caulfield12

Or Seattle, for that matter. Twenty plus years of largely disappointing results...the main difference ibeing their stadium and control of nearly the entire Seattle/Vancouver/Portland region.

https://nypost.com/2025/10/29/sports/howie-rose-not-happy-with-sandy-koufax-sitting-behind-prince-harry-meghan-markle/

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/breaking-news/article/twins-reportedly-hiring-former-pirates-manager-derek-shelton-as-next-skipper-225813413.html Twins hiring former Pirates' manager Shelton, fans probably not amused ("yes man" accusations already flying) "Not a fan of bringing in a former Falvine (Derek Falvey/Thad Levine) hire, and a guy who didn't do much in his first stint of coaching. Of course, that was because the Pirates stink and have little talent, but did he do anything to elevate the young talent they had coming up? The only thing I can remember about him as a Twins bench coach is that he took over a game or two when Rocco missed time for some reason. I recall in a game thread on one of those days somebody complained that Rocco pulled the starting pitcher too early, but they realized Shelton was managing. Tiny sample size there, but I expect more of the same. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a short-term deal with the lockout coming up, but I just don't see Shelton making it as our "manager of the future". Also worth noting the Pirates' interim manager had a .476 record after Shelton was fired with the team starting with a .316 record, and they were at .410 over his five years there. Sheesh." https://twinsdaily.com/forums/topic/72504-thoughts-on-new-manager-derek-shelton/#comments

Also to be noted: "hating" on prospects doesn't have anything to do with providing a realistic, balanced and objective (based on defined measurables) as possible perspective on their relative flaws and strengths. And if Sox fans do tend to lean more in the skeptical direction, there just might be a tangible reason for that based on years of frustrating fandom that's going to take years of winning/success in order to erase.

Why are we suddenly acting like taking "up the middle" athletes is some kind of new cutting edge/niche advantage or strategy? The Padres started 7 players in 2024 who began their careers as SS's at other positions around the diamond... Tatis RF, Merrill CF, Machado 3B, Arraez 1B/DH, Cronenworth 1B/2B/DH, Profar LF, Bogaerts 2B. Actual starter: Ha-Seong Kim That didn't exactly lead to a WS title...but they did have LA down 2-1 in the ALDS. And the White Sox still haven't produced ONE starting outfield candidate of their own that was drafted and developed to big league success (projected 2.5 fWAR or higher floor)...at least in the last decade or so. Note: Braden's acquisition model is far from repeatable.

He can have a fine career until early to mid 30s in Mexico Korea Japan Taiwan. Just look at Dayan Viciedo in JPN...although he was originally a more highly rated 3B prospect, obviously. There's also Indy ball as well...although those salaries are far from lucrative.

You mean Vaughn Burger and Madrigal...Madrigal lacked the arm and power for third and definitely wouldn't have survived in the OF. Fwiw Carlson still has to prove he can hit with at least 700-725 ops power.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2025/04/02/2025-mlb-team-payrolls-highest-lowest/82751012007/ AL East #3/5/12/15 TB irrelevant AL Central #17/18/20/25/29 You can pretty much cancel the Rays Twins and White Sox from competing at all. Set their 2026 postseason odds at 0.1%. Tarik Skubal will never remain in Detroit when they're already $250 million apart in extension discussions. That leaves just Bobby Witt, Jr. and Jose Ramirez as Central stars.

Reminds me of the parity increasing through NIL across the college football landscape this season. I went to Georgia Southern for grad school in the 90s and they had a great baseball/fb tradition at that time for a small school...guys like Todd Greene and pitcher Chris Beck.

Naylor is still going to get at least $75-80 million despite the concerns about his body type not aging well. He's not going to the White Sox unless every possible option to join an actually competitive organization is taken off the board first. Plus, to JR, there's almost no utility to finishing 3rd or 4th in the Central versus last place.

Can I please get a $1 royalty/residual for every time my name is invoked?

Statistics show that only a small fraction of college players—around 10-11%—actually make it to the MLB. https://sportslawblogger.com/what-proportion-of-baseball-players-get-into-the-major-leagues.html Elko has already beaten pretty immense odds just making it to the major leagues...and if he was drafted by about 25 other MLB teams, he still probably wouldn't have made it.

Vesia should be the choice here but not on the WS roster due to "personal reasons." Blue Jays winning it all is going to lead to a crazy FA competition in the AL East with NYY Boston and Baltimore...and the AL Central will basically cease to exist once Tarik Skubal leaves the Tigers. Toronto still have Yesavage Gausman Bassitt Berrios even if you subtract Bieber and Scherzer...and will undoubtedly have the nearly unlimited resources to add whoever and whatever they want.

"This is not the reliever you are looking for..." Dodgers' 2024 offense has been missing in action and at best erratic all season long.

Remember how much JR supposedly hates the Cubs? Why would he warn or help them?

Ask Lip about the slander campaign against Himes when he left... Ofc Himes was also known for the Alvarez Sosa Fletcher/Baines trade and then ended up with Sosa again on the Northside as the Cubs' star veteran core group aged out.

