TODAY: The deal ships $1MM in international bonus availability to Toronto, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter).
YESTERDAY, 7:40pm: Slusser reports that the Jays are covering more than $10MM of the $12MM remaining on Morales' contract.
7:06pm: The two teams have announced the trade. Toronto is sending Morales and cash to Oakland in exchange for minor league infielder Jesus Lopez and international bonus money. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, Oakland transferred right-hander Jharel Cotton to the 60-day injured list as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
7:02pm: In a surprising move, the Blue Jays have traded designated hitter Kendrys Morales to the Athletics, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter). The 35-year-old Morales is earning $12MM in the final season of a three-year, $33MM contract with the Jays, so presumably Toronto is providing substantial financial relief in the deal.
Oakland recently lost first baseman Matt Olson when the slugger underwent a hamate excision procedure on his right hand. Olson suffered the injury in the second game of the Athletics' two-game set against the Mariners in Tokyo. With Khris Davis locked in as the primary designated hitter in Oakland, it seems likely that Morales will play first base while Olson is sidelined. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Olson will be out anywhere from six to eight weeks.
Morales won't match Olson's offensive output or especially his glovework, but the veteran switch-hitter is coming off a solid 2018 rebound campaign in which he batted .249/.331/.439 (112 OPS+) with 21 homers. His recent work at first base has been extremely limited, as he's logged just 30 games at the position over the past two seasons. The A's also have Mark Canha and Jurickson Profar (who played 24 games at first base last year in Texas) as alternative options at first base should the need arise.
The addition of Morales will also help to balance out a righty-heavy Athletics roster. Prior to the trade for Morales, switch-hitters Profar and Robbie Grossman were the only two players on the active roster capable of hitting left-handed. A career .264/.328/.468 hitter against right-handed pitchers, Morales isn't exactly a standout but will present a sound platoon partner for the right-handed-hitting Canha.
For the Blue Jays, the move creates some much-needed roster flexibility. Teoscar Hernandez can now receive semi-regular at-bats in the DH slot, with Billy McKinney, Kevin Pillar and Randal Grichuk lining up around the outfield. The Jays can also rotate some other regulars through the DH slot, and the trade of Morales could even create a path to the Majors 24-year-old first baseman Rowdy Tellez on the heels of a .280/.308/.600 showing in Spring Training.
The return for the Jays, as one would expect when dealing a soon-to-be 36-year-old DH in the final season of an undesirable contract, is minimal. The 21-year-old Lopez spent the 2018 season with Class-A Beloit, where he hit .239/.293/.402 with 10 homers, 15 doubles and a couple of triples in 326 plate appearances. He spent time at third base (587 innings), shortstop (65 innings) and second base (53 innings). Lopez wasn't ranked among the Athletics' top prospects. The amount of international money picked up by Toronto in tonight's deal isn't clear, though international funds must be traded in blocks of at least $250K.
Blue Jays designated hitter Kendrys Morales and right-hander Marco Estrada have both gone unclaimed on revocable trade waivers and are now eligible to be traded to any team, Jon Heyman of Fancred reports (on Twitter). It's not a surprise to see either player clear, given the relatively sizable amounts remaining on each player's contract.
Morales is in the second season of a three-year, $33MM contract in Toronto. While he's recently gone through a near-historic hot streak at the plate, homering in seven consecutive games to boost his overall batting line to a strong .261/.342/.480 with 21 long balls, he's still a 35-year-old DH owed about $13MM through the end of the 2019 season.
As for Estrada, he's struggled through back issues and performed poorly of late, pitching to a 6.53 ERA with a 19-to-15 K/BB ratio across eight starts (30 1/3 innings). He's on a one-year, $13MM contract and is owed about $2.36MM of that total through the end of the year — a hefty sum for perhaps six starts from an ailing 35-year-old.
The Blue Jays could always add some cash in order to help facilitate a trade involving either player, though it'd require a rather sizable sum in the case of Morales — recent hot streak notwithstanding. The Brewers and Mariners are among the teams that have been connected to rotation upgrades in recent weeks, though it's not clear whether either organization will ultimately find a deal to their liking. It's tougher to see any sort of market for Morales developing, though the Jays certainly figure to gauge interest over the next couple of days.
