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Look objectively at what Shapiro has accomplished in the big picture aside from throwing the blinders on and exclusively focusing on only what's happened in the playoffs. During his time as president Shapiro has: -built one of MLB's best farm systems which allowed the team to create an extended window of contention. The system has taken a step back in recent years but it can quickly be built back up if necessary in the future -convinced Rogers to spend the luxury tax and possibly even higher if they sign Ohtani. The team has signed something like the 3 highest contracts in team history under his tenure -oversaw the construction of a best in MLB training complex -oversaw a massive renovation to Rogers Center which will dramatically improve fan experience and player training resources -shifted the Blue Jays from an ancient behind the times organization to one at the cutting edge of science and analytics (good for the most part, certainly questionable in last years playoffs) -created an organization which has legitimately attracted the greatest free agent in the history of the sport The team has failed to achieve success in the playoffs up to this point. Having said that I have a hard time seeing how anyone can look at the state of the organization as it currently stands and compare it to where it was before Shapiro arrived and come any conclusion other than Shapiro has been one of the most important hires in the history of the organization.

I'm comparing these guys entire careers up to this point. Consider that Varsho's defensive metrics took a dramatic leap forward in the last two seasons, and this will likely play a large part in his future defensive value in the outfield. It seems his first few years in the outfield saw him still getting used to playing the outfield compared to his split catching and outfield duties in his first few seasons. I believe if Varsho would have played full time in center field in 2023 he would have essentially been a 4 win player even with his 2023 offensive numbers, which would have the effect of raising his career average WAR/550 plate appearances to nearly 3.8. This is a much higher quality player than Grisham, who at this point of his career is essentially a 2 win player. Check out this article to see how Varsho's projections change if it's assumed that he spends all of his time in center field, and not splitting time in left field and center field. This also surmises that his baserunning value doesn't take a dive this early in his career as well, and that he produces similar value on the bases. His Steamer projection would change to over 4 wins in this scenario with this years offensive numbers, and if he produces offense in line with his projections he's suddenly a 5+ win player. https://bluejaysnation.com/news/a-deep-dive-into-daulton-varshos-value-to-the-blue-jays-moving-forward

Biggest difference is the overall length of the deals we are discussing here. Ryu's deal was only for 4 years, and he provided pretty decent value over the first two before suffering a torn elbow ligament. Rodon's deal could already essentially be dead money in year 1 of a 6 year deal. Springer has another 3 years on his deal, but provided decent value relative to his contract over the first 3 seasons of his deal. The last year or two might end up as a relative zero, but compare this to Stanton who is already a dud with 4 more years to go.

The WAR totals don't account at all for playing time. Grisham has received about 430 extra plate appearances compared to Varsho, or something approaching a full season of play for these guys based on their typical playing time per season. Average this out over 550 plate appearances, and Grisham has produced 2.45 FWAR/550 plate appearances. Varsho has produced an average of 3.16 FWAR/550 plate appearances. Each of these guys has an identical 96 wRC+ career value, however Varsho as mentioned has been a more effective defender. For what it's worth Varsho is projected by Steamer for 3.1 WAR in 2023, vs 2.1 for Grisham.

Can't say I particularly agree with this. Up to this point of his career Varsho has been a 4 win center fielder in his time spent there (basically a full season worth of plate appearances). Bluejays Nation had a recent article outlining how Varsho would have been a 4 win player in 2023 if he'd spent all of his time in center field as well (based on the assumption that his defensive metric rates would have held up over a full season).

Cool your jets man, this is most likely a one year rental scenario. They have to sign him to a long term extension first which is far from a given.

I do most of my stovetop cooking with a nice set of stainless steel pans. I bought this well over 10 years ago and they still look great, so it appears as thought my set will basically last a lifetime. I had a similar frustration with my wife when trying to teach her to simply heat the cookware before adding oil but that seems to be tricky for her to remember. I have cast iron grids on my barbecue and those things are a bit of a nightmare to keep clean given that they are constantly stored outdoors.

Bryant was approximately 15 points higher by xWOBA vs Bellinger in his free agent season.

