Pirates Gregory Polaco, the new Moneyball and the Marshmallow test

 

This is the game that the low to mid tier markets have to play to stay competitive with their larger brethren.



from Yahoo Sports:

Source: Pirates offered star prospect Gregory Polanco a long-term deal - Yahoo Sports:

The situation with Polanco is even more naked. At 12-20, with a .687 team OPS and failing platoon in right field, the Pirates unquestionably could use Polanco, who is hitting .397/.449/.621 with four home runs and 26 RBIs. Between his performance over the season's first month and his MVP showing in the Dominican Winter League, he has solidified his place among the top echelon of prospects – the sort whom teams conspire to keep in the minor leagues until after the projected cut-off for so-called Super 2 players. 

The top 22 percent of each service class are designated Super 2 players, meaning they are granted arbitration – and therefore a higher salary – for four seasons instead of three. By keeping a player in the minor leagues until after the Super 2 cut-off, which is usually in early to mid-June, teams estimate a savings of millions of dollars.

'via Blog this'





It has nothing to do with advance stats or stats of any kind, really. It's all about economics and the central lesson of the classic sociological test, the Stanford marshmallow experiment: immediate gratification versus delayed gratification.

This is a trend that the Rays started with Evan Longoria. Remember, they sent him down after a stellar spring, brought him up in April and almost before he performed at the MLB level, they locked him up.



 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Longoria

On April 12, 2008, the Rays placed Willy Aybar on the disabled list and called up Longoria from Triple-A Durham to replace him on the major league roster and on the 40-man roster. Longoria made his major league debut that night going 1 for 3 with an RBI.

On April 18, the Rays signed him to a six-year, $17.5 million contract with options for 2014, 2015, and 2016. The first six years of the contract cover his arbitration years, with three more years added by team options. If the team exercises its nd-setters?one-year option for 2014, and then its two-year option for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the deal could be worth up to $44 million.^[12][13] There is a general consensus that this contract is among the most team-friendly, in terms of dollars per Wins Above Replacement, in Major League Baseball.^[14]

Between this economic trend and the more recent on the field defensive "shift-a-palooza" that the Rays employ and now other teams have followed suit, can we begin to refer to the Rays as MLB trend-setters?



The Longoria deal certainly raised eyebrows at the time among fans and pundits. It has now raised the ire of the union and agent class in baseball who believe teams are using it as a tactic to low-ball young prospects and take away some of their bargaining power in later, post arbitration years, after they have put up some actual numbers.

As the saying from an old, auto repair TV commercial lamented, "You can pay me now, or pay me later".

That's the decision that the smaller market teams are faced with in order to compete.

And the future stars are faced with the ever so tempting marshmallow test decision.

Yummy, yummy!!!

Joakim Noah tells critics to back off Chicago Bulls teammate Derrick Rose - ESPN Chicago

Or maybe Joakim Naoh should just shut-up. It's great that he comes to the defense of a teammate, but when fans are simply asking "where is the warrior mentality" from somebody who has been marketed to them as a "warrior", IMO that's not totally out of line at all.


from ESPN:
Joakim Noah tells critics to back off Chicago Bulls teammate Derrick Rose - ESPN Chicago:

Noah took a question regarding how much pride he and his team feel being able to win without Rose while so many pundits count them out, and he went off on an emotional defense of his close friend.

"Derrick's a brother," Noah said. "And to see him go through this is tough, but at the end of the day it's really funny how quick people are to judge. But people don't know what it's like to lead a team, especially after you tore your ACL.

"If you tore your ACL and you have to be the starting point guard and have the expectations that Derrick has, then maybe you can judge, but everybody who hasn't been in that situation before should really shut up because I feel like it's just so unfair to him and to this team. We're fighting, and everybody's going to just s--- on somebody who's been giving so much to this organization. It's crazy to me."

'via Blog this'


He's well over the average recovery time for his injury. And his team is travelling further in the playoffs then perhaps anyone imagined without him. That's gotta hurt.

He's perhaps getting bad advice from his agent / manager / brother and or his shoe company to think about yourself at the expense of the team, which is the antithesis of a team player and a leader. To say nothing of being the antithesis of a "warrior" (see below).

Now he's caught between a rock and a hard place after indicating he was going to shut it down and seeing the "other guys" on the team busting their ass trying to win without him. Nice that you want to circle the wagons and protect a brother, but fans have their viewpoint as well.

That's why you guys get the big bucks, you have to deal with the scrutiny in good times and bad times.

It's totally justified for people to wonder "How is he going to lead this team if they win the whole thing without him." Or is he going to all of a sudden miraculously recover in time to be a part of that? Just because you don't particularly like the message, no need to shoot the messengers.

