ashbury

While I don't fully subscribe to your assertion, I meant the latter anyway. Some deeper-pocketed team, that values prospects less than we have to, will raise whatever bet Falvey puts on the table.

Um, yes? That was my point in providing the links. I think this is where I came into the discussion.

Yes. Luckily for you and me, sarcasm is also still allowed.

Pretty sure this is not what "analytics" is saying. Pretty sure.

It's very hard for a right-handed batter to rise far in the minors without being at least playable versus righties. The reverse is not true for left handed batters.

Does Christian have any aunts who are unattached? Asking for a friend. A very weird friend.

As should be the case, if the Padres are hinting that they would part with him. The Twins aren't going to win a bidding war using any conceivable prospect capital, and Vazquez is nowhere near enough of an inducement. I'm giving this Twins-specific trade rumor little attention.

The Slower Than Expletive Relay™, to be precise.

It’s the most pivotal point in team history.

Clickbait Headline Baits for Clicks: Bait #3 Will Blow Your Mind

Help! We're entering the Second Base Zone.

Yes, it drove me nuts watching Correa being forced to play right tackle while Santana took the point guard slot.

Or if you read Rex Morgan in the funny papers this morning: "my novel", one word of which has yet to be written.

Only without so many of those pesky words. 😀 But seriously, thanks.

I might try for ju-jitsu - a pair of related moves that aren't directly very aggressive but have synergy together. I'd look into trading Paddack plus some minimal prospect capital for a good fielder at SS who has an adequate but subpar bat and a low salary, i.e. a backup who's better than waiver wire fodder. At the same time I'd look at trading Castro to someone else for a capable but probably not stellar relief pitcher at a low salary plus some minimal prospect capital coming back to us. The combined aim would be to have a slightly different mix of skills at the utility infield position (Willi is no great shakes at SS while his bat is overrated anyplace else), and in effect redeploy Paddack into some other relief arm at lower cost, since that could turn out to be his best use anyway. It gets out from under the two not-terribly significant salaries that seem to be such an issue, at perhaps a slight downgrade at the two positions, but we have minor-league candidates for both roles who might be better and would surpass the two incumbents soon anyway. For decent return at the major league level, we might have to take a net loss on the prospects going out versus coming back, but nothing remotely like a top-ten prospect leaving unless something similar comes back. I don't think you could trade Paddack for pitching, nor Castro for infield help, directly. But the desire to trade both of them creates opportunity, without the need to orchestrate an actual 3-team trade yet with the same end result.

Garcia would be a fantastic co-owner, but he'd probably flip his stake in the team inside of a week and for a slight net loss.

Here's what ChatGPT has to say about who won the American League pennant in 1899: (Whatever was going on in Boston in 1899, it wasn't the franchise that joined the American League in 1901, and the predecessor to the American League known as the Western League had no Boston franchise.) I ran across this mistake a year or two ago, and it continues to crop up when I try it again now and then. Sure it's a trick question; I expect software to deal with fuzzy input. So, personally, I would double check anything ChatGPT tells me. I trust ChatGPT less than I trust Wikipedia, which is really saying something.

A fair way to end the tangent. TBH I was thinking of finding an off-ramp too after regretting my last post, and you saved me the trouble. 😀

Teams have to base decisions on something. You advocate ERA or FIP? Or just Ks and BBs? There's more than that to go on.

Just start him in the major league All-Star Game and cut out all this in-between stuff.

Weep for me. I married an Irish-Catholic from Chicago. 😀

So do you trust ERA or FIP instead? Because that was my point.

ERA and its cousin FIP are both so wonky when it comes to partial innings that I would not place much stock in either for relievers. Not when OPS-against simply looks at outcomes on a plate appearance basis. OPS is subject to variability like any other rate stat, but I don't see how it has any disadvantages not shared by other stats, especially where platoon-splits are of interest.

If that were true, depending on what limits you have in mind for the word "small", they would do equally well and perhaps better by simply dropping the fee and exposing advertisers to an even bigger and thus more lucrative audience, with the ancillary benefit of a happier customer base.