squally1313
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Everything posted by squally1313
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Busch with the rare start against LHP. In a world with Castro, if they think Busch can at least tread water (or Happ/tucker can slot in), might not be much room left for Turner. I think he’s fine for what he is going forward, but also wondering if Amaya, Moises, Castro, and Alcantara is the better October bench.
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Maybe they have some hitting version of Hottovy over there? Feel like we'd be saying the same thing about Flexen and Pomeranz. Vaughn will turn back into what he's always been, a league average hitter who somehow manages to be a uniquely bad defensive first baseman. And the Brewers can't hide him at DH because Yelich is basically unplayable defensively at this point (12 games out there total). He's got 309 games, 1260 PAs at first base since 2023. In all that time he's put up 0.2 fWAR. He sucks, he'll go back to sucking, it's fine.
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We went 8-4 at home in August, with the losing games being: a Pomeranz/Flexen bullpen day start against the Cardinals which featured 5 home runs, the key one being by something called Yohel Pozo, so doubt this was a wind blowing in game A Horton v Crochet game where Horton actually outpitched Crochet but Roberts, Pomeranz, and Pressly all gave up home runs late and we only scored 1 run A Brown/Flexen game against the Royals where they both pretty much imploded (gave up 12 total, six home runs in the game total so also doubt this was a wind blowing in game) Colin Rea getting beat by Seth Lugo, another 6 home run game in total
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Do you think he's going to have a consistent spot/position in the lineup against LHP? Or is it going to be some sort of rotation between Happ, Castro, and PCA in addition to being able to spell some of the other guys. Swanson, Hoerner, Suzuki, Tucker all hit LHP really well, and Turner is basically only there to play first against LHPs.
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Going to be at a rooftop and hoping I'll be able to see the action from there.
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Trust me, I liked it a lot better when I thought Jed was good at his job and Ricketts was the root of all the problems. And like...is Jed bad? To me, no. It's a 94 win team today with locked up, league minimum production, some of it elite, at CF, 1B, 3B, half of our catching platoon, and then Horton, Palencia, Steele, etc on the pitching side. The technical minor league system has taken a hit, but that's mostly because of the graduations. But, man, put the finishing touches on the team you spent (maybe too many) years putting together. The odds of Colin Rea starting a playoff game are not zero, and that should keep him up at night from now until then.
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We'll never know what those internal conversations are. If Jed knew that he was never going to have the cash available to resign Tucker, trading Smith and Paredes for one year of him doesn't align at all how he's approached the rest of the roster building. I don't want to (ever) absolve Ricketts of anything, but in my current frustration am not willing to take the blame off of Jed. Ricketts has been on record saying that he wants to be right around/under the first tax line. Cots has them at $15m under after all the dry powder talk. He could certainly be lying to us, sure. But it's that budget/lemonade stand scene from the office....spend the money that you're given. In terms of the outfield, I don't think it's that dire, mainly because PCA makes things way easier. Happ and Suzuki are still here next year, Suzuki looks lost currently but we're like two weeks removed from being outraged he wasn't an all star, and he's played enough outfield where you'd be able to bear sending him back out there next year. The odds of trading both Alcantara and Caissie were always very low, so with one of those and PCA/Happ/Suzuki you're set for next year, and stressing about how to fill 1-2 corner outfield spots in 2027 is not a real problem.
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I know gflore was mostly being sarcastic in his above comment, but I will take Ian Happ over Andrew Vaughn in offensive production for the rest of the year (which excludes the fact that Andrew Vaughn is a horrid defender).
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Worth noting that the Model Franchise up in Milwaukee did nothing to improve their offense, picked up Shelby Miller who has been decent in relief and whatever is going on with Jordan Montgomery/Jordan Montgomery's Contract, and shipped out Nestor Cortes, who has been hurt all year but has made three starts at AAA and seems ready to go. So they certainly didn't improve much (or didn't improve as much as we did).
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Eh. The Cubs have played as well as anyone in baseball, have a bunch of depreciating assets in AAA, a largely unchanged roster going into 2026 (yes, I know, one big exception), and the Big Bad Dodgers look very beatable (not that that should have ever stopped us before). If not now, when? Wiggins might be good, fine, it’s your job to find/develop another one. This is twice in a row now where Jed waited out the market and then was left with a whole bunch of dry powder he couldn’t use. I get that all the good relievers went while he was Holding Fast To His Principles and he was left with the lesser Rogers brother. But feeling out the market and pulling the trigger when the time is right is the whole job. I’ll get over it, the team that has played to a 94 win pace is better than they were and the playoffs are a stupid/fun crapshoot. But, as the guy who typically embodies the ‘it’s still good’ simpsons meme, there’s no way to justify the combo of the end of the offseason and this. It’s a roster while holes that could have been at least paved over, if not fixed, and a bunch of cash going back into Toms pocket.
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Then he should have built a bullpen of doom like the Mets and padres did. We’re a top 5 team in baseball with a pitching staff that is by all metrics average to below average, not to mention stretched to its limit, and we didn’t move a single top ten guy in the system, even though at least a few are at AAA and blocked through next year. Coming back from the market with almost all your cash still in your pocket certainly lets you complain about the prices, but you’re still coming home without the things you need.
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Tucker is currently hitting better than all three of those years and is on pace to comfortably eclipse them, fWAR wise. The slugging isn’t quite there, but the walks (and corresponding OBP) are way up. Most important thing you can do as a hitter is not make outs, besides 2024 this is the best he’s been at that.
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The outcome of the trading deadline was bad, and between today and then ending up with a bunch of unused cash at the end of the offseason, that’s two straight GM-seasons where I don’t think hoyer did really anywhere close to the full job. Ultimately they probably had like an 12% chance of winning it all, the moves we wanted them to make probably would have gotten them to 15%, and instead they’re stuck at 12%. This is obviously exact, unimpeachable math by the way. Things haven’t materially changed in terms of their outlook this year. Doesn’t make this not a failure on Jed’s part, but no point to me in writing off the season. It was a good team yesterday and it’s a better team today.
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First example huh
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Unacceptable.
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I mean, lol.
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Brewers trading Cortes is weird, right about to come back from injury
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So why was Triantos scratched
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What's the October bench at the moment. Castro, Amaya/Kelly....Ballesteros and Turner?
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lol seems like we are at the 'bargaining' stage
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Good call. Was going to comment on how the Astros A. were in the American League, so who cares, and B. had acquired a 1.1 fWAR SS and a 1.1 fWAR outfielder.
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to the padres
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Kyle Tucker is the 9th best offensive player in baseball this year when you include baserunning and defense, the 10th best hitter by wOBA, and the 11th best hitter by xwOBA. He doesn't play a premium position but he's nowhere near at risk of having to move to DH soon. Over the last three years he's been the 7th best hitter and the 14th most valuable offensive player (while missing half of 2024) in terms of fWAR generated. He's not Judge, Witt, Soto, or Shohei, but he probably as much an argument as anybody else for the 5th spot after that. It's probably an overpay, but those type of deals mathematically are always going to be, and it's not my money, so why not.
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I don't even know who Flores is
