Tim

Javy comes back to work the count full and gets a single. Nice at bat.

Happ!

I'm kinda thinking that the plan once everyone is back would be Schwarber-Happ-Heyward. Almora and Jay cycle in against good matchups.

Right now the waves are just washing up dirty diapers around everyone's ankles. http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=17919&position=2B/OF

Just let Schwarbs start catching at Iowa.

not only do i expect that, i wouldn't even be shocked if they went on a run that got them to 95+. they absolutely are capable of it, this is almost entirely the same roster that won 200 games in 2 seasons, if not better in some ways (and i anticipate adding a good starting pitcher too), and the division is far worse than it was. guess i'm the only crazy one for whom the needle hasn't moved much as far as the projection and perception of this roster's talent as a result of a couple months of .500ish ball. btw, they've been playing at about a 95 win pace in june...(kind of crazy to think that that that's what 14-10 projects out to, but yeah). Oh no, you're not the only one.

Holy crap, glad we didn't spend assets on Gausman.

I'm starting to think that Bowman has a serious issue with buyer's (or seller's, in his case) remorse.

Has he met the knicks?

Can't watch the game. So, after the manager posturing about not hitting Rizzo, they hit Bryant instead?

I'd be interested if you could cite some examples.

Are you asking [Eloy by himself] vs [schwarber, Cease, Jeimer & Zagunis]? No, pretty much just Schwarber vs Eloy as I'd assume the ancillary pieces would be similar (Cease, Jeimer, Zagunis, Caritini, Zas I guess, Clifton, etc.) That's tough as I still believe Schwarber can be an elite hitter, be average in LF and provide occasional value behind the plate. He's already proven he can be a difference maker in the playoffs. However, the results this season have to be included in any analysis of him. He's never shown the contact skills that Eloy has demonstrated so far in his career. Eloy has a few extra years of control, but can't help this season. He likely wouldn't help next season until the end of the year, either. In the end, I'd try to not be too reactionary to Schwarber's slow start and say that I still value him ever so slightly higher.

Are you asking [Eloy by himself] vs [schwarber, Cease, Jeimer & Zagunis]?

It's an interesting thought experiment, but not likely to be much more than that. Given Archer's contract, the value is right if the FO feels that he'll hold up. He's under control through 2021 at very reasonable prices. You have to be pretty convinced that Eloy will be a superstar to say no to that deal. Of course, I'm pretty confident Eloy will be a superstar, so it is a tough sell for me. In the end, I'd probably do it, though I'd hate myself afterwards if Archer broke down or regressed.

Rondon looked sharp that inning. Would love to see more of that.

Bryan Hudson with another good start today.

Randal Grichuk In the field.

So...which player is more out of character in RF against us? - Polanco being so much worse against us than he is against the league - Bruce being so much better against us than he is against the league

Lackey with a nice red-ass moment there.

Just turn it sideways

Thanks! Got one word for you, though: landscape :)

My favorite targets from this list (assuming reasonable deals can be had): Sonny Gray Samardzija Cueto Jaime Garcia Marcell Ozuna Lorenzo Cain David Phelps / Justin Wilson / Kelvin Herrera Raisel Iglesias The rotation is the obvious need here. The list of available guys isn't thrilling, but any of them would represent an improvement for the team. The top two would also help for next year. I'm temporarily smitten with the idea of getting Ozuna or Cain to put in CF. Cain would be the bigger boost for this year once defense is included, but Ozuna would give us a longer term piece. The bullpen is very solid so far. But if any of these guys could be had on a reasonable deal, it would help solidify things even more. I'd love to get Iglesias, but I can't imagine what Cincy would want from us. --------------- I think I'd like to make two moves if we could. 1) Gray/Shark for Cease, Candelario & Zagunis 2) Ozuna + Phelps for Almora, Happ, Clifton, Albertos That makes the rotation stronger with Lester, Hendricks, Arreita, Gray/Shark, whatever. The lineup fills the only real gap in CF. Yeah, Ozuna hasn't been great there since he filled out, but he and Heyward can switch if it gets too bad. Dude can mash and would give us a real cleanup hitter behind Rizzo. The bullpen doesn't really need the help, but we saw the value of the deep pen in the playoffs last year. Rondon looks like he's toast and Grimm can't be trusted for consistency. I'm basically cleaning out the top levels of the farm here, but I wouldn't want to waste this shot. This is exactly the kind of scenario where you go all-in on the trades at the deadline. All three guys being added will also be here for at least one more year. Losing Cease and Albertos would hurt, but I am hoping they get overvalued vs their probability of staying healthy.

I just got back from Pittsburgh. Sorry I didn't start a game thread while driving When did you leave?

David Ross' book is on sale at Amazon today for $2.99 if you have a kindle.

Until I read a bit on him, I thought Theo had drafted a FO guy. Another Cape Cod guy. Who was it that was asking about that the other day?