BigCecil

Is every Ray having a career year FFS? Yandy etc. Franco is leading MLB shortstops in WAR with 3.4 and its not that close.

A .155 ISO and 0.5 WAR from a supposed lynch pin super star run producer half way through an AL East season is no bueno. In 2500 PAs, he has been closer to this, than he has been to 2021. At this point you would have think twice to give him 10/200. Obviously with his hit tool if he figures it out his ceiling is '21 and that deal would be excellent.

Ya, for sure. We aren't lighting things up in the runs scored department much. Whatever...Wins a W. The Vlad. The last AB I don't think he swung at one strike in a 3 pitch K. First pitch SL was maybe on the black away. Wish he would just take those. Jano picked them up!

Great sequence execution by Romano and block by Kirk. Filthy slider.

Strength of schedule is a thing but when you just lose 2/3 (almost 3/3) to the Twins at home, I’m not going to get my hopes too high. One game and W at a time.

I think it always has too. Agreed. Its kind of like WWE - you got your heels and your good guys...then your super heels and your f***ing nut cases like Jake the Snake & Abdullah the Butcher. Everyone has a role to play on the TBJMB.

His Dad had a career 136 wRC+. On top of the other value tools he had early in career. At this point with Vlad I’d take a 136 season/career. Pretty sure we all think he is capable of even more than that. Maybe he isn’t what we thought and never will be? I don’t know. All I do know is if he doesn’t rake and produce lots of runs, we are probably screwed.

True. Impossible to know with Jr's hit tool where he ends up comparatively, but most of "better" has to come from that. Sr. early on had more BsR and D value than Jr. Crazy that he ended up with a career .380 OBP and a 10% K rate with all that he swung at. Vlad Sr. broke down health wise and after age 31 was downhill fast. Vlad Jr. has a challenging body type to keep weight off as he ages. Vlad Sr WAR from age 23-27 seasons: 6.7 4.5 6.2 4.8 7.1

His hitting is a bit like his base running. He always thinks he can make it and he cant. He thinks he can hit any pitch, and he can't. Almost nobody on this planet hits the ball harder when he is locked in on good pitches to mash.

Thats true and the PHI pen was solid. Alvarado had been on an unconcious roll. Yes PHI made it to the series, but part of the reason they lost one could argue is above, in a longer series. HOU was deeper in the rotation. Wheeler also was nursing some injury issues. At the end of the day the more complete team won.

Its the case that over that 4-5 year period there have been a number of impact players brought up or signed which will deplete the farm for good reason. I think its a fair concern that we have not been able to develop more rotation and pen impact arms over 4-5 years. Causing us to hit the FA market hard. Gausman, Berrios looking like very solid deals at the moment. Ross may not be around for the back half of those deals. Who knows? Pearson looks solid now which is an awesome boost. The current farm perception of thinness is not just about promotions to this squad. Its also because we also moved top prospects in deals. EX: Varsho, Chappy, White and Berrios. Not debating them ATM, its just fact. Sure, replenishing the farm is easy...if you pick well and develop well.

You are allowed to change opinions of course. I was just curious on the turnaround. I think he sounds more like Ned Flanders. Are you day trading Atkins? I suspect this all has a lot to do with your contrarian strain. Lol. Atkins has been ok. Lots to criticize and lots to give props too. Not as enamoured as you are for reasons too oft stated.

D-oh!

Hicks sucks. Jordan’s got this.

Love the up and in FBs to LHH at 97 and 98. Nasty.

I just watched that on PVR. WTF. 2 men on. Get a pitch to hit. Chased the first pitch off the plate. Tale of too much of this season.

It’s like in 2022 he was body snatched.

Big Hit Whit

Glass half full Dick. You used to hate Atkins. If a f***ing chimpanzee was GM, they wouldn’t have signed Jose to $30M per. That would definitely be an alternate universe. Having you said that, as per usual, you speak some truth. Relative to Ash and Richardi, I’m not sure they had the benefit Ross has of such an open ownership wallet to make FA signings, and all the other s*** they are doing at the complex and stadium.

After the tanking since '17, I find getting spanked by the O's extra depressing. I hate the f***ing O's. Its feels like we are a high priced bloated team underperforming atm. Despite the herky jerky season so far, to still be on an 88 Win pace is wild. The HOU series was a good high but its seems distant lol. Hoping we can pull out the next couple and get on a more consistent roll.

This game isn't going like I drew it up!

Honestly I agree with this and I don’t. Love to see some math on it. The number wins correlation to playoff advancement. It’s funny PHI and HOU were opposite ends of the spectrum in 2022 and the cream rose to the top for the ring. With ATL and NATs you could argue “just get in and win”. Id rather be a 100 ish win team and count on those probabilities of winning than be a “hope to get hot at the right time” team. Obviously I could give a s*** how we did it if we win. Having said all that, I’m a Bruins fan still suffering PTSD from the Presidents Trophy curse.

Clearly we have two more kicks with this core post '23(far from over yet). Unlikely they move Bo or Vlad unless its desperate times late '25 season. Chappy is no small task to replace...same for Jano although less so. I could see Jano extended. Pretty confident Whit, KK and Belt are solid parts Atkins can replace on short term signings or lower impact deals.

Yeah, I was a fan of the signing and remain so. 1/9 is a lotto ticket that was worth is for a LHH impact stick - even though he is slow as f*** and K's too much. His OBP - # of pitches he sees - and LHH extra base hit potential are handy to have.

We need to start a thread "Predict the 2026 Jays" lol. Glass half full, empty and mid takes. I'd truly love to see a solid realistic, optimistic case laid out. Yes its a couple years away but: - The farm impact cupboard is relatively bare. Orelvis has a AA 121 wRC+ and has cut his K rate down. Sign of life there. - The payroll is already high, even with Ryu coming off for '24. Arb year raises will eat into that savings. - Belt and KK off the books, but have to replaced. - Chapman is gone for '24. - Jano not extended and FA for '25 season. - Whit is gone for '24 as I dont see us picking up that option - Biggio and Espy are not producing what we hoped at 2B. - Our FA signings aren't getting any younger and the back half of those cost commitments is always more risky. Springer etc. - I don't think either Bo/Vlad will be extended for anything other than a major over pay. They are going to test the FA market end of '25. - Manoah- The impact SP they drafted and sort of developed is MLB MIA for an indefinite period. Pearson looks like he may be something finally. - Ricky having arm issues. He might be impacting. But so much risk with arms they are hard to bank on. A lot can change in a couple years. We are going to need some breaks and found money surprises like Romano.