Harold Hutchison

I'd send him out. 25 pitches, he could still face a couple guys tomorrow...

I am all for it, too.

That was the proper call. Doesn't matter where the ball is hit, if the ball should have easily been caught by an infielder it is an infield fly. That and the balk rule are always so damn confusing... What did Sharpie do on that Berkman play to get called for a balk? Does anyone even remember? All I recall was it was a filthy move... (granted, Capuano was a pickoff machine, but Sharpie's balk when he picked off Berkman just stuck...).

Perhaps Goldschmidt didn't want to stay in Arizona and made it known he'd leave as a free agent - so the D-Backs got what they could.

As the season approaches, what are some of the more... infuriating moments you never got over on the field because of the umps or scorers? For me, some were: That time Doug Davis had Lance Berkman cold with a pickoff... and got called for a balk. CC Sabathia missing out on the no-hitter Tossing Counsell after Baumgardner plunked Braun

Record: 101-61 Playoffs: NL Central Champs Highest Level of Playoffs: World Series Champs, 4-2 over Boston All-Stars: Burnes, Hader, Kimbrel, Yelich, Shaw, Aguilar, Grandal, Moustakas Offensive Player of the Year: Yelich - another near-triple crown Starting Pitcher of the Year: Corbin Burnes - Becomes a home-grown TOR pitcher Relief Pitcher of the Year: Hader/Kimbrel (tie) Most Surprising Position Player: Ryan Braun - Hits like the Braun of 2011-2012/Mike Moustakas - Arcia slump leads to first appearances at shortstop since Full-Season A Ball as he has a 2017-esque season with the bat and Hiura forces his way to the majors Most Surprising Starting Pitcher: Brandon Woodruff - Burnes will get the All-Star Game appearance and the recognition, but Woodruff will be just as good. Most Surprising Relief Pitcher: Craig Kimbrel - Signs a one-year deal with mutual option for 2020/Rick Wilson - emerges as solid asset/Jimmy Nelson - Goes to pen as young guns dominate 2019 rotation (tie) Most Disappointing Position Player: Orlando Arcia - Hits .235/.285/.330 - Barely enough to keep his job, but will lose PT and be relegated to a defensive replacement for Moustakas. Most Disappointing Starting Pitcher: Chacin - Slight regression from 2018, but young guns will pick up the slack Most Disappointing Relief Pitcher: Knebel/Jeffress - Injuries will have them miss first-half playing time. Bold Preditions: As hinted in other topics: 1. Brewers reach deal to add Kimbrel to bullpen by end of opening series. 2. Moustakas will play some shortstop as Arcia struggles at the plate (not 2018 bad, but...). 3. Jimmy Nelson does a John Smoltz and becomes a dominant force in the pen as he recovers from missed PT in 2017-2018.

Free burgers from George Webb twice this season...

4 vs STL 3-1 3 @ Cin 2-1 3 vs Chi 2-1 3 @ LAA 2-1 3 @ LAD 2-1 3 vs STL 2-1 4 vs LAD 4-0 3 @ STL 2-1 3 @ NYM 2-1 2 vs Col 2-0 Record: 23-8

FYI, Jay Feliciano was released...

1. LHP Cameron Roegner (1 in post-season poll) - Dominated, and looks to be a late-round find on the order of Brent Suter 2. LHP Aaron Ashby (2) - 1 HR in 37 IP, and an 11.33 K/9 ratio in Wisconsin. 3. OF Troy Stokes (3) - proved 2017 was no fluke, and had a good spring with the Crew. 4. 2B Keston Hiura (4) - Imminent arrival in MLB makes for some interesting options. 5. OF Corey Ray (5) - Full season proved he is legit, and he had some blasts. Christian and Lorenzo who? 6. RHP Zach Brown (6) - Very solid numbers in Biloxi. 7. OF Tyrone Taylor (9) - Third of three good, young outfielders in AAA. 8. UT Weston Wilson (10) - An eventual replacement for Hernan Perez. Performed well in Spring Training. 9. RHP Trey Supak (11) - A clone of Brown. 10. 3B Lucas Erceg (7) - A few homers, but needs to break out. 11. IF Eddie Silva (11) - Delivered a high-average bat at Wisconsin and Helena. 12. C David Fry (12) - Huge power bat. Not as close to the majors as Hummel, but this bat is special. 13. LHP Scott Sunitsch (13) - A 1.71 ERA in Wisconsin can't be ignored. 14. LHP Clayton Andrews (14) - Has Hader 2.0 written all over him, but could he stretch into a starter? 15. C Cooper Hummel (15) - Showed some versatility in the OF. Good OBP skills, good bat. Best catcher in the system. 16. OF Tristan Lutz (16) - A .742 OPS is not bad, but he was so much better in 2017. 17. C/1B Jesus Chirinos (17) - Looks like a big bat and advanced OBP skills at 16. 18. OF/1B Ryan Aguilar (18) - All of a sudden, he seems to be emerging as a Thames-ish bench option. OBP skills, some pop, and speed. 19. RHP Jon Olczak (19) - Spring training appearances add to likelihood Crew has a right-handed Hader. 20. UT Jake Hager (20) - Faces competition from comeback candidate Lawrie and new acquisition Hinojosa. 21. SS Brice Turang (21) - Intriguing OBP skills and speed. Held his own in Spring Training. 22. 2B Victor Vargas (22) - A good hit tool, OBP skills (17 BB to 96 AB), and speed. May move Hiura elsewhere - on the diamond. 23. RHP Henry Medina (24) - Eye-popping numbers in the DSL. Looks like a command/control artist. 24. OF Trent Grisham (25) - Is he finally putting it together? 25. IF Dallas Carroll (26) - Good OBP skills are nice, but the average is not cutting it. 26. OF Joe Gray (28) - Love the OBP and power, hated the sub-Uecker average in 2018. 27. C Jacob Nottingham (28) - Primary guy in San Antonio 28. RHP Jorge Ortega (23) - Came back from injury, got hit hard, but the control is still there... 29. OF Micah Bello (30) - Decent OBP and speed, but not much average. 30. C Payton Henry (31) - Good OBP, some pop. But is he eclipsed by other catchers? 31. RHP Nate Griep (32) - Could be a closer. 32. RHP Cody Ponce (33) - Just not up to past seasons. 33. LHP Cody Beckman (34) - Solid, but Andrews is eclipsing him. 34. C Alex Hall (35) - Aussie pickup could be intriguing. 35. UT Jess Williams (36) - Decent average, speed, and versatile. Australia's answer to Hernan Perez?

