Matt

I don't need or care for the barrage of stats they throw at you, but it doesn't take away anything from the broadcast either. What I'm talking about is simply the video quality and the number of cameras. Their presentation makes Ballys look like blurry standard def. Apple puts everyone to shame.

The Apple TV broadcast might be the best in all of sports. It puts every other broadcast (ESPECIALLY Ballys) to shame. I'd absolutely kill to have more games on Apple.

I don't believe for a second the Hader trade had any kind of impact on the clubhouse. The idea that 25 professionals would go into a collective sad spell over a business decision by management, one that was perfectly reasonable if not predictable, is crazy.

No problem. Sorry, won't do the language thing again.

Lauer is now on the market. Opted out of his deal in Pittsburgh. I know the last time we saw him it was rough, but I wouldn't rule out a reunion. Though Lauer looked well on his way to a breakout with the Brew Crew in 2021 after adding a slider to his arsenal, his 2023 campaign was a disaster. From 2021-22, Lauer pitched to a 3.47 ERA in 277 1/3 innings, showing strong strikeout and walk rates along the way — particularly after incorporating that new breaking ball into his repertoire. However, last year saw the southpaw post a grisly 6.46 ERA in 46 2/3 innings. The Brewers optioned him to Triple-A Nashville in hopes of getting him right, but he served up a 5.15 ERA there as well. Lauer incurred both shoulder and elbow injuries from 2022-23, so it’s certainly possible he wasn’t pitching at full strength during that miserable 2023 campaign. He lost more than two miles per hour off his heater last year, dropping from a 93.3 mph average in 2022 to just 91.2 mph before he was optioned. While that ugly final outing in Indy skewed Lauer’s 2024 ERA, he fanned a sharp 29.1% of opponents in his brief stint with the Pirates organization, coupling that mark with a solid 8.7% walk rate. Even if he doesn’t get all the way back to his 2021-22 form, Lauer has a 4.30 earned run average in nearly 600 big league innings — a 4.11 mark if excluding last year’s tough showing. He also only has 4.111 years of big league service time, so if a team signs him and brings him to the majors at some point, he can be controlled through the 2025 season via arbitration (or even through 2026, if his MLB promotion comes with 60 or fewer days remaining on the season’s calendar).

I'm not sure he's gonna be on my list, but can you add TJ Shook, please?

https://theathletic.com/5477905/2024/05/13/mlb-new-bat-speed-numbers/ Really, really good article about the treasure trove of data now available on Statcast's website, and what the numbers tell us. Also poses the question of what the new data means for future swing related injuries.

Huh? Gasser was in the Hader deal. If Gasser is just a solid #3 or #4 starter the Brewers come out of that deal laughing.

It's remarkable how easy this delivery looks.

Ohtani isn't an idiot. He's someone who trusted his interpreter, a guy he's known for 20 years. I listened to Tim Kurkjian give an interview a couple weeks ago. These interpreters have only slightly less than power of attorney over their athletes when these guys come to the US. Tim mentioned how yes, they would even do things like set up bank accounts for players. It's incredibly easy to see how this could be pulled off without a player ever realizing it.

Truly beautiful.

For 95% of the teams in baseball I would say that's a suspect deal. But when you print money like the Dodgers it doesn't really matter.

Not sure which thread this belongs in, but holy crap.

I think it's just Wilken. Black is probably a reason they're trying out Frelick at 3rd in the first place. They know he isn't the answer there this season. Just my guess.

Not writing him off, but I'm not optimistic about his future as a regular. If Sal's a legit option on the infield I'd rather have him in there than Turang.

Turang's bat doesn't play anywhere, though. Getting him out of the lineup would help mitigate Sal in the infield.

This doesn't sound like an emergency kind of situation.

I wish the Brewers would just rip the bandaid off here. All I ask is Lux not be part of the return.

Tyler Black out here saying don't forget about me.

Or he's just putting in additional training time. I don't get the idea that any time put in at 3B is automatically time taken away at hitting. You can't spend eight hours in the cage.