Eminor3rd

What a waste of time

Ah, now I ‘member.

I don’t even remember what it feels like for Bummer to have a good inning.

Big catch

No more rebuilds with current leadership. They need to push chips in however long it takes to convince reinsdorf that it’s time to move on. The only question is how deep the hole will be before the plug is finally pulled. Because of how insanely long the leash that they’ve had, we know exactly what this group can and can’t do. They can negotiate contracts and negotiate trades effectively. They cannot build/manage a competitive player development system, and that they cannot manage a payroll or build a roster effectively. There is less doubt about this than than in any typical administrative evaluation, because a typical administrative group in this situation would have been fired long ago. In a relative sense, we have a LOT of data.

Bro it’s April 19th

I think the answer is handedness plus the insane belief that Sheets can technically play RF. If you are also on the type of drugs it requires to agree with the second part of the previous sentence, it makes sense. But I agree it was the wrong decision still, simply because I just don’t think this team can afford to prioritize preserving the floor they get from replacement level players at the expense of the upside available from others. Burger could look useless in a few weeks, but giving the ABs is still the better decision IMO. That said, it’s still pretty challenging to keep both Jiménez and Burger on the same roster, particularly one as thin on defensive versatility as this one.

Yamamoto is gonna slay. Maybe Giolito and Lynn coming off the books makes the Sox a player there? But it doesn’t make them better, just fills a fresh hole.

Because normal ST had been leading to such great health outcomes for our players.

The reason you’re so tired of it is because it’s a multi-year, organizational philosophy issue that many of us have been complaining about for all of those years. Pointing out that the Sox couldn’t sign a star backup shortstop this season is a strawman — literally no one is making that argument. But pretending that consistently competitive franchises haven’t been prioritizing the development and retention of multi-positional, situationally specialized 2-WAR players all over the diamond for almost a decade is being purposefully blind to the reality of the meta-game. Now that Al Avila is out in Detroit, there’s one team left in baseball that still builds its roster around the idea of nine position players and five starting pitchers.

Good fucking lord

Is it me, or is Giolito shaking out his arm a bit ominously after breaking balls? 😶

And yet the team will never invest in depth

Agreed. Feels like 81-81

Jumping in late here, but am I the only me who looked at this Twins lineup today and thought, “how is this team beating anyone?” Obviously not the opening day card, but jfc

It’s at least moderately fun when the opponent squanders opportunities too, I guess.

Brutal

It wasn’t that good

Having a breakfast burrito this morning

Hey Andrew thanks for joining us. So you got the big hit, yeah, but what about the pop-up you fucked up on defense? I mean it bounced out your glove, you must have felt both dumb AND bad there, huh? I mean wow

Yeah man, I mean peak Sale is probably equal but I'm right with you. Cease's stuff should not be able to be located this well. This is unfair.

2 WAR

Remember, 6-man rotations. You should be able to get a reasonable guess once we figure out his day of the week. That breaks down as the season goes on, though. But they’ve also really babied his arm; I’m not sure if they’ll take kid gloves off all the way next year or not. He would routinely skip a turn after almost every start by the end of last season. I want to see Koshien too, even if it’s just the Tigers. But the HS tourney would be a cool experience. Tokyo Dome is neat; the stadium is pretty meh/outdated but they built a whole mall/complex around it, so it’s a pretty cool hang if that’s the vibe you’re looking for. I haven’t been to Chiba, but it’s out by the airport so that could be a good last stop if it lines up. Check Yokohamas schedule, too. That’s a quick train ride and technically on the suburban network.

Murakami, from what I’ve heard, just signed a three year deal that guaranteed a posting at the end, so that’s put him coming over at 25, too. It’s always possible he talks them into letting him go sooner, but I find it hard to expect anyone to come before 25 under the current MLB international “amateur”rules. He’s been better than expected at third, but it’s just passable. I can’t see that surviving once he loses even a step. I think he’s a 1B/DH over here by the time he comes. Im a little worried about him long-term, tbh. He’s elite, but he’s extremely polished. He’s a high plate discipline pure slugger, so it’s hard to project any upside, and so you just have to wonder how he’ll long he can hold his peak as he ages. It’s a classic “old player skills” situation. But we’ll see. I’m rooting for him.