nicksaviking

Since A-Rod and Boras (justifiably) blew up the pay structure in 2001 and put an end to the collusion era, only two teams NOT in the top ten of payrolls have won the World Series. And one of them was the 2002 Angels only one season later before the disparity really flexed. So if you can go into a season with near 96% certainty that one of only ten teams will win the championship, how is that anything other than a narrative that small market teams have next to no chance?

I don't appreciate it, but only because the Twins always wait just to see what below average free agents become desperate enough to take their lowball offers. But I'm in the same boat; there's zero reason to push an expedited free agent frenzy other than to force the Twins and other small market teams to stop straddling the fence. There are other ways to force them to do that, like full blown revenue sharing and/or mandatory salary floors.

The owners can be arguing in bad faith yet still (unintentionally) be working in the best interest in the league at the same time. Deny it all you want big market Met fan, but this league won't last much longer without salary caps and floors within spitting distance of each other. We know you don't care if a small market team ever wins another World Series, but you're on the wrong site to push that narrative. I can support the players over the owners, but still acknowledge when the players are wrong and NOT actually working in the best interest of the league and therefore the fans.

The more I think about the CBA and the uncertainty it will bring, the more I think the players who get QOs are more likely to accept this year. I don't think players will WANT to go into the abyss without a contract. So I think there's a decent chance Jeffers' accepts his QO, as accepting will basically re-set the catcher salary market anyway.

That’s good, not like the Vikings want that out in the open. But just connecting any dots suggests he’s pretty immature. Which I absolutely am not condemning as a forever black mark. Males in their early 20’s are often intolerable. Most of us figure it out later after a few regrettable life choices, and I’ll bet McCarthy does too.

Yeah, fingers crossed. I'd like E-Rod to join the mix and Keaschall and even Lee are still part of this generation that can create a new energy. Even when they were losing, seeing the young Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco and Oswaldo Arcia standing on the front step of the dugout cheering every run their teammates got was more exciting baseball. Same happened with the Hunter/Jones/Koskie/Ortiz/Guzman era and obviously the early 80's teams that went on to win championships. I get that veteran players bring other intangibles, but it seems this organization only ever has sustained success when they throw large group of their homegrown talent center stage and give them the reigns.

I'm happy for the promotion, but I wish it would have happened when the clubhouse was flush with playoff enthusiasm instead of whatever more dour tone is likely crashing the party now. Maybe it won't matter and he doesn't feed off of teammates' energy, they feed off of his.

It was seriously a dumb idea to put Flores and KOC in that spot to begin with. I'm sure they were clamoring for it, but come on, if these kinds of guys are coming into the office at 4 AM for nine months straight to be the best coaches they can be, the other three months don't give them time to ALSO be the best GMS and scouts they can be.

***IF*** I was a GM or HC who had illusions of greatness and thought this team was capable of making a deep playoff run, I might move him for any draft pick, even if he's not a huge d-bag. Him being on the roster would likely be a season long distraction and football coaches don't tend to put up with distractions. Of course I don't have illusions of greatness for this team, more like illusions of good enough to get bounced in the first round.

For the record, I don't think Tom is making any overt roster decisions. But I do think that Tom's rhetoric has made it clear to Jeremy Zoll and everyone in the front office that their jobs are tied to attendance and viewership, and therefore keeping up the illusion of 'going for it' is of utmost importance.

But it's not hindsight when there is a track record of this situation. Not just with other players, but with Buxton himself. Pro baseball players just do not play WELL when they play through injuries. I know it's a good look to be gutty and play with pain, but just about every time it's a disservice to the club. We've all been talking about him playing injured since the All Star break, regardless of what he said about his health, he wasn't fooling anybody.

He hasn't stopped talking about 'competing' and putting the best lineup on the field all year. He doesn't have to actually call the shots; his interim GM knows he'd prefer the face of the franchise out there to sell tickets.

He shouldn't have been out there in the first place. I know he likely desperately wanted to be out there because he's a competitor, and I know Tom Pohlad desperately wanted him out there because he's trying to put fans in the stands for a sub .500 team. But there should have been a voice of reason that shut Buxton down weeks ago until Buxton was healthy. And really, when has playing through injuries ever produced positive on-field results? We only have a century and a half of data to suggest that more often than not you'd have more success with a replacement player.

And sucking in RF at Target Field proves to be more of an annoyance and less of an actual problem.

The flexibility is fine by me. But if we're talking about Buxton, Jenkins and E-Rod in the OF, I don't really want to platoon any of them. Days off, sure, platoons I want to severely decrease.

