glory

Guardians shouldn't be rewarded for not spending money/trying to field the cheapest team possible. I like the players on the team, but not the org. I'll go with Seattle.

Michael Brantley is a FA again, though will be coming off shoulder surgery. Seemed he was really close to signing with the Jays based on Hazel jumping the gun a couple of years ago. He's older now, and likely strictly a DH at this point, so that might turn the Jays off, but a LH bat like that would be ideal in this lineup if his bat doesn't slip after surgery.

Yeah I think how they handle the catching situation is going to be one of the more important decisions they make. Keeping all 3 is certainly possible, but it will involve using the DH spot more for Kirk than how they used it this season (giving starters a rest so an inferior bench option, usually Tapia, can play). They'd likely also have to use Moreno in more of a super utility role, which might be a good thing if his offense is as good as hyped. Realistically, it's the biggest position of strength in the organization and there is a surplus, so if you want to fix a glaring org weakness (ex. CF) then that's the position to subtract from. I like the idea of turning a catcher into someone like Alek Thomas, but not sure what the cost is going to be. The D-Backs would probably do Thomas for Kirk, but would they do it for Jansen+? I'm guessing no but depends on how they view things. If they do trade a catcher and decide they want to trade Jansen, then they need to do it this winter. He has two years of control left. This is the only time to maximize his value. If he's still a Jay on opening day 2023 then they might as well try to extend him. Kirk and Moreno are more controllable so no urgency there, unless you think Kirk has peaked and want to sell high, but Atkins usually doesn't operate like that on the big league level.

Gonna be interesting to see what they do. They clearly need a big bat in their lineup but also need to replace or re-sign 3/5 of their rotation (deGrom, Bassit, Walker), Diaz in the pen, and Nimmo in CF. Even Cohen is going to have a limit. Wonder which direction they go in.

Tapia making the final out on the Jays season was almost a poetic way to end 2022. I just wish he would have reached 500 plate appearances during the regular season. The Jays certainly tried to get him there.

I started watching in 91 and this was the worst I’ve seen given it was an elimination playoff game. Just brutal.

Brutal call there.

I’ll gladly take the L in this case.

I had the Rays winning this series but thankfully the Guardians swept them out of town. Cleveland took advantage of a s*** division but Bieber and McKenzie give them a chance in a short series against the Yankees. Still picking NY though.

I really hope they aren’t planning a 2 inning save for Romano. Garcia can pitch to another batter or two. Or Bass, assuming he’s alive.

Yeah losing the 1st game of a 3 game playoff series is not ideal, and I think people have been sleeping on Seattle's pitching if they thought this would be a cakewalk win for the Jays, but it's just about winning 2 games in a row at home. Very doable. I like the Gausman/Ray matchup for the Jays today. Not sure I like Game 3's matchup even with how good Stripling has been this season, but just get to Game 3 and worry about that later.

What the hell are you talking about? I was responding to the attendance numbers and agreeing with lowering the stadium seating, then gave my reasons for that. I never said baseball was dying or anything. I notice you get upset when I (not anyone else, just me) talk about the business side of baseball. I'll keep doing it just because I know you enjoy it so much. Although judging by the time stamp of when you posted this and what you posted on the game day thread at 3 in the morning, I'm guessing you were probably under the influence.

Probably a good idea. Not surprisingly attendance and quality of team seem to go hand in hand, with the usual exceptions (Rays and surprisingly the Guardians but we will see if they get a jump next season based on 2022). The better the team, the better the attendance, but MLB has a tanking problem. Teams that are bad are usually really bad and are doing so intentionally. Trying to get 40-50k in a stadium to watch the Royals, Reds, Tigers, Pirates, Marlins, A’s, etc, for 81 games a year in this economy is kind of unreasonable, and that’s going to drag the total figures down. I really don’t see a way to solve this other than to have more good teams in the league at once, but that’s hard to predict year to year. It’s also possible that in some markets baseball has just lost popularity, and we have to adjust expectations for attendance accordingly. Cleveland in particular should have had much better attendance this year even factoring the low expectations heading into the season.

I know Tapia's only in the lineup because Gurriel is hurt (although the Jays may have manipulated the DH spot to fit him in for all I know) but there is no reason for Tapia to bat anywhere except 9th in the order. Hopefully Espinal is healthy and can play 2B tomorrow with Merrifield in LF against Ray.

Schneider loves using the pen. I mean at 4-0 just let Manoah finish the inning, especially since Kelenic has been awful.

Luis Castillo + the Seattle pen is going to be tough to come back from. Have to hope Castillo is off his game too.

Of course it’s a full day of offense not being able to score and the Mariners score on the first 10 pitches.

Rays are going to sweep the Guardians.

Zimmer sucks, but he could actually be useful in the playoffs as a pinch runner/defensive replacement. Although I completely understand if they feel JBJ does the same thing and didn't want to duplicate bench players with the same role. Vetrin presents in this case might be a good thing. Wouldn't surprise me if Kooch is used against a tough lefty if Mayza is unavailable for whatever reason, but he's been too inconsistent to trust in a big spot like that, so best case is he is not needed. What will be interesting is how they handle the lineup against Robbie Ray. If Espinal is not starting in that game (with Merrifield in LF), when he has huge R/L splits, then he's probably not healthy. Also glad that Jansen is at DH. Right call and should be the norm in the playoffs with him and Kirk. Whoever isn't catching should be the DH.

I have the Rays beating the Guardians, but agree with Jays, Cardinals, and Mets advancing.

Moreno is in LF in Game 2.

Interesting that the Jays/M's would get the ABC game on Sunday (if that game happens). Other than that, not surprised at the timeslots there. The Jays benefit from playing the M's by getting a later time slots on Friday/Saturday.

Zimmer shouldn't be allowed to bat. Ever.

Not sure I would have used Romano today since he’s likely to pitch in every WC game (so at least 2, if not 3 straight days), but I guess they want to use every reliever to keep them consistent and avoid too many days off in a row.