35thstreetswarm

He was literally the worst pitcher in MLB. He had good *stuff* before Katz arrived. So does Cease.

This is the part that's often overlooked. There will always be some degree of arbitrariness to broadly applicable public health policies, but the costs associated with making and enforcing policies perfectly tailored to every situation are just not justified.

That Katz session with Cease was cool to watch.

I do get kind of wistful thinking about all the different names this board could have melted down about.

I just hope this lineup can score some runs, because we have Giolito handing off to our bullpen...Oh my god

The lifecycle of the VAfan optimism post is nearly complete...

Great idea. One of the biggest bummers when you're in youth leagues is when you switch to wood bats, and suddenly your bats don't look cool anymore. Why not fix that?

Charles Johnson

Abreu grounded out with the bases loaded to end that game, too, despite all the "stans" telling me he was like the "league MVP" or something. Thanks, Jerry!

Today was as good day. Cease looked much improved: much better pace and fewer non-competitive pitches. Kopech looked nasty -- really, the whole bullpen looked nasty. Everything else is just noise.

...all this being said, I don’t really care that much for him. He’s fine. Maybe it’s because he still makes me feel like I’m watching a Cubs game, but something about him grates on me a bit. I’ll probably get used to it, and luckily I don’t give a shit either way.

Who says he needs to have “FU money” to make a choice like this? It’s not like he’s emptying his savings account. He’s still working and making a good salary; he’s just making a career choice and balancing financials, lifestyle, and personal preference like millions of people do every day. Nobody is obligated to maximize their salary at every minute of their careers, for their “heirs” or anybody else.

It would mean a lot of posters on this board would have been very wrong which is, let's face it, the worst possible outcome for this team.

It sort of begs the age-old question of what makes a team great. If it's just the greatest collection of individual talent there may well have been teams *in 2005* that were better than the 2005 Sox, for example, but I wouldn't call any of them "better teams." I'd put the playoff-rolling October '05 Sox up against any team I've ever watched head-to-head (in fact, they've already beaten them all by one metric, their record against the playoff gauntlet every team has to face). The '94 team is impossible to measure by that metric, but I'd have a tough time putting them ahead of the '05 Sox. That 1917 team had a ton of talent and a ring so that's a tough call. I do believe this collection of players has a chance to jump to the front of what is, sadly, a pretty short list.

Marshall? Not yet anyway. I would not miss, Cordero, though.

This thread is like watching a bunch of kids with sticks torturing a rabid possum that got caught in a window-well. Yes, it'll hiss and flip out every time you poke it. Just let the poor thing be. It's a beautiful Spring day and there's a ballgame on!

As nice (and shocking) as it is to see almost unanimous positivity about *something* on this board, I'm surprised it's about the aspect of the team that is generally regarded to be the biggest crapshoot of all. That folks can nit-pick and savage established stars while casually penciling in guys like Foster, Marshall, and Heuer as lockdown relievers. There, I went and poisoned it. You're welcome.

I think it’s technically called a “murder” of Cespedeese But I will stick with “cespedeses,” perhaps with the emphasis on “ped”

Then can we please change the title to “Cespedeses” (which is somehow even more satisfying to say)? Cespedeses.

I’ve been a doubter but my god, if Yermin rakes again this spring you’ve got to give him a shot. Even if it’s just for a couple weeks while you keep Vaughn down for control reasons. Have to admit here is a real circularity to the anti-Yermin argument. “He’s not good enough to get called up...because if he were good enough, he’d be called up.”

Yeah, me too. We've reached the "wishing for injuries" portion of the official "positivity" thread, I see.

I think it's probably fine, too. We're stuck in a bad situation facing an innings limit because he sat out last year. This seems like a reasonable way to deal with that while maximizing the chance that he can help us down the stretch. Maybe stretching him out as a starter and shutting him down in August, ala Strasburg a few years back, would be best for his development (though I have my doubts,) but *nobody* would be happy with that if he has a solid year and we're in contention.

I predict Ricketts will become public enemy #1 over the next few years (though probably not for this ^) as the Cubs continue to bleed members of their core and the team slides. An already unlikeable owner shielded for the last few years by the team's success is going to be thrust into the harsh light of post-"dynasty" media scrutiny.

Clearly it was antifa.

Damn that's a pretty good back end of a batting order.