nrockway

I like Infante Acuña

he's had a good series

Leasure, like Bummer or Walk or Junk, is a surname that doesn't inspire much confidence in a pitcher, but the guy is pretty good. That slider was nasty.

Nice hold. Springer was mega fooled by that slider.

Don't let this dude face the top of the order

Martin's season off to a great start. Bring him out for another inning.

I like it if it means Brendon Little will have to pitch again at some point. oh wait they optioned him lul

If he can start barreling the ball, he's a really dangerous player. I like him better than Vientos or Baty to be sure.

The Sox don't challenge anything

This Voth guy was on the Sox at some point this offseason? OK.

Acuña on the basepaths is a threat

do they really need to interview the guy's family? they did the same thing with duke ellis then they cut him a day later

somehow my coffee has turned into beer, I'm pretty sure that sort of miracle is written somewhere in the new testament.

What a scoop. And the range.

Vlad is so funny. They throw the ball to the dugout for the guy's first MLB hit and he fakes like he's going to throw it into the stands

He was there

Okamoto vs Vargas third base defense is night and day.

it's a third cup of coffee, but don't you worry, the sacramental blood of Christ will be flowing.

it's too early to be this drunk

Part of the Pereira trade. Utility guy who had a huge spring and start to AAA. Rays named him the best defensive player in their system a couple years ago and he has a little bit of pop (18 HRs last year, 2 in spring, 2 for Charlotte already). One of the more intriguing fringe guys, def worth a look.

I'm worried his arm might fall off. Something about that 98th percentile extension despite being "only" 6'3. Can it be repeated 100 times a game?

It's true. I think Autumn Dreamin made a good point in yesterday's game thread about Burke's ERA when he starts vs when he follows an opener (bad vs good). Today's game with a lefty doing the bulk work, I think it makes sense to have a righty vs the top of Toronto's order. But I think Hicks could fill the role well, throw heat to the top of the order and it's not a huge deal if he walks Vlad with the bases empty or a runner on first, whereas I like a pitcher like Taylor in a relief situation with runners in scoring position and fewer than 2 outs because he's the most reliable strikeout pitcher on the roster. It's a pretty minuscule thing, the pitching has pretty much shut down a high-powered Blue Jays offense, so it's probably the right decision. If anything, I would've wanted to see Taylor come out to face Okamoto and let Kay start against the LHH Varsho.

So why do teams still employ a closer? I tend to agree with the logic that "a run is a run" that the 'closer' is overrated; it's an interesting discussion, I found this article breaking down 'leverage index' by inning for the 2013 season: https://tht.fangraphs.com/tht-live/leverage-index-by-inning/ The logic of the first inning being very important is a reasonable one, but the values seem close enough between the 1st, 7th and 8th innings that you might prefer to maintain flexibility in the bullpen and use your best reliever when the game calls for it. Hicks pitched against the top of the order anyway and was called on with runners on first and second in a 4-2 game. I think that's a situation you'd rather see Taylor in than Hicks.

players look at the same social media stuff everyone does. what do they know. they like money and playing time, and have little insight unless they're actively interviewing with an organization. I mean, if the Sox offer Framber Valdez in December the same contract Detroit did, is he gonna say no in the hopes of the Tigers matching three months later?

Galvan could be a steal in the 13th round. I understand his defense was good in college too.