Ramos in the outfield yet another pretty dumb idea. (But that power hitter to move to 1B is probably George Wolkow.)

Would have been worth paying good money to see Rick Hahn versus Mason Miller...probably wouldn't have been able to even stay in the box out of fear of getting hit. (When I took BP against Chuck Tanner's son Bruce at 75-80 mph back in the mid 90s, he kept busting me inside and I ended up launching the fungo bat I was using down the 3B line and it shattered into pieces in the stands. Manager Jeff Banister immediately decided that was the end of me taking BP, since he was royally pissed he had to explain to Pittsburgh why they needed to order another fungo.)

Over the top delivery so unusual. Splitter dominant pitch over FB, which doesn't have great life/movement. East Carolina not the SEC/ACC. Plus he got hurt and missed his conference tournament in his draft year last season (when a lot of scouts are doing final checks/rechecks) but was overall Top 5 in a number of NCAA categories. Especially productive but not the type of delivery scouts fall in love with...even from the LH side. Addison Barger...took 6-7 years to reach the majors High School King HS (Tampa,FL) Drafted/Signed 2018-6-176-Toronto Blue Jays Signing Bonus $ 271,100 "Heading into the 2024 draft, many online rankings had East Carolina starter Trey Yesavage in the 10 to 15 range. He had some medical concerns, but he threw hard, threw strikes, and had a “nasty splitter” according to The Athletic’s Keith Law. When he fell to the Blue Jays at No. 20, Toronto offered an above-slot bonus of more than $4 million to sign." theathletic.com "His breaking ball needed to improve. You were betting on arm strength, and the offspeed stuff is a big reason why people probably weren't in on him.”

Teoscar is a gift that both gives and takes away.

"Larry Himes took us from point A to point B. He was very successful in getting us to point B. We need to get to point C. It’s our opinion that Larry Himes is not the best person to get us to point C — a world’s championship." Guess who?, JR lol "Let’s move along to his Cubs tenure. The North Siders hired Himes as GM in Oct. 1991. The JIm Frey Cubs were, by then, leaking oil. Outscored by .25 runs/game in 1991, they had just three starting players with an above average OPS or ERA: Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson and Greg Maddux. By the end of the strike-shortened 1994 season, the Cubs were shedding .44 runs/game and had just four starting players with above-average OPS/ERA: Sammy Sosa, Steve Trachsel, Anthony Young, and the doomed Kevin Foster. The axe fell on Himes that October. What went wrong?" "The slow-motion collapse of the Himes Regime was unlamented, bitter and nasty. Himes’ notoriously high-handed manner and cavalier management style had alienated personnel, particularly Mark Grace, Ryne Sandberg and ex-Cub Andre Dawson. His sloppiness in handling the Greg Maddux contract negotiations had allowed the greatest pitcher of our lifetime to leave town." https://cubbiescrib.com/2022/03/12/chicago-cubs-troubling-times-larry-himes-general-manager/#:~:text=He drafted two future Hall of Famers in,careers%3A Ray Durham%2C Alex Fernandez and Bob Wickman.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/trey-yesavage-girlfriend-and-modest-salary-he-s-earning-to-start-world-series-game-1/ar-AA1P8WlY Keith Law - The Athletic - May 22nd: "He does throw an actual breaking ball but it’s a clear third pitch, with the splitter his go-to weapon for hitters on both sides of the plate. If you don’t mind or care about the short arm action, the question is whether he can be a successful major-league starter as a fastball/splitter guy." Kiley McDaniel - ESPN - May 8th: "He doesn't have a true plus pitch in my mind, but is above average at nearly everything with a clear starter look and he's posted all spring. He has a good chance to be a fourth starter in short order with the upside of becoming a third starter who reaches the enviable status of optionable big league starter within 12 months." http://www.mymlbdraft.com/2024-mlb-draft/player-profiles/Trey-Yesavage

One L. But it was Larry Himes that actually knew what he was doing. Just didn't have the personality to play well with others (aka kiss bosses' asses).

Keuchel Grandal Lynn Kimbrel/Pollock Hendriks Graveman Kelly Benintendi and Robert/Moncada/Jimenez extensions...is precisely where all the money went. Just spent VERY inefficiently. But $200 million is now a rounding error for the Dodgers.

(Jays' hitting coach) David Popkins previously served as the hitting coach for the Minnesota Twins in 2023. Under his philosophy, the Twins posted the seventh-best OPS in baseball at .754. They went on to beat the Blue Jays in the Wild Card series before losing to Houston in the ALDS. Popkins’ hitting philosophy? I’d call it “situational” and “simple.” “My philosophy is built off creativity,” he said, “trying to become the most creative lineup in scoring runs in baseball. And we do that by practicing all the different situations and clubs in the game.” Oh, and he also made it very clear: he loves damage. And damage is exactly what the Blue Jays have been doing. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=popkin000dav UC Davis grad, highest level AA Springfield with the Cardinals...just 35 years old