SB Nation User Blog: Chase Irwin

OT: Argumentation

Chase Irwin — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:42:57 -0000

Howdy Doody.

Hey miles, I learned something at college, too!

I'm curious as to LSB's opinion (especially the lawyers and future brettgardners) on the actual argument, in general. I figure if we spend a significant amount of time doing just that on this site, we could probably benefit from Hermagoras' breakdown, from classical rhetorical theory.

Hermagoras of Temnos's Stasis System

- Developed around 150 BCE; variations used for next 2000 years. All arguments will essentially boil down to the following four questions:

1. Question of Fact (conjectural stasis): whether something was, is, or will be.

2. Question of Definition (definitional stasis): what is the proper definition of something, its essence, nature, name, proper conception, or placement within a classification system. There are common ways to argue for a specific definition:
a) common usage: our definition has wide use and acceptance.
b) authority: our definition is used by those with highest sanction or authority.
c) good and evil consequences: our definition does not produce unfortunate results, such as confusion, error, inconsistency, etc.
d) defective definition: opponent's definition is opposed by obvious facts, is too narrow or broad, incompatible with other definitions, contains an equivocation, etc.

3. Questions of Quality (qualitative stasis): what value or appreciation properly attaches to a thing or act. Here are some common ways to argue that our evaluation of something is correct:
a) facts: sometimes parties don't know or believe the same facts about a case: the addition of the new fact will give a new evaluation to the object under dispute.
b) example: sometimes we argue that if we believe A to be of certain quality, then we must also believe B to have the same, since it is so similar to or of the same type as A.
c) authority: something has a certain value because some authority figure says it does.
d) consistency: something in the past has been given the same value: or, principles now held require you to value this according to those principles.
e) good and evil consequences: something is of a certain quality because of the harmful or beneficial outcomes related to it.

4. Questions of Procedure (procedural stasis): argument or charge is made in the wrong place or manner and so should be dismissed.

These are the potential sticking points or issues about which you might dispute in all arguments, in descending order of strength: these may overlap or exist simultaneously in a single argument. The question of fact is usually the strongest position to defend. However, the majority of disputes will boil down to definitions, naturally. The question of quality always looms because you can step back and argue that "it's not that big of a deal, ..." However, if you skip the first three sticking points, your argument will most likely be ruined.

I think this accurately describes the majority of disputes anywhere, so I thought I would solicit opinions. As always, the burden of proof lies with the claimant.

OT: NFL Week 2 Thread

Chase Irwin — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:10:17 -0000

Week 2
SUN, SEP 14	TIME (ET)
Tennessee at Cincinnati	1:00 PM
Green Bay at Detroit	1:00 PM
Oakland at Kansas City	1:00 PM
NY Giants at St. Louis	1:00 PM
Indianapolis at Minnesota	1:00 PM
New Orleans at Washington	1:00 PM
Chicago at Carolina	1:00 PM
Buffalo at Jacksonville	1:00 PM
San Francisco at Seattle	4:05 PM
Atlanta at Tampa Bay	4:05 PM
New England at NY Jets	4:15 PM
Miami at Arizona	4:15 PM
San Diego at Denver	4:15 PM
Pittsburgh at Cleveland	8:15 PM
MON, SEP 15	TIME (ET)
Philadelphia at Dallas	8:30 PM
·Bye: Baltimore, Houston

SBN Visitor w/ Buchholz Inquiry

Chase Irwin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:26:39 -0000

What up. Just a visitor from lonestarball (Rangers) and trying to gauge the value of Buchholz.

Boston and Texas have been linked -- at various times -- as potential trade partners this year. The only reason I even consider floating Buchholz is that Boston appears to have a surplus of ML-ready SP's.

Texas appears to have a surplus of ML-ready catchers. Between Saltalamacchia, Laird, Max Ramirez and Taylor Teagarden, it's going to be a matter of time before bodies are moved. I think one of that group would suit Boston as the heir to Tek. I'm not sure which one you would prefer, though.

