caulfield12

Vaughn and Grandal are really going to help the OBP numbers...then you have Madrigal/Eaton as the "pesky" guys. Andrew showing some "decent enough" speed to go from 1st to 3rd.

I think we already went over this argument (to death) in 2017 and 2018. He's (seemingly) always going to be better from the LH side, but not to the extremes of someone like Jose Valentin.

If he puts up another 3 Top Five MVP years...he'll definitely get some votes, in the same way Ichiro was credited for the prime years of his career in Japan. That said, it's really hard to make it from 1B because there's such a focus on a lifetime of HR and RBI numbers.

Vaughn showed a decent enough arm on that ground ball and handled the at 'em ball just now. Now let's hope he can quickly get his first MLB hit to join the parade with Yermin.

Encouraged by Luis Robert's first two at-bats tonight. Abreu is money. Keep waiting for him to slow down...will have to wait to figure out the ideal solution to the Vaughn/Jimenez/Abreu positional dilemma.

I knew the GA/Atlanta ASB one would be locked before I even opened it. Limiting dropboxes, precincts in minority areas, not allowing snacks or even water when lines are prolonged, trying to shut down voting at 5 p.m. should be obvious points that transcend race in America and goes to the very core of what constitutes a democracy. The interesting aspect here is that baseball is viewed by most as a sport for older white fans. Many in that constituency are likely Trump or GOP voters. There’s not quite the same demographic overlap as the NBA and NFL. However, if Manfred wants to cater to younger, less white fans...it makes sense. But it feels like more political correctness simply because MLB has been so sensitive over the last twenty years about the declining percentage of African American players as well as white ownership groups. In my opinion, it’s better to stress the opportunities for Latin American players, but they are nevertheless two sides of the same coin (minority participation and representation.) Even then, you’d have more people upset with Roberto Clemente’s #21 being retired like Jackie Robinson’s than with honoring Hank Aaron in a similar fashion. The MLB argument is there is already a specific Clemente day and humanitarian award that in some ways is the most respected one that MLB awards each year. Do I really think Manfred cares at all about disenfranchisement, though?...not at all.

In Texas, probably. In Boston, with only 4500 in Fenway much less likely. Of course, we’d need to see numbers of immunized vs. non-immunized naturally or through vaccines to draw any conclusions.

Dunning is going to be the type of pitcher who’s going to be limited to no more than two times through a lineup...at best. For whatever it’s worth, he is the Rangers’ fifth starter after Folty.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/player/batvspitch/_/id/33618/raisel-iglesias well, here’s why he didn’t face Lamb, current White Sox hitters 0/14 against Iglesias

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=143167 Wonder who was playing SS for Cal when Semien was playing 2B...? Interestingly, no 3B at that time, purely up the middle player.

54-60 games into a season, lol. Post count is irrelevant. That Opening Game always gets so much attention and everything feels magnified like a post-season game, but if the same thing played out on a random Saturday afternoon in April or May, the game thread might just be 4-5 pages. This year, with increased expectations, 8-10 pages. Seems we also might have caught a break with the Donaldson hammy injury, because Buxton looks like he’s approaching the next two years before FA like he expects a $200 million contract, having added 10-15 pounds of muscle in the offseason.

If Luzardo and Manaea get on a roll together, watch out. Bassitt is what he is, Montas has had some really dominant stretches but certainly his ups and downs https://www.athleticsnation.com/2021/3/31/22361241/oakland-as-opening-day-roster-daulton-jefferies-aj-puk-cole-irvin With Fiers, Daulton Jefferies (relation to the former Met phenom?), AJ Puk and Cole Irvin, they definitely have more depth, overall.

The difference is third base is not Moncada’s natural position, it’s SS, so his third position (although pretty sure he briefly debuted there in BOS since the two middle infield spots were already spoken for.) Whereas Madrigal has been a 2B almost exclusively since Oregon State because of the presence of Cade Grenier there.

