Dick_Pole

An argument over the gatekeeping in this forum started over that Felix post, which I agree was a very stupid post. It's good to take a cautious approach on Gausman but Berrios has been pretty consistent (IIRC he stunk it up the first couple of Jays starts but was good the rest of the way) and Kikuchi is a #5 and you get what you get in that slot. This pitching staff is fine for the offense. They'll Jack Morris their way to a lot of wins.

Jays prop bet over 10,000 runs this series.

Yeah I can't believe the Donaldson trade slipped my mind. My head was in the 80's/90s trying to think of how the Jays built all those good teams.

Health is a coin flip question mark and a big factor in literally every season long bet. I don't see why a 24 year old with a compact build and minimal injury history is of any greater risk of injury than any other player. If I had to pick 10 guys off this roster most likely to miss significant time due to injury, Bichette would not make that list.

Sweep Rangers - yes 90 wins - no, not worth it. 95, 100 - yes 5 players/25 HR - no, but I think it'll happen but payout not worth the risk 5 players/30 HR - no Guerrero - yes to all Springer - no to both Hernandez - yes, yes I don't think it'll happen but worth the bet Bichette - yes to both Chapman - no Berrios - yes but not worth it Berrios/Manoah - yes

They sure are going at it hard with the Ontario market opening up. I'm salivating at some of these. Which ones would you take? Four options: 1. Yes I'd take the bet. 2. Yes. I don't think it'll necessarily happen, but I like the payout. 3. No. I think it'll happen, but the payout isn't worth it 4. No, it won't hit. Jays to sweep Rangers in the first series +250 Jays to win 90+ games -225 95+ games +150 100+ games +400 5 Jays to hit 25+ HR +100 5 Jays to hit 30+ HR +500 Guerrero to hit 50+ HR +250 55+ HR +800 60+ HR +2000 Springer to hit 35+ HR -110 40+ HR +250 Hernandez to hit 35+ HR +150 40+ HR +400 Bichette to hit 30+ HR +200 35+ HR +1000 Chapman to hit 35+ HR +150 40+ HR +500 Berrios to record 200+ K's +100 Berrios and Manoah both record 200+ K's +500

What I vaguely recall was generally neutral to positive reviews on the trade. He may have been a victim of the boards' smartasses falling back on the typical arguments to make the casuals or the out group here look dumb - SSS, reversion to the mean, ERA and W-L mean nothing etc.

Now we should compare the top 5 worst trades to the top 5 best. Somehow I think the Jays will come out on top of that exchange. Some off the top of my head: Bautista for the backup catcher McGriff trade, the one that brought him in. The Alomar deal is a debatable one since a lot of value came in, but a lot of value left too. Jose Cruz Jr. for the relievers. Even though he didn't become the next A-Rod, he was still a quality player and at the time that was highway robbery. Tom Henke for Cliff Johnson. Before my time and I don't think it was a pure trade, more compensation for Johnson leaving, but that was a hell of a win regardless. Hernandez/Liriano is looking pretty damn good right now.

Worst all time trades according to this board: Basically any rental Any salary add Complaining about Loaiza for Young makes sense. That was just a s*** trade, regardless of circumstance. But the Cone and Price trades? Come on. You're expected to give up something of value in those trades. Might as well add the Henderson/Karsay and Candiotti/Whiten/Hill trades too because those guys didn't immediately tank and become worthless once they left the Jays. Yes Kent turned into a HOF contender but that's the definition of a GOOD trade for both teams. Both teams won out of that deal. If Kent stays in Toronto and blocked by Alomar at least through 1995, does he have the career he has? This Hendriks thing is just dumb. Average pitcher figures it out years later for a different team. s***, the Jays shouldn't have traded him. If Reese McGuire has a breakout season in 2026 are you guys going to cry spilt milk over that too? The Sirotka/Wells deal is the undisputed king of bad trades just for the pure gross incompetence of it all and value that went the other way. Anything else is a distant second.

You act as if this trait is unique to Cito Gaston. Players like Jeter and Pujols have gotten favourable treatment by managers well past their prime in this day and age, even with all the advanced stats.

I'm uniquely positioned as Conservative but also hardcore optimist. I think it's a good place to be.

And I know that people will pass off a lot of what has gone right with the team (or not gone wrong) as credit to player development and the front office as opposed to any contribution Montoyo may have had. But if the front office is generally making good decisions on that front, is it not fair to give them the benefit of the doubt that they are making a good decision to roll with Montoyo for year 4 and beyond? The four most consistent complaints on this board over the last couple of years have been: Montoyo, Buck/Tabler, Grichuk, and the dumpster fire BP. With the latter two being traded and improved starting late last season. Imagine being a Mets fan or Angels fan or Pirates fan or Rockies fan coming to this board and seeing most of the whining being about the manager and the broadcast team lol.

