connorp

He's really not though. Yes, BC >> JPA but its not the point. $52m invested this season (as well as top prospects and solids fillers) in Dickey/Buehrle/Johnson/Romero/Morrow/Happ for a little over 1 WAR a third of the way into the season. Maybe JPA wont continue to not cost runs pitch framing this year but up to this point, it's all on the pitchers. Hate to be Captain Obvious but it's tough to gloss over that. Even minus JJ, with pay increases all those other guys are locked in next year for more than the $52m. I know that's where most of my frustration is as a fan. That's where the real GM'ing needs to happen. Not a FA signing as it is for a C with money that wont even be available. All the projections have him as a 1-2 WAR guy this year. Not impossible that the framing numbers aren't a legit improvement from his rookie and 2nd season. You can see marked improvement on fangraphs for his D from what was an obviously atrocious rookie season behind the plate. No reason a person without bias cant take that into consideration. Realistically, you're looking at a below average C but one that makes 500k. I don't even like him that much but with all the problems this $120m team has, I don't look at spending $$ on that position until a number of other things happen. I also support having Thole as the platoon but seriously his D isn't that much better and I'm not excited about having a .066 ISO bat in a lineup that already has Boni/Izzy/Kawa in it. Not a good formula for runs. For position players, I dislike Izzy (not to mention all other bench options) a lot more. 3/9 for replacement level at this point without anymore decline. I dislike Lind more. $7m next year for a platoon DH that OPS'd about .800 against RHP from 2010-2012. Eric Chavez was a superior option and he was worth $3m on the market. Each year we counted on his bat and got nothing. Thanks for tanking cock in April like everyone else (except for Reyes, JPA, and few others) and hitting when we were 10 games back. Will see how he finishes I guess. Also Lawrie I like a lot more personally but he's been a big disappointment with the bat. It's amplified with him because we all thought he was a franchise cornerstone (granted there is still plenty of time). Making it so you think the team needs to find another core piece somewhere to be a legit AL East contender. At least JPA has gone into the year and done better than was expected (backed by stats) on what was supposed to be a playoff contender (if not division favorite). So I just don't see the validity of the portion of hate he gets on here this year.

No idea why anyone would bet so much money on an early regular season baseball game. Has degenerate gambler written all over it. I think thehurl's troll account has been found:)

C. Davis is a pimp

I jinxed my fantasy SP Sanchez my pimping him.. he promptly gets rocked after I did it Travis ".260/2 in a platoon" Snider tops it off with xbh

Yeah, I've been a fan of AS for a bit too. He was money all down the stretch last year in the AL. Major injuries out of way early on in career. Not TOO crazy deal. Was sexy FA

A. Sanchez is a stud. Only FA other than Melky I would have loved. Many said it all off-season. Instead we invested a good portion to MB:(

Most of the hitters were struggling to stay over the Mendoza line.. hardly suprising they wouldnt hit with RISP either.

this is why "clutch" should never be used as a positive attribute

JPA 4th makes me less limp than Izzy/Boni/Kawa/Rogers 6-9

That game yesterday would have been nice to have

As long as he doesn't walk the P..lol

Well, you quoted "avg".. so that's why you would get trounced on it. RM was unlucky in that department. Clearly an upgrade from JPA but you're assuming you could get a FA to come here and for two, at this point, it would be putting lipstick on a pig. Real big task ahead if the team doesn't turn it around. I do support bringing Thole up as the platoon. Very dumb not to and everyone would get to see what we have as an alternative. But if he's anything like 2012, that will be a harsh 7-9 following DeRosa.

Yeah but one of your main points of reference is most likely BP which is calling him average this year

For shits-and-giggles.. let me rephrase.. if JPA does manage to put up a 1.5-2 WAR season and nothing alarming shows up in pitch framing numbers.. do you change your tune? Also, last month it was fairly obviously that JPA wasn't going to be a 4-5 WAR C.. but this pace is more in line with possible reasonable progressions for a 3rd year player.

While not likely, it's conceivable his power production could continue through a season (30+ hrs, .500slg).. his BB% rate certainly cant go anywhere but up and is at obvious career low.

Been a long time since I had a troll post.. but in seriousness, 1.6% BB rate and all.. JPA on pace in fWAR to provide starting level C production at his current salary of $500k/year, clearly leading the team in $/WAR as well.. as his pitch framing numbers this season don't suggest subtracting any value, fWAR has to be taken at face value. Is it sustainable?.. or what will regress? Also, on a $120m payroll team that has gone completely bust, how much is actually this guy's fault?

It would still be interesting to see if there was any merit to his theories. Obviously I doubt he looked at any data to reach his conclusions but for the sake of argument it would interesting to see. Like how many strikes he watched compared to say what the average player watches go by.. as well as first pitch strikes. Maybe he was looking at too many and getting behind in counts, leaving the team frustrated.. I think obviously you can have a balance between respecting getting on base and also being aggressive at the same time. You see your pitch, you attack.. bad pitch, don't swing.. I mean its always what my son's travel teams have preached since 8yo and really it's pre-K generic logic that can apply all the way through.

Why did Morrow go out? Just seeing box score on my phone. So busy at work, can anyone give me the short answer?

yeah, I never fretted too much on Melky.. he's getting where he was supposed to be.. very solid player.. a little BABIP fueled luck last year prob influenced things more than steroids did.. he's a quality starter

yeah, you mixed up "have" and "got"

Yeah but at what AAV? Unless he does a big turnaround.. it might be better to take a 1 year deal if him and his agent still think he's an elite pitcher

Not really because the Rogers Centre is a launch pad. As it stands, the team also projects to stink (hopefully that changes).. so those things make it a less than ideal place to showcase yourself on a 1 year deal. I would do my one year deal elsewhere. Plus not live in Canada. No offense to anyone but that's prob a factor too if there's choices.

I agree the poll is stupid because you're actually asking two entirely different questions really. You are asking "do you like Lind now".. and essentially "should we pick up his option" Hard to not like him "now" when he sports a .880 OPS Even if he keeps at his current pace, he will fall shy of giving us 1 WAR in the last 4 years for the $16m he's gotten. Not only that but his bat was one that the team has really been hoping on each year. That's why I dislike him more than JPA. At least you know what JPA is. Luckily no decision has to be made until the season is over and you can look at the full body of work. My wild guess would be he ends up the year as a .750 OPS bat and for that I would pass when the time comes.. if he finished strong, I guess the team will have to take a hard look at it.

your trolling is solid. forgot to quote

your trolling is solid