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Outshined_One

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Everything posted by Outshined_One

  1. Outshined_One
    I've come around on the notion that 90% of slap fights around here tend to resolve themselves once everyone sobers up.
  2. Outshined_One
    Look on the bright side, Ginnie could kick the bucket and the team could get sold to a competent ownership group in the offseason as a result.
  3. Outshined_One
    As I slowly get up to speed on this class, it's nice to see Brecht isn't quite a Samardzija "less miles on the arm, but more work to do" type since he's apparently given up football to focus solely on baseball. Plus I tend to be a sucker for cold weather college pitchers, so he's right up my alley. Sold!
  4. Outshined_One
    I've said it before, but my main concern with trading out of #1 overall is that next year's draft does not look good from a QB perspective. Things can change in a year, but I don't like the odds that the 2025 class will be better than the 2024 class given how things stand now. If you want to keep Fields, you damn well better be sure it's the right call, especially if Williams and/or Maye turn out to be studs.
  5. Outshined_One
    It wasn't just that Fred was active, it's that most of us who've been on this site since the early days met Fred in person, and some of us on multiple occasions. He made the effort to get to know all of us and he really was an incredibly sweet and knowledgeable person. He kept a TON of personal stats and weird splits, which was unusual back in the early 2000s, so it was neat to see him post them periodically. On top of everything else, he stubborn as all get out. During the dark years, he would start Game Threads and be the only person posting in those threads for 3+ pages. He would also have hilarious swear word substitutes that would get him grief. The man had habits, and he kept to them. It's why we named the forum for him after he passed away. I've been tempted to write something for the site regarding NSBB history for those of you newcomers who are interested. There have been some legitimately weird and entertaining things that's happened here over the past 20+ years. My work schedule probably won't allow for it, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out others would be interested in contributing.
  6. Outshined_One
    I could understand this sort of attitude if Soto was on the FA market and just went for something like 10/500. He's just one player, albeit a really good one, and his decline at the plate and in the field is inevitable. With Ohtani, though, how do you properly value a guy who can be both one of the best hitters in baseball AND a TORP pitcher? Even if he declines into a decent hitter and a decent pitcher (assuming health), you're still getting a guy who produces on the mound and at the plate. Oddly enough, I can buy the argument that he's still underpaid over the life of his contract, even taking into account the fact that he won't pitch for another year.
  7. Outshined_One
    Sure, why not?
  8. Outshined_One
    Did anyone actually work today? It's a Friday in December, so I doubt it, but this is one of the dumbest and most hilarious stories in recent memory.
  9. Outshined_One
    For once, I can't take credit for messing with a thread title. Alas.
  10. Outshined_One
    Welcome!
  11. Outshined_One
    Another name I discounted way back in the day. Points to you on the comp.
  12. Outshined_One
    The stuff is there for him to be a dominant major leaguer, but he has the triple whammy of control problems, being a likely relief pitcher in the majors, and having a long line of guys ahead of him for spots in the pen in 2024. Injuries happen and bullpens are weird, so it's possible, but, as far as my opinion goes, he's not a personal favorite at the moment.
  13. Outshined_One
    I'm all in favor of dealing from your strength, but this is the sort of deal that would have opened up multiple holes in the Cubs' 2024 and 2025 rotation and bullpen.
  14. Outshined_One
    I don't mind contractual tripwires, but there literally is no contract in play here. This isn't about ensuring teams hold up their ends of the bargain, but instead it's a negotiating ploy meant to keep teams from posturing and leveraging against him to (in theory) maximize his contract. The problem is, Ohtani's approach to free agency injected an element of hostility into his negotiations, to the point where teams are incentivized to engage in bizarre theatrics and cloak and dagger levels of secrecy. So far as we know, he hasn't required teams to sign a non-disclosure agreement or non-disparagement agreement; this is just Ohtani making threats to teams based on some perceived nebulous invasion of privacy where no privacy can realistically be expected. Again, he's entitled to handle his negotiations the way he wants, and I hope he gets the money he deserves, but that doesn't immunize him from criticism in how he's handling these negotiations.
  15. Outshined_One
    See also: FLICK
  16. Outshined_One
    ESPN has an article up this morning regarding how Ohtani's approach to free agency is doing a disservice to baseball due to the secrecy and rumors surrounding his decision. While I understand he is entitled to do everything he thinks will get him the best contract possible, at the same time, the cloak and dagger has seemingly has spilled over into all of free agency and the trade market. Nobody has any good information about anything, so we're just stuck with navel gazing and hunting for purported sources who back up our existing worldviews. I get that past offseasons have been similar, but it feels like the stakes are just so much higher with the best baseball player on the planet hitting free agency in the middle of his prime, along with possible franchise-altering guys like Soto and Yamamoto in the mix.. This approach has made what should have been an exciting and entertaining offseason into something that's abjectly depressing, simply because no one seems to know anything and it's all just guesswork and gut feelings. The Cubs could be in the lead for all three of those guys, or they could have left the market for each long ago, but we simply just don't know.
  17. Outshined_One
    Unless there's a pitch lab for infielders to improve velocity on their throws (and knowing the Cubs, maybe there is), I wouldn't set your heart on Shaw at 3B any time soon.
  18. Outshined_One
    One of my Cubs predictions I've been tinkering with is that Brown ends the 2024 season as closer, and not because of injuries. His stuff seems tailor-made for late inning relief, and there have been enough questions with Brown's health and durability that it might make more sense to get him innings in AAA until it's clear his command/control issues are in the past, and then promote him for a relief role. Then again, he also could be excellent trade bait for a pitching hungry team. Horton is more difficult to project in this area. I can see the value if you're concerned about IP and pitch counts, but I also don't want to deviate from what's worked for him so far. I also think he might be better off sticking as a starter in 2024 to develop his changeup, which he'll at least need as a show me pitch to make it as a starter in the majors.
  19. Outshined_One
    I'd rather watch Michigan/Bama than Michigan/FSU anyways. The hilarity will be when Bama/Texas is the national championship game and FSU wins their bowl game. When was the last time a Power 5 team ended the postseason undefeated and didn't play in the national championship game?
  20. Outshined_One
    *Sigh* FINE.
  21. Outshined_One
    It's more that those 19 PAs served as corroboration (but not confirmation!) of my existing doubts. We've seen plenty of guys go through equally bad stretches and lots of guys who later thrived despite initially bad callups, and I expect PCA will inevitably join those groups, but it's sincerely annoying to see it happen.
  22. Outshined_One
    It's fun to dream...but man, that callup added doubts I sincerely didn't want to have about PCA. His entire stint was reminiscent of Bad Javy Baez, from clueless plate appearances to TOOTBLANs. Granted, Javy is one of my all time favorites and I love the guy to pieces, and it was sincerely unfair of the Cubs to hotshot PCA's callup into a massive pressure situation in the midst of a historic collapse, but it ended up being a really bad outcome for PCA. He's still my #1 guy on the farm and a legitimate Top 20 prospect in MLB. The potential is unquestionably there and we saw him flourish in the minors. However, I also don't want the Cubs (or PCA, for that matter) to assume that he'll be the opening day CF in 2024. It's a bit of a conundrum, given that the Cubs should see him as a key contributor in 2024, but I get the sense he's also the type who would benefit from having to prove himself in Spring Training and/or AAA next season.
  23. Outshined_One
    I feel like the McCaskeys are the near equivalent of what would happen if you were to let a bunch of Score callers take over Bears ownership.
  24. Outshined_One
    Welcome!
  25. Outshined_One
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