TheLeviathan

If Buxton is healthy: trade him. This team burned the extension bridge with him and, even if they didn't, I want no part of it. If he could play 120 games I'd give him the farm, but he can't. Get what you can and start making sure Gordon or Lewis or someone else is the CFer of the future for this team. Disclaimer: I do not love this conclusion, it's just the only reasonable one left.

No, no we don't.

Yeah, I don't think you're being unreasonable or anything. There was a time it mattered to me as well. Hell, we have a 64 and a Wii that our kids still play despite the Switch. I just wonder how many people actually use that capability and make their purchasing decisions off of it. At the end of the day, my $500 bucks is to play the next game, not a pixelated one from ten years ago. It seems like Sony bet on that when they were deciding what hardware/software/features to focus on. By a quick glance at sales and demand, it may be they have the right read on the overall gaming market, even if that feels like a thumb in the eye to you. (And I say that as a person who does actively maintain four older systems, so sentimentally I can relate)

That's fair...I guess my question is how much time do you want to spend on games that old with a new system? I've never quite understood why developers should spend resources appeasing legacy support vs just saying "keep your old systems"? Not knocking the appeal of nostalgia games, just always wondered how much people actually use that feature.

A lot of the best games of the older generations are getting resmastered versions anyway so I'm not sure it's going to hurt too much. Gamepass is really the only selling point for X-box IMO. Playstation continues to deliver the best gaming experiences, best new titles, and the most reliable hardware. It was an easy choice for me.

TROLPO ate him.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/sports/baseball/mlb-injuries-soft-tissue.html https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jun/09/baseball-injuries-mlb-rise-reasons-covid Lots of articles out there confirming a large spike in baseball injuries. These are just two of a trove that arent hard to find. Nothing to do with the Twins sucking, just one more sweet ingredient to MLB's rapid decline into irrelevancy.

I don't believe you're reading that right. The 2021 data is for 40% of the season and the other seasons are for the entire year. At least that's how I'm reading it. Is that right @Tom Froemming? If so, not only are injuries up, but they are up at a ridiculously high rate both for the Twins and the league as a whole. (Which jives with other articles I've read)

I just play franchise mode mostly in Madden and The Show. I play while I use the treadmill and that's usually all my gaming time so I dont get caught up in all that. PS5 is a beautiful machine to use...I can't wait for that hardware to get put to full use. Should've mentioned I still run a baseball mogul online sim league that has been going since 2010.

I got the PS5 so I'm reliving my favorite series of all time with Mass Effect Legendary. We got the game "Strike" for our kids and really enjoy it as a family game. Ditto "Can't Catch Harry" which is a version of Spoons. I wish we had more time for adult gaming, but we don't get to that a lot.

All future Weeks In Review can be summarized thusly:

The driver who taxis our guys from the Saints to the Twins. He's handled a meteoric rise in volume like a champ.

Satire about them isn't even able to match the actual silliness of these rules. Good try though.

Listen to CC preach. (Lots of language, but the point is there)

A few things stand out to me: 1. The first affront to the game of baseball was putting Austidillo on the mound. I can't think of a more "defiling" act towards professional baseball than some catcher throwing 40 mph "heaters" in a professional game. Hockey teams don't put their wings in at goalie. Football teams don't play their third QB at safety. Basketball teams don't play their equipment guy at center. It seems odd to me that we're aghast that a professional hitter took a professional swing in a professional game and not what the Twins did on the mound. This kind of mind-numbing logic is the root of unwritten rules. 2. What do you want hitters facing guys like Austidillo to do? Stand there and get walked? Stand there and take strikes? I'm sure that will help the ol' pace of play. 3. I'm going to let Lisa Simpson handle the "but it stopz so much stuffz from happening" argument. 4. I've never understood why "old school" and "integrity" and other words are so tightly associated with a vague, randomly enforced set of rules designed to cover a bunch of butthurt cry baby professionals who complain mostly because they're getting beat. If you don't like things happening......stop them. What's more old school than that? 5. I commend the NHL and NBA for their steps to stop player policing. (The NFL is a sport that basically requires you to play people correctly or risk serious injury) They haven't fixed all their problems, but both their sports are better for it and continue to improve because of it. Don't worry, baseball will dinosaur itself long before you have to worry about whether some team who puts their third string infield in at pitcher can whine about being down 16-0 rather than 15-0 cuz some evil scumbag *gasp* swung his bat! I know I can't wait until we get that sweet, sweet inning of Kyle Garlick on the mound just so we can salivate at the chance to stomp our feet and be angry someone tried to swing on him!

There are no fun ways to lose, but there may be no more frustrating way in all of sports than a baseball team and a bad bullpen.

If he goes 0-30 will it then magically switch to an "obviously great decision" with no debate? Doesn't your framing seem a bit too aggressive given Badoo couldn't trade a plate appearance for an egg and fill a carton?

I believe in the young man's talent and determination and grit. I am a skeptic of his ability to stay on the field to dazzle us with it. I hope this year calms that skepticism.

Signing in late February certainly indicates there wasnt a rush to sign him. It's also safe to assume in a year with a more normal bidding season and less financial uncertainty could have led to more money. 12M AAV seems like a Buxton floor. I dont see any reason he would ink a deal for a penny less than that.

I think these are good talking point benchmarks. I could do 5/50. I'd do 5/60 for the chance at lightning in a bottle. But past that you start to lose me in the risk vs. reward. Jackie Bradley Jr. is an informative comp for him. A player with no durability issues, but otherwise similarly up and down offensive profile with good defense. Dude got 12M in a year where the pandemic wrecked FA. I think we've come to a point where clubs are paying a premium for defense. I'm not sure we can get his name inked on a contract for less than 15 AAV.

I think there is too much speculation here. Yes, he seems to be really good at reading the ball, but it's hard to know how good that skill is independent of his speed for obvious reasons. We've seen a lot of other speedy players decline markedly after their speed goes from elite to just "good". Perhaps Byron is an exception, but that isn't the sort of thing you bet extensions on. I don't feel comfortable with any speculation on vision/migraines/concussions either. That can effect people so differently. I'd accept just having him take a bit more care not to freight train any OF walls. That sort of thing at age 31 isn't the same as 25.

He won't get signed for 10M. If this happens it will have to be 12-13M at minimum given what Jackie Bradley got. I'm guessing it'll actually have to be closer to 15M. 15M for a backup OF is not a terribly good use of resources. Van is right that his speed is going to wane and right now almost all of his defensive and offensive value is tied up in that. Couple that with the fact that age is rarely kind to durability and we have a problem. His body is in the prime of his life and he still can't stay on the field. That isn't going to get better. I can talk myself into the gamble because the talent is obvious, but we need to walk into it eyes wide open. He is a bit of a reckless player, the upside might be worth it, but the downside is seriously real.

Yeah I'm not in this heavy at all. I find the stock market slimy and gross. But a few hundred bucks to help this movement stick it to these guys? Hell yeah. I'm in. I bought AMC and I'll ride it out for a week or two. Worst case I'm out a few hundred bucks for a few weeks of fun. Make no mistake, even if all these guys lose their shirts in the end, they've made a difference. This is the first true blow to cronyism in our government in as long as I can remember.

This is an amazing effort by people to stick it to wall street. I'm in on it. I expect more nonsense like we saw today, but even if we all lose our investments....the spotlight on this BS became crystal clear. We're uniting the country one demolished hedge fund at a time!

No mention of Roger Clemens MVP Baseball? Those goofy name mutations to avoid paying a license were incredible! Plus it was a fun game....