@freecoltkeith @SalvadorPerez15 From the guy whos x handle is Colt Keith Fan. You’re just like the douche bag Tiger fans callingfor Verlander to hang it up 10 years ago. Get a job and move out of mom’s basement
@RickDeVos It’s sad that thinking has run off a wonderful police chief to take a dramatic pay cut to have the support of his new city. These are most certainly not students of economics or simple business.
Jose Ramirez breaks silence on signing below market extension from Guardians;
(Translation by Master Flip)
That was ultimately my decision, to take the extension. We went through a year and a half of negotiations, and when I finally signed, I got a significant salary bump. I knew it wasn’t fully reflective of my market value, and plenty of people made sure to point that out. But I’m a veteran, I understand how the game works.
Cleveland is a small market team, and they simply can’t pay me what I could command on the open market. So I told them, Let’s find a fair agreement that works for both sides.
I spoke directly with the GM. There were real trade discussions and offers from other teams willing to extend me at my full asking price, but my heart was set on staying in Cleveland. First and foremost, my children were born here. My wife feels comfortable in Cleveland and so do I. I owe this city a lot.
Since the day I arrived, I’ve never once been booed by these fans. I’ve seen how crowds in other stadiums treat players when results don’t come quickly, and that’s never happened here.
Via @hgomez27
What just happened in Venezuela wasn’t just about Maduro. It was a major strategic blow to communist China, says @JMichaelWaller.
Just days before Maduro was removed, Beijing declared it would not give up an inch of its gains in Latin America. Then Trump went and took away one of the CCP’s most critical assets.
Venezuela wasn’t just an ally for the CCP—it was a “linchpin” in the CCP’s global military strategy, he says.
From Caracas, Beijing envisioned projecting naval power across both oceans:
• A blue-water PLA Navy
• A future Atlantic maritime presence
• A foothold in the Caribbean
• Potential leverage over the Panama Canal and U.S. shipping routes from Houston, Galveston, and the Mississippi River Delta to the rest of the world
Venezuela also sat at the heart of China’s Belt and Road strategy: dual-use ports, airports, and facilities designed so Chinese warships could dock anywhere on Earth.
Furthermore, Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world. Under sanctions, that oil couldn’t be sold on the open market—so China bought it at steep discounts, often paid in yuan or barter, not petrodollars.
Cheap, embargoed oil helped prop up Xi Jinping’s domestic and global agenda. Now that pipeline just collapsed.