Riverbrian

Solano was 2 for 4 with a walk and run scored. Should have had him bat 3rd!

It would be an interesting decision today for sure but I'm guessing that the decision will be easier when he is ready because of injuries or poor play from others.

Knock on wood. Who knows... we might get lucky on the injury front this year but we'd have to be real lucky with our 40 man space dominated by starting pitching (which I think is a necessary and good thing). There are just a couple of 40 man position player spots outside the 26 man roster at the moment. So... once the injury bug bites a little harder than it already has and I assume it will at some point because it always does. These guys listed above will be forced to face the opposite hand that they were intended to face negating that advantage. Don't get me wrong... I like the depth overall... I'm not complaining.

When bad teams win 4 out of 10 games and they do. Unimposing teams are not as unimposing as we tend to treat them. When good teams win 6 out of 10 games and they do. Imposing teams are not as imposing as we tend to make them out. I encourage everyone to do the math and think about it. Until then... Here come the ole' measuring stick Astros articles and comments which of course follow the dismissing of a sweep against the lowly Royals articles and comments. Teams best strap it on every day. These so called bad teams are filled with professionals who luck out wins 4 out of 10 times. These so called imposing teams like the Astros apparently are not imposing all the time. They are currently 3-4, 18th in hitting (OPS) and 12th in pitching (ERA). Someone beats them 4 out of 10 times.

Aww... I got that What'cha Gonna Do Man

New thing is tried and it works. Advantage acquired. Eventually one by one competitors copy new thing until all are doing it. Advantage negated. New thing is tried and it works. Advantage acquired Eventually one by one competitors copy new thing until all are doing it. Advantage negated. New thing is tried and it works. Advantage acquired Eventually one by one competitors copy new thing until all are doing it. Advantage negated.

I don't know who should hit lead off. I'll leave that to Rocco to decide. But... I do believe that whoever hits leadoff... shouldn't permanently hit lead off because there will be games when the lead off hitter doesn't match up favorably. As long as the lineup is slotted or static... Rocco is on autopilot.

I'd be happy if the leadoff spot or any spot in a batting order for that matter was fluid. Not slotted game in and game out like they typically do. If you are going to use metrics to determine who should play then use all metrics to determine who should play AND where they should hit in the order. It should change based upon hot/cold and matchup data. Kepler batting leadoff 3 times in a row assumes that Kepler is our best hitter. He has not been for two years. Kepler batting leadoff 3 times in a row assumes that Kepler matches up best against Greinke, Lyles and Keller. I don't know... I haven't checked the metrics but I doubt that. If you are going to platoon for advantages around tight margins. Why negate those slight advantages with a slotted batting order that will some day produce Kepler batting leadoff against a starter that he is 0 for 20 against.

Injuries... Who'da thunk. 😉

I agree with you. I'm not arguing your point in your 2nd paragraph. I think this is an awesome thing for baseball. You are clearly not sure where I was going with this. I really hope you are not looking for a recent link of Major League Baseball using (obviously paying) an elected congressional representative to slip already defeated language into a massive omni-bus bill when they have already done that and it is still the rule of the land. If you are indeed looking for a recent link... I apologize because I don't have that. I'm not aware of the need for baseball or congress to do that again since it has already been done so I haven't been checking for it. It was you who said: "Campaign contribution? Quietly slipped into massive spending bill? By who? We're all reading about this now...in a public forum". So I posted a 5 year old link so you can remove the question marks in your post. 😉

Be grateful for the depth and hold on to it with both hands.

I don't think the game would suffer in total. MLB already can't compete with the NFL when it comes to the immediate pay out to Kyler Murray. It will suffer in little corners of the game such as when Oakland wastes a number one pick on Kyler Murray. I'm OK with your model in its basic form but I still think the real problem had always been above the minor leaguers heads at the CBA negotiation table where you have two big boys fighting over as much of the pie as they can get with no room to care about minor league conditions.

Here's an article explaining what baseball did with the help a high placed friend in Washington. https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2018/3/23/17152778/spending-bill-minor-league-baseball-explained-save-americas-pastime

Agreed on the draft bonuses with one exception. Sometimes the elite athlete has other sport options so baseball does have to try and be competitive with the other sports in that occasional circumstance. My concern with minor league compensation hasn't been with the bonus baby 1st and 2nd rounders. Those bonuses are big and a little financial discipline and they can ride out the low compensation. My concern has always been with the later round low bonus guys who has to have a young wife or girlfriend working two jobs just so he can chase a dream and afford a roof, sandwich, maybe even a car so she can get to work at those two jobs. Every CBA I keep looking for someone either ownership or the players union to speak up for the minor league players. It never happens because it hasn't been in anybody's interest to concern themselves with what I'm concerned about. This announcement is big... It makes me happy on this fine opening day of baseball in 2023.

The housing is huge and with that I think some real important progress was made.

