<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">THAT&#39;S A WINNER!!<br><br>Cardinals beat the Pirates 6-5!! <a href="https://t.co/crsFpZVYcu">pic.twitter.com/crsFpZVYcu</a></p>&mdash; Cards Nation (@CardsNation13) <a href="https://twitter.com/CardsNation13/status/1112837144060596226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Seriously Matt - how'd you think this was gonna go, man?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/VhZopRJOhx">pic.twitter.com/VhZopRJOhx</a></p>&mdash; cardinalsgifs (@cardinalsgifs) <a href="https://twitter.com/cardinalsgifs/status/1112832535262748674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2019</a></blockquote>
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He's such a dipshit.

I can’t believe we made so many mistakes and bad plays and still won. Geeezzz

Ugh. Glad I didn’t actually see it. At least they won.

The Pirates are one of 3 genuinely bad teams in the NL. They a little better than SF and Miami, but they suck.

They've been so indifferent to winning for so long that it's just not something they can do at this point. There's no 'there' there. Even their 'ace' is the king of hollow efforts. Chris Archer is the perfect face of the Pirates - doesn't really care about winning because he's got his own stuff to do.

GOOD GOD, DAN MCLAUGHIN!! Seriously, you on a water and cocaine diet? Are you incapable of normal, healthy human weight man? Didn't you weight like 500 lbs 3 months ago? White male Oprah right there.

I can’t believe how skinny he has gotten this offseason.

I looked up during the post-game and that's the first I've seen of him.

That's ridiculous.

What is up with him? Medical issues? He reminds me of Jerry Lewis when he exploded up in weight & lost it all.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The dude has struggled with booze in the past. Has two OWIs on his record. My guess is he either dropped that or got on something worse.

WTF is up with baseball salaries?:eek:


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> and Randal Grichuk agree on $52-million, five-year contract extension that buys three FA years, according to two sources: <a href="https://t.co/GU7DAFhLNb">https://t.co/GU7DAFhLNb</a></p>&mdash; Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShiDavidi/status/1113216274241282048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Grichuk had a 115 wRC+ last season and under that contract he'll be making a whopping $9.3M dollars in each of the FA years they bought out. Dont really see what the issue with that is.

I know, right? Not keeping pace with revenue increases, and then you’ve got all these young stars selling a few FA years cheap on huge extensions as a result of FA collapse!

It’s an owner’s world.

Grichuck?:eek: you don't see any issues? Maybe you dont when your pitchers are making him look like a fool in the batters box. He's not even an average player. $9 million a year for a player who sucks? The players have nothing to bitch about in the next CBA talks.:harumph:

I know that you have a fantastic knowledge of baseball. Wish you'd visit more often. But, your an infrequent visitor to this thread. Just to make it clear, we usually have a top 10 payroll but I still rail on our owner about being cheap all the time in here. He and 80% of the owners are making a ton of money every single year.

Sure, Grichuk has 'issues' but he most assuredly does not suck. The Cardinals soured their fans on him by spending every waking moment focusing on where he struggles rather than what he does well.

He's a massively powerful hitter who can play all 3 OF positions credibly (and both corners well) who provides speed on the bases and plus baserunning. He's a 2-3 win player with 4 win upside when healthy. There are far worse players making far more money, 2 of whom are presently playing corner OF for the Cardinals.

That's a pretty fair deal for both parties.

Oh, and Harper hit his 3rd 450 ft homer last night.

People will look back on Harper going to the Phillies the same way they look back on Mahomes falling to the Chiefs. "Man, how did EVERYONE get that so wrong?"

That guy's a stud. But it's okay, we have Fowler manning RF and DeJong batting 3rd so we're good. Didn't need Harper after all.

I lurk a lot, too.

Know you’re not pro-owner.

Re: Grichuk, he’s a quality starter because he makes enough hard contact and plays good enough defense to be positive value in each measure.

He’s mid-cast as a centerpiece, but as a complementary player who hits 6-7 in a lineup, he’s good.

I know DJ hates the $8 million/win total, but I like it as a baseline. In that context, this is a surplus value deal for the Blue Jays.

It bothers me that so many fans are willing to quickly side with the owners when it comes to pay and etc.