I always try to rehydrate at least a little bit before hitting the hay after drinking. I used to gulp down a bottle of gatorade but I don't think the sugar would likely be doing me any favors. More important for myself is to avoid overindulging in the first place. The best way for me to accomplish this is to completely avoid spirits in all except for very casual circumstances as I simply don't have the ability to regulate my alcohol intake when partaking of this type of alcohol. I'm smaller in stature and as a result I find that spirits always sneak up on me and I'm absolutely hammered before I know it. It took me far too many years to eventually determine that hard alcohol would inevitably lead me to trouble but I've been far better off since switching to other alcohol sources. It took 1 day hangovers eventually morphing into two day and even occasionally three day hangovers to finally clue me into the need to make some changes.

I've considered buying one of these from time to time, but I'm not convinced I eat enough types of food that would directly benefit from this method of cooking. Aside from the obvious pizza, what else do you like to cook on cast iron? I'd guess that grilled cheese sandwiches and steaks would be appropriate for a cast iron pan, but what else is it good for? How do you find the maintenance/upkeep requirements for keeping it in tip top shape?

Unfortunately my constitution has never allowed me to eat anything when dealing with a hangover. I don't suffer from headaches but nausea always kicks me squarely in the nuts anytime I overindulge in the tasty adult beverages.

I don't know man, the only way I would leave pizza on the counter overnight is if I got pass out drunk and didn't get a chance to fridge the pizza. Once I woke up I would be far too hungover to even consider food in the first place.

I haven't kept up with recent research given how often the prevailing opinion seems to shift but I would guess good in moderation?

Air fryer and frying pan with a lid on top are both great options as well.

Are you one of those interesting characters that lives completely off of the grid, or simply located in a rural setting? I'd guess that most of us on this board wouldn't be able to raise their own chickens due to city bylaws and whatnot. One of the contractors that I deal with at work built a home which is completely off of the grid and regularly mentions his massive stockpile of guns and ammo that he will readily leverage should s*** really hit the fan.

Interestingly Yankee Stadium was tied for the worst park when it comes to expected home runs for Soto in 2023, and in most of previous seasons his expected home runs were worse in Yankee Stadium than his actual home stadiums. For his career he simply hasn't been a pull hitter as most of his batted balls go to center field, so he would need to make a conscious swing decision to fully take advantage of the short porch.

In that case aside from free range then chicken basically doesn't exist anymore.

I could see the Yankees trying to expedite this process to get a deal completed before Ohtani makes his decision on where to sign. If Ohtani signs with the Dodgers then the Blue Jays become a serious competitor for Soto, so if the Yankees can get a deal done before that the Jays won't be able to swoop in and deal for Soto under their noses.

Nor should they try to beat that either. That's an asinine price to pay for a one year rental no matter how good his bat is.

That's good, let the Yankees empty their system of good young pitching so it f***s them over for years to come.

This all sounds much more likely than assuming the doomsday scenario of Ohtani being unable to pitch in the future and immediately transitioning to DH without even considering shifting to another position while he's still relatively young. I fully agree if Ohtani is able to pitch until some point in his mid 30's it would potentially be an unwise decision to shift him to another position at that point given the increased likelihood of injury that takes him off the field completely.

Ohtani hasn't played much outfield because he was already pushing his body to its limits by simultaneously starting and DH'ing. I see no reason he wouldn't be able to at least attempt to transition to the outfield if he can't pitch any more. If Ohtani can't play the outfield he could always play first base as well. There is really no reason to continue to frame this discussion that Ohtani would be immediately forced to DH only as soon as starting is off the table.

Dude you directly stated several times in that post that Ohtani might be a full time DH for the entirety of the contract. There wasn't a single mention that he could play a position on the field if he can't pitch, it was completely binary pitcher/DH.

The front office was actually really quiet about the Manoah situation. There wasn't a single peep about Alek refusing to report to AAA until Ben Wagner brought it up in interview.

One shouldn't underestimate how deep Gruber's hatred of Atkins runs. It's on par or greater than Grant's completely irrational hatred of Boston and the Red Sox.