moonslav59

...and his LD% and Hard Hit Balls % are higher than his career numbers as well. I'm still holding onto a sliver of hope this guy can help us going forward.

Yes, and the numbers back this up: Hard hit balls %: 31.7% 2015 33.4% 2016 36.8% 2017 His LD%, however, is down 2%. He's also pulling the ball more than ever (about 4% more). The BAbip should right itself as the season progresses. 2015: .310 2016: .322 2017: .256

I do think there are ways to win without a .900 hitters, but of course it's easier when we have one or two. I do think Betts will end up near .900 by season's end. I also think players like JBJ, Pedey and HRam should all significantly improve their OPS by year's end. If it doesn't happen, then we may not have much of a chance, but I never base my future projections on the most recent 2 day, 2 week or 2 month sample size. Just 2 days ago, many were optimistic. 2 days before that many were seriously down. It's been like a yo-yo for some here. Take the long view. We have some very good players on this team. The last 2 games or 2 months does not change that. Can several all have bad years at the same time? Sure. Can or will they revert back closer to their norm (last 1-3 year numbers) as the season continues? I say more likely than repeating the first 2 months over the next 4 months.

Betts has one of the team's highest WAR. He's not the problem or even close to being a concern. His BA on May 18th 2016 was .256. (He was only at .269 on 5/28/16.) His BA on June 11th 2015 was .234. (He was at .257 on June 18th.) Betts has always been a slow starter. This doesn't mean he's going to get red hot to finish this year, but if I had to guess, I'd say he will end up close to last year's numbers. Even with the slow start, his 162 game pace gives him 26 HRs and 95 RBIs.

I agree, but some of these reporters can be pretty obnoxious and relentless. When frustrated, it's easy to see why a person might snap.

Agreed. Had he not gotten injured, I doubt we'd even be talking about the move.

Chavis hit his 15th HR last night- breaking a record for Salem. He has 50 RBI in 50 games (190 ABs). Devers went 2 ofr 4 with an HR and a BB. Swihart was 2 for 3 with a BB & HBP. Allen Craig reached base 4 times. Tzu-Wei Lin went 3 for 4 with an HR and 2 doubles.

Yes, and Pedey's has had a very good OBP this year. I'd be fine with this as our line up: 1) Bogey 2) Pedey 3) Betts 4) HRam 5) Beni/Young 6) Moreland/Travis 7) JBJ 8) Pablo/Rutledge/Marrero 9) Vaz/Leon

I'm "concerned" not really "down" on Porcello. I think he will turn things around- probably not to 2016 levels, but at least to a decent #2 starter level.

I feel like Devers, Travis and Groome are still in the system for a reason. Those are the three positions we need or soon will need replacements. We've lost our trade bait with Holt and/or Hernandez. What's left? A catcher from the Swihart, Vaz and Leon trio? Ockimey, Chavis, Dalbec and others beyond our top 3 are not the types of players that will bring back a meaningful bounty. My guess is, we go after a 2 month rental with a relatively high salary. Since we will only be on the hook for 1/3 of the salary, we can probably take on just about anyone's salary and still stay under the limit and reset to zero the tax going forward. Some possibilities: 3B Adrian Beltre (has been out injured) $18M in 2017 and $18M in 2018 Mike Moustakes .271 15 32 (.850 OPS) $11M/ 1 yr Todd Frazier .193 9 26 (.707 OPS) $12M/ 1 yr Trevor Plouffe .216 7 14 (.643 OPS) $5.25M/ 1 yr Eduardo Nunez .297 4 22 (.733 OPS) $4.2M/ 1 yr 1B Yonder Alonso .295 16 34 (1.049) $4M/1 yr Eric Hosmer .309 5 21 (.808 OPS) $12.25M/ 1 yr Jose Abreu .278 10 32 (.803 OPS) $10.8M + 2 arbs SP Yu Darvish 5-4 3.18 $11M/1 yr Jose Quintana 2-7 5.30 $7M, $8.9M 2018 & $10.5M in 2019 Jason Vargas 8-3 2.18 $8M/ 1 yr J Hellickson 5-3 4.50 $17.2M/ 1 yr Sonny Gray 2-2 4.57 $3.75M with 2 arb years left Matt Cain 3-5 4.87 $20M with $7.5M buyout on $21M 2018 contract Jamie Shields could lessen the return in trade needed to get another player, but his contract would kill our 2018 budget. He is owed $21M this year, $21M in 2019 and has a $2M buyout for $2020. C Jonathan Lucroy .256 3 13 (.669 OPS) $5.25M/ 1 yr RP D Robertson 3-2 3.38 (0.891 WHIP) $12M 2017 & $13M 2018 A Reed 0-2 2.93 $7.75M/ 1 yr

As Frank Zappa would say, "I figure the odds be 50-50."

I'm pretty sure somebody in the organization has been scouring films to look for something to tweak. I can't figure out what's up with Porcello, but it has become very concerning. We will need two from Price, Porcello and ERod to do very well this season and into the playoffs.

We'd get more for Vaz. I doubt we trade for a player with a big contract beyond this year or next. We have too tight a window as it is. We have some salary space this year, and maybe a little next year, if Devers and/or Travis can fill in for losing Moreland and Young.

I'm not sure about "great", but he'd be fine with his speed as a leadoff hitter. He's never been known as a base stealer, but good base running involves more than that. Minors: 17 SB/ 16 CS MLB: 34 SB/ 9 CS

Under the circumstances, I thought it was logical.

I could also see Swihart have a try at 1B once Moreland leaves. It looks more and more like HRam is going to be our DH only. If Pablo could start hitting, maybe he could be moved to DH or 1B to make room for Devers and/or Swihart.

With Vaz's stock high right now, I could see him being traded, maybe as part of a bigger package, for a big bat or another starter, if ERod's full return looks doubtful. The only real opening is 3B, and we'd be lookinng for a rental only, since Devers is knocking on the 2018 door. I suppose we could trade Vaz and Moreland and upgrade at 1B, but teams looking to dump rentals wouldn't want Moreland. Maybe a three team deal would be needed for that.

I've been calling for the low-powered Bogey to bat 2nd for years. My choice is first or second, but I went with 2nd due to Beni's speed. I'd be happy with my line-up and Bogey and Beni flipped. Beni has more power, so it's a good idea.

True enough. Opps getting "extra outs" can't help with this either.

Wildly bad luck for RP.

It's like the opposite of 2013. Only Moreland, Bogey and Vaz are having up or improved years.

Maybe now is the time to shake things up... vs RHPs: 1) Beni 2) Bogey 3) Betts 4) HRam 5) Pedey 6) Moreland 7) JBJ 8) Pablo- Rutledge/Marrero 9) Vaz/Leon vs LHPs: 1) Pedey 2) Bogey 3) Betts 4) HRam 5) Young LF 6) Travis 7) Beni or JBJ CF 8) Leon/Vaz 9) Rutledge/Marrero

...he might be a perfectly adequate back-end starter, but should we be satisfied with that? As a 5th starter, yes, but we need out top 4 to be healthy and strong, which means ERod needs to get over the knee issues, and Porcello needs to get out of this funk.

Agreed, altthough Rutledge got 2 hits at 2B tonight, the return of a healthy Pedey is a big gain by us.

Were 35% of the way through the season and... 1 game behind the Yanks 1.5 games up on the O's for the first WC slot 2.5 games up on the Guardians for the 2nd WC slot. I doubt the Twins win the Central, so the Guardians may not be a WC contnder anyways. Not bad for a team missing Price, Wright, Smith and Thornburg for almost the whole time