Yes, superstars like Machado and Sale and Trout and Harper are getting paid... but the rate they’re paid at hasn’t grown compared to the revenue teams are clearing, and young players continue to get underpaid at silly levels, and the middle-tier free agents now struggle to get paid.

I’m fine with teams being smarter about long-term contacts... but want to see more of that money that’s no longer going to good-not-great players in FA routes to young guys.

And I say that as a fan of a small market team that likely would get damaged by larger minimum salaries, shorter periods of team control, and a more advanced arbitration process.

Lulz at that turd Grichuk getting paid

Some interesting additional details about Washington’s negotiations with Harper came out yesterday. Apparently were trying for a shitload of deferred pay over 30+ years and came back with a worse second offer.

https://deadspin.com/report-the-nati...was-1833740651

Alex Rodriguez's 2001 deal would be 10/500 with today's revenue, and Trout got 70% of that in AAV. Owners are making a killing.

Opening day moved from tomorrow to Friday due to rain. Looks like I'll be making the drive from KC tomorrow night instead.

Well shit

First world problems?:)

Exactly.

And when they’re paying their minor leaguers slave wages and gaming the service time clocks, I can’t excuse it.

Even though escalating salaries screw my own team.

Gotta go to a funeral can’t go to opening day

Oh well

The way they've been playing, the funeral might be preferable.

LMAO

Opening day is once a year, that ****er will still be dead whether you go to the funeral or not. Make the right choice.

Ouch

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Nationals’ Trevor Rosenthal has faced seven batters over three appearances so far this season. This is how it has gone:<br><br>1B<br>1B<br>BB<br>1B<br>1B<br>BB<br>BB<br><br>0.0 IP, 4 H, 7 R/ER, 3 BB, 0 K<br><br>At this point, he’d have to pitch 21 consecutive scoreless innings just to get his ERA down to 3.00.</p>&mdash; Matt Chrietzberg (@BravesMattC) <a href="https://twitter.com/BravesMattC/status/1113544144595628037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Absolutely nothing you stated here is factually inaccurate.

You make a solid argument...

Baseball's so strange.

They've played like ass but they're one win away, against a shitty team with their best starter on the hill, from wrapping up a tolerable .500 road trip.

It makes you wonder how the Royals manage to lose 90 games 8 season out of 10...

Carp well on his way to another horrible start to the year.

Yeah, this team sucks.

Same as it ever was.

Thanks for taking out Taillon, ****tards.

Pirates bullpen is ass-aids, but it is encouraging to see the fight in this team.

They cant score without the HR. Just like last year.

And here comes Cecil...Holland...err Miller to blow the game.

****ing Fowler and Ozuna are both worthless ****s. J. Martinez and O'Neil are a better outfield combo.

Find a 3rd baseman who isn't mental while they are at it and they might have a team.

He was nibbling the whole time anyway, but Reyes got absolutely jewed on that ball 4 to Kang.

They are getting thoroughly ****ed this inning.

They are getting ****ed, but they still can't throw strikes.

oneill went with pitch outside with two outs to get the lead in extra innings. Seems like a smart move for a power guy to make. :hmmm:

and we win the game with Martinez and O’Neill in the outfield. Coincidence? :)

Duncan brought up the pay for minor leaguers earlier the thread.
Let’s do the math.....

244 minor league clubs
8,000 players at the most
$7.25 federal minimum wage
Paid $1,500 a month on average

If baseball paid the players $8.00 an hour, 40 hours a week if they are on the roster for a year.

$8.00 an hour
8000 players
40 hours a week =
$325K

$328K - $133k(already paying) = $199k yearly

$199K yearly / 32 clubs = $6,200 increase in pay per club

If this math correct? If so, WTF MLB? Can’t even pay the minimum wage over $6,200 a year total?

But you’ll pay $15K - $60K per AB in the majors?

Not even looking to see if your math is correct, but $8/hour is not a living wage any more than $7.25 is.

I don’t care how it tastes, would love to add a bottle of this to my bourbon collection.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...405-story.html

ROFL

One hit so far and the pen coughs up the lead.

