caulfield12

Paddack throws 93-96 touching 97. Eventually Kopech is going to have to 1) be more precise with his slider, 2) add more non-hanging curves to the mix or 3) get back to his expected 96-100 velocity. When he was a rookie, he was one of the most hyped young pitchers in the game. Maybe not quite as highly regarded as Kopech, but he wasn’t worlds behind, either. As the weather heats up and flyballs and warning track flyouts begin to leave the yard with higher frequency Kopech is going to have to make some major adjustments. It’s one thing against the Indians or Royals…but neither will end up the year as top offenses.

Or Liam has had a heavy workload the last five years and is slowly losing his stuff and location as a nature part of the aging process. How did Katz treat him differently this year? Isn’t the lockout, cold weather and abbreviated spring training just as likely to be factors in his FB velo being down 2-3 mph?

Well, we could also pick 10+ pitchers like Wacha or Rodon that would have us with a much better record…or Seiya Suzuki if they hadn’t held onto Kimbrel and been forced to add yet another aging, slightly less expensive ballplayer. That money was available because they were recently willing to give it to Giolito. Now it likely goes to Cease, Kopech or TA7 for an expensive extension. Or a very thin FA group next offseason.

That said, unless Kopech is at 96-99, he’s not much different from Paddack as a predominantly two pitch pitcher…

Except the Padres wanted an established closer who was much cheaper than Kimbrel…and already had Pomeranz and Hill from the LH side.

No, but the Twins are now considered the favorites…and will likely stretch their lead out the next month or so. It will be interesting to see if the White Sox have the character to fight back or they just fold like a cheap suit exactly like the Twins last season.

8-9 consecutive losses by the WS winning teams has happened just twice in history. 83-79 Cards’ team lost eight consecutive twice and 1953 Yankees did lose nine in a row in early July before beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in October. Let’s not make it seem totally normal. And yes, the 2005 Astros were 15-30 in the early season but lost to the White Sox. The Twins have somehow lost 18 consecutive in the postseason, the Indians now 8, so 2-5 definitely seems better in comparison, I guess…

Pollock is owed $10 million this season. Engel would have to play RF with your alignment or Leury Garcia. Grandal would also wear down at catcher if not allowed to DH. There are no easy answers. The lineup would be especially vulnerable against RHP if Sheets is sent down, which would have to happen with this plan. You can't say you value defense and put Sheets in RF.

This reminds me of bringing in Mackowiak to play CF in 2006 for Brian Anderson when they could no longer tolerate his 575-600 OPS...that didn't work out very well.

Closest is 2010-14 Giants. Sox fans would probably take one trip to the ALCS at this point.

Fulfilling that last sentence seems to be something of an issue recently...but see SFG/Rays/Brewers/Indians.

Welp, I think you'be finally worn him down with your endless campaigns and single-handedly caused him to consider retirement...

Player-manager ala Don Kessinger. Yes, I know, N/A.

Might be a reunion picnic in May if he resigns soon and the weather improves...

But Benetti always goes on and on about how many runs we scored in the 8th last year...maybe he was confused and meant gave away through the bullpen and poor defense.

Charlotte would doubtless crush the white Sox in a best of 7 if you gave them Gio/Cease/Kopech along with Moncada and Kelly. Maybe odds decrease to even for the Knights without those three starting pitchers.

Just 3.5 GB with Anaheim, the Cubs salivating and the House of Horrors in Boston looming...the ONLY positive out of all that is no Patriot's Day late morning Giolito massacre on tap.

Now we really need that Weekend At Bernie's video. Can we please find leadership of baseball teams or even the country under age 50 (I can say that at age 52 myself)!!! And how the heck can NFL teams consistently find these great young coaches in their 30s and 40s when that job is 5-10x more demanding?

At this point all one can do is laugh...and maybe tell grandchildren I was here in Wuhan for this entire debacle if I am still alive then.

But he's more likely to go than guys like Keuchel or Harrison. Those moves will continue to make Hahn look dumb and dumber by the week. It's definitely not Menechino's fault, the offense was fine last year when guys were healthy. So they will fire Hahn instead?? Surprise resignation?

You won't see Perez until there's a major roster shakeup or retooling. McGuire might have been looking for a slider there....crossed up. But no excuses at home with a small crowd.

I don't know who is more stubborn, TLR/JR or the Chinese government here with their ill-advised Zero Societal Covid plan that is wreaking havoc on the entire world. I'd call it a stalemate.

Solid/above average. Just don't buy the Charlotte offensive numbers though.

In the middle of the season? Better strike fast before the stock market craters further. Would take pretty much anyone but Elon Musk. Then I would have to seriously look at fandom.

There's no guarantees on any hitter at age 34 like Pollock, especially with this baseball. The depth of that Dodgers' lineup simply makes the complementary players look so much better. Like Harrison, peak fWARs last year masked struggles or injury problems in earlier seasons. Also no guarantees with Grandal and Abreu either. Only Robert and Moncada are solid bets.