turnin' two

Weren't Cub fans pretty happy with Ricky? I remember he took pretty significant steps with that team and the only reason he was fired was that Maddon, who was one of, if not the the top manager (at least in terms of cache) at the time? I don't remember any clamoring for Ricky to be fired for anything he did, Maddon was just the "it" manager at the time. I do love the Predator reference though. It is quite awesome.

I didn't read the entire thread. I'm just here to say that this series was managed just about as poorly as it possibly could have been. That's all I've got. Thanks.

You read it correctly. It was sarcasm.

Well it doesn't really matter. Neither could have helped the team the last couple of games....

I hate it. I think this is stupid. I also think this was inevitable once they expanded for this year. We should also keep in mind, it isn't Rob Manfred's job to do what is best for baseball. It is his job to do what is best for the owners.

Tim is unbelievable. So exciting. So fun to watch. Heck, I just expect him to have multiple hits every day. The level of energy he brings, everything. He is just awesome. Love that he is on the Sox.

^^^ Haven't listened to the score in years (thank you satellite radio!) but this is true. I mean, from when I was listening, this can't even be in the top 100 misogynistic things he has said. Seems pretty mild for him actually.

McCann can't play every day. He'd be overexposed. At least that's what I'm told.

What was Giolito's career ERA before last year? Players can get better. Not too Gioito's degree, but McCann has gotten better.

So it is your opinion that a fully functional republic (at least in practice, whatever else you want to say) , with 3 chambers of government and full checks and balances, is slightly left of what is a complete dictatorship where political dissidents are murdered? That... doesn't seem credible. But this also has nothing to do with covid, and is clearly political, if not acidic, but still, I think I'm gonna check out so this doesn't get messy. Have a good one Jack.

Those two cities have populations of less than a million. Wisconsin has about 6 million residents. It is nothing like Chicago anchoring Illinois politics. And I don't see any benefit to thinking about right/left on a global scale while discussing politics in the US. I don't understand what the political leanings in Belarus or Venezuela have have to do with what is going on here. I guess I just don't understand the purpose of framing the conversation in that way. And I would love to see data on the claim that the US is heavily right. Are we more to the right than China? Yeah. Western Europe? Yeah. Canada? Yeah. South America? No. I wouldn't say so. Africa? Probably not. The Middle East? I wouldn't say so. Eastern Europe? Not so sure. Probably close. India? I doubt it. Indonesia? Nope. I would guess that in the global scheme of things, the US is pretty much in the center. Unless of course, you consider democracy itself, which is probably to the left of center on a global political spectrum.

Braves have 29 runs in the 8th. Adam Duvall has 3 hr and 9 RBI.

I spend a lot of time in Wisconsin. There is no way Trump wasn't winning it. If any of the experts had spent any time there at all, they would have known. The entire state (aside from Madison) was basically a Trump billboard. And as for your last statement, it is hyperbole like that which makes any sort of real conversations impossible.

^ This seems right to me.

I don't see any way Bernie would have won any of, PA, OH, FL or WI. Michigan, maybe, likely even.

fify

I don't know if I would call what Madrigal does being crazy. I would call it stupid. For a guy whose "baseball IQ" was so highly touted, he seems to play like a dufus.

Well, its almost like there is more than one statistical category that should be considered. Grandal's OBP being .002 higher is not really an indication that he is killing it, he is just doing what he does. Grandal has also K'd more than Abreu, in 40(ish) fewer PAs. Not to mention that Abreu's OPS is more than 200 points higher. I just don't really understand comparing those guys honestly. They are such different players.

That's not crazy at all. I would be shocked if it was opposite of that. OBP is Grandal's best skill, and clearly not what Abreu is focused on. With that said though, I get what you are saying. With all the negative attention towards Grandal, he is still getting his walks. He has basically been the player he has always been.

I have to say, I think you have Robert too highly rated. I don't think he makes enough hard contact personally...?

This is crazy. I can't believe Contreras is where he is. He frames like an 8th grader. He violently pulled every pitch to the middle of the zone. I can't wait for robo umps just to kill all this stupid framing talk.

Gotta be able to throw strikes.

His skill set fits with this team, but I don't think they necessarily fit in the 3 hole. He is a great hitter, for a catcher. He isn't a great hitter, end of story. How this team is hitting, and how we expect them to continue to hit, he is probably the what, 6th best hitter on this team? (Jose, Eloy,Tim, Luis, Yoan...) He really brings good OBP and good power to the table. He isn't elite with either. His numbers are elite, for a catcher.