Frayed Knot

I always assume that people using a first initial as the beginning of their name are connected to Watergate.

I like his P/3B designation in BB-Ref Perhaps we could use him in multiple roles and ... oh wait, MLB rules now forbid that kind of stuff unless your name is Ohtani.

Lefty Specialist wrote: We got tickets to both games. Going with the missus and Lefty Jr. We're in [CROSSOUT]center[/CROSSOUT] centre field so I don't know what kind of a view it'll be, Fixed it for you.

So that's Gray in home whites.

=metirish post_id=141528 time=1700612480 user_id=72] I would love to have seen him pitch

He would sometimes use leg kicks MUCH higher than that one.

Still only 30 y/o (31 in June ... I would have guessed a year or two older) so not an unreasonable deal.

I'm not saying it's either a bad or a good hire. I never heard of the guy until this very thread and I doubt you have either. What I'm arguing against is the idea of writing him off as a failure based on a momentary snapshot in time ranking as if the purpose of drafting/development is to land high on a list as opposed to contributing to the success of the ML club. It may also be worth considering that, following a string of 90 to 107 win seasons, that just maybe he hasn't been working with the highest of draft picks during his tenure.

Mr. Conlon, I presume. Seven of mine were Mets Nomo - Sheffield - Piazza Gardenhire - Snider - Mays George Bell - McGriff - Robbie Alomar

Prospect rankings are merely a snapshot in time. The purpose of a farm system is to feed the ML team (through development, call-ups, or trades) so I'd put a bit more emphasis on seven straight trips to the ALCS including two WS wins than I would on one particular post trading deadline list.

I pulled out the Ron Gardenhire (Germany) card for foreign born NYM (0.4%) I don't generally pay much attention to Career WAR stats so didn't have a good mental handle on them which made me reluctant to go too obscure with my guesses in that column. Turns out that 40 is a lower bar than I feared it might be and the likes of Brett Butler or Tony Phillips would satisfied the NYM square and I could have been more daring than choosing Piazza, Mays, and Robbie Alomar.

A week or so ago the Phils announced that Bryce Harper will be their full-time 1st baseman going forward with no intent to use him in the OF at all. Age 31 is a bit earlier than you'd like to move your long term FA commitment to the end of the defensive spectrum but I guess TJ surgery sometimes makes that decision for you. What this move also does is cements the fact that the knee injury suffered by Rhys Hoskins during ST (if only he were in the WBC where he'd be safe) effectively ended his Philly career. He's a FA anyway and while Philly hasn't officially closed the door on him they did make a point of talking to him about the Harper move and, with Schwarber anchored in the DH slot, there's nowhere else for him on the team.

So with the attention on the big name FAs at this time of year, the Braves quietly dealt five players to the ChiSox for lefty reliever Aaron Bummer. Not a huge move but one kind of typical of them to go under-the-radar while everyone else is gawking at Yamamoto, Ohtani, Snell, etc. Plus, let's face it, when you're coming off a year where five of your starting nine wind up in the top 20 MVP slots including #s 1, 4, and 7, you probably don't need to do a lot except tinker around the edges (plus maybe figure out how to beat the Phils in October). Bummer [insert name jokes here], 30, is coming off a rough year but had several good ones before that. He Ks a lot but BBs a lot too. iow, he's a lefty reliever but one near his prime with a contract for '24 and club options for '25 & '26 The biggest name going back is Michael Soroka. Their 1st round (28th) pick in 2015 out of HS in Calgary, Alberta debuted in the majors just three years later (surprised they waited that long) and in his true rookie season in '19 he was #2 ROY (just behind Pete and ahead of Tatis) and 6th in CY (because of course he was). But then during his third start of the shortened 2020 season he tore his achilles tendon at CitiField. He then re-tore it during rehab and missed not just the rest of '20 but all of '21 and '22. He had a few decent games in '23 but some clunkers as well and wound up throwing just 32 innings for a total of 46 ML IP over the last four years since his lone full season in 2019. Tough call to give up on a guy with talent who just turned 26 but I guess they didn't like what they saw last year and weren't willing to wait him out any longer.

From what I heard (secret sources) your wife's testimony was the reason they released him.

Not sure if that gaffe came from auto-correct or from my NY-born fingers.

NL CY Votes: Snell (SDP) - 28 1st place votes Logan Webb (SFG) - 1 1st place Zac Gallen (ARZ) 1 Spencer strider (ATL) Justin Steele (CHC) Zack Wheeler (PHI) Senga three 3rd place votes and three 4ths Corbin Burnes (MIL)

Both were unanimous, the first time ever in MVP voting that it occurred in both leagues in the same season. NL: Acuna, Bettts, Freeman, Olson (so that's ATL, LAD, LAD, ATL for those scoring at home), Carroll (RoY), Soto, Austin Riley, Luis Arraez, Lindor, Bellinger, William Contreras, Harper, Snell (CY), Tatis, H.S. Kim, Albies, Logan Webb, Pete (1 8th place vote) ... a few others AL: Ohtani, [CROSSOUT]Seaver[/CROSSOUT], Seager, Semien, Julio Rodriguez, Tucker, Yandy Diaz, Witt Jr, Henderson (RoY), Jose Ramirez, Cole (CY), Luis Robert, Yordan Alvarez, Adolis Garcia Judge, Bichette, etc

CHEERS TO MR. PETERSON is a decent inside joke ... at least to those of a certain age.

Murphy was Counsell's college coach at Notre Dame ... so, given the power of college coaches over scholarship athletes, maybe he did snap him a couple times.

Edgy MD wrote: Is this the Pat Murphy that interim managed the Pads in a few years back? Yup

And I still don't get it ... but that's OK.

Lefty Specialist wrote: I'd just as soon wait the year and let our prospects mature. Trading for Soto would be an 'all in for 2024' move, and they've discouraged that kind of talk. Can't just get Soto, they'd need to overhaul the rotation and bullpen too. This is pretty much where I'm at as well. I mean, sure if the Padres are making him available you check it out. But are they trading prospects for perceived short-term fixes (Pete Crow-Armstrong) or are they dumping aging veterans and paying the bulk of the freight so as to get the highest caliber prospect? Or, worse yet, are they lurching between one extreme and the other depending on which way the wind is blowing that day and whether Uncle Stevie saw a shiny new bauble he just couldn't resist even if it winds up being a case of acquiring a square peg for a round hole? Not to go all Ambler on y'all, but even if they don't want to SHOW US THE PLAN!!!! I'm just hoping they actually have one they believe in and are willing to commit to. The alternative is to risk becoming just a richer version of the Wilpons who were forever chasing the last trend, however half-heartedly, before switching gears to get at the end of the line for the next newest fad.

"This is Fine" is funny if you know the meme! I don't.

In addition to be generally being lousy at this game, I also do more than my share of batching it up by slotting the right names into wrong places.

I wanted to use Bobby Thompson (Scotland) as a foreign born player but I wasn't sure if he was ever an All-Star (he was 3x) Forget what my 'Rarity' score was but each player on my grid today was at 8% or under.