Derrick needs to take a long hard look at who he puts his trust in. He says it's in God, but it appears more like big brother Reggie Rose and Adidas are running ahead in this area. Heck, Adidas wasn't even a Greek god of anything. And it may be time for little brother to step out from behind big brother's over-protectiveness. One wonders exactly what it is that big-brother is protecting. Because he sure isn't doing a great job of protecting his carefully sculpted image here. Which is the job of a good agent / manager.

Good Luck in the playoffs, with or without the distraction of "Is he or isn't he....?".

And instead of telling fans and commentators to shut-up maybe you should tell Derrick that one of the virtues of being a warrior is that of being selfless.

Here's some others you might want to toss into the conversation, courtesy of Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Social_Cycle

Warriors, or Kshatriya in Sanskrit, have strong bodies, vigorous physical energy and a sharp intellect. Warriors tend to develop the skills that take advantage of their inherent gifts of stamina, courage and vigor. Their mentality is one that is not averse to taking physical risks. Examples of people in our society with the warrior mentality include: policemen, firemen, soldiers, professional athletes, skilled carpenters and tradesmen, etc. They all achieve success through their physical skills and a deep understanding of their profession.

  Esse quam videri - (Latin) To be, rather than to seem.  
It's better to be, rather than to seem. 

Get it? Got it? Good. 

Virtue Matters More Than Money | Acton PowerBlog

TRUTH!!

Ironically, there seems to be so much money more money out there nowadays and so much less virtue and as this author illustrates and the Business Insider article documents, one can be to be elusive and fleeting while the other will sustain you for a lifetime.

Who would have thought you would find a great sports cautionary tale on the Acton Blog?

from the Acton.org Blog:
Virtue Matters More Than Money | Acton PowerBlog:

There is such powerful interest in sports being a way out of poverty for many low-income males, especially black males, that we tend to forget about other things, like wisdom, that contribute to success. For many young men and women sports has given them and their families amazing new opportunities to quickly go from subsistence to wealth. However, for many athletes the lessons of stewardship, which are first modeled in the home, were never properly cultivated, resulting in them losing all of their earnings within a short time. Here are just a few recent ones from BusinessInsider.com:

....

The recent Allen Iverson news, in particular, has caused many to revisit this issue in new ways. When thinking about what sustains success in the long-run we are foolish as a society if we think that social mobility can be sustained without moral formation. Athletes are people who should be treated with dignity and not as commodities to be traded for the sake of wins and tickets sales. What this means is that if we are doing to promote the possibility of sports participation as a means of social mobility we cannot do that without cultivating and training the moral virtues needed to properly exercise stewardship over wealth. Otherwise, we will continue see disaster stories like these. Without wise stewardship the fast acquisition of wealth will find one quickly living in poverty.

'via Blog this'

RIP: John Wooden (1910-2010)

We lost one of the greatest sport coaches of all-time, maybe the best ever. The Wooden Pyramid should be on or near every coaches desktop. This link shows how much the great minds do think alike. Some wisdom from Wooden, Lombardi and Ben Franklin to boot.


http://www.squidoo.com/coachjohnwooden

Contemporaries

Lombardi and Wooden

I hesitate to include this, but Lombardi quarterback Bart Starr has written that the philosophies of these coaches of different sports were "very much the same." (A Perspective on Victory, Follett Publishing Co., 1972). Wooden did not give pre-game motivational speeches; professional football coaches may need to; reportedly, at the close of the following speech, inebriated middle-aged businessmen in the 1960s were ready to take the field or run through a brick wall.

From When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss (Simon & Schuster, 1999) (pp. 397-406)


February 8, 1967
New York
Speech to American Management Association
Vince Lombardi

Block One
The Meaning of Football


Football is a game very much like life, a game which gives 100 per cent elation, 100 per cent fun, when you win, yet demands and extracts a 100 per cent resolution, 100 per cent determination when you lose, a violent game and to play it any other way but violently would be imbecilic, a game played by millions of Americans, yet completely uninhibited by racial or social barriers, a game that demands the Spartan qualities of sacrifice, self-denial, dedication and fearlessness.

I have been in football all my life, and although I sometimes wonder why I stay in an occupation as precarious as football coaching, I do not feel particularly qualified to be part of anything else.

Block Two
The American Zeal


Over the years I have grown increasingly worried about the lack of interest in competition, particularly athletic competition among our young people. Men need the test of competition to find their better selves, whether it is in sports, politics or business.

