2016 Baseball Season/Off Season Discussion

[faldor]

Osama may be the best closer in the American League east right now. 

Unreal.  He pulled out 100 mph to finish this game

Let's go jays!

Xander should've kept the bat on his shoulder the entire at bat. He was only thrown one strike, another one would have been borderline, but he should've walked to load the bases for Ortiz. Easier said then done though sitting on my couch and not in the box actually facing Osuna. He does have some good stuff. Things did get interesting in the 9th though. Sox have had their problems with Dickey this year. They have their own knuckleballer going today, so maybe that'll cool the Jays bats.

Who knows how it'll work out, but credit to Toronto for taking a shot with Jason Grilli. The Sox are in desperate need of bullpen help, and pitching in general. Who knows how much he has left in the tank, but it's a low risk move worth taking. Guy was a very good closer just a few years ago. Sox may need to make a move fast. Koji and Tazawa seem to be tiring already and it's only June. The bridge to Kimbrel is highly unstable. As bad as their rotation has been, I think the bullpen is more of a concern and easier to address. They need to get something done on that front. It's not a matter of if, but when.

[TheBaconman]

Joey bats is great

2 runs scored on a strikeout passed ball!

All because Bautista never stopped running and new what he was doing.  Great play

I don't think I have ecer seen that before

[faldor]

Joey bats is great

2 runs scored on a strikeout passed ball!

All because Bautista never stopped running and new what he was doing.  Great play

I don't think I have ecer seen that before

Not sure I have either. Heads up for sure. The same can't be said for Steven Wright. He has to cover home there instead of just becoming a spectator. Luckily it didn't matter in the end. Once again he was close to unhittable, but his knuckleball is dancing so much that he can't keep it in the zone so he's walking 4 or 5 guys a game. Then Hanigan can't catch the knuckler so guys end up at 3rd without the benefit of a hit. Once again, it didn't cost them today. But it's frustrating. All in all, he's been such an unexpected surprise for the Sox. A 2.29 ERA from a career minor leaguer 2 months into the season qualifies as such. They've needed it too with Price's early struggles and the poor production from the 5th spot in the rotation. Could've used more than 5 innings today though. Wasn't pretty, but effective.

[TheBaconman]

The sun and shadows created today must not of been fun to have to catch a knuckleball.

Jays will win tomorrow

Because

They are the best!

[faldor]

Talk about things you've never seen. The Yankees catcher (Romine) got hurt warming up Chapman. Had to leave the game, McCann replaced him. Chapman throws so hard he hurts his own catchers.

[tim_m]

Talk about things you've never seen. The Yankees catcher (Romine) got hurt warming up Chapman. Had to leave the game, McCann replaced him. Chapman throws so hard he hurts his own catchers.

What did he hurt?

[faldor]

Talk about things you've never seen. The Yankees catcher (Romine) got hurt warming up Chapman. Had to leave the game, McCann replaced him. Chapman throws so hard he hurts his own catchers.

What did he hurt?

Injured his thumb. He's day to day, but McCann will likely catch tomorrow at the very least.

[tim_m]

Talk about things you've never seen. The Yankees catcher (Romine) got hurt warming up Chapman. Had to leave the game, McCann replaced him. Chapman throws so hard he hurts his own catchers.

What did he hurt?

Injured his thumb. He's day to day, but McCann will likely catch tomorrow at the very least.

Seems plausible given how hard Chapman throws.

[pilferk]

Talk about things you've never seen. The Yankees catcher (Romine) got hurt warming up Chapman. Had to leave the game, McCann replaced him. Chapman throws so hard he hurts his own catchers.

What did he hurt?

Injured his thumb. He's day to day, but McCann will likely catch tomorrow at the very least.

Seems plausible given how hard Chapman throws.

It was super weird. Chapman thre a warmup pitch in the dirt. Romne got caight between, tried to backhand it, and it kicked up on him. Weird thing was...romines thimb was half out the glove on the backhand. Looks like the glove slippd off? Took romine right to the base of the thumb. Freaking hurts when you're playing catch, never mind trying to grab a 98 mph lawn dart.

[TheBaconman]

Damn that green monster is big

Not big enough though baby!

Woohoo Joey bats!

Let's go jays!

[AxlsMainMan]

Lincecum should be making his Angels debut sooner than later.

