he gone.

Easier to be negative than positive. Come here with positivity and keep the line movin'! I'll start. How about Mendick and Burger being the MVP's of June!? This season has been on the brink and Anderson going down could've been a spiral based on how Leury, Yoan and Harrison have been playing. Both Burger and Danny are putting this team on their back and carrying them currently. love to see it.

i guess you can say that ... but totally different too. You put Graveman on waivers and he's claimed right away. Same with Yaz, same with Hendriks, etc. etc. Guys only pass through waivers when the cost of the contract well exceeds the value of the player. aka, Cano, Keuchel, Pujols, etc. The difference being most of those type of pass through waivers happen at the end of pricey, longer term contracts and generally post injury and with significant decline. The contract given to Leury was after a decade with the team and he's currently healthy. nothing has changed with him and he'd pass through. it was just a very clear overpay.

flip side to that though is you can't build a successful team by overspending in the field and leaving the bullpen a mess... aka, ask phillies fans. Truth is you need a balanced team, which is hard to do. There's a reason only a few organizations continuously win. It's really not that easy of a job - it's like putting together a jigsaw puzzle of projected revenues, expiring contracts, Arb years going up, injuries, breakouts, failures, etc. etc. Add in egos, clubhouse vibes, jerry wanting to spend, not spend? forcing TLR on you? We've seen talented teams in the past that were station to station guys and that was frustrating too... thome, konerko, AJ, jermaine? god i hated that sometimes. you'd have a single, single, single and no runs in. A strikeout and a double play. This roster has definitely been banged up and it's also been handled with kids gloves. TLR seems to project upon Yoan and Yaz and Vaughn, etc. that they're all 77 years old and need days of rest for "sore legs" or "played on that turf" ... it's an out of touch manager who is stuck in the 80's playing L/R matchups and we just dont have that roster. Either Hahn is going to have to get risky and push more chips in on a year that's looking bad and acquire a guy like Josh Bell or we just need to hope something clicks.

Not too worried about Lynn. It's essentially practice out there for Lynn. In regards to Eloy, smh. Nothing to add. Anderson will be back before him, and honestly? We can withstand no Eloy more than we can Anderson. Eloy's peak to me is Carlos Lee. He's an above average player, but really not that valuable overall because of his D and injuries. His and Yoans career arc is a one or two time all star who are slightly above average. They're not winning you championships, but can be a big part of winning one.

Correct. Also, there's a pretty okay shot if he was DFA that he would pass through waivers. Which is to say there's an okay shot that not one other team would sign him at this price regardless of his past based on these past two months. If you sign a guy to a 3 year deal for not insignificant money, (not to mention with a ten year history) and not two months later it's a contract ALL teams would pass on? That's an awful, no good, rotten, bad signing. Leury is not the problem, but he definitely not a solution either.

And is on a team trying to win. If the Mariners are in it, so are we and vice versa. The point is and remains if we're trying to grab a lefty ... it's likely going to be to fill that Sheets role of 1B/DH/OF. Second base does not produce many viable LH options. Dom Smith actually was a very nice, buy low candidate who didn't have a spot on his team before the Alonso injury. Still might be an option in a few weeks.

Don't disagree. Leury should've never received the contract he did. I think 98% of the people on this board are in agreement on this so no reason to beat a dead horse. What we do need to figure out though is next steps ... You know what's going to be more frustrating? When Eloy is back next week, when Anderson is back, and we're still seeing playing time for Leury or Sheets or whoever because they bat lefty. The problem is we have a shit roster construction by a GM which is compounded by the fact that our manager is obssessed about trying to R/L/R/L regardless of how they actually are performing. Like i think there's a serious chance you see Adam Haesley or however you spell his name up for Sheets and something like Mendick down regardless of how he's hitting. It's crazy, but that's where we're at. I think we have to focus on who is available in the trade market that can play outfield and bat lefty. As someone mentioned a guy like Josh Bell is a perfect candidate. You're not going to have a LH 2B just by the nature of the position, and I'm in complete agreement w the board surrounding our current options ... cut bait. I can see them admitting mistake on Harrison, but just don't see it on Leury. the love affair with TLR and Leury runs deep and also runs deep btween JR and TLR. Hahn isn't going to risk his position a) wasting jerrys money b) admitting his mistake for a 3rd time this year (keuchel, harrison, leury) c) possibly pissing off the big guy on their triangle of love. Just be aware, a signing of Josh Bell will lead to even more frustration around the benching of Vaughn.

