JoeC

Maybe it's just knowing he's a 1-inning arm this year, instead of last year where he was GENERALLY a 1-inning guy but had more of a "swingman" role, especially early on.

It's April. The weather may be warmer in Houston, but it's still April. I've learned not to judge Abreu until July.

Jimmy had some jump on that high heat.

Worst case, if you want to get the lead runner, just walk to 3rd....

Anyone else see "Kenta Maeda" and start singing "Guantanamera?"

Let's look at the positives: Joe Kelly isn't on the active roster.

I mean, yeah - that's kind of the sentiment, but it's not unreasonable for Santana to stand up for his teammate.

Yeah, though you can argue Santana has a right to stand up for his young teammate there, right or wrong. It would be pretty shitty of Santana to let Seby keep yelling at the kid. The play was all on Cruz, but I don't really blame Santana for what he did.

Of course. That's why I post here.

Yep - agree with this assessment. The slide was late and could have caused serious injury to Seby. You can see Seby have to move his leg out of the way right at the last second. It's a play that could have ended either player's season, and hopefully Cruz makes it back sooner rather than later.

Ozzie is a perfect midseason replacement manager. He would have been a perfect TLR replacement last July before things got out of reach. I would not want him anywhere near a team from start to finish.

There was a table, and at least one seat.

Agreed - at least Grifol would know your grandmother shouldn't be used in any meaningful situation.

I'm not really counting on Crochet to be effective this year. I hope I'm wrong. Hendriks, on the other hand, I am counting on.

Lee Elia tribute?

I agree 100%. That said, that matches my thinking with Kelly throughout 2022....

I hope that's a typo. Pretty sure no season will ever have an attendance figure as low as 2020.

Missed his spot by PLENTY on that Joc double.

In unrelated news, Jake Diekman in now....

I guess my point is that there's such a thing as extended spring training to do what you're saying he was doing today (build up to where everyone else was to star the season). There's such a thing as rehab (or, again, extended spring training) to help him get "dialed in." Do I give him a little more slack because of his surgery? Maybe, and maybe I do need to give him more, but today still counts the same in the standings as any of the other 161 games. Why waste it on a guy if your sole objective is to do what you could do in a risk-free Spring Training environment?

Shhhhh. You're ruining the site for us.

(I'm partial to Seibu. Grew up rooting for them as a kid)

Just going to any NPB game is an interesting experience. Completely different environment from US baseball. If you're in Tokyo, Seibu might also be a good one to check out. Sterile stadium (most modern Japanese stadiums are), but if you're just looking to catch a game, it's as good a place as any... and it's tucked away in an amusement park.

While I appreciate the optimism... Kopech's final ST start should have been in ST. Today should probably have been treated as his first regular season start.