mikelink45

Fun, but of course it is just fodder for all of us who are so anxious for a real baseball to appear again.

No - it hurts my old man's soul to see the game water down their playoffs like the NBA and NHL. We do not need more teams in the playoffs. I am happier with three division winners and one wild card. Check out this NBA summary for early round playoffs. https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/04/nba-playoff-ratings-down-first-round/

I keep seeing these articles and wonder if we are trying to talk ourselves into a great trade. Only time will tell. It was a worthwhile trade, but to say that giving up a good draft position and Luke Raley for money and a 20 year old catcher makes no sense to me. Graterol by himself for Maeda was a good trade, the extra trimmings does not make this better. Give me Maeda and the draft choice and we can sacrifice Graterol. Raley will be DFA'd soon so his part does not mean anything except to him and this is not the team he wants to end up with - he needs a break.

Forget the teams - who knows who wins or loses until after the year, or longer. Did the Twins win the Kurt Suzuki trade? The Aaron Hicks Trade? The John Ryan Murphy trade? The Wilson Ramos trade? The first year is not enough to judge (although potentially the Betts trade is for a one year player). Injuries, slumps, high expectations all play into the team win or loss, but the players factors are not the same as the team. As I look at benefits to individual players I see a different pattern of potential winners and losers. Mookie Betts - he wins. He would have won if the trade had not happened because he is going to get a Trout like contract and now he has a west coast audition to go with his East Coast play. Yet, the teams have not figured out that one great player does not elevate the team - this is not the NBA - and Mike Trout has never been in a WS. Trout, Harper, Betts - all far over paid, so yes, he wins, but the Dodgers will win the west (they won without him last year and the year before and would have won without him this year). Will the Dodgers win the World Series - they will if their pitchers lead them or if Mookie Betts has a crazy year like Bobby Richardson of the Yankees, or Dusty Rhodes of the Giants, or Scott Podsednik of the White Sox, or Jim Leyritz of the Yankees, or Kurt Bevacqua of the Padres, or Brian Doyle of the Yankees? Those are not memorable names or players yet they were the biggest reason for their teams success. Notice it is not Mantle or other big names on this list and history is filled with even more obscure names. So will Mookie win them a world series? No, but he might be on the team that does win and if he does that big contract is waiting. Graterol - he wins - the Dodgers Bullpen is aging and Jansen is not as good as he once was so Graterol jumps into a great position if he stays in the pen. The Dodgers have lots of successful arms and seem to know how to use them. If he moves to SP he will succeed there too with good fielding and good hitting all around him. Much better than Red Sox - no green monster, a deteriorating team, and a questionable staff. Kenta Maeda wins - with the Dodgers he is in the bullpen after they got Price and they have so many ready arms he is expendable. With the Twins he is expected to win the World Series! Yes he is now our #3 pitcher until Pineda returns and then he is number four and after free agency calls Odorizzi he will rise again next year. Luke Raley loses - if he thinks he was blocked by the Twins prospects and starters he is now back in the Dodger prospect factory and will lose more until he is traded again. Connor Wong - wins - they say that the Red Sox need catchers - he will find a place on the catcher bench. Jair Carmargo - loses - the Twins have Garver, Rortvedt, Jeffers - young and versatile. But hey every team needs a catcher in the minors. His only hope is another trade. Jeter Downs - not sure - probably a win. He has a good name for a shortstop. Bogaerts will eventually move from SS and probably not that far in the future and Jonathan Arauz does not have dazzling Milb stats so Downs moves into the number two position. With the Dodgers his window was not open. Alex Verdugo - wins - he has shown that he has talent. Expectations in Boston are not that he will replace Betts, but he will start and he could like the monster. And now he does not have Luke Raley looking over his shoulder! I think he will thrive. David Price - wins - yes he is a salary dump, but he now moves into the Dodger rotation replacing Ryu and Maeda. He is with Walker and Kershaw - not bad and his expectations are less. There are no DHs, there is good fielding. What is lacking is a great pen, but hey, they got Graterol out there now. I think he might become a star again if health allows.

