MiddleCoastBias

I was out in Oakland two weeks ago to catch a Friday night game against Detroit. I walked in expecting the worst stadium experience and to have a laugh, but man - those fans were having a blast. I left thinking about how these fans have nothing left to cheer for or show up for, and they're still out there having an awesome time. They deserved better.

I lol'd at "That could change the dynamic for Schumaker, as most believe he’s likely to take a more secure position over the White Sox job, if he was to be offered a contract." (emphasis added) The pope has a less job security than a Jerry Reinsdorf hire.

Are we still doing this? I thought we've been through countless "yeah and [insert some smoke show] is my first choice to date" jokes already. Boob has been reporting this for over a month - and it doesn't mean a thing when we just aren't an attractive landing spot. As countless others have said, we can have our preferences all we want, but that doesn't mean they want us. Though I guess I'll take these reports over "Tony LaRussa is our first choice", so take the good with the bad.

Can you imagine being a kid coming out of school and looking for your first job working minimum wage with a big league club, only for them to come out and say "sorry kid, we're going with Grady Sizemore."

.... new streak starts today, folks!

My Twitter timeline is full of pictures of players with their heads in their hands and Grifol leaning back in the dugout, but the video of Vargas just shell-shocked is the worst

What really sucks is seeing how motivated he was to play for Cuba in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Dude was on fire, led the team with a 1.258 OPS, I really thought he was going to be 'back' that year. Nope. Just goes to show that he has it in him when he wants to, but no drive when it doesn't matter to him.

Contract the team.

Gutting payroll would be the first thing I would do before selling the team. Just gut it down to the studs, no bad contracts or obligations for a new ownership group, fresh start. That's what a sensible owner would do to make a sale more appealing. But Jerry's probably just being a cheap asshole for cheap asshole's sake.

I read that as quantity, not necessarily top-quality. We'll see!

Don't you dare speak that into existence.

You just described the 2024 Mariners who are now in a tailspin. A studly starting five won't make up for dearth of talent/depth everywhere else.

It'll be Pham. Slight upgrade to their outfield without breaking the bank for Robert. It's a half-effort - they can show that they're trying, but it doesn't hurt them in the long run if they can't get out of this tailspin.

Jfc. We can't even fire-sale properly.

Not sure if this is a serious suggestion or sarcasm, but from all accounts it sounds like elite HOF hitters make poor hitting coaches. Guys like McGwire and Bonds have tried their hands at coaching and largely failed because they didn't have the same struggles as a hitter and can't adjust. Those elite guys have incredible skills and they know what works for THEM to be great. That's difficult to translate to a guy with a fraction of the skill and a totally different hitting approach. What worked for Frank Thomas won't work for everyone.

Seriously, this. His "camp" can go kick rocks.

And whatever we get for Crochet is going to set the market for what we can then get for Fedde. Settle for less than max value on Crochet likely also deflates what we can get for Fedde.

I think these reports are more for us/clicks/readers than they are for other GMs. Those GMs are actually, you know, talking to each and will say what it is necessary to actually gauge interest and worth. What a reporter says or doesn't say isn't going to impact the actual work going on behind the scenes, but it will get readers to continue clicking on their articles.

Depends, is it Tony or is it Hannah?

Wetherholt scares the bejeezus out of me. With our history of revolving door hamstring injuries, I can't for the life of me understand why we would want to potentially go through this all over again with a guy coming in with a major red flag. I'll let another organization benefit from his advanced hit tool if they can keep him healthy; I can't go through another "but his potential if he could just stay healthy!" player tenure. "What no one can tell you is whether he can stay healthy; this year’s hamstring injury was the second major one he’s suffered inside of 12 months, and it kept him off the field entirely for six weeks."

I put as much credence into that news as I do to WWBSF's letters to Reinsdorf to be the next GM.

Step 1. Kidnap Grimace Step 2. ?? Step 3. World Series Champions ?

I can see it cut both ways - contenders want those innings on their own team down the stretch, but they also want a bigger sample size to confirm he's the real deal before they commit to selling the farm for him. Look at Luis Gil's incredible start to the season vs his cratering this last month. If he was in Crochet's position (ie on a seller), teams would be glad to have seen those extra innings and adjust how much they want to give up.