glory

That Soler HR was predictable. He was squaring up on everything Garcia was throwing him. What a shot.

The NBA starts Finals games at 9 pm EST. Of course, basketball games are usually around 2 and a half hours long and have a clock, so it's pretty much guaranteed to end before 11:30 (unless there are overtimes), but that's still pretty late in the east. Baseball just happens to be a game without a clock, and you can't really predict pace of play because a lot of times it depends on who is pitching, how many pitching changes, how many runs are being scored, etc. Even if games started at 7:05, they could conceivably still end after 11 pm. The only thing MLB can do is add a pitch clock and hope it cuts a decent chunk of time from the games on average. You can't really fundamentally change what baseball is to make the games faster, so killing as much dead time as possible is the only way.

The level of complaining by the national baseball media this past week has been incredible. Game 1 was too long and "bad for baseball", but then the next two games were a more reasonable 3:11 and 3:24, so can't harp on that as much anymore. So let's focus on how racist the Chop/Atlanta is because Passan works for ESPN and the game is on Fox, so perfect time to virtue signal when it doesn't hurt the network. Once that doesn't work (the crowd chopped anyway), let's move on to how much of a crisis removing SP's from the game after 5 is, even when said starter didn't look all that good despite the no hits allowed and the decision actually worked perfectly. I mean I get it, baseball needs to make improvements in certain aspects of the game, and even I'm not the biggest fan of this World Series so far, but the level of complaining by the biggest names in the baseball media is ridiculous. With that said, I am intrigued by the "double hook" idea because I think openers suck and I would like to see SP's in games longer, but there's a time and a place for that discussion. Not sure why they've decided to do it here.

If they instituted a pitch clock, Garcia would retire from baseball.

Jansen is under team control for 3 more years. Kirk is 5 more years. McGuire is nothing but he is still pre arb as well. If they wanted to move Moreno off of catcher and into an IF position, this is the perfect time to do it because the team is covered at catcher for at least 3 years (Jansen) and up to 5 depending on how Kirk ages. I don't think they are moving him off CA, though. More likely they'll keep Moreno at CA, start the year with Jansen/McGuire, and trade Kirk somewhere for a need.

I was wondering why Jeff Passan was trending. The above is the reason.

Yup, Chapman would be the ideal target. Shouldn't cost anywhere near as much as Ramirez, and there's still some upside in his bat if he can regain his prior form. Wonder what the cost would be.

"Rabid" fanbase is a compliment. I was saying that's one of the reasons I don't mind the Braves in it because games with crazy fans are more fun, and their fans are very passionate. I was just contrasting that to the opposite end of the spectrum (the Rays are their 14 fans). As far as the quality of the Braves, they won 88 games in a division where the 2nd best team was basically .500, and there were 3 teams under .500. I know they had injuries, with Acuna being a huge one, but they still should have run away with that division. They feel like a good team that got hot at the right time rather than a great team.

No, Astros/Dodgers would not have "grown the game" (certainly not on its own), but it would have been a series that 1) had a backstory, 2) would have been easy to get average fans interested in, and 3) would have involved a much better team on the NL side. As I said, if Acuna was healthy, and the Braves were actually a good team (instead of winning fewer games than the Jays in a cupcake division), then I'd have no issues with an Astros/Braves WS. One of the reasons I hate watching the Rays in the playoffs is because their fanbase is dog s***. Whereas, the 3 games in Atlanta are going to have rabid fans, so for me, it's more fun to watch games where the fans are passionate. Do I want the game to grow and succeed? Of course. I'd also have no problem if two small market teams were in the World Series and national interest was down as long as it had entertaining qualities to it. Hell, I'm a Blue Jays fan. The Jays in the World Series would crater national interest in the US. I wouldn't care one bit. But I do care about the entertainment aspect of it. There is simply no juice to this series. The only way they can get some is to have great games, and the first two were duds. Going to a game 7 or at least having some nail biters the next few games would help.

The Braves making it was the worst case scenario. Dodgers/Astros was the ideal series from a rivalry standpoint given how 2017 ended, and even Dodgers/Red Sox would have at least been intriguing. There is nothing about the Braves, especially with Acuna out, that moves the needle for me. They were a team that won a crap division, and with Acuna out don't really have a marquee star that they could market the series around (as good as Freeman and Albies are, they aren't it). So you're left with a series that not many people outside of Houston and Atlanta are going to care about. There are no storylines, and the Braves don't give off a World Series vibe with their current roster. Other than Dusty finally winning his first ring as a manager, I can't think of one thing about this series that would resonate with the average fan. This series really needs to go 7, otherwise it will be largely forgettable.

The best direction to go, as boring as that might seem, is to follow the same path AA has done with the Braves. Just go for the best 1 year deals every winter. Atkins already did that last winter (aside from Springer), and it worked better than anyone could have dreamed of. Instead of falling in love with those 1 year deal players, just let them leave as free agents, and try to find the next Semien and Ray while continuing to build up the farm system. That's the safest "sustained contention" model, because if they add another big FA deal and/or trade more top prospects, then they run the risk of unintentionally building that short contention window much like the Cubs did. The Astros have done the opposite, where they let top FA's leave, and replaced them mostly internally. They did trade prospects, but it always seemed from a position of depth, rather than emptying the cupboard. I would love to trade for Ramirez, and he would fit this lineup/roster like a glove, but whether it's the right move with long term contention in mind is debatable, depending on who they would have to give up. If there is a trade for a player coming off a down year that will cost much less to acquire (ex. Chapman), then that's likely a better avenue to take. Otherwise, just like last year, try to find the best short term deals in free agency.

