jaysblue

I mean, the Braves are still 85-71 and that's without Acuna and Strider for the entire season. As well they had guys on and off the IL all year like Albies, Harris, Murphy, and Riley. No excuses though. If the Blue Jays lost Vladdy for an entire year along with someone like Gausman and had a bunch of other key guys on and off the IL, would just be bad luck and Atkins gets a free pass from you guys lol. As well, Jays likely are a 60 something win team if that happens. At least the Braves have been able to keep afloat and still in Wild Card contention despite all the injuries they've had.

Even Will Smith has had a down season by his standards. 108 wRC+ and 2.4 WAR in 124 games. It happens with the top catchers every so often.

5.6 and 5.4 WAR seasons in 2022 and 2023. Consider it a blip on the radar and I expect him to bounce back next season. If he's having a poor offensive season again in 2025 and 2026, then I would be concerned.

There are Orioles fanboys on this board? Like geez so any positive comment towards the Orioles in any baseball discussion, I guess that considers you a fanboy.

Skenes is 41 to 1 for NL Cy Young, which actually are good odds. But yeah I think Sale gets it and he's the heavy favourite at 1.04 with Wheeler at 13 to 1.

Skenes is favourite in Vegas at 1.65 with Merrill at 2.25 odds now. Skenes would have been great bet a month ago. I believe Merrill was favourite and Skenes was around 4 or 5 to 1 odds.

I'm gonna try to go down to Pittsburgh in April or May next season for one weekend to catch a series. Definitely want to see Skenes pitch in person!

Pitch forks coming out now haha.

Sure, but the Jays will have to spend some money in order to make key additions. Rays could be dangerous next season without making any big money additions. Their rotation of Bradley, Littell, Pepiot, and Baz is young, cheap and could take the next step forward. Plus they get Shane McClanahan likely back. They have some intriguing BP pieces as well. As for their lineup, they lack a true stud, but maybe Caminero breaks out big, and they have a bunch of solid pieces all around. They don't have to spend $50-$60M in order to contend.

I know the Rays sucked this year but you get the feeling they will be serious contenders in the AL East next season.

It's a real shame this FO hasn't been able to develop pen arms or starters over their time here in Toronto. Like even with the BP struggles this season, you would think they would have pivots down in Buffalo who could have stepped in and do a decent job. Yeah I think Y-Rod can be a valuable piece as either a No. 4/5 starter or worst case he can be a valuable bullpen arm who might work his way into high leverage. Given the bullpens struggles in 2024 and if the Jays need to save money, wouldn't mind seeing Y-Rod being used in the pen if they decide to spend $15-20M on signing another SP this offseason. Prepare Y-Rod as a starter heading into 2025 regardless since it's easy to transition him to the pen and he could even be used as a multiple-innings option.

Yeah I expect the bullpen to be better next season and hope some guys bounce back but it isn't a guarantee that everything will be a complete 180 in 2025. Some legit concerns with Swanson whether he can be relied on for high leverage situations after posting a -0.7 WAR season. Green will be a year older and coming off a season worst 7.94 K/9 which is concerning. Romano's best days might be behind him at the age of 32 and he's going to be expensive likely via arbitration given his past track record. Genesis Cabrera and Zach Pop don't inspire confidence. As well, need to replace some vacancies left by Yimi Garcia, Tim Mayza, and Trevor Richards/Nate Pearson. Hopefully guys like Ryan Burr and Dillon Tate could impress in ST and stick in middle relief. Also, we'll see what role Y-Rod carves out in ST. Too many red flags IMO with this pen to automatically go from one of the worst to one of the best pens again in baseball in 2025. Just my two cents. But I don't expect the bullpen to be as bad in 2024.

"The Yankees designated Marinaccio for assignment Friday. Marinaccio has collected a 3.86 ERA and 25:10 K:BB over 23.1 innings during his time with the Yankees this season. A career 12.6 percent walk rate is scary, but the 29-year-old also has a career 28.3 percent strikeout rate and is under team control for multiple seasons. He figures to draw interest via trade or waivers." Would be an interesting target for the BP and who would be cheap. Hope the Blue Jays claim him.

Yeah exactly. Had some years where Kansas and Detroit were also terrible. White Sox are a disaster haha.

Would definitely be in favour of bringing back Kikuchi if the Jays can't land someone like Flaherty.

AL Central isn't that bad of a division. Like sure it's not a power house like the AL East could be when all teams are clicking, but Cleveland, Kansas, Minnesota and Detroit all had solid seasons.

Yeah Rays weren't really a force at all this season and while the Red Sox showed some glimpses of being contenders, they were just a .500 team pretty much. AL Central has some decent teams and it isn't as bad of a division as its made out to be. Cleveland really surprised me this season, especially considering they lost Bieber and McKenzie sucked and were without Gavin Williams until July. That's 3/5 of their rotation. Offensively, J-Ram is a stud, and they had some solid contributions from Naylor, Fry, Kwan, and Noel. Kansas City had a nice offseason and I thought of them as a team who could be a sleeper. They solidified their rotation with Lugo & Wacha to go along with Ragans. As for Detroit, they have some nice young pieces and have got hot at the right time. Twins are meh, but they had a solid rotation in Lopez, Ryan (when healthy), and Ober, plus some young guys who were able to step in. As for their lineup, they got guys like Correa, Buxton & Lewis all healthy. Any of those guys could dominate in a short series and be a difference maker.

He'll be a great buy low this offseason.

Ordering glasses of wine at a restaurant is the biggest ripoff. Some places charge $15 per glass for a 6oz glass, which is ridiculous.

show off

Try $20+ now in downtown Toronto. If you have a date night and order two drinks each, likely costing you around $100+ with taxes and tip after as well.

Yeah if I eat out now, I just drink Perrier Water since if you order a couple of beers, likely adds another $30+ to your bill. I got beer at home and can't fathom spending $10-12 for a beer that I could buy at the LCBO for $3.

Burgers at my favourite sports bar are all around $22-$25 and even at places like Joey's or Earls a burger runs you around the same. A&W is extremely overrated and overpriced. Good burgers but crazy prices. For fast food burgers, Harvey's still would be my No. 1 but there aren't as many around.

Or even make your own burgers at home haha. There's a good fast food/gourmet burger place called Matt's Burger Lab. They have deals everyday of the week and their burgers are actually pretty good. Eating at a full service restaurant likely requires an hour+ of dining alongside + tip as well. Most restaurants these days burgers are $20 + anyways. Most people prefer eating fast food for the convenience and want something quick.

Five Guys is still way superior to McDonald's. Better to spend the extra couple of bucks for the better quality. Even an order of McD's medium fries are like $4.50 now which is crazy.