2015 Baseball season/Off Season Discussion

[pilferk]

And..there it is: yanks going with a 6 man, as nova pitches wednesday.

[TheBaconman]

Big series for the Jays against Tampa.   Either they win and have a good chance to be in first.  Or they loose, why they always do, and have a good chance of being in last

[faldor]

Big series for the Jays against Tampa.   Either they win and have a good chance to be in first.  Or they loose, why they always do, and have a good chance of being in last

I don't know about falling to last place. They have quite a ways to catch the Sox. Good start with a win last night. The top 4 teams in the AL East are in a tight race right now. Of course, there's s long way to go and I expect all 4 teams to alternate from 1st to 4th the rest of the way.

Red Sox have last pretty much wrapped up though, unless something strange happens. They're still a bad baseball team. taking 2 out of 3 in KC is nice, but they've shown no ability to carry over any momentum this season.

[TheBaconman]

Big series for the Jays against Tampa.   Either they win and have a good chance to be in first.  Or they loose, why they always do, and have a good chance of being in last

I don't know about falling to last place. They have quite a ways to catch the Sox. Good start with a win last night. The top 4 teams in the AL East are in a tight race right now. Of course, there's s long way to go and I expect all 4 teams to alternate from 1st to 4th the rest of the way.

Red Sox have last pretty much wrapped up though, unless something strange happens. They're still a bad baseball team. taking 2 out of 3 in KC is nice, but they've shown no ability to carry over any momentum this season.

Agreed the soc have last place so locked up, we cant really refer to it as last place.   True last place is now second last. 

I cant wait for John Farrel to get fired.  Traitor!!!!!

[faldor]

Big series for the Jays against Tampa.   Either they win and have a good chance to be in first.  Or they loose, why they always do, and have a good chance of being in last

I don't know about falling to last place. They have quite a ways to catch the Sox. Good start with a win last night. The top 4 teams in the AL East are in a tight race right now. Of course, there's s long way to go and I expect all 4 teams to alternate from 1st to 4th the rest of the way.

Red Sox have last pretty much wrapped up though, unless something strange happens. They're still a bad baseball team. taking 2 out of 3 in KC is nice, but they've shown no ability to carry over any momentum this season.

Agreed the soc have last place so locked up, we cant really refer to it as last place.   True last place is now second last. 

I cant wait for John Farrel to get fired.  Traitor!!!!!

That time will probably come soon. 2 straight last place finishes outweigh one World Series championship in my mind. I know it's common to criticize the manager, but he does make some odd moves. And obviously not many of them have worked the last few seasons. The inmates seem to run the asylum with him in charge, which is odd since he was viewed as this strict disciplinarian when he was pitching coach. That being said, the roster is severely flawed, and I'm not sure any manager could make a significant difference. But sooner than later, it'll be time to find out. The Sox next 9 games are against AL East teams, so that's good news for the O's, Rays, and Jays. The Yankees have to wait a few more weeks to get a crack at them.

[TheBaconman]

Big series for the Jays against Tampa.   Either they win and have a good chance to be in first.  Or they loose, why they always do, and have a good chance of being in last

I don't know about falling to last place. They have quite a ways to catch the Sox. Good start with a win last night. The top 4 teams in the AL East are in a tight race right now. Of course, there's s long way to go and I expect all 4 teams to alternate from 1st to 4th the rest of the way.

Red Sox have last pretty much wrapped up though, unless something strange happens. They're still a bad baseball team. taking 2 out of 3 in KC is nice, but they've shown no ability to carry over any momentum this season.

Agreed the soc have last place so locked up, we cant really refer to it as last place.   True last place is now second last. 

I cant wait for John Farrel to get fired.  Traitor!!!!!

That time will probably come soon. 2 straight last place finishes outweigh one World Series championship in my mind. I know it's common to criticize the manager, but he does make some odd moves. And obviously not many of them have worked the last few seasons. The inmates seem to run the asylum with him in charge, which is odd since he was viewed as this strict disciplinarian when he was pitching coach. That being said, the roster is severely flawed, and I'm not sure any manager could make a significant difference. But sooner than later, it'll be time to find out. The Sox next 9 games are against AL East teams, so that's good news for the O's, Rays, and Jays. The Yankees have to wait a few more weeks to get a crack at them.