What exactly makes him so terrible at his job? That out of a bunch of terrible bullpen options in the first half of the year, he picked the terrible ones and a terrible result ensued? When young guys were still young and developing, he gave more plate appearances to veterans so to manage their workload? Which for the most part, wasn't really an issue last year. That once in a while he pinch hit and bunted at what armchair quarterbacks would deem inappropriate times? In the meantime, all the young guys are developing on track. There are no Travis Sniders, no Shawn Greens, no Kelvim Escobars, no Kyle Drabeks. No one is requesting a trade. Everyone seems to be getting along. The closest to a bust right now is Pearson. I can't remember the last time the Jays had so few busts. This board has group think where it nitpicks all these small things but fails to see the bigger picture. What were the Jays expectations heading into 2021? IIRC something like 20-30% chance of making the playoffs and low-80s in wins. They busted through that. We don't know how much or how little of an impact Montoyo had on the player development and mindset of the team. But based on results despite the difficulties this team had to overcome with the bullpen, they well surpassed expectations last year. Chances are Montoyo didn't have a negative effect on that part of the team, which is worth way more than the occasional 1980s-stlye managerial brain fart.

The beautiful thing about this is that he's going to be somewhere between Bobby Cox and John Gibbons in terms franchise managerial record and possibly on par with Gaston in terms of playoff accomplishments once this is all said and done. In 2024 this whole board will be like how Olerud is with Gaston today.

You have to consider though was he doing that for honest reasons? Or was the plan all along to make it a big grift? Just that this situation necessitated the grift angle being sped up. Now instead of a positive fan engagement experience, we have a clown show and a platform on which he can play victim. That's not good for baseball. Well, I suppose it might be if MLB has no qualms going down the Kardashian/Bachelor route of attention whoring.

Do I think Bauer deserves to be banished from baseball? No. Do I think this man is going to milk this situation to his base of supporters/sympathizers well past his expiry date on the field, regardless if he gets blackballed or not? Yes. Like it or not, the Bauer to Kaepernick comparison is apt. Maybe he will get a MyPillow sponsorship just like Kaepernick got from Nike. Bauer has officially crossed the line from someone who is good at his particular area of expertise into pseudo-political icon - and that's NOT a compliment. Just like Kaepernick or someone like Jordan Peterson.

Bauer is the Kaepernick for incels.

My 2008 fantasy team is intrigued. Is this dude even capable of anything now? Some guys just need to learn when to hang it up.

As an aside, I know the situation with Halladay. But outside of members of this board, some Phillies fans and people who visited Cooperstown in the last two weeks, absolutely every baseball fan who cares enough about the sport to think about these things is going to believe or assume Halladay is in as a Jay. It's the Mandela Effect in our favour. He's ours, let's just claim him. The internet has shown that what people believe or think is true is far more prevalent than the actual truth.

One career ending injury, the other bolts at the first opportunity. Thanks a lot for jinxing it, *******.

Part 3 of the Stieb series is up.

Jays have a slightly easier schedule. They face the Phillies for four games. The Yankees face the Mets four games. Jays have six games against the White Sox and Astros, Yankees have seven each. Also, the Yankees have to face the Jays 19 times, but the Jays get to face the Yankees 19 times.

Part 3 coming out tomorrow

Raptors: Wolves, @ Magic, Heat, Hawks, 76ers, Rockets, @ Knicks Rockets game is the only second game of a back-to-back. Conversely the Heat will have played in Chicago the previous day. Four competitive matches, three easier games. Cavs: Mavs, @ Hawks, @ Knicks, 76ers, @ Magic, @ Nets, Bucks Hawks and 76ers games will be second games of back-to-backs. Both very competitive matchups. Nets and Bucks games are also likely going to be competitive matchups jockeying for playoff spots. The only easy games are the Knicks and Magic, both of which are also Raptors opponents. Bulls: @ Wizards, Clippers, Heat, Bucks, Celtics, Hornets, @ Wolves The game tomorrow and the Celtics games are second games of back-to-back. And tomorrow's game is the only one against a team not in playoff contention though the Clippers game they should be clear favourites too. All in all, I like the Raptors chances to finish at least in the 6th spot.

Live bet the game late in the fourth quarter from +100 to +330. All part of my plan I say nothing and they do what they did to the Pacers and no chance to score a bet on anything.