John_Havok

No, you are technically right that a runner is not required to avoid contact... but the catcher has to be blocking the plate or blocking the runners path to the plate in order for contact to be allowed. If the catcher isn't blocking the plate or the path... no contact is allowed. Not sure what is confusing about that Rizzo changed direction from his clear path on the outside of the baselind in order to collide with Hedges, who was on the inside of the baseline.

Hedges wasn't even blocking the plate, so I'm not sure how it could be argued that he was in the way. Hedges was on the inside of the baseline the entire time and Rizzo changed direction to hit him when he had a clear path to the plate. Rizzo is 100% at fault IMO

Jesus f*** boys calm down and try hitting strikes

Attaboy Pillar, swat those flies

Wow, that sound off the bat....

And right on cue.... lead given up when he should obviously been lifted and THEN gets taken out.... good job Gibby

Can't do it, gotta wait for him to give up the lead before you hook him. That's the Gibbons way

It's easy to sat that, but when your SP has consistently not gone deep, he's probably had to use every reliever more than he's wanted to, aside from Osuna

Someone actually named their kid Maverik....

Until the starting pitching can be relied upon for 6 innings more often than not, we probably get a 3 man bench

And Farmer gives up 2 in the 1st... awesome start

RAY will crush the Phils, I just thought he was too expensive.

Posting lineup again just for shits and giggles P Buck Farmer P John Lackey C Chris Herrmann 1B Kendrys Morales 2B José Altuve 3B Josh Donaldson SS Corey Seager OF Andrew Benintendi OF Bryce Harper OF George Springer

19% chance of rain isn't exactly huge, it's weird they have it listed as a likely rainout

Vancouver season has started a few days ago. Full roster here: http://www.milb.com/roster/index.jsp?sid=t435 Notables: 1B Yorman Rodriguez, P Jose Espada, CF Chavez Young. Other info and stories: https://www.milb.com/canadians/news/did-the-blue-jays-alter-canadians-direction-in-2017/c-236384200/t-196097408 https://www.milb.com/canadians/news/the-pitching-whisperer/c-237209502/t-196097408

Found this interesting, despite being from bleacher report http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2715385-nfl-first-female-player-becca-longo-kicker?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

I think they're just being extra cautious given its both Bo and Vlad's first-year in full season ball and they don't want fatigue in the latter parts of the season. Full season ball is a massive jump in games from high school or short season.

I don't think theyre in a rush to play Albies at the major league level though. I think he still has 1 year left after this year before he has to be added to the 40 man roster, and he has been hurt a bit in the past 2 seasons. Still just 20 years old even though he's in AAA. And Johnson won't even be ready until after the all star break thanks to his wrist. I highly doubt Phillips is going anywhere unless a team pays way too much for him and they just can't refuse.

I've slapped together a team, but will likely throw it away and start fresh tomorrow morning lol

It's hard to say. I guess it's fine to have a plan for players development, but if they're raking and their coches and player development people feel they no longer need to face that level of talent, then the plan needs to be adjusted. I've heard many things from scouts and talking heads on podcasts and broadcasts that sometimes a team wants to ensure a player has gone through the league facing every team at least twice to see if they make adjustments that the other teams make against them. I've heard some teams want to ensure a guy has the experience of an all star game, or a playoff run when they've been with a team all year. So it depends on what this FO values for their players. We've already seen Jansen and Jones get promoted, but the development plans for those 2 players might be completely different than the plans for Bo and Vlad. Seems to me the most right way of doing things would be that the team has a plan based on each individual player, and when circumstances change(for better or worse) the plan changes too. To me, if the player is no longer being challenged by his level of competition and has been through the league enough to have seen and made adjustments to anything thrown his way, it's time to move up.

The thing is, Vlad is putting up pretty monstrous numbers himself as an 18 year old. Bichette's numbers are just on another planet

Next Trout or Revere. No middle ground.

Bo was also ranked #1 this week on their Prospect Hot Sheet. 1. Bo Bichette, ss, Blue Jays (19) Low Class A Lansing (Midwest) As we near the Midwest League all-star break, Bichette raised his average to an even .400 by hitting .520 this week. This is remarkable because the MWL’s conditions—cold weather and pitcher’s parks—ensure that the batting champ usually hits about .325. Bichette could go 0-for-31 and would still be hitting over .350. The last MWL hitter to top .360 in the league was Mike Trout, who hit .362 in 2010. The last hitter to top .370 was Ben Revere, who hit .379 in 2008. In other words, Bichette is putting himself in good company.

From BA prospect chat today: Satchel (Las Vegas): How high does Bichette climb this year? Does he make it to AA and finish in AA....then start in AAA in 2018 for potential call up in 18? J.J. Cooper: No. No. No. That’s an unrealistic timetable, one that doesn’t really make any sense. Mike Trout is the best high school draft pick to reach the big leagues in the past 25 years. Trout split his first full year between low Class A and high Class A. He went to Double-A the next year and struggled in a promotion to the big leagues. After a brief stint in Triple-A the next year, he was ready to be a star. Bichette may make it to high Class A this year. He may make it to Double-A next year. That would be putting him on a very fast track, but putting a late 2018 timetable on Bichette is asking too much. Nick (LA): What kind of prospect is Bichette at this point. You could argue based on stats that he's a top 10 hitting prospect but o keep hearing concerns that his swing may get exposed as he moves up levels. Vlad Jr on the same team isn't putting up the same stats as Bichette (though still great stats) but seems to be the consensus better prospect. Is that a physical projection thing or something else? Thanks J.J. Cooper: It’s physical projection and the swing. Scouts who see Vlad Jr. come away raving about how he’s the best prospect they’ve seen in several years. Scouts see Bichette going 3-for-5 on the same team and say “he’s a good prospect, I worry about his swing.” Clutchlings (Wasaga Beach, Ontario): The Blue Jays have stated that they wanted Bichette and Guerrero to spend a whole season at Low A. Both had a list of things to work on. Bichette's glove may not be his best tool, but can they keep him in the Midwest League for long? J.J. Cooper: They definitely can. He’s showing no signs of stagnation yet and he’s not age inappropriate for the league. Andrew (Los Angeles): Hows does Tatis Jr stack up as a prospect against Vlad Jr and Bichette? J.J. Cooper: He’s good, but there are very few prospects I’d put in the same conversation with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Would probably be Smith Jr