caulfield12

Just sad how our expectations have become so lowered...I guess we’re all conditioned by so much sustained mediocrity that it’s become normalized to be content with just a .500ish team after 3 1/2 years of this.

The really sad thing is that John Boyega took a bit of a back seat in part because of the fact that black actors are not embraced in China...which has pretty much rejected Star Wars in general , with box office decreasing for each successive movie since TFA. If you look at the marketing posters here, he was put into a corner or periphery or left off altogether...even when he was a central character in the first two. They tease relationships with him and Rey, with him and Rose, it all felt just a little bit too convenient. And just left hanging. The strangest thing of all was not doing any test screenings, while another property, Avengers: Endgame, went through four separate focus groups. Yet this Star Wars felt like it was cobbled together by marketing execs and Hasbro. By the end of the movie, I was almost ready to welcome a Baby Yoda appearance. And apparently these sophisticated Imperial Destroyers don’t have the ability to do anything but fly straight ahead without dipping their angle to port or starboard?

https://sports.yahoo.com/cubs-one-several-teams-starter-235111904.html How can the Cubs afford Keuchel?

KyYle REN?

On brand...there’s the problem. For Lucas fans, especially the original trilogy or Disney theme park brand? Then you had the intermixing of so many directors, writers and conflicting visions. Partly a generational thing. Anyone who grew up in the 70s and 80s and attended those iconic films with their parents or friends is going to feel underwhelmed. Maybe it’s even similar to the nostalgia older Americans feel for the 1950s and early 60s, similar to comparing baseball of the era to today. Memories are always going to be stronger...and make the present seem to pale in comparison. Rogue One was the only one that really stands out...felt new, different, non-derivative. TFA just copied the structure of a NHA, and not even incredible acting and storytelling was going to surpass Harrison Ford as the original Solo.

They're not going to do that. Better off hoping for Benintendi to rebound. If they have a feeling Betts is gone regardless, there's much less pressure to force a deal on their part.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/20-worst-parts-star-wars-050718610.html Spoiler alert...somehow they came up with 20 points

You know it’s in trouble when you keep looking at your watch or phone waiting for it to at least reach the 90 minute and 2 hour mark. One of my good friends here said last night he almost walked out of the cinema. That might be a bit too dramatic, but it was a rough one to sit through and had just as many issues as the prequels (outside of CGI/effects.) The simplest take is that audiences just are not connecting with or caring enough about the fate of the four main characters, compared to the original cast. The investment isn’t there...or hasn’t been earned. And Adam Driver, while a very talented performer, just doesn’t quite possess the physicality or intimidation factor of the best villains from the first six. I get the reasons why he’s conflicted, but he just doesn’t have that menacing malevolent presence of a Darth Vader or Voldemort. Fans seem to care more about Mando and Baby Yoda at present. That shouldn’t happen if the movie writing/plot is on spot-on.

It’s going to take a LOT more than absorbing salary dumps...think what it would have cost to acquire Zack Wheeler from the Mets, two seasons ago. Then add on to it the fact that Colorado almost never trades their homegrown players at less than an overpay premium. They do need to think about dumping Blackmon (who had a decent year when healthy) and the two you mentioned, because moving Arenado would really piss off the fans (who have been incredibly loyal).

https://milehighsports.com/rockies-would-be-foolish-to-trade-jon-gray-this-offseason/

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/star-wars-rise-skywalker-actually-015640138.html For those who have seen it already... captures some of the main thematic qualms outside the very obvious jaw~dropping lines of dialogue and "what the hell?" moments.

They need to make every possible effort to compete, while simultaneously monitoring Lopez and Cease and perhaps shifting one of them to the bullpen if either Dunning, Lopez or Kopech are ready to go. Balancing act.

You really want to commit to paying Price $18 million a season for the next three years? That's a HUGE gamble. It would be one thing if it was only one year and realistically achievable incentives to lock in the deal for 2021, but to have that contract covering 2 out of 3 most important contention years seems as high-risk as it comes.

You really want to commit to paying Price $18 million a season for the next three years? That's a HUGE gamble. It would be one thing if it was only one year and realistically achievable incentives to lock in the deal for 2021, but to have that contract covering 2 out of 3 most important contention years seems as high-risk as it comes.

Nicaraguan. Can play third, second and first. Not that great defensively at any position. Depth piece, continuing in the tradition of ex-Royals Jay, Alcides Escobar and Ryan Goins.

Madrigal and Anderson would be two key pieces. Probably need a pitcher in there as well. The Dodgers we’re unwilling to give up Lux along with May and Verdugo, supposedly. So the Padres started pursuing him with their even deeper farm system to keep him from going to LAD. Moving Tatis to CF to protect him from injuries if it went through.

If I remember correctly, he’s from Corn Island in some Central American country and originally signed for right around $1 million with the Royals.

Why not devote your energies to creating the next Ryan’s Toy Review and gross $48 million the last two years at YT rather than pursuing the glory of being a fake insider MLB trade source?

So much for the, this is just setting the stages for a Ryu or Keuchel signing by timidly dipping your toes into the Boras waters theory.

Hater! We've actually "produced" 3 of the Top 8-10 shortstops in baseball!!! Semien, Tatis, Jr., and Tim Anderson.

How did the Reds suddenly become so effective with pitching all of a sudden? Gray returned to almost former form, with a 4.4 fWAR. DeSclafani finally became a solid contributor. Castillo looks like a future Cy Young Top 5 contender. I guess the positive there is that beating up the Cubs is the second best alternative to guys like Miley ending up with other organizations when we're in dire need of reasonable back-end of the rotation production just to stabilize the rotation and provide some more veteran leadership.

Because the Rays would want a true "high impact" player like Robert in order to trade away four years of Snell. Something like Robert and Cease would be the minimum request, or Robert and Vaughn. If they trade him away for anything less, they have no chance to compete year-in and year-out with the Yankees, Red Sox and eventually the Blue Jays again.

https://670thescore.radio.com/white-sox-still-in-hyun-jin-ryu-dallas-keuchel-free-agency-sweepstakes Not sure if it was already posted, but the full Bruce Levine write-up on Ryu and Keuchel, as well as the suggestion of a trade for expiring contract Robbie Ray (we've already looked at this.)

Felix Diaz had one memorable start against the Cubs as well. Hopefully he's not the White Sox Dominican ambassador or we'll never sign a pitcher out of there.

Well, if Nova starts out slow again this year, we can bring back the stories of the Chevy Nova's introduction into the Latin American market.