[faldor]

Damn that green monster is big

Not big enough though baby!

Woohoo Joey bats!

Let's go jays!

I think the Blue Jays will be in first place in short order. They've appeared to put it all together after struggling the first few months. They're hitting now, and they send a quality starter out there every day. That's the major difference between them and the Orioles and Red Sox. Their bullpen is good, but not great. Their biggest weakness in my mind. Osuna is good, but the 2 games he saved over the weekend he very nearly blew. Far from clean. The O's have a very good pen, and power up and down the lineup, but their starters leave a lot to be desired. The Red Sox pitching is bad right now, there's no way around it. Price has been better, but not dominant. Steven Wright has been great. Porcello has been ok, but the other starters haven't proven themselves to this point. Kimbrel has been great, but the rest of their relievers have been inconsistent at best. So it may be a 3 team race over the summer, but I do think the Jays have the best roster by a pretty good margin at this point. We'll see what moves are made to see if that changes.

[TheBaconman]

Damn that green monster is big

Not big enough though baby!

Woohoo Joey bats!

Let's go jays!

I think the Blue Jays will be in first place in short order. They've appeared to put it all together after struggling the first few months. They're hitting now, and they send a quality starter out there every day. That's the major difference between them and the Orioles and Red Sox. Their bullpen is good, but not great. Their biggest weakness in my mind. Osuna is good, but the 2 games he saved over the weekend he very nearly blew. Far from clean. The O's have a very good pen, and power up and down the lineup, but their starters leave a lot to be desired. The Red Sox pitching is bad right now, there's no way around it. Price has been better, but not dominant. Steven Wright has been great. Porcello has been ok, but the other starters haven't proven themselves to this point. Kimbrel has been great, but the rest of their relievers have been inconsistent at best. So it may be a 3 team race over the summer, but I do think the Jays have the best roster by a pretty good margin at this point. We'll see what moves are made to see if that changes.

Yikes tonight was not the jays night. 

Come on to row!

[JAEBALL]

Damn that green monster is big

Not big enough though baby!

Woohoo Joey bats!

Let's go jays!

I think the Blue Jays will be in first place in short order. They've appeared to put it all together after struggling the first few months. They're hitting now, and they send a quality starter out there every day. That's the major difference between them and the Orioles and Red Sox. Their bullpen is good, but not great. Their biggest weakness in my mind. Osuna is good, but the 2 games he saved over the weekend he very nearly blew. Far from clean. The O's have a very good pen, and power up and down the lineup, but their starters leave a lot to be desired. The Red Sox pitching is bad right now, there's no way around it. Price has been better, but not dominant. Steven Wright has been great. Porcello has been ok, but the other starters haven't proven themselves to this point. Kimbrel has been great, but the rest of their relievers have been inconsistent at best. So it may be a 3 team race over the summer, but I do think the Jays have the best roster by a pretty good margin at this point. We'll see what moves are made to see if that changes.

As a fan of the other team in the AL East... the really old/ bad one... so I am not really biased in this discussion...

I think Boston is the best of the bunch... It's probably close... but I trust them more.

Stroman is my least favorite player in baseball right now... just killing me in fantasy...

[faldor]

Damn that green monster is big

Not big enough though baby!

Woohoo Joey bats!

Let's go jays!

I think the Blue Jays will be in first place in short order. They've appeared to put it all together after struggling the first few months. They're hitting now, and they send a quality starter out there every day. That's the major difference between them and the Orioles and Red Sox. Their bullpen is good, but not great. Their biggest weakness in my mind. Osuna is good, but the 2 games he saved over the weekend he very nearly blew. Far from clean. The O's have a very good pen, and power up and down the lineup, but their starters leave a lot to be desired. The Red Sox pitching is bad right now, there's no way around it. Price has been better, but not dominant. Steven Wright has been great. Porcello has been ok, but the other starters haven't proven themselves to this point. Kimbrel has been great, but the rest of their relievers have been inconsistent at best. So it may be a 3 team race over the summer, but I do think the Jays have the best roster by a pretty good margin at this point. We'll see what moves are made to see if that changes.

As a fan of the other team in the AL East... the really old/ bad one... so I am not really biased in this discussion...

I think Boston is the best of the bunch... It's probably close... but I trust them more.

Stroman is my least favorite player in baseball right now... just killing me in fantasy...

