MLB Thread - 2023
- Thread starter SLAB
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QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
Even worse than the 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns?
SLAB
Hall of Famer
Ya, a tongue-in-cheek celebration there because the Giants have been on the struggle bus lately … are these really worse than the Kenny Natt Kings? That 17 win season was DIRE.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
The Cardinals have the chance to do something hilarious and trade Nootbaar to the Angels and guarantee Ohtani remains mired in terrible mediocrity for the next ten years (He and Noot are BFFs from the WBC).
Also how do the Dodgers have the assets available to trade for superstars every season (asking as a recovering A’s fan who never could even dream of something like that)
SLAB
Hall of Famer
I can’t imagine the Dodgers taking on heavy payroll. As far as I knew, they did their entire offseason cutting costs to avoid luxury tax penalties when they give Ohtani 750 million next offseason … would they really blow their plan now?
I mean .., Arenado is a stud, so the price might be right.
I don't think that luxury-tax-avoidance plan worked, though. They had a chance to reset the tax, but that was destroyed when the arbitrator ruled that they had to pay Bauer for this season.
SLAB
Hall of Famer
ohhhhhhh, I missed that. Welp. They’re getting Arenado and Ohtani and I want to hurl myself into McCovey Cove.
Huge freaking win.
But man, we need bats at the deadline. Probably more than a SP at this point tbh. Thairo going down, Schmitt falling off a cliff, Haniger being bad/hurt the whole year, Conforto regressing has all really taking a pretty big toll. Slater/Flores/Wade/JD have all been great, but we absolutely cannot rely on that along with the kids to be taken seriously if we do happen to make the playoffs. Bailey is barely hanging on by a thread to stay league average offensively while Matos is basically surviving off his plate discipline. But still below average offensively. Luciano has had some super hard hit balls, but I also don't love seeing 4K's in his first 9 AB's.
SLAB
Hall of Famer
Another walk-off!
Tristan Beck absolute ice water in his veins in extras. Can he be a starter for real now? Please?
And I agree. Stop pinch-hitting for Luciano. If that’s the plan, if you think he isn’t ready, send him down for final seasoning. He swings and misses a lot. But man, his bat can make noises few others on the Giants can match. I’m excited to see what’s in store for him going forward.
Tristan Beck absolute ice water in his veins in extras. Can he be a starter for real now? Please?
And I agree. Stop pinch-hitting for Luciano. If that’s the plan, if you think he isn’t ready, send him down for final seasoning. He swings and misses a lot. But man, his bat can make noises few others on the Giants can match. I’m excited to see what’s in store for him going forward.
Luciano and Matos are special. They are 21 years old IIRC. Performing at the MLB level. I think they are holding their own right now especially Matos who has been up longer. I think you just ride them both and get them as much experience as possible. Odds are, even if you make the playoffs, there is no way they survive to the championship without adding at least 1 more SP and possibly 2. Losing Estrada hurts bad. Too many guys not hitting enough.
Even Schmitt, just keep riding him as much as possible. I think he’s actually been hitting the ball harder than his stats show. Still chases but not as much as before. I see incremental growth and he’s doing it at the MLB level. I think he’s going to be fine in the long run.
If Farhan is going to bring in someone, go big like a Verlander. Don’t bring in a guy like was rumored Nicky Lopez. Not good enough to make a difference. Meanwhile Texas has landed piece after piece and their best prospects are still there. Farhan needs to grow a pair
Even Schmitt, just keep riding him as much as possible. I think he’s actually been hitting the ball harder than his stats show. Still chases but not as much as before. I see incremental growth and he’s doing it at the MLB level. I think he’s going to be fine in the long run.
If Farhan is going to bring in someone, go big like a Verlander. Don’t bring in a guy like was rumored Nicky Lopez. Not good enough to make a difference. Meanwhile Texas has landed piece after piece and their best prospects are still there. Farhan needs to grow a pair
Ok, been watching several AA guys being promoted to AAA for the Giants and SF is acquiring AJ Pollock and Mark Mathias. Pollock is cooked. 35 years old and last year and this year stats are brutally bad. As in nothing good about his stats even in a platoon situation which he used to be extremely good a platoon option but he’s cooked. Mathias is 28 and never had significant time in MLB but appears to be an OB% middle infielder.
It appears to me that there is a bigger deal coming. I think Schmitt could be part of a deal. Pitchforks if Luciano is dealt unless it’s bringing back a major, major player who will be under contract for a while.
If nothing else is done, Ownership needs to ask questions of Zaidi as they watch the Cubs, Angels, Rangers go all in, watching the Indians deal a cost controlled young SP in Civalle, etc. Zaidi needs to give this team a shot
It appears to me that there is a bigger deal coming. I think Schmitt could be part of a deal. Pitchforks if Luciano is dealt unless it’s bringing back a major, major player who will be under contract for a while.
If nothing else is done, Ownership needs to ask questions of Zaidi as they watch the Cubs, Angels, Rangers go all in, watching the Indians deal a cost controlled young SP in Civalle, etc. Zaidi needs to give this team a shot
SLAB
Hall of Famer
No rentals no rentals no rentals no rentals
Names that come to mind Jason Verlander, Tim Anderson although not so much with Luciano up, Dylan Carlson, Eduardo Rodriguez and the other Tiger….iirc Clevenger…..not Clevenger, it’s Lorenzen
It’s disgusting.
Also don’t understand sitting JD Davis tonight. Huge series. Can’t score runs, so let’s sit JD and play Isan over Luciano.
Feels like they are turning Luciano into a platoon player right now which is just dumb.
Just not a Kapler fan.
SLAB
Hall of Famer
Kapler is a great manager. None of these teams he’s been given by Farhan have any reason to be this good at all on paper.
I do wish he’d let Marco cook though.
uhh what?
I think Kapler using the roster Farhan gives him precisely the way it's meant to is a big reason we've "overperformed" our expectation a lot of the time. Similar to how Monte and Brown are on the exact same page, so are Farhan and Kapler. They believe in the same stuff. That's important and it obviously flows into the team.
Don't love it, but seems like they're just being careful and only exposing him to positive situations at this level. Dang easy to forget he spent all of last year in high-A. 240 AB's in AA and 27 in AAA.
I do wonder why our org has had a MASSIVE shift with regards to our prospects this year. Like, we've been one of the slower orgs to promote guys and get them to the majors for the better part of the last 15 years. And this year, seems like we're just hyper-driving everyone who's having any sort of success. Wade Meckler is in freaking AAA already! After starting the year in high A.
But it's hard to argue with the results. A lot of the success of this team has been the young guys providing a spark, even if they aren't consistent at this level yet. The youth infusion has been awesome.
SLAB
Hall of Famer
Eh… I’m constantly a bit underwhelmed by Farhan. Kapler season in and season out has far exceeded the talent level given to him. I’ll give Farhan props this last offseason, he went for it. Just didn’t have anything to show for it at the end. But an ever-revolving door of reclamation projects on short term deals along with AAAA level players hoping they go Yaz instead of Mike Tauchman isn’t the best way to build a roster.
His young guys are on the move up now, so we’ll see if he was just in a holding period these handful of seasons waiting for “his” guys to develop. And honestly? That might be exactly what it was.
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