I need no greater authority than the great General MacArthur, and I would like to quote some of the things he said to me. Namely: "Competitive sports keeps alive in all of us a spirit of vitality and enterprise. It teaches the strong to know when they are weak and the brave to face themselves when they are afraid. To be proud and unbending in defeat, yet humble and gentle in victory. To master ourselves before we attempt to master others. To learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep, and it gives a predominance of courage over timidity.

Block Three
A Man's Personal Commitment to Excellence and Victory


While complete victory can never be won, it must be pursued, it must be wooed with all of one's might. Each week there is a new encounter, each year there is a new challenge. But all of the display, all of the noise, all of the glamour, and all of the color and excitement, they exist only in the memory. But the spirit, the will to excel, the will to win, they endure, they last forever. These are the qualities, I think, that are larger and more important than any of the events that occasion them.

Block Four
Abuse of Liberty


For most of the twentieth century, we as individuals have struggled to liberate ourselves from ancient traditions, congealed creeds and despotic states. Therefore, freedom was necessarily idealized against order, the new against the old, and genius against discipline. Everything was done to strengthen the rights of the individual and weaken the state, and weaken the church, and weaken all authority. I think we all shared in this rebellion, but maybe the battle was too completely won, maybe we have too much freedom. Maybe we have so long ridiculed authority in the family, discipline in education, and decency in conduct and law that our freedom has brought us close to chaos.

I am sure you are disturbed like I am by what seems to be a complete breakdown of law and order and the moral code which is almost beyond belief. Unhappily, our youth, the most gifted segment of our population, the heirs to scientific advances and freedom's breath, the beneficiaries of their elders' sacrifices and achievements, seem, in too large numbers, to have disregard for the law's authority, for its meaning, for its indispensability to their enjoyment of the fullness of life, and have conjoined with certain of their elders, who should know better, to seek a development of a new right, the right to violate the law with impunity. The prevailing sentiment seems to be if you don't like the rule, break it.

Block Five
Discipline


It could be that our leaders no longer understand the relationship between themselves and the people they lead.

That is, while most shout to be independent, they at the same time wish to be dependent, and while most shout to assert themselves, they at the same time wish to be told what to do.

Block Six
What Makes a Great Leader?


Leaders are made, not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.

A leader must identify himself with the group, must back up the group, even at the risk of displeasing his superiors. He must believe that the group wants from him a sense of approval. If this feeling prevails, production, discipline and morale will be high, and in return he can demand the cooperation to promote the goals of the company. He must believe in teamwork through participation. As a result, the contact must be close and informal. He must be sensitive to the emotional needs and expectations of others. In return, the attitude toward him should be one of confidence and, possibly, affection. The leader, in spite of what was said above, can never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk, as it were, a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control that he must exert.

Block Seven
Character and Will


The character, rather than education, is man's greatest need and man's greatest safeguard, because character is higher than intellect. While it is true the difference between men is in energy, in the strong will, in the settled purpose and in the invincible determination, the new leadership is in sacrifice, it is in self-denial, it is in love and loyalty, it is in fearlessness, it is in humility, and it is in the perfectly disciplined will. This, gentlemen, is the distinction between great and little men.

The love I'm speaking of is loyalty, which is the greatest of loves. Teamwork, the love that one man has for another and that he respects the dignity of another. The love that I am speaking of is charity. I am not speaking of detraction. You show me a man who belittles another and I will show you a man who is not a leader; or one who is not charitable, who has no respect for the dignity of another, is not loyal, and I will show you a man who is not a leader. I am not advocating that love is the answer to everything. I am not speaking of a love which forces everyone to love everybody else, that you must love the white man because he is white or the black man because he is your enemy, but rather of a love that one man has for another human being. Heart power is the strength of your company. Heart power is the strength of the Green Bay Packers. Heart power is the strength of America and hate power is the weakness of the world.

A Precursor

Thirteen Virtues of Benjamin Franklin

Legendary coach Pete Newell quoted Ben Franklin to explain his own philosophy, "Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge. For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost, and for want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for want of care about a horseshoe nail." It sums up John Wooden's philosophy as well.

From The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin:

1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

9. MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.

11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.

13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

The virtue of humility in athletics

One of the human virtues that people seem to struggle the most to define and develop in themselves and those they lead is humility. In a sense in sports it is a real dichotomy. Athletes have to be strong mentally and project great self-confidence outwardly, yet be humble on the inside. It's easy to say that you are humble and have humility, but hard to get a real handle on because they are opposing forces.

Many athletes, when they begin to have success and reach the higher levels of their craft, develop an attitude that screams "it's hard to be humble when you are this good". Personal vanity gets the better of them. True humility allows your actions and your successes to speak loud enough about the type of person you are. But many athletes feel that is not enough and they have to enhance things with public displays of false pride.

