chasfh

Assuming it all plays out the way we imagine we might, I agree to the degree that the blame for the obstruction can be successfully laid at the feet of the Republicans and not the Senate, the White House, or other Democratic-led institutions. Sure, it would be obvious to us where the problem lies, but remember that the hard right has an entire media ecosystem that influences tens of millions of voters, so the perception of blame wins the day over actual culpability. As for the fungibility of the debt ceiling, the idea that it’s there but not really there, we’ve gone through this threat before and they’ve always come up with a deal within a reasonable amount of time. So I don’t think we can really project what the effect of a hard fight over it that drags on for weeks, months, or a couple of years would look like—especially if the G-bonds people bought actually stop getting paid on.

I think the answer to that was probably no.

That's going to be the big difference: Soto has got a strong net under him in Philly.

He has the face of a guy who would beat the hell out of you just for the hell of it.

As a throw-in, we could have done a lot worse than Donny Sands. He’s shown really good plate discipline with some pop, and had a .413 on base at AAA Lehigh last year.

I was wondering whether and how Avila might have made this trade were he here. Since Dombrowski is on the other side, the trade might well have been made in the first place. I could see Avila sending Soto and either Klemens or Kreidler in exchange for Edmundo Sosa, Proven Major Leaguer, and a couple of flyer pitchers from down the system, perhaps someone like Jayden Astanista and … oh, I don’t know, maybe Mike Adams. OK, enough of that pointless speculation … we return you to your actual trade discussion already in progress …

Maybe the thing to take from the disparity is that a tweak might help him square up the ball more consistently. Vierling can be one of Brdar’s top projects this spring.

It’s a little weird how red Vierling’s average EV number is but how blue his barrel rate is. I’m not sure what to take from that. That poor jump and great arm screams right field.

Don’t tell Lee but Cody has gone all in on Statcast cards … 😉💀

Ok indeed

lol MLB Network Radio saying that because the Tigers are willing to trade Soto, that means we are sliding back into a rebuild.

I also mean at least Maton. We’d better get more than that back for Soto.

I would take Nick Maton in return.

International test fart.

I am frankly amazed at how much of a bogeyman “woke” has become.

I’m sure there are Democrats who would vote for a Republican speaker who is not part of or beholden to the Kookoo Kaukus. Maybe some coalition could form around someone before long.

Welcome to life on Planet Earth, pal. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Still interested in your honest answer to what we need.

The one thing Avila did more of than the average GM was to sign minor league free agents, a frequently quick, easy, frictionless transaction about which I wrote here:

I'm out of reactions for the day, so I will give you this:

The difference here is that the sheer rate by which Harris is increasing the churn of players through use of the waiver system versus Avila increases the chances of finding useful players, and who knows, maybe even an undiscovered gem. Even if the hit rate of getting a WAR-positive player onto the roster is one in 10, it's worth the effort, because as an example, one in 10 out of 100 is worth far more than one in 10 out of 10. Christian Walker, Ramon Urias, and Jorge Mateo were all 3+ WAR players picked up by their current team off the waiver wire. The latter two by the Orioles, a team very much in our boat the past few seasons, and an organization we could do worse than to emulate when it comes to player acquisition.

I think it's humorous that they get churned in a matter of days. That's what ... You know what ... never mind