I'm not sure what you are saying. Are you worried about rising ticket prices for minor league games because minor league players being paid more. They are two separate entities. Minor league players are paid by the major league clubs. Minor league ownership are the businesses who profit from ticket, parking and concessions. The ticket prices will take care of itself. If they raise the price too high, less people will attend and they will make less money and those prices will be set accordingly by the minor league clubs in order maximize their profit. Market forces will determine ticket price but higher player payroll doesn't hit the minor league ownership wallet because they are paid by the major league clubs. It is major league ownership that had been keeping minor league player costs down and cutting minor league teams in order to minimize their expense and therefore keep profit. I don't have a problem with a business making profit but I do have a problem when elite talent is paid below poverty level because they can't do anything about it. What I copy and pasted was from 2018 and I did so to point out what major league baseball did to keep minor league players at below poverty levels. I did it to illustrate what a big moment this is. Very few of us are aware of what they did because we don't read page 1,937 of a 2,232 page document and I think people should know, especially if you are a baseball fan. They took the same language from a 2016 stand alone bill (Save America's Pastime Act) that was soundly defeated, basically laughed off the stage to the point where sponsors of the bill had to back pedal. Two years later despite having no chance of being passed on it's own, it gets quietly attached, skipping the committee process directly into a massive 2018 omnibus bill deep into 2,232 page document that was necessary to keep government functioning and had nothing to do with baseball. Representation for minor league players has been necessary for a long time with the anti-trust advantages and the friends in high places that baseball had over the players for decades. I love baseball but what they have done to minor league players was shameful and today's news is so much bigger than how much money they are paying Aaron Judge and what the MLBPA and MLB baseball fight over every CBA.

His first sentence was quoting me but he didn't use the quote feature so it looks like it was all his commentary.

Having representation and a seat at the table is fantastic news. The agreement isn't enough in my opinion but it gets them above the poverty line and the fact that they needed to get above the poverty line is embarrassing. I love the game of Baseball... Always have and always will but I know what the owners and the commissioners office did and it's hard to forgive. In 2018 on page 1,967 of a 2,232 page 1.3. trillion omnibus spending bill some elected official was able to skip the committee process and just slide this in. [A]ny employee employed to play baseball who is compensated pursuant to a contract that provides for a weekly salary for services performed during the league’s championship season (but not on spring training or the off season) at a rate that is not less than a weekly salary equal to the minimum wage under section 6(a) for a workweek of 40 hours, irrespective of the number of hours the employee devotes to baseball related activities. This is how it works folks. A campaign contribution and it is quietly slipped into a massive spending bill and just like that... it's reality. This is what major league baseball did to minor league players. It's Ok... we don't watch this stuff anyway. Progress from this is progress.

I can't... I'm scared it might snow again if I do.

OMG... That would have been the perfect ending.

1. I'm picking the Twins this year because the depth should be able to keep the Wolves away. 2. I think the White Sox are a strong candidate for a rebound 3. I don't like Cleveland's depth. They were pretty healthy last year. If they are not healthy this year... especially on the mound... I can see them not being able to over come it. 4. If I had to pick a sleeper... it would be the Royals. Lots of young talent bubbling up. Most Likely too much young talent to carry them but the Royals have talent and depth of young talent and I think they will be a tough beat while they are getting beat. 5. The Tigers... will be have a lot of balls in the lottery next year. I've been shocked before... the Tigers in contention would be a hair stand on end shock. Side Note: I will go on record because I wan't to go on record. After many years of being down on the Angels because of their being over reliant upon a few big namers year after year. I am going to predict the Angels making the playoffs this year, being the surprise team force in the West. They are finally addressing their biggest problem and deepening the lineup beyond Ohtani and Trout. I think it's going to pay off. Bullpen is their current primary issue and that is potentially a big one.

The Injury Gods are doing the promotional circuit now. They will be on Kimmel tonight. I wonder why the sudden need for promotion after years of lurking in the shadows? I've heard rumor they are releasing a new album and I've also heard rumor that their corporation is going public with an initial public offering planned for sometime this summer.

OK I the front office declare thee goal... winning games. That should take care of it. 😄

I never said that the Yankees are looking "strictly" for value. You are making my statements black and white with no middle ground. You are pointing out the middle ground when you say " they aren't looking strictly for value" I agree with that. Please offer me the same middle ground that you are awarding to yourself. I understand that the Yankees sign free agents and I understand that any time you sign a free agent... value is rarely the reason because in order to sign the free agent, you have out spent where other teams value that player in order to sign him. Once you do that that player has negative value to other teams. My point is simple yet, it is being unnecessarily complicated. A front office has to increase value of their players. Yankees included despite the millions of dollars that they spend in free agency. Yes... The Yankees are paying Stanton a boat load of money. But they had to offer value to Marlins to acquire him and that value was value that they increased to the point of satisfying the Marlins. The Yankees had to develop the value of players sent to the Cubs to acquire Rizzo. If those players don't develop sufficient value... they don't get Rizzo for those players. The Yankees had to develop the value of players sent to the Pirates in order to acquire Clay Holmes. After they acquired Clay... They developed him into something better and have no increased his value to the point where they might be get more value then they sent to the Pirates. They don't have to cash in but they increased that value. They increased the Value of Aaron Judge and Severino and are keeping that value to themselves. They have increased the value of Volpe, Peraza and the Martian (Jasson Dominquez) to the point that they can now trade those assets and acquire an incredible player in return. Which is a very Yankees thing to do since 17 players on their current 40 man were acquired via trade. 14 players are homegrown. 7 were acquired via free agency. You can't acquire 17 players via trade unless you have value to send back. And in conclusion... I believe we shouldn't trade Thielbar because he has more value to us then what we would get in return. I stand by my statement that the goal of every front office is to increase the value of their players and if you are successful in doing so... the wins will follow.

Not my argument either. 😉