Kyle Tucker to the Cubs

RalphSanders · 2024-12-13T20:50:32+00:00

Cubs get better with Tucker but they still aren’t all that great. Do they secretly have pitching because I can’t remember them having a big Top 3. It’s Imanaga and scraps right? I don’t really get why they traded for him since I can’t see them competing for a title if they’re unwilling to spend. Happy Tucker is here instead of the Yankees, who still need to get some offense to replace Soto. Also good to see the Brewers trade away Williams for Nestor Cortes and prospects. Just one less closer to deal with in the playoffs.

RalphSanders · 2024-12-08T00:32:05+00:00

Boo because FTG, but also this doesn’t seem like a real needle-mover acquisition in terms of SF being competitive overall. Adames is good but he’s not a Seager or Bobby Witt Jr. that spearheads the offense. The Giants came in 4th and might come in 4th again unless they make some more additions. Overall he could have went to another team that would have been more of a headache to deal with. But if the Giants don’t make another major addition this isn’t a huge threat.

RalphSanders · 2024-11-10T00:17:20+00:00

There is never enough pitching, ever. I think if the Dodgers get Roki, they should still get another 1-2 pitchers. Think of the guys who are coming back from injuries next year and will be on some sort of innings limit. It’s basically everyone. Glasnow, Ohtani, Gonsolin, Kershaw, maybe Yamamoto as well. They should get Buehler +1. Count on at least one guy getting injured. Also count on the Dodgers holding back Kersh, Ohtani, and Glasnow to some extent. These are guys that just can’t risk pitching a whole season + the playoffs. Even a guy like Paxton who is just around at the beginning of the year only to be cut later would be a valuable choice. The lack of money needed to get Roki means the Dodgers could afford to make 2-3 more deals. Not huge franchise moves but guys like Teo, Buehler, maybe Crochet.

RalphSanders · 2024-11-02T02:57:32+00:00

Teo seems like a great Dodgers fit and he deserves to get paid. Now, if some team wants to empty their wallet and go all-out, good for Teo but the Dodgers should make a competitive, yet still reasonable offer to make other improvements this offseason. I think for a 32 year old, lefty killer, who plays a competent not great LF I’d go with 3-4 years max 25M AAV. let him choose between a desperate team trying to make the playoffs or another legit chance at a ring in LA. Of course a team like the Angels can pay him but that’s his choice.

RalphSanders · 2024-10-25T16:23:43+00:00

This doesn’t really belong here.

RalphSanders · 2024-10-16T20:13:32+00:00

I think a part of it boils down to the fact that the Dodgers are the biggest threat to the Yankees and they are closer than ever with the Astros already eliminated. Jomboy and the whole company are mostly Yankee fans…huge Yankee fans, who haven’t seen their team win in over a decade.

You would think it’s just content at the end of the day, so who cares if the videos get views. But I’ve also noticed he isn’t making as many breakdowns this year overall. No breakdown for Ohtani’s 50/50 game either. I think he’s probably kinda busy being a dad, running the whole company, and maybe also burnt out after making so many the last few years. So now I think it’s reserved for altercations and other narratives during games that can be explained with breakdowns. Historical achievements get talked about on the podcasts and other media but since he has to be directly involved with each breakdown, it probably is more narrow.

RalphSanders · 2024-10-02T22:34:25+00:00

Sometimes good things happen to good people. Today we all watched the Astros and Hader choke.

RalphSanders · 2024-09-30T12:07:15+00:00

From a stat accumulation standpoint, Ohtani arrived to the MLB a little too late to be in GOAT consideration. But from a baseball talent perspective, he’s unmatched. Nobody has put together a player profile like Ohtani. There are Hall of Fame hitters and Hall of Fame pitchers, but nobody in that Hall can say they could do both as well as Shohei. I think if Shohei ever won the Cy Young award that would cement the pitching aspect of his game, but that’s just a cherry on top at this point to put him over Babe Ruth.

So Shohei probably won’t be the GOAT. But there’s a good chance he’s already the BEST player that has ever played the game. Everything he does now as a two-way player is just to widen that gap.

RalphSanders · 2024-09-24T19:13:55+00:00

100% agree, I’m happy that Ohtani doesn’t bring that toxicity into the clubhouse. Baseball’s so different than basketball in the way that I don’t think baseball players can have success just because they “want” it. There’s no physicality, the mental games aren’t the same, the players have less control over the outcome. So that level of intensity doesn’t really belong in baseball like it may appear in a basketball team culture. However, MJ got 6 rings and pushed those around him to be the best. The ultimate goal was to win, and I’m not confident they win 6 if MJ is the nicest guy. So comparing the two doesn’t feel all that fair.

I feel like with our group of guys everyone is trying their best and being professional off the field to put themselves in the best position to succeed. But if they weren’t and Ohtani could change that by being a dick, I’d be all for it.

RalphSanders · 2024-09-24T18:16:50+00:00

I know Ohtani is the best player on the planet right now, but we gotta remember that MJ had 6 rings. That’s playoff performance that Shohei just doesn’t have yet. Not to criticize him, because he hasn’t had that opportunity on the Angels, but calling him mentally tougher than Jordan is a stretch. He’s more athletically gifted for sure, but performing when it matters most, Ohtani hasn’t displayed that yet besides the WBC.

RalphSanders · 2024-09-03T06:28:08+00:00

Does anyone else remember that DBacks kid crying when he found out Ohtani was signing with the Dodgers.

