aznhockeyguy

They picked up the missing piece in Espinosa!

Which is surprising with your thing for Asian men....

Never expected Cron to be a superstar.  .270 with 20+HR was what I expected which is pretty average for a 1B.  

Jerry Dipoto, smartest guy in the room.

I'd stay away from both.  They're not game changers IMO.

This season's LF has been below average, thought we were discussing this season, but you are correct.
2B absolutely, but most teams are not concerned about a 2B's bat.  Even for Espinosa, we expected a low .200 batting average and double digit HR's.  So while he did suck, I wasn't betting for him to produce.  Right and Left field, I wouldn't classify as atrocious, below average for sure.  1B and DH is where one of the team's best hitters should be.  Albert is producing like a below average middle infielder (.672) while this season's middle infielders' OPS have been around .735 and he's the DH where the average OPS is .752. Valbuena and Cron and whoever is playing 1B has been worse with a combined .627 OPS, where the average is .837!

Call me crazy, but go look at Randy Johnson's age 27 season and look up Alex Meyer's stats for this season.  Small sample size caveats aside, it wouldn't surprise me if Meyer starts figuring it out next season and lower his walk rate and a have a very good season.  Randy Johnson had a very wild streak in his early career much like Meyer. Johnson didn't really figure it out until his late 20s and then absolutely dominated for the next decade and pitched till he was 45 to become the Hall of Famer that he is now.  Johnson and Meyer are very similar in height and build, but obviously Johnson's stuff was much better and Johnson's career arch isn't very typical as he had his most dominant run in his mid 30s.  Meyer has shown the same type of ability to completely fool hitters and has the stuff to miss bats and avoid hard contact.  Can he be the next Randy Johnson?  Most likely not, but what I'm saying is that he could be a very effective pitcher and have a very solid career if he ever figures it out.  I also wished Scioscia left him in there to try and get the shutout, 7-0 lead and pitching at home while only giving up 1 hit and 1 walk with a reasonable pitch count, what more does a guy have to do to try and get the shutout?
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnsra05.shtml
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/meyeral01.shtml

When you've had absolutely atrocious production from 1B and DH where most teams have their best hitters, you're bound to struggle to score runs.  

Call me crazy, but go look at Randy Johnson's age 27 season and look up Alex Meyer's stats for this season.  Small sample size caveats aside, it wouldn't surprise me if Meyer starts figuring it out next season and lower his walk rate and a have a very good season.  Randy Johnson had a very wild streak in his early career much like Meyer. Johnson didn't really figure it out until his late 20s and then absolutely dominated for the next decade and pitched till he was 45 to become the Hall of Famer that he is now.  Johnson and Meyer are very similar in height and build, but obviously Johnson's stuff was much better and Johnson's career arch isn't very typical as he had his most dominant run in his mid 30s.  Meyer has shown the same type of ability to completely fool hitters and has the stuff to miss bats and avoid hard contact.  Can he be the next Randy Johnson?  Most likely not, but what I'm saying is that he could be a very effective pitcher and have a very solid career if he ever figures it out.  I also wished Scioscia left him in there to try and get the shutout, 7-0 lead and pitching at home while only giving up 1 hit and 1 walk with a reasonable pitch count, what more does a guy have to do to try and get the shutout?
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnsra05.shtml
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/meyeral01.shtml

Call me crazy, but go look at Randy Johnson's age 27 season and look up Alex Meyer's stats for this season.  Small sample size caveats aside, it wouldn't surprise me if Meyer starts figuring it out next season and lower his walk rate and a have a very good season.  Randy Johnson had a very wild streak in his early career much like Meyer. Johnson didn't really figure it out until his late 20s and then absolutely dominated for the next decade and pitched till he was 45 to become the Hall of Famer that he is now.  Johnson and Meyer are very similar in height and build, but obviously Johnson's stuff was much better and Johnson's career arch isn't very typical as he had his most dominant run in his mid 30s.  Meyer has shown the same type of ability to completely fool hitters and has the stuff to miss bats and avoid hard contact.  Can he be the next Randy Johnson?  Most likely not, but what I'm saying is that he could be a very effective pitcher and have a very solid career if he ever figures it out.  I also wished Scioscia left him in there to try and get the shutout, 7-0 lead and pitching at home while only giving up 1 hit and 1 walk with a reasonable pitch count, what more does a guy have to do to try and get the shutout?
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnsra05.shtml
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/meyeral01.shtml

Did anyone else got a small kick that Blanton was kicked around last night?  I sure did.

I've been watching Seinfeld as I was a bit on the young side when the show was on.  

Well he learned his lesson, because the last time he did well he got sent down.  This time he figures hey stop hitting, it'll get me promoted.  It did work!

Well he learned his lesson, because the last time he did well he got sent down.  This time he figures hey stop hitting, it'll get me promoted.  It did work!

FYP, the last one was Hamilton.  

When you try to out think a lot of other smart people, you make yourself look like a fool.

Just remember guys, Thaiss was highly touted early too, but this season he's fallen off a bit due to his struggles.  Just temper your expectations.  

FYP, the last one was Hamilton.  

FYP, the last one was Hamilton.  

Well he learned his lesson, because the last time he did well he got sent down.  This time he figures hey stop hitting, it'll get me promoted.  It did work!

Well he learned his lesson, because the last time he did well he got sent down.  This time he figures hey stop hitting, it'll get me promoted.  It did work!

The Braves traded Simmons because they wanted to go into a full rebuild mode and compete in the next 3-5 years.  Starting next year, they'll probably start trending upward in the wins total.  
Angels traded Segura to get Grienke as a rental for a playoff push.  He was also blocked by Aybar and Kendrick in the middle of the infield, very few people thought he would turn into the player he is but that's the risk with prospects or that Aybar would fall off a cliff.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.  

The Braves traded Simmons because they wanted to go into a full rebuild mode and compete in the next 3-5 years.  Starting next year, they'll probably start trending upward in the wins total.  
Angels traded Segura to get Grienke as a rental for a playoff push.  He was also blocked by Aybar and Kendrick in the middle of the infield, very few people thought he would turn into the player he is but that's the risk with prospects or that Aybar would fall off a cliff.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.  

And if we have Newcomb we wouldn't have Simmons.  What's your point?  Yes, Segura and Newcomb are good players, but it's not like the Angels didn't get back what they thought they were getting back.  Grienke gave the Angels a great starter down the stretch and the Angels thought they would resign him, but it didn't work out.  Simmons has been better than advertised, what more would you want?  Sometimes prospects pan out and sometimes they don't.   

I think he will struggle in the majors if he doesn't have better control as a starter.  He may be a future reliever.