My last thread

On the 24th May 1864 Grant gifted Lee the  kind of opportunity that rarely happens in a campaign: to wreck the other’s army.
After the bloodletting of May 5-12th, that cost Lee 22000 casualties and Grant 34000,'weakening both armies by 33% and 25% respectively, Grant again disengaged and moved South towards Richmond. Lee had followed and had been reinforced with 7 small Brigades from his capital.
Grant had inadvertentally straddled his large army across the North Anna river.
Lee saw the way to take advantage of his smaller numbers and punish the Federal II Corps, Grant’s best. He could throw 30000 men at the 24000 that were over the V in the river separating Grant’s two halves of his army. Hancock’s 24000 could not be reinforced, because of the V of the river, so he readied his assault.
On the afternoon of the 24th Lee fell violently sick with diarrhoea. He lay helplessly for hours while the opportunity to assault, before the Union commanders realised the sure situation were in.
The reason Lee’s defensive strike could not be undertaken was simple: the attrition of the last 19 days had robbed him of a subordinate able to manage it.
Time and opportunity passed. Grant and Hancock’s isolated Corps were extremely lucky.
We all know the loss of a quarter of Grant’s force would never have changed his resolve to “fight it all out, even if it takes all Summer”, but another battering would have diminished his potential to do so sooner.

I must confess I cried myself to sleep many a night when he was too busy with work to grace us with his presence. May it never happen again!

Best Comic Books Ever:

Infinity Crisis, Identity Crisis, Watchmen, Civil War, Blackest Night, The Dark Night Returns

@frimmel:

I think the movie is likely to be feminist pandering. Jermo hit on the essential message –  people mess things up. I don’t see how they would ever let that through in a film. A simple one like a woman’s beauty is useless in a world without men will never make into the film.

While I would hope it would, and we might see enough folks ready for a shift in their woman good, man bad world view I’m not optimistic and fear the film would just be the women even more genius and badass taking care of a even more hapless, dweebish Yorrick. I can’t see them really embracing anything from the tale other than the story of a dweeb with survivor guilt who needs taken care of and saved.

Why did Yorrick survive the plague? Because he was too stupid to keep from getting sh*t on. I don’t see how Hollywood getting anything but women good-men bad from that.

Y does have messages about equality and a sense that men matter in the world but I don’t see Hollywood doing anything with this other than asking, “Who needs men?” And answering “No one.”

I’m sorry to say but I fear you might be right.  I’m glad I own the novels and had a look into the true version before Hollywood corupts it.

LT

All right. It’s time for me to chime in here.

My case is to eliminate the DH. My points:

1. Affect on the Roster
a. By eliminating the DH, you place 6 men on a MLB bench instead of 5. This is a good thing because the team no longer has to pay 9 everyday players, lowering player costs significantly. An everyday player costs more than a bench player. It also opens up space for more specialized bench players - 3rd catchers, glove men, or speed demons who lack in other aspects of the game.
b. It forces the manager to actually use that bench. Without a DH, AL teams barely need to pinch hit or pinch run.
c. Using more specialized players and the entire bench leads to a more strategic game. Too many AL managers are absolutely terrible at managing significant aspects of the game, and this gives the advantage to the team with the more crafty manager.

2. Fairness
a. When playing against each other in NL parks, the National League gains a big strategic advantage over the American League. American League pitchers don’t know how to hit, bunt, or run like the NL pitchers do.
b. In addition, American League pitchers risk injury much moreso than their NL counterparts, because they are performing actions that they are unused to. Do you really want to see your ace sliding into 2nd base in the 1st game of the World Series?
c. In terms of the designated hitter himself, not having to field gives him a huge advantage over his peer hitters. Guys like Frank Thomas, David Ortiz, and Travis Hafner can pile on the muscle without needing to worry about general agility. Similar players of size who have to play the field every day (Example, Jason Giambi, Richie Sexson) are constantly troubled by nagging injuries due to size.
d. The balance of power. The mound was lowered. The brush back pitch was taken away. Newer, lighter bats with huge sweet spots were introduced. The balance of power has shifted too much away from pitchers, resulting in more offense than at any time in baseball. Eliminating the designated hitter will shift that balance back toward pitchers. It won’t solve anything, but it will make their job much easier.

3. History
a. Baseball is a game of history. Moreso than any other sport, baseball fans see their record books as sacred. Look at the controversy surrounding steroids allegations for Bonds. The Designated hitter is a departure from the times of Maris, Mantle, DiMaggio, Williams, and Ruth. It completely changes the record books. Look at a guy like Frank Thomas. He is putting up numbers for the ages, but could not do so with his size if he wasn’t a DH for 15 years.

@Adonai:

Umm… how can you research mathematics? I understand with physics, but otherwise…?

You research it through trial and error, creation of hypothesis, theories, and finally through the creation of codified laws.  It’s just like any other scientifical field, except Mathmatics is almost always 100% right, or 100% wrong.

@HortenFlyingWing:

care about the environment. Loggin’ is their biggest business.

well, we do “care” about the environment - prolly more than America, as well as many other nations. We are the home of Greenpeace, afterall. Also there are many “renewable resource” programs in place, and dozens of friends of mine spend their summers working tree-planting for these logging companies, etc.
No no, not logging. Our shame is in Alberta - a province that is working against Kyoto and environmental measures (it’s the Texas of Canada - with the good and the bad), not that Ontario is so great either - much industry near Toronto etc. Also we do waste quite a bit. Nice having all that landfill room.

iron grip! kill whitey!