now

Interesting that you don't mention Holliday. Is it the underwhelming Norfolk reboot?

And the problem is, for prospects we may want to keep as well as pitchers we may covet, there's no such thing as "can't miss."

I see what you did there. (Phil "The Vulture" Regan, 14-1 in relief for the '66 Dodgers). ;)

It's in our hands, after all (three of the next four, anyway).

It's rather ironic that in the biggest series, we pitch our preseason 7-8-9 starters against the Skankees. So far so good with our deep depth in the rotation. What a coup it would be to take the series that way!

Good comp (let's hope). The power of the killer curve ball!

Just goes to show, different strokes... (as with Ms. Newman, cough cough). I find Brach's voice irritating and scratchy, and he talks nonstop. BRob also talks a lot but he's got great presence (on camera) and delivery, plus top-notch insider perspective.

I'm gonna go with the small MLB sample size on this one, and pull the trigger. (Not that the Pirates would do it...). Push comes to shove, I think I prefer Mayo and Basallo and even Kjerstad, in that order.

Yup, that's the old-school word that fits all aspects: concept, design, hype...

Your second observation is quite illuminating. I never understood why the box on the TV feed is so much smaller than "knees to letters." In practice it seems "shins to belt." And I guess it has to shrink since pitching has changed so dramatically (velocity, engineered stuff) relative to hitting (launch angle).

Good points. The problem (?) with the AS break is the team might see the break itself as a kind of reset, leaving another trial beyond...

I'll have some Mayo with that, please!

I know it's not fair to add judgements based on one day, but--today (7 June) serves as a reality check of the poor showings on the farm to date, by most of our prospects. A quick perusal shows pretty good games and stats lately for Etzel, Basallo and Bright... after that, basically zilch (oh yeah, except for hometowner and org. filler Costes showing life). Now that the cream of the crop has mostly graduated, it's pretty slim pickings down on the farm.

Plus, this time last year we were cruising on that unbeatable back end of the bullpen (Cano/Bautista), unlike this season.

I've been checking the standings and how the MFYs are doing most days for weeks now, so I guess that means I care who wins the division.

In the eye-catching stats department, how about Palacios's line so far: 24 strikeouts / 3 hits allowed (in 14.2 innings). Eight walks also, but still a 0.75 WHIP.

And is it fair to say 10-15 runs equates to about 1 to 1.5 wins? (Again, that's in a worst-order scenario.)

Continuing to gnash teeth over our lineup with three Mendoza liners (Hays, Mullins, McCann; and Santander not far behind), it's fascinating to find context in current MLB ranking of lowest BA among qualifiers, featuring numerous legit stars who could otherwise rank at the top end. "Baseball is a funny game," indeed. My question is, is this year (1/3 way in) more anomalous than most?

Just with the eye test (and not just this clip), Mayo has about the quickest bat I've ever seen.

Mejdal was interviewed during the TV broadcast... maybe two weeks ago. He repeated his preference right at the end of the interview (IIRC, from the stands or field).

I recall Sig Mejdal recently commenting that as far as core stats go, he much prefers FIP over ERA. So on that basis Irvin loses his current ERA advantage: Rodriguez 3.53 ERA, 3.43 FIP Irvin 2.84 ERA, 3.45 FIP I can see I'm going to have to get on board the FIP train, after thinking (twenty years ago) maybe OPS and WAR were the end of the line.

I don't have a horse in that race, but I question your logic. Seems like you're saying: Stuff > Results. Or maybe, so far this year Irvin is better, but long term you're betting on Grayson?

Is there any info or ranking for Miguel Rodriguez, a young (18) catcher at FCL who had four more hits today and is now at .346/.849 after going 4 for 4 with a double and homer (56 AB). Before today, career shows 148 AB, .331/.463/.405//.868 at ages 17-18. (Compare Basallo at age 17 in FCL, .278/.350/.424//.774)

I hear where you're coming from (partly tongue in cheek) but I do think Stowers is different in the fan mind than his peers in the Norfolk pipeline--being older and already having multiple chances to prove himself or not. That said, his longtime supporters will be clamoring for what you describe, while his longtime skeptics (myself included) will keep being skeptical. Today, we're all happy for him!

Things are getting complicated. Thyago Vieira Terrin Vavra Braylin Tavera ...