caulfield12

Man SCarolina had their chances... to take down Bama. And they still are alive. Great game.

Not the wisest move if you're prepping to sell off the franchise, though.

Minnesota was never going to give up one of their Top 3 though...

Angels and DBacks before they got good.

Well that's that. Skubal just had the inning snowball on him.

Poor Benetti stuck doing Washington at Iowa while his Tigers are going to start in forty minutes.

These arguments go round and round,.. No way SD makes the postseason without Cease. Was it worth losing Thorpe and Zavala and Iriarte? Well it just might have saved Preller's job...SD has 2025 and maybe 2026 before they really start running into budgeting/payroll issues.

Even with Machado and Tatis on the White Sox today with their existing contracts…which is pretty much impossible to imagine JR giving ONE $340 million extension, what would their record have been this year? Let’s throw in Zack Wheeler as well. $766 million total contract dollars…or about half the Padres’ remaining debt load through 2040. 12.2 fWAR gives them a 53-109 overall record. And a non-Grifol manager that has them even with their Pythagorean? Up to 60-102…or four games better than the 2023 Royals.

4 years/$28M (2021-24), plus 2025 mutual option signed by San Diego as a free agent from South Korea 12/20 may earn additional $4M in performance bonuses based on plate appearances 21:$5M, 22:$6M, 23:$7M, 24:$8M, 25:mutual option $2M buyout (2022-25 figures are estimates) There's a mutual option on HaSeong Kim, so guessing he's MOST likely to elect FA with Adames his main FA competition at SS, and pretty sure Gleyber Torres...but he is going to be coming off a major shoulder injury/surgery. Bogaerts at this stage in his career is now much better off playing 2B rather than SS everyday. Doesn't even say the amount of the option, logically feels like it would be $9 million, though.

Our number one pitcher Joe Musgrove is out until 2026 Stuck with Bogaerts until 2040 Kim not signing with us as Boras is the agent Machado looks like he is aging rapidly Cronenworth has been abysmal at the plate for 2+ years Dodgers have all of their star starting pitchers coming back next year who were hurt and this relief staff that made us look like the White Sox Ohtani will pitch next year and be even better at the plate Done. Check back in April when hope springs eternal fan post from gaslampball.com https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterchawaga/2024/07/01/125-billion-commitments-drive-urgency-for-padres-at-trade-deadline/ Those figures mean that, as of now, the Padres rank 15th in spending this season but are currently on the hook for MLB’s largest payrolls in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030. But the productive windows for most of those players appear to be closing quickly and this could be one of the final chances to capitalize on the commitment. https://sports.yahoo.com/san-diego-padres-2024-offseason-preview-what-needs-to-happen-for-the-padres-to-keep-up-with-the-dodgers-in-the-nl-west-024114746.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9zcG9ydHMueWFob28uY29tL21sYi8_Z3VjY291bnRlcj0x&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJNnd9IR-M7GBMBizvAKvmzyYb8wyY7wN3AdJIW_fxdZLXgLanWeiMcF_FF9ZKLsNi6ju-V2LKaPlPw1xcepjFofXMsqXhBE4Dcdw-bCenpCiTa1cdGG6_DtpJA95x9BC7nYyji9_QTciR3x7iZohq4MHLnCJLgy6ALaykScJuDZ

They were quite fortunate the bullpen held up in G3. 25 innings in a row without mounting a semblance of an offensive attack should get you bounced. And Cease never should have been pushed into a short rest start in the first place, that's on Preller/Shildt.

Kind of anticlimatic after Games 2-3 but the Dodgers were supposed to be the best team in baseball this year, just that nobody expected pitching to carry them these last two games. Ohtani just 4 games away from the World Series now...MLB must now be praying it's against the Yankees but who knows what those pesky Mets will do. Hard to imagine a NY team AND Steve Cohen would be the "underdog" casual fans are rooting for.

