casimir

The Boyd signing doesn't really seem like much of anything. He's been injured. Sure, he had his fling out west in 2022, but most of that was rehab & return to the mound. Its almost kind of like he didn't leave. Lorenzen has been the only big shiny new toy. In fairness to Malloy, there does seem to be some promise, but I think most folks are looking for major league ready toys under the offseason holiday shrub. The waiver wire claims, meh, that's just stocking stuffer junk. Its the scratch off lottery tickets that your mother-in-law insists on getting for you even though you'd just rather have the $10 that was used to purchase them. They'll eventually sign nominal free agents like Drury and/or Myers in January. In February there might be a random name free agent that signs a minor league deal & spring training invite with an in/out clause for the end of camp. That'll be the extent of it.

They're playing the long game with Cabrera's conditioning?

Can't believe it hasn't been retired for Higginson.

Utah Jazz vs Detroit Pistons

Loser of Seth can still go after Dawel.

Soto.

It’s true, a payroll isn’t a limited resource. His 2022 isn’t worth $7M. But I think that given his history and the team wide offensive slump in 2022, there’s reason to believe he can bounce back. Heck, $7M is less than they gave to each of Boyd and Lorenzen. Are either of them any more solid risks than Candelario in 2023?

Soto’s lack of control goes beyond slider issues last season. His history in the minors and majors is a 5 BB/9. He’s just a wild pitcher.

I guess I missed that post, too.

Jimenez just had a better season than Soto. I would also say he’s the better pitcher over their careers and would supply FIP, WHIP, BB/9, and SO/9 as the reasons.

He was a helluva running mate with HIJKLMNOP.

I think expansion will happen. Whether that’s right or wrong, that’s another story. But Silver is just doing his part to increase expansion fees and drive up value for the league.

Is it that they don’t understand how they work, or that they don’t want to understand how they work?

No question it’s electric. But the control is like predicting where a lightning bolt will strike.

Saves are a terribly overrated statistic.

I know some folks think that roundabouts are a pet peeve, but there have been some added around heres that are not peevey at all and there are a couple of additional intersections where I'd like to see them added.

This makes me wonder how much effect Fetter has on the pitching staff. Dombrowski seemed to never be able to build a bullpen, although to be fair he did have success with some of his acquisitions. Even with the overall better success of the bullpens these days vs previous days, it's just difficult to look at Soto and feel encouraged about his entry into a game. I suppose that I said it myself with Fetter and look at how Jimenez got back being a good pitcher, so maybe he can spin the same magic on Soto. But the walks are still an issue.

Brooklyn Nets vs Detroit Pistons

I just don’t see the value in Soto. A RP that erratic is worthless.

Put him there in spring training, he’ll be hurt before Opening Day, and then there’s a roster spot to play with. Why do I have to come up with all of the good ideas?

I’ll take the cats. You can take the people.

I’ll go out on a limb and say that of the two, Boyd will be the better pitcher. Go ahead and pin this post and then try to come at me at the end of the season.

Oh sure, if there’s anything this team needs, it’s to keep that over 5.0 BB/9 from Soto. That’s certainly a benefit to any bullpen.

Yeah, if 3B hadn't been shut down completely for Torkelson, I'd say go with he at 3B and Hosmer at 1B for next season. If Torkelson plays well at 3B, that's a bonus going forward. His future is based off of the bat, so if that fails, 3B or 1B doesn't matter.

I think one thing we can say about Chris Ilitch is that maybe he inherited the loyalty blinders that Mike Ilitch wore during the Randy Smith era. He finally pulled the plug, thankfully. We don't know whether Scott Harris will be successful. There was optimism when Dave Dombrowski was brought in because he had success on his resume. At the very least, Harris has a different perspective as an outsider to the organization. He has made some moves among the staff that were necessary (hitting coaching) and probably necessary (training staff, pitching coach with extensive kinesiology experience). His stated motive of controlling the strike zone from both sides of the inning and how pitching counts can potentially dictate results makes sense.