They could be. I'm not counting them out, despite their recent rash of injuries and beyond poor pitching. The Red Sox offense is every bit as good as Toronto's, maybe better. But right now Toronto's pitching is better by a good margin. I think both teams need to, and probably will make some moves to improve. We'll see how they shape up at that point. The Yankees are pretty much unbeatable when leading after 6 and hopeless if they're down after 6. For the most part, I do realize the opposite happened the last two games. But their offense leaves a lot to be desired. They got old real fast. It'll be interesting to see if the Yankees turn into sellers this year.

Let's not sleep on Baltimore either. Buck Showalter is a damn good manager. Gets the most out of his players. So even though they're reliant on the HR and have a poor rotation, they should remain in the mix.

[JAEBALL]

Damn that green monster is big

Not big enough though baby!

Woohoo Joey bats!

Let's go jays!

I think the Blue Jays will be in first place in short order. They've appeared to put it all together after struggling the first few months. They're hitting now, and they send a quality starter out there every day. That's the major difference between them and the Orioles and Red Sox. Their bullpen is good, but not great. Their biggest weakness in my mind. Osuna is good, but the 2 games he saved over the weekend he very nearly blew. Far from clean. The O's have a very good pen, and power up and down the lineup, but their starters leave a lot to be desired. The Red Sox pitching is bad right now, there's no way around it. Price has been better, but not dominant. Steven Wright has been great. Porcello has been ok, but the other starters haven't proven themselves to this point. Kimbrel has been great, but the rest of their relievers have been inconsistent at best. So it may be a 3 team race over the summer, but I do think the Jays have the best roster by a pretty good margin at this point. We'll see what moves are made to see if that changes.

As a fan of the other team in the AL East... the really old/ bad one... so I am not really biased in this discussion...

I think Boston is the best of the bunch... It's probably close... but I trust them more.

Stroman is my least favorite player in baseball right now... just killing me in fantasy...

They could be. I'm not counting them out, despite their recent rash of injuries and beyond poor pitching. The Red Sox offense is every bit as good as Toronto's, maybe better. But right now Toronto's pitching is better by a good margin. I think both teams need to, and probably will make some moves to improve. We'll see how they shape up at that point. The Yankees are pretty much unbeatable when leading after 6 and hopeless if they're down after 6. For the most part, I do realize the opposite happened the last two games. But their offense leaves a lot to be desired. They got old real fast. It'll be interesting to see if the Yankees turn into sellers this year.

Let's not sleep on Baltimore either. Buck Showalter is a damn good manager. Gets the most out of his players. So even though they're reliant on the HR and have a poor rotation, they should remain in the mix.

Agreed all around for the most part.

I'd like to see the Yankees move some guys... but it will really sting to see Miller and Chapman go...I'd prefer to keep them for the long haul. Miller has been about as good as a free agent signing as you can get... but they might not be able to pass on what contending teams are willing to give up for him, considering he is signed for 2.5 more years.

I'd love to see them try to move Beltran, Mccann and Gardner (nobody will touch Ellsbury)... a team like the Indians could really use Beltran's stick.

[JAEBALL]

Losing Greg Bird was a killer for the yanks...

[TheBaconman]

Damn that green monster is big

Not big enough though baby!

Woohoo Joey bats!

Let's go jays!

I think the Blue Jays will be in first place in short order. They've appeared to put it all together after struggling the first few months. They're hitting now, and they send a quality starter out there every day. That's the major difference between them and the Orioles and Red Sox. Their bullpen is good, but not great. Their biggest weakness in my mind. Osuna is good, but the 2 games he saved over the weekend he very nearly blew. Far from clean. The O's have a very good pen, and power up and down the lineup, but their starters leave a lot to be desired. The Red Sox pitching is bad right now, there's no way around it. Price has been better, but not dominant. Steven Wright has been great. Porcello has been ok, but the other starters haven't proven themselves to this point. Kimbrel has been great, but the rest of their relievers have been inconsistent at best. So it may be a 3 team race over the summer, but I do think the Jays have the best roster by a pretty good margin at this point. We'll see what moves are made to see if that changes.

As a fan of the other team in the AL East... the really old/ bad one... so I am not really biased in this discussion...

I think Boston is the best of the bunch... It's probably close... but I trust them more.