Salty -- Elite hitting prospect; struggled in a small, platooned sample; under control

Laird -- average offensively; oldest of group; above-average defensively

Ramirez -- exploded offensively; quite young; serviceable defensively (good enough)

Teagarden -- GG defensively; power potential; durability is only concern

One of those listed would likely have to be the centerpiece of any deal for Boston's SP's. Of course, much more would be required.

Adding Milton Bradley to an already elite offense causes my mind to boggle, but I don't see how he could be a fit when Ortiz returns. However, I think C.J. Wilson would be of value to your club, going forward. He is currently our closer, but a young power-arm who is under control for a while could pair nicely with Papelbon in the years to come.

Catcher of your choice + Wilson + high-ceiling minors player ... is that enough? I know Boston's system is fairly deep, so I'll let you all suggest what they might target, prospect wise. If Buchholz is untouchable, please suggest viable proposals for Lester.

A few additional, well-regarded, potential trade chips in Texas' system:

LHP Derek Holland; OF Julio Borbon; OF/1B John Mayberry; RP Warner Madrigal; RHP Blake Beavan; SS Marcus Lemon.

Thanks for any input.

CI & THE BZA ATTEND: LAIRD BLOWS GAME + PICS

Chase Irwin — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:56:20 -0000

The #1 and #4 ranked posters on this site happened to attend last night's "game" at the same time. Can you believe that?

I met up with the BZA at the game and he will be putting up some pictures, shortly. It's like a combo diary / photo album, if you will. Let me preface this by saying that my buddy "Jam" and I made it to our seats in the bottom of the 6th. For whatever reason, I'll let you infer if you know me at all, too much "coordinating" took place prior to the game. No matter.

We bought the cheapest tickets we could and rolled on in. After posting up in section 343, double fisting, I finally got a chance to absorb some numbers and situations. My man, Brandon Boggs, was at the plate. 1-2 count with 1 out when we arrived, and he K'd, which sucked, cause I knew Boggs mashes LHP. Anyways, to my indifference, The Swan had been pitching himself a little bit of a ball game. 2-2 7th inning, I mean well done, dude. Let him stick around -- I'll continue to eat crow.

** The drama **

Between the 7th and 8th innings, something significant happened. In OC fashion, I went down to interact with the bullpen. Now, I did this patiently. I talked to the usher at some shop behind the bullpen to ask him when the best time for approach would be. I was like dude, where's CJ? I didn't see BGL in the bullpen. Of course, the one time in my life I physically walk down to the bullpen at RBiA and BGL wouldn't be sitting there with ALL of the rest of the guys. Kam, Lizard, Rupe, Tejeda, all of them. No BGL. How frustrating.

So, I chilled for a few minutes, figuring he was in the Men's Room or taking a "BGL being BGL" break, Manny style. I went back to the usher, he echoed my suspicion. In the meantime, I spotted OMOT in the bullpen. Yep, that's right, folks. What the hell was Gerald Laird doing in the bullpen? I mean, I knew Salty was starting, at least he was when I got there in the 6th inning.

I was like fuck it, I'm gonna see what's up with "Gerry's World." So I go down there, right on the first row as close as I can, between innings, while some stupid promo is playing, perfect timing, and I'm like "Gerry, what's up? Hey, Laird, ONE MAN FIVE TOOLS." And, of course, would he only turn around once I dropped the OMFT. He turns around with a smile on his face, realizes that he's never seen me before in his life, then turns right back around in his seat. I called his name out once or twice more for good measure, then after it donned on me that I had been big-timed by Gerald fucking Laird, I go "alright, Gerry. I hear ya, then." Douche bag -- I would later return to the bullpen.

But 30 seconds later, I noticed Gerry was gone. Huh. After re-upping on brew, I head back to my seat in the highest of decks on the RF foul side. I was pissed. I knew this wasn't good for me, Gerry's karma, the team, my friend, The BZA's experience, the game itself, everything.

Then, after I call The BZA (sitting 3B side, lower levels) to report on Gerry's erratum, Jack K'd somebody on something filthy and there was uproar -- before melting down and surrendering the lead. Back to the bullpen. At first, I didn't see BGL when passing by, so I posted up in CF for a sweet view of Murph's AB. This was 8th inning or so, if I recall, Boggs had just drawn a BB [haha] and Murph was up. I think it was against a lefty, so I wasn't paying so much attention as soaking up the atmosphere.

