Abomination

It's really hard to get a feel on what Bautista's market is. He's iffy in the OF, especially now that he has a noodle arm. He's coming off a down year, and a lot of people around the league seem to dislike him. Many teams may not be willing to take that on. At the same time, GMs tend to pay for power.

I think Reddick will get about 17M per. I also think he's exactly the kind of player we need / want. We need to reduce the swing and miss, maybe not so much for the regular season, but the playoffs.

Upton seems to struggle when he doesn't get regular at bats, which is a bit concerning. Aside from that though, he's a perfect fit. Career 109 wRC+ versus lefties, and can play average to plus defense, including CF. Pair him up with with a guy like Reddick and you're golden.

I don't know, he seems pretty adaptable. I think he'll follow any strategy the front office wants to employ. Gibby isn't a strategist, and I think he knows it. What he really seems to excel at is managing people. Pair him with a really good bench boss who understands the analytics really well, and it would be a perfect match.

Fielding percentage is a terrible way to evaluate a defensive player. You could probably put Martin at SS and he'd put up a similar percentage to all other players, but he wouldn't get to nearly as many balls. That said, Votto's year defensively last year was probably an aberration. I wouldn't pay a ton to get him since you're already taking on a very large contract that could be real ugly towards the end (certainly not Stroman, it would have to come more from the prospect side imo).

I'd actually prefer Reddick to Fowler at the same money (I feel like he'll age better, and that 12% K rate is really sexy). I don't mind Pompey being used as a trade chip either, but I feel like his defense and wheels are worth taking an actual legit extended look at. I think his upside is higher than Zeke, and if he does bomb then we have Upton. Plus having Pompey in LF and Pillar in CF would be one hell of a OF defense.

Abreu had no protection in the lineup, and was constantly being pitched around. The first half of the season he was swinging at the borderline stuff trying to make something happen, second half he stopped chasing.

I think I would (like) to see something like: Trade for Ethier (Send them Smoak in lieu of eating money). Re-sign Navarro as the backup catcher (assuming he's willing this time). That should allow us to also give Martin a few extra days off, which probably helps his bat. Re-sign Edwin at 1B. Re-sign Cecil (and fast, before someone else starts to woo him) Sign Holland (talk him into taking a 1 year deal as the setup man somehow) Sign Reddick C - Martin 1B - Encarnacion 2B - Travis SS - Tulo 3B - Donaldson CF - Pillar LF - Pompey RF - Reddick DH - Ethier Bench: Navarro, Barney, Upton SP - Sanchez SP - Stroman SP - Happ SP - Estrada SP - Liriano C - Osuna RP - Holland, Cecil, Grilli, Biagini, Loup, Dermody, ? (long man) My guesses at costs per year of the additions / re-signings: Ethier: 13.5M, Navarro: 2.5M, EE: 20M, Cecil: 7M, Holland: 7M, Reddick: 17M That would put payroll at 185M (not sure we can go that high, but talking ideal case here). A team with less k's and higher average, better defense, and a better pen.

Heyward wasn't really overvalued in the market imo, but rather so much of his value comes from his legs that he's a risky longer term deal. Reddick's value comes from his bat, which will probably hold its value rather well.

This is kinda interesting:

That's kinda funny, I had no idea that somehow both teams playing with the roof open is unfair versus both playing with it closed. Learn something new every day I guess.

I don't think that makes much difference for Estrada. When he goes upstairs, he's looking for a swing or to change the eye level. If he leaves the ball down at the upper end of the strike zone, there's a good chance it'll be hit a long ways.

At least Bautista didn't make a big scene about that call.

That might actually be the worst trade offer I've ever seen, in any league.

I think that's called wanting to work on your golf game.

I'm not sure how to properly attribute this, but this picture is awesome! http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/11/sport/gallery/what-a-shot-sports-1011/index.html http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/161010135849-03-what-a-shot-1010-super-169.jpg

Are the Yahoo settings ready to go for the season? Also, reminder to everyone that the season starts tomorrow! (12th)

The umps probably want to make it out of Boston with all their body parts.

I don't think anyone is underestimating them. They've had key injuries though, and if that Boston offense gets hot, it could be a problem. They went into a slump at exactly the right time (for everyone else).

I want Cleveland to eliminate Boston, but doing it in five games would be ideal. Finishing it off today would probably be 2nd best option. Four games would be a *worst case* for them to advance imo.

I'm not sure it's all that bad because of the height of the wall. An advantage, sure, but I'm not sure about unfair. I'd argue the short porch the Yankees have is degrees of magnitude worse.

I *almost* feel sorry for Boston fans, having to pin their hopes on Buchholz in an elimination game.

Nah, I'd rather stand pat and just be allowed to whine for the next 4 months It could be worse I guess. Whoever owns Crosby is probably having a really bad morning.

Losing Nichushkin was disappointing. Losing Huberdeau really, really sucks

I don't think it would change things much. They can't start it too early or it would set up the possibility of a REALLY long delay after the next series.