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Post by inger on Jul 31, 2018 10:23:54 GMT -5
One thing Alex should be an expert at is what it takes to cause a distraction...
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Post by greatfatness on Jul 31, 2018 10:25:08 GMT -5
Interesting listen to manfred and the mad dog on the state of the game First topic. DIVERSITY.]Problem as per Manfred. Too few blacks in the game(8%) while making up 13% of population but “happy to report that this year “20% of the first round picks were black” or some such thing. So 5% undetrepresentation is a problem. So 7% over solves the “problem” Hmmmm........... [ Fact is B.B. is the most diverse American sport not that I give 2 shits about it. For me, it should be the best players. Who cares about the skin color Any business or organization that doesn’t employ people who represent the community at large and the customer base has a problem, both in terms of their audience and the work environment for employees from under represented groups. It usually isn’t an accident. There is a ton of research on this, so it isn’t speculative. It is nice for Manfred to say something about it but talking about it is easy. Doing something about it takes more effort than MLB has put into the issue. |
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Post by greatfatness on Jul 31, 2018 10:26:37 GMT -5
Agent for Yu Darvish not happy with Alex Rodriguez's comments
The agent for injured Chicago Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish said Alex Rodriguez's comments that his client was negatively affecting the team's clubhouse were "classless."
The rehabbing Darvish was shown in the Cubs dugout during Sunday night's game against the Cardinals. Rodriguez accused the pitcher of being a distraction.
"Matt (Vasgersian), the problem is, and I'm pretty passionate about this, when you have 25 players coming to the stadium, you're there to do one thing and that's win a ballgame," Rodriguez said on the ESPN telecast. "You want all the energy, all the focus, all the analytics, all the stretching: What are we going to do today to win a ballgame?
"And when you have a guy that signs an enormous contract and he's sitting down, and you walk in the training room, and he's got two trainers working on him, you go into the video room and you have a guy looking at video ... he should be in Arizona somewhere getting treated. But don't get in the way of 25 players going after one mission: to win a ballgame."
At least he’s consistent. Rodriguez still manages to be an asshole wherever he goes. |
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Post by michcusejoe5 on Jul 31, 2018 11:07:28 GMT -5
Interesting listen to manfred and the mad dog on the state of the game First topic. DIVERSITY.]Problem as per Manfred. Too few blacks in the game(8%) while making up 13% of population but “happy to report that this year “20% of the first round picks were black” or some such thing. So 5% undetrepresentation is a problem. So 7% over solves the “problem” Hmmmm........... [ Fact is B.B. is the most diverse American sport not that I give 2 shits about it. For me, it should be the best players. Who cares about the skin color Any business or organization that doesn’t employ people who represent the community at large and the customer base has a problem, both in terms of their audience and the work environment for employees from under represented groups. It usually isn’t an accident. There is a ton of research on this, so it isn’t speculative. It is nice for Manfred to say something about it but talking about it is easy. Doing something about it takes more effort than MLB has put into the issue. Sure, it usually isnt "an accident" but in this day and age, its also not clear that there is good proof that it is the result of some sort of overt discrimination either. These things are much more nuanced than that, as life tends to be. To think that every occupation or organization is going to exactly (or perhaps within some MOE) mirror the country's superficial demographics is idiotic and is to not treat people as individuals but as widgets. As numbers noted, baseball is perhaps the most diverse sport in America. The goal should be trying to attract folks from all walks of life by making the game organically intriguing, not by trying to try to hit superficial quotas at the professional level. Cant help but notice that no one ever talks about an NFL or NBA "diversity problem" despite both of those professional sports being far more out of whack with the demographics than MLB is (but dont get me wrong, I am not saying that should change at all...what I am saying is that when people are left to their own devices they will go towards what interests them). |
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Post by greatfatness on Jul 31, 2018 11:39:57 GMT -5
