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MLB 2018: let the games begin!


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Does Ian Kinsler have anything left?  I guess if he knocks a few mistakes over the Monster but two top 25 prospects seems like an over-pay.  

And I was surprised the Yankees sent Warren away. He'd definitely have been a target for strengthening the Sox bullpen if he was on another team that were selling at the deadline.

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He doesn't have much left,  having watched some Angels games this year.  My son is an Angels fan and wasn't sorry to see him go. If they needed a 2B, why didn't they make a move on Cabrera before the Mets traded him to the Phillies. 

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The need at 2B became more acute when the 3B went down with another injury, spreading thinner the two super-subs who have been handling second base in Pedroia's season-long absence. 

Last 30 games Kinsler has hit .282 and OPS'd .750; both are substantial upgrades over what the other two guys have done all season. No one expects Kinsler to be anything like what he was but if he maintains that level of production I'll take it.  The more the other two play the more they get exposed as guys who should play 3-4 times a week not every day.

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23 hours ago, Aggie87 said:

This caught me by surprise - I"m happy that Ken Giles is no longer on this team.  That's addition by subtraction, I think.  Hopefully a change of scenery helps Giles regain his stuff.  He's been lost in his own head for a year now.

Osuna still has the remainder of his 75 game suspension I think though - or is that effectively over now?  

As an Astros fan I like his talent on paper, but I'm apprehensive about adding him to this roster, based on the domestic violence charge.  Admittedly I haven't read enough about him to have a strong opinion there right now. 

 

Local media reaction, as well as social media reaction, has been very negative so far, and when Verlander was asked about the trade in an interview yesterday, he said all the things you'd expect a team player to say, but he was clearly pissed off. He and McCullers have been very outspoken in having zero tolerance for domestic violence.

The Astros' front office isn't stupid, and they had to have known this would not be well-received by many people, but they claim that an "unprecedented" amount of due diligence was done prior to making the decision to pull the trigger on the deal. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt until proven wrong, but team chemistry being as important as it is, you have to wonder how Osuna's presence will affect the atmosphere in what has been a pretty loose and close-knit clubhouse. 

My understanding is that Osuna was charged with simple assault, which in Canada means no weapon was involved and the other party was not physically injured, but I also haven't read enough about the case to consider myself especially well-informed. Unfortunately, domestic abuse is one of those things like pedophilia in that just being accused of it, regardless of the merits (or lack thereof) of the accusation, usually results in significant negative consequences for those accused. I saw plenty of tweets yesterday from Blue Jays fans who were just as glad to see Osuna gone as many Astros fans were to see Giles gone (obviously for different reasons). 

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1 hour ago, Dave Garrett said:

The Astros' front office isn't stupid, and they had to have known this would not be well-received by many people, but they claim that an "unprecedented" amount of due diligence was done prior to making the decision to pull the trigger on the deal. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt ..

Hope that works out for ya', that whole giving the FO the benefit of the doubt thing...

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Is it me or are the Yankees treating this chance to get within 4.5 games like its getaway day before a West Coast road trip?  Of course I've probably jinxed the Orioles now but watching on MLB's animation page that is the impression I am getting.

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Well that game went south in a hurry for the Yanks.  Wee bit of pressure on Severino to pitch like he was pitching before the 4th of July.  Probably still too early but 3 out of 4 might put a real hurtin' on the Yankees chances to catch up. (I'm assuming Sunday is a lost cause with Price on the mound)

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Tremendous game between the Astros and Dodgers last night, in a WS rematch with the teams seeing each other for the first time since last fall. Verlander was absolutely dominant, giving up only one solo HR and tying a career-high 14 strikeouts before Rondon came on in the eighth inning and completed a four-out save.

This one could easily have gone the other way - Pederson was the last batter Verlander faced, and after having homered off him earlier got ahead in the count 3-0. What would have been a second homer went foul, and Verlander recovered to strike him out on a filthy curveball. 

Final score 2-1 Astros, coming one night after the Dodgers hung an eye-popping *21* runs on the Brewers. 

