caulfield12

Leasure was the biggest hyped up hope last year...that didn't last. Nastrini as well. Berroa had the raw stuff...but seems just as enigmatic as G.Santos. And then Iriarte was yet another hyped Padres pitcher who hasn't proven much yet...and Thorpe has lost a lot of his original luster, too.

The age-old Sox debate...which is worse, complaining or complaining about the complaining? Of course, if they didn't have one of the three worst records in baseball from 2013-2024...over a full decade now...there wouldn't be nearly AS MUCH to complain about. Like Cub fans...more obsessed with debating if the owner only cares about lining his pockets with profits and not actually winning. Oops. That sounds oddly familiar. Well, we don't even have the joy of "there's always next year" and annual spring predictions of first place from sports writers. It might be another two seasons before we can realistically aspire to even fourth place in the he division...which just might still be considered a success to JR.

Or 2-3 years just to be more rosily optimistic but not completely out of the really of possibility. 2027 is realistic depending on the progress of a Top 3 farm system. Belief in supplementing it with FA spending is the most elusive part, though.

https://www.mlb.com/news/ichiro-suzuki-first-asian-born-mlb-player-in-hall-of-fame What Ichiro's HOF induction means for future (and past) Asian ballplayers

Chourio is one of only 10 players projected for at least 25 homers and 25 steals this season. The others: Ohtani, Witt, Ramírez, Rodríguez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Luis Robert Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr., Elly De La Cruz and Corbin Carroll. That's a star-studded group to be a part of. https://www.mlb.com/news/most-interesting-mlb-player-projections-for-2025 Shouldn't there be a "greatest shape of his life" puff piece coming from Merkin...or is that the kiss of death jinx to tear something else when he gets too muscular/bulked up?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/fashion-and-style/fashion-trends/nike-ceo-says-caitlin-clark-signature-shoe-logo-are-in-development/ar-AA1xU1Re?ocid=BingNewsSerp https://www.nike.com/a/nike-paige-bueckers-gthustle3-release

http://www.google.com.hk/url?q=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jan/27/buffalo-bills-kansas-city-chiefs-referee-calls-afc-championship-game-nfl-football&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjIhe3wypWLAxWI78kDHQJKEDcQFnoECAkQAg&usg=AOvVaw1lpD9tHBEl-3WNlzkTk4Zw "The refs didn’t steal a Super Bowl trip from the Bills. The Chiefs’ excellence did"

Yeah...that and the Xavier Worthy "tie to the receiver" where it looked like the ball was trapped against the ground initially and the DB had more control was the other.

Also the year of MacDougal Aardsma Sisco...all the hard throwing big guys.

I guess this is how Nancy Kerrigan got kneecapped, albeit with even less sophistication. Mahomes is almost to Michael Jordan status...so his teams are going to get those 50/50 calls at home until someone flat out beats them 2-3 times in a row and they have to rebuild. The problem is so many guys like a Hollywood Brown or Hopkins or Hunt want to play with Mahomes...the bottoming out just gets pushed back further and further since dynasties/villains seem to be better for the NFL than a new winner every year. He's already got more postseason victories than Montana career-wise at 29 years old.

But Fletcher was Barfield's fault and not trading intradivisionally with Fedde should be blamed on JR/"tradition".

Five out of the last six Super Bowls now. Only Burrow and Chase broke the streak.

Another close call goes to the Chiefs...wow.

Not sure he could admit to a single mistake...

3. The Orioles will regret not acquiring more starting pitching. One thing the O’s haven’t been able to get right since becoming an AL contender has been the starting pitching. Granted, several of their starters have sustained injuries over the past three seasons, but you’d think that would only motivate them to be more aggressive in the starting pitching market. https://sports.yahoo.com/5-predictions-for-the-2025-mlb-season-the-yankees-will-be-better-than-the-mets-the-as-will-make-the-playoffs-and-more-210318360.html

Another key call going the Chiefs' way...different call at Orchard Park?

Astros now have Hader, Abreu, Tayler Scott, who posted a 4.94 ERA in 68 2/3 innings before ending the season on the injured list, and Rafael Montero, who was designated for assignment last year and is a non-roster invite this spring, are the next most experienced arms in the bullpen. The club also returns relievers Shawn Dubin (45 1/3 innings), Bryan King (26 1/3 innings), Kaleb Ort (24 2/3 innings) and Forrest Whitley, who was at Triple-A most of last season. mlb.com

Turnover keeping the Bills in this one. Buffalo hardly stopping KC on defense...injuries not helping, either.

Frees up cash for Bregman, then Altuve moving to LF. Cubs should have just signed Carlos Estevez...or even Robertson.

He also lost two of his three best pass receivers to injury. It's not like they didn't acquit themselves fairly well in the playoffs.

No team in MLB history had ever given up with that much season left to play and trailing by less than five games...JR loves making history, after all. He gave Albert Belle the biggest contract in baseball...to prove a point to other owners. Fortunately for him he got nailed out of that one by Baltimore. Let's be honest. He just didn't want to pay Alvarez and Hernandez any longer because he thought they were underperforming.

Well obviously Clevinger, Thorpe and now Perez. Just a joke about how SD guys struggle with the Sox (Hill for example) but excel when going the other direction (Cease), or to another team. Marinara Sauce might very well be the next find.

They have now officially announced and put him on the roster? No press conference for the biggest signing of the off season?

I feel like I've heard this for about half my lifetime as a fan. There's depth, and then there's quality depth. There is a discernible difference. Get past Cannon, Martin, Wilson, Burke and Perez (who probably needs a playoff race for motivation)...who's the next best option? Maybe Iriarte, Shuster or Nastrini? None of those names above provides a Top 1-2-3 in a rotation profile...other than maybe Burke or Iriarte stuff-wise. Prelander Berroa would be a huge stretch to push into the rotation...but at least there's upside/potential. Remember, we can't count on Schultz or Smith for next season, period. Nor Grant Taylor.

“It's all about what the boys do out on the field, and when you pour into them every single day and allow them to go be themselves, this is a byproduct of that,” Vogt said. “None of us in this room that work in baseball would have a job if it wasn't for the players -- it is about them, it will never not be about them.” Stephen Vogt upon winning AL Manager of the Year at BBWAA awards. source: mlb.com