caulfield12

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/articles/red-sox-cardinals-trade-grades-190549999.html

Anyone can scout the NPB with the wonders of modern technology. But having a scout there that speaks the language, invests the time to build the relationships, respects the regimented culture and style of play...they're going to have a huge head start when those 4-5 players are posted each and every season now. They also would attend the Koshien national high school tourney in Osaka and start making the connections when the kids are just 16-17, which will eventually mean a lot to the parents when it comes to signing a pro contract in terms of that trust vs. "complete unknown or wild card" factor.

2025 assignments Patrick Anderson will take the helm at Springfield (AA) after managing the three previous seasons in Peoria, replacing former skipper José Leger, who will now serve as Assistant Field & Baserunning Coordinator based in Jupiter, Florida. JJ Wetherholt was the stud prospect in AA this year fwiw.

We'll see next year with the Bears kinda mirroring the '24 Chiefs with all those one score victories. Repeating success in the NFL when everyone is gunning for you and you're playing a more challenging schedule...that's the trick. But just breaking through this year is huge. Minnesota is screwed with their QB situation, Love is flawed and the Lions are missing that "it" factor this year, maybe it's simply the cumulative coaching changes, too. Certainly makes local sports talk livelier.

NBA did the same thing with the WNBA broadcasting rights...basically negotiating against themselves. ng a truly open market, the deal was worth significantly more.

They might consider Burke or Taylor. Big no for Cannon. They could just Rule 5 Adams for nothing. Also Jo Adell had a quietly solid season...rewarding patience. He had the bat speed/swing metrics on his side. No guarantees with Walker, but the raw physical ability is there.

There are lots of accounting tricks for the teams that own/control their own broadcasting networks. "Clubs can manipulate revenue figures by acquiring partial ownership of the broadcasters that air their games. While revenue from local TV rights is subject to sharing across the league, profits generated through ownership stakes in the broadcasting networks are not. Instead, they are treated as a subsidiary/investment earnings."

KW VHS tapes

Soup Nazi II

Imagine the cost to get rid of Benintendi now lol...

There's nothing for StL to gain trading Walker for a guy with relatively pedestrian stuff.

there are some other factors in the countryside (western China) boys are still needed for agricultural work...so lots of 3-5 boy families priority for male heirs and a largely male dominated society...traditional cultural belief to value boys more, especially in Taiwan now theoretically they're not allowed to tell you ahead of time if youre having a boy or girl but there are ways around that such as "guanxi" relationships with hospital officials or bribes they can tell you if the child will have birth defects or any other abmormalities...special education is almost non existent here as many only have one shot the idea boys take care of families whereas girls marry and take responsibility for husband's family many girls were adopted internationally in 70s 80s 90s because they weren't wanted by families

Inevitable Cardinals' rebuilding. Donovan, Contreras and Arenado still to go. Attendance really falling off for first time in recent memory.

Because of all those small towns losing professional baseball...if only for 40 home games or whatever it amounted to, the related seasonal jobs/s and support staff...and the continued takeover of most of the AA AAA teams by private equity interests. https://www.amazon.com/Homestand-Small-Baseball-Fight-America/dp/0385549652 Lucas Mann write a similar book about the Clinton LumberKings...about a decade ago. That old Clinton stadium was used for the Ron LeFlore Story once upon a time....now it's utilized for college players in the summer.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2025/11/mlb-media-rights-analysis-winners-espn-nbc-netflix-manfred/

Braden Montgomery also did fine missing 2024 short season or A ball. But he was already an advanced collegiate hitter. As long as high school kids get some kind of taste of professional baseball in their draft year, it's fine. Used to be at least two short season teams for most organizations, but cutbacks have hit hard...Appy League and Pioneer League.

Former Royals/Twins coach. Just kidding. https://soxmachine.com/2025/11/white-sox-to-name-jose-leger-as-new-first-base-coach "The White Sox have yet to announce their full uniformed coaching staff for the 2026 season, but at least they've gotten to first base. Gigantes del Cibao of LIDOM (Dominican Winter League) announced on Monday that their manager, José Leger has been named the new White Sox first base coach." Cardinals' background, but originally signed as a NDFA by the Twins...lots of minor league managerial experience "Leger (leh-HAIR) enters his seventh season with the Cardinals and his fourth as a manager within the organization after helping lead Springfield to the 2023 North Division Second Half Championship and a return to the Texas League Playoffs last year. Named the Texas League's Best Manager Prospect by Baseball America in 2022, Leger has helped develop current St. Louis Cardinals and top prospects like Brendan Donovan, Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, Masyn Winn, Gordon Graceffo, Alec Burleson, Ivan Herrera and many more in just the last three years at Hammons Field. He previously served as the St. Louis Cardinals Latin American Field & Academy Development Coordinator (2018-20). Before joining the Cardinals organization, Leger spent eight seasons as a manager within the New York Mets organization (2010-17), where he held a managerial record of 389-368. He was named the 2015 South Atlantic League Manager of the Year after leading the Low-A Savannah Sand Gnats to a playoff berth, compiling an overall record of 84-53. Leger celebrated his milestone 500th win as a professional manager on September 15, 2022 when the Cardinals beat the Tulsa Drillers." https://www.milb.com/news/jose-leger-returns-as-springfield-s-skipper https://www.milb.com/springfield/news/jose-leger-returns-as-springfield-s-skipper&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiIv4eNzI2RAxXLBDQIHR_sMxQQFnoECAcQAg&usg=AOvVaw2fYFZwuc6j5jC-IfKV6DC9 This article is about his returning for 2024 season at Springfield.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/articles/braves-might-biggest-winner-marcus-183411308.html

