southsider2k5

There is a pretty fair chance the Sox finish ahead of the Twins next year.

That's not how debt works, but sure Bob.

Keep trying there buddy.

I would have settled for a flavorful mead, but this will do. He peaked at #2 on the Rays 2023 list, with this write up. Scouting grades: Hit: 65 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 40 | Field: 45 | Overall: 55 Mead has become a poster child of why organizations should run if the Rays come asking after a Complex League performer. An Australian Baseball League standout at a young age, Mead signed with the Phillies for $200,000 in May 2018 and was dealt to the Rays for lefty reliever Cristopher Sánchez 18 months later. Mead’s breakout came in 2021 when he hit .321 with a .911 OPS across three full-season levels and produced an 18-game hitting streak in the Arizona Fall League. His 2022 performance at Double-A and Triple-A solidified his standing as a consistent hitter, and if not for a late-season right elbow strain, he would have pushed for St. Petersburg already. The Australia native bats out of an upright stance, and its simplicity allows him to see the ball well and react to most pitches. He doesn’t strike out a ton by modern standards, but the Rays have been enthused by the way he’s become more selective in seeking out pitches on which to do damage, rather than making contact for the sake of making contact. That change in approach, along with the 22-year-old’s increasing strength, should help him settle into 20-25-homer power over the next decade. Mead’s arm strength has been an issue throughout the Minors, and that was before last year’s elbow injury. He got the bulk of his starts at third base in 2022 but is likely a better fit at second or first because of the arm. As is their M.O., the Rays plan to keep moving Mead around as long as they can to keep any hope of versatility because they, and many in the industry, believe his bat will be an impactful presence in any lineup.

I wish.

Whatever it is Luis Robert needs to succeed, we don't seem to have it for him here. Why we need to bet on this AGAIN is beyond me.

If by "in demand" you mean fleeling a sinking ship, then yes. The Twins are done for the near to mid future.

To me "entertaining" isn't the most important thing. Finding pieces to actually have a decent team sometime this decade would be much more entertaining, at least for me.

Houser HAS to get dealt. No excuses. This is a 100 loss team coming off of a 121 loss season. It literally does not matter who fills innings the rest of the season. Find the next Houser and move on.

If the "Contract" is the problem, then pick up cash and get a deal done. This situation isn't good for anyone. Dude is obviously not performing here, and betting on him AGAIN just seems like the most obvious fail ever.

Not to mention, it leaves out of the picture that this wasn't the first chance they had to move Robert.

Look, we can pretend this is nothing all we want, but each time we get nothing out of a group of retreads and guys who should have had some trade value with, we fail to acquire pieces to potentially move things forward quicker. This rebuild just continues to be worst case scenario after worst case scenario. Even we turn dudes careers around, we seem to fail at benefiting from it.

Unless Mystery Date shows up, he has no where to go.

This thread is now turning into the Stage of Grief. I see Anger and Acceptance are popular stages.

Totally fair.

The way this last rebuild worked, his wife probably cheats with TLR, and destroys Wheeler forever.

MLB breaking news

To be fully honest, while crapping on Jerry is full acceptable and due, the Cubs ownership group is the biggest group of con artists in Chicago. They have a playoff team if they show up just about any year in that division, and despite making nine figures on paper last year (which means probably significantly more with all of their neighborhood holdings, they cry poor.

One of these years he will figure it out, but not too much so his value is too high.

Except he has already shown he would rather do what is best for himself vs the team.

It's like Goldilocks of the trade block.

If the rest of the infrastructure fails, we can always post by gaslight.

A complete Venn circle.

That's fair.