He's dropped for Sheets ... so umm. A

the angels build a team like the phillies ... and it doesnt work. can't rely on those arms to consistently win. Or overpaying on contracts to Rendon, Pujols, Upton, etc. etc. just hamstrings them for actual needs. That team is stuck in no man's land for the foreseeable future, though they do have a few nice younger arms if they can stay healthy.

why not all of them? JR has shown he really wants to win it all as he gets older. I'm sure he'd entertain 4-5 of these guys this off-season. After all, it's our window. He's proven over the years its really about winning a world series, not the money/balance sheet.

Also, don't want to make a whole thread, but speaking of Mazara, (who's stats were damn good in AAA btw) I saw that Steele Walker was tearing the cover off the ball and called up for the Rangers yesterday. Who knows if he pans out ... but damn. In a vacuum i think you do that trade still, but hindsight not looking great

If Cano is willing to accept a AAA assignment in Charlotte I'd 100% give him a shot. And yes, I understand there's a crunch down there already. Don't care.

I can't believe its 2022 and during our "window" and I just typed multiple paragraphs about sheets, mendick, harrison and leury ... and at the end of it ... support mendick being on the team. fuck.

Sheets to me is the no brainer. As you mentioned he hasn't done anything well and can be optioned. Playing lefty/righty is nice in theory ... that said when he's not producing regardless of matchups who cares? You can put a scarecrow up there and its the same results. when you have a full lineup its some sort of mix of Eloy at DH/LF, Vaughn in RF/LF/DH/1B, Pollock in LF/RF, Engel as your backup OF. 1B is already crowded enough between Abreu and hopefully Yaz/Vaughn for the other days. Sheets isn't good and doesn't have a home. He's AAAA player. Second choice to me is easy as well ... barring some sort of amazing week or two, Harrison is a mid thirties guy on a one year deal. seems like a decent guy and all and wish him well, but his track record is what it is. he's probably due for a hot streak, but at this point he's had his chance and if he doesn't get hot when the crunch comes? cut bait. If he is hot? then mendick gets the squeeze. Listen, I hate Leury as much as many, but if you look at some of his underlying hard hit data + if you look at his track record in the field? Plus take into consideration his contract? He's on this team no matter what and actually does have value when properly deployed ... aka 2-3 games a week bouncing around and HITTING 7TH-9TH in the lineup. Burger is what he is right now ... a spark, but one with many holes in his game still. It's easy to forget sometimes that the kid was out of baseball for like 2+ years. i think he's doing an admirable job and I'd love to see him in lineups at 3b, dh, and 2b as much as it's realistic. I'd also like to see Moncada shift around to 2b a bit. 3b is still his and should be, but with the way he's playing he has to be a team player and bounce to 2b at least through Burgers hot streak or until Anderson is back. All hands on deck.

i looked at sheets. it was never him haha. who cares if you have a lefty if the lefty can't hit .200? if a bear shits in the woods ...

yah, it's gotta be sheets 100% when eloy is back.

$330 last call. I paid just under $400 as part of season tix prices. Pulling them tonight from stubhub and will end up going.

Worth a shot - i know this thread generally gets zero views, but have my season tickets. Section 125, Row 9 (4th from dugout), 4 seats on Aisle. Also have a parking pass and stadium club with that. Looking just to recoup most of face value. All in $375. Rather do it here than stubhub to save on fees so everybody wins. I think that equals like $70 per ticket on stubhub or around there after fees and adding parking pass, etc.