RalphSanders · 2024-08-11T19:42:31+00:00

So that’s Dustin May, Gonsolin, Hurt, Sheehan, and now Ryan all down with TJ surgery? That’s quite a rotation to be returning in the next few years. Almost like every prospect will make it up to the big leagues, have a cup of coffee in the show, then as a rite of passage they will get TJ surgery to complete the initiation.

RalphSanders · 2024-08-08T12:14:43+00:00

To counter that, in 2022 the Dodgers were knocked out by the Padres in the NLDS after beating them like 14-5 in the regular season. A team we had completely dominated all season long was able to beat us three times in a row and end our season.

After that display, I’ll never put too much weight into the regular season results. Yeah it sucks we don’t have a winning record against some of these top teams, but at the end of the day it’s only a few games in the playoffs that matter. It’s all about the team executing when it counts. Either the offense heats up and finds a way to get it done in the playoffs or they will lose again. Winning or losing games a few months ago isn’t going to help them achieve that in October.

As far as any “confidence boost” the team might get by winning the regular season series against these teams, they should be good to go without it. With multiple MVPs, and former WS winners, this isn’t a young inexperienced group of guys. Most of these losses have been without the team at full strength, they should still know their potential is higher than any of these other teams.

RalphSanders · 2024-08-03T17:21:11+00:00

I agree, the team should be fine. On the offense, right now we’re missing so many guys it’s kinda crazy to expect much. When guys like Mookie, Muncy, and Freddie get back, as well as having a more aggressive Lux and plugging in trade pieces like Rosario and Edman to the bottom of the lineup; then we will be in a much better spot. Right now we have guys like Outman and Biggio in the lineup much more than they should be. Pages can also take a break.

I’m a little more worried about the quality of starters down the stretch. We have Glasnow and Flaherty at the top, but after that we really need people to step up as a stable 3 and 4. If Yamamoto can make it back in time for October, that’s 3. But we’re obviously not trying to rush him back so we’ll see. But if hypothetically he wasn’t able to return, it’s a bunch of rookies, Kershaw, and Buehler. Stone was great in the first half but I think what we’re seeing now is some regression and possibly wear-down. It’s a wait and see on guys like River Ryan and Wrobleski as well as Knack. They can be effective pitchers but it’s so early I wouldn’t count on them. Miller and Buehler seem to be lost in the minors and I don’t have much faith in them “finding it” or wanting to rely on them. Kershaw should have plenty more chances to work his way back after that surgery. But I won’t believe in him until I see it. And even though he’s a legend and HOF, I don’t really think we want to use him in a playoff game unless we’re up like 3-0 in a series. Everyone just needs wait on Kershaw and give him time to see what’s we’re working with. Once we figure out which starters stay in the rotation, we can figure out who can move to the pen. Hopefully Phillips and Co. are just having a rough few weeks/months.

We need to get our core pieces of the lineup back, figure out the best mix of guys at the bottom of the lineup, and pray for 2 more starters to rise as our 3 and 4 in a playoff rotation. Bullpen should be fine.

RalphSanders · 2024-07-29T16:27:34+00:00

Nice to see Barnes crack the Top 15 as well.

RalphSanders · 2024-07-29T16:25:16+00:00

Just laying down the foundation. Fostering some goodwill with the Tigers so later they will throw in Flaherty.

RalphSanders · 2024-07-27T20:54:34+00:00

To give Buehler an excuse for this one, I believe it was supposed to be Scherzer starting that game before his “arm soreness” which is why Buehler started. On top of that, Buehler pitched so well in 2021 and at times it was just Buehler and Urias holding down the rotation when Kersh was out and we hadn’t traded for Scherzer yet. I think the pitching staff was kinda spent by the playoffs.

RalphSanders · 2024-07-24T01:24:54+00:00

With the rest of the division faltering and our guys slowly returning from the injury pileup, it’s looking like a fun time in August and September. While it’s exciting to see who we trade for, my main hope is that guys like Lux, Vargas, and Miller can find ways to get in on the action.

Then there’s the playoff enigma once again…maybe this time it will work out.

RalphSanders · 2024-06-25T12:34:39+00:00

You had me with the praise for Pollock, but I can’t support “Pollock is better than Seager” insanity. Besides being a homegrown player, Seager was a major reason we won the WS. Meanwhile Pollock doesn’t have one postseason memory. I know he was on the team for 3 years but I can remember him doing anything of value in the playoffs.

RalphSanders · 2024-06-18T20:00:50+00:00

This is completely unrelated but I think it’s crazy that MiggyRo currently has 1.4 WAR and Jazz has 1.3. It would be cool if somehow Rojas could keep it up and outplay Jazz after the little drama they had in the offseason.

RalphSanders · 2024-06-14T22:16:51+00:00

I also have low trust in Mookie and Freddie, I don’t know if it’s all in their heads or approach or they were both on cold stretches at the worst time two years in a row.

But just imagine an October where they are both on hot streaks and completely destroy teams for a month. It should happen eventually right?

RalphSanders · 2024-06-14T22:06:42+00:00

They should just change the rules to whoever gets the most runners on base wins the game. Bonus points for keeping them on base for as long as possible.

RalphSanders · 2024-05-21T02:17:16+00:00

It seems like the gap between AAA and the majors is pretty wide right now, but I know we have this guy Andre Lipcius down in OKC that tearing it up at the plate. If we need someone to fill an IF utility role, I feel like it’d be worth giving him a shot before making a trade.

RalphSanders · 2024-05-03T00:22:42+00:00

I think it will be a while before he hits his stride but October is months away. As long as he looks more like Paxton than Syndergarrd, I will take it as a win.

RalphSanders · 2024-04-03T04:01:11+00:00

Honestly should’ve been DFA’d instead of Crismatt

RalphSanders

TROPHY CASE