rccola42

My God, we are so bad at ABS

OF would be my priority if we're looking for a big trade. Need a difference maker badly out there, and I don't see one coming up from the minors. Lara may be a slightly improved version of what we currently have, but I still don't buy much pop in that bat. SS and 3B should be dealt with internally given our plentiful options in the minors. Buxton or Duran (although he's struggled) seem to be the potential difference makers that could be available.

That's not remotely close to what they're going to fetch for Skubal. Luis Pena is your starting point.

I have very little concern about our pitching in general. But this series has shined a spotlight on the same offensive issues that killed us in the NLCS last year. Can't expect to manufacture runs 100% of the time. We've scored in 4 out of 22 innings this series. Never going to win anything with those numbers, no matter how big the innings are. Most of it comes down to having 3 abysmal hitters in our lineup every day.

The stuff generally plays, but he essentially has no idea where the ball is going at any given moment. We'll see if the control improves over the course of the year and beyond. He's good enough to be end of rotation right now with some potential to be a bit better.

We're in that weird spot where we desperately need a 3B, Jett Williams is mashing in AAA, but I'm sure we want to wait for Super Two.

Really important to make sure we're saving that challenge for next inning. We are so bad at ABS for some reason.

I'm glad you said this, because it's exactly how I feel about Payne. Very cautiously optimistic about his start, but need to see if he can make more contact as he continues to move up. This is also why I'm actually not all that happy with Fischer's start in High A. The counting stats look nice, but underneath the hood is rough. Running a 58% contact rate, which is pretty awful. If you thought he would be a fast riser to the Majors this season, this start has squashed that dream.

Skubal vs Joey

So many uncompetitive pitches

Correct. Which was fine when he was throwing 100. Now it's just a meatball.

There is nothing sustainable about Megill. He's going to get shelled repeatedly throwing 96 mph.

Not if his arm is gone, which was pretty clear from all reports.

You don't think other teams are aware of the major health concerns Megill has with his arm?

Using an opener and still blowing through your entire bullpen is not ideal. Been a tough few days of pitching management. But can't blame Murphy for the quality of hitters we currently have in the back half of our lineup.