Kendrys Morales set a new Blue Jays team record Sunday by homering in his seventh consecutive game. With one more long ball on Monday against the Orioles, Morales will tie the MLB record of an eight-game homer streak, shared by Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly, and Dale Long. The streak highlights a rather remarkable turnaround to Morales' season, one that seems directly tied to his decision to stop wearing the glasses he donned for the first six weeks of the 2018 campaign. After posting a .499 OPS over his first 109 plate appearances, Morales has quietly been one of baseball's hottest hitters, with a .308/.380/.560 slash line over his next 284 PA. There aren't any AL contenders with a glaring need for a DH-only player like Morales at the moment, so while a trade before the end of August is unlikely, Morales' revival could give Toronto at least some hope of moving him in the offseason, even if the Jays have to eat some of his $12MM 2019 salary.
Relievers were the only position group that seemed immune to last offseason's stalled free agent market, as several bullpen arms scored lucrative multi-year contracts. Looking ahead to this winter, however, the New York Post's Joel Sherman wonders if the bullpen market could also begin to suffer, in no small because so many of the relievers who signed those big contracts last offseason have struggled in the first year of their deals. This year's free agent is headlined by such names as Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, and Cody Allen, though the latter three have seen their value diminish due to injuries or ineffectiveness.
As of Saturday, Red Sox pitchers had a 3.08 ERA when Sandy Leon was catching, compared to a 3.84 ERA with another catcher. Leon's game-calling and defensive abilities have made him a favorite of the Sox rotation, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes, and the team hasn't lost a beat with Leon taking the bulk of playing time with Christian Vazquez on the DL. Mastrodonato's piece also delves into Leon's early development as a player, and how his quick grasp of English helped him easily learn how to work with pitchers.
The Red Sox seem to be inclined to carry the out-of-options Blake Swihart on the active roster to open the season, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports. While the club obviously feels it doesn't want to lose out on his upside, that decision would also create some constraints elsewhere — perhaps forcing the Sox to make a move instead with one of their utility infielders. Indeed, as Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal writes (subscription link), the Sox have begun putting out feelers with other organizations regarding Deven Marrero (who is also out of option) and Brock Holt. While it's not clear that either has drawn significant interest, it seems the team is preparing to move one of them or another similar player as part of its roster-maintenance efforts at the tail end of camp.
Manny Machado's move back to shortstop was inspired by his love for the position, the Orioles star tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick, not as a way to better position himself for free agency next winter. "I think a lot of people are saying, 'He's going over there because he wants more money or more value.' It doesn't come down to money or more value," Machado said. "I've already established myself as a player. I'm worth what I'm worth already. It doesn't matter if I'm at short or third. The transition over there is because that's where my heart is. That's what I do." Machado's preparation for the position switch included changes to his diet and offseason training regimen, and scouts have given promising early reviews about Machado's defensive prowess at shortstop.
Kendrys Morales lost weight in the offseason and is hoping to adjust his swing so that he hits fewer grounders in 2018, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca writes. Due to his lack of speed and opposing fielders playing the shift, Morales grounded into 22 double plays last season, which helped contributed to his below-average 97 wRC+ despite 28 homers and lots of hard contact. The subpar offensive performance and Morales' lack of defensive contributions made him a sub-replacement level (-0.6 fWAR) player in his first year with the Blue Jays.
Former Yankees pitcher and Mets, Astros, Yankees and Mariners pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Sr. is "fighting for his life," one of his sons, former big-league pitcher Todd Stottlemyre, writes on Facebook (via ESPN). Mel Stottlemyre, 75, announced in 2000 that he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Stottlemyre was the Mets' pitching coach for their World Series win in 1986, and the Yankees' pitching coach for four World Series champion teams. He also won five All-Star berths in 11 seasons in the big leagues. We at MLBTR wish the best to the Stottlemyre family in this difficult time.
Here's more from the AL East.
Edwin Encarnacion's departure to Cleveland has many Blue Jays fans upset, with some blaming the team for not finding a way to re-sign Encarnacion and others blaming Encarnacion for seeking too much money early in the process, Sportsnet's Shi Davidi writes in a fascinating timeline of the negotiations between Encarnacion and the Blue Jays. As had been previously reported, the Jays offered Encarnacion a four-year, $80MM deal in early November; Davidi notes that deal also included a vesting option that would have increased the value of the deal to $100MM. Encarnacion, though, didn't want to take a deal on the doorstep of free agency (as his agent, Paul Kinzer, admitted earlier this week). As free agency opened, the Jays believed Encarnacion was seeking $100MM and judged from his lack of urgency to move on the Jays' initial offer that he had another suitor in the $80MM-$100MM range, which wasn't the case. The Jays thus moved quickly to sign Kendrys Morales, and took their $80MM offer off the table. The two sides remained in touch, but with Morales and Steve Pearce in the fold, the Jays weren't as strongly motivated to sign Encarnacion, and he ended up with Cleveland.