Stroman is my least favorite player in baseball right now... just killing me in fantasy...

Will the Yankees unload a lot of there great relief pitching this year at the deadline?   What was the point of trading for Chapman?

I think the Jays have beyond the best line up in baseball.

A lot of the hitters are just turning it around actually, statistically and if they come close to there career numbers, the second half for the Jays will be fantastic

Plus

Once the deadline comes and goes and the Jays, pick up some speed, another first baseman and some relief pitching

Plus

Start playing all these teams that

1)  Have dumped all there talent cause they are out of it (New York)
2)  Players statistics come down to career numbers, as they are super hot now (Boston's hitting, Batimore)

The Jays will win it all baby!!!!

WooHoo

[JAEBALL]

Damn that green monster is big

Not big enough though baby!

Woohoo Joey bats!

Let's go jays!

I think the Blue Jays will be in first place in short order. They've appeared to put it all together after struggling the first few months. They're hitting now, and they send a quality starter out there every day. That's the major difference between them and the Orioles and Red Sox. Their bullpen is good, but not great. Their biggest weakness in my mind. Osuna is good, but the 2 games he saved over the weekend he very nearly blew. Far from clean. The O's have a very good pen, and power up and down the lineup, but their starters leave a lot to be desired. The Red Sox pitching is bad right now, there's no way around it. Price has been better, but not dominant. Steven Wright has been great. Porcello has been ok, but the other starters haven't proven themselves to this point. Kimbrel has been great, but the rest of their relievers have been inconsistent at best. So it may be a 3 team race over the summer, but I do think the Jays have the best roster by a pretty good margin at this point. We'll see what moves are made to see if that changes.

As a fan of the other team in the AL East... the really old/ bad one... so I am not really biased in this discussion...

I think Boston is the best of the bunch... It's probably close... but I trust them more.

Stroman is my least favorite player in baseball right now... just killing me in fantasy...

Will the Yankees unload a lot of there great relief pitching this year at the deadline?   What was the point of trading for Chapman?

I think the Jays have beyond the best line up in baseball.

A lot of the hitters are just turning it around actually, statistically and if they come close to there career numbers, the second half for the Jays will be fantastic

Plus

Once the deadline comes and goes and the Jays, pick up some speed, another first baseman and some relief pitching

Plus

Start playing all these teams that

1)  Have dumped all there talent cause they are out of it (New York)
2)  Players statistics come down to career numbers, as they are super hot now (Boston's hitting, Batimore)

The Jays will win it all baby!!!!

WooHoo

The Yankees don't like to admit they are not contenders, it's more important to ownership that they appear to be doing all they can to fill seats...even if real fans know that they need to tear everything down... and they have played worse at every position this year more than they could have imagined... so it's all blowing up in their face.

Most fans say rebuild rebuild rebuild but then won't go to the stadium to see the young players lose. There are a lot of options in New York... only the Knicks sell out every game no matter how awful the team is. Plus, the Mets are real good now, so the Steinbrenners are sensitive to that... they don't want to lose sponsors.

They also gave up nothing to get Chapman. So it's not like it didn't make sense to add him during the offseason.

[pilferk]

Will the Yankees unload a lot of there great relief pitching this year at the deadline?   What was the point of trading for Chapman?

It was actually a really smart move (like CRAZY smart) IMHO, and (depending on what happens next) might actually be one of the smartest things Cashman has done in awhile.

They gave up nothing of any value.

They basically didn't have to pay him while he was suspended for his domestic violence issue.

They took all the risk, in terms of people not knowing if he would be available to pitch for most of this year, etc, etc, etc.

If they'd been a contender, they could use him. If his suspension had been "too long" it would have moved his FA clock, and they might have gotten him next year, too.

NOW, they could probably flip him at the deadline, for a TON of prospects and maybe one MLB ready player, to a contender in desperate need of a closer....essentially turning nothing into some very valuable stuff.

That's what I would do..and hold on to Miller (2 more years at 12 per, which is pretty reasonable) and Betances. 

The other option would be to let Miller go and try to sign Chapman off season, with Betances as your back up plan at closer.  That's riskier, but Miller might actually yield more in return, since he'd basically have 2.5 years of service at a reasonable pay rate.

Either way, the Yanks are dealing from a position of strength.  That's not where they usually find themselves come the deadline.