moonslav59

Unreal PLayoff OPS Numbers... 1.606 Kike 1.112 JD 1.032 Devers .996 Bogey .973 Verdugo .911 Schwarber .714 Vaz .667 Renfroe .577 Arroyo Pitching IP Pitcher ERA 15.2 Eovaldi 3.45 8.2 Pivetta 3.12 9.0 Houck 4.50 6.2 ERod 5.40 6.1 Whitlock 1.42 3.2 Robles 7.36 3.2 C Sale 14.73 3.1 Brasier 5.40 3.0 Ottavino 0.00 2.2 Taylor 0.00 1.0 Barnes 0.00 0.2 DHern 27.00 0.2 Perez0.00 0.1 Davis 0.00 0.1 Richards 0.00 0.1 Sawamura 27.00

Probably not a child molester, though.

My position has not changed. I don't know what our winter budget will be. I have steadily said... If it's near $40M, we will need pretty much all of that to improve our pitching and sign a utility IF'er like maybe Iggy. If we can spend $55-60M, there is room for Scwarber, too, but if I'm spending big on a non pitcher, it wouldn't be on a DH. Having JD already makes it a slam dunk. (Trading JD totally changes my view.) Now, if spending over $50M and we are going to spend $15-20M a year on Schwarber to play 1B/OF, next year and squeeze Kike to 2B or bench Dalbec/Renfroe/Verdugo for a year, I'd rather spend $22-27M on Semien or Baez to play 2B and take over for Bogey, if he bolts after 2022. The $7M more is worth is. My position has not changed.

He's from Sugar Land. That's where I live. Everyone down here knows he's an A-hole and creep. https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2019/11/20/20972682/roger-clemens-mindy-mccready-ped-hall-of-fame-character-clause-mlb-hot-stove

Amazing how Kike has driven so much of those numbers, but wow, 2007 was a slugfest, too!

Move Schwarber to 2B and let Dalbec join the rake parade!

It's not a possibility unless both catchers are out. Having a third catcher allows 2 PHings in a game.

A third catcher, so we can PH for both of ours. It's not really a big deal. It makes little difference, either way.

It's not rocket science to think $35-40M gets us 2 ERods and nothing else.

I have said all along, if we go over by a significant amount, then we'll be able to upgrade the pitching and keep Schwarber. I'll beleive it when I see it, and the rumor is the threshold will be lower, so who knows. I'm going by the $40M number until I know more. Even if we spend $50-55M, this winter, I'm not sure signing Schwarber is better than signing Semien, who could play 2B for a huge upgrade and then take over SS, if Bogey bolts or gets traded. I think Semienor or Biaz is a bigger upgrade over Arroyo (who becomes the utility guy) than Schwarber is over a Dalbec/Verdugo/Renfroe rotation at DH/1B/corner OF. If we are going to spend on something other than pitching, as great as Schwarber is, I'm looking somewhere other than DH.

It was nice seeing him in the dugout. I thinkhe'll be back, next year.

Stop what?

jacko has said it is too early to know about Sale. Sale faced easy opponents early, and was limited in pitches. I wouldn't be so worried about a few bad starts, recently. He's not supposed to be at 100%, now. It might take time to adjust to his new arm. Also, he took 2 games to then reach his highest velo, this year. It dropped off after game 4: https://www.fangraphs.com/players/chris-sale/10603/graphs?pitchgraphs=true&statArr=&legend=1&split=base&time=daily&start=2021&end=2021&rtype=mult&gt1=15&dStatArray=FA&ymin=&ymax=

It astounds you that after TJS he has not adjusted quickly enough? Hardly anyone comes back after TJS and adjusts quickly enough to be as good as ever after just a year and a half. I see what Sale has done since his return, and I'm encouraged. His velo is close to where it was before 2018. I'm thinking by next April or May, we can have this discussion without thinking the TJS is affecting who the new or old Sale will be. (BTW, I think Sale was already somewhat like Maddux before his injury. He had "command" and was beyond being a thrower and K man only.)

If our bats stay this hot, maybe nothing else matters. This has been spectacular! Our D has even looked passable. Even Schwarber is making plays at 1B. Of course, if our pitching can pull it together and guys like ERod and Pivetta can keep it up, there can be no stopping us!

If the lux tax stays about the same, we should have $35-40M to spend without going over, but I expect Henry to allow extra spending, this year. If ERod is given the QO and accepts it, that almost half the $40M without really gaining anything from 2021, unless ERod does much better. Maybe we trade for some pitching pieces, and the money can be spent on Schwarber and Iggy. Who do we trade without opening new holes or seriously hurting the farm? Bogey? Vaz? JD? Dalbec? (If we sign Schwarber) Duran? Downs? Casas?

You crack me up.

I think we sign a very solid infield utility player who can play SS and 2B well. If Arroyo keep getting hurt, the guy can be counted on to play FT. Iggy seems like a nice fit and should not cost much. The Schwarber vs JD or Schwarber AND JD debate will rage all winter long, but to me, the best way for a team to improve is to work on improving its weakest areas. DH/OF is not our weakest area. It's actually an area of strength, especially when keeping Kike in CF. If we can find a way to move JD and bring Schwarber onboard at little extra cost, I'm fine with that, but JD had been a big part of this team and the clubhouse. Our highest need areas are obvious, to me. 1. Pitcher 2. Pitcher 3. Pitcher (Utility infielder is a distant 4th, and more pitching is at #5 and #6.) I don't mean to put down anyone who thinks differently by saying it is "obvious," but aren't we all on pins and needles when anyone but Eovaldi starts and anyone not named Whitlock or Houck are brought in from the pen? Expecting Cora to continue working miracles with the staff, next year, so we can enjoy watching JD and Schwarber rake is too risky for my liking.

Maybe you meant Robles, who is a FA. Davis is not a FA.

Who was the guy who wanted JD left off the ALDS roster?

I respect the hell out of what the Rays can do year after year with that budget, but it's not the low budget that keeps them winning. It's great management and an incredible ability to judge the value of their own players and those on other teams and their farms- not so much via drafting. We can and seemingly are taking some of their strategies to heart by acquiring gems in the rough, but we can do that and spend, too. If we got the money, spend it. I'm even okay with adopting some strategies of the Rays that seem to be money orientated- like trading studs before their big paydays, but that can and should be a strategy used by big spending teams, too. It's a winning strategy not a poor team strategy by itself.

I said cheapest not cheap. We are going to spend, this winter. If it's not on SP'ing it will be on something else. I'd love to have Scwarber back, but despite how this season has proven you can win with offense and not pitching and D, I'm still a believer that adding top quality not quantity to the pitching staff as much and as often as possible is the winning strategy. Right now, we are working wonders with having 1 capable starter and a couple pen arms, but don't expect that to be a long term winning philosophy. Just my opinion. It's going to take more than a whacked out AL season, this year, to budge me from it.

Every AL team had known serious flaws from day one. Even if the Astros had no new rotation injuries, we'd have had a very good chance at beating them. Just watch us against the vaunted Dodger staff..

He was obsessed with us when we sucked, too.