text:
Prime Sports Now
The dos and don'ts of picking a cleanup hitter
Last season, the Colorado Rockies scored 824 runs. According to the runs created formula in the Bill James Handbook, they should have scored 798. The 26-run discrepancy, which worked to Colorado's favor, was surpassed in the National League only by the 28-run overage by the Chicago Cubs. The Rockies and the Cubs were the two most efficient offenses in the league.
Why did Colorado outperform the algorithms so dramatically? It's hard to say. Often, the answer lies in sequencing. In other words, the Rockies might have not just collected a lot of hits, but they also tended to get those hits at the right time. That might explain Colorado's offensive efficiency, which isn't to be confused with proficiency. In fact, after you adjust for the pinball effects of Coors Field, the Rockies were a below-average offensive unit. However, they led the league in percentage of baserunners knocked in (OBI%), according to Baseball Prospectus. Good sequencing seems the most likely explanation for a run total that wasn't quite supported by its underlying categories.
Sure, positions are up for grabs in the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues. But there's deeper drama going on. Here are the questions you really want answered.
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As so many players arrive in spring training wearing new uniforms, we're reminded of the old Jerry Seinfeld barb. But with team turnover now so dramatic from year to year, the game depends on fans cheering for clothes.
That brings us to some comments uttered to reporters last week by Rockies manager Bud Black. It's unclear why the subject came up, but Black was asked about the possibility of using shortstop Trevor Story as a cleanup hitter. According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Rockies' team OPS in that slot, as compared to the overall team OPS, was the worst in the National League. Story, who hit just .239 and led the league with 191 strikeouts, seems to be an unlikely candidate to improve that performance.
Here's what Black told the Denver Post: "Avoiding the strikeout, putting the ball in play, self-admitted [Story] wasn't good at that early in the year. So he's got to get to that point. The guys who do knock in runs, the guys who do get it done in situations, those guys put the ball in play. That's where the challenge is for him and the improvement we're talking about."
The italics in that quote were added for emphasis. Black might have simply been pointing out that excessive strikeouts are not what you want in RBI situations or, even more fundamentally, that a good hitter is preferable to a bad hitter. You might also interpret the suggestion like this: High-contact hitters are more desirable in RBI situations than low-contact hitters.
That conclusion seems evident on the face of it. If you have two hitters of roughly equal bottom-line value, it seems to follow that the better contact guy would do better in RBI spots than a player who strikes out a lot, even if those whiffs are accompanied by a lot of walks and home runs. But is that really the case? If so, how much should managers try to wedge a contact hitter into the cleanup spot, even given differing levels of ability?
A couple of the usual statements need to be made here. First, if you've paid any attention to the research-based concepts that have emerged in baseball over the past four decades, then you probably know that when it comes to lineup construction, the names in the batting order are way more important than the order they are listed in.
That isn't to suggest, as you might read from time to time, that lineup construction is meaningless. To illustrate, check out this result from the intensely addictive lineup optimizer tool at BaseballMusings.com. This features arguably the best nine position players in baseball last season. (We're not worried about defensive position here, so if Joey Votto is catching, don't be shocked, and this lineup doesn't include a pitcher.) It's a great lineup: Over the course of the season, it would average 7.59 runs per game, according to that tool.
The optimum order of those great players, if used every game, would yield 7.67 runs per game. The least optimum would still get you 7.31. Over 162 games, the net difference between the best and worst lineups is about 58 runs, but of course there is no scenario in which a manager would trot out his nine best hitters 162 times and purposefully align them in the least efficient manner each day. So we're talking about 10 to 15 runs between the average order and the optimal order.
In other words, lineup order matters. But it doesn't matter enough to justify the amount of ink spilled debating it. Ironically, there are few topics around the day-to-day discussion of baseball that are more fun to debate than lineup construction. It's tough to avoid, even when you've comprehended the marginal stakes at play.
The fourth spot in the batting order does come up to the plate with runners on base more than any other lineup slot. That means this cleanup descriptor isn't based on nothing. According to "The Book," the fourth slot is the only spot in the order that comes up with runners on base at least half the time, on average. So there is a reason you would want your best RBI guy — however that is defined — hitting in that spot, unless your optimal lineup would require that batter to hit first or second.
There have been quite a few studies (here's one) that illustrate one important variable to consider here, which is that hitters as a group become more aggressive in RBI spots. Not all do, and a criticism that has historically been lobbed at even great-but-patient hitters — from Ted Williams to Barry Bonds to Votto — is that they won't often expand the zone in RBI spots. The defense of that approach is that doing so would over the long haul result in more harm than good, if only because such an altered approach can lead to bad habits. Who can really argue with their results? But some hitters who might be disciplined overall take a turn toward aggression when the situation is warranted.
