Agony and Ivy

Really? I don't get it. The White Sox "rivalry" means jack to me. It's not so much the rivalry as it is we are about to go into the most boring week on the sports calendar and we won't get to watch the Cubs for 4 days. I hate the all star break. Also, some [expletive] on ESPN1000 just lamented the fact that Theo traded DJ [expletive] LeMahieu. The Cubs being good is such a double edged sword because there are so many people that should be quietly put down.

Rodon sucks. Doesn't give up a ton of dongs but he can walk the whole ballpark, I expect to be in their crappy bullpen after 4.1 innings.

I took today off just so I could watch this game. Please score runs Cubs.

Beane hasn't made a living of selling off high end pitching with 5 years of control left. He'll wait until the pitcher gets expensive

Sonny Gray is going absolutely nowhere. The thought that he might be traded may be even more laughable than the idea of Sale being traded. Getting an ace isn't a huge priority IMO with Lester and Arrieta already on the staff. Your #3 only starts once in a 5 game series so you don't need to overpay only to have one of Lester, Arrieta [insert random trade guy here] only start one game in a potential divisional series. Give me Kaz and Zobrist. I would like Reddick but we already have one left handed platoon bat in the OF in Coghlan, so I think he's probably redundant. All of this is contingent on the A's selling and I think they have the ability to get back into the AL West race. Beane knows they've been incredibly unlucky thus far, so I'm not sure he will be selling until the last minute, because that division is up for grabs when the Astros come back to earth a bit.

...dead men tell no tales... Maybe the CIA has already doled out the punishment to the organization? Also, they'll get more competitive balance picks because this has been really stressful you guys.

I hate the Cardinals. Like, a lot. But I think Drew Magary hates them more than me. He's originally from Minnesota and his biggest hatred is reserved for the aw shucks faux niceness of midwesterners. Hah. "Minnesota nice" is a real thing too. My personal favorite like was the "we're just simple hackin' folk" I about lost it when I read it. This is a grand day indeed.

I think Kruk forgot it was the 7th or I thought that when I heard it especially after him defending managing to the save

Going to the 8th in Miami. Loving the early returns on that Miller-Heyward deal.

Nah that one idiot from the gam thread yesterday said he's done.

According to ABC7 newborns will be running the bases tomorrow.

Here comes something really obnoxious from Gomez

Cubs mothers are going to be disappointed in the K-Fest instead of the promised DongFest

Welp Hendrix sucks

God I hope this was a joke. If not this is literally the stupidest thing I've ever read on the Internet.

I've been having issues but I thought it was because my Internet at home has been completely awful lately. its been cutting in and out for me all night It's happening all over the country. This product [expletive] sucks. It was literally better in 2008 than it is now. I had zero problems with it last year. This is disappointing. It's working great for me. It used to cut out all the time, but I did some reading and it was because my device (roku) was old and didn't have the processing power to keep up. I have a PS4, Roku, iPad, MacBook and AppleTV and none of them are working and I have a monster internet connection that isn't Comcast. This started being an issue when I lived in Chicago last year and is worse now that I live in Austin. It's frustrating but at least I have radio?

I've been having issues but I thought it was because my Internet at home has been completely awful lately. its been cutting in and out for me all night It's happening all over the country. This product [expletive] sucks. It was literally better in 2008 than it is now.

Anyone else having MLB.tv issues??? Mine just dropped on all devices because [expletive] MLB.tv

[expletive] BABIP

Didn't think I was going to be routinely checking the minor league game thread but alas the Cubs still suck at baseball

Two hands is the right way to play the game.

That won't fly. You know STL is the only team allowed to accuse an opponent of cheating. I'm not sure it's actually illegal because he starts his movement toward home with his foot on the rubber and it's one continuous motion. I could be wrong but I didn't see anything about it in the rule book. EDIT: Rule 8.05 (g) The pitcher makes any motion naturally associated with his pitch while he is not touching the pitchers plate

He catches lobbed baseballs with his bare hands. And he does it better than anyone ever. I will soon be muting this broadcast.

Q: Who is eligible for membership in the Association? A: All players, managers, coaches and trainers who hold a signed contract with a Major League club are eligible for membership in the Association. In collective bargaining, the Association represents around 1,200 players, or the number of players on each club's 40-man roster, in addition to any players on the disabled list. http://mlb.mlb.com/pa/info/faq.jsp#membership Literally nothing, huh? I didn't know that he's not on the 40 man yet. Bryant doesn't have a MLB contract because he's never played in an MLB game so he is ineligible to be represented. And he won't be on the 40 man until he's called up. So, I don't see the Union's stance as strong but I am not a lawyer. It's the same reason that players can't be added to things like video games until they play in a game and file paperwork, regardless of their status on the 40 man, this is because they are not part of the union yet. For a player who has been called up then sent back down it matters but in Bryant's case it does not. I guess I just don't see the Union's end game here because the CBA is agreed upon by the Union and their lawyers and the players and teams use what they can. If the Union wants to renegotiate in the next CBA and put some language that is subjective with regards to milestones a minor leaguer has to hit and then require the team to call the player up then I could see them having a case. But again, I'm not a lawyer, I just don't see how the organizations will negotiate a way that will leave their roster decisions in the hands of an arbitrator.

It's not the 12 games that's a concern, it's the extra year Bryant has to wait to be paid fair market value. Right, and it would also be more than 12 games in order to keep up appearances. Maybe I'm overreacting to Tony Clark's comments and overestimating the power of the PA in this situation, I don't know. I do worry about a potential grievance. Could be irrational on my part. I don't even know if Bryant is part of the Union yet. They are almost as much to blame here as management. Edit: he's on the 40 man roster so he's eligible. Kris Bryant is not on the 40-man roster. Not only is he not on the 40 man, he isn't a member of the Player's Association until he plays in a Major League game AND files paperwork to become a member. But yeah, the 40 man has literally nothing to do with Union status. Here's the thing...the rule exists to protect guys that Boras already represents or represented at the time it was agreed to in the CBA, in the Majors. So Boras, while a great agent and the guy I would want representing me, is talking out of both sides of his mouth and literally nobody calls him on it because the media is just enthralled by him and honored to be in his presence.