Any business or organization that doesn’t employ people who represent the community at large and the customer base has a problem, both in terms of their audience and the work environment for employees from under represented groups. It usually isn’t an accident. There is a ton of research on this, so it isn’t speculative. It is nice for Manfred to say something about it but talking about it is easy. Doing something about it takes more effort than MLB has put into the issue. Sure, it usually isnt "an accident" but in this day and age, its also not clear that there is good proof that it is the result of some sort of overt discrimination either. These things are much more nuanced than that, as life tends to be. To think that every occupation or organization is going to exactly (or perhaps within some MOE) mirror the country's superficial demographics is idiotic and is to not treat people as individuals but as widgets. As numbers noted, baseball is perhaps the most diverse sport in America. The goal should be trying to attract folks from all walks of life by making the game organically intriguing, not by trying to try to hit superficial quotas at the professional level. Cant help but notice that no one ever talks about an NFL or NBA "diversity problem" despite both of those professional sports being far more out of whack with the demographics than MLB is (but dont get me wrong, I am not saying that should change at all...what I am saying is that when people are left to their own devices they will go towards what interests them). It doesn’t need to be the result of discrimination to be a problem. I’m confident there’s no institutional discrimination at my company but most minorities and women remain under-represented. That’s an issue for those employees to reach their full potential at work as well as for our company to adequately meet the needs of the customers we are trying to reach. Same for MLB. If Manfred means this just as a PR campaign then it is useless anyway. I haven’t seen MLB actually do much in the ways that other responsible businesses and industries do so I am extremely cynical that this is a real initiative. |
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Post by michcusejoe5 on Jul 31, 2018 14:18:51 GMT -5
Sure, it usually isnt "an accident" but in this day and age, its also not clear that there is good proof that it is the result of some sort of overt discrimination either. These things are much more nuanced than that, as life tends to be. To think that every occupation or organization is going to exactly (or perhaps within some MOE) mirror the country's superficial demographics is idiotic and is to not treat people as individuals but as widgets. As numbers noted, baseball is perhaps the most diverse sport in America. The goal should be trying to attract folks from all walks of life by making the game organically intriguing, not by trying to try to hit superficial quotas at the professional level. Cant help but notice that no one ever talks about an NFL or NBA "diversity problem" despite both of those professional sports being far more out of whack with the demographics than MLB is (but dont get me wrong, I am not saying that should change at all...what I am saying is that when people are left to their own devices they will go towards what interests them). It doesn’t need to be the result of discrimination to be a problem. I’m confident there’s no institutional discrimination at my company but most minorities and women remain under-represented. That’s an issue for those employees to reach their full potential at work as well as for our company to adequately meet the needs of the customers we are trying to reach. Same for MLB. If Manfred means this just as a PR campaign then it is useless anyway. I haven’t seen MLB actually do much in the ways that other responsible businesses and industries do so I am extremely cynical that this is a real initiative. You? Cynical? No way! |
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Post by inger on Jul 31, 2018 16:01:24 GMT -5
LOL. I recall getting a call from the NAACP back when I was managing in the commercial greenhouse business. The lady wanted to know how many blacks were employed at the business. I told her none and she let loose a long-winded spiel about equality and such. Then I told her what the population demographics were and challenged her to find us some applicants that we could hire as we needed workers at that time. The truth was that we had only had two African Americans apply and hired both. One showed up for work and left within the first hour and the other didn't show up at all. Not that that was unusual. That was pretty much par for the course for our hiring. We were the bottom of the wage barrel, the work was very hard, involving stooping and bending in a an enclosed greenhouse with the sun beating down on the workers and high humidity. The truth be known, it was as close to slave labor as the US still has (at least in the open) for owners who could be very nasty at times...Even as a manager, there were times I wondered what brought me back day (and half the night) after day...
I can certainly see why someone who was unhappy about a previous legacy of slavery or indentured servitude in his family history might not have wanted to be there...
Now, baseball? Nah. I don't think there is any intent to shut any group out. For whatever reason, baseball doesn't seem to be the most attractive of sports to almost any children in the USA anymore, let alone of any specific color. Should we address the issue of too many Hispanics in baseball? Of course not. That's just the way it is right now...