Kopech at 101.6 with the K 1-2-3 inning probably goes to Treinen next to close it out

2-0 Dodgers Bottom of the 7th Padres' offense just completely shut down for two nights in a row now. Yamamoto came through for them, so some ROI on that $300+ million.

Pham went from a 710 ops with the White Sox down to 654 with the Cardinals and finally finished with a 2024 Soxish 587 in over 100 at bats in KC. 5/15 in postseason, but only a 646 ops, and his defensive metrics are always negative. So he got worse and worse during the course of the year, simply wore down, probably. The White Sox would still have finished with 100-105 losses even with those two KC starters inserted. 99% sure their combined outfield OPS was 29th or 30th in MLB in 2024. Probably right there with the White Sox, actually. The writing, though, might have been on the wall for the Royals offense after they limped their way into October. From Aug. 28 to the end of the season, the Royals went 11-18. And in that 29-game span, 18 of those games saw them score three runs or fewer. As a team, they ranked last in MLB in wRC+ (59), AVG (.200), OBP (.268) and SLG (.303) during that 29-game span to close the season, according to FanGraphs. In terms of the ALDS in particular, what wasn’t as expected was the silence of the two main bats in the Royals’ lineup: 1/16 Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino. After a year that put him in the AL MVP conversation with a .332 AVG, a .977 OPS, 32 HR and 109 RBI, followed by a Wild Card series that saw him drive home two of the Royals’ three runs, Witt was virtually nowhere to be found in the ALDS. justbaseball.com

Just watch. JR is going to use the Twins’ example, how their bigger contracts for Correa, Lopez and Buxton make it impossible for them to fill out a competitive roster for less than $130 million. If there’s a more similar operation than the Pohlad’s and how that three generation is now in the process of running that team into the ground but in a more competitive way with a newer stadium by twenty some years over GRF. In Minnesota, Chip Scoggins wrote the Twins had a “collapse of the ages” as they went from “playoff shoo-in to playoff phooey in a matter of six weeks is a special kind of meltdown, and now the blame game kicks into overdrive.” The Twins went from 70-53 and a five-game advantage in the wild-card race on Aug. 17 to 82-80 by the end of the year. Scoggins wrote his “message to the Pohlads: Get serious or sell the team. Those are the options. Either or. Because the approach this season was shameful.” The Twins ownership’s “inability or unwillingness” to recognize the negative impact that a payroll dump would have on the momentum and fan re-engagement generated last season is just “mind-boggling.” Scoggins added the fan base is as “angry as it has been in a long, long time.” Scoggins: “The organization has a lot of damage to undo to win back fans. It’s not a coincidence that the Twins rank in the bottom third of attendance despite being in a playoff race until the final week.”

Dumping Robert and Vaughn would shave off another 25% or so...essentially leaving only the Benintendi deal.

https://twinsdaily.com/forums/topic/68579-any-chances-twins-would-partner-with-other-central-teams-on-a-regional-broadcast-agreement/ Never thought of this one before... Arguably because most fans of ONE of the five teams aren't interested in following their other four rivals all that much. Some poking fun at the White Sox new channel...but at least some people are thinking outside the box about the future...as nobody has actually yet seen announced the "revenues" for the MLB-produced Padres DBacks Rockies broadcasting packages this season. Would probably require an alliance of the four smaller market teams working together to somehow get a better deal collective than individually....like an NCAA conference outside of the now Power 4.

Yep just barely over the Twins...who ended up finishing 4th in the division. Twins − $124,077,590 Royals − $115,257,261 Reds − $106,441,547 Brewers − $105,833,094 Tigers − $103,834,833 Rays − $101,023,112 Marlins − $97,227,400 Orioles − $94,520,400 Guardians − $93,333,629 This is #20-28...five playoff teams concentrated here, in pretty much reverse order of actual finish. Obviously the Royals wouldn't have made it without their big free agent spending splurge AND the presence of the White Sox.

