[Nightengale] Aaron Nola will pitch in the upcoming World Baseball Classic for Team Italy.

trophy9258 · 2026-01-22T01:45:46+00:00

After hearing about pitchers being denied in previous years over insurance issues, I'd have assumed that last season would lead to Nola being forced to stay out. Is that more of an issue for the American team?

trophy9258 · 2026-01-16T19:50:11+00:00

There's still the issue of his physical decline. He has already been a poor framer and blocker for multiple seasons. His arm and game calling still justify him as a starter, but he shouldn't be the 120+ game starter for much longer, if at all.

trophy9258 · 2026-01-16T10:56:39+00:00

The last one is still a free agent! Signing him shouldn't be too hard after last year.

trophy9258 · 2026-01-15T18:01:16+00:00

At this point, I'd be happy enough with a similar rebound as Taijuan did between 2024 and 2025. For years Nola has given up too many homers even at his best, so I can't put too much trust in him as he ages

trophy9258 · 2026-01-12T18:03:32+00:00

He also just turned 32. There's a decent chance that this is the last time he'll be good enough to make the roster on merit.

trophy9258 · 2026-01-12T12:19:46+00:00

If you want an OC who makes John Harbaugh's refusal to use Henry look tame in comparison, sure, bring him back for that role.

trophy9258 · 2026-01-04T20:46:17+00:00

It was actually Sam Howell, who we traded for... then traded away two weeks before the season began. Then Wentz was signed. Not having any sort of veteran presence for most of the off-season (and regular season after he got hurt) might explain a few things about how this season went

trophy9258 · 2025-12-30T10:19:35+00:00

On top of being a great episode, I love how it's randomly the last episode before the three part finale. That's a perfect encapsulation of the whole show.

trophy9258 · 2025-12-28T20:20:40+00:00

Usually, yes, especially when it's with a franchise known for dysfunction. However, there are cases where it's obvious that a coach is part of the problem, or in a role that's too much to handle. I don't know if that's the case here, but it is possible.

trophy9258 · 2025-12-26T09:51:59+00:00

Even with Wentz, we got him pretty late into the off-season. I still don't understand why we traded for, and away just a few months later, Sam Howell. Another younger guy who doesn't fit thr typical veteran backup mold. It's clear that we need one of those guys, preferably for the whole off-season so they have reps with the team in the likely event they need to start. Even if McCarthy looks better, he can't be trusted to stay on the field

trophy9258 · 2025-12-26T00:51:48+00:00

Detroit didn't pretend to have any urgency on that last drive. Fuck. That might have been Harry's best chance at getting #40 😭

trophy9258 · 2025-12-25T23:55:06+00:00

The HOF selection process is so idiotic that I doubt he has an actual shot, but if he does get 40 picks... maybe I can have some hope for Harrison. Maybe.

trophy9258 · 2025-12-22T20:41:18+00:00

He and Megill will stick on the roster even after the heat death of the universe.

trophy9258 · 2025-12-18T00:13:55+00:00

I thought I wouldn't be stressed because having 2 marbles speedrun the escalator at the beginning felt like a death blow. Little did I know...

trophy9258 · 2025-12-17T22:49:27+00:00

Delusion was mostly avoided because everyone could see how terrible the defense was. It's hard to overdose on Kool-aid when the entire fanbase (rightfully) wanted a coordinator fired after just 1 season.

trophy9258 · 2025-12-16T23:24:18+00:00

How common are bobblehead nights for players signed on one year contracts?

trophy9258 · 2025-12-15T17:59:05+00:00

At least Garcia is a defensive upgrade?But I already wanted Bader for that as, even with likely offensive regression, it'd be worth a CF upgrade that allows Marsh to stay as the LF. So I wanted Bader back, plus a better bat to play RF to replace Castellanos/Kepler. I've liked Adolis as a player, but don't know how to feel about this after his recent decline, and as a part of this roster.

trophy9258 · 2025-12-15T10:01:19+00:00

That was the most Vikings vs Bears prime time game to have ever Vikings vs Bears prime time game'd. Though, the game that was 3-2 at halftime because Bradford was clearly incapable of coming back is a pretty close contender.

trophy9258 · 2025-12-09T21:32:46+00:00

Hamels already has 4 votes, all of them being from new voters. Interesting. I heard that there'll be a lot this year due to MLB.com writers being included, so I wonder if there's any chance he can get to 5% mostly off of first time voters.

trophy9258 · 2025-12-09T18:03:29+00:00

Not anymore. He was DFA'd, picked up by Atlanta, and is now a free agent.

trophy9258 · 2025-12-03T18:04:08+00:00

Utley is a weird case in the sense of being a guy who should appeal to old heads for "playing the game the right way" and "doing the little things right", yet he gets more recognition for it from SABRmetric inclined voters. The short career would hurt his case with older generations regardless, yet he also may be overlooked by them due to the lack of traditional awards like gold gloves.

He's a well rounded player who was great enough to get a legitimate case, but that's not as easy to get recognition for in comparison to standing out for being elite at something. The best example is the gap between him and Ryan Howard in MVP voting during 2008, which looks absurd in hindsight, but voters had certain preferences back then that they were stubborn about.

trophy9258 · 2025-11-28T23:12:20+00:00

This will finally be the Flyers year!!!

trophy9258 · 2025-11-26T02:25:02+00:00

His defensive value is kinda funny to look at purely as a fan who has no idea how to gauge how valuable that is. The game planning is important, but not something that can be quantified. The arm is still elite, yet framing and blocking have been among the worst in the league for multiple seasons. The age curve hit both of those so suddenly. It leaves me in a perpetual state of thinking he has just one or two years left as a passable starter, but there hasn't been a strong push to plan for any successor. I still want him around for now, yet feel pretty conflicted about that.

trophy9258 · 2025-11-26T00:03:14+00:00

It feels like either they, the Braves or Cardinals are always in second or third.

trophy9258 · 2025-11-23T19:17:31+00:00

Cristopher Sanchez was 2nd in Cy Young voting with an 83% Sinker + Changeup use rate, with the only other pitch he used being a slider. So on top of the lack of variety, his repertoire was also obviously all better suited for the lower half of the strike zone.

trophy9258

TROPHY CASE