To look at some of these topics, we grabbed five years' worth of hitting data from TruMedia and filtered out players who did not compile at least 300 plate appearances overall, with a minimum of 100 opportunities with runners in scoring position. There were 555 such players. For our purposes, we're using performance with runners in scoring position (RISP) as a kind of proxy for RBI ability, even though it's a lot more complicated than that. But because we're specifically wondering about RBI opportunities, this designation will suffice.
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From there, we rated the players for "clutchiness" (wOBA with runners in scoring position as compared to usual performance), patience, contact ability and bottom-line performance (as measured by wOBA). The method for calculating these ratings is a little weedsy, but the data behind them include things such as swing percentage, contacts-per-swing and chase rate.
Finally, we subdivided our overall group of 555 players into groups in a variety of ways — for contact, patience, clutchiness, wOBA, etc., and further divided the groups into more groups, according to proficiency in the various categories, with each rating sorted into a high, medium or low tier. With this approach, we can describe hitters as, for example, medium quality/high contact/low patience. There are a lot of combinations, but we'll share a few observations from the exercise.
1. Patience. The more patient a hitter is, the more he is apt to improve his wOBA in RBI spots, but the numbers are marginal. The most patient group improved its collective wOBA by 0.7 percent with runners in scoring position. The middle group improved by 0.5, and the least patient group lost 0.3 percent of its wOBA. Small percentages, to be sure. But still, if you can put a more patient hitter in the cleanup spot than a less patient hitter, you should probably do so.
2. Contact. These data were a little more counterintuitive. The highest contact group improved its wOBA by 0.5 percent in RBI spots. But the medium group not only improved by more — 1.1 percent — but also was best in overall RISP (.337 wOBA vs. .324 for the high-contact group). Why is that? The answer would require some investigation, but perhaps the high-contact guys have more soft contact and/or hit into more double plays.
3. Medium-contact guys. Since that group stood out, we subdivided that group according to patience. The results here were interesting. Medium-contact hitters with a high degree of patience improved their wOBA by 1.6 percent in clutch spots. So, too, did medium-contact hitters with medium degrees of patience. However, the more patient group posted a whopping .350 wOBA in RBI spots, compared with .337 for the other group. This is the subgroup you'd most like to see cleanup hitters come from.
4. Caveat. The numbers are marginal enough that you would need to be careful interpreting them. That is, lineup optimization analysis tells us that you want to get your best hitters high in the order so they can get more opportunities than their lesser colleagues. So, for example, let's say Kris Bryant looked like an ideal cleanup hitter, according to this study. He's the Cubs' best overall hitter and to hit him second, as the Cubs usually do, is probably the best use of his talents. He's got too much power for leadoff, where players don't hit as much with runners on base, but the 2-hole gets him to the plate most often, and if the leadoff guy is a good one, he'll get plenty of chances with runners on base. The optimal lineup should see a team's three best hitters being used in the first, second and fourth spots. The first slot favors on-base ability, the second spot is likely the team's best all-around hitter, and the No. 4 hitter is another one of the team's top hitters and power threats, and has the traits we're describing here.
This might fly into the face of convention a bit, with the traditional idea being that your best overall hitter should bat third. But studies have shown that isn't necessarily the case, largely because No. 3 hitters come to the plate with two outs and the bases empty more often than other lineup spots. But you still want a quality hitter in the 3-hole.
When applying these observations to our data pool, who emerges as a cleanup candidate? To come up with some names, we hit the data with these filters: high wOBA, high patience, medium contact and high clutchiness. This last filter was used to identify hitters with a track record of performing better in RISP spots than they do overall.
Finally, given the general principle that the teams' best all-around hitter goes into the 2-hole, we filtered out the hitters projected to be the team's best overall hitter. After all of this filtering, was there anybody left? Yes! Five players survived the process, a nice round number you've got to love:
Mitch Haniger, Seattle Mariners: Haniger is coming off his rookie season, so his sample is on the smaller end of the spectrum. So far in his big league career, Haniger has a .364 wOBA with runners in scoring position vs. .357 overall. He falls in the top tiers in both performance and patience and is in the medium tier in terms of contact, though his score in that category was 2 percent better than league average. The Mariners, of course have, some proven RBI guys on hand in Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager, so for Scott Servais to install Haniger as his No. 4 hitter would raise some eyebrows. For what it's worth, Haniger's patience and contact factors drop precipitously in RISP situations. He's a player who expands the zone when runs are at stake, and so far, it's an approach that has worked for him.