Darvish has a reputation as a shaky postseason pitcher, but that’s largely because of the 2017 World Series, when the Astros infamously wiped him out twice. Outside of that series, he has a 2.92 career ERA in 10 other postseason starts, including 2.53 in five starts with the Padres. Darvish’s last win-or-go-home game at Dodger Stadium was a disaster. This one looks primed to go much better. ..... There are a lot of potential Hall of Famers who will be on the field Friday night. Mookie Betts. Ohtani. Freddie Freeman (assuming he’s healthy). Manny Machado, probably. Fernando Tatis Jr. -- if he keeps playing like he has this series. These are five of the most recognizable names in the sport, all playing to keep their seasons alive and secure their place in postseason lore. https://www.mlb.com/news/storylines-for-padres-dodgers-nlds-game-5

But a Top 5 mlb payroll...hard to know what conclusions to draw, because Milwaukee ran away with the Central after replacing their supposed superstar manager to the Cubs. Maybe it's simply the Cubs and Cardinals underachieving or sticking to mid tier payrolls instead of genuinely attempting to compete...also see John Henry, 2024 Boston Red Sox.

Brewers also come to mind here. You’re going to have LAD or the Padres, who were up over $250 million two seasons ago and have had to cut like mad and were still Top Ten spenders. NYM, who started the 2024 right there with the Dodgers and were “accidentally” competing. NYY. Then the AL Central…50% there in the postseason due to the anomalous White Sox ineptitude, or it would have been teams like Boston or Seattle. And the NL Central has been the worst of the six divisions in terms of recent playoff performances. https://boardroom.tv/mlb-payrolls-2023-highest-lowest/#:~:text=The Highest %26 Lowest MLB Team Payrolls of,2023 Washington Nationals%3A -31.09% Cincinnati Reds%3A -29.08% Mets Yankees Padres Phillies Dodgers Blue Jays…rebuild fail barring Bichette Vladdy Springer miracle next year Angels … White Sox 2 Braves…almost as successful as Houston, attempted to overcome losses of Acuna Strider Riley etc. Rangers…World Series winners Astros…8 consecutive playoff appearances

Or look at what a largely inexperienced Vogt has done in Cleveland, after 2023. One game away from the ALCS as well with that starting lineup after Ramirez Kwan Naylor and replacing Bieber and McKenzie due to injury/ineffectiveness, Quantrill, Civale, etc. almost an entirely brand new rotation other than Bibee/Allen/Williams.

Tigers had their chances So it’ll come down to the Tigers ace on Saturday night in Cleveland, and maybe that’s the way it should be. For all the magical conjuring that A.J. Hinch has whipped up on this October stage, baseball fortunes often turn on the biggest pitcher. The Tigers have the best in the game this year. They can’t complain about their chance. But they can bemoan their other chances — the ones they had and didn’t take advantage of Thursday. You could sense that, once Cleveland grabbed a first-inning lead, the Tigers would need as many runs as possible in this one. But too many times, even when they scored a run, they left men in the boat instead of bringing them to shore. Mitch Album Detroit Free Press https://www.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/mitch-albom/2024/10/11/mitch-albom-guardians-steal-tigers-playbook-with-late-heroics-to-force-game-5/75619130007/

https://www.si.com/mlb/four-mlb-teams-drop-television-partnership-bally-sports-2025-season MLB announced Tuesday that the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins will have their local games produced and distributed by the league next season, which will provide more opportunities for fans to watch or stream their favorite teams. Additionally, the Texas Rangers announced they will no longer partner with Diamond Sports Group in 2025 and will explore other options for the future of their television broadcast. In 2024, MLB handled the broadcasts for three teams: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres. All three teams offered direct-to-consumer streaming options as well as negotiated cable and satellite distribution. The Padres, for example, offered packages that cost either $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the entire season to stream local games without dealing with blackouts. The league estimated that Guardians games will be available to reach 4.86 million households—up from 1.45 million last year—and the Twins will be able to reach 4.40 million homes—an increase of 307% from 1.08 million in 2024.