011 by Elrhino

[Yeti]

 

there's a 99% chance you're giving him way too much credit. and america's gun policies are not anti-gun compared with basically anywhere else in the world.

 

it is certainly possible that i am giving him too much credit, but clearly gun laws are important to the guy. illinois has some of the worst gun laws in the nation, i dont find it a far stretch that someone would choose to not live there for that reason. the second amendment states that our right to bear arms "shall not be infringed," many people in this country take that very seriously and are more than willing to take less money to live somewhere with more relaxed gun laws.

 

EDIT: quote fail

[Yeti]

And I don't know what mbc was talking about before, but this...

 

you may be willing to roll over and put a bow on your rights as you hand them over

 

...is a dumb thing to say to me.

i knew you'd enjoy that, i was chuckling as i typed it.

[jersey cubs fan]

 

there's a 99% chance you're giving him way too much credit. and america's gun policies are not anti-gun compared with basically anywhere else in the world.

 

it is certainly possible that i am giving him too much credit, but clearly gun laws are important to the guy. illinois has some of the worst gun laws in the nation, i dont find it a far stretch that someone would choose to not live there for that reason. the second amendment states that our right to bear arms "shall not be infringed," many people in this country take that very seriously and are more than willing to take less money to live somewhere with more relaxed gun laws.

 

EDIT: quote fail

 

define worst

[Sammy Sofa]

It's very easy to understand, actually.

 

The guy's going to have way more money than he will ever need regardless, so he may as well go wherever he will be happiest with the lifestyle.

 

You've heard of the hometown discount, right? Well maybe now we have a gun-town discount.

 

That's fantastic. If that's what he really wants and he's truly that concerned about any "real" restrictions (and I use that VERY loosely since this is America we're talking about) about owning a [expletive] of guns then he's probably just going to stay in Texas because the only other major market that would be anywhere comparable would be DC (since he'd almost certainly be living in Virginia and not DC itself). If guns are that important to him that they so severely limit his options as to where he'll sign when he has the opportunity to make a huge market splash, well, that's his call. I just don't understand it. It's not like he'd be moving to some gun-free police state. It's all just along a relatively short scale of being able to own a [expletive] huge pile of guns.

And I don't understand what it is you don't understand. Sounds like the guy has some different priorities than you. Why is that confusing?

 

I don't understand why you don't understand that "I don't understand" in this case means "it's a mentality that he and I do not share, therefore I do not have a frame of reference for understanding." Understand?

[Yeti]

 

there's a 99% chance you're giving him way too much credit. and america's gun policies are not anti-gun compared with basically anywhere else in the world.

 

it is certainly possible that i am giving him too much credit, but clearly gun laws are important to the guy. illinois has some of the worst gun laws in the nation, i dont find it a far stretch that someone would choose to not live there for that reason. the second amendment states that our right to bear arms "shall not be infringed," many people in this country take that very seriously and are more than willing to take less money to live somewhere with more relaxed gun laws.

 

EDIT: quote fail

 

define worst

[Sammy Sofa]

He's an idiosyncratic guy. He seems to be really happy and content in Texas (gun laws included). He's also a fan favorite. I would be surprised if he leaves Texas as long as he gets a fair market offer. The Rangers new deep pocket owners are still smarting after losing out on Cliff Lee, and don't want to go back to back offseasons of losing their staff ace in free agency, so I don't think that will be an issue.

 

Yeah, if the Rangers can give a comparable offer to what he's getting elsewhere there's little reason for him to jump ship if he's serious about the gun thing. It's pretty much downhill everywhere in that regard in almost every other major market that is going to come calling for him with huge offers.

[Backtobanks]

I still think some team is going to make a ridiculous offer to Wilson and blow everybody else out of the water.

[El Duderino]

I still think some team is going to make a ridiculous offer to Wilson and blow everybody else out of the water.

 

no question. jayson werth-like.

[toonsterwu]

I still think some team is going to make a ridiculous offer to Wilson and blow everybody else out of the water.

 

Thing is, a lot of the big market teams have some other issues to work out.

 

Not saying he won't get a huge deal, just saying I'm not sure he's going to get a "blow everybody else out of the water" deal. I mean, which team? Yankees have the Sabathia issue, and Cashman, provided he isn't overruled by the ownership, is wary of such big contract efforts, by most accounts. Of course, he may view it as their best shot to give the aging core one last run or two.

 

Boston has to work out their contractual issues. If they can clear some dough off, perhaps, but it's going to be awfully hard.

 

St. Louis has to figure out Pujols first and foremoest, and I think they probably prefer Carpenter back for a short term deal.

 

Texas? Perhaps, but do they have blow everybody away money that they can spend?

 

White Sox are rebuilding. The one team that, to the best of my knowledge, has a fair amount of money clearing up and could use a strong 2nd starter as they wait on the kids might be Detroit, but with Verlander, Scherzer, Porcello, Jacob Turner, Doug Fister, they have enough arms already.

 

Actually, from a monetary and future competitiveness standpoint, I really wonder about the Nationals. They have money to spend, and adding CJ Wilson to go with Strasburg and Zimmerman would give them a nasty 1-3, and there's a young offensive core developing.

 

If I had to toss a team in there that I wonder about, the Blue Jays come to mind, but is this an Anthoupoulos move? May be one year too early in his plan to make this move.

 

I wonder how real is all the chatter on the Marlins spending more this winter.

 

Taking a gigantic pivot for a second, in a thread that doesn't really apply, but I wonder if the Twins might shop Scott Baker this offseason? It's a weak market and they have 1 year and 1 option year left. His peripherals have been fairly consistent 3 years in a row. He is coming off an injury, but didn't sound that serious. He's 30, so he's not going to be around to build around. They have to figure out a way to add some pieces. They have some contracts coming off (Nathan if they decline the option would be a big clearing), but I wonder. For the right price, he'd be a guy that I'd have some interest in as a 2/3 type starter in the rotation. I'd bring up James Shields name, but that's a price that is likely to be way too heavy for the Cubs to afford in terms of talent that it would cost.