I agree, but if the farm system is not churning out top talent on a regular basis, then that talent will have to come via free agency (reduces long term $ flexibility) or prospect capital. They got really, insanely lucky with Semien and Ray for $26m combined, but that's not the norm. Building a consistent 90 win team in the AL East with bozo as a manager, and as the young core gets more expensive + closer to free agency is not going to be easy. I trust Shatkins either way.

Looking at the current Jays prospect list, there is a pretty noticeable drop after the top 3 (Moreno, Martinez, Groshans). That doesn't mean the system is bad, but it's not like the system is littered with talent that is close to contributing. We may look back on 2021 as one of the real opportunities to not only make the playoffs but go deep into it with this core. The fact that it was wasted due to (in large part) the manager, who isn't in any danger of getting replaced, is incredibly frustrating. It's hard to say how long this competitive window is. I think the team should be good for at least as long as Vlad/Bo are under control but the East is very difficult. Expanded playoffs would certainly help.

Rios was claimed off waivers by the White Sox in 2009, before AA took over (officially at least, depending on how much power Ricciardi had at that point). Considering they got nothing in return for him, I wouldn't call that a great move, although it did open up RF for Bautista in hindsight, so ultimately it served a greater purpose. The Wells deal was a heist. If only he kept Napoli. I think AA started to resemble a very good GM in the winter of 2014 (Travis trade, Saunders trade before he got hurt, JD trade, Martin signing). Considering he was fighting for a job at that point, he knocked that off season out of the park. Everything prior to that was more of a mixed bag, especially 2013 which was a colossal swing and a miss. Once he went to the Dodgers and got to see an elite front office at work, that's when he took a step forward as a GM.

Yeah. The baseball off season is slow and boring even when there is a CBA. If they have a lockout from December to Feb and then come to an agreement in March to avoid missing any regular season games, then fans probably wouldn't notice the difference much. Certainly not the casual fans. The diehards like us will, but we'll watch baseball whenever the sport comes back. It's the casuals they have to worry about, or the ones who will move on if the regular season schedule is disrupted.

Yeah, 2022 is a lot different than 1994. Baseball was more nationally popular 27 years ago, to the point where it was possible for the McGwire/Sosa chase to bring fans back. Not sure anything similar to that will bring fans back in 2022 if they end up losing regular season games. Hopefully they are smart enough to realize that and end up agreeing to something, even if it goes down to the final hours of their deadline.

AA is a good GM, but the only way he could have messed up the situation he inherited was if he operated like 2015 AA and traded every prospect under the sun for vets, and he had no reason to do that because (unlike his final year in Toronto) he had stability in his contract with Atlanta, and there was no urgency to win with the Braves when he took over. Like I said, he's done very well supplementing the roster, so that's a plus for him, but the team itself was mostly built before he got there. Although there is no shame in being 1998-2000 Brian Cashman if the Braves end up winning a WS or two.

He also had a thing on YouTube called "Bauer Bytes", where he sat in a table with 3-4 other players/ex players/personalities and would just shoot the breeze. Great way to display personality and hear from the players in a casual setting. He definitely did a lot to help the game from a marketing standpoint, and his ability to play the heel with crowds added a level of excitement to the games. I know people hate the "brand builders" on social media since it comes off as douchey (see the complaints about Stroman) but hopefully another player can pick up the baton and follow what Bauer was doing on social media before the explosion happened. It was helping the sport.

Exactly. AA's done well with supplementing the core guys with vets (Donaldson, Ozuna, Morton, all his trade deadline moves this year), but he inherited great young talent and a top farm system. It was almost impossible to f*** that up. If he stayed after 2015, he would have had to build from scratch after having to see the remnants of the 2015-16 teams go away. No chance I would have trusted him with that process after what we saw him do in 2010-15. He definitely learned and got better after his stint with the Dodgers, though. Working with Friedman was the right call for his career.

Scherzer not starting Game 6. Huge blow to the Dodgers.

That's why I wonder if Ray's success is going to change that. He came here after completely s***ing the bed in 2020, and put up a Cy Young season with a pitching coach who seems to be able to help pitchers improve. No doubt the Jays will still have to offer the most money (like they probably did with Ray), but I'm curious if pitchers might view the Jays differently when Ray turns 1/8 into $100m+ a year later.

Aren't the Rockies going to qualify Gray? Maybe I'm misremembering, but that seemed to be their logic when they didn't trade any of their vets at the deadline, although maybe that was just meant for Story. I think Syndergaard takes a pillow contract due to his age, but Verlander is probably going to need at least a two year guarantee to choose Toronto over many of the other contenders that will be after him on a one year deal. I wonder if Toronto looks more appealing for FA's now after the success of Semien and Ray. Players looking for one year deals, especially pitchers, may have avoided Toronto in the past, but hopefully that is changing.

No, I’m using that term correctly. Using that logic, Grichuk at his best is an all star. That doesn’t mean it’s a realistic expectation over a full season. Matz has had two really good seasons in his career, and he’s been around the same type of pitcher (from a value standpoint) both years. That’s probably a best case for what he is. Now, if the team thinks 2nd half Matz is sustainable, then it would make more sense to try to get him on a longer term deal for less AAV.

I'm surprised that some people are on board with giving Matz the QO. I know a one year deal is a no risk kind of contract, but that would still be $18m of the team's available payroll being spent on a guy who had a 4.83 ERA/4.92 FIP (411 IP) in the NL from 2017-2020. As mentioned, that's the same money the team gave Semien who had MVP candidate upside based on his 2019 season and how he finished 2020. Matz at his absolute best is a sub-3 WAR SP with a spotty track record. I'd rather try to find the next Matz who another team wants to give up on rather than pay the real one $18m over a season. If the team is going throw $18m AAV's out there, then go for the bigger fish.