“Late game blunders, early Donaldson injury make for sour Twins loss in opener • Neal: Through one game, Twins were wrong about having defense covered • Donaldson gets Twins' first hit, then leaves with hamstring injury” headlines from Minneapolis Star-Tribune sports page We learned fans are also (rightfully) miffed in Minnesota and Cleveland...

Anyone surprised that Leury and Collins were both allowed to hit against Iglesias...besides the obvious RHP/LHB stuff?

It seems like Bohm could make 40+ errors for the Phillies too, but man does that Kelenic miss (from Wisconsin of all places) hurt even more right now. It’s not like we were 100% set in future MLB outfields at the time, and having the tools to play an above average CF made (and make him) 5-10x more valuable than Madrigal. I liked the pick at the time, have defended him pretty consistently...but that’s just a simple play that needs to be made. Take your time, don’t rush, know that you’re not going to get a faster than average LH hitter in Ohtani at first no matter what happens at second.

This sounds like a direct Fathom quote. On Madrigal as well. The problem is we tend to be really stubborn with Top Ten draft picks, so he will stick around like Gordon Beckham for years no matter what...just hard to imagine pulling the plug and playing Leury there everyday because he has his own obvious set of flaws as an everyday player. Heck, I can almost imagine them going to Tim Beckham in two months. That’s where Profar or someone like Chris Taylor who could play both LF and 2B would have been perfect.

We learned this bullpen isn’t going to be perfect after the 6th/7th inning...like some of those Twins’ teams around 2002-2004 with Hawkins, Guardado and JC Romero.

They’ve been trying that with Billy “Willie Mays Hayes” Hamilton for a decade now. This made me chuckle thinking of Rongey back in the day. Poor long-suffering Cleveland fans. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/cleveland-broadcaster-goes-off-on-fan-after-opening-day-loss-youre-an-idiot-and-you-dont-know-baseball-001536007.html https://twitter.com/timandfriends/status/1377752647210577928

And most Sox fans are not going to be too understanding of that self-imposed salary parameter when we were promised unprecedented financial flexibility. You can’t possibly be arguing they wouldn’t have extended Giolito because that wouldn’t have fit into this year’s budget if they ripped up his current year deal...? Now if you said they were never going to give a pitcher $125-150 million in the first place? If they go with spending only after the revenues are coming in with 100% attendance, they might be too late to the party. Just doesn’t make sense to be a Top 3-5 broadcasting rights deal team (see FG article) and essentially be financially hamstrung with a middle of the pack payroll.

Tatis and Machado were total garbage yesterday...Padres managed to pull out the win after blowing a 6-1 lead and going down 7-6. Perhaps the MVP of the game was Jake Cronenworth, the type of valuable super utility guy the Rays never part with (afterthought the day of the Pham deal.) Kershaw was even worse, along with the Bellinger/Turner mixup on the basepaths.

Sure, and the counter-argument is that they already had McCann, plus Collins/Mercedes. That Grandal was entering his decline years and perhaps heading for an automated umpiring system in the next CBA. That he was benched by the Dodgers, and not the fiery take charge leader type in the clubhouse. Certainly, having the depth of Bummer, Heuer, Crochet, etc., made spending that money on a closer a luxury when it could have been earmarked for Ozuna or Springer instead. Obviously LaRussa wanted Eaton and he hit what should have been the game-winning homer last night so we’ll have to see if he can remain healthy AND productive. I guess if Lynn, Hendriks and Eaton all work out, he’ll (TLR) be a genius again. But they bought both of those guys near the top of their market values.

How is that cheap? I guess compared to Robertson when he signed as a Top 3-5 or 4-6 reliever in baseball or however you wanted to rank him at that time.

The Angels are improved. Upton, Ohtani and the rest of the rotation will be the keys now that the back end of the bullpen is nails. You also have an owner historically willing to spend big time to put a winning product on the field. That has to pay off eventually as the Astros start to crumble and Mariners/Rangers continue to rebuild.

Or at least pick the right Commodore. Trying to remember if Josh Fields or Joe Borchard were in the CWS.