Russell Martin, Toronto Blue Jays: Martin is one of the most disciplined hitters in the game. He, too, expands the zone in RBI spots, but his contract rate actually skyrockets. His wOBA with runners in scoring position has been .345 over the past five seasons, six points better than his overall rate. This is one veteran who should keep doing what he's doing.
Shin-soo Choo, Texas Rangers: Choo is good for a .368 wOBA in RBI spots versus .360 overall. Like Haniger, he falls below average in patience in RISP spots but maintains an above-average contact rate.
Tommy Pham, St. Louis Cardinals: Pham has a sparkling .391 wOBA in RBI spots so far in his career, compared to .384 overall. That's good stuff. His plate discipline indicators are off the charts. Like Martin, he remains well above average in patience with runners on base. But unlike Martin, Pham's contact rate tumbles, though he was just below average overall. The bottom line is Pham looks like a big-time RBI guy, though you have to wonder whether the contact rate will portend some volatility.
Eugenio Suarez, Cincinnati Reds: Suarez's numbers in this study were amazing. His wOBA in RBI spots is .364. Good stuff. Overall, though, it's .336, giving him one of the highest clutchiness factors in baseball. He's just above average in patience in RISP spots and even a little better in contact. However, like Martin and Choo, he's better at putting the bat on the ball with runners on the line than overall.
But what about Trevor Story? Well, with a career .359 wOBA, he falls into the high-performer tier despite his strikeout-laden 2017 campaign. But he has been less than clutch, losing 26 points off that wOBA with runners on base. His patience factor falls in the medium tier. And as you likely have guessed, his contact rate is in the low tier. In other words, unless Story greatly improves his bat-to-ball skills, he isn't a good candidate to bat cleanup for the Rockies or anyone else.
Still, let's give Bud Black some props. The analysis does suggest that a little heightened aggression, as long as it maintains a foot in the realm of selectivity, can pay off in RBI situations. Batters: With runners on base, expand the zone and don't let those fastballs go by. But don't get carried away.
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After intimating as much over the last year or so, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant admitted he isn't having as much fun playing baseball as he used to.
Bryant, 29, spoke to Red Line Radio, a Barstool podcast, and was asked if there was joy for him on the field.
"At times, no," Bryant responded. "It really got to me sometimes. The stuff I was hearing. The first trade rumors (in 2018) that started to pop up really got to me. I find myself (thinking) 'Man is this even fun anymore? Why did I start playing this game?' Because it was fun.
"There's a lot of other stuff involved. You make a ton of money and fame and all this. You have to get yourself back to why I started playing."
Bryant is set to become a free agent after next season after settling on a contract with the Cubs for $19.5 million for 2021. He's been the subject of trade rumors as he and the team haven't been able to come to an agreement on a longer term deal. He's also heard criticism for his play, perhaps for the first time in his career. That prompted the former MVP to sound off at the end of the 2020 season.
"I don't give a s—," Bryant said at the time. "I really don't. That's a good answer. I'm over it. Sometimes I go out there and go 4-for-4 and it's not good enough for some people, so I don't give a s—."
Bryant hit just .203 last season but battled injuries and was hardly the only Cub that struggled in 2020. He's actually had a couple years of some nagging ailments which may have helped prevent him from returning to his MVP form.
Bryant is the only player in baseball history to win college player of the year, minor league player of the year, rookie of the year and MVP in four consecutive seasons, from 2013-2016. But the last few years have been a struggle as he's become somewhat of the poster boy — fair or unfairly — for the Cubs' offensive struggles, especially in the postseason.
On the podcast, Bryant recalled the joy of his dad picking him up before he reached home plate after he hit his first home run as a kid. The six year veteran wants to find that happiness in the game again, though he indicated there are more important things going on in the world right now.
"I found myself sitting there, 'I don't have that joy right now,'" he stated. "I'm trying all I can to get back to that place. This year was really rough for me personally, just stat wise. I still had a good time (despite COVID protocols and struggles). Making the most of a terrible situation."
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City T-Bones of the independent American Association are being renamed the Kansas City Monarchs after the team that played in the Negro Leagues.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum signed a licensing agreement with Mark Brandmeyer's MaxFun Entertainment, owner of the minor league team.
The original Monarchs were founded in 1924 and won the first Negro League World Series in 1920. The team played in the Negro National League from 1920 to 1931 and the Negro American League from 1937 to 1961, with independent stints from 1932 to 1936 and 1962 to 1965.
