moonslav59

And one is Brasier- acquired in march of 2018, but not added to the 40 until mid-season.

Universal DH is a lock. Book it. Robo umps may be just a dream.

Certainly a reasonable ending to our season. Your defeatism is duly noted.

We miss Means, again, so that helps.

Yes, and although we all felt like Bloom's hands were tied, last winter, he still spent $40M, which is way more than the Rays ever spend.

The Yankee - Jays series is our godsend.

We've also let up less dingers.

It seems bout the same for the Sox, jays, yanks and M's.

Thanks for doing "nothing at the deadline", Bloom.

I'm hoping this CBA solves that issue and enacts robo umps.

It's the cherry-picked stat that makes us look the worst of any other date.

I'd say he's our #1 pen target, unless we can trade for a cheaper option.

The Yanks are 22-29 with 6 to go. I guess this has no meaning at all.

Recent past performance has never indicated future results, especially pulling out an obscure stat that does have meaning but is surely not something odds makers use as their top factor. How far back do you go? Why is the deadline the date you pick? (Not that the yanks don't still blow us away in shorter sample sizes, but longer ones, not so much.) I've just never bought into the recency effect. Yes, it has value and meaning, but it's not the major factor. What if the Yanks lose 5 of their last 6 vs "stronger teams?" Does that change the factor, or does the magic date of July 30th overpower everything? We've gone 6 and 7 in our last 13 games. Before we played the yanks we were 6-4 vs winning teams, but how did that help? If the Yanks go 2-4 in their last 6 games, they'll be 5-8 in their last 13 vs winning teams. Why would this not matter? If they go 3-3, they will have the same record as us vs winning teams in the last 13 games vs winners: 6-7. (They are 3-4 in their last 7 vs winners. They are 3-6 in their last 9.)

True, but that extra round of playoffs was very exciting. Once it got past 2 rounds, things got sketchy, but many a team has won it all from one of those slots.

Every team has similar "ifs," and nobody know which ifs will work and which will not.

Come on. Zero chance? If they get swept by the jays, they may be in a win or out last game scenario. If they go with Taillon, they will be watching the play-in game.

No, but it doesn't make the odds 73-27. Who starts is the biggest factor in setting odds. Home field is maybe second. A rested and in tune pen maybe third, and what starters are available in a pinch for pen use. Those are all unknown, for now.

Houck seems better suited for the pen, unless he proves he can have an effective third pitch. IMO, Whitlock is better suited for the roatation, but keeping them both in the pen avoids the need to replace Ottavino/Richards- leaving more money on starter upgrades. I'd love to see us improve our D, but that seems too problematic for this winter, so our focus should be on the rotation.

There were times you said your team sucked. That implies lesser talent. It wasn't just about Boone, either. You have a ton of guys under performing and only 2 guys you can count on for hitting bigly. Your pen is still a question mark, but looks better than ours. Your rotation has remained better than ours for the last 3-4 months. Our defense is as bad as it gets, but you guys are trying to outdo us, there.

I'll take those odds.

It's meaningful but not everything and likely not a major factor. The Yanks have shown over and over, they fall flat right after looking unbeatable. plus, they have a manger prone to handing games away. It's one game. lots of factors are involved, including home field, starting pitchers and head-to-head pitcher-batter match-ups. We don't even know, if it will be Cole vs Sale or Eovaldi, and SP'er is usually the biggest factor in setting odds on winning. If the Yanks clinch early and can set up their SP'er and rest their pen, I'd have to give them the edge, but with the jays and Rays left to play, that is far from a given with a 1 game lead on us. Here's how their pitchers likely line up Off @TOR Taillon v Ryu @TOR Cole v Berrios @TOR Kluber v RRay vTBR Montgomery vTBR Cortes vTBR Cole on short rest, if needed (Taillon, if not)

I think Houck takes Richard's slot and maybe Feltman takes Ottavino/Robles spot

That could happen, but it's not something I'd feel like we improved on paper by doing. I do think adding Houck to the pen and keeping Whitlock there reduces the need to spend big on the pen over the winter, and allows us to spend more on a quality starter or two. Houck Whitlock ______ Barnes Taylor DHern Sawamura Brasier Davis/Valdez/Bazardo/Feltman/Ort (maybe Seabold/Winckoski/Crawford) Or, if we make Whitlock a starter, we'd need just one more starter- not two, but 2 more pen pieces- not 1. Sale ____ Eovaldi Whitlock Pivetta Seabold Houck _____ _____ Barnes Taylor DHern Sawamura Brasier Davis/Valdez/Bazardo/Feltman/Ort (maybe Seabold/Winckoski/Crawford)

No doubt. It would really leave a sour taste in our mouths after such a tease of a season. I doubt it happens.