John Farrell said in a interview he thought the Sox minor league system was much better than the jays.  Because the jays focused way to much on scouting while the Sox focused on developing draft picks

How is that working out for them now??

The jays have made some of the best off season trades around.   And a couple more to bring in some young players

John Farrell was our manager under contract and asked to leave to go to th Sox.   I will literally spit at him if I ever see him

Good news.  Jays looked very very good today

[JAEBALL]

Big series for the Jays against Tampa.   Either they win and have a good chance to be in first.  Or they loose, why they always do, and have a good chance of being in last

I don't know about falling to last place. They have quite a ways to catch the Sox. Good start with a win last night. The top 4 teams in the AL East are in a tight race right now. Of course, there's s long way to go and I expect all 4 teams to alternate from 1st to 4th the rest of the way.

Red Sox have last pretty much wrapped up though, unless something strange happens. They're still a bad baseball team. taking 2 out of 3 in KC is nice, but they've shown no ability to carry over any momentum this season.

Agreed the soc have last place so locked up, we cant really refer to it as last place.   True last place is now second last. 

I cant wait for John Farrel to get fired.  Traitor!!!!!

That time will probably come soon. 2 straight last place finishes outweigh one World Series championship in my mind. I know it's common to criticize the manager, but he does make some odd moves. And obviously not many of them have worked the last few seasons. The inmates seem to run the asylum with him in charge, which is odd since he was viewed as this strict disciplinarian when he was pitching coach. That being said, the roster is severely flawed, and I'm not sure any manager could make a significant difference. But sooner than later, it'll be time to find out. The Sox next 9 games are against AL East teams, so that's good news for the O's, Rays, and Jays. The Yankees have to wait a few more weeks to get a crack at them.

John Farrell said in a interview he thought the Sox minor league system was much better than the jays.  Because the jays focused way to much on scouting while the Sox focused on developing draft picks

How is that working out for them now??

The jays have made some of the best off season trades around.   And a couple more to bring in some young players

John Farrell was our manager under contract and asked to leave to go to th Sox.   I will literally spit at him if I ever see him

Good news.  Jays looked very very good today

I think it worked out for Farrell in winning his world series ring. However I don't see the "nation" tolerating much more of this.

[faldor]

Big series for the Jays against Tampa.   Either they win and have a good chance to be in first.  Or they loose, why they always do, and have a good chance of being in last

I don't know about falling to last place. They have quite a ways to catch the Sox. Good start with a win last night. The top 4 teams in the AL East are in a tight race right now. Of course, there's s long way to go and I expect all 4 teams to alternate from 1st to 4th the rest of the way.

Red Sox have last pretty much wrapped up though, unless something strange happens. They're still a bad baseball team. taking 2 out of 3 in KC is nice, but they've shown no ability to carry over any momentum this season.

Agreed the soc have last place so locked up, we cant really refer to it as last place.   True last place is now second last. 

I cant wait for John Farrel to get fired.  Traitor!!!!!

That time will probably come soon. 2 straight last place finishes outweigh one World Series championship in my mind. I know it's common to criticize the manager, but he does make some odd moves. And obviously not many of them have worked the last few seasons. The inmates seem to run the asylum with him in charge, which is odd since he was viewed as this strict disciplinarian when he was pitching coach. That being said, the roster is severely flawed, and I'm not sure any manager could make a significant difference. But sooner than later, it'll be time to find out. The Sox next 9 games are against AL East teams, so that's good news for the O's, Rays, and Jays. The Yankees have to wait a few more weeks to get a crack at them.

John Farrell said in a interview he thought the Sox minor league system was much better than the jays.  Because the jays focused way to much on scouting while the Sox focused on developing draft picks

How is that working out for them now??

The jays have made some of the best off season trades around.   And a couple more to bring in some young players

John Farrell was our manager under contract and asked to leave to go to th Sox.   I will literally spit at him if I ever see him

Good news.  Jays looked very very good today

I think it worked out for Farrell in winning his world series ring. However I don't see the "nation" tolerating much more of this.

