CheezWizHed

Well, holding the bat high got him noticed by his manager and clearly was the reason he won a job out of ST. But holding it lower and more normally seems to have helped his swing also.

@Mass Haas, with your attention to detail, please let me know if you ever want to go into safety critical software development. And I know I'm in your "neighborhood". 😉 Thank you for being focused and accurate with your work here!

Simply put Brice did not have a good start to his rookie year. His glove was always excellent, but the bat as a black hole. But I happened to peek at his stats last night and was surprised to see how how has done in this second half of the year. Yes, this is a small sample, but good to see him getting on a hot streak: Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ 1st Half 68 52 219 203 18 42 7 3 3 18 9 4 16 52 .207 .265 .315 .580 64 4 0 0 0 1 2 .264 81 60 2nd Half 23 21 77 64 10 18 1 0 3 9 5 0 12 13 .281 .390 .438 .827 28 1 0 0 1 0 1 .306 158 125 With the month of August being extremely hot: 450/542/750/1292 in 24 PAs. It is unlikely that he will ever be a "stick-first" player, but there is a lot of value in anything north of 90 OPS+ with his defensive profile. He might not be far from being our starting SS either. I love Adames, but he has been the same black hole at the plate that Turang was earlier in the season and is about to become expensive. He

But then, what would we have to debate about? 😉

Fixed. 😉

It sinks in like oil on water... 😕

Bunting thoughts: it is harder than it looks. Tons of movement on balls and only specific Little Leaguers, HS, College or historically at MLB level were good at doing it. Risk of injury - to fingers especially. I do think small ball is starting to gain prominence in our pitching heavy present, so I think there is more room to do this now compared to 10 years ago. But I still have no desire to see Yelich or Contreras (i.e. the big bats) bunting. If you are a low BA, low SLG hitter, yeah, maybe there are situations we see this more. I do miss the bunt for hit guys...especially the faster, low BA, low SLG types.

1) Santana for Severino - A-. Santana is an average bat at best, but elite D. Clearly an upgrade on what we had (especially with Miller faltering and Tellez injured). Didn't give up much to get there. 2) Canha for Jarvis - B. Again, an upgrade on our current RF, but again only to "average". Again didn't give up much to get there. 3) Chafin for Strezlecki - B+ interesting trade of struggling relievers. Chafin more likely helps this year. Strez more for future years or maybe we capitalized on a flash in the pan 2022? 4) Blalock for Urias - B. Hurts to give up on Urias at this point, but clearly a long-term roster focused move. Got a decent arm for someone that is probably non-tendered next year when it was unlikely to see him back up this year. Also Monestario is currently producing at Urias' career level, so there is some redundancy on the roster already. Hope the best for Urias in Boston where he gets a fresh start. In the long run, Boston may "win" this trade but it will also cost them $$ to see that additional WAR. 5) McKendry for Jackson - A+ I think this was a great grab. Still not an Earth shattering move, but pulling in a potential SP rotational depth for 2024 by giving up a catcher we didn't necessarily have plans on using is a great move. Maybe gives Jackson a better chance at the MLB level too. Missed opportunities= Controversially... I'll say NONE. Sure, they could've done more and yes, we are risking wasting another year of our strong SP staff. But I think the improvements needed to make this squad a legit WS contender right now is pretty significant and the risk very high to "sell off the farm" to get all the bats necessary. To me it looks like management is putting us in a situation to have a chance (slightly more than Dumb and Dumber) by getting into the playoffs and then getting hot. By getting "hot", I mean that Frelick plays well, our additions play "average", Tellez is healthy and plays his career norms, and BA and Adames bounce back to their norms while our pitching remains strong. Overall deadline Grade= B+. They found decent improvements (i.e. plugging holes in the dike) for very low cost. They used some creativity to strengthen the future while making mild improvements to the current.

First, Welcome to the board! Second, I doubt people sell him short. We all saw what he could do and potentially could be again. I tend to think the FO sold low because of injuries and other similar options. And Blalock as a return isn't bad. I'm guessing a 2023 Adrian Houser floor (5th/6th SP, multi-inning RP), albeit with his own injury issues. Certainly a change of scenery trade.

Well, his 3.5 months with the big leagues was probably a shorter stop than he wanted...

Owen's offense shine came off unfortunately. Hopefully he can find his stick again. A utility player that can manage 700+ OPS with a high OBP is very valuable.

McKendry sounds like he is setup to be part of our SP pitching depth next year. Three years of options so he can be bounced btw MLB/AAA as our 6th, 7th, or 8th SP.

Blalock sounds like he could be a near-term BP candidate with 2 solid pitches and a big FB. I also found this interesting write-up from a Red Sox site: https://soxprospects.com/players/blalock-bradley.htm It details each pitch he throws and the strengths. Here is the summary: Summation: Potential up-and-down swingman type with the ceiling of a back-end starter. Stuff could also play in a bullpen role, where he could cut down his arsenal as his secondary pitches are all inconsistent. Development of secondary pitches and command will be key for him to stick in the rotation, and scouts are skeptical of that development happening. Shows confidence and pitches with some swagger. Splitter development is an interesting new wrinkle that gives him a better chance to profile in a multi-inning role.

I'm sitting here by my phone waiting for the buyout of $1M to become a fan of the Mets...

Makes sense. Strz come out of nowhere last year, dropped off this year, change of scenery trade for him. Gives us something (hopefully) useful this year.

I think they'd gladly accept him back, but I'd have Williams the main closer. In the playoffs, I'm sure both would have chances. But Williams would be here long term.

Exactly. Obviously the Brewers are in a good position to win the Central, but not exactly positioned well for the playoffs. These moves fill some gaps so we could perhaps be the team that gets in the playoffs and get "hot" (or perhaps the Braves go cold?) without a complete mortgage of our future. We'll get a chance... maybe not what we want, but we are behind the 8-ball with our offense to begin with. Winning the WS certainly needs some bats like Adames to bounce back. You can't trade away to fill every hole we have.

Perhaps Urias and Lauer for Hader? A "return to sender" trade? 😂

Plenty of debate and no clear answer on what is "best", but I tend to be one that prefers high OBP/low SLG (Frelick) in front of high OBP/ high SLG guys (Yelich) so there are people in base to increase the value of their hits. Then followed by high SLG/Low OBP and then low OBP/SLG guys at the end. (low and high being relative to whom you have of course). Going from 1st to 3rd in the batting order doesn't lose many ABs in a season At least Adames is down at 6th now. Hopefully he can snap out of his season long funk.

I will be cheering for the Jets to play Rodgers >65% of the time and lose every game. Not because I hate Rodgers, but because it helps the Packers. I don't date QBs because I'm married to the Packers.

Yeah, that is what I thought when I saw this. Filler job until next year's coaching jobs are opened

Ice Hockey would be awesome! Everytime someone gets checked, you could have a star-shaped collision graphic... if they fall, cracked ice all around them. But imagine the impacts to soccer... they could have an actual moveable offsides line following the last defensive player around. Offsides would finally be clear!😂

Maybe he just means that fewer ABs are better. 😅

So what are Sal's chances at ROY? 😂 Yes, intentional overreaction, but it is nice to have him hitting and making big hits while he is at it.

I don't think it has to change anything about trade targets. I think if a good RF comes available at a good price, you grab him. That results in Taylor playing less and probably costs Perkins a position. Sal and Joey split in CF (with Sal also getting some LF/RF). Great breakout by the rookie, but no guarantees on what he can provide, so insurance is always good.