max silver

Over recent seasons they've posted really similar sprint speeds so Votto might actually be slower upon returning from the ankle injury.

Probably some of both.

I think the drafting and development has been a bit of a mixed bag. I'll absolutely agree it ultimately hasn't been good enough, but at the same time it's likely the best it's been in decades as the minor league system has been graduating one really solid major league player per season. 2020 saw the graduation of Kirk, 2021 was Manoah, 2022 saw Moreno who was turned into Varsho, 2023 saw Schneider who is looking like a top of the order bat since his callup etc. Where the system takes a hit is in overall depth of the blue chip prospects, as although the team has been able to use the system to make trades for the likes of Berrios, Chapman, Varsho and others it hasn't had enough overall depth to allow trades for the true premium players, whether it's Jose Ramirez, Juan Soto or others. I can't help but think about how much better the offense would be if they would have had the available pitching depth to allow them to trade for Juan Soto in the offseason. I recall reading that there might have been a massive extenuating circumstance in the 2023 Angels deadline in that they might not have been able to trade Ohtani based on the various marketing deals they had which were contingent on Ohtani being on the roster.

I've always liked his potential as he features really nice stuff out of the pen. It's too bad he might finally be putting together a solid season for someone else but at the same time there's plenty of time for him to revert to his previous ways as well.

I have no issues whatsoever with suggestions like these. If the team is actually as bad as it's early play indicates the organization as a whole would be completely burying their head in the sand. I think Atkins has been a solid GM and deserves a shot to at least run out the rest of this season as he's built a generally solid team in his tenure. There has always been some sort of easily identifiable achilles heel during his time at the top that's held the team back in every season and the team has generally been less than the sum of the parts as well so new leadership could very well be warranted. If this team misses the playoffs I see very little chance Atkins is kept around as that would likely place Shapiro directly into the crosshairs as well.

Gurriel has actually turned himself into a really solid defender, it's just that his offensive abilities have seemingly gone downhill in recent seasons. Teoscar has also produced really solid metrics in right field in recent seasons as well.

Half the board wants the entire organization razed to the ground so there's no hyperbole in my statements whatsoever.

We simply don't know what this team's ceiling is yet. The way some of the board posters are carrying on is downright embarrassing. There is literally no conceivable way the offense and pitching staff are as bad over a full season of play as they have respectively been over the first 7 weeks of the season based on the talent that's on the roster. I'm not fooling myself into thinking this team as currently constructed is some sort of surefire world series contender or ignoring the deficiencies, but at the same time there is a ton of season left and the team is basically a hot week away from being within reach of a wild card position. Every single season sees a team flounder for most of the regular season, getting hot at the right time heading into the playoffs and making serious noise in the playoffs. This could still be one of these teams, but if they continue to struggle towards the deadline it will be time to consider at least shipping off some of the expiring contracts and reassessing in the offseason what direction to go. To suggest that the entire organization should be blown up because of a slow start to a season is total folly and just reeks of panic. Nobody here is saying that this front office is one of the best so take your weak strawmen arguments elsewhere. It's easy to see that the biggest factor that's turned the goal of sustainable contention into a potential window team is the lack of elite pieces from the minor league system to use to add to the 26 man roster, whether that's in the form of trade or calling these players up directly.

It certainly appeared to me that Bo REALLY enjoyed putting on the homerun jacket last night so he's likely perfectly fine with the celebrations.

I'm still team not panicking at this point. If the team doesn't put together a decent run against this weaker opposition then the death certificate that most of the fanbase wants to sign may actually be warranted.

Ok thanks. Can't say I can definitively say one way or another how the rest of the season will unfold but winning a series for the first time in forever is at least a small step.

That was probably a little unwarranted but the Blue Jays could win a world championship and you would still find something to complain about.

I'm hopeful Swanson is turning the corner as he's looked much better in recent outings.

If they are going to turn the season around they have to start somewhere.

The run differential might look a lot different after tonight's game is over.

Your steady stream of self serving I told you so posts is real cream of the crop material.

Why do I need to "let it go" exactly? I didn't bring the topic up in the first place, and I simply joined in the discussion stating it was a bad deal and voiced my opinion it was far too early to pass that type of judgement. Stop rushing to judgement before you obtain the relevant facts first.

Roden has displayed pretty sizeable L/R splits in every season of his career so it appears he will most likely be a platoon bat moving forward.

First time ever seeing a major league pitcher, especially a reliever in his 30's suffering from an injury? If you think one minor lat issue spells doom for the season, then it doesn't exactly stack up logically to expect that he's going to manage to remain healthier moving forward in subsequent seasons when he's older. Believe it or not it is actually possible for reasonable opinions that differ from your own to exist on the internet.

The dude had one minor injury to a lat muscle that has him on track to miss approximately 5 weeks. If that's some sort of massive arbiter of doom to you then feel free to continue to stand on the street corner and clang away on your doomsday bell.

Wow that's surprisingly reasonable for the ship is sinking thread. Very well stated though. If the team and offense in particular is actually as bad over a full season as they've been early on it's fully time to clean house in management. It will be important to bring in a new set of people with fresh ideas to determine where everything went off of the rails and how to fix the mess moving forward.

That feels a little premature. If he's "bad" in your view for some reason having him for another year at a slightly lower AAV doesn't somehow help make the contract better.

He was exactly like this last season when the team went on the skids in May so it's not the first time he broke mentally.

You sound depressed. I think there's medication for that now so it might be worth looking into.

My bad, I thought major league baseball seasons were 6 months long and there was more than 4 months left to go. I guess a 3.5 game deficit is insurmountable with that much time remaining so I should start following F1 instead or something of that sort.