Correct. Unfortunately in the same camp as Adolfo. They have maybe 80% of the profile to being a great ballplayer. But 80% is a AAAA player who may have a cup of coffee or two.

It all seems to line up so easily that I think that's likely the case. My guess is that they'll finish off this road trip and barring some Harrison magic of batting .500 over the next few games that he'll but cut loose on Monday. Romy/Yolbert make too much sense, especially with Anderson out. I think then either of those guys probably get until Anderson get back to prove their worth more than Leury, Mendick, and/or trade candidate.

i'm guessing that despite the stats on quintana that his price is still quite low. thinking somehwere along the lines of conor pilkington ... isn't that the guy who we traded for ceasar hernandez and is getting some starts this year? I think you need a controllable, quasi AAAA majors guy. Gavin Sheets? Honestly, just thought of that out loud ... but that's the perfect type of guy to go acquire someone like a Quintana or Brubaker in my opinion. You squint and can see the upside, but likely he bounces around like a Vogelbach type guy who has an up year or two, but is mostly bench fodder. Just too bad Sheets didn't raise his trade value this year... kinda messed it up more than anything.

Is It? Gavin Newsome has entered the chat. It's a nuanced subject and we've tried for 2 years to have a civil one that and they all ultimately go off the rails. It's hard enough to have a civil conversation about Leury Garcia, let's not try out Covid again. It always ends in the same outcome. close the thread.