"This exciting partnership celebrates Kansas City's rich baseball heritage and becomes an important extension of the work we're doing to educate the public about the history of the Negro Leagues," Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick said in a statement Thursday. "We are thrilled that the proud legacy of the great Kansas City Monarchs will take the field again and look forward to sharing our story through a myriad of opportunities made possible through this historic alliance."
A museum satellite exhibit is planned to travel with the team, which intends to establish a Monarchs youth academy for baseball and softball.
Jason Castro, Houston Astros reach agreement on one-year contract, source says
The Houston Astros have agreed to a one-year contract with catcher Jason Castro, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The deal brings Castro back to Houston, where he spent his first six major league seasons and was an All-Star in 2013.
Castro finished the 2020 season with the San Diego Padres following a trade by the Los Angeles Angels in August. The 33-year-old appeared in 27 games between the two teams during the shortened season, hitting .188 with two home runs and nine RBIs.
He has been a below-average hitter throughout his career, with a .230 batting average, but has been lauded for his pitch-framing and blocking skills.
The Athletic first reported on the agreement.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Deirdré has been communicating about technology, and helping others to do so, for 30 years. She has written one book (so far); edited two more (so far); produced and delivered technical training; produced hundreds of videos and live streams of technical talks; written, edited, and managed blogs; and managed events. She has been applying this skill set to cloud computing since 2010, and to open source for even longer. She joined AWS in June, 2017, as Open Source Content Lead. In this role, among other tasks, she is managing editor of the AWS Open Source blog. You can find her at @deirdres on Twitter.


text:
title: ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration fails in IIS
categories: .Net
tags: WCF
date: 2009-02-19 16:10:50 +10:00
---

Opening an application configuration is useful when you need access to information that is not available via an API. I have done this a few times for reading WCF configuration.

The following code is how I have previously achieved this.

<!--more-->

```csharp
Configuration appConfig = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
ServiceModelSectionGroup serviceModel = ServiceModelSectionGroup.GetSectionGroup(appConfig);
```

This works fine while the application is an exe. Unfortunately it fails when the code is hosted in IIS. You will get an error in the event log like the following:

> A Webhost unhandled exception occurred.

> Exception: System.ServiceModel.Diagnostics.CallbackException: A user callback threw an exception.  Check the exception stack and inner exception to determine the callback that failed. ---> System.ArgumentException: exePath must be specified when not running inside a stand alone exe.

>    at System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfigurationImpl(ConfigurationFileMap fileMap, Boolean isMachine, ConfigurationUserLevel userLevel, String exePath)

>    at System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel userLevel)

The issue here is that IIS doesn't have an exe path for the configuration manager to load from. The simple workaround for this is to access the required configuration section (rather than configuration group) directly using the ConfigurationManager and a wicked cool syntax. The previous example can now be rewritten like this:

```csharp
        ClientSection client = ConfigurationManager.GetSection("system.serviceModel/client") as ClientSection;
```

In this case I was after the client configuration for WCF services.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Seat belts take the brunt of the impact instead of your body taking it through glass and steel. Your seat belt can help protect your chest from being crushed by the steering wheel and can help keep your windshield out of your face in case of an accident. Remember the seat belts are designed to hold you in your seat on impact and to help you absorb the force of the crash at the strongest areas of your body.
The pelvis is a very strong bone capable of withstanding great force so your lap belt should be worn two to four inches below the belt line but not over your abdomen, but low on the lap against your thighs. Adjust it so it's comfortable and snug. Your shoulder belt should come over your shoulder and across your chest. Never behind your back or under your arms. Make sure it's not too slack. There should only be room enough for a clenched fist between your belt and your chest. If there is slack, adjust it. In most cars a gentle tug will do. Pull the shoulder belt out about five inches and let it go.
During pregnancy seat belts can still be worn effectively. In order for expecting moms to get their maximum protection from seat belts they should make sure they seats are in an upright position.
Extend the latch plate and seat belts as far as possible. Sometimes a longer belt might be necessary. Extenders are available from car dealers, usually at no extra charge. Position the lap belt as low on your hips as possible. It should settle snuggly around the hip and pelvic bones and across the upper thighs. There should be no slack in the lap belt portion. Attach the buckle until it clicks.


text:
British Rail: Steaming North Over Dinner, The Munich Agreement & 'Peace for our time' …
DO MAKE USE of LINKS,
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Greg Lance – Watkins
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I note in Robert Harris' recent book 'Munich' thriller, about the negotiations at Munich in September 1938 between Hitler and Chamberlain, which was published on the 21st. Harris does lack an interesting fact which I will provide once you have read Andrew Gimson's more than adequate summary, of the factional plot presented by Robert Harris below:
Harris defends the deal Chamberlain struck with Hitler at Munich
By Andrew Gimson
Munich by Robert Harris
Anglo-German incomprehension is a difficult subject to bring alive. Robert Harris does so in the form of a thriller about the negotiations at Munich in September 1938 between Hitler and Chamberlain.
