Carlos Danger

Umps need to be reigned in. Boone ejected in the 1st inning after 5 pitches for something a fan said.... The Umps are making it too much about them and not the game.

The # 1 reason for his success so far this year is probably his ability to barrel up the 4 seam fastball. EV is up in general, contact on balls in the zone etc.. SSS but an up to 10% plus positive in a litany of different categories vs 2023 has made Varsho a much more effective run producer this year. *So far.

This is why AA made the Murphy deal. If you currently look at defensive stats, Contreras on the Brewers is waaaayyy down the list. The Braves have enough offence they need the other catcher skills that Murphy and Arnaud bring. From an article I perused: Contreras was an All-Star in 2022, is younger than Sean Murphy, and had Murphy beat in almost every traditional batting stat. So what makes Murphy so much more valuable than Contreras? In short, the answer lies in positional scarcity. The Braves see Murphy as a catcher in the long-term, whereas Contreras is likely to have to move to the outfield or the DH spot – and finding a full-time catcher with the offensive output that Contreras provides is much harder than finding a DH with the same stats. Murphy is an elite defensive catcher – according to Statcast, in 2022, his pop time ranked third in the league, and his framing ranked sixth – whereas Contreras ranked 38th and 46th, respectively. Also, while Contreras was the better batter in 2022, there’s good reason to believe that Murphy’s batting will improve after leaving the cavernous Coliseum in Oakland. His batting splits at home last season were .226/.319/.383, in comparison to .272/.345/.467 on the road. Indeed, Murphy is already making strides to that effect, slashing a promising .267/.353/.413 in spring, including this gigantic tater off the batter’s eye in straight away center field.

I would like to give my two cents reference Varsho. As many of you know, Varsho was my man crush and I was extremely happy we acquired him last year. I was an adamant defender of Varsho last year, at least his other tangibles and intangibles he brought to the team. I did by the end become exasperated with his offensive production or lack of. One of the theories I put out last season was that Varsho is the opposite of some on the team and 100% coachable, willing to please and do what ever the coaches said/say. This personality attribute as well as being a younger player coming to a new team, made Varsho very malleable. My theory on his poor offensive performance vs his pre-Blue Jays offensive performance is that someone in our system had "f***ed him up", for lack of a more precise term. I recall many on the board saying that hitting coaches and system philosophy and offensive coordinators and all that has nothing or very little to do with a hitters performance and is not to blame. I would say the 2024 season to date is exhibit A. I mean what the hell else explains a history since the minors of X then an extreme outlier in 2023 and then back to X in 2024. There did not appear to be an injury that would affect Varsho's offence in 2023. I am going to double down and say we (the Blue Jays system/process in place in 2023) f***ed him up. We changed the process in 2024 and now we have the hitter Varsho has been. Case closed. Judgment in favor of CD.

What I am not understanding is how was Manoah legitimately being considered depth? His issues occurred at the start of the 2023 season. He made no progress during the whole 2023 campaign and then had that whole issue with refusing assignment to Buffalo etc and debate about if there was an injury. Not like he went to the DR winter league and was lights out. There were no tangible metrics to show he was fixed and could be counted on. When he has pitched this year, and not on the IL ,he has not shown the control to be a MLB starter. To me that is like saying well, if my primary car breaks down, I have another car to get to work or the airport. However, you haven't been able to start that car for a year and are just praying it starts if needed. Manoah is and was a lottery ticket at this point.. You might win, but wouldn't plan on using the ticket to pay your mortgage.

Not comparing starting 5 vs starting 5. I am comparing depth in case of injury. I already granted that Bowden Francis is depth. Not even saying Atlanta's is great. I am saying we should not be, and are not in a position to brag about our SP depth. In response to Brownie's post.

Can we actually count Manoha as a viable MLB option? What metrics have we seen in either his body of work in the majors last year or AAA this year that we can viably say, ok, if X starter is injured we are going to start Manoha on Friday, IL or not.. Also, not even saying Atlanta's pitchers are necessarily better. My comment was, to Brownie's post, who is our current depth? Luckily we have all 5 of our starters healthy. If we were in the Braves shoes, I see Bowden Francis and that is all currently.

I made the post in context to who Atlanta is putting out there with their injuries. The Braves are dealing with injuries and when it is all said and done still have Smith Shawver, Vines, and Winans, plus Ian Anderson if you want to count him, all on the 40 man. We don't have Tidememann. If the org was counting on Manohoa it was piss poor planning and he hasn't shown anything different from last year yet, even when not injured. Rodriguez is our 5th SP. If we lost Gausman,(= Strider) we would have Bowden Francis in the rotation. After that at this point, I have no clue...

Who is our SP depth? I see Bowden Francis?

Why is there such a difference in WAR between say Fangraphs and Baseball Reference?

My plan was to trade Vladdy, RT and other pieces to the Padres for Sotto. Sign Rhys Hoskins to play 1b. Put Varsho in CF. Yankees got aggressive and are reaping the rewards...

I hope they trade him for something before he gets to FA.

We luckily miss King this series, correct?

I would.

Yes, there is an IL exception.

I really want the Jays to knock Stroman out after 1/3 of an inning.

Isn’t he still alive and managing the Angels?

Is this trolling and I am naive?

Even Kirk is over the damn Gatorade baths. The terp is too.

The issue is consistency. Good game on both sides. Then a bad game to include base running errors, followed by a good game, then a bad game….. No consistency with Vlad and no team consistency.

He is just saying what the majority of us were thinking.

Around here we say the Forum is Connor today

Kirk is 5th in throwing out runners and first in pitch framing. I will give him pitch framing. I think the throwing is a SSS. As far as pop time and blocking, he is waayy back in the pack. I don’t believe Kirk has a sustainable body type to be a day to day starter. It will only get tougher as the season goes on and as Kirk ages.

Eighth inning, home opener in what was a 3 run game and the TD seats are half empty. I don't believe in going to a ball game and leaving early...

Yea, the Score BET one looks fine. The Rogers orange banner with the TD lime green looks like a cross between a Loblaws and Marlins Park... Fugly..... On a similar note, the TD patches on the uniforms look so bad, that light green with the blue. A dark green would be better. I noticed the Yankees had adds on their uniforms also, but black to match the pin stripes.