SoxBlanco

I am not a fan of RR’s lineups usually, but I also understand that lineup construction is very overrated. To the complaints about Grandal in the 3 hole against a lefty, I’m guessing RR does that to avoid a situation later in the game where a right handed reliever comes in and gets to face a string of righties. I’m not saying I agree with it, but nobody seems to be acknowledging that part.

Can we keep RR around as a bench coach because I do think the players love playing for him? Keep him around to handle the personality side of things and hire somebody else to make the game decisions.

A lot easier to miss a meatball when you have 2 strikes and you have the slider in the back of your mind. That's why I want automatic strike zones so bad. One pitch could change the outcome of an entire game.

Actually, the ump changed the course of that entire inning with that brutal 1-1 call to Cruz.

Oh. My. God.

Cease has given up 2 or fewer earned runs in his last 6 starts (which is every start other than his first of the year). His command has been bad at times, and he certainly has things to work on, but he's been pretty solid this year. Giolito, meanwhile, has put us in a big hole in 3 of his 8 starts. I'm not trying to argue that Cease is better or more valuable than Giolito, but it's not like wins and ERA are misrepresenting their seasons that much. In fact, I'd say wins and ERA are painting a pretty accurate picture in this case.

Great list, James. I appreciate the work you guys put into these lists. I think I may have asked this question in the past, but what is your thought process while ranking these players? Specifically, if you are creating your list and you get to a slot where you are debating between a couple players, what drives the decision to rank Player A ahead of Player B? Higher ceiling? More likely to reach the majors? Preference to keep one over the other if you had to trade one? I personally like that latter criteria the best. For example, if on August 31 I heard that we made a trade and it was either Yolbert Sanchez or Matt Foster being shipped to another team, I would prefer to keep Foster. Therefore, I would probably have Foster high on my rankings. I'm curious to hear what criteria you (and others) use.

He meant to quote the post above yours.

Maybe it’s an embarrassment for some people to get COVID? Like they weren’t being careful enough and they feel guilty.

I don't think people appreciate how good he has been for us because it can sometimes be a roller coaster while he is in there. Does anybody know our record when entering the 9th inning with a lead since the beginning of the 2019 season? I'm fairly sure we have only lost 1 game out of about 70-75 chances.

Dunning has been fantastic so far. And I’m not just looking at his results...I’m looking at his stuff/command. He can spot all of his pitches, and his fastball has a lot of movement. Falling behind 2-0 or 3-1 isn’t the end of the world for Dunning because it’s tough to square up that fastball. Compare that to a guy like Lopez or Cease...even though they throw harder, when the hitter knows a fastball is coming, there’s a good chance it’ll be hit hard. After only two starts, I’m very high on Dunning being a part of the future rotation. I’d even feel pretty good about him pitching in a game 3 of a playoff series this year.

Is Conforto an actual trade option? Is he a free agent after next year?

Heuer pitched his only 2 inning outing of the year against Milwaukee this year. They got a good look at him. It was 2 perfect innings on only 20 pitches, while striking out 3.

Actually he didn't. He said it "should" be announced tonight. He was definitive that the trade has already been completed, but he was not definitive that it would be announced tonight.

I’m strictly talking about his pitches and location...not the outcome.

I actually thought Cishek looked good today.

How about Stiever, Adolfo, and Beard for Lynn? Is that not enough?

What is our record entering the 9th inning with a lead since we acquired Colome?

I'm glad he will be able to get consistent live at-bats now. Sure, we don't have an emergency catcher anymore, but I don't think that matters as much as people seem to think. You can still DH Grandal every once in a while. If something goes wrong, you lose the DH for that one game, which isn't the end of the world.

In other words, we just got Dyson for nothing at all.

Exactly. There aren't any coaches who will force somebody to change if the player is successful. This whole idea of Coop and Bauer clashing is stupid, in my opinion.

"Like Lucas and James are a team...so are we." Absolutely perfect response. I get emotional just thinking about that moment.

As bad as Mazara has been, I didn't realize his OPB was up at .344. The slugging is obviously embarrassing, but at least he's getting on base.

Time for Mazara's first HR.