Rally Gorilla

I still haven't given up on Upton. He just had a very nice season for us in 2018 (3.7 WAR) and he will only be 32 this year. He has averaged 118 games per season over 14 seasons (Throwing out his 43 game season as a 19 y.o. rookie)....and that includes his only two seasons that were severely cut by injuries. I think he's a solid player. It seems like he gets a reputation as someone who needs "a fire lit under him," but I believe you don't play 14 years in the MLB at a fairly high level if you need fire lit under you. He's not the most outspoken guy and I think this rubs some people the wrong way....I value spark plug type guys on a team but the quiet ones who can play have their place too.

I sure hope that is the plan. When I first saw this story, my first reaction was we are sending Adell somewhere for SP.

Someone at NewEraCap won a contest to see if anyone could create a Mike Trout design that actually decreases a cap's value...an almost impossible task.

Yep the legendary groundskeeper Toma (who turned 91 this week). Harvey the Rabbit delivered baseballs to the umpire by popping up through a trap door behind home plate....was moved along with the team to Oakland later. I actually saw the Rabbit in action in Oakland when I was very young...still can picture it in my mind.

1) What team logos are obscured in this pic? 2) Who is the man pictured? 3) Who is the rabbit?

I have no illusions that our rotation is anything but average to less-than-average....but last season we were a dead-last dumpster fire. I'm excited to see how just having a middle-of-the-road rotation will allow the rest of the team to shine. We should have a great defense. We should have a great lineup. Our BP isn't as likely to burn up trying to pitch five innings a game. Maybe just ok is gonna make a huge impact.

Can I choose both?

Well, their tanking and cheating did make them a one-year dynasty (with an asterisk)....so, ok.... no more sour grapes. Hail the 'Stros!

Despite finishing 39 games out, the M's do get an "A" for effort (based on transaction volume) and they probably deserve a title more than the Astros.

So, make excuse....then act like it was technically against the rules, but not that big of a deal....then give a half-hearted apology about the way things turned out (getting caught). He would have been better off just shutting up. At least he didn't predict the White Sox would be in the world series....

The one that got away....

Both optimism and pessimism are distorted world views. But it's fun to watch optimists and pessimists argue with each other.

I'm ok however this turns out....as long as he doesn't end up in Texas.

So, all we need is the Astros to collapse and we're number one! Edit: Or better yet, they play well and we still outpace them.

I love the Rendon signing. I think it's a reasonable risk and I can't wait to see him in our lineup and on the field. But saying the Will Wilson trade (for a $12.6 salary dump + a lesser prospect) cleared the way to sign Rendon doesn't make sense to me. That's about 5% of what we paid Rendon. How in the world does that make or break the Rendon deal? We only drafted Wilson seven months ago...it sure seems like a too small an amount of time to declare a 21 y.o. high draft pick a bust.

Thanks @Jeff Fletcher, I somehow missed the PTBNL part of the trade. Wasting the 15th pick still hurts, but it's good to know we got a left-hander with some potential in return.

I guess so, if Wilson does turn out to be a complete bust. But it seems to early too know that. Clearly the Giants see something in him, and the Angels did see enough in him to make him the 15th pick in June. So, I'm not sure why the team gave up on him so early. Not only did we waste the pick, but we gave him a $3.4M signing bonus. IMHO, the bottom line is that we didn't get any talent back.

Either way you slice it, we wasted a 15th overall pick.

IMHO, the jury is still out on the Upton signing. He just put up a 3.8 WAR in 2018. I'm really hoping for another nice season for him in 2020. And I like the Rendon signing....seems like we did much better compared to the Donaldson deal and I cant' wait to see a real deal 3B again. But, the penny pinching continues....selling our number one draft pick for $12.6M is a crime. And, in the big picture of things, it would just not have cost that much to bring in one more mid-tier pitcher on a fairly short contract....but we passed on so many of them.

Ok, I'm not a Dipoto fan...at all. But it's taken more than his ineptness and self-importance to get us into a hole. Arte had a huge role in pushing for big splash signings for the marketing value.....getting a $3B TV contract.....then getting ridiculously rigid about his self-imposed budget, forcing his GM's into all kinds of stupid penny saving moves. And it isn't Dipoto's fault we sold our 2019 number one draft pick (15th overall) for a one-time savings of $12.6M.

IMHO, our team has been slow to understand the value of young cost-controlled players in the post-steroid era. Overpaying in prospects and FA contracts has led us to a thin farm system, some major weaknesses in our roster, being financially hamstrung, and 10 years without a post season win. I think the way out of this hole is to stop digging.

The Astros have to be number one on my most hated list. In the last decade or so, no other team has screwed up baseball like the Houston Tankers....especially for the AL West. We had to watch them roll out crappy teams as they tanked....which is no fun to see. Then, as their ill-gotten high draft picks made it to the MLB....they still felt a need to cheat. They've screwed up the AL West ever since they moved over.

Just noticed this from four days ago.... To answer your question...well, uhm....no. The closest I saw was the 2008 NL Central, which had six teams....the fourth place Cards had 86 wins. So, maybe my prediction isn't giving enough consideration to the limited amount of wins to be had. I revise my best-case scenario to: Angels 95 Wins A's: 92 wins Rangers: 88 wins Astros: 88 wins Mariners: 74 wins (but, still, who cares?) If my original prediction was right, then I'm blaming you @Angel Oracle

I had the impression that, by this time, the Nats suspected the Astros were cheating and they went to extraordinary measures to make their catcher's signs harder to steal. Makes me wonder if the Astros had become a little dependent on the sign stealing advantage and if they had trouble adjusting to playing without it. EDIT: Astros scored 4, 3, 2, & 2 runs in the four games at MM park. (2.75 average) vs. 4, 8, & 7 in Wash. (6.33 average)..... so, maybe....

I agree with others that all the distractions, changes in leadership, inability to cheat in the same way, and the embarrassment/shame will hurt the Astros. But... IMHO, their biggest potential weakness is in their rotation. With Cole gone, there is a lot more dependence on the aging aces Verlander and Grienke. If just one of them go down and/or just lose effectiveness....that puts them two aces down from what they had in 2019. That's a game changer.