The Red Sox do have a top 5 minor league system according to the "experts". It hasn't really translated to this point and many of the "can't miss" prospects have "missed" thus far. But Bogaerts, Betts, and Rodriguez look like really nice pieces to build with. They should be set all C with Swihart and/or Vazquez. Brian Johnson is another lefty pitcher who is having a great season in AAA. JBJ is also having a solid season but hasn't gotten a fair shot in the majors this season. He's a gold glove caliber CF though, so I'm not sure what they're waiting for. Rusney Castillo has struggled and was just sent down, so it remains to be seen with him. Their problem is they seem to change philosophies every year. Don't spend money on free agents, go nuts in free agency, don't sign pitchers over 30. Farrell doesn't have anything to do with that, so it's hard to say he's the problem. But it would appear he's not the solution either.

Oh and to add to the mess, both Hanley and Pedroia left the game with injuries last night. Hanley got hit by a batted ball running to 2nd. He watched the ball the whole way, yet still got hit. Typical Hanley. Wrist injuries can be tricky for hitters, so Hanley could have some issues swinging the bat going forward. And Dustin pulled up lame with hamstring issues. That's usually not good, and he's been real solid this year. Not that any loss is huge this year because they're not going anywhere. But it certainly won't help things.

[TheBaconman]

Jays win again

Test will be tomorrow when they start some unknown bum.   It's called a trade boys!!

[TheBaconman]

Nice to see the rally to get Josh Donaldson in the all star game is working.   And he now leads by over a million votes.   

[Falcon]

Had a chance to watch Chris Sale against the Cards tonight, that dude is pure filth - I have no idea how a lefty ever gets a hit off him.

Thought the Cards would take care of biz once they tied it up but lost it in extras, only their 2nd loss at home in June and 8th home loss overall this season - that's nuts.

Can't say I saw 26 games over .500 and an 8 game lead in the division (especially with all the injuries) going into July but I'll take it.

So far, so good but a long way to go.

[faldor]

Had a chance to watch Chris Sale against the Cards tonight, that dude is pure filth - I have no idea how a lefty ever gets a hit off him.

Thought the Cards would take care of biz once they tied it up but lost it in extras, only their 2nd loss at home in June and 8th home loss overall this season - that's nuts.

Can't say I saw 26 games over .500 and an 8 game lead in the division (especially with all the injuries) going into July but I'll take it.

So far, so good but a long way to go.

Yeah, I don't know how they're doing it. Must be all that computer hacking. 

[pilferk]

Had a chance to watch Chris Sale against the Cards tonight, that dude is pure filth - I have no idea how a lefty ever gets a hit off him.

Thought the Cards would take care of biz once they tied it up but lost it in extras, only their 2nd loss at home in June and 8th home loss overall this season - that's nuts.

Can't say I saw 26 games over .500 and an 8 game lead in the division (especially with all the injuries) going into July but I'll take it.

So far, so good but a long way to go.

I mean, honestly....if someone had told you that the BEST thing the Cards would do would be to let Pujols leave...that they'd be a better team, and have more success, basically BECAUSE of that...you woulda prolly told that person they were nuts.

[Falcon]

Had a chance to watch Chris Sale against the Cards tonight, that dude is pure filth - I have no idea how a lefty ever gets a hit off him.

Thought the Cards would take care of biz once they tied it up but lost it in extras, only their 2nd loss at home in June and 8th home loss overall this season - that's nuts.

Can't say I saw 26 games over .500 and an 8 game lead in the division (especially with all the injuries) going into July but I'll take it.

So far, so good but a long way to go.

Yeah, I don't know how they're doing it. Must be all that computer hacking. 

Yep, that's it.

It's been pitching and defense for the most part - they're not exactly rewriting the record books offensively.

Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez have stepped up in the rotation, Martinez might have the best RH stuff in the NL.

The bullpen has been outstanding, Siegrest is back to his '13 form and Rosenthal has been lights out at the end.

[Falcon]

Had a chance to watch Chris Sale against the Cards tonight, that dude is pure filth - I have no idea how a lefty ever gets a hit off him.

Thought the Cards would take care of biz once they tied it up but lost it in extras, only their 2nd loss at home in June and 8th home loss overall this season - that's nuts.

Can't say I saw 26 games over .500 and an 8 game lead in the division (especially with all the injuries) going into July but I'll take it.

So far, so good but a long way to go.

I mean, honestly....if someone had told you that the BEST thing the Cards would do would be to let Pujols leave...that they'd be a better team, and have more success, basically BECAUSE of that...you woulda prolly told that person they were nuts.

Letting Albert walk was a gamble, who knows how they'd been if he stayed.

