Glen

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/01/scott-kazmir-launches-comeback-attempt.html

All I'm gonna say about us being long overdue for our pitchers to outperform expectations is...nothing.

I jokingly mentioned this a week or so ago. Good to see my whammy works on other teams.

6 minutes ago, Vegas Halo Fan said:

So the starting pitchers wouldn't bat, but the relievers, who pitch even less, would? That would be messed up.

I'm guessing the thought behind that is that once a starter has been pulled, the relievers rarely stay in long enough to get an AB.

Not saying I agree with it, just that it seems like what they might be thinking.

29 minutes ago, mulwin444 said:

Look at Cahill and Harvey's few seasons before signing in 2019...now look at Teheren and Bundy.  Not even comparable...

In 2018 Cahill was better than both Bundy and Teheran in 2019.  Harvey wasn't.  I exaggerated a little bit but not much.  

This lead me to do a bit more research on Teheran.  In 2019 he had seven games where here gave up five or more ER (two of those were in his last three games).  He had 20 games where he gave up 2 ER or less.  I can see taking a shot on him and I was glad the Angels signed him.  That said, my expectations are in check.

9 hours ago, mulwin444 said:

I get Eppler is harshing some people's buzzes around here with the thoughts that we could have conceivably bought a pitching staff in the offseason or that a wayward GM would trade a frontline starting pitcher for a handful of Rondons but the reality is he competing against other highly competitive teams, some with deeper pockets or farms, that are trying to win as well.  Fact is, we got better, all around, he did his job without sacrificing the immediate or longterm future and still has financial flexibility to make an impact move.

I get that.  However, to me our starting staff right now isn't much better than it was last season, and at the very least it has as many question marks.  It looks like Heaney will be our #1 starter, we're hoping to get 100+ innings from Ohtani, and it just gets more questionable after that.  I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like this season could be a repeat of last season for the starters.  Terheran and Bundy could be Harvey and Cahill, or they could be a decent improvement.  Sandoval could get better, but he also could flame out.  Just so many question marks again, and we did sorta the same thing we did last offseason.

Sweet, more projects.  Can't have too many of those.

7 hours ago, zenmaster said:

Mets didn't cheat or win a world series and they still lost their new manager  lol

 

That's the most Mets thing ever.  

Saw this headline with this picture and I genuinely laughed.    I'd love it if the Astros got Dusty.

8 hours ago, Taylor said:

Lee Hacksaw Hamilton looks like John Bolton's long-lost brother.

Other than MLB network I don't listen to sports talk radio but damn, do I mss Hacksaw.  Dude is a legend in my book. Fuck the haters.

4 hours ago, Tank said:

I think Cora should be out of baseball for a minimum of two years. it'd be an easy decision for me to give him a lifetime ban since he was involved two years in a row.

I still don't understand why they didn't vacate the Astros WS title nor why they didn't try to discipline any of the players. I think you could do something like 50 games per player, staggered throughout the season instead of all players involved all at once.

The players are what ultimately draws the fans into the stands.  If a team lost a significant amount of their star players for an extended time, it would hurt that team's bottom line.  Losing a manager and GM hurts but the team is still intact and can earn money.  It's a way to be serious but not too serious.

"Spin rate" is Eppler's "fetch."  It's not gonna happen.  

In before some dumbass says they'd rather have signed Donaldson than Rendon, because that person is a dumbass.

Come on down, Sosh!

We weren't done!

It's 2020 and so far we've added Castro and Keller. The Reds haven't done anything this year.

What team is really committed to winning?

Probably #2, but since you asked a specific question with established parameters, let me now modify it...

Just kidding.  I hate that shit.  

On 12/31/2019 at 7:25 PM, calscuf said:

Probably a wise decision.

God dammit.  I was going with:

This sounds like...(puts on shades)...a Wise move.

YEEEAAAHHHH!

5 minutes ago, wopphil said:

I like the offense, but I don't think it is a top 4 in the AL. Minnesota, Yankees, Astros, Red Sox are probably all better. 

I tend to think the same.  Still, having a potential top-five offense is sweet.

14 minutes ago, yk9001 said:

I think Chuck should give @mymerlincat one year premium subscription for the yeoman's work performed this winter.

Props for using "yeoman."

21 minutes ago, hangin n wangin said:

What's with the Romine talk? Guy is nothing more than a hot turd.

Realistically, we were probably looking at 2 decent catching options as free agents that we could get on short term deals. Those players were Castro and Chirinos. Most people seemed to be ok with us acquiring one of those two and we did.

Granted, I do believe Castro is very capable of taking an absolute shit as a hitter and posting something along the lines of .210 average and .280 OBP. However, with the decent power and defense, it could still be ok. He was one of the better free agent catchers available and has had a respectable career up to this point. No sense in really whining about it when our main weakness is still our starting pitching.

The other guy, the one that we didn't sign, is always the better choice.

Can somebody tell me how this is a borderline ace?

He needs a catchy nickname and all I can come up with now is "Pack Sand."

Fuck all y'all, at least I'm trying.

1 hour ago, tdawg87 said:

Remember when we traded Will Wilson so Arte could save 12.7 million? That was pretty neat.

46 minutes ago, RBM said:

And Arte had already given Will Wilson $3.7 M in June. Super cool. 

Shit happens. Sometimes things don't go according to plans (or oftentimes, for the Angels). I'm glad Cowart is gone.

10 hours ago, Second Base said:

The way I see it, Pat Sandoval

Check out the big shot, calling him Pat.