So...ive hated baseball all my life. Least favorite professional sport. Thought it was the most boring game.

Now...all of a sudden, i'm into. Yeah, ****ing weird. About two weeks ago. Maybe it's all the Machado buzz and this Paddock kid or Tatis Jr....but i've been enjoying this sport way more than i ever thought i would.

So, REAL baseball fans, how does this Padres team look?

Send Reyes to Memphis until he learns to stop nibbling.

It looks...interesting.

I kinda get the same feeling with them that I had with the Braves last year; a ton of intriguing young talent with upside and a deep farm system with enough quality arms to make them pesky all season.

I expected the Braves to eventually peter out and win about 80-85 games last year and it just didn't happen; they kept going to win the division. I think they were out over their skis a little and expected some regression this year before they became annual contenders in 2020. The Padres may be in the same boat; 2 or 3 years away from being really damn dangerous.

And with the addition of Machado, they got their Freddie Freeman sort of young veteran anchor in the middle. They sure would look better without dragging that boat anchor of a contract around in Eric Hosmer, but they'll survive that well enough.

Paddack being more of a #2 starter than the #4 he looked to be would go a long way but he'll need to develop a viable 3rd pitch for that to happen. Gore could be their #1 by then and they have enough high-end arms to come up with a strong middle/back of the rotation. The IF looks set for a long time with Machado, Tatis and Urias and their OFers will eventually settle in. It's hard to say who their top 3 will be but Margot and Reyes are a nice start. I don't think Mejia will stick behind the plate but if he does he's gonna be a nice little offensive catcher for them. If not, I guess you put him in that OF mix as well.

I'm really surprised that Anderson Espinoza hasn't developed much. He looked like a hell of a get from the Bosox (for that shitty lefty they shipped out at the deadline; Pomeranz?). Sure seemed like a long-term top of the rotation starter but he's just spinning his wheels.

That's a fun team to root for though. Lots of long-term talent there.

its ridiculous that they are selling that he is just shaking the rust off. That’s fine and dandy except do that in Memphis. We can’t just give away games and innings while someone gets up to speed.

We are already giving up outs waiting for Fowler to shake the rust off. Still looks lazy in RF going after balls while looking lost in almost every AB. Really pisses me off. It’s way past time to give O’neil a shot at starting regularly.

Maybe we can trade Fowler for a prospect if we pay the $50 million for a team to take a chance in him. He doesn’t want to waive his no trade clause, sit him on the bench. He causes an issue, send him down or release him.

Andrew Miller sucks. Might as well roll out Cecil.

Mo is so ****ing stupid. Keep signing relievers north of 30 to 30 million dollar deals after they've shown obvious signs of decline. Surely it will work out, right?

Does Mo survive another mediocre season? I don’t see how this team wins north of 90 wins. I’m thinking 85 wins.

Thanks Andruw Cecil.

Man. I really thought Miller would bounce back and liked that signing. Looks like he is broken.

I wonder how long the current reliever usage trend will last. Will teams just be cutthroat and burn through those best guys in five years? Or will we go back to a more traditional and conservative usage of them to protect investments?

Mozeliak sure is great at stopping one move short of what he needs to do.

Can’t remember if I used this analogy here, but he reminds me of a project manager I work with... who always projects JUST to what the minimum requirements are, not recommended and definitely without any buffer.

Very Mozeliak-Esque.

He should have been fired with Matheny.

All three of those guys had their worst seasons in a while the year prior to signing.

How much money do you guys think Mozeliak put into Lehman Brothers in September '08?

This team is in full Lamar/Carl mode right now--too many fans keep coming through the turnstiles and ownership has realized how to do just enough to keep them coming in without making the necessary investments or risks to ensure that they have a chance at greatness. They're simultaneously cheap and foolish in their spending. It's amazing.

God, Fowler is just awful

Runners on 1st and 3rd, guy swings through a worse pitch than the one the pitcher doubled on in the next AB to cripple the rally. He and Ozuna single-handedly destroyed an inning where we should have put up 4 with an infield popup and a K.

My favorite part is that the guy is so focused on the game that he ran to 1st base on the dropped third strike. Uh...Dex - 1b is occupied buddy. You can't do that.