The great author C.S. Lewis framed this virtue when he said, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less." Framing it in this light, humility is the absence of personal vanity. Being humble in spirit and confident in the knowledge that you are not only doing well, but you are doing right.

HUMILITY - Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble." - 1 Peter 5:5

CHECKLIST OF VIRTUES - ACCORDING TO OUR SPONSORS

THE SUPREME COURT - IT SAYS EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW UP THERE, KINDA HARD TO SEE

With all the recent scandal that has attached itself to various sports luminaries recently it's nice that somebody has taken the time to take a step back and provide some context to the moral dilemma some of us find ourselves in when struggling to decide who we should continue to root for or not root for.

According to this item that recently appeared in the New York Post, the scoring is as follows:

WIFE BEATING - BAD. STILL A NO-NO.
CHILD ABUSE/PEDOPHILIA - BAD, VERY-BAD. ALWAYS HAS BEEN, ALWAYS WILL BE.
DOG KILLING - BAD. DISTURBINGLY BAD.
HOMOSEXUALITY - BAD. NOT THAT THAT'S A BAD THING, RIGHT?
ADULTERY - GOOD. HEY, HOLD-ON, WHAT!!!
-----------------------------------------------
CHEATING HUBBY 'A'-OK WITH CORPORATE SPONSORS
By SAMUEL GOLDSMITH

He's not accused of rape and he didn't kill any dogs - so A-Rod's all good.

Cynthia Rodriguez has had enough of her husband's cheating ways, but Alex Rodriguez is still squeaky clean in the eyes of his corporate sponsors, image experts told The Post yesterday.

And that means the multimillion-dollar machine is expected to keep the $6 million he earns annually in endorsement deals.

"Wife-beating would hurt him, underage girls would hurt him, a gay lover would hurt him, but run-of-the-mill affairs - that's a non-issue in American life," said branding expert Howard Bragman, head of the public-relations agency Fifteen Minutes.

The Yankee's escapades may be grounds for divorce, but he's still the most marketable player in baseball, according to Sports Business Daily.

A deal-breaking scandal is one like Michael Vick's. The quarterback was busted for dog fighting last year and lost everything, including $9 million in sponsorships from Nike, Reebok, Rawlings and Upper Deck.

But bedding strippers and late-night engagements with Madonna? That won't bother A-Rod sponsors like Nike, Pepsi or Topps, Bragman said.

"We just don't hold affairs against people anymore," he said.
------------------------------------------------
Of course we know that being known as a possible rapist hasn't hurt a certain NBA star or two as long as you are financially able to invest possibly seven-figures in hush money paid, as settlement to the victim and a huge diamond for the injured spouse. If you were say, the typical NBA fan, from let's say row 10 and back, you are looking at serious jail time and a life ruined beyond repair, if placed in similar circumstances.

The same apparently goes for being involved in a incident where two people were killed to the extent that you have blood stains in your shoes and slacks and you had to plea-bargain your way out of the more serious culpability. Again, if you were say the typical NFL fan, likely placed anywhere in the stadium other than the luxury boxes, you are also looking at some serious jail time and a life ruined once you do your jail time.

Unfortunately, in some measure because we are culturally driven by the paragons of virtue in the corporate world and the mainstream media, a symbiotic match made in the moral depths of hades if there ever was one, we have the kind of justice system we currently have.

And it is certainly not one that is based in any way on the "hallowed" virtues that you see displayed as you enter said Halls of Justice across the nation.



LADY JUSTICE - SHE'S SUPPOSED TO BE IMPARTIAL (BLIND) AND BALANCE JUSTICE EQUALLY (SCALES)

And it is nice to keep in proper context that, while it's apparently OK to root for these type of characters, who have been involved in "moral dilemmas" that most of us would never put ourselves into in the first place, we should at the same time "socially shun" folks like Bonds, McGwire, Sosa and now Clemens for committing acts that, most public opinion polls would show, the (vast) majority of Americans would commit themselves if placed in the same circumstances.

Laws are supposed to protect us from the most socially "deviant" acts. Deviant meaning deviation from the norm. "Normal" behavior is not generally legislated against.

Now I generally do not like to go down this route because it assumes guilty behavior where the jury is still out, so to speak. But it just seems to me to be an indictment of who we are as a society and the height of hypocrisy when we are given the selective A-OK to root on possible rapists and murderers, based solely on their ability to hire high-priced attorneys and continue to push product to the same American youth we profess to want to protect so badly.

