RandyMarsh

Practicing hard is a big reason they play as well as they do on the Sundays, if you ease it up you may get less injuries but you're probably not gonna be as sharp come gameday.

It looks like the players will be wearing their normal uniforms, haven't been paying attention lately so not sure if that has been the norm but definitely prefer it to the All Star jerseys.

Yeah it's just BP but when power isnt considered one of your strongest tools this is good to see.

People also understate the importance of Dan's aggressiveness. Once they got to the 50 or sometimes even before that he basically gave Ben 4 downs to play with. That is a major advantage, it allowed him to try plays early in downs or run it on 2nd or 3rd and long. The entire playbook was always open thanks to that and it made defenses play honest.

I remember going to a game when McDyess was here, him and Ben were warming up shooting 20fters(would be outlawed nowadays) all around the court. McDyess seemingly made every one but Ben was making at least 75% as well, just looked so effortless but of course outside of some rare times it never translated to a game. It was at that point where I full understood just how good these guys are if left to shoot in practice scenarios and not to put much stock into how one looks in such situations.

Not to stick up for McCoskey but the "old friend" tagline for former players of your team has been used by people for years(decades?), it's not like he is using in the literal sense or to suck up to a player.

Lol There's no way that was an accident. I wonder if there is a demand for that card in the hobby because of that? Like the Billy Ripken "fck face card" in the 80s.

haha I just went and double checked, Verlander gave up a triple off a weird bounce(1:09:30 on the 2nd video), and Ichiro hit the HR off one later in the game. I give myself somewhat of a pass for mixing that up but should've known that Ichiro was on the same team since he basically played his entire career in the AL.

I don't blame Hinch cause it's hard to pinch hit for your starts young player but tactically it probably would've been better to use Javy there against the LH.

Somebody I have my eye on is Mike Soroka of the Nationals. Yes at first glance you see his ERA is above 5 but that doesn't tell the whole story. He has an xERA at 3.19 which is elite, has elite K% along with BB%. Also has been pitching better of late. I would gamble on things correcting themselves and him getting luckier in the second half. Also last year when put in relief he excelled with a 2.75 ERA and 15 k/9, so even if we don't need him as a starter in the playoffs he could be the swing and miss guy we desperately need out of the bullpen. Also just 27 so somebody that we could look to keep if he performs well down the stretch.

I only watched it when it happened so I may be remembering it wrong but from memory that looks alike Ichiro against Verlander in the All Star Game there in 07 I believe. A similar bounce led to Ichiro walking in for the inside the park hr.

Its just a total roll of the dice trading for a young pitcher like that. You could get 6+ yrs of prime Verlander or Kershaw, or you could get 6 years of Stephen Strasburg. There just isn't a reliable way to predict their health to my knowledge and for that it's too risky to empty the farm for.

From a prospec/young talent standpoint that would be the biggest haul that I can remember. The Marlins got two top 10 overall prospects for Miggy as did the White Sox for Sale but this is quite a bit more than that. You not only get 2 top 10 prospects but a guy who yes is having TJ surgery but was just ranked in the top 5 and best RH pitching prospect in baseball just 4 months ago so that is a big piece as well. Then the cherry on top is Keith, a 23yr old that has already hitting at a plus level and at times elite level who himself was among the best prospects in baseball just 18 months ago. Also has the added benefit of signing a team friendly extension. Not to mention the "throw in" would be SGL who has the makings of being a serviceable back end starter. That may be what it would take to get Skenes but no way would I make that trade for a single pitcher. Just way too much risk involved.

As an added benefit they knocked around Hunter Brown putting his ERA behind Skubal's now.