I shot the shit with some random dude named "Jerry." We'll get back to him later. I think Murphy k'd, if I'm not mistaken, and that pitch was BULLSHIT from my viewpoint. I don't know what the tracker said, but it looked a foot outside from straight-away CF. Thanks, blue. All of a sudden, BGL appears in the bullpen. I talked to multiple knowledgeable fans in the section, who had all mentioned that they hadn't seen Siege the entire time. I notified these fans, they reply "No, that's not CJ ... is it?" I wasn't going to waste any more time answering that question, because I saw BGL warming up. I know what he looks like, no homo.

BGL was posting up on the BP mound, patiently warming up, chilling, something or other. I strided with bounding leaps, down the packed aisle, and I go "Hey!! BGL. We miss you man, but we understand. Tell Brandon to keep his head up." BGL smiled and nodded in a cool way: fully acknowledged me as if I were a friend. Out of respect for the situation, I mean he was literally warming up [he was respectfully saying, hey thanks, but I really gotta go or I would talk). That's all I needed.

After showing him respect, on my way out, I go "Gerry big-timed me, dude." Much laughter was heard in the section, because all these people had seen OMOT shut me down earlier. I knew I wouldn't be denied. I DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO SEE YOU, LAIRD. I DON'T WANT YOUR AUTOGRAPH, JERK. I didn't even want to talk to Gerry, per se, I just wanted to talk to someone who could find BGL for me. I picked Laird because I knew he had the biggest ego. In hindsight, I bet if I picked Kam, he would have come over and said hi for like 2 seconds. I just wanted to acknowledge BGL. That's it -- mission accomplished.

I return to CF. Jerry's still chilling in the same spot, before calling a GW-hit from ... Cat. I was like uhhh, Cat against LHP? LOL. Sure enough, after I told Jerry that they need to pinch hit here ... who do they bring up? #15 himself. Gerald Laird. God, damn. Gerald Laird killed the rally instantly. Instead of showing off all of his tools, he made himself look like a fool. Popped out to 2B, inning over, rally dead. Good job, Gerry. Hope you feel proud. You're that good. Re-up on my way to 3B so I can "meet" BZA, once and for all. We met up, shot the shit for 5 mins, agreed to the combo diary, and returned to the lower-level seats. He already knew that it was Laird's fault, also, and I told him that would be my title.

We posted up in the 9th for a decent rally, the lower sections were much more zestful, spiritually. Everybody had the reverse rally-cap on and everything. Direction of the cap was switched, person by person, until something positive happened. Truly great fan stuff. Salty started off the inning, apparently after a WP the previous inning? I'm sure I can find out from the game thread whether Salty should have blocked the ball that Crawford scored on. Anyway, I was expecting Salty to get something started. That dude looks fierce at the plate. I would hate to have to pitch to him for the next 10 years or so.

But once J32 got to the plate -- you could smell the anticipation. When Josh fouls a ball off in a high-leverage situation, the whole crowd is like "oooh. he almost got that." There's been nothing like that since A-Rod, iirc. Few things in life are more suspenseful than a Josh Hamilton plate appearance, live. I told my friend "just no double play, just no double play." Of course, Josh would be too fast for a DP, so one run scores. Milton had great crowd support too, but whatever, we just didn't get it done tonight. One run short -- it happens.

I made damn sure to grab a J32 T-Shirt on my way out. He must be acknowledged, often. There was cool motorcycle stuff after the game. Some hot chick passed me a flyer, so I accepted it, and these guys are the "Red Bull X Fighters / International Freestyle Motocross."

It was the coolest thing ever, especially after a loss. It's just like if there's a Robert Earl Keen concert after the game, you have something to fall back on. After egging these guys on, they ended up doing backflips and all that crazy stuff, despite the presence of wind currents, which was awesome. It sent a good deal of people home in a good mood, I'd imagine. They really put on a show -- for free.

