Hank Chinaski

I mean, I agree, but I’ve also always wondered what motivates fans to act like such fucking dipshits. Is there a thrill to shouting at players that you’re paying to watch? I don’t get it. It’s just so…dumb.

I think there’s a decent chance of bringing him back. Seems like the type of contract/signing the Astros may pursue, as it probably wouldn’t take a lot of years to get it done. Doesn’t hurt that he seems to have a swing tailor made for MMP. I’m a little worried too. I’ve heard that his hand is fine, but that could just be what he’s telling people.

Meh, it’s more of a respect than hate, as he killed the Astros throughout his career (I mean, he pretty much killed everybody, but he played against the Astros soooooo much). It is kinda funny that he went to the angels and then the Astros moved to the AL West after being tormented by him for the previous decade in the NL Central. Also, the Astros won that series when he hit that ball off Lidge. That was nothing compared to, say, the Howie Kendrick HR.

The NL playoffs are going to be awesome. Could see any of the Dodgers - Mets - Braves winning the pennant. And I’d be surprised but probably not shocked if the Cardinals made a run too.

Varsho’s offensive numbers aren’t particularly exciting (he’s been worse than McCormick) and he’s not super young or anything. Why is he an upgrade over Chas as an OF? His defensive versatility is a plus for sure, but not sure he moves the needle in terms of offensive production from the OF.

Agree. We’ll know what Sark’s program is going to be after this season.

I actually don’t mind Javier as a multi-inning bullpen arm. That’s a nice weapon to have. But yeah, not if Garcia is making starts. JV/LMJ/Framber/Urquidy, with Javier and Garcia out of the pen. Also, there’s a reasonable chance I’m gonna stroke out when Dubon (or Yuli) comes up in a playoff game with the game on the line because he’s hitting second in the order.

Ugh, I wish there wasn’t even interleague play at all. I know, I know…

I guess what I’m describing is a little better than Tom Herman-level results, and not a raging asshole, so he gets more time.

Same. I could see his best case scenario being something like Mack’s tenure (in this scenario, his offenses kick ass and the defenses are good enough, kind of like OU in the Riley era, he keeps hiring good coaches, brings in tons of talent, etc), and I could see his worst case scenario being something like Strong’s tenure (in this scenario, he actually completely sucks as a coach, can’t keep talent in the program, etc). Either would surprise me to an extent. My expectation is that neither extreme scenario happens and he’ll be somewhere in between, 8-4-ish most years, with a breakthrough top-10 year here and there (if he’s around long enough). That sounds ok right now, but we all know it won’t be ok for very long.

Agree on Chas. I know I keep beating this drum, but he’s got a 112 wRC+ in a full season’s worth of ABs and he’s good defensively. But Dusty inexplicably seems to like to keep Dubon’s bat in the lineup.

It wasn’t much of a problem in 2021 - the Straw/Chas/Meyers combo yielded above-average production. This year has been a different story. I don’t disagree about the need to go get a real CF - I’m a Meyers skeptic (even when he’s healthy) and I doubt Leon and his 27% K rate in AAA is the answer any time soon.

Gonna have to disagree with this - he’s hyped (and was a first overall pick) because he’s extremely talented and, when healthy, was extremely productive. If not for his inability to stay healthy from 2017-2019, he’d be on a clear HOF trajectory. When he’s played, he’s more or less been Cal Ripken (oh, the irony there). That said, I agree here. CC’s inability to stay healthy has been a thing, and it makes signing him to a long-term deal really risky.

Well it would only be filled 60% of the time had we re-signed George; he’s missed 110 out of 282 games as a Blue Jay so far (and he’s only getting older).

You’d have to think that the various defensive metrics are deeply flawed and failing to pick up on something critical to make this claim, because, as stated, he is objectively a good defensive SS right now. What do you think they aren’t accounting for?

Yeah, I know defensive metrics are imperfect, but he is currently 7th in MLB in defensive WAR per B-R and 19th in the FG defensive rankings (across all positions, not just SS).

Bro, don’t do this to yourself again.

Plus, JV will get the kind of deal that Crane is more interested in making - he doesn’t seem hesitant to spend a lot over a short time period. The annual salary doesn’t seem to bother him, it’s the long-term salary commitments that he typically avoids. I hope to see JV back, and I think there’s a decent chance we will.

The closer-than-you’d-expect ratio kind of supports the refusal to adjust their approach to try to beat the shift, right? The closer it is to 1:1 the more you should just sort of say “fuck it, I’m just gonna do what I do.”

Meh, any individual game between the Astros and Braves (or between any two good teams) is roughly a coin flip.

Them too. (Was thinking 2019 Nationals due to the Harper/Freeman departures.)

The Braves are looking a little like the 2019 Nationals and the run they went on after a slow start. 52-20 since June 1.

Judge was at 8.0 bWAR, Altuve was 7.7. You’re contending this was one “of the biggest robberies.” I’m contending it’s not close to being an egregious error by the voters.

I know you don’t actually believe that this was some sort of “robbery,” much less “one of biggest, but it did get me thinking about really egregious MVP awards. 1987 was a pretty bad year for the voters. AL MVP went to George Bell, who hit .308/.352/.605 with 47 HR. Really good year. At best he should have finished 3rd in MVP voting; Wade Boggs hit .363/.461/.588 with plus defense at 3B (8.9 fWAR). Alan Trammell was about as good, hitting .343/.492/.551 with 28 HR, playing a very good SS. But the NL vote was even worse. Andrew Dawson won the award after hitting .287/.328/.568 with 49 HR. He finished 20th among NL position players in fWAR that year. Tony Gwynn (.370/.447/.511, 56 SB) probably should have won, but you could make a case for Eric Davis, Dale Murphy or Tim Raines as well. Then there’s all those MVPs that Ted Williams should have won in the 40s that went to Yankees players instead. ‘41, ‘42, ‘54. Same with Bonds, who should have won in ‘91, ‘95, ‘96 and ‘98. And yeah, I know there wasn’t WAR and that OBP (somehow) wasn’t valued like it is nowadays. But still.