I just do not understand why we keep starting that clown against lefthanders when we have O'Neill and Martinez - guys who KILL lefthanded pitching - sitting on the bench. Gotta save those guys for RH power pitchers who will have them fighting uphill the whole AB in the 8th inning.

Just terrible managing from Shildt at this point. Fowler being trash is just to be expected. This is on Shildt for continuing to send him out there to fail.

I said it last year, but Schildt is a clown and proved himself such during September. The post-Matheny streak was due to positive regression and a dead cat bounce, but sure enough the early extension was given out with a near immediate nosedive.

The extension doesn't matter. It's a 2 year deal given to a rookie manager with no negotiating leverage.

If they see a better option come along, they'll throw Shildt over the side and grab him.

Shildt's smart and knows baseball, IMO. He simply lacks the organizational cachet to override team orders. When Moe demands Fowler starts against lefties, it's gonna get done.

I don't mind the extension and I don't think he's overmatched out there. I just don't think he feels like he has the freedom to make the moves that need to be made. I sure hope he starts to feel his oats soon because this Fowler thing (and the Ozuna thing) needs a serious change.

Carlson off to a good start in Springfield.

Gorman hit his second dinger last night. That makes 19 in his first 68 professional games. Only 11 players in history have accomplished that in the past.

Refreshing to have some legit position players down on the farm to follow for a change.

And such a good mix of them. You have higher ceiling guys with low floors (Gorman's hit tool remains a concern of mine and could sabotage everything else he does; his D is a question mark as well) and you have guys with lower ceilings but really high floors like Carlson. And folks like Montero that are in the middle both ways; higher ceiling than Carson, higher floor than Gorman.

This isn't the system of 3 years ago when every offensive prospect we had was someone with plus power and iffy hit tools. When we had a dozen guys that sure looked a lot like Randal Grichuk. There are a LOT of paths forward with the 5 top hitting prospects in the system and a nice little stagger where we shouldn't have an immediate problem with roster stacking or a massive hole in the system at some point.

It's a system right on the edge of taking a Padres-like leap forward. And mixed in with those guys is the same thing we saw in previous years - a slew of depth players who don't get prospect guys excited but who will almost certainly contribute at the big league level in some fashion. The Helsley, Cabrera, Knizner, Roberts, Woodford, Urias, Elledge, Gallegos, Thomas types. Even guys like Arozarena and JAG aren't completely beyond hope; either of those guys could make themselves into viable 4th/5th OFers given their physical tools and periods of production in the high minors.

It's a nice system to be sitting on for sure; better than a fair number of them that are given higher 'rankings' right now, IMO.

The sad part is I'd run any of those AAAA outfielders down there above Carlson in right field over Fowler right now. We need to give ONeill the at bats to see if he can truly make the adjustments they want him to at the MLB level. He has nothing more to prove at AAA. At the very least we are upgraded defensively.

I'm hard-pressed to conclude that Dexter Fowler is one of the 10 best OFers in this organization right now. Harder still if I include guys like Munoz or even Robinson who are capable of playing the OF in a pinch.

Yes, I'm not sure he is any better defensively than JM and he is a butcher out there. He approaches a ball in the gap or down the line the way Greedy Williams approaches the idea of tackling someone.

this is the perfect time to see if O‘neill can be an everyday player and maintain the pop in the bat. Fowler looks awful in 90% of his AB’s. How can O’neill not hit >.150? We know he will be better defensively. How long before they give up on Fowler?

They won't

I know you don’t give any credit to Mo for drafting the increased quality in our minor league talent. Hamas says the credit goes to Randy Flores. You concur, correct?

Mostly, yes. But there's a lot of luck involved.

But Moe will flat out tell you he has next to no involvement in the amateur draft at this point.

Additionally - Carlson took Kershaw deep tonight. Hes gonna be gooooooooood

:shake:

Jesus Christ Ozuna.

Not only does Ozuna need a new shoulder but he could also use a pair of glasses

Schilt has been taking out Ozuna and putting O’neill in to double switch out the pitcher and better defense. But, today he doesn’t. That play was proof why he needs to do thst every game.

Just saw the gif and took a bit to figure out what happened.