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Complete game shutout for Corey Kluber against the Troutless Angels. 3H, 1BB, 7K, only 98 pitches. After a couple of bad starts, the methodical Klubot appears to have been rebooted. Leonys Martin has already exceeded expectations (HR in each of first 2 games in CLE). And fans finally getting to Progressive Field.

I believe it was a massive overpay to send their best prospect (#5 league-wide) who is a catcher for bullpen help, but they need help there and the current guys likely sign elsewhere in offseason.

Hopefully rotation stays healthy and effective and they get enough support from guys not named Lindor/Ramirez/Brantley to scare a few folks (...who do not reside in the AL Central).

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18 minutes ago, Patrick said:

Hopefully rotation stays healthy and effective and they get enough support from guys not named Lindor/Ramirez/Brantley to scare a few folks (...who do not reside in the AL Central).

I have a terrible fear that a remarkable Red Sox season could come to nothing in a potential first round against Cleveland.  Tito will have plenty of time to set up his rotation for Kluber to go twice.  And I just reminded myself how bad Sale is against Cleveland. In almost a full season worth of starts, Cleveland has collectively OPS'd .763 against him.  I bitched about this a year ago, that they traded for a guy who has never had decent results against a team highly likely to join them in the postseason.

I was hearing yesterday they think Eovaldi was picked up for an ultimate bullpen upgrade in October. That's ridiculous.  The value of a lights-out starter is too great.  I'd rather see Price go to the bullpen and see what Sale, Porcello, Eovaldi and Rodriguez can do.  Taking Price out balances the rotation nicely too.

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21 minutes ago, Brad said:

There's still almost two months to go but the Red Sox have the best record in the AL. If that continues, they would play the WC winner; they wouldn't play Cleveland. 

I don't trust Houston not to overtake them. 

(I am however beginning to trust that they can keep ahead of the Yankees - or get far enough head that they can hold them off when they are healthy again.)

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1 hour ago, Dan Gould said:

Not that my Yankee fan friends want to hear from me but now I hear that Judge may not be on target for an August return? Still has pain, no firm plans to resume swinging the bat.

https://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2018/08/why_it_looks_like_yankees_aaron_judge_timetable_wa.html

Yes--I always thought the three-week-return timetable was overly optimistic.  I wouldn't be surprised if he's not back in the lineup until September, and then there'll be the inevitable rust to shake off.  After this latest debacle (congrats, if there was any doubt remaining, Boston is clearly the superior team and will win the division), NY had better focus on at least obtaining homefield advantage for the WC game.  Hell, they'd better focus on making sure they GET into the WC game, which isn't a given anymore.  Huge issues with this team, including mediocre performance on the road in general (they were 40-42 last season and are now 30-26 so far this year, which doesn't bode well for not having homefield advantage at any point in the playoffs if they make it out of a WC game--and last year they were 1-6 on the road in the postseason), Severino's recent struggles (fatigue?  who knows?), Andujar's erratic defense (Torres' too)--and who knows how Sanchez will perform once he's back, given his less-than-stellar season to date. Plus way too much sloppy and dispirited play in general. It ain't pretty.  

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Well now the Yankees are doomed.

Ellsbury's rehab is over with labrum surgery on his hip.  No September call up and reprise of 2007 when he was a young 'un who could, you know, play a little. :g

Damon leaving for NY annoyed me. Ellsbury leaving is just the gift that keeps on giving. Two more years and about $42 million dollars left.

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1 hour ago, Brad said:

He’s probably insured so Yankees are probably not losing that much.  Sorry to burst your bubble :D

They only get money from insurance if he is forced to retire due to his injuries. No one insures against suckiness.  They paid him $21 million or so this year to hang out in Tampa and I bet they'd like to just wash their hands and pay him the rest just to be rid of him.

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Hmmm...24 if you're the home team and don't have to pitch in the bottom of the ninth.  If you do, 27 but then it would be a 10 inning game your team would have to win in the top of the tenth...

How's that for a guess?

(NO:  27 and 30, not 24 and 27.  I'm on my second beer...maybe fourth.  Not third, I think.)

Edited by Ted O'Reilly
Math correction. THIRD beer for sure.
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