deward

"He's definitely shown plus raw power in the minors, we just have to see if he can tap into it regularly against major league pitching without sacrificing his contact rate." Better?

You can make a case for keeping Santander here on a 3-4 year deal, and trading Kjerstad for another asset. Not saying that's what they'll do, but I could understand it being considered as an option.

I was specifically talking about him tapping into it in the big leagues.

Sure, he just needs to show that he can consistently carry that over to the big leagues. I think he will, but 26 PA with a 7:1 K/BB ratio don't prove it yet.

I'll be surprised if Hyde and Elias are ready to bury Hays on the bench. At the very least, he'll be the starter vs LHP (unless he keeps not hitting at all). I'm expecting to see it settle into something like a 60/40 split, unless Hays continues to play himself out of even that much PT (or Cowser continues to put up video game numbers).

He's definitely got plus raw power, we just have to see if he can tap into it regularly without sacrificing his contact rate.

Obviously not while he's this hot, but once he cools off a bit, I'd expect to start seeing Hays more often. They're going to give Hays more opportunities to get going.

We were in the 2nd deck, right above the O's dugout. It wasn't the most fun weather for baseball, but I was mostly worried that it'd be bad enough to stop the game, and that obviously didn't happen. It was a little nerve-wracking until the 10th, but definitely a lot of fun. Getting to walk out with a bunch of dejected Sox fans is always a treat. Gunnar now has a three-game streak of homering in every game I see him play up here. I was hoping to catch Holliday's first hit, but I'll take Cowser's first two HR.

It's probably more likely than not that O'Hearn would outproduce Kjerstad vs RHP this year, which is probably top priority for them given the win-now approach.

Remember when everyone decided that Cowser couldn't play defense?

Couldn't agree more. The lack of accountability for these guys when their incompetence hurts teams is inexcusable.

If the goal is to win a WS in 2024, there's no promise that Kjerstad can match or exceed ROH with the bat as a rookie (at least vs RHP). I expect him to be better eventually, but I can understand not wanting to make that move when Elias is trying to win now. I was all in favor of moving ROH in the off-season, but I'm starting to come around on the idea that he really has turned into a good hitter.

If there's one thing I'm sure of in all of this, it's that Elias is never going to share the real thinking behind how this was handled. At least not until his tell-all autobiography in a couple of decades.

The major league minimum salary this year is $740k, so it's not like Kemp's salary is all that much more of a commitment. Elias screwed around with Holliday for 10 days just to try and keep Tony Kemp in the org? Maybe, but still a pretty strange way to go about it.

Kemp got a total of 10 PA. Sure they aren't judging anything on 2 games worth of at bats. I also can't help but feel like they would have called up Norby if it was just a reaction to Urias not hitting. Elias is the same guy who was so committed to his plan that he traded away Mancini and Lopez in the middle of a potential playoff run. Two years later and he's just flying by the seat of his pants with Jackson Holliday? It's so odd.

That does seem to be where Occam's Razor gets you, based on what we know - Elias goofed and is moving to fix it before it could have a significant impact.

I doubt Elias is very bothered by Westburg right now, and Kemp only has 10 PA. I'd also be absolutely shocked if someone as methodical as Elias suddenly decided to change his plan regarding the #1 prospect in baseball based on the results of first 10 games. How Elias dealt with his 5th starter/swingman not being able to throw strikes vs how he handles the crown jewel of his system are going to be two very different things, not history repeating.

Just pushing back a little on the philosophy of just assuming a smart person is doing something smart, even though what they're doing doesn't seem to make sense. That might turn out to be true, but it's ok to question it.

#FreeMayo

Sometimes a mistake is just a mistake. Smart people can talk themselves into bad decisions. Not saying this is one, time will tell there.

Smart people who are good at their jobs still make dumb mistakes sometimes.

Bottom 3? Including Cowser?

Agreed, same here.

I particularly don't understand sitting Westburg in a RHH friendly park like Fenway, right after an off day. It really doesn't make sense.

I don't think there's any proof the wall has made any difference to the team's record, and I couldn't care less what Aaron Judge thinks about anything. I'm not a fan of changing parks to create an artificial gimmick, and that's all the wall is.