I mean give me a break, this dip-shit, empty-suit in the Post article and others of his ilk would basically give you permission to exonerate folks who would piss on at least two, maybe three, of the Ten Commandments. To someone who would even remotely suggest that, I would just say, "GO TO HELL"

Just so I don't end on such a depressing note, here is a list of virtues you CAN choose to live by, courtesy of one of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin.

After that, the Seven Deadly Sins. You can see where A-Rod and others fall on the "paragons of virtue scale" just by looking at the qualities listed and see which seem to describe the man.

And then you can decide who you should root for all by yourself.
--------------------------------------
FROM THE WEBSITE CHANGINGMINDS.ORG:
http://changingminds.org/explanations/values/thirteen_virtues.htm

Franklin's Thirteen Virtues

When Benjamin Franklin was 20, he wrote a 13-point plan for how he would live his life. It was so successful that he stuck to it for many years. He would focus on one point each week, such that he would cycle through the whole set once every 13 weeks and four times per year. He kept track of progress with a chart in which he would put a red dot for each fault against each virtue committed that day.

These are a set of values he defined in 1741, in his own words (plus his added commentary).

* Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
* Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
* Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
* Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
* Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
* Industry. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
* Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
* Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
* Moderation. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
* Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
* Tranquillity. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
* Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
* Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

"It may be well my posterity should be informed that to this little artifice, with the blessing of God, their ancestor ow'd the constant felicity of his life, down to his 79th year, in which this is written. What reverses may attend the remainder is in the hand of Providence; but, if they arrive, the reflection on past happiness enjoy'd ought to help his bearing them with more resignation. To Temperance he ascribes his long-continued health, and what is still left to him of a good constitution; to Industry and Frugality, the early easiness of his circumstances and acquisition of his fortune, with all that knowledge that enabled him to be a useful citizen, and obtained for him some degree of reputation among the learned; to Sincerity and Justice, the confidence of his country, and the honorable employs it conferred upon him; and to the joint influence of the whole mass of the virtues, even in the imperfect state he was able to acquire them, all that evenness of temper, and that cheerfulness in conversation, which makes his company still sought for, and agreeable even to his younger acquaintance. I hope, therefore, that some of my descendants may follow the example and reap the benefit.

"In this piece it was my design to have endeavored to convince young persons that no qualities were so likely to make a poor man's fortune as those of probity and integrity.

"My list of virtues contain'd at first but twelve; but a Quaker friend having kindly informed me that I was generally thought proud; that my pride show'd itself frequently in conversation; that I was not content with being in the right when discussing any point, but was overbearing, and rather insolent, of which he convinc'd me by mentioning several instances; I determined endeavouring to cure myself, if I could, of this vice or folly among the rest, and I added Humility to my list.

"In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had compleatly overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility."
So what?

So if you live your life by these, you will probably be considered to be a good person by many others. You will probably also be a saint.

In persuasion, take note of them: if you shows these values, you are more likely to be trusted. You are also likely to trust others who demonstrate these values.
------------------------------------------
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS:
http://changingminds.org/explanations/values/deadly_sins.htm

The Seven Deadly Sins

Sins have always been popular areas of focus in the church. An early 2nd century document, the Didache, contains a list of five. Origen produced a sevenfold list and at the end of the 4th century Cassian amended this sevenfold list. Eventually, the Seven Deadly Sins (or Vices) we know today were defined in the 6th century by Pope Gregory the Great, as a set of negative values: the values that you are supposed to adopt is that you will avoid these things and actually adopt their opposites.



1. Pride is an excessive belief in one's own abilities.
2. Envy is wanting what others have, be it status, abilities, or possessions.
3. Gluttony is the desire to eat or consume more than you require.
4. Lust is a powerful craving for such as sex, power and money.
5. Anger is the loss of rational self-control and the desire to harm others.
6. Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain.
7. Sloth is laziness and the avoidance of work.

Note how many of these are very similar: envy, gluttony, lust and greed are all about desire. There is also a hidden lack of concern for others in at least envy and anger.

As with other religious rule-sets, these pretty much hit the nail on the head in terms of a system for social harmonization or social control (depending on your viewpoint). Few people will openly admit to any of them (which attests to the success in the inculcation of these as anti-values in the Christian world).

The number seven, by the way, is not only a cabbalistic magical number, it also just happens to be the size of our short-term memory, which is a real limit to the number of things we can hold in mind at one time.
So what?

Do not demonstrate these values yourself. Suggest that the other person is succumbing to one or more of these values and they will likely head in the opposite direction.

Another approach is to play the Devil and encourage the other person to give in to these natural tendencies.

You can then either use this 'rule-breaking' as evidence that they can do things they previously would not consider. You can even use it then as a guilt lever, maybe even as a form of blackmail (this is far more common than may be supposed).