I happened to read the second half of the book on a train journey, and on reaching the last page, wondered how to pass the rest of the time before reaching my destination in any way that would be half so enjoyable.
It is impossible not to admire the skill with which Harris has inserted into the history of those days a plot involving two junior diplomats – one British, one German, called Legat and Hartmann – who were great friends at Oxford, and fell out with each other during a holiday in Munich in 1932.
For Legat had accused Hartmann of "being a Nazi at heart". When Hartmann reproaches him for this in 1938, Legat replies:
"Did I? I'm sorry. Sometimes, to an outsider, German nationalism didn't sound that much different to Nazism."
If an Englishman like Legat, who speaks excellent German, cannot grasp this distinction, what hope is there for Chamberlain, who speaks none?
Harris once wrote a marvellously rude book about Tony Blair called The Ghost, in which the character based on Cherie Blair turns out to be an American agent, which explains why her husband always ends up doing what the Americans want.
But Harris does not want to be rude about Chamberlain. He wants to be fair and, in conversations which have accompanied the publication of this book, has sought to defend Chamberlain's attempt, at Munich, to appease Hitler by selling out the Czechs. After Munich, as Harris puts it in one of these interviews,
"Chamberlain, dying when he did in 1940 … became a very convenient scapegoat, someone to blame. Whereas in fact, and I think it's almost unarguable, that the time between 1938 and 1940 was very well spent in developing Spitfires and radar and perhaps above all it gave us a sense of national unity. A sense that no one could say that we hadn't done everything possible to try and avoid war and it was clear that there was no making peace with Hitler, that you could never trust him – and so the country did have a resolution to fight on that it might not necessarily have had otherwise."
Yet Harris's respect for history compels him to admit, in his book, that Chamberlain was hopeless at conveying to Hitler the truth that if pushed too far, Britain would stand and fight. Hartmann has the task of conducting the French, British and Italian delegations into Hitler's study in the Führerbau in Munich:
"He led them past the long gallery where the Germans were standing watching. How drab the British and the French looked in their office suits, crumpled after their long journeys, compared to the uniforms of the SS and the Italian fascists. How un-virile; how dowdy and outnumbered."
The German resistance to Hitler wants things to go wrong for the Führer. It tells the British, via Hartmann, that he is a man implacably determined on making war, and that the German army – which sees that war will lead to disaster – will overthrow Hitler if only the British and French will force a showdown.
At Munich, Chamberlain instead presents Hitler with a cost-free conquest – the Sudetenland – which means the rest of Czechoslovakia has been rendered indefensible, and will be conquered early the following year.
One of the merits of this book is that it forces one to ask what one would have done oneself in 1938. Would one have gone beyond pious aspirations about the need to preserve peace?
In the city of Munich, Harris points out, Chamberlain is cheered more loudly and fervently than Hitler, for the British Prime Minister is seen as the man who has averted war. And in London it is the same: there is enormous relief that war has not after all broken out, and Chamberlain is cheered to the echo.
Legat so far forgets his "professional neutrality" that he cheers the Prime Minister too, when MPs burst into deafening applause on hearing Hitler has issued an invitation to Munich.
So Legat and Hartmann play the parts assigned to them by Harris of decent but ineffectual British diplomat with an unhappy marriage, and decent but ineffectual member of the German resistance.
They will not, however, live in readers' memories. For they are marionettes, expertly manipulated by Harris, rather than characters with a life of their own. Even the relationship between Legat and Hartmann feels like a device rather a friendship invested with the passion of youth.
And Chamberlain and Hitler are marionettes too, rather than characters whose personalities emerge more fully than before. Chamberlain seems to me to have been a gifted technocrat – his health reforms in the 1920s were brilliant – but a deeply unpleasant man.
Stanley Baldwin, his predecessor as Prime Minister, asked him to stop treating Labour MPs like dirt, but Chamberlain remarks (in a letter in 1927 to one of his sisters): "The fact is that intellectually, with a few exceptions, they are dirt."
That is one reason why Labour refused in 1940 to serve under Chamberlain. Nye Bevan, a brilliant young Labour MP, observed from the Opposition benches the change of tone in May 1937 when Chamberlain took over from Baldwin:
"In the funeral service of capitalism, the honeyed and soothing platitudes of the clergyman are finished, and the cortege is now under the sombre and impressive guidance of the undertaker."
