Jake

I was only cautiously optimistic about Abreu going in - thinking he would just look okay for a year or maybe even two. I'm going to be really disappointed if he doesn't have a great year, now.

There are several solid indicators that this isn't smoke and mirrors. In the past, his hot streaks just involved him doing the same old stuff, but a lot better. This year, he is quantifiably more patient and making better/more contact. It reinforces what I see in the eye test, which is a guy who is up there making quick adjustments within at-bats. Against Scherzer yesterday, there was an AB where he goes FB away, FB away, and then slider away. Viciedo takes an awful cut at the slider. Next pitch is an inside heater and Tank rips into LF for a base hit. As if Tank handling an inside pitch isn't remarkable enough, it came in a pitch sequence that should have left him extremely vulnerable to a swing and miss or broken bat in that spot.

QUOTE (ChiSoxJon @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 09:48 PM) Didn't like this deal when it happened, his stats aren't helping his cause now, total bust (hopefully not), couldn't hit Zach f***in Stewart last week, I've loved Reed since his days in Kanny where I saw his velocity in action, much rather have extended instead of deal him for this bum, hopefully he proves me wrong It's early. He's hit very well at every level.

That AAU team is one tweak of a knee away from McBob being the second best guy

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 10:02 PM) At OSU he was considered the "also" player in the deal. Crazy. I remember thinking that he was totally overrated due to the presence of Oden and an overall good team. He's turned into a really, really good pro though it will probably always be lost due to the strength of the PG position in the NBA

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 09:57 PM) Maybe 1000 times the player Maybe 10000 times the player

Gillaspie should go to the DL, Semien starts ED at 3B. In the future, he's going to be either 2B or SS. He may very well field well enough to be a SS. Micah Johnson is far from a sure thing and his ability to be an infielder is completely up in the air.

QUOTE (BFirebird @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 12:42 PM) Sad part is that Farmer and DJ defended the plays saying they have no problem him going for it with 2 outs. Didn't see the play, but if he didn't go for it, would it have only been a single? I think he was getting a 2B either way. I think Tank is better than Garcia out there. It's especially sad because Tank's downfalls tend to be approach-related (like not cutting that ball off because he was too aggressive, throwing to the wrong base, things like that) while Garcia's bad play seemed to concern his abilities (can't read a fly ball)

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 24, 2014 -> 12:19 PM) Come on man, it makes total sense and you know it. The guy gives back the points he is making, and then some. We all see it. His effort is terrible, and the team needs full effort to succeed. You cant have him in there in the last quarter giving points away because his defense is so terrible that other players have to cover his ass. Is that different than the rest of the game? We saw this blow up in our face in the last game where it didn't matter how good or bad Taj Gibson is because he and the rest of the team was absolutely gassed in OT. Likewise, as with any other player, you occasionally play a guy despite knowing he isn't generally better because he might happen to play better for a stretch of time. It's like Nate Robinson. Generally, he'll lose you points, but if you are quick enough with the trigger, you can put him out there and let him win you some games when he gets going

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04...,40.581,-90.984 Map of who dominates each and every inch of the USA in terms of MLB fandom

Robin has mentioned before that he feels like players like consistency in terms of their spot in the lineup, both in terms of the number and the players around them. Slipping Danks into the 1 spot keeps everyone else on the "normal lineup vs righty" routine

That might save us from ourselves

Semien can't stay on MLB club unless we can find 5 starts/week for him. It will really suck if Leury has to go down. He does exactly what we need from a bench guy and has honestly outhit Semien, albeit in many fewer ABs

I'm totally okay not putting a young guy in the closer role without at least a partial season of seasoning. It's worth losing a few games over. I think this paid off with Reed, for instance. Webb has the makings of a very good closer, but he's also a guy who was pretty much off the map 18 months ago. You don't want the pressure to bring back his non-strike-throwing demons or whatever else tends to happen to overwhelmed young guys thrown into that spot. Let's get him comfortable and confident in MLB first.

The problem with replay has been implementation. There are constantly calls that are clear as day to TV viewers, but MLB won't pull the trigger. If they're going to be incredibly conservative, then just let the umpires talk it out on the field and take video out of it. Or just do it right like every other league.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 23, 2014 -> 08:53 AM) I swear sometimes it seems like you cover your eyes when Boozer plays and only see the points he scores. It's just that his usage makes no sense. If he actually sucks, then he shouldn't be starting and playing 70% of the first three quarters. If he is good enough to merit the playing time in the first three quarters, then he should get more than 0 minutes in the final quarter/8 minutes of the game

Always sucks to lose your job right after hitting a game-winning grand slam. He was on the way out regardless, but it still stinks. It's like seeing your sub come to the scorer's table in basketball and proceeding to rain down 3's before the next stoppage

Need some input as I don't really keep up with the car market. Looking for something in the $13k-$17k range. Looking used, but probably 2011 or newer. I'll be moving on from a Pontiac Grand Prix and would like something similar in terms of size/form factor. I could go smaller, but not compact. I would love to go hybrid if feasible. I've looked at some Toyota Corollas, Kia Optima, Chevy Malibu if that works as a starting point. The truth is I just don't know the offerings very well in this (or any) category. Probably won't go VW/Mini/Fiat/brands that aren't easy to get serviced at any old place. Not asking anyone to do the research for me, but I am curious if any models or model years come to mind given my general parameters.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Apr 23, 2014 -> 07:29 AM) What's new about Flowers's approach? He's walking and striking out pretty much exactly the same amount as he was last year. Flowers has mentioned altering his swing path in such a way that he can hit more singles

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Apr 22, 2014 -> 11:42 PM) Ya I'm not going to get mad at Taj, we get blown out with out him today. It's not so much that I'm mad at him that we need to scheme/coach in such a way that it doesn't keep happening. It seems ridiculous that Boozer can get a ton of minutes in quarters 1-3 and cannot play in the fourth quarter, the quarter in which we constantly lose games due to our inability to score.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Apr 22, 2014 -> 11:39 PM) I'd rather keep watching this group than watch Melo bring this team down to the ground. I wouldn't mind taking a spin down Melo lane at this point. Throw Melo on this team, no Rose, I think you have a legit title contender

Lost in the Hinrich hatefest is how Taj torpedoed several key possessions by going into 1-on-1 mode and throwing up crap shots. He doesn't have the skill for that.

Thibs is still a great coach and I would lean towards perhaps the best in the league. But he f***ed this one up.

Everyone talking about Ariza shutting down DJ. This would be no problem if you didn't have f***ing KIRK HINRICH on the floor as well, making it so that there is no mismatch created by the Wizards' 3 guarding our 1

Hinrich = Darin Erstad