They could've given him the $ he wanted and been fine, they're the most profitable franchise in baseball and literally have money to burn as it is and a new TV contract on the horizon in '17 that will be valued at well over a billion bones.

Beyond the above.

I'm not sure if they're built well for post season, deep runs are expected so anything but another WS title will be an organizational disappointment.

[faldor]

Had a chance to watch Chris Sale against the Cards tonight, that dude is pure filth - I have no idea how a lefty ever gets a hit off him.

Thought the Cards would take care of biz once they tied it up but lost it in extras, only their 2nd loss at home in June and 8th home loss overall this season - that's nuts.

Can't say I saw 26 games over .500 and an 8 game lead in the division (especially with all the injuries) going into July but I'll take it.

So far, so good but a long way to go.

I mean, honestly....if someone had told you that the BEST thing the Cards would do would be to let Pujols leave...that they'd be a better team, and have more success, basically BECAUSE of that...you woulda prolly told that person they were nuts.

Letting Albert walk was a gamble, who knows how they'd been if he stayed.

They could've given him the $ he wanted and been fine, they're the most profitable franchise in baseball and literally have money to burn as it is and a new TV contract on the horizon in '17 that will be valued at well over a billion bones.

Beyond the above.

I'm not sure if they're built well for post season, deep runs are expected so anything but another WS title will be an organizational disappointment.

They've been the most consistent team by far all season so far. But I still wouldn't consider them a juggernaut. I don't recall a year with so much parity and a lack of really good teams. I think the team that gets hot at the right time (October) will win it all. And the list of teams with that potential is quite lengthy.

[Falcon]

They've been the most consistent team by far all season so far. But I still wouldn't consider them a juggernaut. I don't recall a year with so much parity and a lack of really good teams. I think the team that gets hot at the right time (October) will win it all. And the list of teams with that potential is quite lengthy.

I agree with all the above, consistent for sure but that's as far as it goes.

Post season baseball has become no more than tournament baseball, the wild card(s) have watered down the pool and allowed teams to sneak in via MLB's orchestrated drama.

Multiple days off between games, let alone series have enabled teams to get through with a hot starter (or 2) and rely on loaded bullpens to cover the rest of the innings.

[TheBaconman]

The jays new Canada uniforms looked great.   And a great win!!!

[pilferk]

Letting Albert walk was a gamble, who knows how they'd been if he stayed.

They could've given him the $ he wanted and been fine, they're the most profitable franchise in baseball and literally have money to burn as it is and a new TV contract on the horizon in '17 that will be valued at well over a billion bones.

Beyond the above.

I'm not sure if they're built well for post season, deep runs are expected so anything but another WS title will be an organizational disappointment.

But the Albert money they saved was able to improve them in other spots.

AND...Albert hasn't exactly been Albert since joining the Angels.  If everything stays the same, except his uniform, they're paying big bucks for a moderate offensive producer.

I honestly think Albert walking made them BETTER, long term.  Which is scary. 

[Falcon]

Letting Albert walk was a gamble, who knows how they'd been if he stayed.

They could've given him the $ he wanted and been fine, they're the most profitable franchise in baseball and literally have money to burn as it is and a new TV contract on the horizon in '17 that will be valued at well over a billion bones.

Beyond the above.

I'm not sure if they're built well for post season, deep runs are expected so anything but another WS title will be an organizational disappointment.

But the Albert money they saved was able to improve them in other spots.

AND...Albert hasn't exactly been Albert since joining the Angels.  If everything stays the same, except his uniform, they're paying big bucks for a moderate offensive producer.

I honestly think Albert walking made them BETTER, long term.  Which is scary. 

To a degree, yes.

Bottom line is the Cards had plenty of money to resign Albert, retain their core (Molina ,Waino etc ) and spend wherever else they needed to improve the team.  They're ridiculously liquid and could easily support a 200 million dollar payroll if they saw fit.

Considering Albert's inevitable decline it was a smart move, there's no sense paying a guy north of 30 a back loaded 240 over 10 so they made a wise business decision.

They also turned the compensatory pick into Michael Wacha so there's that 

Meanwhile, the Cards have fired Scouting Director Chris Correa for his admitted involvement in the hacking scandal.

Make no mistake, this is a big deal - read more here:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinals-fire-scouting-director/article_b529088f-70c3-51c5-bab2-106afa1d2a12.html