WestEddy

I think they really just grade them on the amount of roster churn.

I think I see one more win in this schedule. Maybe all the people who shouted that this team would lose more games than the 2024 team were wrong? Perhaps that is something to consider?

it's a great listen.

I'm sure that nobody cares, but I've been listening to the Beach Boys' Smile while following on Gameday. Awesome.

Maybe Michael Jordan could have been a great OF, and Birmingham just kept him down.

Okay, Shane just doesn't GAF. Load 'em every inning and ride, MFers!!!

Okay, the 1st can be Shane Smith's rebab start, and this is the real start.

I know what that is. LOL. We watched a season of that garbage "Duster" based on that series.

I, for one, am Julksed.

Yeah, he probably did. And he's probably come to some semblance of the conclusion you've been yelling that trading the roster detritus for guys who have one foot out of the game already is just a waste of time. Target the guys you want, if a desired trade isn't out there, keep your guys and play the games. I'm sure that's frustrating for GMs who want your setup man for their A-ball chucker.

Do you think there's a "gentleman's agreement", where you're checkmated (it's 4:55, you're looking at the "best offer", and your guy's a free agent/impossible option), and you make the trade, because that's cricket? It could be seen as a dick move to announce that you'll choke on the contract and get nothing rather than get played by another GM.

I had that fine experience at Kaufmann stadium back in '19. My niece got tix upper tank, 1B side, Saturday afternoon. I think we left after 5 innings.

He certainly seems to play the game of trading minor league depth for cash considerations when somebody like the Rays want Tristan Gray. Maybe Getz has a chip on his shoulder over last TDL, so he starts high and stays high. Can't say I mind that, as I'd rather not have 2 of this summer's acquisitions retire next May.

Other GMs always complained about dealing with Andrew Friedman when he was GM of the Rays. He wasn't going to give guys away or make a trade just to say he did.

These 6 guys would need Rule 5 protection over the winter. I could see them caring about Davitt, Adams, McDougal and Pallette. Schweitzer wasn't ready for AAA, so MLB could be a reach. Murphy, I think is mostly smoke and mirrors, pitches to contact at AA. Tyler Schweitzer Mason Adams Duncan Davitt Payton Pallette Tanner McDougal Shane Murphy

That would be great to never have to read Clevenger's name again. It does seem like bringing him up is really a last resort. Beyond that, I would think Cannon, Martin and Perez could handle 50-70 more innings each in the duration.

Immediately? I think Shane Smith is going to take a turn in the next 5 games. Perez is probably due back in a couple weeks. Maybe one of Smith or Burke goes to the pen, or they tandem them, 3 innings a piece, or something. I think they like Vasil and Alexander as long men.

It's fun. I got heckled by one guy because of my Sox hat. This is probably about 15-20 years ago. I think the food was run of the mill, then. Can't really remember anything else that stood out. We were able to walk all around the stadium and sit anywhere, really.

Is that on your computer? Can you rerun the game later on?

"Toxic positivity"

You see they posted, but the post is hidden. When people reply to them, you see their text in the replies. When somebody ignored has a bunch of hidden posts on a page, I might click in to see if something's going on.

Well, everyone sure took a victory lap on me last year when I said the bullpen was "lockdown", once, yourself included. So enjoy my victory lap. Maybe one day we'll meet and talk about our various victory laps taken here.

I think this team, as situated on August 1, is probably a 70 win team. Meaning, if this group of guys started a season today, they'd win 70. I agree with you that it's not crazy that they could add 10 wins through a couple of additions, some of the players on this team progressing in their development, or some of the dreadful years regressing to the mean. The way the playoffs are set up now, a .500 team is technically "competitive" for the post-season. Last year's team played behind their Pythagorean by about 8 games. (I'm agreeing with you again.)

Okay, so I'll take this as you admitting that 6 weeks of baseball doesn't actually equal 14 days. I really don't care what you have tolerance for. That's why I have you on ignore. I don't have tolerance for guys who will just misrepresent what I wrote, then call me names and scold me. Obviously, you think you're waaaaaayyyyy smarter than me, and everybody else here. I mean, you have your own proprietary algorhythms, or something. LOL. So just ignore my posts. I skip over yours, and the unfortunate time I click into one, I realize I'm not missing any in depth analysis. Again, I understand that it sucks when people think things without asking you, first. You have the last word. Make it count.