That's that folks. I highly recommend attending at least one game, if you can, this year. If you can coordinate with someone from LSB, all the better, just means there's more subplots. There's a different feeling at the ballpark right now. I truly mean that. Casual fans, even, aren't so resigned, yet anyway. Maybe that's the whole Nolan bit, lol. WWND.

People think this ship is heading in the right direction. I concur, it's just that, Gerald Laird needs to be traded as soon as possible.

/ See BZA post for pics

Perrilloux to Jacksonville St.

Chase Irwin — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:52:31 -0000

Perrilloux to Jacksonville St.

How the mighty have fallen ...

Minors 4/11

Chase Irwin — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:58:30 -0000

Sidney Pintson starting for the Redhawks, with Boggs still batting 8th ... wtf? Does anyone think that is a good idea?

Ballard starts for Frisco and is dealing again with 0 ER through 3 IP with 2K's and 7 GB outs -- also striking out Cards' prospect Bryan Anderson. Teagarden and JMJ have K'd while MaxRam has singled.

Beau Jones vs. Tim Alderson as Bakersfield travels to San Jose.

Clinton, as mentioned elsewhere, is postponed.

OT: DeAngelo Hall to Raiders

Chase Irwin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:56:01 -0000

Will be traded for a 2nd round pick, possibly more. That seems a little light.

Then, he'll be extended for 7 / $70 MM. That seems a little much?

What are some CB alternatives that you would like to see the Cowboys target?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3300199

OT: Cowboys / Eagles Game Thread

Chase Irwin — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:47:36 -0000

Matchup

W-L PF PA HOME ROAD DIV CONF
PHI 5-8 271 262 2-5 3-3 1-4 3-7
DAL 12-1 423 275 6-1 6-0 4-0 9-0

The Cowboys (12-1) come in having won seven straight since suffering their only loss of the season to New England on Oct. 14. Dallas rallied to win 28-27 last Sunday against the Detroit Lions to capture the NFC East title for the first time since 1998.

The Cowboys are now setting their sights on wrapping up a first-round bye with a win or a Seattle loss at Carolina on Sunday. They also could guarantee themselves home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs with a win and a Green Bay loss at St. Louis.

The Eagles have won five of their last seven visits to Dallas, including a 23-7 win on Dec. 25, 2006.

Another note: the Cowboys signed starting nose tackle Jay Ratliff, who took over the position when veteran Jason Ferguson was injured in the opening game of the year, to a five-year contract extension. I guess that solves the "who will replace Fergie long-term" question, although we control Tank Johnson through next year as well.

Scouts' Position Advantage:

QB - Dal
RB - Phi
WR - Dal
OL - Dal
DL - Dal
LB - Dal
DB - Phi
ST - Dal
Coach - Dal

OT: Stars on a roll

Chase Irwin — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:33:51 -0000

5-0-1 since general manager Doug Armstrong and team president Jim Lites were fired.

Jokinen has emerged as a real threat, tearing it up on the power play. Hagman is off to a fast start with 10 goals in 23 games. Not bad, considering that Armstrong got him from Florida for a 7th round pick. Morrow is doing his thing: dropping dimes and leading the team in points with 22 and +10 when he is on the ice.

Question: should Smith play more than Turco?

Poll at right.

Poll

Would you stick with Mike Smith in net?

Yes, temporarily, ride the hot hand

16 votes

Yes, permanently, enough with Turco

7 votes

No, need to see more

5 votes

No, this is good for Turco

5 votes

33 votes | Poll has closed

FOTF -- Rangers' 2007 POY

Chase Irwin — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 21:05:00 -0000

A few days tardy, but didn't see this posted anywhere else.

Benoit won the Pitcher of the Year.

Pitcher of the Year was probably a little harder to decide, considering BGL's dominance this year (149 ERA+ with 63 K's in 68.3 IP). But Benoit certainly deserves recognition for a 158 ERA+ and 87 K's over 82 IP.

http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071119&content_id=2304127&vkey=news_tex& amp;fext=.jsp&c_id=tex