I truly don't care where he plays. But if he's one of the team's best hitters, then he needs to be in the lineup every day.

I think WAR positional adjustments are deeply flawed. But I can both provide an example of this flaw and a solution to the Keaschall defense problem in one swoop: Here is 39-year-old Torii Hunter magically improving his dWAR. Why? Because he started playing in Target Field's petite RF. Play Keaschall there if we're that worried about his defense.

Are we at all interested in Trey Benson? I'm not quite sure on the mechanics, but sounds like you'd have to roster him until Week 1 when you could put him on the IR/PUP? Not quiet sure, but if no one claims him AZ can put him on the PUP. Zavier Scott is already 27-years-old, so if he's still on the table to make the roster, I'd rather take a flyer on a higher upside guy like Benson. If Benson isn't healthy week 1, there will surely be RBs from other teams that will be cut that are as good or better than Scott anyway. And, obviously Benson is a RB, so it goes without saying that his floor is 'never plays in the NFL ever again'.

Sounds rough. Least us middle class folk can do is offer to cover the entirety of his tax obligations. Can we build him a new stadium at least? Wouldn't hurt for the Dodgers to have two of them.

Buxton plays body cast guy and Larnach plays his full time nurse. Jenkins and E-Rod up to get a taste of a playoff race before it fades away completely, and they both get a chance to get acclimated in hopes that the learning curve won't be so large next year on a team should aim NOT to be under .500 for 90% of the season.

And the case has already been resolved? This happened yesterday, he has already pleaded no contest and everything is over and done with?!?! This is literally the name of the task force that set up the sting: Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force And yes, a Google search for this task force shows an article from last December, they do target people seeking minors. Though from this, most who were arrested were not. https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/December-2025/Mahoning-Valley-Human-Trafficking-Task-Force-Arres But with this research I do feel better about any insidious details being covered up. If you're a law enforcement officer working on this specific type of task force, I think it's unlikely EVERYONE would keep their mouths shut. They surely feel just as strongly about getting rid of predators as the rest of us do or else they'd be doing other cop jobs. But still, even if he had a reason to be in Cleveland; at trailer park? And not a more above-board and less risky high-end escort in a hotel room? Doesn't add up.

Second best is probably Sonny Gray (37) or Shota Imanaga (33). Maybe Casey Mize or Michael King? But I don't know that I trust Mize's track record and I definitely don't like King's alarming drop in strikeouts. Then guys like Gausman, Ray, Peralta? I'm not sure I'd rather have many of these guys as opposed to the internal options. Which is why I might be more inclined to see if they can do another trade instead. I had been thinking Corbin Burnes would be in this free agent class, but the guy still hasn't thrown this year so I have a hard time seeing him not taking his 36M player option.

So the 49ers owner John York was arrested in a Cleveland trailer park for prostitution. I can't imagine any reason a billionaire from San Francisco would go to a Cleveland trailer park unless it was to meet with someone underage. Speculation I know, but I haven't seen it speculated in print yet and I'm already building myself up to be furious if this is found to be accurate and people are helping him cover it up.

This is why I'm annoyed with KOC specifically trying to distance himself from the McCarthy pick. Almost all of them have busted, and McCarthy was the 5th QB taken that draft! Sure, the casual fans will think this pick was some special unicorn the Vikings failed to develop, but anybody who knows anything about football knew this was a high risk gamble going in, yet just about every one of us accepted that and agreed that it was a gamble they needed to take. Running from this looks cowardly and foolish considering the odds likely were never more than 50/50 that this would work out. KOC may be the wrong guy for the job, but I would like to see him with another legit rookie QB. Maybe next time one that has more experience and maturity. I don't think failing on McCarthy is any different than failing on the other recent top QBs that lacked experience, like Richardson and Lance. I think McCarthy is still too young and too stubborn to show real growth. Unnecessarily throwing as hard as he possibly can to a wide open WR should prove this. Missing was unintentional, throwing as hard as he can was not. When showing off how strong you are is your top priority, you look like you're still a frat boy. To have a chance in this league, he's going to need to get humbled, broken down and re-assembled just like Mayfield, Darnold and Geno Smith did. As for Brosmer, I'm not putting much weight on an UDFA QB. I don't specifically remember what Brosmer was doing last year to look good, but he's got a weak and inaccurate arm and is slow as molasses. Those seem to be fairly un-fixable issues.

Welcome! It looks like Jay has quietly put up some really good numbers!