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Otto von Ballpark

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Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    Darnell is already off the 40-man roster, having been removed in January.
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    Gibson actually has two option years left. But he's got a longer leash than Milone -- Gibson hasn't missed a turn in our rotation in over two years, and was arguably our most effective starter last year. You'll get no argument from me if you want Gibson to feel some pressure soon too, but realistically and barring injury, the only potential opening in the rotation right now is Milone's spot.
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    I think that is the general belief about the John Hicks maneuver. The fact that it came just a few days before David Murphy's opt out date, and we have one outfielder struggling (Buxton) and another who needs AAA reps (Kepler), both with options, and our offense has been identified as our major weak point thus far, seems to be a bit stronger evidence that Murphy will take the spot, as opposed to Berrios. Berrios does have a shot, though. But there's really only one potential spot for him right now (Milone's), and not only is Milone without options, he's making $4.5 mil which suggests a longer leash than 3-4 starts. And they'd still have to make room for Milone in the pen -- not too hard, but demoting O'Rourke after his Sunday performance or DFA'ing Tonkin both seem like more difficult moves than simply optioning a young outfielder. And if you figure they were preparing to move Milone to the pen after his 4th start today, they would have shown more willingness to use him in relief on Sunday -- Alex Meyer would have been available to start Monday in his place, and with the off day Thursday, Berrios could have taken the next turn if they so desired.
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    By "save" do they mean as a closer?
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    Does his effectiveness the first time through the order in his last 3 starts really mean anything?
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    John Hicks release? Did I miss something?
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    Wow, I had no idea the Red Sox had demoted Swihart. Seems bold.
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    On the subject of strong pitching, Chih-Wei Hu makes his 3rd start tonight for the Rays AA team. His first 2 have gone pretty well: 9 IP, zero runs, 14 K's. He has a better case that someone "gave up on him" in his 3rd year out of high school than Stewart...
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    Saying a player's performance needs to improve if he wants to advance is hardly "giving up on him." Some may have been pessimistic about his chances to improve that much, but I don't think anybody opposed giving him that chance. For that matter, his performance this year has covered all of 3 starts. He obviously needs to keep it up for a while longer if he wants to reclaim his earlier prospect rankings -- I hope you don't construe such a statement as "giving up on him" again...
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    He doesn't have great splits going through the order the first time, except for 3 starts this season. He's got 106 starts that say otherwise. If you want to demote him to the pen, fine -- he's scuffling, we could probably use a long man out there, and we've got Berrios and/or Meyer looking good in AAA. But he's not a prospective short relief weapon at this point.
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    I've been a Stewart skeptic, but this 3 game stretch is exactly the kind of results I was hoping to see. Hope he keeps it up!
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    Fortunately, this should be the only time you have to experience that, at least in this universe.
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    Alex Burnett made the opening day roster in 2010, skipping AAA. Way back in 2001, I believe Grant Balfour skipped AAA to make his MLB debut too. We did that with a number of starters that year -- Rincon, Brad Thomas, Adam Johnson...
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    Actually, Chargois had 33 IP in AA last year too (plus another ~5 IP in the AA playoffs). Hopefully if his fast start is for real, he will be promoted soon, at least to AAA.
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    Also, I just noticed that T-Mobile customers might be able to save 30% on their first year when they sign up for Sling (so, $14/month for 12 months): https://www.sling.com/tmobile The promo shows the non-Fox package at Sling, but I suspect that is because the promo has been around longer than the new "multi-stream beta" Fox package. Worth a shot if you sign up -- I understand it is relatively easy to switch between the two Sling packages too. And, if you enable T-Mobile's "Binge On" feature, your can watch Sling streaming video (and MLB.TV and others) on your phone without it counting against your phone plan's data usage. (Although T-Mobile scales the video resolution down, it probably wouldn't matter much on a small screen.)
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    Have you checked if your cable provider supports Fox Sports Go streaming? You may be able to skip the Slingbox step that way. DISH and Comcast are the big holdouts for FSN on Fox Sports Go, but I heard DISH will be adding it in the coming months, and I suspect Comcast will too once MLB gets them on board for in-market streaming otherwise (Comcast owns some regional sports networks too).
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    I think Buxton's stock got inflated primarily by his fantastic 2013 season. Average, speed, power, walks, age 19... wow. Not that many K's either. ~.400 BABIP but good hitters can do that in the minor leagues (Trout was in that neighborhood too). Melvin Upton is an interesting name -- he's been a punchline since he signed his big FA deal, but prior to that, he was a good but inconsistent player. Now, if Buxton could do that with good defense, it could cover some inconsistencies with the bat, but Buxton also doesn't have Upton's good health track record which could be another concern. Not a bad outcome, not a bust or a flop, but still a little short of what most observers thought they saw coming together in 2013.
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    Career minor league ISO Buxton .188 Trout .174 Crawford .110 (and that has been boosted a few points by recent year rehab stints)
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    Did you try all of the alternate channels too? I think because of the way they deliver Fox Sports across different regions, it might be buried a bit, but the games should be there somewhere. (Sorry I haven't actually tried it yet, despite being a big proponent here ) I found this at a Royals blog about Sling: "Although it does not technically carry a Fox Sports Kansas City channel, it will carry Royals games on the "Fox Sports" alternate channels, with no blackout restrictions." Maybe something similar is going on for you? If you want to contact Sling about it, but you don't want to sit on the phone, try opening a case at getservice.com -- they can call on your behalf.
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    Age and minor league statistics become less meaningful as time passes and MLB stats are accumulated. Conforto has been very good as a MLB hitter so far, and it doesn't look like a fluke -- great power, good control of the strike zone, and his left-handed bat means he will regularly have the platoon advantage. Plus, while he is a corner outfielder, both B-Ref and Fangraphs give him positive marks for defense so far in his MLB career, so he's not hurting his case too much there. Health has value too, and as far as I can tell, he's never had a serious injury. It's an interesting comparison, and it's far from cut-and-dried as you suggest. A case can still be made for Buxton, of course, particularly given the Twins roster/org where we need a CF more than another corner guy. But I think you can make a case for Conforto now too.
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    Unlike Vue, Sling has basically every other device covered with native apps, including other Apple products, so I imagine it will happen (unlike the Google-Amazon stalemate). The delay might have been due to Apple planning its own TV service, but now that's apparently on ice: http://www.engadget.com/2015/12/09/apple-tv-service-on-hold/ And for those who have an Apple TV and are unaware, you can use your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch to Airplay video (including Sling's) to your Apple TV: http://www.groovypost.com/howto/watch-sling-tv-apple-tv/
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    Correct. Sling posted a channel comparison here: http://news.sling.com/sites/sling.newshq.businesswire.com/files/doc_library/file/MSS_Channel_Comp_FINAL_0.pdf I don't use Disney, and ESPN would be nice but it is hardly worth the extra $20 per month (or $15 per month if you went with Vue's $35 package), so the choice would be easy for me.
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    Teams have short benches these days, so a comparable righty bat may not be available to pinch hit.
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    Yes, according to Sling: "In-market multi-stream subscribers can also watch NFL games on their local FOX station." http://blog.sling.com/announcements/sling-tvs-beta-multi-stream-service-brings-fox-broadcast-hit-shows-and-local-sports-with-three-streams-1/
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't know why there would have been a blackout. Hopefully it was just a mix-up on the alternate channel (although good to hear that they do theoretically provide the alternate channel too). Do contact Sling and let them know.
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