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Post by cbpinstripes on Jul 31, 2018 19:12:55 GMT -5
LOL. I recall getting a call from the NAACP back when I was managing in the commercial greenhouse business. The lady wanted to know how many blacks were employed at the business. I told her none and she let loose a long-winded spiel about equality and such. Then I told her what the population demographics were and challenged her to find us some applicants that we could hire as we needed workers at that time. The truth was that we had only had two African Americans apply and hired both. One showed up for work and left within the first hour and the other didn't show up at all. Not that that was unusual. That was pretty much par for the course for our hiring. We were the bottom of the wage barrel, the work was very hard, involving stooping and bending in a an enclosed greenhouse with the sun beating down on the workers and high humidity. The truth be known, it was as close to slave labor as the US still has (at least in the open) for owners who could be very nasty at times...Even as a manager, there were times I wondered what brought me back day (and half the night) after day... I can certainly see why someone who was unhappy about a previous legacy of slavery or indentured servitude in his family history might not have wanted to be there... Now, baseball? Nah. I don't think there is any intent to shut any group out. For whatever reason, baseball doesn't seem to be the most attractive of sports to almost any children in the USA anymore, let alone of any specific color. Should we address the issue of too many Hispanics in baseball? Of course not. That's just the way it is right now... Is it also possible that football and basketball are simply much more appealing to the black demographic meaning not as many choose baseball as a career to pursue? I actually had a discussion maybe a week or two ago with a friend of mine and black representation in baseball came up and I assumed that a large minorty had to be playing maybe even close to 50-50. I put very little thought into it, but I was shocked when I saw the numbers. I don't see why MLB would discriminate though. Why do they care what color a player is? They do such a piss poor job of marketing the sport they should be happy if a superstar emerges no matter what ethnicity he is. |
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Post by inger on Jul 31, 2018 19:48:01 GMT -5
In any event, baseball is a lot harder sport, and as another poster mentioned earlier, it can be an expensive one to pursue with a professional purpose. Too expensive for a youthful population of a poor demographic to pursue, perhaps? In addition, with massive numbers of African Americans choosing to live in a an urban environment, it’s much easier to find enough space to play basketball or even football on a park that it is to find a well-maintained area to play baseball for free...
Does anyone MAKE this happen, or is it just happenstance? I’m not sure I know the correct answer. I know MLB teams are investing a lot of money to promote the game and provide fields and trading facilities in the island nations. They’re not doing that to help mankind. They’re doing that because poor kids from those countries sign for relative pennies to the dollar compared to American kids. They’re also doing that because the kids in the island countries don’t have access to high scoll or college programs that the US does.
Which now leads me too... I suppose that African Americans have the same access to high school baseball and college baseball...but i’m not sure that’s true...
I’ve rarely been in a slum long enough to even get a clue what the schools are like, or if they have a baseball team...
The answers lie deep in our multi-layered and more a society that gets more confusing than defined all the time due to explosive population growth...
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Post by utahyank on Jul 31, 2018 20:16:13 GMT -5
Why are there inspirational stories of men and women of all colors and social conditions who rise against obstacles to achieve great heights....there are those stories....
Why are other stories, more common, of those of the same colors and condition who find the work too hard, the effort too much, and settle for much less in life...
I suggest the difference is within the person.....
this is the last social comment I will make, and I realize this is not politically correct in today's society....
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Post by inger on Jul 31, 2018 21:16:32 GMT -5
I agree, Utah. Of course we see the same thing happen in every race, and in every situation. Often, our situations are as dire or bright as we have been conditioned to perceive it to be. It happens to minorities, and it happens to those who are in the majority.
We are conditioned to believe so many things when we’re young. The imprint is made very quickly on young, impressionable minds. There are those genetic wonders with questioning minds that seek their own direction and form their own opinions based on them.
Looking at my own family, I was the sixth sibling in line that survived to the age that allowed us to go to school. I was also the first one to graduate high school. Even then, at an early age I was told that we had no money to go to college, and I allowed myself to fall for that. I learned later that hard work in school and scholarships along with some additional effort on my part (working my way through school) could have changed that.
I can only imagine the horrid myths told about the odds of life that are played out in a family living in a crime-infested neighborhood with your friends dying and going jail on a daily basis must be like. No. Maybe I can’t imagine that.
Yet, as you said my friend...some do it. They are to be admired. Too bad the children that should admire them often admire other role models that are closer to them on a daily basis...
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Post by acuraman on Aug 5, 2018 11:11:56 GMT -5
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Post by kaybli on Aug 5, 2018 13:18:15 GMT -5
Good to see ya around AcMan!
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Post by utahyank on Aug 5, 2018 14:04:27 GMT -5
Good to see ya around AcMan! "we gave up too much aman".... |
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Post by kaybli on Aug 5, 2018 14:10:36 GMT -5
Good to see ya around AcMan! "we gave up too much aman"....  |
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