Lots of A's and A+ and B+ grades floating everywhere, but as a college instructor I have to tell you I do not give grades at the beginning of the semester and we should look at forecasts, but not give grades to these teams yet.

I was very high on Romero at one point, but I cannot equate him with Graterol. The pen seemed to ruin Romero, while Graterol was great in a late season and playoff usage. Romero did not get over the mental hurdle but Graterol just want the ball. I suspect Graterol will be a real stud, but Romero will be someone with so much talent that everyone wants him to succeed and therefore he will hang around on the fringes.

2021 - it will be Garver and Jeffers - then the catcher position will really have an offensive advantage over other teams.

I have been really excited by this prospect. At catcher, hitting like he does I am curious what names are ahead of him - I suspect the usual Kiriloff, Lewis, Larnach, Balazovic, but I cannot imagine who else would rate above him. I am with Nick at 5, and because catcher is so important and hard to get maybe 4. Since Rortvedt is not listed yet - is he above Jeffers? Not for me. This has been a great list and so far few disagreements - this is just a mild one. Wander Javier would not be top 20 for me, and Blayne Enlow and Rooker above Thorpe? I hope not. Unless Thorpe has reached the peak and is now in free fall.

Not excited by Chacin, hope for a rookie break out, but most love it if Balazovic pushed his way up the ladder. I also have questions for Bailey. I am not big on Gonzales as the fifth outfielder, but he will stay around - is this his last year with us? He was very valuable last year although his bat was replacement level. This year Donaldson reduces his value as Ehire takes the infield like you have shown. If Buxton is healthy do we need a fifth outfielder and if not I suspect that Cave will go to be replaced with? Maybe La Tortuga, although the fun is no longer the reason to keep him. Finally Matt Wisler? Not sold on him. Let's see what ST brings.

Too early for an A - let's see how Maeda fairs in the AL, if Homer can keep his one year success, if Hill recovers from his injury, if Pineda again comes back from suspension as a good pitcher and does not get busted again. Donaldson should be solid, Sano should work at 1B. CF should be good if Buxton is well and does not get injured again because no one else is a plus CF. Let's hope Romo continues to succeed despite his below average FB. Yup - those are the realities of the off season and they will determine the grade - right now it is an interesting incomplete.

Of course it is a worse deal. I never talk about money in this world of silly finance called MLB, but the draft choice on top of Raley is a crazy addition for a team that said it was backing out of the deal with the Red So. Raley does not hurt the twins - we have Rooker, Kiriloff, Larnach ready for that position and Rooker should be next to go. Looking at their lineup poor Raley is stuck in another system that really does not need him. Their lower level rookie will be interesting to learn about. Go Maeda - you are one of us now.

One less player waiting in line - Rooker, Kiriloff, Larnach and no Raley. That was good and we will not miss him. But someday we might dream of Pressley and Graterol together in our pen. I know we have a funny guy with a low ranked fastball to take Brusdar's place. Mainly I am happy this is over. Back to the starting line. Good luck Brusdar.

I like his attitude already because the great ones do get to MLB in 4 years or less. I want players with talent and determination who move quickly, which brings me to Lewis who was our previous all world drafted SS with all the tools.. I know Royce is still to come, but he was our nationally ranked highly regarded prospect for a few years and I feel like he has slipped back (I am curious where he will be ranked). So how do we keep this young draft choice moving upward quickly and positively?

It is all a mystery to me. The real question is what do we want? Is a Rooker or Raley worth dumping to get a Maeda? How bad do we want Maeda? What is really wrong with Graterol? If we just want to keep Graterol that is okay too. But I am puzzled by all this.

Why not? Throw in a Rooker, who cares. Do we really want Maeda? I do not know the medical issues so I cannot comment on them. In the end if we keep Graterol, but lose Maeda is that a satisfactory ending?

Why are we applauding the front office? We got all excited about Maeda and now we aren't. I am confused. Who is the other top ten player. If it is Rooker or Raley go ahead. I am not happy and I am not excited by the FO that got us in, but might not go to the finish line. Too much needs to be known.