Ishbia brother learning some valuable lessons with the Suns that bode well for the Sox... “After last season, we said, ‘That old stuff that we did? It didn’t work,'” Ishbia told reporters at Suns media day. “Let’s get it done the right way. Let’s build an identity. … I don’t have a game total that we’re going to win, but I do think the expectations are a team that we’re proud of, a team that plays hard, a team that competes, a team that’s getting better and is fun to watch.” That’s precisely what these Suns have been through the opening weeks of the season: a team that plays a tough, physical, relentless brand of basketball, an approach that starts with a commitment to getting stops." https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/how-suns-are-turning-the-page-on-the-kevin-durant-era--and-enjoying-unexpected-success-in-the-process-194200140.html They also did something unique bringing in a college guy (Gregory) as GM and finally stabilizing the head coaching spot after going through three in just two years. Brian Gregory was an assistant coach on that Izzo and Ishbia championship team and two other Final Four squads. He knows exactly what Ishbia means by “culture.” “That's why I'm here,” Gregory said at his introductory news conference, “to execute that vision.” "Brian Gregory is the perfect guy to execute job No. 1 when it comes to this franchise: Mat Ishbia wants to establish a culture and an identity that’s so clear and so consistent that the entire basketball world knows exactly what Phoenix Suns basketball is all about. “The vision,” Ishbia said at the end of the season, “starts with me delivering what the fans want, a competitive team that’s fun to watch … and has a chance of winning a championship.” https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2025/05/17/brian-gregory-mat-ishbia-james-jones-phoenix-suns-gm-nba-coach/83588272007/

They're getting desperate for teams to keep the Tucker intrigue going. Schoenfield knows better... and noted this type of move is a few years away (implicitly). Missing the excitement of Ohtani, Judge and So to the last two offseaons. Tucker is older, more injury prone and just hadn't put up superstar numbers compared to others. And he just isn't one of those Q Rating guys like a Bryce Harper that transform a franchise with their mere presence..

"The Chicago White Sox aren't ready to win yet but maybe they can sell Tucker on their vision for the future (kind of like when the San Diego Padres signed Machado coming off a 96-loss season in 2018)." https://global.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47050123/mlb-2025-26-free-agent-class-superlatives-tucker-bregman-bellinger-verlander

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/breaking-news/article/pitcher-tatsuya-imai-says-he-wouldnt-want-to-join-japanese-teammates-on-dodgers-id-rather-take-them-down-234002470.html Why Imai wants to compete AGAINST the Dodgers and not join them... 29. Ryan O’Hearn, 1B/OF, 32 Ryan O'Hearn 1B - SD - #32 2025 season 474 AB 0.281 AVG 17 HR 3 SB 0.803 OPS The first-time All-Star tailed off slightly after a deadline deal sent him from Baltimore to San Diego, but the overall numbers were unavoidably impressive for a guy who was left to rot on the waiver-wire scrap heap just a few years ago. O’Hearn’s peripheral numbers were strong for a third straight season and should secure him a two-year deal with a team in need of a lefty masher. For teams that pass on the upper crust of sluggers such as Alonso, Schwarber and Naylor, O’Hearn will be a perfectly competent consolation prize. He also earns rave reviews for his clubhouse presence, which will only help his case. yahoo.com/sports Anthony Kay is one of several pitchers with MLB experience who have blossomed overseas recently and could seek a return to the majors this winter. Right-hander Cody Ponce (1.89 ERA in 180 ⅔ innings with 252 strikeouts for the Hanwha Eagles in the Korean Baseball Organization) and left-hander Foster Griffin (2.57 ERA in 315 ⅔ innings for the Yomiuri Giants over the past three seasons) are worth keeping an eye on as well.

https://www.si.com/mlb/twins/minnesota-twins-news/if-the-ishbia-brothers-buy-the-twins-imagine-a-2-value-menu-at-target-field-01jfdcacr6tz&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwiFvNmqhoyRAxVpkmoFHc1tLTsQFnoECBMQAg&usg=AOvVaw3rAxCfkKPSAGWlVinT2k9w Older article, but worth revisiting what Twins' fans initially anticipated with Ishbia

Warren is just not as explosive. He's a bull to bring down though...with 2/3 defenses shutting down Taylor almost completely in recent weeks, he has to step up but seems to be wearing down with the longer season. Loveland is more like a Kittle type IMO...a quasi or hybrid WR. Healthy Bowers is the best in the league...although McBride/AZ gets that honor this year due to health.

To expect Pereira to reproduce Tauchman's first 4 months is just not realistic. I knew Michael A. Taylor. Hill is not and never should be considered a major league starter... any more than one would want Fletcher patrolling CF. Better defense, ofc, but might as well be Brian Simmons in his "dream" offensive life.