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I think playing with Kubalik has opened up the ice a bit for him . I think Toews lost a lot of energy trying to play in front of the net while trying to still be the same good defensive player. Too much time and energy skating end to end and battles in front of the net making his shifts less effective. Toews can now trust Kunalik on rushes or when Toews pulls up Kubalik will drive the net or give Toews a good angle to pass. This in turn saves him some energy and be more effective both offensively and defensively.

Neither are the Sox , not for Arenado anyway.

Yea I mentioned Flores in the 1st of my 2 posts above, Mine would be : 1, Holt 2. Gennett but only after extensive medical exams since I think his upside is the highest of everyone still available 3. Flores 4, Dozier 5. Yolmer 6. Kipnis

Shredder needs an over haul or a tune up. Happy to see Encarnacion make it but come on now. He's a DH. I understand the reluctance to count traditional stats like RBI's but they really can't fit the AL RBI leader on this list ? It's one thing to say RBI's are based on opportunities but on a bad team do we really think Abreu had so many more opportunities for RBI's or is it more a product that he hit damn good in those opportunities. It's starting to look like walks mean more than RBI's. I love walks as much as the next guy but I'd rather have a guy drive in runs than leave it up to the next guy. Too many stats now are walk /OBP driven and since the Shredder is most likely a Brian Kenny Sabermetric type unbiased calculation I doubt RBI's get the love that walks driven stats do. The name of the game is still getting more runs across the plate than your opponent. Wouldn't be surprised if the batting champ doesn't make the top 10 SS either or slides in at 9 or 10.

Hawks just blitzing Leafs 6-2 now. Toews with 2 goals 2 assists and Kubalik with 2 goals, Those two have been piling up the points together , The 2nd Kubalik goal was amazing highlight reel stuff . He took a cross ice pass from Toews knee high skating down the left side and batted it in from about 5 feet ft out. You see guys bat pucks in usually from close in on rebounds enough but not like Kubalik just did very often. Kubalik 9 goals in last 7 games. Leads all rookies in goals.

If you are going to be a solid bench player you better be multi positional and hit righties good considering most pitchers are righties, Rather have a lefty who plays multiple positions like Holt or Gennett. If Madrigal struggles at all a LH PH and a guy who can sub for long stretches is better. Baseball is ideal for LHH , get as many as you can.

Have you checked his stats since he was 30 ? Not impressive. There's not many if any teams he could start for now . Most of the FA's left are fighting for table scraps now, I'm not buying the fit either, I'd rather have Brad Miller, Holt or Flores if they are going to still get an infielder. Gennett too if his medicals check out. He put up a career year in 2018 then followed it up with a disaster of a 2019 mostly due to injury. But I'd also be fine with Mendick.

Nothing is clear here . When you put Vaughn=Bellinger the blinders go on to the rest of your post.

Brantley at 2. I wanted him for RF when he was a FA and I got all kind of blow back here. That's to be expected though. People were leery of his past injuries and age and how he'd fit in the competitive timeline.

LOL I thought you meant as a hitter he was like Bellinger. not his all around game since the only thing you cited was the hitting ceiling. But yea I knew you'd get the usual Vaughn is not Bellinger stuff . Actually a lot of people here are penciling Vaughn into the lineup as early as 2021. But I need to see a really good year from him at Birmingham before I get too excited. That's usually where Sox prospects go to die. It's a very pitcher friendly park. So sorry if I am also raining on your parade but not for the same reasons as the others . Frank did great at Birmingham , not sure if it was the same park though. 1.068 OPS. I'd be stoked if Vaughn could put up a .900 OPS there in 300 AB's. Luis Robert had an .880 OPS there in 244 plate appearances.

They've been playing good for the past 3 or so weeks. 9-4 in their last 13 games. 3 in a row. Lehner winning like 7 of his last 8. Kubalik's stepped up big time in Saad's absence. Just when everyone starts talking about Hawks selling at the trade deadline they start playing well. Maybe they put Saad on the block since they've proved they don't need him or just keep Kubalik , Kane and Toews together and put Saad on another line. Maybe they get even better when Saad returns possibly tonight and whenever Strome gets back but do not break up Kubalik Kane and Toews. Kubalik has a really sneaky fast shot and has been getting to the front of the net getting rebounds and tips. Kubalik seems to have got the 5 hole shot down perhaps an influence from Toews. I always thought the Hawks had enough depth to keep Kane and Toews together . Colliton would be wise to keep it that way. His prior reluctance to keep Toews and Kane together for the sake of balance hasn't worked. Hawks have played their best hockey of the season with a few vets out of the lineup. I don't know if that's in Colliton's favor or a knock on him since he's been forced to mix things up more.

I know Frank was a 1st ballot HOFer but all those guys on steroids pissed me off because Frank probably lost an MVP to one ( Giambi) and didn;t make a lot of All star teams either for a guy who had a great 7 year run . His 1st 2 full seasons he came in 3rd and 8th in MVP balloting and didnt make the All STar team either year. 1993 and 1994 he won back to back MVP's and made his 1st 2 All star teams. Frank could have won the Triple Crown and appeared in a World Series if not for the 1994 strike. He also had a .494 OBP in 94 . Frank went 1 for 1 in 93 and 2 for 2 in 94 so 1st 3 All Star AB's he got 3 hits. 1995 8th in MVP votes and made 3rd All star team. Frank wins the HR Derby and hits a HR in the game. 1 for 2 with 2 RBI 1996 8th in MVP again and 4th All Star team. No At bats in the game. 1997 3rd in MVP voting and 5th All Star team and last. Again no AB's for Frank 1998 off year for Frank only a .381 OBP instead of his usual ,450 ! 2000 age 32 2nd in MVP voting no All Star game. even though he was hitting .333 with 26 HR's at the break. So for his whole Career Frank only had 5 All Star AB's and had 4 hits. Not sure if he got any walks . The box scores I found weren't that comprehensive on Baseball Almanac. 2003 age 35 15th in MVP no All Star game 2006 with Oakland age 38 3rd in MVP voting as a DH only No All Star game 2007 with Toronto 23rd in MVP and no All Star game. According to Frank he got snubbed 8 times for the All Star team Frank made 14 post season All Star teams but those don't really count.

Is the Teoscar Hernandez comment another throwaway or should I take it seriously ? Using wRC+ indicates Donaldson was 32% above league average and Abreu was 17% above league average OFFENSIVELY which are the stats myself and Balta have been discussing since we agree that Donaldson holds much more value defensively . Teoscar Hernandez had a wRC+ of 93 or 7% below league average. Seeing as how you and I have no idea how either will do in the future due to injury or performance , telling me who is going to be more valuable as a DH in the future has no significance at all.

I like a happy medium so thanks. I do however think wRC+ is better than WAR for offensive contributions . Donaldson's was 132 and Abreu 117 . If that difference is worth 1.5 fWAR then maybe the offensive difference is greater than I think or I just shouldn't argue using advanced stats.

Exactly I am not begrudging the Donaldson contract at all and his worth. I just don't think anyone can say it makes the Abreu contract look worse that we already thought it was. Only time will tell not our opinions .