XZero771679666304

Fascinating analysis. Yet you glossed over their ages again.

Different scenario but that low risk that pays huge dividends. Doubtful that he'd be quite the monster that Ortiz was but if he could go back to what he was from '06-'09 that would be pretty huge. Without looking, how old do you think Brad Hawpe is? Also, how old do you think David Ortiz was when Epstein pulled him off the scrap heap? The scrap heap where he was sitting on an .839 OPS to boot.

David Ortiz?

And Sappelt?

I can't imagine it's a possibility Jed and Theo would consider. What would we do with him? The question that's been attached to most of this years signings. What? The only signing you can say that about is Johnson. And Corpas and Sonnenstine. That's 3 of our 4 signings. If cheap enough, they all make some degree of sense. We don't have spots open in the bullpen?

I can't imagine it's a possibility Jed and Theo would consider. What would we do with him? It makes a little sense to bring him into spring training. The Rizzo/LaHair competition at 1B could use a little push from a veteran bat. Of course, I sincerely doubt Theo and Jed would give him a spot on the Opening Day roster regardless of his performance. So he probably wont sign with us unless his agent is a total nincompoop or he really can't get an invite anywhere else. I figure he still has enough value that he could do better than a ST invite, too. And you can't give him a roster spot.

There could be a confluence of circumstances that thoroughly discredit the accusation.

That's not unnerving at all. The difference between a 21-year-old in his first look at a league and a 29-year-old in his third is absolutely huge. That's a massive understatement. Unnerved because they looked similar at AAA with LaHair 29 and at his ceiling and Rizzo 21 and still developing? That's alarming?

I can't imagine it's a possibility Jed and Theo would consider. What would we do with him? The question that's been attached to most of this years signings. What? The only signing you can say that about is Johnson.

I can't imagine it's a possibility Jed and Theo would consider. What would we do with him?

No one in this thread has said Starlin is a rapist, just that it is among the possibilities, and mentioning that it is isn't some kind of travesty or miscarriage of justice. The timeline here here seems to be the best source of hope that this thing might not have real teeth. Regardless, the only really palatable outcome (at least to me) would be for the whole thing to be proven to be BS.

I don't think my response is strange. I think jumping from what we know to saying Castro might be a rapist (as opposed to any other player might be a rapist) is strange. He might be a rapist. You might be a rapist too. So might I (well, I'm obviously not bc I know I'm not but you get the point). I tend to agree with mbc that the chance that Castro is a rapist is not significantly higher based on what we know today v what we knew yesterday. Look, if this girl passed out and he was relatively sober and had sex with her or if he threatened or used force than he's a despicable human being and I hope he's jailed for the better part of his life (which won't happen). But I'd also say that if Castro is a mass murderer, he should be jailed forever and I'm not sure the likelihood of him being the former is that much higher than of him being the latter, at least until we know a hell of a lot more than we do. Wow. If he had sex with her knowing she didn't consent, he's a rapist. It seems that MAY be the case, as he's been accused of sexual assault and the circumstances suggest that MIGHT be the case. I'm fairly certain he's never been accused of mass murder or connected to homicides, and I sure as [expletive] haven't been accused of sexual assault. You're acting like as if the mere mention of the word rape is egregiously out of line. I think you'll find yourself in very limited company on that front, and not because everyone else is being rash.

I just don't get why people have to be sold that he's a cornerstone elite superstar. He doesn't. If he ends up being merely solidly above average and Cashner doesn't become an elite starter this is a pretty clear win.

Acting indignant that someone says Starlin might be a rapist is pretty strange, regardless of how unpalatable is sounds, or whether the events described so far fit your definition of what rape is. Why? Because Castro might be a rapist. I want that not to be the case as much as anyone, but given the nature of the accusations that possibility is clearly in play.

I just got back in to this news. I really thought we were in on Prince but you won't hear me complain about this at all. I'm just shocked we got Rizzo for so little, and with a decent pitching prospect to boot. I know the SD had a lot of depth at the position after the Latos deal, but I was sure it would take a trade involving Garza to land Rizzo. I liked Cashner but I have had increasing doubts he'd ever be anything more then a short reliever. This is pretty awesome, really. And it's nice we have something to agree on after a couple contentious days around here.

Slow down there champ. We're a helluva long way from rapist. Notice I said wouldn't and might be. I obviously wasn't saying he's a rapist, if you actually read what I wrote. All of this is conjecture at this point, I just thought the notion that a fan only cares about legal ramifications to be a bit callous, that's all.

Yeah, having a star rapist is old hat for you Iowa fans. You're hardened. Starlin wont be charged just like when that happened. Because that's all that matters, amirite? As far as I am concerned as a sports fan, yes. Of course, I don't particularly care what White Sox or Cardinals fans think. I care what I think. You wouldn't care if the best player on your team might be a rapist? Really?

Yeah, having a star rapist is old hat for you Iowa fans. You're hardened. Starlin wont be charged just like when that happened. Because that's all that matters, amirite?

Yeah, having a star rapist is old hat for you Iowa fans. You're hardened.

On the one hand it's horrendously distasteful to joke about, on the other we need the levity.

As far as I can tell that sentiment is coming from a pretty small segment.

Making her way through obedience school

I still look at this recent decrease in IP as something the coaching staff caused unnecessarily with the move to the bullpen, and the management made worse with an overreaction. The performance is down as well, but the lack of IP is as much a Cubs problem as a Zambrano problem, if not more. That's largely true, but he hasn't been the picture of health, either. But given the circumstances (the non-chemistry/attitude ones), the hows and whys don't really matter. It was sunk cost, he wasn't putting the Cubs over the top in 2012 and he wasn't getting extended. There was nothing to be gained by keeping him and something (debate how much of a something that is if you will, but it was more than would be had by letting him walk) was gained by trading him. Like TT said, if Z were under contract for an additional year or two, Theo probably tries to hold on to him. But as it stood, that wouldn't have made much sense.

If he was my brother-in-law or something I'd always look at him sideways, but as a baseball player I'll never meet, if it does fall into that category I don't think I'll have much problem hoping he does well on the baseball field. I wasn't saying I wouldn't hope for him to perform well, just that you wouldn't find me wearing a Castro jersey or ordering a Castro Fathead, etc.

It's only [expletive] up if he did something wrong. One of three scenarios will come to pass: 1. Castro is guilty and is proven so 2. Castro is legally absolved because of lack of evidence or charges dropped and you have a Kobe/Ben situation where you live with the suspicion/stigma forever, right or wrong 3. The accuser retracts her accusation or is thoroughly discredited and Castro is vindicated I think scenario two is by far the most likely and while better than the first, it's not entirely palatable. I think you could easily find a scenario in between 2 and 3. Yeah, you're probably right. But barring the third scenario, it'll be pretty hard not to regard Starlin with some degree of disdain, at least for me. That's why accusations like this really, really suck (even if they're false).