Probably a shit storm combo of the below. Ask a different people and they'll assign a different weight to each category 1 - the obvious and simple answer is injuries. it's not the full answer, but I doubt we'd be having the conversation about the real underlying issues if we had a healthy Lynn, Eloy, Anderson, Robert, Moncada, etc. etc. 2 - hustle/accountability. I remember a month ago when Anderson didn't run out a ball to first base in a 1 run game in the 9th. Yesterday obviously is another example w/ McGuire jogging home. Or Mendick running there... or Boston sending Mendick? Or Boston sending Mendick, but not going over the consequences. Or TLR not setting a fire? Or maybe he is behind the scenes. But to me, there's some sort of cloud here. Whether that's batting approach, fielding approach, hustling, etc. And when it goes wrong? lack of accountability 3 - which then leads into my next one which may fit in #2 ... leadership. We don't see what goes on behind doors so I'm not going to assume, but at least whats going on outside closed door is uninspiring to say the least. I don't necessarily need a rah rah moment (we had one with the Anderson moment), but we do need some vocal leadership 4- If you look at the stats, BA is an indicator - generally the top teams are near the top, and bottom near the bottom. there are exceptions ... the nationals at the top, astros at the bottom. surprisingly we sit middle ... which is insane to me. We seem awful. OBP is a much better indicator with only the Rays being a top tier team while their OBP is in the bottom tier. Tigers, A's, Pirates, Orioles, Reds, Royals, DBacks, Rangers ... then go to slugging ... all of a sudden those bottom BA and OBP teams start disappearing from the bottom. The Astros all of a sudden are a top 1/3 team. Rays are closer to middle. We are not. If you look at defensive stats they aren't necessarily telling, but they do imply some things. For instance the Reds are tops in the leauge - least errors, best fielding percentage. They're not so great. Royals are top 5. Mariners top 7. That said you go to the bottom? It's the same crew over and over.. Rangers, Nats, DBacks, Rockies, Pirates ... White Sox. Finally if you do pitching ... the bottom teams? Reds, Nats, Royals, Rockies, Pirates, Cubs, Orioles, A's, etc We're about mid league again. The top teams are the Dodgers, Yanks, Houston, TB, Mil, SD, Min, etc. Put it all together? I think you have to say the slugging and OBP are probably the biggest issues alongside just average D and average Pitching. Teams like the Rays are overcoming bad offense and defense by having great pitching. Teams like Astros are overcoming poor contact with slugging, defense and pitching. Teams like Washington and Cinci are negating their offense with horrible pitching. We have terrible offensive stats and just meh everywhere and just eeking out a .500 record on pure talent. 5- coaching staff. i tend not to focus on this one. i do think it's a problem, i also think it's fools errand to think that JR will fire anybody midseason. He doesn't do it and he doesn't do it to friends like TLR - he's too loyal. So as much as I'd love to address this one, we all see it. maybe it's a hitting coach to shake it up ... i'd guess that's the most likely. everybody else is probably in due to loyalty. How'd I break it out? 60% injuries, 20% lack of accountability, 10% coaching, 10% roster (even when healthy) How I'd fix it? You need to send down Sheets. he's not good. now i've never been a fan of his so i'm tough on him, but he doesn't bring a bat, D, etc. Harrison needs to go. There was never any upside. Take the next 3 weeks while anderson is out and learn what you have in Yolbert. Romy, etc. If you don't find lightning in a bottle you need to acquire. And acquire a super talented guy. an overpay. You need consistency from the manager. That means stop with the off-days. Robert back from Covid? Play him. Play Pollock. set the tone. I don't care if you have a minor injury -- if it's not a hammy or groin? If it's something that's pain management they need to be out there. Assuming we're getting the full lineup back ... i.e. Pollock, Robert, Vaughn in OF, Eloy at DH and infield of Moncada, Anderson, --- and Abreu. Grandal at C? Assuming that? You then have Leury at IF utility (actually okay with that in UTIL role) and you have Engel in reserve OF role. rotation? in a perfect world you need Kopech for the postseason ... without a Kopech that can go 5ip every fourth game? you might as pack it up. You'll never survive the grind with Lynn, Gio and Cease only. So fine, let Cueto and VV go out every 6th day ... or ... acquire someone. Because at a time you're going to need to sit Kopech down for a month with a fake injury. You need a guy. So my needs: 2b, SP My options: Arizona - Rojas, Daulton Varsho (backup catcher and OF) Cubs: Madrigal (seriously, why not? haha), Simmons (Defense/2B/Backup SS), Wade Miley Cinci - Moustakas (his statcast are very poor though), Kyle Farmer, Nick Senzel, Luis Castillo, Tejay Antone Detroit: unlikely, but Schoop Miami: Brian Anderson, Jon Berti, Eleiser, Trevor Rogers Mets: Dom smith Oakland: Elvis Andrus, Ramon Laureano,, Frankie Pitt: Reynolds, Brubaker, Keller, Q Texas - Nick Solak Now, not all of these guys fit exactly. at this point I think it's all hands on deck ... aka, Moncada sliding over to 2b needs to be on the table this year. It's a team sport and he's capable. If the price or fit of finding a 3b is easier, then that needs to be a sacrifice made this year. I also don't think we need to make a big splash at pitcher ... i'd welcome it, but at the same time we just need innings. Keuchel with a 4.5era wouldve worked... and that's all we need. Someone like Brubaker is a perfect fit in my opinion. My overall choice would be Brubaker or Eleiser for an arm and then honestly proably someone like Brian Anderson/Berti/Senzel/Farmer/Rojas for IF help.

Ah. The ol' vaccine thread in the main thread. Please lock this instead of throwing fuel on the fire as an admin. It's done. Everybody who has their stance has their stance and is not changing it. There is no healthy conversation to be had. close the thread.

If you're white you're not allowed to have an opinion on if this was racist or not, that's up to Anderson. (he obviously was hurt and does) Unless you believe Donaldson is racist. Then you're allowed to have an opinion and tell others they can't have an opinion. That's how the world works. Even TLR knows this. He deemed this racist and as we all know from just a few years ago at his hiring "he doesn't have a racist bone in his body". Definitely didn't have any situations where he was accused of being racist. Or like ... maybe Donaldson is guilty of having many character issues with many people which may be because he's not happy with himself internally. A bit of projection if you may. FWIW - it's quite possible Donaldson does have prejudices against people who are not white. I do not think that this one occasion affirms this in whole. I do think there are enough other incidents that affirms he's not a very well liked person by most and is a dumbass.