Moose Milligan

Have Ken Griffey Jr. and I been spotted in the same room before?

You're killin me, Smalls.

100%. Like, towards the end of his career after he'd beaten the cocaine issue.

No man, no. That's Dave Parker.

Lol Ken Griffey Jr, you're a funny guy.

Mullins had the tone setter. First pitch off Ohtani, that was awesome. The Stewart homer was awesome, too, but I think Mullins set the tone that they weren't going to lay down for Ohtani. To be fair, Ohtani didn't have his best stuff. Hit 97 a few times, was sitting around 93-94.

You guys wouldn't beeeeeeeelllliiiiieve the obscenities @Frobbywas yelling at the Angels! Jokes aside, great game! Tremendous fans. It wasn't a sellout like it was for Fantastic Fans in '88 but the lower bowl was fairly full and the place went nuts when we pulled ahead. And yes, Frobby and I are taking full credit! It was great to meet him!

Whew.

Hyde may or not be the guy. IIRC, Joe Maddon went through some bad years in Tampa when their team was crap before he was anointed a genius. I think Hyde, after presiding over a crap team not trying to win should have the chance to manage this team when some of the prospects get called up.

If Mayo can keep killing it, I can see him cracking Law's top 100 list halfway through next season.

I'm half kidding when I say that about Kjerstad and Baumler. Here's hoping the 2020 draft is one that can help springboard this team to respectability.

Fair enough.

Yep. I mean, if Mayo pans out the strategy of going under slot to get someone like him in the later rounds would have appeared to be a solid one. Really though, just giving up on Kjerstad and Baumler. Westburg, not so much.

Elias 2020 draft strategy on point? Only if Coby Mayo succeeds, it seems.

I've literally seen some people make something close to that argument on here. The idea that there's a manager out there that could have done significantly better with this roster this year is absurd. Hyde's done nothing wrong this year.

Change for change's sake is a poor argument.

Andrew Vaughn has really picked up the pace from where he started. He's putting together a good rookie campaign. Arozarena is hitting .275/.354/.455 for an .809 OPS. He's got 3.0 WAR so far this year. Mountcastle's WAR is 0.7. Currently at a .803 OPS. He's really going to have to kill it in September to get rookie of the year. IMO, he'll have to finish with 30+ homers, 80+ RBI to get consideration. Partially because he won't win the WAR race (IMO, most awards these days are just chalked up to the WAR leader) and partially because he plays for a team that no one cares about and is only getting attention for the wrong reasons. I guess it could happen for him but he's got a steep hill to climb.

I don't understand the contingent of the fan base that likes to beat their chest for a better manager, ignoring the roster that Hyde was given.

Find one that's routinely throwing 100 MPH fastballs and hitting 450 foot homers. Find one with a 160 OPS+ and a 160 ERA+

Ohtani is the greatest baseball player ever. Not the most decorated. Not the most accomplished. Not the holder of the most records. Not the biggest WAR accumulator. Just the most talented and greatest player ever.

Well, I agree with that, too. But like I said, a collective bunch of guys that are bad like this are much more likely to do what they're doing now, IMO. It would be a lot of fun if it ever did happen.

Yeah, but small sample size for the month of August. You know as well as I do, teams as well as individual players go into slumps and funks...which is what this is. You call this a long stretch, I call it a small sample size. Is it inconceivable that a team of mostly bad players such as this one can slump all at once? Is it inconceivable that a team of really bad players could also get hot at once? IMO, it's more likely that a team full of already bad players could go cold like they have this month rather than get hot and hit at 100 points HIGHER and OPS 200 points HIGHER. Who do you think these guys are? If you're convinced that clutch is a myth, find me a player who magically raised his game in clutch situations over the course of his career to the tune of hitting 100 points higher and OPSing 200 points higher. Your metrics, not mine. I'll help you get started: Willie Mays: Career .302/.384/.557 = .942 OPS 2 Outs, RISP: .296/.428/.557 = .985 Late and close .306/.399/.551 = .949 Tie game .295/.380/.547 = .927 Hank Aaron: Career .305/.374/.555 = .929 2 Outs RISP: .306/.421/.554 = .975 Late and Close .318/.407/.576 = .983 Tie game .294/.377/.531 = .909 Growing up, I always thought Chipper Jones was the clutchiest guy alive. .303/.401/.529 career OPS .930 2 Outs, RISP: .266/.441/.465 = .907 OPS Late and Close .294/.416/.489 = .905 Tie Game .294/.400/.499 = .899 OPS I could go on and on all day. Clutch doesn't exist, it's a myth. Great hitters are great in the clutch because they're already great hitters. And even if you did find one that was better by 100 points in batting average and 200 points in OPS, it'd be the outlier, the exception to the rule.

Yes, it's a myth. Even for Eddie. Eddie's career slash line is .287/.359/.476 which adds up to an .836 OPS. 2 outs RISP for his career, his slash was .262/.391/.464 for an .855 OPS. Late and close, .282/.371/.494 for a .865 OPS. Tie game, .290/.369/.500 for a .869 OPS His career clutch stats hover right around his career line. Maybe in some areas a little better, maybe in some areas a little worse. But the notion that players can raise their games and perform better in the clutch is a myth that sportswriters and fans love to discuss. It makes their heroes seem even greater than they are. Eddie was good in the clutch because he was already a good hitter to begin with. Try it with a Yankee fan, you'll blow their minds. I used to work with a Yankee fan who couldn't STFU about how clutch Derek Jeter was. I showed him that Jeter's clutch stat lines were right in line with his career averages, that the notion that he raised his game in clutch situations wasn't true. Jeter was great in clutch situations because he was already a really good hitter. He literally couldn't believe it. Would not believe it, despite the stats right in front of him.

With as low as the OBP is, the amount of solo shots make sense.

Correct, nothing to lose by trying. I just don't think he's going to amount to much. Looking forward to seeing @Philip's critique on his defense.