Centerfield

Saw this floating around. https://preview.redd.it/from-the-last-10-years-these-are-the-of-each-mlb-teams-v0-72euu6rhambb1.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=5d4d0575c3e3e75aa4a68dd0bd66e37f3696ab35> I don't know how long Gross has been running the show, but if he's had the reigns for a while, it suggests he's done a good job.

In a separate trade, they sent Kyle Wright and Nick Anderson to the Royals for Jackson Kowar. Kowar is 27 years old and pitched to a 6+ ERA this past year and had a WHIP of 1.929. But like Bummer, that's not really indicative of his larger body of work. In parts of 3 big league seasons, he has an ERA of 9.12 with a WHIP above 2. So naturally, he'll win the Cy Young in 2024. The trades are maybe a bit puzzling, but make sense if you consider them a salary/roster space dump. Some Braves writers see this as a precursor to bigger moves. With the complete haul Atlanta sent to Chicago, the Braves now have 37 players on their 40-man roster. In addition, about $3.5 million was taken off of Atlanta's payroll. This creates the opportunity for Alex Anthopoulos to raid the free agent market with a little more money. AA made it clear that the plan was for Atlanta's payroll to increase in 2024. The assumption could very well be made that this move puts the Braves in prime position to sign a big-name free agent and spend some cash. Rumors of Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, and even Shohei Ohtani may be more in reach than most expected. https://housethathankbuilt.com/posts/6-reasons-the-braves-won-their-surprising-trade-with-the-white-sox-01hfewnf60mwhttps://housethathankbuilt.com/posts/6-reasons-the-braves-won-their-surprising-trade-with-the-white-sox-01hfewnf60mw This makes sense to me because now that they have made this move the Braves will only need about $546.5M more to be in play for Ohtani.

Lol, the Matt Harvey girlfriend cover.

I wonder if the Mets performance overall hurt Lindor and Pete. Lindor was a GG shortstop who hit 30 bombs. Pete hit 46 HRs. You'd think that he'd be a bit higher.

Yeah, even after the TJ surgery, his return was delayed due to an oblique injury, and then later with back spasms. He did return to pitch at the end of the season. The key is whether you think the injury history is likely to recur. You figure with TJ in the rear view mirror, his elbow should be good for 2024 at least. Though you never know I guess. I'd be in favor of the move. If it blows up, the commitment is one year. And there's that saying about no such thing as a bad one-year contract. Again, this is assuming the prospect capital isn't that high.

Will make $25M this year, which is like three years of payroll for Tampa Bay. The internet speculation is that it wouldn't take too much to get him.

Vic!!! What year is this?

Oops. Sorry. rMPL. Please feel free to merge/delete.

Buster Olney says 100% the Padres move him this winter. What say yous? Want him? Wait to sign him as a free agent? I'd send over any of the kids besides Jett, Gilbert, Alvarez. So if they want Acuna or Mauricio, I pull the trigger.

It seems like there's room for more parking if they're inclined to add it. You'd have to walk a little more. I'm surprised there's no interest in developing the waterfront space. Seems like a huge waste.

It's hard to believe these were this year. These photos seem like a lifetime ago.

And if you combine our ideas, when the 15 game round robin kicks off, the winner of the Supporter's Shield stays home the entire time. Atlanta, Baltimore. Congratulations. You get 15 home games starting October 1. Higher seed plays at home. 6 seed. Kiss your wife and kids goodbye. You won't see them for a while. 1 vs. 6 2 vs. 5 3 vs. 4 1 vs. 5 2 vs. 4 3 vs. 6 OFF DAY 1 vs. 4 2 vs. 3 5 vs. 6 1 vs. 3 2 vs. 6 4 vs. 5 OFF DAY 1 vs. 2 3 vs. 5 4 vs. 6 OFF DAY (or, in the event of a tie after pool play, a 1 game playoff for the right to play in the WS) World Series

But what if you hate that dude. And now you have to talk to him all the time cuz he's the only one that speaks your language. "Hey CF. Good news. The Yokohama Baystars will pay you $50 million per year, even though your 48 years old and not good at baseball" Wait, for real? "Yes. You'll be teammates with Frank from accounting..." The Qanon guy? "He gave me this MAGA hat for you. Says he's looking forward to being your roommate on road trips. Two queens or share a king?"

I wasn't expecting to want to see Max Scherzer get lit up, but when I tuned in, I found myself rooting for the Astros. And I certainly don't have any independent love for the Astros. I think it's safe to say that Max Scherzer just doesn't have it anymore. His stuff seems ok to the untrained eye, but whatever made him special appears to be gone. He's a gamer, so I think he can have stretches where he deceives hitters and keeps them off balance, but I think that the dominant ace we knew before is history. In the end, I think the Mets made the right call by letting an injured deGrom walk and unloading an over-the-hill Scherzer. Which is why it makes total sense that the Mets finished below .500 and the Rangers are up 2-1 in the ALCS.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Gilbert seems like Lenny Dykstra, but hopefully only in the good ways. Of the players the Mets acquired during the Big Selloff, I think he's the one I have the most optimism about. I agree with this. Acuna is a somewhat distant second with a chance to be good, but more holes in his swing. I doubt that any of the others will make any sort of significant impact. But who knows.

Jeff McNeil after the All-Star Break: .291 Avg .775 OPS 7 HR (versus 3 before the break) Nothing earth shattering there, but much closer to the production we've seen. He was just awful in May/June/July. I was wondering if we'd hear something about him playing through injury.

I heard Spencer Strider's post game interview. No excuses. Owned it. Vowed to be better next year. WHAT A DICKHEAD.

Braves are clearly cheating.

Was just wondering about this. Love this time of year.

The softer schedule may play into the better numbers here. I'd have a hard time feeling comfortable with Megill - Peterson - Lucchesi - Butto being anything but starters 6-9 next year.

https://twitter.com/kateefeldman/status/1708542460824010901 Goodnight I thought I had heard he famously never threw players under the bus in his press conferences. Her X feed is full of odd "hot takes." Wow. With all the dumb stuff said on Twitter, it's hard to have an astonishingly bad take these days. Somehow she managed.

=G-Fafif post_id=138717 time=1696290833 user_id=55] Angels won't be bringing back Phil Nevin as manager, making it four clubs (Mets, Giants, Guardians) on the lookout for skippers.

Absolutely. Soto's a stud. Alvarez is the only guy I'd hesitate to give up. No problem giving up Vientos, Baty or Mauricio. It will likely take a lot more than that. I haven't seen any of the guys we just got play. But from what I read only Gilbert or Acuna have a chance to be stars, and no one realistically thinks they'll be as good as Soto.

I think there are lots of reasons the 2023 Mets were a mess, and I get pretty far down the list before I reach Buck. And even then it's a maybe. Just speculation. Give him a team with actual pitching and let's see how he does.

Gotta give some props to Jose Butto for doing a nice job as a fill in. A high-ish WHIP suggests that he might be getting a bit lucky, but I think he's worked himself into consideration as a 6-7ish starter/long relief role.