moonslav59

Wong to play 1B and Dalbec 3B?

Yes, we do. We have a lot vs non ALE teams, as well. We've had 2 bad starts by our rotation in 22 games, and no SP'er has let up more than 4 ER in any start. We have gone 12-10 with a bunch of our best players injured, and some will be coming back, soon. (Casas going down just as he was heating up hurts. I hope he does not miss a lot of games. I'm not predicting greatness. I still expect about a .500 season, but there is reason for hope.

I disagree. The ALE was not great in 2019. BAL had 108 losses and TOR had 95. The Sox were tied with the Cubs for the best 3rd place team in MLB, but things got tougher in the ALE east after 2019/2020. One could argue from 2021 to today, yes.

To the posters who feel it's all about wins, and nothing else, we are on pace to win 88 games. (.545) The rotation has been buttah. The pen has been plus. Look how few bad or even meh GS'd we've had (starting from opening day until today:) IP/ ER/ H+BB/ K 5/2/5/2 Bello W 6/1/3/10 Pivetta L (left tied 0-0) 6/0/4/7 Crawford L (left with lead) 5/1/3/8 Whitlock W 6/0/3/10 Houck W 5/4/6/6 Bello W 5/0/6/3 Pivetta W 4.2/1/5/5 Crawford W (first GS under 5 IP) 4.1/0/8/4 Whitlock L (second game under 5 IP) left with lead 6/0/6/7 Houck W 5.1/1/5/3 Bello L 5/0/6/6 Crawford L (left with the lead) 5/1/6/4 Whitlock L (left with the lead) 5.1/4/12/2 Houck L 4/2/6/4 Criswell W (3rd game under 5 IP) 5.1/2/8/8 Bello W 5.2/0/2/6 Crawford L (left tied 0-0) 4/2/4/1 Whitlock L (4th game under 5 IP) 9/0/3/9 Houck W (shutout) 2/0/1/2 Bernardino L (opener, left with lead) 6/0/3/7 Bello W 6/1/10/6 Crawford W 2 bad starts. 1 "meh" start by Criswell In 5 of our 10 losses, our SP left with the lead. In 2 of the other 5 losses, our SP left with the game tied 0-0. Simply AMAZING! Add one more decent opener start to the list: 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H+BB, 1K Wink W

I think he did not want to return under the circumstances handed to Bloom. You do? Yes, he wanted to stay and have a budget much higher than Bloom was given.

Woo lost game 1: 12-2 with nothing worthy of talking about. After 4 innings, Woo is hitless, but losing just 4-3. (Yes, this is not a typo.) POR won. Dobbins 6IP, 4H, 1ER, 1BB, just 1 K. Lugo 2-2 w 2BB Anthony, Mayer, Mayer & Teel 1-13 w BB GRE lost 6-4. SAL down 13-6 in the 9th.

Not a single poster was happy we lost Betts. Most seem to realize the budget cuts forced the choice, as it was reported DD almost traded Betts, so it seemed like it was in the works for a while. When you look at the fact that Kimbrel and Kelly were not replaced after 2018, and the massive cuts to the budget before 2020, it's hard for me to understand how some think Bloom could have spent much more but chose not to do so.

When has he done very well without spending? I'm not saying your wrong about being better or not, but "guarantee?"

That's been my position from way back when. The departure was likely a mutual, even if it was not stated to each other.

Not "snarky" at all. You can dish but can't take.

Absolutely no evidence for this. If it was possible, he'd have had to trade 2 or 3 from Sale, JD, Bogey or Nate to keep him.

Shocking!

Crawford is really holding it together. A little high on the BBs, but he bears down afterwards. 6 IP was good to see, These starters are proving to be more than capable. The only question now is durability, stamina and keeping the down times to a minimum.

Nobody is failing to admit this. We are just backing up your timeline on who the money was spent on to the more appropriate time: Bogey, Sale and Nate, not Yoshi and Story. We all agree that the spending on larger contracts after DD left has been pretty bad, if not horrific. There is very little time left for Yoshi & Story to salvage some plus value to their time here, but it looks like the overall grade cannot be above a C or D, at this point- at best. The Richards ($10M), Kluber ($10M), Kike II ($10M), Barnes and Gio deals only add to the angst. Jansen and Martin look like the only decent $10M+ deals after DD left. Very sad, but really not part of the Betts decision or influence on spending. We could have signed Betts, instead of Sale and Bogey (or add Nate, if you wish.)

That leaves our 3-9 batters as such: 3. Ref 4. Reyes 5. Yoshi 6. Bobby Dee (will homer, today- book it.) 7. Valdez 8. McGuire 9. Rafaela No Devers, no Casas, no O'Neill and no Story.

Just like that, Abreu is almost to .750!

Exactly. That begs the question, "How would DD have handled massive budget cuts?" And, did the decline really begin when DD was let go or more about when the budget was cut, radically?

Of course not, but the point was about where the start of the downfall began. Here is crude way to look at the trend: Winning % changes: -.148 '18>'19 -.119 '19>'20 +.168 '20>'21 -.087 '21>'22 -.000 '22>'23 By far, the biggest drop was from '18 to '19, and we all realize the high of 2018 was astounding, and the 84 win 2019 season was second only to 2021 since 2018. Still, it was a clear heavy decline, and DD or no DD, the drop in 2020 was written in stone, once the budget was set so low. DD might have found a way to keep Betts, but I doubt it. Word was, he almost traded him in the summer of 2019. Had he found a way to keep him, it could only have happened, if he traded 2-3 from Bogey, Nate JD and or Sale. In hindsight, that would have been better, but we'd still have sucked in 2020 with DD, too. Could DD have cobbled together a team like 2021? I won't go there. Too many variables involved.

Yes. This year, we are playing after they just started a losing stretch.

Indeed. It's yoga day.

It didn't go downhill in 2019?

How would DD have done better in 2020, with that budget and no ERod or Sale? DD is not really known for finding bargain basement players who over perform. (This is no slight on DD. I loved having him as our GM, and have no regrets, despite the negative effect his reign had on following seasons. It was well worth it.)

I said the same before 2013, when we "replaced" AGon & Beckett (plus Crawford's cost) with Dempster, Napoli, S Drew and Vic.

Like Bogey & Nate?

We can't totally chalk it up to JH being in a stingy mood, that winter. While he did fail to pay for Kimbrel & Kelly or any like replacements, he increased the budget from 2018 to 2019, extended Sale & Bogey and re-signed Nate. We just put our resources in the wrong places, IMO, although those other 3 we did sign looked deserving. (I know, many felt Sale was not.)