poppysox

All the stuff in the world means nothings if you can't control it. I thought Cooper was known for his abilities to help along these lines. I know he was given credit for fixing Thornton.

Might mention Abreu, Q and Eaton as well.

On a brighter note...I have personally seen every manager since Lopez. Chuck Tanner was the best manager IMO. He handled everything well including a touchy star in Dick Allen. Lopez was a pretty good baseball man in his own right. You really didn't hear about bad managers back in that era. There were only 16 big league managers and they all seemed solid and well respected. When teams didn't do well it was the players fault not the managers.

If the rotation had come together we would have been competing now. The injuries to Kopech and Rodon left us short of quality arms for 2019. If management doesn't want to push Cease and/or buy outside help (Keuchel) then we just don't have enough to compete. Management has said all along that they will stay the course and not seek quick fixes. They are probably doing what's right for long term...just not easy to watch embarrassing losses. The development of Giolito, Anderson, Madrigal, McCann, Tilson, Bummer, Marshall & Jimenez has been really good news on that front. Anxious to see Robert, Collins & Madrigal develop. What we do in the trade / or not for Abreu, Colome & Herrera is the next big part of the puzzle.

Have McCann catch him the next few times. Might be educational.

They will only be eating a % of 9 million depending on when released.

Collins will probably be the next shiny new thing we get to look at.

Whatever the failures of this season are...they are pitching based. Unlucky with injuries to Kopech, Rodon and Dunning and to lesser extent Hamilton. Goes to show you need to have and oversupply of quality arms to win anything. Pitching and defense are still what wins baseball games.

Proof for most of the things we discuss would be hard to come by. We mostly talk opinion.

When the scoreboard reads 4-4 and every fan in town knows to get Lopez out,,, but we wait til it reads 8-4 to lift him. That's just lousy managing. Actually I do understand that having one reliable starter puts Ricky in an awkward spot. My feeling is this was the one game we had a shot at winning. Letting this game get away by being slow to the pen was dumb IMO.

Many would add Larussa list of outstanding ones even though I wasn't nuts over him.

In the cases of Sale, Q and Eaton we were able those gambles paid off in better deals when we traded them.

I think his trades have been excellent. In an earlier post I said FA acquisitions not so much with the exception of McCann.

Seriously...very bad. Some coach needs to get with him about his control.

I meant trades. Too frustrated to proof read the crap in my head.

This was a poorly pitched and poorly managed game. Very disappointing. This game failed at being entertaining. That is always my minimum bottom line requirement.

Rick has made a number of good deals and extensions. Alonso is not one of them. He is just using up space where a prospect good be earning a shot.

I was feeling so optimistic following last nights game. After tonight's game...not so much.

Blows my mind that every fan in the place can see that Lopez has nothing with the score 4-4 if not sooner. Ricky comes to the same conclusion when the score hits 8-4. What are he and Coop looking at? It's like they aren't even trying to win the game.

Hard to guess the number of wins in a series without knowing who the catchers are going to be.

They lift the pitcher immediately knowing that if Castillo can get a hit he must be done.

Don't make me laugh. I feel like being unhappy tonight.

Almost every rebuild is capped off with 2 or 3 major acquisitions from either trade or FA. I still think our major needs will still be stud starting pitchers.

Tonight the problem is not hitting.

I've been calling for Cease & Keuchel for what seems like months. Not because I want to rush Cease or overpay for Keuchel. These good young players need to learn how to win by playing with competent co-workers. These shellings don't help players develop IMO.