Chamberlain's own brother, Austen, a former Foreign Secretary who was deeply versed in European politics, had warned him: "Neville, you must remember you know nothing about foreign affairs."
Of these contemporary (rather than retrospective) criticisms of Chamberlain, not much is found in Harris. But it is true that the Prime Minister's entourage, including the ineffable Sir Horace Wilson (rightly accorded a key role by Harris), were deeply loyal to him.
Nick Timothy this week suggested in The Daily Telegraph that Disraeli was the last Prime Minister who "immediately and accurately understood a German leader's intentions" (though he dates this understanding to a conversation with Bismarck in 1862, when Disraeli was not Prime Minister).
Does Theresa May understand Angela Merkel? Probably not, for many Germans do not understand her.
Harris's defence of Chamberlain rests on the assertion that the Munich agreement, though a shameful betrayal of the Czechs, was the only practical course of action for the British government. The Establishment got it right in 1938: ever since 1939, when the policy of appeasement collapsed, a pleasantly controversial thesis.
To view the original of this article CLICK HERE
As promised here is the missing fact:
Over 50 years ago in 1965 when I was travelling home to Wester-Ross in Scotland just north of Loch Alsh, which in those days was the route of the ferry to Skye I was travelling in uniform on an Military Rail Pass first to Inverness on the overnight sleeper from London.
On entering a crowded dining car an older (to me as an 18 year old at RMAS) gentleman sitting alone noted my uniform insignia and asked if I was at Sandhurst; realising who he was (if a little belatedly) I confirmed and he invited me to join him at his table.
A fascinating dinner lasted for several hours, as I recall we went on to coffee in the first class lounge. Fortunately we knew a number of people in common. Sir Alec Douglas – Home was out of office at the time and was a fascinating ( very tollerant) host and I remarked that when he had been Commonwealth Secretary during the Suez Crisis I had been travelling alone to Singapore ,as an 11 year old, on a BOAC (Better On A Camel) flight as any schoolboy of the day would have known the airline, when the flight was requisitioned for troop movement stranding us temporarily in Ankara!
I asked him, as Military history was an obvious interest and having lived in Germany, about his experiences of meeting Adolf Hitler when he accompanied Neville Chamberlain to Munich. The story was fascinating with the advantage of many small details.
Sir Alec explained how they had realised before leaving Britain that we were woefully unprepared for war and when the issue of The Sudetenland & the resultant tragedy of Czechoslovakia it was clear that Britain was in no position to honour our commitment to defend the Czechs without a full scale war which we would have indubitably have lost in short order.
It had been hoped that the invasion of Czechoslovakia would not actually occur at that stage. As PPS to Chamberlain Sir Alec realised the imperative of prolonging peace and it was to that end that the negotiations were directed – giving Chamberlain the opportunity to descend the steps from the returning plane holding a paper aloft & stating 'Peace for our time'!
It was apparently as he re-entered Downing Street and entered the Cabinet Office, where his senior Ministered were assembled, that he announced with some gravitas 'Gentlemen prepare for war'.
Neville Chamberlain had achieved the masterfull stroke of duping Hitler into the belief that Britain would not go to war with Germany and as a result we had a few extra months in which to arm more adequately, particularly with the production of the Spitfire, which went on to take such an important role in the war that followed shortly after.
Clearly in high office it had been decided to strenuously protect Britain from the dangers of giving to great a platform to Churchill as until the period of phoney war was over it was essential to silence any voice that would accelerate the onset of war – a voice such as WSC speaking out too soon would have been catastrophic.
The night rattled on through Crewe northwards and the entire experience for me as a youngster was both fascinating and memorable even if I was itching to ask about Jack Profumo which had in no small measure brought about his Premiership with Macmillan's prostate problems, nor did I dare to venture into the realms of JFK's assasination which occured during his Premiership!
Greg_L-W.
Posted by: Greg Lance-Watkins
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People have probably worn necklaces since time began. Over the years the styles and materials changed as the skills and tools of jewelry makers developed. Today's collectors of vintage necklaces recognize their value is based on artistry and design, whether they be made of wood, glass, ivory, precious or base materials.
Many vintage necklaces are not signed, and some of these are the most beautiful. When designers and companies were making costume jewelry 40 to 100 years ago, they had no idea their jewelry would be collected and worn by woman many years in the future. If only we had a time machine, we could travel back in time and insure that all those "mystery" pieces were signed!
Visit my Vintage necklaces page for: necklace history, definitions of necklace styles and more.


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