bmags

Yeah I guess though some of it is also how bad both scouting and our pd/advanced scouting/etc is together. While I think a good amount of it is luck when Brian Goodwin randomly has an .850 OPS to get you through, some of it isn't. I mean had they kept on to Kevin Pillar I would not have my little anecdote here. But it just comes across that they know they want to change but don't actually know what they are doing.

One thing that's been kind of amazing is how for like most of my baseball life there's been one kinda random plus offensive season or relevant hot streak. Thinking of getting a Elvis Andrus putting up 9 home runs and 2 wins in like 40 games. The Trayce Thompson year, Palkamania, Yerminator, Avisail Garcia in 2017, McCann. Hell, Brian Goodwin's first half of 2021. Leury 2021. That stuff is random, unsustainable, but always kinda happens. And it has just straight up not been happening since 2022. Now, of stars, of course Robert had 2023. Benintendi had a few months. But to cycle through so many marginal guys and not accidentally catch a hot streak is so wild. The year is young, maybe Meidroth is the rando. but it's been the thing that has stood out to me for how astonishingly bad we have been offensively. Like, normally even bad teams you look at and are like "hey billy butler had a decent year actually"

Sounds gross

My initial trade for outman was giolito for outman and amaya and this is a tremendous monkey paw moment now

It is comical this trend of finally getting a name on Sox fans radars the minute they become irrelevant.

Agreed, I hate when we hold this stuff up as validation as if we needed it.

calling a different team the stinker of the ALC is more impressive than like any other team winning the World Series. Venable is a god

Big earl weaver game today

Who? This team is 12 guards. I’d put Donovan in for coach of the year, personally.

Yes true.

Watched on game day…impressive blue dots indicating runs scored. good vibes, nice to see a win. Last years opening series scoring like 4 runs total really was the tone for the season. here’s to hoping we can enjoy some baseball (which yes, a reasonably bad team that has bright young spots is still enjoyable baseball)

Man the last 5 years of Paddy were as bad as wilder. Maybe worse.

Man I used to love boers and Bernstein but it moved into actively hating him about 10 years ago. The further he got from having some actual knowledge (bulls beat) the less he could offer except to pose as a smart guy sports person by quoting people he thought smart sports people liked. cant believe he let this take him down tho lmao. He and Greg Gabriel should start a podcast in hell

I think this is mine but I feel like one of Slater / Tauchman will bomb early and be dfa'd by June, but i'm gonna say Tauchman is the one that sticks and will get to 10. I think if he survives 130 games, Sosa will hit 10.

I 100% agree. Robert too. I don't really think these guys were optimizing their body for baseball.

I guess it’s just the analysis stuff is for me filled by a lot of people outside of the beat role, and better. So the beat job just felt like getting faster notice of day of injuries and post game comments, and as a fan I just don’t need that as much anymore.

Sad to lose DVS…but I wonder how much we as fans even get from beat writers. Hearing responses to day to day decisions is so monotonous now anyway. All the bigger stories go to natl writers…thinking of any times a beat writer gave us real info on how team operates. Not a big diff between Merkin and dvs in all honesty.

I still say people over index to recent events. How much of drafting Gibbs was Brad Holmes compared to Johnson? To Campbell? And if the lesson is that Johnson will push against “positional value” as a parameter, is rb the only example of that in this draft? it could easily lead the bears to taking the plunge on a DT (graham) or likely g (Campbell) but also the more popular Warren and Jeanty. I think all would be that trend, not just Jeanty. If anything, I wonder if Simmons is now trending up

I think it's funny but realistically the bears despite aggressively filling gaps, aside from the Thuney trade mostly just got solid starters. None of Jarrett, Odebingo or Dalman were top ten slam dunk free agents. They give the bears solid starters the next two years though and let them (presumably) re-sign gordon. But we still need to find some elite players, and I'm glad they kept these 4 picks in the top 73. I think one thing that both Poles and Joe Schoen learned is keep your top guys when you don't have a lot of em - even if they aren't the premium positions. You don't need to adjust that in Free Agency. You keep Ro & David Montgomery and then use your draft to target the top positional value. You aren't going to be better just by spending more cap on the best of what gets thru FA...especially when you require they be 26 or younger. For Giants, you could be this year with Saquon and McKinney already in tow, happy long time leaders that know what you wanna do. Instead you "couldn't pay that much to a Safety and RB"...and then just go out and spend big on a safety anyway. You have no qb, but you could put one on a team with Saquon and Nabers. I mean - yes, if you have all pro / pro bowl talents at OT/WR/QB you don't pay to keep your center/safety/rb. But when you don't...just keep them.

Worried he won’t even be ready for year

Honestly looks like they were in nickel by far the most so probably not a big change lol. But for us it will be different!!

I'm more convinced this will be a thing. They've switched around 3-4 / 4-3 recently, and now Raheem Morris is firmly 3-4. They are probably now convinced he's not the best 3-4 nose fit. He was great in 4-3, and now 2 years removed from his ACL. I hope this will be a big payoff.

I don't know if it's interesting but it does seem like Grady Jarrett became less awesome when Dan Quinn left. From my very limited research, Ryan Nielson was running probably similar stuff, not like he was converted to 3-4, but I do wonder if Dennis Allen has an idea of what will work best for Jarrett.

I think that stuff always changes. And I think we definitely are on a fulcrum where the defensive line and linebackers started to get so much lighter in order to be better at coverage that larger lineman/elite RBs are pressing the advantage. You saw Mcvay try to build a huge set of lineman last year. Detroit has, and obviously Philly. Despite that, that's not the only way. Obviously a team like Washington was built more on lateral speed and an incredible mobile QB. Whatever the KC offense was. But the lesson is probably always going to be "there is more than one way". The more a rule becomes standard in the nfl, the more the opportunity to take that elite guy gives you an advantage. I don't want Jeanty. In fact I think I keep saying it but I think the pick that could very well happen and make people crazy is Johnson pushing for Tyler Warren.

I will be so happy if we can even consider Jeanty with the work down before it. That said...I don't think Jeanty gets past the raiders.