Brownie19

Obviously. This is true for almost every team in pro sports man. Stop listening to them (and/or expecting something besides common media BS).

I think every team would say the same thing. Every team has a few pitchers with options who are going to ride the buses and go between AAA and the majors all year alone (which is how they replicate having 14 or 15 pitching spots available to them).

Why do you say this? The Jays have one of the best rotation in the majors, full of pitchers who are equipped to go deeper into games. If this rule was in place this year, it would only benefit them. That said, I think most teams currently appreciate having extra space in their bullpen for an extra arm. It's a f***ton easier to find another flame throwing RP right now than it is to find starters who can go through a lineup a 3rd time.

I'm not going to voice an opinion about who's better defensively in CF - but will point out there's a possibility the Jays would leave KK in CF, even if they think Varsho is better (at this point, it's probably marginally, or "a bit" and there is a breaking point) simply out of respect and b/c Varsho has more experience in the corners. KK is literally one of the best defensive CFers of all-time. He's going to want to play CF until he says he's done playing it.

With all the snowbirds in Florida, I think the Jays are one of the top teams that draw out the fans.

O's sign Kolton Wong to a minor league deal. Nice lottery ticket for them. He's 1 year removed from B2B 2.5 WAR seasons. That said, he doesn't project well and is entering age 33 season. Most 2nd basemen fall off the cliff in their early 30's, so he's probably done.

Same! I think "great 2 way centers who were incredible leaders"

I just came back from Spring Training (video evidence available). I've been going for years and we've learned to just buy "berm" seats to games. They've all increased in price, but we paid $118.75 USD for 5 berms seats and parking at the ATL @ TB game in Port Charlotte. So $160 CAD for my family of 5 to go ($32/person). We did sit on the berm a bit (which gave access to autographs and balls to be thrown from outfielders, etc.), but there is always open seats so once we got too hot, we just moved to some open seats. We often cruise around and check out different parts of the park as the game goes on (go stand near the bullpens for a bit, move to bar areas, etc.). It's so laid back, if you miss an inning or 2, it's no big deal. That's the cheapest way to watch a TB spring training game. The game in North Port (Atlanta Braves home) was MUCH more expensive. My parents and brother came to this one and they're old, so we got them seats in the upper deck, under shade for $45 each USD. Berm tickets were $20 each. I got 4 seats and 4 berm tickets and it was $313.20 USD ($424 CAD) for 8 of us to go ($53/person). It's a brand new park and it was gorgeous - but not as affordable as one might think (especially when you add in a few beers and hot dogs).

While I agree that you need to take ST results with a grain of salt, you can't compare Kirby to Manoah. Kirby is an established stud, coming off a great season. Manoah is trying to resurrect his career. Manoah's STing results matter more IMO.

Spring training is also great for baseball IMO. It provides an opportunity for fans to get better access to the players and it acts as a 'build up' to the upcoming season. It's great for the economy in the various City's that host ML teams too. It also gives prospects time to interact with the big leaguers, learn from them and become more comfortable in that environment. Finally, there is an element of players being able to showcase themselves and to "make the team" as well. I'm not truly sure how often that happens anymore (likely did happen a lot more back in the '80's and '90's), but that would be lost if spring training was only a few weeks long.

This made me look at this all-time list. The name that stood out to me was Mark Recchi. 14th all time in total points? I never even considered him a star player! I knew he put up some big seasons early on, but I thought it was because he played on lines with some true star players. He only exceeded a point per game in 6 full seasons? I certainly thought of Joe Sakic as being a f***ing stud.

Well that's hilarious. But yes - that form is so clean. Nice flat back, fields it out in front. Textbook. I had the sleeves and shorts all pulled up, hat off - trying to get some f***ing sun at the game (which was successful). That's my oldest boy in the Acuna jersey. He just came back from getting Chick-Fil-A. Ball hit off his foot and rolled right to me. You're going to pay for this one John

I took the family to BAL @ ATL today at the new CoolToday Park in North Port. The park is spectacular. The best I've ever been to (I think we've been to 8 now). My only complaints are there's a pile of stairs as soon as you enter, there is netting from foul pole to foul pole (which really limits the player/fan interaction and signature opportunities) and they don't let you bring in backpack, which is ridiculous (8 of us went today and they won't let us bring in 1 medium sized backpack that's full of sunscreen, blanket for sitting on the berm, baseballs for signatures, etc.). Anyway - the game was a bit of a dud. The Braves had their opening day starting lineup (except D'Arnaud was catching instead of Murphy), which was awesome to see, but they didn't hit much. Acuna popped out and grounded out (breaking his bat both times). Jackson Holliday started at 2nd for the O's. He never put the ball in play. 2 K's and a walk. He took some absolutely massive hacks, but came up empty. Looks like he was overswinging. My boys ended up with 3 game balls though. Kelenic threw us a ball in LF, the bullpen catcher threw us another and then the highlight of the day was we caught the Jordan Westburg home run ball! It hit off the railing, off my son's foot and rolled right to me. That's the first fair or foul ball I've ever ended up with at a baseball game. Kids had a blast overall - but it's back to Ontario tomorrow. I really could see myself spending the winters in Florida during retirement. Maybe even volunteering at a spring training stadium. It's such a special time of year.

Or get permission to exceed the next luxury tax threshold.

Took the family to the ATL @ TB game this afternoon. Opener for TB. Place was f***ing packed. It was incredible to smell the hot dogs and fresh grass again. My boys got balls signed by Kelenic and Michael Harris and got a couple of game balls. It was like 24 degrees and sunny as f*** - a perfect day for baseball. Man have I missed it! We're off to see BAL @ ATL on Monday!

Blue Jays LHP prospect Ricky Tiedemann is not facing an extended absence after undergoing an MRI that revealed minor inflammation between his left hamstring and calf muscles. Blue Jays manager John Schneider added that Tiedemann isn’t expected to miss too much time and is likely to resume throwing in a few days. It’s an extremely encouraging update as it likely rules out the possibility that the 21-year-old top pitching prospect will require a lengthy absence. His recovery and workload will be closely monitored over the rest of spring training, but it’s arguably a best-case scenario outcome for Toronto.

Interesting debate guys - enjoyed reading it.

Would he want to? If I'm the radio guy, I'm not 100% sure I want to be travelling around - away from my family all the time. If I can do my job and get paid the same to call the game from Toronto and sleep in my bed each night - that might be preferred. I'm sad to see Ben Wagner go - I thought he was good. They ought to have fired Buck and promoted Ben IMO.

Hosmer retired - that makes me feel super old.

Just take the L man. No minor league contract is 'bad'.

This might be the most logical post you've ever made. Well done. We don't know who's been in the "lab" all offseason working their tails off with experts v. who's been dogging it all offseason.

Delete your account.

Do you even follow baseball?

Well we got Big Vogelbach as the insurance policy for Turner