He's been traded to San Francisco for Minor-league SS CJ Hinujosa.

Per Haudricourt, Jeffress seems to be OK. The real question is now Knebel. Kimbrel would be an excellent replacement, but there are in-house options, too.

No, he's suggested in the recent past that Moustakas play SS. Because he played it in HS. Seriously. No, he played in full-season A and at rookie level. It was about 65 games, and he wasn't a total hack in the field. If Arcia puts up a .250 avg/.320 OBP/.380 SLG, then no need to worry - the Crew can make adjustments as necessary. My worry is if Arcia is below the Uecker line again... .200/.250/.325 won't cut it, no matter how good he fields.

You make two assumptions. The first is that the bullpen is the strength. I think the rotation is potentially significantly improved this year and that become more likely as all three youngsters are in the rotation and every time Nelson steps on the mound is encouraging. I also think the offense is significantly improved (and deeper) that the start of last year. The second assumption is that the pen is going to be used the same way. I think having more quality options (theoretically) in the rotation will change how we use the pen. I think the way it was used last year was a product of the starting options we have. 1. When healthy, the bullpen is arguably THE strength of the pitching staff, even with Burnes and Woodruff moving to the rotation. You still had a top three of Hader-Jeffress-Knebel, Guerra pitched well, Claudio was an upgrade over Jennings/Logan, and Trevor Williams and Barnes are no slouches. Chase Anderson may find himself doing better in the pen too. There are other options in AAA as well (Zach Brown, Supak, Olczak, Braden Webb) who could be the 2019 versions of Burnes and Woodruff out of the pen. They can also pull a Smoltz with Nelson if need be. If the Crew signs Kimbrel, the pen is even stronger, especially if Jeffress and Knebel come back soon. 2. The movement of Burnes and Woodruff to the rotation makes it that much stronger. Zach Davies won 17 games in 2017, and he's arguably the #5 starter. Nelson is potential depth there... and they can move Guerra and Anderson from the rotation. There's also the emergency options of Brown/Supak in a Freddy Peralta-type role. 3. The offense will ease the pressure on the pitching. The only potential black hole is Arcia... and if that happens, the Crew has options, especially when they call up Hiura. Let's say this again: Once Hiura is up, the Crew can put together a lineup with NO black holes. This is a greatly improved team. Jeffress and Knebel are big losses, and while it does make the Crew more vulnerable in the late innings, it shouldn't be hard for the improved rotation and offense to cover for that a bit.

I think in 2019, Nelson takes the Smoltz path, and closes/relieves for a bit. A good way to get him back in the swing of things...

Can't believe they released Ortega... that guy had outstanding control. Guess he never got back from his injury. Also thought Jay Feliciano had a ton of potential.

I'd go with two years, $25 million, and a mutual option for third year at $15 million, with a $5 million buyout.

So THAT is what happened with Drake Owenby... I had wondered why he'd vanished after starting out pretty well.

I, too, have little concern about the pitching: Chacin, Anderson, Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta to start... Guerra in the pen able to step in if needed. Davies, Nelson in AAA with Z. Brown, Supak... And they are backed up by Knebel, Hader, Barnes, Petricka, Claudio, Taylor Williams, and Guerra in the pen. And in the minors, Miguel Sanchez and Olczak are among those who could help out of the bullpen... Then, there's the chance Jeffress and Suter come back at some point this year.

I think a sweep in that series could set the tone for the team...

Make them the baby seals, don't BE the baby seal... Because we all know baby seals get clubbed and then become fur coats and leather.

Moustakas does have some professional time at shortstop... I suggested putting him in there for a "super-jumbo" package if you wanted to maximize power. Or just to give Arcia a day off...

I'd agree with you a lot more if Z. Brown wasn't in the system. Roegner Ashby Z. Brown Sunitsch Supak Andrews Webb

Whatever is up with his shoulder... it's a concern. There is depth... the Crew can obviously shift some folks around. Woodruff can fill in as a relief pitcher. Heck, maybe move Nelson to the pen this year. The Braves did that with Smoltz after an arm injury, and Smoltz later returned to the rotation.

I think Grisham is going to break out this year. So far, in MLB spring training games, he is hitting .294 with a couple of jacks... Ryan Aguilar also has me very intrigued.